Her eyebrows shoot up almost to her hairline. “I don’t have to quit?”
“No, baby. You don’t have to quit. You’re stuck with us now,” I say, using my other hand to cup her cheek. “You ready to go inside and find Marcia? Let’s get this signed so I can kiss you in front of everyone.”
Layla places her arms around my neck. “I’m gonna need a kiss right now, Callahan.”
I’ve never been one who wants to participate in major PDAs. I choose to keep my private life exactly that: private. No one needs to know who I’m dating or see me kiss a woman. But there’s nothing I want more in this world than to kiss the hell out of Layla, outside the ballpark that brought us together, letting everyone know that I belong to her.
Wrapping my arms around her, I let our lips softly touch, then pick her up to twirl her around. Layla squeals into my mouth as her arms squeeze me tightly as we spin. I know at least one person had to have gotten a picture, and it’ll be online before batting practice begins.
I’ll be printing it out and framing it.
“Oh!” Layla gasps as I set her back down. Eyes wide, she asks, “You said you had something for me. Is it my thong? I had a feeling you stole it that night.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, I have it. But you have something else of mine that’s of much more importance.”
She looks at me in confusion. “The only thing left was the blindfold.”
“I’m not talking about that night, Peaches. I’m talking about now.”
“I’m not following.”
Cupping both her cheeks, I whisper, “You have my heart.”
Layla sighs wistfully as tears cascade down her face. “I promise I’ll take great care of it. It’s my most prized possession.”
“Even more than Marilyn and Muriel?” I ask, kissing her quickly.
Layla scoffs. “Please. They own me, and they know it. I’m their servant.”
“Honestly, that sounds about right. Let’s head inside to fill out this contract thing, and then I can introduce you to the team as my girlfriend,” I tell her, grabbing her hand as I walk toward the player entrance on the south side of the ballpark.
“Max Callahan’s girlfriend,” she muses, smiling while shaking her head. “Never thought that was what would happen when I agreed to this job. Life really works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it? At the beginning of last season, we were both with different teams.”
“We were meant to be, Peaches.”
Layla stops suddenly, yanking my arm. “I have to figure out a new nickname for you. I can’t call you Sunshine anymore. You’re almost happy, Max. It’s too fitting. I need something creative. Oh! I’ve got it! I’m going to call you my little McNugget! You know, since you love fast food and all.”
Groaning, I vehemently swing my head back and forth. “Little? Come on. I think we’ve addressed that I’m the opposite of little.”
Layla smiles prettily. “I certainly do love that Wiener Schnitzel, but McNugget does work exceptionally well. Come on, Nugs! Oh,wow. There are so many ways I can say this! It’s going to be so much fun!”
As she pulls me toward the entrance, I find I’m not even a little bit upset. Layla can call me anything she wants, as long as she calls me hers.
“It’s about fucking time!”Jake shouts, grinning broadly as Max and I walk toward the locker room hand-in-hand. “We’ve had a bet going on when the two of you would finally make it public.”
“Who?” Max asks.
“The entire team. I told you we have a group chat you’re not in,” Jake teases.
I frown. “That is messed up, Jake. You shouldn’t exclude him just because he’s one of the newest on the roster.”
Jake laughs. “We only do this because of you two. Dante clocked the chemistry between you at the beginning of the year. We figured it was only a matter of time.”
“Well, who won the bet, and what was won?” Max asks.
Before Jake can answer, Ryder Sullivan runs out of the locker room, hooting and hollering. “Woohoo! I knew it would happen this summer! Yes!”
Max chuckles, shaking his head. Standing behind me, he wraps both arms around me, pulling me against him. He rests his head on my shoulder before asking, “What did you win?”
