Homeruns: Wild Pitch Part 10

"Hi Mom, how're you?" She never called without a purpose, so I turned off the car and got comfortable in my seat, gearing up for whatever it was she wanted this time.

"I'd be better if it didn't seem that two of my children have been avoiding me. How am I supposed to plan for Fourth of July if I have no clue who will be in attendance?" Lovely, she was on a fishing expedition. I wanted to ask her why she bothered badgering me about this every year since I hadn't been to her annual party at the cabin since college.

"Sorry, I'll be out of town," I informed her. Mason beeped in on the other line and while I would have loved to cut the call short so I could talk to him, I figured it'd be for the best if I didn't do anything to upset her. Just knowing that he'd called let me know the meeting was over was enough for me to stop worrying for a while.

"What about your sister?" she pressed.

"Have you called her?"

My mother let out a dramatic sigh. "Of course I've called her, but she can't be bothered to answer her phone. You need to talk to her, because her behavior lately makes you look respectful, and that's saying something. I'm starting to worry that she may have herself mixed up with the wrong crowd."

Abi and I weren't quite black sheep in our family, but we were definitely a dark shade of gray. The two of us broke free from the idyllic dream our parents had for their children, and I'd learned there was no accomplishment that could overcome their disappointment. I'd grown so used to her jabs over the years that they no longer bothered me.

"Mom, I've got to go," I said, cutting off her rant about how she'd somehow gone wrong raising the two of us and how we needed to be more like our siblings. I knew I'd pay for my disrespect later, but I didn't care. Right now, I had to get inside to get ready for the game.

I turned on my music as I walked across the parking lot to the players' entrance. I was running late, so I kept my head bowed to avoid any possible distractions. Once inside, I sat down in the lounge to eat a quick sandwich before heading to the training room. It was still quiet, since most of the guys wouldn't show up for another hour or so, but Jason walked in and sat down across the table from me.

"Man, you look like s.h.i.t," he observed as he helped himself to a carrot stick. He stared at it in disgust before biting off the end. "I have no clue how you eat that s.h.i.t."

"Boy, you're full of encouraging words today, aren't you?" I quipped. He held up his hands in surrender as he stood and started backing away. "Get back here. You did this to me, so you can deal with my b.i.t.c.hy, whiny hangover. f.u.c.k, how am I supposed to get through this game?"

"Don't sweat it, you're going to do fine," he a.s.sured me. "Nashville's tough, but you've been getting better over the past few weeks."

"If it was the game I was thinking about, it'd be no sweat. The problem is everything else that I can't worry about right now," I reminded him. I looked around to make sure we were still alone before going any further. "Mace had a meeting with his lawyers this morning, and then my mother called me when I got here. I went down there yesterday because you kept saying I needed to fix things with him, and I didn't do that either."

"You know better than to answer her calls," he scolded me. "And as for Mason, you need to learn to leave your personal s.h.i.t in your locker, the same way the other guys have to. If you're thinking about home while you're out on the mound, we're all screwed. You've waited this long to talk to him, a few more hours won't kill you."

"Thanks for the pep talk." I stood and threw my crumpled paper sack into the garbage. The guys gave me a hard time for stopping by a little deli before every home game, but it worked for me. The way I figured, we all had our quirks, and this was one of mine. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to get dressed and go stretch."

"Just remember what I said, man. Everything will be fine, but leave it at the door." Jason followed me into the locker room and he chatted about plans for the all-star break while we got dressed. As soon as he heard my locker door shut, he stopped talking mid-sentence, knowing that it was time for me to get into the right heads.p.a.ce for the game.

Angel joined me during warm-ups, reminding me to watch my stretch. According to him, it was the one aspect I needed to work on to go from a good player to a great one. I wasn't sure I believed all that, but I had to admit that when I stayed back and let my arm come through more, I had more control.

Jason and I walked to the dugout when it was time to go, and he reminded me again that the only thing that mattered in my life for the next few hours was confined within the walls of the ballpark. That became my mantra every time I took the mound, and by the end of the sixth when I was pulled from the game, I'd managed to give up no runs on five hits. I could have done without the four walks, but in the end, it was still a win and I'd take it.

Mason was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't hear me walk into the house. I sat down next to him on the couch, draping my arm over his shoulders as I kissed his temple. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Sorry, I guess I'm distracted tonight," he said quietly.

I leaned back, pulling Mason to lay on top of me while he finished watching his movie. He buried his head in the crook of my neck, breathing in my scent as he laughed at something on the screen. While we laid there, I wondered what it'd be like to have this be a regular occurrence.

"I want you," Mason whispered as the credits began to roll across the screen. He'd apparently caught his second wind, because he practically jumped off the couch, reaching for my hand. "I know you said you'd wait, but I'm done being patient."

I had no choice but to follow Mason as he dragged me up the stairs and into my bedroom. The wind was nearly knocked out of me as Mason shoved me against the wall as soon as we were in my room. His hands fisted in my t-shirt as he held me where he wanted me, his mouth sealed over mine in a brutal kiss. I let him keep control, his tongue wrestling with mine, until it became necessary to push him away long enough for me to catch my breath.

"I can think of more comfortable places to do this," I suggested as I worked the b.u.t.tons of the dress shirt he hadn't bothered to take off before pushing it off his shoulders. I continued undressing him as we walked through the room, leaving his discarded clothes in our wake. By the time the backs of his knees. .h.i.t the bed, he was stumbling over the pants pooled around his ankles.

"I f.u.c.king need you, Sean," Mason pleaded. I kneeled in front of him as he leaned back on the mattress, stripping him until he was splayed out naked before me.

Chapter 17.

A weight had been lifted off my chest following this morning's meeting. There was an end in sight and every reason to keep my distance from Sean had evaporated. I was so f.u.c.king tired of doing the right thing, and it dawned on me as I made my way to his house that Sean was the only person I needed to work to keep happy. He was what mattered in my life, and I intended to prove that to him.

I loved him and I wasn't willing to give up on us without a fight. He needed to know that, but I couldn't form a coherent thought with Sean teasing the head of my c.o.c.k with his tongue.

I thought I was going to come hard enough to blow off the back of Sean's head as he took my throbbing c.o.c.k into his mouth. His tongue worked the length of my shaft until the tip of my c.o.c.k b.u.mped against the back of his throat. "Sean, not going to last," I warned him.

We'd done fast and dirty b.l.o.w.j.o.bs so many times, and I wanted tonight to be different. My mind told me to dig my fingers into his shoulder, to push his amazing mouth away from my d.i.c.k and share my plans with him, but the rest of my body was unable to do anything that would delay the buzz of ecstasy building in my spine.

He placed his hands behind my knees and shoved my legs back, opening me up to him as he continued sucking my shaft. I screamed when he took one of my b.a.l.l.s into his mouth, humming in appreciation. The vibration shot through the entire length of my d.i.c.k and I just knew I was about to explode.

"Sean," I protested half-heartedly as he took me deep again, this time swallowing around the head of my c.o.c.k, sucking hard enough I was forced to focus on not f.u.c.king his mouth. He moaned his acknowledgment, but didn't slow his ministrations on my body. He dug his fingers into the globes of my a.s.s, spreading me wide for him. He inched closer to my crease as he continued working my d.i.c.k.

His body shifted lower as he tugged my hips to the edge of the mattress. I lifted my head to take in the sight of him on his knees between my legs.

"G.o.d, don't stop," I begged him as he licked my hole. It was then that I realized this man knew me better than I knew myself and we were on the same page. I squirmed, trying to press myself harder against his face as his tongue breached my hole. I felt as though whatever he gave me would never be enough.

"Roll over, baby. I want to make you feel good," he growled, backing away enough to flip me onto my stomach. I thanked whatever G.o.ds were responsible for the appearance of this forceful side of his personality as his palms grazed over the backs of my thighs. "Get on your knees."

Afraid he'd stop if I hesitated at all, I quickly did as he'd asked, burying my face in the comforter to keep from begging him to touch me back there. His hand slid languorously over the small of my back, up to my shoulders. I felt the sides of his broad chest pushing my legs further apart on the mattress.

"You're a walking wet dream, do you know that?" he praised, trailing kisses over the path his hand had just taken. "I've dreamed about having you at my mercy for so f.u.c.king long, but I never imagined it'd ever be more than a dream."

"Me too, baby," I admitted. His hot breath ghosted over my a.s.s as he continued ma.s.saging my body. Had I known back then that he'd make me soar like this, I would have given in to my desires the day we met. I wasn't foolish enough to think that life would have been easier if I'd been with him this entire time, but it definitely would have been more pleasant.

"Oh, f.u.c.k!" I shouted as the tip of Sean's tongue made contact with my hole again. I'd always wondered how anyone could enjoy having this done to them, but now it was one of my favorite acts. Sean's hands held my cheeks apart as he teased and tortured from my b.a.l.l.s all the way to the small of my back.

"Please Sean," I begged, although my brain had short-circuited and I had no clue what I was asking him for. He nipped at my cleft before burying his face, working the puckered flesh until the muscle softened enough to allow him entrance. I yanked a pillow from the head of the bed, needing something to bite down on before the neighbors called the cops thinking something was horribly wrong.

One strong hand moved to the center of my back, pushing my upper body against the mattress as he started f.u.c.king me with one long finger. "You tell me if it's too much. I want you, but only if you're ready."

"I'm good," I a.s.sured him, panting as I tried to catch my breath. "I want you, baby. I need to be yours."

"You already are, Mace." He added a second finger next to the first, scissoring to open me. To prepare me. To claim me.

He kissed my shoulder blade and I was overcome with the tenderness he showed me. "No more waiting. I need you inside me."

We'd talked about this moment, but only in the theoretical sense. I knew from that very first night that there was something different and right about being with Sean. We were both tested regularly, and I didn't see the point in using condoms as long as neither of us planned to be with anyone else. I'd never handed over that level of trust to anyone else in my life, but it was easy when thinking about being with Sean.

An icy chill flew through my body the second Sean stood to grab the lube from the other side of the bed. He looked down at me and chuckled. I rolled onto my back so I could watch him, see the look in his eyes the moment we crossed the point of no return. Because there was no doubt in my mind that what we were about to do would bind us to one another. "G.o.d, you're going to turn into a greedy little s.l.u.t on me, aren't you?"

"If you make me feel as good as I do right now, you can f.u.c.king count on it," I moaned, shifting into a more comfortable position for both of us. Sean stood over me, staring at me with enough heat in his gaze that I might have moaned in antic.i.p.ation. No one in my life had made me think I was going to blow my load from nothing more than a look. "Are you just going to stand there or did you plan on doing something?"

I folded my arms behind my head as I watched him strip in record time. He slowly eased himself onto the bed next to me, pushing the hair away from my face. "I mean it, Mace. We don't have to do anything you're not ready for."

The fact that he was willing to stop right now, when we both so obviously needed this was another of the many reasons I loved him. I wanted to tell him soon, but to do so while naked in bed somehow cheapened the moment, and I didn't want him thinking it was merely an off-handed comment made in the throes of pa.s.sion. "I'm ready, Sean. I'm not sure I've ever been more ready for anything in my life."

"It'll be easier if you roll over," he suggested. I pulled his body over mine, digging my fingers into his hips.

"Not a chance," I protested. "I want to watch you. I want to see the look on your face the moment we both realize that you own me."

Sean lowered himself onto his elbows, kissing and biting his way along my jaw before sucking hard on my Adam's apple. "Put your hands behind your knees," he directed me, and I did as he asked.

All of my senses seemed heightened as I waited to give him the one part of myself I'd never shared with anyone else. I heard the uneven cadence of our breathing, tasted his unique flavor lingering on my lips. The scent of our combined arousal was thick in the air as I reached out to steady the hand that visibly shook as he slicked his shaft.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the nervous one here," I teased, hoping to bring his mind back to me. Nothing else mattered. "It'll be fine. I trust you, and I know that making love to you will be f.u.c.king amazing."

Sean pressed into me slowly, the entire time talking me through how to make things easier on both of us. For a moment, I thought I'd made a huge mistake in thinking this is what I wanted, but that gave way as the tight ring of muscle relaxed. I'd never felt fuller or more complete than I did in that bed with Sean. We both held still, not even daring to breathe until I had to plead with Sean to move.

"You're too tight, baby," he groaned. I'd always thought that'd be a good thing, but he said it as though he was in considerable pain. "Going to go off like a Roman candle. Too soon, too soon..."

He thrust into me again, filling me until his hips ground against mine. I clenched my eyes tight and felt his hand against my cheek. "You okay, baby?"

"Yeah," I panted. "Are you?"

"Just trying to make this last," he informed me as he resumed a languid pace, pushing and pulling, kissing and caressing every inch of my body.

"We have our entire lives to make it last. Do what you need for now." I hoped that wasn't a lie. Sean wrapped his hand around my shaft, stroking in time with his c.o.c.k inside my body. I wanted to do something to show him how amazing it felt to be with him, but my body was on overload.

Sean braced himself against my legs and began pounding me harder. I pulled back on my own legs, shifting my body slightly to allow him deeper into my body. With every punishing thrust, the head of Sean's d.i.c.k slammed against my prostate, rocketing me closer to climax. My head thrashed from side to side as my o.r.g.a.s.m built, drawing my sac tight to my body. "Babe, I'm gonna"

My warning fell short as I spilled over Sean's hand and onto my own stomach. Sean momentarily paused before taking up a fevered pace, pounding into me as the muscles in my a.s.s clenched around his length. The sight of Sean's head thrown back as he screamed my name was one I wished I could see every f.u.c.king day from now on.

Sean collapsed on top of me, both of us panting and spent. As he tried to roll to my side, I tightened my grip around his back, not wanting to experience the loss of his warmth.

"You okay?" he asked, running his fingers through my hair as he searched my face for any sign of regret.

"Better than any man has the right to be," I confessed, arching my back so he could feel my already filling c.o.c.k.

"Put that thing away," Sean groaned. "I'm going to be useless for at least a few hours. Remember, some of us had to work today."

Eventually, Sean rolled to my side and we cuddled on top of the comforter for a quick nap to recharge. Or it would have been quick if we weren't both utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically. By the time we woke up, the sun was peeking over the horizon and my stomach was growling. I eased out of the bed and shuffled downstairs to start a pot of coffee before waking him for round two.

He came downstairs a few minutes after me, wearing nothing but a pair of flannel lounge pants. I turned away from him to regain control of my raging hormones. It'd be so easy to ignore the past few days-h.e.l.l, the past month-but we needed to talk.

I leaned back into his embrace when he wrapped his arms around me. "Are we good?" he whispered in my ear. He was playing dirty. He knew it was impossible for me to think straight with his tongue working the hollow behind my ear. "I know I f.u.c.ked up before, but I didn't mean to push you away."

"I know that," I a.s.sured him, placing my hands over his. "But what I don't know is why."

Sean released me and poured himself a cup of coffee. He c.o.c.ked his head to the side, silently inviting me to join him on the patio. I loved sitting out there with my coffee in the morning, listening to the sounds of birds chirping in the small nature preserve behind his house. I took a seat on the wrought iron love seat and held out my hand to him as he sat next to me.

"That night at Eric's, you sat there talking about what you wanted in life. When you talked about having a family, you were so animated. I started seeing you as a father, and that scared me," he admitted.

"Why?"

"Because that's not something I've ever wanted," he responded. "But you made me think about what it'd be like."

"And that's bad?" I asked, growing more confused every time he opened his mouth.

"Um, it is when that's not really in the cards for me. I'm a ball player. It's what I've always wanted to do. I'm not like you, I don't think about what life will be like when I'm done playing, because I can't think about that yet." Sean squeezed my hand tighter as he sipped at his coffee. "And then you talked about how you weren't sure you wanted to play if it meant moving away, and that was a huge red flag for me. I don't ever want you resenting me because you walked away."

And there was the source of his panic. I tried to remember exactly what I'd said to give him the impression I was walking away for him. Whatever I decided to do, he might be a factor in my decision, but it'd be what's best for me. I turned to face him. "Sean, I've been thinking about retiring since the beginning of the year. It's not the same as it used to be for me, and there are other things I can do. Other things I want to do. And it may be too soon to think about it, but they're things I want to do with you by my side."

"See, that's what scares me," Sean admitted. "You say s.h.i.t like that, and you seem so certain of what you want. What happens if you wake up someday and realize that you want what you want, even if I'm not ready?"

These moments when Sean let down his guard enough to show me he wasn't as in control as he'd like the world to believe were priceless. I knew he'd spent so much of his life holding back his fears because of how his family would use his doubts against him. Whether he'd admit it or not, it was a sign that he trusted me implicitly.

"Then we'll talk about it," I promised him. "The way I see it, the only way we're bound to fail is if we can't talk when something's upsetting one of us."

"I can deal with that." When he looked at me, the clouds of doubt had cleared from his eyes. My tongue traced across my lower lip, imagining everything I'd like to do to him. If there'd been any doubts about whether or not this was simply a phase for me or experimentation, they were erased by the thoughts of everything Sean could teach me.

Chapter 18.

A bit of the excitement I used to experience came back when I walked through the tunnel to the dugout after my doctors cleared me to play. I'd done my fifteen-day sentence on the DL, plus another three as the team's unofficial cheerleader before being allowed to get on the field. We won those three, plus the last two leading up to the break, so I was in a d.a.m.n good mood as I jumped into the Jeep to head for Milwaukee. Sean had one last game to play before we'd have a few days to kick back and relax.

I had expected him to be upset when he hadn't been selected for the All-Star roster, but he'd barely even flinched. When I pressed him to explain his change of heart, he admitted that he and Jason had had a pretty heavy conversation about how sometimes, baseball wasn't all there was to life. I was still curious about that, but quickly figured out that it was a private conversation and he wasn't about to betray Jason's trust.

We'd talked about using the break to get out of town, but after the incident with Teresa letting herself into my condo, plans changed. Abi had spent the past week at my place, sorting, packing, and labeling all of my stuff before moving it into storage. When Sean suggested me moving in with him, I hesitated for a moment, thinking it was too soon, but finally relented. I meant it when I told him I couldn't see sharing my life with anyone but him, and this was a way I could show him my sincerity. Since he lived south of the city, it wasn't an atrocious drive to Chicago when the Bulldogs were at home and it meant I wouldn't have to continue paying for a place that sat empty every night since we'd worked out our issues.

We'd go down in the morning to oversee the movers and pack what needed to go to Sean's into the bed of his pickup. The next day, we'd head to Eric's for what he referred to as the consolation barbecue, which was a party for all of us who weren't playing in the All-Star Game and didn't have wives or kids to spend the day with.

When I walked into the house to pick up Abi so we could catch the game, I found her sobbing in the living room. I called to her a couple of times, but either she didn't hear me or she chose to ignore me. I sat on the floor next to her and my heart clenched when she fell into my chest, her tears quickly soaking my t-shirt.

"Hey, what's all this about?" I asked, steadying her shoulders to get her to look at me.

"I'm scared," she whispered, although I don't think she meant for me to hear her. Nothing scared Abi. She was the fearless one in the Tucker family, and that was one facet of her personality that drove her parents crazy.

"You don't need to be," I soothed her. "You're safe here, and anything you have to say won't change the fact that your brother and I both love the h.e.l.l out of you."

She shuddered and she started bawling so hard that she struggled to catch her breath. Despite my better judgment, I excused myself long enough to get her a gla.s.s of water.

"Here, take a drink," I said as I kneeled in front of her. She looked so young and innocent cradling the gla.s.s in both hands as she sipped the ice-cold water. "I sound like a broken record here, but you need to let me know what's going on so we can help you."