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The ball soared toward her, she swung and crack. The bat vibrated in her hand as it connected with the ball. Peyton dropped the bat and raced toward first as the ball soared over the second baseman’s head and dropped into the gap.
Safe at first, she turned and faced Ryan.
He nodded. “Nice hit.”
“Thanks.” Peyton looked over at her team in the dugout, stuck her tongue out, and did a little dance. When she was done, she glanced over to find Ryan watching her with a strange look on his face.
Okay, not her coolest move, but who cared? The kids loved when she got in there and really played with them, and it was after games like these where she had formed her best connections with some of the tougher kids.
“Who’s up next?” Peyton called. “I need someone to hit me home.”
Half an hour later, they wrapped up the softball game. Ryan stood off to the side, surrounded by his team and half of hers, as the group peppered him with questions about playing major league baseball. Peyton made her way over to Ryan’s fan club.
“Good game,” she said to him.
“Yeah, you’ve got some good athletes here.” He looked around the group. “By the time we get done with them, we might have some great ballplayers.”
“Are you really going to come here again?” Darnell asked. There was a suspicious edge to the question, but the hopeful light in his eyes spoke of how badly he wanted to believe Ryan would be back.
“That’s the plan. I’m sure Peyton has told you that my team will be doing some programs here in the coming months.”
Marcus turned to her. “I thought you said that wasn’t until their season was done, though.”
“I guess we’ll have to see,” she replied non-committally. She wasn’t making any promises she couldn’t keep. But already she could see how much this would mean to the kids. How hungry they were for this kind of interaction.
“So how come you’re here today when your season is still going?” Amy asked.
Ryan reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “Umm, well, I came by to see Peyton.”
“So, are you Peyton’s boyfriend?” Shonda pressed.
“Umm…. ugh….” Ryan stammered.
“Stop being nosey,” Peyton said. “Can you all grab all the gear and put it away for me, please?”
“Peyton’s got a boyfriend, Peyton’s got a boyfriend,” Amy chanted.
She could feel the heat in her cheeks and mentally cursed that without a doubt, she was blushing brighter than Amy’s cherry red shirt.
“Just put the stuff away,” Peyton muttered.
Ryan laughed. “Thanks for letting me play today. I had fun,” he told the group.
Peyton looked up at him. He honestly sounded like he meant it. She watched as he gave high-fives to everyone before they walked away to clean up.
Who was the real Ryan Graves? This sweet guy who played pickup ball with kids or the jerk she’d seen the previous two times she’d met him.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
She nodded. “Sure, we can go to my office.”
Only time would tell who the real Ryan Graves was.
Chapter Five
Ryan followed Peyton down the hall toward her office. His eyes lingered on the way her ass swayed in her tight yoga pants as she moved. He shoved down the wave of lust that shot through him as he imagined what her ass would feel like in his hands.
Damn.
