Page 23 of Pretty and Loco

We were down to the last inning, and the score was, by her account, 2-1 and she was up. She stepped to the plate and then put the bat on her shoulder.

I watched her lower herself into the position that felt right, then waited for the ball to come to her.

I let it go, and when she cracked it, I just knew that it was as good as caught. I didn’t even look at it; I just put my hand up, closed the glove confidently, and the ball flew right over my head. I turned around just in time to see it rolling through the grass.

When I saw the look on her face, I knew her ass would never let me live it down.

She started screaming like she had won the Worlds. Then turned around and did a little dance.

“We don’t shake ass in the majors after a hit.” I chuckled.

“They should. That’s why baseball needs me. Let’s go.” She said, holding the bat toward me to take.

The ride leaving the field was quiet. I thought she would brag about beating me in the game, but she didn’t.

“Why you so quiet?” I asked her.

“I was just thinking about tonight.” She said quietly.

“What about it?”

“It was perfect, honestly. This is one of the first times in a long time I've genuinely had fun. Work consumes me, and it felt so good just to be free.”

I nodded.

I could understand that because I feel the same. I don’t go out, I don’t really have a social life, and the fact that Leah just fell right into the plans tonight with no hesitation was cool. I liked that she was fine as hell but could still get dirty and have fun.

“You need to go home? Or you want to come back to the house with me?”

“Whose house?” she asked.

“Mine,” I answered.

She grinned, then told me she would come back to my house. I had never invited a woman into my space. It was always a hotel, the condo in Los Angeles, or somewhere I could leave when I was ready. But my house was different; that was my peace.

I didn’t have a deep reason for asking Leah either; I wasn’t going to put too much thought into it. I just wasn’t ready for the night to end.

And for right now, that was enough of a reason to take a first that I’d never given to anyone else and give it to her.

Against my will, I stepped out of bed and stretched. I felt my bones pop as I leaned over and touched my toes. I didn’t mind the stiffness. It was just a testament to the night that Rocko and I had.

I can get used to this lifestyle. He sent a truck to pick me up from work last night, and we got private massages. They felt amazing but were a waste of time because as soon as we came back to his house, he undid all that woman’s hard work and balled me up. It was just after 9 a.m. on a Saturday, and I couldn’t remember the last time that I had the luxury of sleeping in. Normally, I was up before sunrise, running through a checklist of final touches for an event. I was grateful for the first Saturday off in months. I wanted nothing more than to get back into Rocko’s bed, which felt like pure heaven. Something about the feel of his pillows and comforter seemed to swallow me whole and make me lazy.

I grabbed my slippers and robe and then headed downstairs to make myself a quick breakfast. Rocko had left a few hours before and left me asleep. This week, the team started practicing twice a day because the preseason began in just a few days. I was used to the silence of his house in the mornings. I had been over here every day for almost two weeks straight, and I was getting spoiled by going to sleep and waking up to him.

Tying the robe tighter, I headed down the stairs to find something quick to eat. The closer I got to the main level of the house, the stronger the aroma became. I was confused by the smell, because I knew that Rocko wouldn’t make food before he went to practice. The sizzling grew louder as I turned the corner and found a woman standing at the stove.

Hearing my slippers, she jumped, startled, and looked at me like I had lost my mind.

“Oh…” she said as I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a smoothie. “I didn’t expect anyone to be here.” Her voice held a lot of contempt. It wasn’t that ‘you scared me’ energy. It was more of a ‘what the hell is up’ kind of energy. It had me on edge immediately.

I gave her a good look. She looked a couple of years younger than me. She was pretty though. She had long hair that was pulled back into a claw clip. She was wearing a cropped hoodie and loose-fitting pants. Underneath the hoodie, I saw just the end of a heart dangling from her belly button.

I had never seen her before, not even in the images on his social media. We'd talked about his sister before, but she didn’t look like the picture I'd seen. She also didn’t look like they could be related, but looks can be deceiving. So, before I jumped to conclusions, I decided it was best to figure out who she was.

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” I asked politely despite the agitation in her voice.

Her response, the way the frown deepened on her forehead, and the fact that she had the audacity to look at me from my feet to my head like she didn’t owe me an explanation made me put the smoothie back in the fridge and shut it.