Page 21

ROSé

I t was working. This stupid stunt was working. Well, not exactly in the way the franchise imagined. I didn’t think “getting railed by the coach” was on their bingo card when they dropped me in the Sillys’ lap.

Maybe it was a bonus?

Or maybe it was something that was going to change my life.

Sillys ticket sales had soared. Sell-out crowds showed up daily. Apparently seeing me dancing was doing just what they wanted, filling seats and making this crazy investment worthwhile. Not only were my dancing skills getting better, but my batting skills had greatly improved.

When I arrived here, I thought it was a death sentence for my career. But with each day that went by, I found myself more and more at home with the Sillys. The more I thought about going back to the majors, the more I dreaded it. The pit of despair in the bottom of my stomach opened wider and wider.

Maybe this was where I belonged now? My batting average took a complete 180. Cady insisted it was due to the new coaching staff, but deep down I knew it was mostly her. She gave me incentives to play well, sexy incentives.

Every day I was in her sunshiny presence invigorated me, both on and off the field. She and the guys on the Sillys taught me how to have fun again. They taught me that, yes, this can be a career, but it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t make the most of it. You had to find the good in every day.

With my more relaxed attitude, I was more consistent in my hits. The power wasn’t all the way there yet, but trying to hit all home runs didn’t win games. Hits won games. Whether it be over the fence or bouncing down the infield. Sending that white ball skipping across the green field grass got guys around the bases. It gave me hope that my career as a mid-30s major league catcher wasn’t quite over yet.

I had to admit, I was scared of “the end”. Baseball had been my life since before I was in grade school when Mom and Dad signed me up for T-Ball. Years of grit and determination got me here. I didn’t know anything but baseball. So, what happened once it was all over?

My thoughts strayed to Cady.

Up until now, baseball was everything. I didn’t feel the need to find happiness elsewhere. I was content.

Ever since I met Cady, my mind had been on her more than my career. She was incredible, how could I not think of her? Witty, flirty, sweet and caring. Everything about her was a dream come true. Baseball was as much a part of her life as it was mine. She understood the stressors of the sport and took them seriously. She was the first genuine woman in my life who meant more to me than a career in the majors.

Someone I could see myself spending forever with.

I glanced down at her, nestled into the crook of my arm. We were back in her bed, a favorite pastime of ours now. It was a safe space, a place we could relish in the quiet of just the two of us. No bright lights, no announcers, no cameras.

Sure, the sex was incredible, but it was all the tender times in between that made me feel like molten goo inside. On one of our early dates, she’d asked if I was a romantic. I never really thought of myself as such. The extent of my romance had been watching corny romcoms. But maybe that was because I hadn’t felt overly romantic towards anyone before.

Nor had I had this much sex before. It was almost as if her own personal fragrance was an aphrodisiac. A drug that I needed to keep breathing in deep that exploded in an orgasmic flora around me whenever I was inside her. It kept me wanting more.

This feeling was intense. The more time I spent with her, the more I felt like that all of the time. How could one live without it after having a taste of it? I was unabashedly addicted to her.

I was only half paying attention to the movie she put on. My mind was a hapless mix of flashbacks of our earlier intimate session and this never-ending churning bubble of feelings inside. My hands had been full of her asscheeks only an hour earlier as I claimed her from behind as she buried her face in her pillow. She must have enjoyed herself immensely since I could hear her, clear as day, even with a mouth full of cotton and feathers, buried in her pillow .

A familiar tune jarred me from my reminiscing. Which was good timing as I was already on my way to another erection. All I needed was one thought of the woman and I was ready to bend her over the nearest surface.

Finally nudging my brain away from my dick, I recognized the music. Cady, like me, grew up with Disney movies. She told me she put them on as background noise when the world was too quiet. Something familiar, something comforting. Something she knew the ending to. It helped her relax.

Hopefully, she didn’t think I was getting a boner from Rapunzel singing her heart out with Flynn Rider. The princess was pretty, but she was no Cady. Although Rapunzel with her hair cut did have a striking resemblance.

As I watched their duet, an idea hit me. Cocking my head to the side, I ruminated over the two characters singing. Had the Sillys done a musical number from a movie before? I knew the licensing for a song from Disney would be nearly impossible. But perhaps another musical? Maybe even a Broadway show?

“I didn’t think cartoons were your kink.” Cady hummed as her hand drifted over my thigh. My cock wasn’t exactly being subtle at this point. Her question, and the blazing trail of her hand, stalled me mid-thought.

“They aren’t.” I shot back as my hand lazily began to stroke her bicep, trying to deter her attention so I could get out my thoughts before she blew them from my mind. “I was thinking of a certain woman whose bed I’m currently in. ”

Cady let out an amused noise. “Smooth. Real smooth.”

“Well, actually I was thinking about something else. But that didn’t cause this…” I cleared my throat as I gestured to my bottom half. “ Problem .”

For fucks sake, her sucking on her lower lip was going to be the death of me. It was an automatic reflex now to anything I said or did that was even remotely a turn-on to her. Which only made it a never-ending fluster between the two of us. I really needed to get on with this conversation before I forgot what I was thinking about.

“So…” She glanced up at me as my brain slowly rebooted after her enticing visual. Shit, get on with it man, before she mounts you again. “Any chance you take requests?”

“Requests…?” Her brow quirked on one side. I knew it was a question out of left field. And it was a rather open-ended question.

“Yeah, songs for routines for the games.”

The look on her face was one of shock and awe before it turned a little bit sultry. She scrambled out of my arms and sat up so fast that she seemed to swoon from the sudden blood rush.

“Did you fuck my brains out entirely or did you really just ask me if you could request a song for the Philly Sillys to dance to?”

My eyes went wide. There was too much in that sentence for me to dissect at once. All I could do was cough out a laugh.

“Um, I would hope, both .” I managed to get out after the fluster of her words. With a grin, I ran my fingers through my disheveled mess of hair. She had me in the hot seat, but I noted her squirm. I wondered which one of us would break first.

“Well, so…yes.” She stuttered, bringing the sheet up to her bare chest as she tried to hide her smile. “I take song requests. Within reason. No foul language and we have to get permission and whatnot. I had to put those parameters in place after the guys asked for some rather questionable ones.”

“Okay, well…don’t laugh.” I had no idea what she would think of the specific song that I had in mind. Her brow arched in curious question.

“Cross my heart.” She placed her palm over her breast for emphasis. Why did she have to draw attention to her chest? I was trying to stay on the subject for once. We were never going to get through this important conversation at this rate.

“Well…I was thinking…” Hanging on my every word, Cady leaned forward a bit. “How difficult would it be to do a song from a movie? Or a Broadway musical?”

“Oh,” She mused, licking her lips as if she were trying the flavor of my suggestion. Or salivating over it. “You are definitely speaking my language.” Her stormy eyes flashed up to mine with unbridled anticipation. “Which one did you have in mind?”

“ Wicked .”

Cady was quiet. I froze as she did. Something was moving the gears inside her head, but I didn’t know if it was in my favor, or against it. Her face was impassive.

“Fuck me sideways.” The words left her mouth in breathy disbelief. “Jamie Rheems you’re gonna make me fall in–” She cut herself off immediately as her eyes went wide. Was she going to say what I thought she was going to say? My heartbeat quickened. Was this the moment? “I-uh…um, make me fall in love with that idea .”

Oh.

“So uh, Wicked , huh?” Cady shifted the conversation forward while my mind was still reeling. If I was a braver man, and if we weren’t only weeks into this, I would have pressed it further. Instead, I pivoted right along with her.

“Yeah.” My voice sounded as strained as my thoughts. I cleared my throat. “Every time I hear ‘Dancing Through Life’ it's just asking to be a Sillys dance routine. Hell, there’s already a whole dance routine that goes with it.”

“You…are absolutely not wrong.” Cady slowly looked back up at me with a grin. Leaning in towards me, I could feel the aura of her warmth against my bare skin. “And you’re fucking brilliant. It's an awesome idea. I’ll pitch it to ownership tomorrow.”

With a laugh, my hand shot out, wrapping my palm around the back of her neck as I pulled her in for a kiss. Brushing the pad of my thumb against her cheek, I took that moment to admire her. She was glowing, cheeks flushed, with a smile that made her eyes sparkle.

Even if she couldn’t say it yet, I was pretty sure I was in love with Cadence Andrews.