I may have overestimated how this was going to work. It’s pure chaos. We have no real rules, no one can agree on anything. Sarah is barking orders, Charles is winding her up. Thea and Jeeves are failing at keeping their attraction hidden. Despite all this, Neive is laughing, so I’m calling this a win.
We’ve managed to come to an agreement that one of us hits the ball, runs and we all attempt to get the ball before Chip does.
It’s my turn. Rounders was my game growing up. I’m fast, really fast, and when I do manage to hit the ball I can really whack it. After a few pitiful throws from Charles, he’s finally wised up that we women can wield a bat with actual force. We actually might have him a little scared. Bar Thea. She has all the sporting ability of a panda: cute and cuddly, but ultimately useless. No wonder they are so rare – both Thea and the pandas.
Elton has Thea at second base. There’s only three bases but we’ve set them pretty far apart to give a little competition to the game. He’s been giving me fuck-me eyes every time I step up to bat. And if he wants to play dirty, then dirty is what he gets.I slip off my sports jacket, leaving myself in a tight pair of high-waisted leggings and my sports bra. Despite the chill, his presence is heating me from the inside. His eyes light up as I hold the bat over my shoulder, wiggling my hips, giving my bestLeague of Their Ownpin-up pose. He runs his hands through his hair, pops his cap on backwards and blows out a breath. His eyes darken, and he clenches his hands on his knees as his glare promises me retribution.
“Keep it clean, people,” Thea yells, as Sarah makes gagging noises. Elton smirks and winks at me.
Charles takes that moment to hurl the ball towards me – he saw an opportunity and took it, cheeky git. Luckily, as I said earlier, I’m quick. I smash the ball as it hurtles past everyone. Chip speeds off as they all scramble to grab it before him.
I leg it, the sand slows me but I make it to the first marker just as Chip scoops the ball with his mouth. Elton is right behind him though and grabs my little Bordie, wrestling with him as he makes his way back to second base. He must have managed to get the ball and let Chip go as I feel the unmistakeable hard body of this man behind me. His arms wrap around me as he pulls us down, flipping me on top of him so he takes the hit of the fall.
He rolls us over and settles himself between my legs, his solid thigh resting at my core. His arms have encased me and he clutches the back of my head in his ridiculously manly hand, rolling me over so I feel the full weight of him on top of me. I would like to say the fall knocked the air out of me, but it’s him. Elton, cradling me, smiling at me as he twirls one of my red curls around his finger. He leans down and whispers against my ear, “I love the feeling of you beneath me.” I shiver at his words, this day of flirting is building to one hell of a night.
A groan pulls me out of the moment. Neive stands next to us, chucking the ball in the air. “Can you just not!” She turnsand walks away from us. “I tapped you out by the way.” She laughs as she stalks off to join the others.
Elton stands and pulls me to my feet. I brush the sand off myself while he shakes it out of his hair. “Stop shaking like a dog, you’re getting it all over me.” This is the best version of Elton: messy and relaxed. I can’t wait to have him tonight. “Did you get yourall okaytext from the clinic?” I ask him. We have both done the responsible thing and got ourselves tested now we are in a committed relationship.
“I did, did you?” I nod in response, biting my lip. Safe sex is hot sex.
He grabs me and growls in my ear making me squeal. It’s so painfully cringeworthy, but why do I feel my core tighten as I jump and wrap my legs around him, pushing myself against him, hoping to feel a bit of friction to placate the burning desire in me.
“Seriously, Uncle Elton! I will walk home right now. By myself!”
“Squirt, leave the lovebirds be.” Charles grabs the rounders bits and hands Neive the bag. “Everyone back to Elton’s for a takeaway.”
Elton groans. I baulk at his clear annoyance at the open invitation from Charles. “Did you rather we didn’t come over?” He probably wants time with Neive.
“I want you to come over. Everyone else can fuck off. I have plans for us.”
“Get through the evening, and you have me till morning.”
“That better be a promise, Reilly. You’ve given me a new baseball-player fantasy I didn’t know I had!” He squeezes my arse as we head back to the car. Just another day of me falling ever so slightly more for him.
TWENTY-SIX
Elton
Inever saw myself heading towards this life. Waking up with Reilly nestled into me, her fingers gently curled into my chest hair. She brings me a peace I didn’t know could be found in another person.
Apparently, we are putting a pin in the “move in with me” conversation for a while. She spends most nights with me, but still splits her time at her mum’s house and won’t move as much as a toothbrush in, choosing instead to pack a bag or wear my clothes, which doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
She’s working late at the bakery doing the monthly deep clean, another thing she shouldn’t be doing for someone else. Hopefully this will be the last time; once the business loan she applied for yesterday comes in, she’ll be on her way to achieving her dream. She continues to refuse my financial help, which I painstakingly try to understand. She wants to hold her independence andI can’t fault her for it.
I have a takeaway on order that needs picking up from her favourite Italian place, down the road from hers so we can grab Chip on the way to mine. It’s a proper hole in the wall with a BYOB policy. The Italian woman who runs it is a menace who makes the richest ragu I’ve ever tasted. I know she speaks and understands English, but she chooses to communicate with wild hand gestures and a scowl. Reilly managed to get a lip tilt from her once, which was pretty impressive though not surprising.
It’s dark out, the sunset is getting later, and I don’t like the idea of Reilly being there alone. And for good reason, apparently. The lights are still on, so it’s not hard to make out the man standing next to her. Too close. I don’t like how close he is. She carries on with her work, her lips moving at a pace too fast for me to read, not that I’m skilled in that area. My brain ticks over, cataloguing what I’m seeing, trying to process. He’s attractive, tall. Not young, but not old enough to be her grumpy boss. I don’t know him, but Reilly does. There’s an ease in the way she responds to him … Is this why she is so reluctant to move things forward with me? Is she seeing someone else? I try my hardest not to jump to conclusions. We’ve been down that road before.
My phone buzzes, and Jeeves’s name lights up. ‘Assess the scene. Process the information. Then react’, he would tell me. I’ve been expecting his call, but he can wait. This is too important. I throw my phone on the passenger seat, watching it light up again, get out of the car and make my way towards the shop. My heart is out of time with my steps.
The bastard standing behind Reilly leans in and brushes the hair off her neck. My stomach drops. I freeze and wait for what she does next.Assess the scene.
She bats his hand away and takes a step back. She throws the cloth on the counter and puts her hands on her hips. I’ve beenon the end of that stare before. She’s annoyed with him, but not furious as she would be if a stranger had touched her.
Is this the ex? Have I stumbled across a lovers’ tiff? Did his persistence finally pay off?Process the information.
No, Reilly wouldn’t do that. I have to let this play out, I can’t go rushing in there screaming accusations.
