Page 2 of Double Play

I turn my head and look around. He’s not wrong. There are several attractive women. Nearly all are wearing form-fitting jeans and cropped, midriff-bearing, tight tops. That seems to be the uniform of the women that come here. Several are already on the makeshift dance floor, swaying their hips, facing our direction. A table of professional baseball players usually garners a lot of attention.

Even though Quincy is new to the team this season, he’s fast become my closest friend. After me, he’s the oldest on the team. We have a lot in common and immediately clicked. When he moved here in the off-season, Harold Greene asked me to spend time in the gym with him. It naturally led to forming a friendship well before the season even started. Now we’re like old friends who have known each other for years.

I look around. “Did Trey make it out tonight?”

Ezra shakes his head. “He texted earlier that they’reunlikely to come.” He smiles. “You know what that means.”

I sigh. “Shit.” We have a self-imposed team rule. Whoever arrives last to anything has to give everyone a random fact. Quincy brought it to the team as a bonding thing and an incentive to be on time. It’s become a fun tradition and I’ve honestly learned a lot.

Cheetah nods his head. “Let’s hear it.”

I smile. I’ve been holding back on this one for a week, dying to share. “Sitting on a sea turtle is a third-degree felony in the US.”

They all start laughing. Quincy shakes his head. “I have so many questions about the logistics of doing that.”

For the next thirty minutes, we crack several sea turtle jokes, but I notice Q constantly looking at the door. I ask, “Are you waiting for someone?”

He shrugs. “I thought my sister was coming by tonight. I guess she didn’t make it. I suppose it’s not her scene anyway.” He mumbles, “At least not anymore.”

“Your sister? I didn’t know your sister was visiting. She lives in Southern California, right?”

“She did until this week. She just moved here a few days ago. Because of our travel schedule, I haven’t even seen her yet.” We had road games all week, just arriving back in Philly late last night.

He looks like he’s going to say more when he points to a woman who’s been staring at him since I walked in. “She looks good to go. I’m going after that. I’ll catch you guys later.”

Quincy is known for bailing early and leaving with women. I may be known forLaid by Layton, butHit It and Quit It Quincyis worse than me. He’s just newer to town so he’s not as well known. The girls love his WestCoast blond, messy surfer look. He likes themverycurvy. He has a clear type.

He slides out of the booth and makes his way to the woman. I see him whisper in her ear while she giggles the whole time. He grabs her hand, and they make their way out of the bar. I can’t help but internally laugh at how quickly he makes it happen.

While I’ll end my evening leaving with a woman, I prefer to enjoy a few hours with my friends before I do so. I also like to have more than two minutes of conversation with them before we make a night of it.

Just after he leaves, Trey and Gemma walk in. Trey is our teammate and Gemma is his wife of a few years. He’s tall, with light brown hair like mine, while hers is dark brown and very long. They’re an attractive couple and may have the healthiest relationship I’ve ever witnessed in my life.

They smile when they see us. I stand to greet Gemma. After kissing her cheek, I say, “Wow. You look amazing. I can’t believe you had a baby a few months ago.”

Her face lights up at the genuine compliment. “Ooh. Keep talking.”

Trey wraps his arms protectively around her waist. “Stop hitting on my wife.”

I smile. “Can’t blame a guy. You’ve got the best one out there.” I’m not kidding. Gemma is incredible. She’s beautiful, smart, sweet, and treats us all like brothers. She likes to dress a little fancy at times, though appearances can be deceiving. A lot of our teammates make fun of Trey for always bringing her out with us, but she’s like one of the guys. She can hang.

“Dude, you’re still hitting on her.”

I wink at them while they slide into the booth. Treyimmediately throws his arm around her, letting everyone know who she’s with. He’s always done this with her, even when they were dating.

I shake my head. “You’re such a caveman.”

“One day you’ll get it. I’m going to fucking rip you apart when that day gets here.”

“Unlikely. I’m the oldest unmarried man in the entire league.” I straighten my collar. “I have a rep to protect.”

Gemma laughs as she nuzzles her body into his. “His possessive side is such a turn-on. Women love that. Me in particular.”

He bends his head and kisses her neck. “Everythingabout you turns me on.”

She swivels her head, and they kiss. Not a peck. An open mouth, deep kiss.

Oh boy. Here we go. I thought having a baby might simmer things down for the two of them. If anything, it’s getting worse.

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