The Perfect Game (The Perfect Game 1)

“Thank you,” he whispered into my ear before pressing his lips against my neck.

“Carter, come on. Do we have to call these guys back and negotiate or what?” Ryan interjected in a vain attempt to get Jack’s attention.

“They said five,” Jack answered with a smile, refusing to look away from my face.

“Yeah? Did they say five?” Ryan’s eyes lifted.

“That’s what they said. ”

“Well, alright! How do you feel? Should we push?” Marc asked as he scribbled notes furiously onto his pad.

He turned. “I think five is more than fair. I’m happy with it,” Jack acknowledged.

“I know it sounds like a lot of money right now, Jack, but you’ll lose half in taxes, we take our cut, and you won’t be making much for the next few years in the minor leagues. We could probably get them to budge some,” Marc suggested, still writing.

“I’m happy with it. I just want to play ball. ” Jack’s tone was firm.

“Alright then. We’ll accept the deal as is. Congrats!”

Jack pulled his chair next to me and tossed his arm low across my back. “Five million isn’t a bad signing bonus, right? Am I being naïve?”

I almost choked. “That’s what it is? Five million dollars?” I asked.

“What did you think?” He laughed, his eyebrows pulling in.

“I don’t know, but I didn’t think that. Holy shit, Jack, that’s incredible. ” I was so stunned I had to remember to close my mouth since my jaw kept dropping open.

“I should sign, right?”

“Absolutely. I mean, have your lawyer look over the contracts, but of course you should sign! Why wouldn’t you?” I grabbed his face and pulled him to me before planting a loud kiss on his lips. “You’re awesome. My baby’s a Diamondback!”

The reporter tossed Jack a Diamondback jersey and hat and asked him to put them on while they interviewed him for a piece to air later that day. I watched as he tossed the jersey over his black shirt, buttoning the top button before placing the cap firmly on his head and tucking the stray hair underneath.

“How do I look?” he asked, modeling the crimson red jersey with D*Backs written on it.

“Like a ball player,” I responded with a smile.

“Like a million bucks. ” Gramps punched the air.

Dean grinned. “More like five. ”

“Can I get my camera? Are we allowed to take pictures?” I asked, longing to use my new camera for this special moment.

The producer turned to me. “As soon as we stop rolling. Otherwise the shutter sound of your camera will filter into the sound bytes. ”

“Okay,” I responded with a huge smile, turning my camera on and exploring its new features so I’d be ready when it was time.

When the television crew cleared out, I grabbed Jack and his family and posed them in the backyard, under a giant oak tree. I took a few group family shots and then individual ones.

“Let me take one of you and Jack, dear. Do you trust me to use your camera?” Gramps asked with a laugh.

“Of course! Be careful, it’s a lot heavier than it looks,” I noted, handing him my weighty equipment.

“Oh, this is heavy. ” He carefully placed the camera strap around his neck.

“Okay, now you have to look through it like a regular, old-fashioned camera. ” I paused, realizing that Gramps had probably never used anything but an old-fashioned camera.

I placed his index finger on top of a round, smooth knob. “Then you press this button halfway down so that Jack and I come into focus. Once we’re focused, you press it all the way down and you’ll hear it click. And that’s it!”