The Shortstop (5 page)

“The next time we move, I’ll hire a team of movers to do it all for us,” he says matter-of-factly.

“I’m holding you to that promise.”

The night sky showcases the stars so vividly it feels like we’re sitting at the planetarium. The waiter quietly clears our plates. Quint stares at him with a frown on his normally smiling face.

“What’s wrong, Q?”

At the sound of my voice, his frown disappears with a shake of his head. “Absolutely nothing. Everything is perfect. Are you ready for dessert?”

“I’m so full. Everything was delicious.”

“I ordered your favorite.”

Out comes the waiter with a silver, domed tray. He places it before me and lifts the lid. On an elegant bone china plate sits an ice cream sandwich.

The sight of it makes me laugh. When we were kids, our moms would give us money whenever the ice cream truck came down our street. We’d both run toward the curb, waving our dollars to get his attention. Each time, Quint would stare at the menu board, debating what to get. There were so many choices, and since he loved every one of them, it was a torturous decision for him. I would immediately ask for the ice cream sandwich and he’d tease me mercilessly.

“So boring,” he says as I sit staring wide-eyed at the plate before me.

“You would say that every time.”

“It’s true. I never understood how you loved these things so much. It baffled me. What about ice cream cones, ice pops, or even Italian ice?”

“I love ice cream sandwiches.” He widens his eyes and raises his brows, just as he did years ago. The expression of his face makes me laugh even harder, and he follows suit.

“If you tried something else, you may find you love it as well.”

“I guess once I fall in love, I stick with it,” I admit with a shrug.

“Me, too.” He reaches for my hand and holds it between both of his. “Annie, when I see my future, it is so entwined with yours there’s never been a question of with whom I would grow old. I can clearly see myself sitting beside you as our kids play in the backyard. I visualize standing at home plate and looking up at you after my three taps, waiting for your nod as you’ve done every time I was up at bat. A love like ours comes around once in a million. Every single event I see in my future includes you.” While still holding my hand, he stands and swiftly kneels beside me, completely surprising me. “Annie, I love you more than anyone on this planet. I want you more than anyone in this universe. I need you more than my next breath. When we were just ten, I asked you to marry me. I’ve asked you at least a hundred times since then. I’m now officially asking you to be my wife.”

Without hesitation, I immediately nod and say, “Yes.”

His face distorts from the tears blurring my vision. He slides the ring on my finger and pulls me out of my chair. Just as he wraps me in his arms and kisses me with everything he has, fireworks explode over the lagoon. I gasp against his lips, turning to watch the spectacular show in the sky. He timed this perfectly. He created a perfect setting for his proposal. The love I feel for him overflows to the point of insanity. It’s simply crazy how much I love him.

As I turn back to look into his eyes, he smiles before kissing me gently. “Quint, I love you. This was so perfect. Whatever the future holds, I’ll
always
be right beside you.”

“Always,” he repeats and kisses me again, taking my breath away.

Quint

After my proposal, we find a secluded spot on the beach to make out while drinking two bottles of champagne. Annie rarely drinks to the point of getting drunk. When she does, it takes a lot of effort on my part to not fuck her wherever we are. She’s an adorable drunk, but more importantly, she gets horny as hell. The secluded beach provides the perfect opportunity for her to act on it. When she straddles me and her fingers begin working the button of my pants, I know it’s time to get back to our hotel. She attacked me in the car, causing the driver to look our way in amusement. Besides, I am beyond worked up myself. Because of my predicament, walking to the elevators is a very painful effort. Quietly maneuvering my drunken fiancée at two a.m. without causing a scene or drawing attention to my hard-on is not an easy task.

When we stumble into the elevator, she pounces.

“Fuck me, Quint,” she rasps against my lips.

“Not here.”

“Yes, here. Now. Fuck me.”

“Shit, Annie. You’re killing me.” The elevator supplies another perfect opportunity for her to drive me insane. A debate commences in my head weighing the pros and cons of fucking her right here, right now. Our arrival to the fourth floor is the only thing that stops me. I need to get her into our room and naked or I am going to fucking blow.

Peeling her off of my body once the doors open on our floor, I try to distract her with words. “Baby, we’ll be in our room in two minutes.”

“Then you’ll fuck me?” she says much louder than she should in a hotel hallway…a fucking Disney World hotel hallway!

“Shh, babe. You’re too loud,” I whisper directly into her ear.

She giggles adorably, putting a finger to her lips and repeating with an exaggerated, “Shh.”

I can’t help but laugh. My laugh causes a fit of giggles, which causes her body to shake against mine. I tighten my hold around her waist to keep her from falling over while simultaneously trying to open our door with my other hand. “Baby, stop giggling,” I plead when I feel her slipping from my grip.

She schools her features into a serious expression and says, “Okay, no more giggling.” When she sees I can’t keep a straight face, she loses it all over again.

“Thank, Christ,” I mutter when I finally get the door unlocked. I crack it open to poke my head in, hoping to God that Daphne is asleep. Except for the TV that’s on, the room is dark. Thankfully, Daphne is out cold on the couch. If she were awake, that would cause an unnecessary distraction for my tipsy fiancée, and I don’t want any distractions right now.

I place my pointer finger over my lips and quickly lift Annie in my arms to make it easier to get her into our room. She squeals, despite my request to be quiet. Daphne moans and Annie freezes in place, wide-eyed. She puts a finger to
my
lips and says, “Shh.”

This is hilarious.

“Can I show her my ring?” Annie asks in a normal tone of voice.

“Tomorrow,” I whisper, watching from the corner of my eye as Daphne stirs on the couch. Quickly, I rush to our room and shut the door with a resounding click.

The moment I place her in the center of our bed, she’s on me instantly. She’s beyond worked up, and her feistiness is further spurring me on. I need to be inside her, but I also need to taste her. As she works the buttons on my shirt, I slide my hand beneath her dress and directly to her panties.

“Quint,” she calls out when my fingers skim over her pussy. She stops what she’s doing, lost in my eyes and my touch. “Please.”

“What, baby? What do you want? You tell me, I’ll do whatever you want.” I realize by prolonging this tryst with foreplay, she could be asleep soon because of her state of drunkenness. I don’t care. I’ll do whatever she needs me to do. If she needs to pass out, I’ll let her do that right before taking a cold shower.

“Lick me,” she says, not at all in her normal, shy, self-conscious way. Her words send a jolt right to my cock.

“I’d be happy to.” I place a hard kiss on her lips and move away to remove her panties. She immediately spreads her legs for me.

“You’re so beautiful, and you’re all mine.”

She smiles and nods at my declaration. “Yours.” The smile falls from her face when I slowly circle her clit with the pad of my thumb. She arches and moans so erotically that I practically come in my pants. Replacing my thumb with my tongue, I pick up the motion where I left off. As I lick and suck every part of her pussy, she sinks her fingers into my hair, trying to manipulate the direction she needs me to go. She moves her hips against my mouth until she trembles and then stills.

A long, breathy sigh tells me she’s completely sated. Her eyes are closed, her lips are parted, and her cheeks are flushed. The just-came look on her gorgeous face is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. It looks like she’s out for the count. With her eyes still closed, she takes me by surprise and says, “Come here.”

I quickly yank off my shirt and release my throbbing crotch from my pants and briefs. The cool, air-conditioned air is almost painful against my flaming skin. I’m on fucking fire for her, and she’s the only thing that can extinguish it.

She opens her eyes as I settle between her legs. “Fuck me, Quint.” She’d never demand that of me on a normal day. Her alcohol-induced bravado is a complete turn-on for me. To hear words that she would never find the nerve to use, even after all these years of being together, fucks with my testosterone levels.

“I plan to, Annie.” I rub my hardness against her. She squirms and gasps at the contact. “Feel that?”

“I want that.” Leaning closer, she takes my bottom lip in between her teeth and tugs. Her hands skim my chest and travel to my back until she grips my ass. “Stop teasing me,” she pleads, pulling me tighter against her.

Not able to stand the pressure building in my cock, I thrust right into her. She slams her head back onto the pillow.

“God, I love fucking you.”

“God, I fucking love you,” she responds in a breathy whisper. The curve of her neck begs to be kissed. I trail my lips along her smooth skin, but with each thrust, my needs become carnal. I bite down on her shoulder, causing her to gasp.

“Come, Annie,” I demand when I look at her face. Grabbing the back of my head, she pulls me to her lips and kisses me like we haven’t seen each other for years. The way she moans into my mouth makes it hard for me to hold back any longer. I’m close. I want to be able to watch her without my own orgasm stealing my focus. “Annie. Now.”

On my demand, she clenches around me so forcibly I can feel it in every cell of my body. I watch in awe as she comes apart right before my eyes. Only when she stills from exhaustion do I focus on myself. Through hooded eyes, she watches as I chase my own orgasm. With a limp arm, she places her hand against my cheek.

“I love you, Quint,” she says softly.

She raises her hips for me, knowing that I’m almost there. Thrust after thrust, I feel like I’m running a marathon. The buildup in my balls becomes unbearable until I finally explode inside her. She focuses on my face and slips her thumb into my mouth as I pant from my exertions.

“Fuck, that was good,” I manage to say between my gasps for breath. A slow smile spreads across her face before she laughs.

“What’s so funny?’

“You. There is only one other time you make that face.”

“I make a face?”

“Yeah, right before you swing your bat.” When I smirk, she adds, “Your baseball bat, dopey.”

“I do?”

“Yep. The sight of you at bat causes me to squirm. It’s the same face you make when you come.”

“Now that I know that, I’m going to be distracted at the plate.” I pull out and lie beside her. With my head propped on my hand, I stare down at her as she smiles lazily. “Are you okay? Do you feel sick? You drank a lot tonight.”

“I’m great,” she says with a giggle. “I feel amazing.”

“That was pretty amazing. I can’t get enough of you. It’s sick.”

“We can do that once a day for the rest of our lives.”

“Once? I’m going to need it more than once a day.”

She holds her left hand out to admire her ring. “I can’t believe we’re official. I’ve always wondered how it would feel when we finally got engaged and even more so when we get married.”

“And? How does it feel?”

She smirks before saying, “Besides the obvious feelings you just gifted me with, I feel like I have a blinking sign over my head that tells the world I’m yours. I know I was always yours, but having it become official is so damn sexy.”

“Everything about us is so damn sexy.” I trace her features with my fingertips. I know her so well. If I were blindfolded, I could pick her out of a lineup by using my touch. “I love you, completely.”

“I love you the same way.” She leans closer to kiss me tenderly. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Quint Lawson.”

“We can get married tomorrow. Then you wouldn’t have to wait.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “Our parents would kill us. How did you convince them this was good timing?”

“I said it was happening. They could give us their blessing or not. Either way, I wanted you to know that starting my career in two weeks wouldn’t be as meaningful if I hadn’t committed to you in every way. We always say we are a team. I wanted to prove it.” I lift her left hand and place a kiss on her ring. “I was so nervous. When you asked me earlier what was wrong, it took everything I had not to confide in you. I have no secrets from you. This one was killing me.”

“Did you think I would say no?” she asks incredulously.

“No. I just wanted it to be perfect. All I want is to make you happy, Annie.”

Her smile changes into something more meaningful, more intimate. Her blue eyes become glassy as her emotions swell. She caresses my check, and I lean into her touch. “You make me very happy, Quint.”

“Good. That’s all I want…always.”

“Quint?”

“Yes, babe?”

“I’m sleepy.” She cuddles up to my side, places her head on my chest, and drifts off to sleep…but not before mumbling she loves me.

This perfect girl is mine, in every way. She’s been my first all around—my first kiss, my first girlfriend, and my first lover. It’s always been just her, my one and only.

Soon she’ll be the only Mrs. Quint Lawson.

We’re getting a much later start than we wanted to. Neither of us wanted to leave that big, comfy bed this morning. The entire night was spent napping and fucking. I should be exhausted right now, but I’m not. We’ll be heading back to school tonight. Wanting to visit one of the other parks before we do, we’re now rushing to get ready to start the day. To be honest, now that I proposed and she accepted, I wouldn’t care if we lay in bed all day to continue last night’s activities. The novelty of being here in Disney
wore off, and the novelty of being her fiancé is too overwhelming.

As I’m shaving, Annie walks in holding a piece of paper, wearing a frown and nothing else.

“Babe, you can’t walk in here naked when I’m scraping a razor blade across my jugular.”

As if she forgot she was naked, she looks down at herself and blushes. “Oh. Um, I need to take a shower,” she says distractedly. Holding out the note so I can read it, she adds, “Daphne’s gone.”

Getting antsy. Went to explore. I’ll be back before we leave.

“So?”

“She left without us. I’m surprised she didn’t wake us up.”

“Maybe this whole Billy thing is messing with her more than she’ll admit.”

Annie looks at my reflection, contemplating my words. “You think she’s having second thoughts?” The optimism in her voice is hard to ignore. “You think she wants him back?”

“Babe, don’t start.”

“What? I merely asked a question,” she quips, folding her arms as she does. My eyes focus on her breasts, and she sighs. “Quint!”

“Sorry.” I’m the first to break eye contact. Resuming my shave, I shake my head. “You have that meddling look, and you need to stay out of it.”

I can feel her eyes on me, and when I chance a look, she’s staring at me with narrowed eyes. “I have no such look. I’m just worried about her. She’s my best friend.”

“I’m your best friend.”

“Quint. Stop being a jerk.”