Page 10 of Double Play

“Sorry. No offense meant.” But she looked more delighted with her jab than anything else. At first she’d seemed a little nervous, but now that they’d gotten into a groove, she was all smiles and spark and spunk. Not that she was flirting, in the traditional sense that he was used to. But an undercurrent of attraction ran through everything either of them said, which made itfeellike aflirtation.

“So, you ready?” He pulled some bills from his wallet and tossed them on thetable.

“Wait—I just realized it’sdarkout.”

“The park has lights and it’s cooler at night. What, are you scared?Backingout?”

“What about NinaandJim?”

“Hopefully they’re shacked up in a hotel roombynow.”

She blinked a few times, maybe blushed. “Oh. You reallythinkso?”

“No, I don’t. Maybe in ten years, at the rate Lieberman’s moving. Don’t worry about them. They’re grownups.Barely.”

He put out his hand to help her off her stool. She accepted it, but her foot couldn’t quite reach the floor and she nearly crashed the whole thing backwards. He wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her the rest of the way down, keeping his grip a tiny bit longer than necessary after her feet touched the floor. She felt good in his hands. Light as cotton candy, sweet-smelling, curved just right. He stole a whiff of her shampoo. Nothing fancy, nothing fruity, just clean and light, like sunshine on alaundryline.

* * *

They droveto Los Feliz Park in his Audi, which he’d bought used from a pitcher who’d gotten called up last year. He was no closer to getting any clues about his call-up or lack thereof. He couldn’t figure out how to ask Maggie about it withoutbeingrude.

And what about her point that she loved baseball more than he did? Pretty ballsy, for someone who had never even touched a baseball bat. But what if she was right? How did he feel about baseball? It had been part of his life as long as he could remember, like an irritating older brother. Baseball gave him great opportunities like scholarships, and it also frustrated the hell outofhim.

And sometimes, to be totally honest, it bored him. The season was long, the bus trips were painful, and he still hadn’t seen the inside of Friars Stadium except as a fan. Fuckbaseball.

Except he only felt that way some of the time. The rest of the time, playing ball on a summer day was a lot better than anything else he could be doing. And if—when—he made the majors, that would open up a whole new level of opportunity. Yes, he was ambitious and baseball was a stepping stone. But he still lovedthegame.

Baseball was…family, not just aspringboard.

But first—he had to get that fucking Call. And he needed to know why it hadn’thappenedyet.

The diamond with the batting cage was nearly empty, with only a few high school kids hitting grounders under the lights. In the haze of illumination pooling around the batting cage, insects flitted past their faces. The scent of warm earth and grasssurroundedthem.

Yeah, he loved baseball. Especially on a warm summer night next to aprettygirl.

Tutoring Maggie in how to hit a baseball turned out to be the most fun he’d had since winning the Triple-A Championship. He got to see her feisty competitive spirit in action. Even though he tossed the ball to her underhand, she missedeverytime.

But she still swung with one hundred percent effort, even though sometimes she ended up in the dirt. Her cheeks turned pink, her hair stuck to her face in damp strands, and still she swung with all hermight.

“This isn’t getting too strenuous, is it?” he asked after about twentypitches.

She stilled for a moment, as if listening to her own heart rate and breathing. “Nope. I’m good. You were right, night is better for this, though it might help to be able to seetheball.”

“You think I can see a ninety-five mile an hour fastball? That’s all instinct. Tryagain.”

Finally, on pitch number thirty-two, she connected. The ball dribbled off her bat and rolled about three feet down the right foul line. Shrieking, she jumped up and down next to it as it inched anemically across thegrass.

“I did it! I hit abaseball!”

“Yeah you did.” He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead as he joined her next to the baseball. “You pounded the hell out of that thing. That’s a home run in antworld.”

She giggled, then slumped onto the grass, resting her hands behind her. Her arms were so slim, he wondered how she had the stamina for thirty-two swings of the bat. “So what’s my batting average now, about point zerozerotwo?”

“You’re the math whiz, not me.” He dropped to the ground a few feet away from her. He bent one knee up and rested his arm on it. The damn thing actually hurt from tossing so many pitches in a row. Stupid—he needed to save his throwing arm for actual games. But if he didn’t find out what was going on with the Friars, there was no point in any more gamesanyway.

“Thanks for bringing me out here, Dwight Conner.” He took a clean towel from his gym bag and tossed it to her. She patted the sweat from her face. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had doing somethingphysical.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes went wide. “I mean, something athletic. Not physical.Athletic.”

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