Page 30 of Relief Pitcher

I could see the pieces clicking into place in his head. “Oh! Aleck’s sister? You’ve got your hands full with this guy.” His teasing smile heated me up as quick as his kisses had.

Her mouth fell open before giving me a stern look that said I’d be filling in some gaps later. Oops. I hadn’t mentioned to her that I’d told Ty about Aleck. I knew she’d read too much into that.

All I could do was nod. I couldn’t believe he was there.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Hoping to talk to Danita about our beers.”

“And he brought us coffee. Isn’t that sweet?” She looked like she was already mentally planning our wedding. Jesus.

“I’ve got one left. Black, as you like it.” He shook his head and smiled boyishly. “This is such a wild coincidence.”

Danita aimed a calculating grin at me.

“Tyler was just asking if I had time for a meeting to talk about a possible partnership with Tap That Brewery. But, gosh, you know I’m just so busy this time of year with the softball team.”

Had she suffered head damage in the past few minutes? What the hell was she talking about? Tyler looked as confused as me at her weird segue. But then my brain used knowledge gathered over two decades of friendship to figure it out. That clever little shit. She stared at me, daring me to stop her.

“That’s awesome! I played pitcher on my college team. What’s your softball team? A rec league?” Tyler sounded genuinely interested. Bless him.

Danita’s smile ratcheted up a few notches. She turned to him. “The market sponsors a team for the Portland Metro Queer Softball League.”

“No way! That’s amazing. I’ve heard great things about the league. I’ve been meaning to check it out.” He was falling right into her trap.

I stood helpless, transfixed by the train wreck unfolding.

“I can do you one better. Our season starts next week, and our pitcher is out this season with an injury. My professional nemesis sponsors the team that beat us in the championship last year, and I need his smarmy ass to get knocked down a peg or two. I’d really like to shove us winning the championship in his face. Want to join us? I’m sure the coach would kiss my feet if I found him someone who played in college.”

Tyler looked at me and his eyebrows scrunched together. He was probably just as confused about whether he should do it as I was.

She glanced at me and smiled sweetly. “Coop is the catcher.”

* * *

TYLER

I stared at Coop,trying to read his mind. Danita’s idea had come out of left field—pun always intended—so I was trying to process it while gauging his reaction. I shouldn’twantto spend more time with him, but dammit, I liked the guy. Texting with him the past few weeks had been a fun change in my routine.

We’d only texted and had never talked about meeting up again. Digital conversations were the small bit of allowance I gave myself while following my rules. It couldn’t hurt to have another friend, except I wanted to fuck Coop, and I rarely wanted to fuck my friends. Acquaintances though? They could hop right on my dick.

Spending time with him would be playing with fire, which was exactly why I should turn down Danita’s offer.

But the brewery. Danita’s market was one of the best options in the area to reach a new customer base and brand saturation. The Pitted Olive was consistently applauded as a leader for a top-notch selection of local goods, and placement in the store had helped launch several businesses to the next level. Which also meant a lot of people competed for her limited shelf space. And I was competitive as fuck.

When we created Tap That Brewery, I swore that I would never let sex get in the way of business. People who didn’t know me well assumed I wanted to join the brewery as access to a steady stream of hookups. No way. Sure, I flirted, but I never hit on people at work. Work was work and sex was sex. Why risk things getting messy when I could find someone to fuck elsewhere?

It wasn’t like I was searching for something serious. If I were, meeting someone through work would make sense, like Austin and Caleb. For me? Sex was plenty. Give me an orgasm and time with my best friends—at separate times, obviously—and I was a happy man. I didn’t want to risk the brewery getting a bad reputation because of my sexual appetite.

I wasn’t sure whether joining Danita’s team would mean a win for my horny dick or business brain. More time with Coop got my blood pulsing, but the prospect of earning major brownie points with Danita would be great for the brewery. If she stocked us, I knew others would follow. And Ihadactually been meaning to check out that softball league for a while.

I’d been toying with the idea of proposing to the guys that we sponsor a team for one of the queer sports leagues in the Portland Metro area. Queer brewery and queer sports? Match made in heaven. But we weren’t quite at the point where we had the discretionary business funds for it. But playing was a great way to scope out an opportunity.

And I fucking missed playing baseball. Softball would scratch that itch. The prospect of showing off in front of Cooper? Cherry on top.

“I’m in,” I said before I could talk myself out of it.

Danita’s smile was frighteningly wide. “Great! Cooper will get you the schedule and all the details. In June, I’ll be considering new products for the fall. I always prioritize giving time to those who support the team and crushing Nick’s nuts. He’s the sponsor of last year’s league champion. Let’s chat then?”

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