“Tanner, you don’t have to carry that all the way back.” I skipped up to him after I’d let myself enjoy the summer night for a full minute. “I can do it.”
“It’s either I keep my hands busy with this, or touching you. Your choice,” he said, flashing his white teeth at me in a menacing smile. “Unless you have something else arranged, I still plan on keeping my word.”
“Oh, the orgasms thing? Right. Forgot about that,” I probed, enjoying how easy it was to rile him. He huffed, quickening his pace to the point I had to jog. “It’s past midnight, so you actually didn’t keep your word. My birthday is over.”
“You’re such a shit.”
“Romancing me with such sweet words.” I caught up to him and laughed when he gave me the poutiest look I had ever seen. “You’re en route for a solo homerun, ya feel?”
He scoffed, but it caused me to laugh harder. I poked his ribs. “Like, you get yank your own chain with your hand?”
“Yeah, I get it, smartass.”
“You seem a bit cranky. Did you not enjoy the card games? You won the most pointsandthe first ever card champion, king of numbers award. You should be proud of yourself. I mean, sure, some guys get drafted into the Majors, but not everyone wins the pocket change, ChapStick and hair ties from their friends.”
Thatsnapped him out of his mood and his tight expression relaxed. “You’re not wrong.”
“I know. I rarely am.” I blew him a kiss, the adrenaline from having such a good birthday leaking over into a weird sense of confidence and joy. He smiled at me and I swore, for one second, that smile meant somethingmore. I didn’t have time to reciprocate the gesture before we walked by a group of ladies hitting the town.Cool, I’m in a Zwillows Pillows shirt.
“Hey, Tanner!”
“My man, Tan!”
“Looking hot as fuck, TJ!”
They catcalled the centerfielder, running their fingernails through his hair and over his arms, as if he was a ride at a carnival.Isn’t he though, to them?
Cleat chasers.
“Can’t believe you turned down the draft, baby.” One of the gorgeous girls stopped, letting her gal-pals continue walking so it was just us three standing there with my large basket in Tanner’s hands. This chick wore black lipstick like it was her damn job. She’d paired it with an equally black outfit that caught Tanner’s attention, but when she grabbed his chin in her hands, he pulled away.
“Felicia, we agreed. One time, that was it. I don’t do more than once and I made that very clear. No time for relationships, ever.”
“It was so good though.” She said it with so much emotion I had no doubt it really had beenthat good. My chest felt tight, as if I’d suddenly come down with a cold, and I coughed a couple of times, hoping to relieve the tension. No luck, but it did draw their attention to me. The vixen grinned, her white teeth clashing with the black makeup, and I gave her an awkward wave that told her without a doubt I was a freshman.
“Your lipstick is fantastic,” I blurted out. Her smile widened and she let out a little squeal.Okay, that was weird.
“Thank you! You’re so sweet. Is she one of yours, Tanner?” Felicia gave me a curious glance, scanning my outfit before looking back at him. “She’s not your usual type.”
“Enough. She’s Hilly’s sister.”
“Oh my god! Baby Hilly!” Her pitch went an octave too high and she opened her mouth to say more, but one of her friends hollered for her to join them and she gave us a sad smile. “I need to go. It’s my best friend’s birthday. It was nice meeting you, Baby Hilly, and, Tanner, we will enjoy a night together again.”
His jaw tightened and he avoided my gaze until Felicia joined her friends. The pressure in my chest went away and I laughed. “Well, that was fun.”
“We slept together once, a couple of months ago.”
“Yeah, I gathered the evidence and reached the same conclusion. Did she wear the black lipstick then? I wanna know.”
He rolled his eyes, a shadow ofsomethingcrossing them, before they crinkled at the sides. “She did.”
I burst out laughing and let go of the negative feeling that had rooted itself in my mind. “Did you mean what you said to her? You sleep with your ladies once andbam? Never again?”
He adjusted the basket in his grasp, switching it from his left side to the right, and ran his teeth over his top lip. “Typically. Maybe a handful of times. I think I did five hook-ups with a couple of girls.”
Cool. Cool. Cool.
The pressure returned and I tried clearing my throat. “Does it get old?”
