Four Play: A Collection of Novellas (5 page)

“Wait. Why were you our umpire last week if your dad was supposed to be there?” I asked.

“He hurt his hand, remember? The reason I was at the hospital…”

“Oh. Right.”

We ordered our meals and continued talking. Flirting. There was a part of him that could be serious, and yet most of the time he’d find every opportunity to slip in a joke. By the time our desserts arrived, I felt drunk and I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol.

The night out was coming to a close, and before I could decide if I should be insulted that he paid the tab in full, I found myself grateful at the gesture. He was truly treating me like a lady.

And I knew nothing about being a lady. There would only be so much longer I could take the flattery before I ripped his clothes off. And if an opportunity arose, I’d take it.

Unfortunately I was still unaware of any sort of dating rules, and whether or not sleeping with a guy on the first date was considered slutty.

Fuck it. I was willing to risk the bad rep.

Besides, if word got out I was sleeping with a division umpire, being labeled a slut would be the last thing I’d need to worry about.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked as we left the restaurant.

I looked up at the cloudy night sky and smelled the rain coming.

“Sure.” I smiled.

Chapter 8

We walked down the sidewalk and around the block. I told him about my parents, my hometown, and my dog back home. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d talked about anything that wasn’t softball-related.

We meandered to a field, where I could see a fence in the distance, and the moon shone bright enough for me to make out the backstop.

“Where are we? Has this park always been here? I don’t recognize it,” I said, picking up pace to get a closer look.

“Yeah. It’s one of the oldest parks in the city. I used to come here when I was a kid—my dad did, too.”

We walked through the outfield, then onto the gravel. I stopped at the pitcher’s mound and looked around me.

The lone field was camouflaged by trees from the outside world. I knew on the other side of the foliage stood residential homes, but I’d never seen that park before.

An old and weathered ball sat in a small puddle of the infield, and I reached down to grab it just as the rain started coming down.

As soon as I stood straight, I felt Nolan’s arms wrap around my shoulders. He turned me around and began kissing me fervently as the sheets of water poured down on us.

I dropped the ball and snaked my arms through his. I could taste the rain on our tongues, and my skin came alive under his touch.

My dress was soaked, and now looked dark blush. Water ran down my legs, tickling my thighs, and the cool summer rain was warmed from my skin by the time it reached my ankles.

Nolan pulled me into the dugout, where we had some reprieve from the storm, but he kept his lips on mine as he backed me up against the fencing. His hands found my panties, edging his fingers along my hipbones underneath the lace, and swept them down to the gravel.

My heartbeat was knocking against my chest, and my hair was a wet and tangled mess. He thrust his hips, and I could feel his erection taunting me.

Our need was palpable, and we couldn’t seem to get close enough to each other. His hands glided over my wet skin eagerly, and my mind emptied. I quickly went for his belt buckle, and he softly groaned.

“Are you sure this is okay?” he whispered.

“Don’t you think it’s a little late to be asking that?” I laughed, finding his zipper and yanking down his jeans.

“But isn’t this some kind of sacred ground for you? Like, Jack’s equivalent to having sex in a church?” he quipped, virtually ignoring his own words as his hand slipped underneath my dress.

I bit my bottom lip, then slowly lifted my dress over my head.

His eyes now lazy, drinking in the sight of me, I slipped off my bra and stood before him naked. “Something about you makes me want to break all the rules,” I whispered.

The humidity had lifted, and the cool breeze swept over every inch of my sensitive skin. His hand grasped my knee and brought it up to his hip, wrapping my leg around him.

I annoyed myself with the seconds it took to wrangle his shirt off him, as every moment spent in delay felt like it existed in slow-motion. It was only made worse when he paused to roll on a condom.

He brought his other hand down to my backside and lifted me up. My hands found the wire fencing behind us and I assisted in keeping myself steady and weightless for him.

He began to lick the rain from the flesh between my breasts, and sucked a line up to my neck dry. My head flew back involuntarily and I tightened my grip on the fence. His mouth found my nipples, sucking them taut.

“So beautiful,” he murmured.

For the first time in my life I felt desired.

I felt cherished.

I felt feminine.

I smiled, feeling the warmth of his erection against me. Our bodies were still drenched, and I slipped my hips forward, feeling our bodies slide against each other.

Ripping my lips from his mouth momentarily, I whispered, “Be careful what you say to me, Nolan. I might become emotionally attached.”

He submerged himself inside of me and with a grin, and whispered back, “Well, good. Then we’ll be on the same page.”

We stayed in the dugout well into the night, even after the storm had passed. We lay on the bench, somehow remaining entangled around each other.

He’d whispered my name with each flicker of lightning in the distance, and I dozed off in his arms.

Nolan had brought on a spontaneous rush of adrenaline. A reflex. Something I never knew my body was designed to do.

Chapter 9

It was almost the last game of the season. We would be starting Division Playoffs in less than two weeks. It was also the last week of school, and I had one last final to take.

I’d spent the week with Nolan. We’d gone to an ice cream shop on Monday and had a quickie in the bathroom stall. Tuesday, after practice, we’d gone to the movies and had sex in a supply closet. And on Wednesday we ordered Chinese, but couldn’t keep our hands off each other and ended up eating our Moo Shu Pork naked on my living room floor.

I’d hoped there would come a time when the newness faded—when I’d have to settle down and find my focus again. I’d forgotten all about the deadline for the camp signups, as I had actually considered it, but somewhere deep down I hoped Nolan would be taking up any spare time I had that summer.

May 2              Game 28       88 degrees Fahrenheit

I knew Nolan was going to be our umpire that game. And I’d tried repeatedly to mentally prepare myself for the task of staying focused so the girls on the team wouldn’t suspect anything.

I’d gotten through four innings, and besides an occasional flirty glance or wink, we were both doing pretty well.

Never in my life had I considered what umpires wear a sexy thing. In fact, the only time I’d ever acknowledged their presence was when I wanted to scream at them for making a bad call.

But as I looked over at Nolan standing behind the plate, a shiver ignited goose bumps on my arms as my eyes wandered over his physique. He had thick, tan calves and blond hair that covered them. His black shorts hung loosely around his waist, and a black polo shirt was neatly tucked in. He had bulges in his pockets: the count clicker, a game ball, and a brush for home plate. His mask and vest were black, too, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

Our team was up to bat, which meant I had all the more reason to stare in his direction without guilt. Just before the inning began, he took his mask off to wipe his brow, and found my stare in the dugout.

I blushed and trapped my bottom lip between my teeth. But his grin aimed at me was impossible to ignore. He brushed his hair back with his hand and licked his lips, giving me one of his seductive stares that I’d gotten to know so well over the past week.

I shuddered, and my mind went straight to sex—sex in the toilet stall, sex up against a wall next to a mop, sex before Moo Shu Pork and again after the fortune cookie, sex in a dugout...

He was doing this on purpose. He was trying to get me riled up for
after
the game. And he was succeeding.

I walked toward the fencing in the dugout and turned to face the bench. My hands crept up above me as I grabbed hold of the wire fencing. The girls were all cheering for Wendy, who was walking toward the plate to bat, and I stretched my body against the fence, keeping my eyes on Nolan.

I watched him swallow and narrow his eyes just before he put his mask on. It was then I noticed a brand new bulge in his pants.

Wendy got to first base, and there was a brief moment in between batters that I was able to get his attention again.

He looked almost scared to look over, and I giggled inwardly. I reached for a bottle of water and took off the cap. After taking a small sip and licking the rim of the container, I poured half the bottle over my head, whipping my hair back and forth so that small droplets sprayed around me. Then I poured the other half over my shirt and rubbed it into my chest.

Nolan stumbled backward a little just as Wanda was taking the plate. I laughed and sang a small victory song in my head.

“Jack?”

I was ripped from my erotic daydream and the sound of her voice. Coach Marny was sitting on the bench, not making eye contact with me. She spit on the ground and squinted her eyes to look into the field.

“Yeah?” I sputtered, and cleared my throat.

“Eyes on the game, please,” was all she said.

I nodded and turned toward the infield, avoiding any eye contact with Nolan. My heart raced, and for the first time in years I felt truly nervous. Nervous that I’d been busted. Nervous that the other girls might have seen me. And the amount of unbelievable guilt I’d feel if I got my team in trouble.

After that inning ended, I kept my head down as I walked out to the plate with my glove and mask. He was there waiting for me wearing a playful scowl, but I still hadn’t gotten over the close call back in the dugout.

I crouched down behind the plate and waited for Izzy to throw the pitch.

“You’re going to be in a lot of trouble when the game is over,” he whispered loud enough for me to hear. “I can see your nipples through your wet shirt.”

I smiled, but didn’t respond.

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to try and call a game with a hard-on?”

I snickered as Izzy threw the warm-up pitch and the batter walked to the plate.

The rest of the game I denoted slight tension from Nolan’s side, while I was pretty sure he had no idea of the things I was thinking about.

I was faced with questions I had no answers to: Should I sacrifice the only relationship I’ve ever had in order to keep my head in the game? Could I ever truly feel like Nolan was calling a fair game when he was our umpire? Why was it so hard to consider giving him up?

The past few weeks had been some of the best in my life. True, there was a forbidden factor to it all, and I’m not going to deny that part was a thrill. But with Nolan, I’d become a completely different person, on the inside and out. Not only did I like myself, but I wanted to continue embracing, exploring, and getting comfortable with the woman I was becoming.

Not that I’d given much thought to it before then, but I realized just how tough and unsettling the old me was. I was overbearing to my team members, running in circles like a damn helicopter mom.

But within the past few weeks I’d eased up, minded my own business, and stopped pretending like I had something to prove. The truth was that they could all take care of themselves. Their lives still continued, while mine was changing drastically.

After we won the game, I drove home and texted Nolan. I told him to call me later if he wanted.

But as soon as I got out of the shower, I slipped into a deep sleep, completely incoherent or aware of the rest of the world. If Nolan had texted me back, I slept through it.

I woke at four o’clock in the morning to the feel of someone behind me in bed. I turned quickly and saw Nolan’s face lit up by the moonlight.

“Shit! You scared me!”

“Sorry. You didn’t text back. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I smiled. “I’m good. I was just tired.”

“You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked. I could’ve been anyone.”

I laughed. “How did you think I got lucky before you showed up? I mean, a girl’s gotta get some, am I right? Might as well have been any random stranger that walked through my door, for how well I’d get to know them anyway.”

“Before me, eh?”

I smiled, trying to keep my eyes open. “Mmmhmm.”

“Hey, Jack? What’s going on here?” he whispered, tucking my hair behind my ear.

My eyes flew open. “What do you mean?”

“Just wanted to know what we’re doing.” He tried to shrug off the seriousness of the question. “You know, how you feel about me.”

I had no idea how to answer. So far I liked everything about him—his mind, heart, pride, body, scent, and of course, his extra curricular activities. But I wasn’t really sure
what
we were doing.

“I like you, Nolan. But I’m playing with some serious fire here. We can’t continue doing the kinds of things we did at the game tonight. My coach is suspicious. In fact, I considered calling this whole thing off.” I looked down and fiddled with my fingers. “But I don’t want this to end yet.”

He smiled, so I continued. “We have the division playoffs in two weeks, and a lot is riding on them. I need to stay focused. I’ll admit, you’ve been a bit distracting.”

He stared at me with a funny little smirk, but with warmth in his eyes. “Admit it, Jack. You find me attractive.”

“Not until you admit it first,” I joked. “But in all seriousness, I’m already worried that you’re not able to call a fair game if I’m playing.”

“Why would you say that?” he asked, confused.

I shrugged. “Favoritism.”

“Well, I admit, you
are
my favorite on the team. But if you screw up I’m going to call you on it. In fact, I’d probably take a little bit of pride in shutting down the captain of the team,” he sniggered, “… Show that bad ass who’s boss on the field.”

He still didn’t have me convinced, but I nodded nervously anyway.

His laugh was barely audible as he nudged his chin. “Don’t worry about it, Jack. Turn around and go to sleep. I just wanted to be close to you tonight.”

His arms enveloped me, and I fell asleep smiling again. Like I had for the past three weeks straight.