Page 10 of Hard Ball

“What did you want to do?” The longer I sit in this truck, the longer I’m surrounded by her strawberry scent, and the more she talks, the more I want to turn us around and go to my place so I can show her just how much I want her.

“I wanted to be a sports medicine doctor. I wanted to be near the sports I loved without having to actually play them.”

“And how did that go?”

She laughs, her head leaning back against the headrest and tilting so she’s looking out the window.

“I failed everything. Apparently, you need to pass a math class to graduate and my brain and math just don’t compute.” She doesn’t say anything for a minute then continues. “When I was little, I wanted to be the first female pro pitcher, but that dream died long before college. Hence me thinking sports medicine was the next best thing. I just wish I could have done it, you know? Graduate and made him proud,” she says that last part as a whisper, and when her eyes get big and her face turns toward me saying, “Shit. I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud.” Her fingers play with the holes in her jeans again as she opens her mouth to say something but then closes it again.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Harper.” I’m hoping to make her more at ease, but when that pain behind her eyes hits me like a ton of bricks, I wonder what this girl has gone through.

“I know…” At first, I think she’s just going to stay silent, but then she takes a breath and continues. “My dad died when I was young, we watched a lot of sports together.”

Fuck. I know there’s more to the story, but I don’t push because what she just said was enough.

“Sunshine, that’s awful. No one should go through something like that.”

She gives me the slightest nod, her eyes gliding toward the window. “I got over it,” she admits, then after a beat corrects herself. “Actually, I didn’t, but I learned to deal with the pain in a way that wasn’t harmful.”

I don’t say a word, because what do you say to that? Her vulnerability in this moment sends warmth through my chest and all I can think about is the fact that I want to spend all my free time with this girl. I want to know her deepest darkest thoughts, I want to see her on her good days, her bad days, and the in-between days.

“When I decided to leave school, my uncle offered me a job running his gym, so I took it. I guess being close to family made me feel like I was close to him on another level, you know?”

I don’t, but I nod anyway.

“What works for you, might not work for someone else,” I say, hoping I can offer something of substance to this conversation. “When I was little, my mom always used to tell me that we all have talents, and that some are just more subtle than others.”

“That’s a great way of saying that,” she says just as she points out her building up the street. “That’s me.”

I pull into the parking lot and shut off my truck, sitting there hoping I can get another chance to see her. I don’t want this to be the last time I see her.

“Can I see you again?” I blurt out, not really thinking before the words leave my mouth, and from the wide-eyed look she gives me, she wasn’t expecting it either.

“I can’t,” she whispers, avoiding my eyes.

“What do you mean you can’t?” The words King used earlier start to haunt me, so I make a move, placing my hand on her thigh, hoping to get some kind of clue if this rejection is based on hesitation or something else. But the second my hand touches her jeans, she recoils, jerking away, grasping the door handle, and jumping out of the truck.

Fuck.

“I don’t date baseball players,” she says when I open my door and jog around the front to meet her on the street as she walks toward her front door. The second those words hit my ears I know King was right, it wasn’t just him.

“You don’t date ballplayers? You’re lumping all of us into one stupid category?” I can’t hold the irritated tone out of my voice because I’m pissed. This girl has gotten under my skin, taken over my mind and now she’s saying there’s no chance because of what I do for a living? I have seen the desire in her eyes, I know she feels the same pull I feel whenever we’re near each other, So the question of the decade is, why?

“I know you’re not all the same, but it’s more complicated than you realize.”

I eye her with a confused expression, because none of this makes sense to me.

“I still can’t do this. I’m sorry.” She steps into me, getting on her toes and lightly kissing me on the cheek.

Her lips on my skin will haunt me for the rest of the night, because I know that as she walks into her building, this might be the last time I see her.

6

Harper

His lips travel down my neck, past my breasts as a moan escapes my lips. His teeth graze my skin, lightly biting the softness of my stomach. How did I go so long not knowing what this felt like?

“Sunshine, your skin is so fucking soft…” he mumbles as his hands lightly trace patterns on my skin, sending all of my senses into overdrive.

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