Page 80 of Striking Heat

“You didn’t think you were going to win there, Captain?”

“Come on, did you think we could beat them?” she asks.

I chuckle. “I don’t really follow any of the other teams. Just you,” I admit to her. The waitress comes over and I order a bottle of wine for us. “We’ll take the Robert Mondavi Sauvito Sauvignon Blanc, please.”

She nods. “Excellent choice.”

“Making it fancy over here, huh?” She teases me. “So, you don’t follow any other teams. What sports do you cover other than us?”

“I usually cover college football in the fall and then some college basketball too.” I shrug. “Whatever it is they assign me.”

“Just college sports? How did you end up at our game?”

“It’s a funny story, actually. I wasn’t supposed to be there. But Martin, my editor, was going on and on about the new team. I was asked if I would want to check it out since there isn’t much to cover right now other than baseball. So, I went. Then Cromwell talked to Martin and now I’m there all the time.”

“What about when college football starts back up?” she asks.

The waitress returns and offers me the wine. I taste it and nod, so she pours the glasses. “Would you all like to place your orders now?”

“Oh, we haven’t even looked yet. I’m sorry,” I tell her. “Please give us another moment or two.”

She nods and leaves us.

“What’s good here?” Mac asks me.

“I like the steamed seafood bake. Kind of reminds me of the ones my grandma used to host on the Fourth of July.”

She looks up from her menu. “That’s sweet.”

I shrug, not really sure what else to add. “The pastas are really great too. They have an amazing seafood linguine. The sauce is a bit rich, but I think you might like it. You could carb load for tomorrow and all.”

“Sounds yummy. I think I’ll go with that.” She closes her menu and looks over at me. “You’re being awfully thoughtful tonight. Thank you. It’s nice to have someone taking care of me.”

“You don’t have much of that, do you?”

“No, but neither do you,” she reminds me.

“I’m not in season.”

“True. Do you ever miss being in season?” She puts quotes around in season.

“Hold that thought,” I tell her as the waitress approaches.

I order the steamed seafood bake, and Mac goes with my pasta recommendation.

“You were saying.” She gestures for me to continue.

I hate being asked this question, but for once, I’m being asked it by someone who might understand. “I do sometimes. It was such a big part of my life. I still see the guys I swam with every once in a while. We head to the golf course, or we’ll run a marathon together. But it’s not the same.”

“Oh, you’ll run a marathon together.” She laughs. “I like how you threw that out real casual like.”

“I was a distance swimmer, remember? And I like to keep in shape. It helps them too.”

She nods. “So, what will happen when college football season rolls around? Will you stop coming to see me play?”

I don’t miss the way she words that. I like that she’s worried about me not making it to her games.

“I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about that. It’s only May, and the college season is a little ways away.” I reach across the table and squeeze her hand. “Plus, someone is making me quite the soccer fan. I seem to have acquired a lot of Tampa Bay Blaze apparel.”