Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1)

by Ward,Alice

  Coach Griffin had a few ideas of how to handle the situation. One, scream in my face. Two, scream in my face. And three, scream in my face.

  Yeah, those strategies didn’t really work and caused the cycle to spin faster.

  It wasn’t much of a surprise when I walked into the clubhouse after pre-game pitcher’s stretch to find Coach waiting on me. “Malone, you’re spiraling out of control!” he yelled.

  I wanted to say, what do you care? My pitching was solid, even better than before, probably because I was putting all my anger and hurt into each pitch. I was helping the team, so why did he care what I did outside this stadium?

  He tossed a tabloid down on the desk and slammed his finger on a picture of Caroline and me leaving a club. The photographer caught the exact moment puke streamed from my mouth. Yeah, I looked pretty fucked up, that was a given. The headline caught me off guard: Small Town Girl Rises to Grace While Beast’s Pitcher Calvin Malone Falls From It.

  “What does that mean?” His face turned pale, which is pretty scary to see happen to a man whose skin was as dark as his. “What’s the other picture?” I demanded, pointing to his hand covering half the page.

  He moved his hand away and there she was in two pictures. Whitney. So beautiful. In one shot, she was on fucking Todd Morris’ arm. In the other, Rhett Hamilton was holding open a door for her, his hand on her back.

  “I’ve got it under control,” I snapped at the coach and then ripped the tabloid from his hand. I sat on the bench in front of my locker and stared at the pictures. She looked happy in both of them.

  Then there was me, looking daze and confused, spewing vomit at the cameras, Caroline looking shocked, but still hanging on my arm. I knew if I saw this, then Whitney had seen it too. My heart ached at the thought of her seeing me with Caroline, and in that condition. But Rhett? She wouldn’t go for a man like him, would she? And Morris? Was he the reason she was in New York?

  Ace placed his hand on my shoulder and peeked down at the tabloid. “Whooweeee, you were lit up,” he said. “Don’t let the coach piss you off too bad; he’s just angry he can’t get any action.”

  I pointed to the pictures of Whitney, then waited for Ace’s response. “Fuck her,” he said.

  I stood, bumping my chest against his. I wanted to punch him, or at the very least spit on him for talking like that about my girl. Shit. My ex-girl. He was part of the reason she was gone.

  I took a deep breath, knowing what I was doing was wrong. Everything that happened was ultimately my fault. I backed down and sank into my chair, tossing the tabloid in one of the shelves of my locker.

  “I’m sorry, kid,” Ace apologized. “That’s just what guys are supposed to say in these situations.”

  I could almost understand Morris going after her, but Rhett? He was my damn boss. I wanted to find Rhett and knock his head right off his shoulders. I saw how he’d worked her at the party that night. His hand on her thigh, his smooth talk, offering her a job. Yeah, there was only one job he wanted from Whitney. My heart ached at the thought of her in his arms.

  “Let’s get it together!” Coach Griffin yelled out, then came over to me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Want to sit this one out?”

  “No,” I insisted. “I want to take out some frustration on some batters.”

  He clapped me hard. “Then go do that.”

  I changed into the game uniform and headed out to the field. I stood on the mound and stared out at the seats just above the home plate where Whitney used to sit and watch me practice.

  They were empty, like my stupid, fucked up heart.

  The sky box where Rhett usually watched the game wasn’t lit up. He was probably out with Whitney somewhere, too busy to watch his own fucking team. My anger increased, and my hands shook as I rolled the ball in my fingers, looking for the right seams.

  I couldn’t focus; every ball I threw resulted in a hit or a pitch out of the strike zone. Coach wasn’t screaming, just given me a blank look that was even worse.

  We squeaked out of that game, winning by one run, but no thanks to me. I was pulled in the fifth inning, and my replacement saved our asses.

  Caroline usually greeted me after the game, something I normally found annoying, but when I looked for her, she wasn’t around. Which pissed me off more, because now I felt lost and irritated that she would just abandon me while I was hurting so badly. That’s how fucked up I was. I didn’t even know what I wanted.

  I knew the team was pissed, but mostly they were gracious about my major fail. All of them except Ace. He had no grace, so what did I expect? “You need to get your head out of the fucking dirt, kid,” he screamed at me. I didn’t care. I didn’t even look at him.

  He finally gave up yelling when he realized he couldn’t get me to react. His arm came around my shoulders as he took a seat beside me. “You know this is all bullshit, right?” he asked.

  I looked at him, my eyebrow raised and my head cocked. “What is?”

  He blew out a long breath. “Everything. Women, baseball, life. It’s all bullshit.”

  I wasn’t in the mood for one of Ace Newman’s lessons on how not to function at life. “Yeah, it just sucks,” I complained.

  “Well, what sucks needs to be sucked up,” he spouted.

  Oh boy, another one of Ace Newman’s amazing philosophies.

  “Gotcha,” I said with a smile that screamed fuck off!

  I didn’t move until the last player cleared out of the locker room. I walked out onto the field, stood on the mound, and looked up at the seat where Whitney had once watched me scrimmage. I remembered her smile, her arms in the air as she cheered or her scowls at the other team as they tried to steal a base.

  Nothing in my life had ever hurt as bad as losing her.

  It was my own doing, I knew that.

  “Hey,” Marty called from the dugout. I turned to see him waving at me. I walked over to him and grabbed my bag that was on the ground. “You doing okay?” he asked.

  I shook my head and continued walking out of the stadium towards my car.

  “Let’s go get a beer,” he said. “You look like you could use a friend.”

  I needed something, but I wasn’t sure exactly what.

  “I don’t think I’d be very good company right now,” I sulked. “Probably best to just go home.”

  “No,” he demanded. “Home alone is the worst place to be right now.”

  I stopped and gave it some thought. I was dreading being home alone, badly enough that I had even tried to call Caroline.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “But, not Home Plate.”

  He nodded and followed me to my car. “You drive.”

  I drove to a place just a few blocks from Home Plate. It was a dive, a country place with no sports memorabilia on the walls and TVs weren’t even turned on unless there was a NASCAR race.

  We ordered a couple beers, and the cute bartender with a sandy blonde ponytail and dark roots smiled. “I know you two,” she exclaimed.

  I just nodded and took the beers to a table near the back.

  I listened to Marty talk about his breakup and how it almost destroyed him. “I’m lucky Rhett picked me for this team,” he admitted. “Otherwise, I believe I would’ve been benched until my contract ran out.”

  I didn’t say anything, simply nodded. I’d heard that he’d been a last pick.

  “You really need to watch your company,” he warned, leaning closer to me. “Ace Newman, for one. Don’t get too close.” He cleared his throat. “And Caroline Black. She’s up to no good, I can feel it in my veins.”

  I stared at him as he ranted and raved about how Ace and Caroline had some plot and scheme and that Rhett may have been involved. It sounded crazy. After a while, it simply pissed me off. “Look, I get it, you haven’t had much luck with love, or with friends, but that doesn’t mean you can just start spouting off a bunch of dumb shit. I’m mean, seriously, why would Rhett try to screw up an asset, an investment. I might not know the
man well, but he didn’t become a billionaire by being stupid.”

  “I’m serious,” Marty insisted. He put his hand on my shoulder and stared me in the eye. He was close, too close. “Don’t trust people so easily.”

  “Whitney was working for Rhett, that’s probably all that was,” I explained. “Ace hasn’t done shit to fuck me over, except be a prick, and Caroline… well, she’s my own damn fault.”

  I took a long swig of my beer and then ordered another round.

  Marty continued telling me about his breakup and how the big guys in the league had something to do with it. “They were pushing me out,” he insisted.

  “Do you have any proof of that?” I asked, feeling exhausted listening to his conspiracy theories.

  “No, but that’s the point, they’re that good.”

  Okay, so at that point, I felt like I was sitting next to a lunatic. Maybe he got into Ace’s stash of powder, or maybe he’d always been nutty, and I just didn’t realize it.

  I rubbed my face with my hands. “Look, I could blame everything that’s happened to me on everyone else, but that’s not the case, I did it all to myself.”

  Marty didn’t look convinced, but he drank his beer without arguing with me any further. “And this breakup you keep talking about,” I spouted, feeling Ace’s mean drunk channeling through me. “You never say my girl… was it a guy? Are you queer? Is that why you think everyone was out to get you?”

  I could tell I hit a nerve and instantly felt like an asshole. “I’m sorry,” I said and dropped my face in my hands.

  He got up and left me at the table. I finished my beer, left a good tip then headed home. I fucked up everything I touched these days.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  e

  Calvin

  “Can I get you anything else?” the little blonde waitress asked. Her eyes were wide and her smile sweet. It was obvious she was flirting, but I learned my lesson about taking waitresses home from Home Plate. This was where I liked to drink, so no more one night stands with the staff.

  “No, thanks, darling.” I sipped on my beer and stared at the two shots in front of me.

  It felt odd to sit there alone; the booth somehow felt so much larger without Marty, Frank, or Ace squeezed in beside me. Tonight, it was just me.

  Ace was out with Holly, which I hated. Why did he get to keep his girl when I lost mine? He didn’t even care about Holly, not really. I loved Whitney, still do. Marty was obviously still pissed at me, and Frank… well, he went wherever Marty went.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked at the three missed calls from Caroline and shoved it back in. That bitch wasn’t anywhere to be found when I had the worst game of my life, but now that I’m back on a winning streak, she seemed to just pop back up. Fuck her!

  I slung one of the shots down, and then the second, no toast for either. If something bad was gonna happen as Ace always warned, I welcomed it. How much worse could it get?

  “You’re Calvin Malone.” I looked up to see a beautiful brunette standing in front of my table.

  “Yup, that’s me.” I sipped my beer, keeping my eyes on her face, not the curvy body I’d gotten a glimpse of. “You want an autograph or something?”

  She just stood there grinning, but didn’t speak. It was getting a little uncomfortable. She finally slid into the booth next to me, her hand sliding up my thigh, stopping dangerously close to the family jewels. It was looking like she wanted much more than an autograph.

  “I’m Heather,” she introduced herself like it mattered. I wasn’t planning on remembering her name in the morning.

  “So, Heather,” I said coolly. “What exactly can I do for you?”

  “You can start by buying me a drink,” she said. Cocky, I like it.

  The little blonde that had been flirting with me earlier came up and took the drink order. Her eyes were angry, and she made it obvious that the brunette was stomping on territory she had previously claimed.

  Heather turned out to be a wild cat, sliding her hand to my crotch and rubbing against my denim. It wasn’t enough to give her any satisfaction.

  No woody for you, Heather. Sorry, you came into the game too late, I guess.

  She wasn’t planning on giving up, that was obvious as she slid my hand up her skirt. The feel of a warm pussy against my fingers did create a twitch, but it wasn’t a home run. “Do you not think I’m sexy?” she asked after about four drinks and a dozen attempts to get my dick hard.

  “Absolutely, I guess I’m just bored with one night stands,” I admitted.

  She looked hurt for a second, then offended. Oh well.

  “Have you ever been with two women?” she asked me quietly as she leaned into my ear. My cock twitched with interest.

  “That, Heather, is something I’ve yet to try,” I admitted, and couldn’t keep the grin off my face.

  She kissed me softly on the cheek and whispered, “I’ll be back soon.” Five minutes ago, I wouldn’t have cared if she came back at all, but now I was really hoping she would.

  The little blonde was standing at the table again, this time happier since my guest was MIA. “How are you doing up here all alone?” she asked and then scooted into the booth next to me.

  “I’m actually doing quite well, thank you. How about yourself?” I was indeed feeling a little better, a little excited about the distraction of a possible threesome.

  Her hand moved to my leg, and she leaned in close enough I could smell the grease from the kitchen fryers on her skin. “If you want some company, I get off in thirty minutes.”

  Right about then, Heather came back to the table with a tall, sexy blonde with tiny tits and a wide smile. “You ready to get out of here?”

  I held up a finger and picked up my phone, speed dialing Whitney. No answer. Which was my answer.

  I didn’t even respond to the little blonde who was flirting with me. I just pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and dropped it in front of her. “Have a good night,” I said and left with the two women who planned to pop my threesome cherry. Ace would be so proud.

  My Porsche proved to be a tight squeeze for the two long-legged vixens in the passenger seat, but we managed. Keeping my eyes on the road and off of their playful fingers and lips was proving to be the toughest problem of the night.

  When I finally pulled into my drive, the girls began giggling and becoming extremely playful. I walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door as they worked on untangling to get out. Have mercy!

  They didn’t wait for me to walk them to the door, they were already there and waiting to be let in like stray cats. Once inside things didn’t change much, they both wandered around my house making comments about how nice it was. I pulled a beer from the fridge and leaned against the kitchen counter while they checked out the pool, the hot tub, and took a trip up the stairs to the roof. I wasn’t in the mood to chase them; I was actually getting tired. I sucked down the last of my beer as they came back inside.

  “Where’s your bedroom?” Heather asked. I motioned to the stairs.

  Giggling and high-pitched chatter was all I could hear as they rushed up the grand staircase. I took my time, figuring they needed time to settle down before I joined the fun anyway. I was right to wait. When I walked into my room, they were already fully undressed and tangled together on my bed. I stripped down, watched them nibble on each other’s soft skin and then found a place on the bed where I had a great view. I wasn’t planning on doing much, and it didn’t look like I was going to be expected to.

  The blonde — we were never formally introduced — wrapped her mouth around my cock, her tongue teasing me to the rock hard status they were expecting. I reached into my nightstand and pulled out a condom. Heather was busy giving the blonde a tongue bath between her legs, and I was ready for more action than the blonde’s tongue was offering to my now hard and ready cock.

  There was something so surreal about having two women in my bed at once. A wet dream I’d never
thought would ever become reality. Why wasn’t I thrilled?

  I realized I was just going through the motions as I pounded into Heather, making her moan as she pleasured the other woman. I came quick, but they didn’t seem to mind. They continued playing with one another until I was ready to join back in. I grabbed another condom, and this time wanted the blonde, but Heather was still yearning for another round herself.

  We came to a compromise, stacking them like pancakes on the bed, one pussy on top of the other. It was a beautiful picture, but now I felt like I was just finishing a job. I dipped into Heather, then into the blonde, giving them equal time with my little slugger. It actually helped me to last a bit longer, and both girls came before I finished off in the blonde.

  When it was over, I was just tired, feeling like Christmas had ended. The anticipation of having a threesome was better than the reality, and I just wanted to sleep.

  While the girls were still playing, I closed my eyes and a little later felt them snuggle up to me, one on each side. Their bodies were warm, and their soft whispers and giggles were like white noise that helped lull me to sleep.

  I woke up in a panic, my heart pounding and my body dripping with sweat. I remembered dreaming, a nightmare really, that I had crashed my car. It wasn’t the car or myself that had gotten me all worked up, but the fact that Whitney was trapped inside. I calmed as I realized it was just a dream, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt for leaving Whitney in the trapped car, or for putting her in it in the first place.

  The girls were still sleeping when I slipped out from between them. My life was spiraling out of control and I knew I needed to settle down. This wasn’t me. I didn’t even recognize the man in the mirror anymore.

  It’s crazy how all the things I thought would make me happy meant less than nothing to me now. I pulled my phone from my jeans that were bundled on the floor and walked downstairs. My heart beat hard in my chest as I dialed Whitney’s number and slipped out the back door to sit by the pool. It rang, and I listened as I always did until the very last one and the voicemail message that said it was full would play.