“She’s trying, but I don’t have any new info. Sorry, buddy.”
“You read the newspaper this morning? See the forums on the team’s webpage?”
Ethan’s hand gripped the back of my neck, hard. “Fuck, man. I told you to stay away from that shit.”
I shook my head and smiled. “They umm, they called me Benedict Arnold. Some of them—” I laughed, but a pin-drop could have been heard through the room.
Ethan stood there, grinding his jaw. His hand started to shake against my neck.
“They hoped my house burned down, with my family inside it.” I belted out an obvious fake laugh.
“They’re trolls, man. It’s what they do. Fucking nerds with a keyboard in their mother’s basement somewhere.”
I turned on the water and splashed some on my face, but it was a charade. I dropped to my elbows on the sink and broke the fuck down. “I’ve given so much to this city. I’ve always tried to do the right thing.”
Ethan hoisted me up off the counter. How, I had no idea, but he turned me to face him. “Hey! Real baseball fans know that shit. One or two people always make all the noise. News reporters want fucking ratings. People here still love you and they will no matter what happens.”
I nodded. We both knew the biggest reason I was freaking out, but there was no need to mention her name. “I know, man. I don’t give a fuck. Just seems like the whole goddamn world is against me right now.” The not giving a fuck part was a lie and Ethan knew it. I’d damn near had a panic attack when I read what people thought of me. I’d expected some jeers, but not death wishes on my family.
“Things can turn around, Matty. They always do. That’s life, man. One minute you’re in the clouds, the next you’re eating a shit sandwich. It’s what makes it worth living.”
I smiled through the pain. “Always eloquent with the shit sandwiches.”
Ethan shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
I lifted the hat up to my head and took a huge breath. “Let’s see how it looks.”
I put it on and it was a good two sizes too big. I wiggled it back and forth. “Jesus.”
Ethan grinned in the mirror. “Maybe you’ll grow into it playing for those assholes.”
I shook my head at him and the bill flipped around. “Nice.” I pulled on the jersey and somehow it managed to swamp my upper body. “Jesus, did they send Sabathia’s shit over?”
We both laughed. I pulled the ridiculously large hat and jersey off and shoved them both in Ethan’s chest. “Why don’t you be a good little agent and go get some shit that fits so I don’t look like more of a clown than I already do.”
“Always got jokes. That’s okay. I’m the most expensive errand boy you’ve ever fucking met. So who’s the real fool?”
We both chuckled but it was awkward as hell.
“You gonna be okay out there?”
I nodded. “Yeah, man. I’ll be fine.”
He stared, unconvinced.
“I promise.”
He walked away slowly with the cap and jersey, but kept looking over his shoulder at me. “Okay.”
—
They called my name and I thought I might lose my lunch all over the stage when I walked up. I took in a deep breath and walked up the steps to a barrage of flashing lights and cameras.
In the middle of the stage sat a table with a microphone attached to it. Right behind the mic was a small stack of papers and a pen. I gave a quick wave and walked over to the seat, attempting to focus on anything other than the reality of what was taking place.
Fortunately, I wasn’t doing a Q&A, so I wouldn’t have to field any ridiculous questions about the fans or any of that other bullshit. Reporters were relentless, always trying to provoke an emotional response.
I sat down and leaned over to the mic. “Hello.”
My voice boomed through the room, and the bright flashes of the cameras pounded my eyes like a strobe light.
“I don’t think it’s any big secret why I’m here today, so let’s just get to it. I love this city.”
A few snickers and scoffs came from the sea of reporters. I stopped and glared in that direction for a brief moment, and then realized I just needed to get it all over with as soon as possible.
“I was born nearby. Played college ball right up the road. I’ve been with the Rangers organization for a long time now, and I can’t thank them enough, for everything. They’ve done so much more than just develop my baseball skills on the field.”
A door opened at the back of the room and caught my attention, even though everyone else was oblivious. I squinted and peered through the lights and made out Jenny’s face. My heart leaped for a second, wondering if she’d brought Kelsey with her.
I smiled.
Jenny didn’t smile back, though. She stared back at me, a blank expression on her face, but I wasn’t sure if she could see me or not.
Fuck, she’s not coming.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the back of the room. My heart wasn’t ready to let go of any hope that it still held. I started to lean to the mic once more, and a smile spread across Jenny’s face.
She stepped through the door and to the side, and there she was. Kelsey looked around the room at all the cameras and lights and her eyes grew wide.
A few reporters in front of me cleared their throats, as if to remind me to continue my speech. But I wasn’t capable of words. When Kelsey’s eyes met mine, there was no way I was turning away from her. She had on the Spinderellas T-shirt and Levi’s jeans she’d worn on our first date.
The blinding lights went off so fast they almost became constant, as mumbles started to circulate through the room.
A single tear rolled from the corner of her eye down her cheek.
“Mr. Stallworth?” One of the reporters in the front row attempted to get me to focus.
It wasn’t happening.
I stared at Kelsey and she at me. Eventually, a few reporters at the back turned around and started snapping pictures of Kelsey.
Fuck this, they are not going to scare her away!
I sprang from my chair and ran to the end of the stage. The place turned into bedlam. I jumped down from the stage and barreled through reporters, fighting my way through the flashing lenses and microphones shoved in my face.
“Kelsey!”
I couldn’t hear a thing over the sound of reporters hollering out my name and random questions.
Fuck!
I shoved through more of them, elbowing random people who were too close. I didn’t give a shit. Kelsey stood beyond them, hurting, and I was going to give her my full attention whether these assholes wanted me to or not.
“Kelsey!”
I led with my shoulder and pushed through faster.
“Matt!”
I saw a hand in the air, just beyond the crowd where she’d been standing before.
“Kelsey!” I plowed through and saw Ethan standing in front of her, blocking reporters from getting to her.
She covered her mouth and tears streamed down from her eyes.
I took off toward her.
“I will beat some ass if you assholes try and get close to her.” Ethan grinned and let me through.
I flew up to her and wiped the tears from her eyes with each of my thumbs. My palms went flat on the sides of her face and everything, all the camera crews, reporters, office personnel—they all blurred and faded.
I pressed my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.”
Kelsey nodded, quickly. “Yeah, me, too.” She sniffled and glanced around. “Wow, you really are kind of a big deal, aren’t you?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m just a regular guy—who’s deeply, madly in love with the woman in front of him.” I tucked some of her hair back behind her ear like I had always done before.
“I love you, too.” She paused for a second. “Stallworth.”
My entire body flooded with adrenaline, to the point I thought I might float off the ground. I kissed her with everythin
g I possibly had, not giving a shit who was in the room with us. Time stood still when my lips pressed against hers and all the pieces of shattered glass that were my life reverted back to their original state like a video clip played in reverse.
The kiss ended, and our eyes opened at the exact same time.
Another tear formed in the corner of her eye and I brushed it away with my thumb.
Every time Kelsey tried to smile she’d start crying again. I kissed her on the forehead and ran a hand through her hair. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying. You’re crying, you pussy.”
I gasped. “Am not.”
We both laughed. I could’ve had tears running down my face, I had no idea at that moment. I glanced over to Ethan and Jenny. Jenny wiped tears from her eyes and Ethan smiled while holding his arms out in front of the reporters.
“Look, we even made the asshole smile.”
Kelsey turned to see who it was and laughed.
Ethan flipped us the bird.
Kelsey’s arms wrapped around my neck. “I’ve never been to New York before. Is it nice?”
I nodded. “It’s an amazing city.”
“Should I start looking at apartments and record stores?”
All of the breath left my lungs. I couldn’t believe this woman. And as usual I spoke before thinking things through. “What? Why?”
Her arms loosened around my neck. “Oh, sorry. That was presumptuous of me. I shouldn’t—”
I held a finger up to her lips to silence her. “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Her face came back to life.
“What I meant was, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.”
The reporters lost their shit when they heard that and went crazy trying to shout questions at me. I waved them away like I was swatting an irritating bug, not even bothering to look.
“Wait, you are?”
I grinned. “Yes. I’m not going anywhere.”
Kelsey squealed and leaped onto me. I caught her midair with a kiss and she hooked her legs around my waist.
She leaned over into my ear and whispered, “Can I be your little whore tonight? I’ve been good for way too long.”
She leaned back and laughed while waggling her eyebrows up and down. I shook my head and grinned. “Anything for you, babe. But you may have to deal with all these reporters first.”
Kelsey’s head craned around the room. “What? Why would I need to deal with them?”
“You kinda just got me to stay here and play for their team.”
She held her head up jokingly, as if she was proud of herself. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Cocky already. They’ll love you.”
Jenny walked up and handed us both blue Texas Rangers hats. Her face was pink and she beamed at us.
Kelsey took them from her and put one on my head, and the other on top of her head. The whole room broke out in raucous cheers.
I looked up and Kelsey’s hat was even bigger on her than the Yankee hat Ethan had brought me earlier. We both laughed and I reached up and slapped the bill down over her face.
When she lifted it back up I pulled her in close and kissed the shit out of her again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 18
“Your love’s got me lookin’ so crazy right now.”
—Beyoncé Knowles
Matt Stallworth
I turned down the road to Ethan’s house several months later, still in my uniform. It was the first week of the new season and I’d hauled ass out of the locker room after the game to make it there. It was the only time his stylist could come in and fit the wedding party for their outfits or whatever. I’d definitely made fun of him for having a personal wedding stylist.
I walked in and the place was empty.
What the hell?
About that time, I heard some voices carry from Ethan’s bedroom upstairs. I ran up the steps, taking two at a time and rounded the door into his room. I stood speechless when I saw Kelsey standing there in her bridesmaid dress.
My eyes roamed from just above her ankle where the bottom of the dress started, to the ruched straps of fabric that wrapped diagonally around her waist, and up to her shoulders. The top of the dress was a deep vee cut that ran down from her shoulders and came to a point at the top of her stomach. Jenny, Ethan, Kelsey, and a short, pudgy, gray-headed woman all turned and smiled at me.
“Wow!” I bit my knuckle and couldn’t take my eyes off the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life.
“I think he likes it.” The older lady grinned. “Wows are always a good sign.”
Kelsey walked toward me and my heart pounded a little harder with each step. Ethan took the opportunity and ran over to the stylist. “Are you sure I want to go with a double windsor? I just think maybe a single—”
“Such a girl.” Jenny laughed at him.
The rest of us followed suit with the laughs and Ethan shot us all death stares. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look great for my wife on our special day.”
“Still a girl.” Jenny smiled at him.
I wrapped my arms around Kelsey and buried my nose in her hair. Everyone chuckled at the banter between Jenny and Ethan.
“And don’t act like it’s for me. You spend hours in front of the mirror every morning. I have to tell you lies to get you to leave just so I can sneak in and take a shower.”
I turned my attention back to Kelsey and whispered in her ear, “God, you’re so fucking sexy.”
“I guess you like the dress?” She kissed my neck.
“I love the dress and I love the woman underneath it.”
Our lips met and I had to fight the urge to roam her body with my hands.
“You’re just full of good lines all the time, Stallworth.” She nipped at my neck and moved next to my ear. “And there’s nothing else under this dress but me.”
My eyebrows rose. “Oh really?”
Kelsey nodded.
I glanced around and everybody else seemed preoccupied with making sure Ethan looked perfect on his wedding day. My hand slid down into Kelsey’s and our fingers interlocked.
“Follow me.” I held my free index finger up to my mouth and pulled her toward the hallway.
“Matt,” she whispered. “We need to stay in there. They’re going to come looking for us.”
“They’ll be fine.” I pulled her down the hallway toward a spare room. “Ethan will spend hours on his tie.”
I tugged Kelsey into the guest room and shut the door. Before it had closed I’d already spun around and had her pinned against the wall. I sucked down her neck and yanked the straps of her dress to the sides, exposing both of her breasts.
“Don’t rip this dress.”
I bit down on one of her nipples and her nails dug into the back of my neck. I flipped her around and pushed her dress up over her ass.
“Fucking hell.” I licked two fingers and ran them back and forth over her pussy.
She reached back for my cock and I caught her hand. “I’ll get him out. Take care of this for me for a second.” I guided her hand to her pussy and she stroked back and forth over her clit.
I took a step back and watched Kelsey touching herself.
“God, that is so fucking hot.”
“I need your cock in me. I’ve always wanted you to fuck me while you wore your uniform. I’ve gotten off to this fantasy at least a hundred times.”
Goddamn.
I undid my belt and yanked my pants down to about midthigh. “You should have said something.”
I pushed the head of my cock barely inside her while she continued to touch herself. She let out a loud moan. I shuffled to get my footing just right.
Her fingers sped up and her breathing shallowed.
I clapped a hand over her mouth and shoved my cock in to the hilt. Kelsey’s eyes widened, and I didn’t give her time to react at all, just started ramming into the sweet, warm heaven that was her
pussy.
She squeezed around me and her hips thrust back, her greedy pussy trying to take more of my cock with each pump. I tightened my grip on her mouth to make sure she didn’t scream, and pistoned in and out of her. She moaned into my hand and I pulled her head back toward me from the wall so that my mouth was next to her ear.
“You gonna come on my cock?”
She nodded furiously against my hand.
“That’s my good little whore.”
Her eyes rolled back and her legs began to quake.
“That’s it. Keep touching yourself and come all over my dick.”
I pumped into her as hard and as fast as possible until she finally gave in. My balls came alive when she clenched her slick walls around my shaft and it was too intense to hold back.
I slapped my free hand over the top of my other hand already covering her mouth and sank my cock as deep as it could possibly go.
“Oh God, Matt. Holy shit.” Her words jumbled against my palm and my cock kicked deep inside her. She reached up and dug her fingernails into my arms as hard as possible while hot spurts of come shot into the depths of her. Her whole body seized against me, and her pussy spasmed around my thick shaft, milking every last drop from my cock.
Once the orgasms subsided, I let go of her mouth and she took in a few deep breaths. “Oh. My. God.”
I nodded and pulled my pants back up before people got curious and came looking for us. Kelsey was still pressed up against the wall, unable to move just yet. I shimmied her dress back down and adjusted the fabric back over her perky tits.
“I fucking love you.”
Kelsey nodded and pointed to her mouth and shook her head, as if saying she couldn’t speak yet. I chuckled.
“I just fucked you speechless.” I smiled, quite proud of myself.
One of her arms halfway flailed back at me, but a smile spread across her face.
A few seconds later Kelsey seemed to regain control over her body. She turned around to face me. “Holy shit.”
“Right? That dress, it does things for me.”
“When your hand went over my mouth, I just lost control of myself.”
I winked. “I’ll remember that.”
“Yeah, memorize that shit. It needs to happen again.”
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