Waste of Handsome (Carolina Waves #2)

by Tina Gallagher

  Until it didn’t.

  And now there’s Hannah. For some reason with her, I’m not preparing for the end. In fact, I’m thinking about all sorts of things that never entered my mind before. Things I’ve avoided my whole life.

  I don’t need a psychiatrist to tell me why I’ve lived the way I have. It has more to do with my father than baseball. He loved my mother so much that more than twenty years later he still can’t move past her death.

  I never wanted to feel that way about anyone. Didn’t want to give someone that much control over my life. And until now, I didn’t.

  I had women that lasted for a season then went away. I always made it clear up front what they’d be getting...a few months of travel, good meals, and some great sex. Over the years, a few got clingy, but most just enjoyed the relationship for what it was, took the perks as they came, and left when it was time. I never had any real issues until Cindy. She took clingy to a whole other level and when the end came, she refused to go away

  After the whole book debacle, I planned on spending this season alone, but finally got my head out of my ass and noticed Hannah...really saw her...and I’m so happy I did. She’s different and I feel different with her. Feel more with her. She makes me jealous. She makes me horny. She makes me want things I’ve never wanted before.

  Before I could dig into that last thought too much, the subject of my musing suddenly pushed herself off my chest and sat, grazing my balls with her knee in the process. Not enough to cause any real damage, but I definitely felt it.

  “Ugh!” I grabbed my junk and bent my knees, trapping her leg between mine and my abs.

  “Oh my God! Jack! Are you okay?”

  She shouted those things as she extracted her leg from my hold and shifted onto her knees next to me. I took a few deep breaths and nodded.

  “I’m fine.” I let go of the boys and settled back against the pillows. “You didn’t get me too bad. It was just a shock.” Her glistening eyes met mine and my stomach flipped. “Hannah, I’m fine.” I reached out and pulled her against my chest again. “Please don’t cry. It’s all good. No damage done.”

  “I can’t believe I did that. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” I kissed the top of her head. “Really.”

  “I had a dream that I overslept then woke up and was afraid I actually did.”

  “I was gonna wake you in fifteen minutes or so. I wasn’t sure what time you want to be at the stadium.”

  “Eight thirty,” she said. “I really should go so I’m not late.”

  “Let me cook you breakfast.”

  “Thank you, but I don’t normally eat breakfast.”

  I shifted onto my side so I could look at her.

  “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s the most important meal of the day?”

  “I’ve heard, but I’m not usually hungry in the morning.”

  “Maybe I’m not giving you enough of a workout.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Maybe I need to step up my game.”

  “Your game is fine. If it was any better, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

  Her giggle echoed through the room when I tickled her ear with the tip of my tongue.

  “You need to have more faith in yourself. I’m sure you’d manage to keep up.”

  “Think so?” she asked.

  I licked my way down her neck to her collarbone and nibbled, then nodded.

  “I believe in you.”

  Her pebbled nipple pushed against the fabric of my T-shirt and I couldn’t help myself. I opened my mouth wide and sucked her through the soft fabric. She dug her fingers into my hair and moaned. I moved my head to give her other nipple the same treatment. Don’t want to play favorites. I was about to lift the shirt so I could taste her sweet skin, but she had other plans. Hannah pushed against my shoulders, urging me to roll onto my back.

  “I want to make sure I didn’t do any real damage,” she said.

  My dick was practically busting out of my shorts and when she pulled the waistband down, it sprang free and she caught it in a tight grip. The sight of her watching her hand move up my full length then back down again nearly did me in.

  “Everything looks like it’s in working order, but I want to be really sure.”

  She wrapped her hand around the base and her lips around the head then slowly slid down until they met in the middle. Moving up and down, she licked and sucked, going deeper at every pass, pulling me into her mouth further and further until her hand was gone and I nudged the back of her throat.

  “Hannah. Fuck.”

  Moving her head back, she wrapped her fist around me again and held me in place as her tongue swirled around the tip and sucked before taking me all the way in again. I dug my fingers into her hair and held on for the ride.

  Her free hand stroked up my thigh and cupped my balls, squeezing and gently tugging, dragging me closer to the edge.

  “Hannah.” I squeezed her scalp. “Baby, I’m gonna come.”

  Instead of pulling back, she sucked harder and squeezed. That did it.

  “Hannah.”

  Her name came out as a garbled grunt as I felt my dick pulse over and over again inside her warm, wet mouth. She stayed with me the whole time, drawing out my release. When it was over, I loosened my hold on her hair and fell back against the pillow, pulling in deep breaths. She released me and placed a soft kiss on my hip bone, her mouth curled into a small smile as she looked up at me.

  “Well, it seems like everything is in working order.”

  Chapter 23

  Jack

  I circled around the stadium and spotted Hannah’s car before continuing to the players’ lot. After blowing my mind earlier, she’d refused to let me reciprocate, saying she needed to go home to get ready for work. While she got dressed, I made a couple ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches and we ate them at the kitchen table. It was all very domestic. I think I’d like to start every day that way, with or without the world-class blow job beforehand.

  Pulling into my usual spot, I grabbed my duffle and plastic bag from the passenger seat and got out of the truck. Hannah had reminded me that Jeremy Walsh would be at the game today so I brought along a new practice shirt and glove to give him. I’m sure Hannah put together a goodie bag, too. She has a never-ending supply of team swag that she’s not afraid to hand out.

  I walked through the parking lot to the players’ entrance, chatting with the security guards for a few minutes before going inside. Country music echoed down the hallway and blasted out at me when I opened the locker room doors. That means Kasprzyk controlled the music this morning. At least it’s the newer rock-style country and not that old-fashioned twangy crap he listens to sometimes. This stuff is pretty decent and doesn’t give me a migraine.

  Besides the music, it was pretty quiet in the locker room. No bickering or busting. I settled in at my locker and started my usual pre-game ritual. Some guys are really superstitious and do things the same way because they think it’s bad luck not to. I do things the same way because the ritual helps me get into the right frame of mind.

  “Hey,” Dan settled into the chair at his locker next to me.

  I glanced at the clock. “I’m surprised you’re here so early.”

  “My wife slash physical therapist gave me some extra stretches to do today. She said my leg needs to be a little looser.”

  “I’m not even gonna comment on that.”

  He shook his head and chuckled. “She was speaking as my physical therapist, not my wife when she said that.”

  “I’m sure she was.” I held my hands out in front of me, palms up. “No judgment here.”

  “I’m just happy they’re here. The three of us lived in a bubble last year. I got used to being with them all the time,” he said. “We’ve been working on a schedule for the season so we’re not apart too long. Thankfully Sabrina has a lot of vacation time and can set her own schedule now that she’s a partner.”

  “What’s Jeff doing now that Sabrina i
s around?”

  “He still hangs with Lexi when Sabrina works and the rest of the time, he deals with my accounting and investments. Now that he has more free time, he’s thinking about taking on some other clients. He definitely doesn’t want to go back to working on Wall Street.”

  “If he is taking on new people, I’m definitely interested.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  I stood and grabbed my duffle and the bag for Jeremy.

  “What’d you bring a snack?” Dan asked.

  “That kid I met at the beach bash is here today. I have a couple things for him.”

  We both walked out of the locker room toward the tunnel leading to the field.

  “Are Sabrina and Lexi coming today?” I asked.

  “They’ll be here. Which reminds me. Did you tell Monte and Cal that Hannah is coming with us tomorrow?”

  “Not yet. I’ll tell them before the game.”

  I looked around the stands, disappointed there was no sign of Hannah. But it’s still early.

  After dropping our things in the dugout, Dan and I walked onto the field to stretch. Cal and Monte were limbering up in right field so we joined them. Talk about a break. I thought I’d have to do some serious maneuvering to get them alone.

  “I wanted to tell you guys something about the trip tomorrow,” I said as I started my stretching routine. They continued to stretch but gave me their attention. “Hannah and I have been seeing each other the past few weeks and she’s coming along.”

  As if it was rehearsed, their eyes rounded and they looked to Dan then back to me.

  “Hannah Adams?” Monte asked.

  I nodded and looked back and forth from him to Cal who said, “Wow.”

  “I just wanted to give you fair warning so you don’t do what you’re doing right now.”

  “I appreciate that,” Monte said. “I’ll have it under control for tomorrow.”

  “Yeah,” Cal agreed. “I like Hannah, but it would definitely be a shock if she showed up and I wasn’t expecting her.”

  “So we’re good?” I asked.

  They nodded and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully my friends have some respect for Hannah because if she was anyone else, I know they’d be busting my ass. Then again, if she was anyone else, I probably wouldn’t be bringing her along.

  I’d just finished batting practice when I spotted Jeremy and his mom walking down the stairs toward the field. They settled into their seats three rows back, just to the right of home plate. I reached down and grabbed a ball then walked toward the wall.

  “Jeremy,” I yelled.

  He looked down at me and I held up the ball then tossed it his way once I knew he was ready for it. I gestured for him to come down and he ran down the steps.

  “Glad to see you here,” I said. “How’s it going?”

  “Great,” he said. “I made that travel team I told you about. I’m the starting shortstop.”

  “That’s awesome.” I gave him a high five. “Hold on a second, I have something for you.”

  I ran to the dugout and grabbed the bag. Jeremy watched Derek Moss scoop up a ball at shortstop then twirl around in a circle, leap, and sidearm it to first base. Fucking hot dog.

  Leaning my elbow against the wall, I said, “See that right there?” He nodded. “That’s exactly what you don’t want to do. Yes, it looks impressive, but there are too many things that can go wrong when you ham it up like that. The ball could take a wicked hop, you could trip, throw the ball away.” I shrugged. “And there’s no reason for it. My high school coach used to say that a mediocre player makes the easy plays look hard and a great one makes the hard plays look easy.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  I held up the bag. “These are for you.”

  He grabbed the glove out of the bag and looked back and forth between it and me.

  “This is so cool. It has your name on it and everything.” He ran his fingers along each letter of my name stitched in pale blue thread along the back of the little finger. “Thank you so much. This is so awesome.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said. “I have to limber up some more before the game starts but I’ll catch you later.”

  “Good luck today,” he said then turned and ran back up to show his mother every detail of the glove.

  I walked toward the first base line and placed my feet shoulder-length apart and leaned forward to stretch my hips out some more. After bending down to one leg then the other, I stood straight and spotted Hannah at the top of the stairs watching me. I met her gaze and the corner of my mouth kicked up. She answered with a shy smile that twisted my guts. I have no idea how this women can affect me with a single look, but I definitely like it.

  Hannah

  “Hi Hannah.”

  Lexi’s voice pulled me from the Jack-induced daze I’d fallen into. I dragged my gaze from his and turned toward her and Sabrina.

  “Hi guys,” I said.

  Lexi waved to Jack, her whole body getting into the motion. Jack waved back, though his was a bit more subdued. His smile glowed with love for the little girl, though.

  “Do you know if Ava is here yet?” Lexi asked, as she looked toward the family seats for Ava Kasprzyk, John’s daughter.

  “I haven’t seen her, but I just got down here,” I replied.

  “And you were busy looking at someone else,” Sabrina muttered.

  I’ve only met her a few times, but I really like Sabrina.

  “That obvious, huh?”

  She shrugged. “Probably only to someone who knows who you’re looking at and why.”

  “There’s Daddy. I’m gonna go say hi,” Lexi said and ran down the steps toward the home plate wall.

  “I seriously wish I had half of her energy,” Sabrina said.

  “To see you two together, you’d never know you met less than a year ago,” I said.

  “She’s very easy to love, and thankfully she’s willing to share her father with me.”

  “You make a great family, and I know Dan is thrilled you’re here.”

  “It’s nice to be back together and I can’t complain about being in this perfect weather, especially since it’s been cold back home,” she said. “What about you? Dan said you don’t normally come to spring training.”

  “I don’t, but Mr. Hanover insisted so here I am. Honestly, I could have just traveled down for events but he wanted me on site every day. I thought I’d be totally off my routine, but I’ve managed to get things done without any issues.”

  “And your events with Jack?”

  “They’re going well. He’s so great with fans, especially the kids, my job is easy. Speaking of,” I said and held up the bag in my left hand. “These are for a boy Jack met at an event we did a couple weeks ago. He and his mother are down in the family section.”

  “I’m heading that way.”

  We walked down the steps and I said hello to Karen and Jeremy and introduced them to Sabrina.

  “It looks like Jack already gave you a couple things, but here’s some more.” I handed the bag to Jeremy.

  “Thank you!” Jeremy took the bag and dug through it with his right hand, never taking Jack’s glove off his left. “This is so awesome.”

  With the game about to start, Lexi left her perch at the wall to sit next to Sabrina in the row behind Karen and Jeremy. Just after the national anthem, Natalie Kasprzyk arrived with Ava, her parents, and in-laws in tow.

  After introductions were made, I decided to sit next to Karen to watch the game.

  There was no real action until the fourth inning when Oskar Marquez hit a line drive double to left field to start off. After that, the Waves’ bats came alive and by the seventh inning stretch, they were ahead six to nothing.

  I left the group and headed back to my office to finish up a few things. I clicked on the TV hanging on the wall across from my desk so I could listen to the end of the game. Jack and some of the other starters were taken out in the eighth inning, giving the roo
kies and Minor League players extra playing time.

  After making a few phone calls and answering some emails, I decided to officially call it a day. I have a few errands to run after work and still have to decide what to wear on the trip to the Keys.

  I still can’t believe I have plans to hang out on a boat with Jack and his friends. Hell, I can’t believe I’m with Jack. I never thought I’d act on the ridiculous crush I’ve been harboring for years. Besides the fact he never seemed interested, I always said I’d never get involved with an athlete or an actor. At this point in my life, I’ve done both. Hopefully things with Jack will end better than they did with the actor. I’m older and wiser now so I’m pretty confident they will. Besides, Jack is already established in his profession, he definitely doesn’t need me for my connections.

  Before my thoughts could go down too far down memory lane, I heard a knock on my door.

  “Come in,” I yelled.

  Doug Luna popped his head in and looked around. “I wasn’t sure if you were in a meeting.”

  “Nope, it’s just me,” I said. “What’s up?”

  “A bunch of us are going out to happy hour and I was wondering if you wanted to come along.”

  “Thank you, but I have a bunch of errands to run after work.”

  “Maybe next time,” he said. “Are you in tomorrow?”

  “No, I’m taking the day off.”

  “Doing anything special?”

  “Just relaxing.” That’s not a total lie. I’m sure I’ll be relaxing on the boat and in our final destination.

  “Well enjoy. I’ll be here all day moderating a baseball camp.”

  “Have fun.”

  I shut down my computer and sat back to wait for updates to complete before undocking.