Page 26

CAMDEN

With baseball, there was always another road trip around the corner. This time, they were headed to Toronto for a three-game series then to St. Louis for another three. Six days gone. They’d be back for six days before heading out for another eight.

Good thing Harlowe popped the baby out earlier in the season because it seemed like they had a few more games at home. But now that we were into May, it was going to be back and forth for the foreseeable future.

Everything would be fine. Harlowe was settled into being a mom and looking forward to spending some time at the restaurant. Her people had done an excellent job of running things without her, but she was approaching six weeks and while she wouldn’t go back totally right away, she was antsy to at least check in on it. Maybe do a little work from home, but she definitely wanted to go in there and see things.

I, on the other hand, had been spending almost every night with Jenner, though there had been two girls’ nights hanging out at Harlowe’s because the guys had wanted to do something. Eventually, Harlowe would feel more comfortable being away from the baby and they’d do their guys’ night at home and we’d go out.

But not until Harlowe was comfortable with it.

I was lying on my bed in my pajamas that currently consisted of one of Jenner’s T-shirts and a pair of cotton shorts. The guys had just finished the first game in Toronto, which they’d lost. An hour later, my phone rang with a video call.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hey.” He sounded tired and his eyes sagged at the corner. It had been a rough game in which he and Urban had both been hit by balls.

“Aw, you sound beat.”

He let out a long sigh. “It was a bitch of a game.”

“I know. I was watching.” I slid down further and by the look of it, he was in the bed at his hotel the team was staying at.

“Hey, why haven’t you come to any games on the road this year?” he asked.

He was right. Usually, I did go to some, but the answer seemed pretty obvious to me. “Uh, we just had a baby.”

He snorted, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “Right. I forgot.”

I scrunched up my face. “Are you wishing I was there so you could take out your frustrations on me? In a dirty way, I mean.”

Now the corners of his mouth turned up into a genuine smile. “I mean, I wouldn’t turn down such an offer.”

After giggling, I asked, “You know you couldn’t stay with me anyway right? Wives and girlfriends can’t stay at the same hotel.”

“I do. I couldn’t stay overnight. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t see you. ”

It was a team policy that the players couldn’t stay with partners on the road. This ensured that each player was where he needed to be when he need to be there. If I went, I’d get my own hotel and yeah, he’d come to me, but he’d have to be back in his own hotel room for the night.

“Does it hurt?” I asked him. “Where you got hit by a ball?”

He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “Nah. It wasn’t that hard.”

“You’re so dreamy and tough,” I said in a high singsong voice that again made his face come a little more alive.

“So what’d you do today?”

“I went to the field and signed my employment contract. I’m not starting for like a month. Mom says I deserve a little break.”

“You do. It’s nice of her to offer that.”

“It is.” Even if I didn’t know Jenner as well as I did by watching him for years, I’d still know he needed to go to bed. “Why don’t you go to bed?” I told him. “It was a tough a game and you look beat. I mean, you look good but tired.”

“Yeah.” He sighed again. “I probably should.”

“Well, goodnight.”

“Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you,” I told him, realizing it was the first time I’d said the words out loud to him.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said, suddenly more alert. “You expect me to end this call after that? ”

I nibbled on my bottom lip and shook my head. “Yes.”

“Damn. It’s not that easy.”

Fighting a big stupid grin, I said, “What if I promise to say it again when you get back?”

He sighed. “I guess that will have to be good enough.”

Then we ended the call.

I talked to him every day that he was gone. In the morning and at night with random texts throughout the day. I’d text him anything I was thinking so he’d be caught up when we spoke at night.

“We need to go out on a date when I get back,” he said after the second-to-last game. Tomorrow, they’d have a game in the afternoon then come home. Which meant there was a chance I’d see him tomorrow night.

“What about a date in? That works better with your baseball schedule and I don’t need to go out. I’m fine with staying in.”

“You know,” he started, “it’s kind of weird having someone who truly understands my schedule. The baseball part of my life. Other women have given me hell for not being able to see them when they want me to.”

I groaned and dropped my head back. “I really, really don’t want to talk about your other women anymore than you probably want to talk about my past boyfriends.”

“Right,” he said immediately because neither of us were looking for that .

That Wednesday night, there was weather in the Midwest between us and St. Louis, so their plane got delayed. The team didn’t get in until late and he had to go right home to bed. I said I’d meet him over there, but he didn’t want me out on the road that late, even though it was a short ride. He also said he’d get me a key so I could be there whenever I wanted.

Overall, everything was running so smoothly.

The next evening, Harlowe and I went to the game. We cheered a lot. Kelsie was awake for a lot of it. More than ever before.

“So, how did last night go?” I asked Harlowe during the seventh-inning stretch. We stayed in our seats while a lot of the stadium was up dancing to seventh-inning stretch music.

“What do you mean?” Her ponytail hung behind her, making her look young and carefree, except for the baby strapped to her chest.

“Um… you had your six-week checkup while Brooks was gone. You got the go-ahead.” I nudged her three ties quickly. “Then Brooks came home from a road trip.”

She snickered. “No. We didn’t have sex since that’s what you’re asking,” she said quietly. “He didn’t get home until almost two in the morning. He had to go to sleep. I assume it’s on tonight because he knows that I can.”

“But do you want to?” That was the real question. Just because someone could have sex didn’t mean that they wanted to .

“Ohmygod, yes. It’s been a long six weeks for me too.”

We were laughing when I noticed Jenner watching us from the front of the dugout. He’d be up second this inning and was waiting for Silas in front of him to step to the plate before going to the on-deck circle.

They won the game then headed off the field. It was good that they’d won because they’d had a rough road trip. Harlowe and I headed down to the clubhouse to meet the guys. This would be the first time I was meeting Jenner outside of the clubhouse since my brothers had found out. I hadn’t been able to the last few games before their road trip.

Surprisingly, it was just Harlowe and me. And the baby, of course. But the other girlfriends weren’t around. They had things to do today, they’d said in our group chat. We had one with all of us, except Jenner. Then one with just the women. Of course there was also one that was just my brothers and me. But Jenner was going to need to be added the one that was all of us.

The guys came out, said hi , then turned their attention on the baby.

That is until Jenner came out and gave me a quick kiss. Silas grunted. Then Brooks came out and pushed through the pack of brothers.

“We’re leaving,” he said without greeting any of us as he tried to pull Harlowe away from the guys.

I snickered. The brothers might not have known why Brooks was in a hurry, but I sure did .

“Do you need a babysitter?” I called after them, making Harlowe crack up.

“Not you,” Jenner said as he slid his arm around my shoulder to lead me away. The brothers who were left groaned, so Brooks’s intention must’ve sunk in with them.

When Harlowe and I had said we were coming to the game, there’d been a shuffle of rides so that we could both leave with the appropriate man. Brooks had Silas pick him up, then Harlowe had driven us. So Brooks and Harlowe now left in their car and I was going with Jenner. I’d even thought far enough ahead to drop a bag of clothes near Jenner’s front door so I could dress here in the morning like a normal person.

“You hungry?” I asked, all of a suddenly feeling shy.

Jenner turned to me, a fire in his eyes. “Starving.”

My stomach tightened and a dam broke, flooding me with desire. He absolutely wasn’t talking about food. “Want to get something to eat, I mean?”

“Baby, the only thing I want to eat right now is you.”

A fire crawled over my body. It should have been embarrassing how wet I was already, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

I took his hand in mine and led him up the stairs, glancing back like I wanted to make sure he was still there. Swallowing hard, it was like I had to catch my breath when we got to his room. He shut the door and flipped the lock.

“Why do you do that?” I asked .

“Do what?” He folded our hands together.

“Lock your bedroom door when we’re in here. You live alone.”

“There are a couple of people who have keys to my house.” His thumb traced my jaw. “My parents. Your brother. Can’t have them walking in. It’d scar them all for life.”

He wasn’t wrong. I didn’t think my brother would ever recover.

Without breaking eye contact, I dropped my hands and stepped back. The muscle in his jaw tightened as I slowly lifted my shirt over my head then popped the button on my jeans and pushed them to the ground, leaving me in a black, lacy bra and panty set.

Jenner’s nostrils flared, but surprisingly, he let me do what I had to do. His hands were clenched into fists probably, so he didn’t reach out to me.

This was our first time together since I’d told him that I’d loved him and I hadn’t said it in person yet.

After wetting my lips, I reached around and undid my bra before slowly letting the straps fall down my shoulders, off my arms while cupping my breasts. It was moments of torture for me and hopefully for him before I dropped my hands, allowing my bra to fall from my breasts. Then, hooking my panties, I slowly pushed them down my legs so that I was totally naked.

“You’re killing me.” His voice was strained.

“There’s nothing stopping you,” I told him quietly. He took a step forward, but I held my hand up. “Uh, you still have your clothes on. ”

His cheeks slowly rose with his grin as he pulled his shirt over his head and yanked the button on his jeans. He got rid of everything so quickly… there was no teasing here. His erection just popped free and stood at attention.

Then he came for me. His kiss was deep and lingering as I wrapped my hand around his cock. He swallowed my moan at the soft skin covering hard steel. He was all around me when he moved me to the bed and laid me down gently. I continued to stroke him. He broke the kiss and put his thumb into his mouth, getting it wet, then sat back so that I had to let go as he pushed my legs apart.

He used his thumb against my clit, making my back arch.

“You like that?” he asked, but I couldn’t answer.

Pleasure was taking over, making it too hard for me to talk. It’d been a week. Only a week, but every single time we were together, I always wanted more. The he used his other hand to push a finger into me.

“I need you to cum, baby. I feel like I’m going to explode.” I whimpered. “I want to taste you so bad,” he continued. “But I want inside you more.” My fingers curled into the pillow. “I’ve dreamed about tasting you.”

That just about did it. He added a little extra pressure to the circles he carved with my clit and that pushed me over the edge. My pussy clenched against his fingers, tightening almost painfully, but the pleasure far outweighed everything else .

Once the spasm had subsided, Jenner pulled his fingers out of me and sucked them into his mouth. “That’s going to have to hold me over,” he said once he’d pulled them out.

He was poised at my entrance but paused when all I wanted was for him to fill me.

“Say it again,” he whispered, the head of his cock brushing against me.

I furrowed my brows because I hadn’t said anything that I remembered, but then I realized. I hadn’t said the words to him in person. I brushed my fingers over the side of his head. “I love you, Jen—.” Before I finished his name, he thrust inside me.

He held me close with each thrust as my nails trailed down his back, digging in when he hit the right spot. The he slowed, kissing and touching me like I was something precious. Something special. Something he didn’t want to break.

He cradled my face, pushed my legs apart with his hips, and created the best friction against an already-sensitive clit. That pace kept up until he slowly spilled inside me.

“We need to get you cleaned up,” he said, his voice hoarse, conveying an emotion that I just couldn’t place.

Wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, I brought his hot mouth to mine. Once I was sure he was good and kissed, I said, “You know I’d rather go to the bathroom.”

He groaned. “You won’t let me take care of you. ”

I scoffed. “You can take care of me, but I have to use the bathroom anyway. UTIs are no good.”

“Right. Right.” He rolled off me so that I could grab his shirt and take care of business in the bathroom.

When I came out, Jenner wasn’t there, but still, I sat on his bed with my legs crossed beneath me. That was after putting my panties back on. This would be great to sleep in. Moments later, Jenner was back with a tray of food. Some might’ve called this girl dinner. It was just a bunch of snack items, but it would fill us up and there was plenty of protein for Jenner.

“Can I tell you something?” I asked before popping a piece of cheese into my mouth.

He ran his finger down my shin. “Anything.”

“I do still have some worries about people knowing about us.” I put my hand up quickly to keep him from speaking. “I know you’re going to say it’s silly, but I do. Not just my brothers, though I still don’t think Silas is all right with it.”

He shrugged. “He’s fine.”

Well, not when he saw us together, but I didn’t say it. “It’s not just them. It’s the other girlfriends too because I don’t want to be seen as another girlfriend only. I’m going to start working there… I worry.” It was my thing, of course, not his, but him knowing was important to me.

“Amity works for the club,” he countered, which was true.

“But they got together after she worked there. I don’t know. It’s different. ”

He considered that for a moment before asking, “Anything else?”

Damn. He could read me. “Can you really give up all your player ways cold turkey?”

He snorted. “Without any withdrawal. Anyone else was just a placeholder for you.”

I gave a happy sigh. My heart melted right there, but that tiny bit of doubt was still there. It was probably something only time would be able to cure.

“You’re not a teenager anymore, . You don’t need to worry about your fucking brothers or what other women think about you. You sure as hell don’t have to worry about whether I’ll miss fucking random women. I won’t. That, I can say for certain, so you need to get over that.”

Something about his tone or the words—mentioning that I wasn’t a teenager anymore hadn’t helped—brought me right back to the night that I’d gotten hurt.

He’d said I’d been a kid then. Just a teenager. And now he thought I was acting like one.

Maybe there were still things to work out. I wasn’t sure, but I knew what he’d said was supposed to have been reassuring, yet it didn’t sit right with me.

“I know I’m not a teenager,” I snapped, a little harder than I’d intended. “It’s not that, but you can’t deny that there are reasons I might feel a little… unsure.”

“Nope.” He ate a piece of meat wrapped in cheese. “I don’t see any reason for you to be unsure. ”

“Maybe that’s because you can’t see things from my side of it,” I countered.

Jenner sighed and took the platter to the dresser then came back. “I have to get some sleep for the game tomorrow.”

Right. Sure. Avoiding this would make it better. He hit the lights so the room got dark.

He kissed me goodnight then turned away from me so he could go to sleep. But I sat there miffed. Angry wasn’t the right word. Not at first, but the longer I sat there in the dark thinking about it, the more irritated I got.

Once his breathing had evened out, I slinked out of bed, grabbed all of my clothes, and went downstairs. That was where I got dressed and ordered a ride share. It wasn’t too late and luckily, he’d given me the code to the alarm. So when the car arrived, I typed it in then slipped out the door, making sure it was locked behind me.

While in the back seat of the car, I sent him a text saying I didn’t want to wake him, but I had to go home. That I didn’t feel like he’d taken my feelings seriously and I didn’t want to argue with him in the morning before his game. However, if we wanted a future together, one without either of us being hurt, we’d have to figure it out later.

I told him I loved him in the text, but that I didn’t want to talk right now because I was too upset.

Jenner had always been a risk. One that I’d been more than happy to take. Still was. But there were some things we’d have to work out. Ground rules such as he couldn’t just brush off my feelings because they seemed ridiculous to him.

As long as he wanted to do that, everything would be fine.

But what if he didn’t want to?