bent over, she had to tip her head way up to see past the brim of her cap. “Jayne thinks you’re going to give up your transfer for me, and I’d bet my left kidney Maya’s already planning my wedding bouquet.”
“Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad.”
Her eyes didn’t sparkle even a little bit when she looked at him like that. Guess it really was that bad.
“They’re my best friends, and when they find out I’ve been lying to them…” Shoving off the wall, she cursed under her breath. “God, I hate this.”
“I know, but we’re going to get him—I need you to trust me on that. And when it’s over, I’ll take the heat from everyone. It wasn’t your idea, and you were sort of pushed into it.”
“I don’t think they’re going to care whose idea it was.”
He gave her a couple of seconds, then thumbed over his shoulder. “You ready to go back?”
“I guess,” she sighed. “But before we go, you need a little…”
He had no idea what was going through her mind when she looked at him like that, with her head shaking, a tiny smile pulling up those lips, and a faint spark deep in her eyes. The next thing he knew, she’d tugged off his cap, slid both her hands through his hair, and ruffled it up. Or tried to.
“This’d be a hell of a lot easier if it wasn’t so short,” she said, rolling her eyes. At least she was smiling again. “Carry the cap. Hang on, I’m not done.”
With a quick jerk, she yanked one side of his shirt out of his baseball pants, then stepped back to give him the once-over.
“There. Now you look like we were doing a little more than just talking.”
He might, but she looked just as unruffled as she had when they’d first walked over. Without missing a beat, she took him by the hand and they headed back toward the parking lot. Most of their teammates were on their way out, but Carter was just throwing the equipment bag into the back of Nick’s truck when Ellie led Brett across the diamond.
“That didn’t take long,” Carter called, then laughed when he got a good look at Brett. “Long enough, I guess.”
Ellie and Brett walked right past them, her smiling, him stumbling, until they got to the bleachers, where she’d left her bike. While she adjusted her backpack, Brett scanned the parking lot. After Jayne and Regan left in Regan’s car, the only vehicles left were Nick’s and Brett’s trucks. No sign of Kurt or the black Civic.
“You sure you don’t want to throw your bike in the back of the truck?” he asked.
“Positive. I ride to and from practice, remember? Always have.”
“But—”
“And don’t follow me home.” Her words were harsh, but her voice wasn’t. “You can’t spend every minute with me; that’s not how it would be if any of this was real.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’d kick your ass to the curb if you turned out to be a hoverer.” Her smile just about buckled his knees. “If anything happens, I’ll call, I promise.”
He wasn’t happy about letting her ride off by herself, but she’d ridden here alone without any trouble so he could only hope that she would actually call if something came up.
“Be careful.”
“Yes, Mother.” Her gaze flicked past him to where Nick and Carter were perched on the bumper of Nick’s truck. “They’re not going to leave before us, are they?”
“Doesn’t look like it, why?”
Okay, that look he knew. That look screamed “dumbass.”
“Come on, Ponch. I know it’s been a while since either of us did this sort of thing,” she said, opening her eyes wide and lowering her voice to little more than a whisper. “But I think it’s still common practice for couples to kiss each other goodbye, and if I just ride off…”
“Oh, right.” And just like that he was in a full-on sweat. The other night when she’d kissed him, he hadn’t had time to think about it because it had just happened, but now…shit. He’d told her he wouldn’t put her in that position again, and he’d meant it. “You don’t think that little show behind the dugout was enough? We don’t—”
“Oooh,” she laughed. “Look who’s doing the overthinking now. Just make it quick and get it over with. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.”
Wrapping her long, cool fingers around the neckline of his shirt, she pulled him in for what started out a quick kiss but then…his