Page 53 of Caught Looking

“Finally realizing you’re an idiot?” Jeri chuckled.

“Yep.” I stared at the field as it all sank in. Just last night I told Seth to be himself. To forget caution. To be real with me.

And here I was extolling the virtues of caution to myself. Like it was some sort of security blanket. I needed to take my own damn advice or else I was going to end up ruining something that had barely begun.

Like I willed it into existence, Hunter hit a hard ground ball that streaked between the third baseman and the shortstop, easily getting to first. Rhett ambled around home plate.

“Let’s go Rhett!” I screamed at my cousin.

“Whoa, you’re really into this,” Phoebe gasped.

“Yeah, well.” I hadn’t been this into baseball in ages. Back when Rhett played college ball and I’d gone to games to scream my head off.

Rhett shot me a look over his shoulder. “What?” I yelled back. “No one wants to go into extras. So hit the damn ball!”

Even Jeri eyed me like I’d lost my mind.

I sat back in my seat as Seth took his place in the on-deck circle, grinning at me. At leasthegot me.

“You gonna be this intense atourgame on Saturday?” Jeri asked.

“Maybe. Will it help?” I tended to be more focused. Like Seth was now. He had this relaxed, almost lazy swagger as he swung the bat, timing up the pitcher as Rhett swung and missed.

“I think it might.” Her eyes raked over our teammates. “I just think it might.”

Rhett hit the ball into right field. It dropped in, letting him reach first base while Hunter made it around to third.

It was up to Seth now.

“I guess we’ll see how Mr. Clutch is feeling with his pretty new girlfriend watching him.” Jeri snickered.

Seth didn’t look at me as he took his place at the plate. He was locked in. Focused. And two pitches later, proved why he was the guy everyone relied on. The guy they paid millions to keep on their roster. Seth didn’t just hit a rocket to bring in the winning run. He hit a three-run home run.

The stadium went wild. The lights glittered and the cannons fired three times. All the players ran out of the dugout with bottles of water, cheering as Hunter, then Rhett, and then finally Seth, crossed the plate. Everyone in the stands stood clapping and cheering for the last-second win.

“Holy crap your man makes this boring-ass game fun!” Charley hugged me.

So did Jeri. Then she tilted her head to the side. “Your man is calling for you.”

Sure enough, Seth had broken free of the melee. He came right to that same window in the netting and ripped it open, pulling me in for a hard kiss. “Impressed?”

“Very.” My lips stung but I didn’t care. I might even like it. Seth was sweaty and he smelled like clay, but he tasted like the bubble gum he always chewed.

His eyes glittered. “Mind if I pull you through?”

This little opening? “Am I allowed to?”

“I don’t fucking care.” He reached over and lifted me up just as a security guard jogged over to help.

Guess that answered that. While Seth wrapped me up in another kiss, the guard sealed off the netting and stood by to scare off anyone with ideas.

Seth Butler had just won the game. Seth Butler was kissing me. Right beside home plate. In front of everyone.

And all I could think about was how good his sweaty hair felt in my fingers, how soft his lips were against mine, how hard his body felt against mine.

“Fuck, I’m glad you came today.” He pressed our foreheads together.

“Me too.”