Practice was rough. My arms were tighter than usual, probably from holding onto Holly all night long. I knew she couldn’t have slept well with me squeezing her so tightly, so I was glad she was able to go back to sleep before I left.
Out on the field, our team was looking pretty strong. The new third baseman, Jack, was proving to be a pretty valuable player. He could crack that bat and send a ball over the fence or into the stands. You told him where you wanted it, and he landed it there. It was amazing. The only downside to that was he could only hit and control certain pitches. It wouldn’t take the pitchers long to figure him out. That meant he would have a few good games, and then he’d be a swing and miss, or a foul ball all season long. It was a shame, but pitchers were trained to zoom in on guys like him.
“So, this Jack guy, the pitchers gonna eat him alive or what?” I asked Calvin as we walked towards the locker rooms.
“I’m working with him.”
“Oh. Cool. He could use the help.”
“What the fuck are you talking about Newman?” Coach said, and I turned, not realizing he was just behind us.
“Nothing, Coach.”
“No. You were saying that Jack, the man who hit the ball everywhere he was asked, needs help. You might want to focus on your placement?”
Jack stopped and turned to face me, and dammit, he looked hurt. Is he a girl or a baseball player?
Shit!
There was my dad’s voice in my head again.
“Clarify for the rest of us who only saw an amazing hitter out there today,” Coach demanded.
Calvin gave me a you’re on your own look. I knew he didn’t want anything to do with this. That was fine. I was right, and the sooner they realized that, the sooner it could be fixed.
“Yes, his control is fantastic,” I conceded. “But he can only hit certain pitches, and out of those, control an even smaller number.”
My teammates all stared at me, waiting for me to explain myself. I knew Jack had done an amazing job out there on the field today, but that wasn’t going to last long.
I went on, “The problem I see is this. Pitchers and catchers get paid the big bucks to know their batter’s weaknesses, and Jack’s are very easy to read. After he hits the shit outta the park the first couple games, pitchers are gonna take notice. They’ll find his weaknesses quick, and then he’s useless at bat. A few tweaks and he’ll be unstoppable.”
Coach scratched the top of his head, and his eyes moved to Calvin. “Is this true?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied quickly and without hesitation. Atta boy.
“Okay. I want you two working closely with him. Learn to hide his weaknesses better. Or better yet, eliminate them and turn him into another Ace Newman at bat.”
My skin crawled at his comment. There was, and would always be, only one Ace Newman. Why the fuck was everyone so ready to hang me out to dry?
Calvin slapped me on the shoulders. “Good move, big mouth.”
I growled. “Yeah. Now I’ve gotta help you babysit.”
My entire body ached, as much as I hated to admit it, even to myself. Gary, one of the new physical therapists in the stadium rushed over to me. “I was watching you swing. You’re tight today.” Fuck, I hated being so obvious. “I want to get you on the roller before your massage,” Gary ordered, pulling me towards the rehab room.
I knew he was right, but I hated being seen as weak. “Seriously?”
“Yes. We need to loosen you up. Your reflexes seemed a little slow fielding. I’m going to work on your arms and hips.” I pulled off my shirt, and he whistled. “Damn. I’ll get something on those bruises too. Your arms and chest took a beating.”
I smirked at him. “Whatever it takes to stop the ball.”
He held up a fist, and I bumped it.
I surrendered to Gary’s instructions, letting him stretch and roll me however he wanted. It actually felt pretty damn good, but my shoulder still didn’t want to loosen. He hooked me up to an electrical muscle stimulation machine, the current set on high. Half an hour later, he did a deep tissue massage that nearly had me cussing him out.
“Get a super-hot shower. Let those oils penetrate into your skin and do their magic,” he ordered once his demonic machinations were over. “Drink at least a hundred ounces of water.” He gave me a warning look. “Stay away from alcohol, and if you do drink, double the water. You need to detox bad.”
If only he knew.
The shower room was mostly empty as most of the guys were still in post-practice rehab or soaking in an ice bath. I stripped out of the rest of my clothes and turned the faucet on high. I stepped under the water, turning it slowly to the hotter side every couple seconds to work myself up to a boil. My balls curled into my body, trying to escape the scalding hot water. I couldn’t say I blamed ‘em.”
A hand slapped me on the back. I turned to see Jack standing there. “I just wanted to say I appreciated your help.”
He dropped his towel to reveal a perfectly chiseled body and a cock that could rival my own. My eyes shifted quickly back to his, ignoring the fact that my own cock was shriveled into its hood from the heat of the shower. I knew cold could send it retreating, but heat too? Damn.
“No problem. I hope you didn’t take it personally. I think you’re a beast at bat. It’s just that amazing players are the first to be dissected.”
“Yeah. That’s true. I take it as a compliment then,” he said.
Was this guy for real? Most players would’ve tried to knock my block off for calling ‘em out like that. Or at the very least, they would’ve given me the cold shoulder for a while.
“I just hope there won’t be any awkwardness between us,” he said, dipping his head under the water.
“Why would there be?”
“I’m still not sure what exactly you and Holly mean to one another. She tried to clear it up on her end….” He lifted a shoulder and started massaging shampoo through his hair. “That story of you in the hot tub last night, wow. I guess you two got a pretty good laugh out of that.”
I was absorbing what he said, slowly processing everything as I watched him lather up.
“Why do you care about Holly and me?”
His eyes widened. “Oh shit. She didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
I was growing tired of this game. I needed him to spill it now.
“We’ve been dating. Just a couple times if you count the first night she arrived,” he said apologetically.
Wow. So, Jack was the real reason Holly blew me off that night? She’d told me that she didn’t want to leave Whitney alone. She lied to me?
“Two dates? When was the second?”
“I shouldn’t… I mean, this is her place, not mine.” He tried weaseling out of his detail dump.
“No. You made it your place when you opened your mouth.” I smiled, winked, and bit down on the side of my cheek, giving him a no harm no foul look.
He took his time rinsing his hair before saying, “It was right before I came out here. We hit it off pretty good. She told me she was coming to see you. I admired her honesty.”
Hit it off, huh?
My eyes fought with my brain and fell to his oversized cock. Had that damn thing taken a turn at my girl?