Base Hit by Haven Hadley
Vander
Tension filledthe air of the shuttle as it took Callen and me from the hotel to the stadium. For a moment, I thought about calling an Uber and paying for the ride myself, but the smug bastard smirked the moment I pulled out my phone, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. So I shoved my phone back into my pocket and hiked my bag farther up on my shoulder while we waited for the shuttle to arrive.
That was fifteen minutes ago and we were still stuck in traffic only a few steps away from the stadium. My stomach had been in my throat most of the night. Was last night my last time in the majors? I really fucking hoped not, but I wouldn’t let Callen see the nerves on my face and give him the satisfaction of knowing how freaked out I was. I belonged at the top. I just wasn’t naïve enough to think that Callen’s name didn’t mean more than mine at the moment.
When the shuttle finally pulled up to the players’ entrance in the stadium, I didn’t bother turning around. I picked up my bag and walked inside, leaving Callen on the shuttle alone. He could follow me.
I rolled my shoulders back and yanked the door open. My performance on the field since I’d been there had been spectacular. Multiple homers, diving catches, and RBIs, I reminded myself once again. I belonged there.
Joe was sitting in the manager’s room when I arrived and dumped my stuff at my temporary locker. The door behind me slammed open. I ignored it. If Callen wanted to throw a temper tantrum, that was his choice. Joe was already pissed enough; I had no plans to add fuel to the fire.
Callen threw his stuff at his locker and flopped down into his chair, glaring at me across the room. Was I going to start shit? Hell no, but I wouldn’t let him stare me down either. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited with my eyes trained on Callen, refusing to back down.
The office door flew open, and I couldn’t stop the flinch of my shoulders. Of course, Callen saw it, a slight smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.
“Wipe that smirk off your lips, Teague.” Joe’s angry snarl filled the room.
Callen immediately sobered and sat up straight in his chair, closing his mouth. Joe strolled into the middle of the room, his gaze bouncing back and forth between us. You could easily see the crease in his brow and the red tint to his cheeks. If there were any question about how pissed off Joe was, it could be seen all over his face. He stopped dead center in the middle of the room.
“Both of you get your asses over here.”
Without a word, we both slid our chairs in front of Joe, and I suddenly had the recollection of being yelled at by a teacher in school and the need to vomit all at once.
Joe put his hands on his hips. “This bullshit has got to stop. We have a real chance to get into the playoffs and possibly win the Series. I’m not going to let you two fuck it up over who’s the better gay man. Get the fuck over yourselves.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Joe?” Callen’s brows narrowed. “Yesterday started when this asshole wanted to give me shit about the last out.”
Joe scoffed. “So fucking what? You knew you were looking for a home run pitch to compete with Vander; otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone down looking, so don’t blow smoke up my ass. All this shit comes down to you two and whatever issues you have. Don’t want to like each other? I don’t give a shit, but leave it outside the locker room. In here, you will pretend that everything is hunky fucking dory.” Joe moved his gaze to Callen. “Vander isn’t going anywhere right now.” Then he moved his gaze back to me. “And neither is Callen, so figure your shit out or both your asses will be sitting for a game or two. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” we both said at the same time.
He glared once more at each of us then turned and stormed back to his office. “Go warm up together,” he called out right before the door slammed shut.
We both grumbled and went to our respective lockers to change. It had been exactly like getting yelled at in school, and while Joe’s words of me not going anywhere right now made the churning in my stomach settle, I still felt like a kid being kept from recess. Then again, could I really blame Joe when we were fighting like children?
Callen and I had a job to do, and no matter what I thought of him personally, I needed to recognize that we were both professionals and had to act like it. Once I was changed, I grabbed my glove and left for the field. Callen would catch up when he was ready.
The next few hours left the two of us barely speaking as we warmed up, but we made it through the game without incident, even pulling off another win. Both Callen and I hit home runs, and Ayden Thompson pitched a full game, only a few hits, and none of them ended up scoring.
The energy in the room and on the shuttle back to the hotel was electric. It was hard not to get wrapped up in it. That feeling stayed with me until I was alone in my hotel room again. The moment the door shut behind me, the loneliness took over. One more game before we left for the next stop on the road.
I dropped my bag and ordered room service. Another night watching TV alone. My food was delivered and I settled onto the couch, flipping through the channels. Halfway through the highlights from the night’s game, my phone buzzed. I rolled my eyes, expecting it to be my mom. She’d texted a few times over the last few weeks, but I ignored them all. She probably only wanted to tell me how I’d end up in the minors again and try to convince me to go back and finish the degree in architecture I’d left behind when I put my name in for the draft.
When my phone buzzed again, I grabbed it off the couch to set it to silent and was stunned to see not my mom’s name but Evan’s. I couldn’t get the lock screen off fast enough.
Evan:Hey.
Evan:I’m sorry I didn’t respond earlier.
I dropped my feet to the floor and sat up, typing away.
Me:Why didn’t you?
When Evan did answer, I thought about letting it go. No more chasing someone so skittish.
Fuck that.
When had I ever waited on the sidelines for something I wanted? I hit the button to call Evan, hoping he would pick up. I didn’t want to sit and wait for him to answer my text messages anymore.
When the phone connected on the third ring, I practically jumped out of my seat. Evan’s smooth baritone was the only thing that settled my nerves.
“Hey.” Never in my life had a man’s voice had the effect on me that Evan’s did.
“Hey, I’m glad you answered.”
“I’m glad you called.”
I settled back against the couch, already seeing that tonight would be so much better than the night before. “Since you’re glad I called, does that mean you’ll go out with me?”
Evan was silent for a moment before he replied. “You’re on the road. How am I supposed to go out with you?”
I smirked at his sarcastic tone, loving the sharp wit that left his lips, wishing I could see his soft pink mouth as he said it. “Only for another week and a half and then I’ll be back in Espen. I could pick you up.” I didn’t ask but left it as a statement, hoping he’d tell me a time.
“And what would we do if you picked me up?”
“Like I told you before, whatever you want.”
“What if I said I wanted to go out to dinner and talk?” He asked the question like he thought it may scare me off, which again made me wonder. What had Evan so worried? Somehow, I knew he wouldn’t tell me, even if I asked, so I held the question back and answered his instead.
“I’d say where and what time?”
Again, he didn’t reply immediately. I wished I knew what he was thinking. “Then what? We head back to your place for a quick fuck?” I didn’t miss the note of sadness in his voice.
I shook my head as I spoke, even if he couldn’t see me. “I told you I wanted more than that from you. I want to get to know you. If you want to come back to my hotel after dinner, that’s up to you, but I can guarantee that whatever happens, I won’t want it to be the last time.”
“Hotel? Why are you staying in a hotel?”
I was going to get whiplash from the quick change of conversation. “I’m still staying at the hotel the team put me up in for the first week.”
“That’s got to be uncomfortable.”
“Eh, it’s not so bad. Not like it’s easy to find a place for two, maybe three months.”
“Wait. You’re not staying, but you want to take me out on a date?”
I thought about Joe’s words this afternoon when he let Callen and me have it. “I’m hoping to play well enough to stay, but until I get a long-term deal, there’s no point in looking for a place to live.”
“From what I’ve seen on TV, you’re making quite a name for yourself.” His sentence cut short and I could hear a muffled groaning, like he clasped his hand over his mouth, but I couldn’t let that comment go.
“I see you’ve been keeping tabs on me.”
“I didn’t say—”
I smiled. “It makes me feel better. I honestly thought you weren’t interested.”
“I’m interested. I’m just not sure I should be.”
“Let me take you out. I promise I can change your mind.”
Evan sighed. “Okay. You can take me to dinner when you get back.”
I practically jumped off the couch in excitement. “You tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”
“How about we figure that out when you get back to Espen?”
“I like the sound of that. Does that mean I can call you while we’re still on the road so we can get to know each other?” I held my breath waiting for an answer. I really wanted him to agree.
“You can call me. Now get some sleep. You have a game tomorrow.”
“You know my schedule?”
“Goodnight, Vander.”
Before I could say another word, the call disconnected.
I didn’t care because I knew I’d be calling him tomorrow night. My smile must have stretched ear to ear as I stood and tugged off my shirt. Evan had been right. It was really late and I did have a game tomorrow. After getting almost no sleep last night, I needed to get to bed. The difference was tonight I would go to bed with a smile on my face.