Sliding Into Home

Once I regained my senses I looked again into Fiona's eyes and kissed her gently. She broke out into an amazing smile. My friend was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

I slipped out from Fiona, and climbed off her. Her legs were slightly shaking from the strength of her orgasm. I lay on my back and regained my breath. Looking across I found Fiona was looking at me with her gorgeous smile directed right at me. I was smiling too. Nothing was said between us. Nothing needed to be said. It had been the most amazing sexual experience of my life and it looked to me as though Fiona had enjoyed it immensely as well.

***********

I woke to the most beautiful pair of blue eyes looking at me. I had sensed Fiona was waking and I woke up too. Her hair was all messed up and Fiona was smiling at me, her eyes sparkling. I leant across and kissed her and she kissed back, moving closer to me in the bed.

"Good morning." She said happily.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" I asked.

"I had the best sleep I have ever had. How about you?" Fiona said dreamily.

"I slept so well. Must be because I'm with my best friend."

Fiona giggled and cuddled up to me. It felt so right, so natural for the two of us to be together. I reached out and pushed some hair out of Fiona's face. She looked so happy.

I said "Last night was amazing Fiona. It felt so right for us to be together."

"It felt right to me. Very right." She smiled and kissed me again. "This is much better than waking up in the back of your car."

I laughed as she said this. I kissed her again.

"This time is better though."

"I think so too." Fiona smiled.

"Well I'm definitely not leaving for 19 years today." I said with a grin, but also with a hint of seriousness."

"You had better not be Adam......." Fiona paused. She had said this with a laugh, but her expression changed. The smile disappeared from her face.

"It broke my heart to lose you last time Adam."

"You aren't going to lose me again."

We kissed and embraced. We held each other tight, our emotional connection enhanced.

Just then the alarm on Fiona's phone went off. I looked across at the time and noticed it was 6:45am. Fiona reached across to kiss me. "Adam I will have to leave shortly. I have to get home and get ready to go to catch my flight for work."

I kissed her again. I felt a little sad to be letting her go, but I could understand what she meant. I got up and made us both some coffee as Fiona got dressed.

When Fiona came out to join me she looked so beautiful to me. She took her coffee, thanked me and smiled so happily.

"I can't believe we spent the night together Fiona. It was so great." I said. Fiona came over and slipped her arms around me and cuddled me tight.

"It was great Adam. It was better than I had dreamed and......... I had dreamed about it.....a lot. It was great because it was with you." She replied.

"No Fiona. It was great because it was us together." I said, kissing her. Her lips tasted of coffee and toothpaste, such a great combination.

"Why didn't we keep doing this?" I asked rhetorically.

Fiona just giggled and shook her head.

We had to leave not long after that. Fiona had to catch a plane to Brisbane for a couple days of work meetings. She was returning on Saturday morning. I had organised tickets for her and Jess to come to the game on Saturday and they were staying at my place Saturday night.

I drove Fiona back to her house, where our goodbye at her door was passionate and heartfelt. She had her hand on my chest as I held her close.

"Thank you for a wonderful night Adam.... And thank you for having somewhere for us to go."

Confusion quickly raced through my mind. Fiona could obviously see the change in expression on my face.

"Being with you was amazing Adam, and I want to be with you so much. I just..... I just don't think I could have done that........ Here." Fiona said as she dropped her gaze from mine. In that instant I realised what she meant. I moved closer and gently kissed her.

"That's ok. I understand. And I want to be with you too my beautiful friend."

Fiona kissed me deeply, her tongue seeking mine and playing as they met.

"You're still coming to the game on Saturday afternoon?"

"Yes Adam. Jess and I will both be there. I fly back into Sydney that morning and we will go straight to the park. Are you sure it's ok we can stay at your place that night after the game?"

"Of course it is. I'm looking forward to showing you both my house."

"I can't wait to see it. And to see you too."

We kissed again and said our goodbyes. Driving away I looked in the rear view mirror and could see Fiona smiling happily as she waved goodbye. I had a grin on my face you couldn't wipe off.

**************

With the happiness I was finding in my personal life, I was becoming a walking cliché. My mood was so much better. Little distractions didn't worry me. I was talking and messaging Fiona all the time. Life was bliss.

As I knew Fiona and Jess were coming to my house to stay on Saturday after the game, I gave my place an extensive clean. Not that it was dirty, but just the sheer size of the place meant that it took a while. As I had my head down cleaning and tidying, I almost missed getting to the airport in time. I was the last to arrive and the team gave me a plenty of ribbing for that. We were off to Melbourne for the first game of the 5 game championship series against the 'Victorians'.

The first game down there was played before a full house of rabid Melbourne fans who wanted nothing more than to see the 'Victorians' smash us. For many of our team it was the biggest game they had ever played in. There was a lot of tension in the clubhouse before the game. For me, however, I felt strangely detached from the situation. My mind definitely wasn't where it should have been.

The game itself was a see-sawing affair. My performance with the bat was less than exemplary, 1 for 4 for the game. We hung tough but couldn't quite get the result we needed, going down 3-2. The team was disappointed, but not despondent. We felt that the 'Victorians' had played at their absolute best, fuelled on by the parochial crowd, while we hadn't been at our best.

I felt disappointed in myself. I hadn't played that badly all season. I had forgotten the cardinal rule of professional sport- leave your personal life outside the locker room. My mind had been pleasantly distracted by my new relationship with Fiona, and my having a daughter. After I showered and changed, I looked at my phone. There were messages from both Fiona and Jess, offering commiserations. Fiona even noted that I didn't look at the top of my game.

As I put the phone down our manager Tim called me into his office. He sat me down and immediately noted that I didn't look like I was in the game. Tim and I got along really well and as all good managers do, he knew his players, so he could tell if something was different.

I looked back and made sure the door was closed. With a sigh I started to tell him what had happened; from Jessica approaching me, her theory about me being her father, seeing Fiona again, us going out, the whole story. I also told him how happy I was that this had all happened.

Tim listened as I told him what had occurred, never interrupting, letting me say everything on my mind. The longer I spoke, the better I felt. It felt great to be able to share this news with someone, almost like lifting a weight off my shoulders. When I finished talking Tim was sitting there with a smile on his face.

In his thick Boston accent he replied with a smile "Well it's no wonder you played like shit today."

I laughed at his reply. He wasn't lying. I had played like shit.

"Adam it sounds to me like you are getting your life ready for after baseball. Having a family is such a wonderful thing. And with all this happening to you over such a short period of time it's no wonder you weren't as focused as you might have been."

"I know Tim. I'm sorry for my efforts today, I really am." I replied with sincerity.

"You just have to get a little more balance between work and family. I know you will be right for game 2. We will be back at home. Are Fiona and... Jessica right? Are they coming to the game?"

"Yes they are. I've arranged tickets with front office."

"Good. I'm sure having them there will be good for you. I'd like to meet them too."

"Ok Tim. That would be great."

With that he sent me out of his office with a smile. As I walked out of there I smiled to myself. Having Fiona and Jess there would be good. Looking back into the office I could see Tim was writing notes down. I wryly shook my head. I had gone in there feeling down on myself for not giving my best. Now I was excited to play in front of my girlfriend and daughter. Tim was indeed a good manager.

************

After returning home from our disappointing game 1, I put a concerted effort into making sure I was ready for game 2. I still had been speaking to Fiona and Jess and they were excited to see me play. Fiona had told Jessica we had been out together a couple of times and she was really excited. Jess messaged me almost immediately asking about our dates, did I like her mum? I told her I did like Fiona, and it was feeling good between us. Jess seemed really pleased this was the case.

For the game 2 I was at the park early to get a little extra hitting practice in. It was beneficial for me to swing the bat, getting my rhythm back. I was heading back to the dugout when I saw Fiona and Jess walking down the stand to their seats near our dugout. I called out and they came down to the fence to see me. Fiona kissed me and hugged me, and Jess was beaming as she hugged me.

Manager Tim was walking past and I called him over to meet Fiona and Jess. After saying hello and chatting for a minute it was time to go and get ready.

"Sorry ladies, but I have to take Adam away now. We have a ball game we want to win." Tim said. It was like flicking a switch, time to go to work. I said my goodbyes and that I'd see them after the game, before running to join my teammates for some fielding practice.

By the time the game started the place was full with 5000 people crammed in to watch the game. Unlike down in Melbourne we played with confidence. Our pitching was hard to hit and our defence looked alert. I was hitting at 3 and I came out in the first inning with one runner on first after a walk and one out.

Melbourne's pitcher Stevenson was trying to settle in to the game having taken his first out. I had seen him during the regular season and knew he was quite good if he got a roll on. He did look nervous as he was setting up to pitch. This made me smile to myself and I tightened my grip on the bat.

After a quick look to check the runner at first, Stevenson went into his wind up. I could see the pitch and instinctively started to swing. In all scouting reports on my hitting they would have said 'Don't pitch low and away in the strike zone.' This pitch was right in my zone and I extended my arms and launched into it.

The instant it hit the bat I knew it was going over the fence. The sound it made was perfect. I dropped my bat and trotted towards first base watching the ball sail over the right outfield fence. The crowd went wild. Two runs on the board in the bottom of the first. I moved around the bases and touched home plate, high fiving Jared who had completed the first run. I moved to the dugout without reacting or carrying on to the crowd. Looking up I could see Fiona and Jess cheering and clapping wildly. I gave them a smile and a quick wink before heading into the dugout.

After our flying start took the wind out of their sails, the Victorian's couldn't get back in the game. We ended up winning 8-1, with their only run coming in the 8^th off a solo shot from our relief pitcher Bond. I gathered the team together before we took the field in the ninth. I reiterated we needed to focus and finish this game off. The guys all nodded and agreed. Then I told them not to celebrate wildly. We have played well today, but we don't win the championship by just winning today. Everyone clapped hands and we headed back onto the field.

Our closer from the States, Jack Webb, finished the game quickly. After the last out, a fly ball to left which was caught easily by Franco the crowd erupted. We gathered together in a huddle, did our team chant and headed off the field waving to the fans. No fuss, no carry on. Two wins to go.

I played much better than the previous game and was so pleased that Fiona and Jessica were there to see it. The next game of the series was back in Melbourne on Thursday night, before returning here for Saturday and if needed Sunday.

The TV crew there asked me for a post-game interview and I repeated the message I told the team. Yes we had played well, but there were still 2 more games to win. We weren't getting ahead of ourselves and we would have to play really well to beat a very tough 'Victorian's' team. As I finished the interview I noticed that a lot of fans had already left the stadium. There were still plenty hanging around our dugout. I could see Fiona and Jess were standing in their seats cheering the team. Fiona blew me a kiss and Jess looked so happy. I signalled that I'd be out in about 20 minutes and they waved back.

After Tim addressed the team congratulating us on our performance and reiterating that we still had 2 wins to get, I quickly showered and changed into my regular clothes. Coming out of the clubhouse there was the usual crowd of people gathered wanting autographs and I signed a few as I always did. Looking up I could see Fiona and Jess waiting over at the players carpark, their car parked next to mine just as I had organised.

They looked so happy to see me and I know I had the broadest smile on my face. Fiona gave me a kiss and Jess 'oohed' in a joking manner. We went to our respective cars and Jess suggested that Fiona should ride with me and she would follow in her Mum's car. I could see Fiona giving Jess a real 'stop interfering' glare. With that Fiona and I got into my 2 year old Ford Focus, Jess into her mother's Mazda 6 and we headed off on the 25 minute trip to my home.

Once alone together in the car Fiona beamed. It was just like our date from earlier in the week. We talked about the game, our date the other night and the fact that Jess now knew we were dating and how happy she was for us. As we approached where I lived Fiona began to notice the area I lived in. She had never asked where I lived. I just said I had a nice house not far from the ballpark.

Looking in the rear view mirror I could see Jessica was still behind me as we drove through the semi-rural area I lived. Approaching my house I reached into the centre console and picked up a small remote control. I hit the button as turned off the road into the driveway. The gates to my house opened.

"This is your house?" Fiona asked in absolute surprise.

"Yes Fiona. Welcome to my home."

We drove down the drive which ran along the left side of the property. My home was a single story ranch style property on 5 landscaped acres of land. My house was about in the middle of the land, with a double garage attached. Behind the house was a pool and tennis court with automated batting cage attached. Adjacent to this was a large storage shed, almost a barn, for my gardening equipment and the few 'toys' I had brought back from America.

Parking in the garage, Jessica pulled up behind me. Her eyes were wide as she tried to take in everything. Guiding the ladies through the internal access from the garage, I showed them around. 5 bedrooms, 3 with ensuite facilities, large kitchen with a central island prep bench and views out the back to the outdoor entertaining area and pool, lounge room and dining room. Next to this was my pool room, which housed my billiards table as well as most of my memorabilia from my playing career. Jess was super excited seeing my house. Fiona seemed a little stunned.             

I showed the ladies to their rooms, as Fiona didn't want us to share a room just yet in front of Jessica. She was always thinking of her daughter. Fiona had her suitcase from her trip away for work and Jess carried a small backpack. As they settled themselves in, I gathered things for dinner. I had prepared a couple of salads before going to the game, so I dressed these. Getting some steaks out I took everything outside to the patio to cook up a barbeque for our dinner.

Fiona and Jess joined me and we chatted together. Jess was keen to talk about the game and my house. Fiona looked at me a little strangely when the topic of my house came up.

"I bought this place years ago when I got my first Big League contract with the Rangers. My agent told me to invest it, or buy something substantial, so I had something to fall back on when my career finished. So I bought this house. I always wanted a nice house and this was good at the time. It still is.

"Over in the States, after the divorce, I lived in apartments relatively close to the ball parks of the clubs I played for. So I could use their facilities to train and for it to be easy to get to games. I lived fairly basically over there, not buying flashy clothes or jewellery. I had a few toys but nothing as extravagant as some of my team mates."

As I said this, Fiona seemed to relax a little in her chair. She smiled at me with her real smile for the first time since arriving here. I asked about her work trip and she told us all the details of her trip away. I was very interested to hear about her work as I knew about her, but didn't know a lot about her work.

Jessica chimed in and we discussed her work at university. She was enjoying the independence of living away from home, but Fiona noted that she and Jess now seemed closer than ever before. Sitting there outside in the warm evening sun I don't think I could have been any happier. The sun was starting to descend from the sky, bathing everything in a warm glow. Fiona looked great sitting next to me and my daughter was sitting close by telling us all about her studies. Sheer bliss.

As the conversation lulled a little, Jess wanted to see the outside of my home. We cleared the table taking some things inside before I showed them around. Jess was super enthusiastic seeing the pool and the tennis court. She even had a go in the batting cage. I smiled when she picked up the bat and took a left handed stance.

"She has done that ever since she was a child. Everything else she does is right handed." Fiona whispered in my ear. She had a knowing smile on her face. Jess was just like me.

After her hit in the cage, Jess asked me a question.

"What do you have in the shed Adam?"

"Just my ride-on mower, gardening stuff, pool chemicals and a few toys from back in the States."

"Oooh like what?"

"Come and I will show you."

We all walked over and I opened the door and turned on the light. Closest to the door was gardening equipment, but further back was four large items under dust covers.

"Come with me Jess and help lift these off." I asked.

Under the first cover was my 2 jet-skis back from my days in Tampa Bay, the second revealed the first of my cars, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Black and chrome, wide wheels and tyres, still with its American license plates. The next one was my 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, candy apple red and pony interior. Jess was getting really excited and Fiona looked on with her arms folded with a strange look on her face.

The final cover was lower than the others. Once I dragged Jessica away from the other cars she took hold and helped me lift this cover off. I could hear her gasp as it revealed the car underneath.

"A Ferrari!!!"

"Yes Jess, a Ferrari. But not just any Ferrari, it's a 1984 288 GTO. One of only 272 ever made."