Page 61 of The Third Baseman

“Hey, yourself.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into me, taking a deep inhale against the warmth of her skin, before dipping down to quickly capture her lips with mine. “I won’t be long; I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

She tipped her head up to look at me, a tiny crease formed on her brow as her green eyes flared. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much, I just wanted one of these.” I pressed my lips to hers again, feeling her smile underneath. “And also to tell you Emerson outed us to my parents, and then the question came up about whether you were my girlfriend or not.”

Her body moved in my arms like she was trying to pull away, but I held firm. “Okay...”

“So I guess I wanted to come here to see if it was something you’d thought about…”

“Being… your g…g… girlfriend?” she spluttered.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, because I hadn’t really thought about it… but we’ve been spending all this time together, and now that we have, I kind of like the idea. So I guess what I’m trying to say is… Marnie Matthews, will you be my girlfriend?”

I didn’t expect her reaction to be hysterical giggles; therefore wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’m not sure a girl had ever burst into hysterics over me before, unless you counted The Laurens, which I didn’t, so I wasn’t clear on whether it was a good sign or not.

“Um, Star?”

“Sorry.” She wiped her eyes, and straightened herself up. “I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. Jupiter Reeves, captain of the baseball team, is asking me to be his girlfriend.”

“I am,” I grinned. “So what do you say?”

Her face dropped and she suddenly became serious. “Jupiter, I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

I didn’t want to admit that it was one of the things I liked about her, that she wasn’t the girl who chased after guys, or been through an entire team. I liked her innocence. I liked that when we kissed for the first time, she was following my lead. I liked that she didn’t try to impress me with all the sexual knowledge she’d obtained from whatever magazines my sisters read, like I was a practice dummy.

And I really liked that when she looked up at me, she expected me to provide her with the answers. Me, giving answers to her. The smartest girl I’d ever met.

So hearing her confirm I would be her first boyfriend made my dick twitch and belly fizzle simultaneously.

I dropped a kiss on her cute button nose. “That’s what makes us so perfect for each other, because I’ve never had a girlfriend before. Come on, Stars and Stripes; put me out of my misery, I beg you.”

Her soft smile shot bolts of lightning through my core. “Yes, yes of course I will.”

My mouth captured hers once more, and now I got to take my time. I wasn’t sure there would ever be enough time for all the kisses I wanted to give her, especially when I could feel her smile pressed into mine; almost taste her smile laced with the sweetness of the candies she’d been eating as my tongue slid slowly against hers. I would never get tired of making her smile.

In the last month I’d learned that she loved it when I cupped her cheeks with my hands; a soft moan escaped every time I did. A louder moan sounded whenever I pushed my fingers through her hair and tugged on her pony tail. I got bonus points if I pulled it free from the tie and wrapped her hair around my fist.

I also knew she loved when I cupped her ass and lifted her up to me, her nails digging into my shoulders for leverage while her legs instinctively wrapped around my waist so she could kiss me deeper. So deep.

Because if I’d learned anything in the past month, it was that she had a fire inside her I seemed to unleash. Me, all me, and only me.

And that was something thatIloved.

I pulled my head back but kept her hoisted on my waist with one arm, using a free hand to brush away the dark strands of loose hair which had fallen across her eyes.

“My girlfriend is so beautiful.” My heart squeezed at the laugh she let out.

“Well, my boyfriend is the most handsome boy in school.” She smiled back softly, her thick black lashes dusting across the tops of her pink cheeks as she dropped her gaze.

“You know it.” Brushing my nose against hers, I said, “I have to go and finish my English homework, but I’ll see you tomorrow morning. ‘Kay?”

She nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

I dropped one last kiss on her peachy lips, and shimmied back down the tree. As predicted, I could still hear Emerson and my parents in the kitchen by the time I was in my room and at my desk… then I realized my mistake.

I should have finished my homework before seeing Marnie.

There was no way I could concentrate on anything except the memory of her lips against mine.

---