Home Run Baby: A Sports Romance (53 page)

Cary Pierce couldn’t have gotten me this far on his own, that much is certain. As much as I admire him, it wasn’t his coaching that pushed me towards greatness and made me into a better man.

That was all her.

Her hands move down and grip my ass, pulling my hips closer to her begging body. I give her a thrust and she moans into my mouth.

Every time with her is like the first time, full of amazing sensations that I never thought possible, ones that I’ll never feel again after the moment has passed but that just makes them all the more intense.

I fuck her faster, gripping the sheets beneath us as her hips meet every move. She kisses me back, locked in the moment unlike before. I feel her body tense, just a few deep grinds away from climax and I race her to the finish line, bucking and moaning with her.

She grabs my hand and I entwine our fingers together, squeezing her hard as everything breaks apart inside of us. I tremble against her with closed eyes, wishing I could fill her the way I really want to—

“Junior?”

I open my eyes and she smiles. “What?”

“I said, are you okay?” she chuckles.

I shake it off. “Yeah.”

She pulls me closer and rests my head on her breast. I listen to her heart pounding away inside of her, feeling her lungs expand with each heaving breath she takes.

Eliza Pierce.

Nothing could ever come between this.

“It’s over,” she says.

I kiss her warm skin. “I don’t accept that,” I say, instantly recalling the response from habit.

“I don’t care what you accept…” Her breath quivers through her as I descend her body but she never breaks character. “It’s over, we’re done. I can’t do this anymore.”

“You’ve sung this song before, Nora.” I nibble her hip. “What makes this different than—”

“Junior…”

I look up and see a little black in those blue eyes. “What?”

Eliza takes a breath, chewing on her lip to keep her tongue in check. “Nothing,” she finally says, gently shaking her head. “I should get going.”

She moves away, throwing her feet off the bed while I stay in place.

“Wait, what?” I ask.

“Sorry…” She reaches for her sweater on the floor. “I’m still a bit distracted.”

“You just got here…”

“Three hours ago,” she chuckles.

“Ellie, what’s up?”

She stands up and turns to me, flashing a smile as she pulls her skirt up over her hips. “I’m just tired, Junior,” she says. “Really. I’m fine. I probably just need to take an aspirin, lay down, and pass out for the night.”

“Okay,” I nod. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’ll come running.”

Her lips curl into a quick smile, one that I easily could have missed if I blinked. “I will. Thanks.”

I stand up to block her path to the door. “I want to see you tomorrow. Before the game.”

She nods. “Sure.”

“The study room? Four o’clock.”

“I’ll be there.” She pops up onto her toes and kisses my cheek. “Bye, Junior.”

I grab her arm and pull her back in for a real kiss. “Bye, Ellie.”

Her eyes flutter open and she smiles one last time before opening the door.

I listen to her leave, sensing the shuffling of her shoes. Somehow, they sound heavier than usual, like the air before a vast thunderstorm.

I put on some pants and walk out into the living room.

“Eliza leave already?” Ty asks as he slides his jacket on.

“Yup,” I answer, beelining to the kitchen.

“She coming back? It’s early. And Friday night.”

“No. She’s freaking out about the play.” I grab a beer from the refrigerator.

Ty leans against the doorway. “And how are you feeling about tomorrow?”

“I’m fine.”

He chuckles. “I’m so nervous, I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

I take a quick chug. “We’ll be fine, Ty. We just need to trust each other.”

“You talking about the game?” he asks. “Or Eliza?”

“… Both.”

“Well, if it makes a difference, Grant’s been freaking out, too. Might just be an actor thing…”

“Yeah, probably.”

I take another drink, hoping that’s the case, but Eliza’s been a little off for weeks now. She’s got that strange twinge in her eyes — like there’s something going on behind them but she won’t say a word. Tonight was the first time it really seemed to mess her up.

“We’re going to dinner,” Ty says. “Want to tag along?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

“See you later then.”

I linger in the kitchen, slowly drinking my beer long after he leaves. Part of me thinks that if I wait here long enough, Eliza will come back or maybe she’ll need me and call but I know she won’t. She’s too strong for that. If there is something bothering her, she’ll tough it out alone and that kills me a little. She should trust me the way I trust her.

I toss the empty bottle into the trash can and grab a new one from the fridge.

Chapter 26

Eliza

I can’t tell him. I’ve tried.

I’ve woken up every single day for weeks with a surge of confidence dancing in my veins.
Today’s the day.
This is it. I’m going to tell Junior Morgan that there’s a life growing inside of me and that it’s his as much as it is mine. I’ll tell him that I don’t want to live without it. I want to keep it. I’m in love with it. I want him to be in love with it, too.

Then I see his face and that confidence burns to the ground.

I climb the stairs to the third floor and walk through my room towards the bathroom. It’s strange how fast something becomes a ritual; a part of your daily routine that’s so necessary, you don’t even remember what life was like before it.

I open the drawer next to the sink. One of these days, the positive result might fade, but right now, it’s there for me to stare at every day. Right now, my life is long bouts of daydreaming and fantasy before bed, just me lying there imagining what Junior will say or do once I tell him.

I reach into the drawer to grab it but my hand squeezes air.

A jolt of panic grips me and I pull the drawer out as far as it’ll go.

I sift through the mess of loose hair ties and hairbrushes, tossing the curling iron to the side, aggressively pulling everything out of the way because it has to be here. It was here this morning. It was—

“Looking for this?”

My heart stops. Everything stops.

I turn around and there’s my father, standing in my bedroom doorway holding the white stick with the little pink cross on it. I open my mouth to answer but nothing comes out, just solid air.

“Sit down, Eliza,” he says.

I hesitate. “Why are you going through my things?”

“I said, sit down.” He doesn’t budge, he doesn’t even blink, but his voice somehow digs a little deeper.

I move with shaking knees and sit down on the edge of my bed. “Why are you going through my things?” I ask again.

“It’s my house. They’re my things,” he says, flicking his wrist to toss the test into the trash can beside his foot. “How far along are you?”

“Dad, please…” I pull my eyes away from the trash. “I don’t feel comfortable talking to you about—”

“I don’t care how comfortable you feel. I’m your father and—”

“Since
when
?”

“I am your father and you will answer my questions,” he continues. “How far along are you?”

A rock builds in my throat, latching on so tightly that I can’t force it down. “I’m not sure,” I answer. “Two months or so…?”

“You don’t know?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“Who’s the father?”

I press my lips together. “Dad, please…”

“Eliza,” he growls, “if you say you don’t know, I swear…”

“No, I
know
who the father is, I just…”

“Then who is it?”

I look at the floor. This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. I should have told Junior when I found out.
God, how could I be so stupid to—

“Eliza.”

I flinch at his tone, digging my nails into the bed beneath me. “Junior Morgan.”

His silence turns the room ice cold. I keep my head down, physically unable to move. My eyes lock on a spot in the carpet; the smallest bit of meaningless discoloration.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” The disappointment in his voice cuts deep. “Does he know?”

“No,” I answer. “I haven’t told him yet.”

“Good. Don’t.”

I snap up. “What?”

“Don’t say a word to him about it,” he tells me. “On Monday, you and I will go upstate and have it taken care of.”

My fists tighten. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“You
really
don’t have a say in that at all.”

“I don’t?” he asks. “I get to pay for your school, give you a home, money, clothing, but I don’t have a say in how you conduct yourself?”

“Not with this.”

“We had a deal, Eliza. I’d say I’ve more than held up my end of it. You sneaking around behind my back, whoring yourself out to my football players wasn’t part of that deal.”

“I did not
whore
myself—”

“That’s what they’ll say,” he interrupts. “
Like Daddy, Like Daughter.”
He shakes his head. “I brought you out here to give us both a fresh start. A new image. Think about what this will do to that life — but, more importantly, what it’ll do to Junior’s life.”

I close my eyes and the tears fall down. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? You don’t give a shit about me. It’s about him and your little coaching project.”

“With my help, Junior will go straight to the top just like I did,” he argues. “Don’t you want that for him? If you have this baby now, you’ll rob him of that and he’ll resent you for it.”

I force the sob down. “You know what, Dad? You’re right. Maybe he is just like you. Maybe I
should
spare this child a lifetime of missed birthdays and broken promises.”

“That’s enough.”

“No.” I stand up, ignoring my shaking legs. “I’m not finished yet. The truth is that you were a
terrible
father but Junior
isn’t like you
.”

“Yes, he is.” His lips twitch. “Don’t be naive, Eliza. Do you
really
think that he’s going to throw all of his dreams away… for
you
?”

The sob invades, triggering a truth that I can’t ignore. “I love him,” I whisper at the floor, trying to convince myself more than anybody how much that matters.

“That fades,” he says, calm and cold. “That’s a fact. A man isn’t remembered for the women he loved. He’s remembered for the victories he earned and the legacy he leaves behind. That doesn’t include you.” He turns away and grips the doorknob. “Monday morning. Pack a bag. You’ll be gone for a few days.”

I collapse before the door even closes, sinking hard onto the bed and crying until my entire body turns numb.

Chapter 27

Junior

I pull out my phone to check the time again. It’s four thirty-five. I have to be at the stadium in about twenty minutes to get ready for the game but Eliza was supposed to meet me here in the study room at four.

Where are you?

I send the text but I don’t expect a reply. She hasn’t replied to the last three I sent her since I got here.

There was something wrong last night, I just knew it. I could feel it in my gut all night long but I didn’t do a damn thing about it. And now she’s gone, ignoring my texts and I can’t think of a damn reason why.

I grab my jacket and rush down the stairs to the ground floor.

Eliza has a show tonight so she should be heading to Talon Hall now, if she’s not there already. I push through the crowds of gathering students and sports fans as I cross campus, all of them heading towards the stadium to witness the final game of the season — the one that determines our status in the regional championship, which was the other thing that kept me awake all night. I honestly don’t care much about that right now.

I have to find Eliza first.