My Lucky Catch (University Park #6) (9 page)

“Sorry, I just . . . ” I averted his gaze. “It’s complicated.” I shook my head. “I’m complicated Luke.”

“I know, and I’m trying to find out why.” He leaned in close to me, pressing his lips to the base of my jaw. It tickled, and my body automatically arched when his tongue slid across my skin and his lips sucked me hard. So hard that my hands flew to his arms and traveled down his back, giving his ass a nice squeeze. “I like you, Delaney. A lot.”

“Ugh. That’s a problem.”

He lifted his head, leaving my body crying for more. “Why?”

“Because I’m the wrong type of girl to like.” I pushed him away. “I warned you from the beginning.”

“I know you did. But I want more.” His lips pressed to mine, and his tongue slid into my mouth. For a few seconds, I lost all control. I dug my fingers in to his hair, pulling slightly as I devoured him. Luke tasted so damn good. So good that I found myself forgetting why I couldn’t let this go too far.

As I felt a piece of brick move, I quickly jerked away. “No. No. Stop.”

Luke immediately pulled away. “Sorry. I just can’t get enough of you.”

A nervous laugh erupted from me. The truth was I couldn’t get enough of him, either. But I wasn’t going to tell him that. That was like adding fuel to the engine that was in hyper drive. I had to be careful and not rev up his engine any further.

“Well, there’s only so much of me.” I wiggled out of his hold. “Have to save some for the rest of the guys.”

“Seriously?” A strangled sigh erupted from him. “What if I told you I didn’t want you to see anyone else but me?” A glint of hope shined through his baby blues. “What would you say?”

Something stirred in the center of my chest, causing me to take a deep breath. As amazing as that sounded, I knew better. “I’m sorry, but I’m not accepting applications at this time.”

“Why not?”

“I like my status the way it is. Besides I like keeping you on my rotation.”

All hope vanished from his eyes. “Damn, you make me sound like a song on your favorite playlist.” He huffed and then shifted to his side. “Is that how you think of me?”

“You’re in the top three.” I gave him a meek smile.

“But I want to be the first one . . . the only one.” He touched my face, cupping my jaw. The warmth of his touch nearly made me cave. But I was stronger than that. My va-jay-jay was stronger than that.

“That might be hard.”

“Why is that?”

“I find relationships to be complicated.” I reached for my panties and slipped them on. “Burdensome. Demanding. Boring. Superficial.”

“I think you’d find a relationship with me to be quite the opposite.”

“Really?” I stood up and put on my jeans. “How so?”

“I’m fun. Adventurous. Accommodating.” He waggled his brows. “And did I mention great in bed?”

“I already know that.” I winked. “But if you want to continue seeing me, it will be on my terms. And I’m warning you now, I’m the wrong type of girl to get involved with.” I continued getting dressed, determined to leave and not stay. Because if I stayed, I feared what I might do next. That fear was enough to get my ass moving.

“Okay, but I don’t agree.”

“Trust me, Luke, I’m not the type of girl you introduce to your parents.”

“But my parents already know you.”

He had a point. “True, but not the real me.”

Luke shook his head. “Then I guess I’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means we both get what we want.” He arched a brow, looking damn sexy.

“I think I like that.” I leaned across the bed and kissed him. “I’ll text you later.”

“If you want do this again tonight or tomorrow, let me know.” He winked.

“You don’t give up do you?”

“Never.” Resting on his back, he crossed his arms and tucked them behind his head. “And I don’t know what guy would.”

“I’ll remember that.” I took in a deep breath and grabbed my purse. “See ya later.” I had to leave before he figured out how to loosen my brick wall any further.

Chapter 6

End of Spring Semester—Junior Year

Luke

“Come on, Luke. Keep that head up,” Coach Ruiz encouraged me again as I practiced hitting the ball. We had just closed out our regular season with nineteen wins. Collin had done damn good, finishing fourth in the conference with over 124 strikeouts. I, on the other hand, had done terrible. Slipping from a first starter to the bench for the last two games.

“I’m trying, Coach.” I swung hard, using my lower body strength to send the ball in the center of the netting.

Forbes was to the left of me, and Collin to the right, practicing their swings. I tried not to notice how well they were doing and keep my head focused on what I needed to do. I had been out of my element for too long. The problem was I didn’t know if I could get back on track or if I really wanted to. My desire to play was quickly slipping away.

“You don’t want your head to dive into the ball. Keep it steady. The less movement, the better.”

I nodded, working hard to concentrate on his recommendations. The regular season might have been over, but we were already preparing for the final conference series game, which started on Tuesday. Based on my declining stats, I wasn’t sure Coach Summers was going to let me start. Then again, did I really want to?

Just as I prepared to swing, I heard my name.

“Thompson.”

I turned around to see Coach Summers standing behind me. His arms were crossed, resting on his protruding belly. His purple PHU baseball cap covered his balding head, but the shiny silver hair on his arms reveled his age. Coach Summers had been at PHU for more than seventeen years, and based on his stats, he wasn’t retiring anytime soon.

“Yes, sir?” I lowered the bat to my side.

“I’d like to see you in my office.”

“Okay.” I nodded and handed the bat to Coach Ruiz. “I’ll be right back.”

“No problem.” He patted my shoulder as I exited the practice-batting cage.

Forbes did a double take and stopped mid-swing. I shot him a meek smile, knowing that when Coach called you to his office, it usually wasn’t good. He was the type that praised in public and reprimanded in private.

I followed him to his office, passing the trophy cases from PHU’s past wins. The small college had risen through the ranks, earning a top twenty spot in the South Central Conference, all at the hands of Coach Summers.

My feet crossed the threshold, and the cool air from the vents instantly caused a bad feeling to settle over me.

“Close the door, please.” Coach motioned as he sat at the edge of his desk.

With a shaky hand, I pushed the door shut.

“Have a seat.” Coach pulled out the chair in front of his desk.

Slowly, I lowered to the seat, my leg muscles weakening rapidly. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

“How are you doing, Luke?” He eyed me broodingly, telling me he didn’t want to hear any excuses.

“Alright, I guess.” I kept a stiff posture on the wooden chair.

“Your poker face doesn’t fool me.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” I took a hard swallow, not sure why I was so freaking nervous. I wasn’t on an athletic scholarship so I shouldn’t have been worried about getting kicked off the team, but for some reason it turned my stomach upside down.

He leaned in closer, his nostrils widening with each breath he took. “Stop bullshitting, and tell me what the hell is going on.” He arched a brow.

I propped my elbow on the armrest and rested my chin on my fist. Unable to look him in the eye, I said, “Not sure, Coach. I’m just . . . not feeling it anymore.”

A heavy sigh released from his mouth, and he stood. With his hands on his hips, he paced his office and then stopped underneath the huge dragon and PHU emblem painted on his wall.

“You see that?” He pointed to the PHU baseball motto on the wall.

Dragons don’t try to win. Dragons work to win.

“Yes, sir.”

“Luke, you made a promise not only to the team but to yourself. What happened to that promise?”

I shrugged as my eyes darted to the floor. Somewhere between the early morning practices, three-series games, and long season, I’d lost my passion for playing. The good thing was that I still loved baseball—I just didn’t love playing it as much anymore. But how did I tell him that? I hadn’t even told my parents how I really felt, not that they’d let me quit. It would devastate them if I did.

“So the words,
I will do my best to excel. Be the best I can be. Honor my commitment to be there for my team and for myself. I will not fail. I will not give up. I will be responsible and do the right thing, always
,
means nothing to you?”

My eyes skimmed the purple script on the wall. The words I spoke just three years ago were no longer fresh on my mind. They had slipped away, despite seeing and hearing them constantly.

“Yes, sir.” I glanced up, lowering my hand. “They hold weight with me.”

“Then, what’s going on? What happened to my star player?” His eyes bored in to me. “I know you Luke Thompson, and you can’t fool me. Something is going on because this isn’t you.”

Coach was right. This wasn’t me. I couldn’t hide it anymore. He was running a professional college team, and my lack of focus wouldn’t be tolerated. I owed him an explanation even if I wasn’t ready to admit the truth. “I’m sorry, Coach. I . . . I just haven’t been able to focus lately.” My shoulders slumped, and I sighed. “My passion isn’t there anymore.”

“Is it the grind?”

“Partially. But there are other things that have been leading me to this point.” I clasped my hands and stared at my fingers. Sweat tinged my palms, and my hands shook. Why was it so hard to tell him what I really wanted?

“Is it a girl?”

My head jutted back. My mouth opened, but before I said
no,
I thought about what he asked. Did this have anything to do with Delaney? Had she tainted my mind? Caused me to lose my focus? I had lost a lot of sleep thinking about what I wanted from her, only to find out that she didn’t want the same thing. Being her fuck buddy wasn’t what I really wanted, but what did that have to do with playing baseball?

“No.” I shook my head confidently.

“Then what is it?” He pressed his hands on thighs. “Is it your family?”

Home run!

I pressed my lips together, trying to decide if I was ready to admit it. My life was managed by my parents—doing what they wanted instead of what I wanted. Being a Major League Baseball player wasn’t my goal in life.

It was their goal.

And I was sick of it.

I had retaliated by drinking and smoking, but it didn’t hurt them, it hurt me. Majoring in sports and exercise sciences, I knew what it was doing to my body, but I chose to ignore it.

“Luke, you can tell me.” The lines around his eyes and mouth relaxed. “If I can help you, please let me know.”

Reclining in my chair, I blew out a long breath. “I don’t care if I play for a Major League team. It’s what my parents want.”

“Okay, I understand.” Coach’s mouth twisted to the side, and his expression weaved into a look of confusion. “Are you purposely trying to sabotage your baseball stats?”

The truth in his words hit me square in the chest, like a fly ball I didn’t see coming. I rubbed the area over my heart a few times, trying to ease the pain.

“Because if you are, it’s working.”

I nodded, admitting what I’d been lying to myself about for the past year. “I didn’t want any scouts seeking me out because if they did, it would be a waste of their time and mine.”

“There are other ways to go about this, you know.” I was surprised at the tone of his voice. Subtle and understanding. He wasn’t the type that yelled and cussed, but he had a demeanor that was authoritative and demanded respect.

“I know.” I shook my head. “I’ve been avoiding it, and I thought if I didn’t play well, then I wouldn’t have to explain it to my parents.”

“Is your relationship that strained with them?”

“Yeah.” I sighed again. “It’s all they talk about and all they want from me.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “What is it that you want?”

Why was that the most popular question? I hesitated for a second and then decided to open up to him about my goals.

“I’d actually prefer to be athletic trainer. That’s why I’m majoring in sports and exercise sciences.” Telling him felt like someone removed the weights stacked on my shoulders.

A smile formed across his face. “I think you’d be great.” He squeezed my cuff before removing his hand.

“Really?”

“Yeah, in fact, I’ll mention it to Julian. You know, he graduated from PHU with the same major.”

“Thanks, Coach, I’d appreciate it.” I smiled.

“Of course. What you really need to do is talk with your folks. Explain to them you don’t want to play professionally.”

I glanced at the floor, feeling the excitement wane. “Easier said than done.”