by Alexa McLean
I had nearly forgotten that Mindy was still standing there. Already, I was trying to brainstorm topics that I could write about.
“Thank you,” I responded, my voice distant.
“First day on the job and you already have a huge assignment on your hands.”
I couldn’t be sure but it sounded like she was jealous. Perhaps Mindy wasn’t trying to be my friend after all. Or maybe I’m already too stressed out to think clearly.
Chapter 10 (Gayle)
THE SEASON WAS OFF to a fantastic start. The team was playing well and I was on track for one of the best years of my entire career. All I had to do was keep this up and I’d be making history.
Crack!
I sent yet another ball flying into the woods that lined my property.
“You know, one of these days you’re going to kill something in there and then all the woodland creatures are going to riot against you.” Lily had appeared in my backyard. She wore a tightly fitted blazer and a black pencil skirt. Now, I had thought that evening gowns suited her well but this was even better because it showed off her legs and I liked that — I liked that a lot.
“I think they’re probably used to it by now,” I responded. “They probably wear umpire gear to protect themselves.”
“The thing I’m wondering is why you practice at home. Doesn’t it get lonely swinging at a baseball all day?”
“Sometimes it’s better than dealing with my teammates. I mean I love them like family but when you spend that much time with a group of guys, you tend to get sick of them.”
“Understandable.”
“But I suspect most guys aren’t allowed to practice at home.”
“No, they aren’t.”
“So, what makes you so special?”
“Well, I’m Gayle Nash, for starters.”
She laughed. “Modesty is a virtue, Gayle.”
“Is it? I had no idea.”
I swung at another ball but this time I missed. My arm was starting to get tired and I didn’t want to push it too hard. We had a game with our rivals in a couple of days and I wanted to be in tip-top shape in order to put them in their place.
“I’m just about done here. Think you’d want to join me for some BBQ? I’ve got some turkey burgers in the freezer.”
“Isn’t it a little too cold for a cookout?” She asked.
I pointed to my patio. “I have heating lamps. Once I turn those on, you’ll be as cozy as a sausage in a blanket.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
“Right, sorry.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “That didn’t come out the way I had expected it to. You know I don’t think of you as a sausage —”
“Gayle, stop now before you get yourself into trouble.”
“Good idea,” I agreed.
Usually, I’m one hell of a sweet talker. With a look alone, I could sway almost any woman my way but Lily was totally different. She rattled me and kept me always on my toes.
“Anyway, are you going to stay or should I prepare myself for another night of eating alone?”
“Sure, why not? But I need to take a shower first.”
“Think you’ve got room in there for one more?”
“Have you seen my shower? That thing is tiny. No way we would both fit inside.”
“So, we’d get up close and personal,” I countered. “Doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to me.”
“You cook and I’ll shower.”
I shook my head. “I thought you were my fiancée! A fiancée shouldn’t tease like this.”
“Fake fiancée,” she corrected. “We aren’t really engaged, Gayle. We just want the whole world to think that we are.”
And with that, she walked away and left me feeling like I had just suffered a sucker punch to the gut. Yes, I knew that the whole engagement thing was just a ploy to get her into the industry but after our night together I had simply assumed that it meant more than that.
Apparently, I was mistaken.
I tried to ignore the heart-wrenching feeling churning inside of me by thinking about Lily inside that shower getting all wet and soapy. Oh, what I wouldn’t do to see that body in all its glory every single day of my life. I would be the luckiest man alive.
But what was the point in fantasizing about a woman only wanted me for the connections that I brought to the table? Maybe Lily wasn’t as different as I thought she was. Maybe she was just the same as every other girl that had ever tried to date me.
I sighed and turned on some music in hopes that it would help clear my mind. It did. I hummed along to the tune as I added the turkey burgers to the grill and watched them sizzle against the flames.
“Right on time,” I said as Lily reappeared.
This time, her hair was wet and tousled giving her an unbelievable amount of sex appeal. To make things even better, she was wearing my jersey.
“Where did you get that?” I asked.
“I picked it up during opening day. I figured I should show my support, you know?”
“Well, it looks fabulous on you.” I placed her burger on a plate and handed it over. “But I’d love to see you with nothing on but that jersey.
“Play your cards right and you might get exactly what you ask for.” She smirked sensually.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to make of her. One second she seemed to be building up a distance between us and the next, she was reeling me in. Did she want me or did she just want to use me?
Together, we sat down on the swinging bench by the heat lamps.
“You were right. These work wonders at staving off the cold.”
“What did I tell you?”
She nodded and nibbled her sandwich. “And the food’s really good, by the way. Where did you learn to cook when you pretty much eat, breathe, and sleep baseball.”
“I wasn’t always a baseball player, you know.”
“Right. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that.”
“Do you like me better as a baseball player or as regular old Gayle Nash?”
“What kind of question is that?” She turned to face me, her hand resting on my cheek. There was this intensity to the way she looked at me that made me realize that there was more to us — to this relationship — than just a means of getting her a job but neither one of us was talking about it because, honestly, we didn’t know what to say.
Her thumb danced across my cheek as she moved a little closer.
“You’re my friend, Gayle. You’ve been a part of my life for so long that it’s difficult for me to imagine a life without you. So, no, I don’t like you better as a baseball player. I like you for who you are.”
I smiled because that was exactly what I wanted to hear.
Pulled by the invisible force that drew me toward her, I aimed to kiss her lips but before I could do so, she returned to her burger. With it in her hand, she got up and walked over to the edge of the patio where she could look up at the darkening sky. The stars had yet to twinkle but the moon sat in the distance.
“Full moon tonight,” she commented. “You know what that means.”
“All the freaks will be out and about — especially the werewolves,” I said in as sinister a voice as I could muster. “Maybe, for your own protection, you should stay here tonight.” Ever since that first night, we hadn’t been able to spend all that much time together. Mostly, it was my chaotic schedule and the fact that the coach had us working together. Given that this was my first back-to-back days off, I wanted to make the most of it but by the look on Lily’s face, I didn’t think I would get so lucky.
“I would love to, I really would, but Diana has me working on a major story this week and she’s legitimately a slave driver.”
“She’s like that.”
“Even when you two were dating?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I said. “That’s probably one of the reasons why I broke it off.”
“I’ll have to admit that it’s a little weird working for y
our ex-girlfriend.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. She and I have been separated for a long time now. Sure, there might be some flirting here and there but we really mean nothing of it. And with our engagement, I’ll make sure to keep things a bit more —”
“No, no. I don’t want to get in the way if you like her.” She leaned against the patio’s support beam. “I’m starting to think that this whole fake engagement thing was really selfish on my part. I never should have suggested it because it doesn’t do you any good.”
“I’m helping you and that’s all that matters.”
She shook her head. “You aren’t helping me. You’re making a sacrifice on my behalf and that isn’t right. Because of me, you can’t interact with other women the way you might want to.”
“Lily.” I stopped her rambling by taking both her arms and pulling her close. “Stop it. I don’t want to interact with other women.”
She blinked like she didn’t know what I meant by saying something like that. “Oh...”
There was a moment of awkward silence. I wanted to say something that would help alleviate it but I was at a loss for words.
“Anyway, I can’t stay. I have a lot of work to do and with this being my first big assignment, I really can’t afford to mess up.”
“Do you need any help?” I offered. I was grasping at stars here because I really didn’t want to see her go.
“No, I think I can manage on my own.”
“Well, if you do, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“I won’t.”
“Good,” I smiled but she didn’t return the gesture. Her face was pinched like she was lost within the depths of her own thoughts. Oh, how I wanted to know what was going through that head of hers.
“Lily?”
“Yeah?”
I had grabbed her by the wrist so she couldn’t walk away but she seemed desperate to escape me. Seeing that, I unfurled my fingers. “Never mind. Have a good night, alright.”
“Alright, you too.”
Chapter 11 (Lily)
EVERYTHING THAT I WROTE that night was absolute garbage. I had gone through about a thousand ideas and none of them had stuck. If this was my ticket into the industry then I needed something that would turn heads but there was absolutely nothing for me to work with.
It didn’t help that Gayle kept popping into my head like some kind of infection. Something about our barbecue had seemed... off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but there had definitely been some tension in the air.
Was it the fact that I had mentioned Diana or was there something else brewing in the background that I didn’t know about.
Sighing, I stretched and heard my back crack. Each vertebra felt like it was horribly out of place. Unable to sit for another moment, I got up and turned on the coffee machine. Outside, the sun was starting to peak over the horizon. I had worked through the night with absolutely nothing to show for it.
“What the heck am I supposed to do?” I asked aloud as if the silence of my home might be able to answer me. “I’m going to lose this job faster than Mindy can talk.”
To keep my mind off of my impending doom, I started to cook some breakfast. I was going to stick to something simple but soon I found myself cooking bacon and making hash browns. And, there was way too much of it.
I had definitely cooked with the intention of feeding two.
Maybe my subconscious mind was trying to tell me something.
Gayle and I needed to talk.
So, I packaged everything into Tupperware containers and brought them next door.
Gayle answered wearing nothing but a loose-fitting pair of pajama bottoms. They hung from his hips in the most delicious way.
“Wow...”
He grinned. “Sorry, I’m not more presentable. I wasn’t expecting company this early in the morning. What can I help you with?”
“I went a little overboard with breakfast this morning so I was wondering if you could help me get rid of it.”
“I suppose it would be a waste if I didn’t, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
“Alright, I can’t see why not.” He ushered me inside. “But I do find it funny how our relationship revolves around food and nothing else. It seems that whenever we are together we are always eating something.”
“You know, I never thought about it, but you’re absolutely right.”
He chuckled. “It’s not doing me any good diet wise but what my dietitian doesn’t know will not kill him.”
“Please. You have nothing to worry about. As I’ve said, you’ve got the body of a Greek God.”
He smirked. “I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing you say that.”
I rolled my eyes and made my way to the kitchen. “But, there’s something else that I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” He grabbed some plates from the china cabinet and placed them on the table. “And what might that be?”
“Last night.”
“What about it.”
“Something felt off about our conversation. I can’t quite pinpoint what it was exactly but I left feeling like I needed to apologize about something. So, I just wanted to make sure that everything is fine between the two of us.”
“Absolutely,” he answered as he poured himself a cup of orange juice. “You have nothing to apologize about as far as I’m concerned.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Still, I wasn’t convinced. There seemed to be something he wasn’t telling me and that made me nervous.
“And you aren’t just saying that, are you?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“Well, no?”
“So, why would I start?”
I bit my bottom lip and tried to convince myself that there wasn’t anything wedging itself between our friendship because I would be devastated to know I had been the cause of our falling apart.
“Anyway, how did work treat you?” He asked.
I groaned. “Horribly. I wanted to pull my hair out. There’s nothing for me to write about.”
“Maybe you need to do some field work for inspiration,” he suggested. “I don’t have a game today but tomorrow you can tag along and explore the clubhouse. You’re cute and friendly enough. I’m sure the guys will be happy to talk to you.”
“Are you being serious?”
“Yeah. Players bring their significant others to the clubhouse all the time. They like to steal our snacks but other than that, they’re welcomed. I am sure you won’t be an exception.”
“Gayle...” It touched me how much he wanted to see me succeed. “Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for. All I want is to see you smile and if this job will make you happy in life then I want nothing more than to have you do well.”
All I could do was stare at him because he was much too good for me to ever deserve him. He was the dreamboat that every girl pictured herself marrying. I was certainly one of them but the chances of Gayle marrying me for real were slim to none. He was just going along with my plan because he was a nice guy but realistically, why would he ever want to hitch up with someone like me? I had nothing to offer him other than good conversation and I doubted that would be enough to make him mine.
But a girl can dream, right? And for the time being, I could enjoy being his almost wife.
THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, I explored the clubhouse, notepad in hand. Just as Gayle had said, the players were more than happy to answer my questions.
“How are you making out?” Gayle asked a few hours before the game.
“This is perfect. I am getting plenty of source material and I am pretty sure I can whip this up into a story that will really get my name out there.”
“Excellent. That’s what I like to hear.”
I grabbed a couple of dollars from my wallet and inserted it into the vending machine hoping for a drink but the bottle became stuck on one of the metal coils. I
cursed under my breath and tried to bang the side of the machine but to absolutely no avail.
“Here, let me.” Gayle stood right behind me, our bodies nearly touching. “You have to be kind of rough with it sometimes.”
I didn’t think he was talking about the soda machine anymore.
He smacked the side of it with the palm of my hand and I flinched. I could almost feel it recoiling through my body like he had just smacked one of my butt cheeks or something. Was it bad of me to say that I liked it? That I wanted him to ride my body even harder than he had the first time we fell into bed together?
Hey, some of us girls like it rough, okay?
After a few more smacks, the bottle dropped down. I bent over to grab it. I wasn’t even thinking that Gayle was still behind me. My backside ended up rubbing against his crotch.
I hurried to grab the bottle because I was well aware of all the other people still in the clubhouse. If any of them happened to witness us...
“So, what do you intend to write about?” He asked like that whole sexual tension had never happened.
“Oh... um...” My thoughts had evaded me, replaced by fantasies of a sexy baseball player.
“Cat got your tongue?” He whispered.
“It’s...” I was holding the bottle way too tightly because it was the only way for me to ground myself against the intoxicating feeling of his breath against my lips. I wanted to kiss him more than anything else but I didn’t want to make a big PDA about it. I personally hated when couples ate face in public and I wasn’t about to become one of them even if the whole world thought Gayle and I were engaged to be married.
“Yes?”
He seemed to be getting a kick out of my struggle.
“It’s about one of your contract players and the rookie.”
“Oh?”
“And how the GM manages money and what it means for the team in the long run.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“I haven’t worked out all the kinks just yet but I have a feeling that this is going to be a good one.”
“You’re the journalist here. If you think it’s good then I’m sure you’re right.”
“I just wish I could have as much confidence in myself as you do.”
