Page 71 of Bad Ball Hitter
“We need to be honest with each other, Drake.” My voice comes out stronger than expected. “If there’s any chance for something between us?—”
“I know,” he interrupts, his voice low. “And I should’ve told you about the contract situation from the start. I just…” He sighs heavily, raking his fingers through his disheveled hair. “It’s not a sure thing. There’s a chance I might stay.”
“Do you want to?” The question slips out before I can stop myself. I shouldn’t put him on the spot like this, but I need to know.
He looks at me then, those deep brown eyes searching mine. “What if I don’t know?”
The moment hangs between us, heavy with the weight of our past mistakes and potential futures. Hope wars with doubt.
His rough fingers, shaped by years of gripping a baseball, cup my face gently, and I lean into his touch without thinking. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been apart; my body remembers the feel of him and yearns for more.
“You think I have all the answers, Lila, but I don’t,” he admits. “I want this … us … but I can’t ignore the opportunity that might be waiting for me in LA.”
I swallow hard, trying to process his words. “So what? We just see where things go and hope for the best?”
“I guess,” he shrugs. His gaze drops from mine, and he adds quietly, “All I know is that I don’t want to lose you again.”
A pang of something—desire or fear, I can’t tell—surges in my chest.
“And Jake?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
He looks at the hallway leading to Jake’s room and then back at me. “And Jake,” he repeats, his voice full of conviction. “I want him in my life, too.”
Emotion surges within me, and I can’t stop a single tear from escaping down my cheek. He wipes it away with his thumb, looking deeply into my eyes. His other hand falls to my thigh as heat surges to my core.
“Lila,” he begins softly, “What happened between us in the past … it was difficult, and it broke me when we ended things. But sitting here now … I can’t imagine being anywhere but with you and Jake.”
His hand slides up my thigh, falling just short of the hemline of my shorts. Why didn’t I wear a skirt?
What? No! I’m not here to have sex. I’m here to understand his contract talks.
“Drake?”
“Hmm?” His gaze dips to my lips, and I swear the movement alone makes my heart jump. Why does he affect me so?
“We’re supposed to be talking.”
“Talking’s overrated.” He leans toward me and nuzzles his mouth into the crook of my neck, the tips of his fingers tracing the seam of my shorts. His touch burns through the thin fabric and sends shivers rippling through me as butterflies take flight in my stomach. Then he brushes against my clit, and my body turns to liquid heat; I’m so turned on.
“Do you remember the first time I touched you?” he asks.
A soft chuckle escapes. “We were so awkward and timid.”
“You were timid.”
“You were, too.” I playfully smack his arm.
He laughs. “No, I was awkward as fuck, not knowing what to do and coming in my pants once your bra was off.”
“I forgot about that.” I snort and look at him, a soft smile playing on my lips. “Why’d you bring that up?”
“Because you’ve always had my heart. It doesn’t matter where I end up; it started with you and will end with you. That’s a promise I’ll keep until the day I die.” He brushes his thumb once again over my clit, and I lean even closer as shivers skate up my spine. I’m so freaking wet for him. “I love seeing you squirm for me. Are you wet?”
“So wet,” I say through a moan as he applies a little more pressure.
A delicious groan escapes his mouth, which he smothers by capturing my lips with his lips. The kiss is hungry with an unspoken need.
The taste of him intoxicating.