Page 38 of The Catcher

So I lay on the bed the whole time as he directed, my face in the bedspread, and when he came out he grunted in satisfaction.

“Good girl.”

I turned my face away, and I felt his hands run down my spine, the callouses scraping possessively at my flesh.

“Oh you need to be fucked again,” he said. “You need to be so filled with my cum I can’t fit any more in and it’s dribbling down your leg and I have to stuff it back in your wet cunt. But we have to go to the stadium now.”

I went in to shower without another word, and when I got out, throwing on leggings and a T-shirt, he was still there, scrolling through his phone. I felt a little lurch in my heart to see him, but I drove it down.

Just because he was waiting for me didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean he liked me. It didn’t mean he’d be tender.

“Your place is shit,” he said without preamble. “You should probably move into mine.”

“But—“ I began and he raised an eyebrow at me.

“You say that a lot for someone whose ass I own.”

“Why are you doing this?” I burst out.

Tanner stood up beside me. He’d apparently brought his bags with him, since I saw his gear thrown by the door, and he was in a clean pair of athletic pants and a team T-shirt. His dark ink-black hair was still a little wet from the shower, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d be fascinated with the way it curled over his collar and across his forehead.

But Ididknow better. There was nothing soft about Tanner Courtenay.

“Out the door,” he said.

And I went.

15

Aweek later, Lou, Tanner, and I were scheduled for another State of Tanner meeting but these had proved so popular that most of the team was also there, in chairs around the table or hanging around the outskirts.

There was a much more buoyant atmosphere now that the Phoenixes were tied for the second wildcard spot with a few weeks to go until the playoffs, and I wished I could join in with the general jollity. But it was hard with my cunt throbbing from his rough cock and my long honey-brown hair combed carefully and pulled to my side so the curls could hide the deep purplish-red marks where Tanner sucked savagely on my throat. As I stood in front of Coach Hernandez and what felt like most of the team, I felt a little drop of Tanner’s cum drip from my cunt onto my panties, making me feel wet and flushed.

I tightened my hands on my papers, ignoring Tanner’s fixed stare. Everyone on the team knew about his claim on me now. The Matts were friendly, but they were all very carefully not-TOO-friendly.

“The good news is that at least 62.5% of the comments on this video are not about him using steroids!” I said, starting myPower Point. “They are about his game-winning home run or his recent strikeout.”

The guys except Tanner all cheered lustily at this.

I highlighted several of the top comments on the video, such as “damn, that swing looks like shit, bro. Almost as shit as your hitting this season you dickhead.”

“The beauty of this comment,” I said, helpfully blowing it up at 75% magnification. “Is that it does not mention his steroid usage once, merely the fact that his hitting sucked. We obviously cannot change his past steroid suspensions, but hehaschanged his hitting. Progress!”

They all nodded enthusiastically again.

“What about my fucking endorsements?” Tanner asked. “Any word on extending my contract? I don’t give a shit about Instagram comments.”

I brought up the most recent highlights for the team on YouTube. “You may compare these statistics to his most recent highlight two weeks ago when he threw a runner out, which are 95% about his steroid usage. Now, only 45% of his comments reference the suspension.”

They all cheered again, and Steak gave me a high five.

I brought up several other recent videos and compared them, then some of the highlights about his walk off homerun. It was obvious that this was the way back into the public’s good graces.

Tanner twisted his head. I could see a muscle working in his jaw as he considered me. But I was determined not to let him intimidate me.

“Emrys, good work,” Lou said, giving a vigorous spit into his cup for emphasis. I stifled the urge to vomit and said, “Thank you.”

Lou patted me awkwardly but affectionately on the shoulder and left the room.

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