Playing for Keeps: Book 2 (Playing the Game Duet)

by Gina Drayer

  I rubbed the back of my neck and shrugged. “Me either. But I wouldn’t take it back. I’m actually really fucking happy.”

  “So when should I get one of my agents to list Emily’s place.” He looked around again and frowned. “I assume you guys will be living here, or should I start looking for something bigger?”

  “She has to agree to move in with me first.”

  “Well, have you asked? The way you guys were on-again, off-again, I doubt she’s just going to assume you want her to move in.”

  “Yes, I asked her and she laugh the idea off.”

  “Maybe it’s not the right time. Your relationship has been put under a lot of stress. You’re going to be back on the field soon, and that means back on the road. Maybe it is better if both of you keep your places until you figure out how that’s going to work.”

  “That’s shitty advice and you better not have spouted that bullshit to her.”

  I tossed the ice pack back on the table and got up to get a drink. I really wanted a beer, but even though I wasn't playing, I was still following my behavior clause to the letter. There was no way I’d let them drop me on a technicality.

  “I’m just saying you should enjoy the time you have now before it gets complicated with the baby and your travel. Ask her again after the season is over.”

  “You don’t get it. It doesn’t matter how complicated things get, this is it for me. I want to marry her. But I’m not sure how I’m going to get her to agree to that if she thinks moving in together is a joke.”

  “What did you expect? You don’t exactly exude domesticity. You’ve worn the bad boy reputation like a fucking badge of honor for years. You’re on the road for half the year. Your apartment could be a room in MoMA. You don’t even take care of your own plants.”

  “I get it. I was a pretentious asshole that played around. But that doesn’t answer my question. How do I change her mind?”

  “I don’t know? Get a dog or something,” he said, helpfully. “Maybe if you show her that you can take care of something else that will help.”

  “Great. I’m trying to figure out how to get Emily to marry me, and your best advice is to get a dog. Remind me why I keep you around?”

  “She loves you, man. Focus on getting back on the field, and give that other stuff time.”

  The problem was, I wasn’t sure I had the luxury of time. While the rookie who was filling in for me didn’t have my stats, he was a solid player. I could feel the vultures in management circling.

  23

  Emily

  Cooper: Cleared to go back to work next week.

  I was having so many mixed feelings about that news. On the one hand, I was thrilled. I’ve never seen anyone as focused as he’d been these last five weeks. He trained religiously and in my personal opinion, was in better shape than before he got hurt.

  However, there was a selfish part of me that didn’t want to give him up. It was nice waking up every morning next to him. He would stop by my office for lunch out of the blue. Help out at the center. He’d been to every one of my doctor’s appointments and tests. I knew, as soon as he went back to playing, I’d only get a small fraction of his time.

  But I couldn’t be jealous. Baseball was in his blood. He needed to be back on the field just as much as I needed to help people.

  Emily: Proud of you!

  I sent three hearts and a thumbs up emoji. My phone buzzed right away.

  Cooper: I’m in the mood to celebrate. I have a surprise for you when you get home.

  His surprises these days generally fell into one of two categories; either naughty or overly sweet and caring. So he was either planning on attacking me when I reached the door or had a bath waiting. And even though my sex drive was still off the charts, the way my back was aching right now, I kind of hoped it was the bath.

  Emily: I’m on my way up right now.

  Emily: I was on my feet most of the day, and I’m exhausted.

  I added, just to hedge my bets.

  I swiped my key fob that unlocked his floor and pushed the penthouse button. Despite being a lifelong New Yorker, I’d never once lived in an apartment. As soon as I turned eighteen, I bought my little brownstone with money from my trust. So staying with Cooper had been a new experience. I could see the appeal. The pool was a nice amenity. Especially in my current condition. And the security fobs and doorman made me feel safe. I like the neighbors and even the stuffy doorman, Calvin. He was starting to grow on me.

  I wasn’t sure this was where I wanted to raise our child, but I was seriously considering his offer to move in. I was going to sell the brownstone either way. I could donate a lot of my stuff to one of my transitioning families, and figure out how to make his place feel more like home.

  I unlocked the front door, but Cooper wasn’t anywhere in sight. As a matter of fact, the house was dark. It didn’t look like he was even home. I flipped on the lights, set my purse down, and headed back to the bedroom, thinking he might be there. I only made it halfway there when the front door opened.

  “I didn’t realize you were already here,” Cooper called from the front of the apartment. “I ran back from the park as soon as I got your text.”

  “I left a little early. It was a long day.”

  When I came around the corner, I stopped, trying to figure out what I was seeing. Cooper was bent over in the entry, unhooking a leash from a big ball of fluffy white fur. The dog, at least that’s what I thought it was, shook as soon as it was free and ran off into the living room.

  “What’s that?”

  “That’s your surprise. I haven’t given him a name yet. I figured we could do that together.”

  I stared back at Cooper, still not grasping why there was a dog doing laps around the sofa.

  “I take it you’re surprised?” he said, hopefully.

  “Surprised is one word. Why?”

  “I’m running again, and since you don’t like to run and the guys are on the road half the time, I needed a partner. I thought a dog would be nice. Besides, our baby needs a puppy. What do you think?”

  He was serious. He went out and bought a dog. The little fur ball had finally noticed me and was now sniffing around my feet. “I think we should have talked about this first. I don’t think we can juggle a puppy right now.”

  His shoulders fell, and he looked as if I’d just kicked the puppy. “I thought you’d be happy. You said you’ve never had a pet before.”

  “For a reason. My hours are erratic. I can be away from home for twelve or more hours.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but that’s going to have to change once the baby comes.”

  I crossed my arms over my stomach and glared at him. “And I told you that I wasn’t quitting my job just because I’m having a baby.”

  He crossed the room, pulled me into his arms, and kissed my forehead. “I don’t want you to quit,” he said, firmly. “But things are going to be different once the little guy is here. Even with a nanny, which you haven’t started interviewing for yet, you’re going to have to balance your time. I know you. You’re going to want to go to doctors’ appointments and plan birthday parties and trips to the zoo.”

  “I know that,” I said with a sigh. “Just like I know you didn’t get a dog to have a running buddy. So why did you really get a puppy?”

  “I don’t want you to see me as that flaky, hot-headed baseball player you met all those months ago. I was talking with Ben yesterday, and he said I wasn’t domestic enough for you.”

  “First off, that’s not how I see you. I know we had a rough start, but you’ve stepped up.” I pressed a hand against his cheek and made sure he was looking at me when I said the next words. “You don’t have to worry. I have no doubt at all that you’re going to be an amazing dad.”

  “You think so?”

  “Absolutely.” I kissed him softly on the lips and rubbed my nose against his.

  “Then why won’t you move in with me?”

  “I jus
t needed some time to think about it. That’s who I am. And now that I’ve thought it over, I think you’re right. We don’t need two houses. I’ll move in.”

  He threw his arms around me, picked me up, and kissed me hard on the lips.

  “I can’t believe Ben was right.”

  “Did Ben really tell you the best way to get me to move in was to get a dog?” I bent down to scratch behind the ball of fluff’s ear. It was pure white with pointy ears and a little black nose. The sucker was adorable.

  “He said something like that. I think his exact words were ‘show her you can take care of something besides yourself.’”

  “Well, it was bad advice,” I said and picked the dog up from the floor. It proceeded to lick my face, tickling my neck with its soft fur. The stupid dog was too darn cute. “And since when did you start taking relationship advice from Ben? The man who dated his twenty-two-year-old receptionist who was embezzling funds from his company and got sued for sexual harassment after he fired her. Ben, who—according to you—only dates women with giant neon signs flashing trouble. What possessed you to listen to his advice?”

  “So you don’t like the dog?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I had a hard time denying the fact that I wanted to eat up the loveable little bundle of fluff. Even the dog realized I was a softy. It yipped and licked my face again. “I don’t hate it. But you do realize that this is the worst time to get a dog. You’re going back to work. The baby is going to be here in a few months, and I’m going to have my hands full. I can’t take care of a dog, and you’re not going to be here to help.”

  He waved off my concerns. “The building has a dog walking service. They’ll come walk the dog five times a day if we want. I already talked to Calvin about setting us up. Someone from the service will be by tomorrow.”

  I looked down into that sweet face and just couldn’t say no. “You’re going to handle everything?”

  Cooper’s face cracked into a huge smile. “Not a problem. I’m all over this.”

  “Fine, we can keep him, but you have to promise to talk to me before you make any big changes. If we’re going to live together, raise our child together, we have to be a team.”

  “I promise.” He took the dog out of my arms and set it down on a big plush bed I hadn’t noticed earlier. “Now, that your surprise is out of the way, let’s get back to celebrating our good news. I’m going back to work, and you’re moving in. I think that calls for a little naked celebration, don’t you?”

  He started unbuttoning his shirt and stalked my direction. I took a step back and feigned a yawn. I took another step back towards the bedroom.

  “I don’t know, I’m awfully tired,” I said, but had already pulled my shirt off.

  He grinned wolfishly and pounced. I squealed and turned to run, but smacked into the wall. Thankfully, Cooper was right behind me and kept me from falling.

  “You need to be more careful.” He swept an arm under my legs and hoisted me up. “I think our new goal should be to go more than six months without either of us ending up getting injured.”

  “Deal.”

  He carried me all the way back to the bedroom, and we did indeed celebrate all our good news well into the night.

  24

  Cooper

  The frantic staccato clicks of nails on the hardwood, racing up and down the edge of the bed, greeted me the next morning.

  Click-click-click, whine. Click-click-click, whine.

  I knew I couldn’t avoid it much longer. If I didn’t get up and take the dog for a walk, he was going to piss all over the floors. I was almost tempted to let him.

  “I thought you were all over taking care of the dog,” Emily said from the bathroom.

  “He’s only up because you are. For that matter, you’re already dressed, can’t you just take him out to the courtyard. I promise I’ll take him for a long walk after I shower.”

  “I’m dressed because I have a seven A.M. interview that I can’t be late for. You, on the other hand, don’t have to be anywhere until ten so you can walk the puppy. I told you that you should have signed him up for morning walks.”

  The dog whined again. Get a puppy. It will show you’re responsible. I needed to punch Ben in the face. While the puppy was cute, he was a pain in my ass.

  “Fine,” I said and tossed off the covers. I pulled on a pair of sweats and a hoodie. I thought I’d enjoy going for a long jog in the morning now that the weather was getting warmer, but unfortunately, the dog was up with Emily every morning. And she was always up with the sun. As soon as I got back, I was arranging a morning dog walker.

  “I might be late tonight. I have to finish up payroll,” Emily said from the doorway.

  She was in her executive director disguise. Those wild curls I loved so much were pinned up, and she had a bit of makeup—a little powder, blush, and pink lip gloss. She was wearing that same lip gloss last night when she got home and wrapped those pink lips around my cock.

  Maybe she had time for me to bend her over the bathroom counter and return the favor. I licked my lips and stocked towards her.

  Click-click-click. Whine.

  She handed me the leash and rested a hand on her swollen belly.

  I grabbed the leash and shot the dog a death glare. “You are a furry little cock block.”

  “You’re really grumpy in the morning,” she said with a chuckle in her voice. “You’re going to be fun when the baby comes. You do realize they require a lot more attention than a puppy.”

  “Of course, I do,” I snapped. I attached the leash to the dog’s collar and followed Emily into the living room. “I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll do the night feedings as long as you get up with him in the morning.”

  “You’re going to get up at two in the morning to feed the baby after playing nine innings? Can I get that in writing?” She kissed me quickly on the lips and grabbed her purse. “I really am running late. Are you going to ride down with me?”

  Click-click-click. Whine.

  “I better or I’m going to have a mess to clean up.”

  I slipped my keys and wallet into my sweatpants and followed her out the door. As much as I liked sleeping in, I did enjoy seeing her off in the morning. We’d settled into a regular routine, and it felt good like we’d finally figured out how this relationship thing worked.

  “The baby is doing backflips this morning.”

  She grabbed my hand and pressed it to her side. I could feel the soft flutter of movement under her shirt. I leaned in and kissed her temple, holding my hand against her belly. I didn’t care how many things we still had to work out, this was worth it.

  When we reached the main floor, she stopped mid-stride. “Darn it. I left my phone upstairs. If the driver is outside can you tell him I’ll be right down?”

  I caught her hand before she turned around. “Call the real estate agent today. You’ve been putting it off. I don’t want us to wait much longer. You do still want to sell it, don’t you?”

  “I do,” she said with a sigh. “It’s just, I lived there for ten years. The thought of packing and cleaning things up is stressing me out.”

  “We’ll hire people, but you’ve got to stop putting it off.”

  “Everything is moving, so fast.” She bit her lower lip and looked like she was about ready to cry.

  “We can wait if you want” I said, kissing away her frown.

  “Mr. Reynolds. I don’t mean to interrupt, but you have a situation.” Calvin pointed to the end of the leash I was holding. Snowball was taking a dump right in front of the revolving door.

  “Shit!”

  “Very observant,” Emily snickered.

  I ran over to grab the dog before he made a bigger mess. As I got closer, the automatic sensor triggered and the door started to move. The dog yipped and ran back to Emily, leaving a trail of pee in his wake. But worse, the door spun around collecting the pile of dog crap and painting it across the lobby floor.

  I ran over to
the door and tried to stop it, but just proceeded to step in the mess. As I tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe up the shit with the doggy bags, Emily stood there and just laughed.

  “I could use a hand,” I shouted through the glass door as I made another circle.

  This just caused another round of laughter. She pressed her hand to her side, doubling over. “You should see the look on your face right now.”

  “That’s not very helpful.”

  “You assured me you had this dog thing handled,” she said, sweeping away a stray tear.

  “Calvin? A little help.”

  The doorman hurried over and pressed a button on the door frame that stopped the door from spinning. Now I was trapped between the outside and the lobby with the smell of dog shit nearly choking me.

  Emily tapped on the glass. “I asked Calvin to schedule those morning walks for Snowball. I’ll take him upstairs and put him in his crate while you deal with this mess. Have a great day.” She kissed the glass and headed back to the elevators.

  I apologized profusely to Calvin and arranged to have the carpets in the lobby cleaned. The service assured me that, starting tomorrow, Snowball would go out at six A.M. with their morning walker. I didn’t really relish the idea of getting up at six to hand off the dog to a walker, but it was a much better plan than having a repeat of this morning’s circus.

  I jumped in the shower and got ready for my final physical therapy appointment. My first official game since getting injured was in two days. I’d been working out with the team, but I was anxious to get back on the field.

  I was on my way to the appointment when my phone rang. Manny’s number flashed on the screen and my gut twisted.

  “They’re going to announce it after you get cleared by Dr. Pete tomorrow, but you’re getting traded to Philly.”