21. Jeff
JEFF
I had to be on fire—my body was sweating like crazy and I wondered if Aaron had broken the furnace or something to spew fire into our house. I sat up and paused when hair spilled across my chest and legs tangled in mine. Amber. I stayed over with Amber.
When was the last time I’d crashed at a chick’s place?
Years? I snorted at the realization and didn’t think twice about the lack of worry I had over it.
Lying back down, I pushed her hair out of her face and studied her.
She slept on her side and had one hand under her cheek with her lips slightly parted and I couldn’t stop my smile.
She was naturally beautiful and so different from my usual type.
I shouldn’t be thinking about kissing her awake.
But that was what I wanted to do. I started at her neck—the spot that drove her crazy—and pressed feather-light kisses along her collarbone, moving down low to tease her dusky-pink nipple that peaked out from the covers and it was then she stirred next to me.
God she’s so fucking sexy with her sounds.
I sucked the tip into my mouth and pulled on it with my teeth, copying the move on her other breast and admiring how wet and perky they were when I was done.
Small tits were now on my list of favorite things, specifically hers.
I kissed down her soft stomach and stopped when she lifted her head. “What feels so good?”
“My mouth on you.” I kissed just above her where her legs parted and flicked my tongue against the one spot that would send her over the edge. “You taste great in the morning.”
“You spent the night.” She pushed herself up to her elbows and stared down at me with a combination of confusion and heat in her eyes.
I held the contact when I dragged my tongue deeper into her and sucked her clit hard.
She moaned, threw her head back and clutched the sheets in her hand. “Jeff, oh.”
“That’s right, Amber. Come in my mouth.” I slid two fingers inside her and matched the pace of in and out with my tongue.
She squirmed beneath me and I continued licking and teasing her until her body tensed.
My dick throbbed each time she mumbled my name or whimpered with pleasure.
I almost exploded when she convulsed around me.
She moved her legs to wrap around my head, almost trapping me against her, and I fucking loved it.
I deepened my taste as she rode out the orgasm and felt an immense sense of pride that I’d put that satisfied look on her face.
With one final kiss on her pussy, I smiled up at her. “Good morning.”
“I’ll say,” she replied and fell back onto her pillow. “My legs are still trembling.”
“Good.” I slid up her body and ground my hardness against her. “How long do you need to wait before having another?”
Her eyes lit up and she ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “Oh, I’m ready.”
“Greedy girl,” I laughed and reached over her to grab a condom from the nightstand. I let her put it on me and grabbed her hips to flip her so she was straddling me. “Ride me. I want to see your tits bounce when I thrust into you.”
“W-what?” she stuttered and red splotches appeared on her chest. “Let me turn the lights off.”
“No.” I ran a hand down her chest, over her soft curves and back up to her face. “I want to see all of you. Your body is sexy. Feel how hard I am for you.” I arched my hips and she glanced down at my dick with a hungry look. “You’re in control now.”
It took her a couple of minutes to position herself to slide down my shaft, sucking me into her, and I groaned at how fucking good she felt.
She clawed her nails into my chest when she tentatively moved her hips back and forth.
It was slow, almost like torture, but I let her set the pace.
Her eyes were squeezed shut and that wasn’t good enough for me. “I want to see your eyes, Amber.”
She opened them, unease and worry etched into them, and something tightened in my chest. She’s unsure, but why?
I reached up to play with her tits, telling her how perfect they were, and moved down her body to circle her clit with my thumb. She moaned and quickened her pace, the hesitation leaving her face and a new expression taking over. Passion. “That’s my girl. Ride me hard.”
She did and sweat pooled where our bodies met and it was the hottest fucking thing. She grunted and fell onto my chest so I grabbed her hips and thrust, giving her the needed change and she fell apart. “Jeff…god…yes!”
Hearing her say my name in such a whimper sent me over the edge and I spilled into her, pleasure spreading through my veins to the point my ears rang.
I slammed my mouth on hers, demanding she kiss me with everything she had, and she did as I rode out the most intense orgasm.
When my hips stopped thrusting, she ended our kiss and carefully lifted her weight off me.
The absence of her heat upset me, but I shook off the weird feeling.
“Let me clean up,” I said, earning an unreadable look from her.
I disposed of the condom in her bathroom and returned to the bed. She sat there, uncovered and naked, and had a dazed look on her face. “What’s going on in your head, Henderson?”
She frowned and met my eyes. “I’ve never woken up with someone before.”
“Is it safe to say you enjoyed it?” I teased, scooting next to her and dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder. “I sure as hell did.”
“It was…amazing.” She grinned sheepishly at me and moved so she could put her fingers on my pecs. “I didn’t know it could be like this between two people.”
My stomach swooped at the meaning of her words and I nodded. “I know what you mean. It’s been pretty fucking excellent with you.”
“Yeah,” she replied, pushing herself up from the bed and throwing on a baggie t-shirt from the bottom drawer of her dresser. “I don’t know the protocol for this. My go-to was kicking dudes out after we were done or I’d leave as soon as I got what I wanted.”
I laughed because my own mantra was similar. “We can figure it out together, because I sure as shit don’t know what any protocol is. I just liked waking up to you naked and wouldn’t mind it again.”
I mean it, too, and it doesn’t freak me out.
She arched one eyebrow. “You…you haven’t done the morning-after thing either?”
“Nope. This is a first for me, too.”
“Hm.” She crossed her arms and returned to the bed. “I figured you’d… I don’t know, have all these experiences.”
“I won’t lie about my past. I do have a lot of experience, but like you, I didn’t like putting myself in a vulnerable position by staying the night. Especially after all that shit that happened with Aaron. Trusting people is difficult.”
She blew out a breath and fixed her hair into something looking like a hive on top of her head. “I understand. It’s kinda nice to know I’m not the only one experiencing new things with you.”
“Henderson,” I replied warmly, “there’s a whole slew of new shit I’m experiencing with you.”
My words pleased her and she gave me one of her real smiles that reached her eyes.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and the warmth was replaced with worry.
The temperature in the room changed and I knew why.
My coach had my phone. She ran a hand over her arm and asked, “What’s the plan for today? ”
“We head to the stadium and get my phone.” I shrugged, but every cell in my body was on high alert at what the result of my dumbass mistake could be. “I think you should go with me and keep an eye out for anything that I could’ve missed. Do you feel comfortable doing that?”
“Yes. Do you have practice today? Will other players be there?”
“We have offense this afternoon and I’m sure guys will be there early. Why?”
“To use them as a cover if I need to. It might seem strange to your coach if me, the niece of Martin, shows up at the stadium for the first time ever after you left your phone with a message from me on it.”
She had a great point, like she always did, and I made the move to start getting dressed. “I’m glad I have you on my team.”
Her face warmed and we got dressed within a minute. “Let’s grab some food and head there.”
“You read my mind.”
My teammates’ cars were scattered around the stadium parking lot and my coach’s blue Chevy stood in the same spot it always did, right in the front. “I didn’t even think about making sure you get home. It’s too cold to walk back.”
“I’m bundled up and the walk will be good for me.” She zipped her coat up to her chin and shut the car door before matching my stride. “I’m curious. What’s a normal practice for you?”
Normal? Hm. “Running defense drills, working with pitchers and hitting. We watch film of our previous at-bats to analyze our swing and work with the necessary coaches depending on what needs work.”
“Sounds intense. What kind of coaches focus on what?” She pursed her lips in thought. “I’m trying to get a picture of how much interaction all the players have with each coach. Like your head coach—he works with every player, yes?”
“He runs the ship, yeah.” We marched through the double doors and sounds of the batting cages being used echoed down the hall.
The familiar smell of rubber and leather greeted me like a hug, as it did every time I walked into the stadium, but the nostalgia had more of a bitterness to it now.
My experience is tainted by this scandal.
I hoped I’d get over how betrayed I felt in time, but it wasn’t the moment to dwell.
We needed my phone. Amber eyed each wall, hugging her notebook close to her chest, and cleared her throat.
“Well? How many coaches?”
“Right. Uh, we have a pitching coach, catching coach, hitting, infield and outfield coaches, some specialized in base running, a bullpen coach and our head, who is also the manager of the team.”
She nodded and made a note. “That’s a lot of coaches. Say, could a player not interact with one of those coaches, ever? Go four years and not have to work with a specific one?”
I thought about it and frowned. “I guess so. If you’re an outfielder, I guess you’d only work with base running, outfield and hitting.
” I scratched my neck and nodded at two of the younger guys on the team who walked by us.
They had the fresh-faced awe that I used to wear and it made me sad to know my days at this campus were numbered.
Amber remained quiet as we walked farther into the stadium and passed one of the weight rooms. We approached the end of the hallway where my coach’s office was and I stopped her. “I’m going to see if he’s in there.”
“Should I wait for you?” She bit down on her lip and glanced down the hallway. “I am the only non-athlete here and my goal is to remain unnoticed.”
“Yes, wait here.” I hated the worry lines that appeared around her eyes and I didn’t think twice before reaching out and placing my hand on her arm. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”
She gave me a weak smile and leaned against the wall and I took a deep breath before knocking on his door. “Come in,” carried through and I entered. He glanced up and widened his eyes. He isn’t expecting me.
“Hey, Coach.” I stood at the entrance, not quite moving closer to his desk but not standing in the doorway. My nerves buzzed as I tried to read him for any clues. “I think I left my phone here yesterday.”
He sighed, sounding older than he had in the years I’d known him, and ran a hand over his face. “I’m surprised you lasted this long without it. Aren’t you all addicted to those damn things?”
I forced a laugh. “I survived.”
He stood and moved toward his line of file cabinets and opened the top shelf. “Here. I didn’t want to mess with it and wasn’t sure whose it was. Couldn’t figure out how to turn the damn thing off, either.”
He passed it to me and the screen lit up with texts and notifications from social media.
Relief coursed through my blood. He didn’t read her text.
There was no way, not with the hundreds of notifications and his blatant lack of technology skills I had witnessed my four year on the team. “Thank you.”
“Be careful with your phone, son, you don’t want the wrong people getting hold of it.”
I tensed. Did he tone change, or was it just me? His weathered expression remained blank as he stared at me and sweat dripped down my forehead, despite the freezing temperatures. “No kidding. I’ll be more careful.”
“Good. Now, did you think about what we talked about yesterday?”
The draft, my future, telling my teammates. “Honestly, no.”
“The sooner you get it out in the open, the better you’ll feel. You’re walking around tense with the weight of the world on your shoulders and I can’t have one of my captains distracted with our first game weeks away.”
The fact he’d chosen me captain made everything worse. The lead in my stomach weighed me down and I almost felt sick. “I’ll do it soon.”
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
“They don’t understand my choice.”
My coach scoffed and leveled his gaze with me. “That’s not what’s bothering you. What’s the real reason you don’t want to tell them?”
I glanced at the door, making sure no one was there, and lowered my voice.
The truth flowed out of me because I was desperate and relieved to talk about this rather than the investigation.
“That I won’t be one of them anymore. We’ve all had the same goal all these years and learning mine’s different… it could change things.”
He relaxed into his chair and gave me a look that reminded me of my dad so much that I had to force myself to focus on the face he was involved in this bullshit somehow.
“Jeff, everyone changes and grows up. You’re a hell of a leader and you’re going to lead this team whether or not you continue after our season.
If this was my last year coaching, would you take me any less seriously? ”
“No.”
“Exactly. It’s the same thing. Go hit the gym or do something that’ll get relax you soon because I’m stressed just looking at you.” He hit the top of his desk and smiled. “Make sure you check in with Mac before practice. He wants to talk to you about something.”
“Will do.” I moved to leave his office and turned to give him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Jeff. You know I got your back.” His eyes sparked when he said it, but I attributed it to excitement for the season. I wanted to see how much Amber heard and get her take on everything. Maybe she’d have good advice for me, but when I walked into the hallway, she was nowhere to be found.