The Pitcher's Act

18

OLIVIA

Why am I so nervous? It's just sex. I've done it plenty of times, just not with plenty of people. I learned everything I know from Wyatt. He was an excellent teacher, telling me the dos and don'ts of hooking up. Besides him and the worst hookup of my life, Flynn, the only other man I've ever slept with was my high school boyfriend, Adam. We were young and naive, not knowing what we were doing. We discovered sex with each other.

Devin cleared me to start practicing again, so I first forced my best friends to meet me at the gym and watch me tumble. I needed them to make sure I was still hitting every move sharply. I did not bother calling Flynn because I was truly still terrified for him to lift me.

I know the chances of being dropped are slim, but now, he will be more nervous and probably stiff. Maybe I can get coach to have another spotter nearby until I overcome the fear.

After a thirty-minute session with Bella critiquing my every move, I lay on the ground in defeat. "I'm fucked. I've had two weeks off. Do you think coach will make me sit out this weekend?"

"Well, hopefully, at practice, she will be in a good mood now that you can practice. I'm sure Tiffany will hate giving your spot up," Bella laughs. Tiffany temporarily took my spot on the line, filling in for me. As a senior, I have seniority over pretty much everything, so they let one of the younger girls have a taste of a front spot.

"Don't worry, O, we got your back," Sadie says.

"Thanks. I don't know why I'm so nervous. I think it's the fear of it happening again."

"I'm pretty sure Flynn will be so much more careful now. He will be at your hands and feet," Jada says.

-

Jada was right. Flynn treated me like I was glass. Except he was so stiff and tight. He was seconds from shattering. Coach was nice enough to stand beside me after she saw me shaking with fear at our first stunt. After a while, I finally began to loosen up, but it didn't seem that Flynn did.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Olivia. I'll make sure it never happens again," Flynn says as we walk out of the gym and head back to the apartments.

I give him an encouraging smile. "It's fine. It's in the past. Everyone gets dropped at least once in their career," I joke.

He frowns, "I never intended to hurt you."

"I know, Flynn. You did break most of my fall, though. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't land on half your body? I'm healed now, so find a way to get loose. Don't be afraid, or I'll get Xavier to stunt me."

He rolls his eyes, "You would never trade me for him, but I got you. I need to keep my head in the game and not worry about you falling so much."

I squeeze his arm as I reach my doorstep, "I'll see you, Flynn."

I head inside, and Bella is heating the lasagna she made for the four of us. "Can we watch The Bachelor tonight?" Emma says as she searches the fridge for a snack.

"Colby is coming over," I say, walking deeper inside the house.

Emma wiggles her eyebrows, "For playtime?"

"Romeo and Juliet kissing in a tree..." Bella begins to sing.

I roll my eyes, walking to my bedroom, "You guys are annoying." I throw my cheer bag on the floor and strip the sweaty, sticky clothes off me. I peek into Colby's window, but there's no movement. He is probably still at practice.

I head to the shower and make sure to do my full routine. Not a single hair is left on my body. Not that I'm preparing for this to happen, but just in case. I don't know why I care. He's seen me naked multiple times.

At nine o'clock, I wait in the living room for the knock on my door, but it never comes. I peek through the window, but his bedroom has no movement. His lights are off, and it's completely dark inside the apartment as if no one is home.

After fifteen minutes, I text him, Are you coming over? There's no response. It's eating me alive. Where is he?

"Sadie, have you heard from Crawford?"

She picks her phone up off the table, looking through her notifications, "No. What's wrong? Was your playdate cancelled?"

I glare at her for her words, "Colby said he was coming over when I saw him earlier. He's thirty minutes late."

"Gheeze, Liv. He's only thirty minutes late. Practice is probably running long. You excited to see him or something?" Yes. I'm so excited I can barely stand it.

"You're right. I just don't want to wait for him if he's not coming."

"Did you guys hear about the athlete's ball next weekend?" Bella asks, not looking up from her phone.

"No?" Jada and I say in unison.

"School's throwing a stupid dance. Not sure what the reason is. Probably just to gloat to their donors about how amazing we are," Sadie says.

"We need to find dresses."

I groan, "we're going?"

"Of course we are. Coach just texted me saying we had no choice but to go," Bella says. Bella is our cheer captain, so she's basically coaches bitch. She does anything she says.

By ten o'clock, I'm utterly disappointed. He never answered me. His apartment is still dark, and I'm annoyed. Of course, I hyped myself up for tonight, and he's a no-show.

I slam my curtain shut so I won't watch his window like a creep. I crawl into bed and close my eyes, trying to think of anything but him. My mind is racing and won't calm down. It won't calm down, but I still lay there with my eyes closed.

I finally began to drift off after a while after I tricked my mind into thinking my pillow was his body. It worked efficiently, except for the fact I felt bare because he wasn't holding me back.

"Olivia," a voice whispers. Their fingers move my hair out of my face. "Wake up."

My eyes slowly open. I blink twice and jump. "What the hell?"

Colby grins, sitting on the edge of my bed, "I'm sorry I'm late." He runs his fingers down my arms, leaving chills.

I rub my eyes and then sit up slightly as we stare at each other in the dark, "How are you in here? What?"

"I jumped over the balcony and let myself in. I'm surprised you keep it unlocked. I texted you, but you never responded."

"I was sleeping."

He runs a hand through his hair, "I see that. I'm sorry for waking you up, Angel."

He awkwardly shifts on the edge of my bed. I pat the spot next to me, "Here, come get in." I know that's why he's here. The baby boy wants to cuddle.

He immediately stands up, discarding his shirt and shoes on my floor, and climbs into the bed beside me. I moved the pillow I was pretending to be him so he could replace it. Once he gets settled, I move closer, resting my head on his chest. "Coach was being a fucking ass to us. One of our freshmen got caught cheating on an exam, so we all had to pay for it. We've been doing landscaping all night."

"That's awful."

"I didn't have my phone, or I would have texted you. I thought you were mad, so I came over."

I smile, "Colby, you know my world doesn't revolve around you, right?"

"Well, it should. You were giving me the silent treatment you gave me for three years." My heart stings at the thought of the one night freshman year.

I laugh, "I was asleep. I'm not mad. To be fair, you also did not like me for three years either. Don't make it seem one-sided."

"Okay, great, you're not mad. I'm sorry for being late; I was lowkey excited to see you."

"Why, because you were gonna fuck me?"

"I see you're cranky when you get woken up in the middle of the night. But yeah, my dick was excited to find out how your pussy feels."

I feel my face heat, "Raincheck, then. But I'm tired and want to go back to sleep, so shut up or get out."

He laughs and kisses the top of my head, "Yes, ma'am."