by Tara Brent
“Clearly,” muttered Harper.
“I’m serious. How do I make things right with Emiko?”
“Hell if I know.”
“Are you seriously not going to help me?”
Harper sighed. “Explain the main reasons she initiated this… oh, what to call it… Sexual Ceasefire? Amorous Armistice? Romantic Reconsideration? Breakup?”
“Shut up.”
“Hey, you asked me.”
“Okay fine. I guess it boils down to the fact that after that whole incident happened, she thinks it made me look good and made her look bad.”
“Wrong answer. Dig deeper.”
Hayden eyed his sister carefully and defiantly, but then sighed and relented. “Well, she thinks I have a temper.”
“You do have a temper.”
“It’s not that bad though, is it?”
“It totally is. Like, it’s a problem. The only reason no one really bothered with an intervention is because you’ve always been successful enough where you haven’t generated enough anger to warrant the trouble. But now…?” She shrugged. “I’m less sure.”
He sighed, sipping his coffee and then holding his face in his hands. “I dunno,” he said. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I always am,” she said sternly. “Now repeat after me: Harper is always right.”
“What? I’m not doing that.”
“Then I won’t help you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Harper is always right.”
Harper held one hand to her ear. “Once more for the folks in the cheap seats?”
“Ugh! You’re such an annoying kid sister. HARPER IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE I SAID IT NOW TELL ME HOW TO FIX THIS YOU VICIOUS SUCCUBUS.” A few of the other diner patrons gave Hayden an annoyed look, so he faced the ground and sheepishly sipped his coffee.
“As far as insults go, vicious succubus is one I’ll wear with pride,” she said with a laugh. “So first, you’re going to start seeing a therapist.”
“What? No. That’s ridiculous. I’m not crazy!”
“Welcome to 2018 numbskull, therapy is pretty good for just about everybody, so long as you actually collaborate (or at least cooperate) with the therapist. I know a good one who’s perfect for you. She even has a sub-specialty in anger management.”
“I DO NOT NEED ANGER MANAGEMENT!” he roared.
Harper simply raised an eyebrow and sipped her tea.
Hayden’s shoulders sagged. “Point taken,” he grumbled, “Okay, fine, what else?”
Harper smiled devilishly. “Oh, you are going to love this…”
Chapter 13
Emiko’s phone buzzed. She looked down at it and sighed. “What do you want, Harper?” she asked.
“Turn on SNY,” said Harper. “That’s all. Toodledo!”
“Toodle...what?” but Harper was already gone. Annoyed, she clicked on her television and turned to SNY. When she did, she dropped the clicker and her mouth fell open. It was Hayden, in the middle of a press conference.
“...and I want to make it abundantly clear that, while her friendship with my sister may have contributed to Miss Lindberg getting in the door, it is her impressive accolades, tremendous work ethic, and unparalleled skill that earned her the position she has excelled at all season long. I realize there are some unpleasant rumors floating around about her and her relationship to me. I fully acknowledge that while no such relationship contributed to her hiring, one did develop as we continued to work with one another. We are both new in our positions and share a common history together. While our relationship is on hold, hopefully temporarily, I can unequivocally state that I love her and that my playboy days are behind me. I am committed to two things in life now: your Brooklyn Dodgers, and Emiko Lindberg. That is all. Thank you.”
Emiko sat down, her heart fluttering, simultaneously bewildered and enchanted. She tried to keep herself calm, though. After all, a grand gesture like this was just the kind of thing that Hayden would do to get her back--not that it lacked effectiveness, of course. Still, she was scared that it wouldn’t be enough to signify real change, or that people would think it was some kind of cover-up, or that Hayden had maybe poured more fuel on the fire, or… “Oh!” she yelped, shocked out of her introspection by her phone vibrating. She looked at who it was. “Oh Hayden,” she whispered aloud and answered the phone.
“Hi Emiko. I trust you were just watching SNY?”
“I was,” she said carefully. “Thank you. I think.”
“I’m giving you tomorrow night off. Join me at the field to watch the game like a regular fan. No owner’s box, no frills, just you and me enjoying some good Dodger baseball.”
“I--” she hesitated, unsure of how to continue. She cleared her throat. “I would love that,” she said firmly.
“All right,” he said. “It’s a date.”
***
Somehow, they blended in more effectively this time. They both wore hats and sunglasses, which helped, and Hayden had deliberately left at least one seat vacant on either side of them so that nobody was right close to clearly see how they were.
“So you’re cheating your own team out of two high-end seats just for some extra privacy?” teased Emiko.
“Of course not,” said Hayden. “I just paid for the extra seats.”
“Oooooof course you did,” she laughed.
And so they enjoyed themselves, clapping and moaning and cheering all throughout what turned out to be a rather exciting game.
After the seventh inning wrapped up, Emiko turned to Hayden. “So… should we address the elephant in the room?”
Hayden pursed his lips slightly, more from awkward nerves than any sort of anger or frustration. “Yeah, I suppose we should.”
“I just wanted you to know,” said Emiko, “that after what I said and did, well, I regretted it immediately.”
“Don’t,” said Hayden.
“Pardon?”
“You really weren’t wrong. I mean don’t get me wrong,” he said, giving her the side-eye, “I wasn’t especially thrilled with it…”
“No kidding,” murmured Emiko.
“...but it also forced me to look inward. I haven’t really ever examined myself because I never thought I needed to. Not until you came back into my life in the way that you did. Harper even got me to see a therapist, if you could believe it.”
Emiko was shocked. “Seriously? You, seeing a therapist…? It’s hard to imagine.”
Hayden shrugged. “What’s not to like? Once a week I spend an hour talking about myself to a functionally captive audience. I should have started ages ago!”
“Huh, never thought of therapy as the ultimate getaway for egomaniacs,” mused Emiko.
“Right? But honestly I am learning a lot about myself and I’m developing better coping mechanisms and tools for handling situations that might, well, infuriate me.”
Emiko took his hand. “That’s very big of you, Hayden.”
“Well, you’ll see how I do,” he quipped with a smirk. “Oh look!” he gestured to the screen in center field. “Kiss Cam!” Various couples popped up on the screen one after another. Almost uniformly, when they appeared on the screen, one or both of the pair would react with surprise or amusement, and then they would kiss before the camera moved on to someone else.
“I miss when they would film into the opponent’s dugout and showcase two of the other team’s players,” said Hayden. “It was never meant to be homophobic, just a tease, but I guess it’s best that we don’t hurt anybody’s feelings,” he concluded.
“I can only hope the kiss cam doesn’t focus on us!” laughed Emiko.
“Yeah… about that…” said Hayden.
Emiko’s eyes went wide. “Oh, you didn’t.”
“I totally did. In three, two…” and with that, the pair of them were on the Kiss Cam.
“Oh my god! Hayden! You set me up!” laughed a furiously blushing Emiko.
Hayden shrugged. “Screw it right?” With that, he pulled off bot
h their hats and sunglasses and proceeded to graphically make out with Emiko. Both due to the unique sensuality of the kiss and the fans’ sudden recognition of the two of them, the crowd went ballistic with cheers.
They broke the kiss off and Hayden smiled. “Let the haterz hate. Those were cheers, not jeers, my love.”
Emiko beamed up at him. “You really love me?” she asked.
“I do,” he said. “In fact…” he dropped to one knee.
“Oh my god,” said Emiko. Then her already wide eyes went wider when he pulled a microphone and a jewelry case out of his pocket.
“Emiko Lindberg,” he spoke into the mic, his voice echoing throughout the stadium. He opened the jewel box to reveal the most dazzling diamond ring Emiko could have possibly conceived of, let alone seen. “Will you marry me?” He slipped the mic into her hand.
She stared down at him, the crowd in an uproar. “You’re a rascal,” she said, to him but not into the mic. “But you’re my rascal.” She lifted the mic to her lips. “Yes!” she cried in response.
The crowd may have gone ballistic before, but now, they were utterly deafening as Hayden slipped the ring onto her finger and they kissed like they had never kissed before.
Chapter 14
“Are you sure we’re allowed to do this?” asked Emiko, nervous but excited.
“I own the damn place so who cares,” he said. “But no one is here at all. I made sure of it. Just you and me and the stars above.”
The two of them were walking barefoot through the outfield grass at 3:AM. The city hummed around Ebbets Field, but otherwise, it was silent enough for Emiko to hear her feet settle onto the soft lawn with every step.
Hayden laid out a blanket and they sat down facing each other.
“I’ve dreamt of this since I first saw you,” Emiko said. Hayden smiled.
“Weren’t you a little bit young to imagine things like this then?” he teased.
“What can I say,” said Emiko. “You were my sexual awakening.”
“Oh really?” Hayden’s eyes glistened in the dark. He gently touched her cheek as he laid her down on the blanket. He kissed her eyelids, one after the other. His lips grazed her cheek before settling into a kiss on her neck. Emiko’s breathing became heavier as Hayden moved his lips down, kissing nearly every inch of her body. He slowly pulled her blouse over her head, kissing the skin right by the lining of her jeans. A slight mischievous smile was playing on Hayden’s lips as he moved to pull her jeans down, excruciatingly slowly. Emiko knew he enjoyed teasing her, she knew he knew it was driving her mad. As he removed her panties, Emiko was whimpering, basically begging for him to go faster, to be closer. But Hayden kept his slow pace, kissing her everywhere except where it really mattered.
Finally, Emiko couldn’t take it any longer. She grabbed Hayden’s strong shoulders and rolled him over so that she was straddling him. She kissed him hard, moving her tongue over his lips. Hayden kissed her back with a sudden sense of urgency. His hands were not slow and soft anymore; they were moving swiftly over her body, squeezing her ass. Emiko only broke away from the kiss to pull Hayden’s shirt over his head. She kissed his neck passionately as she unzipped his pants.
“Wait, just one moment,” she said breathlessly.
“Interesting timing but what my love?” asked Hayden.
“Well, it’s just that, um, I kind of…”
“Yes?”
“I’m not on the pill anymore,” she said, her hips moving against him, swaying and grinding on top of him. “If we do this…”
But he didn’t wait for her to finish. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he was inside her. His urgency increased dramatically as he somehow managed to find the balance between a gentle, sensual touch and a primal ferocity. Emiko had never experienced such passion in her life.
“Oh god Hayden yes, yes, yes!” she cried, her voice echoing through the open park.
Hayden rolled onto his back and, grasping her ass, lifted her up and pounded her down repeatedly. Emiko almost felt like he was turning her into his personal fleshlight, but she didn’t care. She had never wanted to be used before, but being used by him, like this, with him knowing fully well that he might put a child in her womb the same night he put a ring on her finger? It was almost more than she could bear.
And as he pulled her forward and took her nipple in his mouth, swirling and flicking his tongue over its tip while massaging the other one and sliding his finger into her ass, it was all just way too much, lightyears beyond what she could handle.
The orgasm hit her like a tsunami crashing into a mountain. She screamed as she bit her lip, and it wasn’t long before Hayden followed suit, grunting through gritted teeth as he filled her with his seed and they defiled the stadium the both of them so cherished.
She collapsed on top of him. “I love you Hayden,” she gasped.
“I love you too, Emiko,” he said.
“So, I’m pretty sure that got the job done, but on the off-chance, you didn’t put a baby in me, you good for one more round?”
Hayden smirked. “Batter up!”
The End
Connect with the Author
I really hope you enjoyed reading my first 4 novellas as much as I enjoyed imagining them and writing them!
To meet more gorgeous, bad boy hot billionaires Sign up Here for Tara’s VIP News Letter!
Enjoy subscriber only freebie romance reads, Advance reader copies exclusive excerpts and more!!
If you wish to get in contact with me please email me at [email protected]
