Page 73 of Totally Opposed

“You were never in danger. You’ve got the fastest arm in the league. I was ready for whatever happened with me,” I reassure him.

“You were?”

“Yep. I figured if they booted me out, I’d go work the ranch with my brothers. That is when I wasn’t at every one of your games, cheering you on against the OG’s.”

“You would still come see me play?”

“I’ll always be there to support you. Shit, I struggle now not cheering when you strike one of us out.”

He smiles and pulls me close, kissing me again, deeper this time, his fingers lacing through the hair at the back of my neck.

The receptionist clears her throat. “Mr. Erricson will see you now, Mr. Tanner,” she says, and Ryan releases me and heads inside.

When I get down to the field, the teams are all out of the grass, holding hands in a giant heart shape. Yep, Dennis is going to milk this Cupid shtick for as long as he can.

“Where’s Ryan?” Dennis asks as I jog onto the field.

“Still with the GM. He’ll be done soon.”

“Not giving you too much grief over your performance last night?”

“No, he was pretty cool about it. I mean, it’s not like we are on the same team. We always play to win, and we aren’t each other’s bosses either, so no conflict.”

“Right, well until he gets here, into the middle with Tim, you go. Dave, you join the rest of the heart.”

Dave jogs over to find a spot with the others.

“What are we doing exactly?”

“It’s your final love song. We’ve played out the star-crossed lovers bit as far as it will go. Last night you threw a Hail Mary with that kiss at the end of the game, so we’ll finish up withSomebody To Love. You know it?”

“Of course.”

“Great, ‘cause you’ll be starting us off. Ryan will begin in the stands. Tim, on you go, you’re our placeholder. Everyone else fan out to starting places.”

I stay where I am as the players around me move out to stand like a choir behind me. Dennis presses play on his speaker and the music starts. It’s not the original, it sounds like the song from that movie a few years ago. I glance behind me and see the guys all moving in time side to side, and they all raise their right arm and bring it forward and down slowly as they singlove.

“Okay, Alan, follow me if you can,” Dennis says, and he starts the choreography. It’s basic, at least compared to what we’vedone in the past. A side step, a twist, and dip and single arm work to keep the mic in my other hand at my mouth for the signing. We get further into the song and the team starts moving around me into the heart shape they were in when I arrived, holding hands and moving in and out like a pulsing heart. It would have to look amazing from up in the stands. Tim is just sitting on one of the chairs up there. This is a one-sided song. I don’t know how Dennis plans to make this a duet.

Then, as the song wraps up and I sing the last line, the team all turn and point towards where Tim was waiting, only Tim isn’t there now. Ryan is, and the music shifts into something tropical. When he brings the mic up to his mouth and starts to sing, really sing, the first line I know right away.I’m Yours by Jason Mraz.

I glance around at the guys as they all smile and nod. Harrison raises his brows with the cheekiest grin on his face. Did those fuckers plan this?

“Do I just stand here?” I ask Dennis, and he nods.

“If you know what’s good for you, you will.”

Ryan’s singing voice is amazing. If he wasn’t an incredible pitcher, he could be a professional singer, and the way his smile flows through the words as he walks down the stairs towards the field, towards me, has my heart beating a mile a minute.

The guys start clicking in time with music and move out, creating an opening for Ryan to walk through and he stops right at my feet before the last line, singing, “I’m yours”, then adding in,“Will you be mine?”

“Always.”

Epilogue

Ryan

Stevie stands at thefront of the church, waiting for the ceremony to start, Harrison, Gordon, and his brothers beside him. Alan and I are up front next to his parents, and the rest of the team fills half the seats in the room behind us. The music starts and we all stand to watch the bridesmaids enter. When they reach the front, Bella and her children make their way down, the newborn in her arms instead of a bouquet, and the oldest holding onto her hand, toddling down beside her. She has to stop a couple of times for the oldest to find her footing, but it’s sweet. It’s them. Family is what matters most, and this day is about joining them all together forever.

---