CHAPTER 1 BENNETT
BENNETT
Bennett—Twenty-four years old
“Breakfast burrito. Chorizo, potatoes, eggs, and refried beans,” Nolan says as he tosses me a wrapped burrito and then takes a seat next to me in the locker room. “Said to be the finest out of all the ballparks, but I’ll be the fucking judge of that.”
He kicks back his recliner, propping his legs up, and then starts unwrapping his breakfast burrito.
Nolan joined the team last year, during my first full year with the Bombers.
He was traded from the Chicago Rebels after one year in the majors.
A fast-as-fuck right fielder, he’s fast becoming a fan favorite among the Bombers fans for his gives-no-shits attitude on social media, prominent breakfast burrito reviews, along with his combination of crop tops and dirty mids during warm-ups.
And for those who might not know what a dirty mid is, it’s the styling of his baseball pants, tight as fuck, reaching just below his calf muscle, a capri length.
There are very few, and I mean very few players who can pull off the look, but Nolan with his burst fade, curly mullet, sleeve tattoo, and friendship bracelets he tends to wear… well, he pulls it off.
With a giant bite in his mouth, he examines the burrito as he says, “Shit, this is pretty damn good.”
I chuckle and then start unwrapping mine as well. “Would you say the best?”
“Can’t make that kind of assessment just yet.” He takes another bite and then moans. “Fuck, this shit is so good, though.”
I join him and have to admit it’s pretty fucking good.
“So how’s the zoo going?”
I sigh and tip my recliner back as well. The rest of the team is milling about. We have hours before the game, so we’re all just hanging out, doing our own thing.
“The whole thing is so dumb.”
“Yeah, having to do PR for a team that cheated when you weren’t around, that shit sucks.”
He’s right. It does suck.
When I was in the minors, the Bombers were caught cheating, stealing signs from other teams and relaying them.
It was a huge fuckup, and the Bombers have paid the price dearly.
And because I wasn’t on the team at the time, but one of the fresh, young faces of a brand-new era, I was chosen as the player to help the Bombers with their PR image.
And can you imagine, the Bombers were not the only ones dealing with a PR problem in San Francisco?
Nope, the Foghorns, which is the football team, and the Rogue, San Francisco’s brand-new hockey expansion team, needed a lift in image as well.
So they plucked me, Graydon St. John from the Foghorns, and Oden “OC” O’Connor from the Rogue to try to boost morale and improve San Fran’s besmirched sports teams’ reputations.
So far, not sure it’s helping. Although, Graydon started a social media presence with his zookeeper and that has taken off. So maybe it’s working for him, but for me, not so much.
“I think the zoo thing is not reaching the way they wanted it to, and I’m thinking about suggesting I do something else, because as much fun as it is hanging out with the lions, I don’t see the impact.”
“Sounds like a fucking bust.” Nolan takes another bite of his burrito and moans. “Fuck me. This is better than the blow job I got last night.”
I glance at him and he smirks.
“Nah, that’s a lie. The blow job was phenomenal.”
Shaking my head, I go to take another bite just as my phone buzzes in my pocket with a text. I wipe my fingers on one of the napkins Nolan gave me with the burrito and then grab my phone, where I see a text from Bower.
My stupid fucking heart trips all over itself from the sight of her name.
I live to see her name pop up on my phone, beg for it every single day because that’s how desperate of a motherfucker I am. And I wait for her to text, because if I allowed myself to text her, to start the conversation, then it would be every hour of the goddamn day.
And it would be texts like…
Can I take you out on a date?
Please tell me you’re not seeing anyone.
When will you see me as the man I am and not Gabby’s little brother?
See? Desperation.
Not hiding my excitement, I set my burrito on the coffee table in front of me and open her text.
Bower: Hey, Benny Boo Boo, what are you up to?
She’s the only one allowed to call me that, and it’s only because I don’t want to tell her not to. OC tried calling me that once and I shut it down really quick.
Bennett: Eating a breakfast burrito in the locker room. How about you?
Bower: Apartment hunting.
Bennett: What’s wrong with your apartment now?
“Why are you smiling like that?” Nolan asks while poking my face.
“Like what?” I ask, attempting to hide my smile, but it’s no use.
“Like you’re about to come in your pants.”
I raise a brow. “How do you know what I look like when I’m about to come in my pants?”
“Oh…I know.”
Rolling my eyes, I turn back to my phone to see her typing out a response.
“Who are you talking to?” Nolan presses.
“Just a friend.”
“Uh-huh.” I can feel his eyes burning into me. “You’re a fucking liar, dude. I don’t smile like that when you text me.”
“Clearly you don’t love me enough,” I answer just as my phone buzzes.
Bower: Well, you see, I might be moving.
Bennett: To where? Almond Bay? Gabby will freak out if you finally move closer to her.
Bower: Funny, I will be moving closer to a Brinkman, just not her.
I can feel all the blood drain from my face and straight to my goddamn dick. My neck heats up and I sit taller in my seat.
Bennett: Wait, are you moving to San Francisco?
Bower: I am.
“Holy fuck,” I say, sitting all the way up now.
“What?” Nolan asks, mouth full of burrito.
“My gi—uh, my sister’s friend is moving here.”
“Uh-huh, and why is that a holy fuck moment?” He wiggles his brows at me, and honestly, what’s the use?
If I’m going to spill the beans, might as well be to someone who is not attached to the situation at all. And fuck, to get this off my chest will feel good.
“Because I’ve had the biggest fucking crush on her ever since I met her and no woman compares to her.
Ever. I’ve tried to shake her from my thoughts, from the way she’s branded herself in my fucking soul, but it hasn’t worked.
She’s perfect, everything about her. If she gets a place here, it means I can finally make a move, a move that I’ve been waiting to make for so goddamn long that it actually hurts. ”
Nolan blinks, studies me, and then takes a bite of his burrito. “Right on, man.”
Right on? That’s all he has to say to my confession? To a secret I’ve been safeguarding for so long?
Probably because that’s Nolan.
Now if this was OC I was telling, it would be a completely different reaction.
Chuckling, I go back to my messages with Bower, trying to play it cool even though I’m as giddy as a fucking kid on Christmas morning.
Bennett: That’s awesome. When do you get here?
Bower: Well, Adalade—the woman I work for—wants to be in the city by next week.
She just bought a Victorian in Pac-Heights and all of her things are being moved there in two days, which means I have to be in San Fran in one day to make sure I’m at the new place for arrival.
Which means this girl needs to find a place and soon.
One day.
One fucking day.
My smile stretches from ear to ear.
Bennett: You can always stay with me until you find a place.
Please say yes, please say yes.
Bower: I was actually looking at a unit in your apartment building. Would that be weird?
Fuck no. Is she kidding?
That’s the best fucking news I’ve heard since I was called up to the majors.
If she’s in the same apartment building, we could…hell, we could have dinner together, we could bring each other sugar…she can slowly start to realize that I’ve had a mad crush on her for so fucking long that maybe, just maybe she’d give me a chance.
Bennett: Not weird at all. Might be helpful. I could show you around, introduce you to people.
Bower: People, huh? And who would these people be, Bennett?
Bennett: You know, the people who make the coffee around the corner, the building’s security guys, and the one neighbor on floor twelve who has the same meal delivered to them every night.
Bower: Ooo, busybodies, you know I like the gossip. Count me in. I’m headed into the city tomorrow with all my things, and I’m going to check out the apartment. Can I crash on your couch for a night?
My mouth goes dry and I can’t type fast enough. Thank FUCK we are in town right now, because if we had away games, I might have cried.
The words of a desperate man.
Bennett: Absolutely. Stay as long as you want.
Bower: You’re the absolute best. Thanks, Benny Boo Boo.
“Do you have a boner right now?” Nolan asks as he gingerly pats his face with a napkin.
“No,” I answer, even though, hell, my excitement of seeing her tomorrow might possibly get me into boner territory.
“Looks like you have a boner.”
I glance down at my lap, only for Nolan to let out a wallop of a laugh.
“Made you look,” he says like a dick.
Irritated, I slap his burrito out of his hand, causing it to fall into his lap.
Fire builds in his eyes as he looks up at me. “You motherfucker.” I stand from the recliner as he yells, “You better run!”
I take off toward the weight room to get in some reps before he can catch up.
The woman who owns my heart will finally be in my neighborhood… About fucking time I get to make that move.