Rounding the Bases by Jaqueline Snowe

Chapter Six

Brigham

Despite the urge to fire Charles for interfering in my personal life again, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been excited to go to a charity event. It wasn’t because I was heartless—I loved giving back to the community—but the photo-opportunities and the schmoozing and the fakeness of the nights wore me down.

But tonight was different.

Sarah would be with me. Not as my fake girlfriend to appease Charles’ idea that it would help my image, but because she could use it as a career move. She wasn’t a pawn in his game but had instead chosen to make her own decision, and I was proud of her. It was silly, only having known her a week, but it didn’t make it less true. She was so far removed from the fast-paced high life of famous athletes that she was precious to me. I would protect her from that side of my life, no matter what.

I showered and got ready after an afternoon session at the gym, and the huge bouquet of blue irises sat on my table. The color was almost identical to her eyes. I’d hung up on my sister after asking her what flowers were blue and where I could find them. She was nosy as hell, but she could wait until our call tomorrow. It was five and, fuck it, I wasn’t waiting until five-thirty to go over. I had a restless energy that had everything to do with my date for the night, and surprising her early with flowers and wine seemed like a good idea.

With the flowers in one hand and the wine tucked underneath my arm, I locked my door and was about to knock on hers when the elevator pinged. She walked out with an empty plate and her face froze when she saw me. “Oh no. I swear I’m not late, right? Oh shit.”

“You’re not.” Nerves got to me for the first time in years, and I coughed to cover them up. “I was bored and thought I’d come over early.”

“Phew.” She blew out a long breath and her face softened when her gaze landed on the flowers. “Beautiful. Wow.”

“They match your eyes,” I said, hating myself for how goddamn cheesy that sounded. Her answering giggle made it worth it, though.

“Dork,” she said, taking them from me and burying her face in them. “I know the first flowers weren’t from you, but this is the most flowers I’ve ever had. No one has given me any before. Well, my dad did once, but it wasn’t cute. My mom forced him to, but, anyway, let’s not rehash that story.” She entered the code and I followed her into the foyer. She wore tiny jean shorts and a plaid shirt that showed a sliver of her stomach, and it shouldn’t have affected me that much, but damn.

Tiny Blue Bell is cute.

“I’m glad you got them twice on my behalf then,” I said, reminding myself to stay focused.

She set them on the counter and her eyes widened when her gaze landed on my chest. For a second, I thought I’d spilled something on my shirt, but she blushed head to toe. “Man, you look excellent in a suit. Very excellent.”

Very excellent?I fought a laugh. “Thank you.”

“My dress is not that fancy.” She checked her watch and winced. “I promise I’ll get ready fast. Just…hang out. Talk to the dogs. They like men, those hussies.”

“Okay then,” I said, but she’d already disappeared into a back room. The two dogs in question stared at me for a full three minutes before coming over to me for attention. They were cute but high-maintenance, and I’d always imagined a dog being a black Lab. Playing fetch, going for hikes and long walks. Not…a stroller. But to each their own.

Small footsteps pulled me away from a stare down with the rambunctious pup, and I found Sarah wearing a purple dress that was snug all the way to her hips but flared out and had a slit. Woah. I was a fan of the slit. A big fan.

“What do you think? It dulls in comparison to your suit. Shit.” She spun on her heels and went back into the room before I got a word in. She came out a few minutes later with a bright blue dress that dipped low in the front and hugged her entire body. “This?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding like an idiot. Sarah didn’t have a huge chest or all the curves I was used to, but it didn’t make her less beautiful. “You look incredible.”

“Would you trust your most precious animals with me?” She twirled and curtsied at the end.

“One hundred percent, yes.” I stood and walked toward her. She stopped her smile and sucked her lip into her mouth. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She hummed and looked at me with so much curiosity that I wanted to demand she share her thoughts with me. Her large blue eyes were framed with thick, dark lashes, and the way they fell against her face was pretty. “Let’s boogie.”

“Boogie?” I repeated, amused at her word choice.

“I said it.” She looked mighty proud and held up a finger. “Hold on real quick.”

I obeyed and waited for her to return, but this time, she wore bright red lipstick that drew my attention to her full lips. They were the curviest thing about her and I wanted to bite into them, to feel them on my skin, and what the fuck? I snapped myself into the present and hoped my expression didn’t make me look like a constipated weirdo. “You ready?”

“Yes, sir.” She looped her arm in mine as we headed down to the main floor and she looked concerned. “Is this okay?”

“Is what?”

“My arm in yours. I assumed it’s what people do on dates, but now I feel stupid. I keep thinking about what I should do with my hand. Do I grip your muscle? Do I let it dangle?”

“Blue Bell, has anyone ever told you that you overthink things?” I teased. I reached over to intertwine our fingers for a minute and held her hand tight as we walked outside to catch an Uber. It felt nice having her small fingers in mine. Hers were soft and warm where mine were roughed up with callouses from weights and batting.

“Almost every person I’m friends with or related to tells me to not overthink, but I’ve discovered in my time on earth that I can’t change that part of myself.” She looked up at me with parted lips, and my chest got tight. “I didn’t even ask. Where is this event?”

“The Biltmore.”

“The fancy hotel where Obama stayed when he came to Phoenix?”

“Yes, that is the exact place.”

She did a little wiggle and the movement caused her small breasts to strain against her dress, and the best part about her was that it was genuine. She wasn’t trying to bring attention to her chest, nor was it a manipulated or calculated move. It was pure joy, and for the fucking life of me, I couldn’t explain why that was sexy.

We got into the car to head to the hotel. With rush hour, it would take a good thirty minutes before we would arrive. A memory sparked. “Why did you have an empty plate?”

She frowned, but it turned into a smile just as fast. “Fernie. He likes when I bake him things, even though I tell him I snuck poison into it.”

“You made him slutty brownies?” I made a face of disbelief and sat back with pretend shock. “Sarah Blue, that is not lady-like.”

“Shut up, you.” She pursed her red lips and gave me a sly look. “I did not give him those. I thought it best to go with lemon squares because he’s a sour tart of a man.”

I held up my fingers and counted down. “Let me get this straight. He’s an ass. He doesn’t like you. So that means you bake for him?”

She mocked me with her own fingers. “I think he likes it when I push back. He seems lonely. And I like to bake desserts. You just put yourself on the do not bake for list.”

“Not a real list, Blue Bell.”

“Yes, it is. It is very real and everybody on it regrets their decisions.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked real smug. “You’ll see. I will make all sorts of treats and make sure the aroma goes under your door.”

“You’re more evil than you’d think.”

“It’s because of my size.” She shrugged and continued. “People think I’m a pushover and nice because I’m petite. I like to consider myself an F1 tornado.”

Words left me, because who the fuck said things like that? “Uh, why?”

“On the Fujita scale? Tornadoes are rated based on the amount of damage they leave and an F1 is like a small tornado that can cause harm, but not too much of it. Like the sirens go off, but it’s not that scary. That’s me.”

I shook my head and couldn’t hold back a full-body laugh. “You’re weird.”

“I’m aware, but life is too boring to spend time with normal people. Who wants normal?”

I saw her point and merely nodded at her. The driver turned up a famous pop song and Sarah made no moves to try to steer the conversation somewhere. She watched out of the window with a half-smile on her face looking content. A little excited, but happy, and it charmed me to know I had something to do with it.

A short while later, we pulled up to the venue and I hurried out of the car to open her door. She fanned her face and pretended to faint. “Brigham, you were raised very right with all your manners.”

“I’ll tell my mom.”

“Please do. I’ll send her a thank-you note.” She grinned up at me, and it would’ve been the perfect opportunity to kiss her. The sunlight hit her face so her eyes lit up and her mouth parted, like she wanted me to go for it. But Charles’ text from earlier flashed in my mind.

Glad you’re finally on board with the plan. I’ll make sure the right headlines are out.

“Let’s check in, shall we, Blue?” I held my elbow out for her and it gutted me to see a slight fall of her shoulders. We had chemistry, that was obvious. But she had to know I was protecting her—not turning her down. She wrapped her arm around mine and we entered the venue. We checked in at the table and people were already staring at us. Men and women, old and young, all whispered in our direction.

Were they talking about Sarah? I hoped to god not. I would not forgive myself if her name got dragged through the mud, but it was then I heard my name cross their lips.

“Think he has coke on him here?” one woman said underneath her breath. “Shameful he’s so good-looking.”

I ground my teeth and led us to our table, where Sarah stared at the set-up. Tea lights hung all above us and the tables had unlimited amounts of beer, wine and food. But she wasn’t caught up in the glamor. She stared at the table with the rescue dogs and dragged me in their direction. We didn’t get far though. A guy with a large camera pointed to us and held up the device. “No thanks, man,” I said, my voice on the verge of a growl.

“For the event. Please,” he said, already clicking away. Sarah hesitated before sliding her slender arm around my waist and I pulled her closer against me. She seemed tense, really tense, and I gave a closed-mouth smile to appease the guy.

“Sorry about that,” I said, trying to gauge her mood. She frowned at my words and sucked that delicious lip into her mouth. “One of the downsides of being an athlete.”

“Sports ballers.” She shook her head and chuckled at herself. Then she got shy. “Will…people think we are together?”

“No. I’ll make sure of it.” Her reputation would not be ruined. She would not be used like Charles wanted. “Come on, let’s find our seats and we can go look at the pups later.”

She nodded and guilt ate away at me. Her joy was gone, and I blamed the photographer. He’d ruined the mood, and it was up to me to make her happy again. A game plan was needed, but this wasn’t the baseball field. Networking. I could introduce her to people. “Okay, what would you like to drink?”

“Hm. Moscow Mule.”

“Great choice,” I said, ordering one for her and a glass of water for me from our waiter. “The copper mugs would always make me feel cool.”

She snickered and continued to observe the event. The back of her dress showed her entire upper back and I let my arm rest on her chair so my fingers grazed her skin. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she rested her chin on her hands when she looked at me. “You didn’t order a drink.”

“I did not.”

“Do you not drink?” she asked, without any hint of judgment in her tone. It was reassuring to me that I didn’t think she’d care what my answer was. Yes or no, she’d just nod.

“Taking a break from it.”

“Good for you.” She nodded and narrowed her eyes and spoke quieter. “Any reason why? It’s a personal question, I know, so no pressure to answer if you don’t want.”

“How about we trade intrusive questions?”

“How fun.” She wiggled her brows in a move that made her look like a cartoon character. “So why take a break?”

“I feel it’s best for me to stop for a bit. Some things got out of control and choosing to not drink alcohol is something I can take control of.”

“Is this related to your sports ball problem?” she asked, looking sadder than a moment before. Her face had so many expressions that I had a hard time keeping up.

“It is, yes.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re able to make that decision for yourself.” She leaned back in her chair and into my arm, and fuck, it felt nice. “Will me drinking bother you?”

“Not at all, but thanks for asking.” God, she was cute. Her kindness, her freckles, her ability to not judge others. “Okay, my turn.”

“Give me your most intrusive question. I’ll brace myself for it.” She put both hands on the table and closed her eyes. “Shoot.”

I faltered. What did I want to ask her? If she wished my phone hadn’t rung that day? If I’d kissed her? If this was crazy? I didn’t get a word out before that same photographer neared our table. “Damn.”

“What?” She opened one eye and made a face like she was expecting pain. “That bad of a question?”

“No, that photographer guy is sniffing around again.”

“Oh, well, here.” She scooted her chair farther from me, breaking the contact between us, and red splotches colored her neck. “There.”

“You being out of reach helps the situation…how?” I asked, a little irritated.

“So no one will think we are together.” Her face fell and she tilted her head to the side when I made an annoyed sound. “Because you said so earlier?”

“Christ.” I grabbed the arm of her chair and dragged her closer to me. “That is… You misunderstood.”

“How so?” She jutted her chin up in defiance, and maybe it was the way her red lips called out to me or the fact that I could be me without worrying about stats or sponsors or the arrest. I cupped her chin and ran my thumb over that plump lip.

“I have my question now.”

“Okay? You’re all over the place, Brigham.”

“Can I kiss you?”