Spring Training Read Free

Whatever. Mi casa es su casa .” He nodded at Emery, hiding his disgust. He never could understand cheaters. Why commit to someone then fuck around? He nodded to Emery’s less than stellar appearance. “You might want to clean up, though.”
    “Yeah, good idea. She’d freak if she saw me like this at this time of day.” Instead of going to his still unpacked room, though, Emery first headed to the kitchen.
    Aaron was still shaking his head when a knock came at the door. Well, more of a pounding, really, that had him jumping up to answer just to get it to stop.
    Jesus. That better not be the cops or an angry husband or something .
     
    Teri’s hands and arms were full of the reusable grocery bags she’d hauled up to Emery’s new apartment. Unable to knock, she kicked the door three times hard. No answer. And she’d just talked to him ten minutes ago. “C’mon, Em,” she muttered, pulling her foot back for another ‘knock’.
    Instead of resistance, her foot met air as the door opened. Thrown off balance, she took a desperate step forward, trying to regain her balance.
    “Whoa.”
    She was caught firmly by the elbow and steadied by a large, strong grip.
    “You must be ‘the number one fan’,” the unfamiliar voice added with a touch of sarcasm.
    You must be Aaron, the apparently grumpy roommate .
    Finally stable, she looked up, expecting to see a young man around her sons’ age.
    Boy, was she wrong. In a good way.
    Suddenly hyperaware of the hand still grasping her arm, she fought for composure. Her over-stimulated primary erogenous zone—her brain—was having a field day as the man in front of her tripped every trigger she possessed at once.
    Tall, muscular and athletic? Check.
    Tawny, sun-kissed skin and blond hair? Uh-huh.
    Deep celadon green eyes with little laugh lines at the edges? Nice touch.
    She inhaled deeply. Gads, he even smelled heavenly. Male, spicy and a little bit like…glove oil?
    Rowr.
    The squint lines were promising. Maybe—hopefully—he wasn’t nearly as young as she’d expected. Or maybe they were just from playing ball in the sun for so many years and she was a total perv. She glanced down at the elbow he still held.
    “Oh, damn, sorry about that.” He removed the oily rag he was holding in the hand supporting her, swiping at her skin ineffectually with his thumb. At least, it was ineffective at removing the grease. It was proving pretty effective at something else though…
    Her eyes narrowed as something about his face gave her a prod of recognition.
    Aaron? Hmm…
    Trying to place him, and realizing she hadn’t yet said a word, she finally responded, “No problem.” She was proud of how normal her voice sounded.
    Get a grip, Sandusky. You sooo need a man if you’re lusting after your son’s roommate.
    Gratefully seizing upon the grounding effect of the thought of her son, she continued, “You must be Aaron. Is Emery here?”
    “Yes.” He backed in a bit reluctantly. “C’mon in, he just rolled in. I’ll try to catch him before he gets in the shower.”
    Teri frowned, distracted from her hormonal mental wanderings. “Just rolled in? You mean, from being out last night?” Oh, great.
    Aaron shifted, looking uncomfortable, but before he could answer, Em strolled into the living room. “Ma, hey!”
    “Ma?” Aaron echoed incredulously, going still.
    Emery crossed the room in a couple of big strides and gave her a hug. Whoa . Almost overcome with the stench as his unbound hair fell against her face, she reared back, pushing him away and gaping at him.
    “Emery! Have you been smoking?” She took another careful sniff, and the sharp tang of alcohol was unmistakable. She’d unfortunately learned over the years that his body chemistry processed alcohol in a very recognizable manner through his pores. Her heart clenched. “You reek of alcohol,” she stated flatly, staring him down.
    “What?” Em shot back, but had the grace to flush as he tried to take a sniff of