Chapter 14
Baseball is a man maker.
“Cruz says that you were kissing my sister,” came a voice from behind Javi, followed by a shove.
It wasn’t a hard shove, and Javi easily maintained his balance. He looked back to see Cal scowling at him. He’d managed to avoid his teammate for the majority of the game, due to him actively playing and Cal being confined to the bullpen.
Javi smirked at his friend. “Yep, before the game. Blew her a kiss from third, too.”
Cal looked flabbergasted, like he wasn’t sure how to respond. Had the guy thought he’d deny it?
“We’re going out after the game, too. You don’t want to third wheel, do you?” asked Javi.
“So, you’re just…dating my sister now?” asked Cal.
“Yep,” said Javi as he sat on the bench to remove his gear.
“Neither of y’all thought to tell me?” Cal complained as he sat on the bench across from him.
“What’s to tell?” asked Javier. “You set us up.”
Cal’s eyes widened. “I did not set you up. I only volunteered you to take her to that banquet so Little Dicky would leave her alone.”
“And I made my intentions clear to you,” replied Javi, his eye contact unwavering.
Cal slapped a hand to his forehead. “You cannot be serious. You really plan on marrying my sister.”
“Yep.” It was actually kind of fun picking at Cal.
“Does she realize you’re crazy? You know, I really like you, but I love my sister. Sometimes I’m not sure why, but I still don’t want to have to kill a teammate.”
“No need to kill. We’ll just become real bros,” said Javi as though it was a done deal, because it would be.
His friend looked at him for a moment before replying, “That actually wouldn’t be too bad.”
Javier burst out laughing. “Great. I’ll let your sister know that you’ve given us your blessing. Also, I stole the ticket you had reserved for her. Sarah in sales was happy to reverse your charge and resell it to me, since you didn’t need six tickets for tonight’s game. We tried to call you.”
Cal glared at him while unlacing his cleats.
Javi grabbed his towel and headed for the showers.
He’d brought nice clothes to wear after the game, but maybe they were overkill.
After all, Cami was just wearing casual clothes.
Maybe, instead of going out, they could grab some fast food and head back to his place.
He wasn’t a huge TV guy, but he wasn’t opposed to cuddling up with Cami to watch something, even if it was another one of her conspiracy or true crime shows.
After he’d finished showering and dressing, he left the clubhouse and found Cami waiting for him.
“Good game,” she said as he reached for her hand.
It had been a good game. They’d won after a string of away losses and it had really helped boost the team’s morale.
“Did I earn a better kiss?” he teased.
She laughed. “You did.”
“Be ready to pay up after we eat. Where did you park?” asked Javi as he led them toward the exit.
“I took a ride share. I figured I would get a lift from you after the game,” she replied.
As they made their way out of the stadium, he asked, “Where do you want to go eat?”
“Um, honestly, I’m not super hungry. I shared some snacks with my uncle during the game and had ice cream,” she said sheepishly.
Javi laughed. “That’s okay. We’ll just grab some drive-thru and then head back to my place.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay at mine?” asked Cami.
“I’m sure. Mine’s closer, your ex can’t drop by unexpectedly, and your brother already knows, so there’s no reason for you not to come stay with me.”
“I didn’t pack a bag.”
“That’s okay,” replied Javi. “You can sleep in one of my shirts…or nothing at all, if you prefer. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go back to your place early so you can get ready for work.”
“It would be easier to stay at mine,” she protested.
“True. If we stay at your place tonight, you can pack a bag and stay at mine Monday and Tuesday,” he replied as a compromise.
She smiled. “You’re gonna be tired after your games. Do you really want me interrupting your rest?”
He stopped and gave her a look that could have melted ice. “I’ll have plenty of energy for you.”
She smirked and he pulled her to him. “Hermosa, as long as I’m with you, I don’t really care what we do.
If you want to watch Unsolved Mysteries the whole time, we can do that.
It won’t affect me wanting you. If you want to swim in the pool or work out in the gym, we can do that.
If you just want us to lie together on the couch and read books, we can do that.
I don’t think you understand yet, Cami. It doesn’t matter to me what we do, as long as we do it together. ”