Outta My League (Providence University #4)

by Ali Parker

  “Never, Coach.” I rolled my shoulders and leaned back to rest against the fence. The weather had been compliant to some degree. It was still chilly but no snow so far that day.

  Thomas Hammond was up to bat next.

  I stood up and moved up to the fence. “Hit it hard, Tom. Knock it outta here.”

  He rolled his shoulder and swung his bat a few times before moving closer to the plate. The catcher said something, and Tom turned at the same time the pitcher threw the ball. He turned in time to move out of the way, but it was headed right for him.

  “What the fuck was that?” I growled and turned to jog out onto the field. Coach would give me shit for getting involved later, but I was team captain. I had a few extra privileges.

  Tom was back on his feet by the time I hit the diamond.

  “Jayce, get back in the dugout now,” Coach McMillian barked at me.

  “What the fuck was that?” I yelled at the pitcher.

  He glanced over at me and gave me a cocky smile. Anger burned through my stomach, but I backed up slowly and stopped at the entrance to the dugout. The crowd was booing so loud it was disturbing. Did Thomas know the pitcher?

  I crossed my arms over my chest as the pitcher threw a curve ball. Thomas didn’t flinch but stepped forward and hit the hell out of it. It flew over the fence, and I clapped and walked back into the dugout.

  “That’s right. Fuck with us and we’ll take you out.” I sat back down as some of the guys around me chuckled.

  Thomas walked back into the dugout a few minutes later and sat down next to me with a groan. “Damn, that would’ve hurt.”

  “You know that guy?” I glanced over at him. It was rare for a pitcher to try and peg a player without cause.

  “Yeah. Sort of.” He gave me a sly smile. “I didn’t know it was his girlfriend I was hitting on last weekend in a bar up in Boston.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. “You hit on that dude’s girlfriend?”

  I glanced back out there, noting how big the guy was.

  “Yep. I had no clue. Little bitch gave me her number and practically gave me a lap dance.” He snorted. “I think she wanted the big guy out there to get jealous.”

  “How the hell did he recognize you?” I glanced over at Thomas. He looked like every other white guy in the northeast. The guy had no distinguishing features at all.

  “I was wearing my hat.” He reached up and put his hat back on. “He got in my face and said he was going to whoop my ass in the game next week.” He pointed to the field. “This game.”

  “Well, fuck him. The score shows that his girl should have given you more than a lap dance.” Gibbons, a big black guy, walked by us and popped the bill of Thomas’s hat. “Hope you steal her from underneath his nose.”

  “I’m good, but thanks, buddy.” Thomas smiled and leaned back. “I’m just praying we win this thing. We’re up eight runs now.”

  “We’re gonna win. No doubt about it.” I got up and pressed my arms to the fence, scanning the field before I turned my head to watch Layla. We hadn’t made love since that first night because of being so damn busy, but I wanted to revisit her desire to have me touch and kiss every part of her. “Tonight.”

  Now I just needed to find a way to get rid of our friends. As if.

  We held tight to our eight-run lead, but Boston didn’t let us get another run in after that. The team celebrated in the locker room together, turning on music and dancing around. We had a good handful of characters on the team, but I wasn’t one of them. I gave everyone a high five and walked back up to the baseball diamond. I’d shower later. I wanted to find Layla and see what she thought of the game.

  “Hey, you.” She stood up from the stands as I walked around the fence to get to her.

  “Hi, beautiful.” I reached up and offered her my hand as she stepped off the bleachers. Her long white skirt and pretty pink top softened her a little. So many thoughts raced through my mind, all of them focused on our future. I could almost see her in a long white dress, walking toward me down the aisle of a big church. Or in a hospital bed, holding a little pink bundle with tears in her eyes.

  “You okay?” She touched the side of my face and drew me down toward her.

  “Oh yeah. I just keep seeing our future together.” I slid my hands over her hips and pulled her in tight as I kissed her a few times. The smell of her skin left my pulse spiking. “No hanging out with friends tonight. I want you to myself.”

  “Good.” She tightened her arms around my neck. “You promised to help me with my hitting problem. How about now?”

  I laughed and glanced down the length of her body. “You’re in a dress.”

  “And? I can do everything in this skirt that I can do in pants.” She gave me a look that screamed challenge.

  “Fine. Let’s see what you got.” I moved back and reached for her hand.

  “It’s just outside pitches,” she grumbled softly beside me. “I used to be fine with them, but for some reason, I’m not able to connect as well as I used to be. Coach keeps telling me to work on exercises that affect my hip flexors, but I’m doing that and still nothing.”

  I picked up a glove from the ground just inside the dugout. “I’ll throw you a few outside pitches and you hit just like you normally would. Give me five good hits and we’ll figure it out, okay, baby?”

  “All right. I’m warning you, though. It’s about to get ugly.” She picked up a bat and swung it as she walked to home plate and wagged her eyebrows at me.

  “You’re turning me on.” I turned and walked to the pitcher’s mound but stopped in front of it where she’d most likely be pitched to during a softball game. “Know how hard it is to concentrate with a hard-on poking you in the stomach?”

  “Um, no, I don’t.” She laughed and moved up toward home plate as she lifted the bat. “Help me with this and I promise to help you with that.” She nodded toward my waist.

  “Deal.” I got in position and let my eyes run over her slowly. Concentrating on her position and form was going to be difficult, seeing that I’d already started to strip her naked in my mind’s eye.

  “Are you paying attention?” She cocked her hip and swung the bat a few times.

  “No. You’re so beautiful. It’s hard to concentrate with you around.” I took a quick breath, rolled my shoulders, and nodded. “All right. I’m good.”

  She laughed and nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  “Stop flirting with me and get ready.” I swung my arm around and threw an outside pitch underhanded toward her.

  She swung and missed the softball altogether. Interesting.

  “Well?” She put her hand on her hip as her eyes narrowed a little. She was as much of a competitor as I was. This was going to get interesting fast.

  “Four more and we’ll talk. Stop thinking about what you’re doing and work on hitting the ball. I need to see your natural rotation.”

  “I’m trying. Having you watch me is a little nerve-wracking. Stop being so bossy too. It’s hot.” She turned to the side and got back into position.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, woman.” I smiled and threw the ball again. We went through the same routine three more times before I walked toward her.

  “Mind if I put my hands on you?” I tossed the ball and glove behind me and took her bat from her. “Get in position.” I moved up behind her and slid my hands over her hips, gripping them tightly.

  She sucked in a quick breath and pressed her back against my chest. “I love it when you touch me.”

  “Good.” I turned her a little and leaned forward, brushing my nose along her neck as she shivered. “You’re pulling out with your hips for some reason. I’m gonna hold on to you tightly and you pretend to hit the ball. Let me have control of your lower half as much as you can.”

  “Sounds naughty,” she whispered sensually.

  I took a shaky breath and shook my head. “All right. Step toward the plate instead of away from it. That’ll help.”

&n
bsp; She nodded and lifted her hands as if holding a bat. She let out a soft sigh and stepped toward the plate as I shifted her hips just a little. She swung and pulled from me.

  “Wow. Weird. I could seriously feel the difference.”

  “Right? Let’s try it again and then I’ll get the ball and we’ll let you hit a few more. Your natural tendency is going to be to pull back and not twist your hips as you step toward the plate. Fight against it. Make new muscle memory. Ready?”

  “Can you show me one more time?” She gave me a flirty smile over her shoulder.

  “Get over here, you bad thing. You didn’t need my help. You just wanted my hands on you.” I gripped her tightly and pressed my arousal to her rear as I nipped at her ear. “This would be more fun back at the apartment.”

  “One more rotation and we’ll go.” She lifted her arms and performed the movement perfectly.

  “With the bat?” I moved to pick it up and handed it to her.

  “Yeah. Let’s do it.” She rolled the bat and smiled. Her innuendos were going to be the death of me and she knew it.

  “I’m going to spank you when we get back to the apartment for being so cheeky.” I grabbed the ball and my glove. I got in position and looked her way.

  The smile on her lips told me I was in trouble. “Please?”

  I groaned and threw the ball. She hit it so hard, it went over the fence. She didn’t need my help, sneaky little thing. Somehow, the thought of her playing me left me wanting her to do it again and again.

  Chapter 22

  Layla

  “I did too need help.” I turned toward Jayce as we got into my Jeep.

  “I’m just saying, you fixed the problem pretty quickly.” He gave me a cute smile that made my heart melt. Never in a million years would I have thought of myself as sappy, but around him, I turned into a different woman. Everything was brighter and better because he was mine. It was a scary notion that he could walk anytime and I’d have to figure it all out on my own again, but I refused to think too much about it.

  I’d enjoy the good times while they lasted.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking about doing after graduation.” He reached out and took my hand, kissing the back of it a few times. “It’s a conversation we probably need to have sooner than later, right?”

  “We just started dating.” I snorted and pulled my hand from his. “But I guess I’m hoping that the assistant coaching job up here will be open about the time I leave. Coach Warren mentioned it the other day.” I shrugged. “I’d love to coach until I started a family.”

  “You want a family?”

  I turned on the Jeep and started the heater. “Yeah. Do you?”

  “Absolutely. I know it’s silly, but it’s one of the only things I want.” He pursed his lips together tightly, as if wanting to say more but unwilling to open his heart up too much.

  “It’s not silly.” I reached over and rested my hand on his thigh. “It’s weird to think Aubrey and Lucas are going to be married in a month. I honestly didn’t think she would get hitched until she had her career under way and a million dollars in the bank.”

  “You and me both.” He took my hand in his. “I’ve always been the one of the two of us that wanted to get married and have kids.”

  “What are you wanting to do with your business degree? Still hoping to own your own business?” I knew the answers to most of the questions I asked him, but it was nice to hear it from him instead of second-hand from Aubrey.

  “Yeah. My dad and I have been looking at property in town. As long as I can pass this freaking Chemistry class, I’ll be good to go.” He ran his fingers down mine and intertwined them with mine. “I want to stay in Providence. You good with that?”

  The fact that he cared where I wanted to spend my future meant something. He expected me to be a part of his life for a while. I wanted to crack open his thoughts and see where I fit into everything, but it wasn’t possible. Obviously, he planned on us being together after graduation.

  “I want to stay here too, unless there’s a reason to move.” I turned my attention toward him, letting my eyes run over his strong features. He was beyond handsome and had every quality that a good man did. He was kind and caring, dominant and yet soft when I needed him to be.

  “What?” He glanced at me.

  “Nothing. I’m just trying to grasp the idea that this thing between us might last for longer than a few months.” I shrugged and pulled my hand from his before wrapping my arms around myself.

  “What?” He chuckled and pulled up to the apartment complex. “A few months?”

  “Yeah. I’ve never had a relationship last very long.” I shrugged and got out of the Jeep, walking to the front as he reached for me.

  “You’re the only woman I’ve ever seen in my future, Layla. This isn’t a fling or a friends with benefits thing for me. I love you. Aubrey and Lucas are using the church first, but if it was up to me, we’d be following behind them pretty quickly.” He leaned down and brushed his nose against mine. “Too much?”

  “No.” I let out a soft sigh and pressed myself against him. Why was I trying to protect myself from the greatest love affair I could ever have? “I want that too.”

  “Good. Then start planning the future with me.” He kissed the side of my mouth. “How many babies are you going to give me?”

  Tears burned my eyes. “As many as you want.”

  He nodded. “Good answer.”

  I pressed my lips to his and let out a soft cry as he tightened his hold on me. No more searching, no more looking, no more hoping for the right man, though I knew all along where he was and who he was. I didn’t have to wonder anymore. He wanted me forever. That didn’t have to start when I had a ring on my finger. It could start now.

  “Make love to me,” I whispered against his lips.

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.” He bent down and picked me up.

  I yelped and swatted at him as he jogged up the stairs holding me in his arms. “Put me down! You’re going to hurt your back.”

  “Hush. I’m not going to hurt anything but your vocal cords. I plan on listening to you use them up tonight.” He stopped at the door and tilted his head. “Yeah, I gotta put you down to get the keys.”

  We laughed together and he set me down and opened the door.

  I walked in and pulled off my earrings before tugging my hair down from the ponytail I had it in. “I’m going to start you a shower.”

  “All right. I’ll be right there. I need some water. Layla.”

  I turned around and pressed my hand to the wall as my knees grew weak. He was so far beyond beautiful. I didn’t deserve a man like him, but there he was. Finally. Mine.

  “Yes?” I brushed my hair back and pressed my teeth into my bottom lip.

  “I love you. Like crazy much. Stop thinking this isn’t forever, okay? Just because it’s new doesn’t mean my feelings are. Me loving you is a really, really old thing.” He winked and walked into the kitchen, leaving me broken open. I knew exactly what he meant. It was my story as well as his.

  After turning on the shower, I walked to my bedroom and sat down on the edge of my bed. There was a missed call from my mother, which caused my pulse to spike immediately. There hadn’t been too many times over the last eight months that I’d gotten a call from her that wasn’t an emergency.

  “Mom?” I spoke quickly as she picked up the phone.

  “Hey, baby.” She sounded normal. Almost too normal.

  “Everything okay?” I realized I was hunched over and whispering. Fear had me bowing to its power. I forced myself to my feet and walked around the room. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  Jayce appeared in the doorway wearing his black boxer briefs and nothing else. I wanted to appreciate the sight of him, but I couldn’t.

  “I’m okay. I promise.” She paused. “Your dad visited with a counselor this week. It went really well.”

  “That’s great news.” I turned and walked toward Ja
yce as his face filled with concern.

  I pulled the phone from my ear and put it on speaker so he could hear the conversation too. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to the top of my shoulder as I sagged against him.

  “Yeah. I was calling to see if maybe you and Jayce might want to come have lunch out at the house tomorrow. Your dad’s fighting through a lot of demons right now, but he’s not drinking. I think maybe having you guys come by would help. He’s probably going to be a little embarrassed, but he needs to see other people care about him.” Her voice softened as if she were struggling to hold herself together.

  “Of course, Mom. We’ll be there for lunch tomorrow. You want Jayce to bring some gloves and a ball? You know Daddy loves baseball like crazy.” I moved back and glanced up as Jayce smiled and nodded in agreement.

  “That would be wonderful. I’ll cook a big lunch and you guys can join us. I love you, baby. Be safe, okay?”

  “All right, Mom. I love you too.” I dropped the call and tossed the phone back toward my bed. “Thank God. I thought maybe something was wrong.”

  Jayce slid his hands up my sides and over my shoulders to cup my face. “Everything is going to be great from here on out. If something goes off course, we’ll handle it together, okay? No more worrying tonight.”

  “Okay.” I leaned into him and ran my fingers over his sides, squeezing softly before cupping his butt. “Your butt is so squishy. I love it.”

  “Good. It’s yours.” He leaned down, turned his face to the side a little, and kissed me in a way that I’d only experienced in my fantasies. His tongue pressed against my lips, beckoning me to open myself up to him. I welcomed him deep inside my mouth and moved my hands down into his underwear, pushing them over the curve of his ass before reaching between us and carefully pulling them over his erection.

  “God, you turn me on,” I mumbled against his lips as he nodded and moved back.

  “Come get in the shower with me. I wanna touch you.” He reached for my shirt, pulling it over my head, and knelt in front of me to pull my skirt and panties over my thighs. I reached back and undid my bra, tossing it into the hallway.