Page 55 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

Leo led me,hand on my ass, to the baseball booth. This time, he didn’t apologize. I didn’t object. My mind came up with multiple scenarios for where else he could put his hand.

Leo shook hands with the man Sedrick running the booth. He operated the sporting goods store Balls and Strikes, which was situated behind us. “How are Lorraine and the girls?”

“Hayley lost her first tooth last night!”

“Congratulations.” Leo passed him money to play the game. “You can put this under her pillow.”

Sedrick handed over the three packed softballs to Leo.

“My guy wants one of those pandas.”

My guy. I was drowning in swoon. Fake swoon, but still tasty. Like Diet Coke.

Leo pushed up his sleeves, exposing his thick, furry forearms. The panda wasn’t the only bear I wanted.

“You got this.” I slapped his butt.

He arched an eyebrow at me. I arched one back.Yes, I slapped your cute butt.

Leo wound up for the pitch and hurled the ball into the pins. He cleared the platform.

“Yes!” I threw my hands in the air, unafraid to cause a scene.

Since Leo was the celebrity of Sourwood, people inevitably crowded around to watch. Leo didn’t bristle at the attention. He was always on. He knew how to hold a crowd in his palm but make each person feel special. I was under his spell.

“Let’s see what you got, Leo!” yelled an onlooker.

“Prepared to be amazed,” I yelled back.

Sedrick handed him the softball and set up the pins again. “If you can do that two more times, you got yourself a bear.”

I clapped and turned to the crowd. “Let’s give the mayor some encouragement.”

The crowd joined me in clapping and cheering him on. I slapped Leo on the butt again.

“It worked last time,” I said to him. And it was a nice butt to slap.

Leo stared at me for an extra second. “It must be very fun inside your head.”

Usually, yes. But currently, my head was surging with hormones like I was a teenager who had just discovered porn.

“I played little league. Shortstop for the Sourwood Badgers about thirty years ago.” Leo wound up his pitch and launched the ball into the pins. He cleared the platform again.

The crowd cheered him on without my prompting. Was there nothing he couldn’t do?

“You think you can make it three in a row?” Sedrick passed over the softball. According to the rules, Leo had three more chances to clear the pins in order to win me the panda. Sedrick did not make this easy.

“You ready?” Leo tossed the ball in the air.

The crowd cheered him on.

“You guys can do better than that!” I yelled back to him and raised my hands to approximate the levels of noise we were expecting. They got louder, filling Applefest with noise.

Leo wound up his pitch but stopped. “Wait, this isn’t right.”

“What?”

“I need my lucky butt slap.”

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