Page 93 of Force Play
“I just… took care of her,” I shrug. “That’s all.”
“And you?”
“Nothing for me.”
Cole’s face morphs from confusion to absolute astonishment. “You told her to meet you in the bathroom just so you could take care ofher?”
“Yeah. So what?”
“So what?!Ari, I’ve known you for almost a decade, and you haveneverdone that.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I reply, nerves creeping up my spine.
“Whatever you say, man,” he chuckles. “Whatever you say.”
I sink back against my seat, willing my heart to slow down.
This isn’t a big deal.
I love making my partner come, and I don’t think it’s crazy that I wanted to do that just now.
Granted, those partners were all just one-offs, but that doesn’t matter.
I’m not looking at Lucia as anything more than a roommate, possible friend.
A really hot friend that I enjoy having sex with.
Totally normal.
I push the thoughts from my head, desperate to try to get some sleep now before we land.
The last thing I hear before I finally do is the laugh of my roommate, and I fall asleep with a smile on my face.
thirty
Lucia
We’rebarelythreedaysinto Spring Training, and I’m already about to go off on Logan.
He’s as misogynistic as ever, but he’s being an absolute douche to the new guys, Nathan and Greg.
They’re both younger than we are—mid-twenties, I’d guess; they don’t seem like they’ve been out of school long—and he’s just acting like an entitled know-it-all prick.
I mean, that’s nothing new, but before, it was only directed atmeas the only woman on the training staff.
Since Logan isn’t pulling his weight with the new trainers, I’ve decided to take them both under my wing instead. They’re both nice guys and seem really eager to learn how we do things on the Stars.
“How’s this?” Greg asks, brushing the shaggy brown hair out of his face as he gestures to the tape job he just finished for our backup catcher, Arturo Rivas.
“Looks good, Greg,” I say, commending his work. “This will really help with his stability.” I turn my eyes to Rivas. “I need you to be careful on that, Arturo. I know you want to jump allin on the new season, but you already missed time last year with an Achilles sprain on this same ankle. You need to take it easier while you’re healing. I don’t want to recommend placing you on the IL, but if you’re doing too much too soon, I will so you don’t injure it further. We need you to be healthy.”
He gives me a sheepish smile. “I’ll take it easy. Thanks, Luc.”
“Get back to your room and ice that. I know you only rolled your ankle today, but you’re still going to have swelling.”
“Got it,” he says, limping slightly as he leaves the training room in our practice facility.
“Thanks for the help,” Greg says nervously.
