"Pitcher. We won the state championship three years in a row. I also played at U of A for two years, but my arm gave out. Plus, I knew I did not have a career ahead of me in baseball, so I put down my glove and focused solely on school."
"Do you miss it?"
Giving her a look, Bennett replied, "You know you are the first person ever to ask me that. Most people just say how much the team misses me or how I need to come back. But, yeah, parts of it I do miss. I miss being part of a team and having a common goal. I miss the feeling I got every time I struck a batter out. Or the feeling of jubilation when you win a big game, and all of your buddies swarm the field and celebrate together. Knowing I will never have that again. I miss all of that. What I don't miss is the pain. Blowing out your rotator cuff and having surgery is no joke. I don't recommend it."
"Duly noted. I will be very careful about what I blow." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Poppy wanted to suck them back in. Had she really just said that?
Bennett audibly gasped and said, "Wow. Okay, on that note, we are here."
He pulled into a dark warehouse. Bennett clicked the overhead remote, and an oversized garage door went up. They drove into the space and lowered the door behind them. "Stay in the car while I turn up the heat. I will be right back."
Poppy waited in the car. Bennett was gone just a few minutes. When he returned, Poppy got out. He opened the back door, and they started unloading. There was a long table on which they set the toys.
"Just put the toys anywhere. Tomorrow, they will sort them."
At first, it was freezing in the warehouse, but it got really warm very quickly.
"Wow. That heat really works," remarked Poppy as she took another toy to the table.
"Yeah, we have to keep the doors open during the day. It has to put out a lot of heat to warm the place with open doors. With the doors closed like tonight, it gets hot quickly."
"No kidding. I am almost sweating." Poppy went to remove Bennett's jacket to keep it from getting sweat on it. The jacket sleeve caught on her spaghetti strap. Not realizing this, Poppy gave the sleeve a yank, which snapped her spaghetti strap. And Poppy yelled, "Oh shit!"
Bennett snapped his head around to see what had caused her to yell out. What he saw stunned him. Poppy stood before him, trying to get her dress back on, but part of her dress was still caught in the sleeve. Her left breast was exposed for all the world to see. It was the most beautiful breast he had ever seen, and honestly, he had seen his fair share. But seeing her standing there with all her red hair around her shoulders in all her glory shot an arrow into his gut.
Poppy was working like a mad woman to get the dress pulled up. Her motions were getting jerky and out of control, and the dress appeared to be ripping even more with each try. Suddenly, Bennett was jarred out of his stupor. Dropping the toy in his hands, he quickly untangled the jacket from the dress without looking at her any more than he had to. He did not want to embarrass her further. He could hear her starting to cry. With deft hands, he got the jacket free and got it back on her. Pulling the front together and buttoning it, he said, "It's okay. You are all good now." He softly kissed her hair and added, "Please don't cry. It is not a big deal."
With tears running down her face, Poppy looked at him and said, "Not a big deal? Not a big deal? What you must think of me? One minute I am helping you; the next, I am flashing you my tits."
Letting out a bark of laughter, Bennett replied, "Flashing your tits at me? Listen, Poppy, I have had my fair share of tit flashing, and that was not one of them. That was just a…wardrobe malfunction. Yes, that was what that was."
Drawing her close and hugging her in hopes of reassuring her, Bennett realized the error of his thinking once she was entirely inhis arms. He had a small taste of what she felt like in his arms earlier when they were dancing. Of course, that was before he got an eyeful of her gorgeous body. Now, he had to fight heaven and earth to keep his hands from roaming all over. From unbuttoning his jacket, ripping the other strap, and feasting on her incredible breasts, the only thing stopping him was a mantra running through the back of his mind, "She is still in high school. She is still in high school. She is still in high school."
Pushing her back, he rested his forehead on hers and asked, "Better? All good?"
Poppy nodded, and she pulled back and looked deeply into his eyes. "Thank you. You are so kind."
Shaking his head and thinking that if she knew what he was thinking, she would not think him to be so kind. Pulling back from her, he turned to leave when Poppy reached out and caught his arm.
Giving him a shy look, she asked, "Can I ask you a favor?"
"A favor? Sure. What do you need?" asked Bennett earnestly, trying to act like he was not so completely affected by her. He knew what he needed but was damn sure it was not what she was going to say.
Swallowing her fear, Poppy said in a small voice, "Would you kiss me? I have never been kissed, and the only way to wipe out the horrible memory of standing here naked in front of you would be to replace it with something warm and good."
Dropping his forehead back down on hers, he closed his eyes. She had no idea what she was asking. He was hanging on by a thread. But if one kiss would help, he could man up and do it.
Reaching down and cupping her face, he looked deeply into her eyes and saw the same all-consuming desire for him that he had seen earlier in the evening. Someday, he would have to teach her not to be so open and vulnerable with her feelings. Other menwould take what she was unknowingly offering. He would have to teach her how to protect herself. But all of that was for another night. Tonight was about helping her get over her embarrassment. Tipping her head back, he said, "One kiss, Poppy. Just one or this will go places you are not ready to go. Nod if you understand.”
Poppy was beyond words, but she nodded her head.
Slowly and softly, Bennett lowered his lips to hers. At first, it was a very chaste and innocent kiss. It reminded him of kisses he had shared with girls playing kissing games. But before he could pull away, Poppy wrapped her arms around him. Pressing her breasts into his chest, she opened her mouth, taking them both down a rabbit hole of lust, passion, and desire. Without thinking, Bennett pressed himself into her, letting her feel his desire for her. As she adjusted her body to bring him closer, a warning bell went off in Bennett's head, and he practically shoved her across the room. "Shit Carrington. Get a hold of yourself. She is in high school."
"Who are you talking to?" asked Poppy, still dazed by the kiss.
"Myself. That was way out of line. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I said one kiss. Not one volcano."
Not knowing what she was supposed to say, Poppy stood motionless and said nothing. Bennett ran to the back of the building and turned off the heat, leaving Poppy with a shocked expression on her face. Next, Bennett raced around to the back of the car and quickly got the last of the toys out. Dumping them quickly, he motioned for Poppy to get into the empty Jeep.
