Page 11 of Pitcher Us
“Okay,” she mumbles. “You won’t go fast, right?”
“I’m going to go the speed limit,” I reply, putting my helmet on next.
“How many drinks did you have tonight? Maybe I should just wait on an Uber. The wait time might be down by now.”
She reaches for her phone and some out of body experience takes over. I reach out, taking her hand in mine. “Callie, I haven’t had a single drop of alcohol tonight. I won’t go fast. I won’t take sharp turns or weave in and out of traffic. You are perfectly safe, okay?”
“I’ve never rode on a motorcycle before.” She keeps her voice low. All night, Callie’s shown nothing but utter confidence, but right now, she seems scared.
I take a deep breath. “I was six when my dad got me my first motorbike. Every weekend, he’d take me out to this dirt track, and we’d ride for hours. And if you tell any of the guys this, I will deny it, but for years I wanted to go pro in motocross, not baseball.”
That gets a small snort out of her. “Could I wager a picture of Little Will in his motocross outfit to get me on this motorcycle?”
“No, but I’ll wager that Adam’s probably going to come looking for you in about three minutes, so your call, Callie.”
I gesture to my bike, and she hesitates for a moment, before letting me help her on. “God, please don’t let me regret this,” she whispers. I’m pretty sure she’s forgot I told her I would be able to hear her through the helmets.
In my mind I know she means regret getting on a bike in general, but when her arms wrap around my waist, I just hope she doesn’t regret me.
Chapter 6
Callie
It’s a normal response to be attracted to the hot baseball player on a motorcycle. Perfectly acceptable to want to hold onto him instead of any other possible spot. What shouldn’t be a normal response is how much I want to rub my hands up and down his torso while we ride. I can practically feel the six pack through his t-shirt.
“You okay back there?” Will’s voice comes through my helmet. Definitely forgot he said they could do that.
“Yeah, I can’t say this makes me want to go pro in motocross though.”
I feel Will’s stomach tighten like he’s holding back a laugh. “Want to see how fast this thing can go, keep talking.”
“Sorry, I’m not a dream crusher. I didn’t mean to offend your passion.”
Will shakes his head before revving the engine as he starts going a little faster. I let out a small squeak and involuntarily held on to him tighter.
“Not funny,” I snap as he slows back down.
“I disagree and completely fair. I warned you.”
Thank God he can’t see me, the smile on my face is downright cheesy.
“Come on, you can’t tell me you’re not enjoying this even a little bit.” Maybe it’s the translation through the comms but I think Will might be flirting with me…I don’t hate it and I kind of want to flirt back. But then I remember that not only is he Adam’s teammate, but he’s also technically my co-worker. The irony of my new job being for a baseball team despite my disinterest in being around any player that isn’t my brother isn’t lost on me.
Being attracted to Will is harmless, but flirting with him is dangerous.
“I think this ride will hold me over for a while.” I bite on my lower lip while I wait for his response.
“We’re almost there,” he says flatly, then doesn’t speak for the rest of the ride.
I, on the other hand, open and close my mouth at least fifteen times. I hate silence. It gives me too much time in my head. Do I need to apologize for something? He disappeared after Beck asked him about a drink and it felt weird to me that he didn’t come back to our table at all. Even when more of us got up to play some pool, he stayed firmly in his seat.
Maybe if I talk about something else it will be less weird, but now it feels like too much time has passed. We’re just stuck in this awkward silence now.
Pulling up to the doors of our apartment complex, Will stops in the unloading zone. “I don’t think you can park here?”
“I’m not.” He gets off with such ease but doesn’t turn the bike off. “I’m letting you out here. I’ll park in the garage a block down. I don’t want you to have to walk that far.”
He holds out his hand to help me off but avoids all eye contact.
