Page 114 of The Americana Playbook

“That was the plan.”

Parker smooths some of my wet hair back from my forehead “You have a crush on me.”

“Don’t think you get to use my words against me.”

She sits up entirely now, though thankfully, avoiding the red zone. “What are we doing, Fitz?”

Parker’s eyes fall to the ring on her finger, sparking an idea. I tap her thigh over the robe and lift her off me so I can stand and face the bed. Her face wrinkles in confusion.

I drop to one knee.

“What are you doing?” Parker bursts into laughter, sitting on her knees.

Since her left hand is already occupied, I take her right. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“I’m yourwife.” Parker is quick to remind me.

“You woke up yesterday my fiancée, went to sleep my wife, so do me a favor and give me the first step in that cycle, would you?” I cradle her face. “I want to start at the beginning. I don’t want to miss out on anything with you.”

Isn’t that what they say? Life is about the journey, not the destination. And I wantallof it with her. From start to finish. I want everything I never had because I was too god damn afraid to say anything. Because if I hadthen, maybe things would’ve been so different.

The feel of Parker’s smile in both my hands is a pretty genuine thing. “Okay,” she breathes out. “From the beginning. Even though I let you slide into third base.”

With my thumb, I free her lip she’s sucked between her teeth. “Quit biting that lip, or you’ll find me at the plate again.”

Parker very dramatically bites her lip.

“Was that something you enjoyed?” I ask, tugging it free once more.

“Didyouenjoy it?” she retorts.

“You must be kidding. You touched me for all of eight seconds, and I came in myunderwear.” I shut my eyes at the memory. “You don’t know the kind of restraint I had to muster up. But I wanted it to be aboutyou. Not what you could give to me.”

Parker reaches out with her free hand, cupping my cheek. Her face softens, and something in the air shifts between us. It goes from sexy and flirty to emotional and intimate.

It’s a really good fucking moment. It happens to be the kind of moment I want to have when I slide into her for the first time.

But not yet.

“Okay,” she says. “I guess it’s time I date my husband.”

I take back everything. Nothing beats this moment. Except kissing her after it.

Parker laughs against my mouth. “I kind of feel all…giddy.”

I’m relieved I don’t have to shoulder the burden of silently carrying the giddiness around alone. “I know. I feel like I’m seventeen, if I’m being honest.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I away and reach for my phone, opening my email.

“What’s this?” Parker asks as I pass the device to her. “I’m not analum,” she reminds me.

“I am. Come with me.”

“Are you asking me on a date to a high school reunion?”

Tossing my phone to the bed, I pull her off it, wrapping my arms around her waist. “I told you, if there wasn’t anything fake about this, our first date would’ve been somewhere meaningful.”

The night of the bleachers now holds a different memory for me, one I wasn’t a part of, but maybe one I’ll be haunted by. But while that might’ve been the last time Parker visited the spot, it wasn’t mine.

---