Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sarah

Megan and Ethan showing up at Mr. Alexandre’s apartment the next morning with two bottles of champagne could’ve been a good sign. Morning mimosas were almost always a good idea. But their pale and grim faces when I opened the door had every part of my body on high alert.

“You okay?” Megan asked, barging into the place and taking off the foil from the bottle. “Fuck. I’m pissed.”

“Uh, what happened?” I frowned as Ethan gave me a solemn look, like there was a huge joke at my expense. I gripped the edge of the door tighter at her statement. “Why are you both here looking at me like someone died?”

“You haven’t heard.”

“Again, Megan, no. I clearly haven’t,” I snapped, hating the dread that weighed down each step like I was walking through a pit of quicksand. “Tell me.”

“Brigham was photographed with beers and chicks. Last night. In Miami.” She hissed and popped the cork, handing the bottle straight to me. “Drink.”

“No.” I held up my hand, shoving it away, and shook my head. “We were on the phone last night.”

“Blue, you need to see the pictures.” Ethan walked over to my pacing and handed me his phone.

“Fine.” I snatched it out of his hand and exhaled before eyeing the images on his screen. Brigham’s jaw was tight as a barely dressed woman leaned over him, hands in his hair and tits spilling out of her dress. He held his hand up on her side. Three beer bottles were in the shot and my stomach fell out of my body. Disgust. Betrayal. Hurt. “What?”

“Taken last night at the hotel. Guess there was a bar there that he went with some teammates.” Ethan took the phone out of my hand, but it did no good. The image was burned there. Permanently etched into my mind. He’d seemed off last night, and the call with Charles… Charles was calling because he found out?

Or maybe Charles had pissed him off so he’d gone out to get drunk.

Or maybe, after our talk, he’d decided he was done with me.

My head felt funny and I plopped on the couch, wishing I could erase the last five minutes from my life. I’d woken up happy and ready to kick ass on some renovation sketches, but now… I might get drunk with my friends before nine a.m. It would be a new record for me. “He wouldn’t do this.”

“Don’t care, babes. It looks bad. Real fucking bad.”

“But with the case, and his desperation for baseball, I can’t see him doing it.” I ran my fingers through my hair, unable to sit still.

“The media is going crazy. It’s all over. He’s trending, too.” She took a swig from the bottle and shared a look with Ethan, who tilted his head in confusion. “I know we are anti-sweating, but I’ve been really into the sports world lately. All the muscles and grunting.”

“Ew, stop.” He shook his head and sat on my other side. “How are you feeling? What’s going through your mind?”

“I don’t know. Hurt, but I swear I know him. He wouldn’t cheat, I don’t think.” I bit my lip and hated the doubt that hadn’t been there minutes ago. That little seed was enough to cloud every memory I had with him. “He asked me to travel with him to a game sometime. Why would he do that if he was going to sleep with other girls?”

“Maybe whatever you two have means different things to each of you. I’m telling you, Blue, I read all about him when you first mentioned him. This guy had model after model on his arm at clubs. Partied all the time. Got drunk all the time. Strip clubs—”

“She gets it, damn,” Ethan yelled, rubbing my shoulder. “How is that helpful?”

“Painting the whole picture. That sure, he’s nice to you, but was it really going to change him?”

He loves who he is with me.He’d said that.

But.

That word kept adding itself to every thought.

But what if it was just because he was in a shit part of his life and I was available? But what if he did get drunk after our call and do something stupid? Could I forgive that?

Did I want to?

“Ugh!” I rubbed my temples as my mom’s words chose that low moment to repeat. “When this ends, you’ll come crawling back to us.” “I need to talk to him. Now.”

“You’re right. Call him, Blue. We’re right here.”

I pressed his number and waited while the phone rang and rang. No answer. “Is there a game? There must be, right?”

“Let me find out.” Megan typed on her phone and frowned. “Not one until tonight.”

“Shit,” I mumbled, hitting Call again.

Same result.

“He’s probably caught up in all this shit.” Ethan got a glass from the cabinet and poured champagne in it, forgoing orange juice all together. “Blue, we love you and I know you’ve enjoyed hanging out with him.”

“But?” I asked, digging my nails into my palms.

“He’s nice and makes you laugh, but do you need this sort of baggage?” He winced, like he knew the words would hurt me. “This is a lot for someone you met two months ago. I’m not saying it wasn’t real or anything, just…for someone who’s never really dated, this is a lot of shit to deal with. Fuck. I dated Hailey for a year and this would’ve been too much for me.”

I sniffed as the first set of tears started falling down my cheeks. They weren’t just sad tears. They were a combination of frustration, anger and unfairness. “You’re right. But I love him.”

“I know you do.” He reached over and rubbed my back as I leaned into a ball. “He’s not a bad guy despite…all of this.”

“His arrest was based on a misunderstanding. I’m afraid this is too,” I said, the tension in my stomach getting worse the longer Brigham didn’t call me back. Talking to him would settle it. If we were together anymore or not, if he was okay or not. Hearing his voice would help ease the worry. “His words don’t align with these actions.”

“Can you say that about someone you’ve known two months?”

That was the question.

I rolled onto my back, with Ethan and Megan at either end of the couch, and I typed out a message just as Cassie and Pico hopped up and cuddled into my arms. No one could tell me that dogs weren’t incredible or human’s best friend. These two comforted me, and another wave of tears started. “Damn.”

“It’s okay that you’re sad. Let it out.”

“Ugh.” I wiped my nose before typing out the text.

Sarah: hi, I need to talk to you soon.

Sarah: Hope you’re okay.

There, that wasn’t cryptic. It was the truth. I tossed the phone to the other side of the cushion so it was out of reach. “He’ll call when he can.”

“Right,” Ethan said, sharing another grim look with his sister. “Want to watch Parks and Rec and drink?”

“Yup.” I cuddled against the two dogs, who I would oddly miss when Mr. Alexandre came back, and tried not to cry when my phone remained silent for the entire day.

* * * *

Never having had a boyfriend before meant never having suffered through a break-up, and while I still wasn’t confident this was an official break-up, it sucked. Bad. Two days without a word from Brigham. Megan sent me updates that she could find online, but none of them helped me determine our situation. Brigham and I came from very different worlds and those differences became more and more in-my-face the longer he didn’t talk to me.

Self-doubt came and went in my life, ebbing and flowing based on how I was doing, and right now it was in full force. Of course Brigham wouldn’t want to continue this. He could have models with huge tits and all sorts of skills in the bedroom. Women who didn’t cry at their mom’s attitude or want to open a dog boarding house.

Fuck this.I got the dogs in their harnesses and leashes and was about to take them on an evening walk, since the sidewalk should’ve cooled off. But voices stopped me in the hall. Brigham! He’s back! My heart lurched and my adrenaline spiked at the thought of seeing him. I gripped the handle to open it up, but a deeper voice, one I didn’t recognize, spoke.

“I cannot believe that fucking worked.”

“I know.” Brigham.

“The innocent virgin. Ha. Blue-hair really did save your ass.”

“Charles, enough,” Brigham said, a warning bite in his voice. “It’s done.”

“Chill out. The girl won’t know.”

The girl.

Me.

Innocent virgin.

I gagged as the weight and meaning of the conversation dawned on me. I flung the door open, startling both men to the point Brigham jumped. “The girl won’t know what?”

The man in a suit raised one eyebrow at me, half his face smiling while he looked me up and down. It was nighttime and my stupid starfish pajama shorts and bright purple tank top felt silly under his stare. “Ah, Sarah, right?”

“Don’t speak to her.” Brigham’s expression was hard. No sign of the soft or tender man I got to cuddle with a week ago. “Charles, get into my place.”

“We’ll need her to sign an NDA at some point if you want to have a future in baseball. You know this.” Charles shook his head and curled his lip as he looked back at me. “I’ll be reaching out, Sarah. There will be some forms you need to sign.”

“Charles, I swear I will fucking fire you. Get inside my place. Now.” Brigham growled at his agent and clenched his fist around the strap of his bag. He shoved past Charles, slammed his key into the lock and pushed the man in before facing me. Every part of his body was hard. His jaw, his stance, his mouth set in a firm line that solidified everything that had gone through my mind the past two days. We are done.

“Sarah,” he said without warmth before swallowing and working his jaw like he was chewing gum. “I’m sorry you had to hear Charles say that.”

“What the hell is going on?” I asked, proud that my voice didn’t shake like my insides. Pico jumped up and down, excited to see Brigham, but I held him back. “I tried calling you.”

“I know. Fuck.” He ran a hand over his face and let his guard down just enough for me to see how tired he was. No light in his eyes. No smiles.

“Why did Charles say that stuff about me? Did you tell him I was a virgin?” My voice broke a little at the end, because that was a major violation of my privacy. “That was…why would you tell him?”

He gulped. “There is a lot going on right now, okay? I can’t quite explain it all to you.”

“Why not? I just want the truth. I’m not asking for a piece of you, Brigham.” Tears fell down my cheeks now and he flinched when he saw. “You shared something very private with your agent? And I have to sign something? Did you…use me?”

A look of revulsion crossed his face. That split second of silence told me everything. “Oh my god. You did.”

“Sarah, no.”

My heart rate sped up to the point I gasped for air. This was heartbreak. The feeling like my chest was closing in on me and all the oxygen disappeared. My bottom lip trembled as shame and regret and disgust went through me. “It makes sense now.”

“No,” he said, reaching for me, but I jerked away.

“Do not touch me.” I half-sobbed, half-laughed. “Wow. Hope your life goes as planned.”

“Please,” he said, looking so tortured and torn. “It’s not what you think. Blue Bell, I swear. I fucking love you. Let me fix things.”

“How dare you?” I recoiled at his use of the L word. “Don’t talk to me again.” I shook my head back and forth, finding my backbone and steeled myself. “If I need to sign something saying I won’t tell a soul, I will. Because I won’t tell a person about you. You are not worth it.”

I let Mr. Alexandre’s door slam and I marched down the hallway. Brigham remained quiet besides his heavy breathing. I only had four more weeks of staying here. I can survive that, right?