19. Leilani
Banks was asleep in my bed. I lay there, watching the consistent rise and fall of his bare chest with each long breath he took.
He was sleeping so peacefully. I didn’t want to wake him up, so I’d been watching him sleep.
It was probably creepy of me to do so, but I couldn’t help myself.
I could stare at him all day and night, never getting tired of him.
I was more than grateful to have him back in my life.
Since we’d mended things, we’d once again become inseparable.
I was back at every home, cheering him on as he played his heart out.
Things between his mother and I weren’t the best. She was still in her feelings about how I spoke to her that night, which I found to be childish behavior.
His father apologized to me and thanked me for taking up for Banks.
It made me feel good to know at least one of his parents understood him.
The glow of Banks’s phone illuminated his face when his alarm started going off.
He was the type of person who fell asleep watching videos on their phone.
Mostly, they were baseball highlights, but he’d watch a show when he felt like it.
It took a few seconds for him to hear it and buck his eyes open.
He glanced at me as he stretched his body and rolled, throwing his arm over me.
“Good morning to you too.” I giggled as he pulled me over to him, nuzzling his face in my neck.
“Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?”
“Great with you beside me. I could get used to going to sleep in your arms. You know it’s my favorite place to be.”
“Every night?”
“Every night. How did you sleep, Banks?”
He kissed my shoulder and answered, “Good. I’m still tired, but I need to get up and get ready for practice before I’m late.”
“What do you want to eat? I can cook you something before you go.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that, but I usually only have a protein shake and eat some fruit before practice. It shouldn’t be a long one today, so you want to meet up for brunch?”
“I’d love that. Where do you want to go?”
Banks climbed out the bed and stretched again. His third leg was poking against his boxers. I reached out to touch it, but Banks playfully slapped my hand away.
“Messing with you will really have me late, Leilani. How about you come with me?”
“To practice?”
“Yeah.”
I sat up on my elbows and raised a brow. “I can do that?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if you couldn’t.”
“Smart mouth. Okay, I’ll go.” I scooted to the edge of the bed, yelping when Banks picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. He roughly gripped my ass, squeezing it with every step. “Put me down, Banks!”
Gently, he placed me on my feet and kissed my forehead.
We spent the next twenty minutes getting ready.
Slowly, we’d both started accumulating things at one another’s houses.
If he wasn’t at mine, I was at his. I loved my home, but Banks’s house was everything to me.
From the size of it to the feel of it, I loved being there.
If our relationship progressed to more, which I prayed it did, I’d definitely move with him.
Banks couldn’t keep his hands off me as we got dressed. He was extremely affectionate, and I adored that about him. He would steal kisses, slap my ass, randomly give me hugs. I happily accepted each time. We were making up for the time apart.
“I see you trying to be like me,” Banks said as his eyes traveled up the length of my frame.
“Uh, no. I had my outfit picked out in my head before you even put your clothes on.”
Banks smacked his lips and mugged me. “How does that work? Am I supposed to be able to read your mind?”
“Precisely.”
Of course, I knew Banks usually liked being in baseball gear for practice, so I whipped out my jersey with some biker shorts and Nikes. My locs were pulled into a high ponytail in case they let me get in on the action. I wasn’t sure, but I was hopeful.
Twenty minutes later, we made it to the facility. Banks was greeted by his coaches and teammates and introduced me to the ones I hadn’t formally met. They were all warm and welcoming, especially his friend Forest who I’d met briefly but didn’t really get a chance to engage with.
I sat in the dugout and watched them all cut up before practice started. Banks was like a big kid the whole time. I caught a few videos of them all before they called me onto the field.
Forest clapped his hands together then rubbed them. “Boss been out here bragging on you, so we wanted to see if what he said was true.”
“And what has he been saying?”
“That you can get an in-the-park homerun.”
“Oh, really?” I turned toward Banks who was smirking.
He winked at me and nodded. “Yeah. Show them what you got.”
All eyes were on me as I confidently headed to the batter’s box. Banks placed his helmet on my head before positioning himself behind me.
“Nah, Boss. You gotta move and let her do her thing,” Forest demanded, laughing.
“I didn’t tell you how she would get one, but I told y’all she would.”
“We know she’s going to get a good hit with you behind her. Move over, so she can show us what she got.”
I craned my neck back to peer up at Banks. “You can move back. I got this.”
With his hands up in mock surrender, Banks back away from me. “I see you. Do what I taught you.”
“Just call me Baby Boss.”
“That has a nice little ring to it.”
“Doesn’t it?”
Their second pitcher, Blake, moved off the mound and got close to me. He informed me he’d make it easier for me, but I was ready for whatever.
My mind went to what Banks told me at the cages.
I held the bat away from my shoulder and reminded myself to swing with the power in my hips.
The ball left Blake’s hand, and I closely watched it before swinging.
When I heard the crack of the ball, I dropped the bat and took off running.
I heard Banks cheering me on. Out the corner of my eyes, I saw him jumping up and down, throwing his arms for me to keep going.
By the time I made it to second base, I was winded.
I wanted to stop, so I slowed down to a job.
“Oh, snap!” I yelped.
Banks came out of nowhere and scooped me up bridal style. He ran me around the remaining base with his teammates waiting for us at home plate. Once I was set on my feet, everyone started hitting the helmet. I’d seen them do it to others anytime they got a homerun.
“Y’all are rough.” I giggled and melted into Banks’s arms. “That was fun.”
They wrapped up practice, and we left. As Banks and I sat in the backseat, I motioned like I was swinging.
“That was the most fun I’ve had in a while doing something so athletic. Got me wanting to be a pro athlete now.”
“I think you need to keep your focus on art, Leilani. How you get winded after two bases?”
“First of all,” I held up one finger, ready to defend myself. “I’m not in shape. Second, my legs aren’t as long as yours. And third, those bases are too far apart. I felt like I was running for my life, but it was fun.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. You need to come to practice with me more often. I enjoyed you being there.”
I scooted closer to Banks and laid my head on his shoulder. “And I loved being there. I love being wherever you are.”
Banks kissed my sweaty forehead and held me. “I’m grateful for you, Leilani. Thank you for coming in and changing my heart, opening me up to see what love is. I can see something great continuing between us. Just bear with me. I’m still learning, but I’m trying with everything in me.”
My head rose off his shoulder. I placed my hands on the sides of his face and kissed him, long and deep.
“You’re doing an amazing job, Banks. Like I told you before, it seems as if you’ve been in love before.
The way you treat me has me on a high like no other.
I’m beyond grateful for you and all you do, which is why I try to go above and beyond for you as well.
I can’t wat to see where life takes us.”
“Me too, Lei. Me too.”