Page 43 of Nailed at Home Plate

During the game, my eyes couldn’t keep off of her as she sat in her usual staff area by the side of the dugout. She needed to hover close by so she could assist with the bigger performances with props or effects and whatnot. But for the most part, she got to sit back and watch the team make total asses of themselves during the games while the crowd cheered on and yelled for more.

It was probably a blessing that she was out of my direct and peripheral vision during the game or else I wouldn't have been able to pay much attention to anything else. Which would have completely fucked Ender over. Even though these guys played for much lower stakes, they played this insane version of baseball with all of their heart and soul. Maybe even a little more so since they had the freedom to express themselves.

Cady was a fucking gorgeous inspiration while I was out on that field during the game. My thoughts drifted to her and the wish to impress her. She inspired something within me last night.

She was athletic and lithe with her dancer body, filled out in all the right places. She was carefree and gave no fucks. With her short stature, she certainly made up for the loss of inches in outright attitude.

Damn. And that woman in bed? Completely unmatched. She was wholeheartedly into all of it. No faking. She was the furthest thing from a pillow princess. No bedding me for bragging rights. The fact that the woman listened to my every desire and then fuckingbeggedme for it still had me all out of sorts.

My hand shot down to my post-game joggers to adjust myself. This drive after the game was taking forever. Especially with my thoughts running away like this. If I couldn’t get shit under control, I’d be picking up the pizza with a hard-on. At least I’d be able to balance the box hands-free.

After showering and getting my locker organized, I called ahead with an order as soon as I left the ballpark. The more efficient I made this trip over to Cady’s apartment, the better. She texted me the number and address of her favorite pizza joint, along with her favorite toppings. As delicious as the pizza smelled, my hunger was for somethingelse. Namely, a petite spitfire that was hopefully waiting for me.

Despite it being only the second time I’d been at Cady’s apartment complex I drove there as if it was an old habit. I took the stairs two at a time in my impatience. By the time I knocked on her door, my heart was in my throat from excitement and nerves. For fucks sake I felt like a dumbass overeager teenager all over again.

The door opened so quickly that it sent a soft tendril of her hair flying off to the side. With the rosiness of her freckled cheeks, she looked like she had run up the flight of stairs right along with me.

“Hey.”

I could have melted into a puddle right on her doorstep with the dreamy smile she gave me. If only there wasn’t a pizza box separating us, I would have kissed her right then and there.

“Uh…” I cleared my throat to work on my best delivery boy impression. “Special delivery for a Cady?” Her amused snort made my chest puff out a bit.

“Well, you took forever.” She over-dramatized her words with a playful roll of her eyes as I stepped inside. Without even an ounce of hesitation, she played into my little role-play game. “You can forget about your tip.”

“Oh, I have atipI can give you.”

The strangled noise that came out of her made me stop in my tracks as the door slammed behind me. It wasn’t like me to sexually flirt so unabashedly. I swear this woman had somehow removed my filter.

Her hands twisted into the hem of her oversized T-shirt as she eyed me up. I wasn’t going to lie. My gaze immediately strayed to the hem of it to see if she was wearing anything underneath. From the looks of it, no. The way she pulled her lower lip into her mouth and chewed on it was the last fucking straw.

Haphazardly tossing the pizza box on the bar top in her kitchen, I scooped her up into my arms. I silenced her squeal of surprise with a hungry kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck and held on for dear life. I wanted to devour her in midair.

“Do you have any idea how crazy you drove me that entire game?” I gasped out when I had my fill of her for the moment. Somehow, I had meandered the both of us over to the couch. Her arms didn’t unlock from my neck as I dropped the both of us on the cushions.

“Me…?” Cady panted, looking thoroughly confused.

“I saw you in the stands. Watching me. Cheering me on.” Propping myself up on my forearms, I took in her delightfully pink face. It only enhanced thesmattering of freckles across the bridge of her button nose.

“Oh… Um…sorry…?” I loved seeing her flustered. Especially when it was my fault. And from her admission yesterday, I knew it was always one thousand percent my fault.

“Don’t ever be sorry.”

“Even if I was checking out your ass?” There was the no-filter Cady I adored.

“Especially then.”

“Sorry, it's a habit.” Her eyes went wide as more unfiltered truth came bursting through her flushed lips. “Shit. Sorry! And I’m sorry I said sorry. Sorry!” I couldn’t help but laugh. With one rough kiss, I reluctantly got off of her.

“Maybe all of your ego-boosting of late is the reason I hit that double today.” My heart was pumping firmly in my chest. There had to be some correlation here. Cady brought my security walls tumbling down.

“Me…?” Gesturing to herself with surprise, she slowly sat up. Running her fingers over her mussed hair, she tilted her head in question.

Kicking off my shoes by the front door, I wandered back over to her on the couch with the pizza box. I for one wasn’t a fan of cold or reheated pizza. The quicker we ate, the quicker we could continue where we left off this morning.

“Yeah…” I quietly admitted. I distracted myself by opening up the box and drawing out a slice for each of us. With everything going on in my life, I hadn’t shared what was going on behind the scenes and why I ended up with the Sillys in the first place.

The words burned in my throat, wanting to escape. I hadn’t felt connected with anyone enough to share this part of my life. But Cady? I felt like I could tell her all of my inner workings and utmost secrets without judgment. “I haven’t hit a ball since my injury.”

---