Read Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) for Free Online Page A

my feet on the floor. The feel of her hand on my back was warm but somehow caused cold chills to make me shudder. I stood up, walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Practice started in an hour and I had to go. Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, there wasn’t time to talk. Not now. Especially after we’d already said everything that needed to be said. Hadn’t we?
    After a quick shower, I pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt, stuffed my clothes for the day into my duffle, and leaned down to give her a kiss goodbye. “I’m going to be late for practice,” I stated and watched her beautiful green eyes fill with disappointment and pain.
    My jaw tightened. She knew I had practice every day, so why the sad eyes? It was my job now. A great paying job that could buy her just about anything she wanted.
    “What am I supposed to do?” she asked, her voice leaning toward a whine. I exhaled a long breath, then reached into my wallet and pulled out my gold card.
    “Go shopping, see the city, come by practice if you want.” Please God, let that appease her. It was obvious it hadn’t when she refused to take the card from my hand. I set it on the bed beside her and apologized — again — for my actions. “We’ll talk tonight, I promise.”
    A sinking feeling lodged in my heart as I walked down the stairs of my apartment building. The sunshine was bright and the day beautiful, but a gloom enveloped me that I just couldn’t shake.
    How was I going to fix this? Could it even be fixed?
    It was a relief to be in the locker room; chatter surrounded me and echoed off the walls. My mind was washed of the misery I left at home and now occupied with baseball, just baseball.
    “Hey man, how are you doing?” Marty asked, his hand pushed hard on my shoulder. I turned and smiled, trying not to notice the real concern in his eyes. “I mean, she looked pretty pissed last night,” he continued to push my misery back into focus.
    “Yes, she was pissed, but, we worked it out,” I lied.
    “Glad to hear that. I worried all night that she left you in a ditch somewhere,” he said and then pounded a fist on my back again.
    It was nice that he was concerned; he seemed like a good guy. Ace, on the other hand, was quick to make it clear how he felt. “There wasn’t anything to work out, she needs to get a grip on her emotions.” He spouted his opinion whether anyone wanted it or not. At the moment, I did not.
    “She just got into town, I really shouldn’t have stayed,” I said, feeling the need to defend her. “She’s a good girl, she didn’t deserve that.” Marty patted me on the back and murmured what sounded like an agreement. Ace quickly puffed out his chest and made a face.
    “You’re not just a man now, hot shot, you’re a Beast, and beasts have large appetites,” Ace roared, beating on his chest like King Kong as he spoke. He laughed and his lips curled into a crooked smile. “I told you having a girl isn’t a good idea. There are plenty of pussies ripe for the plucking. Why stay with one, especially when she’s trying to tame you?”
    “Tame me?” I laughed and found my damn smile unable to control. His actions were funny as hell, and I still idolized this man, even if he did get me into a pile of shit last night with Whitney.
    “Yes, sir, there is no taming the beast!” he boasted and jumped onto a chair near our lockers. “Who among us are men?” he shouted. Everyone stopped, looked in his direction. “Who among us are beasts?” he shouted even louder. Everyone roared as he spoke, and his arms rose high above his head, his body swaying slowly from side to side as if he were talking to his people, and he, of course, was their king. “I can’t hear you!” he screamed, directing his attention to me. “Are you a man or a beast, hot shot?”
    The energy around me was contagious. “I’m a beast,” I said.
    “A what?” he asked, cupping his hand to his ear.
    “A beast!” I