Page 97 of Coach Me
I make some good progress by the time Dex starts to full on stretch his arm. Someone might be a little out of practice.
I watch as he tosses a ball off to my brother to take over, but before he walks off the mound, he looks up toward me and winks. I’m not entirely sure if he can see me up here or if these are tinted windows, but I wave anyway.
When I see him disappear into the dugout, my heart rate kicks up. I really hope he’s coming up here. I didn’t necessarily want to be a distraction for him today, but I also couldn’t sit in that penthouse without him there for a minute longer.
I make a few more passes on the turtle before I hear the office door open. I spin around in his chair to find Dex absolutely beaming.
This man. I swear, if I can’t talk him into playing again, I might just ask Olsson to draw up a contract and I’ll forge his signature myself.
I put on my best fan girl voice. “Oh my gosh, it’stheDex Larsen. Pitcher for?—”
Dex cuts me off the moment he reaches me, his hands threading through my hair, and gives me a lustful kiss that sends shockwaves through my body.
When he pulls back, he rests his forehead on mine.
“Looks like you still have some of it left in ya, Coach.”
Dex chuckles softly, then scoops me up from the chair and promptly sits back down with me in his lap.
“I think that was another crack at our age difference.”
“What?Me?No. What age difference?”
Dex shakes his head as a smirk tugs at the corners of his mouth. “You still working on these for Miles?”
“Yep.” I reach over to my canvas bag of stuff and Dex’s grip tightens instinctively so I don’t roll out of his lap as I grab the one I finished. “Ta-da!”
“Hey, it actually looks like something now.” Dex takes it from my hand to look closer at it. “So, is this Pip or Pop?”
“Considering I bought two of the exact same turtles, I figured they’ll get mixed up anyway.”
Dex kisses my head. “He’s going to love them. Thank you for thinking of him.”
“He’s too cute not to think of,” I say, taking the turtle back and setting it back in the bag. “Who knows, maybe this will keep my actual turtles alive in their tank and not thousands of feet in the air on a plane full of baseball players.”
Dex shakes his head. “You and those fucking turtles. I can’t believe I caved on those things.”
I snort. “I asked nicely. It works every time.”
“No, baby, you could have demanded to bring those things and I would have said okay. You could have said you’re bringing a circus, and I would have said there’s room. I would only be saying no in my head.” Dex leans in to whisper in my ear. “But what would come out would be ‘anything you want.’”
I giggle at the feel of his words so close, but the moment Dex hears my laugh, he cups my face and kisses right where he just whispered. “Fuck, that laugh.”
A blush comes to my cheeks as he lets my face go. “And here I was, thinking you were this prickly man who didn’t want to hire me.”
“Oh, I didn’t, but not for the reason you’re thinking.” Dex tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Hey, I actually have something to run by you.”
At the change in Dex’s tone, I clip my last loop and set down the unfinished turtle to give him my full attention. “What’s up?”
“So, when I dropped off Miles, Kate mentionedthat she would be in New York this weekend and wants to come to one of the games to spend more time with Miles. The thing is, she wants to come for the whole day. I told her you’re the person in charge of him, you know how it is on game days and the schedule of everything.”
“Oh, Dex…” I bet that went over well.
“I know, I told her we’d talk about it because I don’t want to keep Miles from his mom, but I have to set boundaries somewhere. That was her whole thing to begin with. She still has Miles call at the scheduled times, but I’m supposed to bend whenever she wants me to?”
I place my hand lightly on his chest and feel his heart beating fast. “Dex, it’s okay. You’re doing what you think is right. I’m assuming, since you're bringing this up, that she does actually want to come to one of the games?”
“Yeah, on my way up here, she sent a text saying she wants me to pick Miles up after breakfast tomorrow and that she wants one game with him this weekend.” Dex exhales. “I want to be flexible when it benefits Miles, but I also don’t want to allow a break in the boundary I set with you being in charge when it’s not legally one of her times to begin with.”
