Page 15 of Please and Tease (Sweet Treats 6)

Andrew comes back in from the kitchen bearing three glasses of water and he hands one to her before sharing a look with me.

“Well, honey,” he says, his voice smooth. “Since you’ve already seen Aaron and I together, then you might as well know: we share a bed most nights.”

Naomi nods slowly, looking at us.

“Has it always been this way?” she asks.

I share another look with my friend.

“Sort of. Not really,” I amend. “We only just joined Dads and Daughters. In fact, we haven’t been in the trucking business for long. Before that, we were professional baseball players.”

Naomi nods.

“How was that?”

Andrew and I share another look.

“It was hard,” he says honestly. “Professional sports is a difficult way to make a living. It’s competitive, and you’re out there with the best of the best. You train for hours every day, and every guy out there wants to get out of the Minors. We were in the Minors,” he explains. “We played for the Iowa Cubs.”

Naomi nods.

“Which team are they affiliated with?” she asks.

I smile.

“The Chicago Cubs. But that’s the thing, sweetheart. Each major league team has more than one minor league affiliate, so we weren’t just competing with the guys on our team, although that’s already hard enough, as you can imagine. We were also competing against the Tennessee Smokies, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, and the Eugene Emeralds, to name a few.”

Naomi looks confused.

“But Myrtle Beach and Eugene are nowhere near Chicago,” she says.

I nod.

“Yeah, the Minors are pretty different from the Majors. Farm teams can be scattered all over the country because they’re trying to capture talent from all over the place. Believe it or not, some of the most successful farm teams, meaning those that promote the most baseball players to major league teams, are in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.”

Naomi nods.

“Oh yeah, I can totally believe it. There are so many talented Dominican players in the MLB.”

We both look at her with a bit of surprise.

“You follow baseball?”

She shakes her head.

“Not a lot, but a little. My dad used to take me to games because he was a huge fan. I learned a lot from him.”

We nod.

“It means a lot to us because we used to play ball for a living. Which team did your dad follow?”

Naomi grins.

“All of them. He was a fanatic. He had a thing for the Mets, but really, he just loved them all.”

My friend and I throw our heads back and laugh.

“A die-hard, huh? Well, your dad is the kind of guy that we’d appreciate because we need more like him. Now, kids these days just stay indoors watching Netflix and playing video games. We need guys who’ll teach their sons and daughters to get out there and play. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul.”

Naomi nods, but then her eyes go serious.

“But what happened with the Iowa Cubs? Why did you guys leave?”

Andrew and I share another look. Most people assume that we were cut because we weren’t good enough. But instead, the story is a lot more complicated.

“Well, sweetheart, you know that Andrew and I are bisexual,” I begin. “That means that we enjoy each other, but we also enjoy women.”

The brunette cocks her head at us.

“Sure, but what does that have to do with playing baseball? A lot of organizations, and I’m sure MLB is included, prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

Andrew nods.

“They do, and there are even a few gay guys scattered throughout the league. But there’s a difference between following the law and going with your gut. Baseball is a very masculine sport. The guys are dogs, and quite a few of our buddies were sleeping with groupies non-stop. In fact, we have a motto: when your team is down, your pecker’s got to get up. Do you know what that means?”

Naomi blushes.

“I can guess.”

I nod.

“Yeah, it means that when you’re on a losing streak, the guys try to sleep with as many women as possible to break it. Of course, it makes no sense whatsoever, and we’re not even superstitious. But baseball has a lot of asshole-ery running through it, as you can tell.”

Naomi nods but looks confused.

“So your teammates knew you were bisexual, and didn’t approve?”

Andrew and I take deep breaths.

“It’s not that they didn’t approve,” my friend says slowly. “No one would come out and say that because it’s against the law. Saying something like that is against club regulations, and the MLB would come down on you like a ton of bricks. But Aaron and I definitely felt discomfort in the air from everyone: our teammates, the coaches, the trainers, and even the equipment handlers. Baseball has come a long way, but it’s not perfect.”

Naomi looks outraged.

“But that’s so wrong! I can’t believe that people are like that! I hope you told them off.”

---