Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
SETH
“Want to swing by the softball game?” I glanced over at Logan as he pulled the rig away from the possible gas leak call we’d just finished with.
He looked over at me with a raised brow. “Seriously?”
“Why not?” I’d figured he’d want to stop by at some point and cheer on the team.
But maybe not. He was more like me than the other guys.
Neither of us preferred large social situations over small groups of people.
But I didn’t make a habit of breaking promises if I could avoid it. “I told Violet we’d try to stop by.”
He chuckled. “Right. Violet.”
The way he said her name was laced with suspicion. He could think what he wanted, but it didn't change the fact that I didn’t want to disappoint her.
He studied me for a minute and then shrugged. “Yeah, we can swing by.”
I tried not to smile, but I was struggling to tamp down my excitement at the idea of getting to see her.
As Logan pulled the rig along the curb at the back of the parking lot, I searched the field hoping for a glance of Violet.
I reached for the handle and froze, looking over at Logan who sat eyeing me with a knowing smirk.
He shook his head and chuckled. “Come on, boys. Let’s go so Romeo here can see his girl.”
I’d never been this excited to watch any kind of athletic game.
Sports wasn’t my go-to entertainment choice.
And honestly, I had no interest in the game itself.
Only in seeing Violet. Images of her in a button-up jersey—her breasts pushing against the buttons, threatening to pop them open—crossed my mind.
I shifted on my feet, willing my dick to not misbehave.
The three volunteers we were paired with took spots on the bleachers, while Logan and I stood near the fence surrounding the softball field. The Donut Dodgers were up to bat. If I thought their name was stupid, ours was worse—the Red Hot Responders. Like who the fuck came up with these names?
Violet was standing on first base, and if I knew her at all at this point, I’d bet she thought the names were cute.
I made a mental note to not call them fucking stupid to her face.
As I expected, the whole team wore matching jerseys, each personalized with their last names.
Pearson was printed across the back of Violet’s.
The fire department had on similar jerseys too.
She looked my way with a smile and a wave, and I gave her a quick tip of my head. She leaned over, bracing her hands on one knee, ready to run to second when it was time. I zeroed in on one of our young volunteers, who was the current first baseman, staring at Violet’s ass.
The insanely tight leggings she wore were like a second skin, but that didn’t mean this tool needed to be staring. Did he not know she had a boyfriend?
Fake boyfriend.
But no one else but us knew that.
“Who’s the assclown on first?” I asked Logan.
“Daniel?” He glanced over at me and cocked a brow. “Why do you look like you’re about to murder someone?” He followed my gaze. “Ahh. I see.”
I couldn’t hear what, but Daniel must have said something because Violet sent him a smirk.
Damn. Was she flirting back?
“Dude.” Logan nudged me. “Relax. He’s harmless.”
Harmless my ass.
Violet caught my eye and tilted her head, assessing me. A heartbeat later, Daniel looked over too. I took the opportunity to narrow my eyes and rest my hands on my hips, silently telling him to back the fuck off. His eyes widened and he took a couple of steps back.
Good. Message received.
“I guess I was wrong about you two.” Logan chuckled.
“What?”
“Based on the death glares you’re sending that poor kid, you’re obviously really into her. He’s probably pissing his pants right now.”
“Good. He should learn to keep his eyes off other people’s girls.”
Dylan stepped up to bat and hit the ball way out to left field. Violet sprinted quickly around the bases, getting PD a run.
My feet were moving before I even realized what I was doing. I stepped up close to the bench just as Violet made her way toward the end.
“I thought you were on shift,” she said, still studying me.
“I am. We just finished a call and thought we’d swing by to watch some of the game.”
She raised a brow. “You don’t look very happy about it.”
Logan chuckled behind me, and I sent him a glare over my shoulder.
I looked down, kicking at the grass with the toe of my boot. How could I possibly explain that I was jealous? Jesus. I didn’t even understand it. She wasn’t even mine. She’d think I was insane.
A sound, almost like a snicker, hit my ears and I whipped my gaze up to see Aiden standing behind Violet. “He’s not happy about that young buck out there eyeing up his girl.” He walked further down the bench, laughing darkly.
“His girl?” Violet’s eyes widened and her lips parted as she stared back at me.
“Oh.” Her demeanor changed, switching to the actress role I’d come to recognize when others were around, and she waved off the comment.
“Don’t worry babe, I only have eyes for you.
” She stepped closer, placing her palms against my chest and popping up on her tiptoes.
Not this time. She was going to fake kiss me, keep it all within the act we needed to keep up, but I wanted to find out how soft her lips were for real.
I reached up and cupped the back of her head, holding her a few inches from my face. “Everyone’s watching,” I whispered, not knowing if anyone was actually watching or not. Either way, I didn’t care. “Better make it good.”
Her brows rose high on her forehead. “Yeah,” she breathed out.
I brought her closer, tilting my head, and slowly brushed my lips against hers. Once, twice, a third time—just because I wasn’t ready for it to end yet. She sighed against my mouth as I broke the kiss and pulled back.
Now that I’d gotten a taste, a real taste, I wanted more.
I shouldn’t. I couldn’t. But I did.