Anything but Minor - Kate Stewart Page 0,10

as Kristina delivered fresh beers to us.

I gave her a thank you and a wink. Andy cut his eyes my way.

“No angle. I told you she’s out of your league, and if you’d listened to one word she’s said in the last three beers, you’d realize it.”

“I heard her,” I said as I sucked down the froth off the top of my mug.

“Then you heard her say she’s new to baseball.”

“Yep.”

“You didn’t hear shit. You were too busy staring at her nipples.”

“So were you.”

“I have a dick. I noticed,” he shot back, unoffended. “I’m your best friend, and I’m telling you there’s no way she’ll be into you, so forget it.”

“I don’t want her to be into me. I want to be in her.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“What makes you so damned sure I couldn’t get her?”

“You aren’t ready for real, and your career is about to take off.”

“What the hell does that have to do with fucking her?”

Andy narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re not that stupid. And you’re not that big of a prick.”

I saw Alice as she approached our table with a smile and nodded at Andy. The truth was, I didn’t know why I was suddenly so intent on having her in my bed. I pushed the hair off my forehead and looked at her, really looked at her. The woman was stunning with a heart-shaped face and lips. Her large brown eyes screamed innocence. Without a stitch of makeup on, she was simply beautiful.

“Sorry about earlier. I was just goofing around,” I heard myself say.

“It’s fine,” she said before she took a sip of her drink, and my eyes stayed glued to her lips.

Andy cleared his throat as I watched the liquid ease down her throat.

I had to fuck her.

I looked past Rafe and out the window, losing hope for my Prius. The rain hadn’t stopped since we got to the bar.

“It’ll be okay,” Andy said reassuringly.

“Thanks,” I said, unbelieving of his words with each minute that passed.

“I’m going to run back to my office for a bit. You two good? Gloves off, Alice?” Andy looked to me then to Rafe. “I’d watch my wandering hand if I were you...Bullet.”

“Funny,” Rafe spouted back, his eyes on mine. I felt the hairs on my neck rise in awareness. His eyes were almond shaped and beautiful, but the look in them reeked of a smug man. I may not have been a well-practiced flirt, but after years around pilots, I was well versed in cocky, horse crap detection. Rafe had cockiness in abundance.

“Ladies’ man, huh?” I said, unimpressed.

“Maybe,” Rafe said with pride as he tipped his beer, oblivious, taking it as a compliment.

“Every available woman in Charleston has the t-shirt,” Andy said with a hard pat on the back that made Rafe’s jaw twitch.

“Would. You. Fuck. Off,” Rafe said with menace as Andy honored his request and retreated down a hall behind the bar.

“Soooo,” I said as I stared at my drink.

“You aren’t drinking much,” Rafe noted as he observed the level of my drink.

“I don’t like to lose control of my senses.”

“Uh huh, well, it can be a good thing once in a while.” He grinned broadly as my breath hitched.

“Yeah,” I agreed as my horse crap meter ticked up a notch. He leaned in a little farther as he started to try to work me. “I mean, sometimes a woman just needs to let go.”

Rafe was flirting, and I was ready to run for the hills.

I wanted to explore men, and the body beneath the t-shirt in front of me matched with the face of an ad model would be a good start. But lowering my panties for a one night stand with a pitcher playboy I’d have to look at every home game for the next several months did not appeal to me in the slightest. Covered in goose bumps and the heat that built from his whisper, I looked up to meet his smoldering eyes.

“Lesbehonest, I mean that literally. I’m a lesbian.”

I took a large pull of my drink through my straw to keep from bursting into laughter from the look on his face. It was one of utter confusion and slight disappointment. I was sure the conversation couldn’t go anywhere from there, and I was right. Thirty minutes later, I was dropped off with a silent goodbye wave from Rafe and a “see you at the next game” by Andy to my safe and sound Prius.

It was the best day of my