Home Run Baby: A Sports Romance (5 page)

I fall onto my side, listening to the rush of breaths bursting through our mouths. Daisy slides closer and stares back at me, wiping the sweat off her face and chuckling softly to herself.

“What?” I ask her, finally catching my breath.

She reaches for the whiskey and takes a drink before offering it to me. I swallow a huge gulp of it, feeling it wave through my head as she kisses me again and forces me onto my back. With a quick bounce upward, she straddles me, nestling my spent cock between her folds and blood rushes to claim her again.

“You’re not falling asleep on me, are you?” she asks me.

I shake my head, admiring those perfect breasts in front of my face. “No way.”

“Good,” she grins.

***

I hear a gentle shift of feet along the floorboards at the edge of the bed. It’s so subtle, I almost ignore it completely until I remember that I’m not alone here.

I open my eyes, blinking fast to adjust to the natural light barely bleeding into the room from the windows, and I see Daisy sitting on my chair in the corner. She bends down to tie her shoes, unaware that I’m watching her and I take the moment to admire her in silence.

Her blonde hair sits to one side, falling elegantly over her shoulder. Her black eyeliner is a little faded from what it was several hours ago; wiped off along with the sweat on her brow. Her fingers flick fast to fasten her laces but she accidentally tugs it free, disabling the knot and she grits her teeth. She might still be a little drunk and that’s just adorable.

“Hey…” I finally say.

She glances up. “Hey.”

“You got somewhere to be?”

“Yeah.”

“Like…
right this second?”

She pauses and her lips give the slightest smile. “No.”

I reach out. “Come here.”

There’s a moment of hesitation in her before she stands and walks back to the bed. I sit up as she plops down, crawling my arm around her to keep her close to me.

“Thanks for celebrating with me.”

“Thanks for the invitation.” She chuckles as my lips graze her cheek. “I bet you’re happy I showed up at the last minute.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I say. “I was
this close
to asking that old guy to come home with me instead.”

She laughs hard and I study her face, watching as her nose curls up and those cheekbones poke out. Maybe I’m still a little drunk myself but I can’t get over how stunningly gorgeous this girl is in every single way.

“Well, I’m happy to have been useful for once,” she says, her voice falling.

Her face follows and she looks to the floor, casting shadows over her eyes and I remember what drove her to that bar in the first place.

I nudge her chin back up and give her a kiss, letting it last for as long as she needs it to. Skipping to the end doesn’t necessarily mean we have to rush this.

She pulls away and smiles. “Thanks, bar guy.”

I grin. “Let me give you a ride home.”

“No, don’t get up,” she says. “It’s not far. I’ll be all right.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” She leans back in and plants a sweet kiss on my cheek before standing up. “Good luck. With your bigger, better things.”

I smile. “You, too.”

“Bye, Joey.”

“Bye, Jenny.”

She turns away and walks out. I listen to the sound of her shoes clacking against the floor, mapping her movement as she heads straight for the door.

A few seconds later and she’s gone.

My mind rattles with a sudden rush of adrenaline. It’s an odd feeling; one I’ve never quite experienced before and I’ve brought
a lot
of girls home with me from that bar.

Maybe it’s because she’s the last one; the last one-night stand in Hartford before the next chapter of my life begins. The end of an era.

I take a breath, letting it all sink in and a smile stretches across my face.

6 WEEKS

Chapter 5

Daisy

“I miss John.”

I roll my eyes. I can’t help it. It’s all Rose has talked about for over a month. John this. John that. Yes, I know
halfback
is incredible. Yes, the diamond is very pretty.

Yes, your life in infinitely better than mine.

“Daisy?”

I look up from our place in line outside the baseball stadium. “Hmm?”

“What’s up? You seem quiet.”

“No, just people-watching,” I claim.

She glances around. “Yeah, isn’t this a little packed for a minor league game?”

I nod. “Yep.”

“What’s got them so excited?”

“No idea,” I answer. “I don’t follow the minors too closely. I’m a major league kind of girl.”

“Then, why are we here?” she asks.

Because you wouldn’t shut up about your wedding this morning and I needed a good distraction.

“Thought it’d be fun,” I say instead. “Baseball is baseball. And where there’s baseball, there’s big, ripped dudes just waiting to invade our dugouts. And chili dogs.”

“Gross.”

A wave hits my stomach. “Yeah, you’re right. Thinking about chili dogs makes me a little nauseous. No chili dogs. Just hot second basemen and our dugouts.”

“My dugout is taken, thank you.”

I sigh. “Or you could
pretend
to have fun for an afternoon. That might be interesting.”

Rose pauses and glares at me over her glasses. “Well, okay then…”

I look away and keep my head down until we reach the doors. We travel the length of the place, maneuvering through the thick crowd to find our seats at the far edge of the diamond. Usually, I’d prefer something a little closer to home plate but the last minute nature of this whole outing made that impossible. Those seats were claimed hours ago. I glance around, catching sight of homemade signs littered around the stadium; girls chanting and swooning over a guy called
Home Run Hunter
.

“Who is
Home Run Hunter
?” Rose asks.

I nod, recalling the legend. “Oh, that’s the new guy this season on the away team,” I answer. “He managed to hit
four
home runs in his first game and
three
in every game since. It’s pretty impressive, actually.”

“Why aren’t
you
jumping up and down with a sign, shaking your boobs around?” Rose jabs. “He seems like your type of guy.”

“Not really in the boob-shaking mood today.”

She says nothing, but I can tell she wants to. I should probably watch my tone. The last thing I want to do is make this summer even more awkward but my patience seems to wear pretty thin nowadays.

The game begins soon after and I almost have to cover my ears at the uproarious screams piercing my brain the second
Home Run Hunter
graces the field.

“Now batting for New Jersey — second baseman, Hunter Novak!”

He walks away from the dugout with his helmet on and bat in hand, moving slowly with his head up to milk every damn second of it.

“Ooo, a lefty!” Rose says.

I pause and watch as he hovers over home plate with the bat over his left shoulder. “Looks like…” I say.

The crowd hushes and the entire stadium leans forward, just waiting to see if
Home Run Hunter
will live up to his name.

“Why don’t they
all
wear helmets?” Rose asks, cutting the silence.

I glance at her. “What?”

“Helmets,” she says again. “That ball could go anywhere. Blink at the wrong time and
bam
—” She slaps her palms together. “Dead.”

“Uh…” I stare at the field. “I don’t know.”

“It just seems a little backwards that the guy
hitting
the ball is the only one wearing protection,” she continues.

I sigh. “Maybe…”

“Okay, what’s up with you?” Rose asks, nudging my ribs. “This is our thing. I poke fun at baseball, you talk shit about football. It’s
fun
. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” I say, inhaling deep. “Sorry — just a little distracted.”

“Bullshit.”

I look at her to find her staring at me. “What?”

“You’ve been acting strange all summer and I can only think of one thing that could be bothering you.”

“Global warming?” I quip.

“My engagement.”

“No.” I shake my head,
really
not wanting to go there right now. “Rose, I’m happy for you. I am.”

“Then, what’s the deal? Every time I bring it up, you roll your eyes.”

“No, I don’t.”

She points at my face. “There! See? You just did!”

“I just think you guys are moving too fast,” I spit. “You’ve known the guy less than a year, Rose. How do you know this is the right guy for you anyway?”

“When you know, you know. I can’t explain it — but don’t even blame the timing on this, Daisy. I know you and there’s something else bothering you.”

I look forward as the pitcher launches a curve ball.
Home Run Hunter
doesn’t fall for it and lets it sail right into the catcher’s mitt. I try to focus on the game instead of Rose’s stare burning my skin but she elbows my ribs again.

“Ouch!” I flinch.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“You mean the pain in my side or the one in my ass?”

She heaves an impatient sigh. “Fine. Be a bitch.”

“Okay,
fine
.” I twist in my seat to stare her down. “I’m pissed off you’re getting married. I’m pissed off that you’re out there at the perfect school with the perfect job and the perfect guy that’s
just
perfect
for you.
There.
Are you happy? I admit it. You’re the fucking golden child and this engagement just gives Mom yet another thing to gloat to her friends about you while I sit out here and be forgotten about.”

Rose blinks.
“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” I say, turning forward. “I made it all up. Watch the game.”

“No, Daisy—”

The crowd screams, voices crying out around us. All eyes look upward, trailing a ball flying straight towards our section.

“Home Run Hunter! Home Run Hunter!”

A man a few rows down throws his gloved hand up into the air, preparing to catch it. The ball skims the edge of his mitt and slides free… angled straight towards my head.

“Ow…”

I wince and slide out of my seat onto the rock solid concrete.

“Daisy!”

Rose cries out my name. Black pain takes over my senses and the sun dims from my vision as I pass out at her feet.

Ugh. Just perfect.

Chapter 6

Hunter

“Wow…”
the nurse says again. “It’s not every day we get guys like you in here!”

I flash her a smile as we board the elevator. “Guys like who?”

“Oh, you know…” Her young cheeks turn a bright red.
“Real pro athletes.”