Page 10

WALK THE MOON

T he noise of the bar was almost overwhelming. Anxiety had been eating away at my insides all day. I played World Series games and wasn’t as nervous as I was today. But willingly walking into a line dancing bar, in a pathetic attempt to learn how to dance better, was infinitely more terrifying.

Ever since Cadence gave me that compliment yesterday, I was on cloud nine and more determined than ever to please her. She asked me to come here and give it a try. If a coach tells me to do something, I’m going to do it. Especially with my career on the line.

There was a ruckus off to the left, a group of line dancers in full swing on the dance floor. I noticed a few of the Sillys guys out in the mass of people side-stepping and swaying along to the music. The song wasn’t country, it was something more in the pop genre. I was in over my head.

“Jamie?”

The voice sent a soothing warmth flowing through my overly tense body. It was an immediate response. I was rather taken aback by it. Especially since it was the same voice that had been the bane of my existence while with the Sillys.

“Hey, Cady.”

“Oh, thank fuck, you came.” The words were a breath of relief, but goddamn my fucking body for thinking they were absolute filth. Because well, in any other context, it would be the dirty reason. I silently congratulated myself on deciding to wear jeans tonight. The denim had a much easier time hiding my half-hard-on.

Shoving my hands into my pockets to subtly give my cock a bit more breathing room, I shifted with a glance back over at the dancing masses. Cady must have sensed my apprehension as she reached out and caressed my bicep. The touch did absolutely nothing to help the situation in my pants. It only made it worse when her hand lingered longer than was technically acceptable between coworkers.

“I think you need a drink first.” Her hand turned into a vice grip as she began leading me off in the direction of the bar and away from the dance floor. Nothing like getting right to business. She was much more comfortable around me than usual, which I found odd. Until I noticed the bottle in her hand. “Fuck,” She suddenly stopped and turned back to me with an exasperated look. “I’m a total asshole. Do you drink or am I an ass for encouraging you to fall off the recovery train…?”

“No, you’re fine. I drink.” I laughed, still rather breathless from the last few minutes. “From time to time.”

“Well, then that should make this a hell of a lot easier.” Cady nodded and dragged me after her once again. “I’ve already been pregaming myself with Tiffiny.” She nodded to the brunette in the corner with her nose in a book. Squinting, I recognized her as the person behind the team mascot, Ding Dong. Tiffiny gave a half-assed little wave before diving back into her book. Cady snorted. “Don’t mind her, apparently it's too peopley in here.”

I held back my chuckle. While it wasn’t overly obvious that Cady was tipsy, she was looser around the edges. Her having a much calmer demeanor helped me ease into this brand-new situation.

Placing my order with the bartender, the two of us lingered at the end of the bar. It was mostly vacant since the crowd was out on the dance floor making utter asses of themselves. At least I wouldn’t be the only one in that aspect.

Cady helped herself to another round and the two of us made our way to a high top with barstools off to the side. There were a few bottles that lingered on some of the surrounding tables. They were soon reunited with their owners as the guys made their way back for a dance break.

“Jamie! You made it!” Truitt slapped me on the back as he took a large swig of his beer. A dribble made its way into his beard. A few other hearty greetings quickly followed. This was the kind of comradery a baseball team needed to have. Even if we were here for line dancing.

“Yeah yeah… Just let me get a beer or two in me first.” I took a quick swig to emphasize the point. “Then maybe I’ll attempt to make an ass of myself.” That got a round of chuckles from the crew.

“Smart. Damn, I need another cold one after that dance.” Schmidt shook his empty bottle and a few of the guys chimed in with their agreement. They wandered off to the bar which left me alone, once again, with Cady.

She’d been quiet during the little interlude with the guys, and for good reason. Half of her brand-new beer bottle was gone.

“Let's go.” I cocked my brow at Cady. She swiftly downed the rest of her drink and abruptly stood up.

“Where?” I managed to choke out, still taken aback by how quickly she drank her beer.

“Dancing.”

“But…they aren’t line dancing now.” I nervously glanced over to the dance floor which was no longer a pulsing crowd of dancers who were mostly going in the same direction.

“It’s fine. I’ll get you warmed up. I think you might like what I have in mind.” There was a quick smirk that played at the corner of her mouth.

Jeezus fuck.

With words like that, compounded with my alcoholic buzz already going, it took every damn molecule within my body to not pull her petite body against mine. Instead of giving in, I concentrated with all my might on the familiar pop hit pulsing through the speakers next to the DJ. “I’ve got to get something through that thick skull of yours before both of us end up on the streets.”

That pulled me out of my lust-filled haze. I bristled at the warning. Both? What did she mean by that? Because it wasn’t like I would end up on the actual streets, just the metaphorical one. The one without a job doing what I loved. But what did she mean by both of us ?

With new beers in hand, some of the guys on the team followed after us and found dance partners of their own. In some instances, numerous ones. But they actually liked dancing. Considering that about ninety percent of the people in the bar were drunk enough to be oblivious to my god-awful dance moves, it was now or never. Because she was right. If I didn’t fall into step with the Sillys, I’d be out of the franchise. And no other team would want a washed-up catcher with a shit batting average.

“...Fine.”

Cady leaned in and grabbed my hands. Being this close to her left me blessed with the heady aroma of something that was distinctly her . Something floral and outdoorsy. Fresh cut grass maybe? The woman was on the ballfield almost as much as we were. The scent was delicious and made me dizzy for a second. Or was it the alcohol? With a grin, she tugged me into the middle of the now-crowded dance floor.

“Since you can’t seem to understand dance from a technical standpoint, you’ll have to look at dancing as something else entirely.” She spoke over the noise of the room as she pulled me to her. On the one hand, I was reluctant to give in but on the other, it gave me an innocent excuse to see just how well she fit against me. “Something more like…a workout.” Her words were breathless with excitement as her hands guided me into position.

On second thought, this close proximity wasn’t going to be good for another dancing lesson. Especially when my dick seemed to have a mind of its own with this woman .

“Yeah, an annoying workout,” I grumbled, doing my best to suppress all the heated thoughts that were swimming in my brain with her this close. My one hand slipped into hers as she guided the other to her waist.

Her hands on my body were more of a hindrance instead of any measure of help. It was taking every ounce of mental capacity to ignore how close she was. There were parts of her body that were so close to being slotted right against the parts of mine that craved her the most.

“No.” Her eyes shot up to mine as she grabbed ahold of my hesitant hips, smashing hers against them. That shut me the fuck up. If only my cock would do the same. Unfortunately, the move had the opposite effect on my dick. “ Another kind of workout.” The liquored seductive tone of her voice had my entire body paying rapt attention. “Considering you’re rather popular among the ladies, I know you have the ability. You’re just being stubborn about it.”

Holy fuck she did not just say what I think she said. I couldn’t decide if I was more annoyed with the fact that she insinuated that I slept around or the fact that she was adamant about reenacting the moves of fucking, but with our clothes on.

“But that…that’s not…” I couldn’t bring myself to admit it out loud. I was too flustered with the veiled remarks. Cady avoided my gaze as she busied herself making minor adjustments to my hands.

“If you really think about it, being intimate is just a dance. A horizontal one.” She insisted, even though I had a difficult time understanding how she could compare dancing to sex. “When you rise to the balls of your feet…” She demonstrated with practiced ease, and it sent the curves of her body into the hard notches of mine like a finely weathered baseball glove around a baseball. “And press forward with a rock of your hips…”

The way her body met mine made my breath catch in my throat from surprise. I’d done some semblance of dancing before with women. Mostly just absentminded, off-beat swaying. But this? This was an unspoken invitation to join her body in something that I’d already been thinking about. As much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself.

The rocking of her hips was by far my favorite part. Despite us being fully clothed and standing upright in the middle of a noisy bar, her body was almost emulating the moves of sex.

“Cady…” I tried to swallow back the strain in my voice, but it was to no avail. The woman was all action, as always. There was no stopping her. But did I really want to?

“Shh…” She huffed out with her eyes closed. For a moment I could drink her in, from head to toe. Admire every smile line, every freckle. I watched in wonderment as she focused. “Shut up and dance with me.” She breathed out, continuing the motions without pause. Despite the volume of the world around us, I could only hear her. Between her hands and her hips gyrating in their hypnotic motions, I couldn’t help but arch my body towards hers in reply.

I was rewarded with a delicious hum and a soft little smile that played across her lips. She was difficult to say no to. Honestly, Cady didn’t seem to ever let me say no .

“Dance is an expression of your body. Don’t think about it, listen to the music and let your body do the talking.” She teased as one eye opened to gaze back at me. “Thinking about it like sex might motivate you on the field a bit.”

I choked on my inhale. It was one thing to emulate the act of sex with her, but it was another thing to hear the word uttered from that mouth of hers. The little noise that absentmindedly escaped my throat brought on a cock of her brow. For fucks sake I needed a distraction. Maybe if I focused all my concentration on what she just said, before the sex part, I might be able to not only dance but forget it was my coach whose body I was molded against.

Pressing my lips into a fine line, I gave in to her demands. My hands settled on her hips and pulled her back in close. A puff of air left her all at once. Her delightful reactions spurred me on. Maybe it was time I took her by surprise. To show her, that despite my attitude, I’d been listening to every stupid little thing she taught me. Probably with more intensity than any of my other coaches ever got out of me.

“Let me lead, you follow. Do what I do. Or do whatever comes naturally. Go along with the music as best you can.” The words left her mouth in a breathy huff. She pulled me off in a direction without a second glance back. It was as if she had eyes on the back of her head. Or maybe it was just her tipsy nature which lived dangerously and hoped for the best.

My hips echoed hers to the firm beat of the song. It had pep to it. Which made it easier to follow along and fall into step with. Not that I had anything anywhere near the correct beat, but I was close enough.

Spreading my fingers, I found myself sliding my hand from her waist, up the curve of her back, as I added a bit more oomph to the sway of my hips. I slid it up so high that the tips of my fingers brushed against the strap of her bra. I had to grit my teeth to ignore the sensation. Fuck, now I needed yet another distraction.

In an anxious panic, I grabbed both of her hands. I pulled her in and swept her up in my arms. I was blessed with a noise of surprise from her. It was all the encouragement I needed. With a subtle adjustment of our bodies, I spun her in place for a few rotations before managing to glide us both around the room and not step on anyone’s toes. It wasn’t quite a traditional dance style, but Cady didn’t seem to have any complaints about it. In fact, she was grinning .

As much as I didn’t want to admit it to her, she was right. Once I let down my stony walls, the music did something. Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe it was the warmth of Cady’s body meeting mine curve for curve, move for move, that inspired me.

Being close to her was rare over these past few weeks, but now I could study the lovely curve of her face. Her golden copper hair shimmered, even in the dim lighting of the bar. Despite the overall sunny disposition of Cady, her eyes were an intriguing contradiction of gray and blue.

From afar they were blue but up close there was a stormy mix of gray, like the color of the seas in the middle of a hurricane. I couldn’t help but find myself utterly intrigued by her. She didn’t fawn all over me like other women. Nor did she put me on a pedestal because of my major league background. She treated me like any other Joe off the street. It was… refreshing .

Every day we were together made me want to get to know her more. There was something between us that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. As much as we butted heads, I always found it to be a victory if I could manage to get some semblance of a smile out of her or even a lingering look. It might have been my imagination, but I was pretty sure I caught her mid-stare in my direction a few times. I wasn’t the kind of man that looked for ways to fuel my ego but for some reason, Cady kept doing it without even trying lately.

I was high on the music. High on the fact that maybe I finally figured out this dancing shit. And I was sure as fuck high on everything that was Cadence Andrews. With my head still buzzing, an intrusive thought in the back of my mind kept bugging me.

Dip her.

I hesitated. I didn’t want to drop the poor woman if I miscalculated all of this. But fuck, I wanted to see her continue to smile. It was now or never. Without further thought, I tipped her back. A squeal shot straight from her lips to my ears. It morphed into a surprised bubble of laughter. Her eyes fluttered open to find mine.

Her laughter caused my heart to race and my palms to sweat. When her eyes locked so firmly onto mine, it was almost as if there was an audible crackle of electricity between us. It drew me in closer as she was draped over my forearm and palm. Her body arched up towards mine in an open invitation as I held her there in the middle of the twirling dancers .

I felt as if I was locked in a trance. The only way to stop it was to lean in and ki…

Fuck.

My body jerked forward as a body part from someone on the dance floor bumped into my ass. I glanced back to see who the offender was. They ruined a moment that I was still in the middle of desperately trying to decipher. But by the time I looked back at Cady, whatever we had experienced was gone.

Rising of her own accord, she shot me a playful, breathless grin as her hands grasped onto both of mine. I felt about two degrees away from being a melted puddle at her feet. Why did she have such an unholy hold on me? She could crook her finger, and I’d follow without question. As if she had trained to do so.

I couldn’t help but quirk some semblance of a smile back at her as her hands tightened their grip. She found her footing again but suddenly stumbled a bit in her steps. For someone so sure of her dance skills, it was unusual to see. Maybe it was just the alcohol hitting her all at once.

I dropped her hands and moved my firm grip back onto her hips to steady her. I took note of how her body moved with mine. A wordless call and echo to one another. Maybe this was… fun.

“See? You’re not so bad, Slugger.” Cady’s breathed out as her eyes dipped away demurely. “Maybe we need to do more one-on-one practice.”

Her suggestion took me by surprise. First of all, did she just lay a nickname on me? And secondly, my brain, and dick , went directly to the other sort of one- on-one practice with Cady’s and my body rocking together. My breath caught at the thought.

And so did her foot under my shoe.

An awkward squawk of surprise twisted her face.

“Fuck! Sorry.” I mumbled under my breath as I briskly pulled my body from hers. Despite the misstep, I was thankful for it. The last thing I needed was her feeling my hardening cock when the moment was already awkward enough.

“No, no it's fine! I’m just glad you’re dancing.” Her words were sweet. Excited even. Chancing a glance up at her, her smile hadn’t faltered. There was a delightful pink tinge on her cheeks. It was probably from the dancing. “You aren’t terrible. You need to give yourself more credit. I’d dance with you aga–OW!”

If I kept stepping on her toes every time the damn woman flustered me, she was going to take back her offer to dance. Or else she wouldn’t have any toes left to dance on.

During games I could call pitches, keep an eye on runners at second base, and catch/return balls in a timely fashion. So why the hell couldn’t I hold onto a woman and keep my feet from stepping on hers?

“You sure about that?”

Cady let out a snort before pressing her body in close again. It's not that I wanted to push her away, I stupidly wanted to mold her body against mine. Spread kisses down her neck…

Fuck. I really needed to stop.

Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts.

“Stepping on my feet isn’t the worst thing a man has done to me.” There was a quick roll of her eyes. “This is tame. ”

My skin prickled at the thought of anyone being mean to the little spitfire. How could she let anyone be mean to her? With how she spoke to me, it was almost impossible to get a word in edgewise when she went on one of her tirades.

“Dare I pry…?” I cautiously asked. This was the longest conversation I ever had with the woman that didn’t revolve around work. As rude as it was to ask about past relationships, it was the only fodder I had to keep talking to her in my beer-hazed and semi-horny thoughts. And she did open the door to the conversation.

“Let's just say that it involved different boyfriends who all found greener pastures and didn’t bother to let me know they moved on.” Well, that was one way to put it. Fucking assholes. “Working around men all day long somehow diminishes the trust factor in a relationship. Once they get a look at my sorry lot, and the fact that I’m a female coach, they automatically think I’m fucking the whole team.” Her lovely face curled into a sour expression. “What is it with men?”

I blinked at her. She spoke to me as if I knew. I mean, I kind of did. Not that I was anything like the past men she dated. I couldn’t help but bristle every time I thought about Cady dating Roman. But now that I got to know the Sillys and Cady, these guys were like big brothers. Intimidating but harmless. They took special care of her, and she of them. Nothing sexual about it.

Even if I didn’t mesh well with a woman or wanted to move on, I wasn’t a dick about it. Unlike Cady’s past knuckleheads, I at least gave my exes the courtesy of a breakup face-to-face. Even during my immature teenage days.

I was raised in a strict Catholic family. While I didn’t believe in the whole “marriage before sex” thing, respect towards women, and others, was ingrained in me from the start. Even if a woman had treated me poorly, I never returned the favor.

Mom and Dad showed me what lasting love was supposed to be like. That love wasn’t all black and white. It was messy. It was stressful. Above all, they had a partner who loved and respected them all while managing to find the fun in life together. That was all I wanted. A love like theirs. But playing major league ball didn’t make it easy. And for once, there was a woman out there who understood that.

Cady had been given stupid excuses by stupid men. While I could understand the hesitation, especially with the notorious history of fellow ball players, Cady was faithful to a fault. In the short time I’d known her that was one of the first things I noticed about her. Her job and unwavering dedication to the team was her entire life. And all the men in her life had to be a fucking idiot to give up on such a passionate and beautiful woman.

Godfuckingdammit.

I’d be a lying Catholic in need of penance if I denied the fact that I wanted to be in Cadence’s presence as much as possible. Despite her early animosity towards me, she was…oddly enchanting. Especially in quiet moments like this.

“Same for me,” I added before I realized the words could be misconstrued. Cady’s brow soared straight up her forehead to almost collide with her hairline. I realized that maybe she thought I was pitching for the other team. “I mean, uh, my ex, ex- girlfriend , she…uh, broke up with me when I was traded. Apparently, I wasn’t worth moving across the country for. Which…fair. I suppose… It was a big move after all. And who knew if I’d be traded again and have to move once more.” Despite my babbling, her face softened. “Baseball doesn’t make a good bedfellow with those who don’t get the industry.”

That at least drew a laugh from her. A lovely, sparkling laugh. “Well…that’s certainly one way to put it.” Her words were still breathless from laughter as her mirth gently tapered off. Our dancing slowed as the song choice went a bit more mellow. We were talking with no animosity between us.

The words hurt to say them out loud. I hadn’t thought of women or love since I arrived in Philadelphia. But now? I couldn’t get a certain woman out of my thoughts. No matter how hard I tried, Cadence Andrews kept drawing me back to her. A very stubborn moth to an equally stubborn flame. A flame that could easily chew me up and spit me out if I crossed her in the wrong way.

The song drew to a close, but Cady and I kept dancing. It wasn’t until the roaring cheers of the crowd jolted us from whatever kind of moment we were having.

“Looks like line dancing is gearing up for another round. Ready to give it a try?” Her hopeful smile did me in.

“Put me in coach.”

Cady tossed her head back with a cascade of laughter before grabbing my hand and dragging me into the fray to attempt some line dancing.