Base Hit by Haven Hadley
Evan
Sleeping didn’t come easilylast night. Not after the text exchange with Vander. I played my part well, pretending I didn’t know who he was or what he did for a living. There was no way I was showing my hand and proving I spent time searching the internet. I also wasn’t ready to tell someone I didn’t know who I was friends with. It wasn’t as if I hid my relationship with Spencer and Callen. I’d been on TV sitting next to Spencer at the All-Star Game for fuck’s sake. But it was obvious Vander didn’t know that, or he wouldn’t have believed my whole not knowing what he did for a living.
I felt really shitty because I didn’t respond to his last text. I honestly didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t about to lay my past at his feet in a text message. What did I have to lose? A fucking lot. I kept any potential partner at a distance. Never finding that one person who I was willing to risk my heart with. Yet, something about Vander pulled me in. Had from the very first moment I saw him on the field.
It was seven at night, so Spencer should be home by now. I decided to grab an Uber to his place, even though he offered to swing by and pick me up. I didn’t need him coming into the city for me. I could afford the ride. Hell, I could afford a Mercedes, but I chose not to.
My parents were beyond wealthy. My mom had a line of cosmetics that took off years ago, about the time I was born. My dad quit his job trading stocks and went on to manage her finance department. That cosmetic line evolved into hair care, perfume, bodywash, and lotion. If it made your body feel, look, or smell better, they sold it. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was given a hefty amount of money. I invested it smartly, which paid off.
One day, that company would be left to my sister, Brystol, and me. I didn’t want it. Never had any desire to follow in my mom’s footsteps. Brystol was a different story. She went to college to get her MBA and stepped right out of there and into our parents’ company.
If only they left me alone when we talked on the phone or when I came over for the required monthly dinner. They liked to ask me about giving up my jobs and coming to work for them, even though they knew it was a waste of breath to do so. I loved what I did. Okay, I didn’t love the whole beer vendor thing, but it kept me busy, which I desperately needed. My day job as a gym teacher, that was where my heart was. No matter what kind of bad mood I was in, the kids I taught always brightened my day. It was a job that gave me purpose and made me feel like I was contributing to something bigger. Their health mattered.
I made sure to keep myself out of the public eye in regards to my family’s company. I wasn’t photographed with them. I wasn’t one of the faces of the company. I liked being a regular person. Their life wasn’t mine.
Pulling up to Spencer’s, I thanked the Uber guy for the ride. He didn’t bother me on the drive. Not a word was spoken, which I appreciated. My whole point in coming here was to see my best friend and hopefully get advice about what the hell to do with my situation.
Luckily, the lights were on when I got there and I didn’t have to use my key. Spencer had given me one when he bought the place. He also had a key to mine, but I admittedly was at Spencer’s more than he was at my apartment.
I didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door and shut it behind me. However, I didn’t get far. As soon as I heard Callen’s voice booming over the phone, I froze in my tracks. What had him so worked up?
Spencer tried to get a word in yet was unsuccessful. I slowly crept through the house until I found Spencer at the butcher-block island in his kitchen. His hands were braced on the edge, his dirty blond hair pointing every which way. I had no doubt he had been running his hands through it, which was a typical tell of how stressed Spencer was. The phone was on the island, Callen’s face filling the screen. He couldn’t see me from where I was standing, but there was no mistaking the anger that was pouring off him in waves.
“I’m going to fucking kill him!” Callen yelled. “If he says one more word to me, I’ll make sure his ass is gone. Who the fuck does he think he is running his mouth like that? He just got called up and this is how he behaves? Like he’s the best the Emperors have seen?”
I placed my hand on Spencer’s back to let him know I was there. He lifted his head and gave me a sad smile.
Callen stopped his rant to greet me. “Hi, Ev.”
“Hi, yourself,” I said as I walked to the refrigerator to get myself a beer. “Having a bad day?”
Callen chuckled but there was no humor in it. “You have no idea.”
“Don’t get him started again,” Spencer cut in.
Callen sighed. “I’m sorry, Spence. I didn’t mean for our call tonight to be all about the shit I’m dealing with.”
Spencer straightened and picked up the phone so they could still see each other better. “Don’t worry about it. That’s what I’m here for. I want you to be able to talk to me about everything.”
“I wish I weren’t on the road, then I could be in your arms right now while you helped me forget about this.” Their conversation was bordering on something I shouldn’t be a part of. Maybe some hot video sex was what Callen needed.
“I can go,” I said. “If you guys want to talk privately.”
“No,” Callen immediately replied. “Stay and hang out with Spencer. He needs to unwind. Get him talking about something else.”
I smiled, stepping next to Spence so Callen could see me. “Maybe I can help. Want to tell me what happened?”
Callen growled. “You have to know by now we have a new left fielder.” I immediately tensed. There was only one person he could be talking about.
“Vander something or other?” I offered, knowing full well who he was.
“Yes! You wouldn’t believe the shit he pulled today.”
Spencer groaned. “Here we go. I’m going to make dinner while you two talk.” He handed me the phone.
For the next ten minutes, Callen told me what happened. What was said, how they fought. Every word that left his lips made my stomach knot more and more. How in the holy hell was I going to have anything with Vander if my best friend’s significant other couldn’t stand him? I internally shook the thought away. I hadn’t heard from Vander about this. Not that he would tell me what happened. We hardly knew each other. However, there were always two sides to every story.
There was something so different about Vander. Something which called to a part of me I thought was long dead. But how could I go out with him, even casually, if Callen hated him like this? There was no way.
But… But… But…
My mind and my dick were on the same page this time. They both wanted to explore things with Vander. My heart, however, wanted to be the best friend I was and that meant not getting tangled up with Vander. Spencer was someone who I loved as much as my sister.
And Callen… He’d been nothing but loving and accepting of my relationship with Spencer. He always stepped aside if I needed some one-on-one time with my bestie. He welcomed me into the fold. I’d met a bunch of the guys on the team. Started up friendships while drooling over them. All straight, of course. And now… Now I was going to give it all up for a little dick? Wait. Little wasn’t the right word. I felt that anaconda against my ass. There was nothing little about what Vander was packing.
“Evan?” Callen’s voice reached me.
“What?” I shook my head and focused on the phone in my hand. “Sorry, I just remembered something I should have done today. Ignore me. My memory is shit.” Nope, it wasn’t. My memory was fantastic like the rest of me, but the lie could fly with Callen. When I glanced up and saw Spence with a quirked eyebrow, I realized I was caught.
A couple minutes later, after telling Callen what a great player he was, how much the team needed and loved him, how this too would pass, we hung up. Everything I said was true, though I also said it to placate him. I had to get off the phone before another lie slipped through my lips.
I placed the phone on the counter and watched Spencer. “Anything I can help with?”
“No, all done.”
Spencer plated seared chicken breasts, green beans, and baked potatoes and carried each of our plates to the table. It was there I noticed a big bowl of salad sans cheese. No bacon crumbles either. Just vegetables and none of the good stuff. He heaped it into a bowl in front of me.
I scrunched up my nose. “I wish you wouldn’t make me eat this. You know I don’t like the whole health food thing like you do.”
“You’ll eat it because you love me and your body needs it.”
“My body needs cake and ice cream.”
Spencer paused with his fork midway to his mouth and placed it on the table. “Spill.”
“Hmmm?” I asked as innocently as possible. There was no way I could bring up Vander now. I’d be cast out for even considering letting him have his way with me after what went down with Callen.
“There’s something bothering you, Ev. One, you lied to Callen. He wouldn’t have caught it, but I did. Two, you came here for my help with something. That, I already knew.” Shit, I did tell him that. Thankfully, I didn’t give him any details. “Three, you mentioned cake and ice cream. I know that’s a sign of something being wrong. And four, eat your salad. It’s good for you. You’re all lean muscle. You don’t stay that way by eating junk.” No, I stayed that way by climbing the stairs in the stadium carrying beer around my neck.
I scoffed. “You think you know me so well.”
“I do. Now tell me what’s on your mind.”
How was I going to do this? I had to say something. He wouldn’t let up until I spilled. Maybe I could just leave off the part about who the man was. I could tell him he was someone else. No one he knew, so he couldn’t catch me in a lie.
And that’s just what I did. I spent the next fifteen minutes telling Spencer everything from my last one-night stand with Cade to the club to the texts. All the while Spencer sat and ate, but he never took his attention off me. Even after the anger Callen poured out when I got there, Spencer was focused on me. God, I loved him.
“I think you need to go for it,” he said.
My eyes widened. “What?”
“Did you think I was going to suggest something else? I heard the way you talked about him. Listened to the tone of your voice. I could feel your emotions, Ev. This is someone special. Maybe you haven’t explored things yet, but you can’t deny the attraction between the two of you. He obviously wants to see what’s there. So what if he’s some big shot banker? Go for it.”
My web of lies included Xavier, a man I most certainly made up as well as his profession. Everything else was true. My stomach did not like lying to my best friend, and his advice didn’t help me at all.
I was torn. Spencer was right. He knew me well. Knew what this was doing to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about Vander. Couldn’t forget the feel of his lips on mine, his body pressed so close.
And yet… Callen. How could I do that to him? How could I date or fuck someone who he hated so much? Maybe it was temporary. They could make up and be friends. Or the team could trade Vander and I wouldn’t have to worry about seeing him again. Although, the way he’d been hitting home runs, I doubted he was going anywhere.
Spencer dug out a container of Ben & Jerry’s from the far back of his freezer. It was covered in frost from the time I bought it for him when he and Callen had split up. I was glad it was there. I needed it. A decision had to be made, and I had a feeling I was going to do something I really shouldn’t. Something—or someone—I should resist but couldn’t.