Page 35 of Rocking Player
Chapter 10
Michael
The game went fastand then it was time to head home, to the wife I'd had to leave in our bed.
Granted, I'd seen her with my parents and son in the stands, but I’d had no chance to see them.
Georgie’s body still rocked my body like gravity meeting a meteor. She burned through me, but I needed every part of her for more.
I’d probably never be satisfied, and I didn’t care. She was my wife now.
We’d won, and I raced out the second I could.
The moon was high in the sky when I drove into my house and joined Georgie in bed.
I dozed the second I curled beside Georgie and she smelled sweeter than roses to me.
I woke up alone. I cleaned up and walked down the stairs fast, to see my family. Jeremy was sitting on the couch. My father came out of the kitchen and said, “Georgie said it was okay if I took Jeremy to go get a hot chocolate in town.”
“Yeah?”
“Your mother and I will be gone an hour, if it’s all right with you.”
“Georgie said it was fine, so have fun.”
Jeremy hopped out of his seat and followed my dad to the door. Clearly, my father was doing his charming old man bit.
He did that well at first, though no one but me ever knew how driven he actually was.
I embodied his dreams, but I waved them hello and kept my mouth shut. I needed to see my wife, but my mom was near the coffee that smelled earthy and perfect. She said, “We’ll be back soon.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing more of you.” Georgie came out of the bathroom and her lips curled higher the second she noticed me.
My mother hugged me and Georgie, then went out to join my dad and Jeremy.
I didn’t blink. Georgie made the room shine, but she headed toward the counter and my mom, still wearing pink pajama bottoms and a Sooners t-shirt that went off her shoulder.
My stomach churned. I was hungry right now…I followed her to the kitchen to the smell of coffee. I made glasses and she finished making toast, and I asked once the machine was heating up the milk, “You’re okay if I ask them to stay the full weekend?”
She nodded and took out a mango, cutting it as she said, “It’s good. They were fun last night at the game. Your father talked about your childhood and how he really worked with you to get your stats up and Jeremy is enjoying spending time with them more than I’d ever imagined.”
She'd gotten the highlights of my childhood then, though she'd missed out on how not even rainstorms had stopped our nightly training for me to have what my father hadn’t. I was sure Dad made it all sound fun, but I grabbed some brie cheese from the fridge and a mix of almonds and walnuts as I said, “He pushed me to the pros.”
“I could tell from his intensity and excitement for you.”
Maybe he’d explain how his dad had kept him well past nightfall in practice when most kids went home and did their homework. I handed her a bowl for her mangoes and took our offerings to the table. “He made it to the farm for a few years but never moved up to the minors or pros.”
The toast popped and she took it out, joining me as she placed it all in the middle of the table. “He told me and he swore you’d have that opportunity that he wasted.”
Now, that sounded like his promise or threat if I whined about practice. However, when I gave up for a few weeks in high school, I’d realized I wanted baseball as my career.
I took a piece of toast and said, “I’m good at the game I love. Jeremy can choose my sport, another one, or a future doing whatever he wants.”
We both added brie to our toast as she said, “Glad to hear…” The ring in the air caught her off guard and she jumped up and found where we had charged our phones last night. She took hers and said, “My sisters are calling. Phone conference time.”
“Get it,” I said, as last night she’d intended to call them today, so I gave her a thumbs-up.
Maybe after she talked to them and we ate, we’d have time for another round before Jeremy and my parents returned. They’d been good to give us some time alone, and I’d wait. Georgie’d be happier after talking to her family.
