Page 4 of Leave It On The Field (Grand Slam 3)
ChapterTwo
SEB
June 9, 2022
“Seriously, Jim?” I look at the home plate umpire as he punches me out on a called third strike. “That one almost hit the dirt. Remember what they taught you in ump school? Strikes are between the knees and the shoulders. Do you need help finding my knees? They’re right here.”
“Move it along, Seb,” he says, waving his arm toward the dugout, “unless you want to watch the rest of the game from the clubhouse.”
I look at him one more time and shake my head before I start walking away. As I’m headed back to the dugout—grumbling to myself—I hear Sophie’s voice.
“Stop it!”
I jerk my head up and look to where she sits during the games. She’s standing in the aisle. Some guy has his arm around her with his hand on her butt. She’s trying to push him away.
“Get off me!”
Our friends Ryan and Maisie jump out of their seats and try to pull Sophie away from him. He pulls back. I drop my bat, throw my helmet off, and charge toward the stands.
“Everything I read about you is true,” the guy says as I close in on the wall separating the field from the seats. “You’re a bitch.”
As I vault over the wall, I see Joe, the team’s head of security, sprinting out of the dugout. I figure I have about twenty seconds to kill this guy before Joe pulls me off him.
“Seb!” The guy’s face lights up with excitement when he sees me, then drops into panic as my hand crashes into his face.
“Seb!” Sophie says, trying to push me back. “Seb! Stop! I’m fine.”
The guy’s sprawled out on the stairs. I take another step toward him as he tries to crab walk away from me. Just as I’m bending over to punch him again, Joe, his right-hand man, Max, and a handful of Miami police officers grab me.
Joe puts his finger in my face as the cops circle around me. “Seb, get back on the field. Now.”
“That asshole was assaulting my wife. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I wasn’t assaulting her!” The guy screeches as a cop pulls him up.
“Yes, you were!” Paige, my teammate’s girlfriend, points at him. “You grabbed her butt, you little pervert.”
“Enough!” one of the cops barks. She turns to me. “Seb, get back on the field. We’ll take care of this guy.”
“I’m not leaving without my wife,” I say, wrapping my arms around Sophie. “Come on, Soph. You can leave through the dugout.”
“Absolutely not,” Joe says, trying to separate us. “She’s not coming on the field. You’ve caused enough of a spectacle already. Max will get Sophie into the offices.”
“Seb, I’m fine,” Sophie says, her voice shaking a little. She puts her hands on my chest and smiles up at me. Her eyes are glassy and her lips are starting to tremble. “I just want this to be over, okay? Please get back to the game.”
“I don’t care about the game.” I pull her tighter to me. “You’re way more important.”
“I’m fine.” She circles her arms around my waist. “I promise. Go back to the field. I don’t want any more attention. I just want to go home.”
“I’ve got her, Seb. Go,” Max says, nodding toward the field. “Trust me. No one else is going to touch her.”
I consider my options for a second, then nod. “No one gets near her, Max. Ryan, Mae, will you go with her? Take her home. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“We’re on it, Seb,” Ryan says. “I’ll text you when we’re out of here.”
Maisie puts her arm tightly around Sophie’s shoulders as they start walking up the stadium stairs. Ryan is glued to her other side with Max following them.
I look back at the assaulter whose nose is now bleeding.
