Rounding The Bases: An Erotic Baseball Romance

Rounding The Bases: Episode 37

Jack woke later that morning to find Bethany gone; a cinnamon scone on a plate sat on the nightstand beside the bed, a note jotted in Bethany's hand tucked underneath it.

"Morning, love. Claire and I went for a walk on campus. Text me when you're up and we'll figure out where to meet," the note read, signed with a heart and Bethany's distinctive letter B.

Jack scratched the stubble on his chin, wondering why Bethany and Claire headed out on their own rather than waking him to join them as had been planned. He savored the first bite of the scone, wondering if Claire had baked them herself.

He stretched as he got out of bed, pulling on a t-shirt and shorts before going in search of a cup of the enticing coffee he could smell coming from downstairs. A mug was waiting for him on the kitchen counter, and he poured himself a cup as he enjoyed the scone.

Claire's home was decorated in what some would call "cabin chic," with lots of rustic furniture and decor befitting a house tucked away in the woods. It reminded him of his own place, and he felt right at home.

Looking around, he spotted several framed photos of Claire, her husband, Rick, and their son, Zach, all smiling brightly for the camera in various settings that appeared to Jack to be ballgames and family vacations. Others featured just Rick, with what looked like his golfing buddies, and several shots of him with fresh kills from hunting trips. Looking into what must be Rick's home office or man cave, Jack noted several buck heads mounted on the walls, their black marble eyes staring blankly out at him.

He wondered how Claire had explained her houseguests for the weekend to Rick, whom he had never met, or whether she even mentioned him and Bethany to Rick at all.

Eager to join the women back on campus, he showered and dressed casually before texting Bethany that he was ready to head out.

Bethany replied a short time later, asking him to meet them on campus at the student union with a request from Claire for him to lock the door as he left. He finished the scone and coffee and was soon on his way back to his alma mater.

When he arrived, he found Bethany and Claire sitting together, chatting, as they gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the wooded campus. There was something about Claire's body language, he thought, that seemed just a tad off from her usual poised and relaxed demeanor. He wondered if she might be having second thoughts about the intimacy the three of them had shared the previous evening.

"So, you two went for a walk already?" Jack asked, curious as to why they had gone without him.

"I wanted to show Bethany the wooded trails along the river," Claire explained. "We thought you might like to sleep in... after everything that happened last night."

Jack looked to Bethany, as if to ask if this was really the case. She just smiled back at him, a slight nod of her head only partially convincing him that Claire had shared the whole story.

"I took the opportunity to admire your home when I discovered you two had deserted me," Jack said, only half kidding about feeling ditched. "Looks like Rick is quite the sportsman."

"That he is," Claire agreed. "Wouldn't be the Northwoods without a bunch of dead animals staring down at you while you watch the Vikings on Sundays."

Jack detected a note of dark sarcasm in Claire's tone. "No, I suppose not," he halfheartedly agreed. "Although you won't find any at my house."

"More like ghosts of baseball's past staring down on you at Jack's place," Bethany said. "Not their heads, of course. Lots of pictures."

Jack noticed that Bethany's demeanor also seemed somehow different than it had been the night before when the three of them had been totally at ease... and intimate... together. He didn't say anything, thinking that perhaps he was reading too much into this brief but slightly odd exchange of pleasantries.