Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances (33 page)

She shifts gears and glances at me. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you.”

I lean to the floorboard to pick up a pink lace thong, dangling it off my index finger. “I found this in my bathroom, so I had my hopes up.”

Mia laughs and grabs the undergarment from me. “Oh my gosh! I’m so embarrassed! I was running late for my meeting and had to take a shower there. I hope you don’t mind.”

Closing the space between us, I kiss her neck and whisper in her ear, “As long as I get to see you in my shower wearing this, I don’t.”

She raises her eyebrow and with a seductive smile nods. “Deal.”

The traffic light turns red and Mia turns to me, pressing her lips against mine. We make-out like teenagers until the car behind us honks when the light turns green. Mia giggles and I have to fight the urge to beg her to pull over so I can feel her lips again.

Clearing her throat, Mia glances at me and says, “Colie texted me and suggested having a get together with some guys from the team. She thought it might be a good idea to get to know them… ”

I roll my eyes and lean my head back against the car seat. “Great, you and Colie are ganging up on me?”

She smiles and shrugs. “Think of it as a housewarming party.”

My eyes go wide. “You want to have this party at my place?”

“I’ll take care of everything. All you’ll have to do is show up.”

I close my eyes and sigh. “Fine,” I say against my better judgment. “When are you thinking about doing this?”

“Not this Friday, but the next.”

“Season starts in two days and we only have two days off between now and then. I don’t have time to plan a party.”

She grins as she pulls into a parking space. “Trust me?”

Looking into her grey eyes, I see something I’ve never noticed before. Her eyes are beautiful, but they’re masked with a small tinge of pain. God, I hope I’m not the one that caused it. I rub my finger over her cheekbone and nod. “I do.”

She gives me a quick kiss and gets out of the car. I step out myself and look around, confused. We’re in a parking lot with very little around us, graffiti on the buildings that are, and I see a few shopping carts filled with people’s belongings. I’m not familiar with L.A. but I’m pretty sure this isn’t the safest neighborhood. “Mia, where is this place?”

She clicks the key fob, locking the car and walks toward the sidewalk. A hunchback, homeless man walks toward her. He’s swaying back and forth so I can only imagine what he’s high on. I jog to catch up with her and protectively slide my arm around her waist, tucking her against my body. The man stops a few feet in front of us and Mia steps away from me. I clench my fist, ready to fight if needed.

“Hey, Rodney,” Mia says softly.

Rodney lifts his head and reaches out to Mia. I scramble between the two of them, not about to let him touch her. Rodney shrinks back just as fast as I moved between them. Mia moves her hand to my chest and gives me a small nod as she sidesteps me.

“Rodney usually walks me to the shelter then hangs out by my car,” she explains and reaches in her pocket. She pulls out a large bill and hands it to the man. “Can you just watch the car today? Tate will walk me there.”

Rodney lifts his head, taking me in. I have to fight to keep the laughter in as he’s obviously sizing me up to see if I’m fit to be with his friend. Apparently, I pass inspection as he nods to Mia and heads to the car. Mia takes my hand and pulls me down the sidewalk. I give her hand a tight squeeze.

“Geez, so much testosterone! The shelter doesn’t allow men to interact with the women and children there, but sometimes they let Rodney do odd-end jobs and they feed him as well.”

“Why doesn’t he go to a shelter himself?

Mia looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Because he’s a typical man.”

My eyebrows scrunch up as I shake my head, confused again. “What?”

She lets out an exasperated sigh. “Pride.”

We both laugh as she walks us around a building to the backdoor. I take a look around at the place with its peeling paint and the smell of the high school cafeteria hits my nose. She turns to me before she opens the door, both her hands on my chest. “This is a women’s shelter so you’ll have to stay in the kitchen, okay?”

I nod and she takes a deep breath. “Promise me you won’t judge any of them, okay?”

“Of course. I never would.”

“Good, because each of them have their own story and the women come from all walks of life.” She opens the door and leads us inside.

I don’t have long to ponder what that meant. The second we step into the kitchen, it’s mass chaos. An older woman with gray hair that’s restrained by a hairnet is barking orders to five different men. I want to say she’s pleasantly plump, but I’m afraid of what she might do to me if she found out my choice of words. Judging from the other men who are avoiding eye contact with her, I’ll assume I’m right to keep my thoughts to myself. When the door bangs closed, she whips around with a look on her face that makes me hide behind Mia.

Her scowl turns into a huge grin when she sees Mia. I know the feeling all too well, I do the same thing every time I see her. She holds out her arms and Mia walks into them. The two women embrace and the older lady squeezes Mia so tight I think she might break her.

“Mia, baby, I’m so glad you’re here! The house is full today and we had a new woman come in last night that I’d like you to talk to.”

The two women hold hands as Mia nods in my direction. I can face a hundred mile per hour fastball with no fear, but this woman in front of me gives me a death look that makes me want to run in the other direction.

“Arlene, I brought my friend, Tate, to help today.” Mia glances at me and laughs. “I have no idea if he can cook so you probably ought to put him on dishwasher duty.”

A shot of pain stabs through my heart as I hear Mia refer to me as her friend, but I don’t have time to think about it. Arlene gives me the once over then glances at Mia who shrugs her shoulders. Mia walks out to greet the women, leaving me alone with this frightening grandma.

Arlene takes two steps to me and although she’s almost a foot shorter than me, she stares me down. She takes her pudgy index finger and shoves it into my sternum while her other hand grabs my shirt and pulls me down to her eye level.

“You get one strike and you’re out. Got it, ball boy?”

I nod and don’t know whether to be flattered that she recognizes me or intimidated by her threat. “Yes, ma’am. I’m pretty sure I can handle the dishwasher.”

She grips my shirt tighter and jerks me to her again. Lowering her voice, she says, “I’m talking about Mia. You hurt her and you deal with me. Understand?”

My Adam’s apple bobs up and down as I swallow and nod.

“Good. Mia means a lot to all of us here. If I see her hurt again, it won’t be pretty,” Arlene quips and walks back to the stove, yelling at the other men to get moving.

I stand up and straighten my shirt.
Hurt again?
What does she mean by that? I can only assume Arlene is the mother figure that Mia doesn’t have, so surely she’s just referring to Mia’s divorce. As I walk to the dishwasher, a sign hangs over the door that says:
Violence is not the solution. It’s the problem.

Through a crack in the serving window, I see Mia in the cafeteria with the women and kids. The children all run to her excitedly, fighting for her attention as she hugs their mothers and gives each of them her undivided attention. All the women greet Mia as though she’s their best friend. Glancing over my shoulder, I catch Arlene mean mugging me again. With another look at Mia, a thought runs through my mind, but I shake it off. Mia’s too independent and strong to be one of those women out there.

CHAPTER 13

Tate

The sun streams in through my new beach house bedroom window. I can hear the ocean rolling in through the window where the breeze blows the curtain open. I couldn’t care less about the sun rising outside, I just want to stare at the beautiful woman asleep beside me.

I’d survived our morning at the shelter with only a couple burns on my wrist from the broken dishwasher letting steam escape. Watching Mia with the kids there made me excited for her to meet Toby and I’ve never wanted to introduce a woman to my son. The ache in my chest reminds me how much I miss him. Despite traveling the majority of the year, the past few weeks has been the longest time I’ve ever spent away from him. I shake my head, trying to force the feeling away.

Mia had kept her promise and she was mine the rest of the day. She showed me around town, letting me drive her ‘Vette, but when I asked where her office was, she directed me back to my house, which I didn’t mind at all. After I grilled our dinner, we enjoyed my new deck and “christened” the swimming pool, which led us to a late night ending in my bedroom.

I smile as I watch her sleep, running my hand up and down her arm as she faces away from me. Her long dark hair falls over my pillow, her chest rises and falls slightly while her breathing is slow and shallow. Glancing at the clock, I lean over and kiss her bare shoulder. I don’t want to leave her, but I need to take a shower before I head to the stadium.

It’s the world’s quickest shower because I want to spend more time with Mia before I have to leave. I could never handle living with my last girlfriend, years ago, but with Mia, I don’t want to miss a second I can be with her. When I walk downstairs, dressed for the day, I see Mia on the back deck. My lips turn up into a smile as I watch her drinking a cup of coffee in nothing but one of my old Minutemen shirts with my name on the back.

Walking outside to her, I lick my lips and let out a low whistle. “Damn, baby, you know how to turn me on.”

Setting her coffee mug down, she slowly walks toward me, swaying her hips ever so slightly, which makes me want to skip opening day and stay in bed with her. Grabbing my shirt in her hand, she pulls me into a passionate kiss. Her arms slide around my neck as our tongues dance around each other’s. Forgetting about being on time for my first real day at work, I squeeze her body to mine until we both break for air.

“You’re coming to the game, right?” I ask like a meek little boy, unsure if the girl really likes him.

Her lips brush across my cheek as I still hold her close. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Unable to stop myself, a grin spreads across my face. “Good. Your ticket will be at will call.” I glance at my watch and sigh. “I need to get going.”

Her tongue flicks my ear, sending tremors of excitement throughout my body. “Good luck today,” she says in a breathy whisper.

I’m going to need all the luck I can to concentrate on the game and not her sitting in the stadium a few rows behind home plate. Knowing if I don’t let her go now then I’ll never leave, I step back, giving her a quick kiss. “Plan on staying here tonight to celebrate.”

She nods as I turn to walk off, but before I’m out of reach, I feel a slap on my backside and Mia’s sexy voice saying, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Laughing, I look over my shoulder and call back to her, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you tonight.”

Mia

In the cab to the stadium, I close my eyes and smile. The past twenty-four hours have been amazing. Tate was a huge help at the shelter and never complained despite the steam burns he’d received. I make a mental note to price a new dishwasher for the place.

Arlene, my guardian angel as I like to call her, loved him although she’d never admit that to anyone. She told Tate he did alright and asked when he’d be back, which is as close to a compliment that anyone’s ever heard from her. But when she squeezed my arm and gave a nod when we left, I knew what she really meant and it brought tears to my eyes that I quickly hid from Tate before he noticed.

The taxi stops and when I open my eyes, Stags’ Stadium is in front of me. People flood the streets wearing blue and white, carrying signs in hopes of being noticed and shown on television, and chanting “Let’s Go Stags.” My stomach flutters as it’s been years since I’ve been to this place and the last time was with my ex when we were still on good terms.

Baseball had always been a safe place for both of us. He’d played in college and I’d grown up around it since my brother had also played and my father had coached him. A local slow-pitch softball league is actually how we met. A smile comes to my lips as I think back to those innocent days early in our marriage. The smile quickly fades as the memory of a baseball bat comes to mind.

Walking into the stadium, I see some fans sporting Tate’s jersey and I smile, recalling how I got to wear it earlier today and I can’t wait to wear it again later. I head to my seat as my mind wanders back to the few intimate moments we’ve experienced and now that he’s in L.A., we can have even more. The man knows exactly how to pleasure me in ways I didn’t even know were possible. Yet the best kisses he’s given me are the forehead, shoulder, or nose kisses. The ones he thinks doesn’t matter but they mean the most and make me feel ultimately connected to him.