The Sweet Spot (All About the Diamond #1)

by Naomi Springthorp

I’m sure your woman will love either of these options, without any of the upgrades. I’m sure she’d be happy just to be with you.

  Option 1 $6,457

  2 Weeks in North Shore Resort Cottages on the beach (with full resort amenities including a gym, room service and a spa/salon)

  Roundtrip airfare for 2

  2 weeks of Rental Car – Jeep Wrangler

  Lei Greeting for 2 at the airport

  Add upgrade to First Class Airfare +$780

  Add Oceanside couples massage +$240

  Add Surfing Lessons $200/person

  Add Hawaiian Welcome Basket Small $60

  Add Hawaiian Welcome Basket Large $100

  Option 2 $7,340

  10 Nights in North Shore Resort Cottages on the beach

  4 Nights Lanai Sweetheart Rock Beach Spa Resort

  Roundtrip airfare for 2

  Roundtrip airfare hop to Lanai for 2

  10 days of Rental Car – Jeep Wrangler

  Lei Greeting for 2 at Honolulu Airport

  Lei Greeting for 2 at Lanai Airport

  Lanai Transportation Fee for 2

  Add Lanai excursion package +$200-$500

  Additional options available including Maui, Waikiki, and other locations. However, I’ve found going to more than two islands becomes too much travel and not enough vacation. Cost may vary based on exact travel dates. These rates are based on travel departing after October 31 and returning before Thanksgiving week, avoiding holiday crowds.

  If you have anything else in mind, I’m happy to research it for you.

  Please let me now if you have specific dates in mind, so I can provide exact costs and get you booked.

  Thank you for the opportunity to help you with your travel plans.

  Aloha,

  Sherry

  Beach Vacations

  I finish up my other work and immediately have tears rolling down my face. I need a distraction, I guess I should clean and do laundry. I wonder who does Rick’s laundry and cleaning? He probably has a maid service. I don’t even know where he lives. There are so many things we haven’t talked about. I hate cleaning. I’ll cook dinner instead, or maybe I should bake.

  My social media pings at me…

  Notabaseballplayer: Messaging from the airplane

  This is the opposite of a distraction. This is right smack dab in the middle of it.

  Notabaseballplayer: Are you okay? I don’t want you to be upset.

  Sherry: I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t want you to see me like that. Don’t worry. It’s not your fault.

  Sherry: Okay, well it’s kind of your fault.

  Notabaseballplayer: I didn’t want to leave you. I wish I was on my way to you right now.

  Sherry: Say more things like that.

  Notabaseballplayer: I want to wrap my arms around you and hold you against me while I kiss you for hours.

  Notabaseballplayer: I want to taste you on my lips.

  Notabaseballplayer: I want to smell your hair while I hold you in bed and nuzzle my nose into the silky strands.

  Notabaseballplayer: I want to bury myself deep inside you until I lose myself in you.

  Now this, this counts as a distraction.

  Sherry: You’re good. I feel better already.

  Notabaseballplayer: It’s easy when it’s the truth. I don’t have to be creative. It’s just what I want.

  Sherry: Have you noticed we don’t do very good at talking when we’re together?

  Notabaseballplayer: You make me lose track of my thoughts. When we’re in the same room, I can’t concentrate.

  Sherry: Can we talk now?

  Notabaseballplayer: Sure. What do we need to talk about?

  Sherry: I don’t know where you live, where you like to vacation, what your favorite food is, and we’ve never said the words birth control—I want to be with you. I love you. I guess that’s enough.

  Notabaseballplayer: I’ll take you to my place when I get back from the road trip, you should know where I live. I like your place better, it feels like home. I prefer steak. I like Italian food and Mexican food, and you can never go wrong with pizza. Cake with whipped cream recently became a favorite. I haven’t traveled anywhere other than with the team, so I don’t really know where I like to vacation. I just want to be with you. Anywhere with you will be perfect.

  Notabaseballplayer: I know I missed part, but I’m not sure what to say.

  Is Seno seriously one of those guys who doesn’t worry about birth control? Is it my problem? Or, is he trying to knock me up?

  Sherry: Okay. I’m glad you like my place.

  Notabaseballplayer: I’ve broken many of my rules with you and I don’t know why or how. I just seem to get caught up in it and I’m not able to stop. It feels right. You feel right. I don’t even consider stopping because I want you so bad and my dick takes over my brain.

  Sherry: Of course it does! You’re male!

  Notabaseballplayer: It’s not like that. I’ve never gone bare with anyone else. I know better. It’s you. I should be protecting you. You do something to me.

  Sherry: Lucky for you, I’m on the pill.

  Notabaseballplayer: I’m lucky because I met you.

  Damn it! How does he always know the right thing to say!

  Sherry: Would you like to come over when you get back in town? I want to cook dinner for you.

  (Note to self: Find the perfect side dish to go with steak.)

  Notabaseballplayer: I was already planning on it.

  Sherry: What do you think of the vacation options?

  Notabaseballplayer: They’re both great. Whatever my woman wants, she gets. Upgrade to first class. Add the Oceanside couples massage and anything else you want. I’m happy to stay at the one place, gives us more time to be alone.

  Sherry: When you say alone, do you mean naked?

  Notabaseballplayer: Yes

  Notabaseballplayer: Landing. Gotta go. I love you.

  And he’s gone. My tears are under control. I don’t understand how I miss him so terribly, when he’s new in my life. Maybe it’s because he’s not new. I’ve had him in my world for years, I just wasn’t in his world.

  Where was I? Needing a distraction. Really don’t want to clean. Oh yea, dinner or baking? Maybe both, I’ve got the whole evening. Either that or I should go to bed now. I make a sandwich and while it’s toasting in the oven I start my dough. I’m craving chocolate chip cookies. I get the dough brought together and wrap it up, putting it in the freezer to chill. I turn the oven up to get it preheated for the cookies and sit down to eat my sandwich. My sandwich is the same as the sandwiches I made the other night for Rick. I inhale some potato chips on that thought and retrieve my dough from the freezer. I line my sheet pans with parchment paper and proceed to dollop out three-dozen equal sized mounds of cookie dough. I put them in the oven to bake and set the timer for ten minutes. I scrape the bowl with my finger, I don’t want to waste any dough. The timer goes off and it smells yum. I check the cookies and they need a couple more minutes in the oven to be perfectly gooey. The longest two minutes ever. It’s like watching a pot and waiting for it to boil. I set my cooling rack out on the counter and take my cookies out of the oven. I give the cookies a few minutes to solidify and move them to the cooling rack, so they don’t continue cooking.

  I grab a few cookies and a mug of milk for dunking them. I settle in on my loveseat with a blanket to watch a movie. Of course, I get sucked into a sappy love story and I’m full on bawling when the phone rings. Crap!

  “Hello,” I answer trying to hide the tears.

  “Hi, baby,” that deep voice that drives me crazy comes through the phone.

  “Hey! Did you get checked in and everything already?” I ask without knowing why.

  “Yea, just another hotel. I wish you were here or even better, I was there.”

  “Me, too. What are you wearing?” I decide to have some fun.

  “Actually, we have travel attire guidelines and I’m still wearing my travel
clothes,” he says matter-of-factly.

  “You know that’s not what I meant,” I scold him.

  “Well, what are you wearing?” he asks.

  “Oh, nothing special. I’m lounging around in my black lace string bikini panties, a snug fitting low cut black strappy tank and my Seno baseball cap.” A low groan comes through from the other end of the phone. “So, do travel attire guidelines allow you to go commando?”

  “You’re a bad girl.”

  “Me? I’m a sweet girl.”

  “A sweet girl that’s killing me right now. I take it back. You’re my girl and I love you the way you are,” his tone changes from playful to sincere. I imagine the claiming look he has in his eyes though I can’t see them and it’s making me hot.

  “I miss you and I’m here when you need me.”

  “The guys are dragging me to the bar before we call it a night. Know I’m thinking about you.” He says and the rook is in the background rushing him.

  “Goodnight,” I make a kiss noise into the phone and hang up.

  I wrap up my cookies, a dozen in the freezer for Rick and go to bed on a high note. My bed smells like he’s here, like us together, like sex—it’s wonderful. I’m going to use his pillow and wrap myself in the blankets, like he’s here holding me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  My alarm goes off, telling me to get my ass out of bed and I slam the snooze button. I’m not ready to face today yet. Monday, the worst of all the days. I hide under the blanket and hope it goes away and forgets about me. Unfortunately, the problem with the snooze button is in its name—it’s a “snooze” button, not a “forget about me” button. The smell of the coffee brewing is sour today or maybe that’s just my mood. Time to be a big girl and start my day.

  I check my calendar for today’s schedule. It’s the normal Monday business routine, and the game is at 6:10 since the team is away in Colorado. I pour my coffee and sit down to get working. Starting with my email, I have a couple of interesting items and two new requests for beach vacations. I send my reply email with questionnaire to the vacation requests and move on to the others.

  From: RS6

  We have early practice this morning, so I didn’t call and wake you. Waking up in a hotel room alone is depressing compared to waking up listening to your sweet voice, saying sweet things to me in your sleep. You build my confidence and my ego. When I’m with you I feel like a king.

  6:10 game today, but I’m sure you already know that and I know you’ll be watching.

  I miss you, babe.

  Love,

  Rick

  From: MikeMic

  Here are your details for the karaoke finals at Batter Up! Same reporting time and day as all the other Wednesdays, sticking with the every other Wednesday schedule. There will be multiple rounds, as follows:

  Round 1: Each of the five finalists will sing two songs that were released in the last five years. One originally recorded as a male vocal and one originally recorded as a female vocal. Both songs should be upbeat. Top three will advance.

  Round 2: Contestants choice. Your chance to bring down the house! Top two will advance.

  Round 3: Wild card round. You will not know what song you’re singing until you get to the stage. You will be provided a choice of three songs to choose from. Time to show your true karaoke skills without time to prepare and memorize the song.

  Remember, no songs you have already done for the competition.

  Good luck singers!

  Mike with the Mic

  So, do I reply to Rick or wait until I talk with him later? I’ll wait until after the game, he’s busy with practice.

  I’m not sure about the rules for the karaoke finals. I’ve never done multiple rounds in one night before. I know immediately I want to do “Love Runs Out” by OneRepublic and “Ex’s & Oh’s” by Elle King for round one. I can’t worry about the round three wild card, nothing I can do about that. Contestants choice, unlimited options, no category to stick to—this is going to take some time.

  I choose a random playlist and start on my weekly business updates, photo changes on my website and social media, tweets and Facebook posts scheduled for the week. I try to talk myself into signing up for Instagram and promise I’ll do it later, just like I've done for the last two months and I still haven’t created an account. I check in on current travelers and everybody is enjoying their vacation. I review the new price drops for the week and add an extra blurb about the great deals available on theme park packages and Hawaiian Cruises to my social media.

  Satisfied with my updates, I head out to the grocery store to get food for the next few days and restock some basics. I need to replenish my baking supplies, or I may not make it through the week. I pick up some Mexican take-out on my way home, it’s almost time for the pregame show to start. I get everything up to my place and put away. Someone bangs on my door, scaring the crap out of me. I look through the peephole and there’s a guy with flowers. I open the door.

  “I have a delivery for Sherry.”

  “That’s me,” I say not able to hold back my giddiness.

  “These are for you, ma’am. Have a great day!” He hands me the arrangement and moves on to his next delivery. The flowers are beautiful and perfect. One dozen roses—half red and half baseball leather with stitching, all in a ceramic vase that’s shaped like a baseball bat. I find the card and read it:

  Sherry,

  I can’t be away from you for ten days. Will you spend this weekend with me in LA?

  Love,

  Rick

  Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I text Rick a picture of the delivery and a quick message:

  Text to Rick - The flowers are beautiful. I love the baseball roses. I can’t wait to spend the weekend in LA with you!

  I sit down with my take-out and settle in to watch the game. Right now, that means watch my man play baseball and drool over him in his uniform. The way his blue eyes pierce the metal grate of his catcher’s mask. The way he holds himself on the field. I double-check the lineup to make sure he’s playing and everything is as expected. The first inning went well, but no score for either team. The second inning, Seno got beaned with a bat on the helmet and hit in the instep with a ball. Still no score. The third inning, our pitcher is shaking Seno off—never a good thing when the pitcher doesn’t go along with the catcher’s calls. It’s a sign of pending disaster. Seno misses a pitch completely, it bounces off the backstop and he gets it off the carom, but not before the runner on third comes in to score. He’s pissed! The silent communication on field says the pitch wasn’t what was called. The catcher is still supposed to catch it. The rook and Kris run in to home plate to have a quick pow wow and try to calm Seno down. But, it’s all downhill from there. Cross stole bases and got to third base twice, but never scored. Seno got picked off at first and tagged out at home. The team couldn’t pull it together for anything and it all fell on Seno for starting the bad streak with the passed ball. Final score 3-0 Colorado.

  After that game, I wasn’t sure Rick would call tonight. I had already resigned myself to the fact that he wouldn’t, it’s okay, and not my fault. Don’t mess with baseball stuff, OCD, superstitions, streaks, whatever—stay out of the way. A couple hours after the game, I’m climbing into bed when my phone rings.

  “Hello,” I answer quietly.

  “Hi, did I wake you up?” he asks.

  “No, just climbed into bed. I have some reading to do. Thank you for the flowers. Sorry the game sucked,” I say not judging.

  “The game was bad and I don’t want to talk about it. I’m glad you like the flowers, but I’m even happier you’ll be spending the weekend with me. I miss being near you. I like that I can talk to you and not get distracted by sex, but I miss holding you, kissing you, waking up with you,” a soliloquy from his lips.

  “I miss you, too. I tried not to bug you today, I don’t want to be a distraction while you're on the road.”

  “Babe, you can call me, text me, whatever you want when
ever you want. You make me happy. Anything new today?”

  “Actually, yes! I got the details for the karaoke finals this morning and it’s going to be three rounds of elimination in one night. I’ve never done more than one round in a night. I need to have two songs for the first round and I know what those will be. The second round is contestant’s choice, so I’m working on that and have too many to choose from. The third round will only be the top two finalists and it’s going to be wild card, which means they’ll give the finalists a choice of three random songs after they’re on stage and they’ll have to show karaoke skills with no song practice. I’m open to suggestions for the contestant’s choice,” I say happily.