Chapter Five #4
“Yeah. She drove up yesterday. It was great to see her.” Familiar guilt simmered in his gut.
It was a silver lining that he’d be able to see much more of her, and he had to remember to be grateful for it.
“I’d fly her down sometimes, but she’s got so much going on.
Runs a volunteer charity, and plays golf, and does a million things with her lady friends.
I hope I’ve got half her energy at that age.
” He straightened out his left leg, giving his IT band on the side of his thigh a rub.
“I hear that. How are your knees holding up?”
“Hanging in there. Getting creaky.”
Diego rolled his shoulders. “Yup. My rotator cuff will be demolished by the time I retire. But it’s worth it.
” He cut into a thick sausage. “I just wish it wasn’t so tough on my family.
I mean, we’ve got money—I’m not complaining about that.
But if Liz and the kids stay in Texas, I won’t see them half the year.
More than. Couple months in Florida for spring training, then six months up here.
We can Skype, and they can visit, and we’ll be in Texas to play once in a while.
It’s still not the same. Being with them for all our home stands in Houston made a big difference. The kids are growing up so fast.”
“How old are they?”
“You know I’m going to bore you with pictures now, right?” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through pictures of his three kids—two girls of eight and six and a boy of three.
“They’re adorable. Really.”
Diego looked at the last pic, smiling goofily. “They really are, aren’t they? You ever think about having any?”
“Did my mother tell you to ask that?” Jake glanced around with pretend suspicion. “She’s hiding in the bathroom, isn’t she? Come out, Mom! I’m onto you!”
Laughing, Diego said, “Sorry, sorry. My bad. I was just curious. I don’t even know if you have a boyfriend.”
Jake shifted in his seat and shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
“And I’m being nosy again.” He ate a piece of bacon and washed it down with coffee. “I just… I hope you know I’m cool with it.”
“I know. I appreciate it. It’s not you—I don’t like talking about that stuff with anyone. When you debrief my mom in the bathroom later, she’ll tell you.”
With a chuckle, Diego said, “She’ll be extremely disappointed I couldn’t get you to spill.”
“Honestly, there’s nothing to tell. There was a guy in San Francisco, just a weekly hookup when I was in town. We’re friends. It’s a good arrangement. I’m not interested in more.”
“Fair enough.”
They ate in silence for a minute, Jake squirting ketchup onto his eggs in a red blob.
Why would he want more than sex? Why would he ever want to put himself through that torture again?
He’d been powerless, his guts hanging out to get bruised and torn.
He’d never intended to fall for his best friend, but it had spun out of control, an avalanche careening down a hill while he stumbled behind it, slipping and sliding, grasping for a handhold.
No. He’d never put himself through that again. Would never fall for anyone.
Diego scratched the back of his neck. “I have to admit I wondered what went down with you and Brandon before he got traded. I heard he punched you, and I just can’t imagine it.”
That certainly put an end to Jake’s appetite.
Eyes on his plate, he shrugged. “I was a prick. About Denise, when they got engaged.” He cringed thinking about the awful shit he’d spewed.
The explosion of pain in his cheek as Brandon’s fist had connected had been nothing compared to the gaping hole Brandon’s sudden and staggering absence had left behind.
“Ah.”
“Got wasted and said some shitty stuff that wasn’t true. Stuff I didn’t mean. About how she was a gold digger and he was only thinking with his dick.”
Diego whistled softly. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Asked the team to trade me, and they traded him instead. He’s the one who threw the punch, so he paid the price. I would have punched me too.”
“You guys have played each other since, right?”
Jake grimaced. “Yep. Awkward as hell, as you can imagine.”
“You ever think about explaining it to him?”
His throat going dry at the thought, stomach swooping, Jake shook his head. “No way.” The idea of Brandon knowing that Jake had loved him felt absolutely impossible.
“I’m sorry it went down like that.” Diego smiled. “And I’m sorry you got hit with a surprise trade, but it’s nice to have a familiar face up here. I think we could do some great things with this team. Agresta’s got a hell of an arm. What’s your take on him?”
A flash of Nico’s intense stare filled Jake’s mind, and he gulped down the rest of his juice, pulp sticking to his tongue. “Like you said, a hell of an arm. Speaking of which, I should get going. I’ve got a meeting with the pitching coaches to get up to speed.”
“Cool. See you this afternoon. It’s weird, isn’t it? A few days ago we played for different teams thousands of miles away. But the routines are always pretty much the same. Just the colors change. I guess that’s baseball, right? Hey, what are you going to do with your house in San Fran?”
“I…have no idea.” He liked his house, a high-ceiled Craftsman with huge windows and lots of wood, but did it make sense to keep it now?
Maybe for the off-season. Fuck, so much to think about, and he didn’t want to deal with any of it.
“I’ll have to get my housekeeper to pack up some stuff and ship it up here.
Shit. I’m going to be out of underwear really soon. ”
Diego laughed. “I guess that’s baseball.”