Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Eleven

Sarah

Why the hell do I have so many notifications?This couldn’t possibly be right. I frowned and eyed my social media posts and gasped at the increase in comments. There were hundreds. Is this going viral?

I’d slept in later than normal after hanging out with Brigham all night, and the guy was persuasive about hanging out again later today. It was a new sensation to look forward to something so much that it made me giddy, and, instead of overthinking it, I enjoyed it. But right then, I had to work on my brand and website, but the social media comments were distracting me. Why?

I chewed on my thumbnail and scrolled through comments. An unsettled, gross feeling grew in my gut as the theme of the comments shone through.

Why is this ugly chick with Brigham Monaghan?

My heart raced and I read more and more nasty comments, all making fun of my appearance. My page went back to high school posts, when I’d had braces and they’d been mocked. It was awful. This made mean girls look like saints, and my eyes stung just as my phone rang. Megan.

“Don’t look online,” she blurted, forgoing the greeting entirely. “Promise me.”

“I saw.” My voice came out small and dejected. “I’ve known Brigham barely three weeks. I don’t get it.”

“There is a picture of you two outside with dogs walking. People are crazy stalkers and found out your real name, and bam. Are you okay?”

“They are mean.”

“Yeah, Blue, they are, but they don’t know you. They are miserable people stuck behind a screen with nothing better to do. You must realize that.”

I swallowed and moved from the table to pace the kitchen. “All because I was pictured with him? That’s weird.”

“The dude has fans. Lots of fans. He used to do these videos on social media before all that shit went down.”

“Megan. Why do you know all of this?”

“Because I’m looking out for you. Once you made up your mind about him, I promised I wouldn’t interfere, but I did not promise to stop researching him.”

“You’re the worst,” I said, my mood already brightening. “Not really.”

“Yeah, I know. You love me. But for reals, this guy has millions of followers online. He’s going to have some obsessed fans. For sure.”

I sighed and once again found myself debating if seeing him again was worth all this hassle. The arrest, the fans, the bullying… “We fooled around last night a bit.”

“He get your V-card?”

“No. No!” I said too fast. “But we did do stuff.”

“My god, woman. Stop acting like you’re fourteen, for fuck’s sake.”

I laughed and was about to tell her everything when someone knocked on the door. Please be Brigham. “Gotta go.”

“Call me later, Blue. This conversation is not over.”

I hung up and pranced to the door. Brigham stood on the other side, freshly showered with still-wet hair hanging on his forehead. He was the most handsome man. “Hi,” I said, twisting my fingers together and hating how easily my skin blushed. I wanted to say everything and nothing at the same time, and somehow made myself look like a total dork. “Good day, Brigham.”

“Good day?” he repeated, laughing as he pulled me toward him to give me a hug. “You’re cute.”

“You are too. Not cute. Handsome. Sexy, even,” I blurted, smacking myself in the forehead. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you,” he replied, his lips curving into a playful smirk. “Glad I make you nervous still.”

“Shut up, you.”

He laughed and followed me inside, picking me up so my legs wrapped around his waist and kissing the hell out of me. “Mm. I wanted to make sure I remembered right.”

“Remembered what?” I said, our mouths not even an inch apart. His minty breath hit my face and I wanted to cancel all my plans and just kiss him for the entire week.

“If you tasted just as good as I remembered. You do.” He cupped my ass and walked us farther into the kitchen, where he set me on the counter. It was so hot to have a big guy carry me. It was a fantasy I didn’t know I had. “I did come over to talk to you about something. Not just to kiss you.”

“Who says we can’t do both?”

“I like your thinking, Ms. Blue.” He rested his hands on my thighs and stood right between them. The playfulness on his face shifted to a more somber expression and I prepared myself for the worst. “I have some bad news.”

“Okay.” I closed my eyes and held my breath.

“What… Are you holding your breath?”

“Yes.” I opened one eye to find him laughing at me. “I don’t know why I did it, but it made sense at the time. Now, what is the news so my anxiety can chill out!”

He moved his hands to my shoulders and rested them on the spots where my neck met my shoulders. “The media has figured out your name.”

“Oh, yeah. My social media is bombarded with mean comments.” I indicated my phone on the counter. He took it and handed it to me.

“Show me.”

I unlocked it and watched his face as he scanned my phone. He frowned hard and groaned before setting the device down next to me. It was endearing to see him upset on my behalf, and when he rested his forehead against my shoulder, I hugged him. It wasn’t his fault this had happened. My fame might’ve happened because of him, but it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t control that, and it was good to remember the fact.

“Fuck. I’m so sorry, Blue Bell.” He lifted his head and gave me such a sad look that I wanted to do anything to erase it. “None of that bullshit is true. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t make it less hurtful to read, though.” I made a face, not hiding the hurt. “Was not the best way to start working on social media this morning, that’s for sure.”

His expression tightened for a second before it shifted into wonder. “Use it.”

“Uh, use what?”

“The new social media presence you have. Start posting for your business. Ads on how to help, donate, spread the word. You want to board dogs—if they start trash-talking that, it’ll backfire on them.” He stepped back and clapped. “Yes. You can totally use this, Blue.”

I took a second and tried to envision what he meant. “They can’t be dicks to dogs.”

“Exactly.” He smiled, showing his perfect white teeth, and had an excited energy about him. “Where’s your laptop? Want some help about marketing and image?”

“Wait, really?” I hopped off the counter and we moved to sit side by side on the loveseat. “We’re doing this now?”

“Absolutely. Play it while it’s hot. And if I’ve learned anything about social media, lies and the internet, it’s to spin the story in your favor.” He reached over my legs and took my laptop. “May I?”

“Sure, but I want to see what you’re going to post first.” I folded my legs so they sat underneath my bum and the angle made me lean farther into Brigham’s body. It wasn’t the worst thing. The pine-scented soap mixed with his natural scent was a delightful combination.

He pulled up my account and frowned at the most recent comment.

She looks like a cocaine addict. No wonder he’s into her.

“Fuck, this sucks.” He sighed and slid a glance at me. “You’re beautiful, Sarah. I hope you know that.”

“Thank you.”

His gaze warmed and he patted my knee before going to work. “Do you have a social media account for your business yet? A logo? A website?”

“Not an account, a logo is a paw print that a freelancer sent me and I have the start of a website but not the URL as I cannot figure out a company name.”

“Hm. Okay. Let me think how we can work this.” He tapped his fingers against his chin for a few seconds. “You’re sure you don’t have a name? Forgive me for being direct, but it’ll be tough to get a head start on everything if you don’t have the brand name yet.”

“Blue Bell Boarding,” I said, hating to admit that his suggestion fit the vision I had. It was playful, yet clear in the message. “Blue Bell Boarding. That’s my name.”

“I love it.” He moved his focus back to the computer for a minute. “Okay, do you approve of creating an account under this name?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. I’m starting a GoFundMe account for you. If people want to talk shit about your life, they can at least be guilted into donating to help animals. You do want to take in rescues, too?”

“My ideal business would be to board dogs, but to also house rescues until they can find a home. So any donations would help feed the rescues, bath them, supply the right shots.” It would be risky to start a business where a large part of it would depend on donations, but I could not imagine not having a place for rescues. “A GoFundMe would be excellent.”

“We play up the rescue side. The best we can. If you were some heiress swimming in money, there would be little we could do to help this situation. But thank Christ you are not.” He frowned after I made a confused expression and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “That was a compliment, BB. Don’t worry.”

I shrugged and focused on the image he was creating. “What’s your plan with that?”

“I’m going to share this promo from my own pages, too. If you’re going to have to deal with that negative commentary, the least I can do is help you achieve your dream.”

I took a deep breath and hated to feel excited. Was this taking advantage of him? Was he used to people doing this? I reached out and placed a hand over his, stopping him. “You don’t have to do that, Brigham. Don’t use your status to benefit me.”

“Are you not comfortable with it?”

“I’m not comfortable with using your fame for my advantage. I’m sure you’re sick of people doing that.”

“Again,” he said, his lips curving up. “I want to do this for you. The fact that you’re hesitant because of it is further reason why I want to help.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I am. Now, shh, woman. Let me work.”

* * * *

“Everything is set up,” Brigham said, an hour or two later. “We’ll let it settle and check in a couple of days to see what happens.” He stood, stretched his arms over his head and laughed when I checked out his stomach. “You’re giving me sexy eyes, Blue.”

“What? Am not.” Cool. I sound real mature.

“Did you enjoy our visit to second base yesterday?”

“Uh-huh.”

He checked his watch and made a noncommittal noise. “Damn it. I need to leave in ten minutes.”

Disappointment weighed me down and I wanted to pout. My newfound sexual prowess reared its head and was being needy, and I coughed in hopes of hiding my unhappiness. He didn’t miss it, though. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and jutted his chin toward the cushion.

“Come over here and kiss me goodbye, would you?”

How can I pass up that demand? I set my water bottle on the coffee table—with a coaster, of course—and made my way toward him. He clenched his jaw and it reminded me of Brad Pitt’s insanely sexy eating in every movie he was ever in. “Ten minutes isn’t a lot of time.”

“True. But I’m really efficient.” He put a finger in the beltloop of my shorts and yanked me so I landed on my back. He rested an elbow on both sides of my face and put his weight on me.

“Wow.” I ran my hands over his back muscles, not quite daring enough to touch his ass, and froze when he ground his hips into me.

“Am I hurting you?”

“No. You feel…good.” My face heated like crazy and I was glad he couldn’t see it when he dipped his head lower to nuzzle my neck. I giggled, but it was short-lived. He bit down on my ear lobe and it was stupidly sexy. Like, ‘mess with my brain and confuse me’ hot. “Wow.”

“Your reactions are so passionate. You’re dangerous.”

“Me? Dangerous?” I said between my heavy breathing. No one had used that to describe me in my entire life and it felt more than good to hear it from him.

“Yes, Blue Bell.” He lifted his head to stare down at me. “I want all of your reactions. I’m obsessed with showing you everything.”

If I could form any words, I lost the skill when he kissed down my neck, into my cleavage and over my stomach. Every touch with him was electric and new, equally terrifying and delicious. He swirled his warm tongue over my stomach and cursed when his phone buzzed on the table.

“Fuck me. It’s my agent. He’s persistent.” He sat up to answer, but kept a hand on my stomach. He could almost reach hip to hip with the width of his fingers, and a flash of heat went through me at imaging how big he was down there. The tent in his pants was thrilling. He wouldn’t be the first dick I’d seen or touched, but I knew it would be the first that I got pleasure from.

Brigham answered and used a sharp tone I hadn’t heard from him before. “Fine. Yeah. Sure. Bye.”

He hung up and put his phone in his pocket, and when he met my eyes, there was an uneasy glint to them. “I gotta head out, Blue. Please trust me when I say I would much rather stay here with you.”

“Everything okay?” I croaked out. My throat was way too dry. “That sounded tense.”

“One day I’ll tell you all the details. Right now isn’t the time.” He leaned over, cupped my chin and pressed a quick kiss on my lips. “If you touch yourself later, think of me, okay?”

“O-of course.”

“Damn.” He cleared his throat. “I meant it as a joke, but it backfired. You touch yourself a lot, Sarah?”

My face had to be redder than a firetruck at this point, but I faced him and nodded. “I might be inexperienced with men, but not with pleasuring myself.”

“And to think you couldn’t become hotter, and yet here we are,” he mumbled. “Tomorrow. Let’s do something tomorrow.”

“At your place? Or here?” I was already planning on how I could be alone with him again.

“Dangerous.” He smirked. “Let’s get brunch.”

“Brunch?”

“Avocado toast. Mimosas. All the millennial stereotypes we can find.” He pushed a lock of hair over my ear and looked so joyful. “Please?”

“Sure. Yeah. I love brunch.” I shrugged, slightly ashamed and disappointed that we wouldn’t spend more time alone.

“You look sad. Why?” He studied me for a beat before a knowing grin took over. “Ah, how about this? We get food and afterward…we come back here. I can teach you more about my favorite base.”