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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Christy
I forgot how it feels when you were a little kid, waiting for Christmas to come. Every year, Nolan bounces off the walls as he stares at his Christmas presents under the tree, which he can’t touch, saying it’s absolute torture, seeing them there, but he can’t have them.
That’s how I feel right now.
Every day, I’ve spoken to Evan and gotten to see him on TV, which is even weirder than I thought it would be. It’s like he’s there, but I can’t touch him.
He had a night game yesterday, so we went to my sister’s house to watch it with them. My brother-in-law was off work, so he walked me through the game so I could understand the ins and outs more.
I guess I never understood all aspects of the game that made it as special as it was. I thought they just hit the ball and ran. It sounded easy enough, but Jamie really took it to the next level, explaining how hitting a ninety-plus mile per hour fastball with a round bat is actually the hardest thing to do in any sport.
And Evan does it exceptionally well.
Seeing him race in the outfield toward a ball that was hit, then dive through the air to catch it was pretty impressive too.
I’m learning the beauty of the game that I honestly never thought existed. I guess it just took me knowing someone who played the game for me to care about all it entailed.
Jamie, on the other hand, has always been a baseball nut, so he was all too happy to share his knowledge—and love—of the game.
I enjoyed being able to share what I’d learned when I spoke to Evan that night, but hearing his voice and our playful banter just made not being able to physically be with him worse.
Yes, he’s been in town for three days, but he wanted us to wait until Friday so we could see each other for more than a quick kiss out front as he was coming or going to games.
It’s finally Friday, and I am beyond excited to get to see him tonight. He plays at noon today, and then he’s off until he leaves tomorrow night, so we get to be together tonight.
I was able to move around my schedule so I’d be off at three, and then Roxie offered to wash and blow-dry my hair so I’d look my best.
Now I’m heading to his place, where he says he has the entire night planned out for us. When I pull up to his house, I have to stop myself from running up to the door. I purposely take a deep breath, turn off the engine, and slowly make my way out of the car toward his house, placing my palm on my stomach to calm the nerves racing through me.
I reach my hand up to knock on his door, but he opens it before I can do so.
We stand, staring at each other, neither of us moving as we take in one another.
The small grin that grows on his face captures my heart, and when he reaches for me, pulling me into him, then kisses me softly, I know this really might be the guy for me.
I’m glad he doesn’t take the kiss too far because I don’t think I would have had the self-control to stop him.
“Glad you could make it,” he says. “Come on in.”
I follow him in and set my purse down next to the yoga statues he bought. “It’s looking more like a home in here.”
“Thanks to you.” He smiles as he holds up a bottle of wine. “Can I pour you a glass?”
“Yes, please. How was your game today?”
He pours the wine and hands me the glass. “What? No play-by-play?”
“Jamie must have had calls at work because I got nothing. I did see that you lost though …” I say timidly, not sure how he takes wins or losses yet.
He shrugs, then holds his glass to mine for us to cheers. We do, and then we both take a sip.
“Nature of the game. If we win just half of the games we play, then we’ll have a phenomenal season.”
I narrow my eyebrows at him in question. “Only half?”
He smirks. “If I get only three hits out of every ten at bats, that’s Hall of Fame numbers.”
“But that means you didn’t get a hit the other seven at bats,” I state, confused. “That doesn’t sound very good.”
“Exactly. It’s a game of failures.”
“And you like that?” I chuckle.
“I love it. It’s challenging for sure. But so worth it when you get that one amazing hit.”
“How did you do today?”
“Oh for three with a walk.”
I shake my head side to side. “Yep, don’t know what that means.”
He pulls me closer to him, laughing at my lack of simple baseball knowledge, especially after I thought I was learning everything. “It means I had four at bats, didn’t get on base for three of them, and walked for the fourth.”
I stare into his eyes with nothing between us but the wineglass I’m holding near my chest. “Did you strike out?”
I watch as his eyes bounce between mine and my lips. “Twice.”
“What about the third at bat?”
“Fly out to center.”
“Were you upset during the game?”
“Nah. I knew I had you to look forward to.” He leans down, pressing his lips to mine. “It was all I needed to not let my mood turn sour.”
He pulls back, keeping only a few inches between us.
“I’m glad I could keep your mood up.”
He kisses me again. “Me too.”
He turns, opening the fridge as I take a deep inhale to gather myself and my desires from just being that close to him. I take a sip of wine, hoping that will help too then set it down.
“So, what are you cooking?” I ask, peeking over his shoulder once he’s at the stove.
He puts down the spoon he was using to stir a cream sauce he had just added cream cheese to and grabs my hand.
“Follow me.” He leads me to his backyard and holds his hands out to his sides. “Ta-da!”
I nod, trying not to laugh. “You bought a grill.”
“I did. It does everything you could ever imagine. Look.”
He opens it up to show me the multiple burners and the side section that can have a saucepan separate from the main part of the grill and all these other functions. I have no idea what he is talking about, but his excitement is infectious.
“It all seems amazing!” I try to match his intensity level. “Does this mean you’ll be cooking me dinner more often?” I tease.
He grabs me and brings me close to him. “That’s the plan.” He gives me a quick kiss, then heads back inside. “Stay here. I’ll go grab the chicken.”
He comes back out, carrying a bowl of marinated chicken and tongs, which he holds up to me, clicking them together. “To answer your question from earlier … I’m making Alfredo pasta with grilled chicken and asparagus.”
“Well, fancy, fancy. I didn’t know you liked to cook.”
“I do.” He opens the grill and starts the flames, his eyes lighting up when he does. “I’ve had to use whatever grill was left around wherever I lived, so having this is huge. I have so many plans for things I’ve wanted to cook now that I have one.”
“Ah, that’s cute.”
He snaps the tongs at me playfully. “It’s manly. Not cute.”
I lean up and kiss his cheek. “Cute is manly, especially when you’re cooking me dinner.”
He tilts his head toward the table and chairs he bought, too, since I was here last. “Take a seat and put your feet up. I’ll bring your wine out for you.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I say, holding my hands up in complete surrender as I pull out the chair and position the one next to me so I can do exactly as he instructed.
He makes good on his word and heads back into the kitchen to grab my wine while the grill warms up. When he returns, he hands it to me and sets the JBL speaker down on the table so we have some background noise while we enjoy the beautiful spring night.
He works between the grill and the stove inside while I am in pure heaven, relaxing and listening to music.
This amazing level of comfort washes over me as I just sit here. There’s not this need to talk or wonder what I should be doing. He’s made it clear I’m to kick my feet up, so I’m doing just that.
“More wine?” he asks as he walks outside again, holding the bottle up.
I lift my glass to him. “I’m not going to turn you down.”
He goes to pour, then pulls it back with a smirk and a raise of his eyebrows. “Promise?”
I laugh out loud, realizing I walked right into that one, but play along. “Promise.”
He grins from ear to ear and fills my wine, then leans down to give me a kiss. “Dinner is five minutes away.”
“Okay, do you need last-minute help?”
“Nope. The sauce is simmering, and I’m just waiting on the chicken. Then we’re good.”
He heads back in, and I take another sip of my wine, singing along to the Kane Brown song playing.
The door opens, and he’s holding an empty glass dish and his tongs again. “Chicken is done.”
I stand and follow him to the grill to see what he’s cooking when he lifts the lid. “Um, smells so good.”
“It’s my favorite, tequila lime seasoning. It goes so well with the Alfredo.” He loads the dish he’s holding with the chicken and hands it to me. “Here, you can take this inside while I clean the grill.”
I grab the dish and head back inside, where I see the asparagus is ready and the pasta is in a big pot on the stove, looking absolutely amazing. I set the chicken down, then open his cupboard to grab two plates, followed by two forks and knives from the drawer.
“Let’s eat!” he says, clapping his hands together once he enters the kitchen.
“Your joy for food is quite entertaining,” I tease as I hand him his plate.
“Hey, I love to eat, so, yes, I get excited when I know I’m about to eat a good meal.” He motions to the stove. “Ladies first.”
I dish up some pasta, a piece of chicken, and some sprigs of asparagus, then head back out to where I was sitting. Evan is quick to join me with his plate and wineglass and sits across from me.
“Cheers,” he says, holding up his wineglass to me.
I lift mine, and we clink them together. “Thank you again for making me dinner.”
“Dig in!” he says, not wasting any time.
I do the same and am pleasantly surprised at how amazing it tastes. “Wow.” I nod. “So good. You made this sauce from scratch?”
“Sure did.”
“Where did you learn to do that?”
“Instagram reels,” he responds with a cheesy grin before taking another bite.
“You’re joking, right?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. That’s where I get most of my recipes.”
“Never thought social media would be the place to turn for recipes,” I respond, kind of confused.
He picks up his phone and swipes open the app. “Oh, it’s amazing.” He turns his phone so I can see the screen. “I have tons saved.”
I take his phone from him and scroll on all the different ones he has saved. “Looks like I need to get on a better algorithm,” I joke.
We finish our meal, talking about the games he just played and Nolan.
I’m the first to stand. “Here, I’ll clean up.”
I reach for his plate, but he stops me.
“I got it.”
“You cooked. It’s only fair.”
“Then we’ll do it together. How about that?”
I lean over to give him a kiss, and he holds me there with a hum.
“Must. Clean. Kitchen,” he chants to himself, like he’s trying to talk himself into doing it.
I laugh. “Well, come on then.”
We both get to putting things away and cleaning everything else, making quick work of it, like we know what’s to come and we can’t get there fast enough.
I finish washing the last pan and hand it to him to dry, then turn off the water and dry my hands with another towel he has sitting there.
Anticipation races through me as I turn around and wait for him to put the pan away. He does, then stares at me with this look of hunger in his eyes that almost does me in.
He doesn’t speak as he walks toward me, lifting me up onto the counter and placing himself in between my legs.
“Is Nolan staying the night at your sister’s?” he asks, rubbing his hands up my thighs.
I bite my lip and nod, the tightness in my chest making it almost hard to breathe.
“I really like you, Christy,” he says, looking me right in my eyes. “I know I’m not around a lot, but as I’ve said, I want to see where we can take this.”
I have to fight the tears pricking my eyes that have seemingly come out of nowhere.
I pretty much gave up on dating. The thought of being with a guy had become so foreign, so impossible that I never thought I’d be here again.
When I don’t respond, he takes my curly hair and tucks it behind my ear. “Are you okay with that?”
I rub my lips together and nod.
“Can you not speak all of a sudden?” he jokes, pulling my body closer to his.
I shake my head with a slight chuckle.
He raises his eyebrows, like he’s waiting for me to say something.
“Kiss me.” I’m barely able to say the words.
He smirks. “Yes, ma’am.”
Our lips meet, and I swear fireworks explode throughout my body. Suddenly, I can breathe again, like he’s the only way I can get oxygen and it’s his mission in life to provide it to me.
He lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around him while he walks us to his bedroom with ease. He kicks open his door, and I hold on to him tighter, not wanting to let him go, even for a second.
He guides us down to his bed and slides on top of me. Feeling his large body against mine builds this level of desire that I’ve never felt. Of course, I’ve had sex—I have a seven-year-old child—but it’s never been like this.
Maybe I was too young to really know what we were doing, or maybe the few guys I’ve been with weren’t like Evan, but everything about this feels different—feels right.
He lifts to remove his shirt, and when I go to do the same, he stops me by leaning down to kiss my stomach. Then he slowly makes his way up until my shirt is all the way over my head and he’s kissing my neck.
“Please tell me you want this as bad as I do,” he whispers.
I grab his back, dropping my head to give him a better angle. “I’ve never wanted anything so bad in my life,” I respond, speaking the truth with a guy in a way I never have before.
I was always shy, not sure how to say what I wanted or how I felt. But not with Evan. With Evan, I feel like I can be me, not afraid to say or do anything.
“Good answer.” His lips meet mine, and we’re like a frenzy of limbs and clothes being removed as fast as we can.
He reaches over to his nightstand and grabs a condom. That’s when my eyes almost bug out of my head.
“Thank you,” I say in shock that I wasn’t even thinking about asking him to wear one.
“I want everything between us to be right. If we decide to have kids one day, I’ll make sure it’s after I change your name.”
My heart melts as he brings his lips softly to mine.
Once he has the condom secured, our eyes meet, like he’s silently asking permission. I give him a small grin, and that’s all the conformation he needs.
As he slides inside me, entering my world, I close my eyes, wanting to feel every aspect of him and what he’s doing to me. With an exhale, I feel him pull out very slowly, then push back in.
I gasp, and his lips crash to mine, taking everything he can from me.
He picks up his pace, and I wrap my legs around him, encouraging him to work his magic, using my body as his and giving me everything he has.
He plays my body like an instrument, performing a musical act with peaks and valleys, slow, then fast, bringing me to a point I never knew existed.
When I’m panting for more, he gives me exactly that—pushing harder, moving stronger, being the man I need him to be.
“Evan,” I gasp, and he only brings me higher. “Oh God,” I say as my orgasm topples over, dropping my head back and letting the waves of pleasure ripple through me.
“So. Beautiful,” he says right before he goes tense and finds his own release.
His lips meet mine again, and I hold him tighter to me, not wanting him to move. Now that I’ve found him, I never want to let him go.
We both come down from our high, continuing to kiss while he slowly moves in and out of me.
He inhales and pulls back slightly to look in my eyes. “You and I …”
I place my palm on his face and finish his sentence. “Were definitely meant to be.”
The grin I get is breathtaking as he leans down to kiss me again, sealing our fate of what I just said was right.