Page 58 of Walk Off

Kyle still wasn’t used to Jasmine calling him Dad, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would be. Each time she said it, any anger that still lingered for Celia floated away. He had a smart, sweet, fun, loving daughter thanks to her, and there was no room for hate in his heart.

On the way to the restaurant, Jasmine requested songs from her favorite television program, and because he had no clue what that was, he handed his phone to Celia.

She gave him a blank stare as he rattled off the code to open the phone.

“You’re just handing me your phone and telling me your code?”

“I trust you.”

She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but then quickly shut it.

If it took him months, he’d gain her love one small gesture at a time.

They were seated immediately at the local breakfast place he’d chosen after asking around about good choices. The place was busy, but thanks to a favor from Shane Bradley, the owner had held a table back for them.

He might be a baseball star, but he couldn't compete with the business mogul who the town of Valley Falls seemed to love.

Lucky for him, Jasmine wanted her side of the booth all to herself so Celia ended up having to sit right next to him.

He was going to buy his daughter a freaking pony if that’s what she wanted.

While Jasmine colored with the crayons she'd been given, Celia asked, “Are you excited to get back to baseball?”

He’d been asking himself that same question for the last week. “Yes and no,” he answered. “I love baseball, and it’ll be good to see the guys and play again, but also, I’ll miss being here. Seeing Jasmine every day.” Seeing you. Only he couldn’t say that last part.

“You’ve been with the same team all this time. Is that normal?”

“Sometimes. I like the team and since I’ve done well, they’ve kept me. I'm sure they wouldn’t hesitate to trade me if I started playing badly.” In the past, that had scared him, but not so much anymore. Part of him would love to be traded. Maybe it could be to a team closer to her. Michigan had a team and even though it was two hours away by car, it was a hell of a lot closer than Arizona.

Her knee brushed his and he felt her still next to him. His hand lifted from the table before he could even think and he placed it on her leg. She stiffened under his touch.

“Celia,” he said, her name low so only she could hear him. He didn’t even know what he wanted to say to her. He just knew that his control was very close to breaking.

She shook her head, refusing to look at him. From the side, he could see the panic on her face, but also something else. Something that looked a lot like desire.

Instead of lifting his hand, he kept it on her leg, giving her a small, gentle squeeze.

She shivered, which would be fine if it was cold in the restaurant. But it wasn’t. In fact, it was so warm, that only moments before, she’d removed her sweater, commenting on the heat.

The shiver was because she wanted him.

Thank fucking God.

He’d been lying awake night after night, fucking his fist, wishing it was her. Wishing she wanted him the way he wanted her. The shiver, along with her look of desire, confirmed it, even if she was unwilling to make a move.

Knowing she felt something for him, even if it was slight, made his cock surge to life.

Not that he needed anything else to make his dick hard. If she was around, it was hard.

“Mom, I’ve got to go to the bathroom!” Jasmine shouted, breaking them both out of their lust.

As the two girls he loved slid out of the booth and walked away, a plan began to form in his mind. A plan to win Celia over while he was away. A plan to hopefully keep her in his life for good.

He was going to need a lot of help if he wanted to pull this off.

Before they came back to the table, he shot off a text to Zara.

Kyle:

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