Page 20 of The Yips

When I finally opened the door, he stood there with two hats in his hand, one for me and an infant one for Crew.

“Hey, I wanted to bring these over before bed,” he said. His eyes darted down my body, stopping longer than necessary when he got to my breasts. I hadn’t looked in the mirror before I opened the door. I wasn’t wearing a bra, and he could probably tell. My hair, still wet from the shower, hung limply down to my shoulders. If my cheeks weren’t still flushed from the orgasm I just had, they would have been bright red from the embarrassment because I had been mere seconds from being caught. And damn, the fantasy of Sam was nowhere near the reality.

Sam smelled incredible, better than I imagined. I squeezed my thighs together, knowing that the next time I touched myself, I’d be remembering the scent of pine and soap. He wore jeans and a button-up shirt that strained across his chest. I had to tip my head back to look into his eyes, and when we locked eyes, I lost all sense. His wavy hair was a bit longer than I remembered, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how it would feel to run my fingers through it and tug on it as he ate me out.

My brain was in the gutter, even after an orgasm. If he leaned in, I might just let him. I couldn’t begin to think about what that said about me. As if on cue, Crew started crying in the other room.

“Hey, come on in. I’m going to get the baby. But make yourself comfortable.”

CHAPTER 18

Sam

Seeing the flush on Kelsey’s face and neck only drove my thoughts further from good, wholesome activities. God, she was beautiful, and she looked downright edible. Her t-shirt was tented over her nipples, an image that would stay with me when I was alone in bed later tonight. Her shorts were barely longer than her shirt and loose enough that I could imagine slipping my hands in through the leg to see if she was wet for me.

I stood outside her door like an idiot, holding two baseball hats and desperately hoping she would invite him into her suite. As if in protest of my dirty thoughts, Crew cried from the other room, and Kelsey hastily invited me in as she rushed to check on her son.

She emerged from the bedroom, bouncing Crew to soothe him, and set a pad on the couch as she changed his diaper. He continued to cry, and she calmly finished, not at all flustered by his distress. Then, she put him at her breast to nurse. His cries subsided to whimpers and then satisfied gulps. I sat on the chair across the room, having difficulty not feeling like I was interrupting.

“Is it okay for me to be here while you feed him? Do you want me to leave?”

“I can’t control when he wants to eat, and I don’t want to hide away while he nurses. If you’re uncomfortable with this, I understand. You don’t have to stay.”

I swallowed hard and took some time before speaking. “I don’t want to make you guys uncomfortable.”

“How was the game tonight?” Kelsey asked, an apparent attempt at changing the subject.

“We won, but Ramon got two solo home runs. He’s hit a homer in nine of his last ten games. Streaks in baseball tend to continue.”

“So, you need to end his streak tomorrow?” She asked, her eyes drifting to mine as she leaned back on the couch. Crew’s hand stroked her cheek as he nursed peacefully. I’d never seen someone who embodied motherhood so completely. These two were separate human lives, and I couldn’t imagine one without the other.

“That’s the plan. Or at least if he rips one, I want the bases empty.”

“Will you be able to see us while you pitch?”

“Yes, I made sure I could see you. Your seats won’t be as good as at the home game, but you’ll still be behind home plate.”

“Do you still really think this has to do with luck?” she asked.

“I don’t know how else to explain it, and good things happen to me when you’re around. I'm willing to see what this means even if I need to fly you and Crew all over this country.”

“Did you ever want to do something besides play baseball?”

“I’ve never thought about anything else. My father was apitcher, and I grew up surrounded by the game of baseball. I grew up with access to the best travel leagues, coaches, and trainers. I was groomed to be a pitcher.”

“But what if you hadn’t been good at it?”

“I was raised without an option. There was no plan b, and my father would never have accepted me had I not pursued baseball. However, a couple of weeks ago, I faced the prospect of my career coming to an end. Only then did I realize how important my career was to me, and it had nothing to do with my father.”

“I have three semesters left before I can get my nursing degree,” she said absently.

“Why don’t you finish your degree?”

“I’m hoping to start back in January. I initially had hoped to start this fall, but that won’t happen. I’ve been trying to save money since classes will make it tougher to work as much as I do, and I still have to spend time with this guy. I don’t want him raised by someone else.” I could see the toll that basic survival had on her; I couldn’t imagine her adding classes and schoolwork on top of what she had already handled daily.

Crew had fallen asleep, and she excused herself, leaving the room to put him back in bed in the portable bassinet. Monica hadn’t found a rental; she’d bought one for these two nights. She’d planned to have the hotel ship it back to Boston after Kelsey had checked out. I had asked her to make sure Kelsey didn’t know she bought it just for the trip. It was hard not to see how uncomfortable it made Kelsey to take anything from me. The financial divide between our circumstances was staggering. It only made me want to work harder to take care of her.

When she came back out of the bedroom, I was disappointed to see that she had put a bra on. I could no longersee her nipples through the fabric. Her t-shirt and shorts rode up when she reached into the cabinet for a glass, and I kept my eyes peeled to her ass, hoping for a peek.

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