Page 26 of Caught Stealing

“Oh, I wanted to see if you’d like to meet at a dog park tomorrow after school?” she asks. Lottie’s eyes are wide with anticipation. I want to leap at the opportunity, but she needs to know the truth before we make any more plans.

“I’d actually love that, but listen, I need to tell you something real quick. Remember yesterday when you said you weren’t into dating athletes and—”

“Oh, no. Uh, I’m so sorry, Andrew, can you hold on for one second?” I don’t have an opportunity to answer before she drops the phone and all I can hear in the background is her scolding her dog and someone else’s muffled voice. I squint as if that will help me see into her world better, and flinch in surprise when she picks the phone up again.

Her hair is a mess and she’s practically panting. “I’m so sorry. I’m gonna have to hop off of here and give my dog a bath. She just chased the neighbor’s cat through a massive mud puddle and my house is covered.” Lottie runs a muddy hand through her hair and blows out a frustrated groan.

I can’t stop my laugh. “Leave it to a dog to absolutely put the cherry on the top of an already messy day. I’d offer to help but…yeah, I don’t want to.”

“Ha, ha,” she says, rolling her eyes at the screen. “I’ll remember that. Are we good for tomorrow? Does that work for you?”

I should tell her now, but she’s clearly focused on something else. She's already having a rough day. It can’t hurt to wait and tell her face to face tomorrow afternoon, especially if it means the dogs can get some of their energy out. “Sure. That works for me. We have a park in my neighborhood if you’d like to meet me there.”

“Sounds wonderful, and maybe you can show me your drum set and we can arrange some lessons,” she says. I try not to get too excited about how comfortable she seems already. Once I tell her I’m a baseball player, she’ll probably do a total turn around.

“Sounds perfect. I’ll message you the address. Good luck with the mud,” I say and chuckle again.

“You don’t want another dog, do you?” Lottie raises her brow and gives me a sneaky grin.

I’ll bite. “Depends.”

“Depends? Depends on what?”

“It depends on whether you come with the dog?”

Her cheeks instantly turn red and she hides her face. “You’re such a flirt. I’ll see you tomorrow, Andrew.”

“Night, Lottie,” I say and wink.

“Oh my gosh. Goodnight.” She laughs and ends the call, leaving me wondering if I can let her go. She’s not even mine and I can’t imagine not spending every single free minute of my time with her. I lift my eyes to the ceiling and pray if she’s right for me, God will set it up because if I’m left to figure it out on my own, there’s not a doubt that I will ruin it.

Chapter Ten

Charlotte

Ginger is always up for a ride, so when I leash her up and let her leap into my car, she’s excited. Andrew’s house isn’t far from mine, about twenty minutes south, but it’s in a much more affluent neighborhood. He gave me the gate code, so I smash it into the keypad and wait for the gate to slowly creak open.

Just past the entrance, a right turn leads to a community pool, tennis courts, and a gym. The sign out front shows the dog park is ahead and at the next right. I follow it around a curve where the houses get larger and larger until it dead ends in a cul-de-sac. Clearly, I have made a mistake. After turning around, I head back to the front entrance and try again.

Ginger whines and moves from side to side in the back of my car, anxious to get out and stretch her legs. I almost pass the road again—a single lane entrance to a fenced field filled with doggie exercise equipment, a wading pool, and even a giant fountain.

“I’m guessing this is it,” I say and pull in. I recognize Andrew right away. His dark hair is messy but once Goblin jumps and tackles him, I see why. They wrestle around a bit until Goblin jumps up and makes another run around the large play area. I park and leash Ginger again, careful to make sure her collar is on tight enough before I let her out.

Besides Andrew and Goblin, the park is empty. I check my watch, noting it’s still early for most people to get out of work and wonder what Andrew does for the Sharks that allows him such a flexible schedule. Perhaps he works from home? We didn’t get into the details about his work on our date, and our video call last night was a bust after Ginger decided to go insane.

“Hey,” I say and wave when Andrew looks over his shoulder. He hops up and jogs to the entrance to help me inside.

“Hey, you.” He pulls the gate wide and shuts it behind us. “You can take her off leash here. Eight foot fence and no other doors.” He motions around and steps closer to me. It’s enough to make Ginger tense and study him. Andrew is keen enough to notice my dog is on the alert, so he steps back and kneels. “Hi there, pretty girl. You must be Ginger.”

Once he offers his hand, the wiggling commences. Ginger steals a few ear scratches before Goblin rushes over.

Andrew reaches for him. “This is—”

I’m nearly taken out at the knees and have to grab ahold of Andrew to keep from falling face down into the grass.

“Goblin!” Andrew yells but the dogs have already made their way across the yard. “I’m so sorry. He usually has better manners than that. Are you okay?” He brushes imaginary grass from my shoulder even though I didn’t actually fall and get grass on anything.

“Yeah, totally fine. He’s only excited.” I try to wave off the fact that I’m blushing, but it’s hard to hide my face when Andrew still has ahold of one of my hands. He tucks hair away from my face, but when he makes eye contact, I look away. I don’t mean to, but instinct kicks in and I shield myself. He must notice this because he releases my hand.

---