Page 25 of Going for Two

Chapter 12

Lottie

The first week in October was like a religion when it comes to baseball. Fall was not only in full swing, but for sports fans, it was the start of playoffs. Lucky for Chicago, the Cougars managed to come away with the divisional win and had positioned themselves well in the postseason.

Maggie and Olivia had stayed true to their word and gotten me tickets to the Cougars’ first postseason game. However, they did more than just snag me tickets. Olivia, being the marketing mastermind that she was, convinced her boss to give an entire box to anyone from the Bobcats that wanted to come and support the Cougars the Monday night after the team won their fourth game of the season. The coach had given everyone the day off after the win and nearly everyone had been excited to spend their time cheering on their fellow Chicago sports team.

But of course, Olivia had to take a potentially fun day for me and make it a point of her enjoyment when she insisted I bring a date to the game. So instead of enjoying a beer and a hot dog while cheering on people that I considered my friends, I was listening to Cole talk about how he’d been a lifelong Cougars fan after his grandfather took him to his first game as a kid. Surprisingly, it was the first date I’d been on that I was enjoying, even with Derek, Hawthorn, and Nolan eyeing me the entire time from the other side of the box.

“Is that your sister?” Cole asked me as he spotted Olivia taking pictures from the visitor’s dugout.

“That’s her!” I waved like a maniac until Olivia noticed me and waved back.

“You two seem like you really love each other,” he noted. “I’ve always wanted a sibling, being an only child and all.”

“She can be a pain in my ass sometimes, but I love her.”

The roar of the crowd stopped me from saying anything else as Tommy Mikals sent a ball flying over the outfield fence, giving the Cougars the lead. Popcorn went flying as the guys around me cheered louder than the fans in front of us. Their enthusiasm was enough for the Cougars’ media team to put our box on the Jumbotron, earning an even bigger cheer from the crowd when they realized the Bobcats were here.

Cole tried to speak over the noise. “This might be the most epic first date ever.”

I admired Cole’s hazel eyes and dark brown hair that was cut close to his head. He was one of the more attractive men I’d gone on a date with. But there still weren’t any butterflies in my stomach when I looked at him.

“You think so?” I gave him what I hoped was a flirtatious smile. Cole returned a smile of his own that gave me enough confidence to believe that he was interested in me too. Maybe he’d be the first date so far on this escapade that would make it to a second one.

“How often did you say you get tickets to these games?” Cole’s eyes were locked on Jamil Edman as he stepped into the box. Jamil was having the best season he’d ever had in his career. He’d broken multiple MLB records so far and was on target to break a few more. He had skyrocketed into stardom over the last few months and had become a fan favorite player.

“I’m not sure. Olivia didn’t mention. I had a deal with her for these tickets,” I told him.

“Well, maybe you can make another deal with your sister for more.” Cole leaned toward me with a twinkle in his eye. “Then maybe we can do this again for a second date.”

My hopes blossomed when I realized that I hadn’t been imagining it when I thought Cole was interested in me. I ignored the fact that he hadn’t asked me many questions about myself; maybe he was too distracted by the game or the fact that it seemed like Nolan always had one eye on the two of us as if he were waiting to intervene again.

At least this time he and his friends didn’t try to do any reconnaissance.

After the game, Cole and I walked toward his car. The anticipation was building quickly inside of me the closer we got. The back of Cole’s hand brushed mine and for the first time that day I felt a tingle race up my arm at his touch.

Would he kiss me?

Do I want him to?

“I had a great time today,” Cole told me once we stopped in front of a modest blue sedan that looked like it had been driven for many miles.

“Me too.” Which wasn’t exactly a lie. I did have fun watching the Cougars win the first game of their three-game series to move on to the next round of the playoffs.

Cole stepped forward and I knew instantly that he was going to kiss me. I held my breath and watched as he got closer and closer until I let my eyes flutter shut. His lips pressed awkwardly against mine at first but after we relaxed, I realized he was quite a good kisser.

When the two of us pulled away, I watched his eyes lock on to something over my shoulder.

“Hi, man. I was hoping I could meet you before the day was over.” I turned around to see Nolan coolly assessing Cole. “The season has been going great this year.”

“Thanks,” Nolan replied curtly as he stared directly at Cole.

When Cole realized that Nolan wasn’t going to elaborate any further, he gave me an awkward wave before jumping in his car. I watched him roll the window down with a manual lever once he was inside.

“I’ll message you,” he called after me as he started to drive away.

“And you should ignore it,” I heard Nolan tell me from behind.