17. Smithy
Chapter 17
Smithy
I tug Liliana’s body closer to mine and nuzzle my face into her neck. There’s nothing better than having her bare skin touching every inch of mine.
“I love you, Sweets,” I whisper as I kiss the sensitive skin behind her ear.
“Travis! You just asked me to be your girlfriend like two hours ago.”
“So? They’ve been the most pleasurable two hours of my entire life.” I grin.
“You can't tell me you love me just because we slept together,” she groans.
“Fine, can I tell you I love you because it’s true and I’ve been in love with you for years?”
She taps her chin and thinks for a few seconds. A lopsided grin spreads across my lips as I watch her. She’s so damn adorable.
“Can you prove it?”
“That I’ve loved you for years?” I arch a brow.
“Yes.”
“Sure.” I snatch my phone off the nightstand and scroll through my contact list until I find Wheeler’s number. I press the button to call him and place it on speaker.
“What’s up, Smithy?” He asks, almost sounding angry.
“How long have I been in love with Liliana?”
“Uh, forever? You fell in love with her before you went pro. Probably in college. Hell, I think you fell in love with her the night you met her. You wouldn’t shut up about her.”
I could tell him to stop or I could get embarrassed about what he’s saying, but it’s all true. I talked about Liliana nonstop after we met. All I wanted to do was spend more time with her.
“Why?”
“Liliana’s naked in my arms and she doesn’t believe me when I say I love her.” I smirk when she lets out a groan and buries her face in my chest. Wheeler’s going to torment her about this.
“It’s about flipping time! You guys have been giving me blue balls for years. Wait… does she blush during sex?”
“Shut up, Wheeler!” Liliana sits up enough to grab the phone out of my hands and end the call to Wheeler cracking up laughing. “I'm punching him in the nose the next time I see him,” she grumbles under her breath.
I take the phone and dial another number. Then another, and another.
“So, you’ve finally done it?” Wyatt answers without saying hello.
“How’d you know?”
“Wheeler started a whole group chat. The entire starting lineup knows Liliana’s in your bed right now.”
“Oh my gosh! I'm going to kill him!” She hisses.
“Hey, Lils.” I can hear the smirk in Wyatt’s voice.
“Hi, Wyatt. How’s your knee?” She grumbles. I love how even when she’s mad, she likes my friends enough to check in and see how they are.
“It’s good. My beautiful physical therapist says I can play in the opening game of the season.”
“I'm glad. It will be good to see you back on the field.”
“Wyatt, how long have I been in love with Liliana?” I cut them off. They’re both too nice. They’ll go on and on unless I stop them from making small talk.
“I mean, I’ve known you for four years and you’ve been in love with her the entire time.”
“See? Can you stop questioning me now, Sweets? I'm allowed to say I love you even if we just started dating.”
“Ok. I believe you.”
Wyatt starts to say something, but I end the call. We can talk tomorrow, right now, I need to spend time with my girl and prove how much I love her.
“I love you, Smithy. I can call Winnie if you want and she’ll tell you I’ve been in love with you since we met.” She lifts one shoulder in a shrug.
“No, I don’t need to hear it from her. I just needed to hear it from you.”
“I can't just go to work with you!” She squeals as I throw her over my shoulder and carry her out to the kitchen. I place her on the counter, then step between her legs and press a soft kiss to her lips.
“Sure, you can. Charlie and Macy go to work with Wyatt and Cord.”
“Because they work there too!”
“Well, then I’ll talk to Owen. Maybe I can get you a job working for the Pit Bulls.”
“I would love that, but he’s not going to just give me a job!”
“He might. He knows I only play well when things are good between us. So… how badly does he want us to win?”
She opens and closes her mouth a few times, but nothing comes out. Her brows draw together and she wraps her feet around my waist, tugging me closer to her. She snakes her arms around my neck and leans into me.
“Is that true? You play bad when things aren’t great between us?”
“Yes. Do you remember that day you met with Macy and I came over when I was supposed to be at work?”
She nods her head, keeping her full attention on me. I feel like I can relax for the first time in weeks because she’s in my arms. She’s officially mine now.
“I played horribly during practice because I was upset about how you left. The day after I found out about your date, I was terrible. Owen keeps threatening to bench me when the season starts. He told me to figure it out because he couldn’t have his best batter sucking this much.”
“I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“It’s not your fault I was too scared to make a move. If I had told you how I felt a long time ago, none of this would’ve happened. But, yeah, the last few weeks have been rough at work. My head hasn’t been in the game.”
“What about now?” She whispers, toying with the hair at the back of my neck.
“Now, I think I’ll be hitting home runs.” I close the distance between us and brush my lips over hers.
“At work or at home?” She smirks against my lips, making me chuckle.
“Hopefully both!” I tickle her, making her squirm on the counter. “Ok, let’s get some breakfast, then come to work with me. Please?” I pull back enough to meet her gaze.
“Fine. Maybe I can find something to write about the Pit Bulls.” She hops off the counter and runs down the hallway. “I'm showering! Make me some yummy breakfast.”