Page 37 of The Battery

Leo

R ome had me laughing as we sat together at the corner of the hotel bar.

Closing time approached and we should have both been in our rooms resting up for our final game against the Rangers tomorrow.

But he invited me to share a beer and catch up on a few things.

He had been telling me about an awkward encounter with a fan out in public, an aggressive woman who really wanted to get to know him better.

I had my own fair share of such interactions, and I couldn’t help but feel for his predicament.

The free flow of the conversation brought us through a myriad of topics that we didn’t stay on for too long.

I had no idea it was exactly what I needed.

It had been almost a month since Cody’s near death and he was recovering remarkably well.

When I didn’t have my focus on the game, I devoted all my time to his recovery.

Not that the man needed it—he was, if anything, determined to get back in the game.

However, the constant pressure of ensuring success in both worlds had started to wear on me.

Mr. Perfect took note and singled me out for a shared beer. It tasted great and conversation with him was the perfect pairing. Two veterans and their war stories.

“How is that going, anyway?” Rome asked after I had discussed Cody’s recovery. “Y’know. The whole thing. Where you guys at?”

I stared into the orange slice floating on the surface of my half-empty pint glass. “We talk when we can. I practically forced the guy to move in with me so I’m trying to show him that I’m okay with going slow.” Rome made a face. “What?”

“ You? Taking it slow?”

Got me to crack another smile. “Something ’bout him. I dunno. At first it was purely physical. Then he just… latched onto me. And I let him. ’Cause it felt right. Not sure how to explain that.”

“You don’t have to, judging by the look in your eyes.” Rome sipped his beer and fished for a peanut out of the bowl of mixed nuts between us. “Think he’ll stay at the house after he recovers?”

I shrugged. “Not sure, to be honest. He’s pretty protective of his independence.”

“What do you want?”

I sipped at my beer. I knew the answer before he finished asking the question. It just took some muster to get it out of me. “It’s nice. Coming home to him. Real nice.” I shook my head and looked back at the orange. “Which is crazy because we don’t even share a room.”

Rome wiped the air with his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What? Even for me that’s a bit removed. What gives?”

I plucked a candied cashew from the bowl. “He needs to sleep elevated at a certain level. I got him this special bed.”

“So what. Why can’t you sleep in that bed?”

Because we haven’t slept together yet, you ass. “I told you, I’m giving him his space. Feels like there’s a line there I don’t want to cross.”

“ Ohhh ,” Rome said and gave me a salacious grin. “’Cause you guys haven’t, you know, hit a home run.”

I punched his shoulder. “I’m gonna go to my room.” I feigned standing up and he played along, tugging me back to my stool. “I don’t do this kiss-and-tell shit, Rome. Not my thing.”

“Fair enough, fair enough,” he said and took a swig from his beer. We were both almost done. “Well, whatever you’re doing, keep it up. While I may not have known you for years, I’ve known your game for well over five years now. Something has changed. And for the better.”

It was true. We had only ever interacted on the field.

I couldn’t count how many times Rome stood in front of me, at bat, while I played catcher for the Brawlers.

We had known each other quite well professionally.

I respected him for the incredible player he was, though admittedly he irked me to no end when we were rivals. Which reminded me…

“I know I wasn’t there when it happened,” I said. He sat up a little straighter on his stool. I think he knew what I was referring to.

“Your ACL,” Rome said.

I nodded. “Look, I need to level with you. I would have gone out on the field swinging at any blue and bronze I saw.” The game when Quinn called Rome a homophobic slur to his face.

Rome threw his first punch and received his first game ejection.

The action caused the entirety of the Riders and Brawlers teams to storm the field in an all-out… well, brawl .

“It wouldn’t be in defense of Quinn. It’s just the shit we do when we see teammates getting into it.”

Rome turned out his lower lip and lifted both hands. He wasn’t in agreement. I didn’t blame him.

“I’ve almost duked it out with Quinn before.” At that, Rome’s brow went up. “In the locker room three years ago. He slings around slurs of all kinds like it’s nothing. Got sick of it and told him to shut his mouth.”

“How did you end it?”

I grew a cocky grin as my eyes slid sideways.

“I can move an yone when I center my gravity right.” I dropped the amusement quickly enough.

Rome wasn’t a fan of violence. “I don’t condone what he said or did.

I’m sorry that those things happened the way they did, and I wish I pressed management harder to have him traded out of the Brawlers. ”

“Hey, man,” he turned on his stool to face me, “you don’t have to worry about any of that. You didn’t play last season. There’s no ill will toward you, all right?” He held out his fist. I tapped it with mine. “Okay. I gotta go make a call and then sleep. Tell Cody I hope he’s doing okay.”

I threw down cash for our tab, stood, and stretched. “Sure thing. And tell—Alex is your fiance’s name, right? Tell him I said hello.”

Together we walked out of the bar and toward the elevator. Rome said, “Hey, we should double date soon. That’d be fun.” I blew out air from puffed cheeks. Rome snickered. “Right. Newbie at relationships. This is a totally normal thing people do.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said.

We ascended to our floor, said good night, and popped into our rooms. We had an early game and I was already scolding myself for staying up too late. Still, I called Cody because I just couldn’t sleep without talking to the guy before bed.

When he answered the video call, my brow went up in surprise. “Jeez, what took you so long?”

He was in my bed. About a thousand pillows propping him up, but there he was. Tangled up in my sheets.

“Are you…?”

He sank a little lower in the bed and gave me a half-lidded smile. “Been waiting for you to call.”

I realized he didn’t have a shirt on. The patch monitor was still on his chest. It would come off soon after a solid month of him wearing it to monitor his heart.

I had been staring, soaking in the sight of Cody, half naked, lying in my bed. Dammit, without me.

“Did you freeze? Did I lose you?”

I blinked and cleared my throat. “What? No. No. Just… just wishing I were there.”

His voice lowered in pitch. “Why?” The way he asked. “And why are you still dressed?”

I braced my phone against the lamp on the nightstand and angled it so Cody had a mostly full view of my body.

I stripped off my shirt and tossed it onto the bed.

Hooked my thumbs on the waistband of my sweatpants.

Teased him a little. Pulled them down just enough to show my pelvic bone.

I was growing harder by the second and the outline was clearly visible through the light-gray fabric.

I put my hands behind my head, leaned back a fraction, and flexed every muscle I could.

I heard Cody let out a soft exclamation through the phone.

“When you coming home again?”

The distinct use of the word home gave me pause.

I released the flex and recovered as quickly as the surprise had taken me.

“Not soon enough,” I said in an effort to move my emotions forward.

I dropped my sweatpants, grabbed my cock in one hand, and slapped it into the other. “You gonna wait for me?”

“What do you mean wait?”

Naked, I readjusted the phone angle and dropped into the bed so he had a side view of me. I stroked myself once and watch pre-come ooze from the head of my cock. I made sure Cody could see.

“I mean, you have to wait for me to get home . You can’t do anything until I get back.”

His eyes widened. “Oh, but you can do stuff?”

I nodded as I relaxed into the bed and began stroking myself in earnest. “Yes. I can’t sleep, remember?”

“That’s not fair.”

“That’s the point.” Having him watch me was hitting the right spot for me. “I want you practically begging for it when I get back.”

He licked his lips. “So I have to just sit here and watch?”

“Yes.”

My other hand rubbed my inner thigh. My abs flexed methodically with the rhythm of my hand. Head dropped back into the pillow. I could hear Cody’s heavy breathing. I took a quick peek at the phone. Didn’t look like he was doing anything.

“Where’s your other hand?” I asked.

He pursed his lips.

“Cheater,” I said. I was getting closer. “Show me your hand.” He brought it up to his upper chest. “You gonna be ready for me when I get back?”

“Yessir,” he said in a breathy reply.

Then he proceeded to explain to me just how he was going to be ready. In lurid detail. It was enough.

I erupted onto my abs with a feral growl. My eyes were squeezed shut, thoughts of Cody and his ass and his body heating every thought. My hips bucked into my hand as I squeezed out every drop of come, breathing laboriously but already slowing down.

I released every taut muscle and relaxed into the bed. My lids sagged. Spent. I didn’t want to clean myself off.

I remembered Cody and looked at the phone. “Still there?”

“Not. Fair.”

That won him a snicker that I couldn’t stop escaping my mouth. Damn but I missed him. “Good things come to those who wait.”