CHAPTER 14 DANNY
I watch my best friend as he proposes to his girl, and a few days ago, I would’ve scoffed in his face.
Okay, not really. I’m not that much of a dick. I’m happy for him, happy she said yes, blah blah blah.
But a few days ago, I likely would’ve believed it was the wrong move, and I might’ve told him that.
Today, though, it seems as though I’m seeing things through a different perspective. Maybe it was the fact that she called me DJ when only those closest to me in the entire world ever have. Or maybe it was brunch in general, or just meeting the literal girl of my dreams in the flesh.
Something is happening to me, and I’m not sure what it is.
It’s new, and it’ll be tough to start something up as the season gets underway, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be impossible.
I like that she’s got her own thing going on—that she understands I’ve got my own thing going on, too.
But I’m not exactly ready to give up the single life because of one brunch. Because of one kiss that wasn’t even my best work.
It’s not like we’re going to get married. That’s still not on my radar, though seeing her again definitely is.
And getting her naked? Priority one.
That kiss has been heavy on my mind since it happened, though neither one of us has spoken of it in our intermittent text messages that come and go throughout the day—ones where she wishes me good luck on my game and I bid her goodbye from Vegas knowing she’s heading back to LA.
Ones where we joke about bacon and donuts.
Ones where we talk about seeing each other again.
I have Monday off, and I spend the day working out. While I don’t want to wear myself out ahead of our next series, I do need to run off some of this nervous energy. When evening rolls around, Rush, AJ, and Nick come to my place for some poker.
I can’t help but look at the seat Nick is sitting in and think of it as her seat.
I lose my ass at poker, mostly because I’m distracted by thoughts of her.
We win two of the three games in Chicago, and then it’s off to San Diego with a tight turnaround.
My mom, my sister, and my two nephews are in attendance. They’re in the front row right along the first baseline, and it’s been a while since I could hear my mom cheering for me at a game—even if it’s an away game.
But it’s good to see them there, and after we win, I head back to my mom’s place, where my sister and my nephews, Lucas and Leo, are staying for the weekend while I’m in town.
I’m staying there instead of at the team hotel, as approved by Troy in advance.
Ballplayers travel a lot, but we also get a decent amount of free time.
And when we’ve been in the game long enough, our managers trust us with a certain degree of freedom.
The same can’t be said for younger guys, though.
I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. Or more than likely it’s the fact that I’m spending the weekend hanging with my mom and my sister. Troy knows the likelihood of me getting into trouble in San Diego at my mom’s house is not quite like it would be if I was in Vegas.
But either way, I’m not looking for trouble.
Instead, I keep looking down at my phone in case a new text comes through from Alexis.
“What’s going on with you?” my mom asks when Anna takes the boys upstairs to put them to bed.
“What do you mean?” I ask a little guiltily as I look up from my phone. I know exactly what she means, but I play dumb anyway.
“I mean you keep checking your phone like you’re waiting for a ticking time bomb to go off, and you’re also…
” she trails off and shakes her head a little, and then she narrows her eyes at me as she studies me for a moment.
“Different. Something’s going on. You’re lighter.
Bouncier. I don’t know how else to explain it, but it’s what I’ve been waiting for. ”
I roll my eyes. “What you’ve been waiting for?” I repeat.
“Yes! You. A girl. Settling down. More grandchildren. You know I need a girl to pass my quilts down to.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” I mutter. Nobody in their right mind is going to want my mother’s quilts anyway.
She took up the hobby when she was pregnant with Anna, and she made every blanket in the house and insisted we used them.
It’s incredibly sweet and endearing…but they’re too thick and hot to use in Vegas, and the color scheme is, well… interesting.
The one she made me in high school was my high school colors: purple and gold. I used it because I had to, and truthfully I used the one she sent me in Colorado upon occasion on cold winter evenings. But usually I had the fire roaring and a woman’s body to keep me warm.
And I’m sorry, but it’s weird sleeping under a quilt your mother sewed for you when you just finished banging some stranger.
“Then why do you keep checking your phone?” she presses.
I clear my throat. I guess if there’s anybody I can be honest with, it’s my mother. “I met someone.”
She squeals. “Ooooh I knew it!”
“Chill, Mom. Don’t make me regret telling you.”
“Tell me everything. I promise to chill.” She holds up a hand solemnly, but her lips are still quirked up, and I immediately regret saying a word.
But that doesn’t mean I want to stop talking about her, and my mother always comes through with advice in the clutch.
“It’s brand new. She’s got her own thing going on, and she’s busy. I’ve only met her a couple times, but…I really like her.”
“Oh, I love that for you. Someone with her own thing going on. What’s her thing?”
“She’s a singer.” I’m not sure if I should tell her who it is just yet. It’s still so new, and Alexis Bodega is a fucking household name. My mom will flip her shit if I tell her who it is. I’ll keep that one close to the vest for now.
“Hm, yes, so she’d be on the road a lot just like you are…which is great because she’d understand that you have to travel, and I think that’s why it’s been so hard for you to find someone.”
Sure, Mom. It’s not because I haven’t wanted to find someone.
I don’t say that.
“How did you meet?” she asks.
Without thinking, I blurt out the truth. “She sang the national anthem on opening day and Cooper introduced us.”
My chest tightens as I realize my mistake, and her reaction immediately tells me she knows exactly who sang the national anthem on opening day.
Of course she does.
It was only a few days ago, Alexis is a huge star, and we’re the Vegas Heat expansion team. All eyes were on us on opening day, my mother’s included.
And speaking of eyes, hers widen larger than saucers. “Oh my God. Oh my God!” She flaps her hands up and down quickly like a bird trying to take flight, and I feel the breeze she’s creating from where I sit across from her at her kitchen table. “You’re seeing Alexis Bodega?”
“Shh!” I scold her even though the only person who will overhear is Anna and my mother will likely tell her anyway. “I told you, it’s new. We’ve only met twice, and then we had brunch on Sunday. That’s it.”
“Brunch on Sunday? That’s a date, Daniel James! You went on a date with Alexis Bodega?” she’s yelling, and I know Leo and Lucas are young, but I really don’t need them overhearing my mother and spouting off to their friends that their uncle knows her.
“Shh!” I scold again. “I know it’s exciting, but please, for the love of God, keep your voice down.”
“Why? Oh! Wait…isn’t she dating her manager?”
I slap a hand to my forehead then run my palm along my cheek to my jawline. My mother reads the gossip rags for sport. Of course she knows that detail.
And I have no idea how to address it.
I promised Alexis I wouldn’t tell a soul…but my mother knows how I feel about cheaters. She knows I would never knowingly date someone who is involved with someone else.
“I don’t know. I think it’s complicated, but what I do know is I really like her, and I’m seeing her again on Monday on my day off before I head back to Vegas and before she heads out on tour.”
She nods. “Well, just be careful, sweetheart. Okay? I can tell you really like her, and I don’t want you to get your feelings hurt in the end.”
“I appreciate that, Mom. I promise I’ll be careful. And I need you to promise no one finds out about this. Okay? No one.” I raise my brows as I wait for the promise, and she opens her mouth to protest because I know she wants to tell Anna. But I’m just not ready. I shake my head. “No one.”
“Fine,” she mutters.
“Once I know what this is, I promise you’ll be the first to know. For now, it’s a friendship. Nothing more.”
Except for that one kiss.
And all the text messages that followed it.
And the thousands of dreams and daydreams since it happened.
And that thirty seconds of bliss in the shower last night when I rubbed one out.
But come Monday…maybe it’ll turn into something more.