Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Ten

Brigham

Baseball was the only thing keeping me from losing my mind. Between phone calls with my lawyer, family, agent and Sarah not responding, I wanted to break the damn phone and lock myself into my apartment.

No journalists. No questions. No unamused faces of people who don’t quite believe that I’m innocent.

My shoulders sagged as I carried my bags past Ferdinand, up the elevator and into my condo. The lack of control of my own life was stifling. I couldn’t tweet out my side during an ongoing investigation, I couldn’t demand to know how that falsified tape came to be and why people believed it. It was my voice, for sure, but my words had been strung together out of context.

Gideon’s words repeated in my mind. ‘Who did you piss off, man, because someone is out to get you. That is for damn sure.’

I tossed my dirty clothes from the road trip into the washer and tried calling Sarah again. Something had happened. There was no reason for her to avoid my calls and only respond with one-word answers. Her goddamn voicemail met me again and my anger doubled.

We’d had a great time together. Fuck this behavior. If she wanted to stop being friends, then she needed to tell me why. My adrenaline coursed through my blood as I stormed from my place to hers, but right as I was about to pound on the door, it swung open and the innocent, adorable face of my temporary neighbor met mine.

“You,” she said, her voice above a whisper. “I heard you.”

I eyed the plate in her hands and the slight blush painting her face. “Did I do something to piss you off? Why have you been avoiding my calls?”

She gulped, looked at the ground and chewed on that very full lip that I wanted to bite into, despite my pissed-off feelings toward her. She took an audible breath before meeting my gaze. “Can we talk?”

“Yes,” I snapped, not caring that I was taking out my anger on her. “That is the entire point of why I tried calling you for the past five days.”

She flinched, like I wanted her to, and followed her into the condo. She was still carrying the damn plate and I plopped down onto the couch hard enough to make it shift a couple of inches back. She continued standing, and the longer she was quiet, the more frustrated I got.

“Just say it,” I demanded. My gut churned and the hesitant look in her eyes made me sick. She knows. She knows the truth. If that were the case, I wouldn’t make it easy for her. She’d be filed away with everyone else on those who chose to believe the bullshit being reported.

“Have you ever lied to me?”

“Not once.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Ask what you want to know, Sarah. Let’s get this over with,” I said, sighing and starting to accept that this thing with her would be over. Maybe she’d gotten bored and decided to google me, or she’d seen the latest accusation of bribing an officer. She set the plate down and interlocked her fingers so tightly that I swore one of them would break.

She’s nervous.

I didn’t have the heart to care or ease her mind. She’d made her decision about me and I wouldn’t try to change it, despite how much I enjoyed her company.

“When Mr. Alexandre’s brother came over that day we were on the phone, he mentioned a few unsavory things about you.”

My stomach tensed as every muscle in my body tightened. This was it.

She paused, either waiting for me to say something, which I wasn’t going to, or to gather her courage. She joined me on the couch and crossed one long bare leg over the other. “They were unsettling, and after talking to my best friend about them…she googled you.”

While I prepared myself for it, it still stung. “Okay then.” I stood, already planning on going for a long run to rid myself of the toxic thoughts, but Sarah reached out and wrapped her small fingers around my wrist. I glanced at the contact. It solidified that we were opposites in every way.

Innocent, ruined.

Small, large.

Pale, tan.

Hopeful, jaded.

“Don’t go, Brigham.”

The way she said my name sounded like there was hope. She said it with care, and that was the only reason I looked at her face and sat back down. “Why?”

“I’ll be honest. I’ve gone back and forth on what to do here. I live a boring life and yours is extraordinarily not boring.” She still held on to me and gripped tighter. “Are you okay?”

“What?” I asked, shocked.

“I can’t imagine how hard this is for you.” She scooted closer to me so our legs touched and her floral scent overwhelmed me. “It scared me at first. I’ve never seen a hard drug, heck, any drug, in my entire life. But…I decided it’s bullshit.”

I blinked. “What?”

“It’s bullshit. You clearly care about your career. That is very true. Look at how you treat your body.” Her eyes went all wide as she scanned my chest and legs. “Plus, the biggest indicator that this isn’t true is how your friends treated me at that dinner.”

I shook my head, aghast at her blatant choice to not believe the news articles. Hope was a dangerous thing and she was dangling it in front of me like a fucking treat. I wanted to snatch it, and her, and keep it. “How so?”

She gave me a shy smile and the pressure in my chest got heavier. “They were so protective of you. They’re your people. Why else would they try to scare me off if they didn’t care and believe in you?”

“Blue Bell,” I said, pulling her onto my lap and wrapping my arms around her so her face was positioned against my neck. I gripped her hair and squeezed. “I don’t think you understand how much this means to me. What you just fucking said…some teammates don’t believe it.”

“I’m sorry on your behalf,” she said, her lips touching my neck with her movement. “And I hope you can forgive me for not telling you this sooner. It took me a bit to make up my mind. I won’t lie about it.”

I shifted our position so she straddled me in her cute jean shorts and yellow tank top. Her hair hung over her shoulders and I wanted nothing more than to kiss those pouty lips. “You believing me is the sexiest thing in the entire world.”

She blushed and played with the ends of her hair. “You won’t lie to me, right?”

“Swear.”

“Why would someone want to ruin your career, Brigham?”

“That’s one thought that keeps me up at night.” I set my hands on her hips. “Want to know the other?”

“Maybe?” she whispered as I brought my hands up her sides.

“Your mouth.”

She stared at my lips and all my blood went south. All of it. “I’ve been thinking about yours, too.”

“Kiss me, Blue Bell.”

She sucked in a breath at my demand but didn’t back away. She brought her tiny hands to my face, running her fingers through my scruff, and slowly leaned closer. It was sexy to see her take charge. It took all of my strength to not yank her close to me, but I managed.

Hell, it was worth it.

She pressed her mouth against mine and let out the sexiest moan. She tasted like chocolate and sweetness I didn’t deserve, but it wasn’t enough. This fucking mouth was better than the last kiss and I wanted to taste all of her.

“Christ, Sarah,” I groaned, rocking my hips against her. She slid her tongue inside without finesse, but that made it better. I sucked her tongue hard, and she bucked against my growing erection.

She started grinding against me and kissing with a rushed sloppiness that almost made me lose control. I cupped the back of her neck and broke us apart, loving the sight of her swollen mouth and heaving chest. “Why’d you stop?” she asked, frown lines appearing across her forehead.

“I need to go your pace, Blue Bell, and the way you were grinding against my dick made that real hard.”

Her eyes widened and she rocked against it again, making me groan. “Oh.”

I laughed. “Oh? That’s what you have to say after teasing me?”

“I made you hard.”

If I wasn’t so fucking horny, I’d enjoy how proud she looked. “Yeah. It’s painful, thanks for asking.”

She giggled, but a thoughtful look went over her face. “We don’t have to stop. I…I like doing this with you.”

She’s gonna kill me. I know it.

“Don’t get me wrong. I fucking love doing this with you.” I went to pick her up to move her, but she tightened her thighs around me. “Sarah…”

“I’d like to revisit second base again.” She took a deep breath and started pulling at the end of her shirt. “It’s been a couple years—”

“I can wait,” I choked out. “Don’t rush because you think you have to.”

“I’m not.” She got a determined look on her face before taking the tank top off. She wore a little lacy thing underneath that made my mouth water. “Unless you…you don’t want to.”

I could only stare at her perfect small breasts underneath the bright blue lace. Her nipples were covered, but the small curves she had showed through, and I looked her in the eye before making another move. “Tell me what you want. You are in control.”

“Uh. Wow. Okay. I thought…you’d, like…take charge.” She swallowed and started blinking a lot. “This is stupid.” She tried getting off me and I felt like an ass.

“Hey, hey, where you going?”

“Water.”

“Sarah,” I said, not letting go of her hand. “I’m confused here. I’m into you. Really fucking into you. Letting you take control…that was supposed to be for you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” I smiled, hoping it would ease the tension around her eyes, and it worked. She relaxed into me and heat entered her blue eyes again. “Second base, huh?”

“Uh, don’t say it out loud.” She made a face of disgust and shook her head. “The moment is gone now.”

“Is it, though?” I teased, damn well referencing my erection that really stood out with my loose shorts. “I am perfectly content kissing you, Blue. Just kissing.”

She licked her lips and tried moving again, and this time I let her. “I made you dessert. I figured you’d be back this weekend, and when I heard your door open, I was bringing these to you to explain everything.”

“What are they?”

“Red velvet cupcakes.” She removed the foil from the plate and held one out to me. “Here, try a bite.”

Instead of grabbing it from her hand, I took a bite like she was feeding me. Flavor and warmth burst into my mouth and I groaned for a very different reason from before. “Delicious, goddamn.”

Her face warmed, but then her eyes got wide and she cussed. “My shirt!”

“Leave it off.” I snuck another bite of the cupcake and a little frosting got onto her wrist. Without thinking, I brought her arm up to my mouth and licked it off, swirling my tongue along her soft skin. “Mm.”

She closed her eyes when I did it again and repositioned us so she lay against the back cushion and I sat on the footrest, completely between her legs. I trailed kisses up her arm, over her shoulder and collarbone and bit down on her neck. “Your skin is so soft,” I mumbled over her ear. “Does this feel good?”

“Y-yes.”

“What about if I do this?” I asked, trailing my fingers over her bare stomach and ribcage. She bucked underneath my touch and I chuckled. “You like it.”

“Mm-hm.”

“And this?” I asked, wanting to make it very clear that she could stop me at any moment. I brought my fingers up her middle, tickling just beneath her breasts and gently sliding my finger over her pebbled nipple. It was tight and small against the palm of my hand, and I copied the movement on the other breast. “Tell me how it feels.”

“Wow, just…good.”

“Good? That won’t do.” I used both hands now, grazing her breasts and circling each nipple at a slow pace. She squirmed beneath me and her loud breathing got heavier the longer I went. “Do you want more?”

“Yes, please,” she moaned, reaching toward a pillow with her right hand and fisting it. “I didn’t realize how much I like— Oh!” She gasped when I slid my fingers underneath her lace bra and had both bare breasts in my hands. They were small, but it didn’t make her any less sexy.

If anything, each touch meant more for her, and I kneaded them, flicking her most sensitive area with my thumbs to the point her chest heaved. “What were you saying, Blue Bell?”

It was impressive how normal my voice sounded, when this was the horniest I had been in years. Fucking years.

“It feels so good. Wow.” She opened her eyes and the pleasure and want brimming in them was like a shot of adrenaline. “Can you…uh, do more?”

“Like this?” I pinched harder and she groaned, sounding very pleased. “Or did you mean with my mouth?”

“Uh-huh,” she responded, her voice coming out shy and small.

I reached behind her and undid the bra, letting the flimsy material fall to the floor, and admired her perky pink nipples. My mouth watered. I went slow, making sure she watched each movement as I flicked my tongue against one.

“Brigham!” she yelled, moving her hands to grip my hair.

“You like it a lot,” I said, repeating the gesture a couple of times before moving to the other. “What if I sucked it into my mouth? Hm?”

“Please.”

Oh, Sarah begging was my new favorite thing. I obliged and took the tip into my mouth, sucking it soft, then hard. The alternating pressure made her legs twitch, and when I brought my teeth down on it, she arched her back. “Brigham. I need… I need…”

“To get off?” I did not stop tasting her perfect tits. It was an addiction, knowing this was new for her and getting to experience it with her. “Do you want me to reach inside your tiny shorts and help you?”

“I-I…yes.” Her face was twisted in a combination of desperation and pleasure, and I let the nipple pop out of my mouth with a loud sound before I unbuttoned her shorts. “I’ve never been…this is…wow.”

“Wait until you come apart in my hands, Blue.”

She shivered when I slid the shorts down her legs, along with her matching blue underwear. She was shaved. All of her. I bit into my fist. That was not something I’d expected, and I took a second to calm down.

“Is it…okay?” she asked, concern etched onto her pretty face.

“Sarah. I’m struggling to not embarrass myself. You are perfect.” I traced a finger down her stomach to between her thighs with one thing in mind. Her pleasure. I swirled my thumb around her clit a few times, trying to find the rhythm she liked, and it didn’t take long before she panted. Her legs twitched in a sloppy, uncontrollable way that was fucking hot. She couldn’t stop her reactions. This wasn’t a show for me—it was her enjoying the feelings. I quickened my pace. “Can I finger you?”

“Shit. Yes. Please!” she cried, pulling my hair to the point that it hurt.

I slipped inside, and her warmth and wetness about killed me. She rocked against my hand for a few minutes and I got a second warning before she fell apart. Her muscles tensed and she let out an animalistic sound. “Brigham!”

I kept rhythm, encouraging her to let go as I thrust my finger in and out of her. She bucked and thrashed. And my god… I needed to take care of myself right the hell now. She came to a few minutes later, her entire body covered with sweat, and gave me the goofiest smile I had ever seen. “Like second and a half base now?”

“I should be mortified. I just…lost it. But I don’t care.” She sighed and relaxed into the couch, my fingers still inside her. “This is my most favorite base.”

“Oh, baby, wait until third.” I removed myself from her, placed a kiss on her stomach, and stood, unfazed by my massive wood. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

She frowned. “Where are you going?”

“To jerk off, hard, thinking about your tits and the sounds you made.” I didn’t wait to hear her reply. It took less than one minute to strip down and get into the shower. I had my shaft in my hand and thought of her.

Sarah Bell Blue was hot, and it was going to be a problem.