AN: Thank you so much to everyone of you who has liked, retweeted, and especially reviewed this fic. So many "Non AU" people are giving it a try and that means so much to me. I hope you enjoy chapter two just as much. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS. Nothing pushes to me write faster than they do. Thank you especially to my Betas/Consultants: Heather, Stephanie, Blue, Nat, and Sarah.

Chapter 2: Breaking the Rules

"Specter. Specter! HARVEY!" Tanner shouts at the pitcher before throwing him the ball.

Harvey snaps his attention back to Tanner and puts his glove up to show he's ready.

"What is up with you?" Tanner shakes his head. "You've been in complete fucking La La Land since we got here." He tosses him the ball.

Harvey doesn't respond. Just receives the baseball casually and throws it back.

"Good talk," Tanner says sarcastically.

Still nothing from Harvey.

"You know why they call the pitcher and catcher the 'Battery' right, Specter?" The question is rhetorical so Tanner continues. "Because they're a unit. They work together like two ends of a battery, Spec. They communicate."

Harvey communicates with his catcher after that. But not with words. He just starts throwing the ball harder and harder with each toss. He continues to back up as well until he reaches a distance of about 300 feet for what is referred to as "Long Toss". Now he can't hear Tanner's whining at all.

Only pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the first few days. Workouts are low intensity and only a few hours long. Things don't really pick up until the following week. One of Harvey's favorite things about Spring Training is the warm Florida sun in February. Instead of the 40's and 50's he was facing in New York, he's met with 70's and 80's, and it was always enough to put him in a good mood. Well, up until this year.

"You wanna go shoot some pool? Grab a beer?" Tanner asks, walking out the shower using his towel to dry his hair and leaving the rest of his body exposed.

"Jesus." Harvey, clad only in one himself, throws Tanner another towel. "Cover that shit up, please?"

"My God, you are on your period this week. Forget the fact that I phrased the earlier invite as a question. We are going out for pool and beers. You need to loosen up or I'm going to kill you before the rest of the team arrives."

…..

Donna has been continuing to burn the candle at both ends. She walks into her apartment, kicks off her shoes and walks straight to the bedroom. Without even taking off her coat, she falls face-first onto the bed. Rehearsals had been so demanding with only two weeks until opening night, that she felt like all she did was work and sleep. Work and sleep.

Rachel and Mike's party was this Saturday night and she was looking forward to having some drinks and laughs with her friends. The minute she lets her mind wander there, he works his way back into her thoughts. It had only been a few days, but she felt like he'd been haunting her for far longer. When Rachel had asked her the following day what she thought of Harvey, she had played it off. He was cute, but not her type.

You know my rule about dating athletes. Especially professional ones, Rach. Not interested.

Well, she may not have been interested, but she couldn't get him off her mind. Every time she let her mind relax from a task, he'd seep his way in. His smile. His eyes. His smell.

"Oh for Christ's sake!" Donna says to the empty room. She catapults herself up off the bed and makes the impromptu decision that a hot bath is just what she needs to wash this man from her existence.

Minutes later she lowers herself into the steaming tub full of bath salts. With candles lit, a glass of wine, and soft jazz on her portable speaker, she is in heaven. Nothing is better to soothe her aching body, and mind, than this.

As the heat from the water slowly penetrates her skin, she feels the tension in her muscles subside. And with each sip of wine, her mind relaxes as well. With her eyes closed, she starts to drift in and out of consciousness. She's not falling asleep, exactly, but into an almost meditative state.

She feels her body swaying to the soft music, weightless in the water. She's… dancing. Smiling. Laughing. She takes in a deep breath but instead of the aroma of her bath salts, it's an intoxicating blend of sandalwood and scotch. One hand pressed firmly against a taut chest and the other dwarfed by a hard, bulging bicep. Her eyes flutter upward and she meets his gaze, falls deeply into his eyes. As the vision of Harvey she's conjured up lowers his head to kiss her, her hand slides between her legs.

It's the second time in three days she's washed him away like this.

…

Harvey has already kicked Tanner's ass twice in billiards and they are both on their third beer.

"So, you gonna tell me what's going on?" Tanner smirks over his bottle. "You may as well just spill it, Harv. I'm not gonna let up."

Harvey shakes his head and knocks back the remainder of his beer. He knows if he tells Tanner, he will never hear the goddamn end of it. He also knows that if he doesn't, he will incessantly harass him. And if he's being honest with himself, he actually wants to say it out loud. He's starting to think that keeping it all in is only making it worse. Like shaking a bottle of soda and watching all the pressure build.

"Donna. Her name is Donna." Harvey sighs.

The look on Tanner's face makes Harvey want to crawl into his empty beer bottle. Instead, he raises his hand to the bartender for another. He's going to need it. Good thing he doesn't report until 11:00 tomorrow.

Tanner's face goes through the entire gamut of expressions as he apparently struggles with a response. Complete and utter shock, to fighting back a laugh, to furrowed brows, and ending on a cleared throat with a head shake. Followed by a big pull on his beer and another shake of the head.

Harvey expects a smart ass remark. He's braced for it. But when Tanner responds with a sincere and fair question he's impressed.

"What about your rule?"

"I know." Harvey sighs again.

"No distractions."

"I know," Harvey repeats with a little more conviction.

"Sex only during the season," Tanner continues as if maybe Harvey forgot his own mantra.

"Fuck, Travis, I know!"

"Okay, okay." Tanner puts his hands up as a shield. "Don't yell at me, man. I'm on your side."

Tanner motions for another beer and scoots his chair closer to Harvey's.

"Tell me about her."

Tanner had always been a pain in Harvey's ass. They were rivals in college and basically hated each other. But in the minor leagues, when things got rough, they had learned to count on each other. They had become teammates and even friends. Generally speaking, though, Tanner was a dick and Harvey would never have dreamed of confiding in him like this. But he could see his friend was being sincere. And Harvey didn't have many options.

"I met her the night before we flew out." Harvey looks past his friend at nothing in particular.

Tanner is shocked to hear he's only known her a few days but he stays silent.

"Mike and Rachel invited her to join us for drinks. We were celebrating their engagement because I can't make the party this weekend."

"Were they setting the two of you up? I mean, Mike knows about your rule." Tanner tilts his head.

"No," Harvey answers right away. "No, I don't think so." Only this time it's less convincing. "Rachel knew that Donna had some rule about dating athletes. And Mike knew about my… Son of a bitch!"

Tanner chuckles and takes a drink of his beer.

"I think you've been had, my friend." Tanner grins.

Harvey sits there with his mouth open as the wheels are spinning in his mind. Mike is getting married. He's always told Harvey he needed a woman in his life. He just turned 30 and Mike wouldn't shut up about it. Everything about that night reeks of a setup. Right down to Mike's challenge, she's out of your league.

Harvey shakes his head in silence. "Well, I'll be goddamned," he finally says. "I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

"Are you? Sounds like maybe he was right about you and this Donna? I've known you for a long time, Harv. And I've never seen you turned inside out over a woman." He takes another swig from his beer. "You didn't really tell me about her. You sure she's not just after your money or your name?"

Harvey chokes on the beer he was just about to swallow. "Now that I can assure you is not the case." He grins as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "She didn't even know who I was." He laughs again and shakes his head at the memory. "Never even heard of me."

Tanner sees a sparkle in Harvey's eye he's sure was never there before. So he encourages him to continue.

"She wasn't swooning and drooling over the great Harvey Specter? Yet, you were interested? This I've got to hear."

"She's an actress," Harvey says, enjoying this conversation more than he should be. "On Broadway. And she plays piano and has a beautiful voice."

Tanner is using all his self-control to hold back the grin that's threatening to split his face. Luckily Harvey isn't really looking at him so he doesn't pick up on it.

"She's witty and smart. She's not afraid to speak her mind, you know?" Harvey looks up from his hands and sees the expression on his teammate's face. He sits up straight and takes a long drink of his beer.

"Anyway." He clears his throat. "She's thrown me off my game a bit."

"No kidding?" Tanner laughs. "You get her number? Why don't you just call her?"

"I didn't ask. Honestly. She probably would have turned me down." Instead of frowning at that revelation, he grins.

"When's that party?"

"Saturday night. Why?"

"Is she going to be there?" Tanner questions.

"I'm pretty sure. Yeah."

"Then so are you." Tanner downs the last of his beer.

"What?" Harvey croaks. "I can't!"

"You can. And you will. Listen, Specter. You just talked about a woman for ten minutes and didn't say a single word about her looks. You're going to that party."

"Just because I didn't mention her looks doesn't mean—"

"Is she attractive?"

Harvey swallows a sudden lump forming in his throat. He nods once and finishes his beer in one swig. "Very," he croaks.

"Look, Harvey." Tanner rarely uses Harvey's given name. Specter, Harv, any number of derogatory terms, but rarely Harvey. He clasps his hands together and leans closer to his friend.

"I've known you for how long? Ten - Eleven years? I've never heard you compliment anything about a woman except her looks. Don't try to tell me that doesn't mean anything.

Harvey feels a wave of something in his stomach. Suddenly he's wishing he had just kept his mouth shut like he usually does. It's not that he disagrees with what Tanner is saying, it's the fact that he may be right.

…

Donna is blaring her "Favorites" playlist as she gets ready for the engagement party. She is feeling pretty fabulous today because the tech rehearsal for the show went off without a hitch last night and the town is buzzing with excitement for opening night on Friday. She has had nothing but positive feedback from everyone about her portrayal of Roxie and she's hardly even nervous for the sold out run.

Her text notification goes off in the middle of Miss Independent.

Rachel: Hey. Trying not to stress about tonight but sometimes Mike is such a… MAN! Ugh.

Donna: ROFL. I wouldn't know, but I can imagine.

Rachel: How did your rehearsal go? I am so excited that you can make it tonight!

Donna: It was perfect. I can't believe we open in less than a week. Me too! Getting ready rn.

Rachel: YAY! See you soon. XOXO

Donna: Can't wait!

There is only one thing that's been threatening to put a damper on Donna's mood. She scrolls back up the text strand with Rachel and stares at the photo, from Saturday night, Rachel had sent her. Despite her efforts to not let the picture affect her as it had the hundred other times she'd pulled it up this week, it makes her stomach flip flop. Again.

She has a sparkle in her eye and a smile that spreads from ear to ear. She looks… happy. That's not the problem. The problem is the person taking up the rest of her screen.

Damn that Harvey Specter. She really needed to move on. She'd probably never even see him again. And even if she did, maybe at the wedding, not that she'd been thinking about it, he probably wouldn't even remember her.

Just as before, she lets her finger hover over the trash can icon in the corner. She really shouldn't keep it. It's not doing her any favors. But, she does look damn good… maybe she'll just crop him out. Later.

…

Harvey is clad in his best Tom Ford as he takes a selfie in front of the private plane he chartered for the night.

Harvey: Too late to RSVP?

He shoots the text off to Mike with a shit-eating grin on his face. He hopes to surprise Donna, but he figured he should probably give the host a heads up.

Just the thought of surprising Donna makes his palms sweat. He had almost backed out. Used early morning practice as an excuse. But Tanner was all over him like white on rice and if he's honest, he's excited.

Luckily he's not lacking in confidence. He's always been a cocky type of guy and being a pro player with dashing good looks doesn't hurt. Otherwise, he might be letting doubt creep in about whether she'll even be happy to see him. Or the realization that she's probably coming with a date. Yeah, good thing stuff like that doesn't bother him.

He feels his phone buzz in his pocket as they're about to lift off.

Mike: No shit! How'd you manage that? You didn't get cut, right? You realize without you, I can't afford this party.

Harvey: Very funny. I decided I couldn't miss it. Of all people, Tanner convinced me. In the air now, see you soon.

Mike reads Harvey's response and shakes his head with a grin.

Mike: Hey, Babe. Guess who's coming tonight after all? Everything is going according to plan.

He adds a devil emoji and sends it off to Rachel. Tonight is going to be even better than he thought.

…

As Donna steps out onto the rooftop at Salon de Ning she is literally breathless. The view of downtown is stunning on its own but the beautiful combination of fairy lights and flames from the fire pits have the entire rooftop glowing.

She's hardly had a chance to take everything in before she spots Rachel coming toward her.

"Holy Shit, Donna!" Rachel says, checking out the tight black floor-length gown. "You look incredible!"

Donna blushes at her friend's overreaction as they exchange kisses on the cheek.

"Look who's talking," Donna says, spinning Rachel around. The nude gown shimmers and sparkles with every single light surrounding her.

Rachel takes Donna by the arm and quickly grabs two glasses of champagne from the nearest tray.

"A toast," she says, handing Donna a glass. "To seizing the moment!" Rachel smiles at her best friend. Knowing that Donna has no clue of the real meaning behind her toast. She's probably thinking she's referring to the upcoming wedding. Or even Donna's big opening night. Rachel has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her excitement at bay.

"To seizing the moment!" Donna echoes and both ladies drink.

On the far side of the patio, Harvey is struggling to find air. The moment she stepped out from the elevator his heart rate became erratic. Though he is watching her from a distance, he can feel her presence. The heat, the energy, the need.

A sense of relief washes over him as the two girls giggle and drink. No sign of a date. The tension between his shoulder blades loosens slightly, but his nerves are still on hyper-drive. He downs a double shot of Macallan in one go and makes his way across the rooftop.

…..

Donna is standing in the corner looking out at the skyline when the energy around her shifts. She can't put a finger on it exactly, but she senses… sandalwood and whiskey. She knows he's there before she can see him, before he speaks.

"Miss me?" he whispers in her ear.

He doesn't touch her, which only makes her long for it even more. He just hovers right behind her. Close enough that she can feel the heat emanating from his body. She closes her eyes. She's pinned. The railing is right in front of her and if she turns, his face will be mere inches from hers. She can't have that. So she responds, without making a move, matching his sultry tone.

"Couldn't stay away?" She tsks. "I get that a lot."

It's a bald-faced lie, of course. She is stunned by his presence. Her legs are wobbly and her heart is racing, but using her best acting skills, she does her damnedest to appear unaffected, bored even.

It's not the reaction Harvey was expecting. He had planned to catch her off guard and gain the upper hand. Instead, her words shake his confidence and self-doubt seeps in. But, something about her breathing catches his attention. It's hurried. Uneven. She's nervous.

A slow smirk spreads across his face as he reaches up to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. He leans into her now so his front is pressed lightly against her rear.

Her entire body shudders.

"I'll take that as a yes." His voice is a touch deeper than normal and there's a hoarseness to it that makes Donna woozy.

"I see you two found each other!" Mike says, slapping Harvey on the back and causing him to jump away from Donna like a kid caught in the cookie jar.

Busted.

Harvey coughs into his hand and then clenches his jaw tightly enough to nearly break his molars.

Mike grins from ear to ear as he looks back and forth between the two. Donna looking a little flushed and Harvey a little bothered. Mike decides a good tease is in order.

"Donna, you remember that corporate lawyer, Stephen, I told you about? He's here. C'mon. I'll introduce you." Mike sees the look that flashes in Harvey's eyes, but he keeps a perfectly straight face. Mike holds his arm out to Donna and she takes it.

She has no interest in this Stephen, but some space between her and Harvey sounds like a fabulous idea.

Harvey can't figure Mike out. He stands, sipping another scotch. He was sure that Mike's intention was to hook him up with Donna, and now when he's ready to make a move, he introduces her to some English douche-bag? Harvey can tell the guy's a slimeball without even saying two words to him. The haircut, the annoying accent, the way keeps laying his hand on Donna's arm while he laughs. Harvey just wants to pick him up and throw him over the ledge.

"You know if you wanted to drink alone at the bar, you didn't have to charter a plane and come all the way to back New York." Rachel smiles as she joins him.

"Just getting tired," Harvey deflects. "I'm glad I came though." He gives Rachel a half-hearted smile. "It's not too late to ditch the kid and marry a real man." He winks and makes Rachel giggle.

"He's only a year younger than you, Harvey."

"Yeah, but men in their thirties are so much more mature," he teases as he takes another sip of his drink and takes a look at his watch.

"I thought maybe you had your eyes set on someone else." Rachel lifts her eyebrows and motions her head across the patio.

He doesn't need to follow her gaze to know who she means, but he does anyway. Donna is sitting on the outdoor sofa now practically in Stephen's lap. The sight makes his blood run hot.

"Hmph." A sound resembling a grunt comes from Harvey's throat as he looks away.

Rachel fights to maintain her self-control at seeing the expression on Harvey's face. Mike's idea to stir up some jealousy could backfire if they aren't careful.

"She asked about you," Rachel says nonchalantly while sipping her champagne.

Harvey's head snaps back in Rachel's direction. "What was that?" he asks.

"Donna. She said she had a nice time last weekend, and she asked me about you." Not a total lie. Rachel knows she had a nice time and she wanted to ask about him.

Harvey wants to ask for details, but he also knows this may be a trap. Women are sneaky. So he nods instead and takes another sip of the scotch that he's about finished. He has to be in the weightroom early tomorrow and he will regret it immensely if this drink isn't his last.

"I had a nice time, too."

He surprises both of them by setting his glass down, walking straight over to Donna and Stephen.

"Excuse me," he says in his manliest voice, chest slightly puffed out. "I'm Har—"

"Harvey Specter!" Stephen stands up and shakes the outstretched hand. "Holy shit!" Stephen just stands there and gawks at Harvey for a moment until it gets awkward for everyone.

"Sorry," Stephen snaps out of it. "Sorry. Really. I mean I knew you were a client of Mike's but I didn't expect… I'm a huge fan. Seriously." Stephen can't seem to figure out what to do with himself as he moves around nervously. "The strikeout record last year. That perfect inning you threw in the Division Series. I mean, you're the best. Listen to me, I sound like a fucking kid."

Mike is practically pissing himself just a few feet away. He knew Stephen was a die-hard fan, and he couldn't have written this better himself.

"Yeah, well…," Harvey says when Stephen just keeps standing there. "As you know, I'm in the middle of training and I have to catch my flight back soon, so do you mind if I steal Donna away?"

"Oh no, of course not." Stephen is eager to please and drops Donna like a hot potato. "It was a real pleasure meeting you, Mr. Specter." Stephen reaches his hand out again but when Harvey just nods, he walks away.

Donna watched the entire scene unfold in front of her eyes, but she had no idea what to make of it. A full-grown man who had seemed classy and sophisticated just two minutes prior was reduced to a babbling school girl at the sight of Harvey Specter. She can't decide if she is impressed or disgusted.

"Shall we?" He extends a hand down to her and as she looks at him, really looks at him, and she decides. It's definitely impressed.

The two walk over and stand near the railing away from the crowd. There's a heat lamp hovering over them and illuminating an orange glow.

"I'm not sure what to say about what I just witnessed back there," Donna says with a little laugh.

Harvey shrugs his shoulder. "I tried to tell you. I'm a big deal." He flashes her that charming smile that sends tingles from her spine to all her extremities.

"Tell me about it. I know you're a pitcher. I think I understand that much. But, what else can you tell me?"

"That's what you want to talk about? Baseball?" He raises a brow.

"Not baseball, exactly." She takes her gaze off the city lights and looks into his eyes. "You."

Harvey stares back at her and absently licks his lips. It doesn't go unnoticed.

"Okay," he starts, his voice husky. He clears his throat. "I'm what is called A Closer. That means it's my job to get the last three outs of the game."

Donna nods. "So, baseball is nine innings, right? You always pitch the last one?"

"Well, not always. Only if we're ahead. Or tied, sometimes. And the game has to be close. Within three runs." He clasps his hands together to keep from touching her like he desperately wants too.

"Why is that? It seems like they would need you when the team's losing? She shrugs and looks for an answer.

"As a pitcher, I can't bring us ahead when we're down. That's on the offense. My job is to hold the lead when we have it. Shut the other team down. It's called a Save."

"I see." Donna nods. "Sounds like a lot of pressure."

"It is," he responds honestly. "But I thrive on it. I want to be the best Closer New York has ever had." He's not sure why he just shared that with her. It was a personal goal and he's never said it out loud to anyone.

"Enough about me," he says, wanting to change the subject. "What's your next role?"

Donna's face lights up as she tells him about her lead role as Roxie in Chicago. He can see how proud and excited she is and it fills him with a sense of pride himself. He has no clue what right he has to feel proud, but it's there nonetheless.

"Chicago!" he says excitedly. "That's my dad's favorite show. I told you he's a sax player, right?"

"You said he was a musician," Donna answers. "The sax is my favorite though. I love Jazz! It's one of the big reasons I'm so excited for this role."

The air between them is palpable. The smiles, the energy, the excitement. Anyone watching them could see it.

"You're a Jazz fan? That's crazy. Maybe I could take you to see my dad play sometime?" The minute the words are out of his mouth he wants to pull them back from the air.

A silence falls between them for the first time since they started talking.

"When's the show open?" Harvey tries desperately to redirect the conversation.

Donna doesn't respond right away because she is still trying to process his previous suggestion. She was truly touched by the offer but she could see immediately that he regretted it.

"Friday," she says as she looks back out over the city and away from his gaze.

The mood has shifted. From crackling chemistry to awkward silence. They both know it.

"I have to go." Harvey exhales.

Again their evening is cut way too short.

Donna turns to face him and puts on a brave smile. When can I see you again? Is what she wants to say.

"It was great seeing you again, Harvey," she offers instead.

"You too, Donna." Harvey smiles softly.

Donna steps closer and places both her hands on his firm chest. She looks into his eyes with her lids heavy.

Harvey's eyes shift down to her lips as he licks his for the second time. Donna extends on to her tippy toes.

"You were right, Harvey." She places a soft kiss on his cheek. "I did miss you."