Colby (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #6) (2 page)

He told me he worked for the Angels and soon, we were chatting away. He doesn’t know I’m a cop nor do we know each other’s name. We’re taking it slow and getting to know each other. I like it, and it’s been fun having someone to talk to.

I check my other online dating accounts, and of course, it’s nothing but creepy men and some messages that make my stomach turn.

“Can’t I just find a nice guy?” I ask Buster who looks at me as if I should already know the answer to this question. “I know. I know,” I sigh and head to my bathroom to change.

I stare at myself in the mirror. I’m thirty-six, but I don’t think I look it. My skin is a light caramel color. My eyes are a deep brown like Dad’s. My hair is wavy when I release it from the tight bun I keep it in for work, but not overly curly. It’s easily tamed. I’m used to the stares when I’m standing next to my parents. When I was younger, it never failed that someone would ask if I was adopted.

I change and get ready for bed. When I crawl under the covers, and Buster takes position at the foot of the bed, I’m ready for sleep and then a new day to start.

“HELLO?” I ANSWER my phone.

“Hey, what are you doing today?” Jordan, one of my teammates, asks.

“Stuff around the house. Why?”

“I need a favor.”

“Name it.” Jordan doesn’t often ask for something, so I’m curious at the very least.

“I need you to have lunch with Heidi and me.”

I can’t help it. I groan. “It’s our day off and you want me to spend it with you and your wife?”

“C’mon, Colby. She thinks you hate her, and I want y’all to be friends.”

“You want me to be friends with your wife?”

“Well, not really. Just friendly enough that she stops thinking you hate her.”

“I don’t hate her. Why don’t you tell her that?” And I don’t hate her. I’m just not so sure I like her. She put Jordan through hell before finally she finally stopped being so stubborn.

“She doesn’t believe me. So, will you?” When I’m silent for too long, he speaks again. “Think of it this way. When you do finally land some online sugar baby, do you want your go-to couple to hang out with to be Hector and Zoey or me and Heidi?”

“There are other guys on the team with girlfriends,” I point out.

“But you don’t really hang out with them. So, I ask again. Do you want someone who you know will call you Sugar Daddy or me? You need to think about the future implications, Colby.”

I laugh because he’s blowing this out of proportion. Nevertheless, he is a friend, and if he and his wife are together again, I can do this for him. First, I have a question. “Why is this so important that it has to be done today?”

“Because I’m tired of her muttering under her breath how you hate her whenever I bring you up. It bothers her, so I need to fix it. I’ll let you know where she wants to go, and we’ll meet there in an hour.”

We hang up, and a few minutes later, he texts me the restaurant.

Lunch with Jordan and Heidi wasn’t so bad, and I think I’ve convinced her that I like her as much as one can like a teammate’s spouse. I spend the few hours after I get home cleaning and grocery shopping. Once that is done, I log onto the dating website I’ve stuck with to check if there are new messages.

I still don’t know how I got talked into this. There are some crazy women out there, a prime example of how I earned the nickname Sugar Daddy. I made the mistake of telling Spencer how a girl messaged me, wanting me to be her sugar daddy, and he then told the team. Who does that? The girl, not Spencer.

Things haven’t been working out so far. Every time I’m tempted to delete my account, I think about
Sporty35
. She seems to be the only sane one of the people I’ve met. We’ve been talking for a bit now. Messages here and there about our day and things like that. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the possibility of meeting her. I’m so out of my element though. What’s the etiquette for online dating? I don’t want to mess it up because of some stupid misunderstanding or something. I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long because I’m definitely an over-the-phone or in-person kind of guy.

I’m thinking about it too much once dinner comes and goes, so I send a group message to Spencer and Roman, the culprits who got me into this to start with.

Me: Big Blue tonight? Need advice.

Spencer: I’ll be there, Sugar daddy!

Roman: Count me in.

It’s not often that I want to go to a bar, but I think that’s one of the few ways to get these guys out. I get it though. I was their age once, and a bar was the go-to place. I end up getting there before they do, which happens more often than not. The tables are full, but there are a few empty spots at the bar and I take one of them. I’ll try to keep an eye out for a table opening up, but this will do for now.

I order water because we’re too far into the season, too close to the playoffs, and I don’t particularly want any alcohol tonight anyway.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

“Not at all,” I answer, turning at the sound of a woman’s voice. I don’t know who she is, but she’s beautiful.
Probably not the kind of girl on a dating website
, I think dryly.

“Thanks,” she says, taking the seat.

“No problem.” The bartender hasn’t noticed her yet, but the moment he glances this way, I wave him down, just in case he overlooks her.

“Sorry, but are you Colby Wilson? From the Angels?”

“Yeah, that’s me. You’re a fan?”

“My family and I are big fans. You’re having a great season.”

“Thanks. Hopefully, we’ll continue to do well and keep our fans happy.”

“We’re very happy. Why are you hanging out by yourself? Big date?”

I laugh. “No. A couple of teammates are meeting me here, and I tend to be early. Why are you hanging out by yourself if I may ask? Big date?”

“No. Not even close. I had a long day and wanted a drink to unwind.”

“A good kind of long day, I hope.”

“Actually, no,” she says with a shake of her head. She sighs. “It was a bad day at work.”

“Sorry to hear that. What do you do?”

“I’m a detective with the Memphis Police Department.”

“Really?” I can’t hide the surprise from my voice. I had no idea they were hiring such beautiful women. “That has to be a tough job.”

“It has its rewards, but today isn’t one of them. Sorry. I shouldn’t be bothering you with all this.”

“You’re not bothering me at all.” She really isn’t.

“I bet you’re used to groupies or whatever they’re called.”

I laugh. “My groupies end up being kids more often than not. The younger guys attract the girls usually.”

“I can’t believe that,” she says with shock, “especially because you’re not too hard on the eyes. I mean, you’re very nice looking.”

I grin. “You’re very nice looking, too.” I wink. “What’s your name?”

“Right. Sorry.” She holds out her hand, and I shake it. “I’m Ariella Craft. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“Sugar Daddy!” Spencer calls out, and I wince. “We’re here. Oh, sorry to interrupt,” he adds as he and Roman come to stand next to us and he notices the girl next to me.

Ariella is laughing, probably because of the stupid nickname. “Sugar Daddy?” she questions, still choking on her laughter.

“I have terrible teammates,” is all the explanation I offer. “Ariella, this is Spencer and Roman. Guys, this is Ariella. She’ll be the detective assigned to the case when y’all are found murdered for continuing to call me Sugar Daddy.”

She leans in close and jokes with a grin. “I think it’ll be classified as self-defense. Pretty open and shut case.”

“I knew I would like you.” I hate that I have to leave her, but I do. Plus, I don’t want to intrude on her night either. “I’ll leave you to unwind. It was nice meeting you, Ariella.”

“Very nice meeting you, Colby.”

A table has opened up and we are quick to snatch it before someone else does. Once the guys have ordered their drinks, they’re finally ready to hear what I have to say.

“Okay. Let’s hear it. You must be desperate to ask for our advice again,” Spencer jokes with a laugh.

“Don’t remind me; I might change my mind.”

“So, what’s up?” Roman asks.

“As y’all love to remind me, I’m old.” As old as an athlete can be at thirty-two. “Online dating definitely wasn’t part of the scene when I was in my early twenties. There’s one girl I want to meet, but I don’t want to word it wrong or something.”

“How long have y’all been talking?” Roman asks.

“A few weeks, I think. She doesn’t seem crazy and we talk often, but you can only learn so much about a person online. Well, at least, there’s only so much
I
can learn.”

“Just ask her if she would like to meet. Tell her she can pick the place, so she doesn’t think you’re some psycho luring her into the woods to murder her. That’s it,” Spencer tells me.

Yeah, it sounds simple when you say it aloud. I pull up the app on my phone, might as well make sure it’ll sound fine while they’re here. I find the thread of our messages, seeing one from her.

Sporty35: Hope your day was better than mine.

I type up my message and then read it aloud to the guys. They nod in approval, so I hit send.

BaseballGuy31: Wasn’t too bad. Sorry to hear yours wasn’t good. I was wondering, though, if you’d like to meet? You can pick the place and I’d meet you there.

It doesn’t show her as online anymore, so I’ll have to wait for her to read it for my answer. Hopefully, she says yes.

I SPEND THE majority of my afternoon in a courthouse, listening to an overpriced attorney spew out a bunch of big words, none of which made sense, to confuse a jury into thinking his client isn’t guilty.

It worked, and it pissed me off.

After I have a glass of wine at Big Blue, I do my best to stop thinking of Mr. Brown Eyes. I need to vent, so I hop into my car and drive to Alizeh and Duke’s house.

Thankfully, the traffic isn’t too bad, and I don’t have too much time to think about my shitty day. When I pull into the driveway, my phone is flashing and I check my messages. I’d sent
BaseballGuy31
a message earlier because...well, I’m not sure why. He seems to be the easiest person to talk to right now. However, as I stare at the screen, my mouth dries up, and I’m not sure what to make of it.

I rush into my sister’s house, and she’s sitting at the kitchen table with Lil D in her arms.

“Hey, girl.” She beams at me and then realizes I’m not having the best of days. “There should be some beers in the fridge.” She nods over to the other side of the room.

“I need to talk to you.” I sit across from her. “I’ve had a bad day, but I don’t really want to burden you with it. However, I need some sisterly advice.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“Several months ago, I signed up for online dating. Of course, I registered for a lot of them, but I’ve been chatting with this one guy. He seems nice and I know, before you even say it, I shouldn’t believe everything I read online, and people aren’t who they seem. However, I have a good feeling about this one.”