by Skye Turner
I grin. “Ah, well at least you do dishes.”
Before I know what’s happening, he’s grabbed me and rolled me underneath him. I squeal. He smirks and settles on top of me. “Hey, I helped you with dishes when you cooked for me.”
I nod and try to concentrate on the conversation at hand, but it’s so hard with Jase being on top of me… that hard, sexy body is on top of me…
“… inside?”
What? Is Jase talking to me? What the hell did he say?
Blinking, I try to focus. “What? What did you just say? Sorry… I wasn’t paying attention.”
Jase laughs and presses more firmly in between my thighs. My eyes widen as I feel his erection. He gently rubs against me. I moan and he smirks. “I said… Are you ready to go inside? The mosquitos are getting past the buzzers and I’m seconds away from going Neanderthal and stripping you naked out here to have my wicked way with you. I’d prefer not to have huge welts on the parts of me that are sensitive and usually covered.”
My arms slide around his neck and I lick his lips before biting his chin. He moans and I smile. “Oh, yes. Let’s go inside.”
We clean up in what seems like seconds. Percy even helps by handing us stuff with his teeth.
Jase leads the way into his house and as we get to the door, he looks down at Percy. “You can come in, boy. But, don’t bite me for the things I’m about to do to your momma.”
As if he understands, Percy barks and his tail wags. He runs past us and disappears into a room that’s obstructed from my view. I raise my brow and Jase says, “Media room. There are couches and stuff. Should we check on him?”
Nodding, I head that way. As I peek in, I see Percy curled up on the couch with his eyes closed. I laugh. “Looks like he’s taking a nap.”
Jase nods and stalks toward me. “Good, then you’re all mine.”
My heart races as he gets closer. As he reaches me, he grabs my hips and lifts me into his arms. Then turning, he presses me back against the wall as my legs wrap around his waist. I can feel him pressing against me. I’m hot and ready for him and he’s rigid. There’s no need for foreplay here.
Pressing his mouth against my neck, he licks it before biting it and suckling to soothe the quick sharp pain. His mouth is sending electricity straight to my core. I can feel myself pulsing against my panties.
My head falls back as he sucks on my neck. I know I’m being marked and I don’t care. My moans bounce off the walls of the hallway. Grasping the side of Jase’s head, I yank it up and smash my mouth to his.
He groans into my mouth and I ride him through both of our clothes.
Breaking the kiss, I gasp, “Bedroom… Take me there… now.”
Jase mutters, “Too far,” and strides across the hall. We enter a dark room with large picture windows that look into the back yard. Pressing my mouth back to his, I kiss him again as he lays me back against a couch. As we kiss, my hands are yanking at the hem of his shirt. He lifts his head long enough to rip his shirt off and I take advantage to do the same. As soon as he can, he grips the side of my head and kisses me again. My hands scramble for purchase as I attempt to unhook his pants without looking. He does the same and unfastens my jeans before I manage to get his. With a firm push, he shoves my jeans and panties to my thighs. His fingers slip inside of me and the jeans at my thighs trap his hand there. He tortures me and pleasures me at the same time. I growl and groan as he fingers me. Finally, the catch on his pants gives way. Slipping my hands over his hips, I manage to push them low enough to encircle his shaft. Pumping it a few times, I swallow his moans as he continues to finger me.
He pulls back and I protest, but he groans. “Wait, baby. Wait… let me get you undressed. I want to worship you tonight.”
He wants to worship me?!
Fuck that. I want to worship HIM.
But he’s right… we need to calm down enough to get naked.
Nodding as if in compliance, I help him remove the remainder of both of our clothes. Everything is on the floor when he leans back and just looks at me. I stare at him in the evening light from the window. The blues and purples of twilight are coating the angles and plains of his body so he looks like a piece of art.
My mouth goes dry as I focus on the sight of his cock, proudly jutting out from the neatly trimmed patch of dirty blond hair at his groin. He groans. “Baby, stop looking at me like that.”
Shaking my head, I scoot so I’m on my knees across from him on the couch. Then with a smile, I shove him. He topples backwards and bounces on the couch. “Oof. Cally, what the he…”
Leaning over him, I press kisses to his stomach and trace the ridges of his “v” before following the light dusting of hair down and circling the tip of his cock with my tongue. His head falls back and his hands weave into the hair cascading between us. My mouth opens and I slowly take him to the base. He hits the back of my throat and I gag slightly before hollowing my cheeks and working him over. My fist is working the base as my mouth handles the top and my other hand lightly scratches over his smooth balls.
His guttural groans are making me wild. His hands are guiding my head and I’m relishing in the power I have over him.
Finally, he pulls my hair slightly and he pops out my mouth. He groans. “I need to be inside of you, Cally. I have to be inside of you and if you don’t stop, I’m going to cum before we even get there.”
Smiling, I slide up his body. My legs settle on either side of his hips and he grabs my face to pull my mouth down to meet his. He groans, “God, baby… kissing you when you taste and smell like me…”
Reaching between us, I line him up and sink down on him. He moans inside my mouth. We continue to kiss as he guides my hips. He likes it when I swivel my hips and then remove him to the tip before sinking onto him fully again.
My eyes are rolling back in my head as he takes over. His hands tighten on my hips and he starts thrusting against me rapidly. The sounds of our slapping flesh is ricocheting around the room as my back tightens and I scream out his name. “JASE! Oh my… AHHHHHHH. Ohhhh, Jase….”
He fucks me harder and then he roars as his stiffens beneath me. “Cally… oh shit, baby… Argh…. Mmmmmmmmmm.”
I feel him jerking inside of me as he fills me. Finally, he stops and I slump on top of him. Pressing my lips to his neck, I whisper, “I love you, Jase…”
He doesn’t respond.
Thank God, he didn’t hear me.
He hugs me tightly to him and we lay that way for a long time. Then, we take a shower together before making out a bit more on the couch before Percy and I head home since Jase has a plane to catch in the morning.
As I drive home I chew my lip…
I love him. I really do love him. I’ve gone and done the stupidest thing I could have done… I’ve fallen in love with Jase Stevens.
Chapter Sixteen
Jase
Three days later
“I told you this was the time! I knew it! They want you, Jase! They’re emailing the contract for us to look over! Congrats, buddy! You did it!”
I hear what Jeff is saying, but I don’t believe it.
Atlanta wants me. The Braves are sending me a contract. If I want to… I just have to sign on the dotted line and I’ll have my heart’s desire… I’ll be a player for the Atlanta Braves!
What am I talking about? Of COURSE I want it… It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
I nailed the try-out and after speaking with the GM and the coach, they made it pretty clear that the try-out was more of a formality and that they’d been watching me for a while.
Blinking, I stare at Jeff and feel the smile spread over my face. “Thank you, man! That’s amazing! I can’t believe it!”
Jeff snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, ok. You’re a fantastic fucking player, Jase. You deserve this and it’s everything you’ve worked so hard for! I knew this was the time!”
We’re on the way back to my place after landing in Baton Rouge. Jeff picked me up Tuesday mo
rning and we rode to the airport together. He was going to drop me at home before heading to his own place. But now… he wants to stay a bit and print the contract out to look over.
“If I sign… I want to finish the season with the Gris Gris. I told you that.”
Jeff laughs. “If you sign. Why the hell wouldn’t you sign?! And I know. I’ve already discussed this with the GM. I let it be known that you weren’t the kind of man who was going to leave your team high and dry. This contract is for 2017!”
If I sign it now, I can be playing next season.
I have so many people to call. My parents, Micah and Bradi, and Cally… I have to call Cally. I’m going to call her first. I can’t wait to let her know that I have a contract, but at the same time… I have a contract… to play in Atlanta… and she lives in Baton Rouge.
Shit! Is she going to be open to continuing this long distance?
How does that even work? I have no idea.
She could come see me. I’d fly her out whenever she wanted to see me. She could come to the games. She can stay with me as long as she likes.
But, then she’ll come home. She’ll never move to Atlanta. She won’t leave here. She loves Baton Rouge and Love & Paws is her heart and her passion.
I won’t ever ask her to move to Atlanta. And I can come home… probably not very often, but I can.
We can make it work. We’ll make it work… right?
We have to make it work… I love her…
Holy shit… I LOVE HER!
What if it doesn’t work though?!
Jeff is talking and the reality is that I have no idea what he’s saying. Turning to him, I shrug. “Sorry man, I have no idea what the hell you’ve been saying. I was kind of lost in my own head.”
He laughs. “Understandably! I was saying that we can go over the contact tonight and if you see anything you want to change, we can request them. If you’re going to accept this contract, which of course you are, then we need to get the ball rolling.”
I nod. “I agree. Ok, but I have some calls I need to make tonight, too. I have to tell my family and Cally about getting the offer.”
Jeff waves me off. “Of course. Of course. But you can call them after we go over everything. Contract first.”
He’s right. I should probably know what I’m being offered before I talk to any of them anyway.
Jeff has just gone home. It’s after nine and I’m exhausted. The contract was pretty straight-laced. They want to offer me a one-year contract, effective for the 2017 season, with the option to expand on it at the end of the first year. If at the end of the first year, they want to extend the contract, they have first choice to re-sign me, but if we can’t reach an agreement, I can take offers from other teams.
The base salary is $1.6Million with a $250K signing bonus. The season is 163 games unless we head to the championship then it’s between 178-183 games. There was more, but Jeff handled it and he said it was standard and in line with everyone else.
All in all, it’s a fantastic contract and one I’d be an idiot not to take. Not that I’m planning on not taking it.
I told him no changes needed to be made and that I’d sign it tomorrow. We’re supposed to meet at ten at his office to finalize it. After tomorrow… I’ll be an officially licensed Atlanta Braves player for the 2017 roster.
I’ve been running over what I want to say to Cally for the past half hour, but nothing sounds right. I still have about half of my community service hours left to do at Love & Paws and I’m not going to be moving to Atlanta immediately since training camp is not until February, and that’s in Florida… so, it’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow.
They’re allowing me to finish out the season with the Gris Gris here in Baton Rouge. That’s a few more months I’ll be around before I need to move to Atlanta.
No need to panic… Cally is going to be fine. We have plenty of time to figure out just what our plan of action is going to be.
Sighing and rolling my neck and shoulders, I grab my phone. Pulling up her name, I hit “Call.”
Cally
“Hey, Jase.” I grab the phone as soon as I see his name on the screen. He can’t see me, so he has no idea that I’ve been sitting here for the past three hours just waiting for him to call even though I’ve tried to convince myself about one-hundred times that that wasn’t what I was doing.
I’ve only created five thousand scenarios about why he wasn’t calling. He missed his plane. The plane crashed. He never intended to come home. He met a stewardess on the way home and they decided to go to Vegas to get married… That one was my favorite.
Ok, he called. Stop freaking out like a damn crazy person.
“Hey, baby. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
I look at the clock on the wall and frown. “Wake me? No. You didn’t wake me. It’s only nine thirty. So… how was your trip?”
I hear him sigh and my heart plummets. “It was great. Really good. I nailed the try-out and well… they offered me a one year contract for the 2017 season. I let them know that I wasn’t going to leave the Gris Gris hanging this season, so after some back and forth with Jeff and them, they agreed to sign me for next year.
“I have to sign the contract tomorrow and then… I’m an Atlanta Braves player…”
He did it.
I mean, of course he did. He’s amazing. I’ve been watching some video of him playing online while he’s been gone. He’s an amazing pitcher. Of course the Braves signed him.
The Braves that are in Atlanta… which is not Baton Rouge…
“Cally? Cally, are you there?!”
Snapping out of the fog threatening to consume me, I clutch the phone tighter and nod. Then, I remember that he can’t see me. “I’m here… Sorry, I’m here. Tha–– That’s great, Jase. Congratulations.
“You did it… you wanted to play for the Braves and now you will. I’m so proud of you.”
I am proud of him. That’s amazing.
He’s living his dream now. How many people can actually say that they get to live their dreams?!
I can hear his voice waver as he says, “Are you? You’re proud of me?”
Nodding, I try to ignore the tears that are escaping my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. “I am, Jase. So proud. You worked your ass off and they apparently saw that you deserved this opportunity. So… when does this go into play? When do you have to head down there?”
“I’m staying here to finish the season and training camp starts in February, so I won’t need to leave until December or so. I want to have a place lined up and get settled before training camp begins, but I still have time.”
He’s leaving…
He’s really leaving.
I finally find the man of MY dreams and he’s leaving in a few months to go play for the Atlanta Braves.
Awesome… Just awesome…
There is no way we can stay together once that happens.
I’ll be here. He’ll be there and he’ll be a famous baseball player. A gorgeous famous baseball player.
Yeah, there is no way I can handle that from here… not when he’s there.
Hey universe… Fuck you!
Jase is talking, but I can’t hear him. It all sounds fuzzy and I feel like I’m on the verge of completely breaking down.
Shaking my head, I grip the phone so tightly that my knuckles turn white. “Jase… hey, sorry, but Percy just got into something. I need to go check on him. I’ll talk to you later, ok?!
“But, again congrats on catching your dreams. I’m proud of you.
“Shit… let me go see what this dog is getting into. Bye.”
I hang up before he can even respond. Percy looks up at me from where he’s lying on the other end of the couch as if to say, “I’m right here… sleeping. I didn’t do anything!”
Reaching over, I ruffle his soft fur and then bury my face in it as I sprawl out using him as a pillow.
The tears flow freely and I snuggle with my dog and cry as my heart bre
aks.
Yup… Looks like I just checked in to Heartbreak Hotel.
I knew it was going to happen.
Sometime later, I wake up on the couch. I apparently cried myself to sleep. Percy is snoring underneath my cheek. And as I lift my head, his fur sticks to the tear trails left on my face.
Sitting up, I swipe my hands over my face and stare at the clock.
Midnight…
Too early to go anywhere. Maybe I can go back to sleep.
Standing, I shuffle through my dark house and into my bedroom where I crawl into the cold bed. The pillow seems lumpy and I punch it a few times to attempt to get comfortable, to no avail. Throwing it to the floor, I flop back against the mattress and stare at the shadows dancing across the ceiling from the window’s reflection.
Grabbing the pillow next to me, I press it over my face and scream into it. When I’m done and realize I can’t actually breathe, I fling that one, too, and flop back against the bed.
After tossing and turning a few more times, I reach over for the switch on my bedside lamp. The soft light flickers and bounces off the glass of the photo I just placed on the nightstand this week.
Reaching out, I grab it. My fingers trace the angles of the strong jawline.
Evie snapped a picture of me and Jase with Percy in the yard of the center last week. Jase is standing, but bent over as he pets Percy. I’m crouched on the other side. It’s an adorable photo and I instantly fell so in love with it, I secretly printed a couple of copies and stuck one in this frame and placed it on my nightstand. Yeah, for the first time ever… I have a photo of a man I love… a man I gave my heart to… a man I wish for a future with on my nightstand… and he’s just signed with a Major League baseball team several states away. It could just as easily be a whole country.
With a sigh, I close my eyes with the frame pressed to my chest… Eventually, I fall asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Jase
It’s been a five days since I got back from Atlanta. I haven’t been able to see Cally with dealing with this contract and getting things straight with leaving the Gris Gris after the season. We’ve also had practice every day and we have a game tonight.
