Page 2 of Hard Ball

“By the look on your face, I take it you know who I am?” He smirks, taking another swig of his beer and winking at me over the rim.

“Yes, I know who you are. You’re kind of hard to miss.”

He chuckles, missing the sarcasm completely. I’m just about to ask him to leave when Mel decides to grace us with her presence.

“I knew you would catch the eye of someone tonight!” she practically yells as Cam raises his eyebrows. “I’m Melissa,” she starts, getting between me and Cam. “And this is—”

She motions to me with her thumb, but I interrupt her. “Mel!” I mumble under my breath, not wanting Cam to know my name. She looks blankly in my direction as I slightly shake my head, hoping she gets the idea.

“This is my…” She gives me one last look before finishing with, “Friend.”

I nod, smiling that she finally got the point.

“Who is desperate for a good time.”

And of course, she has to go and ruin it. This cannot be happening right now.

My head falls into the palms of my hands as Cam starts laughing beside me. “Oh really?” he sounds intrigued, getting closer and closer with every passing second. “What did you have in mind?” he whispers against the shell of my ear, sending a wave of irritation over my entire being.

“I. Am. Not. Interested.” I punctuate with every breath. I don’t know how else I can spell it out, but from the look on Cam’s face and the horror on Mel’s, I need to find another way.

“Come on, Harp,” Mel whispers in my ear. “Just humor me.”

I lock eyes with Cam, hoping he can’t hear our conversation.

“Just play a game of darts with the guy. Please?” She’s practically begging and I know if I don’t agree, I’ll never hear the end of it.

“Fine,” I mumble, getting off my stool and taking my drink in my hand. “Come on hotshot, let’s play a round so I can go home.”

“Whatever you say, my lady,” he says, motioning for me to lead the way. Cam’s eyes are on my ass the entire time I walk toward the dartboards. I wish I felt even a sliver of arousal when his eyes land on my body, but I don’t. Tonight would be so much more interesting if I did, though.

I find an empty board, set down my glass on the high-top table beside me, and go to retrieve the darts off the board.

“You know those pants make your ass look amazing, right?”

I stop. Does shit like that actually work for men these days? I take a very long, very large sip of my drink and pray I have the strength to get through this game.

“You know, telling a girl she has a nice ass might seem like a good idea, but it just lets us know that’s all you care to look at.”

He barks out a laugh as I set up to throw my first dart.

“What can I say? I’m an ass man,” he admits as I toss the dart, completely missing the board and hitting the wall.

“What a surprise…” I deadpan as Cam smiles and looks me up and down once more. Do men actually think we like being talked to like this?

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He winks as he sets up and throws all three darts perfectly. I guess I should have guessed since it is his job to aim and throw.

“Look, Cam, as much as I love watching you pitch for the Hawks, I’m not into ballplayers, okay?”

He quirks an eyebrow before he turns and walks over to retrieve his darts, handing them to me as he hovers.

“You’re seriously saying no.” It’s not even framed as a question, more like a disbelieving sigh, and for a second I feel bad for the guy. He must not be used to women saying no. Maybe I’ll be the first of many, so his ego quivers just a little bit. “Can I at least know the name of the first woman to turn down Cameron King?” If he didn’t speak about himself in the third person, I might have thought about telling him. But now? Not a chance.

I take my stance once again, determined to actually hit the board this time when I look back at Cam. “A good mystery never hurt anyone,” I say just as I release the dart from my hand. It’s not until I hear someone scream, that I turn around.

“Jesus, fucking Christ!”

My eyes scan the crowd in front of me, trying to see what all the commotion is about when my eyes catch sight of the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. His blue eyes track up my body, sending shivers cascading down every limb, and as our eyes meet, I realize I’m in so much trouble. Because standing in front of me is none other than Josh Anderson, third baseman for the Toronto Hawks and Cam’s teammate.

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