The dugout, p.35
The Dugout,
p.35
Shane and Jerry both run up to Carson who wraps them in a bear hug. Jerry nuzzles Carson’s chest, while Shane pats Carson’s ass. It’s an obscene sight to behold, three grown man mauling each other, but I smile as I lean against the tunnel wall that leads to the locker room and admire some of the most important men in my life.
They finish squeezing each other and then start raining praises all over the man.
“That diving play up the middle. Fucking killer, man.”
“First home run of the season,” Shane shouts with his hand to his mouth.
They go on for a good minute and I just sit back, catching small glimpses from Carson here and there. I can tell he wants to move past my two gushing friends and take me into his arms, but because he’s a good guy and hasn’t seen Jerry and Shane in a long time, he gives them his attention.
It isn’t until Jerry catches me from the corner of his eye, that he says, “Oh shit, maybe you want to hug Milly.”
Eyes trained on me, Carson says, “Yeah.”
Shane pats him on the back, understanding his need to be near me. “We’ll, uh, meet you in the parking lot.”
On their way past me, they both make obnoxious kissing noises—they clearly still haven’t grown up—and head down the hallway, high-fiving each other and talking about the game. Their antics will never get old.
With determination and swagger in every step toward me, his eyes never leaving mine, and when the distance between us is non-existent, he cups my cheek and softly says, “In the locker room, I watched what you said about me, about us, about my mom and dad.” He gets choked up and presses his forehead to mine. “It meant so fucking much to me, Milly. To have you here tonight, cheering me on, wearing my jersey, being the fan in the stands that matters the most. I don’t know how I will ever repay you, but I know I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.”
“You silly boy.” I kiss his lips briefly. “You don’t have to repay me, just promise whenever I ask you to meet me in the dugout, you show up.”
“Anything for you . . . Coach.”
He pins me against the wall, his lips gently finding mine. It isn’t an erotic kiss, nor is it made for the church. It’s passionate and heavy, like he’s slowly memorizing every contour of my lips.
“You’re my girl, Milly. My Family. My everything,” he whispers.
My hands fall to his waist and I hold him tightly. “You’re the one and only man who’s ever owned my heart and held my hand. I love you, Carson.”
He pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. “Come on, Coach, let’s go home.”
“Home?”
He nods. “You think I’m going to stay with Knox? No fucking way, not when my girl has an apartment I’ve had my bare ass all over.”
I chuckle. “Wow, way to ruin the romantic mood.”
“Ruin it? I just intensified it. We’re moving in together, Coach, whether you like it or not.”
He kisses me again and guides me out to the parking lot.
And honestly, I can’t deny how much I actually like the idea of Carson moving in.
I like it a lot. One of the things I love about this man so much is his faith in us. He told me last night he knew from the moment he watched my parents together that he wanted that with me. He saw how Mom and Dad loved openly and genuinely and craved to give me that.
They met with him early this morning and held him in hugs that I knew touched his heart. Healed the gaping wound the loss of his parents created. Mom had kept him in her heart the years he was gone. She’d had faith in him that he’d come back to me, to them, and that when he did, her arms would be open wide. They showed Carson forgiveness he didn’t expect, and told him that from this point forward, they considered him one of their sons. It was both moving and heartbreaking watching him cry. Watching him mourn. Watching him heal.
We talked about his parents after that and what his dad said about me, and I cried. I cried because my beautiful man had lost such incredible people far too early. Yet there was an expression of peace in his eyes rather than distraught agony, and that alone gave me joy.
My crazy, talented, sexy man was home. I felt whole again . . . and sore in places I had forgotten existed. Tomorrow will be our true test though. He might play with the big boys now, but I’m still me, and I refuse to let his beefcake muscles frighten me.
Back to the dugout, Stone. Time for some real training.
THE END
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Standalone Sports Romance
(Baseball Romances)
The Locker Room
The Dugout
Port Snow Series
(Small Town Romances)
That Forever Girl
That Second Chance
The Duets
(Complete Box Set compiling The Blue Line Duet and The Perfect Duet in one place)
The Duets
Millionaire Romances
The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister
(A friends to lovers contemporary romance)
Diary of a Bad Boy
(Sassy and sweet romance with an Irish rebel)
The Romance Novelist Chronicles
(Hilarious, laugh out loud romantic comedies)
**The Virgin Romance Novelist, The Randy Romance Novelist, and The Parenting Romance Novelist are all combined into one book The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles**
The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
The Virgin Romance Novelist
Co-Written with Sara Ney
(A sexy, smart, heart swooning office romance with the boss)
Love Sincerely Yours
The Perfect Duet
(A heartfelt romance that will leave you breathless)
The Left Side of Perfect
The Right Side of Forever
The Blue Line Duet
(An epic romance with many twists and turns)
The Upside of Falling
The Downside of Love
The Dating by Numbers Series
(Adventurous dating series full of laugh out loud moments and very heated scenes)
Three Blind Dates
Two Wedding Crashers
Back in the Game
One Baby Daddy
The Binghamton Series
(Full of heart, humor, and heat and some HOT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS)
Co-Wrecker
My Best Friend’s Ex
Tangled Twosome
The Other Brother
Standalone Novels
(Full of heart, humor, and heat and some real laugh out loud moments)
The Mother Road
Newly Exposed
Dear Life
The Stroked Series
(HOT sports romance with plenty of humor)
STROKED
STROKED LONG
STROKED HARD
The Jett Girl Series
(Sassy, erotic romance with a gorgeous, protective alpha male)
Bourbon Sins
Bourbon Deceit
Bourbon Kingdom
Bourbon Truths
The Love and Sports Series
(New Adult, college football forms into professional football careers. Love triangles.)
Fair Catch
Double Coverage
Three and Out
The Hot-Lanta Series
(My first series ever. Baseball sports romance with lots of drama!)
Caught Looking
Playing the Field
Warning Track
Hit and Run
The Warblers Point Series
(Three Irish brothers, their younger sister, and the drama they get into. Love triangles. Book three still to come.)
Beers, Hens and Irishmen
Beers, Lies and Alibis
Excerpt - The Locker Room
EMORY
Rule number one in college: don’t lose your friends at a house party . . . especially when you’re drunk.
Technically this is a loft party though, so . . . am I really breaking the rule?
My head falls back against the wall, my empty red cup rests in my hand and is clutched to my chest as I scan the giant loft space on the third floor of a renovated warehouse. I climbed up a fire escape in heels to get here, risked the safety of my ankles to be a part of something special, because apparently this is the place to be on the weekends.
The Baseball Loft.
As I’ve been told by my best friends, this is where you earn a golden ticket invitation to the exclusive but highly sought-after locker room—where dreams come true.
Supposedly.
Don’t take my word for it.
But rumor on the street is: the best orgasms take place in the Brentwood Baseball locker room. Legends say one girl had a five-minute orgasm on the tile floors of the shower.
Five-minute orgasm in exchange for a week’s worth of ringworm. Not sure I’m interested.
But alas, I’m here, drunk off my ass, boobs practically spilling out of my shirt, and my mascara slowly melting off my eyelashes and onto my face, morphing me from new-in-town college girl, to trash panda from the raccoon clan.
“Dottie, Lindsay,” I say weakly, moving my head from side to side. “Where art thou?”
“You need help?” a deep voice slurs next to me.
I look to my right through very blurry vision and make out what I’m going to assume is an incredibly attractive man. But then again, I’m drunk—the whole mascara melting off my eyes in full swing—and I’ve been fooled once before.
But hey, I think those are blue eyes. Can’t go wrong with that . . . reasoning that will be thought better of in the morning.
“Have you seen Dottie or Lindsay?”
“Can’t say that I have,” he answers, resting against the wall with me.
“Damn it. I think they’re making out with some baseball players. Have you seen any of those around?”
“Baseball players?”
“Mm-hmm.” I nod, shutting my eyes for a second but then shooting them back open when I feel myself wobble to the side. The guy catches me by the hand before I topple over, but thanks to his alcohol intake, he’s not steady enough to hold us up and . . . timber . . . we fall to the couch next to me.
“Whoa, great placement of furniture,” I say, as the guy topples on top of me.
“Damn near saved our lives.”
I rub my face against the scratchy and worn-out fabric. “How many people do you think have had sex on this thing?”
“Probably less than what you’re thinking.”
The couch is deep, giving me enough room to lie on my side with the guy in front of me, so we’re both facing each other. He smells nice, like vodka and cupcakes.
“So, have you seen any baseball players around? I’m looking for my friends.”
“Nah, but if you see any, let me know. I can’t find my room.”
“You live here?” I ask, eyes wide.
“Yup,” he answers, enunciating the P. “For two years now.”
“And you don’t remember where your room is?”
“It has a yellow door. If the damn room would stop spinning I’d be able to find it.”
“Well . . . maybe if we find your room, we’ll find my friends,” I say, my drunk mind making complete sense.
“That’s a great idea.” He rolls off the couch and then stands to his feet, wobbling from side to side as he holds out his hand to me.
Without even blinking, I take it in mine and let him help me to my feet. “Yellow door, let’s go,” I say, raising my crumpled cup to the air.
“We’re on the move.” He keeps my hand clasped in his and we stumble together past beer pong, people making out against walls, the kitchen, to an open space full of doors. “Yellow door, do you see one?”
I blink a few times and then see a flash of sunshine. “There.” I point with force. “Yellow, right there.”
His head snaps to where I’m pointing. A beam of light illuminates the color of the door, making it seem like we’re about to walk right into the sun. I’m a little chilly, so I welcome the heat.
“Fuck, there it is. You’re good.” Together, we make our way to the door, pushing past a few laughing people and into the quiet den of his room.
Black walls, white trim, one window looking out over the water; the guy has a nice place. I scan the space, looking for any sign of my friends but come up short, only finding a large bed with a black comforter, a metal-looking desk, and a large white dresser with a giant TV mounted on top.
Not a friend in sight but what a cozy spot to take a little rest.
“I don’t see my friends.”
He looks around. “I don’t either, but fuck, my bed.” He throws his arms out to the side and bellyflops on the mattress, bouncing a few times before settling his head on his pillow.
I stare at him a few moments. Tight jeans shaping his ass and thighs, white shirt that shows off every muscle in his back, handsome face. Not a bad view. But that’s not what’s enticing me to move forward. It’s the warm and fluffy-looking pillow right next to the guy.
Like a cloud calling my name . . . Emory, come here, Emory, rest your head on me. I make one of the best decisions of my life.
Don’t mind if I do.
I propel my body forward like a dolphin slicing through the water and flop down on the mattress, resting my head right on top of pure heaven.
Oh, that’s nice.
Real nice.
Smells like fresh soap and feels like my head is being hugged by cotton.
See, best decision I ever made.
The mattress shifts next to me, and I peep my eyes open to see the guy with the nice ass hovering over me. He glances down with heavy lids and then back up at me.
I smile lazily up at him, a little nervous that I’m puckering my lips, but honestly, I can’t be in control of anything my body is doing right now.
He’s about to tell me I’m the most luscious and beautifully smelling girl he’s ever met—like a field of flowers on an epic spring day—
“Uh, your boob popped out of your shirt.” He points at my chest. What now? Spring flower—
That’s no spring flower compliment.
I must be completely and utterly exhausted, because instead of reaching up to stuff the wayward boob back in my shirt, I cry out, “Oh, no,” but make no attempt to fix the problem.
“Does it usually do that?” he asks, looking very concerned for me. “Try to run away?”
I shake my head, the softness of the pillow making my eyes heavy. “No, this is the first time the little lady tried to escape.” Barely able to lift my hand, I tap his forearm and say, “Be a dear and lecture the poor thing and stuff it back into place.”
“I’ve never lectured a boob before.”
“You got this. You’re a strong, confident man with a commanding voice. Give that breast a berating.” When he just continues to stare at me, I shift my head to the side and rub my cheek against the smooth fabric of the pillowcase. “Don’t be shy,” I encourage him. “Just lift it up and shove it back in.”
He rests his head next to mine, the mattress shifting and bouncing with his movements. Still staring at my boob, he reaches up and cups it in his hand. “Heavy,” he says quietly.
How sweet.
And utterly romantic.
I’ve never been told I have a heavy boob, but by God, it makes me smile. Good job growing, Emory.
His abnormal but delightful compliment is the last thing I remember before I drift off and fall into a deep slumber.
It’s the last thing I remember before I wake up in the middle of the night in a stranger’s room, passed out with my boob in said stranger’s hand. So much for tucking her back in.
Welcome to Brentwood U.
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Quinn, Meghan, The Dugout
