AllFreeNovel
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“I’m gonna head home,” I grumble, attempting to keep my excitement out of my voice. “Thanks for the invite, though.”
I take my time showering and changing my clothes, letting the young guys slip out of the clubhouse together, arms slung around shoulders, cracking jokes, eventually leaving me in the silence of the clubhouse. Looking around, it’s easy to picture this as my last year here. At least my last year as a pitcher. I can see myself walking away at the end of this year; my contract is up, it’s better than my elbow going out as I’ve seen with so many of the pitchers I entered the league with, or worse, being traded away.
On the drive home, I stop at the closest grocery store to pick up flowers for Sutton, before stopping at home to change into something a little nicer than my postgame jeans and tee shirt. I opt for a charcoal gray dress shirt and black pants, rolling up the sleeves of the shirt to reveal inked forearms that have drawn Sutton’s attention more than once. With a deep breath, and flowers in hand, I step outside and cross the yard to Sutton’s front porch and ring her doorbell.
When the door opens, I lose my breath and all coherent thought. She stands on the threshold barefoot and in a loose, flowing sundress, just a shade lighter than our team’s signature green, and dotted with delicate flowers that almost match the ones in my hand. Her hair hangs in loose, damp waves, just past her shoulders, and I reach out to tuck it behind her ear before slipping my hand against the back of her neck and drawing her in for a kiss.
Her lips meet mine and her hands settle against my chest, one hand grabbing at the fabric of my shirt and holding it tight. Smiling against her lips, I let her go and hold out the flowers in my other hand. She tilts her head, brows furrowed in confusion.
“What’s this? And why did you ring the bell, you know you can walk right in.”
It’s then that my sense – and senses – come back to me. The whole house smells like garlic and chiles and something I can’t quite place.
“Sutton, are you cooking?”
“Of course I am,” she steps back and I’m still holding the flowers like a doofus. “You said we’d talk over dinner. I’m making dinner.”
“Sutton…” I scrub a hand over my face and hold the flowers out to her again, a little more forcefully this time. “I wanted to take you on a date.”
“Oh,” her cheeks turn red, and the color travels down to her neck and chest and I have to drag my eyes back up to hers. “I think…I think I got my wires crossed.”
“It’s okay, Duckling,” her blush deepens, as she finally accepts the flowers from my hands, eyes snagging on ribbon with the little yellow rubber ducks, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I love your cooking.”
“Good, because this recipe makes a ton.” She turns and heads toward the kitchen, and after kicking off the dress shoes I’m glad my sister made me pack, I follow Sutton into the kitchen and perch on a stool at the island. After putting the flowers in water, she takes the place across from me, carefully filling and rolling enchiladas. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I am, and I think we have some business to discuss.” I want to move the conversation along so that I can – hopefully – get back to kissing her.
“We do.” Her gaze turns hard, looking at me the way she looks at Perez when he chases bad pitches. “First things first, no more sexting me at work.”
“I have never once…sexted you. Or anyone else for that matter.”
“Then what do you call this?” She unlocks her phone and passes it to me, our last messages illuminating the screen.
I’ll deal with you later.
I’m looking forward to it.
“Duckling, if you thinkthatis sexting, that’s onyou.”
Her eyes go wide and she points a wooden spoon at me, mouth opening and closing as her brain buffers.
“My point,” she coughs and clears her throat, returning to the task of filling enchiladas, “is that you can’t flirt with me.”
“Defineflirting.”
“With you, it’s like ‘offside’ in soccer: I can’ttellyou what it is, but I know it when I see it.”
I bark out a laugh, and watch as the tension releases from Sutton’s shoulders. Her smile softens as she lifts her eyes to mine, all traces of embarrassment from earlier are gone.
“Sutton, we don’t need ground rules, I promise. I know what it took for you to get to this position, and I would never,neverdo anything to jeopardize that for you. Because I realize that you would take the majority of the scrutiny for our relationship.”
“Thank you, Maxwell.”
“But.” I stand up and walk around to her side of the island, gripping her gently by the shoulders and turning her toward me. “You won’t be my dirty little secret, either. I don’t know how we’ll make it work, but I’d really like to date you. To be honest, I’ve wanted to date you for a while.”
“I don’t buy that,” she says, huffing out a laugh. “There was a while there that you hated me.”
“You know that’s not true,” my voice is a jagged whisper. I lean in and press a soft kiss to her forehead just as her phone begins to ring. LANDLORD is splashed across her screen and she sighs, leaning her forehead against my chest.
