5. Brittish Abernathy #2
Nyle held his hand up and jogged over to AJ.
I watched as he gave AJ a few pointers while explaining to him what he did wrong the first time and how his way would help.
AJ thanked him, took a step out the box, and expelled a breath.
Back in the box, he switched his stance to what Nyle told him to do, and got the bat on the ball, hitting a hard ground ball.
Jumping up, I clapped my hands and watched him run around the bases. He hit an RBI double, and the smile on his face was everything.
Practice was over two hours later, and all I desired to do was go home and nap.
My body was still feeling the effects from last night.
Food and my bed were calling my name, so I gave AJ some love before heading to my car.
Secretly, I prayed Nyle didn’t find me. I figured he was swamped with other parents, but he fooled me.
The sound of my name being called from the voice that talked me through each nut last night caused me to stop in my tracks.
I spun on my heels and faced Nyle, who slowly invaded my personal space. He was too close for me not to want to touch him, so I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest.
“What are the odds, Brittish,” he started. “How was breakfast?”
“It was good. Thank you for that. It was thoughtful. I had no clue you were going to be my son’s coach, or I would’ve never gone home with you.”
“I get it. I do, but we can’t undo what’s already been done.”
“We can just make sure it won’t happen again.”
Nyle slowly traced his tongue over his lips. “Now, why would we do that? I thought we had a good time.”
“We did, but I can’t be out here fuckin’ my son’s coach.”
“Why can’t you? You already did. We’re grown, and no one has to know. You can’t tell me the chemistry between us wasn’t magnetic.”
It was. From the moment we laid eyes on one another, I felt something between us.
The night we shared only solidified the feeling, and I didn’t want it to, knowing how he would play a part in our lives.
As good as the sex was, I couldn’t bring myself to be okay with continuing messing around with Nyle.
No matter how fine he was.
I held my hand over my eyes as a visor and sighed. “Look, Nyle. I think it’s best we leave last night exactly where it is. We had a great time, and it’s over. That’s all it was for me, so I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise.”
Something flashed over Nyle’s eyes. To me, it appeared like a slight twinge of hurt that went away as swiftly as it appeared. Nyle cleared his throat and took a step back. His bun moved with each nod of his head.
“I hear you, Brittish. I do.” He gave me a once-over before turning around to walk away.
Why did I want to call out to him?
I forced myself not to and settled for admiring the sway of his back with each step he took.
It was going to be one long season. If I was being real with myself, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand on my word.
Nyle and I would be seeing too much of one another during the season, and I knew how my brain and body operated.
With the way he dicked me down, I would have flashbacks every time I saw him.
That wouldn’t be good for either of us. I’d need to pray for strength because in the pit of my stomach, I felt Nyle Brown would eventually become one of my weaknesses.
Later that night, as I was sipping on some wine and reading a book, my phone vibrated.
It was a text thread with a few numbers I didn’t know, but from the ones I recognized, I figured it was for baseball.
Setting my book down, I clicked on the message and read over the contents Nyle had sent out.
He’d sent out practice and confirmation of game dates along with uniform orders and other things.
Baseball was expensive, but Asher and I agreed to split everything fifty-fifty. Money was due at the end of next month before our first game, and we needed to notify Nyle when we would have it in or if we needed assistance.
I bit down on my bottom lip, debating on whether I wanted to let him know when Asher and I would pay or not.
We’d both been putting to the side for it, so I figured we could turn it in at the next practice.
A part of me wanted to wait and just give it to Nyle then, but he did say we needed to inform him.
With a shaky thumb, I clicked on the number that I now knew was his and started a text thread.
The number of times I wrote out a message and deleted it was shameful.
For some reason, texting Nyle made me nervous, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was strictly about AJ and baseball, nothing else.
Once I finally got the courage to press send, I tossed my phone to the side and picked my book back up. I couldn’t read a full sentence before my phone vibrated against my sectional, indicating an incoming call.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself upon seeing Nyle video calling me. My first mind was to ignore it, but instead, I found myself checking my appearance in the camera before swiping my finger along the screen. “A text back wouldn’t suffice?”
“Not when I could see that pretty-ass face of yours,” Nyle responded and licked his lips. “What are you up to?”
I held my book up. “I was reading until I was interrupted. If this isn’t about baseball or AJ, we can end the call.”
“I don’t know why you’re playing hard, Brittish. You act like we can’t be friends.”
“Friends don’t have sex, Nyle.”
“Like you said, it was one time. We can leave it where it’s at and just kick it. I promise, I won’t bite again unless you give me permission.” The snarky smirk curving those lips I desperately desired to feel on me again caused me to playfully roll my eyes. Nyle chuckled and asked, “Did that work?”
“Maybe.” I giggled, unable to contain the smile raising my cheeks. I wouldn’t say it out loud, but I’d let him bite me as many times as he desired. He knew exactly where to bite and how to make it sexy. Unknowingly, I bit down on my lip, and Nyle called me out.
“Look at you. Over there having flashbacks. Don’t worry. When I saw you at practice, being between your legs was all I could think about until I got on the field. It was hard as hell for me to get through that parent meeting.”
“Well, it wasn’t hard for some of the moms the way they were salivating over you.”
“Oh, so you were paying attention? Let me find out you’re playing hard to get because you’re really feeling me.”
“Whatever, Nyle.” I had to switch the subject before I said something I didn’t need to. The thought of inviting him over crossed my mind more than a few times, especially with the way he was talking to me. “So, did you play baseball, or are you just giving back to young boys?”
“Both. I’ve been playing baseball since I was three. I went to college on a full scholarship and played all four years. After that, I knew I wanted to open a facility and coach young boys, especially young Black boys. We need more of us back in baseball, and I’m happy to see it’s changing.”
“You’re right, it is. AJ has always known he’s wanted to play, and I’m glad we listened to him. What did you go to college for?”
“I majored in sports management. I’ve always had an idea that I wanted to either manage a business or own one, so I went for something I knew I could put to use once I graduated. Going to the major league crossed my mind a few times, but I wanted to be smart in case it didn’t happen for me.”
“That was smart of you. That’s something I instill in AJ as well. He dreams of going to the league, but I also remind him to have other dreams as well. Math is his favorite subject. He’s on the math team and everything, so becoming an engineer is his backup plan.”
Nyle smiled brightly, and I noticed how moisturized his beard was. “I love hearing things like that, for real. The boys that I mentor and train, I instill that in them as well. Going to the league is great, but there are other ways to achieve greatness.”
“Exactly. Hmm. Maybe, you’re not so bad after all, Nyle.”
“Does that mean we can be friends?”
I smirked. “I guess we can.”
“A’ight. I’ll remember you said that. Don’t be ignoring me when I text or call you. I’ll be talking to you at games and practices, too, so don’t be acting funny. I’ll call you out for being fake.”
My head flung back as I laughed. “I’ve never met a man as dramatic as you.”
“I’m not dramatic. I’m just being real with you. I take my friendships seriously.”
“Mm-hmm. We’ll see.”
“We will. I’ll let you get back to reading, and I wrote down that y’all will have the money turned in at next practice. Since everyone sent in sizes, I’m going to go ahead and order uniforms so they’ll be here on time.”
“Okay, perfect. Thanks, Nyle.”
“You’re welcome, Pretty Lady.”
We ended the call, and I bit down on my bottom lip. Being Nyle’s friend was going to be a trying task for me, but he was a hard person to deny. Not only was he fine, but his personality was captivating me as well. If I didn’t play it safe, I was going to be in trouble.