Page 45 of Double Play

“Does it matter?” I tease until he slips his finger in me, and my breath catches at the welcome intrusion.

He hums, noncommittal in answer, before he removes his finger and presses his face between my thighs. The first lick has me crying out. The second has me melting. His tongue is a wonder, determined to discover every fold and crease, and drink me dry. Only, I’m soaked, his attention making me sloppy.

“Give me everything,” he mutters to my lower lips before digging in again and I swipe my fingers through his short hair, afraid to interpret his demand as something deeper.

And more afraid to admit, I’m prepared to meet his command.

He can have it all.

nineteen

. . .

[Declan]

India and I return to Nashville on the last flight possible, optimizing on the time together. Back in Terrors’ territory, I’m suddenly anxious about our situation.

Are we officially dating? Even if it is in secret?

With our next series being against the Chicago Anchors, Dasher is in town. He is the third base coach for the iconic team on the north side of the city. During baseball season, our paths only cross when we play one another, so I’m excited to have him in Nashville.

Montgomery will also be at my place for the next few days so she can visit with her uncle.

Which means, I don’t know when I’ll see India next or how to see her without exposing us.

During the game, Dasher and I playfully send hand signals to one another, often pointing two fingers at our eyes before swinging our wrists and aiming our fingertips at the other. I’m watching you, the motion says.

But my gaze also dips to the camera well, protectively holding one field reporter behind a fence while she smiles and speaks into a camera throughout the game.

Montgomery and her friend, Trina, are also present in the WAG section in the stands.

In many ways, I felt surrounded by all the important people in my life, minus Isaiah.

Eventually, the Chicago Anchors kick our ass.

Despite the late hour after the game, Dasher comes over to my place. We both understand how you can’t just go to sleep after something as exhilarating as sport. The adrenaline remains high, even if neither of us physically played. Our mental capacity is taxed, leaving us wired.

“How are you, Sassy Pants?” Dasher teases his niece, who adores him.

“I’m not sassy,” my feisty fourteen-year-old counters, displaying how sassy she can be. Her mother is promising me it’s going to get better, one day.

Dasher raises a brow in my direction and sucks in a breath through his teeth. He snaps his fingers, exaggerating a zig-zag effect in the air. “Very sas-sy.”

My older brother and I look similar, but where he’s thicker, I’m lean. We both share the same auburn hair and beard, only his is more silver than mine. And he’s a total flirt while I’ve always been the quieter one of the two of us, which is often the reverse of what people think about older-younger sibling dynamic. However, Dasher had too much responsibility as a teen, and he’s making up for the lost time in his forties.

As for Montgomery, she rolls her eyes at her uncle who is perched on a stool along the L-shaped peninsula counter in my small kitchen.

“You’re so . . . ancient,” she teases back, often accusing both Dasher and me of using words that no longer have status, whatever the hell that means. Sometimes, I’m afraid to ask but I coach young men who have their own generational lingo that keeps me up to date.

Dasher gasps, covers his heart with both his hands. “Ancient? Thy woundeth me, young one.”

Montgomery rolls her eyes again. Michelle has pulled the ‘your eyes might get stuck like that one day’ on her. My willful girl doesn’t believe the old wives’ tale.

Beside Montgomery, her young blonde friend, Trina, giggles at the antics of uncle and niece.

Because it’s both summer and the season, I’m more lenient about bedtime schedules. My time with my girl is limited. Between summer camps and a summer job as a junior camp counsellor, she’s busy. One day, too soon, she’s going to have even less time for me. The thought can almost bring me to tears.

Right now, I’m too busy laughing, but getting tired myself, as the time creeps past midnight. Trina will spend the night because she lives outside Nashville proper, like Montgomery does with Michelle and Brent.