Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances (4 page)

Meg nods and says in all sincerity, “I don’t know what the hell an ERA is but if you say you fixed it, then by God you did! They’ll ask you to go to spring training, you’ll prove you’re the best, and then they’ll offer you the assistant trainer job. I believe in you, little sister.”

I laugh and wipe at a tear that’s trying to escape. My sister not only looks totally different from me, but she and I have completely different interests too. I was born playing sports while she is a complete and total book nerd.

Softball, basketball, soccer… You name it, I played it, although soccer was my primary sport. That’s how I met Jace. I was playing at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles while Jace was the all-star baseball pitcher. We both grew up in the area, so we spent our summers conditioning together until he decided to leave school without even saying good-bye.

Before Meg and I can continue our conversation, our waiter approaches the table. He frowns as he takes us both in. “Señoritas, we don’t allow sad faces here. Instead… we drink tequila!” he exclaims, as he plops a sombrero on each of our heads and sets two shots in front of us.

My sister and I laugh as we clink our glasses. With the first shot, I feel the liquid burning down my throat, but by the third one, it slides down with no problem at all.

***

It’s only ten, but after two pitchers of margaritas and four, maybe five shots of tequila, Meg and I decide we’d better call it a night. I stumble out of the cab, giggling to myself. We had some intense girl talk about Jace, Mark, and even Grant once the tequila started flowing.

I pull on the door to my building but it doesn’t open. I fumble through my purse looking for my keys. I jiggle the lock but it still won’t budge. I’m about to ring my neighbor when Maddox, the middle-aged homeless man who lives outside our building, says in a chipper voice, “Read the sign, Colie!”

Maddox and I are on a first name basis since I bring him home leftovers from the ballpark during the season. I squint in the dark, reading the sign in the glow of the streetlight. It reads CONDEMNED. I stomp my foot and let out a frustrated scream.

Maddox laughs and pats the blanket beside him. “I’ve got room for you here, Colie.”

I narrow my eyes at him as I punch a number into my phone. It only rings once when a low, husky voice answers. I can tell that I’ve woken him but in this moment, I don’t care.

“Grant, my building is condemned because of you!”

“Colie, have you been drinking?” he says and I can hear rustling in the background. Great, I probably interrupted him and some mystery woman.

“You called your friend and now I can’t get in my building. I’m going to have to share Maddox’s blanket and sleep with him on the sidewalk tonight!”

Maddox’s eyes light up at the mention of his name.

I hear Grant curse under his breath before he answers. “I’m on my way, Colie. Go to the diner across the street and don’t share anything with Maddox.”

He hangs up with me before I can object. A cool gust of wind blows down the street. I glance over at Maddox, who smiles deviously and wiggles his eyebrows. I sigh and nod toward the diner. “Have you had dinner?”

Maddox doesn’t miss a beat. He jumps up and holds out his arm for me like any gentleman would do. He leads us to the diner and I let him order for both of us, knowing he’ll eat everything. Sipping coffee, I try to sober up before Grant arrives. That’s when the realization that I’m homeless hits me.

Thirty minutes later and I’m on my third cup of Joe while Maddox licks his plate clean. The bell above the door rings. Glancing up, I see Grant searching the faces in the restaurant. He frowns when he sees me sitting with Maddox. The two men have met before and Maddox couldn’t care less that Grant is a famous athlete.

I sit up a little straighter as Grant approaches our table. Our eyes meet but he doesn’t say anything at first. I finally look away when Maddox lets out a loud, stinky burp. I smile at the bum and comment, “I take it that you liked it.”

Maddox flashes me a toothless grin. Then, as he realizes for the first time that Grant is there, his smile disappears and he starts to fiddle with his silverware. Grant shakes his head and grabs the bill on the table, muttering at me to come on. I stand and say to Maddox, “Thanks for your company.”

Maddox grins and responds loud enough for Grant to hear, “Any time, Colie! There’s always room on my blanket for you.”

I laugh as I see Grant grimace at Maddox’s comment. Grant turns around and grabs my hand while we walk to the front of the restaurant. Pulling me toward him protectively, we wait for someone to come to the register. His fingers fidget with the charms on my bracelet. He looks down at me and asks for a second time, “Have you been drinking?”

“Three cups of coffee,” I say, still avoiding the question.

The cashier arrives and Grant gives him a fifty dollar bill, telling him to keep the change. He guides me outside to his black Escalade and holds the passenger door open for me.

We ride in silence for a few blocks until Grant finally talks. “I don’t like you being around Maddox.”

I roll my eyes in the dark. “He’s harmless!”

Grant glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “Colie, you’ve been drinking. You don’t know anything about him other than he’s a hobo outside your building. He could’ve easily taken advantage of you. It’s a bad combination I’m not comfortable with.”

I lean back in my seat as I mutter, “Well, I’m not the one who got someone’s apartment condemned.”

Grant grips the steering wheel and glances over at me again. “You can stay with me ‘til spring training starts, then I’ll help you find a place when we get back.”

Oh no, the ugly cry, it’s about to come and I don’t know if I can stop it. With the mention of spring training, the tears prick my eyes and I squeeze them shut to try to fight them off. My emotions are intensified by the alcohol and fact that I might not have a job soon. I’m already out a place to live. As I sniffle, still trying to fend off tears, I feel Grant’s hand on my thigh.

In a low, almost whisper, he asks, “Colie, what’s wrong?”

I sit up, shaking my head. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

I feel his stare, but refuse to look in his direction, knowing if I do the waterworks will start. I open the door and jump out of his SUV, following him into his house. While he’s a multi-million dollar MLB star, he lives pretty modestly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a nice house and I’m sure he has a proper fire escape. It’s a four-bedroom, three bath, two story home in a small suburb of New York City. It’s a huge house for a bachelor like him, so I don’t feel bad about crashing here for the night… or the next few weeks.

He flips on the light in the guest room that’s across the hall from his bedroom. He points to the bed and says, “I laid out a shirt for you to sleep in if you want to change.”

Grant exits the room and closes the door. I quickly change and use the attached bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth with a spare toothbrush. I know he keeps them under the sink. Last season, when we’d get home late from away games, Grant would insist I stay at his place. His reasoning was that it was safer than me walking by Maddox at early hours of the morning.

I flip the light off and lie down when there’s a soft knock on the door. I hear his voice call out, “Colie?”

“Come in.” I roll over to face him as he sits on the edge of the bed, looking down at me.

“I didn’t mean for your apartment to be condemned.”

I’m not mad, I never was. I know Grant is always trying to do what’s best for me. Not just me but for his teammates as well. That’s the kind of guy he is. He’d give the shirt off his back if someone asked. I let out a long breath and nod before I respond, “I know.”

Neither of us speaks. I watch him inspecting my face in the moonlight and wonder what he’s thinking. He pushes my hair away from my forehead and speaks in a deep baritone, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

That’s all it takes, his calming voice and concern, and I can’t keep the tears in. They start falling down my cheeks and then the sobbing begins. Through the uncontrollable blubbering I can only get out a few words at a time.

“I haven’t… spring training… I’m not going to have… a job… ” Huge sob, it’s ugly, I promise it’s the ugliest cry I’ve ever had. “Or a house!”

Grant pulls me into a hug and I weep against his solid chest. His whispers fill my ears. His breath on my neck, the electricity he’s sending throughout my body, makes me forget about my homeless status for the moment.

“Shhh, Colie. It’s okay. We’ll figure this out, okay? I promise.”

I nod and take a deep breath, sounding more like I’m gasping for air. Pulling away from him, I wipe my eyes and remember the noises in the background when I called him.

“I’m sorry I woke you up. Were you… were you with a woman? Is she here? I can go stay at my sister’s.”

I’m rambling and I know it, but I’m embarrassed that Grant witnessed the ugly cry, and that I’ve possibly interrupted him with a woman.

He shakes his head and smooths my hair back again. “No, Colie, no woman.”

I lean against the headboard. No woman… “A man?”

Surprisingly, Grant isn’t angry when I ask that; instead he laughs and shakes his head. “No, Colie, no man. I was alone. Why would you ask that?”

“I felt bad that I might have interrupted something… and you never show interest in the women I point out, so I thought that… maybe… you were gay?”

My cheeks flame as I struggle to get that out, worried I might offend him. I’m caught off guard when Grant leans toward me, and I quickly slide down against the mattress. His right hand moves to my hip and his left hand gently brushes my cheek. He places his cheek against mine, just the way we were in class this morning. Parts of my body awakened by his closeness. I feel the excitement between my legs, something I haven’t felt in a long time.

Grant whispers into my ear, “Colie, trust me, I’m only interested in women.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, wondering what he’ll do next. He lingers on top of me, his muscular chest pressed against mine until he sits up. His thumb sweeps down my cheek before he stands.

“Good night, Colie,” he calls as he walks out the door.

I can’t collect my thoughts quick enough to respond before he closes the door. My heart races at the interaction that just occurred. Grant is giving Jace a run for his money to be the star of my dreams tonight.

CHAPTER 4

Keep your eye on the ball, Colie, eye on the ball
, I remind myself as I stand inside the batter’s box. I watch the wind-up, see the ball release, and
BAM!
My bat connects with the ball. I don’t watch where it lands, just keep my eye on Benny winding up again.
BAM!
Benny hurls another pitch at me and it’s way inside. I jump out of the way and step back into the box unfazed.

“Come on, Benny, watch out!” Grant yells at him.

I set the bat down and look at Grant with narrowed eyes. He doesn’t notice my glare as he asks if I’m okay. I ignore him and nod at Benny to throw me another one.
BAM!

Benny looks up and watches the ball fly into left field. “Damn, girl! We might need you on the roster this season.”

I grin at his compliment. Pitchers leave for spring training tomorrow, so the boys are getting loosened up. I love this time of the season. They want to start working on mechanics without overdoing it or throwing at top speeds. Most pitchers prefer to actually pitch to someone. That someone almost always ends up being me. My soon-to-be brother-in-law is jealous of all the batting practice I get and I take every opportunity to rub it in his face. I turn to Grant, placing my hands on my hips. I jut my chin toward the pitching mound. “Your turn.”

He gets up and walks past me. I flip my long blonde braid over my shoulder as I wait for him to take his position. Neither of us has mentioned our conversation from last night. Instead of our normal workout this morning, Grant’s friend met us at my apartment so I could pack some clothes and essentials I needed. He informed us it would be weeks before the fire escape was up to code and I could move back in.

Grant passes Benny who mutters, “Geez, Adamson, you’re so protective.”

I cringe as he says that. It’s not good if the guys notice Grant’s actions toward me. I don’t want them thinking anything is going on between us. I have a strict rule that I don’t date baseball players, especially any on a team I work with. It just happened that Grant and I clicked from day one, but we’re friends, just friends.

After a few pitches, Grant nods at me and says, “Colie, you’re crowding the plate. Scoot back.”

Benny snickers and I whip my head in his direction, giving him a look he understands, as he quickly averts his eyes. Grant hurls the ball over the plate and I pull my swing, sending a line drive directly at his head. He barely ducks in time, the ball missing him by maybe three inches. Benny almost chokes on the sunflower seeds in his mouth as he tries to hide his laughter and ends up snorting.  I drop my bat and helmet and face Grant with my hands on my hips. He’s scowling at me, which only makes me grin bigger.