14. Reed
Growing up, there were a few things that were essential for the summer: weekends at the lake with his brothers, fresh corn on the cob from his grandad’s farm, ice cream sandwiches, and baseball. And even though he was a full-fledged adult now, Reed still upheld these traditions.
Summer out in the country was a much more pleasant experience than summer in the city. The concrete and crowding of downtown intensified the already stifling heat and humidity, never mind the fact that you had to face it all buttoned up from head to toe in a suit. The city had one clear advantage, though: being able to walk to an afternoon Braves game on a whim. And being accompanied by Maya Hendricks only sweetened the deal, even if she did have her nose buried in the stack of papers she’d brought with her. He glanced over at her and smiled.
She was a vision. Hair pinned back, oversized sunglasses, and her sleeveless shirt with one more button undone than when she was in the office. It gave him a peek of the dip between her breasts which felt highly inappropriate to notice. The sun made the light sheen of sweat on her brown skin glisten. Her skirt tapered over her shapely thighs giving way to her bare legs that were bent and propped on the seat in front of her.
He had to admit that he wasn’t paying much attention to the game either, thanks to her. There was a difference between finding someone attractive and being attracted to someone. Maya was an objectively beautiful woman, but there were tons of beautiful women he wouldn’t look twice at. He couldn’t get enough of all the little details he noticed after spending so much time in close proximity with her. The deep Cupid’s bow on her upper lip. The elegant angles of her collar bones. The defined line that ran down the side of her toned calves. It was also beyond the superficial. Things like the way she snorted a little when she found something genuinely funny. Her ability to explain complex laws in the simplest ways. The way she got a little nerdy when it came to learning new things through their case.
He brought her out today, though, hoping to have some fun just for the sake of having fun. No work involved. “I didn’t think you’d actually work through the whole game. You’re missing everything.”
She smiled and flipped the page. “No, I’m not. It’s top of the third, one out, Acuna is up at bat with a full count and there are runners on first and third.”
What the hell?Maya Hendricks was no rookie at all.
“You told me you didn’t follow baseball back at that luncheon thing at the beginning of the summer.” He remembered because of how she’d tried to shut him down. It had left a mark, for sure.
“I don’t follow baseball.” She finished highlighting a sentence then popped the cap back on the highlighter and looked up at him with a wide smile. “Anymore, but my father is a diehard Braves fan.”
“You mean we could have been doing this all summer? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t sure about you at first.”
“You don’t say.”
“You stole my associateship, Stanton.” She shrugged flippantly, like they were still joking around, but this wasn’t a joke to him anymore.
“I did not.”
“Yes. You did,” she insisted.
The soundtrack to his perfect summer day came screeching to a stop in his head. “How?”
“Everyone knows King and Associates only accepts one student per summer. That’s always how it’s been, and then I show up and you’re there and you’re calling our boss by his nickname. I figured Al and your dad were buddies from the country club or something.”
Apparently he was the one asshole who didn’t know. While his classmates were obsessing over summer associate positions, he unceremoniously walked down to the Carter County District Attorney’s office one day and asked if he could work with them over the summer to which they said yes. If it wasn’t for Al persuading him to expand his horizons and earn a little cash to make a dent in his student loans before settling down in that position, he wouldn’t have been here. He had always known Al was a big deal, but he never realized he was that big of a deal. Reed wiped the sweat beading above his brow.
“Shit, Maya, I had no idea. When he asked me, I didn’t think anything of it.”
She shrugged it off and reached for her Diet Coke.
“If I would have known, I never would have taken the position,” he promised.
“I know, Reed.”
“If you want me to step down—”
Maya held up her hand to stop him. “No, you’re not going anywhere. If you left me now, that would really piss me off.”
She cracked a small smile and reached out to squeeze his shoulder and shake him out of his panic. She had come to terms with this already, but he was still reeling. He’d hate to do this to anyone, but especially Maya because he knew how much this associateship meant to her.
“I’m sorry.”
She laughed and swatted at him. “Stop saying that! Everything worked out. If I’m going to hold a grudge against anyone it should be Al, right?”
“I guess so, but—”
“Don’t you dare,” she warned.
“Well, can I make it up to you, at least?”
“You can buy me a pretzel.” He started to stand from his seat, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. “After the inning’s over.”
“You got it.”
“And let me borrow your hat. The sun’s shining right in my eyes, making it hard to read.”
“Well, maybe that’s a sign you should quit reading.”
She put her hand out and wiggled her fingers. “Hat.”
“It’s yours.”
He grabbed the bill and slid it off his head then slipped it onto hers, pulling it down low so that it covered her face. He couldn’t help himself. She knocked his hands off, then went to work adjusting the hat just so, finishing it off by flipping her ponytail over her shoulder with flair. She was so damn cute.
“Looks good on you.”
“Thank you,” she said with a grin.
“And Maya?”
“Yeah?”
“My dad has never stepped foot in a country club in his life. And neither have I.”
“See? I get things wrong all the time.”
She then turned away from the field, angling her body away from the sun and resting her back against his side before going back to reading. He stared at her in awe for a moment, their casual contact sending an electric charge down his arm. He lifted his arm and placed it on the back of her seat, inviting her to settle into the spot which she did seamlessly. He fought the urge to wrap his arm around her and pull her even closer.
This would go down as one of his best summer memories. Perfect weather, perfect woman, and if the Braves could pull off a win, a perfect day. There was no future for them after this associateship was over, but at least he’d met her and now he knew exactly what he wanted out of a future partner.