Page 108 of Wild Pitch
“Yeah, thanks.” I take the garment and unfurl it so I can put it on.
Winters shifts her eyes between Hope and I. “So…”
“Right.” Hope gives me a little smile that I can’t decipher. “The girls and I are going to dinner, and since your stomach just tried to attack us… wanna join?”
Do I wanna?—
That’s what I came here for. To find the way to stay around her a little longer. If that included fasting under a rushing cascade for a whole day, I’d do it.
I don’t know how I manage to keep my tone and demeanor casual, as I respond with, “sure.”
CHAPTER 35
HOPE
Idon’t understand what’s happening right now, but I’m not complaining.
Somehow, I went from planning to hit our fave taco joint in Mills Avenue with my roomies, to hallucinating that Cade might’ve been about to ask me out for dinner, to ending up in a full group dinner and cramped in a too small booth…
Smack between Cade on my left and Rose on my right.
Rose has no chill, too. Like I know the booth is fairly small and all, but she doesn’t have to keep pushing me into Cade so hard. The poor guy had to rest his right arm on the backrest to not get completely crushed. But it also means that I’m flush against his side, and it’s shocking how well we fit. If I fully melt into his side I’ll never want to leave.
Besides, he has no business smelling so good. I just knew it was him catching me when I slipped earlier by the scent alone. Then my body remembered that yeah, that was how it felt when he feverishly wrapped himself around me, and that was all the confirmation I needed to know it was him.
And these are all the reasons why I’m currently dying right now.
Across from us are Rivera, Audrey, and Logan. Audrey’s also kind of crushed between the two huge men, but none of them look anywhere near as bothered as I am.
If Rose pushes me one more time… I send her a glare and she keeps her attention set on Kim in front of her.
“Great restaurant choice, Kim,” Rose says with a cute little grin.
“Yes, plenty of protein.” He motions at Cade’s plate. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m trying but I don’t even know where to start.” Cade’s voice rumbles through his body and as a result, through mine. It travels all across my skin and settles like a ball of fire in my chest.
Rivera motions at his plate, where he demonstrates how to use a fork and knife. “Watch this, bro. This is how you use utensils.”
“Screw you,” is the rapid comeback.
Meanwhile, Rose leans to whisper in my ear. “You may also want to focus on the beef on your plate and not the beefcake by your side.”
“What he just said,” I spit back.
Cade moves and I stop breathing. He brings his arm up around me and has to lean forward until the table’s wedged in his stomach just so he can use both hands. He starts cutting up his massive steak and veggies to bite size pieces furiously, and next thing he’s returning to the previous position against the backrest, turning himself intomybackrest. He stabs a piece of meat with the fork in his left hand, and brings it up to his mouth.
Rose smacks my thigh with enough strength to smart. I know she’s thinking what I’m thinking but I can’t believe I’m even thinking it. Is the cowboy into this?
Because I’m really into it. And I hope we never have to leave this booth. Bless every single person that jam packed thisrestaurant and forced us to take a booth that sits six normal people, but not when three of them are massive baseball players.
*
Unfortunately, time goes by fast when you’re having fun. Too soon we finish eating and we have to leave because more people keep arriving, and we do have a road trip tomorrow morning.
“Okay, I can definitely drive back the people who came with me, but I need to stop at the pharmacy on the way,” Audrey tells the group once we’re standing outside the restaurant. We came in two cars, hers and Cade’s, all girls in one vehicle and all boys in the other. “So, if anyone has any issues let me know.”
“Actually, I also need to stop by for toothpaste,” Rivera says and turns to Kim. “Didn’t you say you need baby wipes?”
