The Next Move

by Lauren Gallagher

  The call rang through, and Kat managed to maintain a professional attitude in spite of her desire to reach through the phone and strangle the idiot on the other end. Twenty minutes later, she hung up, muttering a string of curses before taking a deep breath, exhaling, and returning to the stack of reports on her desk.

  She had just found where she left off when her phone rang again. Before she was even through with that call, Stan, the accounting manager, appeared in her doorway. She gritted her teeth and focused on her call, trying to ignore both his impatient stare and the way his nose whistled every time he took a breath.

  Hanging up, she smiled at him. "What do you need?" What can I do for you that you could probably do yourself if you limited yourself to nine smoke breaks before lunch?

  "Can I borrow a couple of your reps this afternoon? Accounting needs to—"

  She put her hands up. "Stan, I’m already short-staffed and we’re slammed today."

  He scowled. "It’ll just be for an hour or so."

  "Sorry." She shook her head. "If I had a full crew and we weren’t so busy, you know I would."

  His expression hardened and he muttered something that hinted at conceding, but she was willing to bet money his next stop would be her boss’s office to ask the very same question. You were the sibling that always went and asked Dad when Mom said no, weren’t you, Stan?

  She put her elbows on the desk and rested her face in her hands, closing her eyes and taking a few long breaths.

  "Good morning, Katrina."

  The VP’s voice made her teeth grind.

  She looked up. "Morning, Bill." He was funny that way; insisted on calling everyone else by their full first name, but went by Bill.

  "Listen, I’ve got some complaints coming in about the wait time on the phones in the call center."

  "I know," Kat said. "I’ve got three new people that are still in training, and I’m missing two of my more experienced reps until Tracy’s back off maternity leave and Jillian is over the flu."

  He nodded, pursing his lips. "Well, the fact is, I’ve got customers that need problems addressed and orders processed." He gestured over his shoulder at the call center on the other side of the wall. "They can’t be taking extra time on calls."

  "Bill, I’m sorry, I know. We’re just very short-staffed at the moment. Once the new girls are up to speed in a week or so, we’ll be better off, but it’s going to be rough for a bit. We’re doing the best we can." Which you would know if you ever spent a day in the trenches with them.

  "Send a memo to all of them," he said. "And copy me on it. Remind them that calls need to be taken quickly and efficiently."

  Did you not hear a word I just said? She opened her mouth, but thought better of it. Don’t argue with him. Not worth it. "Okay," she said. "I’ll send an e-mail around."

  "Good." He smiled. "Thanks, Katrina."

  Kat glared at the vacant doorway, daring it to become occupied again.

  The phone rang.

  "Son of a bitch," she muttered. As she took the call, she opened the desk drawer where she kept her purse and dug out her cell phone. Half-listening to the caller on the other end—one of the company’s field representatives that seemed more interested in bitching to her than asking for a solution—she texted Chris.

  Feel like hitting something tonight?

  A few minutes later, as the field rep continued whining in her ear, her phone lit up with a new message.

  Another five minutes of this shit, his message said. And I’ll be hitting the bottle.

  She laughed. I was thinking along the lines of a few baseballs.

  There was no immediate reply, but she didn’t worry. Knowing Chris, he was running between meetings. The day was still young, he’d reply when he had time.

  The day was still young indeed, with plenty of time for more bullshit. After two hours of customers, calls, and catastrophes, she’d forgotten all about their brief conversation. It was only when another conversation with the accounting manager had her ready to punch something that she remembered.

  She flipped her phone open. His message read: I have to put in some overtime tonight, but I can meet you at the cages around seven.

  She quickly sent back, I’ll be there, hitting 'send' just

  before Bill came in with yet another crisis that demanded her immediate attention.

  ~ * ~

  "I’m meeting someone here," Chris told the kid behind the counter at the batting cages. "She should be—"

  "Cage four."

  "Thanks."

  On his way past the other cages, he could tell what kind of day Kat had had. Judging by the violent crack of her bat making contact with the ball and the way the chain link fence bowed each time a ball hit, it must have been brutal.

  "Bad day?" he said.

  "One of the best," she said through clenched teeth. She swung and hit another ball.

  "That bad, huh?"

  "That bad."

  He stepped into the shielded box at one end of the cage, dropping his bat and helmet on the bench. Above him, another ball collided with the fence so hard that it made Chris instinctively duck in spite of the horizontal chain link over his head.

  As he pulled on his batting gloves, he watched her. How many times they’d come to this place as platonic friends, he couldn’t count, but it was surreal to look at her here, now, knowing what he did about her.

  The way her loose T-shirt hinted at her breasts. The way her hips twisted with each swing. The hint of sweat and the flush of exertion that sent his mind to places that had nothing to do with baseball.

  When the machine had emptied, she came to the box and dropped her bat on the bench. "All yours," she said, panting slightly. He glanced up just as she took her helmet off, her stringy, disheveled hair tumbling onto her shoulders.

  Clearing his throat, he quickly looked away. "So what happened today? Just the usual bullshit?"

  "Par for the course in this job."

  He nodded, smirking as he reached for his bat and helmet. "I know the feeling. Though I’m surprised you didn’t want to go the range if it was that bad."

  Unscrewing the cap on her water bottle, she said, "I did, but they have that concealed carry class tonight." She

  took a swig of water. "Too fucking crowded."

  "Good point." He loaded the machine and headed out into the cage with his bat over his shoulder. It was probably just as well that she’d chosen to come to the cages instead of the range; he’d always thought a woman with a high-powered weapon was sexy, especially Kat. And now that he knew what she was—

  "Ready?" she called to him.

  He blinked a few times to erase the images that were keeping him from focusing on the present. Adjusting his grip on his bat, he nodded to her, and she flipped the switch on the machine.

  He hit the first two and sent them soaring across the cage. Just before the machine released the third, Kat leaned over to get something out of her purse, and Chris completely forgot where he was.

  Until, that is, a baseball whistled past him, slamming into the backstop and reminding him to keep his eye on the ball.

  After an hour or so, taking turns at the plate, they both paused for a drink. The knots and tension in his neck and shoulders had faded, replaced by the satisfying ache of post-workout fatigue.

  Capping his water bottle, he said, "Up for some more?"

  She glanced at the clock on the wall and scowled. "I should go. I have to feed my brother’s critters."

  Chris eyed her. "Dare I ask where he is?"

  "Guess."

  He rolled his eyes. "Jesus. I didn’t think you could snowboard in a cast."

  "You can’t. He just got it off last week."

  "That idiot," Chris muttered. "I’m half-tempted to break his leg myself to keep him off the slopes."

  "Tell me about it." She sighed, putting her bat into its bag and pulling off her gloves. "If he’d just learn to be more careful…" She shook her head.

  "He’ll grow out
of it," Chris said with a shrug.

  "I hope so." She zipped her bag. "I’d better go."

  They both paused, looking at each other, an unusually awkward silence hanging between them.

  He smirked, trying to mask his uncertainty. "So, where does stuff like this fall into our ‘deal’?"

  She cleared her throat. "Well, I assume they would frown on us fucking in one of the batting cages."

  "Damn, there goes that idea." He laughed, then said, "I mean, since this is more of a platonic friends setting for us…" He paused. "Am I supposed to just hug you goodbye like a friend, or do I get to kiss you and grab your ass like a friend with benefits?"

  "Hmm, I hadn’t thought this far ahead." She shifted her weight.

  "Maybe we should just keep it to platonic friends when we’re out like this, then?"

  She nodded. "Probably a good idea."

  "I can live with that."

  "Good, now give me a hug so I can get to Dylan’s before his cats starve."

  "Those fat things?" Chris laughed. "They could go months without eating and survive." He hugged her, jumping when her hand squeezed his ass. He pulled back, laughing when she gave him an innocent look.

  "What?" She batted her eyes.

  He said nothing. Instead, he put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss.

  "That’s," she paused, licking her lips but barely pulling away from him. "Isn’t that against the rules?"

  He shrugged and put his other hand on her neck. "You started it." And he kissed her again, gently parting her lips with his tongue.

  "You know," she said, touching his face. "It won’t take me long to feed Dylan’s animals…"

  He kissed her again. "Your place or mine?"

  Ten

  Chris’s date, Wendy, drained the last of her drink and put her napkin on the table. "I’m going to run to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back."

  Across the table, Chris smiled. "I’ll be here." Please, take your time. He wasn’t sure he could get through another story about some of the more gruesome highlights of her career as an emergency room nurse. Another few minutes and he was going to make a quick escape to the men’s room just to have a moment without hearing about what kinds of foreign objects people had lodged into various parts of their bodies.

  As soon as she was out of sight, he exhaled. She was cute, she was friendly, but this was definitely not going to be a repeat date. She was just attractive enough that he would have, not long ago, let it venture into one night stand territory—assuming her idea of pillow talk wasn’t as macabre as her dinner table conversation—but he had a backup plan now.

  Plan B, thy name is Katrina. He fished his phone out of his pocket, keeping it under the table as he pulled up Kat’s number. Glancing in the direction of the ladies’ room to be sure Wendy was still out of sight, he sent Kat a text message. If you want to get together tonight, call me in ten minutes and play along.

  Seconds after he sent the message, Wendy returned to the table. Sipping her water, she said, "Oh, I didn’t tell you about the guy that came in after he crashed his motorcycle and landed on—and I do mean on—a fencepost…"

  Just when she got to what Chris assumed would be

  the gory climax of the story, his phone rang. He rolled his eyes, masking his relief and excitement. "Damn it, I’m sorry. That’s probably my office." He pulled the phone out of his pocket, his heart racing when Kat’s name showed up on the screen. "Yeah, I have to take this. It’ll only be a minute."

  "Take your time," Wendy said, sipping her water.

  He smiled and flipped his phone open. "Chris Bailey."

  "What if I don’t want to play along?" Kat’s voice made his head spin. It’s on. It is so on.

  "Jim, I’m not on call tonight, you—"

  "Oh, you’d better believe you’re on call tonight, Mr. Bailey." Kat laughed.

  Chris cleared his throat. "Kyle is just as capable of fixing the system as I am. Why—"

  "What’s wrong with this system, only you can fix, Christian."

  He rubbed his forehead, hoping Wendy took it for an aggravated gesture, rather than an attempt to hide the fact that his cheeks were, he was sure, turning red. "Why the fuck aren’t you calling Kyle? He’s on call tonight."

  In a sultry voice, she said, "Because Kyle has a tiny cock and can’t find my clit with an anatomy chart and a flashlight."

  Chris snorted with laughter. Remembering his aggravated façade, he glanced at Wendy, then cleared his throat. "That lucky bastard. Fine. He owes me big time for this."

  "When will you be here?"

  As soon as I bloody well can, baby. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and scowled. "I, fuck, I can be there in an hour?" He looked up at Wendy. Her shoulders dropped a little and the corners of her mouth pulled down in a disappointed expression. He gave her an apologetic shrug and mouthed "Sorry."

  "If you aren’t here in the next forty-five minutes," Kat said, almost whispering. "I might have to start without you."

  Chris gulped. "Oh. Shit. I, um. I’ll be there as—"

  "Mmm, I don’t know if I can even wait that long," she moaned.

  "I’ll be there as soon as I can." He snapped his phone

  shut before Kat could tease him any further. He glanced at Wendy. "I’m really, really sorry, there’s no way I can get out of this one."

  "Emergency at work?"

  He nodded. "The whole system went down and nobody bothered to tell me that the guy who’s supposed to be on call this weekend took off to Vegas."

  She laughed. "Lucky him."

  "Not when he gets back in town, he won’t be," Chris said with a laugh. "Anyway, let me take care of the check, and then I’d better go."

  ~ * ~

  If Chris didn’t already have a hard-on when he arrived at Kat’s apartment, he would have gotten one the instant she opened the door.

  She wore nothing but a shiny green bathrobe, probably silk or satin, that was loosely tied around her waist and just long enough to keep from revealing whether or not she wore panties. The top was mostly open, and panties or not, she was definitely not wearing a bra.

  "Oh thank God," she said, putting her hand on her barely covered chest as she let him in. "Here I thought they’d send Kyle again."

  "Do you have any idea how hard you made it for me to get through that call?" He growled as he kicked the door shut behind him and pulled her into his arms.

  Sliding a hand between them, she squeezed his cock. "I think I have a pretty good idea, yes."

  "Tease."

  "It only took you a half hour to get here," she said, backing him up against the door as her fingers found his zipper pull. "So whatever I did must have worked."

  "What you do always works." He kissed her as he untied her robe. "Besides, I had to get here before you started without me."

  She moaned softly and bit her lip as his fingers found her pussy. He circled her clit a couple of times, then slipped fingers inside her, stroking slowly and easily.

  "Then again," he whispered, bending to kiss her neck when she let her head fall back. "I think you did start without me."

  "No," she murmured. "I didn’t do anything until you got here."

  "I think you’re lying," he said, nipping the side of her neck and pressing his palm into her clit. "I think you’ve been thinking filthy thoughts…" Her back arched, pushing her semi-covered breasts against him. He kissed her shoulder, flicking his tongue across her collarbone. "And I think you’ve done more than just think those filthy thoughts." He slid his fingers deeper, her pussy accepting them with no resistance.

  "Oh, I’ve been thinking dirty thoughts," she said, half-moaning. "But I haven’t done a thing."

  "Mmm, are you sure about that?" he said. "Your pussy is telling me otherwise."

  She laughed softly and drew his zipper down as she whispered, "That’s all from my dirty little mind. See what you do to me when you aren’t even here?"

  He closed his eyes, taking a long b
reath through his nose. "I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t take much longer getting here, then." He kissed his way up her neck to her jaw, then up to her lips. "You might have set the place on fire."

  She wrapped her fingers around his cock, taking his breath away with a gentle squeeze. "I think," she whispered, stroking him slowly. "That we might set the place on fire."

  "I hope you have insurance."

  "I hope you have health insurance." She gently pushed his hand away from her pussy and stepped back. He started to follow, but she kept him against the door with a hand on his chest.

  "Stay there," she said. She drew her fingers across her chest, hooking them under the open sides of her robe and letting it slide over her shoulders. With a subtle shrug, she shed the robe.

  Chris let out a breath. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t the first time he’d seen her naked, she still took his breath away every time. The swell of her hips practically commanded his hands to grab them and pull her against his cock, but when he reached for her, she caught his wrists and pushed them against the door beside him.

  "Patience, Chris," she said. Releasing his wrists, she leaned back just enough to give herself room to unbutton his shirt. "Now that you’re here…" She opened one button. "We have all night." Another button. "Why rush?"

  He sucked in a breath as she kissed her way down his neck, past the hollow of his throat, and down the narrow path of exposed skin that widened with each loosened button. By the time her fingers went for his belt, she was on her knees and he trembled with arousal.

  He knew she was going to, knew exactly why she was down there, but when her tongue circled the head of his cock, he gasped at the lightning bolt that shot up his spine. He gripped the doorknob for balance, his other hand grasping her hair as she took his cock deeper and deeper into her mouth.

  "Oh God, that’s perfect," he moaned, closing his eyes as she fucked him with her mouth. "Jesus, Kat, that’s perfect…" He let his head fall back against the door and covered his eyes with one hand, as if the low light in the room was too intense.

  As he did, he caught the scent on his fingers, the scent of her. He drew in a long breath through his nose, and exhaled. "Kat, let’s go in the bedroom."