Page 37 of Relief Pitcher

Ty? Ty.Ty.Jesus Christ. Of course he had to come in with the nickname in his gravelly voice, all hot with his hair pulled back in a loose bun.

When he smiled at me, I damn near suggested we skip practice and fool around in his truck instead.What the hell is wrong with me? We’ve already fucked. Move on.It would be a long couple of months if my libido didn’t cool it. I should find some fresh prospects to distract me and my dick.

“I’m excited to meet everyone.” I was about to ask Cooper if he had saved any trees from certain death this week when a familiar guy approached with a knowing smile. TheI’ve seen your dick up close and personalsmile.

Oh shit.

“Tyler?”

“Hey, Sonny.” God, I hoped it was Sonny. I was usually pretty good with names and faces, but sometimes, in dark bars or with alcohol, the alphabet and facial features got a bit fuzzy. “You’re on the team? Cool.” Austin might win the bet, after all. I sure as hell hoped Dom didn’t. Two guys on the team’s roster were more than plenty.

“Yeah. My third year. This is quite the surprise.” He gave me a blatant once-over.

Okay, chill, dude. Don’t need to lay it on so thick.

Pretty sure I’d met Sonny on Grindr last fall. He’d been cool about my one-time-only rule—I never messed around with anyone who wasn’t—but messaged the next day to say that if I ever changed my mind, he’d be down to do it again. I hoped he wasn’t getting any bright ideas, but the way he took in my form-fitting joggers said otherwise.

Sonny looked good in the late-afternoon sun. Sharp cheekbones, black hair slicked back, and alluring dark eyes. But I felt nothing. No urge to revisit anything with him. Not that I ever felt that pull, which led to the only logical conclusion that something in me had to be broken. Except a part of me was down to go for round two with Coop.

I caught Coop looking between us. He playfully arched his eyebrow when we made eye contact. I shrugged and grinned. He shook his head and smiled. At least he wasn’t judging me for it.

“Good to see you, Sonny.” Cooper shook his hand. “Shall we?”

About fifteen people were stretching and chatting. People rocked rainbow clothes: crop tops, booty shorts, and shirts seemingly from previous Backdoor Sliders seasons. Best team name ever. Coop took me around and introduced me to the players standing where we dropped our gear. The team was a diverse blend of people seemingly all over the gender, race, body shape and size, age, and even hair color spectrums.

A person with a septum piercing and a rainbow mullet approached. “Hi, I’m River. They/them pronouns. You play softball before?”

“Tyler, he/him, and I pitched for my D1 college team. So basically, yeah.”

They snorted. “So, no softball.”

A few people snickered. It couldn’t be that hard.

“Hopefully, you know how to handle big balls. I’m Topher, he/him. Good to meet you.” Topher was short with purple hair buzzed on the sides and bangs swooping to cover half their forehead.

“Let’s take it easy on the fresh meat, okay? I’m Coach Gurtner. Pronouns are he/him. Good to meet you.” The coach was bald, broad-shouldered, and looked like he didn’t take shit from anyone.

“Tyler McNeill. Stoked to join the team this season.” I shook his hand.

“Danita said you played D1? We need a good arm to beat Coach Sandoval’s team into the ground.”

I loved a good, established rivalry.

Coop snorted. “They’re who won the championship last year. The one the infamous Nick sponsors.”

“On a bad call,” Coach grumbled. He shook his head. “Sorry. Probably shouldn’t be talking shit about another team during our first conversation.”

Coop clapped him on the shoulder. “Might as well let him know how much you hate Sandoval from the get-go. Light a fire in him.” He winked at me.

“Officially, this is a rec league, and we’re just here to have fun,” he said in a loud voice. “Unofficially? I want to shove a bat right up—”

“Hey, Coach, shall we get started?” River said, then flashed an apologetic grimace over their shoulder as they steered Coach away.

“Sorry about that.” Coop chuckled.

“Don’t be. It’s always fun to have a rival.” And if I helped kick their ass, I would score some points with Danita.

I followed the group to the bleachers, where we listened to Coach talk about his plan for the day and the season. I tried to pay close attention to learn about the team since I was the only newbie, but Coop kept drawing my attention from where he sat next to me, our thighs touching.

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