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Chapter 1

A guy’s definition of baseball: you don’t have to buy the other teaame

If Pace Martin had the choice between sex and a nap, he’d actually take the nap, and wasn’t that just pathetic enough to depress him But his shoulder hurt like a mother and so did his damn pride

Go home and rest, Pace

That had been his physical therapist’s advice, but Pace could rest when he was old and far closer to dead than thirty-one In the locker room, he bent down to untie his cleats and nearly whimpered like a baby

This after only thirtywhat he’d been born to do, playing the ga he couldn’t re out of his sweats had hi buckets When he peeled off his T-shirt, spots swa rotation in the majors, and he could hardly move

Pushing away froh the Santa Barbara Pacific Heat’s luxurious clubhouse—thank you, Santa Barbara taxpayers—and into the shower rooood hand, he probed at his shoulder and hissed out a breath

Sit out toame

That had been his private doctor’s orders Pace hadput on the disabled list Being DL’d would give him a required minimum fifteen-day stay out of action

No, thank you

Not when they were nearing the halfway mark of their third season, and as a newbie expansion tea could happen, even the World Series, especially the World Series, and ement was all over that

Hell, the players were all over that

They wanted it so bad they could taste it But to even get to any postseason play, Pace had to pull a miracle, because as everyone from ESPN to Sports Illustrated loved to obsess over, he was the Heat’s ticket there Sure the tearees of readiness, but none were putting out stats co on him He was it, baby, the fruition of their hopes and dreams

No pressure or anything

Re himself that he hated whiners, he stepped into the shower Under the hot spray, he rolled his shoulder, then nearly passed out at the white-hot stab of pain Holy shit, could he use a distraction

Wild monkey sex

That had been Wade’s suggestion Not surprising, really, given the source And maybe the Heat’s top catcher and Pace’s best friend was onto so Too bad Pace didn’t want sex, wild monkey or otherwise