Page 3 of Hard Ball

And the worst part? He had my dart sticking out of his arm.

2

Harper

The man standing in front of me is drop-dead gorgeous. Nope, that’s not even an accurate description of how he looks right now. Sexy? Hell yes. Hot as hell? Yes, that too. I try and find words to describe how his dirty blond hair falls freely over his eyes, the way my fingers itch to feel the shaved sides of his head that are peeking through those strands of hair, tempting me. Baiting me. His jet blue eyes are incredibly striking, and his five o’clock shadow just adds this ruggedness that is making it very hard for me to stop staring at him.

I do a full-body scan, knowing that I’m doing the same thing Cam did to me earlier, but I can’t help it. The man is built like he was created just for me. With his arms and chest visibly defined through his thin Henley shirt that could be black or dark blue depending on the light. Yet when my eyes meet his once more, I’m surprised at the look of anger and lust staring back at me. But what I don’t expect is the feeling of heat that travels through my body and how much I like his eyes on me.

“Holy shit!” Cam yells from beside me, taking me out of my Josh trance as I watch him stalk toward me. “Anderson, you okay, man?” The laughter in Cam’s voice brings a slight smirk to Josh’s lips as he nods, slowly reaching up and pulling the dart out of his arm and placing it gently on the table in front of me.

“You throw this, Sunshine?” he grumbles, never taking those eyes off me. The nickname is one I’ve heard before, but my reaction is completely new. My palms start to sweat, and my hands start to shake.

“Shit,” I mutter, my head finally clearing and realizing what the fuck just happened. “I am so sorry!” I panic, taking the dart from the table and leaning in to inspect his arm. “I must not have seen you walking before I threw it.” I want to tell him that maybe he shouldn’t be walking in front of dartboards, but the words get stuck in the back of my throat. My fingers trace the outline of his bicep, his muscles tensing under every touch and my breath catching with each pass.

“At least she hit something…” Cam whispers beside me and I roll my eyes as a look of amusement passes over Josh’s face.

“That bad, huh?” Josh teases.

“I am right here, you know,” I mumble as Cam pats me on the back and takes a swig of his beer.

“You have no idea. She hit the wall more than the actual board.”

Okay, so maybe he’s right, but that doesn’t mean I want everyone within earshot to know just how terrible I am. But I’m guessing since I threw a dart into someone, everyone knows just how terrible I am at this game.

“Can I buy you a drink?” I ask, hoping to get away from the topic of me stabbing him with a dart. Josh’s lips quirk, sending my libido spinning.

“Shouldn’t that be my line?” he whispers, getting close enough that his breath whips against my skin, and I audibly swallow the lump in my throat.

“I just thought since I impaled you, that you deserve some alcohol on me.”

He shows me that perfect smile, sending goose bumps across my skin.

“Come on,” he says, inclining his head and motioning me to follow.

“What about me?” Cam yells behind us.

Josh groans, then turns to look back at Cam. “There are a bunch of girls asking for you by the karaoke machine.”

His face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning and he happily makes his way across the room, leaving me and my “great ass” behind.

I turn just as Josh starts walking to the bar, and when we approach, I notice that Mel is still going strong with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. She catches my eye and raises a brow. I shake my head as Josh taps the solid bar top, getting the bartender’s attention. He pulls my gaze away from Mel by ordering me another drink, while ordering himself a water. That surprises me. I expected him to get an actual drink since I’m buying.

“I’m Josh,” he says, turning toward me, his eyes traveling over me once again as I try and ignore the warm feeling that’s slamming into my chest.

“I know who you are,” I admit, trying to mask my self-annoyance at wanting to climb this man like a tree. I am not attracted to ballplayers. Nope. I made that vow long ago and I won’t let someone like Josh, who, granted looks good enough to eat, ruin that. He says nothing, his eyes boring into mine as if he’s baiting me to continue.

“You’re seriously going to make me do this?” Knowing he wants me to prove that I know how good he is, and that cocky smirk on his face makes me want to recite every major league stat I know on him and so I start. “You’re Josh Anderson, third baseman for the Hawks, but started your career in Florida.”

He nods his head slightly and motions for me to continue.

“You’re batting a solid .250 but you’ve dropped the last couple of weeks.” I give myself a high five when his eyes narrow at that last part. I didn’t have to say that he’s been sucking lately, that was just a dig for me alone. Clearly, he doesn’t like that he’s struggling and that makes me puff out my chest just a little bit more. “Your defense is always on point, a gold glove winner more than once if I remember correctly. Would you like me to keep going?”

He says nothing for a few seconds as I become hyperaware of his eyes on me.

“So, you’re a fan?” His voice lowers and I’m half expecting a smug look on his face, but what I get is apprehension.

Interesting.

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