Hard Ball (Stadium Series Book 1) Page 4

  He sucks my clit into his mouth, and I know in that moment that he’s the best I will ever have. His talented tongue is my new favorite thing in the world as I whisper a prayer that he never stops.

  His hands grab my ass, pulling me even closer as he continues to attack my sensitive flesh. He growls and I groan because it feels so fucking good. He feels so fucking good against me.

  “You want more?” he asks as his tongue still does crazy things to my body and I feel the orgasm cresting as I start to grind against his tongue. “Tell me what you want, Harper,” he demands, stopping all his ministrations as I moan in frustration.

  Our eyes meet and all I can say is, “More…” and from the smile on his lips, that’s exactly what he wanted to hear because once that word leaves my mouth, he plunges two fingers into my pussy as my head falls back against the bed. My body starts to shake, loving the way his fingers feel inside me.

  This is going to be the best orgasm I have ever had. I know it.

  “I want to hear my name on those perfect lips when you come for me. I want to fucking hear you scream it,” he growls, fucking me with his fingers and tongue, sending me barreling toward the edge of the cliff.

  BEEP BEEP BEEP

  I jerk awake, wiping the sweat off my brow and groaning at the fact I can still feel the touch of his hands on my skin and the fact that I’m so wound up that I know I’ll have to take care of myself in the shower before I head into work. My head slams back against my pillow as I close my eyes and wish I could sleep for another eight hours and forget about everything that happened last night.

  BEEP BEEP BEEP

  I groan, slamming my hand down on my alarm clock, cursing Mel for begging me to go out last night and Josh for being the reason I’m so unsatisfied right now. I slowly make my way out of bed, wiping my eyes and cursing the fact that I chose a job that makes me get up at the crack of dawn, but I can’t see myself doing anything else right now. It took a lot of convincing from my uncle Henry to even step foot in the gym after my father died. He owned half, along with my uncle, and when he died, that half was left to me. His only daughter. As I walk into the hallway, heading toward my bathroom, I stop in front of my favorite picture of my dad and me. We’re standing on the field of Hawks stadium after he won the world series and he has me on his shoulders and I’m grinning from ear to ear. My toothless smile only adding to the adorable nature of the moment. My eyes soften as I take in the man in that picture, because that is not the man that emerged later that year. It wasn’t long after that picture was taken that everything in my life changed and I had to grow up faster than any child should.

  “‘Morning, Dad,” I murmur, kissing the tips of my fingers as I place them in the center of his chest and walk into the bathroom to get ready.

  Growing up, baseball was all I knew and since it was my dad’s passion, it became mine. Being on that field, feeling so incredibly small in a place that was so important to so many was a rush, and I will always remember the words my father said to me when I questioned why he still loved playing. He would say, “It never gets easier, you just get better.” He was always working to get better, stronger and faster. Better than the rookies trying to steal his job, stronger than the heroes he grew up watching and faster than the man he thought he was.

  After my shower, I go back into my room and dress in my usual work uniform, which consists of yoga pants and a loose T-shirt. I spend most of my days walking the gym floor, cleaning equipment and helping out clients so there’s really no need for me to dress in fancy clothes when I’m just going to sweat the whole day.

  Walking up to the front doors of the gym, I smile at the flyer taped to the front door. I’ve been bugging Henry to advertise that we’re looking for a new yoga instructor since Tommy quit last week. He’s been dragging his feet, and from the basic nature of the flyer, I can tell he spent all of five minutes on it. When Tommy left, Henry asked if I would take over until we found someone else… I laughed in his face. I can’t even walk in a straight line sober, let alone do a warrior pose, or downward dog without falling on my face.

  “Buttercup!” Henry yells as I walk into the gym, shutting the door behind me.

  I smile at my childhood nickname that only he is allowed to use. He pokes his head out of his office and a sense of warmth passes through my chest.

  “What are you doing here so early? I thought I’d be the only one here this morning.”

  He shrugs as he comes out to meet me, wrapping his big arms around my shoulders. He stands a head taller than my five-foot-five, so his chin rests comfortably on top of my head, making me chuckle into his chest. He looks so much like my father that at times, when I’m passing him, I wonder if I’ve seen a ghost. His chiseled features with messy blond hair, warm blue eyes and a grin that I know makes most women swoon, are what others see when he enters a room. But me? I see the man who took me under his wing when I was lost and confused, when my mother refused to help, and made me the woman I am today.

  “You know me, can’t keep me away for long.” He winks, chuckling as his laugh reverberates through his chest.

  “I better get started,” I admit, untangling myself from his embrace and step back, looking around the room. “This place looks like a storm ripped through it.” There are yoga mats scattered all over the floor, probably from the night class, and there are used towels everywhere and I can tell just from the smell that this place wasn’t cleaned at all. “Who closed last night?” I ask, hoping it’s not who I think it is.

  “Angela.”

  Figures. I eye the back of the room, the door that leads to the practice field is wide open as I give Henry a sidelong glance. He follows my gaze and rolls his eyes, leading me toward the door.

  When Dad opened this gym, it was supposed to be a place where his teammates could come and work out on their own without distractions. He built the dome out back to house a full-functioning baseball field and batting cage. From the front, it looks like just another gym, but when you walk through these doors, it’s every baseball lover’s dream.

  The second I step through that door, I curse, because this place looks like an utter disaster. There are bats everywhere, same with the baseballs. I see no one emptied the trash cans or refilled the vending machines, which is something we do every night.

  “Shit, I didn’t know it was this bad,” Henry mutters as I turn to see the anger rise across his features. “I had no idea she left it like this. She told me she had to close early since she had a family emergency and since it was a Friday night, I didn’t think it would be an issue.”

  I can’t help how hard my eyes roll into the back of my head because I would bet a million dollars that the “emergency” had nothing to do with family and everything to do with the fact that I made her work a Friday night.

  “She’s been pulling this shit for weeks now, it’s really getting on my nerves,” I admit. “I know she wants to become a personal trainer, but at a certain point we have to think about this gym’s well-being.”

  Henry’s eyes take one last pass over the gym before we head back toward his office.

  “Sometimes I think she likes the idea of working here more than actually working.” I take a deep breath before I let the anger that’s rising inside get the better of me.

  “I know,” Henry says through gritted teeth, placing a hand on my arm. “I’ll have a talk with her, explain that she needs to pull her weight, or she’ll have to find another place to work.”

  “As much as I would love to get rid of her, we can’t afford to lose her right now. Not after Tommy.”

  Henry sighs, knowing I’m right.

  “I’m still going to talk to her, and in the meantime, we’ll try and find someone to replace her.” He turns and takes a quick look at the front door.

  “Expecting someone?” I tease, loving the goofy smile I get in return.

  “Yes, actually.”

  My eyebrows raise, wondering if it’s a woman, but he responds with a bored look, like I�
��m reading way too much into this.

  “It’s a professional meeting, so get that hopeful look off your face.”

  I start laughing as he swats my arm.

  “Can you blame me? You’ve been single for my entire life.”

  “That’s what you think…”

  I do a gagging motion as Henry starts to walk back to his office.

  “I would love to help you with all of this” —he motions to the mess— “but I have a meeting with someone in a few minutes.” He winks, heading into his office, leaving his door open.

  “That’s fine, old man. I can do it all myself. Maybe I’ll be done before noon so I can get to all the paperwork you love to stack on my desk…”

  He chuckles to himself and then I see that sympathetic look on his face, and I know exactly what he’s thinking, and I stop it in its tracks.

  “Don’t you dare call her in here. I will just get more and more angry the longer I have to talk to her, and it won’t end well. I’d rather do it all myself and that way I know it’s done right.”

  The look in Henry’s eyes is sad when he gets up out of his chair and wraps his arms around me once more. “You know, sometimes when I look at you all I see is your dad.” My chin hits his chest as our eyes meet. “He would be so proud of you, you know?”

  The tears start to form behind my eyes as I smile, loving that even though I miss my father, I have someone like Henry in my life.

  Fuck. I’m exhausted.

  I’ve done more physical labor today than I think I’ve done in the last week, which is also making me realize just how out of shape I am. Being out of breath from carrying bats from one side of the room to the other is just plain sad. Being this out of shape when you own a gym? That might be even worse.

  I peer across the room, finally happy with how it looks yet when I turn and my gaze lands on the vending machines and see how empty they look, I decide to restock them before I sit down and lose all my energy. As I head back toward my office to grab the storage key, I notice that Henry’s door is still closed and has been for over an hour. Must be one hell of a meeting.

  Just as I’m about to head to the storage room, the front door of the gym opens and when I peer over my shoulder to see who it is, I groan. As Cole walks over, confidence oozes from every pore as his eyes bore into mine. When he gets close enough, he tries to lean down and give me a kiss and as I dodge his lips, he growls. “Don’t be like that.” He leans in one more time, like his warning would be enough to get me to cave. Fat fucking chance. I dodge him again.

  “I don’t know why you’re here, but you can leave the way you came in.” I turn, starting to walk away but he grabs my arm, holding me in place.

  “Baby, please. It was just a misunderstanding. We can talk this out, can’t we?” The look in his eyes is innocent enough, almost as if he forgot exactly why I’m pissed. Yet every once in a while, I see that anger peek through, and I know it’s all just an act. He knows exactly what he’s done and is manipulating me into forgiving him.

  Yeah, not happening.

  “Talk about what, Cole? The fact that we dated for two fucking years and you decide to spend our anniversary between the legs of your secretary instead of with your girlfriend?”

  He rolls his eyes as if I’m just overreacting. My voice gets louder and louder and it doesn’t escape me that Henry’s office is down the hall and I really should keep my voice down.

  “How about we talk about the fact that I have asked you on multiple occasions to leave me alone, and yet you seem to ignore everything I say.” My voice is booming now, and I hear Henry’s door opening and when he pokes his head out and his eyes land on Cole, they narrow in disgust.

  “Baby, I still love you…” His eyes go soft and for the split second the boy I fell in love with is standing before me, tempting me. Then that look is replaced when a girl dressed in skintight leggings and a sports bra walks by and his eyes follow her until she disappears.

  Yeah, he loves me all right.

  “Cole, you don’t love me. I don’t think you ever did, you just liked what my last name got you.”

  He goes to say something, but I hold up my hand and stop him.

  “It’s true and you know it. Every party we went to, every work function you brought me to, you would slip my name in and hope you got something out of it.”

  His eyes darken and finally the real Cole emerges, the one he hides from everyone else. The man standing in front of me right now is the man that tried to control every aspect of my life for two years. That’s the man I left behind.

  “Get out of this gym right now, you piece of shit!” Henry yells from behind him as Cole’s eyes harden as they bore into mine.

  “Get out, Cole. Before I get someone bigger than you to physically remove you.” I fold my arms across my chest and wait for him to leave.

  “This isn’t over,” he sneers. “You’ll come crawling back. You were nothing before I came along. You’ll miss me.” And with that, he turns and crashes through the front doors. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as Henry wraps his arms around me from behind.

  “You okay, Buttercup?” he whispers.

  I say nothing because I have no words to explain how embarrassed I am. That I ever loved someone that could be that cruel. I turn, giving Henry a small smile as I start to apologize when I stop in my tracks. My eyes catch the man standing in front of Henry’s door and when those blue eyes sear into my soul and that smile directs itself at me, my whole body reacts.

  Josh.

  He’s wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt that shows off his glorious arms and chest, the tight black jeans leave very little to the imagination, in fact, I have to consciously stop myself from looking down. His blond hair is loose, hanging lightly over his eyes, which makes my fingers itch to push the stray strands out of his face. Our gaze meets again and his are questioning, and I know I can’t answer them, or at least right now I don’t want to. The idea that he not only saw the shitshow that was last night but also the scene with Cole just now, makes me want to run and never return.

  “Buttercup?” Henry asks, my eyes leaving Josh and landing on my uncle’s concerned ones.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I broke it off with him, remember?” I’m hoping the break in my voice isn’t noticeable. “Besides, if he comes back, I have a whole room full of baseball bats I can use.”

  Henry chuckles, kissing my forehead as he places his hands on my shoulders.

  “I have to go refill the vending machines; I’ll be in the storage room if you need me.” I don’t wait for his response before I’m walking away, back toward my office. I grab the key to the storage room and book it, wanting to get as far away from Josh as I possibly can.

  I shut the door to the storage room behind me, the emotions of the past few minutes crashing over me like a tidal wave. I lean against the closed door, sinking to the ground. Before I have a chance to take a breath, the tears start to fall. We were together for two years… not two decades. Why am I letting him get to me so easily? What’s wrong with me? I gave him all of me, I showed him parts of myself that I never showed anyone, and for what? For him to throw it all away to get between some girl’s legs.

  “Fuck!” I scream, throwing an unopened bottle of Gatorade that was sitting beside me against the wall. I’m so fucking stupid. I should have seen the signs; I should have ended it after he started staying late at work. I knew he wasn’t working, I just didn’t want to believe it.

  After a beat, I stand up, wiping the tears from my cheeks and sucking in a shaky breath. I can do this; I can get through today and then go home and pour the biggest glass of wine. I reach for the door handle and when I fling the door open and see Josh standing there in his low-cut jeans and tight T-shirt, looking all kinds of delicious, I curse whoever is watching over me. A war of emotions crashes over me as my body starts shaking and I can’t figure out if it’s residual anger from Cole’s surprise appearance or the memory of my dream this morning. Either way, I’
m agitated, and my nerves are on edge.

  Even though I know it was all a dream, I still wonder what it would feel like to have my fingers graze along his bronzed skin, what his hair would feel like between my fingers and what his moans would sound like the moment his lips touched mine.

  “Was that the same guy as last night?” he asks, like he doesn’t already know the answer.

  “I think you already know the answer to that question.” I wipe a stray tear that falls as Josh’s eyes soften, causing my stomach to flip. He moves toward me, placing his hand on my arm, sending heat straight to my stomach.

  “Did he hurt you?” he asks softly and before I think better of it, my body melts as I shake my head no. “Not all guys are like that, you know...” His voice trails off as I look up at him. There’s an unreadable expression on his face. Maybe regret? Maybe remorse? Either way, it takes me off guard. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear this from, but you deserve better than what he’s offering you.” As much as I love what he just said in principle, my mouth decides to spew sass instead of sincerity.

  “Thanks for the ego boost. Especially coming from someone who, if I remember correctly, went to a bar and surrounded himself with women.” I know I’m pushing him, and I know he didn’t actively seek them out, but the sight of all those women around him still bothers me.

  “You’re right, but it’s not my fault that the girl I wanted to spend my time with walked away without a second glance.”

  If only he knew just how hard that was for me to do.

  His hand travels up my arm, his fingers lightly trailing patterns on my skin as I try and hide the blush that’s threatening to creep up my cheeks. His eyes sear in on mine and there’s that pull between us that I’ve been trying to fight, and just as I’m about to lean forward, wanting and needing to know the feel of his lips on mine, Henry comes running over.