CHANGING THE PLAYER: Charleston Pirates #1

by Chance, Jacob

  “I can work with that. I’ll see you at six.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  17

  Flynn

  Helping Nadia from my truck, I take her hand and sling my backpack over the opposite shoulder.

  “Still not going to tell me what we’re doing?” she asks.

  “You’ll know in about a minute anyway.” I look down at her beside me. Dressed in tight jeans, sneakers, and an oversized fleece pullover, she still looks beautiful. Her hair pulled back into a ponytail makes her look like she could be a college student.

  Her head turns toward me, her eyes scanning me in a quick sweep from my backward-ball-cap-covered head to my toes. I hope she likes what she sees. I’m in jeans tonight, not the khakis she picked out. I’ve also forgone the sweater wearing for a Terriers Football sweatshirt from my alma mater, Boston University. And I wear it with pride. God, I loved everything about my college days.

  “We’re going to White Point Garden?” she asks.

  “Yep, have you been here before?”

  “You know, I’ve never actually walked around inside the park itself. I’ve only seen it from the Battery.”

  “This is one of my favorite places to come in the evening. People never seem to recognize me when I’m here.”

  “It’s beautiful,” she comments.

  I lead her to a large white gazebo and we climb the steps. Luckily, it’s empty. But if it wasn’t, I had a backup plan in mind.

  Beyond the street closest to us, the blue sea unendingly stretches out. Nature is all around us no matter where we look.

  Releasing her hand, I unzip my backpack and pull out a thin blanket. Nadia jumps right in to help me spread it out on the concrete floor. “Thanks for helping. You can sit down and relax. I’ve got the rest.” Dropping to my knees, I take out the sandwiches, drinks, and chips that I’ve brought.

  “When did you have time to plan all of this?” she asks, stretching her legs out on the blanket in front of her.

  “We always have the day after a game off. I slept in, did some laundry, and ran some errands.”

  “You do your own laundry?” She seems shocked by this.

  I smile. “You don’t think I’m capable of washing my own clothes?”

  “No, I just imagined you had a cleaning lady who helps you out.”

  “I do have one, but she only comes every couple of weeks, so I’d run out of underwear if I didn’t know how to do laundry.”

  She aims a look of confusion at me. “Can’t you just buy more pairs?”

  “I suppose I could, but how many pairs of boxer briefs should one man own? I go through two pairs a day at the least because of practice and gym time. I already have more than the average guy does.”

  “I guess I figured you’d buy whatever you want, whenever you want. As your agent, I know exactly how much money you make, and you can afford gold-plated underwear if you want.”

  “No, thanks on the gold-plated underwear. I can’t imagine that would be very comfortable.”

  “Definitely not,” she agrees.

  I hold out my hands. “I have two grinders for you to choose from, one is meatball and cheese and the other is steak and cheese. Which would you prefer?”

  “What’s a grinder?” she asks.

  “I’m sorry, it’s a Boston thing. It’s a submarine sandwich—you know, a sub?”

  “Oh, okay.” She narrows her eyes like she’s giving her decision a lot of thought. “I’ll take the meatball, please.”

  I hand hers over and set mine down on the blanket in front of me. “You get a bag of chips and a bottle of water.” I set both down in front of her.

  “Thank you.” She opens the white paper surrounding her sub. “This looks amazing and like a mess. It’s an amazing mess and I’ll probably be wearing it soon.”

  “That’s why I brought these.” I set a stack of napkins down between us.

  “Good thinking.”

  “These days, I seem to do my best thinking where you’re concerned.” Raising my sub to my lips, I bite off a large chunk.

  “I have nothing to do with that. You’re just making better choices,” she comes back at me.

  I’m not going to argue with her because we both know if she and I hadn’t come to our agreement, I’d probably already be off the team. Left to my own devices, I’d have undoubtedly fucked up and been let go.

  “I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. I feel like a slacker,” she tells me.

  “There are plenty of places I haven’t been to yet. Kendra is the one who showed me this park when she first moved down here. She loved it because it’s quaint and right near the water. I like it because it’s quiet. Since that day, it’s become one of my favorite places.”

  “Look at the grand oak trees. They’re gorgeous.” She wipes her mouth with a napkin. “By the way, this grinder is amazing. Where did you get it from?”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it, but I can’t reveal where it was made.”

  “Why not?” She pouts her lips, reminding me of how fantastic they felt last night.

  I place a few napkins on my lap to hide my dick’s reaction. “If I tell you, then you won’t need me to get you another one sometime.”

  “If you promise to bring me another one, then I guess I can let it go for now,” she teases, angling her head.

  Holy shit. Nadia Patel just flirted with me. Pride expands and fills my chest. I feel like I just won the Super Bowl. Okay, that’s a gross exaggeration, but it felt pretty fucking amazing. Nadia never flirts with me or anyone else. Not even when she’s flirted with. This feels like a huge win for the Shaughnessy camp.

  “I’ll bring you whatever you want. All you need to do is ask.”

  Our conversation falls off as we fill our mouths with the delicious food. It’s greasy, messy, and perfect. We both eat every bite.

  “I gotta be honest, I was hoping you wouldn’t be able to finish your sub,” I confess.

  “That’s not nice.”

  “You’re less than half my size. How did you eat all that anyway?”

  Her mouth opens in feigned outrage. “Are you saying I eat like a pig?”

  “No, I just don’t know where you put it all.”

  She lies back on the blanket and rubs her stomach. “It wasn’t easy, but I forced myself. It was too good to waste.”

  “I would’ve eaten what you didn’t. Let this be a lesson going forward; if you don’t want something, I’ll almost always finish it. I have a difficult time consuming enough calories between the gym and practices.”

  “I guess I’ll have to cook for you more often then,” she says.

  “Yes, please do. Nothing beats a home cooked meal.” Leaning back on my palms, I brace my weight and look around the park.

  “Tell me about this place,” she says.

  “This is a cool fact I learned when I was studying up on it. When the colonists first relocated here, there were oysters covering everything. Their shells had been bleached white from the sun, so people began referring to the area as White Point. It wasn’t until almost the mid 1800s that this was turned into a public park and renamed White Point Garden. After that, they did landfill projects removing the oysters to plant shrubs and plants.

  “I bet it was surreal with this area all covered in white shells,” she mentions.

  “I wish we could see what it looked like back then, but those days are long gone.” Lowering to the blanket beside her, our shoulders almost touching, I take hold of her hand. In my periphery, I notice Nadia stiffen for a second before her limbs go loose again. “Thanks for having dinner with me.”

  “Thank you for thinking outside the box and bringing me here.”

  “Now you can come back anytime you want. I hope you find it as relaxing as I do.”

  “It’s not too far from my office. I can come here on a break if I want some fresh air.”

  “Before I forget to ask, I need to know what’s on my schedule this week,” I say.
<
br />   “Aside from your away game, there’s nothing.”

  “For real? How did that happen?” I turn to look at her profile, but she’s gazing at me.

  She smiles. “You just got lucky, I guess.”

  “I feel like I won the lottery. It’ll be such a relief to have my nights off. Especially with the away game. Leaving town always cuts our week short.”

  “Don’t forget you’re coming over for dinner,” she reminds me. I wasn’t expecting her to keep our dinner date. I thought she’d avoid speaking about our plans and then message me to cancel at the last minute.

  “Forget? Are you crazy? It’ll be the highlight of my week. I’m already looking forward to it and wondering what you’re going to make.”

  “I’m not going to tell you ahead of our dinner. It’ll be fun to surprise you,” she says.

  “As long as it’s not too much work for you. You’re busy enough already without doing extra work for me.”

  “Flynn, I have to eat too. Besides, if I cook extra, I’ll have leftovers for the week.”

  “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” I ask. “It’s next week.”

  “Staying in my pajamas all day and acting like a lazy sloth.”

  “You don’t know the meaning of the word lazy. You’re not going to visit your family?”

  She shakes her head. “My parents will both be working. They're not big on celebrating holidays.”

  “What about Christmas?”

  “I usually stay here.”

  I study her profile. “You don’t want to go home?”

  “Nope. This is home to me now and has been for a long time.”

  I don’t want to feel pity for Nadia’s lack of family connection. My situation isn’t any better, but at least I have Kendra. “Do you have any grandparents?” I ask.

  “One set, but they’re in India, so I haven’t seen them since I was a teenager. What about you?”

  “I have one grandfather still kicking around in a nursing home in Massachusetts. When the season ends, I need to get up there to pay him a visit.”

  “How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”

  “Just a few months, but I feel like I owe him for being the most caring family member I had. Talking on the phone with him is too frustrating for both of us. He can’t hear well and he refuses to wear his hearing aides.”

  “It’s nice that you guys are still close.” She squeezes my hand.

  “He’s one of the reasons I was hoping the Pats would be able to grab me in the draft.”

  “But the Pirates got to you first. That’s what happens when you’re in demand. And if I recall, when I renegotiated your contract last year, you were more than happy to remain on the Pirates.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy here. I just wish I could see my grandfather more often.”

  Releasing my hand, she rolls to the side, facing me with one arm under her head. I do the same until her face is almost resting on my chest. She cups my cheek with a smooth palm and tips her face up to mine. “Kiss me.”

  “You don’t need to ask me twice.” I lower to capture her upturned mouth with mine. The first touch is a whisper soft brushing of our lips that rockets through me like nails scratching down my back. Her tongue juts out to lick my bottom lip, and all my plans to go slow are replaced with a sense of urgency.

  My hand cups the nape of her neck underneath her ponytail and I slam my mouth down on hers. She cries out in relief, and our tongues immediately wage war. In this battle, we’re both victors.

  Our kiss becomes frenzied as we struggle to get closer to each other. Somehow, a crack of reality slips inside our passionate bubble.

  “We’re in public,” Nadia voices her concern. “Let’s go to my place.”

  I start shoving everything I brought into my backpack while Nadia folds the blanket. Once that’s added, I tug the zipper across the top, closing it up tight.

  She grabs my hand and we race to my truck, laughing.

  The mood turns more serious on the drive. We both know what’s about to happen, and there’s a chance Nadia will change her mind before we reach her house.

  “I want you to know that I got blood work done and everything came back normal. I’ve always been careful, so I wasn’t worried, but I wanted to make sure.”

  “That’s good news.”

  Could this be more fucking awkward? Jesus, it would’ve been easier to just slap on a condom as usual. But I wanted to reassure Nadia, in case we took this step. Reaching over, I take hold of her hand, my thumb caressing her soft skin. I’m worried that by being responsible and mentioning my test results, I’ve killed the mood. My eyes leave the road to quickly flick her way to assess the damage. She’s looking out the passenger window, and since I can’t see her face, I can only cross my fingers that she wants me as badly as I want her.

  18

  Nadia

  Flynn opens my door and helps me from the truck. My stomach is whirling with nervous energy. It’s been so long since I’ve been intimate with anyone, and I was married then. Whether or not to continue with what began back at the gazebo is a huge decision for me. As much as I’d like to be an act first, think later person, I can’t. Not even for one night, it seems.

  My legs feel shaky with every step I take, and I’m thankful for Flynn’s quiet strength as he leads me to the door. I pull my keys out and he takes them from me, unlocking the side porch entrance with his steady hand.

  I flip on the lights as we pass from the laundry/mud room to the kitchen. “Can I get you a drink?” I ask. Every atom I’m made up of wants his hands on all of me—now—but I’m not sure how to get there.

  Or maybe it’s that I’m not brave enough to make the first move.

  It feels like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff and there’s a chance I could fall over. Insecurity is a bitch, but I can’t let my fears control me any more. I’m brave with my career, but when it comes to relationships, I feel much younger than my actual age and less experienced than I should be.

  Flynn steps closer to me, cupping my cheek in his palm. He stares earnestly down into my eyes. “I don’t want a drink, but I do want to know what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing is wrong.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Nadia. I want total honesty from you.” His eyes haven’t left mine, and I couldn’t look away if I tried. His other hand slides down to rest on the curve of my waist.

  “I’m feeling insecure.”

  His head lowers a bit closer, as if he wants to make sure he doesn’t miss my answer. “About?”

  “I haven’t had sex in a long time.”

  He chuckles. “It’s like riding a bike. You’ll see.” I force a smile to my lips, albeit a tight one. “What else are you worried about? I can tell you’re not feeling reassured.”

  “You’re used to being with bombshells, not nerdy workaholics like me.”

  His eyes briefly close, his head shaking slowly. “You have no idea what you do to me, do you?” He grabs my hand before I can answer, placing it on his very noticeable erection. “How about now?” he husks.

  My fingers boldly trace out the shape of his cock and he responds with a low growl. Apparently lust makes me bold.

  Bending down, he slings me over his shoulder. I squeak with surprise, but it only takes a second before I see this for the opportunity it is. Sliding my hands inside his back pockets, I clench his ass cheeks in my grip. Well, I try to, but they’re muscular like the rest of him. I just hold on and enjoy the way they flex under my palms as he takes the stairs two at a time while carrying me. I feel light as a feather, and if that’s not hot, I don’t know what is.

  “Room?” It comes out like a needful grunt. My head goes to a weird place where he’s a caveman dragging me, his woman, around. Don’t judge me. It’s been a long dry spell.

  “There.” I point to the door at the end of the hall.

  Next thing I know, I’ve barely dropped on the bed and his mouth is on mine. He settles between my legs, his c
ock hitting my clit perfectly. My legs close around him and my hips reflexively raise to grind against his thick length.

  His mouth releases mine as he backs up to kneel between my legs. “Too many fucking clothes,” he grumbles, pulling me to a sitting position. He tugs my fleece over my head, followed by my long sleeve shirt.

  Kicking off my sneakers and socks, I remove my bra and lie back down on the bed.

  “Christ, your tits are perfect.” He cups them in his large hands, gently squeezing before plucking my nipples into taut peaks. My fingers dip between us, undoing my pants, and he tugs them down my thighs, throwing them to the floor. Pausing, he studies me as I lie there in only my tiniest pair of panties. For some reason, I don’t feel self-conscious at all. Maybe it’s the reverence I see in his hungry stare, or maybe it’s that I’m older and wiser now and have no expectations beyond this night.

  Hooking my thumbs in the lacy strings on each hip, I wiggle my panties down to my thighs before Flynn takes over. He yanks them to my feet and off in one fell swoop, and I know I’m in capable hands.

  “Get naked, Shaughnessy. It’s your turn.” Stretching my arms above my head, I focus all my attention on him. He backs off the bed and tears his sweatshirt over his head. His t-shirt follows, and my enraptured gaze moves over his ripped torso. There’s not an ounce of fat on this man. He’s a living, breathing muscle.

  Kicking off his shoes, he tugs his socks free and shucks his jeans. He pauses at the end of the bed, standing in his tight boxer briefs. As mouth watering as he looks, I want to see every inch of him.

  “Don’t stop now. I’m ready for the big reveal,” I say. He grips my ankles, tugging me down to the end of the bed and taking me by surprise.

  Oh damn. I liked that. Throw me around, big guy.

  “Oh, you’ll get the big reveal when I’m done devouring your cunt.” He drops to his knees on the rug, draping my thighs over his shoulders.

  “Yes.” I wiggle and moan in anticipation.

  He clamps down on my thighs. “Hold still.” The tip of his tongue zeroes in on my clit, teasingly swiping and circling. The contact is so light, it’s maddening.