MVP
Page 7
“Perfectly fine.” She reaches out, grabbing another handful, before she eats them, flashing me a look that tells me not to mess with her again.
This time, I talk with my friends, discussing what we’re hoping to accomplish over the next several games, but my hand is not far from the woman who drives me insane. Eventually, I begin rubbing my hand along her thigh again, but this time I end up with my finger against the seam of her jeans, where she wants me so badly. In answer, I feel her hand stroking against the fly of my jeans, her fingers seeking out my length.
“Slade,” Malone moans in my ear, talking low so that no one else can hear. “You’ve got to get me out of here, or I’m gonna come at this table.”
That’s something I never want to share with anyone. While it’s fun for me to tease her, I don’t want to push her to the point of where she exposes a piece of herself that’s only meant for me. Turning my phone over, I glimpse the time and see it’s late enough that we can make a getaway.
“I don’t know about you all, but I need to pack and she’s had a long day.” I move my arm from in between her legs, reach back, grab my wallet, and throw more than enough money on the table to take care of our bill.
“See you two later.” There’s laughter in the voices of my friends. They know exactly where we’re going and what we’re doing. I can’t even find it within myself to be embarrassed. I’ve wanted her for a long time, wanted a love like this since we parted so many years ago.
I hold her against my side as we make our way through the bar and out the door, down the sidewalk. When we get to the bank of elevators, I escort her in, inserting the keycard that will allow us to go to the penthouse.
“Your book boyfriend shit is such a turn-on.” She giggles as she leans in close to me, nipping at my neck.
“You tell me that every time I’m with you, sweetness.” I bury my fingers in her hair, holding her tightly to me.
“It still amazes me that I’m married to you. Amazes me that this is my life.” Her voice is soft, dreamy. “Things have moved so quickly, but at the same time they’ve moved so slowly when it comes to us getting our shit together.”
“Doesn’t matter, babe. We have the rest of our lives to do this together.”
She leans into me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I reach down, cupping my hands around her ass, pulling her legs up around me. Pushing her up against the wall, I claim her lips with mine. Devouring every inch of her that I can.
When the elevator dings, I walk us in together, throwing her down on the couch. “One day.” I move my lips down to her neck; push her shirt out of my way and leave bite marks everywhere I can. “One day, I’m going to take you up against those windows.”
She gasps, tangling her fingers in my hair. “I would like that.”
“I bet you would.”
We fight against one another, each of us trying to take off the other half of our clothing. When it’s finally done, I enter her with a deep thrust. Her fingers claw into my back, her feet climb up to my ass, encouraging me to go deeper.
There’s no other place I’ve ever felt like home than inside her like this. I’m going to miss it over the next week. Miss being able to roll over and see her lying beside me. Hate that I won’t be able to walk down the hallway and find her doing something on her computer. Desperation causes me to plunge deeply inside her, wanting to brand her, wanting her to know exactly how much I’m going to miss her. Wanting her to know my life won’t be the same without her around.
We’ve not been separated like this since we’ve been married, and I’m feeling it harshly.
“I love you,” I groan as I spill deep inside her body.
“Love you too,” she moans, pushing her body up against mine.
Reaching down in between us, I go to work on her body, wanting to hear her come apart for me. “Come for me, sweetness,” I encourage. “Tighten against me and let me feel how I make you come alive.”
“Right there, Slade, right there.” Her voice is strained, deep, and highly aroused as she pumps against me.
“Fall apart for me.” I take her earlobe between my teeth, encouraging her to let go.
“On my way,” she heaves against my hand.
I don’t let up as I feel her tightening against me, and as she screams out her release, I breathe deeply, enjoying where we are and who we are.
In the morning hours, I take her to the bedroom, tucking her in as I head out for the days away from her. Instead of waking her up, I leave a note, kiss her forehead, and say a little prayer that she’ll be fine without me.
But as I leave, I know I leave a part of my heart there, in bed.
Ten
Malone
Waking up with Slade not being beside me is unusual; it feels flat-out wrong, but I realize this is how our lives are going to be. When my alarm went off this morning, I immediately reached for him, before I remembered he left for his road trip today.
Turning the alarm off, I see a text message from him.
S: You were too peaceful to wake up, especially after I basically got you drunk last night :) I hope you have a good week, I’ll see you in seven days, sweetness. Love you!
Tears come to my eyes, and I wonder why in the world I’m so emotional about this. I knew it was coming, knew there would be portions of our lives where there would be a separation. It’s just hard to deal with, I guess.
M: Love you too! Be safe, and I’ll talk to you as soon as we can!
Putting my phone down beside me, I get up, do my business in the bathroom, and then pad my way into the living room and kitchen area.
“Morning, Malone!”
I smile when I see Suzette, the chef/housekeeper who comes in a few times a week for Slade. She and I have only met a few times, but she’s older and I’ve loved the conversations we’ve had so far. “Morning, Susie!”
“I saw Mr. Slater as he was leaving this morning, told me to tell you bye.” She gives me a grin. “Never seen that boy so happy, it makes this older heart pitter patter.”
“He makes me happy too,” I admit as I lift myself up to sit at the bar. She places a plate of waffles in front of me, along with a glass of orange juice.
“If you want something else, I can make it, but Mr. Slater said he thought this might be what you want today.”
“This looks amazing.” I grab the warm syrup, slather it, and dig in.
As I eat, Susie is looking through the fridge and the cabinets. Once she’s done, she turns to me.
“Usually I know what to make for Mr. Slater, but I’m not sure what to make for you. Typically I just come in and clean during his away games, but with you here, I figured I’d make a few dishes, if you want me to.” She puts a notebook on the counter. “I just need to know what you want.”
“I still have some stuff from when we went to the grocery store a few days ago. I don’t eat as much as Slade either, so I’m not worried.” I tilt my head. “However, he gave me one of your breakfast burritos the other day, and that’s probably the best thing I’ve ever had in my life. I wouldn’t say no to those.”
She laughs, leaning in to write something on her paper. “Do you want enough for the entire away trip, or just a few?”
“Just a few, I get tired of eating the same thing day in and day out.”
“I’ll grab stuff to make them and have them ready for you in the freezer then. I normally get some of my herbs that go in them at the farmer’s market. Mr. Slater likes the fruit from there better. Do you have a preference? While I’m there, I’ll pick it up.”
This whole conversation is so odd to me; never in my life did I ever think I would have someone who worked for my husband, and by proxy works for me too. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s what I’m paid to do, Malone. Stop looking at me like that. Did Mr. Slater ever tell you how I came to work for him?”
“No.” I shake my head. “There’s still a lot about his life here I haven’t heard. We just haven’t had time.”
<
br /> “I’m a widow with two grown sons. One of my sons plays baseball.” She smiles softly as she reaches over, grabbing her cell phone. I wait while she presses a few buttons and pulls up a picture. It’s of a young twenty-something wearing a University of Alabama baseball uniform, smiling with his arm around Susie.
“Oh he’s handsome, Susie.”
“He is,” she agrees, her eyes shining. “He looks just like his dad.” She closes the picture and sets the phone back down. “Anyway, my husband passed when that son was fifteen. He played high school ball at the time and he was on a traveling team. Mr. Slater has always done work with the youth, and one day he came to one of the games we were at. He saw my son play and asked to speak with me about it. Mr. Slater thought that with some better coaching my son had great potential. At the time, I was working two jobs, trying to make ends meet. One as a cook, and one as a housekeeper at a local hotel. I wasn’t making any headway on our bills and was barely keeping me son in the baseball program.”
I can see where this is going before she even attempts to finish.
“When I explained the situation, Mr. Slater said he needed a chef and a housekeeper. He hired me on, even though I protested it quite a bit, and I’ve been here ever since. He’s come to be the third child I never had,” she laughs. “There’s not much I won’t do for him, and it’s one of my greatest honors to take care of him, and in turn, to take care of you too. If it weren’t for him, my son wouldn’t be in Tuscaloosa and he wouldn’t have a chance of making his dreams come true.”
“He’s always been a really good guy.” I take a drink of my orange juice. “I wonder where we’d be had we not broken up before.”
“Chances are you’d be divorced.” She levels me with a look. “There’s a reason things happen. You’re together now because you’re meant to be.” She reaches over, grabbing my hand. “Good things come to those who wait, and the two of you have definitely waited.”
“That we have.” I finish my food and get up from the bar. “I have to go get ready for the day. Will I see you while Slade’s not here? I’m worried about getting lonely, to be honest.”
“Plan for me to be here a few days.” She takes my plate, walking it over to the dishwasher. “Every other day, how’s that?”
“Sounds great.”
Feeling good about things I hadn’t felt good about before, I go to get ready for my day.
“That graphic is so slick and modern,” Nita praises as she walks by my desk. “I didn’t mean to pry, but it caught my attention out of the corner of my eye,” she apologizes, but comes in for a closer look.
I smile widely as I take a drink of my coffee. “Graphics and taglines are my favorite things to do. I’m clever like that,” I laugh. “But it also helps to be working with such a fine specimen as my husband.”
Nita, who’s old enough to be both our grandmothers, blushes slightly. “He is a very fine specimen,” she agrees before she giggles, walking into her office.
Beside me, my phone buzzes with an incoming text.
S: We’ve arrived in San Francisco. We’re about to head to the hotel. I should be able to call you in a little bit, if you aren’t busy.
Even if I were busy, I wouldn’t care. I would excuse myself in order to hear his voice. A few hours without it and I’m not sure how I lasted years before.
M: Anytime, slugger, I’ll make whatever time you need.
Slugger came out of nowhere, but he’s homered in every game so far and I’ve heard a few media outlets referring to him as that. I like the name, so I’m going to use it.
S: Talk to you later, I’m about to get on the bus.
I send him a heart emoji and then put my phone down, getting back to work. Over the course of the morning, I find that I don’t miss him as much when I’m busy. That just means I’m going to have to stay busy as hell until he comes home.
When my phone rings an hour later, I’m positively giddy as I see my husband’s smiling face on the screen asking to FaceTime with me. I walk over, closing the door on my office as I accept the invitation and smile brightly at him.
“Hey!”
“Hey yourself.” He smiles back. “Did you sleep well last night?”
“Like the dead, and you know it. I was drunk as hell; I’m actually surprised I woke up as easily as I did this morning. I missed you, though,” I admit. “You look tired.”
“I hate flying.” He props his chin on his hand. “Most of the guys sleep during the flights, but I never can. I’m always exhausted when we get to where we’re going. I’m going to take a nap as soon as I get done talking to you. We have to be at the ballpark in a few hours. Are you watching the game tonight?” he asks as he stretches out on his bed.
“Will I be able to? They televise all of them?” I hate that I sound so stupid, but these are things I never thought to ask before.
His look is soft as he gazes at me with those dark eyes of his. “There’s a channel on the TV. You’ll be able to find it. Just search for it and you’ll see it. It broadcasts all the games. What are your plans for tonight?”
“Curling up on the couch and watching you play ball.”
“Not gonna hang out with the girls tonight?”
I’ve given it some thought, but I’ve decided not to. “To be honest, after the past few months, I’m just tired. I think I’ll enjoy a night in, by myself, watching you play. I’ve never been able to watch something like that and really know the person on the other side of the screen.”
His teeth are white against his already tanning skin when he smiles at me. “It’ll be a later game because we’re on the West Coast, maybe you can nap when you get home?”
“Might be a good idea,” I agree.
As I’m about to say something else, my alarm on my phone goes off. “I’m meeting Felicity for lunch today, and I’ve got to leave now if I’m gonna make it in time. Talk to you after the game tonight?”
“Maybe.” He takes a drink of water, his Adam’s apple working to push the liquid down his throat. “It depends on what time we get out of there. If not, I’ll definitely talk to you tomorrow.”
Inexplicably it kind of hurts my feelings that he’s not making plans to talk to me after the game, but I tell myself to stop being stupid and tell him goodbye. “I love you, and I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Same, sweetness. Have a good lunch!”
As we disconnect the call, I’m left feeling slightly lonelier than I had been before, but I’m thankful to know I have Felicity to talk these things over with.
“Do they become a little distant when they’re on the road?” I ask Felicity as we slide into a booth where we’re eating lunch today.
“Yeah, it’s difficult for them, because it’s go, go, go, and they don’t have the comforts of home. Has Slater already been a little distant?”
I feel stupid even bringing this up to her. “He acted like he didn’t want to talk to me after the game tonight.”
“That’s probably more for you than for him. It’ll be really late when he gets done, probably around one a.m. our time, and he knows you’re working. I wouldn’t think anything of it.”
There’s something else that’s been nagging at the back of my mind, and I wonder briefly if I want to bring it up to her. “I know I asked this question before, but how many of them go by the don’t ask, don’t tell policy on the road?”
“I’m not sure, but my husband doesn’t.” Felicity levels me with a stare. “That’s definitely something you need to talk to Slater about though. Some women are okay with it. Especially the ones who sit up in the box. Ultimately you have to decide what you’re comfortable with when it comes to your relationship and your husband. My theory? If you can’t go longer than two weeks without sex, you either have an issue, or you don’t really love the person you’re with as much as you say you do.”
I know immediately that I will never be the type of woman who’s okay with that, and I make a note to talk to him about it as soon as possible.
“It’s okay, most of us have experience with this through their college years, and you didn’t. You’ll get used to all of this. Basically, you’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool and expected to swim immediately. You’re a strong woman who loves Slater, and you’ll get used to all of this. What you’re not used to, I’ll help guide you through.”
I nod, happy that at least I have a support system here that I never would have had at home. Maybe if I had this type of support back when Slade and I broke up, we would have lasted. “I’m lucky to have you, thank you for helping me.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Us girls, we gotta stick together!”
What I don’t realize is how true that statement will be in the following months.
Eleven
Savage
I sigh as I have a seat in the dugout, taking my spot in between JD and Jax. “This game is never gonna end.” I look out at the rain coming down, hard enough to delay the game.
“Spring time in the Bay, gotta love it.” JD spits out a sunflower seed.
“So how did wifey react to you being gone this morning?” Jax asks as he reaches over, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds for himself.
“She seemed to take it okay. I can’t help but think I’ve thrown her into a situation she just wasn’t prepared for. Our lives are a lot to deal with.” I shake my head, grabbing my own sunflower seeds.
“What’s your biggest worry?” JD asks as he takes his hat off, running his hands through his hair. “We gotta figure this out, my man.”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” I bite down on the seed, spitting the husk out. “I think it’s all the outside shit. We all know that it’s going to start ramping up here in the next few weeks and then it won’t stop until October. Especially if we make it to the Series.”
“You mean outsiders?”