Page 96 of Between Now and Forever
“That was pretty good,” he says. “You’ll get there. Keep practicing.”
God help me.I look at the sky and try not to laugh. Carter takes this as the perfect opportunity to throw the best, hardest ball he’s thrown all day ... right into my eye.
He gasps as I shout, the mixture of sounds causing the birds in the giant oak tree in Gabrielle’s front yard to take flight.
“Jay! Jay! I’m sorry!”
My vision is blurry. I suck in a breath and pat the area around my right eye. It stings with each touch and burns anyway. I can’t see Carter in front of me. I know he’s there only because he’s pulling on my arm.
“Give me a minute, Carter,” I say.
I grit my teeth so I don’t curse.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “You gotta catch with the glove and not your face.”
“Excellent advice.”
“Yeah, I should’ve told you that before we started. I learned that on that popper.”
Slowly, my vision comes back, but the stinging is still present. Carter is gazing up at me with concern written all over his little face.
I squat down to his level. “Believe it or not, I played baseball when I was little—from the time I was five or six until I graduated high school.”
“Really? What happened?”
This little shit.I shake my head and chuckle. “Look, rule number one in baseball is always watch the ball. I didn’t do that. And rule number two is to not throw the ball at someone unless they are looking at you. And you didn’t do that.”
He closes one eye and narrows the other. I’m not sure if he’s thinking or mocking me. I don’t ask.
“Baseball is a team sport, and we weren’t really operating like a team today,” I say.
“Okay. So the next time we play, which is probably tomorrow, we need to be a team.”
His eyes sparkle and I can’t argue with him, or even correct him. He’s too damn cute.
“So,” I say, “let’s not—”
“Mom! We need some ice over here.”
I follow his gaze to the back deck of his house. Gabrielle stands on the deck, in about the same spot she was standing the first day I saw her, with a puzzled look on her face.
“Why? What happened?” she asks.
“Jay wasn’t watching the ball and it hit him right in the eye.Pow!” Carter takes off running toward his mom. “I warned him I have a good arm on me.”
I walk across the yard, wishing I had two good eyes to see Gabrielle. Her hair is in a messy knot on top of her head. A T-shirt hangs off one shoulder, highlighting the sweet curve of her neck. Those lips, the same ones I want on me immediately, are curved into a frown.
“Oh, Jay, I’m so sorry,” she says, wincing. “I had no idea he was going to get you to play.”
“It’s fine.” I rest my forearms on the railing and look up at her beautiful face. “We’re just going to have to issue some ground rules next time. Like no throwing it when someone isn’t looking.”
She fights a giggle and fails. The sound goes straight to my cock.
“Keep it up,” I say quietly.
“And what?”
“And I’ll—”
