Chapter Twenty-One
Todd
“Is that coffee I smell?”
I turn, empty coffee cup in hand, to see Taylor in a ratty old Cleveland Indians T-shirt and plaid pajama pants.
“It’s almost done,” I reply. “I didn’t hear you come in last night.
” We’ve been sleeping together since we started practicing—this past weekend was our first time apart—and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss waking up next to her in the morning.
She sits down at the breakfast bar. “It was really late. I didn’t want to wake you.”
I hand her a steaming cup of coffee. “And you’re still up before noon?”
“I’m too excited about calling the Rangers even though they’re an hour behind us.”
“Oh, yeah.” I take a sip, recalling the text message she sent me. “God, how incredible would it be if you got a job with the Rangers?”
Her head falls into her hands. “I can barely fathom it.”
“You should! It’s exactly what you deserve.”
She sighs. “Adam said the same thing.”
My jaw clenches at the sound of his name. “You told Adam?”
“He was there when the scout approached me.”
“Of course he was,” I mutter under my breath, and she’s still so out of it she doesn’t even hear.
“He took me out for dinner afterward to celebrate, and it made me feel a little guilty about being jealous of him for being scouted.”
“You went out to dinner?” I ask, the pitch of my voice rising.
“Yeah, I don’t know what possessed him to do it—it’s not like we’ve ever hung out like that before.”
My hands tighten around my cup.
“And it kinda felt like a date in the end.” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t know, what do you think?”
What do I think? I think I want to punch Adam in the face, but I can’t say that because I’m being a supportive friend who believes she can make her own choices.
“You’re only human. I think it’s completely normal to be jealous of Adam—and the rest of the team—for being scouted.”
She studies the rim of her cup with the focus she usually reserves for the bottom of the ninth. “And what about him taking me out to dinner? Do you think it could have been a date?”
“Yeah . . .” I say, my voice cracking. I swallow some coffee to soothe my throat. “But I mean, if it was me, I would have been clear about whether it was a date.”
“True.” She exhales. “Maybe I just want it to happen so badly I’m making things up.”
“You want Adam to ask you out?”
“Adam . . . someone . . . anyone . . .”
I snort. “Wow, you got some really high standards.”
“I just want to feel like a normal college girl.”
Shit—now I feel like an asshole. “Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to tease you.”
The words ring hollow and she shrugs, rubbing thumbprints from the bottom of her mug.
A strange silence expands between us—not hostile, not even awkward, just full, and I can feel my heart throbbing stupidly behind my ribcage.
I rack my brain for something to say—something to convince her that normality is overrated and that she’s perfect the way she is, but if I tell her that she can have Adam or anyone she wants—myself included—I’ll give myself away.
Besides, it’s not what she wants to hear since she’s striving for normality.
A thought ignites in my mind—what if I give her a taste of what she wants?
“I know how to make you feel normal,” I say, lifting her onto the counter.
Her eyes widen as I pull at her pajama pants. “I’m not wearing any underwear,” she whispers.
My lips twitch. “One less thing I have to take off.”
I pull at the drawstring of her pajamas until the waistband is loose enough to slide over her hips. They fall down her legs, but get caught around her ankles, and I do nothing to fix it, already too focused on her pussy.
“You shaved,” I said, leveling my gaze on her.
“Yeah . . .”
“I told you I didn’t care if you had pubic hair.”
“I know, but I still didn’t feel comfortable with it.”
My brow furrows. “You barely had anything down there.”
She squints. “Why are you so angry about this?”
“I’m not!” I take a deep breath, my hands coming to rest on her biceps. “I just don’t want you to change yourself for me—or anybody.”
“I’m not—I did it for me.” She rolls her eyes. “Just chalk it up to my internalized misogyny.”
“Okay but that just means I have to make it my mission to challenge it.”
“As long as you still plan to eat my pussy because you got me all hot and bothered over here.”
“Don’t worry.” I pull a stool over and sit between her legs. “You’re not getting out of it that easily.”