Felix (The Ninth Inning #1) (12 page)

“Does something like that help?”

His tone is sincere and I slowly face him again. Felix is looking at me and waiting for my answer, but it’s not a harsh look. He isn’t judging me; he’s sincere and concerned.

“At first, when LA took me, I thought I was going to be lying on a couch, pouring my guts out to some idiot who didn’t care, but I ended up becoming close to my therapist.” I cut a small piece of my chicken. “She’s very kind and truly cares. So, yes, it does help. I slacked off a bit, but I need to get back to it, especially since I’m having trouble sleeping again.” I keep my voice soft. I’m not sure if I’m embarrassed or if I don’t want anyone to hear.

“I’m glad it helps you then. If there’s something I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Don’t let this go straight to your head or anything, but the running helps. It tires me out and by the time the night comes, I seem to sleep better.”

He’s trying to hold back a smile. Yeah, his ego is growing. “I’m glad it helps. I run in the afternoon, too, you know. Maybe you’ll sleep even better if you switch from the morning to the afternoon? I wouldn’t ask you to do both.”

“You run twice a day? Oh my God, do you enjoy torturing yourself? I think I have leg cramps
thinking
about running twice in one day.” I rub the top of my leg thinking of the pain from all that running.

“Want a quick massage?” Felix grins at me.

“Maybe when we finish eating.” I try not to sound thrilled about it, but the thought of him touching me sends me into a small frenzy. “Tell me about growing up in Cali. Did you surf every day and see celebrities all the time?” I need to get my thoughts away from his hands on me or me touching him.

“I’m going to ruin your idea of men from California. I’ve never surfed a day in my life and we didn’t live near the celebrity hotspots. Sorry to disappoint.”

“So, what did you do? Just play baseball twenty-four seven?”

For the first time, I see him hesitate and he doesn’t answer me right away. “Not exactly. Maybe we should start with your life, growing up here first. What are some of your favorite childhood memories?”

“Oh, well, some of my favorites were when my sisters and I would hang out. They’re much older than I am and it was cool hanging with teenagers when I wasn’t one. They would let me wear their makeup and teach me about fashion, things like that.”

“I know what you mean. About the hanging out with the older kids, I mean. I’m the youngest in the family and my brothers are a few years older than I am. Plus, they brought all the cute older girls around, too.”

“So, it’s your brothers’ fault you suck at flirting?” I laugh. “Were you that creepy little brother always trying to hit on the girls?”

“No,” he softly chuckles as he finishes the food on his plate. “I was the adorable little brother who managed to hang out with the girls even though I sucked at flirting. I was cute. No one could resist.”

“Does that mean you lost your virginity to some older girl?” I push away my food, well, what’s left of it.

“Abigail,” he gasps in a fake horror fashion. “What kind of question is that for a first date?!”

“Please,” I roll my eyes. Has he forgotten who he’s on a date with? “I think we’ve passed that, don’t you? And now I really want to know since you're dodging it, Felix.”

“You really, really want to know? Is it that interesting?”

“Still dodging. This has got to be a great story.”

The waiter comes back and asks if we want dessert. We both decline and he hands Felix the bill. He quickly pulls out his credit card and pays for it.

“I draw the line at telling you the story,” he continues after the waiter leaves. “The short answer is yes. Happy? Can we go back to your childhood now?”

“I’m dying to know it now, but if you don’t want to tell, then fine. Why don’t you tell me a childhood story? Who taught you to pitch? Was it your dad?”

“Dad got me into baseball. My brothers played, too. I was actually a first baseman for a long time and when I started playing again in high school, the coach trained me to be a pitcher instead.”

“Playing again? Did you stop playing?”

Before Felix can answer me, the waiter returns his card. Felix stands and I follow suit. He guides me by putting his hand on the small off my back again. I notice a few people are looking at us. Since the Angels have been on the news, more people are taking second glances at the players.

“Um, yeah,” he answers my question as we wait for his car. “Remember, I told you before that I didn’t always play? That’s what I meant. I had a little break.”

“That’s right, I do remember. Did you stop playing because you were hurt?”

Felix opens his mouth, but closes it as the BMW pulls up and he opens my door. He doesn’t say anything as we head back towards the apartment complex.

“No,” he finally speaks. “Once my brothers graduated, they took their friends with them. I hung out with all the older kids, so I had to find new ones. I didn’t make the best choices and did some things I’m not proud of. I got pissed at the coach, said some things, and ended up quitting. I started getting into more trouble and eventually, the coach reached out to me, got me playing again, and set me straight. I was lucky to have him, especially since he ended up being the person to turn me around, and it was clear that baseball was my saving grace. I haven’t stopped since.”

“Wow.” I didn’t expect him to say all of that. “I would have never thought that about you. I always figured you lived and breathed baseball since the first time you slipped on a glove.”

“Nope. But that’s why I’m like I am now.” He parks the BMW in his assigned spot and we walk hand-in-hand to my apartment.

I hold my book tightly in my other hand. I unlock my door and I feel Felix’s hand on back again. I turn and look at him for a moment. My body is screaming to invite him in, but my heart is telling me to be careful. “Would you like a beer?”

He smiles, nods, and follows me into the apartment. He takes a seat on the couch and I grab a couple beers.

“I had a good night,” I tell him, handing him the bottle and sitting next to him.

“I did, too. Thank you.” He turns, mirroring my pose, and stares at me. His brown eyes take in my face, and then he removes the bottle and sits it on the table. He pulls me toward him and stops right before our lips touch.

I gasp. He closes the gap and slips his tongue into my mouth. We battle for control of the feverish kiss. He grips my thighs and drags me even closer. I straddle him and press my core against his hardness. I dig my hands into his hair and he glides his hands under my dress.

He cups my ass and he gently bites my bottom lip. I moan and he moves his hands up and begins to toy with the thin string of my thong before getting brave and bringing it down.

“Felix, we need to stop this.” I pant, pulling away from him and gripping his wrist, stopping him from going any further. “We need to talk, please.”

“Okay, about what?” He’s breathing hard as well and moves his hand to my thighs again.

“What is happening here? Seriously, do you just want me for sex?” I have to know before I do anything with him.

“No, I don’t. I do like you, Abigail.” He gently kisses me.

“Are you looking for me to be your girlfriend, then?”

Felix pulls back and looks at me. “I was thinking we could keep dating and see what happens. Unless you have a different idea?”

“No, no, no. That’s fine.” I pull my hands from his wrist and lay them on his hard pecs. “I want that, too, but I don’t want to have sex yet. Please.”

“No sex?” He processes the words. “Okay, no sex then.”

“I’m not the type of girl to fall into bed with every guy who shows her attention. I may not be a virgin, but I do have standards, Felix.” I move from his lap and sit on the coffee table across from him.

“And I respect that. Standards are good to have.” He takes my hand and kisses the inside of my wrist. “I should go.”

“I did have a great night,” I rush to tell him.

We stand, and he takes me in his arms. “I did too.” He kisses me one more time and let’s himself out of the apartment.

“SO, HOW’S IT going being that girl’s chauffeur? Are you still driving her everywhere?” Kevin asks.

“Yeah, I am. She goes running with me sometimes and we went on a date last night.”

“And?”

“And it was good. We talked a lot and went to a reading and dinner. She invited me in, we kissed, and she sent me home.”

“No sex?”

“Guys, she has standards. No sex on the first date and I’m pretty sure it’s no sex until we turn serious.”

“Do you want to be serious?” Lewis asks.

“Am I supposed to know the answer to that question? I like her, so maybe?”

“Hey, I’ve heard of love at first sight and all that crap. You seem sappy enough to be serious with a girl after a date. I mean, seriously, you went to a book reading. How girly can you be?” Lewis says.

“I wanted to go to that, too. It’s not like I suffered through it for her. I don’t know for sure about the whole serious thing. My other relationships pretty much just happened and then either she was crazy or clingy or they broke up with me because I kept forgetting about dates. I already forgot about what would have been our first date. If we enter into a relationship, I definitely can’t do that to her again and I don’t know how reliable I would be.”

“Wait, is this that same chick that you call your lucky charm? I thought she was dating someone else?” Kevin asks.

“Same chick. And see, that’s an issue, too. If we break up, what are the odds that she’s still going to come to the games? I realize that’s probably not what I should be thinking about, but I am. And she is dating someone else. It’s not serious though.”

“Well, how do you know that this guy she’s seeing doesn’t want her to go to the games? Maybe you could just...I don’t know...maybe, say that it’s serious with her and just keep her around until the season ends?” Lewis suggests.

Kevin is quick to jump in. “Don’t give him any ideas. He’s gone this long without a lucky charm; he’ll be fine if he loses this one. He needs to be more worried about putting something other than baseball first. If you want her all to yourself, she’s going to have to be the priority as much as possible or she’s going to dump your ass like every girl before her.”

“I’m not going to string her along, but I don’t know what I want yet. It was only one date...so far.”

“Okay, so maybe that wasn’t my best advice ever,” Lewis concedes. “But what if she hung out with us when we come? Mom will definitely tell you what to do after she meets her.”

“She is. She’s going to show us all around Memphis since I haven’t explored any. You want me to ask Mom if I should make her my girlfriend?” He can’t be serious.

“No, dumbass. Just have her hang out with us and if she’s nice and if you’re all silly with her, then we’ll know if it should be serious or not. We know you better than anyone.”

I laugh. “All right, fine. We just have to hope things don’t get too much better with that other guy.”

We talk for a while longer before I hang up. I like Abigail, I really do, but my track record sucks and I would hate to mess things up with her. We’ll just see what happens.

IT’S TIMES LIKE this when I doubt the validity of a lucky charm. Doubting is probably not helping matters either. With the way things are looking right now, there’s a real chance, even with Abigail in the stands, we could lose another home game. I take a deep breath to focus. I need one more strike.

I throw the ball and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t hit it out of the park. He could have been my third out, which would have been fantastic considering there’s a player on second and third. They all run in and then the next batter comes to the plate. I take a moment to fidget with my hat, roll my shoulders, and glance into the crowd, quickly finding Abigail.

All her good luck powers need to align and come my way. Abigail smiles and then blows me a kiss. I grin and wink at her before changing my focus on the batter. Blake gives me a signal, waits, and then gives another before I pitch.

“Strike!”

Okay, one down, two to go. I fidget with my hat again, but don’t bother taking too much time. Blake gives the signal and I throw the ball again.