Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Brigham

My heart about exploded seeing her in her place, wearing nothing but those tiny cut-off shorts and a blue tank top that matched the ends of her hair. My plan to convince her to give us another chance evaporated from my brain on seeing her. I loved her so fucking much and missed everything about her.

Everything.

Her freckles and blue hair and laugh.

Where did I start? What was my plan? Sweat pooled on my brow and lower back the longer I stood there in silence. I jutted the bouquet of blue flowers at her and reached into my pocket for my sheet of paper. I had to wipe my palms on my jeans twice because they were so damp. “Uh, hi,” I said, sounding like a goddamn idiot. “I brought you flowers.”

“Yes. You shoved them at me,” she said, looking at me with wide eyes and parted lips. “Why are you here? How did you even know?”

“Can I come in?”

She hesitated and I swallowed, painfully. “It’s hot out here—please?”

“Fine.” She ushered me in but kept her distance, once she locked the door and crossed her arms over her stomach, holding the flowers off to the side, and had a permanent line between her eyebrows. “Why are you here, Brigham?”

“To do whatever it takes to get a second chance with you.” There, I’d said it. Put the truth into the world. I waited until she met my gaze and swallowed down the absolute terror that she could say no. That too much damage had been done. “I need to explain quite a few things to you, mainly about what you heard that day in the hall and how it wasn’t exactly all true.”

Her eyelids fluttered and she took a deep breath—while continuing to watch me with hesitant yet curious blue eyes. Score. She wet her bottom lip with her tongue before biting down on it. “And if I don’t care?”

“If you let me explain, and want nothing to do with me, I’ll respect your choice. I swear.”

She sighed, not meeting my eyes.

Shit, that wasn’t a good sign. “I fired Charles,” I said.

“Your agent?”

“Yes. After the shit he pulled in the hallway, with you. I should’ve done it years ago, but he got me a kick-ass contract when I first started playing and I was an idiot who didn’t know any better at the time.”

She nodded and stared at the flowers in her hand for a second. “When did you do that?”

“A week after I stopped talking to you.” I ran a hand down my face and took a step closer to her. She didn’t step back. “I was feeling really sorry for myself in the dugout during a game, and Gideon, of all people, told me to just fix it.”

“Fix it?”

“Yes, Blue Bell. Fix my life. Take control of it. I was so afraid of going to trial, afraid I would go to jail. Afraid of not playing with the Soles anymore. Afraid of hurting you. My life became this spiraling pit of me letting everyone else decide things. Not anymore.” I took another step closer and paused to catch my breath. I’d been speaking so fast I forgot to breathe. “I fired Charles. Told my lawyer to let them take me to court. I would fight it and win.”

“Wow.” She gulped and her chest moved up and down faster. “I saw they dropped the charges.”

“Yes.” I smiled and let out a small chuckle. “They did. It’s done. I sat out fifteen games to appease the commissioner and had a nice long talk with my coach. He doesn’t have a lot of say in what the front office guys do, but he believed me. He is on my side with all this shit and that’s enough for me.”

“So you could still not play for them?” she asked in a small voice, blinking up at me with blonde eyelashes. I could count her individual freckles at this angle, and that was all I wanted to do. Stare at her.

“Correct. I’m searching for a new agent right now. There’s this up-and-coming woman who I think has what I’m looking for.”

“What’s that?”

“Someone who won’t sell out someone else for the sake of a dollar.” My tone got serious now and I took the flowers and set them on the ground, took Sarah’s hand in mine and turned it over. “From that first walk we went on and pictures of us were all over? Charles leaked your name. I told him to stay the fuck out of it, but he didn’t listen. He sent you those flowers. He encouraged me to be seen with you and I tried to stop it. That date…”

“You said I would be helping you out.”

“Yes. I tried to tell you without so many words what kinda shit Charles was up to.” I kissed the back of her hand and trailed my fingers up her arm, onto her shoulder and under her chin. “I never agreed to do any of that shit. Ever. I would never do that. That night in the hallway…that was in my top worst nights of my life. The only thing worse was getting arrested. You heard Charles and I panicked. I freaked the fuck out. My life was a mess, Blue, a fucking mess, and with the pictures from the hotel bar, I let you believe what you heard.”

“Why?” She shook her head and her eyes got watery while she tried to look away from me. “You broke my heart, Brigham. I’m happy you’re getting your life back together, but you broke it.”

“I want to piece it back together.” I cupped her face and waited until she looked at me again. “I love you. I meant that when I said that night and I should’ve told you before I left for that road trip. We can go as slow as you want, but please let me be a part of your life again.”

She blinked. My lungs constricted. She could say no. She could. And I would have to walk out of the house. “That night at the hotel.”

“Ah, fuck.” I barked out a laugh. “That was staged, baby. Those chicks are influencers online and know how to stage a photo. I took two sips of my beer and went to my room to call you. It’s been you this whole time. Gideon and Bummy were there, wanting to cheer me up, and those chicks walked in… It was all for publicity for themselves. God, did you think I cheated on you? No.” I pushed away and tilted my head back, blowing out a long breath before eyeing her again. “I couldn’t answer your call because I was with my coach, asking him for a couple days off to get my shit together. It happened fast—getting on a plane, not beating the shit out of someone.”

“I would’ve supported you.”

Would’ve?Oh no. My heart raced and the same panic that had gripped me that night in the hotel started up. “Wait. What are you saying? Would’ve? Does that mean I have no fucking chance? What will it take, Sarah?” I paced the empty room, trying to come up with a new plan since this one had fucking failed. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone, ever. Doubt I ever will. If you’re ending it, just tell me.” I hung my head and waited. Silence grew between us and I looked up, not expecting her to be smiling at me.

“You’re a mess,” she said, dragging her teeth over her lip. “It’s cute.”

“Cute’s a good thing, right?” I walked back up to her, waiting for her permission to touch her again. She studied my face and reached up to run her fingers through my beard. I shuddered at her touch, desperate and wanting to bury my face in her neck. “I miss you. All the time. I hate that you’re here, not living with me, but I’m so fucking proud of you for doing this. Look at this house! It’s yours. I hate that I missed out on celebrating with you.”

“I miss you too.” She smiled big this time. “You know what’s weird? I just finished walking around the place, and the first person I wanted to call and talk to about it was you.”

Relief spread through my veins. “This is a good sign.”

“My mom and I made up, I think. She drove me here.” Sarah shrugged, but the slight redness to her cheeks gave her away. That was a huge deal for her. “She defended you, if you can believe it.”

“I know.”

“What?” She snapped her gaze to mine. “How would you?”

“She is the one who told me about today. Told me to stop hiding and be the man who deserved you.”

Sarah looked up to the ceiling, her chin wobbling a bit before a few tears fell down her cheeks. “Wow.”

“I was going to do it anyway, like next week, but I’m glad I didn’t wait.” Fuck it. I took her hand in mine again and pulled her to me. “Can we do this again?”

“Like, date?”

“I will be whatever you want me to be. We can date, live together, take it slow. Tell me.” I nuzzled her neck, breathing in her sweet smell, and picked her up. “I love you.”

“Yeah, I love you too,” she said, squealing when I swung her around. “Put me down!”

“Okay,” I said, barely letting her catch her balance before crushing my mouth to hers. She groaned once our lips touched and everything in my world made sense now. She slid her tongue into my mouth and I kissed the hell out of her. It was more than lust. It was a desperate kiss meant for lovers. “We’re okay now? You forgive me?”

“Yes.” She giggled and reached for my face again. “I missed your mouth, holy shit. I want more.”

“That was the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me. Christ.” I picked her up again, wrapped her legs around my waist and kissed her until my legs got sore. My dick throbbed in my shorts, but this was all about Sarah, letting her decide the pace. If I had to wait a week, a month, I would find a way to survive. I moaned when she wiggled her core against my erection, and she pulled back with wide eyes. “What?”

“I don’t have a bed. Shit!” She rested her forehead on my chest, letting out a long growl. “I really want to be naked with you.”

Thank god.

“We’ll figure it out, baby.” I pushed her into the wall, holding her there when I took off her tank top. I removed her lacy bra next and I stared down at her tits, enjoying how free she was with me. “Oh, I’ve missed them.”

She giggled when I bent down and sucked one pink pointed tip into my mouth, pinching the other one with my fingers. She bucked against me, rubbing her fingers through my hair as I bit down on her nipple. “Brigham…wow.”

“Mm,” I responded, teasing the other one until she became a frenzied mess. Her eyes were wild and I bit her lower lip, holding her stare until I let go. “I fucking love you.”

She turned bright red and whispered it back before reaching for my shirt. “Your skin. I want.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I laughed when she took off my shirt and tossed it to the floor, but it evaporated from my face when she arched her hips further into me. “Fuck!”

“What?” She froze.

“I don’t have a condom.”

She got a sly look in her eye and hit my arm. “Let me down. I have one.”

“Uh, I hope it’s left over from us.”

She rolled her eyes, walked over to her discarded purse and bent down. It gave me a great view of her ass, and before she faced me again, I stopped her. “Take off your shorts and panties.”

“Okay.” She slid out of them, and I pulled her against my chest and used my fingers to spread her legs apart. She whimpered.

“God, you’re fucking sexy.” I bit down on her ear as I slid two fingers inside her, probing her and hoping like hell she remembered how good we were together. Her wetness just got me harder and I swirled her clit with my thumb, holding on to her when her legs got wobbly. “You gonna come for me in your new house, baby?”

“Y-yes,” she said, tensing and letting out the sexiest little cries. “I’m so close—oh. Oh!” I held on with my other arm while she orgasmed loudly, feeling so goddamn happy to be with her, I swore that I could float. It took her a full minute before she could breathe, and I spun her around and dropped my shorts. I had to be inside her again.

“Put it on for me, baby. My hands are shaking with need.”

She grinned and opened the package, sliding the rubber over my cock before I picked her up again. “Are you gonna do me against a wall?”

“You want me to?”

“Fuck yeah.”

Shit.Hearing her cuss like that somehow got me more turned on. I thrusted as her back hit the plain white wall. She cried out. I slammed into her over and over, losing all sense of time when I was inside her. She felt so fucking good and tightened her legs around me, causing me to pump harder. “I’m close, shit,” I groaned, bending low to kiss her again. She sucked my tongue and let out a strangled cry as she dug her nails into my arm. Her release set me off and I gave one final thrust before coming completely undone.

We panted, both our bodies covered in sweat, but it was the happiest I had been in months. I lifted my forehead off her shoulder and stared down at her. “You okay? That wasn’t too much?”

“Oh, no. I loved it.” She beamed back at me and tilted my chin so we were face-to-face. “Best homerun ever.”

“Goddamn it, you’re cute.” I laughed and pressed a soft kiss on her temple. “Let’s get dressed and maybe you can show me the place?”

“That sounds perfect.”

I set her down and we scrambled to get dressed. She took my hand and had the biggest smile while we toured her new business. We got to the second floor and she told me about the layout she wanted. I wiggled my eyebrows at her when she pointed out the bedroom. “Make sure you get a big bed.”

“Yeah? What for? I’m a small person.”

“When I stay here with you?” I teased, yanking her to me to kiss her because I knew what it felt like to not be able to do that. “Duh.”

“Pretty confident, hm? How often do you plan on doing that?”

“I’d live here if you’d let me.” I lowered my voice and watched her face pale. “I need to work on building the trust back between us, but, baby, you’re gonna be it for me. When I think about my life in five years, I want to be playing baseball and be coming home to you. Maybe we have ten dogs. Maybe more. But you are in every vision.”

“Wow.” She blinked away the shock and leaned into my embrace. “We’ll get a big bed. The biggest. And I’ll even give you a drawer.”

“Too much, too fast.”

She rolled her eyes before her expression got serious. “I want that, too. You, me, twenty dogs. We’ll figure it out.”

Yes, yes, we fucking would.