Night Games (11 page)

It’s like seeing a shooting star. One minute, it’s there. The next minute, it’s gone. Like a glimpse into another world, a better world, that’s snatched away before it’s fully realized.

Damn these tears. I swear I’m not going to cry. He’s not worth it. He’ll move on and forget me and I’ll be left with nothing but these stupid memories. Leave it to me for trying to be honest with him. Look where it got me. Chase will soon be out the door and out of my life. Maybe it’s for the best that he found out now before I up and moved to New York. He would’ve been livid if my stripper past came out after he married me—what a scandalous divorce that would’ve been.

So I’m going to do what comes naturally—run. I’ll leave him before he can leave me. I press my hand against the hole in my screen, debating my next move. If I take off now, it’s all over. I won’t get a second chance at this. But I’m not going to grovel at his feet, begging him to forgive me for something I shouldn’t have to apologize for. Who am I kidding? It never would’ve worked out between us. We’re just too different.

Yeah, this trailer may be falling apart, but it’s home, and it’s good enough for me.

Too bad I’m not good enough for him.

Chapter Fourteen

Chase

“I thought I knew her from somewhere. Without her top off, I didn’t recognize her right away. Man, she has a killer rack, and you got to see it up close and personal. You’re the man, dawg.”

Noah raises his fist to bump mine, but I don’t humor him. I want to kick his ass for what he just said. He and probably hundreds of guys like him saw Grey naked, and I didn’t even get a glimpse—me, Chase Whitfield.

“Aren’t you gonna hang around and say goodbye? I kind of wanna see her again.”

If Noah doesn’t shut the fuck up, I’m gonna punch him in his big fat face. But knowing my luck, he probably wouldn’t even feel it and I’d end up breaking my hand. I have to get the hell out of here before I explode. I
almost
made the biggest mistake of my life. I don’t fall for girls, and I almost fell for her. Why not add a bruised heart to my list of injuries? Too bad they can’t put me back on the DL for that.

“Get in and drive,” I growl at Noah, and I think he finally realizes he crossed the line. It’s about time. I can’t believe I opened up to him yesterday. I must be really losing it. The sooner I can get back to New York, the better. I can’t keep letting my guard down like this. I’m too smart to let myself get hurt. I don’t let anyone in. It’s an approach that’s worked for me for so many years. It’s helped me stay focused and keep my head in the game, where it needs to be—especially now. If I don’t get a hit tonight, I’m going to be taking some serious heat from the Kings’ front office, and there’s no way I’m giving them an excuse to send me back to Florida.

Despite myself, I can’t help my eyes from skimming the edge of the forest, looking for her. This is it. I’ll probably never see her again. I swallow the lump forming in my throat. I don’t get attached to women. But I feel like a loser for walking out on her. She was good to me when I didn’t deserve it. She gave me a second and a third chance when I balked at my attraction to her. So why did she have to go and screw it all up? Why has she flaunted her body for money? Why couldn’t she have taken up kickboxing or yoga to deal with her stress? But something about her having a naughty side makes me want her even more. She looks so innocent, and I gotta admit I’m having a hard time reconciling this image of her as a stripper. It just doesn’t jive with the type of person I thought she was. Something’s off, but I can’t put my finger on it.

“You getting in, boss?” I can’t see Noah’s eyes through his sunglasses, but I must be freaking him out, glaring out into the woods like a crazy ax murderer. I gotta get out of here.

“Let’s go, Noah. I’ve had enough of her bullshit.” I slam the car door a little too hard, trying to make myself believe what I’m saying.

Noah pockets his shades. His eyes are trained on the rearview mirror, undoubtedly looking to catch a glimpse of her too. But we’re both driving away disappointed. Her message is clear. She’s done with me. Yeah? Well, I’m done with her too.

“I don’t know if this will make you feel any better, but she didn’t perform all that much. She wasn’t like a star attraction or anything. The only reason she stuck out in my mind is because she tripped onstage once. I’ll never forget it. You don’t see shit like that too often.” Noah chuckles to himself, but I want to wring his neck for laughing at her. So what if she’s clumsy? I’ve fallen on my face lots of times during a game. It’s all about how a person handles the situation that matters, if they’re willing to get up back up and try again.

“So why do you hang out in strip clubs? You don’t strike me as the type.” Noah seemed like a pretty decent guy. I didn’t think he frequented those kinds of places.

“I’m not, dude. Relax. I worked there part time as a bouncer for a couple of weeks. Trust me, they didn’t let me see much. I think they hired me on account of my size, thinking I’d intimidate guys and keep the girls safe. But all it took was one beer bottle over the head and I was out for the count. Can you believe it took sixteen stitches to patch me up? After that, being bossed around by my dad seven days a week didn’t sound so bad. I tend to get squeamish at the sight of blood, especially my own.”

“Noah, you are a son of a bitch.”

“So I’ve been told. Where am I taking you anyway?”

“Is it really all over the news about me going to The Blue Room?”

“Yeah, man. I’m afraid it is. I guess the manager at the Sheraton tipped off the Kings when you didn’t come back. Terry the GM even called me personally to find out where you were. I guess they were going apeshit thinking something happened to you. I assured him that you were with me but were a little too intoxicated to come to the phone. It’s the only place I could think of around here that you might not want to leave. As far as excuses go, I thought it was believable that I’d have a hard time dragging you out of a strip club. The guys on security at The Blue Room have my back. I knew they’d have no problem corroborating my story if you hooked them up with some autographed baseballs and shit.”

“So how many do I have to sign?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Considering that you’re still wearing the clothes you were in last night, I think your hand is going to be getting a workout, and I’m not talking about jerkin’ the gherkin.” He takes his eyes off the road to smirk in my direction.

“Bastard.”

“Yeah, but you gotta admit I covered all your bases. Just act like the self-absorbed jerk everyone thinks you are and everything will be fine.” He looks straight ahead, drumming his fingers against the base of the wheel.

“Fuck. Is that how I come off?”

“C’mon, Chase. No one thinks you’re a choirboy by any stretch of the imagination. You’re a professional athlete, and people pretty much take for granted that you enjoy all the privileges that come along with that—the women, the booze, the drugs.”

“Hey, I’m not into that shit, man.” I glare at his profile.

“You’re telling me you don’t live the life? Yeah right,” Noah grunts in disbelief.

“Do you think my body could withstand a lifestyle like that? I’m fighting tooth and nail to make it back from this friggin’ knee injury. There’s no way I’d get myself hooked on any of that stuff. I can barely drag my body out of bed now.” I try to extend my legs under the dash, but there’s nowhere to move in this tiny-ass car.

“But I’m sure you’re not sleeping alone. You sure didn’t want to go back to that empty hotel room by yourself last night.”

“That’s different.” I fiddle with the strap of the seatbelt and stare out the window.

“How so?”

“Because I wasn’t looking to score. I just wanted to get to know her better.”

“And you didn’t click with her?” Noah asks, glancing over at me.

“No, I did. That’s the problem. I liked her too much.” I lower my head, unable to meet his gaze.

“Then why’d you bail?”

“Noah, I’m about to get my dick handed to me by these reporters. If I was spotted with Grey last night and someone found a clip of her on YouTube gyrating on a stripper pole, how do you think that’d work out for either of us? It’s one thing for the public to hear about me going to a strip club, but marrying a stripper? Let’s just say, I would no longer be the spokesperson for any company I’m paid to endorse, not to mention the tongue lashing my mother and sister would give me.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Rewind that for a minute.” There’s a look of complete and utter shock on Noah’s face. “Did you say
marry
her?”

“Forget it,” I respond, mad at myself for telling him all of this. “The offer’s off the table.”

“Dude! You are like an uncrackable safe. No girl out there has
ever
had a chance at nailing your ass to the wall, and you were gonna give it all up for some chick from Stockton? That’s some serious shit right there. Bro, you were a freakin’ runner-up for Sexiest Man Alive this year and you were gonna take yourself off the market for her? Why man, why?”

“There’s just something about her, all right?”

“Then go back to that little trailer in the woods and sweep her off her feet. You already have millions, right? So what if some CEO in his ivory tower stops you from pedaling his overpriced sneakers? You’ve got the Kings. You’ll always have the Kings. Nothing’s going to change that. Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe and she was basically a glorified stripper.” Noah makes his argument sound so convincing, but I just don’t know.

“Let’s just see how this all plays out with the press. I’m here for at least the next couple of days. I have to let the repercussions from last night simmer down before I even think about introducing Grey into the mix. If she even speaks to me again after what went down.” I sigh, closing my eyes.

“Oh, she’ll speak to you again. You’re Chase fuckin’ Whitfield.” He bumps my arm lightly with his fist.

“She’s not like that, Noah.”

“Sure she is. Every girl’s like that. I bet she even has your freakin’ poster on her bedroom wall.”

I shift uncomfortably, wishing Noah would shut his mouth.

“She fuckin’ does, doesn’t she? Oh my God, man. I knew it!” He pounds the steering wheel in excitement. “You’re probably like the guy she thinks about when she—”

“Don’t even go there.” I hold up a hand, cutting him off midstream.

“But that’s like every guy’s dream, bro. And you’re, like, living it.”

“Funny, it doesn’t feel that way.” I lean back, wishing he were right.

“Chase, you’ve so got this, man. All you have to do is go back there with a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, and it’s a done deal. As soon as she opens the door and sees you standing there, all contrite and humble, she won’t be able to resist.”

“I don’t do humble.”

“But you want this girl, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” I hesitate.

“Well, you have to do these sorts of things. Girls eat this shit up. I don’t make the rules. It’s just the code of behavior we’re expected to follow when we get our asses handed to us. I know you’ve probably never had to beg a woman for anything before, but that’s why I’m here to coach you through it. The universe sent me to you in your time of need,” Noah says with a big smile on his face.

“Jeez, how did I ever get so lucky?”

“Shut it, dude. Guys like you get all the breaks, but sometimes you need help from guys like me who really have to work at it.”

“Maybe I can get Grey to hook you up with her sister. She seems like a little spitfire.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. She may be hot, but not after I had to listen to her carry on until the wee hours of the morning. I certainly don’t want a piece of that.”

“Fair enough. But if you think I’m such a selfish bastard, it can’t be all about me. I wanna help you out with something.” Noah’s take on how I’m perceived has me ruffled. I don’t want to come off like that. If I’m going to change the way others see me, I might as well start now.

“Chase, you’re already helping me.”

“How?”

“I’m, like, hanging out with my hero. Things like this just don’t happen to me. I didn’t even go to my prom.”

“What if I asked you to come back to New York with me? You can be my personal assistant or butler or some shit like that.”

“Really, man?” Noah looks over at me, completely stunned. “Are you serious?”

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” His face lights up in amazement.

“No, I’m totally serious. I need people around who tell it like it is. I’m sick of being told what everybody thinks I want to hear and not what I need to hear.”

“Dude, it is so on,” he exclaims, offering me his hand.

I shake it firmly, sealing the deal. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

“But first things first. Since we’re entering the lovely environs of Beaver Field, where do you want me to drop you off? The media is already swarming around the players’ entrance up ahead. Is there another way you can go in? Maybe I can drive onto the field like I did last night and sneak you in through the dugout.”

“I’m not sneaking in anywhere. I’m going to have to face them. I have to do this right if eventually I plan on bringing Grey into the picture. That is, if the flowers and chocolate work.”

“They will,” Noah remarks, jutting his chin at me.

“I’m glad you’re so cocky.”

“Not cocky. Confident.”

“Whatever, brother.” I laugh, my hand already on the door handle.

“Good luck, dude. Don’t let them skin you alive,” Noah responds, anxiously examining the crowd.

“I’ve been around the block a few times. I can handle myself just fine. See you in there?”

“Yeah. Let me park this baby, and if they corner you and you can’t get away, then your trusty manservant will clear a path. You can count on it.” He pats me on the back as I prepare to face the barrage of questions.

“Manservant? I don’t think I like the sound of that.” I grimace over my shoulder at him.

“Get used to it, homey. Because New York City ain’t gonna know which way is up once I hit town.”

“Is that right?” I ask, a grin spreading across my face.

“Most definitely. You and I are going to tear it up.”

I chuckle under my breath as I open the door and step out. Saying a quick prayer, I’m immediately blasted by a wave of heat. I didn’t notice it so much back at Grey’s trailer. It was a lot cooler on top of the mountain, and Noah had the A/C cranked up in the car. Hitting the turf tonight after it bakes all day in the sun is going to be pleasant—just another one of the many perks of playing at Beaver Field.

But I might as well have parachuted in from a helicopter because my arrival causes pandemonium to unfurl. Members of the press don’t even wait for me to walk over to them. They start shoving microphones in my face as several cameramen block my way forward. What a nightmare. And they don’t even know about Grey yet.

“Chase, how do you feel about the call-up?”

“Whit, are you ready to go back to the majors so soon?”

“Why are the Kings in such a hurry to get you back?”

What the hell are they talking about? I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the remainder of the home stand. When I don’t respond, they begin peppering me with details.

“Terry Bloom just held a press conference in New York stating that you’re playing in tonight’s game in New York.”