Page 1 of Catching Him

Chapter One

Signing baseball cards nevergot old. Oakley didn’t think he was a narcissist. It was baseball. Being retired changed nothing. There wasn’t a day that went by where Oakley didn’t thank the universe for allowing him to live his childhood dream. The odds of having the success he had achieved were slim. People were definitely more likely to get struck by lightning. He never forgot that or lost his love for the sport. Every time he thought about how far he had come, he was humbled by life.

Still, by the time his scheduled time ended, Oakley’s fingers ached. His back cramped. These baseball conventions kept his face out there, but they were exhausting, especially with his body being abused for years. By the end of the weekend, his face hurt from keeping a smile plastered on it. His throat hurt fromtalking to fans and speaking on panels. He was still grateful for every second, but he was also tired.

The hotel attached to the convention center was huge and pricey. Everything looked fancy, yet somehow also outdated. He thought about stopping by the bar before heading to his room. Fear of running into more fans stopped him. He felt extra exhausted tonight. Instead, he popped inside the small store next to the front desk and grabbed a drink and snacks before hitting the elevator. Thankfully, he managed to make the ride in silence. As he opened the app on his phone to unlock his room, the phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number. Oakley’s tired-sounding sigh echoed down the empty hallway. He stumbled over nothing, losing his balance before righting himself. “Fuck.” A growl rose in his throat. He let himself inside the room before answering.

“Hello?”

“May I speak with Oakley Wilkes?”

“This is he.”

The man’s voice on the other end brightened. “Oh, good. Sorry for the late call. This is Baylor Keates. I’m Rocky and Jakk’s wedding planner. With the wedding so close, I’m nailing down the final numbers. When you RSVP’d, you didn’t mark if you intend to bring a plus one.”

Yeah. Oakley had done that. It was complicated. He cleared his throat. “Uh. Yeah. Sorry. Here’s the thing. I haven’t had time totalk to Rocky.” He also didn’t know how to start the conversation they needed to have. “My possible plus one might not be welcome to come to the wedding, so I didn’t want to assume anything. If you give me a few days, I can let you know.”

A long pause followed by a loud sigh met his rambling. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but nobody gives a damn about your plus one.” Oakley’s eyebrows shot up, but Baylor didn’t stop there. “This is the grooms’ day. They probably won’t even notice if their own families are there, let alone your date. I’m trying to do my damn job and people like you—who make it all about them—make my job hard as hell. All I need to know is if you’re bringing a goddamn plus one and if you want fish or chicken.”

An uncomfortable chuckle escaped Oakley. The attitude caught him off guard. “Okay. Damn, sassy. Put me down for a plus one and let it be in your head if the happy couple comes unglued at the sight of my date.”

“Thank you.” The chipper note to Baylor’s voice had Oakley shaking his head. “That’s all I needed.”

“All right.”

“Have a good night.”

For a moment, Oakley stood there blinking at nothing, with the phone still pressed to his ear after Baylor disconnected the call. He shook his head again. Oakley couldn’t say the guy didn’t get shit done. If Oakley ever married, he might have to look into hiring him. Fuck. He had said he would bring a date. Therewas only person he cared to ask. Unfortunately, Oakley hadn’t exaggerated. There was a very real chance Rocky and Jakk would flip their shit. Oakley didn’t want to ruin their big day. Then again, Baylor was the expert and probably right. They likely wouldn’t even notice Oakley, much less his date. This wedding would be huge. A famous football star marrying a well-known sports agent was a big deal. The crowd at this shindig would be enormous. No wonder Baylor sounded a bit stressed. Oakley couldn’t imagine the job he undertook. No one would care who he brought, which was a good thing, since it was Jakk’s ex.

It was hard as hell to go from sharing a huge home with his other half to being stuck in a tiny bedroom at his aunt’s place. Not only that, but Eric had a shitty job, zero money, and no hope after giving up everything for a relationship that failed spectacularly. He had failed. Truthfully, there was money in his savings. His ex, Jakk, had set him up an account out of guilt. Eric couldn’t bring himself to touch it. He didn’t know if it was his guilt or anger. Pride. Jakk didn’t know Eric didn’t use the money, so the entire situation was dumb. But Eric would know if he touched that money, and it felt a hell of a lot like letting Jakk win. Jakk had only set up that account because he had asked Eric to give up his education, life, and home to follow him for his career. Then hehad brutally dumped Eric. Eric had lost track of who was at fault. They both were to an extent. None of that mattered anymore. They were done. Jakk was set to marry soon. Eric was nothing now. He had to let it go.

Eric tried focusing on the way his feet hurt. Not only did he walk everywhere in downtown New York now, but he stood all day for his job. He had been lucky his aunt knew someone who knew someone, allowing him to land a cashier position at a huge company known for paying more than the standard for the area. Still, he was a cashier for a department store. He wasn’t moving from his aunt’s place. This was forever. That thought alone was enough to make him want to slit his wrists. Eric stared at the bedroom ceiling and tried not to think. He was over Jakk. Anger would do that to a person. He wasn’t over the destruction of his life because he had no choice but to keep living it. But Jakk, yeah. He could go fuck himself. His phone rang. Eric checked the face. A slight smile touched his lips at the sight of Oakley’s name. Now Oakley was an entirely different story. Eric just hadn’t figured out what yet.

“Hello?”

“Hey. How was work?”

Eric switched the phone to speaker and set the device on his chest. He went back to staring at the ceiling. “It was fine. How was the convention?”

“Same as always. I just got an interesting phone call from Rocky’s wedding planner.”

Eric rolled his eyes. He appreciated Oakley not saying Jakk’s name, but he still didn’t want to hear about their wedding. “Okay.”

“He got pretty upset with me for not specifying if I intend to bring a plus one. So, want to go to a wedding with me?”

Everything inside Eric recoiled at the idea. “No.”

Oakley laughed, despite the disgust in Eric’s voice. “Come on. There’ll be hundreds of people there. They won’t even notice us. We’d get free food and alcohol. You’d get a free trip to Minnesota.”

Eric’s nose was still curled. “There’re so many things I want to say right now, but I’ll stick with the civil ones. Not only can I not afford to miss work, I also can’t afford a fancy outfit. Even if I could do those things, I would never spend money to go watch my ex marry someone else. Not that I’m jealous,” Eric added since he didn’t want to look bitter and pathetic, even though he was those things.

“Please?” Oakley broke out the pleading voice on him. “I don’t want to go with anyone else. What if I cover your missed wages and buy you whatever you want to wear? Please don’t make me go to a wedding alone. That’s just… the worst,” he finally said, as if no words would do.

In spite of himself, Eric realized he was smiling. “I don’t want another man financing me. That’s already destroyed my life once.”

“You shouldn’t look it that way. This is your friend, bribing you to save him. We can get drunk and make fun of their decorations.”

Eric couldn’t stop smiling. He knew Oakley didn’t mean it. Rocky was his friend. In fact, that was how they met. Oakley had accused Eric of stalking Rocky. All because they had been in the same bar at the same time. Unfortunately, that accusation had been how Eric learned Jakk was in love with someone else. But once Oakley realized he was wrong, he had transformed into this really amazing guy. Eric liked being around him. He wished Oakley wasn’t also a professional athlete. Retired or not, athletes were cold. They wanted to look manly. They couldn’t be gay. Apparently, Jakk no longer cared, but that was exactly what had destroyed them. Eric couldn’t be anyone else’s secret.

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