Beyond the Play (Out of Reach 3)

“Mom, this is Parker, my girlfriend. Parker, this is my mom, Ashley.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Parker says and chuckles when my mom pulls her into a hug as well.

“We’ve heard so much about you. I’m so glad that you could join us. Merry Christmas,” Mom tells her.

“Aunt Lottie, this is Parker,” I introduce properly when she comes back into the room.

“So nice to meet you, sweetheart.” She, too, gives my girl a hug. “Come on in. Are you hungry?”

“No, ma’am. But thank you,” Parker declines politely.

“Depends. Did you make your peanut butter cookies with the peanut butter cups in the center?” I ask.

“You know I did.”

“Then, yes, I’m starving,” I say, and all three of the women laugh.

“You go introduce your girlfriend, and I’ll grab you a few from the kitchen.” Aunt Lottie motions for us to head into the living room, where I know I’ll find my dad and my uncle Lee kicked back on opposite ends of the reclining couch with full bellies, shooting the shit, just like every year.

My arm slides around her waist again, and I press my lips to her temple. Together, we make our way into the living room, and just as I suspected, Dad and Uncle Lee are sitting on the couch, feet propped up, and I wouldn’t put it past them to have their pants unbuckled under their shirts.

“Tighten up, fellas. There’s a lady in your presence,” I call out, making them laugh. My dad is the first to stand and greet us.

“Merry Christmas, son,” he says, hugging me before moving to Parker. “You must be Parker. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he says, pulling her into a hug just as tight as the one he gave me.

“Step back from the lady, Stephen.” Uncle Lee pushes on his arm and pulls Parker into a hug. “Heard a lot about you. Merry Christmas and welcome,” he says, pulling away and hugging me tightly. “Been too long, Holden,” he says before letting me go.

I lead Parker to the loveseat and nod for her to sit before taking the bag of gifts and placing them underneath the tree.

“Here you go,” Aunt Lottie says, handing me a plate full of peanut butter cookies.

“You trying to put me in a sugar coma, woman?” I ask. “Coach would have my ass if he saw me eating all of these.”

“They’re not all for you. Share them with Parker.”

“Oh no, you handed these to me,” I tell her.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Parker grabs one of the bite-size cookies, well bite-size for me, and shoves the entire thing into her mouth. Her hand covers her face as she chews, and the moan that she releases as she swallows has my dick jumping behind my zipper. Now is not the time to go there.

“Cookie thief,” I tease.

“They’re so good.” She smiles up at me as she reaches for another. This time, all I can do is shake my head at her.

“You ready for the season?” Uncle Lee asks.

“I’m ready. The new team and teammates thing is a little nerve-wracking, but I’m always ready to play the game I love.”

“You’re going to do great. We should hang out with Cam and Paisley before spring training starts so you two can get to know one another better.”

“Cam?” Uncle Lee asks.

“My brother-in-law is Cameron Taylor.”

“Well, I’ll be. That must mean” He stops as if mentioning her dad is rude.

“Easton Monroe is my dad.” She smiles at him.

“You finally found one worth keeping.” Uncle Lee chuckles.

“Hey!” I pretend to be offended, but he’s not wrong. I wasn’t looking before Parker, but now that I’ve found her, I’m definitely going to do everything I can to keep her.

“He’s not wrong,” Parker says, joining in on the banter.

“Do you play?” Mom asks.

“I do, actually. Softball. This is my last year of college.”

“What’s your major?” Aunt Lottie asks.

“Public relations. My uncle Drew, he’s the GM for the Blaze, has offered me a position with the team when I graduate.”

“That’s wonderful,” Mom comments.

“Yes and no. I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I don’t want people to think the position was handed to me. It’s entry-level, and I have to prove myself to work my way up,” Parker explains.

“Well, I say take every advantage you can get. As long as you’re not hurting anyone else, life is full of events that lead you to your next chapter. There’s nothing wrong with taking the help he’s offering,” Dad tells her.

Parker nods. “That’s a good point.”

“Well, now that we’re all here, who’s ready to open some presents?” Uncle Lee asks. He stands and begins to pass out presents from under the tree.

“Will you grab ours?” Parker asks.

I can see she’s uncertain about her gifts, but we both decided on the same things for our families. Grabbing the bag we set under the tree, I pull out the two bottles of wine and hand them to Mom and Aunt Lottie. “These are from Parker,” I tell them. They gush over the wine and thank her.