Page 70 of Totally Opposed

Alan’s smile grows wider and the weight bearing down on him lifts just a little.

“Thank you for coming,” he says, reaching over and placing his hand on my thigh. I will never get sick of the way my body reacts to even the slightest of his touches. Heat floods to the spot, vibrations reverberating from under his hand through my body, right to my groin. And then he leans in and kisses me, and I want to sink into him, but the flash of a camera pulls us apart.

“What was that?” he asks, and I look out the front windscreen of the car where a guy holding up his phone clicks again.

“Shit,” Alan says, holding his hand up to the side of his face to try to shield himself from view. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry.”

I reach over and take his hand, pulling it down, then I lean in close.

“I’m not sorry,” I say, and then I kiss him again.

Chapter twenty-four

Alan

Turns out nobody wassurprised to learn that what Ryan and I were projecting on the field in our performances was real. The photo the guy in the parking lot took got him a few hits online but fizzled out quickly when it was replaced by an onfield kiss I planted on Ryan at the end of the game after our win.

KELLY: Did you see him cheering?

Kelly texts me as I wait for Ryan out in the corridor after the game. He sat with Kelly and Gramps for the game against the OG’s but at the end, he was still expected to participate in the meet and greets and games and fun with the rest of the Funky Monkeys.

ALAN: Ryan?

KELLY: No! Gramps, you idiot.

No way she means it. Sure, he was determined at the hospital to come, but that could have just been him wanting to get out of there, or the whole close-call brush with death thing. No way was my grandfather cheering at a Banana Ball game.

ALAN: Are you sure you didn’t hit your head earlier? You can’t be serious.

KELLY: OMG I am completely serious. He nearly knocked Precious out of the bag when you hit that last ball deep into left field he was up on his feet so fast. Never knew the old guy could move that quickly.

I stare at the message. Could he really have enjoyed himself that much?

ALAN: TBH I still can’t believe we got him here. Does he still think it isn’t real baseball?

KELLY: Do you want me to actually ask him that?

I think about it for a moment. Do I need him to see this as real baseball? It’s Banana Ball. That is the game I play. It isn’t the same as regular baseball and that is part of what I love about it. Why am I angry at him for not seeing it for something that it isn’t? Fuck. Ryan was right. It’s me who has the issue. I’m the one trying to force him to see it for something that it isn’t like there is something wrong with it, something less.

ALAN: No. Actually, I don’t. Was he really cheering?

KELLY: I got a video. I’ll show you later.

“What’s that smile for?” Ryan asks, coming out to meet me.

“Gramps was cheering apparently,” I reply, and his eyes light up.

“Yeah, he was. It was so cute. He nearly dropped Precious. I caught her, though. She stayed on my lap for the rest of the game. Until I joined you on the field, that is.”

“He really had fun?”

“Yeah, he did. See, I told you he probably regretted saying no those times and was just waiting for you to ask, and when you didn’t, he probably thought you didn’t care if he watched or not. But I swear that window, he was watching.”

“I just can’t believe it.”

He presses his hands against my chest and leans up and kisses me.

“Believe it, babe. He’s proud of you. You should be, too.”

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