by Kate Stewart
Ding. Ding.
“Baby, can you get the door? I ordered a pizza. There’s some cash in my wallet.”
I was sitting in my recliner with an ice pack on both knees and my balls, watching the highlights of other games played that day. I’d got clipped with way too many flyaway balls.
“It’s really not a good time, baby,” I spoke up from the living room. “My Rocky Mountain oysters are on ice.”
“I just got out of the shower, I’m naked!” she yelped from the bedroom. “Fine. I’ll just throw on one of your dress shirts.”
“No!” I cursed and winced as I scooped the ice packs off my knees and lap and stood to feel the throb of the game I just played. I glared in the direction of our bedroom as I made my way toward the door. “Don’t you dare touch my clothes. You got them all jacked up when we moved in.”
I heard her laugh from behind the door.
“What did I do, baby? Did the dark blues get mixed up with light?” She teased.
“I swear to God, when I don’t feel like I’m at death’s door, I’m going to red your ass.”
“You’ll have to catch me first, Tin Man!”
The doorbell sounded again, and I made a beeline for it realizing I didn’t have my wallet. I opened it as the guy stood there with a huge grin on his face, which I returned.
“Wow, I’m a huge fan, man.”
“Thanks,” I said sincerely. I grabbed a ball off the counter that I’d signed for the camp I was sponsoring and handed it to him as he passed me the pizza. “If you want it,” I added as he stared down at it like it was the golden ticket.
“Holy shit, man. Thank you!”
“Just give me a second,” I said as I spotted Erica’s wallet on the counter and opened it.
There were a hundred compartments and I had searched two before I pulled out the card. My heart thudded wildly in my chest as I stared down at the queen of hearts.
Her card.
The card that kept me from having a full deck for years.
I choked on emotion as I studied it. It was worn to a frazzle and bent at the edges, like she’d pulled it out plenty of times in the years we were apart.
I cleared my throat and unzipped the right part of her wallet, pulling out the cash. I turned and paid the guy, who spoke up as if he were waiting for the chance.
“I was sad I missed the game today, but I have to say this is pretty awesome. I think you guys will take it all again this season. That series was something to watch. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, man,” I said with a grin, my heart still thudding from the sight of that card as I handed him the cash. “Here you go.”
“Thank you, Ren. You made my day.”
A thought occurred to me, and I turned and stopped him. “You want to help make mine?”
“Sure, man, whatever you need.”
“Can you stick around a bit?” I asked with my heart thudding a mile a minute in my chest. “Stay right here, okay? I’ll be right back.”
“Sure.”
“Ren, did you find the money?” I asked as I walked out of the bedroom and rounded the corner to get to the living room. The house wasn’t massive, but it was perfect for the two of us. I didn’t want to live in the museum Ren bought on his own. If we were starting a life together, it had to be something new. I left New York with a good résumé and was now PR for three Denver players, excluding my boyfriend. He had fired me as soon as he won the World Series. I wasn’t insulted in the least, because in truth, it wasn’t a good idea for us in the long haul. But I had managed to put a small dent in his bad boy reputation. We went public with our relationship a few months after his last game. It had all worked out for the best. I’d spent the last week unpacking our house and making room for Malcolm. He was coming to spend his spring break with us at Ren’s insistence. Ren refused to leave his Little Brother behind in Arizona and made every effort to remain a part of his life, despite his schedule. I was proud of the man he was. Proud to be by his side when he realized his dreams. My heart was full despite the fact that I still refused to have anything to do with my father. I spoke to my mother often, though she chose to stay with him, and on occasion my brothers would visit, and it was enough for me. I had everything I needed, and most of it was held in the love in Ren’s eyes when he looked at me. It was a far cry from my life in New York, a life I couldn’t miss because of the new one I shared with Ren, though I missed Rowe. She had taken my position in the firm and was thriving. Though we weren’t a part of each other’s every day, we were lifer’s, she and I. Alice had made my transition to Denver easy, making me feel right at home. And when April visited from Charleston, we always managed to venture out of the house, pissing our men off and making new memories. It was an adventure with those two to say the least.
I smiled as I passed the wall of pictures I’d just hung in the last year. Ren and I dressed as the Tin Man and Dorothy at a Halloween party. A picture of us in front of our new house with Davis. A picture of Ren and the guys the night they won the series. I straightened one of the frames as I moved toward the kitchen, the smell of pizza making my mouth water, and froze when I saw Ren down on one knee with the delivery driver behind him, a phone in his hand pointed directly at me. I let out a nervous laugh before I spoke. “What are you doing?” I saw the card in one of Ren’s hands and the small black box I’d found all those years ago in the other. My eyes instantly filled with tears.
“Ren?”
“No tricks,” he promised hoarsely. “And I’m showing you the only card that matters.”
I lost it then, my heart in my throat, my tears falling freely with his as he spoke. “You’re a ball of fire and the only woman alive who can make me feel so much without saying a word. I don’t want to go another minute of this life without knowing I’m going to spend the rest of it with you. Be mine, be my wife, stay my everything. Be my family and my best friend. Will you marry me?”
I nodded before I spoke. “Yes.”
Ren opened the box and slid the rock on my finger before he swept me into his arms. He kissed me deep before he swung me around our entryway. It was a spontaneous proposal, and I knew it because it was so very us. We both got swept up in the moment until we heard a throat clear. Ren broke from me reluctantly, and we both turned to the man smiling at our front door.
“Congratulations,” he said sweetly as he held out Ren’s phone. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old and was the only witness to the happiest moment of our lives. Ren thanked him again before he shut the door and gathered me back in his arms.
“I guess I’ll have to order pizza more often,” I murmured before placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I wonder what I’ll get next.”
“Anything you want,” he murmured back. “Because you just gave me everything.”
“Ren, let’s do it today. Let’s just go and do it right now.”
He raised his brows. “What?”
“You don’t have a game for two days.”
“Here?”
“I was thinking more along the lines of a place with a full deck.”
Ren’s slow-building smile told me all I needed to know.
That night, in a little white chapel off the Vegas strip, I married a baseball player.
And the next day we made a little slugger.
THE END
If you enjoyed Ren and Erica’s story, get to know the rest of the gang of the Balls in Play Series.
Rafe and Alice
Anything but Minor
Andy and April
Major Love
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re just about ten minutes outside of Charleston. Current conditions are sunny and seventy-three degrees. We hope you’ve enjoyed your flight. Please keep your seatbelts fastened as we prepare for landing. We know you have a choice in air travel, and we appreciate you flying with us.”
Seconds later, a more muffled Darth Vader order was barked at a faster speed.
“Flight attendants, prepare for landing.”
Freedom.
That was the only thought that crossed my mind after my mother’s unexpected, tearful, and mortifying goodbye at the Ohio airport.
“Remember your virtue. It’s the most sacred thing a woman has,” she said as she eyed the man behind me with distaste.
“Mom, don’t start this,” I said as she looked me over with threatening tears. I’d never had the heart to tell her. At twenty-four, I hadn’t been a virgin for years. She’d raised me to wait for marriage. I’d let Brian Callahan lift my skirt instead. A move I regretted, but I’d been far too curious.
“You keep yourself safe,” she urged again as she looked around us for any sign of disorder. My mother, though nurturing at times, had the bedside manner of Carrie’s mother from that terrifying Stephen King movie. Though I was never beaten for menstruating or locked in a closet to pray, she’d sheltered me to the point of almost making me wear a chastity belt to my senior prom. It had been a miracle she’d even let me go. Though I’d never been much for breaking the rules, due to her constant harping and paranoia, I was convinced I would burn in hell for taking a hit off a joint at a senior party, which I snuck out to attend.
And when I lost my virginity, I was even more convinced my soul had no safe haven to depart to. It was only months later that I realized if I didn’t remove myself from her iron grasp, I too would start to reach that level of crazy.
She wasn’t so much religious as she was paranoid. She feared everything and everyone and was always sure she could find a motive in someone else’s kindness. She remained unmarried after my runaway father divorced her when I was five. I knew I was all she had, but I had to get away. I’d only remained well-rounded due to my movie mothers: M’Lynn, Clairee, Truvy, and Ouiser from the movie Steel Magnolias...and, well, Uncle Buck.
College was a five-year blur. I rarely ventured from my dorm room at Cornell. It took all of those five years of school and even a few more years of flight time to slip into my newer, less terrified self. College had only salvaged me until summer hit, and I’d ended up right back in hell: Dayton, Ohio.
If I wanted any semblance of a normal life, I had to move far away from her, where I wouldn’t feel like I had to report my every move.
No, this freedom would be completely different, and the cloudless, neon blue sky through the rectangle window to my right told me so. I pulled up the forecast on my iPhone as soon as the crew announced it was safe and saw that sunny skies would be a constant for the next week. True spring was in full swing in the south and a far cry from the bipolar weather from which I came.
I’d just left the dreary, bleak slosh of my former life behind and quickly discarded the thick sweater I’d boarded the plane with. Charleston had mild to non-existent winters, beautiful sandy beaches, and was now my home.
That alone was enough to sell me on the move.
That and the fact that I would be one of a few manning the entire flight simulation program at the newly built Boeing plant.
They say all good things come to those who wait, and as I deplaned and began walking toward the exit, all I could think about was that I’d waited long enough. I’d been dying in a gray hell, longing for a taste of everything for as long as I could remember, and I would take a bite out of it all. I’d spent too many years of my life living vicariously through movies.
That day and every day that followed would be the best days of my life.
I saw my new Prius make its way down the circular lot at the airport entrance. I flagged the driver down, and as soon as he spotted me, he smiled and got out of the car to help me with my bags. He was an older man, mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair and kind blue eyes. He didn’t look like he’d missed a meal...his entire life. Carl was sweating like he’d just run a race as I reveled in the crisp spring air. I made a mental note to toss my sweater in the trash at home, as soon as I located...home.
“Ms. Blake?”
“That’s me. You must be Carl,” I said as he shook my hand with a smile.
“Call me Alice. Thank you for going out of your way to help me today.”
“No problem at all. I was happy to do it. So here she is,” he said as he pointed out a few features of my Toyota while he tucked my large suitcase safely in the trunk before handing me the keys.
“You can drive me back to the lot, and I’ll answer any questions you may have.”
“No need. I’ve researched it enough,” I said as I took the wheel and began syncing my iPhone.
“Just a few more papers to sign and it’s all yours,” he said with a slight southern lilt in his voice. I loved the accents associated with the south. So far, every single person I’d contacted in regards to my move had been nothing short of friendly and personable.
After buckling my belt and taking a look around the cabin, I asked for the address to the car lot and ordered Siri to start directing me.
“There’s really no need. I’m happy to give you directions,” Carl offered. I turned on the AC, despite being completely comfortable, and I saw his instant, but silent thank you.
“I’ll be relying on her quite a bit, so I need to make sure we get off to a good start,” I said, slightly uneasy.
He simply nodded. “You said you were working at the new Boeing plant, correct?”
“Yes, I start tomorrow.”
“Well, it’s less than a quarter mile from where we’re sitting. We’ll be driving by.”
“I know. I’ve researched that, too,” I said as I flushed slightly.
Google was my vice.
“New city, new job, this is an exciting time for you.”
“It certainly is,” I said as I listened to Siri guide us out of the airport. I spotted the plant, the place where I would be spending the majority of my time, making sure well-trained pilots lifted and landed safely. But I was far more fascinated by the palm trees playing peekaboo through the sunroof.
“I’ve never seen a palm tree,” I whispered in awe.
“Welcome to the Palmetto State.”
By the time I had made it to my new fully furnished condo, I was running behind to meet the realtor.
“I’m so sorry,” I rushed out, barely able to take in my lush surroundings as I met a casually dressed woman at the door, my overstuffed suitcase and carry-on in tow.
“No worries. I had to walk my Skeeter, anyway, so I swung by when you texted.” I was sure “Skeeter” was a pet name but got no further explanation. She turned the key and gave me an animated face with big eyes. “Well, take a look around.”
I braced myself. Renting from afar was scary business, but so far the drive into the complex had been absolutely beautiful. I’d even spotted a free roaming alligator on the pond bank on the drive in. I was tempted to stop and take a picture. I held my breath and then let it out in a huge and happy gust as I took in my new digs.
“Oh wow,” I chimed as I walked into the spacious kitchen with marble floors and new appliances. Adjacent and across the bar top was an even larger living room complete with dark wood floors and a stone fireplace. I was convinced it wasn’t just a home but a haven.
“The pictures really didn’t do it justice,” she said as she watched me closely. “I had the maintenance man put your boxes in the living room. They arrived today. I didn’t want you to have to drag all that stuff up yourself.”
I barely heard her as I looked at the beautiful furnishings. Things I’d never dreamt of in a place of my own, things without doilies under them. My mother loved doilies, crosses, and lace. I shivered at the memory of my old bedroom.
“It’s”—I damned near teared up—“perfect.”
“Ahhh, hon, you’re going to love it here! It’s a lot quieter than the other complexes in the area. What is it that you said you do?”
“I’m a flight instructor.”
“Wow,” she said, clearly impressed as I took a look at the leather couch and big screen TV. “Well, here you are.” She walked over and dropped the keys into my waiting hand. “Your copy of the rental agreement
is on the counter. You said you’ve never been to Charleston?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve done a bit of research on the web.” I turned to her, my chest bursting with excitement. “Thank you.”
“I think I’ll call you in a week. Just to see how you’re doing.”
I looked at her with a curious glance.
She gave me a knowing smile. “Oh, honey, you don’t know where you are...yet.”
When she shut the door, I clamped my hands over my mouth to cover my squeal, but I knew she’d heard it. Ten minutes later, I was dressed in an oversized white tee, pink panties, black Ray-Bans, and knee-high socks, sliding across my new hardwoods to Bob Seger. And it was the best day of my life.
You know that part in the movie Top Gun when Kelly McGillis walks around, sex clad in aviators and an oversized bomber jacket while the gorgeous buffet of pilots sit a little straighter in their chairs and do their best to intimidate their new instructor? In that movie, Kelly took zero crap as she fired at will, demonstrating her expertise and rightfully gaining the upper hand. I’d imagined something similar for my first day as an instructor.
This was not that.
First, the white-walled classroom was freezing, and I was positive my nipples were perked up in an embarrassing display through my tight, thin, pink sweater. My pilots were all in their late thirties to early fifties and looked nothing like a young Tom Cruise or Val Kilmer, aside from one man who seemed completely uninterested in a damn word I was about to say. I was disappointed not to see one woman in the class of around fifteen pilots, but it was expected. It saddened me to no end that the majority of those in the air were still men. The percentage still 97% men in the industry.
Well, I was in the other 3%, and I was sure that these men felt that same contempt for me as they did sexy McGillis because they all looked bored or pissed to be there. I studied them for several moments as they rudely kept busy on their cell phones.
“It’s not the same plane as you are used to, gentlemen,” I said with certainty and in lieu of a greeting. “More advanced, glass flight deck, larger wingspan, and it’s faster than anything you have ever flown. And you don’t know how to operate it.”
