Long Ball(24)

“You all leaving?” I ask. Edwards is busy with Kate, but I see them exchanging numbers. He must be leaving, too. “Well, thanks for everything, man.”

“Only for you would I get in this damn thing on an off day.” George winks at me.

Everyone says their goodbyes and soon it’s just me and the girls. My girls. I take a deep breath and can’t stop the smile on my face.

“Let’s go on the Skayfari ride!” Cora squeals, pointing up at the glinting metal gondolas soaring in the distance.

Kate makes a face. “You want to go on that thing?”

“Let’s do it!” I jump in. “I’ve actually never been on it.”

Cora starts dancing in the middle of us, clapping her hands. Megan laughs and nods. “I guess we can’t really say no to that, can we?”

I pay for our tickets and every settles in—Kate and Cora in one gondola, Megan and I in the one directly behind them. I put my arm around her and place a kiss on the side of her head, smelling her hair. She also smells like lavender. It’s so calming and reassuring. It’s perfect, just like the rest of the day.

“This has been a really great off day,” I tell her, waving to Cora, who keeps turning around in her seat to wave at us. “I wish they could all be this nice.”

“It’s just a zoo,” Megan says carefully, but I shake my head.

“It’s not just a zoo. Being with you guys is great. Really great. I used to take my sister to the zoo when she was younger, and Cora reminds me so much of her. This just feels like home, even if we are thousands of miles away.”

“I’d like to meet her someday.”

“You will.” I don’t tell her that I know they’ll be great friends, or that Camila will tell embarrassing stories about a younger, clumsier me, or that she’ll cry at our wedding. Because I really don’t want to scare her off. Even though all I want is to jump to the end, where we spend forever together. Instead, I settle for, “You’d like her.”

“If she’s as great as you say, I think so.”

An African safari unfolds before us. Rhinos and chimpanzees and zebras spring to life, or as lively as they can get in a zoo pen, and I can hear Cora squealing in delight.

“You really like her,” Megan says, almost in amazement. I turn to look at her, and she looks confused. “It isn’t a show. You actually like Cora.”

“She’s amazing, how could I not?” I squeeze Megan’s shoulder. “She’s a part of me. I realize I missed everything leading up to now, and I hate that. I want to be here and with her. I want to watch her grow and learn and fall in love with the world around her. I want her to know that she’s got me on her side forever.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking,” Megan says quietly, smiling sadly. “Kids are a lot of work.”

“Megan, I come from a big family, and a culture that centers around family. Being here, alone, has made me realize how much I miss that. I crave it. Cora is the very best part of me and I want her in my life forever. Of course I like her. I love her.”

“You barely know her. Us.”

“I have felt a deep connection with you from the moment we first met. From the moment I spied you from across the fair and snuck up behind so you’d trip over my shoes. I knew you were worth pursing, Megan. I knew you were, still are, worth getting to know. If Cora is even the tiniest bit like you, she’s worth everything to me.”

Time froze between us. Tears welled in Megan’s eyes and something strong, stronger than I’ve ever felt, tethered between us. I couldn’t hear the animals below, the song Cora was singing about giraffes, taste the earthy air around us. Everything honed in on her beautiful face.

And then we kissed.

It was like our first kiss all over again, except bigger and more powerful. I could disappear into her lips forever, forget my name and my life and how to play baseball, if it meant I could feel like this all the time. An explosion of intensity erupted in my brain and sent electrical currents straight to my feet. I was everything and nothing, everywhere and nowhere, completely lost in Megan.

We’ve kissed before. But nothing had felt quite like this.

A primal urge welled within me, sharp and pointed. My cock strained against my pants and my fingers dug into her arms and I bit down gently on her lip. She moaned in response, quietly, subtly, but enough for me to curse this high-flying contraption and wish we were somewhere private.

We haven’t been intimate since the night we made Cora. I haven’t pushed for it or asked for it, because I know how important it is for us to take our time. Megan reminds me of one of the gazelles we passed below—timid, cautious, fearful for her life and her daughter’s life. I don’t want to be the lion who mauls her or the hunter who mounts her on my wall.

Moving away from the animal metaphor, because I’m not a weirdo into bestiality, I want to be her lover. That takes time. That takes patience. She’s worth waiting for.

But a surge of white hot desire courses through my veins and all I can see in my mind is our naked bodies entwining, her legs wrapped around my waist, her sumptuous breasts in my mouth, the taste of her sweetness on my tongue. Our night together was so long ago, I’ve forgotten a lot of the details, but they come surging back in crystal clear detail and the urge to relive them is strong.