Page 102 of Sliding Into Love
Ivy stuffed an artisanal sesame cracker spread with sheep’s milk cheese and jam into her mouth before responding. “Yeah, theyreallydo.” Her muffled words came out somewhere between wistful and flirtatious. She looked up at Ethan who was grinning widely at her, the gold in his eyes catching the bright lights and sparkling.
“Oh, yeah?”
Ivy’s cheeks burned, even though she was going to marry the man.
“Yeah.” She tried to be sultry, but it came out more like a squeak.
“What exactly do they show, Ivy?” Ethan’s voice dropped an octave when he said her name.
Ivy gulped champagne. The bubbles tingled on her tongue.
“Did you know Istilldon’t understand baseball?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I’m not. Do you knowwhyI don’t know anything about baseball?”
“Feel free to enlighten me.” He smirked at her from behind his glass. Water, though, no champagne for Mister Major League.
Leaning in closer, Ivy gave him a long once-over, trailing a finger over his shoulder and down his arm to where his hand rested on his thigh.
“Mostly, I focus on you. You havegreatform, did you know? I mean I guess you do. You look good, anyway. My favorite is when you set up to bat and tap your shoes three times each before you do this little shake. It starts in your shoulders and goes all the way down to your hips. Then you take a couple of practice swings that stretch your jersey. Sometimes I wonder how it doesn’t split. When you swing for real, youreallyput your back into it. And then when you run…” She trailed off, grinning at the delighted surprise on his face. “Did you know you have a great ass, Ethan? And those thigh muscles. You’re like a fucking tree in thebestway.” Her hand trailed over his thigh, feeling the muscles beneath the fabric tense at her touch as she dragged her hand higher. “I also spend a lot of time trying to see what else is under there, too. But those damn compression shorts kind of block the view.” Ivy pretended to pout at Ethan, whose eyes were still widened in surprise.
“Nice job on the ring, Sasquatch.”
Ivy scowled up at Lily, who had appeared out of nowhere and winked suggestively as she stared down at them. Turning back to him, she saw Ethan hauling himself to his feet.
“I should probably go anyway.”
Ivy watched as Ethan said his goodbyes, and she followed him to the door of the skybox, where she stood on her toes to kiss him.
“We’ll pick up where we left off later, okay?” She grinned up at him when his hands slid down her waist, dangerously close to the swell of her ass.
“Definitely,” Ethan growled against her neck before he tugged a hoodie over his jersey and took off down the stairs to join the team for their pre-game rituals.
When the cameras panned over the teams before the game, Ivy saw Ethan smiling and laughing, and it looked like the goofy grin was still on his lips when he jogged to the mound as the game began. So much had changed from when she’d first seen him, with the black paint smeared over his face and a perpetual scowl, and she made a mental note to remember to tell him what she’d thought when they’d first met.
Until she saw him look directly into the camera with an evil smirk that had her practically melting in her seat.
As always, when she watched him play, Ivy paid more attention to Ethan than the game he played. She loved watching him roll his shoulders and tap his bat on his cleats before squaring up to swing, loved the brace of his large hands on his muscular thighs between pitches. And she especially loved the white pants. Though she couldn't see them, she knew exactly how the muscles in his back would ripple every time he swung the bat. Ivy imagined those muscles bunching beneath her fingertips, and she had to clench her thighsandher jaw to keep from making a scene. Tonight, it seemed like he was being more…vigorous than usual. Finding excuses to jog more, or to lean over bracing his hands on his knees, and occasionally looking directly into the camera while he did it. Ivy cursed herself for sitting beside his mother, who pretended not to notice. Trying to focus more on the game, Ivy occasionally asked Jase what was happening or played with Janna.Thank the stars we’re getting married,she thought,or I would have to turn into a baseball groupie.
After Ethan proposed with the jerseys, Ivy purchased a full Hawks uniform: hat, black-and-red striped tall socks, tight white pants, and black running shoes. She’d splurged and bought one for Janna too since Jase already had the whole setup. Ivy hadplansfor the uniform, and she cackled with glee every time she thought about it. Seeing her wearing his name would drive Ethan wild, and her ass in the curve-hugging white pants? He’d go feral.
Laura, Jimmy, Frankie, Derek, and Ethan were waiting for them when Ivy and crew arrived at the gate. When her group met the others, Jimmy, Laura, and Frankie stopped to greet the kids, and Ivy stood on her toes to kiss Ethan before he saw what she was wearing. As his hands slid down her back, he stiffened against her when his hands came across the belt and dropped down to her hips. She felt him shift to look down her back, past the black and red letters of the jersey. Holding her breath, Ivy waited for Ethan to slide his hands over the white-clad swell of her ass, but Janna ran up and tugged on both their hands.
“Ethan! We match! Look!” Janna shoved her hands in the pockets of her pants which were a smaller copy of the ones Ethan wore. Ethan took in Janna’s outfit, and Ivy watched as Ethan registered her and Jase’s uniforms too.
“You have to take a picture!” Lily screeched, running over to grab Ethan and Ivy’s other hands, tugging them toward the others.
Lily whipped her phone out and snapped several photos, offering directions and rearranging them like a despotic photographer. Eventually, she dragged Jimmy into the photo because he’d donnedhisuniform too. Then she dragged Derek into the shot, and finally, everyone was all grouped around Ivy, Ethan, and their kids, and Lily handed her phone to a stranger for a group photo. Ivy couldn't stop the tears welling in her eyes at herfamily.
Until Ethan’s hand slid into her back pocket and squeezed.
“Nice outfit, sweetheart,” he growled into her ear. “Let me see the back.”
Ivy shivered at the order in his voice, and she spun around for him, cocking her hip out at a provocative angle. Heat radiated off Ethan when he turned her back around and pulled her against his body.
“God, I love seeing my name on you, but I’m going to enjoy taking this off.”
