“I guess so, but their beer and snacks are covered. Could be worse.”
I click my tongue and take a bite and chew before speaking again. “So you’re like a cool boss.”
He shrugs, being modest. “I try. I took on a lot of responsibility the last few years when Collin got sick, and I enjoy it.”
“You’re good at it.” It’s the first time I see a blush creep on his cheeks. It’s adorable, and it makes me want to test his limits even further.
Suddenly a teenager is holding a baseball near Aiden’s face. “Mr. Carlson, would you mind signing my ball?” he asks. Aiden looks at me apologetically as he sparks a conversation with the young man. He signs his ball and shakes his hand before turning back to me.
“So… are we going to talk about that?”
“I used to play professionally.” I motion my hands for him to continue. He shifts in his seat. “I played for the Rays for ten years, hurt my hand and retired. I had money to invest, and instead of turning to partying, Collin convinced me to become a part of his business and that’s what I did.”
My mouth parts, and I look at him appreciatively. “So you weren’t kidding when you said you love sports.”
“No, I love them all, but baseball will always be number one.”
“Well, I didn’t realize I was sitting next to a true expert. You’ll have to teach me,” I say, looking up at him. His gaze travels to my mouth when the word teach escapes my lips. I involuntarily bite my bottom lip and smile at him.
“I’ll teach you whatever you want to know,” he says back and all I can think about is the lessons I’d love for him to teach me.
We’re interrupted by another one of his fans who he speaks to and signs their memorabilia. I take this time to eat my hot dog and calm my ass down. You wouldn’t think this stadium is air conditioned with how on-fucking-fire I feel right now.
I take a sip of my seltzer, making a mental note to savor the drink. No way am I going to be a mess in front of Aiden again.
“Sorry about that,” he says, turning back to me.
“Don’t be, you’ve been retired for how long now?” I ask.
“Eleven years.”
“That just goes to show what an impact you’ve had. Eleven years later and people still remember you. You should be proud of that.”
He scrubs his chin, and I can hear the scratchy texture of his nails against his face. I like his facial hair a little grown out, I realize. “I guess.”
“You’re a great boss, you own a company, and you had a successful athletic career. You have a lot to be proud of, Aiden.” His pupils dilate at my pride over his accomplishments, and it makes me wonder if no one tells him how great he is. Maybe I should do that more, he seems to like it, and it’s deserved.
His face is so close to mine, and all it would take is me shifting my body weight closer and we would be touching. I want it, but I’m not sure if Aiden does. Even if he’s attracted to me, starting an office romance or fling isn’t something to take lightly. But the more time I spend in his orbit, the more I learn about him, the more I want.
Wanting something is dangerous, it sets you up to be disappointed, but I can’t help but feel like Aiden would be far from disappointing.
The game starts, breaking our eye contact, and I turn to watch. Asking Aiden questions here and there. He answers me in a calm tone and doesn’t treat me like an idiot.
“So wait, if they get hit with a ball they just get to go to first base?” Aiden nods his head. “I guess that makes sense?” He laughs and some man is screaming about ice cold beer down the steps. Aiden holds up his hand and gets his attention.
“Need anything?” he asks, his face close to mine.
I blink rapidly and shake my head.
Suddenly, the people in the seats around us are shouting and the woman next to me forces me to break eye contact with Aiden. She taps my shoulder and points at the big screen. I see Aiden and me, we’re inside a heart and in pink bubble letters are the words ‘Kiss Cam.’
“Oh,” I say looking back at Aiden.
“They will just go to the next person, don’t worry about it.” I nod at him, but wish desperately that he would. Of course, I look back at the screen and now it’s announcing that he’s a retired player and everyone around us is screaming for us to kiss.
If it was just us? If our co-workers weren’t at the stadium too, I might just go for it. But I can still be a little bold, I decide.
I lean forward and place a kiss on his prickly cheek. His eyes are wide as he looks at me while I back away. There’s a mix of boos and claps around us. I guess they were hoping for more action than that. I don’t blame them, I’m just as disappointed. I sit back down, knowing that my cheeks are pink, but I don’t back down looking at Aiden.
