29. Will
Chapter 29
Will
Spring Training honestly used to be one of my favorite parts of the whole season. The weather’s nice, it’s practically nonstop baseball between practice and games, and all around a good way to get pumped and prepared for the season.
However, one major drawback is that Callie’s not here. After a few days in Aster Creek, Adam and I got on a plane for Florida and Callie had to go back to Boston for some issue Shannon called her every fucking day about.
Callie tried talking her into letting her work remotely so she could come down with us, but Shannon would not let it go. We barely had any time together during those few days in Aster Creek, and now it’s been almost a week since I’ve seen her.
I know her flight landed earlier along with the rest of the team, and I’m dying to see her. When I click on my phone I’ve got a thread of texts that I can't help but laugh at.
Blaze
Just landed. Shannon’s already talking about all the stuff I have to do right away, but I heard one of the pitchers was really hot, so I’ll probably go check him out first.
Why does this woman hate me? I have to go with her to the hotel first to make sure everyone’s checked in. I’m the photographer! What purpose do I have there?
Now I’m being roped into a tour of the stadium with a guide who specializes in the building’s history. You better be one of the attractions or else I’m giving it a one-star review.
Tour rating: one star. Rating for tour with Shannon: negative two.
That’s the last one I received and the time stamp is from almost an hour ago. Fuck, I want to see her. Sending her a text letting her know I’m done for the day, I toss my phone back in my bag.
“Nice work out there, Anderson,” Dex says as he walks into the locker room. “It’s good to know my retirement as a player isn’t going to hurt the team too bad.”
“Who knows, it might even benefit,” I joke, failing to remember that Dex is my coach now and not just another player. It’s been a weird adjustment. This was his first week actually on the job, and I might not know the full details, but I don’t think Dex was as ready to retire as he leads on.
But I think it might be a mutual thought, because Dex laughs. “I wouldn’t get too ahead of yourself. You’re good, but remember, you’re only here because I retired.”
“I think it’s a little too early to be talking about your glory days, Larsen.”
“Dad!” Dex’s five-year-old son, Miles, comes charging in and starts talking ninety miles an hour. “Callie says I can help her take pictures if you say it’s okay! So, I’m going to tell her you said okay, okay?”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Dex hollers and waves for Miles to come back as he tries to race back out of the locker room. Not that I blame the kid. As soon as he mentioned Callie I had to hold myself back from racing out of the room too.
Dex kneels in front of his son and I’m totally not about to eavesdrop on my coach and his five-year-old. That’s a lie, I totally am.
“Callie’s working, buddy. She doesn’t need you being her shadow.”
“But she said it was okay. She’s waiting for me outside. Said I would be a great helper.”
Bingo. Trying not to come off too eager, I grab my bag and give Dex a nod as I pass by.
Dex pauses what he’s saying to Miles and hollers at me, “See you, Monday. Take it easy and ice your shoulder.”
“I know the drill.” I raise my hand high for a wave because there’s no way I’m turning around—I see a fire.
“Hey there, Blaze.”
Callie’s eyes light up and a smirk comes across her face. “Ah, I see my covert operation was successful.”
Walking to her I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her around the side of the door and back into a corner. “We’ve got maybe two minutes before that kid swindles his dad into letting him follow you around. Lucky little fucker.”
“Ooo, think you can make those minutes worth it, Anderson?”
Cupping her face, I pull her in for the kiss I’ve been dying for, but the moment my lips touch hers, her phone rings.
Callie starts to mutter as she pulls out her phone. “I swear if this—ugh!” She takes a deep breath then she throws on the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. “Hi, Shannon.”
I sigh, taking a step back because I know our moment is gone.
“Yes, I’m on my way. Yes, I know how to take pictures with moving objects. Yes, even direct sunlight. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Callie clicks off her phone and that smile disappears immediately. “I swear she hates me.”
I take the chance of tucking a strand of her hair back behind her ear, mostly because I can’t resist. “Please tell me you get out of here soon.”
“I wish. Shannon has me doing two brand shoots with some of the other players. They don’t start for another twenty minutes, but she wants me to come show her that I can take the actual photo.” Callie huffs. “Tell me something, Will. Do I have clown makeup on my face?”
I chuckle. “No, baby. You’d be one sexy clown, though.”
“No, don’t try to make me less angry, Will. No, I was mad. Feed into my pettiness.”
“Callie!” Miles’s little voice calls from around the corner.
“Time’s up,” I whisper and plant a quick kiss on her forehead. She shoves me playfully and mouths “ Bye ” before turning the corner.
I walk out of the stadium and it feels fucking amazing outside. There’s no way it’s over seventy-five, and a nice cool breeze comes by every once in a while.
Damn, it’d be nice to have my bike down here. The idea comes to me immediately and it might not be my most thought out idea, but fuck it.
We have tomorrow off before everything gets fucking crazy. I’m calling dibs on you for the day, so be ready at ten. We’re going on a date.
I wait for Callie on the side of the road, a block down from our hotel. Being as Shannon has been all over her ass lately, she insisted we meet somewhere away from the hotel.
She tried to tell me to meet her at a street three blocks down but there’s no way I was going to let her walk that far. So we compromised. I asked her if I needed a disguise too and Callie sent the middle finger emoji back.
Standing on the side of the road by my brand new red Ninja motorcycle, I hear a whistle. “Hey, biker, can I get a ride?”
Callie strolls down the sidewalk with a smirk. Her red hair is down with her usual waves, a pair of jeans, a white tee, and a brown leather jacket.
“For you, baby, anytime.” Taking a step to meet her, I pull her in by her jacket. “This looks damn good on you.”
“I thought it might impress you.” She comes up on her toes to meet me for a quick kiss. “So, what’s our plan? Is the car not here yet?”
“Oh, it’s here.” I let her go to grab her helmet and put it on her head. “You asked for a ride, and if you’re good you’ll get a different one later too.”
Callie rolls her eyes. “Did you seriously rent a motorcycle for today’s date?”
“Oh, no. I bought one.” I put on my helmet next and make sure both comms are on. “Now, come on. Let’s get going.”
“But…where are we going?” Callie hesitates. “What if?—”
“Callie, baby, I got you always. But if you’re really uncomfortable then I can call us a car.”
Her shoulders relax and she takes her small bag off her shoulder. “Can I put this in your backpack?”
I take her bag with a smile that she can’t exactly see, but the smirk must show through because she smacks my visor down. “No gloating.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“I saw it in your eyes,” she snarks.
Shaking my head, I help her on and she holds on tight before I even turn it on. “Callie, you good?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Her voice is calm. “Nervous, but excited. Ready to see what you’ve got planned, Anderson.”
The engine roars to life and I feel her arms tense. I shake my head with a chuckle, and an arm moves from my waist and smacks my helmet.
“You better hold on tight, Blaze.”
As I take off her arms squeeze tight for a moment, but as we get out of the city she relaxes. “I still can’t believe you bought a whole ass motorcycle for a date.”
“Well, I couldn’t buy half a bike.” I laugh.
“Don’t be a smart ass right now, I can’t hit you on the top of your head.” Her arms squeeze around my torso for a second. “What I meant was, it just seems like a lot of money and hassle. What are you going to do, ride this all the way back to Boston?”
“Well, you see, I recently took on this delivery job because of the cute girl next door, but she was a horrible tipper. So I got this multi-million dollar pitching contract instead. Makes paying for this and paying to get it shipped back to Boston much simpler.”
I can practically feel her eyes roll. “I’m hitting you in my head, just so you know.”
“I know. I can feel the annoyance radiating off you.”
She chuckles softly. “So, are you going to tell me what we’re doing?”
“And take all the fun out of it? Absolutely not. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, baby.”
“That’s not exactly the ‘lay back and enjoy it’ I was thinking of.”
“We’ve got all day. I want you to enjoy all positions.”