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way of looking at me that left me uncomfortable. Her tiny sleeveless red shirt, worn without a bra as
evidenced by erect nipples and swaying breasts, and equally tiny black shorts, didn t help my growing
dismay.
Josh shook their hands, and I watched heat flare in Donna s gaze. Neil and Rayanne were holding
hands, which must have meant Donna was the third leg in this scenario. In seconds I watched Donna do
some quick mental calculations of what it would take to latch on to Josh.
Josh reached for me, pulling me forward. At some point, I d managed to take a step or two away from
them. He opened his mouth, presumably to introduce me, but Donna beat him to it.
 Is this your mom? That s cool you brought her to a game.
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Keeping Pace
Neil s eyes widened. Based on his reaction, he must have already met Josh s mother, Susanna Smith.
Josh, at least, didn t betray his emotions, whatever they might have been, with his face.  This is my friend,
my date, Regina.
Donna had the decency to blush.  Oh God, I m sorry. I nice meeting you.
I shook everyone s hands, but the jovial atmosphere degraded into one of awkward silence. At last,
Josh said,  Neil, I m still at the same email addy. Keep in touch, man. We should do a few of these games
together.
 Right. You bet.
Before we turned, I saw Rayanne frown at Donna, who gave a helpless shrug in reply. I almost felt
sorry for her.
Josh pulled me in close to him when we walked away, his hand on my hip.  You okay? he
murmured. His lips brushed across my hairline in a kiss meant to soothe my bruised ego.
 It s bound to happen. Whatever.
In truth, I was too embarrassed to dwell on what was the inevitable. A situation like the one we d just
left had been what I d tried to avoid all this time. Josh may not have minded being the brunt of talking or
staring, but he was so laid-back, he probably would never notice. I had a more fragile disposition and
wasn t ashamed to admit it.
Before we got to the seats, Josh bought two cups of cold beer. I sipped on one gratefully, needing
something to cool down my still flushed face. Not my choice of beverages in fact, I detested the stuff
but when in Rome, as they say.
The crowd around us made talking difficult, so I tried to follow the game as the hours went by. Josh
was enthralled by the action, and a lot of the time I just studied him. His youth caught up with him while he
cheered, his eyes bright with excitement. He high-fived strangers around us when the Hawks rounded the
bases or when the other team struck out. We bought beer and popcorn, using the brew to cool us down on
the warm day and the popcorn to soak it up.
By the time Josh guzzled down his third one, I started to map out the route home in my head. I d
never seen him uninhibited and didn t want to waste this opportunity. Let him drink it up, because we were
celebrating the end of his dissertation and our first date. I didn t have a problem driving us home.
By the end of a few innings, he was loud and drunk and surprisingly adorable.
People were coming and going, several times forcing me to squirm out of the way to let them pass.
Before he d finished his fourth beer, Josh mumbled  restroom and squeezed his way past me as well. I
still had my first beer in hand, not halfway done, and let him pass.
A few minutes later, someone else offered their excuses to get past me, and I didn t give it a second
thought to make room. When the person sat in Josh s seat, however, I did turn to face him.
 Excuse me, I m sorry, but that seat s taken, I said.
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Dee Carney
A middle-aged guy with salt-and-pepper hair had taken up residence. His eyebrows and moustache
were still dark brown, offering a contradiction to the hair above. Olive complexioned with long lashes and a
straight nose, he was an attractive man by all counts.  I saw. I just wanted to come over and introduce
myself. He held out a hand.  I m Rob.
Some instinct had me reaching for his hand before I d thought not to take it.  Regina.
 Enjoying the game? His voice held the beginnings of a slur, sounding just this side of sober.
I tried not to smile but felt my mouth curve upward anyway. Show me a woman who says she doesn t
enjoy a man flirting with her, and I ll show you a liar.  They re not my thing, I replied with a shrug.
 What would be your thing?
 I don t listen, I m flattered. Really I am, but I m here with someone.
Rob looked puzzled.  That kid?
Great. Twice in a single day.
I started to protest but then stopped myself. What would be the point? Instead, I lifted my shoulder in
a simple shrug. Before I had a chance to politely request he leave, I felt a presence next to me.
 Hey brother, I think that s my seat. Josh, as always, had impeccable timing. Anyone who looked at
him would be able to tell he d been drinking. Despite the crisp enunciation, his eyelids drooped, and he just
had the aura around him. The same kind of aura that put cops on alert when pulling a driver over or nurses
disbelieving when they asked exactly how the dildo had become stuck up there.
Smirking, Rob looked at me.  You ve gotta be kidding me.
 Just go. Please.
 All right. He managed to turn that single word into a sentence full of disdain.  Your loss.
Josh waited until they were face-to-face before stepping up to Rob.  What s that supposed to mean?
Rob looked skyward, and I swore the world around us ground to a halt. I felt every pair of eyes in that
stadium turn toward us.  If the lady likes kids, who am I to stop her?
A muscle in Josh s jaw ticked.  You ll be telling your buddies this kid was a lot bigger and meaner
when they come to visit you in the hospital bed if you don t get out of my way.
My eyes went wide.  Josh! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]