Page 57 of Double Play

She snuggled against him, her nipples pressed against his chest. They were still hard. In fact, she still felt just as turned-on as before. Maybe all the lust she’d stored up since she’d met Jim was boiling over. But once again, shewanted—more.

She pressed her sex against the hot shaft burning her skin. “Let’s go all the way,” she saiddecisively.

“Areyou—”

“Don’t you dare ask if I’m sure. I want to have sex with you and feel this inside me.” She wrapped her hand around it. “I want to be naked, not under the covers, with the lights on, making love with the man I’m going to marry. Can youhandlethat?”

“There’s only one way tofindout.”

And finally—finally!—he threw her down on the bed and had his way with her. And it was every bit as glorious as her favorite novelspromised.

22

Sunday morning in San Diego—theperfect time for a double date. Maggie always looked forward to her and Dwight’s outings with Nina and Jim. They all felt like newcomers to the city, which seemed vast and filled with people compared to Kilby. The players didn’t have much time to spare, but occasionally, if there was time before the day’s game, they all got together and did somethingcrazy.

Like dress up in costume and visit the local children’shospital.

Arm in arm, the four of them strolled down the hallway as if it was the land of Oz. Maggie, her hair in two braids, got to be Dorothy, while Nina took on the Cowardly Lion role. Nina was in charge of the costumes; she’d found a big fuzzy lion bodysuit at a local costume shop. She’d also put together a Tin Man outfit for Jim, complete with silver face paint. Dwight, as the Scarecrow, had the floppy moves down, though he left a trail of strawbehindhim.

Every child’s face went bright with wonder as they passed. Sometimes they crowded into a kid’s hospital room, following the nurse’s guidance. Nina had brought the nurse a fairy wand so she looked like Glinda the good witch. Eventually they wound up in the lounge, where the kids took a break from coloring andwatchingTV.

“We’re looking for the Wizard of Oz,” Maggie told the kids as they filed into the room. “We heard he might be here and we have a few requests for him. Scarecrow, do you have anythingtosay?”

“I would, if I only had abrain!”

Dwight, of course, was the star of the show, with his floppy Scarecrow dance. He just had a way about him, a knack for coaxing a smile from just about anyone. He dropped to his knees, jumped up again, flopped across the room knock-kneed.

The sound of the kids’ laughter warmed Maggie to the bottom ofhersoul.

Then Lieberman took his turn, doing a stiff kind of robot dance around the room and asking the kids if anyone had seen his heart. Nina prowled around the room as the Cowardly Lion, letting the kids pet her furry head. “C-courage!” she roared. “Can anyone here spare somecourage?”

And finally, Maggie, channeling Dorothy. “As for me, I just want to go home. You guys know what I mean,right?”

The kids nodded, some of them sad, some still smiling from thegoofyshow.

“But even after I go home, I’ll never forget the friends I made.” They all linked arms again. “Once you find your heart, your brain and your courage, you can face anything. Even flying monkeys!” And they all pretended to flee from dive-bombing monkeys as the kids shrieked andlaughed.

Afterwards, they each spent time talking to the children one-on-one, with Glinda the good nursefacilitating.

After that, they changed into their normal clothes. Jim and Dwight signed baseballs for the sports fans among the kids, and even a few for the hospital staff. They chatted about the season and the upcoming playoffs, and the chances that the Friars might snag a wild-cardspot.

Maggie waited patiently with Nina. Being a “baseball wife”—girlfriend, in this case—involved a lot of waiting. Everywhere they went, eager fans wanted to talk about the team. Luckily, she often spent that time playing with new ways to sort data to find a hidden statistical gem to help the team. Some of her best brainstorming moments happened while Dwight was answering questions about the team’s chemistry and playoffprospects.

“What do you think about while you’re waiting for Jim?” sheaskedNina.

“Think about? Hm, I guess how funny life is,”Ninasaid.

“What do you mean,funny?”

“Not too long ago, I was living in hiding, basically. I rarely talked to my own brother. And I felt so guilty because he took the punishment for something I did. Iamthe Cowardly Lion.” She giggled. “I didn’t need a costume to tell me that. Then everything changed when I took that bus to see the team in Albuquerque. That was the first step. And now here I am, engaged to Jim and dressing up as the Cowardly Lion. Life is just funny,that’sall.”

Maggie smiled at her younger friend. “No argument there. When I started writing my thesis, I had no idea I would end up all the way across the country, surrounded by palm trees and baseballhunks.”

“With one exceptional hunk inparticular.”

“He is something, isn’t he?” She gazed at Dwight, who was busy signing something for a doctor with a stethoscope slung around his neck. Dwight looked up, caught her eye and winked. She sent him a secret smile, in which she promised all kinds of fun the next time they werealone.

“Trevor said he’s making a speech at a hospital fundraiser. He’s been practicing it in the clubhouse and driving everyonecrazy.”

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