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Gabi
“I am so excited, Gabi Rae, you have no idea,” her dad told her as they left the apartment for the baseball game. He had on a new Cardinals jersey but the same hat he’d worn when Gabi was born. It was his lucky hat.
“I’m glad,” she told him and knocked on Kylie’s door. “I am too, though I’m a little afraid we’ll get chased out of there dressed like this.” She was proudly wearing her Cards gear as well.
“Ugh,” Kylie groaned as she pulled open the door. She was in head-to-toe Cubs down to a little blue ribbon in her ponytail. “I can’t believe I have to be seen with you two clowns.”
“I can’t help it if we like a quality team and you don’t,” her father told her. “You can always come over to our side if you want.”
“I would never,” Kylie swore as she turned her key in the door. “My family would disown me. Born and raised a Cubs fan.” She made a face. “Well, when I’m paying attention anyway.”
Her dad laughed.
They took the “L” to the game so her father could get the whole experience, and he was so animated and excited that Gabi couldn’t stop smiling. He deserved this; he deserved all the good things.
Kylie on the other hand, though excited, seemed distracted. She kept looking at her phone and sending quick texts, making sure to keep the screen of her phone away from Gabi’s eyes.
It was all highly suspicious, and she made a mental note to ask Kylie about it later. For the moment, she just enjoyed the conversation with her father and ignored the irritated looks of Cubs fans.
The ballpark was already swarming with people, and it took a full thirty minutes before they found their seats. When they did, it was with a beer in one hand and a hotdog in the other.
She had never seen her dad look so satisfied. He kept remarking on how incredible it was that this stadium was still around, how it was one of the originals, how cool it was that there were apartments that could look right onto the field. And what would it be like to live there and have seats to every game?
“Better than Busch Stadium?” Kylie asked teasingly.
To which her father quickly replied, “Only in historical value.”
Kylie giggled.
Once they were fully settled in, Gabi began to relax. She loved being at baseball games of any kind. It was such a unique atmosphere. Plus, hot guys in tight pants and beer and hotdogs. What more could a girl ask for?
“Excuse me, are you the Turner party?”
All three of them turned to find a stadium employee staring down at them.
“Uh, yes,” Gabi answered, suddenly worried that something was terribly wrong. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” he cleared his throat. “It’s just that your seats have been randomly chosen to be, uh, upgraded for the game. I’m here to escort you to one of our suites.”
Gabi blinked and narrowed her eyes, trying to comprehend how that could have possibly happened, but her father whooped and Kylie stood up, looking not at all surprised or confused. “What do you mean? How is that possible?”
The young kid looked nervous and glanced up the stairs like he wanted to escape. “Uh, it’s a give-away we do sometimes on Friday nights. And you won.” He smiled hopefully. “Congratulations.”
“But ...”
“Gabi, stop,” her dad implored. “It’s a suite.”
She looked from him to Kylie, who suddenly appeared to be acting like an over-excited guest on The Price is Right. She was a great friend, but a terrible actress. “All right.” She stood up. “I’m suspicious, but I’ll bite.”
Her dad high-fived Kylie and they followed their escort up a million steps, into the back halls of the stadium and finally to the suites.
Her dad excitedly exclaimed about everything the whole time, and Kylie helped rile him up even more. Gabi just kept turning it over and over in her head. Who had Kylie been texting on the train over, and why was she acting so fucking weird?
As soon as the door to their suite opened, she had her answer. Sitting casually in one of the plush seats was Mason with a Cubs shirt that strained across his shoulders and biceps, and a hat to match. She felt her heart pound furiously as he looked up at her, and a grin spread from ear to ear. Damn it all, that man was too gorgeous to just be out in public.
“Kylie,” she ground out, tearing her eyes away from the man-hunk. “What did you do?”
She just smiled sheepishly.
“Gabi, Kylie,” Mason said, pushing himself up to greet them, “what are the chances?” His shit-eating grin told her he had orchestrated this whole affair and was rather proud of himself. She wanted to gut punch him and then kiss him until he couldn’t stand anymore.
“Yeah,” she said dryly, “chances.”
“Hi, I’m George Turner, Gabi’s father,” her dad said, bursting forth, still as excited as a schoolboy, and shook his hand. “Isn’t this crazy? My first time to Wrigley and we win a suite. A suite!”
Mason shook his hand heartily. “It is crazy.” He winked at Gabi. “I’m glad you get to experience your first game from here, there’s nothing like it.”
“Did you win too?” her father asked.
“Yep,” he lied.
“And you know my girls?” He shook his head. “What a small world.”
Gabi rolled her eyes. Kylie smothered a giggle.
Their introductions were interrupted when the door swung open to reveal a tall, extraordinarily handsome dark-haired man with two beers and a bag of popcorn hanging from his teeth. Which he promptly dropped the second his eyes landed on Kylie.
Mason chuckled. “Everyone, this is my friend and business partner, Cruz Fernandez. Cruz, this is Gabi, George, and Kylie.”
Cruz blushed about the popcorn but set the beers down and shook each of their hands. He paused noticeably longer with Kylie. “It’s so nice to meet you all”—he motioned toward the seats—“should we sit?”
“We should,” her dad declared, and they all found seats on the outside portion of the suite.
Somehow Gabi managed to get railroaded between Mason and her father. Kylie was between her father and Cruz, who seemed to be very focused on making her giggle. Gabi found it interesting that his efforts seemed to be working.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked Mason when her father’s attention was elsewhere.
He grinned. It made her heart stop. Full stop.
“Doing what? This was pure coincidence, gorgeous.”
“Right.” Her voice was cold, but she felt anything but. The word “gorgeous” kept ringing around in her head. She had to fight a smile despite how pissed she was at the moment.
“Besides,” he said quietly, “maybe I was hoping for a second kiss.”
Her eyes flew to his, and the intensity of the desire she saw made her lady parts pulse so hard it took her breath away. She imagined climbing onto his lap right here in the booth.
He grinned as the flush climbed her cheeks. “That’s what I thought.” He leaned closer. “I’d love to know what you’re thinking about right now.”
“Strangling you.”
He laughed. “Not really my thing, but for you, I’d give it a try.”
“Oh my God,” she groaned and looked away while he chuckled. She hated that the sound gave her goosebumps. She stared down at the field and tried to concentrate on all the other good-looking men there. But there were none, there was only Mason.
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Mason
Mason was simultaneously pleased by how well he had pulled off this scheme and irritated by how ceaselessly turned on he was. It was Gabi’s fault; he hadn’t expected her to come in short white shorts, toned thighs, looking adorable in a low-cut Cards shirt and high ponytail.
The first thing out of his mouth when he saw her was a slow “fuuuuuck” that luckily no one had heard. And now she was sitting at his elbow with a scowl, arms crossed, trying her level best to ignore him, but all it was doing was pushing her breasts up into the most beautiful bit of cleavage he had ever seen.
If she wanted him to leave her alone, she was doing the worst possible job of deterring him. No, he was dead-set on making her his. It might take a hundred years, but for some reason, that didn’t faze him. He was glad his brothers weren’t around to see this.
“So, George,” he started, purposefully leaning close to Gabi as he spoke, “how has your week been?”
“Amazing,” he said with a grin. “I got to see my ladybug.”
Gabi groaned quietly and slid down in her seat.
Ladybug. Mason tucked that away for later.
“I’ve eaten just about every deep dish pizza in town, tried all the local brews, and now box suites at Wrigley Field watching my Cards.” He shrugged. “What more could a man ask for in life?”
He instantly liked George. He was a kindred spirit. Pizza, beer, baseball. To him, that was exactly everything a man could ask for. Except for the ladybug sitting next to him. “Nothing. I completely agree,” he answered.
“Are you from here?” George asked.
“I am”—he stretched out his legs—“born and raised. I have a furniture company. That’s how I met ladybug here.”
Gabi elbowed him so hard in the side he let out an “oof.”
George chuckled. “Don’t cross that one,” he warned, nodding toward his daughter. “She’s a firecracker. Just like I raised her to be.”
“I’ve noticed,” he answered. He didn’t mention that her feistiness was one of the things that made him want to bury his dick in her whenever she was around.
“I’m sure you have,” George answered, narrowing his eyes at him a little.
Mason just smiled. It was clear that George was sizing him up. His interest in Gabi was not subtle after all. But it didn’t bother him; he liked the man, and Mason was willing to do whatever it was to get on his good side. Nothing was going to stop him from getting a chance at the firecracker sitting between them.
Eventually George nodded in what he could have only guessed was some sort of minor approval. He gave himself a mental high-five. Score one for Mason.
“Have you always been a baseball fan, ladybug?” he asked Gabi a few minutes later, fully prepared for her to snap at him.
Instead, she elbowed him again so hard it knocked his breath away. “Don’t call me that.”
Her eyes were narrow and dark but, still, all he could think about was taking her into some dark hallway and showing her just how excited she made him. He had an inkling that she would like it just as much as he would. He just laughed and rubbed his side. “Ow. Well, have you?”
“My dad has taken me to see the Cards every summer since I was four,” she said with an exasperated sigh. “So, yes, I guess I have always been a baseball fan.”
Mason grinned at the thought of spending summer nights with her at a ballpark—it made his stomach pull significantly enough that he had to clear his throat. “Well, just so you know,” he whispered very close to her ear, “I think that’s incredibly sexy.”
“Oh, I’m so glad,” she whispered back.
She was heavy on the sarcasm, but Mason could see the gooseflesh spread from where his breath had brushed her neck. He wanted to make it appear all over her gorgeous body. “I thought you would be,” he said with a grin. She just tightened her arms across her chest and looked away from him.
But no one was there to save her. Cruz, Kylie, and George were all wrapped up talking about stats and laying bets on the game. Cruz was laying the charm on thick and already had a date with Kylie as his prize if the Cubs won.
Mason crossed his fingers for him in spirit and hoped the Cubs had turned around enough from the slaughter the night before to pull out a win. He doubted it. Highly.
“Seriously. Why did you do all this?” Gabi finally asked him again.
He smiled and shrugged. “I wanted to see you again.” Honesty seemed like the better way to go. Lying was not going to get the murder out of her eyes. “And when Kylie mentioned you would be here, I called a buddy of mine. And here we are.”
She blinked and he wished a thousand wishes that he could see into that pretty head of hers. “Did it ever occur to you to just ask me to dinner?”
“Would you have said yes?”
“No.”
“So”—he motioned around him—“here we are.”
She held his eyes for another minute before letting out an exhausted breath. “I’m going to go get another beer,” she told her father. “Need anything?”
“Ooh, a brat please,” he said. “And another one of those IPA’s.”
“I’ll go too,” Mason offered, drawing a glare of death from Gabi. “What? You can’t carry all that on your own.”
“Mason’s right,” George offered. “Let the man help you.”
If he could have given the man a kiss, he would have, but opted instead for a high-five as he passed by. At least he had one Turner on his side.
Following Gabi up the steps was one of the highlights of his entire life. Her ass. Those shorts. If he had died right there, he would have been grateful for that final beautiful vision.
Once they were in the hallway, she immediately whipped around on him. The move was so fast it made his head spin.
She pushed him hard in the chest and spoke with her jaw clenched. “What are you doing? What do you want from me?”
He stepped back a bit and put his hands up. “I just wanted to spend time with you, that was the truth, Gabi.”
She crossed her arms over her chest again and looked around the empty hallway. No one was around. Not a soul.
He took the opportunity to step closer. He lowered his voice. “And I don’t know about you, but all I’ve been able to think about is the hottest fucking kiss of my life.”
She reddened but countered with, “Oh, and I suppose you mean me.”
He took one more step and was so close to her he could hear her heart rate pick up. “Gabi,” he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “of course I mean you. That kiss erased every other kiss I’ve ever had.”
She drew in a breath and pressed her lips together.
“I know you felt it too. You feel it right now.”
“I don’t ...” She seemed to be searching for something in his eyes.
“What? You don’t what?”
“I shouldn’t...”
Fuck it. He wasn’t going to wait any longer. Quickly checking the hallway once again, he drew his hand up to her chin, tilted her face toward his, and brought his lips to hers with a hunger that made her gasp in surprise.
But instead of fighting as he expected, she opened for him willingly, ran her tongue along his, and before long, her hands were on his shoulders pulling him forward with such need he actually fucking growled.
He delved deep, trying to make the most out of the moment. He explored every part of her with his hands, her neck, her breasts, and when he slid his fingers down her stomach and brushed her womanhood, she whimpered, sending him into overdrive.
They groped at each other, desperate for more, and when he backed her up against the wall, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed into her heat, his cock straining against the zipper of his jeans. She whimpered from the friction.
They kissed until they were out of breath, dizzy, disoriented with desire. And when he pulled away from her, her chest was heaving, her lips cherry red from his.
All he wanted to do was dive back in and kiss her until they were spent.
“We should go back,” was all she could get out. Her voice was weak and breathy.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “But I don’t want to.”
She cracked the first hint of a smile, and it hit him in the chest like a ray of sunshine. “Me either. But we should.”
He didn’t budge. “Will you have dinner with me?”
“We are, we’re getting brats, remember?”
He put a hand to her cheek. “I mean it. A real date. You, me, dinner.”
A thousand emotions played across her eyes, and for just the barest of seconds, he thought she would actually say yes.
“No, Mason. That’s very sweet of you, but I just ... can’t.”
“Why?” He knew he sounded pathetic, and he supposed he was, but he also didn’t give a flying fuck. Why wouldn’t she go on a simple date with him? Was there someone else? The thought of another man kissing her made his fists curl.
“I just ...” She took a deep breath and her eyes turned sad. “ I can’t. It’s complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” he told her, willing to try anything for a yes. “I don’t like complicated either.”
She didn’t answer.
He looked at the floor, and then back up. “Would you consider going on a date with me ever, or is this a no-way-never thing?”
She gave him a tiny smile. “I would consider it, someday. Maybe.”
Okay. He could live with that. He smiled at her and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I’ll take it, better than a solid no.”
“Come on,” she urged, still smiling shyly. “We need to get the food and get back or they’re going to come looking for us.”
“Fine,” he agreed, feeling a million pounds lighter. A maybe wasn’t a yes, but it was far better than the no he had been getting. “But, Gabi ...”
“Yes?”
The way she looked at him with her wide baby-blue eyes, her lips kiss-sore, he thought his heart might explode. “If you ever decide it’s a yes, all you have to do is text. Day, night, anything in between. Work, home, on the stairs at the Finch house ...”
Her smile grew until she was beaming at him, and he thought his chest might burst. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. She was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“All right,” she agreed with a giggle and then took off down the hallway toward the concessions. He followed eagerly, watching her perfect bottom sway from side to side, dreaming of that day and crossing his fingers that it would come soon.