Roman (Season Three: The Ninth Inning #7)

by Lindsay Paige

  “Whatever.” She sighs but drinks her beer.

  I have to laugh at her because I know she’s not really being mean. There’s no way Zoey can be mean. I sip on my beer as Sofia and Abigail make their way to us. We all say our hellos and how are yous before settling into our seats.

  “Carissa,” Abigail leans forward in her seat to look at me. “I meant to talk to you when I saw you at the hospital. I heard you got a job. Does that mean you’re staying?”

  “Yes. I’m going to be apartment hunting soon.”

  “What? Why?” Zoey jumps into our conversation.

  “I can’t stay at your house forever. I’m already feel like a third wheel.”

  “What?” Zoey exclaims. “Who told you that?”

  I shake my head. “We’ll talk about this later. Keep drinking.” I push the cup up to her mouth, mainly she won’t ask any more questions right now. I turn back to Abigail. “Are you working yet? Last time we spoke you were thinking about going for your Ph.D.”

  “I thought about it, but I’m enjoying the teacher’s job at the community college. Who would have thought I’d be a teacher.” She shakes her head. I remember her telling me the job was supposed to be temporary, but I guess things change.

  The crowd begins to cheer as the Angels hit the field for warm-ups. My eyes land on number seven and I totally understand why women love baseball pants. They fit in all the right places. The girls and I don’t say much besides small talk as the guys toss the balls around the field. I’m trying not to stare at Roman, but it’s so hard not to considering he and I were having sex less than twenty-four hours ago.

  “You seem to be watching very intently.” Zoey leans close to my ear.

  “I’m not. I’m just…observing.”

  “Which one are you observing? Because you look as if you’re about to drool into your beer.”

  I decide not to answer her and go back to talking to Abigail, asking if she’s read any good books lately. I know she is a huge book nerd. She began to go into detail about the latest murder-mystery she finished until the guys begin to descend through the tunnel.

  “Hang on.” Abigail stops talking as Felix calls out to her.

  I’ve watched their same banter before. It’s cute and they do it every home game. No matter what. And, as always, Blake Foster stands behind Felix impatiently waiting for him to hurry. Abigail catches the ball and sits back down.

  “What do you do with all those balls?”

  “I have to keep them so the Baseball-God doesn’t take away my Lucky Charm mojo.” She smarts off and we all laugh. “I tried to give one away to a fan last season; you would have thought I was handing away the Holy Grail by Felix’s reaction.”

  I giggle harder as she rolls her eyes. “Baseball players are very superstitious.”

  “Trust me, I know. If I ever outgrow this underwear set, the Angels will never make it to the playoffs.” Abigail’s comment sets us all off into laughter again, and we keep up until the team comes back out and the anthem is sung.

  I’ve always liked baseball. Not just because of all the games I had to go to watching Hector play through the years, but in general. Being in Florida, I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of games.

  I pay attention to each inning and more so when Roman is up to the plate. I do enjoy staring at his ass more than I should. I catch Sofia’s eye every time Roman strolls up to the plate. I remember how Roman got my number to begin with, but I don’t think Sofia will say anything. Obviously, she hasn’t since no one knows.

  Roman does well at the plate, but no home runs. However, he makes a spectacular catch in bottom of the seventh inning, keeping the Angels in the lead. When the game finally ends, we all stand and clap as the Angels win by two runs.

  I continue my stare down as the guys jog to the tunnel, and Roman catches my eyes. Or I caught his? Whichever, I still smirk, and he gives a quick wink; I’m hoping no one saw, or thought he just had dirt in his eyes.

  I’m wrong when I turn to see if Zoey’s ready to go and she’s staring at me wide-eyed. Shit. “Are you okay?” I play off the real threat in her eyes.

  “Oh, I’m fine. How are you doing?” She crosses her arms and I can’t look at her.

  “I think Hector will be waiting for us.” I know she wants more information, but she’ll have to kill me first.

  “Is he the only one?” She stands firmly in place, waiting for me to answer.

  I shrug and turn to walk with the crowd out of the arena. So much for keeping Roman and me a secret.

  ***

  EVERYONE SEEMS TO be heading to our favorite bar, Big Blue, but I hesitate. I want to talk to Carissa, and I’m not sure I can do that with everyone around. We don’t want to blow our cover too soon though either. Without much choice, I head to Big Blue. Carissa, Zoey, and Hector arrive shortly after. Most of us are here. Jordan isn’t, of course. All of his free time is spent with Heidi and their baby girl, not that we can blame him.

  I frown when Carissa sits as far away from me as possible. Did I do something to mess up already? I mean, I don’t expect her to sit in my lap, but to be so far away? But then I see Zoey eyeing me. Does she know? Is that why Carissa is all but ignoring me?

  I pick up my phone, hold it under the table, and discreetly send Carissa a text. Damn, she looks good. I wonder if I could talk her into coming home with me. It takes a minute before Carissa notices her messages. During that, Spencer turns to me.

  “Who was the chick you had over last night? Why’d you sneak her out before I woke up?”

  I roll my eyes. “What makes you think I snuck her out? Maybe she had to leave, and she simply left. Maybe you shouldn’t have slept in if you wanted to meet her.” Not that he would, but he doesn’t know that.

  “You’re seeing someone?” Felix asks me.

  My phone buzzes with Carissa’s reply.

  Me: Zoey know?

  Carissa: She’s suspicious because she saw the wink. Stop talking about me.

  I shrug in response to Felix. “I saw someone yesterday, yeah.”

  “Yeah, he kept her hidden in his room too. When I got there, he answers his bedroom door naked, and next thing I know, the chick is behind him, trying to give him a hand job,” Spencer tells everyone.

  “Shut the hell up!” I smack him upside the back of his head. Colby, Ariella, Blake, and Sofia are all staring at me with wide eyes. They don’t need to know that about Hector’s little sister! Hector doesn’t need to hear this shit because when he does find out, he ain’t going to be happy with this memory.

  “What kind of freaky chick are you dating, Roman?” Hector asks with a laugh.

  “None of your fucking business,” I spout off before I can think twice. Then, I turn to Spencer. “You need to learn to keep your damn mouth shut. Whatever happens in my room with my girl isn’t anybody’s business.” God, he’s pissed me off. I grab my beer and stalk off to the bar. I don’t usually fly off the handle like this, but whether he knows he’s talking about Carissa or not, he doesn’t need to be talking about her!

  I debate whether I should return to the table or just pay my tab and go home. No doubt, Carissa isn’t happy about my outburst, and too many people at the table already know exactly who the mystery girl is. Paying my tab it is. I wave the waitress over and let her know I want to pay. While she rings up my measly one beer, I text Carissa.

  Me: Sorry. I’m just going to head out.

  I hand over my card once the waitress brings me the bill. The last person I expect to walk over to me is Hector.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  “Yep.”

  “You freaked out on us.”

  No shit. “Would you want someone talking like that if it was Zoey? Or Carissa?”

  Hector’s mouth flattens into a firm line.

  “That’s what I thought. I’m heading home to get my head screwed on right.”

  “All right.” The waitress hands my card back and a receipt that I ball up and shove in my pocket. “It’s
weird.”

  “What is?” I ask.

  “Seeing you get messed up over a girl.”

  Something about the way he says it rubs me the wrong way. Instead of responding to that, I mumble, “Whatever,” and walk away. Once I get home, I check my phone.

  Carissa: Don’t be sorry. Yeah, I’m mortified, but it was kinda hot to see you riled up like that.

  I laugh.

  Me: You’re insane, haha.

  Carissa: They think you must be in love with this girl. Are you in looovvveee with me, Roman? LOL

  Me: They’re still talking about me?

  Carissa: No, you must not be that interesting. Only lasted about five minutes after you left.

  Me: When are you moving in above me?

  Carissa: I don’t even know if I want to stay there. Plus, I haven’t told Hector yet.

  Me: Did he ask where you spent last night? You’d like here. Just like my apartment, just different floor.

  Carissa: No, because he was too busy making me tell him about Dane.

  Me: Want to sneak over again?

  Carissa: Probably not a good idea.

  I text her for a while before exhaustion takes over and I fall asleep.

  We have today off since we’ll be leaving tomorrow for a road trip. There’s only one thing on my agenda: spend time with Carissa before I go. I pull my phone from my pocket and text her.

  Me: When do you get off work? Free tonight?

  Carissa: Get off at five. Yes, I’m free.

  Me: Good. Pack a bag and meet me at this address. We’ll go out and stay the night there.

  Carissa: Why yes, I would love to go out with you tonight. Thanks for asking.

  Me: You’re welcome. ;) I’ll see you later.

  I book a hotel room. That way, we don’t have to worry about sneaking in and out of my apartment. She really needs to get her own place. Then I can just go there. I spend the next few hours deciding what to do for our date. When the idea hits me, I start preparing to see if I can pull some strings to have the place to ourselves.

  Once it gets closer to the time to meet Carissa, I head to our hotel for the night. Maybe she’s had a good day, and we can have a quickie before our date. I check in and then stand just outside of the sliding hotel doors to wait for her.

  When I spot her walking my way, we’re both wearing matching grins. She’s wearing a modest dress with these killer boots. Damn, she’s hot. I pull her into my arms once she’s close enough and dip my head to kiss her.

  “Evenin’,” I rumble.

  Carissa smiles. “Hello to you, too.”

  “Come on. We’ll drop your things in the room first.” I take her hand and lead her inside. “How was your day?”

  “Really good. Yours?”

  “Boring until now.” We step into the elevator. “Are you gonna miss me?”

  She rolls her eyes. “We’ll see.”

  “I’m gonna miss you.”

  She tries and fails to hide her smile. “Good to know.”

  The doors open on our floor, and we walk to the end of the hall where our room is. Carissa walks in first, and I follow her. We drop our bags on the king-size bed.

  “I hope you don’t consider being at a hotel going out on a date,” she teases me.

  I grab her hips and pull her flush against me. “Have a little faith in me, Carissa,” I tell her as I start tugging her dress up a little, bunching it in my hands. “We have plenty of time before we need to leave.”

  “So what are we going to do?” she breathes, my fingers now touching bare skin.

  I don’t answer. I just lean forward and kiss her because I can’t help myself. This girl drives me crazy, and she’s becoming the only thing I can think about it.

  ***

  “OKAY, WHERE ARE we going and what kind of date are we on that I have to dress casual?” I look down at my jeans and t-shirt.

  “It’s a surprise, and I’m hoping you’ll like it.” He smiles.

  “Do I get a hint?” I ask as he pulls into a warehouse-type building. “Is this the beginning of some horror movie?” I can’t swear to it, but seriously, it seems to have ghosts in there.

  “Nope.” He shuts the car off and jumps out. As I open the door, he gives me a dirty look when he came around the car.

  “What?”

  “I’m supposed to open the door for you.”

  I giggle. Dane never, ever was chivalrous. If anything, he had been the opposite. “I apologize. For the rest of the date, you can open all the doors for me.” I step up to my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

  “Come on.” He takes my hand and leads into Freddy Kruger’s Playhouse. I’m suddenly wondering if my tetanus shot is up-to-date as the rusty door creaks open.

  Once I step inside, I’m shocked. The inside is nothing like the exterior. There’s a posh lobby with paintings of clouds, the sky, and the sun. They look almost as good as Zoey’s work. But, not quite.

  “Welcome to Sky High. How may I help you?” A nice looking blonde comes into the room.

  “Hi, I’m Roman and I called earlier. Party of two.”

  “This way.” She smiles brightly and leads us down a hall.

  When we turn at the end of the hall, we enter into what seems to be the back end of the warehouse. It is completely redone. The strangest part is a massive cylinder in the middle of the room with large hoses at the top.

  “Um…Roman?” I stop walking. “What’s going on?”

  He chuckles. “I know you went skydiving with Hector and Zoey. Unfortunately, I’ve never been. So, I thought some indoor skydiving would be cool.”

  I clap, jumping up and down, squealing with delight. “This is going to be fun.”

  The blonde begins going over the rules, policies, and we have to sign the paperwork. Then she shows us where to change into our suits. When we come back out, I do my best not to laugh at Roman. Yes, he’s hot as sin, but not so much in a burnt yellow jumpsuit. We climb into the cylinder and get ready as the loud fans turn on and we’re lifted up in the air. I’m laughing and Roman is doing the same as we spin, flip, and float around.

  Too soon, it’s over, and sadly, we head out. Roman asks what I want to eat, and I gasp. “You don’t have reservation at a 5-star gourmet restaurant for me?”

  “Well, I do like the idea of eating frog legs and caviar, while sipping on thousand dollar wine, but I thought I’d get your input first.”

  I stifle my laugh. “Does this mean I get to pick out the place?”

  Roman pretends to be thinking hard, but I know he’s faking. Is it weird that I know his little tendencies? I shouldn’t know this. But, I want to know them. I want to know Roman more.

  “There’s an amazingly, delicious taco stand not too far away? Think your abs can handle it.” I poke his stomach.

  “Let’s see.”

  We discuss our experience with the indoor skydiving, and I suggest doing the real thing soon. He seems to be excited to try, and I can’t wait to go again. Roman drives us a few miles up the road and we find a spot to park. There’s a lot of people standing around in line.

  “This is a popular place.”

  “Have you never been here?” I ask, holding his hand.

  “No, I’m usually a burger and fries or steak and baked potato guy.”

  “And you still have abs?” I joke.

  “I have those because of the sits up, weight training, and this little thing called baseball I do on a daily basis.” He shrugs as if it’s no big deal, making me laugh.

  “I’ve heard of this baseball thing before. It’s new, right?”

  He nods with a serious expression. “Brand new. It’s only been around for a hundred years or more.”

  “Is that all?” I scoff; this time he laughs. We finally make our way to the front of the line and we order a 6-pack of tacos and two huge size sweet tea. “Where are we going to eat these?” All the tables were taken.

  “Follow me.” He nods back to his vehicle.

  “I’m a messy
eater,” I warn once we’re settled into the seats.

  “It’s okay I have a bet going with Spencer right now. I just need one more RBI and his ass has to clean this baby for a month.”

  “You bet with him a lot, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, it’s a thing with him and he drags me in on it. I give into peer pressure a lot,” he teases, handing me the first taco.

  “Well, you better win it, because these babies are messy.” I take the first bite, and I feel the sour cream already on my face. Roman hands me a napkin with a smirk on his face. “Told you so.”

  “Yes, you did.” He chomps on his, and the same happens to him.

  “Ha,” I laugh and now I wipe his mouth. “That’s what you get for making fun of me.” I kiss his lips once they’re clean.

  “You’re kinda of sexy.” He smirks.

  “Kinda? You sure know how to add on the charm.” I take another bite without messing up my face. We sit and eat the silence letting the crunching of the food around us.

  “These have to be the best.” He eats the last of his share.

  “What’s your favorite food?” I realize I know so little about him. Of course, every time we seem to be around each other it’s mainly about sex. The little communication we’ve had leads to more questions than answers.

  “I love all food.”

  “Lame.” I roll my eyes. “How about a serious answer?”

  He smiles. “Fine. I love meat. All meat. Fried, grilled, broiled, just cooked. Love it.”

  I stare at him for moment. “That’s the strangest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “It’s a real, thought out answer. What’s your favorite food?”

  “Ice cream. Strawberry, for everyday consumption. Rocky road when I have a good cry. Mint chocolate chip when celebrating.”

  “Hold on. You have a list for ice cream and events?”

  “Sure. Every girl does.” How does he not know this? “Oh, wait, you’re not a dater; you wouldn’t know these things.”

  “I’m not that bad.” He seems insulted.

  “I don’t mean it to be rude. I’m simply stating you don’t usually do girlfriends, so you might not know how we work.”

  “We work. I think I have the work department down.” He winks.