Page 17 of Taking the Pitch (Love & Baseball #2)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

judd

Pop!

The sound of the baseball hitting the glove echoes off the walls of the Silverbacks training facility.

“Better. Again,” Austin Sanders commands from where he’s standing with Hudson behind the backstop. Sanders has been the pitching coach for the Silverbacks for the last five years and he’s one of the best. I’ve only been working with him for the last four months and I’ve already seen a difference in my pitching.

Kessler tosses the ball back to me and I set up, taking a breath and releasing it as I launch the ball towards the plate.

Pop! Echoes through the facility again.

“Good, good, that’s enough for today, Davis,” Sanders calls out, waving me over. I wipe my forehead on the back of my sleeve and walk over to where Kessler has joined Hudson and Sanders. Picking up my water bottle, I chug half before taking a breath.

“How does the arm feel?” Sanders asks, arms still crossed over his chest, looking me over.

I rotate my shoulder and shake my arm out. “Feels good, like I could keep going.”

He nods. “Good. That’s what we want. Cool out and we’ll call it a day. No need to push before season starts. Pitches looked good today, Davis. Keep it up.” He turns to Kessler. “Your kid here knows his stuff.” He tips his head towards Hudson, whose face tinges pink. “Better watch out, or he’ll be gunning for your job.”

“Couldn’t ask for a better replacement.” Kessler says, ruffling Hudson’s hair. The pink on Hudson’s face deepens, and he reaches up to smooth down his hair.

Sanders holds out his fist to Hudson for a bump. “Hope to see you around more often, kid,” he says and Hudson returns his bump. Giving us a two-finger salute, he takes off towards the offices in the back, calling over his shoulder. “Get jogging Davis!”

“Yes, sir!” I call back. “Come on, Hudson, keep me company while I jog around the field a couple of times. We’ll bribe Kessler to stop and get us ice cream on the way home.”

“From Uncle Garrett’s?” Hudson asks, walking around the fence to join me.

I scoff. “Of course, there’s no better place.” I look at Kessler. “You coming?”

“Nah, you two go ahead. I’m going to go talk to Paul. I’ll meet you back here.”

I cock a brow at him. Paul is our head physical therapist. He and Kessler worked closely together last season after Kessler came back from his injury. “Everything good?” I ask. Kessler would tell me if he was having issues, right?

“Yes, nothing like that,” he tells me, hearing my concern.

I nod and clap Hudson on the back, turning him around to the exit where the field is. “Let’s go, first one to the door gets a double scoop,” I tell him. He takes off like a rocket and I laugh, letting him get a few strides ahead of me before I take off after him. I pull up just slightly at the last minute, letting him beat me.

“Yes! Double scoop here I come!” Hudson shouts, opening the door.

I chuckle at his enthusiasm. I would have gotten him a double scoop anyway. I’d do anything for this kid. Kessler says I spoil him, I can’t help it. A part of me feels guilty that his sperm donor is such a piece of shit. I know it doesn’t make sense because I didn’t even know Jared had a kid, but that doesn’t make the feeling any less real.

“Hey Uncle Judd?” Hudson says when we’re about halfway into our first lap.

“What’s up, big brotato?”

“Uh, never mind,” he says quickly, giving his head a little shake.

I reach out and lay my hand on Hudson’s shoulder, bringing our slow jog down to a walk for a minute. “You know you can talk to me about anything, Hudson, right?”

Hudson chews on his lip and nods. “So, I was thinking… Do you, do you think Kessler would mind if I called him Dad?”

My feet falter, bringing me to a stop. Hudson stops a few steps in front of me and turns back when he notices I’m not beside him. “I should just stick to Kessler, huh?” he mumbles, dropping his eyes to the ground and kicking his toe into the red dirt. “It was stupid. Forget I mentioned it.”

I shake myself out of my shock and walk up to him, clapping my hands down onto his shoulders, bending slightly to look him in the eyes. “Hudson, I think Kessler would love nothing more than if you called him Dad.”

His face brightens, and his bright smile appears. “You really think so?”

The bridge of my nose tingles and I rub at it, trying to rub away the emotion I’m suddenly hit with.

Jesus, get it together, Davis.

“Yeah, bud, I really do,” I choke out before wrapping my arms around him and giving him a hug.

He squeezes me back fiercely and I’m hit with another round of hatred towards Jared. After Hudson lets me go and we continue our jog, I make a silent promise to Hudson to always be there for him. No matter what.

It’s dark by the time Kessler drops me at my place. After my cool down, we went to Garrett’s shop and got ice cream as promised. Kessler made Hudson swear to secrecy that he wouldn’t tell his mom that he let him get two scoops before dinner. I took a picture of Hudson licking his giant waffle cone and sent it to Lucy. I’m sure I’ll hear about it when Kessler gets home.

I say a quick hello to Marty as I pass the front desk, heading to the elevators. Once inside, I tap the screen with my phone and hit the button for my floor. I briefly think about swinging by Amelia’s, but I really need a shower first. Besides, she hasn’t texted me since asking me if getting a tattoo hurts and I’m secretly hoping she makes the next move, friends or not. I don’t want to push myself on her anymore than I feel I already have.

I enjoyed spending time with her the other night, even though the noises she was making while I was massaging her shoulders gave me a massive hard on. One I had to take care of as soon as I got into my apartment.

I adjust myself in my sweatpants. Her sweet moans replaying in my head, making me hard again.

Christ. It’s like I’m a teenager all over again and can’t control myself.

I strip off my clothes as soon as I enter my room and head straight for the shower, needing to take care of my growing frustration. Turning the water to warm, I climb in and brace an arm against the wall, letting the water pour down my head as I fist the base of my cock. Picturing Amelia on her knees in front of me, sucking me down her throat, big blue eyes peeking up at me through her lashes.

I don’t last more than a few minutes with that picture in my head and the sounds she made last night on a loop. After milking out the last of my orgasm, I scrub a hand over my face. I need to get a better handle on this before I become a walking erection.

I quickly wash my hair and body before turning the knob on the wall that controls the jets in my shower, focusing on my upper back. I stand there for a few minutes, letting jets melt away the rest of the tension left in my body before switching off the water.

I’m running a towel over my head when I hear my phone ping with a text. Tying the towel around my waist and grabbing my pants off the floor, I fish the phone out of my pocket and unlock it.

It’s a text from Amelia.

Shortcake

I’m going to take Bruno out for his nightly walk… Do you want to join us?

Shortcake

I mean, if you’re not busy. Or even home. Are you home? Cause if not, no big deal.

Shortcake

Ok, I’m going to shut up now.

God, she’s so cute when she’s flustered. I hit reply.

Me

I just got out of the shower. Give me 5 minutes and I’ll meet you at your door.

Shortcake

I’m actually in the lobby. But please don’t feel like you need to join me. I was just texting you like you asked me to.

When I asked her to text me when she took Bruno out in the dark, she rolled her eyes and said she would, but I’m actually surprised she did. I figured she was just saying it to appease me.

Me

Don’t move. I’m on my way.

Moving to my dresser, I whip my towel off and toss it onto the bed, quickly pulling on my briefs, sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. When I get to the living room, I grab a sweater and pull it on, then grab my favorite baseball cap and tug it on over my wet hair, flipping it backwards. My phone pings in my pocket while I’m tugging on my shoes.

Shortcake

OK, we’re by the front desk.

I hit the lobby button on the elevator and tap out a reply.

Me

Good girl.

Shortcake

Bite me Davis.

I chuckle, watching the elevator tick down the floors.

Me

That can be arranged.

I exit the elevator and turn the corner towards the desk. I spot Amelia before she sees me. She’s looking at her phone and biting the corner of her lip, a slight pink tinge to her cheeks.

“You okay, Shortcake? You’re looking a little flushed,” I tease when I reach the desk. She startles and looks at her phone again before putting it in her pocket and looking back at me. Her eyes widen slightly when she sees me.

“Yep, all good. Just warm in this jacket. Let’s go, Bruno’s tired of waiting on you,” she shoots back, dropping her eyes and striding ahead towards the door.

I bite back a laugh and take my time following her out the door, enjoying the view of how her ass looks in the forest green leggings she’s wearing.

I jog ahead and open the gate to the park next door. She mutters a thank you under her breath as she leads Bruno through. We walk in silence for a few minutes, our breaths mingling together in the frosty air.

“So,” I start, breaking the silence. “Were you able to get any writing done today?”

She mentioned the other night that she was planning on writing after she had coffee with Hazel and Charlie.

She lets out a frustrated groan. “Not as much as I would have liked. I’m just,” she flails her free hand around in the air, “Stuck.”

“Stuck how?”

Amelia lets out a sigh and dodges a giant puddle, brushing against my arm as she does. My hand drops to the small of her back as I guide her in front of me and I hear her suck in a breath. I drop my hand once she’s back beside me, my hand instantly missing the contact.

“Stuck as in nothing’s flowing, everything feels…forced.”

“Maybe because you are forcing it?”

“I know! But my characters aren’t talking to me, and the deadline is getting closer by the day and I have nothing to show for it,” she says, plopping down on a bench that’s across from a lighted stretch of grass. I sit next to her while she unclips Bruno’s leash and extracts a ball from her pocket. She tosses it and we watch as Bruno tears after it.

“What’s it about?” I ask, bumping my leg into hers. “Maybe talking about it will get the juices flowing?”

Bruno trots back, dropping his ball at our feet and backing up, waiting for the next throw. I bend over and pick it up, tossing it back out again.

Amelia sighs and tugs at her cream beanie. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. So I have a baseball romance series and in this book the main female character is a single mom and her kid plays baseball. The main male character is obviously an MLB player. I’m just having trouble coming up with a realistic-ish way they could cross paths and meet. Like they’re not from the same world. How am I going to make them cross paths?”

“How about a meet and greet after one of the games?” I suggest, thinking about how Kessler and Lucy met.

She tosses the ball for Bruno again when he returns it and tips her head to the side, scrunching her nose. “I mean, the scenario crossed my mind, but,” she shakes her head, “Honestly, what are the odds of an MLB player noticing someone at a meet and greet and pursuing things from there?”

I snort and take off my hat, running my fingers through my still damp hair.

“I’m glad my dilemma brings you joy.”

Setting the hat back on my head, I turn to her. “No, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that’s how my brother met his fiancée.”

Amelia lifts an eyebrow at me. “Really?”

I nod. “Yeah, it’s actually a pretty crazy story. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.”

We watch Bruno as he comes trotting back, plopping down at our feet, panting. “Actually, now that I think about it, I remember reading an article about them when they first started dating.” She shakes her head. “I completely forgot about it.”

“I’m sure Lucy would love to talk to you about it,” I offer. “She’s a huge fan of yours and even got Kessler into your books.”

“Shut up, Kessler Davis reads my books?” she says with a shocked expression.

A jolt of jealousy courses through me. “I didn’t realize you were such a big fan of my brother,” I say dryly.

“Are you kidding? He’s one of the best catchers in the history of the MLB. I thought for sure he was done after that injury, but he proved everyone wrong and came back better than ever. It’s really too bad you guys didn’t make it to the World Series this year. That would have been icing on the cake for his comeback,” she gushes.

“I didn’t realize you were such a huge baseball fan.”

She looks at me with a guilty expression. “I might follow it a little bit.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“Anyway, I’d love to talk to Lucy. If you think she’d be willing to?”

“I’m pretty sure she’d think about giving you one of the twins for a chance to even meet you,” I joke.

“Oh, that’s right. She’s pregnant with twins.” She laughs. “I don’t want one of their kids, but I’d love to set up a time to talk to her.”

An idea hits me, and I look over at her petting Bruno with a wide grin. “Come to Sunday dinner with me.”

She freezes and peeks at me from the corner of her eye. “What?”

“Come to Sunday dinner with me,” I say again. “We have dinner at my parent’s every Sunday unless we’re out of town. It’s Mom’s way of taking care of us, even though we’re grown and out of the house.” I shrug. “Lucy, Kessler, and my nephew Hudson will be there. It’s a perfect time to get both Lucy and Kessler’s side of the story.”

Amelia pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and bites at the skin.

Reaching over, I grip her chin, using my thumb to gently pull her lip from the punishment of her teeth, and turn her face to look at me. “It’s just dinner, Shortcake.”

“With your family.” Her eyes nervously bounce back and forth between mine.

I shrug and pull my hand away. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. Friends have dinner with their friends’ families all the time.”

“I don’t know,” she says quietly, looking down at Bruno.

“You can bring Bruno if that’s what you’re worried about. Hudson has been begging for a dog for a while now. He’d love it.”

She huffs a laugh. “Who am I to deny the chance to convince someone’s parents to get them a dog?”

My heart speeds up and I sit forward a little. “So, does that mean you’ll come?”

She nods and I mentally give myself a high five.

Me

I’m bringing a friend to dinner Sunday. Don’t be weird.

Lucy

:::eyes emoji:::

Lucy

Is it Millie?

Mom

We’re never weird dear. Who’s Millie? And why does Lucy know about her?

Me

Millie is a FRIEND. Please don’t make a big deal out of this. She has anxiety and you being extra will not be helpful. She needs to talk to Lucy about something for her research and I figured Sunday dinner would be the best place.

Lucy

Research? For What? Doesn’t she run a library program?

Mom

Yes, I would still also like to know who this Millie is?

Mom

and I am not ‘Extra’. ALSO you still didn’t tell me why Lucy knows and I don’t. Lucy, I thought you loved me.

Me

It’ll make sense when you meet her on Sunday. I promise.

Lucy

Sorry Mom, future brother-in-law sister-in-law confidentiality.

Me

Marry me Luce.

Kessler

Stop trying to steal my fiancée.