Ginny wakes in stages and each one is more painful than the last. Her eyes are puffy and dry. Her temples throb and her face is raw from beard burn. Her breasts are tender from Mike's rough handling. She feels stretched and pounded from their encounter in the bar and she can feel finger shaped bruises blossoming on her hips. The muscles of her inner thighs are tight and sore and she figures nothing short of a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol is going to make her walk normally today.

In spite of her laundry list of discomforts, a slow warm smile spreads across her sleepy face as she remembers their time together. It had been so hot, but damn. Next time she'll have to ask Mike to not be so rough.

Her red rimmed eyes pop open as she remembers that there won't be a next time. Can't be.

And now her heart aches as much as any other part of her body does. It aches for him and for what maybe could have been but can never be.

Ginny sits up slowly, only remembering Noah should be in her bed when she sees the note on his empty pillow. It says simply "Goodbye",

She closes her eyes as guilt consumes her. The note might as well say 'GAME OVER'. Because clearly, it is all over where Noah is concerned.

Mike wakes with a jerk, feeling disoriented and ancient. He is slumped in the corner of the Omni Hotel's primary elevator. He's been here for a while. His eyes are bloodshot and the bags under them are dark and swollen. His back hurts when he moves. It also hurts when he doesn't move. His neck feels like he's being repeatedly stabbed by a fire poker. His knees throb.

None of it matters. Nothing matters except Ginny giving him another chance.

It wasn't until she had left him behind in the bar that the full weight of his feelings for her had hit him like a ton of bricks. He knew he liked her of course – had figured that out weeks ago. And he knew that it was more than lust - had realized that after listing off his random list of Ginny facts to Omar. And then there had been Boardner's and the almost kiss that has haunted him ever since.

But last night, it had really hit him. He didn't just want her body or her friendship. He didn't want a fling. He wanted her. All of her. He'd tried to follow so that he could tell her that - show her - make her understand - but she was already out of sight and he didn't want to go to her room. The idea of running into Noah there made Mike's blood boil.

He'd tried calling her cell but she wouldn't answer. He texted without response. Defeated, he had returned to the bar and sat on the very barstool where he'd had her - naked and willing - not so long ago. He'd sat there alternating his thoughts between memories of their passion and worry that he's screwed everything up beyond repair.

He opened a bottle of whiskey and poured himself two fingers in a glass snifter. It would be the first of many. He was staggering a little by the time he finally had his bright idea. He was in her hotel. He'd wait for her in the elevator. She'd have to come down to the lobby sometime.

Ginny's thoughts are jumbled as she gets out of bed. She feels guilty about Noah. She feels guilty about Mike. No, that isn't fair. Her feelings for Noah are one-dimensional. He's nice enough but she never had expected things to actually go anywhere with the tech billionaire.

But Mike… Mike is different. Her guilt there is a multi-layered intricacy of long denied feelings and unspoken truths. Ginny knows that she needs to process all of these feelings as well as her doubts and insecurities. Yes, Mike said he wants her - and had shown her pretty clearly that this is true. But what about Rachel? Mike has been pining for his ex-wife for a long time. How can Ginny compete with that? Does she even want to?

Ginny shakes her head. She has a lot to figure out, but she just can't deal with it right now.

She showers quickly and takes some Tylenol - not the whole bottle, but enough to hopefully make a dent in her numerous aches and pains. She gets dressed without thought, her every move is robotic. She locks her room and heads for the elevator. She presses the button without really looking at it, her eyes downcast as her thoughts swirl with memories of last night and how perfect it was right up until reality set in and she panicked.

The door opens and an unexpected movement catches her eye. She stares in shock when she sees a wildly disheveled Mike Lawson sprawled in the corner of the small space. He looks up at her with bloodshot eyes and lets out a sigh that is both relieved and exhausted. "Ginny."

"Mike?" She had known she would see him today at the park and she thought she'd prepared herself. She wasn't prepared for this - for seeing him here. "Why are you in my elevator?" she asks, stabbing at the 'door close' button and hoping nobody notices the San Diego Padres catcher doing his best impersonation of a homeless beggar in the hotel where she lives.

"Was looking for you, Rookie." He moves to get up but moans in pain and settles back down with a grimace. "We need to talk."

His face is as pale as his eyes are red. He looks haunted and tired and frankly, every one of his thirty six years. Maybe more. He's still wearing the same clothes from the night before but his shirt is buttoned crookedly.

Lawson looks like death warmed over, but still the sight of him makes her heart beat pound and her body hum. Ginny looks away, biting her lip. "Nothing to talk about."

"Not true." He reaches out with a groan and taps the stop button until it glows red. The elevator shutters and stills. "Not running away this time."

Ginny feels tears welling and she hates herself for showing any weakness at all as she faces him. She tilts her chin stubbornly. "Where's Rachel?"

"Probably still asleep. Haven't been back up to her room."

Ginny shakes her head. "You've been hanging out in this elevator?" She looks at her watch before continuing, "For four and a half hours?"

No. I drank for a couple hours, then I came here."

"Didn't anyone notice? A lot of people stay in this hotel."

"Yeah, some people recognized me when they were going to their rooms or down to the lobby. I signed some autographs and there were some selfies with fans." He rubs at his temples. "There might have been a bachelorette party that came through... I don't really remember. I have bribed three different hotel employees so that they won't call the cops."

"But why? Why the elevator?"

"Because I wanted to see you." His expression says this should be obvious.

"What if I'd used the stairs? How long were you going to wait?"

"I –" He shakes his head. "Didn't think of that, I guess."

"Damn, Mike. This isn't okay. Those pics are probably already doing the rounds on social media. People know I live here."

"Speaking of people who know where you live; I rode down with Noah when he left. It was a couple hours ago I guess." Mike runs a hand over his beard. "He knows."

Her stomach falls. "Oh god. You mean about -"

Mike nods.

"What did you say to him?"

"Didn't have to say anything. Evidently you talk in your sleep."

"Shit." She drops her bag and slides to the floor at his side, defeated.

"So, like I said. We need to talk."

She rubs at her temples. "I still think that we should pretend last night didn't happen."

Mike chuckles without any humor. "No. I'm never going to be able to do that - to forget anything about what happened between us. And we are gonna talk about it. If you don't talk to me here, we'll talk at the clubhouse."

She holds up a hand, giving in. He's her friend and her teammate. Even if they can't ever be more (no matter how much she wishes they could be), he deserves to have a chance to be heard. "Fine. We can talk. Not here. Not now. Definitely not at the clubhouse." She shudders at that thought. "You need to sleep this off and I need some time to think. Meet me tonight after practice and we'll talk then."

"Boardner's at 10?"

"Sure. Whatever." She holds out a hand but he shakes her off.

"Nah. Gonna just sit here for a minute. Don't want you to see me stand up like an old man, all bent over and creaky."

"Pretty sure the jig is up. I know you're an old man." She stands and flashes him a sad, reluctant smile. "Anything I can do?"

"Call Blip, would ya? He can help me."

Blip Sanders is pissed. He's pissed that the twins finished off the milk and left the empty carton in the fridge. He's pissed about the flat tire he'd changed on the Jeep on his way home from the park last night. He's pissed at Mike for even considering leaving San Diego. He's pissed at his teammates who aren't as pissed at Mike as Blip is. He's pissed at Will for talking Ev into that stupid restaurant scam and he's pissed at Ev for saying she doesn't want any more kids.

It's not even 9 in the morning, but already Blip is not having a good day. When his phone rings and the caller ID shows an unknown number, he almost doesn't answer it. Almost.

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Sanders? My name is James Hillson. I run the bar at the Omni Hotel. A mutual friend of ours is in trouble. I'm hoping you can come here and help."

"The Omni? You mean Ginny? What's wrong?" Blip jumps to his feet, his heart pounding with worry.

"No, not Ms. Baker. I haven't seen her today. It's Mike Lawson. If you don't come here and convince him to go home, I'll be forced to call the police and I don't want to do that."

Blip sighs heavily and shakes his head. He wants to say no because Mike is a big boy and he should be cleaning up his own damn messes, but a police report could hurt the team and Blip doesn't want that.

He agrees to meet Mr. Hillson and disconnects the call. As he's tying his shoes, his mind wanders to the thing that worries him most. Why is Mike causing problems at Ginny's hotel and does this have anything to do with that weird speech he'd given Omar last week?

xxx

Evelyn wakes to find a hurried note from Blip on the kitchen counter. Something about needing to help MIke. She makes pancakes for the boys and turns on Spongebob. They are well into their second serving when the doorbell rings.

"Hi Ginny. Come in." Evelyn smiles but the smile fades when she sees Ginny's haunted eyes and tortured expression. She ushers her friend into the living room so that they can avoid little boy giggles and syrup covered fingers.

"You okay?"

"Is Blip here? I tried to call him."

"He went to help Mike with something. I don't really know what it was about." She sees her friend's relief at the news that Blip is with Mike, but something isn't right. "Ginny, you're scaring me. What's wrong? What happened?"

Ginny throws her bag on the floor and leans back into the couch cushions. "Everything is wrong."

"And?"

"And Mike happened."

"What do you mean? Is he hurt? Is that why Blip -"

"No. Not hurt. It's just that me and Mike…" She shrugs.

"What happened? Did you guys fight?"

"No. It wasn't like that… Last night, we…" Ginny doesn't say anything more, but her eyes are pleading as she looks at her friend.

Evelyn reads the expression for what it is and squeals like a schoolgirl. "You have got to tell me every damn thing. What happened? Did he finally kiss you? He did, didn't he? Was it amazing? Is he one of those guys who uses a lot of tongue? Did the beard get in the way?"

She doesn't answer and Evelyn frowns. "Wait, Ginny? Did you do more than kiss Mike Lawson?"

Ginny shifts, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. Her voice is barely a whisper when she answers. "So much more, Ev. So much more."

Almost two hours after he'd left, Blip comes home. The boys are engrossed in a lively game of Minecraft on the big screen and Evelyn is pacing the kitchen. When she sees Blip, she rushes toward him. "We have to talk. You are not going to believe -"

Blip shakes his head quickly. "We got company, Ev. Gonna let Mike take a nap in the spare room. He's uh, not feeling well."

This shuts Evelyn's mouth like little else could. She purses her lips as she watches Mike Lawson wave listlessly in her direction before being led through the room and down the hallway.

Blip returns after a few minutes. "Sorry about putting this on you, Babe, but he's in rough shape. Needed to sleep."

"And he needed to sleep here? Doesn't he have a mansion on the other side of town?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if he'd actually sleep if he went home, okay?" Blip tosses a cell phone onto the counter. It's not Blip's phone.

"You confiscated his phone?" She cocks an eyebrow high.

"It's a long story." Blip shakes his head. "The man is a mess. He spent the better part of the wee morning hours camped out in a hotel elevator. Was about five minutes away from getting arrested." He throws up his hands. "I didn't know what to do. He's mostly sober now, but we have practice in four hours and a game tomorrow and that man is in dire need of sleep and a new outlook before he goes near the park."

"And you think he'll find his new outlook here? Doesn't he have somewhere to be? Someone to talk to?"

Blip narrows his eyes at his wife. "You know something."

She turns and opens the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. "Hmm? What do you mean?" She unscrews the lid and takes a sip. She flashes him her innocent face.

"I just told you that Mike spent half the night in an elevator and you don't even ask why." He tilts his head, watching her. "You know."

Evelyn's composure melts under his gaze. "Maybe Ginny stopped by…"

Blip stands, panicked. "Is she still here? Please tell me she's not still here?"

"No. She left. She's a mess too, by the way."

"A mess? Like he hurt her or something?"

"No. Like she's a skittish colt who spooks easily, but she really likes him. I just don't think she's willing to admit just how much yet."

"Well, shit. Was hoping it was all one-sided."

"Well, it's not." Evelyn sits down at the kitchen island and watches her husband carefully. "Blip, what did Mike say about all this? What was his story?"

"Uh, well he said that he spent some time with Rachel -"

Evelyn snorts. "Spent some time?"

"Yeah, okay. He slept with his ex. Said he regretted it and that it was a mistake and whatever."

"And Ginny?"

"She was on his mind. He can't stop thinking about her and he was in her hotel anyway, so he decided to call her. Didn't know she had company." He glances over at Ev. "Guessing you know about that too? Ginny's company?"

"Yeah. The billionaire. I know. Go on."

"Mike is friends with this guy James who owns the bar in the Omni. Mike called in a favor and met Ginny down there even though it was closed and I'm guessing you know the rest."

"What I don't know is how Mike feels about all this. Is he still hung up on Rachel? I think Ginny is worried about that."

"Rachel is a non-issue. He acted like hooking up with her was a huge mistake."

"Okay. So, how does he feel about Ginny? What does he want from her?"

"Pretty sure that dumb son of a bitch wants to take her shopping for diamonds and picket fences. Idiot thinks he's in love with her."

Evelyn can't hide the satisfied smile that spreads across her face. "Maybe this is good?"

"No, Ev. Not good. It could kill the team. Could end her career before it really starts and scandalize what's left of his. The reasons that this isn't good for them could fill a book. A really long book."

When the time comes, Blip wakes Mike and urges him to take a quick shower. They ride to the park in Blip's Jeep. As they pull onto the freeway, Blip finally breaks the silence. "You feelin any better?"

Mike nods slowly. "I think so. Physically, anyway. I took one of those pink pills the doc gave me for my back. Helped some." He stares out at passing traffic. His expression is guarded.

"How about the rest? This morning - well, I never saw you like that before. Not sure I ever saw anybody like that before. You were a hot mess, Mike. You having some kind of mid-life crisis or something?"

Mike scowls. "No."

They ride in for several miles to the sound of sports radio which neither of them are really paying attention to. Finally Blip frowns at his passenger. "Hey, tell me the truth. The thing with Chicago. Did you okay the trade because of Ginny?"

Mike doesn't say anything at first. Eventually he sighs and nods. "Yeah. Once I finally figured out how much I liked her, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't imagine being that close to her all the time without, you know, being closer."

"Man, you and Ginny. I still can't wrap my head around that."

"She doesn't seem to want a repeat so probably not much to get your head around."

"Thought you said she agreed to talk."

"Yeah, but I don't think it's going anywhere. I screwed up."

Blip shakes his head, "Ah, hell no. You can't give up now."

"What?" Mike doesn't understand. "You said it was a bad idea. You said it a bunch of times."

"That was this morning. When you first told me, I was totally against you and Ginny as anything other than teammates and friends. You know that, but Ev and I talked all afternoon. I told her that the pros/cons list would be awful heavy on the cons side."

"What happened?"

"She showed me that maybe I was wrong."

"How?"

"She went digging around in some old trunk and handed me this." Blip pulls a couple of wrinkled notebook pages out of his pocket and hands them to Mike.

"What is it?"

Blip chuckles and shakes his head. "Ev never told me till today but when we started dating, her college roommate didn't like me. Didn't think we'd make it. She made this list of all the reasons we would fail and challenged Evelyn to come up with a bigger list of reasons we'd work out."

Mike scans the first page. It is full of neat but faded handwriting. "Baseball players cheat on their women. You deserve a career. You don't want to leave school. You'll lose yourself. He's not good enough for you…" Mike glances over at Blip. "Some of these are harsh."

"Yeah, well check out Evi's 'Pro-Blip' response. It's on page 2."

MIke flips to the second page where Evelyn had written only one sentence. He reads it out loud. "I love him." Mike shakes his head. "Why are you showing me this, Blip? What are you trying to say?"

"I guess I'm saying that if you want to be with GInny, and she wants to be with you… well, I'll keep my list of reasons it won't work to myself. Cause maybe you guys know better than I do."

Lawson smiles for the first time since Blip had found him in the Omni's elevator. "Damn straight."

Mike has been on an emotional roller coaster for weeks. At first he'd tried to hide from the way he felt about Ginny. He'd tried and failed. Then that mess with Chicago had happened and maybe if he'd been traded, he could have moved on. Or maybe not. That almost kiss outside of Boardner's had done things to him that he still isn't over.

But even then he'd tried to stay away from her. He'd grasped at his past in an effort to avoid how important Ginny was to his future. It hadn't worked. His time with Rachel had been a mistake and the way he'd approached Ginny afterward had been wrong too, but Mike doesn't think any of that matters. Not now. All that matters is how he feels about Ginny. In his heart, he knows she feels the same way. He just has to make her see it.

So when Mike sees Ginny head into her private room in the clubhouse, he glances around and when he sees that nobody is paying attention, he follows her inside. "Got a minute?"

Ginny is digging around in her locker, her back to him. "I have to practice, Lawson."

"I know. Just want to tell you something."

She turns to face him. "What?'

"I'm willing to wait."

"Wait for what?" She shakes her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You. I'm willing to wait until you're ready. No pressure."

"It felt a lot like pressure when you were lying in my elevator like a drunken fool this morning. What changed?"

"I got some sleep. Sobered up. Talked to Blip and thought about things a lot. Hey, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy - the waiting." He walks her way, erasing the space between them. He turns her slowly and leans in close without touching. Ginny feels her breath hitch as he continues, "The waiting is gonna be hard. I mean, I know what you feel like now." He gently places his hands on her hips. His breath is hot on her ear and his voice is a coarse whisper. "I know what noises you make when I'm inside you. I'm not going to just forget all that."

She pushes at his chest, her pulse pounding. "I told you I'm not going to talk here. If you want to go over hitters for tomorrow, we can. Otherwise, this conversation is over."

"I'm sorry. Said I was going to wait, and I'm obviously not a very patient man."

"I hadn't noticed." She smirks, glad for a joke to break the tension.

He starts to leave but turns before opening the door. "I'm sorry for a lot of things, Ginny. I'm sorry for how things went down last night. I'm not sorry it happened, just wish I'd done things differently." He shakes his head, his eyes bore into hers. "Should have told you how I really felt at Boardner's. Should have talked to you like you wanted at the clubhouse after we almost kissed. Jesus. And I never should have gone to Rachel's room."

"But you did. You did go to her room." Ginny feels betrayed by the catch in her voice.

"And you invited Noah to yours."

They stare at each other. The tension is thick once again. He breaks the silence. I know you have doubts and you have your no players rule, but I hope you'll give me a chance."

She rubs her temples. "I can't do this right now, Mike. I just can't. Not right now."

"Just think about it. Okay? We'll talk it through tonight. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with you. You just have to decide if you want to be with me."

As darkness cloaks San Diego that night, Ginny stares at the clock on the wall of her hotel room. She should be at the bar with Mike right now, talking about her feelings or his feelings or maybe both. She isn't sure.

She just knows she isn't ready. This is Mike. This conversation he's dying to have could set things in motion that she isn't sure she's ready for. Is he really over Rachel? Was he being honest when he said that he wants a future with Ginny? What about the team? How would they ever play together again if they let things progress and it all falls apart?

Maybe Ginny is the one who needs to beg for a trade? She suddenly thinks there are worse things than leaving the Padres. Being in close proximity to Mike Lawson is going to kill her if this all goes south.

Hell, it might kill her either way.

Mike Lawson has been her ideal - her dream guy - for so many years, Ginny can't remember not being crazy about him. It had started innocently enough. Her dad wanted her to watch some MLB pitching footage. In one of the clips, there had been a young hotshot from San Diego at bat and although the pitch (a fastball thrown high and inside) had been perfect, the young kid had knocked it out of the park.

A week later, Ginny had a poster of that same hotshot on her wall and she started doodling "Ginny Lawson" in the margins of her composition notebook. She was twelve.

She's not twelve anymore and now her childhood crush isn't just a poster on her wall. Mike has become a teammate, a mentor and a friend, and her captain. She had long ago set aside her unrealistic crush, but as she'd gotten to know him - the real him; something new had developed in it's place. Ginny had tried to deny those feelings - had tried to brush them aside. It was working (mostly) but then yesterday happened.

Yesterday everything had changed.

Last night in the hotel bar, she'd given in to every repressed desire she'd ever had for him and he had responded in a way that told her he was definitely into her - just in case that moment outside Boardner's from the other night hadn't been clear enough.

She wants to accept this at face value. Wants to go to him and agree to whatever he suggests they do if it means more time with him. But she feels more like a rookie in the romance department than she's ever felt in baseball. What if she's missing something and this is all too good to be true? What if he realizes they made a mistake? What if he changes his mind?

Mike sits at the bar at Boardner's and stares into his drink. He is beginning to regret not making her talk earlier. She's late. Really late.

He hears the bell on the door and glances over. Blip walks his way and Mike's heart falls. "She's not coming?"

"Nope. But in her defense, she's still not at all sure what's going on inside your dumb head."

"I really care about her, Blip. Why can't she see what she means to me?"

"Well, it's all kind of new to her and also she's twenty-fucking-three, so you can cut her some slack. Maybe lay off the soulmate crap. I think you are scaring her a bit."

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night, you told Ginny you wanted to be with her forever. Ringing any bells?"

"Jesus. She told you about that?" He shakes his head. "Did she tell you everything?"

"Oh, hell no. Ginny didn't tell me anything at all. She told Evelyn and Evi told me." He shudders. "Told me way more than I ever wanted to know, to be honest."

"Well, I never said we were soulmates." Mike broods with a furrowed brow, staring into his drink. "Never said we weren't, though…"

"Listen, Man. I think she likes you a lot. Maybe as much as you like her but she's not good at letting people in or at relationships in general. And I think she's worried about Rachel."

"What should I do?"

"Maybe give her a minute to get her head on straight. She's a little overwhelmed, you know? When she is ready to talk, tell her the truth. Assure her that Rachel isn't a problem." He taps Mike on the shoulder. "She's not a problem, right?"

"No. We're done. We were already done. Just took me a while to figure it out."

"Good. So do all that. Tell her how you feel and listen to what she has to say. Then maybe you two can find some common ground."

"And you think that will work?"

"I think there's a decent chance. Hopefully, she'll get her other problem resolved too and then you guys can concentrate on how the hell you are going to be together without the team or the world figuring it out."

Mike's eyes narrow, as he ignores the comment about the team. "What other problem? Is it something about Noah Casey?"

Blip shakes his head. "Nah. He wasn't ever anything but a distraction. The other thing is Will." At Mike's blank look, Blip shrugs. "Ginny's brother. He's been stealing from her and maybe from me and Evi too. Ginny's upset about it."

Mike's brow furrows. "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't. That's why I'm telling you now."

"Tell me more. Tell me all of it."

A/N Yes...there will be three chapters total instead of two. I promise you that smut and happy endings are coming your way in that final installment. If you have a moment, let me know what you think about this one. Also, a big thanks to Irish for some much appreciated input on this chapter.