25. Wyla

Chapter 25

After a switch from a late night flight to an early one on Sunday, and with the time change, we finally touch down in Seattle around one in the afternoon.

I wasn't entirely sure how Stevie would handle this nearly seven-hour flight but considering Jett got us all first-class tickets, it was kind of a breeze. There were TVs on the back of the chairs which entertained her for quite a bit, then Jett had the flight attendant bring her coloring books and crayons. And when we got desperate, snacks were ready to go.

As we get our luggage and head out to the exit, something very crucial dawns on me.

"Wait, how are we getting to your place?"

Jett chuckles. "We're going to drive. My buddy Adam picked up my car and is waiting out front. "

"Does Adam play baseball with you, Daddy?" Stevie asks as she swings their joined hands back and forth.

"He does. He's the team's catcher."

Before Stevie can ask a minimum of five more questions, I have to butt in. "But what about Stevie? She needs a car seat."

Why did I not think of this earlier? I thought I actually thought this through but apparently not. We're supposed to be here all week and it didn't even register to me that we would be driving places and need a car seat.

"Wy, hey." Jett's voice pulls me back to reality. "Don't worry, I got it."

Don't worry. I think I actually like that saying now.

We make our way to the exit with Stevie insisting we swing her along the way. "Again, again, again!" Stevie cheers.

"Come on, Stevie, give Mommy a break." I feel like my arm is about to fall out of socket. When did my little girl get so big? "I'm not as strong as your Dad."

Stevie drags her feet and grumbles, "But I was having fun."

"Hey, I need a break too, Little Bee." Jett smiles down at her. "Besides, there's someone I want you to meet."

We follow Jett's lead out the door and to the left is a guy standing around Jett's height but has black hair and a little bulkier. He's wearing a red Maverick's baseball hat and is holding a sign that says ‘Ellison family' written sloppily in black sharpie.

"Really? A sign?" Jett laughs.

The man looks down at the paper. "Yeah, a sign. You always have to have a sign."

"Not when the person knows you," Jett says, and I've been around Owen and Graham enough to guess what the next word is going to be. I place my hands over Stevie's ears as Jett finishes with the classic. "Dumbass."

And Stevie's had her ears covered enough to know what it means, so as my hands move, she says, "Language, Daddy."

Jett smiles down and scoops her up. "You're right, I'm sorry. Stevie, this is my friend Adam. Adam, this is my daughter, Stevie." Jett turns toward me, and I have this need to hold my breath while he introduces me.

This is my child's mother? My one-night stand? Girlfriend? What am I?

"This is my Wyla."

His Wyla.

"Hi, nice to meet you." I smile. I'd shake his hand but I'm pretty positive I'm a puddle on the sidewalk now.

"Nice to meet you guys." Adam folds his sign up and hands it to Jett who shakes his head but puts it in his pocket instead of throwing it away. "Jett has talked about you non-stop since he got back, Stevie." Adam turns to me. "He talks about you too, but he's been doing that for years."

I look at Jett and have to bite back a cheesy grin.

He winks back, which only makes my blushing worse. "Okay, let's get going. Did you get that car seat?"

"It's in your car, yes." Adam rocks on his feet a bit.

I chuckle. "You didn't know how to put it in, did you?"

"Not a fucking clue."

Stevie smacks her hands to her ears. "Language, Daddy's friend."

After getting Stevie's car seat situated, we load up in Jett's Telluride. "Wy, I've got to be at the complex in about an hour. Do you want me to take you and Stevie to my place or do you want to come with me?"

"Is today a game?"

"Nah, we'll practice for about an hour. Probably have to do some physical therapy too."

"When you go tell, that di—" Adam struggles with the curse word for a moment then blurts, "difficult?"

Stevie snickers in her car seat next to him.

"Nice recovery," Jett mocks .

"Hey, I'm trying." Adam sighs. "Anyway, you need to tell Nick and Coach that you're good to start pitching some."

There's a small knot forming in my stomach. Jett starting to play again likely will mean no more surprise visits for the rest of the season. If we want to actually spend quality time together, I'll have to come up here, and I don't know how well that's going to go over with my job. Especially since I'm using the remainder of my vacation time this week already.

Jett reaches for my hand and intertwines it with his. "They'll let me play when they let me play. Wyla, do you want to take Stevie to the apartment?"

"I wanna go to baseball!" Stevie chants.

I shake my head. "I think we're going to baseball."

Jett

We pull into the Maverick's stadium, and Stevie's over the moon excited. Hell, so am I. I get to show off my girls.

It only took the car ride over for Stevie to wrap Adam around her finger. Wyla gets her unbuckled and the moment her feet hit the sidewalk she yells for Adam. "I bet I can beat you to the door."

Adam laughs. "In your dreams kid, you're probably just as slow as your old man."

"I'm not old. Go on, Stevie, make him eat his words." I give her a little nudge and she takes off.

Adam follows behind her taunting that he'll catch her, and she squeals as she tries to run faster.

Wyla's scrunch nose smile graces her face as she watches them. She shuts the car door and before she can walk away I step in front of her, walking her ass back up against the vehicle.

She bites her bottom lip. "What are you doing?"

"I haven't kissed you in hours, and it's killing me." I wrap one arm around her waist and the other behind her head so I can press her back into the car a little more comfortably then kiss her hard.

I know I'm on borrowed time here, but I want to remind her how much I fucking crave her. I could feel worries creeping their way in when Adam mentioned me playing again, and my girl can worry about other things if she wants but she will not worry about me or question how fucking important she is to me either .

Wyla lets out a moan, and hell if I'm not tempted to throw her in this car to rip her clothes off. Another moan slips from her lips… "Fuck me."

"Later, babe," Wyla says as she presses her hands against my chest.

I didn't even realize I said it out loud but definitely not mad about it. "That's for damn sure."

Wyla lets those damn dimples show, and I can't help but lean in for another lingering kiss. She gives in for a minute then pushes me back again.

"Still insatiable, I see."

"For you? Always."

We make our way to the front, and find Stevie inside taunting Adam as he lays on the floor.

"What happened here?" Wyla asks.

"I won!" Stevie bounces up and down giggling.

"She's so fast, I passed out trying to catch up with her." Adam fake pants, and Stevie laughs harder. "Are you laughing at me?" Adam pretends to grab her, and she squeals as she races straight to me.

"Protect me, Daddy." She laughs, and my heart nearly explodes. I scoop her up and her arms wrap around my neck for a hug.

They can never leave. Fuck. I can't not have them with me all the time.

Adam stands back up. "Alright, I give up. I won't get you anymore, Stevie."

Stevie loosens her grip. "You promise?"

"I promise." Adam holds out his pinky and Stevie wraps her whole hand around it. "Close enough."

I check my phone and realize we still have about half an hour before practice officially starts. "Hey, why don't you let us get changed, then we can go out on the field a little bit?"

"Yay!" Stevie wiggles out of my arms. "Let's do that!"

Stevie takes off in the first direction she sees and we have to reign her back in. "Wrong way, Little Bee."

After a lot of course correction, we make it to the locker room, and Wyla decides to take Stevie to the bathroom a little further down the hall while we change. I don't usually keep my stuff here all the time but since I bailed on the last game in Texas to sneak off to see Wyla, Adam brought back some of my stuff and left it here.

"So, what's your plan?" Adam asks once we get into the locker room.

"My plan?"

"To get Wyla to stay here. Don't even pretend that's not the goal for this trip. You want them here, nothing wrong with that. "

I can't lie and say I don't hope it's the outcome of their stay. Having them so far away is torture, but I need to see that Wyla can be happy here before I ask them to move. As much as I do love playing, I love her more.

"There's no plan, just hope they will… or at least, see if Wyla would be open to it."

Adam shrugs. "You guys will figure it out. Wyla seems great but Stevie seems too cute to be yours."

I know he's being an ass on purpose so I ignore it to get changed. I throw on my shirt and head back out. "Hurry up, my girls are waiting."