Ronnie rarely made it to our children’s games, even on weekends. He barely had time to listen to the girls when they told him about their days. Here was a man we’d just met, delighting in Zelda’s achievements.
Teddy noticed me watching and stopped for a second, grinning. He tapped Zelda on her shoulder and pointed. Both girls came running over.
“Did you see me score?” Zelda, despite her claims of not wanting me around, was excited to see me.
“Yeah, I did!”
Zelda let me hug her for a hot second before she pushed away.
“Hey, Tara, great passing. Good game.” We high-fived.
“You’re in charge?” Tara asked.
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Then do you think we could get canteen today?” Tara asked.
I laughed. “It’s not like I have superpowers.”
Teddy joined us. “These two were today’s soccer stars. Impressive footwork and teamwork.” He fist-bumped them.
“Your group is getting ready to move on. I’ll try to catch you at another activity,” I said to the girls.
When they trotted off, Teddy said, “Hey, Kramer, nice surprise. Did you come to check me out?”
I adored his boyish grin. “Ha, as if! Since I’ve been put in charge, I thought I’d use the opportunity to see what my kids were up to. You, Mooney, were a bonus,” I said.
“It’s not at all surprising that you have great kids. Athletic, fun team players, and beautiful—they obviously take after you.”
“You sweet talker. If we were alone, I’d be the one jumping on your back.” I was typically not a fan of grown men who wore sports jerseys, but he looked so incredibly hot in his shiny soccer uniform.
He was smiling. “You’re undressing me with your eyes, aren’t you?”
“I would like nothing more than to lick the sweat off your body right here, right now.”
It was arousing to make him moan without even touching him. He took a deep breath and asked, “Since you have the golf cart, can you drive me over to boys’ side?”
“Of course—it’s the least I can do since you were gallant enough to pick me up earlier.”
Teddy slid in next to me, his leg resting against mine.
“Do all the kids jump on you like Zelda did?” I asked.
“Only the ones I bond with.”
I didn’t think it was possible to admire him more than I already did. “Hazel?”
“I was with her last week. Her age group was scheduled when I was off, playing with you.” He tapped my knee, both of us smiling.
“I feel like I’m missing out. I don’t really know Max at all, and I have no idea how to remedy that.”
“He’s a good kid. I think you’d like him, so yeah, it would be nice if you got to know him. Let me think how I can make it happen.”
I was about to suggest trying to get the five of us together, but why? What would I tell my daughters? “I want you to meet Max because I’ve been having romantic liaisons with his dad”? I changed the subject. “This morning, when Jack said Bethany may not be back until Friday . . .”
“We wouldn’t be able to meet up. I came to the same conclusion. I know Nate, and he’s going to want to get back to camp as soon as possible,” Teddy said.
“It would be too obvious if you asked to change your days off again to match mine.”
