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  “What’s the plan for tomorrow Cara?” I was struck by his odd behavior, but figured Jason just didn’t want to talk about his family or his ridiculous wealth.

  “We have games tomorrow, right here at SSDU, you should come.”

  The invitation seemed to lighten the mood, because Jason smiled, and happily obliged.

  Chelsea pulled two beers out of the fridge and handed each to Hunter and Jason. She also pulled out two waters and we made our way to the living room to sit down.

  “So Bradley, oil man huh? You must be living the life here in SD?”

  Jason responded, not trying to hide the annoyance building in his voice. “I do okay. I don’t own the company of anything, so I get what I work for. Right now I am a student, so I don’t get much.”

  Chelsea was highly intrigued, her family had money so the upper crust of society was something that she admired, and often craved. She continued her barrage of inquisitive questions, not caring if Jason was in the mood to answer them or not. “Where exactly do you live, since I’m sure you aren’t bumming it like us commoners on campus?” She smiled a big smile that was unfortunately not reciprocated by Jason.

  “I live in a small house in La Jolla, nothing too special.”

  Chelsea’s mouth dropped to the floor, and she beamed with excitement. “La Jolla is my old stomping grounds. My parents still live there, and to say that you do okay is a stretch Bradley, cut the shit.” She shook her head and grinned at him, knowing that he was trying to downplay his excessive wealth. “Besides, you should be proud.”

  Jason looked at her impassively, which was a welcome change from the death stares he had been dishing out all night.

  Mila came barging through the door, with Grant on her arm, and loudly introduced him to Jason. He was tall, lean, and average looking, but he was a known playboy, and I wondered how their relationship worked. I could only assume that they were taming one another because they had been spending so much time together lately, it seemed like their status was evolving. Of course with Mila you could never be sure.

  Jason stood and shook his hand, and just as quickly as they had entered the living room, there were gone. Mila whisked him off to her bedroom.

  Chelsea ran into Mila’s room and Grant came strolling out. I could hear Chelsea and Mila talking when Mila, moving at lightning speed out of her room, jumped into my lap with a Cheshire cat type grin, and whispered into my ear, “You just fucked Mr. Big Bucks? So much for not charming you out of your pants with that southern drawl.”

  I must have stopped breathing for a second because Jason was smiling at me like he knew what was being said, and approved of it. I nodded at Mila, and managed to break through my bashful state of mind and smiled at her.

  After sitting around, laughing and talking for what felt like hours, Jason looked at his watch and stood to stretch, signaling that it was late and he was tired. “Cara, it’s late, you said you have games tomorrow – time for you to go to bed."

  Chelsea stopped to look at Jason, shocked at his demanding tone of voice. I agreed with him and stood up, taking his hand. Mila’s face scrunched as if she had just smelled something rotten. I ignored them and went to my bedroom, bidding good night to everyone.

  <>

  Lying down on the bed, I looked at Jason, all scrumptious six foot one of him, and decided to ask about Grant.

  “Why were you so cool with Grant tonight, and so callous towards Hunter?” He eyed me cautiously but gave no answer. He changed the subject rather abruptly. We sat and talked for a while longer, before Jason got up to leave. My heart sank a little. I knew it was low class to have him stay, but I was really hoping that he would.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “Why yes Miss. Cara. It would be very…” he struggled for the words, “un-Southern” of me to stay the night on our first night.”

  I giggled at the absurdity of him not staying to sleep, when he stayed to do with we done earlier. His face feigned innocence. “What’s so funny?”

  “You are.”

  “Why? Are you making fun of my manners?”

  “At the moment? Yes. We just… hit a homerun,” my softball analogies never seemed to fail me, “and you don’t want to stay and bunt.”

  He managed a chuckle, but insisted that he would lack class if he were to stay, which made absolutely no sense to me, but I let it go. He leaned in and kissed me, passionately, then turned and walked out. I heard my roommates say good night to him and then the closure of the door. I would have lied if I said I wasn’t disappointed that he had left me here alone tonight, but I took solace in my radio, and the fact that Slither was playing, and drifted off to sleep.

  <>

  “Rise and shine sleepy head.” Chelsea was her usual cheerful self, even at seven thirty in the morning. Mila strolled down to the hallway into the bathroom, with a face that issued a warning for all who dared to come near her. Chelsea started rambling about the night before, and while I was excited, I didn’t want to jinx things.

  “So Cara, Jason is quite the character huh?”

  I played coy, but deep down; I knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Seriously Cara, the guy is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One minute he was cool as a cucumber, the next minute, he was a damn ice pack.”

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed that.”

  “Whatever, I know you’re smitten, but you are also full of shit. You know exactly what I’m talking about. He seems like a nice guy, and he is definitely into you, but there is a jealousy factor to him. Be careful with that Cara… oh, and don’t let Big Bucks boss you around, his money means nothing.”

  I love Chelsea, but sometimes I wished that she would step back. I’m not sure why I had the hardest time telling her that.

  “Don’t worry Chels; I know what I am doing. He’s a gentleman; he didn’t even stay the night last night.” I snickered, knowing how ridiculous that must have sounded, considering she gave us a round of applause last night.

  “Cara, you are an idiot in love…. Or lust. Which is it? She eyed me menacingly. “Do you forget that I got a live audio feed of your sexual escapades last night? Gentleman my ass."

  I blushed after having Chelsea throw that little fact back up into the air. It was so not like me to do what I allowed myself to do last night. “Chels, I know, it seems stupid that we could do what we did and then him not want to break manners and stay the night. But, he is huge on his Southern manners, so I just let it be.”

  “Hmmmm... whatever, He is obviously head over heels for you, in a weird, obsessive kind of way.”

  I lowered my head, knowing that she was absolutely right.

  Chelsea continued, “Is he coming to the games today?”

  I was instantly excited again and nodded with so much enthusiasm that my head could have fallen off of my shoulders. Mila poked her head into my room. She looked much better, and entered looking much more approachable.

  “Pinks, did you put him on the guest list? Guess it wouldn’t really matter though right, being worth millions and all.”

  I gave her a stern gaze. “I did not put him on the list; it was too late last night. And hey, lay off on the rich boy jokes, he is kind of uncomfortable with it.”

  They both looked at me astonished, but decided to say nothing. We got up, got dressed, had some breakfast and made our way down to the fields.

  It was our system to take turns driving so that we didn’t have three cars at the same exact place. Today was Chelsea’s turn to drive, and I was thankful because I always loved riding in her car. She drove a sleek, metallic grey, Infinity G Convertible, much better than my Honda Civic. It was a tight fit with the three of us, and all of our gear, but riding with the top down on a warm, spring, San Diego morning was an exhilarating feeling. Chelsea had the latest pop tunes blasting on the radio, and I got lost in my thoughts.

  “Hello Pinks. Earth to Pinks.” Mila startled me out of my daydream.

&nbs
p; ‘Yeah, sorry, what’s up?”

  “Um, I was asking if your parents were coming to the games today.”

  Oh shit! I had been so wrapped up in Jason Bradley that I forgot that my parents would be at the games today. I knew better than to bring a guy home to my parents after one night. Unfortunately, with Jason being there, my parents being there, and Jason’s need to know everyone, he was going to want to be introduced to them. My mom was going to love him -- I was sure, but my dad was going to be suspicious, just like he was with every guy I brought home. Then there was Ryan. He would be at the game, and I clearly remembered the look Jason gave him when he eyed us hugging in the picture. Ryan was every bit the protective big brother, and if he felt any of Jason’s freakish, obsessive vibes, he was going to have something to say. I was praying this all went well.

  “Yes, my parents and Ryan will be at the game.”

  “Wow Pinks, big step for you today.”

  I grinned and tried to downplay the situation, but inside my stomach was turning on itself, and I was feeling queasy just thinking about it.

  We arrived at the field and I immediately spotted my parents. Mr. and Mrs. Pinkston were two very proud, overzealous parents, who showed up everywhere ridiculously early. I waved to them, grabbed my gear, and walked over in their direction.

  “Hi mom… hi dad.” I hugged both of my parents and my dad took my gear from me.

  “Hi gorgeous.” That was my mom’s nickname for me, and I hated it because I obviously didn’t feel that I lived up to such a title.

  “Cars, are you throwing today?” My dad was much too excited to ask that question, and it dawned on me, once again, that I forgot that I was pitching that day.

  A sudden blow was dealt to my already fragile stomach and I felt even queasier about the day. Why did I invite Jason to this game --so soon after really meeting each other? Not only was he going to be at a venue where he would recognize my parents, but I also had to pitch the damn game.

  “Yes daddy, I am throwing today’s game.”

  “Nervous?”

  “Not really…” Damn, another lie. Of course I was nervous. My new guy, who had a bit of an obsession problem was coming and would certainly meet my overly protective parents. I briefly contemplated mentioning Jason to them, but immediately thought better of it, knowing full well that my dad would turn on the interrogation machine in his head. I shook the thought out of my head and strolled down to the field.

  <>

  We won the first game 5-2. I pitched the entire game and felt quite accomplished. Central Utah had a pretty good team. My parents sat in the stands just behind home plate, and my dad charted my pitches just as he had done since I was 10 years old. Ryan made it just as the game was starting, but by the end of game one, there was still no sign of Jason. I was confused. On the one hand, I was excited that he wasn’t there and I was able to quell my fears where my parents were concerned, but then again, I was looking forward to seeing Jason’s unbelievably good looking face again.

  I must have dozed for a while because Mila and a couple of the girls from the team were waving their hands in my face.

  “EARTH TO PINKS!” Mila was in a full on shout by this point.

  “Sorry,” I smiled apologetically, “what’s up?”

  “The girls here were just wondering where your Sexy Southerner is?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe he won’t make it.” I shrugged, trying to downplay his noticeable absence.

  My phone buzzed and Mila went into my bag and grabbed it. There was a text message from Jason.

  from Jason

  *Sorry, something came up, I am on my way. <3*

  Mila smiled as she handed me the phone. I read the message, and it said Jason’s name on the top, but it dawned on me that we never swapped numbers. How did I have his number, and how did he have mine?

  I type a quick response:

  to Jason

  *No problem. How did you get my number?*

  My phone immediately buzzed again.

  from Jason

  *I swapped for us last night, while you were in the shower. *

  I wasn’t sure what to think about that, so I didn’t respond to it. Mila and the other girls stared with a hungry look in their eyes. They were longing for information and at the moment, because they were looming like vultures on a dead animal, I calmly put the phone back into my bag, and walked to the end where Chelsea was sitting.

  “Hey Cara. Good game doll.”

  “Thanks Chels.”

  “What’s wrong with you? You just threw an awesome game?”

  “I don’t know. I thought I would be happy with Jason not coming, but it threw me for a curve when he wasn’t here for the game.”

  “Well, that’s because you’ve got it bad.”

  “I do. He texted me and said he was on his way --that something had come up." I deliberately left out the part about Jason programming his number into my phone; Chelsea would have some strong words about the importance of boundaries and privacy. She wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but I had no desire to sit and listen to her ramble on about a topic that I was already fully aware of.

  “Well there you go. He’s on his way, and lucky for him, you’re throwing again. Let’s go warm you up.”

  <>

  Having Chelsea behind the plate was a relaxer for me. She was confident, knowledgeable, and knew how to whip me into shape. By game time, my stomach was back to being all butterflies and flutters. Jason was in the stands, looking every bit as delicious as I remembered him. He was in ripped blue jeans, an orange Longhorns tank top that blended in rather nicely with his tanned skin, denim Toms shoes, and hair that was a bit messy, yet tantalizing.

  Chelsea came out to the mound to give me our usual pre-game pep talk. "I see that your Texan is here, but get it out of your mind; we have another game to win."

  I smiled an uncharacteristic Colgate smile, and nodded my head. I turned to Mila at second base and gave her thumbs up. She laughed and shot one right back at me.

  The game was going well, and I had settled in quite nicely, that is – until I noticed Jason getting up and walking towards my family in the 7th inning. He stood in front of my mom, and gave her a big bear hug, then moved over to shake my dad's hand. Shortly after, he extended the same greeting to my brother, Ryan. After meeting them all, he didn’t go back to his seat. He sat next to my brother and they got lost in conversation.

  Mila saw what I saw and whispered in my ear, "I guess he is getting acquainted with the Pinkstons." She was aware that my dad could be bit overprotective, and would put any and every guy through the ringer. I guess the look of absolute horror on my face didn’t help. My parents, more specifically my dad, were going to be upset that I didn’t mention him. In my defense, I thought this situation out in my head, and somehow, this was the more logical route to take.

  The game ended with us winning 2-1. I dreaded walking out to see my family, and Jason. Mila ran out to see her parents; Dr. and Mrs. Nakamura, decked out in their SSDU gear. I waved at them and put my head down as I made my way over to my situation.

  The walk to my family felt like I was walking the Green Mile. I felt my stomach about to give out on me, and as I got closer, Jason came and swept me up into his arms.

  "Good game gorgeous." There was that name again. His Southern drawl still sounded as lovely as it did the night before.

  I looked at him with pure lust, and felt ashamed because my parents were only a few steps away. "Thanks. I see you met my parents and my brother."

  "Yes. Awesome family you have. Your dad is so attentive to what you do, I like that."

  I looked up to find my mom holding out her arms to wrap me in a celebratory hug. She always looked great, but coming to games, she matched from head to toe. She had her black shorts on with a red SSDU Softball t-shirt on, a big black and red bow in her ponytail, and nails that matched. "Cara, you were phenomenal out there today. And why didn't we know about Jason, he is quite the charmer." She win
ked at me while flashing the most outlandish smile I had ever seen on her face. Be careful or he will charm you right out of your pants Mom.

  My dad stood over me, hugged me, and whispered in my ear, "good game. We have some talking to do."

  I immediately knew what he was referring to – the gorgeous man standing right next to me.

  Ryan was flirting with Mila. They had something for each other, and that was part of the reason she wouldn't commit to Grant. "Hey Cars, good job out there today."

  I sarcastically jabbed at him, for being so wrapped up in Mila. "Are you sure you watched me today, or did you focus on number six playing second base?"

  He punched my right shoulder and smiled, and then Jason stepped into the conversation. "So, what's the plan? I would love to take Cara to eat, and hopefully y'all can join."

  My eyes opened wide. He wanted to go eat as a family? And his Southern charm was coming out, who was going to say no to that? Ryan nodded nonchalantly, and my parents agreed, but my mom insisted that I go back to my apartment to shower.

  Chelsea hugged her parents and signaled for me to come so she could take me back up to the apartment. Jason noticed her and signaled for her to go ahead. "Go ahead. I’ll take her back up," he shouted so that she could hear him."

  Jason told me to stay put and that he would bring the truck to me. When I looked up, I saw a very large, silver F-150 Raptor Edition. The truck looked like it was worth a million bucks with the massive lift job, the dark tinted windows, and chrome strategically placed on the exterior. For someone who only got what he worked for, and only being a student, I had to go with Chelsea and call bullshit on Jason doing okay. He was doing more than okay, he was living it up. He jumped out of the truck, took my gear, tossed it in the back, and went around and opened my door. I took notice of my dad watching Jason's every move, like a hawk. He seemed impressed because he had a slight grin on his face, which was normally non-existent when potential boyfriends were around.