Page 31 of Relief Pitcher

“That sounds great.” I admired what a shark she was making that kind of deal to help her team, but when she winked at Cooper, I wondered about her other motives.

“You’d better be good, or Danita’s gonna have your ass. Shehatesthe sponsor of that team. Like if he’s ever found dead, I’d have to turn Danita in to the cops.” Coop mimed a stabbing motion.

“Good thing our buddy, Tyler, here played college ball.” Danita clapped my shoulder.

As the sales manager for the brewery, I’d tried numerous tactics to close a deal. Joining a softball team for the next two months was a first.

The employee rang up Coop while he and Danita told me more about the league. It sounded like the perfect balance of competition and fun. The guys would be stoked. They’d encouraged me to find a league to play in. Then it hit me that they might come to a game and see Coop there.

Pros: Get an edge in pitching our beer to Danita and seeing Coop’s thick thighs flexing in his catcher’s squat.

Cons: Relentless harassment from my best friends and risking things getting awkward with Coop.

And the pros have it.

“It’s great because there’s a different charity we fundraise for each game, and all ticket donations and merch proceeds go to them.”

That made me even more excited. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Cooper spoke.

“Tap That Brewery does something similar. They regularly fundraise for queer charities and have dedicated nights where a percentage of the profits get donated. It’s pretty amazing to see a business give back so regularly.”

Her smile turned sweet as she stared at him for a long moment, then refocused on me. I needed to be careful. They both had lost someone incredibly special to them, and I didn’t want to give anyone the wrong impression.

“Is that so? Sounds like you’re going to be the perfect relief pitcher. Right, Coop?”

I caught a meaningful look between them. “I need to know the important stuff like team chants, inside jokes, the tea about the other teams.”

Coop shook his head, but there was a warm smile on his face. “You sound like Danita. You’re going to be trouble together.”

She winked at me.

Another customer came up to the checkout, so I said goodbye to Danita and thanked her for her time. She hugged Coop and whispered something in his ear before giving him a meaningful look.

I grabbed two of his bags and followed Cooper to his car in silence. When he opened the passenger door of his truck, I loaded his bags up.

“Are you okay with me joining the team? I probably should’ve asked you before I said yes.”

He dropped his bag onto the floorboard and leaned against the truck bed. His hair was frizzy in the early-spring drizzle. I itched to smooth it out. Simply a reflex from having fucked and a lingering intimacy with his body. It didn’t mean anything. And I had a thing for long hair. Sue me.

“Of course I am. We reallydoneed to kick the other team’s ass. They’re cocky as hell.” He studied me in a slow once-over that sent my pulse racing. “If you played in college, you must be pretty good.”

I was living for Cooper’s competitive side. “I’m ready to kick some ass.”

He grinned. “We’ll figure out the details later. You good with practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays and games on Sundays?”

“I’ll talk to the guys, and we’ll work it out. No problem.” I helped cover on busy weeknights sometimes or if we had a Sunday event, but with Seth around, we had more flexibility.

I pulled my keys out of my pocket and stared at the toolbox in his truck bed. I meant to mention something casual, softball-related, to put some distance there before I got too excited about pitching to Coop.

“Are you gonna watch that new Hallmark movie this weekend?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” I smiled.

“Cool.”

“Catch you at practice.” As I walked back to my car, I fought the urge to look over my shoulder at Cooper. I repeated the mantra,we can be friends.I might be broken when it came to anything more than great sex, but I could handle friendship. I’d always been good at that, at least.

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