Page 133 of Hard Hitter

“Everyone, meet our new team physical therapist, Raelyn DeRose,” the athletic trainer next to Rae announced, gesturing toward her with aVanna Whiteflourish.

Quinn’s heart jolted at the sight of her. She was here. In Los Angeles. Showing him she was every bit as invested in their future together as he was.

Her hair was down, her long, blonde locks falling over one shoulder. While the rest of the health staff wore the signature navy blue polo with the team logo and a pair of khakis, Rae boasted a royal blue shirt with the logo, and a black athletic skort.

Well, motherfuck. If that’s not cheating, I don’t know what is.

Quinn straightened and pushed away from the table, having to hold himself back from completely consuming her. He slowly took in her presence from head to toe. His eyes took their time drinking in her long, tanned legs, stopping at the low-rise Converse All-Stars and sliding their way back up to her face. She was looking at him knowingly. Yeah, there was no hiding how hard he’d just eye-fucked her in that skort.

Trying to bite back the grin that had involuntarily plastered itself to his face, Quinn sucked in his bottom lip and shook his head in disbelief as he looked back at Rae. He wondered how long she’d been planning this. When had she contacted the manager and all the health staff? When had she set up her interview? That had all taken a lot of planning. Far more than she could’ve done in just the past few days. He knew now she’d have every intention to come to California with him. To be with him. This argument, this conflict between them was temporary. They’d had fights before. And they would probably have more. But she had absolutely no plans to give him up.

He was dying to wrap her in his arms and feel her against his body. It had only been a few days, but he fucking missed her. How could he have thought things might actually be over between them? He wanted to be alone with her and be able to kiss her and hold her, andfuck, can she leave that damn skort on during our make-up sex?Instead he kept his hands safely in the pockets of his athletic pants and tried to remain calm and collected.

“Dr. DeRose already has experience working with one member of our team,” the health director’s voice yanked Quinn out of his fantasy, “and she has an impressive history with athlete recovery. We feel she’s the best fit to our team and will keep you all in good shape so we can keep winning those championships.”

Rae stepped forward to address the team, “As I’m sure you all know, I’ve been working with Quinn on his recovery over the past seven weeks, and we’ve been making some serious progress-”

One of the guys in the back interjected,“Yeahyou have. You’ve tamed a damn wild animal!”

Blushing slightly, Rae laughed. “Yeah, well, I promise to do my best with all of you, but don’t expect the same level of special treatment.”

Her eyes met his and her smile hit him right in the chest. He couldn’t take it. Without a word, he briskly closed the gap between them and slid one arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him, and his other hand cupped her cheek.

“Quinn!” she gasped, surprised by his sudden move.

“I’m sorry, Rae, I know this is unprofessional, but I am just so fucking glad you’re here,” he whispered. He dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers, reveling in their softness and the small little sigh that escaped her as she relaxed against him.

The locker room erupted in shouts and exclamations and whistles of excitement. Quinn couldn’t help smiling at his team’s response and felt when Rae began to laugh against his kiss.

“Why do I feel like that was really for their benefit?” she asked, nodding her head toward the team.

A slow grin dragged across his face, and he puffed up his chest. “Gotta let them know you’remygirl.” He turned toward his team. “And no one messes withmygirl! Got it?”

There was a chorus of hearty laughter and more shouts and caveman-like noises from the guys. Facing Rae again, he wiped the pad of his thumb over the perfect arch of her cheekbone. “And you’ll always be my girl.”

A small part of him wanted to remember why he’d been so mad for the past few days so that the planned speech in his head didn’t go forgotten. But with Raehere, in Los Angeles, in his arms inside the clubhouse, having made the huge, life-altering decision to bring her life on the road with him and spend her days working where she could see him and be with him….it was nearly impossible to remember why he’d been so upset in the first place. After the meeting concluded, Rae had to go back with the health staff, and Quinn gave her another quick kiss before sneaking back out to the ball field by himself to let everything sink in.

The game wasn’t until later that evening, but the concessions in the stadium were bustling with people cleaning and prepping, setting up their food stands, and various merchandise carts. Quinn stood on home base, listening to the faint sounds of everyone getting ready for a big game, while going over and trying to process everything that had happened in the past half hour. He pulled his blue L.A. hat low as he closed his eyes and remembered what he’d planned to say to Rae when he went back to Michigan. He knew he’d go back. He knew he’d see her again. He knew, on some level, that his departure wasn’t permanent. He'd just needed time and space to think and process. To be mad and sad and whatever else he needed to be until he could figure out his next move.

“I know you didn’t come out and say it,” Rae’s voice made a warmth spread through his body like nothing else could, “but is it safe to assume you forgive me?”

Quinn turned around to see Rae entering the field, with her trusty, fuzzy companion, Harry, at her side. Harry took off at a run when he saw Quinn and nearly knocked him over with his enthusiastic greeting. Crouching down to pet Harry as the giant dog licked his face, Quinn couldn’t help laughing. He looked up at Rae who was still walking toward him, a smile on her face.

“He’s been moping around the house looking for his running buddy,” Rae said, squatting down next to them, scratching behind Harry’s ears.

“This really isn’t fair, you know,” said Quinn, peering at Rae. “Using your dog to guilt trip meon topof wearing a skort...you’re playing dirty.”

“But I thought you already forgave me. Or, was that really just some macho move to let all your teammates know I’m off limits?”

Quinn shrugged. “I thought I’d be able to keep it together, but I might’ve lost control.”

“Am I preventing you from acting mad so that I have to beg for your forgiveness?” she asked, grinning slyly.

“Yes,” Quinn replied, concealing his own smile. “I was looking forward to it. I had it all planned out in my head.”

“Well, we’ve acted out your fantasies before,” Rae shrugged. “Let’s hear it.”

His eyebrow arched mischievously as he looked around. Attention back on her, he finally said, “Not here.”

---