into a better position to capture the girls’ first venture down. Jasmine smiled as she watched Katie slide down. She looked jubilant.
After six trips down and around the slides, the girls moved off to the next activity, an inflatable maze. Makayla seemed to have the charisma of a ringleader, as she had kids of all ages peeling off from the slides and following her and Katie to the maze. Jasmine watched Katie’s reactions as the crowd of kids around her grew. It seemed as long as she was with Makayla, she wasn’t concerned about the others.
The group made their way around the outfield from one game or activity to the next. Jasmine and Will ended up eating both balls of cotton candy since Katie was too focused on her new friend to care. They also ate a couple of churros with a Mexican chocolate dipping sauce that Jasmine found divine. She vowed they were worth every calorie.
Near the end of the gangway-like setup of outfield activities, one of the event staff came up to Will and asked him and Katie to join the rest of the team and their families for a few photos. Will looked at Jasmine.
“It’s fine,” she assured him. “There’s plenty to do around here.”
“Okay. But don’t eat another one of those churros without me.”
“You’re going to dream about those, aren’t you?”
He leaned close to her ear and said in a low voice, “I hope I’ll dream about licking that delectable sauce off that sexy body of yours.”
With that, he winked and headed over to collect Katie, leaving Jasmine flushed with heat that had nothing to do with the summer day. She waved when Katie turned to look at her. It was enough to reassure her. Katie waved back and took her dad’s hand, walking with him to the photo area.
“That’s a creative way to go,” said a female voice from behind Jasmine.
Turning, she spotted The Girlfriends staring at her from about ten feet away. Alexis stood in front of Gwyneth and Marie with her arms crossed over her chest. Her hip jutted to the side in a combative stance, making her short shorts ride up enough to reveal part of her left ass cheek. Her expression was unreadable behind the huge sunglasses that covered half of her face.
“It’s nice to see you again too, Alexis,” Jasmine said.
Gwyneth and Marie exchanged glances as though they thought she would respond differently or try to engage with them, something she had no desire to do.
“Getting involved with the child to get to the dad,” Alexis continued before Jasmine could turn to leave. “That’s real crafty of you.”
“So’s making nice with The Wives’ Club,” Gwyneth tacked on. “Trying to get Will to see you as wife material by hanging out with them?”
Deciding it was time to nip this nonsense in the bud, Jasmine took a few steps closer to the trio so her voice wouldn’t carry as far as the group getting their photos taken. She didn’t much care who else heard what she had to say.
“I think you’re trying to be insulting,” she said in her coolest, most polite tone, “but I’d have to give a shit about your opinions for that to work. And guess what? I really don’t. Since it seems to matter to you so much, I’ll just state for the record that I’m not angling to become a baseball wife, but I sure as hell find them more pleasant to be around than the three of you.”
The look on their faces was deeply satisfying. The sound of applause and a couple of loud whoops was even more so.
Turning, The Girlfriends saw the other single females who had attended with players—the ones they had dubbed One-Timers or Repeaters at the charity event—gathered together and cheering Jasmine on.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, “I’ve got more important things to do.”
She turned and headed in the direction of one of the beverage booths. She got a couple of bottles of water and went to watch the photo session. It took a while to get all the parents and their kids coordinated enough to make it happen, but in the end, Jasmine thought the photographer had gotten a few great shots.
Will caught her eye as the group dispersed. She walked over to him and handed him a water bottle.
“Thanks,” he said, twisting the cap off and taking a couple of long draws. “Lord, I needed that. It’s hotter than hell out here.”