by Mj Fields
My face hurts from smiling, which is the very first time that has ever happened in my life. “You hit it out of the park, and we’ll discuss it after the game.”
“That’s a lot of pressure, Doc.”
“You can handle it, slugger. Now I’m gonna walk away and come back before you get called on deck to work those eye muscles. Because, truth be told, it was nice falling asleep wrapped up like that, and if we can make that happen without Georgie waking up and questioning things, so you’d have to sneak out, I’m good with doing it again.”
“I’m planning date number two tonight. Don’t you make any plans.”
“Then you better hit one out of the park for me.”
“I’ll hit three out. One for you, one for Georgie girl, and …” He lifts a shoulder.
Standing in front of him, his brows crease, as I hold a red Sharpie his distance focus, and the blue, closer to him, acting as his bat.
The Nationals scored two in the first inning and, right now, there are two Jags on the base and—
“Steel, you’re on deck.”
He closes his eyes, and I step back.
“You got this.”
“Yeah, I do.”
He opens his eyes and stands, his jaw tense as he looks from my eyes to my lips and back again. I know he wants to kiss me. He looked at me the same way last night, but he held back. I wonder if he thinks I would have pulled away. If he did, he would be wrong. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought about our night together, and it was only a short time in which I was regretful. I’m so glad that I didn’t know early on, thanks to the fact I’ve never had a normal period, due to gymnastics, and exhaustion has been a constant state since having Georgie.
“Go.” I nod.
He nods and walks away.
I look back at his family. Zandor is holding Bekah’s hand, Brisa and Tris are holding each other’s, and Max stands and whistles loudly.
I watch Amias glance up at Max and nod. Then at his family, he shakes his head and smirks.
“Two on, My. Hit ’em home, boy, hit ’em home!” Zandor yells.
To that, Amias grins at the ground and shakes his head.
Vander hits a single, and now the bases are loaded.
“This kid hits a grand slam, and I won’t question your choices ever again,” Henry says to Buck.
“I’ll sleep better knowing that, old boy,” Buck responds with a wink to me.
Amias lets the first one fly by, and the ump calls a strike. He doesn’t appear at all fazed when he gets in his stance again, his ass doing a little shake. His magnificent ass.
The next pitch is thrown, and he has to drop to the ground in order not to get hit.
“The fuck was that!” comes from his family’s section.
“Pussy on the mound,” follows.
Amias fixes his hat and shakes his head before stepping back into the box.
The next pitch, he swings, and he swings hard, and misses.
“Wasn’t yours, son. You’ll get the next one!” Zandor yells as the catcher throws back to the pitcher.
Amias looks back at me and nods then steps back in.
The pitcher throws the ball, Amias swings, and the entire stadium goes ballistic as it soars in the air and keeps on soaring over centerfield and over the fence.
Amias takes his time rounding the bases. I mean, why not? There is no reason to run. He just hit his first grand slam after an accident that could have taken him out of the game.
When his foot touches home plate, I feel a flutter in my belly. The first one I’ve felt, and I want so badly to tell him, but now is definitely not the time, and I’m not even sure it’s something he would be into, but inside, I secretly hope so.
Jogging back toward the dugout, he looks over at me and smiles, shaking his head while I clap my fool head off. Then he looks up at his family, who are still on their feet, going wild. He comes over and gives Buck a bro hug, while gripping the back of my head with his free hand. Then he steps away from Buck and kisses the top of my head. “Thanks, Doc.”
I don’t have a second to reply, nor do I have any idea what I would say to him. I also don’t know how to process the fact that he just kissed me, in a very public setting, before he’s off to the dugouts where his teammates, all of them, finally acknowledge him.
The entire rest of the game is close, really close. Each inning, the lead flip flops between the Jags and the Nationals. Amias has made it on base and hit another grand slam to tie up the score at the bottom of the ninth, with one out.
When Pope hits a single and brings in Vander, the stadium goes wild.
The Jags have won the game against the Nationals. Their first win during the preseason. And the Nationals aren’t happy, which clearly reflects on the field.
With two outs and no one on base, Amias is up again.
The pitcher throws a curve ball, hitting the brim of Amias’s helmet and knocking him to the ground.
The crowd goes nuts, and it’s only when I feel an arm wrap around my waist, pulling me back, do I realize I was running toward the field.
I turn to see who has me, and it’s Leland Locke.
He sets me on my feet and snarls, “You stay the fuck back, Betty Badass.”
Then, when I turn to look back at the field, I see both teams in a massive brawl.
Panicking, I look for number 4 but don’t see him.
“Amias!” I yell, and nothing, so I yell his name again and again.
Arriving back at the hotel with Jase and Max Steel, who apparently got through security, and at Buck’s insistence took me with them. Now I find myself in a different suite, seeing mine and Georgie’s suitcases next to the door.
“The concierge brought your things up,” Jase explains. “We arranged late checkouts so we could head to Orlando and, well”—he runs his hand through his hair—“after My gets back, depending on how he’s feeling, we’ll either head there tonight or tomorrow.”
“And Georgie is—”
“With Luna, Bella, Kiki, their husbands and kids at the pool. She missed how it all went down, so we told her it was a victory celebration. Bella, Tags, Kiki, and Brand got the kids out of the ballpark and brought them back here.”
“And Amias—”
“Zandor sent a text. They’re just doing a CT to make sure he’s good and to cover ass since Sam Sisco is probably in the room next to his, getting his nose set, and seems pussy enough to press charges for shit he started,” Max huffs.
“Sam?”
“The asshole pitcher.”
“How did his nose get broken?”
Jase sits down on the sofa and pats the spot next to him. “Gonna go with I hope it was My who clocked him, but since the entire team took the field, who knows?”
“I should probably get down to the pool and—”
“She’s having a great time. Give yourself a minute to settle down.”
“I’m fine,” I assure him.
“How about some water?” Carly, his wife, appears from somewhere and hands me a bottle of Evian.
“Is my purse—”
“Right here,” Carly says, walking it over to me.
“Thank you.” I open it and pull out my phone, and two cards fall to the floor. I lean down to pick them up and see that they are two more baseball cards. One says, “First Date,” and has a bat drawn on it. The second has today’s date and the words, “Second Date.”
“Those from My?” Max asks, sitting next to me.
“Yeah.” I nod as I put them back in my purse and look at my phone to see if he’s messaged. He hasn’t.
“Max.” I rub my temple, trying to remember what it was I was supposed to remember.
“Ellis, you good?”
“No. I mean, yes. Okay, this is going to sound weird, but”—I turn to him—“you were driving the night of—”
“Yeah.” He hangs his head.
“Do you remember me? From that night? Do you remember seeing me at the bar
?”
“Wait—you’re the chick My was going on about when I busted his ass and told him I thought he was gay?”
“What? No, I mean—”
“That’s the last thing I remember, and then I blacked out and, well …” He shrugs then looks up at me with wide eyes. “Wait—so are you and he—”
I shake my head. “That’s not what I’m trying and failing to verbalize here. Sorry. I just want to know if you remember me from the bar after Amias came back from, well, whatever. Do I look familiar to you?”
“Ellis,” Jase says, and I look over at him.
“Sorry, it’s just I have a theory and …” I look back at Max. “After Amias came back down, what happened?”
“He said goodbye to his boys and”—he cocks his head and smiles—“I was thirsty, and the bartender was giving me shit. Was that you who pushed me the glass of water, and that douchebag—”
“Yes.” I nod. “Yes, and you drank it. But not all of it. You drank it, and then the two of you left, and I drank whatever was left.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jase lean forward, and I look over at him.
“Ellis?”
“I did a shot, maybe two, with my friends, and they had to carry me to my room. I never even thought about this until today, but what if—”
“Fuck,” Jase interrupts and stands abruptly. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Someone wanna clue me in on what …” Max stops talking and looks at me. “You think—”
“Yes, I do. And I would strongly suggest that you have someone look at whatever toxicology reports were run and compare—”
“Someone roofied Max?” Carly gasps.
“Baby, I think someone tried to roofie Ellis and—”
“I will go to jail, and hell, and all the bad places for what I’m going to do to whoever this low-life son of a bitch is that tried to take advantage of a woman and, in the process, could have killed my son and Amias.” She grabs Jase’s face, sounding borderline insane with her next sentence. “I will scoop his nuts out with a—”
“Baby, you need to chill. That whole heart thing you got going on.”
“This is serious, Jase Steel.”
“I know, C. We’ll figure it out.”
She lets go of him and hurries to Max. “We are so sorry we grounded you and—”
Max cuts her off with a genuine smile. “Mom, like Dad said, chill.”
“I’m sorry for—”
Carly lunges at me and bear hugs me. “Don’t you be sorry for what some piece of shit tried to do to you. Don’t you ever be sorry for that.”
“Baby, you’re probably cutting off her circulation and—”
She lets go of me, stands straight, and looks at him. “Why are you talking to me? Call the cops. Call them now.”
Max elbows me. “You really think?”
“I know what I experienced wasn’t normal, and all the alcohol I consumed that night was surely out of my system after …” I snap my mouth shut, and he chuckles.
Then he leans in. “So, is the—”
“Let’s focus on one or two issues at a time.”
He nods, and my phone chimes.
Him: What a game, huh, Doc?
Me: Are you okay?
Him: Feeling good. You?
Me: You scared the hell out of me.
Him: I’ll make it up to you. I promise. See you in an hour. Date #2 tonight.
Me: Give me your word.
Him: Sweets, I’m going to do more than that. I’m going to give you the world.
Me: Are you on something?
Him: Most definitely.
“He’s okay.” I hold up my phone and try not to smile too much because I just laid a big bombshell at their feet. “He messaged. He’ll be back here in an hour.”
Ours
“Trust me, My; you need to sleep off the pain meds before you see Doc Ellis, Sweets, or your hopefully-baby-momma.” Dad chuckles.
“I put a baby up in that. Ate her, too, Dad. No food poisoning. Did you check out her ass? Might eat that, too. Definitely going to tap it. Did you check out her—”
“Amias, your mother and sisters, and their men, don’t need to hear—”
“Or Dad!” Tris laughs.
“We don’t need a play-by-play, My.”
“Dad, she’s fucking hot, though, yeah?”
“She’s beautiful, Amias.” Mom smiles sweetly, too sweetly. Okay, maybe sadly.
“You’re the most beautiful woman on the planet, you know that, right? I mean, look at you. Right, Dad?”
“Oh my God, is he ever going to shut up?” Tris jokes, or at least I think she’s joking.
“She’s smart, too. Really smart.”
The elevator stops, and we all exit.
“Is that Uncle My?”
I turn back and look for Georgie. “Not your uncle, little G. But I’m hoping you’ll call me Da—”
A hand covers my mouth.
“Ranger, take your hand off my mouth.”
“Shut it, and I will.”
“Brisa, your man is—”
“Saving your ass,” Brisa jokes.
Or, at least I think she’s joking.
“Where’s the little momma? Where’s Ellis?”
“She’s behind us, covering her daughter’s ears and your ass at the same time,” Tris mumbles. “Jesus, Dad, get him in the room.”
“Sweets, we won, yeah?”
“Yes, Amias, you won.”
“So I get snuggle lovin’, yeah?”
“Jesus, kid.” Ranger grabs me and pulls me into a room.
I wake up in the dark to a sore face, aching ribs, and remembering … every-fucking-thing I said.
Shit, shit, shit, fucking shit.
I need a shower, but I also need to do some damage control. The chances of Tris keeping her lips shut and not bombarding Ellis with questions is slim to fucking none. She’s been a bit extra these past few months. Her highs are better than the lows, but fuck, man, just … fuck.
Pulling on a shirt, I walk out into the living area of a suite, a different suite than my parents were staying in before. I take a minute to take in the scene to see just how fucked this is going to be. What she knows that I wanted to take back to Jersey.
I see the back of Ellis. She’s sitting on the couch, her feet tucked under her, elbow on her hand like she’s exhausted. Tris is sitting between her husband’s, Matteo, legs on the floor. His head is resting on the arm of the chair, and he’s asleep. Brisa and Ranger are next to Mom and Dad on the other couch.
Mom looks up and asks hesitantly, “You feeling … better?”
“I’m good. Sorry about the scene I caused.” I run my fingers through my hair. “Apparently, I do some stupid shit when I’m fucked up, yeah?”
All eyes go to Ellis, whose back straightens, and then she swings back to me.
Every one of my family members looks as if I just fucked up in a big way, and then I realize what I just said.
“Ellis, you got a minute to talk?”
She clears her throat. “Actually, I think you should let your parents tell you about what transpired with Max.” She stands. “I’m going to grab Georgie and—”
I walk over and take her hand. “Ellis, just give me a couple minutes, yeah?”
Dad stands first. “We’ll give you two some privacy.” He walks over and grabs the back of her head, planting a kiss to the top of it. “Welcome to the family.”
They clear the room quickly, and I take a step to the couch and sit.
“I was fucked up. I shouldn’t have—”
“I think Max was roofied. It hit me that the night at Kingston’s, when you and I went into the bar separately … There was a slimy guy who wanted to buy me a drink and was insistent. I ordered a water just to shut him up and was watching you say goodbye to your—”
“Slow down and sit, please.”
She sits and continues, “I gave him my water. I gave Max my water. Then I drank what was le
ft when you and he took off. I passed out. I—”
“Don’t. Don’t even say it. We’ll make the fucker pay, Ellis. We will, and the baby, even if”—I fist my hair—“even if it’s that bastard’s, it’s mine. Just like Georgie will be. I don’t care.” I pull her to me. “I’m going to make that fucker pay, and you and me, we’re going to—”
“Wait—what? No. It’s—”
“Shh …” I pull her tighter. “I’m falling. Fuck, I already fell. The minute I saw you, I fell. Jesus, this is so—”
She pushes me and sits back as she gasps. “I didn’t get raped! Lily and her friends had to basically carry me back to the room. I’m not even one hundred percent sure, but I told them, I told Max and his parents, and they’re going to have someone look into it. I didn’t get raped, Amias. This baby …” She puts her hand over her belly but doesn’t finish.
“Is mine.”
She covers her face with her hands. “You, this, us … it’s got to slow down. It’s too overwhelming, and Georgie is already getting attached to all of them. I know you want this now, but—”
“Ellis”—I push her hair back behind her ear—“I wanted baseball since I was a kid. Guess what? I still want it. I love peanut butter cups and homemade gigantic Rice Krispies treats. It has never and will never change. I am insanely focused and structured, and I think you get that. And when I saw you that night, I knew you were the opposite of every woman I have ever been with. I want you, Ellis. I want us. I want—”
“I’m not going to settle for being one of those women who are okay with their man sleeping with other women—”
“And I won’t be one of those men who promises I wouldn’t kill a man if you ever cheated on me.”
“My life has always been messy, no matter what I do to make it the opposite. I just got to a place in my life that I might have some normalcy, some control for once. And—”
“Sweets there is nothing normal about you being afraid to tell me I got you pregnant. There’s nothing normal about thinking you have to do this alone. I want to —”
“But I have and I can.”
“Not the point Ellis.” I push her hair way from her face.
