“We have the house to ourselves?” my dad piped up, his eyebrows wagging, and there were some things I just wished I could unsee.
“Well, I invited Ralph to stay with us.”
“And I told her no,” Ralph interjected quickly, clearly not wanting to overstep any bounds.
“Of course you’re staying with us! I have so much cool shit to show you,” my dad countered, suddenly excited to catch up with an old friend.
Danika and I both cast each other a weird look.
“Only if you’re sure it’s not an inconvenience,” Ralph pushed, and my dad insisted again until he agreed.
“Go shower.” Danika smacked my ass, and I could have died right then and there. Her dad was definitely going to murder me.
I heard my mom sniff the air. “You too. Why didn’t either of you shower?” she asked, and I had no idea what my dad said to her because I was already too far away.
The sound of my dad jogging to catch up had me pause and wait.
“Oh, man, Danika’s old man is here. You’ll like him. He’s a great guy from what I remember. Funny. Ambitious. Motivated and smart as hell.”
“And probably going to kill me as soon as any of you turn your backs,” I mentioned matter-of-factly.
“You really like this girl.” It was a statement, but he sounded almost wistful as he said it. “I found the love of my life my junior year too.”
I wanted to argue, just to do it, but there was no point. We both knew I’d be lying.
We met up with our “girls” and Ralph at the left-field fence, like usual. I felt a million times better after showering, but I was still nervous. I wanted Danika’s dad to like me. Actually, I wanted him to like me a hell of a lot more than he had ever liked Jared, if I was being honest.
“We thought we could go to Newport, and I’d pick up some food on the way. We know how hungry you both are after a game,” my mom suggested, and my stomach growled in response. “And I thought it would be more comfortable, being home instead of at some restaurant.”
“I like food,” I said as Danika reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. My eyes instantly went to her father’s as he watched our interaction, his eyes zeroing in on our locked hands. I almost pulled mine away, but Danika would wonder what the hell was wrong with me.
“Are you tired, Dad?” she asked, her concern for him sweet. “I just meant because of the time difference.”
“I’m a bit wiped, yeah. But I think Jack and I are hanging out tonight, so I’ll rally,” he said, and Danika laughed.
“You’ll rally?” she teased, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her out of my grip. “Did you rent a car?”
“No. I can’t imagine trying to drive out here,” Ralph said, and I remembered that most New Yorkers didn’t drive at all if they could avoid it. That was what happened when you had a functioning and well-planned-out public transportation system, unlike whatever we called ours in Southern California.
“We can give you a ride,” I offered, wanting to be polite but secretly hoping he’d want to ride with my parents instead.
“No way. Ralph’s coming with me,” my dad interjected. I shot him a grateful look, and he gave me a quick head nod. “We’ll see you all at home.”
I looked at Danika and reached for her hand again. “Guess that settles that,” I said, and she smiled.
“I can’t believe my dad’s here.”
We reached the Beast, and I pulled open her door for her and helped her inside.
Hopping into the driver’s seat, I clicked my seat belt and started the engine before leaning over and taking my girl’s mouth with mine. It had been way too long since I’d kissed her. Her fingers dug into the back of my neck, holding me tight as our tongues touched, and I got way too turned on. This girl had changed my whole world.
Pulling away slowly, I asked, “Did you know your dad was coming out?”
“No. Not at all. He just showed up at your game!” She sounded so excited and happy. “I think after our conversation about the company and what I wanted to do with it, he realized how serious we were,” she said before snapping her lips closed.
“Go on,” I urged as I put my truck in drive. “We are serious, Danika. I’ve always told you that. This was never a fling or a one-night stand. I warned you from the beginning.”
She grinned again, her cheeks flushing with her emotions. “I think he just wanted to meet you …” She paused and added, “Or he wanted to hang out with your dad.”
I laughed. Personally, I thought he wanted to hang out with my dad and potentially murder me for taking away his only baby girl. We drove on the freeway with the radio playing in the background, and before I knew it, I was exiting and almost home.
Stopping at a red light, I leaned toward Danika and pressed my forehead against hers. “I love you,” I said, certain that I’d never get tired of telling her that or hearing it in return.
Her face broke out into a huge smile as she closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them. “I love you too.”
“What was that?”
“The eyes thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Just making sure this wasn’t a dream and that you were real,” she said, and I laughed.
“I feel the same way about you, baby,” I said as the light turned green.
“You know, Chance, just for the record, I don’t care about baseball,” she said, and I almost slammed on the brakes as I shot her a questionable look. “I just meant that baseball isn’t why I like you. I like who you are as a person and the kind of guy you are. The way you treat me and make me feel. The baseball stuff is just a bonus but only because it makes you so happy and you’re so passionate about it. But if you never played another game again, I’d still want you just the same.”
I glanced over my shoulder to check for oncoming traffic before pulling my truck to the side of the road and turning on the hazard lights. Placing the car in park, I initiated the emergency brake and sat there, staring straight ahead. I’d never expected to hear something like that from Danika. Mostly because I hadn’t thought I needed it. I’d never once thought that she liked me for the wrong reasons, but having her say it out loud had me overcome with emotion.
Swallowing hard, I blew out a few quick breaths and focused on maintaining my cool instead of completely breaking down.
“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” she asked, suddenly concerned, her hand on my shoulder. “I meant all that in a good way.” She sounded so nervous, as if she’d messed us up somehow when it was the furthest thing from the truth.
I couldn’t look at her. Not yet. I was going to fucking lose it if I did, and I really did not want to cry in front of my girl. Hell, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cried at all, but I wasn’t about to do it now.
“Chance? Look at me,” she pleaded, and I put a finger in the air, asking her to give me a minute.
I’d had no idea that someone like her existed or that I would ever find her. A female who honestly didn’t care if I played baseball or not. She loved me for who I was, not what I could be or what I could offer her.