When the Wildwood Waves come to the Richmond Diamond, Rob Ritchie sneaks into the ballpark to watch them practice. He's spotted by the team's short stop, Mike Hennessey, a sexy man who takes a liking to Rob. Baseball banter turns into a date, and that evening Rob takes Mike to his favorite gay bar in the hopes of scoring a home run later in Mike's hotel room.<br><br>Somehow, amid the flirting and the sex, Rob conveniently forgets to mention he plays for the home team.<br><br>It isn't until Mike spies Rob on the baseball field facing off against the Waves that he realizes he slept with the enemy. Rob knows Mike's upset, but can he talk his way back into the short stop's bed after the game?

Playing the Field: Batter Up

By the end of practice, Rob’s shoulder is sore and a dull ache has settled into his elbow like arthritis. He heads home almost gratefully, exhausted and tired. A couple pain pills, an ice pack for the elbow, a heating pad for the shoulder, and he falls asleep in front of the television watching reruns of The A-Teamon cable.


Somewhere on the Monday side of midnight, he remembers Mike’s phone number tucked into the front pocket of the shorts he wore the night before. I’ll call him later,he thinks. The guy will be here for a week, won’t he? They’ll have plenty of time to hook up again, right?


Chapter 9