“Naaattteeee. Oh my fucking god. Yes.”
Her climax coats my tongue and I smile around the face full of pussy I currently have.
Bringing her back down to earth slowly, I stand back up to my full height, kissing her stomach, ribs and neck as I go.
“You look fucking fantastic when you come, Bambi.”
Placing a kiss to her forehead, I tell her, “Come on, let’s get dry, it’s late and I want you in my bed.”
A shy smile pulls at her mouth and it’s right here that I realize that Dean was once again right. I do still love her. I never stopped.
Taking her hand in mine, I turn the shower off and pull her out of it, before encasing her in a towel and wrapping one around my own hips. The entire time she doesn’t move. Watching her, I watch her eyes take me in and as she does, she licks her lips and swallows hard.
“See something you like, El?” Shocked that she’s been caught staring, I tell her, “It’s okay, I don’t mind, but you’re the only one who gets to look at me that way… ever. Just so we’re clear.”
I leave the bathroom knowing she will follow me and turn on the light, allowing me to see my bedroom.
“Oh wow. That’s one huge bed, how the hell am I supposed to get into that?”
I turn to look at her and she has genuine distress on her face about getting into my bed. Laughing I go over to where she’s still standing in the doorway of the bathroom and pick her up with no warning.
“Nate, you really have got to stop this hoofing me around business.”
“No can do, Bambi. My little midget has an issue and I’m here to help, so stop ya whining woman.”
Placing her towel clad body on top of the covers, I go to give her a kiss, when I hear my phone ringing from in the bathroom.
“You need to go and answer that, it could be important.”
Giving her the kiss I wanted to, I leave her where she is to go and retrieve my phone my jeans pocket. Seeing Dean’s name flash like a beacon on my screen, I want to press ignore. I know if I do, then the fucker will just keep calling until I answer it. Deciding on the lesser of the two evils, I slide the green button across and answer it, as I leave the bathroom.
“Oi, dumb ass. Where the fuck did you get to? Eliza…”
Well, what a way to say hello, dickhead.
“Let me just stop you right there, ass munch.”
Going over to El, she parts her legs allowing me to wedge myself between them.
“Eliza is just fine, so there’s no need to panic and for your information we’re at my place. Is there anything else you would like to know, because right now I don’t really want to talk to you. I have a gorgeous woman who’s wet and downright horny waiting for me on my bed.”
Those words earn me a punch to the arm from El and a loud laugh from Dean down the phone line.
“As you were dude, as you were. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Ending the call, I throw my phone onto the nightstand and peel the towel, El is wearing from her body.
“Now, where we before that cock blocker called?”
My towel slips from my hips as I push her down on to the bed and spend the rest of the night in my favorite place, between Eliza's legs.
The sense of feeling happy overwhelms me when I wake up and I have the soft body of Eliza pressed up against mine to thank for it. She is definitely the only woman I won’t and have never kicked out from my bed. Squinting my eyes open, I’m red with a mass of chestnut curls and soft snores.
The light from outside peeks in through the cracks in the curtains, making me think that today is a new day, a fresh start. I know now that I can tell Eliza what the plane crash did to me. She’s here to stay and she won’t judge me. Having her in my bed has given me my first, full night’s sleep, without waking up sweating or screaming.
“I can hear you thinking from here.” Her sleep laden voice says. Squeezing her tighter to me, I kiss the top of her head.
“Morning, Bambi. Did you sleep okay?”
“Can’t breathe. Must let go. Ribs cracking.”
She’s joking, but her words come out like a robot is speaking. Letting her loose a little bit, she turns around and faces me.
“When you finally allowed me to sleep, then yes I slept like a baby.” She jokes, while running her fingers over the stubble on my cheeks.
“I see you still snore like a hippo.” Her face is deadly serious and I start to believe her when she bursts out laughing. “Oh my god, you actually believed me, didn’t you?”
“No. I know I don’t snore.”
I try to save face, but she sees straight through me.
“It’s okay, Nate. I believe ya, thousands wouldn't.”
“Are you getting cheeky with me Eliza Rodriguez?” I ask her as my fingers trail up her ribcage and start to tickle her.
“Oh my god, Nate. Stop, I'm gonna wet myself.”
Her laugh is contagious and I laugh right along with her. Slapping her firm butt, I let her go and roll to the edge of the bed. Soft hands come around my waist and travel up my abs and pecs.
"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Michaels? You can't leave me alone in this big bed, all on my own.”
“You’re right, I can't. That's why you're getting up and coming with me. I have something to show you and if you want me to talk. I mean really talk about the plane crash, then there's only one place I'll do it.”
Taking her hand from my chest, I lay a kiss on the inside of her palm and peel her from where she's plastered to my back.
“Get dressed, we'll grab breakfast on the way.”
“Nate, I can tell you're a man on a mission and I hate to burst it, but I only have the dress I wore last night with me.”
Taking my ass over to the bathroom, I inform her that we'll stop by her place as well on the way, so she can change. As if my inner caveman instincts kick in, I pause by my chest of drawers. I pull out my favorite Rolling Stones t-shirt and throw it over onto the bed.
“Put that on over the top will ya please? For me and my sanity, because that dress is lethal to my health.”
Crawling from the bed, she jumps off it and in all her naked glory, she stands before me.
“Yes sir.” She says and salutes me at the same time.
Looking at her now, I would love nothing more than to spend the day ravishing her, but if I don't go ahead with my in the spare of the moment plan, then I will never do it.
“Get dressed, for both our sakes.” My tone is a warning, but playful.
Biting her bottom lip, she places her hands on her hips and saunters right past me. She goes straight into the bathroom, only to return seconds later, with her dress clasped in one of her hands. Her new found sass has repercussions on my dick. If having morning wood wasn't bad enough, I've now got the most painful erection known to man. Stopping short of the bed, she stops dead on the spot and looks at me over her bare shoulder.
“Down boy, we have plans.”
Oh fuck my life, she's gonna be the death of me and my dick.
After I've showered and taken El home to change. Which I might add, almost caused my dick to explode once again, when she re-emerged from her apartment. The little minx walked out in a pair of denim shorts so short, I'm certain her butt cheeks were gonna fall out. What made me growl with need for her, was the fact she had kept on my Rolling Stones t-shirt and tied a knot in the middle, showing off her tanned and soft stomach. Once I had myself under control and my cock was no longer straining against my chino shorts, I take us to Starbucks. I grab two coffees and two cream cheese bagels, before bringing her here.
We're both sitting in my car in the Dodgers stadium car park and I haven't said a single word since we arrived almost an hour ago. El's been patient with me, she hasn't pushed for me to talk. She hasn't asked why we're here; she's just sat next to me and waited patiently for me to go to her and I will. I just need to grab my issues by the hairy balls and get this shit over w
ith.
“This is all I ever wanted you know.” I break the silence and start to talk. “This and you that is. When you left, I felt like my whole world had ended. I was total wreck. I’m not gonna lie to you, El. I thought about ending it all a few times.”
I hear a sharp inhale of breath and turn to look at her instead of staring out of the windscreen.
“Come with me, I’m gonna show you something.”
Today, there isn’t a home game so I know we’re safe. Leaving the confines of the car, we both walk around to the front and meet in the middle. Where I take her hand in mine and take her to the place, I’ve called home since leaving New York.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Eliza
What was turning out to be a fun morning. Went from us rediscovering each other all over again, to a deadly serious conversation in zero point two seconds flat. Okay, well maybe not that quick, but it sure feels that way to me. With my hand in his, he strides across the empty Dodgers car park like a man on a mission. My little legs struggle to keep up with him, to the point where I’m practically jogging next to him.
“You do realize that I’m vertically challenged and my short stumpy legs can’t keep up with you, Mr. BFG.”
He lets out a small laugh and the before I can protest, I’m thrown over his shoulder. So now I’m hanging upside down, normally I would protest, but in the daylight, I’ve got the perfect view of his mighty fine ass in his jeans.
“What? No girly screams this time?”
I hear him ask as he carries me to his intended destination.
“You’ll get no complaints from me this time.”
To show him why, I slap his butt, then put my hands in his back pockets and give his ass cheeks a firm squeeze.
“You lady, are gonna regret doing that when this is all over.”
I can’t see his face, but I know he’s smiling when he says that. The creaking sound of a turnstile and Nate trying to get us both through, it informs me that he’s now entering the stadium. Turning some corners and walking down a long corridor, he stops and slides me down the front of his body, before taking my face in his hands.
“Apart from you, this is my second love in life and you’re about to see why.”
My heart skips several beats when he calls me one of his loves. At the same time the guilt comes back tenfold and chips away that little bit more at my reasoning for not telling him everything.
“This way.”
Again he takes my hand and we start to walk down a tunnel, that has frames hanging up with pictures of past and present LA Dodgers players in them.
“I used to dream of walking out of this tunnel and being one of the greats, but then when things in your life happen, it puts things in perspective. Being the best isn’t really what matters, being happy is and El? I’ve not been happy for a really long time.”
We get to the end of the tunnel and in an instant, the sense of being overwhelmed hits me like a wrecking ball. I let go of Nate’s hand, walk in front of him and turn in a circle trying to take it all in. The stadium is empty, but from down here it might as well be full of screaming fans. It’s that intimidating.
Closing my eyes, I breathe in the surrounding air and in my mind, I can hear the fans chanting the players’ names. The smell of hotdogs fills my nose and the happy screams of children, as they watch their idols walk out, all fill my thoughts.
“Amazing isn’t it.”
Nate snaps me out of my own mind with his silky voice and I turn to smile at him.
“Nate… I don’t know what to say. I really don’t. This place is empty and I still feel like I’m being watched by thousands. I don’t get how you can do it. It’s certainly not like it was in college, I know that much.”
I watch him walk through the diamond and to the pitcher's mound, where he stands and looks like he’s seeing it all again for the first time.
“You know the day I came to L.A., I thought I knew it all, when in fact, I knew fuck all. I was an angry and heartbroken man, who thought he could take his feelings out on the pitch. My first ever game and I flunked it, to the point where I thought they were gonna cancel my contract and kick me off the team. After that game, I went back to the hotel I was staying in and got mind numbingly drunk. It was the only way I could cope with the pain in here ya know?”
He bangs his fist against his chest, making it perfectly clear he’s talking about the pain in his heart that was caused by me.
“I was out of control; I trashed my room and security was called, along with my Coach. Fuck me was he pissed when he got the phone call at three in the morning. When he turned up, I thought he was actually gonna hand me my balls on a silver platter. I had never seen a man so red in the face as I did that night, even my parents have never been that pissed with me. Despite the disappointment in me and the anger he had, that man saved my life. Instead of doing what I expected him to do, he went and did the complete opposite.”
The love he had for his Coach is evident in the way he’s telling me the story. He wasn’t just a Coach to Nate, he was family, even if they weren’t related by blood. Nate obviously held a special place in his heart for the man.
I take myself over to first base, sit my butt down in the dust and carry on listening to him. He’s on a roll and stopping him from talking now wouldn’t be a wise option. Crossing my arms over my chest, I wait patiently for him to carry on.
“That night, he dragged my sorry butt out of that hotel room and took me to his house. I don’t remember getting there. All I remember is waking up the next day to a Power Ranger toy being rammed up nose by Tommy, his son.”
A pig snort laugh leaves my mouth at that little confession.
“You can laugh, but I’m telling you now it fucking hurts. Anyway, I got my sorry ass up out of his guest room and dragged my deflated and hungover body down the stairs. I found my way into his home office, where he was sat behind his desk waiting for me. That day in his office changed my life's path. He told me I could throw it all away for some chick or I could go out there and do what I was born to do. When I told him all about you and that you weren’t just some chick, do you know what his words to me were?”
I shake my head, wordlessly telling him no.
“He said, you can’t easily drop a person from your mind when you love them, but you can make sure that it doesn’t rule your life. That one day, when we were adult enough to handle our emotions, then we would find each other again. The last bit I never believed in, although I wish I had, because he was right. You’re here now and I’m at the top of my career. I listened to him and I pulled myself back from the brink of self-destruction along with his and Dean’s help. When that plane crashed, all I saw was your face. All I heard in my mind was your voice telling me to fight, that it just wasn’t my time. I will always regret letting the medics help me first. I don’t think I will ever get over that, but he had never steered me wrong. So, I believed him when he said he was gonna be okay. Being told he was dead, was like someone had told me one of my parents had died. He was always more than just a Coach to me. He was my mentor, my confident and most of all, he believed in me, when I didn’t believe in myself. Up until last night, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep. When I do close my eyes, the dreams are so vivid from the crash, that I wake up in a cold sweat and I’m back there again.”
Leaving the mound, he makes his way over to first base, where I’m still sat and crouches down in front of me.
“It was you, El. You were the one who made the nightmares stop, I just know it. Having you there and in my arms, made me feel safe for the first time in forever.”
A sob breaks free and tears trickle down my cheeks, but I never take my eyes of his.
“I love you, Nathaniel Michaels, you are special and don’t ever let anyone tell you any differently. A major league baseball player or not, it’s what’s in here that makes you the person you’re.”
The words just fly out of my mouth and I co
ver his heart with the palm of my hand. Even if I don’t get to spend the rest of my life with him, at least he will know that he was loved wholeheartedly, for him being him. Not the Nate Michaels the world knows. I’ve never witnessed him shed one tear, but I am now, as a lone one traces down one of his cheeks.
“I love you too, El. I never stopped, not really. I was so angry with you for so long and in a way, I guess I still am but we won’t get into that right now. I’m just grateful that you’re here and in time maybe we can be us again.”
Getting up onto my knees in the dust, I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down to me and kiss the life out of him. Our tears mix together, and our breaths become one.
“This will always be what you were supposed to do with your life. I see now that by you not playing, a giant piece of you is missing and you won’t get that piece back until you’re back on the field.”
Forehead to forehead, eye to eye, I make one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made in my career.
“I’ll clear you to play again, on the condition that your physical therapist agrees when you’ve been to some sessions with him. You only had your cast off yesterday, so your leg is gonna be weak. I don’t want you hurting yourself any further.”
“I’ll do all the therapy; I have to if it means that you get to see me play in the flesh and not just from the TV.”
A smirk plays on his lips, he could always see straight through me.
“Dean told me you watched occasionally.” He shrugs his shoulders in an it’s a no big deal way.
Dean the snitch, some pain is going to be inflicted when I get my hands on him.
Us Again Page 14
