Page 31 of Nailed at Home Plate

“Well, if you don’t want to make the extra stop tonight, since it's late, I can pick you up and take you to work tomorrow. I don’t mind.”

This major player was being amajorgentleman.

But that meant he’d be at my apartment and damn if I wasn’t already tempted to invite him up. Between our dinner banter, and let's not forget aboutthat kiss, it left me feeling all out of sorts about Jamie.

We both climbed into his pickup truck and closed the heavy doors. I hoped the comfortable quiet between us would continue as he drove me back tothe stadium. Maybe with the distraction of dinner, he’d forgotten all about what sultry happenings had occurred in the locker room. That maybe, just maybe, I had managed to divert that line of questioning from ever happening.

“There’s no ears or eyes around.” Jamie glanced at me as he went to turn on the car. “Do you think we can finally talk about…you know?”

I guess he didn’t forget.

Dammit.

The damn man couldn’t even wait until we got on the road. Then at least I could be distracted by the racing trees as they blurred through the darkness outside my window. Not struggling to breathe in this insufferable atmosphere inside the crew cab of his pickup truck.

“I don’t think there’s much to talk about now, is there?”

“I think there’s awhole hell of a lotto talk about.”

“Look, I already know what you’re going to say. You’re gonna tell me that the kiss was a stupid mistake that you made in the heat of the moment–”

Jamie’s hands hit the steering wheel, causing his truck to let out a strangled honk. The man was suddenly red with frustration, much like in the early days when I had to teach him a new dance move. The man was rather intimidating, especially in closed spaces. But he stayed clear on his side of the truck.

“Dammit, Cadence!” I froze. “Will you just listen to me for once?” I’d never heard the man this much at his wit’s end. And I tried to teach him a fucking step ball change with disastrous results.

“But I–” Nothing, and I mean nothing prepared me for what fell out his mouth next.

“You’re the damn reason I keep comingback. It took me forever to realize it. I want to play baseball but instead, I show up at a stadium that I loathed being assigned to, just to see what color your matching workout clothes are, to see the smallest hint of a smile from you.” There was a pause before his voice and furrowed brow softened. “You’re the highlight of my work day. I’m trying all these stupid ass fucking dance moves because they makeyouhappy. And trust me, I’ve been at odds with myself over the stupid fluttering in my chest every time I see that smile on your beautiful face.”

I–

I just…

What in the ever-loving fuck.

My heartbeat was so loud that it was the only thing I could hear, even with my panting breaths. The words tumbled out of him with such overwhelming force that I was having trouble getting my brain to focus on any of it. Did he say he liked my smile? That…that I wasbeautiful…?

“For fucks sake, please say something.” Jamie breathed out his plea as he stared at his white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. That was a hell of an information overload. I was having a difficult time processing it all. Let alone try to find words to coherently answer him back.

Was it worth throwing my mess of feelings into all of this? What if all this was just a fleeting thing for him? How the hell could I tell him that my heart and bodyachedfor him? That each and every day I had to see him made me hurt from the inside outbecause he acted so cold towards me. And despite all of that…

I still couldn’t get him out of my mind.

“The reason…”Fuck this was going to be difficult.I sighed heavily in a vain attempt to pull my shit together as I ran a hand down my face. “The reason I’ve been weird around you is, well… For the last few years, I’ve had like a…giganticcrush on you. I didn’t know how to handle it when you joined the Sillys. I tried everything in my power to be professional, but in the end, I’ve just been a pathetically awkward, grouchy mess.”

All I could do was sit there and cringe over the fact that my deeply seated secret was out in the open. A confession to the man himself, no less.

“You’ve had a crush on me…?” Jamie stared at his hands as he murmured to himself in disbelief. “It all makes so much more sense now.”

“I-I’m sorry. I was such an insufferable asshole to you. I didn’t exactly do it on purpose. It was more like…aweird protective reflex.” The silence dragged on along with the uncomfortable air in the cab of his truck. The word vomit was coming as I was unable to calm down. “I just couldn’t get the thoughts of kissing you or taking you to bed–”

“Oh…”Oh no. I fucked it up I knew–“It wasn’t just me then.” Jamie’s voice dropped down to a husky whisper of relief as he slowly turned in his seat to drink me in. The pure, intense fire in his eyes made me press my thighs together.

Jamie lunged across the front seat. He reached out, grabbed ahold of the back of my neck, and brought my mouth to his. We collided in a shower of sparks. Letting out a noise of relief, I melted into hisleather seats. At that moment I knew one thing for sure.

Our earlier kiss against the lockers wasnofluke.

How could this be real life? I was passionately kissing my grown-up crush, in the front seat of his truck, and it was the greatest fucking thing on the motherfucking planet. The only thing I could concentrate on was how Jamie’s lips made my body feel like a stadium full of fans cheering for their team after a comeback win. My common sense was knocking at the back door of my consciousness, but I ignored it. That was a problem for tomorrow’s Cadence. Today’s Cadence didn’t give a flying fuck.

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