The Perfect Game (The Perfect Game 1)

“Don’t,” she snapped and I stopped. No fighting back, no response, no arguing. I simply turned my ass right around and sat back on her bed. If I had a tail, it would sure as shit have been tucked between my legs.

I was one hundred percent not in control of this situation. This girl fucking owned me right now. I sat on that bed waiting for her to give me the time of day. I didn’t necessarily like this feeling, but I suffered through it…for her. I convinced myself that I’d probably suffer through pretty much anything for this girl.

The water turned off and she walked toward me, avoiding my eyes before sitting down as far away from me as possible. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Her angry tone caught me off guard.

I shrugged my shoulders. “What did I do?”

“You’re kidding, right?” She let out an irritated laugh. I stared at her as she threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “You flipped out at your grandparents’ house. I thought you were going to hit your own brother!”

“He pissed me off!” I attempted to defend my actions. “I didn’t like the things he was saying about us. I don’t want to hear that shit when it comes to me and you. ”

She released a loud breath, her shoulders slouching. “Jack, you can’t get pissed every time someone says something unflattering about us. ”

“Yes, I can,” I responded seriously, and she laughed.

“Okay, you cannnn,” she dragged out the word before continuing, “but you shouldn’t. Plus, it’s not like Dean was really wrong. ”

“What are you saying?”

“Just that we don’t really have the best track record when it comes to trust and communication, is all. We clearly have some stuff to work on. ” She smiled as she scooted next to me.

I threw my arm around her waist and pulled her into me before kissing her on the head. “So we’re not perfect. ”

“Not even close. ” She laughed and her eyes danced. “But, Jack?”

“Yeah?” I leaned away from her so I could see her face as she spoke.

“Will you please keep me in the loop when it comes to your baseball stuff? I don’t want to be the last to know what’s going on with you. ” She spoke softly and I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“You’ll never be the last to know again. I promise. ” I caressed her hip with my thumb, the feeling that I’d let her down surging through my body.

“So you’ll really be gone soon?” she asked, her tone of voice breaking my fucking heart.

I nodded. “But I’ll be back in a few months. The season ends in September, so I come home as soon as it’s over. ”

Her eyes lit up as the worry lines on her forehead subsided. “Really? So it’s not like you move away forever?”

The heaviness in my chest lifted. “Is that what you thought? That I got drafted and never came back?”

“Pretty much. I don’t know how it works. ”

“I just go for the rest of the baseball season and then I come home. They’ve already been playing games since April,” I told her, wanting to alleviate her fears.

“And then what? I mean, you go back again, right?”

I smiled half-heartedly. “I go back in February. ”

She started counting the months between when I come back and when I leave again on her fingers as I braced for her response. “That’s not terrible. ” She smiled and dropped her hands.

“Totally doable, right?” I asked with confidence, but my insides were doing somersaults.

“I’m not ready to give up on you quite yet. I’ll try anything with you once. ” She winked at me before seeing the big grin on my face, then began backtracking. “Well…almost anything. ” Her cheeks turned rose-colored.

I tilted her face toward mine, lifting her chin with my fingers. “I love you. ” Her eyes focused on my mouth before closing as I pulled her to me. She tasted like the mint of her toothpaste and her lips were soft as I parted them. The touch of her tongue against mine woke up parts of my body I had no real control over. I tangled my fingers in her hair, pulling her even closer to me.

She let out a low sound and all I could think about was ripping that little white dress off her body. I leaned her against the mattress and positioned myself on top of her. The way her hair spilled out all around drove me crazy. There was something so sexy about seeing it splayed across her pillow as she lay beneath me. “You’re so beautiful,” I reminded her as I leaned down to kiss her again, pushing the lower half of my body against hers.

I waited for the signal that she was willing to go farther before I attempted anything. Her hips lifted from the bed to meet mine as she pressed herself into me. My hand reached down to her leg before sliding up along her bare skin, bringing her dress with it. I pulled the fabric up to her hip as she wiggled, sensing no rejection to my actions.