Hit and Run (Hot-Lanta #4)

  Not able to talk, Luke squeezed her hand in response.

  Luke and Molly kept quiet as they waited for Dr. Drake to shut the door and settle back into his chair. Placing his glasses back on, he looked up at Molly and smiled. “Thank you for joining us today, Molly. Luke has spoken such beautiful words about you and your daughter, so I’m honored to finally meet you.”

  “Thank you,” Molly responded sweetly. “Thank you for working so closely with Luke; I can’t tell you the difference you’ve made in his life as well as in our relationship. You are a very trusted individual in our family.”

  “I’m happy to hear that, thank you.” Setting his notepad to the side, he placed his hands on his crossed leg and said, “We are going to keep this session casual. As you can probably tell, Luke is quite nervous with having you here, so I want to make him as comfortable as possible.”

  Grateful, Luke let out a long breath and settled into the couch. Dr. Drake could read him very well, and even though Luke knew this was the next step in his recovery, it was still happening all so fast, and Dr. Drake was able to pick up on that feeling.

  “I’m just grateful for being invited. I don’t care what we talk about. We can talk about Winnie’s constipation for all I care.”

  Chuckling and relaxing a little bit more, Luke said, “I don’t think Dr. Drake needs to know about the lack of fiber in our daughter’s diet.”

  “We try to feed her prunes, but she prefers to shove them up her nose rather down her throat.”

  “I’ve tried the same thing; it’s not that effective,” Dr. Drake joked, making Luke laugh.

  “I didn’t know you had a sense of humor,” Luke pointed out. “It’s good to see this side of you, Doc.”

  Nodding, Dr. Drake said, “I could say the same about you. Not sure I’ve ever seen you look so relaxed.”

  Knowing why he was so relaxed, Luke turned toward Molly and said, “She brings out the best in me.”

  Molly smiled brightly at him and replied, “He’s just looking to get some tonight.”

  “Molly!” Luke laughed and shook his head. “God, I can’t take the girl anywhere.”

  “Don’t get shy on me now just because Dr. Drake is here. Tell him what you said to me in the car earlier about my heels.”

  Shaking his head and looking down at their joined hands, Luke replied, “Dr. Drake doesn’t need to know about the animalistic type sounds you make in the bedroom.”

  “Or the girly squeals you make when you orgasm.”

  Luke stared at his girl with a shocked look on his face, as if to say, “You did not just go there.”

  Molly stood her ground, not allowing Luke to embarrass her with his sex talk, another reason why he loved her so much…she was just as fearless as him.

  Chuckling to himself, Dr. Drake said, “I can see you two have an easy and loving relationship.”

  “We do,” Luke confirmed, while bringing Molly’s hand up to his lips where he gently kissed her, but then slipped the back of her hand a little tongue.

  With lust in her eyes, Molly stared him down, indicating she’d picked up on his teasing.

  “Just from sitting in front of you, I can tell there is enough chemistry between you two to last a lifetime. Tell me, how did you first meet?”

  Luke peered over at Molly with a devilish grin before saying, “We met at Deuces, a bar downtown. She was the biggest hussy I’d ever seen.”

  “And he was using his army card to pick up women,” Molly teased. “Flashing his dog tags to every woman in the bar who would pay him any attention.”

  “Only the sluttiest of girls fell for the old dog tag trick, which is why I was able to grab Molly’s attention,” Luke joked.

  “He likes to think it was the slut factor in me, but I actually felt bad for him because as I watched him walk around the bar that night, I noticed his fly was undone the whole time. It was rather embarrassing for him, seeing his pink panties poke out from the zipper.”

  “Secretly, knowing I wore pink panties turned her on,” Luke grinned.

  Dr. Drake held up his hand and said in a twisted voice, “You wear pink underpants?”

  A snort escaped Molly just before she covered her nose as she laughed.

  “She wishes,” Luke responded. “No, what really happened was I saw her at Deuces dancing with her friend Jane. I knew she was going to be trouble from the moment I laid eyes on her, and at that moment, I knew I had to make her mine. She was, by far, the most beautiful women I’d ever seen, still is.”

  Molly leaned in and placed a kiss on his jaw.

  “How long before you had sex?” Dr. Drake asked, pulling their attention away from each other.

  “Excuse me?” Luke asked.

  “I’m sorry if it’s an invasive question. I was just wondering. I can see a strong sexual attraction between you two, and I was wondering how deep it really was.”

  “Ummm,” Luke drawled out.

  “First date,” Molly said with her head down.

  Dr. Drake nodded his head and wrote something on his pad quickly.

  Luke tried to peek over to see what he was writing, but couldn’t make out the doctor’s obscene handwriting.

  “What are you writing?” Luke asked, not caring about the rules Dr. Drake had set up for their sessions. Luke wasn’t supposed to ask what the doctor wrote down because Dr. Drake didn’t want Luke to get caught up in the notes portion of the session.

  “Luke, we’ve talked about this,” Dr. Drake lectured.

  “I understand, but I don’t like you writing things down about my relationship with Molly; it’s the one solid thing in my life. I don’t need you diving into it and deconstructing everything we’ve built together.”

  “I’m sorry if I was giving that impression,” Dr. Drake apologized. “I was merely making myself a note. Sometimes couples can get lost in the physical part of their relationship and never dig deep into the emotional side. I fear that a part of your resistance to divulging your past to Molly has to do with a shallow emotional connection.”

  The tension that once escaped Luke’s body came back with full force. The reason for bringing Molly into his sessions with Dr. Drake was to talk about the Luke’s past, not to look into their relationship. There were reservations he had when it came to talking to Molly, and yes, he held some things in, but other than that, he was happy and he wanted to keep it that way.

  “We’re fine,” Luke replied tersely.

  Nodding, Dr. Drake said, “I think that’s good for today. Molly, thank you for stopping by, I will be in touch with Luke about the next session in which you will join us.”

  Molly looked back and forth between Luke and Dr. Drake to see what just happened, but Luke kept quiet as he shook Dr. Drake’s hand.

  On the way home, Luke still kept quiet as he drove through the city traffic of Atlanta. Molly placed her hand on his thigh and asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” Luke said, smiling down at her.

  “You sure?” she pressed.

  “Yup,” Luke said, while grabbing her hand and kissing it.

  In reality, he really wasn’t fine and Dr. Drake’s questions had spun him for a loop he wasn’t expecting. How emotionally connected were he and Molly really? Was their relationship purely physical? Looking back on their years together, there was a whole lot of sex and not a lot of talking. The realization shook him to the core. Was he in an emotionless relationship? Was that why he didn’t want to talk to Molly about his past, because he didn’t feel emotionally connected to her?

  There was no way. Nonetheless, it was a thought he seriously didn’t want to have to consider at this point in his life, when he was constantly battling his demons from the past.

  **Patty**

  “You know that bikini is doing all different kinds of things for my libido,” Marc called out from the lounge chair he was resting on, while Patty floated in the pool on a pizza-shaped float she bought for herself while on one of her Amazon binges.

  Patty
looked down at her simple yellow bikini and said, “You’re just a horn dog. Keep it in your pants, Sully.”

  Setting his beer down, he stood up, showing off his still very impressive physique, especially since he was a retired baseball player now. There wasn’t a day that went by that Patty didn’t consider herself lucky. Why she put off loving Marc for so long was beyond her, but now that they were living together, enjoying each other’s company, she couldn’t imagine herself with anyone else.

  After stretching his arms above his head, he ran toward the pool and tucked into a cannon ball. Patty squealed just as he landed right beside her, flipping her pizza upside down and dunking her in the pool.

  From under the water, Marc scooped her up and surfaced both of their bodies. Patty sputtered water out of her face and pushed her hair back, while Marc started to attack her face with kisses, making her giggle.

  “Marc, stop,” she laughed.

  “What? You don’t like my kisses?” he asked, as he peppered her cheek.

  “I do, but I feel like I have snot coming out of my nose from your intrusion on my tanning.”

  Marc stopped his kissing, looked at her nose and said, “Damn, you do have a big booger hanging out of your nostril.”

  “Marc!’” Patty squealed as she covered her nose, making Marc throw his head back and laugh.

  “I’m kidding, Patty Cakes.”

  Swatting his chest, she tried to release herself from his grip, but it was pretty much impossible with the hold he had on her.

  “Don’t lie about boogers, that’s on the list. We don’t ever lie about boogers, food in our teeth, or looking fat.”

  “Among other things,” Marc nuzzled into her neck. “You said you were tanning, but this isn’t your tanning outfit.”

  “I don’t have an outfit for tanning,” Patty said shyly.

  “Exactly, so let’s rectify that,” Marc said, while undoing the strings on Patty’s bikini.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” she said, while grabbing it. “We just got done having sex all afternoon. I’m calling a veto on mingling private parts for now.”

  “You can’t veto that,” Marc said in disgust.

  “I think you’re forgetting who wears the pants in this relationship.”

  “No one can be wearing pants in five seconds if you let this happen,” Marc replied, while running his hand along the waistline of Patty’s bikini bottoms.

  “You’re ridiculous,” Patty said, with a slight chill shaking her body. Goose bumps caressed her skin, but not from Marc’s touch. The sun was starting to set and the pool water was cold from the February temperatures.

  “Are you cold?” Marc asked, finally forgetting about his mission to get her in her pants.

  “Just a little.”

  “Well, let’s fix that.” Marc walked up the pool stairs with Patty in his arms, not showing one ounce of discomfort from carrying her weight. She was a small girl, but she still was always concerned when he went all caveman on her.

  While kissing her ear, he escorted her over to the fire pit, and with the flick of a switch, orange flames danced into the air. Marc set Patty down on a chair that could hold the both of them and brought over a towel, which he wrapped around her.

  Pulling her into his chest, he whispered into her ear and said, “Remember the first time we sat in front of this fire together? We were just friends then, but little did you know I was so in love with you.”

  “I remember,” Patty replied, while thinking back to that day. She very much wanted to be a part of Marc’s life back then, but because of her abusive relationship with Gino, who almost ended up killing her, she swore off men, even the best of them.

  It took a lot of coaxing, many conversations, and heart break before Patty realized Marc was the real thing and would do nothing but love her.

  “Remember when you were in the hospital and I said I didn’t ever want to be away from you ever again, how we were meant to be together?”

  “I do,” Patty said, while leaning back into Marc’s chest, loving the way she fit so perfectly against him.

  “Well, I want to make it official.”

  Before Patty could ask what he was talking about, Marc held his arms up in front of her and offered her a round cut diamond ring. Delicately wrapping around the main diamond were several smaller diamonds forming a circle, all sparkling up at her.

  “Oh, my God,” Patty said, while covering her mouth.

  Leaning forward so he was speaking directly into her ear, Marc said, “Patty, you’re the best thing that’s ever come along in my life. I didn’t think I would ever be the kind of man that would settle down, but you quickly washed away that thought the moment you walked into my monotonous life. You challenge me, you show me what true love is, and you are my best friend. I would be honored if you chose me to spend the rest of your life with.”

  Turning in his embrace, Patty wrapped her hands around Marc’s neck and pulled him to her lips. She kissed him hard while gripping the sides of his neck, not allowing him to move. For a second, she pulled away and nodded her head, yes, not able to voice her answer from the tightness in her throat.

  Tears ran down her face as she continued to kiss Marc in excitement. He gripped her sides and allowed her to take charge with her kissing. His full lips caressed hers, reminding her how lucky she really was to have him in her life.

  Wanting to look him in the eyes, she pulled away and smiled broadly at him. Marc lifted the ring up between them so she was forced to look at it, and from the sheer beauty of it, she started crying all over again. As she wept, Marc brought her ring finger up to his lips, kissed it and then slipped the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

  Bringing her eyes back up to his, he held her face and said, “You’re mine now, Patty Cakes.”

  “I’ve always been yours, Marc. It just took me a little longer than normal to figure it out.”

  Kissing her deeply, Marc flipped the switch to the fire pit and wrapped her up in arms. Carrying her into the house, he headed straight for the bedroom. Even though they had spent most of their day tangled in the sheets, there was no other way she would want to celebrate their engagement.

  Chapter 2

  **Brady**

  The crack of Brady’s wood bat echoed in the cages as he took swing after swing, not bothering to wear batting gloves so he could get lost in the blistering pain of his hands rubbing raw against the grain of the bat. Pine tar coated his fingers as he took pitch after pitch from the machine, not letting up even when exhaustion greeted him, anything to keep his mind off of Jane and their loss.

  It had been two months since he’d talked to Jane, two months since she walked out on him. He knew she was staying with Albert, because the day she left, Albert called Brady to let him know she’d fled to his apartment. Brady was grateful that Jane turned to a close friend to lean on; he was upset, but grateful for Albert.

  Now, Brady was angry, pissed, on the verge of plowing his bat through anyone who got in his way. The love he had for Jane was now overshadowed with fury and blinding rage. How could she leave him? How could she take off when he needed her the most? How could she possibly even think about blaming him for what happened?

  The crack of the bat against the worn leather of the ball reflected off the cement walls of the batting cages. Exertion ran through his arms, sweat trickled down his spine, and pain radiated through his lower back, but he didn’t stop. He took pitch after pitch, driving them back up the middle, to the right center of the cage, to the left center. His grip was scattered with blisters, which he welcomed.

  With every swing, his low hanging tank top swayed with his movements, while his hat, which was turned backwards, gathered his perspiration.

  Crack.

  Ball to the right corner.

  Crack.

  Up the middle.

  Crack.

  “Dude, you’ve been in here for hours,” Michael, the centerfielder for the Braves said, as he walked up next to the cage.

&
nbsp; Ignoring Michael, Brady focused on the next pitch…waited for it to be spouted from the self-fed batting machine.

  The snap of the pitching arm floated a ball over the plate, where Brady connected with it, and ricocheted it off the leg of the pitching machine, causing the ball to fly back at Brady. With a quick swing, Brady hit the ball again with a grunt to get it out of the way.

  “Brady, you need to stop,” Michael’s voice echoed through Brady’s mind, but he didn’t stop, he continued to focus on the machine.

  Another ball dropped into the pitching slot and Brady geared up to make contact once again when the machine halted and the engine was turned off. Looking up, Brady saw Michael toss the cord to the machine to the ground and walk toward him.

  “What the hell?” Brady proclaimed, tossing his bat to the side. With a quick glance at his hands, he knew he’d torn them up and would be hurting for the next week through spring training.

  The team didn’t have to report to the field for another week, but Brady really had nothing going for him at the moment, so he went a week early, hoping to clear his thoughts and get in the right frame of mind for the season. He couldn’t control Jane or what happened to their life, so he focused on controlling his profession.

  “You need to stop,” Michael replied, while lifting the net of the cage for Brady to retreat. “You’re going to blister your hands before training.”

  “Too late,” Brady replied. He walked under the net and reaching for his PowerAde, which sat next to his phone and keys. With a quick glance at his phone, he confirmed that once again, Jane hadn’t tried to reach him.

  “Brady, I’m worried about you,” Michael stated.

  “I’m fine,” Brady lied, capping his bottle and grabbing his items, wincing from the blisters on his hands.

  “You’re not fine, Brady. I can see you’re hurting.”