Swing Batter Swing

by Zaida Polanco

  By this point, Marty had turned fully back around, still standing at his office door, her shoulders squared back showcasing her perfect posture and her amazing rack.

  Jay looked up at her, and his breath caught in his throat as he observed her neck and cheeks starting to pink up. He’d made her blush. Wow. This fact alone was almost worth the absolute embarrassment he felt about his verbal diarrhea.

  Almost.

  Jay tried to brush it off as if he was simply stating that the sky is blue or some other obvious fact. Something besides the fact that he’d basically just told her she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Which, to Jay, was actually as obvious as the sky was blue.

  But, to her, it probably sounded a lot like her boss was hitting on her. Goddamn he was an asshole.

  Chapter 20: Marty

  Was Marty dreaming? That had to be it. There was no other explanation for why her boss, Jay fucking Michaelson, just told her she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.

  This man partied and slept with supermodels and actresses. He had access to literally any woman he wanted. He’d seen countless women naked, Marty was sure of it.

  She wasn’t dumb. She knew there was something about her look that attracted some guys to her. She figured it was the tits or the ass or both.

  Some white guys liked the thrill of being with a black girl (she tried to avoid those guys). Some black guys liked that she was light-skinned (she avoided those guys too... get the fuck outta here with that anti-blackness). Still, she knew she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in any room, and that was okay, because it was more important to her that she was smart and accomplished and funny.

  Marty looked at Jay, confusion surely etched on her face. He held her gaze so plainly, so unflinchingly, that Marty thought for a second that maybe she wasn’t dreaming, and maybe Jay wasn’t lying to her. Marty broke their eye contact and looked away, then forced herself to laugh and roll her eyes.

  “Um, okay, crazy — let’s get you some lunch. Your blood sugar must be low.”

  Jay moved from his desk with a swiftness that surprised her. He walked right to her and gently cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Don’t. Don’t do that,” he said.

  Marty thought she might faint, the air felt thinner and so electrically charged, she was surprised her hair wasn’t standing on end. Or maybe it was and she didn’t notice.

  All of her feelings, all of her senses, were honed in on the spot where Jay’s hand lingered on her chin. Her mouth suddenly felt drier than it had ever been.

  “Don’t do what?” she managed to croak out.

  Jay stepped back as if he had been burned, as if he just realized how close he had gotten.

  He ran his hand through his hair, messing up the perfect style and somehow making himself look more handsome in the process.

  “I just... fuck. I’m sorry,” he said. He looked at Marty as if weighing some impossible decision in his head.

  Finally, it clicked in Marty’s head. She wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t lying. He wanted her and he hated himself for it.

  This, Marty could work with. She tried to regain her breath as she made her way closer to him.

  “Jay,” she asked, forcing him to look up at her. His eyes widened as he saw she was closing the gap between them. “What did you mean, when you said ‘don’t do that’?”

  “I... nothing. Nothing.”

  “No, tell me.” She stopped about a foot away from where he had leaned back against the desk.

  She was a bit taller than him in this position, and he was forced to look up at her.

  “This is a mistake.” Jay looked down at his feet, his messy hair lightly grazing the top of Marty’s chest as they essentially hugged each other without wrapping their arms around one another.

  They stood like that, chests heaving, breath coming faster, with only the tiniest bit of space between their bodies, so that they were not technically touching. It didn’t matter.

  The air between them was thick and electric. Marty closed her eyes and allowed herself to rest her head on top of Jay’s, basically pulling him closer to her without actually using her hands.

  She buried her nose in his mop of hair, loving the smell of whatever fancy person shampoo he used, something with bergamot and maybe sandalwood? Regardless, she loved it and wanted to live inside the smell.

  Jay shifted against Marty and brought his hands up to gently rest on her shoulders. He inhaled deeply and finally brought his head up to look at her.

  “Marty...,” he groaned as he searched her face.

  She didn’t say anything, simply allowed him the time to find what he was looking for as she waited for him to speak.

  Finally, he reached up and delicately tucked some rogue curls behind her ears, smiling when she involuntarily shivered at the touch.

  “When I told you that you were the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen, I wasn’t lying. Or joking. Or saying that to make you feel good. I was being truthful. Because you are, okay? And, it may have been stupid to say because you work for me, but it was the truth and it is how I feel. So don’t laugh it off or cheapen it or think that I must be going crazy to feel that way about you. Because it’s not crazy, alright? You are perfect, you are beautiful, you are so many things. So many things that drive me fucking insane because I can’t have you. And Christ, I’m the worst fucking boss because I shouldn’t even be telling you any of this right now. And I definitely shouldn’t be standing so close to you like this.”

  Jay blew out a frustrated breath.

  “I understand if you don’t want to work for me anymore.”

  Marty was stunned as Jay moved away from her again. She struggled to regain her composure as he sat back down at his desk and got back to work, as if he hadn’t just mindfucked her.

  Marty was left stunned on the other side of his desk, staring down at him as he tried to ignore her.

  “Um, so that’s it then? You’re just gonna say something like that and then I don’t get to respond?”

  “Marty, there’s nothing for you to say. I’m an idiot.” He looked pained and Marty longed to make that pain go away.

  She sat down in the chair across from his desk and waited until he looked at her again. Jay opened his mouth to speak but Marty silenced him with a hand.

  “Let me just get this out and then you can talk, okay?” she asked. Jay nodded and waited for her to continue.

  “Okay so, I can’t pretend like you didn’t just say a bunch of shit that drove me crazy. I’m pretty sure my mind is still reeling from it. And, even though it is my first impulse to tell you that you clearly have me mistaken for someone else, I won’t say that anymore.”

  She hesitated on her next point before barreling on before she could chicken out. “Jay, I want you too. I’ve wanted you since the day I met you. I feel like I’ve been a little too clear about my uh... desire for you. But I never thought you would seriously look at me that way, because you can be with any woman you want. So to hear you say those things is... kind of surreal.”

  “We can’t pursue this, Marty,” he said, interrupting her.

  Marty rolled her eyes.

  “Can you just let me finish?” — off his apologetic look — “Anyway, you seem pretty set on us not pursuing this” — gesturing between them — “whatever this is. This attraction I guess. And I understand why. I get that I work for you and that is a terrible idea on so many counts. But... now, hear me out. What if, all we need to get over this is to just have sex one time? To resolve the sexual tension between us and then we can go back to normal? Because right now we are both filled with these thoughts of ‘what if’ and it’s making it difficult to focus on anything or anybody else.”

  Jay smirked, as if he didn’t believe her. “I don’t know, it didn’t seem so difficult for you to focus on Noah out there,” he said.

  Marty couldn’t help but grin, noting the possessive gleam in Jay’s eye. He did not smile back.

  Marty was pl
aying with fire but she wanted desperately to fan the flames. She got up and leaned over his desk so that she was close enough to kiss him if she felt ballsy enough.

  The angle also gave Jay an unblocked view of her tits and her bra. She felt a little pulse of pleasure when she realized his breath had grown shallow.

  Inside, Marty was freaking the fuck out. She was not nearly as confident in this moment as she normally was, and it was throwing her off her game.

  Still, she knew the facts of the situation: Jay wanted her, and she wanted him. Like really really badly. And it was clear that Jay was too chivalrous or proper to make a move on her.

  Which meant she had to take control of this situation. Where was the harm in pushing him a little to see where he’d go?

  “I know you’re jealous but you should know that hearing Noah’s voice doesn’t make me wet the way I’m wet nearly every time you speak to me. It’s honestly gotten to be a real nuisance in the workplace.”

  “Fuuuuuuuuuck,” Jay whispered, like a man about to lose control.

  He shifted in his chair and Marty smirked, knowing he was adjusting a boner and feeling a little too pleased with herself.

  Yes, she was a slut. And she fucking loved it.

  Marty leaned away from the desk and saw something like relief mixed with frustration on Jay’s face. This was short-lived, however, as she simply walked around to where he sat and turned his desk chair toward her.

  “Marty,” Jay pleaded, begging her to end this game and warning her what would happen if she didn’t. His eyes roamed every inch of her body and Marty felt feverish under his gaze.

  “Do you want me, Jay?” she asked, quietly.

  Jay closed his eyes for a beat, looking like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at her with renewed ferocity.

  “I want you more than I can explain,” he admitted, clenching his hands on the armrests.

  Hearing this was the push Marty needed to walk closer to him until she reached the space between his legs. He instinctively held onto her at her hips but then dropped his arms, instead letting his hands rest uselessly at his sides.

  “We can’t,” he whispered, as Marty leaned down toward his neck. “Marty, come on, we can’t.”

  She reached down and ran her hands through his hair, something she had wanted to do since the first day.

  Jay groaned and looked up at her through lust-filled eyes. Marty put her finger against his lips to shush his protests as she pulled him closer. When their lips were mere inches apart, and Jay’s eyes were closed, Marty stopped.

  “Jay, I’m going to kiss you, okay? I’m sorry I’m being so forward, I swear I’m not usually like this... okay wait, maybe sometimes I am. But not like, with my bosses ever. I just really need to kiss you.”

  She hesitated a beat, her confidence wavering a bit when Jay didn’t respond. He simply sat there with his eyes closed. It occurred to Marty that he was waiting for her next move.

  But all of a sudden, she couldn’t picture herself going any further. Maybe it was cold feet or insecurity. Whatever it was, she needed him to close the rest of the distance between them.

  Chapter 21: Jay

  Jay knew he shouldn’t kiss her. He knew it. But the chasm between knowing what’s right and doing what’s right feels a mile wide when the most beautiful woman in the world is between your legs tempting you to do what’s oh so very wrong.

  Which is why, when Marty told him she wanted to kiss him, that she was going to kiss him, Jay resigned himself to being a piece of shit because there was no way in hell he was going to stop her.

  He closed his eyes and waited for the kiss that didn’t come. All of a sudden, he was filled with the worrying thought that maybe she’d changed her mind. He opened his eyes and found her looking down on him, a mixture of uncertainty and lust clouding her deep brown eyes.

  Jay licked his lips and brought his hands up from where he’d forced them to stay limply by his side. He tentatively placed them on her hips, searching her face to see if there was any rejection of this gesture. She was still watching him, but he swore her breath hitched and her gaze flickered when he touched her.

  They stared at each other for a moment, her standing over him with her hands on the armrests of the chair, and him with his legs splayed open, his hands on her hips, wanting desperately to let his hands explore the rest of her but not daring to move.

  “I thought you were going to kiss me, McFly.” Jay smiled up at her, hoping his desperation wasn’t too obvious.

  Marty chewed on her bottom lip. “I was going to kiss you. But then... I chickened out. I didn’t know if it was something you wanted. And if you didn’t want it, I didn’t want to force myself on you like some sort of creep, you know? Been there, done that.”

  “Oh, well, that’s definitely a valid concern. Being a creep, I mean.”

  “Yes, I thought so.” Marty licked her lips.

  “Perhaps I can put your fears to rest, then. You are absolutely not a creep. And I would like very much to kiss you back.”

  “Oh,” Marty breathed, but before she could say anything else, Jay tightened his grip on her hips and pulled her into him. He placed a chaste kiss on her gorgeous lips and waited to see if she wanted more. He knew this was wrong so he wanted to take all his cues from her on how far they took it.

  Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long, as Marty gave a little whimper of frustration and deepened their kiss, sucking and nipping at Jay’s bottom lip.

  Oh sweet Jesus. It should have been criminal for her to be this good at kissing. She ran her hands through his hair, tugging a little and making him nearly come in his pants. He groaned and she smiled a little against his lips, clearly enjoying herself.

  “Oh, you like that, do you? You like making me miserable with wanting you?” he asked. She simply giggled in return.

  “You’re always so cool and collected... it’s kind of nice seeing you lose your head a little,” she whispered against his ear, gently taking the lobe into her mouth and sucking on it before she licked up the shell of his ear, her breath tickling him and sending any remaining blood directly down to his dick.

  “Fuck, Marty.” Jay was barely holding on, and his thoughts were consumed with touching her everywhere. He shifted her so that she was straddling him in the chair, a position that put her directly on top of his hard-on.

  Typically, Jay might be embarrassed about being so incredibly hard after a few minutes of making out, like he was some horndog teenager, but this was different. He didn’t care if Marty could feel him — hell, he wanted her to feel him, wanted her to know the effect she had on him.

  Jay recaptured her mouth and allowed his tongue to gently explore hers. She tasted like everything good, like pink Starbursts and mint. As Marty got more into the kiss, Jay finally allowed his hands to roam a little over her magnificent curves. He gave her ass a squeeze as he pulled her against him even tighter, loving the way she gasped when her thigh pressed against his cock.

  He ran his hands up her back and into those amazing curls. He didn’t want to disrupt her hair in case she was particular about it, so he settled for simply placing his hands inside her mass of hair.

  As if reading his mind, Marty pulled away and grinned at him. “I appreciate you trying to be gentle, but you can play with my hair if you want.” Jay grinned back at her before tugging on her hair a little, reveling in the delicious moan that she let out.

  She began grinding against him in the chair and it took every ounce of willpower Jay had to not shove her skirt up and fuck her right there.

  Goddamnit, what was he thinking? What was he doing? He had no idea, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to break the spell that they were under. He wanted to ride this wave until he could ride it no longer. Which is why he allowed himself to taste every part of her hot mouth, letting his tongue caress hers, while trying not to think about what all of this meant for their working relationship.

  Jay grabbed h
er hair in one hand and pulled to the side, exposing her neck to him and giving him access to lick from her collarbone up to her jaw.

  If he could bottle the sounds she made and sell them, Jay would be a very rich man. It was for the best that he couldn’t bottle them up though, because he was far too greedy to let anyone else hear the way she unraveled for him.

  Marty’s hand trailed down Jay’s chest and headed toward his quite painful erection. Jay captured her hand before she reached her destination and pulled away to look at her. She met his gaze with lidded eyes, her pupils lust blown.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, trying to resume their heavy petting session. Jay shook his head as he intercepted her wandering hand.

  “I— I can’t fuck you, Marty.”

  Marty blinked back in surprise as Jay continued.

  “Obviously, you know I want you something fierce. Hell, part of me wants to kick my own ass for putting a stop to this. But,” — he sighed heavily — “you’re still my employee. It’s not okay and it shouldn’t have even gotten this far.”

  Jay hated himself in that moment, as Marty stood up from his lap rather abruptly and smoothed out her skirt.

  He missed the weight of her already, the smell of her perfume mixed with the faint scent of jasmine from what he now knew was her hand lotion — the smells that always lingered around after she’d been in his office. Try as he might, he was never able to keep the smell trapped in there for long enough after she walked out.

  When the last glimmer of lust had been erased from her eyes, Marty went back to business as usual.

  “Right, okay so, I’ll be sending you the final spring training schedule within the hour, if you could approve that and get back to me, that would be great.” She didn’t spare him another glance as she walked out of his office and went back to her desk.

  Jay couldn’t stop the loud groan that escaped him once she left.

  God, he was an idiot. He was too old to be so stupid. He shouldn’t have let it get that far, that was for sure.