Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) (7 page)

“She’s a good girl, Ace, not one of your typical groupies,” I warned.

I could tell that my comments fell on deaf ears as Ace continued his ranting about the size of Holly’s breasts, wondering if they would fit in his mouth. “You’re a sick fuck,” I scoffed.

His smile widened, and it was obvious he took that as a compliment.
What had I done?

I arrived back at the apartment to find both Holly and Whitney in my bedroom. Clothes were strewn all over the room. They were fussing with their hair, their makeup, and their clothes, not exactly the fantasy I had as a teenage boy about having two women in my bedroom.

“How does this look?” Whitney asked. She stood in front of me wearing a shiny blue dress, low cut, making her breasts look amazing. It was new, the tag hung from under her arm; I leaned in, lifted the tag and turned it so I could see the price.
Holy shit!

“You look stunning,” I said, not mentioning the outrageous price though my brain still felt slightly numb.

“It’s too much,” she pouted.

“No, it’s beautiful,” I insisted instead of agreeing that, yes, it was way too much. It was more than I paid for my first car.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly and then tiptoed to reach me with her lips.

“I have to get a shower,” I announced, hoping that would clear out my bedroom. No such luck. Holly was leaning over the bathroom sink, smearing makeup all over her face. It was so thick I almost offered her a spackle but knew that would only upset Whitney.
I’d done enough upsetting her already to last a lifetime.

“Can you use the other bathroom?” Whitney questioned, again sweetly.

“Sure.” I reached into my shower and grabbed my body wash and took it to the other bathroom. It was much smaller, the water pressure wasn’t as good, and none of my stuff was readily available in there. I hated using that shower.
How long was Holly planning on staying?

I pulled back the curtain, turned on the faucet and stripped down. My muscles were aching, and I was looking forward to a hot shower to soothe them from a hard day’s practice. We had a scrimmage planned for tomorrow, and I needed these next twenty-four hours to recover from all my hard work. I felt the water; it was hot, so hot I could barely stand it, which was perfect. I stepped inside, let the water roll off my shoulders and down my backside as it began cooling off quickly. Too quickly. I turned around and adjusted the temperature, still cold.
Fuck, the girls ran me out of hot water!

I finished my shower with water that felt like ice on my skin, but inside I was steaming. “Is the bedroom clear?’ I yelled out into the hall. Holly called out “all clear” from the living room, so I wrapped my towel around my waist and made a quick dash from the hallway to my room.

Whitney was in the bathroom applying a coat of lipstick. She really did look amazing in that dress. “You’re so beautiful,” I whispered in her ear, sneaking up behind her. I dropped my towel to the floor and pressed my damp body against hers. The excitement from her touch quickly sent blood rushing to my cock, which now was pressing against the deep curve in her lower back.

“Calvin, not now,” she squealed, turning in my arms. “Do you really like the dress?”

“Oh yes, but it would look much better on the floor,” I teased. She rolled her eyes but also smiled. I knew she liked my attentions, but I also knew she wouldn’t ruin two hours of primping for a quickie.

I kissed her softly on the lips and then let them dribble down to her neck where I teased her further with a sharp nibble. “Calvin,” she said, sounding exhausted. “I have to finish getting ready, and you need to get dressed.”

My erection was slowly dwindling as I reached down and grabbed my towel to cover myself back up. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Whitney asked.

“What?”

“Having Ace and Holly together,” she hissed, giving me a
stop being such a guy
look.

“Well, he may be out of her league,” I admitted. “From what I hear he’s a player, so she shouldn’t get attached.”

It was more than just hearsay, I knew from watching him in action, but I wasn’t ready to incriminate myself, so hearsay it’d be.

“I don’t want her getting hurt,” Whitney murmured. “I know you don’t care for her, but I do.”

Guilt twisted in my gut at her words. I did care about Holly; I just didn’t care for her butting into our life, like right now. “I do care for her,” I confessed. “But, I don’t understand why you had to bring her here.”

That look in Whitney’s eye returned; the one I noticed right after we made love this morning. “I’m sorry, I understand,” I said quickly so she wouldn’t lash out at me again. I wanted to have a good night, and hopefully, after tonight she would feel a little better about Ace.

I found a button-up shirt, a black one that looked good with my dark denim jeans. “Jeans?” Whitney asked, frowning at me.

“Yes, that’s what Ace will be wearing,” I assured her. Her eyes rolled, and a soft sigh escaped her lips, letting me know she wasn’t going to argue. I found a pair of nice black shoes in the back of the closet, slicked back my shaggy blond hair with a small amount of gel and splashed on cologne.

“Ready,” I announced.

See that? Ten minutes and I’m ready to roll. Two hours later and these girls are still making last minute adjustments to their face and hair.

“How do I look?” Holly asked, spinning in front of me to show off her new dress. It was nice, actually quite sexy, but I wasn’t going to admit that. “Beautiful,” I said and then turned to Whitney to give her my
let’s fucking go!
face.

We squeezed into the back of a cab and gave him the address to the restaurant Ace had chosen. I looked at my watch, felt the beads of sweat working on my forehead as the car halted to a deadlock of traffic. “Is there another route?” I asked. The cabby looked in the rearview mirror and smiled as he shook his head. Holly was rambling on about Ace, how hot he was and how much she liked him.
She didn’t even know him.

Whitney was warning her that he was a player and continued telling her she could do much better.
That really wasn’t true. Holly was cute, but she was a pain in the ass. Ace would be a huge step up from her past boyfriends, in my opinion.

Relief fell over me as traffic began to move again. The cabby turned down a side road and then zipped past the traffic through a one-way alley before pulling back out onto the street. The car stopped in front of a red bricked building with a white awning and red carpet lining the path to the door.

“Here we go, sir,” he said with a thick foreign accent.

I shoved a couple twenty dollar bills towards him. “Keep the change.”
I was so fucking grateful to be out of that death trap.

Ace was on his phone outside the building as we exited the cab. “Hey, you guys made it,” he said as he shoved his phone in his pocket.

“Sorry, traffic was bad,” I explained.

“You’ll learn, hot shot. You want to get anywhere on time in this city, you leave a day early,” he teased.

Holly immediately left Whitney’s side and pushed her arm into Ace’s. Her smile looked frozen on her face, her lipstick so bright pink it nearly glowed under the bright lights outside the restaurant. “What is this place?” she asked.

“You’ll love it,” he replied, giving her no more details about what to expect once inside.

We entered a long narrow hallway that led to a small open room with only a hostess at the counter. Her lips pursed together tightly as she forced a smile. “We’ve already seated for the eight o’clock tasting,” she snapped with polite sarcasm.

Ace immediately moved forward. He leaned onto her podium and locked eyes with her. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but we had a long day at practice,” he said with his deep, drawling voice. “Anyway, if you could just make some room?”

Her lips parted, and her face relaxed, making her look much prettier than with her cold stare. “It hasn’t started yet. I’ll see what we can do,” she whispered in his ear and then disappeared through a set of double doors.

I’d never been anywhere with a starting time to eat. I was confused by her comment about the eight o’clock tasting, and looking at Whitney, it was obvious she was as well. She gripped my arm, leaned her head against my shoulder and let out a soft sigh.
I loved how she made those little noises without realizing it.

“Right this way, Mr. Newman,” the hostess stated cheerfully as she held the doors open.

We followed her inside to find a long table filled with guests who obviously arrived on time. The room was dimly lit, and we were ushered quickly to four open seats. As soon as we sat down servers wearing white tux shirts and black pants entered the room, five at a time and in three groups. They moved quickly to each guest, placing a blindfold over their eyes.

“What the hell have you gotten us into, Ace?” I asked as a cute blonde covered my eyes with the black cloth.

“Blind dining,” he said with a laugh.

A woman’s voice sounded in the room. She told us the blindfolds must remain over our eyes at all times. We would each have a server to help us with our silverware and even help feed us if needed. I imagined this is what life in a nursing home would be like, unable to see, having help with your utensils, and probably dribbling food on your chin. When we were wrapped with large bibs, I was thankful no one else could see me like this.

“There will be eight courses,” she announced. “Each a unique experience that I hope you all will love.”

Whitney sounded excited about the experience, but Holly was obviously bummed that the two hours she spent getting ready and pushing her boobs to her chin was going to be wasted in the dark.

The first course arrived, and the blonde woman who had blindfolded me whispered in my ear as she handed me my fork. “I’ll guide you.” Her voice was soft and sweet, and her hand delicate as she led me to the plate and then to my mouth. Lemon seabass landed on my tongue, and I was delighted it hadn’t been something gross. I wasn’t a picky eater, but there were a few things on my
don’t eat
list, like mushrooms, dill pickles, and radishes.

By the sixth course, I had lightened up, realizing everything offered up was tasty and enjoyable. I felt a hand on my leg and then on my crotch. The hard denim of my jeans pushed against my cock creating enough friction to bring it alive. I leaned towards Whitney and whispered, “You already looking for dessert?” She giggled, and her hand rubbed my arm.

I froze.

My fork was in my left hand, and I knew Whitney’s was most likely in her right, so when her left hand stroked my arm, alarm set in. Someone was rubbing my cock, but it wasn’t my girlfriend.

I squirmed in my seat as I tried to remember who I’d been seated beside. A woman, that much I knew for sure, but I hadn’t had the time to really notice any details about her appearance. My zipper was tugged, and two fingers slid into the opening. I reached down, pushed the hand away and quickly re-zipped my pants before the last course arrived.

When the blindfolds were removed, I immediately looked to my left to put a face to the hand. It was a cute little brunette with big green eyes and a mischievous smile. My entire head felt hot as we made eye contact. I quickly moved my gaze to Whitney, grasped her hand, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Did you enjoy that?” I asked, maybe a little too quickly because she gave me an
are you okay
look.

“Yes, it was incredible,” she replied, still eying me.

Ace was wiping a piece of food from Holly’s face with his napkin; her hand was on his leg. They appeared to have become very close during what I thought a very impersonal dinner.
Maybe she’d made it more intimate like the little brunette sitting next to me tried to do.

“Okay, now for some fun,” Ace announced, scooting his chair away from the table. He pulled Holly’s chair out for her and took her hand as she stood. I followed suit, not to be shown up by the biggest player in New York and helped Whitney from her seat.

Ace had a personal driver waiting in a black limo outside the restaurant. “Wow, you travel in style,” I noted as I motioned for Whitney and then Holly to climb inside. I slid in next to Whitney, and Ace took the spot by Holly. His hand immediately found its way to her leg, high above her knee and dangerously close to pushing under the hem of her dress. Whitney leaned her head on my shoulder and kissed me softly on the neck. I loved the way the simplest touch from her could send tingles through my entire body. I hated that those same tingles were felt by the brunette under the table at dinner and wondered if I should confess to what happened.

No, not a good idea, Calvin, leave it be.
I only felt that way because I
thought
it was Whitney, that’s all.

We pulled up in front of a nightclub that had a line six blocks long. “This place looks packed,” I said as I stared out the window.

“Always room for the Beasts,” Ace said, that shit eating grin in place.

The driver opened the door and escorted Whitney and Holly from their seats. Ace slid out of his seat, and by the time I had my feet on the concrete, he was already at the front of the line talking to the doorman. His smile let us know we were in, and when he turned around, a few people in the front of the line called out his name, but he ignored them.

Then someone called out another name. Mine.

“Calvin Malone, you rock!”

I was in shock. We were a new team. We hadn’t even played a game yet, but news about the new team pitcher traveled fast, I assumed. It was impossible to tell who yelled out the compliment, so I simply smiled and waved in the direction of the crowd before following Ace and the ladies into the club.

Not only were we inside without a wait, we were escorted to a VIP section near the dance floor. “I’ve heard some great things about you,” the tall red-headed waitress whispered in my ear as she motioned us to our booth.

“Thanks,” I said, feeling a little flushed with embarrassment. I wasn’t used to the type of attention Ace had grown accustomed to, at least not yet. He was already signing autographs for fans as they swarmed our table, mostly women in short dresses and large fake breasts pushed high on their chests. A couple of them trickled over to me.