Third Base (The Boys of Summer, #1)(16)
The BoRe Blogger was quiet while we were on our road trip. The losses diminished most of our spirits and no one wanted to do anything. I didn’t play as well as I had been which is bringing my batting average down. My father doesn’t like that and has expressed his displeasure with my strikeouts after one of the games. Even though I’m playing at the highest level possible, you’re never too old to take feedback from your first coach, especially when he’s your dad.
There’s a light drizzle falling as I drive over to T. Anthony’s. I hate thinking Daisy is out walking in this. I shake my head trying to clear my thoughts. My first thought about rain shouldn’t be about Daisy, but about whether we’re going to play tonight. We have three games until we get a day off. And that day off just so happens to be Daisy’s birthday. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to see her, but I’m assuming her family will want to take up all of her time.
I park across the street from the restaurant and jaywalk through traffic. Definitely not the brightest decision I’ve made today. I half jog, half speed walk to get out of the light rain and as soon as I reach for the door, Daisy is there, pushing it open for me.
“Hi.” You would think that I’m out of breath from zigzagging my way over here, but I’m simply out of breath from looking at her. Today, there’s no BoRe fan staring back at me, but a sexy co-ed who I want to get to know better. Her blonde hair is flowing in long curls that I want to twist around my fingers or pull on them to see if they bounce back. She’s wearing a light coating of make-up, nothing too heavy, but enough to make her eyes stand out even more. She’s wearing a black sweater and jeans with boots, and as much as she looks like every other college girl in town, her sheer beauty makes her stand out. When she smiles, I am done for. If I weren’t holding the door, I’d be on my knees in front of her.
“Hi,” she says back sending my nerves into a tizzy. One freaking word and I’m a borderline pansy boy. At least, that’s what Kidd would say. I need to rein it in because if I’m not careful I could be making a fool out of myself where she’s concerned.
“Hi,” I say, stupidly and end up blushing, which, in turn, causes her to laugh. I give in to temptation and pick up one of her curls and pull it between my thumb and finger before letting it go. It bounces back into place like a spring. She laughs and all I can think about is giving her a hug. It’ll have to wait until after lunch.
“I already got us a table.” She motions behind her, the grin never leaving her face. Maybe we needed that hiccup to get past the awkward stage to where we are now.
I take her hand in mine and let her lead the way. As we walk down the aisle, my name is mentioned in loud whispers. I nod and smile at each person who’s looking, hoping that they give Daisy and me some time alone before they start bombarding me with autograph and photo requests.
I sit down across from her and place my hands on the table. “I have questions.” She blushes, but nods.
“I figured. Go ahead, but I’m warning you now that I reserve the right to not answer.” Her hands are folded on the table like mine. I use this to my advantage and move my arms a bit closer toward hers. My index finger lightly strokes her knuckles and when she doesn’t pull away, I take it as a good sign.
“Are you in between classes, or skipping again?” I cock my eyebrow at her.
She smirks, beating me at my own game. “What if I were skipping?”
“Well, I’d feel bad. I know my schedule isn’t that flexible, but I don’t want you skipping to spend time with me…” I trail off, realizing that didn’t come out as planned, so I try again. “What I mean is that your education is important.”
“Well, thanks for that, Professor Davenport! No, I’m not skipping.” Her lips curl into a small grin before she continues. “Is it okay if I ask questions too?”
“Of course,” I tell her.
“Okay, do you regret tweeting out your address?”
I hang my head in shame and nod. When I look up, she’s laughing at me. I don’t blame her. I’d laugh at my stupid ass too if I were her. “Worst mistake ever.”
“Why’d you do it?”
“I was new in town and wanted to meet my neighbors so I thought I’d have a little get together at my place, but no one showed up, so I sent out the tweet. I deleted it a few seconds later, but the damage was already done.”
“Do you have random people showing up at your house?”
“No, not anymore, but I used to.”
Daisy leans closer and whispers the next question. “What do you do in the off-season?”
“I go home and visit, but spent most of my winter in Boston. I love the winter festival downtown and I had my family out here for Christmas last year. With my brother-in-law being deployed, I tried to make Christmas as fun as possible for my sister and niece. What type of pizza do you like?” I spot the waitress out of the corner of my eye. I want to be able to order and send her on her way.
“Most anything, really. Sausage and mushroom is my favorite from here.”
“I’ve never had the pie here. I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’s really good.” The movement is subtle, but I notice it when she pushes her hand into my touch. To me, this is a sign, and I roll with it by taking her hand in mine. It’s a bit awkward to hold hands on top of the table, but I’m being a gentleman. Next time I’ll share a booth with her.