the bed, his giant body covering mine—“best sex of your life?”
I bit my bottom lip so hard; I thought it might bleed. “Mmhmm.”
“Good to know.” He dipped down, his tongue sweeping in, and my body wanted him all over again. “Now, get dressed.” He gave me one last kiss before moving away and digging in his dresser.
“How have I never heard of this place?” I looked around at the small mom-and-pop pizza shop Chance had driven us to.
We were sitting in barstools at a high-top table while families filled the booths around us.
“ ’Cause you’re not local.” He shrugged before squeezing my hand, which he never seemed to let go of. “Kidding. It’s because they don’t advertise.”
“It smells like home in here,” I said, breathing in the smell of garlic and baking pizza crust.
“Do you miss it?”
“New York?”
“Yeah.”
I spun a little on my chair, wiggling my ass back and forth while I thought about how to answer. “I was just there.”
“I know, but maybe you miss it all the time? I think when I leave California, I’ll always miss it, no matter where else in the world I am.”
“I miss parts of it. But I like it here too. And I really like my new boyfriend,” I said with a smile as I studied his green eyes and wished I could read his mind. “I mean,” I started to stutter, wondering if I’d labeled us too quickly, even with his pre-sex declaration earlier.
“Don’t take it back.”
“Take what back?” I pretended to be clueless, but I knew exactly what he meant.
“Calling me your boyfriend.” He grinned, and that dimple appeared. “That’s what I am.”
It was my turn to smile. “Okay, boyfriend. So, would you ever leave California permanently?” This conversation was a little serious, but I felt okay with having it. I assumed that we’d have to talk about our futures at some point.
“I’ll go wherever I’m drafted. But honestly, I’d always like to have a place here.”
That was my opening to ask baseball-related questions. “How does that work anyway? Like, I understand the draft process, but isn’t baseball split up into a bunch of different levels or something like that?”
“Yeah. They’re called farm teams. Whoever drafts me has a farm team that I’ll go play for. They typically start at what’s called Single-A. Then, there’s Double-A, Triple-A, and then the major leagues.”
“So, you work your way up in order?”
“Chance!” His name was shouted, and we both turned toward the woman behind the counter. “Pizza’s ready, dear.”
“Be right back.” He hopped off his stool, and I swore she winked at him as he grabbed the pizza and brought it to our table, but I couldn’t be sure.
He opened the box slowly, where only he could see. It was like he was inspecting it before he opened it wide and presented it to me with a, “Ta-da,” and a wave of his hand.
I grinned from ear to ear because it looked just like pizza from back home. But I’d been fooled before, and I knew that just because it looked like home didn’t mean that it tasted like it.
“I hope this tastes as good as it looks,” I commented before pulling apart a slice and tossing it onto one of the paper plates he’d brought over. “Damn, that’s hot.” I waved my fingers back and forth as I blew on them at the same time.
“Give it a sec,” he instructed before looking at me over the box. “You asked if we went in order after the draft.”
“Yeah. Like, do you start at Single-A, then go to Double, and then Triple?”
“Not always. Some guys go straight into Double-A. Or some guys go from Double-A right to the bigs.”
“Bigs?” I asked, not knowing what he meant.
“Big leagues. Majors. The show,” he said as it dawned on me. Those were all different names for playing in the major leagues.
“Sorry. Yeah. Gotcha. The bigs. But you just go wherever the farm team is?”
“Yep. Wherever they send me, that’s where I’ll go play.”
“And who do you live with?” I never realized how many questions I had about this profession, but once we started talking, they kept popping into my head.
“Sometimes, the teams set up host families that you can stay with. Other times, a bunch of the guys end up sharing an apartment. You get paid to play, but it’s not much. My buddy Cole lives with his girlfriend. But he got a signing bonus, so …” he said, like that explained everything.
I watched as he grabbed