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

When I got to Rhys, I glared at him, and might have slammed chests with him harder than I needed to.

He gave me an annoyed look, but I knew he knew the reason for it.

I hadn’t come out and said it in as many words, but he damn well knew she was mine.

I took a seat in my spot, and tried really hard not to glare at the woman who was sitting there reading a book like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“What are you reading?” I grumbled.

She looked over at me for a few short seconds, and then turned back to her Kindle.

“A romance,” she answered, not bothering to give me any more than that.

“What is it called?” I pushed.

“Double Play.”

“Hmm,” I murmured. “What’s it about?”

She gave me a narrow-eyed look.

“A baseball player and the greatest catch of his life,” she answered. “Do you mind?”

I held my hands up in surrender and went back to watching the game.

We had this one in the bag.

We were ahead by ten, and we only had one inning left. Half if we managed to keep the lead.

Although it didn’t happen often, it was possible that we’d get cocky and the other team might catch up.

Not today, though.

The players on the other team were playing like shit, which was what had gotten them in the hole in the first place.

The only way they’d win now was if we stopped trying, and that sure as fuck wasn’t going to happen.Chapter 13I want someone to look at me the way I look at my Jeep.

-Sway’s secret thoughts

Sway

I hesitated outside the exit to the parking lot, wondering whether I should wait for Hancock or not.

He hadn’t said anything about wanting to do anything with me after the game.

I was also tired as hell from the plane ride, and the vehicle that was taking the athletic training staff was about to leave, so I made a choice and headed for the Jeep.

And, of course, Sinclair was driving.

Normally, I would’ve been in control of the rental, but since I rode in the day before with the team and the other staff who normally travel with the team, I didn’t put my name on the rental policy.

Normally that wouldn’t matter, but Sinclair was obviously smug about having the privilege of driving rather than being a passenger.

“Didn’t think you were riding with us, Sway,” Sinclair made a point to mention. “Did your friend give you the boot?”

I ignored him and walked to the back door, opened it, and took a seat next to Lacey.

“Hey, Lace,” I smiled at her.

Lacey grinned and offered me a piece of gum, and I shook my head in the negative.

“No, thank you,” I turned to look out the window.

“Everyone ready now?” Sinclair asked.

After three confirmations, one from Lacey, one from me, and one from our front seat passenger, John-John, aka JJ—our intern—we pulled out, heading straight for the hotel.

The hotel was less than five minutes away from the stadium, but after only two minutes of Sinclair’s jerky driving, I realized that if I had to ride with him again, I’d very likely vomit.

When my head hit the window as he pulled in, I made an executive decision to talk to the team management. If a man wouldn’t hesitate to do seventy in a forty, making me see my life flash before my eyes, he absolutely should not be driving the other members of the team’s training staff while we were out of town.

Surely the management would want their staff to arrive to and from the games safely.

Right?

Lacey and I traded a few looks while JJ held onto the handle above his head like his life depended on it.

By the time we pulled under the covered awning, JJ looked deathly pale, Lacey was taking on a tinge of green, and I was wondering whether or not I could hack a walk back to the ballpark tomorrow.

It was only two miles.

If I left two hours early, surely I could make it on time.

“Thank for the ride,” I muttered as I bailed out of the Jeep.

The Jeep itself was gorgeous. I’d always wanted a Jeep.

But I would prefer driving to riding in the passenger seat or the back seats.

“What’s that face for?” Sinclair asked as he walked up beside me.

I didn’t speak.

I could barely tolerate the man most of the time.

Between the car ride from hell with his reckless and erratic driving and his pungent cologne that smelled like a bundle of male magazines with a clashing variety of different sample scents inside, I was ready to bail.

Luckily, they’d sent my luggage up ahead of me, and I’d already checked into my room thanks to the hotel’s app.

All I had to do was gather my key, and I was ready to go.

Lacey and JJ had done the same thing as me, while, unfortunately for him, Sinclair had not.