Beyond the Game (Out of Reach 2)

I cut her off. “Paisley.” It’s a warning that makes her crack up laughing.

My voice may sound stern, but she and I both know when it comes to her, I’m all bark and no bite, well, unless I’m making love to her. She rolls over, resting her head on my chest, and I run my fingers through her hair. The silky strands are so damn soft. It’s hard for me to keep my hands out of it.

Her breathing evens out, and I know she’s fallen asleep. The lights are still on in our room, but I don’t dare move for fear of waking her. Instead, I snuggle her closer, closing my eyes and letting sleep claim me too.

We’re in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, and the score is tied. Marty Harris, one of our power hitters, is up to bat. The bases are loaded. Everyone in the dugout is on their feet. And the crowd, they’re on their feet as well. This is game four of the World Series, and if we win today, we win it all.

My heart pounds in my chest, my hands are sweating, and my knees hold a slight tremble as my eyes are glued on Harris. I can’t imagine how Marty is feeling right now. This is his jam, and the bat is hot, but I imagine the nerves and the adrenaline are pounding in tandem through his veins.

“Bring it home.” I send the words up to the universe and hopefully to Marty as he gets in position. The pitch is thrown, and my eyes follow every move as Marty swings. The crack of the bat echoes throughout the stadium, and the sound alone tells me all that I need to know. The ball is gone as it soars overhead and over the center field wall.

Grand. Fucking. Slam.

Harris takes his time jogging the bases, following our three other teammates. As they step across home plate, we’re there to greet them. We’re already jumping up and down and slapping one another on the back, celebrating the high that comes with this monumental occasion.

We won the World fucking Series!

Clean sweep!

Marty is lifted into the air, placed on shoulders as we all huddle together, jumping and screaming, laughing, and crying. It’s a dream of every professional athlete to make it this far. To win it all. I can’t believe I’m standing here at home plate with my teammates, celebrating our win of the World Series. This year has been a whirlwind of excitement, and I am here for it. For this. This moment, this entire year will be forever etched into my memory. My first year as a Blaze player, and this is what we do. I can’t wait to see what we do in the next four years and the many years beyond that.

The Blaze, they’re my home. I feel it deep in my bones. I don’t know how long we’re here, standing at home plate slapping backs and passing out hugs. I look around, my eyes searching for Paisley, and I find her standing just outside of the dugout with tears streaming down her face. If it weren’t for the smile that joins it, I’d think something was wrong. Those are tears of joy. For me. For us.

I break away from my team and jog to her, lifting her in my arms and spinning us around. Her hands land on my face, and she kisses me. It’s a bruising kiss, laced with the taste of her tears.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, Cameron.”

“We did it, baby.”

“You did it. The team did it. I was just lucky enough to be witness to it all.”

“You are a part of this,” I remind her. “You keep us healthy.”

“The World Series, Cam!” she says, ignoring my plea that this is her win too.

“Clean fucking sweep!” I spin us again. When we stop spinning, her forehead rests against mine. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her to marry me. I can’t think of a better ending to this day than that, but she deserves better than some blurted request for her future to be entwined with mine. Besides, I promised her dad I’d let him know when I got to that point. I won’t go back on that promise.

With my arm around her shoulders, we join my teammates once again in celebration. None of us are in a hurry to leave the field as we soak up this moment: the sounds, the smells, the emotions. I can guarantee that none of us ever want to forget this moment, from the veterans who have been here before to the rookies, like me, who are experiencing it for the first time. For so many of us, our dreams came true today. As I hold my girl in my arms, I realize that, yes, this was my dream. It’s a moment I will never ever forget, but the woman in my arms? She’s a dream I didn’t know that I had, not until the moment I laid eyes on her. Having her here with me, at this exact moment, it’s more than just a dream.

It’s my future. My forever.

Chapter 25

Paisley

It’s been a week since the Blaze won the World Series, and we’re still living on the high. Cam keeps dropping hints for me to move in with him, and it’s getting harder and harder to ignore him. It’s not just him that I’m ignoring. It’s my need to be next to him too. No matter how much time I spend with him, it never seems to be enough.

“What’s Cameron doing today?” Willow asks.

“He went with Henderson and some of the guys to the batting cages of all places.”

“Do they not get the meaning of the off-season?” She laughs.

“They’re machines. They still play, practice, and work out in the off-season. Not as vigorously as they do once the season starts, but they do it to stay on top of their game.”

“Damn. Being a professional athlete is no joke. How did you get him to go without you?” she asks.

“I told him you took the day off work to spend with me, so he would be home alone anyway.” I shrug.