Homerun (Pro-U Book 4) (14 page)

Chapter 25

One Month Later

Jayce

It felt weird being in the stands instead of playing on the field, but it just so happened that the girls’ softball team had an extra game that week, and we didn't. I glanced around at our friends as a smile lifted my lips.

Emily and Jacob were arguing over whether the snow cone they were sharing was cherry flavored or strawberry. I couldn't imagine eating a snow cone as cold as it still was. Spring was showing up more and more, but it was chilly enough for a jacket still.

"Hey. Layla's up to bat." My sister pressed her shoulder against mine and smiled at me.

"You nervous about tonight? I'm kinda surprised you're not there at the church already." I leaned around her to give Lucas a look.

He shook his head but didn't say anything. It would seem she'd been training him to keep quiet. I laughed at the thought.

"I'm going straight over there from here, thank you very much." She rolled her eyes. "It's only two. The rehearsal dinner starts at six."

The announcer’s voice pulled my attention away from Aubrey. "Up next, pitcher for the Lady Friars, number ten, Layla Roberts."

We clapped and I cupped my hands over my mouth. "Hit it out of the park, baby. Show 'em what you got."

She glanced back at us and smiled, stealing my heart like she did every time she looked my way. I still couldn't fathom how we finally ended up together. I wasn't sure I would ever get over it, which felt like a good thing.

The pitcher threw an outside pitch and I watched Layla's body tighten as she stepped back and swung.

"No, baby. Step toward the ball," I whispered roughly. This was the first time I'd seen her in action since we worked on outside pitches. She'd played a good handful of games over the last four weeks or so, but she hadn't mentioned her problem in a while. I figured she really didn't have one. Looks like I was wrong.

She rolled her shoulders and lifted the bat again.

"Come on, Layla. You got this!" Jacob yelled from behind me as Aubrey called out a few positive things from beside me.

The pitcher threw another outside ball, and Layla stiffened and stepped back, missing the ball altogether.

"Fuck," I mumbled and got up, moving through the crowd down to the fence. I shifted over to the left side of the field and pressed myself against the fence. "Baby. Straighten your hips and step toward the plate. You're pulling back and stepping away. Remember how we did it?"

She glanced up at me with worry on her beautiful face. Damn... she hadn't been playing with me. She really was struggling with this type of pitch.

"Remember what I showed you?" I smiled at her, trying to give her courage to do what we'd gone over.

She nodded and took a deep breath before stepping up to the plate.

"Step toward the plate, Lay," I called out and held my breath as the fucking pitcher through another outside pitch.

Layla started to move back, but corrected herself at the last minute and stepped forward, swinging and knocking the hell out of the ball. It flew over the fence, and she tossed the bat and ran around the bases quickly. She touched home and jogged over toward me, pressing herself against the fence and kissing me through it.

"I love you. Thank you."

"And here I just thought you wanted my hands all over you."

"I do." She winked and turned to jog back toward the dugout.

I stood there for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to hide my rising erection from my friends. Somehow my girl chose the most inopportune times to turn me on.

"Yeah, like all the time." I untucked my shirt and walked back to the stands. Jacob, Micah and Lucas had the same smirk on their faces. I growled softly and shook my head. "Yeah, fuck all you guys too."

They laughed as the girls started to ask questions. I ignored them and pressed my forearms to my knees, leaning over and looking down toward the dugout. My girl was pressed to the fence, watching me like she had plans for me later that night.

It would have to be late. We had my sister's rehearsal dinner and dancing with everyone afterward. Late was good. Hell, anytime was good for me. As long as she was involved... I was in.

*

"All right. Lucas, you and Jacob and Jayce get to the front like you're going to be when we come in the door. Layla, you and Emily get out in the hall." Aubrey glanced around and brushed her hair back, looking as nervous as she made me feel.

Our mother was somewhere down the hall, tearing some poor guy’s ass off the back of him because they didn't use the right color of ribbon on the bouquets for the girls. I almost felt sorry for Lucas’s parents, who were a little standoffish, but still much more chill than my folks.

"We got the easy job," Jacob mumbled as we walked toward the front of the church.

I patted Lucas on the back and smiled over at him. "You getting nervous, dude?"

"Nope. I'm just ready to get this thing over with. I want your sister beside me for the rest of my life. If this hoopla is part of making that happen?" He shrugged. "So be it."

"Good answer." Jacob moved up to stand beside me as I took my place between him and Lucas. We turned toward the back of the church and Aubrey and the preachers talked for a few minutes.

"Where are you headed after this?" Jacob took a step forward and turned to face us.

"I think we have dinner and then everyone wanted to go out to the Jolly Fox, right?" I glanced over at Lucas.

"Yeah. My parents are catering dinner for us." Lucas reached over and pushed Jacob back into place. "Behave or my woman's liable to take your head off."

"Right." He moved back. "Wait a minute. No bachelor party?"

"Nope. My life's been like a bachelor party up until now. I'm good with going dancing with you guys and the girls. It's better that way." Lucas cleared his throat. "Just stand still and do what they tell you to do, all right? We'll be out of here in no time."

"Yeah, right." I let my eyes move across the church as a peace settled over me. I didn't have to worry about colors or placement or anything. I could just stand back and enjoy the beauty of what was about to happen. Some part of me wished it were mine and Layla's wedding, but it was good that Aubrey was going first. She'd make sure everything was in place and was perfect. After she'd done it for her wedding, I knew without a doubt that she'd want to do it for mine.

"All right. Places." A tall thin woman walked into the sanctuary and lifted her hands.

"Who's that?" I mumbled.

"Wedding planner. Your mom hired her." Lucas looked over at me. "I think she eats balls for breakfast, so keep your hands cupped over your boys, all right?"

I snorted, as did Jacob.

"Something funny?" the woman barked loudly and glanced up at us.

"No, ma'am," I answered for us and pulled my shoulders back. "My asshole just cringed. Anyone else?"

"Yep," Jacob and Lucas responded.

It was hell to keep the smirk off my face as unwanted laughter danced in the base of my throat. Why Aubrey thought it was safe to put the three of us at the front of the church for an extended period of time was beyond me. It would have been a lot easier and probably safer to let us walk the girls in.

Music started to play from above our heads, and Aubrey walked out of the church with the wedding planner beside her. The preacher walked toward us with a funny look on his face.

"That woman is a little scary." He smirked and took his place beside Lucas.

I chuckled, letting out a little bit of the pressure building up inside my chest.

"I won't tell you what the guys said about her." Jacob leaned forward and smiled.

Lucas reached over and popped him in the forehead, dragging another chuckle from me. "Behave. Seriously, man."

"Yeah, idiot." I glanced over at Jacob with a smirk on my face. "Behave."

All the humor bled out of me as I turned to watch Emily walk down the aisle toward us, her pretty face tilted just a little as she watched Jacob. It would seem that Layla and I weren't the only ones talking about the future.

"Stunning," Jacob whispered beside me, and Emily's eyes widened a little. She stopped about halfway down, and Jacob moved from beside us, walking down and offering her his arm. They walked toward the front of the church, paused and split ways, Jacob moving back over to join me.

Was that how it worked? Damn. For some reason I couldn't remember Aubrey telling us that we had to meet the girls in the middle.

"Do I do that too?" I whispered as softly as I could.

"Yes." Jacob glanced over at me with a smile on his face. "Did you not listen to the ten minutes of instructions your sister gave before we started?"

"Boys! Hush. No talking during this part." The wedding planner’s voice was insanely shrill and sent chills down my back.

"Ball. Eater," I mumbled without moving my lips.

Jacob laughed and pointed at me as we got another dirty look.

I shrugged and turned my attention toward Layla as she walked down the aisle holding a bouquet of white and blue flowers. Her long blond hair framed her face and played along the sides of her breasts beautifully. The pretty pink dress she wore fit her like a glove and left my heart racing and blood pumping in all the places I needed to ignore.

She paused in the middle of the aisle, her eyes on me.

I moved down and walked toward her, letting my eyes run down the length of her perfect body. "All mine."

"All yours." She smiled up at me as I offered her my arm. "I love you."

"Me more." She took my arm and we turned, walking slowly back down the aisle together. I could see the future, feel it, hear it. It would be better to wait until we were graduated and everything was settled, but that wasn't going to happen. I just needed to get past my sister's wedding before I hit my knees and asked Layla to be my wife. Aubrey and Lucas deserved everyone’s attention for their moment, but after that... I was stealing the spotlight. There was no way in hell I was letting anything come between me and my girl before sealing the deal. I'd waited too damn long to chance it.

We paused at the front of the church and I leaned over a little, kissing her cheek softly and letting her go.

"Why didn't you kiss my cheek?" Emily leaned forward and whispered across the front of the church.

"No talking at the front!" the wedding planner yelled loudly.

I almost tripped over the bottom stair as Jacob's eyes grew wide and he whispered, "Ball. Eater."

The best part? The sound of Lucas laughing out loud as the preacher whispered his response. "Dear Lord. I'm not sure which is worse. The fact that you boys are so vulgar or the scary reality that you just might be right."

By the time Aubrey turned the corner all four of us were cracking up. Jacob, me, Lucas and the poor preacher who had to put up with us.

My sister stopped at the back of the church and put her hands on her hips. "Seriously? Fine. We're going to start from the beginning and do it again and again until you guys behave."

"What? I have plans tonight," I groaned and turned to Lucas, who just shrugged.

"Do what she says, when she says it and life will go good."

"Listen to this man... he understands marriage already." The preacher smiled and walked back down the aisle toward Aubrey and the wedding planner. Damn if the man in black didn't look back and lift his eyebrow.

He wasn't going to say it, but we all knew what he was thinking.

Ball. Eater.

Chapter 26

Layla

We must have run through the wedding procession ten times before Aubrey finally gave up. The boys were acting like teenagers and Emily and I were trying like hell not to join them. I wasn't sure who the lady was that was directing everything, but I knew one thing... she'd not be at my wedding.

"Wow. That was painful." Jayce wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked down the front steps of the church. The dinner was being held in a large building across the road, but we had a thirty-minute break.

"And I don't think it was supposed to be." I slid my arm around the back of his waist and nestled against his side. "You smell good."

"Yeah?" He glanced down at me. "You did good today on the field."

"Except for that stupid outside pitch. I told you I was having trouble with those. Why wouldn't coach have shown me to step toward the plate?"

He shook his head. "No clue. You want to head over to the dinner or hang out for a few minutes and be fashionably late?"

"Late sounds good, but not too late. Your sister is already edgy."

"She just wants everything to be perfect." He squeezed me and nodded toward an old swing set. "That looks fun."

I released him and walked toward the swings, sitting down in one and pushing off. I expected him to take the one beside me, but he move behind me and pushed the top of my back, forcing me to go higher.

"You're being so charming. What do you want?"

"You?" He moved over to the empty swing and sat down as I leaned back and let my hair drag along the ground.

"Done." I closed my eyes and let the feeling of flying roll over me. "I love this."

"Good. We should build one at our house, you know, for the kids." He chuckled.

"We could break it in for them." I sat back up and watched our friends walk out of the church and toward dinner. Aubrey paused and watched us for a minute before smiling, waving and running to catch up with Lucas.

"Come on. We need to get over there." Jayce slowed his swing and got up, moving behind me to stop mine. He kissed the top of my head just before I got up. "I like this dress on you."

"You like everything on me." I reached for his hand.

"And I like nothing on you." He wagged his eyebrows.

"Don't start. You're already in trouble with Aubrey for acting like a child at the front of the church." I squeezed his hand and let out a girlie sigh.

"What was that?" He smiled.

"You. I hate how you make me feel sometimes. It's uncomfortable." I shrugged and moved closer to him as we paused by the side of the road.

"That's what love is all about, right? You've been making me feel things for a long time, payback is hell." He tugged at my hand. "Come on. Let's eat and head to the club to spend the evening with everyone."

"And after that?" I jogged beside him across the street. The smell of BBQ filled up my senses, and I breathed in deeper. We rarely had BBQ, but it would be a fun treat for the night.

"After that I'm going to call dibs on dessert."

"What do you feel like?" I reached for the door handle and paused as his tongue darted out to lick the side of his mouth. "Oh. Oh."

He popped my rear as I walked into the dining hall and smiled over at his folks.

"Behave." I glanced back toward him and gave him a bratty look.

"Not a chance in hell."

*

The dinner was fun, but a little more stuffy than I would have imagined Aubrey's rehearsal dinner to be. Lucas’s parents were really proper and didn't say much during the entire dinner. It set the tone for us to be a little more withdrawn than our crowd would have been.

By the time we wrapped everything up and walked back toward the cars, I was ready for liquor and loud music.

"That was..." Jayce glanced over at me and paused.

"Awkward." I took his hand before we ran back across the main road. We walked to the jeep and I paused, turning around to get Aubrey's attention. "We're going to get us a table at the Fox. Are you going home to change or no?"

"No. We'll meet you there. Order a tub of beer I can jump into, please?" She shook her head.

"Me too." Lucas raised his hand.

I chuckled and got into the jeep. "At least they’re feeling the same thing we are."

"It's just wedding jitters. I guess parents get it too?" Jayce turned on the jeep and glanced over at me. "We should just run off to Vegas and get married. To hell with all of this proper stuff."

"It's definitely a thought." I leaned back and turned my head to watch our friends. "Do you think Emily and Jacob will get married?"

"Yeah. I think Jacob's found his match, though he never expected to." Jayce coughed softly. "He was the biggest whore I'd ever met before him and Emily got together."

"Yeah. He's a good guy though."

"So tell me honestly..." He paused, and I glanced over at him.

"What?"

"Did anything ever happen with you and Jacob? You guys seem awfully close." He brushed something off the leg of his pants and pulled out of the church driveway onto the main lane.

"No. He hit on me a little our first year at Providence, but I put him in his place pretty quickly. We became friends because he threw his flirty shit at me, and I didn't put up with it. Pretty soon he stopped trying to hit on me and just started to talk. We used to have lunch once a week, but we don't get to do that too much anyone."

"I'm jealous."

"You shouldn't be." I unbuckled and got on my knees, leaning over the console to kiss the side of Jayce's neck. I breathed him in deeply and brushed the tip of my nose up to his ear. "You're the only man I want."

"Good. Let's keep it that way." He glanced over at me and stole a kiss. "Now, get back in your seat."

"What if I don't want to?" I licked at his neck again.

"You're going to cause me to have a wreck." His breathing got a little off as I reached down to cup him.

"Just keep your eyes on the road, baby." I sucked his earlobe into my mouth and dragged my fingers up over the thick bulge between his legs.

He groaned and gripped the steering wheel tighter. The leather protested under his fingers, turning me on more than it should have.

"Maybe we should swing by the house before we go dancing. You know... to let you change out of that pretty dress into something more comfortable." He lifted his hips, pressing his cock against the palm of my hand.

"Your sister wouldn't like that too much." I kissed him again and moved back into my seat. "I'm not sure I care right now though."

"The wedding stuff get you going?" He glanced over at me before lifting his ass off the seat and repositioning himself.

I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of him. It was silly, but maybe it was the wedding stuff. I wanted to go home and spend the night making him moan.

"I don't know." I leaned toward him and ran my fingers up his thigh. "I think it's just you."

"Good answer." He turned toward the campus and let out a long breath. "I'm glad they didn't want to do the bachelor party thing. Lucas isn't exactly the kind of guy to have much fun without his woman around."

"And you?"

"I'm the exact same. I love shooting the shit with the guys for a little while, but after an hour or so, I'm done. Neither of us would be good with going out dancing without you girls."

"How about getting a lap dance from some slutty chick at the club?" I pressed my nails into his thigh as if to warn him. I was totally messing with him, and he knew it.

"What's she look like?" He glanced over at me and laughed loudly as I growled and popped him in the chest. "I'm kidding, baby. You're the only one getting on my lap. You know this."

"Good answer." I unbuckled as he pulled up to the Fox and parked.

"I need you to walk in front of me." He gave me a sheepish smile, and dammit if I didn't fall more in love with him.

"Consider it done. There's no way in hell I'm letting another woman see what you're packing down there." I lifted my eyebrow as he reached for me, half pulling me into the seat with him.

"She could just be jealous from afar. I'm yours forever, remember?" He leaned down and kissed me softly a few times before deepening it.

I moaned and moved the rest of the way into his seat. A make-out session was needed before we spend the next three hours pawing at each other on the dance floor or trying not to paw at each other at the table with our friends.

It almost seemed like a blessing and a curse.

I yelped at the sound of someone beating on the window beside us.

"Get a room!" Jacob yelled and walked toward the Fox.

"He's right. We should go home and get a room." Jayce pulled me down for another long kiss that had my body tingling in all the right places.

"Get out of there." Aubrey knocked on the window next. "You're steaming up the windows. Good grief. Like two horny kids."

"Fake a stomach ache in thirty minutes?" Jayce snuck in one more kiss and opened the door, helping me out.

"No way. You do it." I glanced back at him as I fixed my skirt and smoothed down my hair.

"She'll know I'm lying. Just tell her your period is starting."

"Hell no. It'll start if I say it's going to." I reached for his hand. "Just get in here and let's have fun. Aubrey and Lucas are leaving for Washington in a few days and we won't see them for a couple of months. Probably not until graduation. You and I have every night together for the rest of our lives."

He huffed and closed his door before taking my hand and walking us toward the club. "Fine. We'll behave, but just know that I'm salty about it."

I laughed and walked into the club behind Lucas as he turned around and nodded at Jayce. "Dude, just fake the shits."

"Did you hear our conversation?" I turned my head to pin Lucas with a hard stare.

"No. He just thinks like I do." Jayce wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave Lucas a thumbs up. "Good idea, man."

"You're not faking anything. Let's get a beer and go dance for a little while."

"Awesome. Let's lower our inhibitions and grind against each other to sexy music in the lusty haze of the strobe light." Jayce leaned over and pressed his mouth to my ear as we walked to the bar. "That sounds like a great idea. Then we can sneak off to one of the back rooms and I'll take advantage of you."

"Really? There's a back room?" I turned away from him as if looking.

"And if there were?" He pulled his arm off my shoulders.

"I'd take advantage of you." I turned to the bartender and smiled. "I need a round of shots. Six total and a bucket of beers, please."

"Hey man," Jayce waved beside me, grabbing the bartender’s attention. "You guys got a back room?"

He chuckled and turned to get the drinks. "Not the kind you kids are looking for."

I popped Jayce in the stomach and gave him a look. "Seriously?"

"No. I was kidding." He shrugged. "Sort of. Were you kidding?"

I couldn't help but laugh. He was ridiculous, childish and completely mine.