Page 41 of Her Defiant Warrior

“I enjoyed touching you. It turned me on, too,” she admitted after a long pause. “You smelled wonderful. I wanted to smell your neck and wrap my arms around you.”

“That was the shampoo,” Jase protested.

“No, that was before the shampoo,” Bonnie assured him. “You turned me on.”

“Thank fuck,” Jase said with relief. “Then for me, dinner sealed the deal. You’re a pleasure to talk to. I like how you can explain your perspective on things, even though we both know you’re wrong,” he teased.

Bonnie burst out laughing. “Dream on, Buddy.”

“You’re an absolute pleasure to be around. Plus, my cock is totally in love with your body.”

Bonnie grinned. “Even though it has to wait before it gets to come out and play?”

“I’m going to have a long talk with Mr. Happy. He’ll eventually understand.” Jase said with a grimace that turned into a grin.

“Mr. Happy?” Bonnie giggled.

“At eleven

, I figured out just how happy my penis could make me. He became Mr. Happy.”

“Fair enough.” Bonnie continued to giggle.

“So, do I get another date after putt-putt?”

“As long as my kids don’t hate you,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Do you think I might make it to second base tonight?”

“If you’re a really good boy, I think it’s highly likely,” she murmured against his lips.

* * *

Bonnie watched as Jase went into the batting cage with Lachlan and showed him how to hold the bat and place his feet so that he would have more control when he swung the bat. He stayed behind Lachlan for five swings, praising him each time he hit the ball, and providing feedback each time he missed. It was the one-on-one training that he had been missing from his little league coach. Marla was just stretched too thin, coaching fifteen seven-year-olds.

After Jase watched Lachlan hit four balls in a row, he went over to the next cage where Amber stood. The machine was pitching softballs to her. Bonnie had been watching her out of the corner of her eye. Her girl had been doing well on her team at catching balls in the field, but she consistently struck out. She prayed Jase could help her with her batting skills. Bonnie moved forward so she could hear what he had to say.

“Amber, your swings are outstanding. I can tell you have the power to make home runs if you connect with the ball.”

Amber let the bat fall to the ground, the tip scraping against the rubber mat as she looked up at Jase. “Really?”

“Really,” Jase nodded. “But before you can let loose all that power, first you need to learn a couple of secrets. After you learn and practice those, then you release your power.”

“Are you tricking me?”

Jase knelt down in front of her. “Scout's honor, I’m not tricking you.”

“You’re a guy. Softball is for girls. How do you know your secrets will work with a softball?”

Jase laughed. “You’re as smart as your mama. You take nothing at face value.”

“You mean we ask a lot of questions?” Amber asked.

“Yep.” Jase nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean. Anyway, I’ve played on a lot of co-ed softball teams, so I know these secrets will work.”

Amber’s face lit up, and Bonnie could see her daughter’s gap-toothed smile.

“Okay, show me.”