Pitch Please (There's No Crying in Baseball 1)

Furious George. Gentry. Rhys. Manny.

They were all watching, most of them chatting about what they thought was going on.

Turning my back to the door so I couldn’t see them, and they could no longer see the desk since I was standing in front of it, I waited.

She didn’t disappoint.

“I got you a few things to bring your energy levels up,” she chirped. “You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“Vicodin and Dilaudid,” I answered. “And unless you have either of those things to give me, I think I’ll be okay.”

She grinned at me.

“That’s definitely not one of my presents for you,” she teased.

Then she held out a red Gatorade, a vitamin C supplement called Airborne, and a muffin.

“They’re supposed to boost your Vitamin C and give you a little extra energy,” she explained. “Kind of like having a Red Bull, but without the caffeine that’ll make your heart race.”

I nodded in understanding.

“How many of these do I take?” I asked, holding up the vitamin C supplements.

“The bottle says you can take up to four,” she explained. “But I usually take three, and I feel a difference. You’re not much bigger than me…”

I gave her a look that clearly said to shut up, and she snapped her mouth closed.

“Four,” she reiterated.

I grinned and opened the bottle, popping four of the most disgusting pills that I’d ever tasted.

“Gross,” I gagged as I washed them down with the Gatorade. “Thank you.”

She waved away my thanks.

“The muffin is good, but it might take some time to eat it all. It’s really rich.” She gestured to the last thing in my hand.

I peeled the wrapper off it and took a large bite.

The flavor burst in my mouth, and I contemplated moaning as the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted made its way down my throat.

“This is good,” I told her. “Did you make this?”

She shook her head. “No. My mom did.”

I moaned and took another bite, my eyes popping open wide as I stared at the little crack-filled muffin.

“This is probably going straight to my ass,” I mumbled just before taking another bite. “It tastes like chocolate cake.”

“It’s more like a brownie cake, icing drizzled all over type of thing. Although there is some protein powder in there,” she added.

I smiled. She started to giggle at what I was sure were my teeth. I couldn’t find it in me to care at that point, though.

“She should go into business making these,” I muttered. “I’d buy one a day if she did.”

Sway laughed and tapped the paper that the muffin had come in.

“She does.” She pointed at a sticker that was wadded up. “She owns It’ll Do Bakery and Treats on Tyler Street.”

“That place is new, isn’t it?” I asked.

The reason I knew anything about it at all was I’d seen an ad next to an article I’d been reading in the sport’s section in the newspaper. What had held my attention, though, was that she specialized in products directed more towards athletes.

Sway nodded. “She opened up a couple of months ago, but already she’s done better than anyone expected her to. Though that might have a lot to do with the fact that my brother is a major league baseball player, and in the paper, they may have mentioned that fact.”

I shrugged. “Whatever works, I say.”

She grinned.

“Your head feeling any better?” she questioned.

I shook my head, and now that she’d drawn attention to the fact, I could say that I didn’t feel any better at all.

“Not even a little bit,” I admitted. “Fucking headache from hell. Who the hell gets colds like this during the summer?”

Her lip quirked up.

“Obviously, you do,” she pointed out.

“Yo, Sway!”

I turned to find Ronnie Hamels, one of the relief pitchers, come up to Sway with a look of adoration on his face.

It took everything in me not to snarl at him in annoyance.

“Yes, Hamels?” she smiled sweetly.

“I need you to wrap my wrists, please.” He showed me his hand. “Is that okay?”

He looked back and forth between Sway and I, and I had to sigh in understanding.

“We’re not busy,” I informed him. “Thank you, Sway. The muffin’s good. And the Gatorade, as well.”

She smiled happily.

“I’m glad. Don’t forget to take your meds, okay?” she pushed. “And you can have that every six hours.” She pointed at the meds. “Promise. They may taste like crap, but they’re worth it.”

With that last parting comment, she patted Hamel’s shoulder and started walking into the training room, leaving me staring after her as the two of them spoke more easily than Sway and I ever had.

What I didn’t see, though, was sexual attraction.

At least I had that going for me.

Maybe I was closer than I thought I was.

***

An hour and a half later, I was suited up and ready to go on the field. The only thing missing was my glove and my kiss…both of which I wanted more than my next breath.