Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Twenty

Brigham

Seeing my lawyer’s name pop up on my phone was like a blast of freezing air down my body. Her calls brought on a bout of anxiety that sent me into a nervous frenzy. I paced the grassy area off to the right of the event and took a deep breath. “Hey, Wynona.”

“Brigham, got good news and bad news.”

“All right.” I gritted my teeth and looked at the mountains in the distance. Phoenix was my home. The heat, smells, colors, the people. I took a calming breath and focused on the way the blue sky seemed endless here. “Don’t care what you say first.”

“Good news first. The officer’s daughter got caught up in some other drug situation and her word is now shit. I’m hoping to strike a deal with the county to drop the drug charges completely. It’ll be her word now against yours.”

“God, that would be fucking great if it was done with.”

“Right?” she asked, taking a loud sip of something. “Bad news, though, they refuse to drop resisting arrest.”

“What about the bribing an officer bullshit?”

“They aren’t backing down that it’s legit, but I’m not worried about that. This charge though, resisting arrest, they are leaning to make it a felony. That could be jail time if they go that route instead of a misdemeanor.” She sucked in a breath. “There has been a push to make an example of the hotheaded athletes who do cross the line and use their power to abuse the system.”

Jail time. Jail time.

Jail time.

“Hm?” I said, my stomach turning over inside to the point the heat felt stifling. I could throw up. “Jail?”

“It’s a slight chance, Brigham. If they can prove, without a doubt, that you did try to hurt or threaten an officer…it won’t be good.”

“I didn’t fucking do that.” I ground my teeth again and Sarah’s laughter caught my attention. God, our life were total opposites right now. Hers was on a high, mine at a low. She met my eyes and stilled, her pretty face contorting to concern, and I positioned myself so my back was to her. I was selfish enough thinking I could keep my mess away from her, but I would never forgive myself if I took a moment of joy away from her during her event. “What are the next steps? Do we go to court?”

“I’ll see what the prosecutor says. I’m calling them tomorrow. I don’t think you’ll have to do time. They might want a plea deal.”

“You think I should plead guilty to bullshit charges?”

“I think we wait and see what happens first.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose as anger rolled over me, clouding my mood and making every muscle tighten to the point of pain. If I pled guilty, that would be forever. Felony? Fuck no. There was no way Los Soles’ owner would want me around. They prided themselves on being role models. I could hit .700 and still get the boot if I got charged with a felony. But jail time? I gulped and tried to swallow, but it got stuck in the back of my throat. “Keep me posted.”

“Will do. I’m hoping this will come to an end soon, Brigham.”

Me too, I thought, hanging up the phone and giving myself thirty seconds to shove all thoughts of this, my life, the what-ifs, deep down so Sarah wouldn’t see. My gut churned and my mind raced at everything I could lose. It was fucking hard not to imagine myself in jail, not playing baseball again. A final numbness took over. Karma had a weird way of working out and I was a dumbass, an asshole party-boy who’d taken it too far one too many times, and this was life’s way of balancing that out.

Acceptance was a real bitch and the uneasy realization made one thing very clear.

Sarah Bell had no place in my life.

Not when hers was just starting. If I got convicted…she couldn’t be associated with me. A dude who could be in jail. Fuck. My breathing got heavier and the weight on my chest felt like a car pressed against my beating heart. My jaw tightened and I masked my face. This is about her. Sarah.

“Brigham?” she asked, walking closer to me, and it took every part of my body to look relaxed. I slouched a shoulder and turned with a smile. “Hey, what happened?”

“Lawyer call. Nothing new,” I said, reaching for her and pulling her into a hug. “Enough of that. Let’s talk you, superstar.”

Her face flushed and it was then I noticed the sunburn on her shoulders. It looked wrong on her smooth white skin, and the image of it bothered me. I reached over and trailed a finger on it. “We need to get you out of the sun.”

She hissed and looked down. “Damn. I put on a ton of sunscreen.” She shook her head and looked up at me with so much hope, tenderness and trust that it was enough to make me almost get sick. “You’re frowning, Brigham.”

“Just tired.”

“Ugh, my fault.” She leaned forward to rest her forehead on my chest. “Sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. I’m glad I was there with you.” God, my chest fucking hurt, having her in my arms and knowing there was a timer ticking down until I had to say goodbye to her. “Come on. Is there anything I can help you with, or can we head out?”

“Uh, well.” She looked around and chewed on her bottom lip. “It’s picked up. The tent guys will come later today to take them down, and they were already paid. I think… I think I can leave.”

“We have a lot to celebrate, Blue Bell.”

“Yes, yes we do.” She softened her gaze, letting it fall from my eyes to my mouth. My breath hitched in my throat when she reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. “You have been the best surprise. I feel lucky.”

Fake it. Fake it, don’t ruin this.

“Baby, I feel lucky.”

She hummed and we said goodbye to her parents—her dad smiling at me while her mom glared—and Sarah made promises to hang out with Megan and Ethan the next day. She wanted to go home and stuff her face, drink champagne and pass out. I couldn’t blame her. The event had been successful because of her and she should celebrate it. Gideon and Bummy joined us with huge grins and the logo shirt, and Sarah blushed.

“Thank you both so much. Look at all the free press I got!”

“Yeah, with bodies like that, everyone noticed,” Megan said, not hiding her clear ogling of them. “Seriously. Best press ever.”

Sarah giggled and held out her hand to my teammates. They snorted and gave me a weird look before shaking it. “I want to thank you both for being here on a day off. Seems like you don’t get a lot of them, so this is wonderful. And the donations…” She cleared her throat of emotions and looked all of us in the eye. “There aren’t enough words to thank you for it, so I figured we could hang your jerseys in the shop or something. Name a dog after you. I don’t know yet.”

“Please name a dog after me. That is a dream,” Bummy said, grinning real wide. “Let me know if you do. Michelle will be jealous.”

“Yeah, Fiona has been wanting a dog, too.” Gideon narrowed his eyes at her. “Let me know, or Brigs, when you have dogs available. I’ll be the first one to adopt.”

“Oh!” Sarah said before throwing her arms around Gideon in a huge hug. He looked stiff before awkwardly patting her on the back. “Sorry. This is just… You sports guys are nicer than I assumed. It’s wonderful.”

“Happy to help.” Gideon cleared his throat, jutted his chin to his car and waved. “I gotta go.”

“Sorry for the hug. It exploded out of me.”

“No worries. Take care, all.” He left, Bummy following him with a quick goodbye, and that meant the four of us remained.

“Get drunk and be stupid. I’m going to shower for an hour and sleep for a week,” Megan said, before pulling Sarah into a hug for a full minute. “I love you. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Megs.”

They broke apart and the siblings left, leaving me and Sarah the last ones there, and she put her arms in the air and twirled for a second. “I’m so happy I could just pass out.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” I said, amused at her giddiness. “At least get back to the apartment before you do.”

“True.” She laughed and smacked her forehead. “Uh, did I tell you that Fernie stopped by?”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah! He donated some money and told me I wasn’t a total menace. I almost hugged him, too.” She practically skipped on the walk to my car as I digested her words, solidifying what I already knew. She was special. So kind and selfless that she got the damn curmudgeon to attend the event on his day off. I could only stare at her curved lips and reddened cheeks, the way her eyes were a lighter blue than normal and how her logo stretched across her chest. “Why are you looking at me like that, bud?”

“Bud?” I said, getting into the driver’s seat to start the drive back to the condo. “I am not a bud.”

“Not in the way I’m thinking about you right now.”

“Oh, do tell,” I said, hating myself more than I ever had. I shouldn’t lead her on. It would be easier to end it. Cut her out of my life so she could move on—I would be forced to if I went to jail.

God, I was an asshole. But she licked her lips and reached over to run a hand on my chest, teasing and tickling me to the point I started to get hard. “Blue Bell, I’m driving. Safety first.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I am tons of fun. The funnest.”

She made a raspberry with her lips and hit my arm, leaning against the window and humming some old rock song. She was all smiles and sunburn, happiness and home. I shook my head and swallowed, telling myself to enjoy the night. I couldn’t take today away from her. But tomorrow…the next day… I had to end it.

“You are never quiet this long, baseball boy—should I be worried?” she asked, lines that weren’t there before appearing around her forehead. God, I was making her worry—the last thing I wanted to do.

“Of course not,” I lied, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “Just thinking about you.”

“All good things or weird things, obviously.”

“Obviously.” I sighed and the pressure on my chest grew the entire drive. It remained when we parked and walked into our building, went up the elevator, and when she pulled me into the condo. She poked me in the side, causing me to yelp. “Hey!”

“You’re grumpy right now. Why? Was it the phone call?” She frowned and pulled out a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She narrowed her eyes at me and grabbed a sports drink from the fridge. “I got you red flavor.”

“Red isn’t a flavor, but I appreciate the gesture.” I leaned my hip against the counter and watched her pour the drinks, my heart in my throat, finalizing my plans. Today was about her. Whatever she wanted. Tomorrow, I’d have to figure out what to do. Knowing that was the plan, I relaxed and held up my red fluid to her champagne. “To Blue Bells Boarding, to you, and to all the dogs you’ll get to rescue.”

“Yes!” she said, downing the glass in one large sip. “More!”

I refilled her glass this time and took note of everything she did. The way she let her teeth graze the side of her bottom lip, the way her pretty blue eyes stared at me with affection, the way her breathing picked up when I lowered my face to hers. I pressed my lips to her mouth, trying to communicate without words the storm raging inside me, and she tilted her head back, making the kiss deeper. More passionate. She moaned, threaded her fingers through my hair and set her glass down on the counter before gripping my collar.

“Off,” she demanded, taking the end of my shirt and yanking it over my head. She stared at my chest, face flushed, eyes heavy, lips moist. “God, you’re the sexiest person. You make my skin feel like it’s on fire.”

“Mm, I like hearing you say that.” I jumped when she trailed her hands lower down my stomach, exploring and touching before getting to my shorts. “Blue Bell…” I stopped her, hating the uncertainty in her eyes. “I should be worshipping you tonight, not the other way around.”

“But…” She frowned, looking down at my stiffening cock. “I want it all.”

“All?”

“Yes, Brigham.” She stood tall, leveled her gaze with me and spoke in the most serious tone I had ever heard. “I want to feel you inside me. I want it…all. All the bases.”