16. Elliot
16
ELLIOT
“It’s three series, Ellie. That’s only ten days.”
“Ten days is a long time to go without seeing you.”
I give her a look over my shoulder, pulling another sweater out of my closet. “Somehow, I think we’ll both make it.”
“Speak for yourself,” Nell huffs, pushing through my bedroom door with a jar of peanut butter and a bag of pretzels. “Can I eat this?”
She already has two of the pretzels sticking out of her mouth, so the point is moot, but I still give her a nod. “The first time Charlotte and I were apart for more than a week, I thought I was going to puke.”
Ellie points at Nell, a desperate look on her face. “See?”
“Nell, didn’t you and Charlotte live in different states for like five years?”
“Yes,” she concedes, seeing my point. “And we were physically fine, but it sucked.”
“What do you two want from me?” I toss the sweater into my bag, biting back the desire to shout at them to stop trying to ruin my chances to fuck Grady. “Do I need to quit my job to spend more time with my sister?”
Nell speaks over Ellie, who looks like she’s genuinely considering that as an option. “I need you on the road. Those guys can be impossible at the best of times, but it’s significantly worse on long stints away. You’re going to be my damage control.”
“I thought you were on my side,” Ellie whines, flopping backward on my bed and throwing a hand dramatically over her eyes. “You said you were going to help me talk to Elliot.”
“What I said was that I would join you for this conversation,” Nell corrects, reaching into my bag and pulling out the sweater I just put in there. She frowns at it, then up at me, before tossing the knit crewneck back into my closet. “But I’m mostly here to tell you that I will make sure Elliot is fine while we’re gone. I will send him home if I think he’s spiraling without you.”
“You can do that?” Ellie and I ask in unison, making Nell smile.
It’s more of a flash of her teeth than anything else, but I’m choosing to believe it’s a smile. “I have my ways.”
Ellie and I exchange a glance that makes Nell laugh. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen her truly laugh, the only other times being when Mills ate shit on the field in the middle of a press day photoshoot and her wedding day.
A familiar ringtone blares from Ellie’s purse, and she dives for her phone immediately. “Hi, Sam!” She chirps, moving toward the living room so we don’t have to listen to the two of them gush about how much they love each other. I hold up a different sweater than the one Nell threw back in my closet, but she takes one look at it and shakes her head.
“Don’t you have anything less...frumpy?”
“No,” I admit, sliding the oversized sweater back into the closet. “I can offer you shapeless bog-person or octogenarian bookseller. That’s it.”
Nell is suddenly standing at my side, holding the pretzel bag out to me. I grab a few off the top, snacking on them while we survey my closet. “We could probably work with the Librarian look.”
“Why are we working with anything?”
“You’re still single, right?”
I frown, taking another pretzel from the bag. Am I still single? As far as I know, Grady and I are just experimenting . Does that mean I could go on a date? Would I even want to? “Uh, yeah.”
She gives me a calculating look out of the corner of her eye before reaching into my closet and pulling out a jacket I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. “Pack this.”
“I don’t need?—”
“Trust me.”
I toss the jacket toward my bag, deciding it’s enough clothes for ten days on the road. “Hey, Nell,” I try to sound casual, but I know there’s zero chance she won’t see through me. “If I wanted a new room assignment on the road, who would I need to talk to about that?”
“Who do you room with?”
“Colton Barrett.”
“You don’t like him?”
“He’s fine,” I’m quick to assure her. The last thing I need is to accidentally get one of my coworkers in trouble. “He’s easy to get along with and he spends most of his time…”
I trail off, unsure of what word to use. Nell nods, pointing at me with one of the pretzels. “Out.”
“Exactly,” I give her a grateful smile before continuing. “And I thought it might be nice for him to have his own room, so he can stop being late to games every time the person he’s been out with lives on the opposite side of the city.”
“That sounds like Colton’s problem to me.”
“I know,” I hedge, feigning nonchalance. “But I also thought it might be nice to have my own room.”
Nell is shaking her head before I’ve even finished talking. “There aren’t any single rooms left, and even if there were, neither of you are high enough on the staff ladder to get your own.”
Sighing, I flop onto the bed next to her. “Yeah, I get it.”
She turns, giving me a narrow-eyed look that doesn’t bode well for me. “What’s this about?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure,” she sighs, laying back so we’re both staring at the peeling paint of my bedroom ceiling. “Just make sure this ‘nothing’ doesn’t end up being a pain in my ass.”
As head of PR for the Cougars, I can’t promise her that one of the players fucking an athletic trainer won’t be a pain in her ass. “I’ll do my best.”
Half an hour later, Ellie drops Nell and me off at the airfield. A handful of guys are already waiting, mostly rookies, but I spot one or two staff members moving around the small crowd near the plane.
Nell disappears almost immediately, leaving me to get settled in my seat. I’ve just thrown my bag in the overhead bin when my phone vibrates.
GRADY
What are the odds I could get you to join the mile high club on one of these flights?
I look around the cabin, but it’s still just me in the first class section.
Absolutely not.
GRADY
Why not?
Because people will hear us!
My eyes dart to the bathroom at the front of the plane, trying to figure out how Grady could possibly plan for us both to sneak in and out without getting noticed. Not to mention the issue of how we would even fuck in there.
There’s no way we would fit in one of those bathrooms.
GRADY
Sounds like you’re thinking about it...
Public sex is low on the list.
GRADY
Low, but still on the list?
Let’s call it a soft limit.
GRADY
I can work with that.
You look handsome today.
Several people have filed onto the plane while I was texting Grady, but I don’t see the giant blond amongst them.
Where are you?
GRADY
“Thank you, Grady. I’m sure you look handsome, too.” Oh, thank you, Elliot. I actually do look very good today. I picked this shirt out with you in mind, so I’m sure you’ll like it.
You know you always look good, Grady.
Now, where are you???
GRADY
Turn around.
I turn toward the barrier between first class and coach, my eyes immediately landing on Grady in the second row back, a broad smile on his face and a skin-tight pale green t-shirt hugging every muscle in his torso. All the saliva leaves my mouth at once, and I struggle to swallow as I turn back toward the front.
I guess you look alright.
GRADY
Wow.
You really only like me for my massive dick, huh?
A snort slips out of my mouth right as Steal passes my seat. “Something funny?”
“Not really,” I say, loud enough for Grady to hear me. My phone vibrates almost immediately, and I know it’s him arguing with that comment. “You ready for the next ten days?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Steal shrugs, his eyes cutting toward the back of the plane. “I’d be better if I had Grady on the field with me.”
I nod, knowing he’s right. The team has been holding up, but their wins have been more challenging than normal. They need Grady back on the field sooner than later. “We’re working on it. I promise.”
“Glad to hear it.” Steal smiles, patting me on the shoulder as he moves past my seat to get out of the next guy’s way.
My phone vibrates again, and I look down at the two messages.
GRADY
I’m fucking hilarious, thank you very much.
You have a great smile.
Thank you, Grady.
But I’m still not fucking you in the bathroom.
Grady’s muffled curse is loud enough to be heard from my seat, and I can’t stop the giggles from bursting out of me.
We lose to the Astros the first night on the road. They passed us in the eighth inning, and the team didn’t have enough in them to get the lead back. Dinner is subdued that night, with most guys grabbing food and eating silently at their cubbies. Grady and Steal are wrapped up in what looks like a serious conversation, so I keep my distance on the opposite side of the Visitor Clubhouse. I regret that decision when a shadow suddenly looms over me.
“Benny?”
“Bennett,” I immediately correct, looking up at the man standing over me. My spine straightens when I realize it’s Adam Shelby, the catcher I cornered hoping he would become friendlier with Hoax.
Shelby gives me an apologetic look, but I don’t blame him for not remembering my name. We’ve never had a reason to talk before, and I’m not sure what he could possibly want from me now. “Mind if I sit?”
“Uh, no?”
He drops onto the bench at my side, his eyes staying glued on the side of my face while I pretend to be comfortable with this situation. “You said I should ask Hoaxley to pitch with me in the off season.”
“I...yes?” I have no idea where he’s going with this, but I really hope I’m not about to get yelled at. Or punched. Fuck, I hope he doesn’t punch me.
“Why?”
“He’s, uh, shy?” It’s not the word I wanted to use, but it’s the only thing I can think of that doesn’t give away the real reason I need him to be friends with Hoax. “He needs to get closer to the rest of the players, but he’s not going to make the first move.”
“But you are?”
Shelby leans back, crossing his arms as he looks me over. I can feel the deep blush creeping up my cheeks, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Shelby is hot, all dark hair, honey eyes, and a jawline that could cut glass, but he isn’t interested in me. He’s looking at me like he’s trying to solve a riddle, not rip my clothes off, but my stupid brain is too busy screaming, “HOT GUY LOOKING AT ME,” to care about how he’s looking at me.
“I-I, well. No, I was just, uh. He’s m-my friend.” I swallow hard, looking at anything but Shelby.
My eyes scan the room, landing on Steal and Grady opposite us. Steal is quietly eating, but Grady’s plate sits on the bench next to him. His eyes are on me, brows drawn low and his mouth in a hard line. I can’t be sure from this distance, but it looks like he’s grinding his teeth together. Is he in pain? Did he hurt his shoulder?
“Bennett?”
“Huh?” I turn back to Shelby, who clearly just asked me a question I didn’t hear. “I’m so sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you think Hoaxley would want to pitch with a few of the guys.”
“Oh, yes.” Shelby has my full attention now. “He needs to get comfortable with as many of you as possible.”
“You think that would help?”
“Help?”
“With the...shaking?” Shelby doesn’t seem to have a better word than that, but it’s accurate enough for me to understand what he’s getting at. He’s seen Hoax having a panic attack. How many of the other guys have seen it and not done or said anything?
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to look Shelby in the eye so he knows I’m serious. “Hoax is an amazing pitcher. He’s just a little green, and gamedays get to him. He’s comfortable with Miller because Mills went out of his way to be Hoax’s friend. If you’d give him the chance, he could easily be as comfortable with any of you.”
Shelby’s eyes move across my face, and I meet his stare head on. “Alright.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’ll talk to him.”
“Thank you, Shelby.”
He leans forward, a slight smirk tugging at his lips when the movement brings our faces inches apart. “Call me Adam.”
“Elliot.” The name slips from my lips on instinct, and Shelby’s smirk turns into a full smile. Then he’s gone, and I’m left sitting alone in the Clubhouse, trying to process what the fuck just happened.
I’m still mulling over the conversation an hour and half later when I step off the bus at the hotel. However, all thoughts of Adam Shelby are ripped from my mind when someone grabs my shoulder, dragging me into a darkened corner around the side of the building. “What the?—”
“Quiet,” Grady’s voice rumbles through the dark, and I immediately melt against him. My head tips back, and Grady’s lips find mine without hesitation. The kiss is demanding, his body pressing me into the stone siding as if trying to fuse us together. “Kissing strangers in the dark now, little whore?”
“You’re not a stranger to me.”
“That’s right, Princess,” he sighs, shifting us so his leg presses between mine. I can’t help the pathetic grind of my hips against his thigh, and I feel Grady’s soft laughter vibrating through his chest. “My precious cumslut, always so desperate. You said public sex was a soft limit, so I need you to tell me if this is okay.”
“It is,” I rush to assure him, desperate for whatever he’s willing to give me.
Grady hums happily, his body pressing that much tighter against mine. “You have to be quiet out here. Is that something my dirty little cumslut can do?”
I rock my hips against him again, arousal spiking in my veins. “Yes. Yes, please, Grady.”
“That’s right,” his fingers dig into my hair, tipping my head until our lips brush together. “Me, Elliot. You fuck yourself while thinking about me. That desperate little cock weeps for me . Isn’t that right, Princess?”
My thoughts grow fuzzy, all my attention zeroing in on Grady’s body, pinning me against the wall. I can feel that he’s turned on, but he doesn’t seem to care. All of his attention appears to be focused on making me melt for him.
“Always,” I admit, my hips grinding faster against his thigh. “Only you, Grady.”
“My sweet, slutty Princess,” he sighs, dropping a hand to the button on my jeans. “So fucking hard from just a kiss. Pathetic.”
“I, Grady, I’m?—”
“You’re what?” Grady undoes the button, his fingers brushing against my cock as he slides the zipper down. “You’re certainly not about to come. I haven’t even touched you. What kind of worthless whore comes in their pants from a little dry humping?”
His palm is so warm against my dick that I nearly forget there’s a layer of underwear between us. I thrust into his hand, desperate for the friction now that my jeans aren’t pressing against me any longer. “Please.”
“Please who ? Who are you asking to make you come, Princess?”
“You, Grady, Please. I?—”
“Say my name, Elliot.”
I nearly sob, my fingers digging so hard into his shoulders that I know he’ll have bruises tomorrow. It takes too long for me to work out what he’s asking, but eventually it clicks. “Matthew,” I breathe around a moan. “Matthew, please.”
“You like that?” The question has a surprisingly hard edge to it, but I can’t focus on Grady’s words when he’s dropping to his knees in front of me. “You like calling people by their first names, Elliot ?”
“I-I don’t—fuck!”
Grady’s lips wrap around my dick the moment I’m free of my underwear, and I nearly double over from the feel of him taking me to the back of his throat. He’s not giving me time to adjust; he’s barely letting me breathe as he pulls back to suck me down a second time. I feel him swallow around the head of my cock, and my fingers scrape against his scalp. “Shit, I’m gonna come. Fuck, Grady. Matthew , please, I?—”
His head bobs mercilessly, but I manage to hold out until he groans with my dick in the back of his throat. My orgasm ripples through me, and I bite back a deep moan. I doubt I was as quiet as I needed to be, but I don’t have it in me to care at this moment.
Grady tucks me away, gently buttoning my jeans before he gets up again. I can’t find the words, but I don’t need them. He leans into me, pressing us tight against the building again. The weight of his body against mine is surprisingly soothing, and I snuggle against his chest.
After several long moments, my breathing evens out, and Grady leans back to press a kiss against my temple. “Go inside. I’ll wait a minute, so no one thinks we were out here together.”
“Oh, uh,” I drop my hands to his hips, unsure why he’s sending me away. “Do you not want?—”
“I’m good.” He cuts me off, and it’s too dark to see if he means that. “Go on,” he gently peels me off the wall, turning me toward the front of the building. “Before anyone realizes we’re both missing.”
“Yeah, okay,” I frown, taking a few steps toward the front. I turn back to look at him before I round the corner, but I can’t see more than his outline. He’s standing in the dark, watching me walk away. “Goodnight?”
“Goodnight, Princess.”
My feet are heavy as I walk into the lobby, but it’s nothing compared to how I feel when I see Nell standing by the front desk. I try to dodge her, but she spots me before I can take another step. “Elliot.”
“Nell.”
Her eyes rake across my body, and I can only imagine what she’s seeing. There’s no chance she misses the “FRESHLY FUCKED” stamp that seems to appear on my forehead every time I’m with Grady. Sure enough, her eyes narrow on me.
“Does this have anything to do with your non-problem ?”
“No?” The word isn’t convincing on its own, but it’s made even less so by the doors opening behind me. I hear Grady come to a stop two steps into the lobby, and Nell’s eyes jump between us for a moment before she sighs.
Nell doesn’t say anything, simply handing each of us a room key with a glare. She walks away, getting into the waiting elevator and typing something out on her phone as if she didn’t just put two and two together.
“Do you think a silent Nell is better or worse than a yelling Nell?”
“Worse,” Grady groans, dropping his head against the back of my shoulder. “Much, much worse.”