Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
I woke up and found Jackson in the kitchen making an omelet.
“What are you doing today?” he asked, as he dropped a plate in front of me filled with twice as much food as I could eat.
“Not sure. What are you doing?”
“Well, I have a baseball game this afternoon. I thought I could prep Alien’s bedroom for painting, and later, if you want, you could come and watch,” his voice was super casual. Indifferent almost.
My head jerked up in surprise. “You play baseball?”
“Just for fun.”
The man never ceased to surprise me. “I want to watch.”
A smile twitched at his lips. “Okay.”
True to his word, Jackson spent the rest of the morning prepping the walls to paint. He was meticulous about taping, plastering and sanding the walls to perfection. I studied Little Bear photos off the internet and did some preliminary sketches for the mural.
Then Jackson changed into a navy blue and white trimmed baseball shirt that said, “SEAL Sluggers” across the front. He wore cleats and white pants that made his ass and legs look absolutely drool-worthy.
We drove to the field. The closer we got, the more nervous I felt. Jackson parked and carried a cooler and a lawn chair. More people than I expected crowded the sidelines.
He set up the chair for me behind the high fence alongside the other lawn chairs. A group of women, off to the side, stood talking and laughing.
“Come on,” he said. “Let me introduce you to a few people.”
The first thing I noticed was that I was way overdressed. I wore white and navy checkered capris pants and a sleeveless white embroidered blouse along with wedge navy cork sandals. I had matched it with an oversized navy bag. Everyone else was wearing cut off jean shorts, cotton tank tops, and flip-flops.
Jackson grabbed my hand and tugged me over to the group of women that all fell silent as we approached. My face burned hot as everyone looked me up and down.
“Hey Jackson,” one of the women smiled.
He responded with one of his smiles. “How are you all today?”
I watched as every single one of them stared up at him with various stages of awe. Yes, I was glad to see it wasn’t just me who reacted to his smile that way.
“Good,” they chorused back in harmony.
“I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Emily,” he said, squeezing my hand.
I swallowed hard, my smile feeling frozen on my face. “Hi.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
They all responded in kind. Their polite smiles didn’t quite meet their eyes.
“MacDog, get out here and start warming up,” some guy called from the field .
He looked down at me with a teasing smile. “Are you going to cheer for my team?”
I nodded solemnly.
He grabbed me by the waist and tugged me hard against his body. He dropped a light kiss on my lips. “Cheer hard.”
“Okay.”
I watched as he grabbed his glove and then jogged onto the field. He moved with grace. I turned back to the group of women who all stared at me like I had just sprouted a second head.
“What?”
The tall brunette spoke. “That was the most PDA I have ever seen from Jackson. Ever.”
I blushed. “Oh.”
Glances were exchanged.
She tilted her head. “So, Emily. Where did you meet Jackson?”
“New York.”
“Is that where you are from?”
“Yes. Are you from around here?”
She ignored my question. “That must have been some whirlwind romance you had in New York.”
It had been more like a lifetime of drama and angst in three months. “It seemed longer than three months.”
I knew that was an extremely vague answer, but I figured vague was better.
“So did you have a big wedding?”
“Just a civil ceremony.”
She leaned in. “No one can quite believe he got married. Jackson has been against marriage for as long as I’ve known him.”
I looked over my shoulder. Jackson threw the ball to a catcher. He adjusted his baseball hat and looked over at me. “I guess people change.”
Her laugh sounded disbelieving. “I guess so.”
More looks that I had trouble interpreting were exchanged. The conversation moved away from me and onto other things. It was painstaking to stand there, listening, wracking my brain to try and contribute to the conversation. I felt too shy to say anything.
“Let’s play ball,” the umpire roared.
With relief, I turned and walked back to my lawn chair.
I didn’t know anything about baseball, but I was enthralled watching Jackson. He played the game with intensity and concentration. He was the pitcher. His arm was strong, and his pitch was fast and accurate. But my favorite moments were when he was at bat. He would step up to plate, shuffle his feet into the dirt and do one or two practice swings. With a sharp hollow crack of the bat, he sent the ball flying far into the sky that left the outfielders scrambling. Every time he went to bat, he cleared the bases. I might be biased, but I thought he was the best player out there.
When the Sluggers were up 8-2 against the Army Armadillos, another pitcher was subbed in. Jackson came around the fence and squatted in front of me, a big hand on my knee, while he drank a bottle of water.
“Having fun?”
“You’re really good at baseball.” I leaned forward and whispered to him. “I think you’re the best player.”
“It’s a fun game.”
“Why did they take you out?”
He looked over his shoulder at the substitute pitcher who was warming up. “We want everyone to have a chance to play.”
“After you make sure you are up 6 points.”
“Oh,” he grinned. “You’re a baseball guru now.”
I leaned forward so I could whisper in his ear, loving the clean scent of his sweat. “I hope Alien gets your athletic ability.”
He pulled back his head, his eyes wide. “Well, I hope Alien gets your eyes.”
“I hope Alien gets your courage. ”
Another huge smile. “And I hope Alien gets your heart.”
“MacDog are you going to sit there and flirt or are you going to play ball?” someone yelled from the bench.
He openly laughed, and he gave me a fast hard kiss before he walked back to the bench. I could feel the idiotic grin on my face. I glanced to the right, and all the women in the lawn chairs were watching with expressions that ranged from shock to incredulous.
The Sluggers won 8-6. The team stood around drinking a few beers while everyone packed up. As fun as the afternoon was, I couldn't wait to get home and just breathe. My social anxiety was reaching an all-time high.
Jackson walked over to me. “There's an impromptu BBQ in an hour for a few families on our team.”
My eyes went wide.
“Hey Emily,” a voice called from the side. I glanced over to see Guinness and Forbes walk by. I gave them a smile and a wave. I looked back up at Jackson who watched me carefully.
I gave him my widest smile. “That sounds fun.”
“You’re such a little liar,” he grinned. “We don’t have to do this. Let’s go home.”
I shook my head. I wanted nothing more than to be an excellent partner to Jackson. I knew that he was a lot more social than me. “I think it’ll be good.”
“Yeah?” he assessed me. “You say the word, we leave.”
“What should we bring?”
He picked up the cooler and grabbed my hand. “Let’s ask Lauren.”
Lauren was a short blonde with a pixie cut who looked harassed as she herded three kids.
Jackson and I approached her.
“I hear you got suckered into hosting another BBQ. ”
“I figured it might happen. This time I’m prepared.”
“What can we bring?”
“Nothing.”
“Beer? Booze? Hamburger buns?” Jackson pushed.
She nodded and smiled. “Beer is always welcome. And everyone loves potato chips.”
“We’re on it.”
Her eyes looked over at me, less warm, less friendly. “Great. We’ll see you both there.”