Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
nate
If there were a bright spot in the Minutemen’s chances tonight, it was that tonight was Drummond’s night to pitch.
Austin had asked Olivia to the game, but he hadn’t gotten a solid answer from her. The stands had been looking sparser as the team continued to slump. God, I wanted her there, and I wanted her there to watch me. Call me selfish, or call me the man whose family seats have been empty all season.
Me: Yoo-hoo…
Olivia: Lol. What?
Me: Can you please come watch my baseball game?
Olivia: Well, Coop can’t go. He’s got an early morning. Let me see if Sophie can hang out with him tonight.
I buried myself in my pre-game prep, between strength training and conditioning, and I had almost forgotten to check my phone.
Olivia: Can you send me a ticket? I haven’t heard back from Austin.
We had a team coordinator who helped with that, so I sent the ticket request and provided Olivia’s number.
Me: You should have it soon. I’ll be looking for you in the stands.
As soon as I hit send, I wanted to pull the fucker back. A heart? Fuck, Nate. Hearts are fucking feelings. Do you want her to skip the game?
Olivia: Don’t forget what I promised if you hit a home run.
Gonzalez came up behind me and read my texts.
“Hey,” I said, scrambling to hide my phone.
“Who are you talking to?”
“No one.”
“Nah, man. You don’t send heart emojis to ‘no one.’ Who is Olivia?”
I stared at him, struck mute, and waited for him to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
“The fuck?” he asked. “Austin’s sister? Why the fuck are you sending hearts and kissy faces to Austin’s sister?”
My eyes darted around, guilt written all over my face. When I was with Olivia, things felt right, but adding in all the shit the team had been through, sleeping with my teammate’s sister was a bad look.
“Yeah—”
He shook his head. “Does she tuck you all in at night? Read you bedtime stories?”
“Fuck you.”
“I’m not the one who’s gonna be fucked when this all comes out. Watch your back, and thank the gods that Austin’s head is stuck up his ass.”
“Don’t say anything, okay?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He turned back to his locker and finished dressing in his uniform. “And kid?”
“Yeah?”
“Nice work. She’s fine as fuck.”
“Who’s that?” Austin asked as he walked into the tail-end of the conversation.
“Oh, some girl who’s been trying to get the kid’s attention.”
“Sorry, kid,” Austin said. “Whoever she is, she’s not worth it. If you want my advice, find someone who can scratch the itch—nothing serious.”
Gonzo was in the middle of sipping his water and just about choked on it.
“I’ll think about it.”
Me: Austin and I took separate cars to the game. Does he know you’re here?
Olivia: No, and Cooper thinks I was going to a concert. I didn’t want to tell him and have him feel like he was missing out. And when Austin didn’t text me back, I didn’t feel like dealing with him.
Me: Any chance we can slip out somewhere afterwards?
Olivia: I like where this is going…should I book us a room?
Me: Fuck yes.
I sent her a meeting location. I’d have to get out of the stadium before I met up with her if we wanted to avoid the rest of the team and Austin. She followed with a screenshot of a hotel address and confirmation code.
Olivia: Should we meet there?
Me: No. I don’t want you alone in the city.
Olivia: Sends a screenshot of herself in a baseball hat.
Olivia: Take a good look, I’m a big girl, and I know this city like the back of my hand.
Me: Non-negotiable, baby. I’d threaten to spank you, but then I think you’d go all brat on me.
Olivia: Don’t tempt me…
Olivia: Fine. Give me a reason to choke on that beautiful beast of a cock.
Fast forward to my first time at bat for the night, yeah, maybe I swaggered.
Maybe I showed off a little bit. And I was sure as hell excited for the blowjob she was prepping for me as I rounded the bases towards home plate.
Between my solo home run and Drummond’s seven shutout innings that he handed over to our close, we actually won a game.