Page 9 of Off Season

I chuckle as I finally release her hand. I think I may have just found my soulmate.

Quincy arrives and everyone is chatting, but I can’t take my eyes off Kamryn. There’s something extra about her.

At some point, the conversation steers toward walkup songs. At the beginning of each season, a ballplayer selects awalkup song. At every home game, just as he’s walking from the dugout to the batter’s box, that specific song of his choosing is played. It sounds like the girls have them too.

Arizona mentions that she plans to use “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson this season. I ask, “Are you a speed player?”

She nods. “Yep. I usually lead the league in stolen bases.”

“Ahh. That song is perfect. Damn, I wish I had thought of it.”

She smiles. “Use it next year. Luke Combs’s version of ‘Fast Car’ that you’re using this year is a good one. Plus, you do your whole dance bit during the seventh-inning stretch of every game. They don’t ever show it on TV though. I only see them on TikTok. I’m excited to catch a few games in person so I can watch you in action.”

“You’ll have to come dance with me sometime,” I offer.

Her face lights up. “I’d love to.”

I turn to Kamryn. “What about you? What’s your walkup song?”

She smirks. This woman oozes trouble, and I’m so damn attracted to it. “I like to ruffle feathers with my song selections. Last year I did ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua. It made me laugh every time I stepped to the plate. The year before I used ‘Pony’ fromMagicMike.”

I chuckle. “What about this year?”

“You’ll have to come out to the ballpark to find out. I’ve got a special one this year. I think you might like it.”

“Maybe Iwillcome watch you play.”

She tilts her head to the side. “Why do they call you Cheetah?”

I give her a cocky smirk. “Because I’m fast.Veryfast.” Cheetahs are known to be the fastest animals. I’ve been called that since middle school.

Without an ounce of hesitation, she brings her facewithin an inch of mine. “No one likes a man who’s fast,Cheetah.”

“On the field, sweetheart. In bed, I’m more of a tiger than a cheetah. A different feline, but an animal nonetheless.”

She then starts calling me kitten. Fuck, I love it. It makes my dick swell in my pants.

She motions her head toward the dance floor. I see some chick I hadn’t noticed staring at our table. It’s not exactly unusual for women at this bar to stare at a table of professional baseball players. I think I’m desensitized to it at this point. I hate when women make it too obvious and easy for me. The chase is half the fun.

Kamryn asks, “Do you think that attractive woman over there is looking at me or you, kitten?”

My head toggles between the two of them as realization hits. Shit, Kamryn likes women. “Is that what you’re into? Explains why you’re busting my balls instead of gargling with them.”

She calmly sits back in her seat and slowly sips her beer, though I notice a slight curl of her lips in amusement. She places her beer on the table, never breaking eye contact with me. “Sometimes I like a banana in my fruit salad, and sometimes I like to dip my toes in the kitty pool. It depends on my mood.” She stares at me with a mixture of both fire and mischief in her eyes. “I’m a mood fucker.”

Where has this woman been hiding all my life?

She continues, “How about a little wager, kitten?”

“What do you have in mind, Kam bam?” Not the best nickname, but if she’s calling me kitten, I need to call her something besides Kamryn. Her friends have been calling her Kam. I’m just adding the bam.

She smiles. “If our lady friend wantsyou, I’ll let you come home with me tonight to break in my new waterbed. If she wantsme, you need to come to our first game with myname written across your chest in thick Sharpie. It has to read,Kam’sKitten.”

This sounds like a win-win for me. I hold out my hand. “Deal. You and I will be riding that wave within the hour.”

She shakes my hand in return as something electric passes between us. We both feel it but then break apart, stand, and race toward the brunette, who I have zero interest in. It’s Kam I want, but if leading this random girl on is what I need to do to get Kam under me, then so be it. I’ll make sure to at least buy the woman a drink or two after I win the bet. I’m not a total asshole.

I get to her a hair ahead of Kam and give her my big, trademark smile. One that admittedly gets most ladies swooning over my dimples. I gently place my hand on her waist and pull her close to me. “Hi, beautiful. What’s your name?”

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