One Look

by Harlow James

  This is in fact, our life.

  I find the stairs that lead down to my seat, and when I look down ahead of me, I finally see my man, standing in a light blue button-down shirt and dark grey slacks, waiting for me to make my way to him.

  He’s breathtaking, tall and strong, and all man, making my insides heat up with the notion that soon I’ll be able to touch him again.

  I take my time, gliding down each step carefully as not to trip, because my nerves are running high and I’m anxious to hear what he has to say about why he sent me on this scavenger hunt today.

  I also take a moment to glance around the stadium, completely deserted and quiet, a stark contrast from the chaos and celebration that was surrounding us just last night.

  The sun is lower in the sky now, settling into the afternoon haze, slowly lowering beneath the structure of the stadium, but still lighting up the sky enough to make it feel serene.

  “You look gorgeous,” he beams when I finally meet him at my seat, the same seat I sat in when we locked eyes that first night.

  “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome,” I tease him before leaning into him and planting a kiss on his lips. His hands find my hips as he pulls me into him, tangling his tongue with mine in a slow and seductive manner. It makes me wish we weren’t here right now because I could easily escalate this reunion further.

  As Jake pulls away from me, he rests his forehead on mine, and I can feel the trembling of his hands on my body.

  “Jake, are you okay?”

  “I’m more than okay, Dani.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Last night was supposed to be the greatest night of my life. Winning the World Series has always been my biggest dream, ever since I could hold a baseball. But after meeting you, I realized my dreams weren’t the same anymore. Sure, I’m still not upset about winning a World Series,” he winks, which makes me giggle. “But I realized that none of that stuff matters without someone to share it with. Having you by my side last night made that win more meaningful than I ever thought it could have been.”

  I stare up into his deep blue eyes, highlighted by the color of his shirt and the glow of the sun making them sparkle. I brush my thumb across his cheek and press my lips to his lightly before I speak.

  “Jake, I’m so proud of you. And I was honored that I got to share that moment with you. I hope we get to experience it again in the future,” I wink, making Jake grin like a fool down at me.

  “Oh, I plan on spending every incredible and not so incredible moment of my life with you forever, Dani… which is why we’re here, at this very spot, where our story began and hopefully, will continue until the universe says it’s time for it to end.”

  Jake drops to one knee as a small gasp escapes my mouth. I instantly feel the tears well in my eyes, but I don’t dare blink in fear of missing one second of what he has to say.

  “One look, Dani. One look is all it took from you and I was done for. When your eyes met mine for the first time---when I never look in the stands-—I never knew I could feel a connection to another human being the way I felt connected to you. And then you infiltrated my life and there was no looking back for me. I thought I loved baseball more than anything… but once I met you, I realized what true love felt like. Lord knows our relationship hasn’t been easy, and we’ve both made mistakes, but you are the only one I want to continue to make mistakes with. Gramps told us both to trust our paths… and I know, without a doubt, that mine would lead me back to you. So Danielle Peters, will you trust our path with me this time? Will you marry me, Dani?”

  The tears begin to fall, dropping on our hands intertwined together, as I stare down at him in awe. This man has changed my life, showed me what love is, and I never want to spend another moment without him.

  “Yes,” I whisper on a nod, even though we’re the only ones here.

  “Yes?” He confirms and I nod again, reaching up to brush my tears away.

  “Yes, Jake. I will marry you. I love you so much,” I cry as Jake leaps up from the ground and smashes his lips to mine.

  I surrender myself to this moment, wrapped in his arms, meddling my tongue and lips with him, before we part and he reaches into his pocket.

  “I meant to take this out before I dropped down,” he chuckles as he opens the black velvet box and presents me with the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen.

  “Oh my God, Jake! It’s gorgeous,” I manage to croak out through my tears as he slides the enormous princess cut ring on my finger.

  “Not as gorgeous as you, baby. I love you so much, Dani. You are my future, the only person I want to live this life with. I can’t wait to marry you,” he mutters as his own tears fill his eyes.

  He leans in to kiss me again, the feel of his lips on mine are everything right in this world. This man changed my life, changed me, and now we will spend the rest of our lives together.

  I trusted my path and this is where it led me. Sometimes the universe can give us everything we’ve ever wanted in its own time. And all I want is Jake.

  EPILOGUE

  Jake

  Ten Years Later

  “How’s it going in there, Conner?”

  I peer over the bathroom stall door, granted with a view of Conner still hunched over the toilet.

  “I think I got it all out. I swear, there’s nothing left in my stomach,” he replies, and then I hear the flush of the toilet.

  The stall door opens and one pale looking Conner comes traipsing out, sweat evident on his forehead as he wipes it off with the back of his hand.

  “It’s a rite of passage to hurl before your first game. Right, Rocky?” I nudge him as Rocky comes up behind me.

  “You should have heard Jake puking his guts out before his debut… I swear, he didn’t eat spaghetti for a few years after that,” Rocky laughs as Conner approaches the sink and brushes his teeth with one of the spare kits they stock our bathrooms with.

  “Well, at least I’m not the only one,” Conner sighs when he’s finished, running his fingers through his thick brown hair before placing his OC Rays cap back on his head. The orange and white uniform pressed and pristine, fits him like a glove, validating that this is where he belongs, though since he grew up alongside the team, we kind of knew he’d be here one day anyway.

  “Nope. But hey, you’re only a rookie once. So enjoy tonight, soak it all in, and for the love of God, no matter what you do, DON’T look up in the stands,” Rocky says, sending a glare my way, followed by a wink.

  “Ha, ha… hilarious,” I toss back at him. “Don’t listen to him, Conner. Looking up in the stands that first game was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” I state confidently as the three of us head for the tunnel to wait for the team’s introductions.

  The déjà vu hits me hard as I watch my younger brother (by marriage, of course) get ready to make his debut in the MLB, and together with Rocky and myself on the OC Rays no less.

  That feeling I get in the tunnel before each game never ceases to amaze me, knowing I get to play baseball for a living. Few people are fortunate in life to take their passion and make a career out of it, and I count my blessings each night while holding my beautiful wife in my arms.

  Conner got the itch for the pros after watching us win our first World Series, and now after our second win last year, the desire for back-to-back wins is strong. After Conner finished college, he was drafted straight to the OC Rays, filling the position of our longtime right-fielder, Perry, who retired after our World Series title win last season. The boy has grown into a fine young man and ballplayer under the wings of Rocky and myself. Watching him suit up to play his first game in the MLB made me a bit emotional, I’m not going to lie.

  After the announcer introduces us, I jog alongside Conner towards third base, giving him an encouraging nudge as he continues running to his position directly behind me. I watch him survey the field and the packed stands—the smile tipping up on his face one of pure joy and absolution. I remember that feeling well.<
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  The bright green grass and solid white lines on the field are as immaculate as ever, the bright lights filter through the stadium, casting that glow unmatched in any other place, and the stands are filled with adoring fans, yelling and clapping as my team and I march onto the field and take our spots, prepared to defend our title as champions.

  As I reach my home-away-from-home, I go through the same motions I do every home game. I reach my plate and then look up in the stands, anxiously waiting for Danielle to meet my eyes.

  Her mesmerizing smile still stops my heart in my chest after all these years, her beauty has only increased as we’ve gotten older and grown our family. Watching Danielle become a mom has been life-changing, to say the least. I have a newfound respect for her and how strong she is, not that I doubted her strength before.

  Her lips part into a smile and those same brown eyes that rocked my world thirteen years ago grab hold of my attention, pulling on my heartstrings and strengthening the bond between us that I know can never be broken. This woman is my world, my saving grace, my partner in life.

  She shakes her head at me as she smiles beneath her tattered OC Rays cap, then gives me her signature wave as I blow her a kiss---our pre-game ritual that we never falter from at each home game. You know us baseball players love our superstitions.

  Then I wait as our son, William, stands on the seat of his chair next to her, his five-year-old stature already big for his age, waving his arms around frantically, waiting for me to do the same.

  My arms swim through the air as I laugh at my son, the spitting image of me, while our two-year-old daughter, Faith, claps her hands in Dani’s lap. Faith’s a miniature version of Danielle, which tells me I’m in for hell when she’s a teenager and I have to fight boys off. I blow them another kiss as the jumbotron catches it all, another ritual that has followed us since that opening day ten years ago, and even before that when we dated during my first season.

  Dani still insists on sitting in the same seats she’s always watched the games from, and I don’t dare fight her on it. Plus, it was while she was seated in that spot when I saw her for the first time. It only feels right to still have her there each time I take the field.

  After I proposed to Danielle after our first World Series win, we decided to get married the following January before spring training and the next season started. We didn’t see the point in waiting since we had already spent so much time apart. However, we enjoyed each other for almost four years before we found out we were pregnant.

  When William was born and named after Gramps, of course, Danielle dialed down her responsibilities with the OC Rays to focus on raising our son. She went down to a part-time position but still filled a vital role in the organization. Her assistant, Tiffany, took over her job and has had Dani to guide her along the way. The two of them still dominate that position and anything related to the field of marketing, especially in the MLB.

  I shoot a look over at Rocky, giving him a nod, telling him without the words that it’s game time. Rocky has still remained my closest friend, and he and Lochlin have three kids of their own now. Lochlin and their kids are in one of the executive boxes watching the game, where Rocky’s mom can help her wrangle their three minions. They are our extended family when we’re committed to Irvine, but my family has been great about attending games and visiting as much as possible, especially once the grandchildren started to arrive.

  I glance back at my wife and kids, in awe of the life Dani and I have, of the little lives we have created together, and I shake my head at the fact that all it took was one look in the stands for my entire world to change forever.

  “Uncle Conner!” William shouts, trying to get Conner’s attention. I whistle in his direction, pointing up in the stands so he can give the kids confirmation that he sees them.

  Conner waves and puts his fist out for a long-distance fist bump with my son, their signature move whenever they’re near one another.

  I notice Faith start to get restless just as Eddie Salazar takes the mound. I give Danielle one more glance, mouth “I love you” over to her, which she returns, before turning my attention to the game in front of me, ready to do my job.

  As the game progresses, I watch in awe as Conner takes to his new role with ease, making plays that count, connecting with the ball when he’s up to bat… it makes me realize that maybe part of what lead me to Danielle was to impact Conner too. Lord knows that boy could have chosen a different path. But with guidance and drive, he’s turned his dreams into reality, and I can’t wait to watch his career take off. Maybe some girl will come along and knock him on his ass too.

  After we secure our first win of the season over my former team from Seattle, Conner goes to Sully’s to celebrate with the younger guys on the team. I give him my congratulations and ‘be careful’ speech before I shower and get ready to head home. At this point in my career, all I prefer to do after a game is go home to my wife and kids.

  “Dani?” I whisper as I walk in our house, the same house she grew up in and we made into our own. Even though I make more money now than I did back then, there’s something about a house that feels like home to make you realize money and fancy things don’t really matter.

  The entire house is quiet, only the soft glow from the light above the oven in our kitchen illuminates the open concept living room.

  I set down my duffle by the front door, kick off my shoes, and start the climb up the stairs to our bedroom. Pushing open the door, soft candlelight flickers on the walls, casting an orange glow in the space.

  And then I see her. My beautiful wife, wearing a black lace bra and matching underwear, snoring fast asleep, curled up on her side, in the middle of our bed.

  I chuckle to myself, knowing she must be exhausted from taming our wild children during the game, but she was trying to wait up for me so we could spend some time together. Small kids don’t have the patience to sit and watch a game that can be as low-action as baseball, and by the end of the night, they can be hellions to deal with.

  Sitting down next to her on the bed, I stroke her head, pushing her beautiful blonde hair from her face so I can see those perfect features I memorized all those years ago. Her dark lashes are fanned out above her cheeks, the slight upturn of her nose makes her so delicate and feminine, her lips are slightly parted as another snore escapes her mouth, which makes me smile down at her again.

  “Dani,” I whisper, leaning down to her ear, pressing a soft kiss right below her lobe in the spot that I know drives her crazy.

  She grins in her sleep and lets out a soft moan, so I do it again, and then trail my lips down her throat.

  “Jake,” she mewls, turning over so her back is now flat on the comforter.

  “Hi, baby,” I grit out before standing to strip down to nothing and crawl over the top of her.

  She unseals her eyes, looking up at me as I hover over her, pressing my steel erection into the juncture between her thighs.

  “I’m sorry I fell asleep. I’m just so tired,” she yawns and then moans as I line up my cock to her heated entrance.

  I brush my lips across hers and then down her throat again to her collarbone as her legs wrap around my waist and her hands find my back.

  “I know, baby, but seeing you in this scrap of lace has me hard and ready for you. I can be quick,” I offer as her breathing picks up.

  “Yes, I want you too, Jake,” she moans back before I take her mouth with mine and increase the heat between us.

  I don’t bother removing her panties, just pushing the lace to the side so I can slide home and join us together.

  “Jake,” she sighs as I push all the way in, her back arching as I find my rhythm and set a pace that has us both fighting off our release.

  “God, I love you, Dani,” I murmur in her ear as she kisses me passionately from beneath me. I continue to slide in and out of her wet core, flicking my hips in the way I know helps get her to the finish line.

  “I love you too, Jake.
”

  Her breathing becomes erratic, which means she’s close, so I reach down between us and circle her clit with my thumb. A few strokes and she’s pulsing around me, clenching me with her walls and pulling me over the edge with her.

  We shuffle apart and then pull the covers over us as I pull her into me, her back to my front, breathing her in and memorizing the feel of her in my arms just like I do every time so I never forget it.

  “Thanks for being there tonight, baby,” I tell her as I do after every home game.

  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” she replies with her typical answer.

  “I love you, Dani.”

  “I love you too, Jake.” Those are the last words she gives me before another snore leaves her mouth a few minutes later.

  Lying here with my wife in my arms, I reflect on how we got here.

  I’ll never understand how one dream can lead us to another. Sometimes in life, we can be so adamant about what we want, but our path takes us down a road that leads us to something we didn’t even know was a possibility, showing us new dreams that we didn’t even know existed or that we could ever want.

  But dreams can change. And people can change. And more importantly, life can change in an instant.

  I thought I loved baseball. I thought I was okay with being alone, keeping my distance from any woman who tried to get close.

  And then I realized I really knew nothing. Life would show me exactly what I needed, whether I wanted it to or not.

  I trusted my path. I felt that pull towards my destiny. And I followed it.

  Danielle changed my life with just one look…. A look that guided me down a path I never thought I would follow. But boy, am I glad I did.