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Danika
Holy shit. If sex with Chance was always going to be that good, I was in for a world of trouble. That was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, but I didn’t want to tell him that and potentially scare him away. Or bring up the fact that other guys had been inside me after just having the best sex of my life so far. I couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the connection between us the same way I did.
There had always been something pulling Chance and me to one another, but this was a whole other level. I didn’t have the words to explain the way I currently felt in the afterglow. My skin had always prickled whenever Chance was near, but having him touch me and be inside me, my entire being felt like it was vibrating with life.
I lay there on his bed, Chance breathing heavily next to me as he grabbed me and pulled me onto his chest. His heart was racing.
“That was incredible,” he said, his voice breathy and exhausted.
“It was,” I agreed, and he leaned up, his stomach muscles tightening with the movement as he strained to look at me.
“Right? It was ...” he started to say before pausing. “I don’t know what it was, but it was something.”
“Yes, it was that.”
“I’ll be right back. Gotta get this thing off.” He motioned toward the condom still covering him.
I had been surprised when I told him I was on the pill and he still insisted on wearing one. I’d just always heard that if you gave a guy a reason not to, they’d take it. But then again, Chance Carter wasn’t like other guys.
His head poked out of the bathroom. “You hungry?”
“Starved actually.”
“Wanna get a pizza?” he suggested, and my stomach growled.
“Only if you get the right kind,” I said playfully even though I was not playing.
Pizza was a serious topic for New Yorkers, and I’d learned that Californians had no idea what they were doing when it came to it. Barbeque sauce? Chicken? Wood-fired crust? No, no, and no.
“I know. Deep dish. Extra-thick crust. Absolutely cannot fold it in half. Eat it with a fork,” he said matter-of-factly, and my jaw dropped open.
“You’d better be joking.” I narrowed my eyes at him, and he busted up laughing.
“My parents raised me on New York pizza. It’s a travesty, trying to find it anywhere else, but I know a place. You’ll be impressed.”
“You were joking about the deep dish and the fork though, right?” Until he answered me, I couldn’t be sure.
“Yes, babe, that was a joke.”
“Couldn’t believe I was going to have to break up with you already,” I huffed out before adding, “And just after the best sex of my life.”
That got him to move all the way out of the bathroom. He was still naked. And good God, naked Chance Carter was a sight to see. His thigh muscles were ridiculous, but his shoulders and arms matched. He was thick in all the right places.
“Did you just say”—he moved back to the bed, his giant body covering mine—“best sex of your life?”
I bit my bottom lip so hard; I thought it might bleed. “Mmhmm.”
“Good to know.” He dipped down, his tongue sweeping in, and my body wanted him all over again. “Now, get dressed.” He gave me one last kiss before moving away and digging in his dresser.
“How have I never heard of this place?” I looked around at the small mom-and-pop pizza shop Chance had driven us to.
We were sitting in barstools at a high-top table while families filled the booths around us.
“ ’Cause you’re not local.” He shrugged before squeezing my hand, which he never seemed to let go of. “Kidding. It’s because they don’t advertise.”
“It smells like home in here,” I said, breathing in the smell of garlic and baking pizza crust.
“Do you miss it?”
“New York?”
“Yeah.”
I spun a little on my chair, wiggling my ass back and forth while I thought about how to answer. “I was just there.”
“I know, but maybe you miss it all the time? I think when I leave California, I’ll always miss it, no matter where else in the world I am.”
“I miss parts of it. But I like it here too. And I really like my new boyfriend,” I said with a smile as I studied his green eyes and wished I could read his mind. “I mean,” I started to stutter, wondering if I’d labeled us too quickly, even with his pre-sex declaration earlier.
“Don’t take it back.”
“Take what back?” I pretended to be clueless, but I knew exactly what he meant.
“Calling me your boyfriend.” He grinned, and that dimple appeared. “That’s what I am.”
It was my turn to smile. “Okay, boyfriend. So, would you ever leave California permanently?” This conversation was a little serious, but I felt okay with having it. I assumed that we’d have to talk about our futures at some point.
“I’ll go wherever I’m drafted. But honestly, I’d always like to have a place here.”
That was my opening to ask baseball-related questions. “How does that work anyway? Like, I understand the draft process, but isn’t baseball split up into a bunch of different levels or something like that?”
“Yeah. They’re called farm teams. Whoever drafts me has a farm team that I’ll go play for. They typically start at what’s called Single-A. Then, there’s Double-A, Triple-A, and then the major leagues.”
“So, you work your way up in order?”
“Chance!” His name was shouted, and we both turned toward the woman behind the counter. “Pizza’s ready, dear.”
“Be right back.” He hopped off his stool, and I swore she winked at him as he grabbed the pizza and brought it to our table, but I couldn’t be sure.
He opened the box slowly, where only he could see. It was like he was inspecting it before he opened it wide and presented it to me with a, “Ta-da,” and a wave of his hand.
I grinned from ear to ear because it looked just like pizza from back home. But I’d been fooled before, and I knew that just because it looked like home didn’t mean that it tasted like it.
“I hope this tastes as good as it looks,” I commented before pulling apart a slice and tossing it onto one of the paper plates he’d brought over. “Damn, that’s hot.” I waved my fingers back and forth as I blew on them at the same time.
“Give it a sec,” he instructed before looking at me over the box. “You asked if we went in order after the draft.”
“Yeah. Like, do you start at Single-A, then go to Double, and then Triple?”
“Not always. Some guys go straight into Double-A. Or some guys go from Double-A right to the bigs.”
“Bigs?” I asked, not knowing what he meant.
“Big leagues. Majors. The show,” he said as it dawned on me. Those were all different names for playing in the major leagues.
“Sorry. Yeah. Gotcha. The bigs. But you just go wherever the farm team is?”
“Yep. Wherever they send me, that’s where I’ll go play.”
“And who do you live with?” I never realized how many questions I had about this profession, but once we started talking, they kept popping into my head.
“Sometimes, the teams set up host families that you can stay with. Other times, a bunch of the guys end up sharing an apartment. You get paid to play, but it’s not much. My buddy Cole lives with his girlfriend. But he got a signing bonus, so ...” he said, like that explained everything.
I watched as he grabbed his slice of pepperoni and folded it in half before taking a big bite. “Chance, I am so turned on right now.”
He stopped chewing and looked around, as if debating what to do about the situation he’d created. “Yeah? You like that?”
“You folded the slice in half! Hell yes, I like that.”
“That’s how you eat it.” He shrugged, and I wanted to climb across the table and kiss him square on the mouth.
I grabbed my slice, watching the oil from the cheese drip out as I did the same.
“Oh. This is good.” I shouldn’t have talked with my mouth full, but it needed to be said. It definitely tasted as good as it looked.
“Told you,” he said, taking another bite and practically finishing it off. “What about you?”
“What about me what?” I grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the corners of my mouth.
“You told me once that the plan was to work for your dad after college. But I never asked what you were going to do.”
I shrugged, wondering what exactly to say and how. “My dad would love it if I took over the company eventually, but like I told you before, he’d never force me to do it.”
“Is that what you want to do? Take over the company?”
It was funny, hearing Chance ask me that question. With Jared, things had been so different. In the beginning we seemed to share a vision, but when my mind started to shift and I talked about other options, Jared always dragged me back on course. He refused to let me change or alter our future plans, regardless of how I felt about them.
“I always thought so,” I said without adding the parts about Jared.
“But not anymore?” Chance folded another slice with a smirk before taking a giant bite.
“I don’t know.” I absolutely wanted to be involved in my dad’s company in some capacity, but as far as running the entire empire, I wasn’t sure my heart was in it that deep. I saw how hard my dad worked, rarely taking days off and never going on an actual vacation. I had no desire to be owned by my career. I craved that elusive work-life balance everyone yearned for. “I don’t want to disappoint my dad, but I’m not sure it’s the right move for me.”
“How come?”
“Having a career is really important to me. But I don’t want my entire life to revolve around work.”
“You have that luxury,” he said as he swallowed the last bite of his latest slice, and my hackles instantly rose.
“What does that mean?” I asked a little too defensively.
He held up a hand. “Calm down, Little Spitfire. I only meant that it won’t be that way for me. I will be whatever baseball needs me to be. I’ll go where it tells me to go. And I’ll do what it tells me to do. I’ll rarely get days off. I’ll miss holidays, birthdays, and important dates. And even in the off-season, I’ll be working toward the next season. Baseball will own me. And I’ll let it.”
I wasn’t sure exactly why Chance had felt the need to tell me all of those things, but it seemed like some sort of warning. Like he was giving me an out if I thought I couldn’t handle all the things he’d just explained.
“When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound too fun.”
He grinned. “Oh, it’s fun. I’ll get paid to play baseball, Danika.” His grin grew even wider, if that was possible. “You know how many guys want that opportunity? Almost every single one who’s ever played at some point. But I’m not under any illusions either. I’m realistic about what it means for my life and the people in it. I will miss important things. I will disappoint people. I will push my body to the brink of exhaustion and whatever else because I love this game and there’s nothing else I’d rather do than play it.”
“See,” I breathed out, completely in awe for the level of passion he had. “I’ve never loved anything the way you love baseball.”
“You will.” He winked before grabbing my hand.
“Will I?”
“Yeah. You’re gonna love me like that,” he said before bringing my knuckles to his lips and pressing a kiss there.
My heart raced. My body melted. I knew that we were still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, but I found myself wondering ... Is this thing with Chance forever?
