“I’ll teach you how to keep score, and if you learn it, I’ll consider getting another plant.”
“That I get to choose?”
“Obviously.”
She grinned, hard, and clapped her hands. “Let’s learn baseball then.”
Chapter Sixteen
I didn’t havetime for regrets, buttonight pushed the line. Agreeing to a fucking double date with Dave and Nora, along with Tessa, was dumb. It wasn’t a great plan like I’d thought two nights ago. It was a slow form of torture. That’s what it was.
“So he brought out a scorebook and showed me how to do it! It was so nerdy,” Nora said, gesturing toward me from across the booth. Her gaze met mine, and she smiled. I wished she wouldn’t look at me likethat.Like our inside jokes made her feel special. She was on a date with Dave.
“You two hang out a lot?” my date asked, scooting closer to me and putting her hand on my forearm. Tessa was laid-back and gorgeous and liked sports. Totally my type. A month ago, I might’ve enjoyed her company and possibly asked for a second date.
Tonight, I was wasting her time.
“Sort of,” I said, reaching for another chip from our shared nachos. Dave stared at me, too, questions swirling in his eyes, and all the attention made me sweat. Was I that obvious? Did they both know that I had unwanted feelings toward Nora? I chewed the chip and swallowed before answering. “We live across from each other, so we run into each other.”
“And you help me out a lot, Fritz,” Nora said, beaming at me as a blush took over her face. “I know it’s embarrassing, but I’ve always lived with my parents. Learning how toadulthas been hard.”
“Girl, I know.” Tessa laughed. “No shame in staying at home and saving money. I just moved out last year.”
“Really?” Nora lit up.
“Yeah. My sister is still there too. Rent is stupid high, and I can’t afford a mortgage yet so I’m tossing away money each month. That’s nice Fritz is helping you out though. That first six months, I must’ve called my parents four times a week.”
Nora nodded, and her shoulders relaxed as she stared at Tessa. Her face was so damn expressive with all the lines and curves of her features, and my gut tightened thinking about her damn lips. Her gaze landed on mine, and I winked.
I would rather be in my apartment, secretly lusting for her and answering all her questions about baseball. “What is his role? Why do they change the throwers? Is the music necessary?”
“Nora,” Dave said, moving his arm around the booth to rest it on Nora’s shoulders. “You said you had questions for us.”
“For us?” I asked, my voice way too tight. His hand rested on her, just inches away from her neck. Her soft white shirt and jean jacket were nothing fancy or revealing but fuck.
She glanced down, chewed on her lip, before placing both hands on the table, steeling her gaze at all of us one by one. “I’m new at some of this, and I looked up questions to ask when on a group date. As a wise person said”—she paused, looking at me before continuing—“I need to experience all sorts of things away from home, so let’s do it.”
“Oh, this is fun, huh?” Tessa knocked her shoulder against mine and laughed, but it wasn’t with malice. Tessa seemed to enjoy Nora’s weird.
“Let’s do it,” Dave said, moving closer to her. Their sides touched.
My neck heated. She wasn’t pushing him off or trying to squirm away.
She must like him.
“First question.” She pulled out her phone and typed on it, her fingers moving fast as she said, “What is an ideal weekend for you?”
“I can go first,” Tessa said, grinning up at me. “Ideal weekend. Drinks with friends or my sister. A hike, jog, or walk. A good book, a big loud meal with people I love.”
“Oh, how lovely.” Nora grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “Fritz?”
My ideal weekend. Hm. “Camping. Unplugging from life without phones and just admiring and being outside.”
“Yeah, dude,” Dave said, holding up his fist for a bump. “When are we camping again, by the way?”
“Name a weekend, I’ll be there.”
Dave nodded before giving Nora all his attention. “I like drawing. So some hot coffee, a sketchpad, some music. Good company. That’s all an ideal weekend.”
