Page 39 of Hard Ball

“I wanted to do something special, so…” He opens yet another enormous steel door and when my eyes adjust to what’s in front of me, I’m speechless. We’re on the roof and the view is absolutely breathtaking. I can see across the city skyline and a sense of calm settles over my entire body. There are fairy lights all around me, hanging from rods and attached to every surface imaginable. Yet what causes my breath to catch is the small table for two that sits right in the middle of a sea of candles.

I spin, looking at Josh who does nothing to hide the grin that lights up his face. “You did all of this for me?” I slowly turn back and take in the view one more time.

“I would do just about anything for you,” he says quietly as he intertwines our fingers, leading me toward the table. He’s made me speechless, something that doesn’t come naturally and makes me question everything I thought I knew about guys like him. No one has ever done something this romantic for me, ever.

We reach the table as he lets go of my hand only to take my chair and pull it out from underneath the table, motioning for me to sit. When I do, he pushes the chair in as his lips lightly graze the back of my neck, making me shiver in anticipation.

“This is incredible,” I whisper, my eyes still taking in everything and wondering how he got all of this done so quickly. “How did you pull this off?”

He sits down across from me as that familiar smirk crosses his lips.

“I have connections,” he teases.

Of course he does. I notice there are heating lamps placed strategically all over the roof and I’m grateful. Being cold and not being able to concentrate on the man in front of me is not my idea of a romantic date.

“Mr. Bigshot showing off on the first date,” I joke, loving the megawatt smile that lights up his entire face. “I love it,” I say before thinking better of it.

“Really?”

He seems so unsure of himself at this moment and I don’t know what to do with this part of his personality. I’m so used to the confident Josh, the one that knows what he wants and goes for it. This is new.

“I was worried it would be a little over the top for a first date.”

He’s not wrong, it’s over the top but I like it. It shows what kind of man he really is.

“Normally I would say yes, but we’ve been dancing around each other for so long and you had your head between my legs just a few minutes ago, so I kind of think of this as a second date.” We both laugh just as the door opens and Scott comes over with our food. As it’s placed down in front of me I breathe in the scent of steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetables which all make my stomach growl.

“I’m guessing you approve of the food?” he asks, taking a large bite of his steak.

“Are you kidding? This girl is on a first name basis with steak. This looks delicious,” I admit before I dig in.

“Good.”

I take a bite out of my steak and moan once the juices hit my tongue. This is by far the best steak I have ever had. My eyes meet Josh’s eyes as a serious expression crosses his face.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, placing my knife and fork back down on the table.

Josh just shakes his head, muttering, “You have no idea, do you?”

I look over at him, very confused. “No idea about what?”

He smirks, leaning on the table and taking one of my hands in his. “The effect you have on me. Those sounds you’re making, the way your lips wrap around that fork… you’re making it extremely hard to stay on this side of the table.”

I blush, wanting nothing more than for him to continue what we left behind at my apartment.

“Well, if the rest of the night goes as well as this, you might just get lucky,” I joke, picking up my fork and digging in once more.

“I can only hope.” He gives me an easy smile and I realize how comfortable this feels. I never knew a conversation with a man could feel like this. As if we’ve known each other our entire lives and nothing is awkward.

“How was your road trip?” I ask, needing to steer the conversation away from the fact that I want to strip him naked.

“Long. We played well, I feel like I got my timing back around game three, which was a great feeling.”

I nod, smiling as he continues.

“But I will admit I’ve never hated a road trip more in my life.” Leaning into the table, his eyes bore into mine as I blush scarlet.

“I know what you mean.” I take another bite of my food and try to keep the moan suppressed for the sake of both of us. “So, tell me how you started playing baseball?” I know most of what he’s going to say since I’ve stalked his Wikipedia page more often than I care to admit, but I still want to hear what he has to say.

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