Chasing The BallGirl (FanGirl Series2) Page 18

  “None. Now, stop it. Can you two go check on the boys? I want a second to myself.”

  I grabbed Lexi’s hand and dragged her out the door and down the steps to the main level of the beach house. Ryan, Jace, Carson, and his mom, Lynnette, were spread out among the couches, watching television.

  “My God … Jace is a solid piece of man meat,” Lexi whispered, her gaze running over his entire body. “I’ve never been one for a ton of tattoos on a guy, but goddamn, it works for him.”

  Tattoos peaked out from under the sleeves of Jace’s white dress shirt, and Lexi was almost panting. “Are you drooling?” I teased.

  “It’s hard not to. I need to stop eye-fucking him, or he’s going to see my lady boner. How did he get the gig of performing the ceremony?” Lexi asked.

  “He overheard Carson talking about hiring someone to come to Captiva to do it, and he volunteered. Apparently, he’s performed weddings for a few other people.”

  “It’s going to be harder than hell to pay attention to Carson and Mel while he’s standing up there with them. Why does he have to be so fucking hot in that suit?”

  Ryan glanced from the screen, and his eyes grew wide at my dress. He stood from the couch and walked to me, his eyes roaming over my entire body in the process. “Damn, Samantha, you’re not supposed to upstage the bride,” he said into my neck before kissing the sensitive skin.

  “I’m definitely not. Melody is breathtakingly beautiful.”

  Carson scrambled off the couch and looked at the staircase. “Is she ready to come down?”

  I smiled at his excitement. It’d been killing him not to see her all day. There had been several times that we had to redirect Carson from trying to get into Melody’s room.

  Lexi rolled her eyes at his eagerness. “Hold your balls, Carson. She just wanted a minute to herself before the ceremony. Personally, I think she’s lost it. She thinks the rain is going to let up just for you two to get married.”

  Lexi’s mom and dad walked into the living room, and her dad shook his head. “Such the cynic, Lexi. Look outside.”

  Everyone in the room looked out the windows. By some act of God, the rain had stopped, and it looked as if the sun was trying to make an appearance.

  Lexi started to spaz out. “Holy shit! Boys, get outside. Go! Mom, Lynnette, go with them! Sam, get Mel! Hurry before the rain starts back up!”

  I ran up the stairs and knocked on Melody’s door.

  She opened the door, wiping a few tears from her cheeks. “I’m okay, I promise.” She laughed at the panicked look I was sure was written over my face. “I’m just missing my parents, but I’m ready. I want to go marry Carson.”

  I adjusted the strap on her beautiful, simple white satin dress and smiled. “Let’s go get your husband.”

  We walked down the steps to where Lexi and her dad were waiting for Mel.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind that I borrow your dad to give me away?” Mel asked Lexi.

  “Not at all. It’s not his first rodeo. He knows what he’s doing.” She winked.

  Lexi’s dad held an arm out for Mel. “The question should be, are you sure you want me to give you away? Last time I did this, it didn’t turn out so great.”

  Mel kissed his cheek. “There isn’t anyone else I would want to give me away. I think my dad would have agreed.”

  Lexi stepped forward and fixed his collar. “I think you’re right. Besides, Dad, it’s not your fault I married a fucktard.”

  Wait, wait … Lexi was married?

  Lexi kissed Melody’s cheek and smiled proudly at her best friend. “Let’s go get you married before it rains again.”

  Ryan

  Weddings were usually a bore for me. Too long, too drawn out, too extravagant. Society’s expectations had made what was supposed to be a ceremony of love into a spectacle of who could throw the best party.

  Carson and Mel’s wedding, however, wasn’t too long, too drawn out, or too extravagant. They had given a giant fuck you to society’s expectations and decided to get married in their own paradise, and it was pretty damn perfect. Jace had done a fantastic job of performing the ceremony, tailoring the vows and message to the special couple. Everyone stood around the couple during the ceremony and listened intently. It was very intimate. Sam had been tucked into my side the entire time, and while Jace had spoken, my mind had wandered off to what Sam’s and my wedding would be like one day.

  Would she want something similar? Maybe smaller? A giant wedding?

  I didn’t care as long as I would be the one to call her my wife forever.

  Carson’s mom and Lexi’s mom were going crazy in the kitchen, fixing food for everyone, and I thought they might be new best friends. They were laughing loudly and drinking wine, and I thought they were entertaining everyone in the room.

  The entertainment and laughter was much needed, especially after the team’s championship series loss to New York two weeks ago.

  We’d made it to the big series, but we had gotten crushed by New York in our own city. If I’d thought losing the divisional series hurt last year, then this was killing me. The team had traded Daniels to New York during the all-star break, and it’d turned out to bite us in the ass. I thought being traded had fueled a fire inside Daniels—or maybe being out of Coach Anthony’s line of fire had recharged him because that fucker killed it during the series. We couldn’t hit off him at all. With their on-point pitching and outstanding batting, we couldn’t keep up.

  Next year was going to be different because not only was Anthony seething for the series title, but the rest of the team was, too. We had disappointed our city two years in a row, and it would not happen again.

  The only thing that had kept me sane since the loss was Sam. She always had some positive outlook on anything negative I said, and it’d helped me from slipping into depression.

  Sam had spent a few weeks in Kansas City during the season for training, and as hard as it had been to be away from her for almost a month, she’d had such a great time, learning her new job. She and Owen had implemented a lot of new ideas into the current program, and she seemed like she was seamlessly easing into her new career.

  With a huge grin on her face, Sam was watching Carson’s mom and Lexi’s mom drink straight from the wine bottles.

  I grabbed her hand and nodded to the covered porch. “As entertaining as these two are, can we go outside for a second?”

  “Of course.” She put her wineglass down and followed me outside.

  The bulge in my pocket was obvious, and I was trying my best to keep it hidden. I shut the door behind her, and she leaned on the railing.

  “Can you believe the rain really stopped just long enough for them to get married? That’s kind of crazy.” She giggled.

  “Definitely crazy.” I chuckled.

  I wrapped my arms around her from behind, and she rested her head on my shoulder.

  “It has been a good day,” I said.

  “Very good day,” she agreed.

  “I hope I’m about to make it a little better.” I backed away.

  She turned around and saw me reaching in my pocket, and her cheeks turned red. “What are you doing?”

  I pulled out the hollowed baseball from my pocket and held it in front of her. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want a serious answer. Think about Sam only, not me. Got it?”

  “O-okay,” she stuttered and nodded her head.

  The baseball was cut halfway across, and I opened it for her to look inside.

  When she peeked inside the ball, her eyes shot to mine, and she grinned. “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

  “I don’t know. Take it out.”

  She reached inside the ball and grabbed the key ring with two keys on it. “Home plate.” She smiled at the keychain. “Are you asking me to move in?”

  “Yeah, I’m asking you to move in. But only if you’re ready.”

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me deeply. “
You are my home. Wherever you are, so am I.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  She bounced on her toes. “Yes!”

  I picked her up and spun her around.

  “Did you just propose?” Lexi gasped from the door.

  “No. He asked me to move in with him!” Sammie held the keychain up.

  “For fuck’s sake, what do I need to do to keep a damn roommate around here?” She slammed the door behind her. She opened it and peeked out. “Congratulations and shit.”

  “Congratulations and shit,” I repeated.

  We laughed as we held one another, and damn it, I couldn’t wait to see what else the future held in store for us.

  Lexi

  I was happy that my best friend had found her happily ever after. Melody was basically my sister. After the shit she had been through, she deserved to be treated like a queen, and that was what Carson did.

  And, although I was over the moon for her, I needed a breather. I sneaked out of the kitchen and took the stairs down to the dark garage. There was too much damn love in this house, and I was feeling grumpy as hell, thanks to asshole Ryan stealing my Sam.

  I needed another damn roommate, and I was out of friends I could live with. Most of the teachers at school were married or twats, so that wasn’t an option. I’d considered looking on Craigslist prior to Sam, but I’d heard that story about that girl finding chopped-up body pieces in her freezer, thanks to her serial killer roommate, and I’d said fuck that.

  I knew Melody and her sweet heart, and more than likely, she was going to tell me not to worry with finding a roommate to pay the other half of the rent, but I refused to take advantage of our friendship. I just might have to move from the cushy condo to an apartment outside of the city and travel.

  Or back in with my parents.

  Maybe I am okay with body parts in my freezer …

  I decided that, despite the rain, I could use a ride alone to clear my head. I turned the light on at the bottom of the stairs and screamed when I found Jace sitting on the hood of a golf cart with the phone up to his ear. He was grinning at me while he continued his conversation. I flipped him the bird and opened the garage door.

  Who the fuck actually sits alone in the dark?

  Weirdo.

  When I sat in the driver’s seat of the empty golf cart, Jace said, “Honey, I have to go. I’ll be home in the morning. I love you.”

  Even man meat was in love, which pissed me off even more. I rolled my eyes and started the cart, and when Jace slid in the passenger side, I was annoyed.

  “Do you mind?”

  “Nope,” he responded simply and held a hand out as an invitation to drive.

  “Fine, you asked for it.” I peeled out of the garage, taking a hard right off Mel’s property. The cart was tilted to the side, up on two wheels for a long moment.

  “Fucking hell, are you trying to kill us?” he yelled beside me.

  “You’re the one who jumped on without being invited,” I reminded him.

  He didn’t respond. Instead, he stayed silent until the sandy path came to an end and turned into the ocean. I put the golf cart in in park and waited for him to talk first. “Your best friend just got married. Why did you run away from the party?”

  He was nosy.

  “I needed air. It was too stuffy in that house.”

  “Why do I think that is only part of the truth?” His plump lips curled up at the ends.

  His smile was contagious, and I felt my mouth mirroring his. “Because it is.”

  “So, tell me what’s in that mind of yours, Lexi.”

  I didn’t know what it was about him, but I felt like I actually wanted to tell him what I was feeling. “You’re going to judge me for being an asshole.”

  “Probably.”

  He was honest. I could appreciate that.

  “I’m so happy for my friends, that their lives are moving forward … but I feel stuck in mine. I have the best relationships of my life, but I’ve never felt more alone.”

  “It’s normal to be jealous. That’s not being an asshole. Now, if you walked around mopey and spoiling your friends’ happiness, that would be an asshole move. Things happen at different times for everyone. It’s just not your time yet. It will come.”

  “You’re right; it’s just hard to remember that when both your friends move out to live with their boyfriends. I’ve lost two roommates in the last seven months, and now, I need to find a new one. Do you know how hard it is to find a roommate?”

  “I’ll be your roommate.”

  I glanced over at man meat. “Right. Because your girlfriend you were talking to on the phone would love for you to live with another chick. I don’t want some crazy bitch plotting to kill me.”

  He barked out a laugh. “I was talking to my daughter. I’m very single. You’d be the only crazy bitch I’d need to worry about.”

  I didn’t know if I could live with man meat. I’d have a constant lady boner and work my vibrator into overdrive.

  “I see you working it over in that pretty little head of yours, so let me explain a few things. I live in Texas, so I would only be staying at your place during baseball season. I’ll pay my portion of the rent all year, up front. It will be like having a visitor only during the summer months. Then, you’ll have the place to yourself for the rest of the year.”

  That actually sounded pretty fantastic.

  “Why not get a hotel for while you’re in Baltimore? It would probably be cheaper.”

  “I hate living out of my suitcase. I actually was planning on looking for an apartment for next season, so this works out well.”

  Could I live with him?

  “This is really tempting.”

  “The only thing I ask is that my daughter can stay there when she comes to visit.”

  I waved a hand. “There is a spare room; that’s no big deal. I just ask that, if you decide to hook up with a ho, you do it at her place. I don’t like skanks in the condo.”

  “Deal. So, does that mean we’re roommates?”

  “One other condition. We can’t have sex.”

  His head fell backward, and the deep laughter erupted from his chest. “For fuck’s sake, you’re awfully full of yourself.”

  “Screw you! I’m single, and you’re single, I don’t want things to get messy if I let you put it in.”

  His dark brows arched. “If you let me? I bet you’ll be begging me to fill you by the end of the season.”

  Shit.

  “A bet? I’m up for it. What’s up for grabs?”

  “If we don’t have sex, I’ll pay for the entire rent for the year.”

  “Hell yeah!” I clapped.

  “But, if we do, you have to do my laundry for the year. I fucking hate laundry.”

  I held a hand out. “Deal.”

  He tugged on my hand and shifted me onto his lap. “This isn’t a shake on it kind of deal. We’re going to kiss on it.”

  I glanced down at his plump lips and instantly thought it was a fantastic idea. This would be the only opportunity in the next year to freely kiss him without the bet in my mind. “If you insist.”

  His large hand cradled the back of my neck and guided me to his mouth. His lips were softer than they looked. His tongue gently slid against mine, and he tasted like mint and champagne. I ran my hands up his neck and through his hair, and when I pulled on it, a groan came from his throat. The kiss turned deeper from there. Our tongues danced erotically, and hands were roaming in search of the other’s skin. When his teeth bit my lower lip and tugged, I felt it everywhere. He was the one to pull away, his eyes glassy, as if he were drunk.

  “That’s one way to seal a deal.”

  I slid off his lap and back into the driver’s seat. “Let the games begin.”

  Now that I knew what his mouth could do, I needed to stock up on laundry detergent.

  Acknowledgments

  Eric, Lila, Mom, Dad, Mamal, Tammy, Cleve, and extended family—You are all exceptional.
Thanks for supporting me and celebrating each and every milestone, no matter how small. I hope we have more to celebrate soon.

  Peeps—Thanks for being available to listen to my crazy ideas whether it be at six in the evening or six in the morning. You’re my book bestie, friend, and favorite cousin. I’m very grateful for you.

  Kelly Brunet—For being someone I’ve never met, I love you so hard. I adore your honesty, value our friendship, and will forever be thankful for your support. A large portion of Rookie’s success is because of you. Thank you, my friend.