Page 101 of The Third Baseman

“Some girls,” Lowe countered as she linked arms and we walked back out into the corridor, into a sea of black and gold. The crowds had doubled in the five minutes we’d been in the restroom. “We’re not so bad. Come on, we’ve already missed the first inning.”

“At least Penn is in his seats so he’s not going to be wondering where we are.”

We hurried through the crowds as quickly as possible, dodging the beer and pretzel lines, plus a couple of Lions’ staff selling foam fingers. The line for the merch stand we passed was nearly as long as the line for the restroom.

I grabbed my stomach as it rumbled loudly, though not enough to be heard. A sex marathon really worked up an appetite, and I’d already eaten a double bagel and a chocolate muffin, plus a bowl of granola the size of my head for breakfast. It was like I was carb loading for an actual marathon.

I was in luck. We arrived just as the food was being brought out.

“Hey, there you are! Where’ve you been?” a brown haired woman asked as she rushed forward, her face filled with excitement, and pulled Beulah and Lowe into a big hug. “You’re missing a good game. We already scored.”

Shit. I hoped that didn’t mean I’d missed Jupiter.

“Do you know who it was?”

“Yes, Lux Weston, who is quite the hottie. You must be Marnie.” I was roped into the same hug the other two had been, and all I could feel was relief I hadn’t missed Jupiter hitting big. “I’m Kit. I’ve really been looking forward to meeting you.”

From the way she was looking at me, like Lowe and Beulah had done the first time I’d met them, I hazarded a guess that she knew about Jupiter bringing me to The Lions.

“Oh… um, thank you,” I blushed hard.

“Put her down, Kit,” Beulah ordered. “Marnie, this is Kit, a good friend of ours.”

Kit blushed almost as much as I had. “Sorry, I just got excited for a second.”

“Where’s Payton?” asked Lowe.

“In the restroom. She said she’s only going to pee when The Lions are at bat. That way she doesn’t miss Ace Watson’s ass.”

My hands didn’t shoot to cover my mouth in time for me to catch my shocked bark of laughter.

“I think that’s a fair and logical point to make!”

I spun to find a very beautiful woman walking toward us, wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a Lions shirt; one of the ones Lowe made which said ‘I caught a Lion’ on it, though I couldn’t imagine her out on a boat in the middle of the Hudson. A mass of thick black hair was tied up with a Lions bandana, and her face was completely bare of makeup, save for a slick of lip gloss. For the second time in as many minutes, I was squeezed in a hug.

“Oh, Marnie, I’ve been so excited to meet you.”

“So I guess you all know about Jupiter then,” I asked when Payton released me.

At least Kit had the sense to look bashful, Payton just looked overjoyed.

Lowe held two drink options out to me; a glass of champagne or a bottle of beer. I took the beer. “Sorry, we should have warned you that you’d been the topic of conversation for a while before you arrived. We’ve been so excited to have you in our group.”

I laughed. “It’s okay… what else have you said though?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. There’s been nothing to tell, right? Nothing before now, anyway.”

“What? What’s this?” Beulah looked between us, and then pointed at me. “Oh! Is that the glow?”

I glanced around the room to see four sets of eyes desperate for information. I’d become comfortable sharing with Beulah and Lowe, but two more… this was turning into twenty-four hours of new experiences.

“Um…” I looked longingly as one of the executive wait staff brought out a plate of burgers. Lowe followed my gaze.

“Hey, let’s eat first, have a few drinks, and we can talk while the game is on.”

“Awesome idea.”

Another roar bounced around the stadium. Our boys were in the field, which meant either we’d caught out one of The Mets, or The Mets had scored. Either way, something had just happened. “Come on, let’s hurry. We’re missing this and I’m gonna get quizzed if I’m not careful.”

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