WMIS 08 Forever With Me (24 page)

“We’re at a baseball game,” I say, as if it makes perfect sense.

Because it does.
 

“We need Cracker Jacks too,” Sam says. “And cotton candy.”

“And a dentist,” Luke says with a cringe.

“Beer.” I add.

“The beer here is warm,” Dominic says.

“I don’t care. I’m at a game. I need beer and peanuts.”

“Wait!” Meredith stands, looking about. “Where are Matt and Nic?”

We all turn and search the area, and suddenly Caleb points back down to the field. Matt and Nic are coming out of the White Sox dugout, headed for the field.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer begins. “Throwing out the first pitch today is a young woman who just got engaged on our field! Give a big Seattle welcome to Nic Dalton!”

“Oh, my God, I have to get Will back!” Jules is furiously tapping the screen of her phone as we all jump up, cheering loudly.

“Atta girl!” Brynna calls down to the field. Dom and his brothers are whistling loudly.

“This is so fun!” I clap my hands, jumping on the balls of my feet.

Nic walks out to the pitcher’s mound, ball in hand, but instead of standing in front of the mound, she stands on top of it and gives the catcher an arrogant look. Her lips twitch, but then she winds up and throws the ball perfectly, right into the catcher’s mitt, as if she’s a pro who’s been throwing baseballs for years.

“Holy shit, Will, you’re not the only one in the family with a hell of a right arm,” Isaac says excitedly.

“That’s so fucking awesome!” Will exclaims through the phone.

Matt and Nic wave at the crowd, then join us in the stands.

“You are so damn cool,” Luke says to Nic as he pulls her in for a hug.
 

“I know,” Nic replies, and laughs as she’s passed from brother to brother.

“Okay, you all have your own girls,” Matt says finally. “Hands off mine.”

“Now, back to food,” Brynna says, and flags down a guy carrying a box full of peanuts.
 

“It’s going to cost us a thousand dollars to eat all this junk,” Nate says.

“You can afford it, ace,” Jules replies happily, and cranes her neck looking for another vendor. “Where’s the pizza guy?”

“Were those rookies hitting on you when we were down hugging Nic and Matt?” Meredith asks Natalie.

“Yeah.” Nat shrugs and shakes her head. “They didn’t know any better.”

“They do now,” Luke replies mildly.

“What did you say?” Stacy asks.

“He didn’t say anything,” Nat replies and lays her head on her husband’s shoulder. “He glared at them like a caveman and the one guy recognized him and they shut up.”

“I’m a caveman?” Luke asks in surprise.

“You’re all a bunch of cavemen,” Meredith replies.

“Am I a caveman,
cara
?” Dom murmurs in my ear.

I snort and stare up at him, then lean in to talk into his ear. “I believe it was you who fucked me against the building on your property because I joked about fucking someone with an apa.”

I pull back and see his eyes narrow. “And just hearing you say that makes me want to do it again.”

“See? Caveman.”

***

“I’m so fucking full,” Brynna says as we walk down the sidewalk outside of the stadium toward a nearby pub.

“That’s because you ate everything except for the seat you were sitting in, legs,” Caleb says with a laugh and takes her hand in his.
 

“I didn’t eat any of Jules’ pizza,” she replies with a pout.

“I would have cut your hand off if you’d tried to steal my pizza,” Jules says.

It’s a beautiful summer night. Not quite dark out yet, warm with a light breeze. Perfect Seattle weather.

“I love nights like this,” I breathe, as the others joke and chat around us. Dominic is walking beside me, slowing his strides to match mine. He kisses my hand, then tucks it in the crook of his elbow, content to let me lean on him as we walk. “Seattle is beautiful in the summer.”

“Seattle is always beautiful,” he replies softly. “Even when it rains.”

“It’s certainly always green,” I reply with a nod. “Not so different from San Francisco.”

“Why didn’t I know that you’re from San Francisco?” he says with a frown.

“I don’t know.” I shrug and laugh when Sam jumps on Leo’s back, making him give her a ride. “It’s not a secret. I guess it never came up.”

“When did you move to Seattle?”

“Right after I left Jonathan.” I lean my head on Dom’s shoulder. “There was really nothing for me there anymore. And I’ve always enjoyed Seattle.”

“It’s lucky for me that you loved it here.”

“Back at you,” I reply sincerely. “What are the odds that we’d both be from opposite sides of the world and end up in the same city?”

“It’s not odds,
tesoro
, it’s fate.”

I snort and shake my head, but when I glance back up at him I see he’s completely serious.
 

“You don’t believe in fate?” he asks.

“Not really. I guess I’ve never really thought about it.”

He nods thoughtfully. “I would think that if ever there was a couple fated to be together, it would be you and me. Like you said, we’re from opposite sides of the globe, neither of us started here, and yet, here we are.”

“You two are slow pokes!” Sam calls back to us as Leo walks backwards. “If you trip and fall and drop me, rock star, we are going to have issues.”

“I’m not going to drop you, sunshine.”

“I want a ride too,” Stacy says demandingly to her husband.

“I’ll give you a ride, all right,” Isaac replies with a cocky grin.

“Stop it!” Jules cries, just as Luke stops dead in the center of the sidewalk, pulls his wife into his arms and drops a kiss on her that would make the gods weep. “For the love of Christmas, we’re in public!”

“I don’t give a fuck,” Luke replies calmly, still staring in Nat’s eyes.

“God, you’re gross,” Jules grumbles. “I need cheesecake.”

“We’ll get you some,” Nate replies with a laugh. “Just ignore the PDA. Or join it.” He buries his face in her neck and bites her flesh, making her moan.
 

“Oh, that doesn’t suck.”

“You’re all a very affectionate group of people,” I observe, as we walk into the pub and score a big table near the back.

“Does that bother you?” Meredith asks.

“No, it’s just unusual.”

We settle in, glance at menus, order drinks and just when I think my comment has been forgotten, Luke continues. “If it does bother you, Alecia, just say so.”

“Hey! I say so all the time and you do it anyway,” Jules complains.

“I’m fine,” I reply with a laugh. “It’s not that it bothers me. I’m just not used to it.”

“Were your parents affectionate?” Nic asks.

“They were with each other,” I say slowly.
 

“But not with you,” Nic replies.

I shrug and shake my head, as if it’s no big deal.

“My mother hasn’t touched me in six years,” Nic says as the waitress sets a glass of water before her.

“What?” I frown at the beautiful woman, surprised.
 

“We don’t get along well. Never have really. So all of this affection was new to me too.” Matt kisses her temple gently.

“You’ll get used to it,” Jules adds. “I drink a lot, to dull the grossness.”

Natalie laughs and throws a napkin at her best friend.
 

“I want hot wings,” Brynna announces.

“I thought you were full?” Caleb says.

“I’m in the mood to suck the fuck out of a bone,” she replies, and my eyebrows climb into my hairline.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“Oh, just wait,” Sam says with a grin. “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Brynna suck the fuck out of a bone.”

Chapter Sixteen

~Alecia~

“But I hate to run,” I whine, as I pull into my parking space and cut the engine.

“Don’t be a pussy,” Blake replies into my ear. “I need a run and I want to talk to you, so I’m picking you up.”

“You’re using me as an excuse because I have the best running trails in my neighborhood.”

“That hurts, Leash,” he says. “It’s true, but it hurts.”

“You’re a smart ass.” I giggle and walk to my building.

“I’m a smart ass who’s almost to your place.”

“What? I’m just getting home.”

“Well, hurry up and change. I just got off the freeway. See you in a few!”

“Damn it, Blake!”
 

But it’s no use. He’s already hung up. I hurry upstairs, let myself in, and immediately begin shedding clothes. My shoes come off first, tossed just inside the door, then I unzip and shed my skirt, leaving it in a wad by the kitchen.

My blouse and bra are flung next, one ending up on the couch, and I have no idea where the other went.
 

I’ll pick them up later.

I hurry into a sports bra, tank and yoga shorts, and Blake bursts through my front door, just as I’m lacing up my shoes.

“You’ve gotten messy, Leash.”

“Eff you. You didn’t give me any time.”

“Are you going to pick your clothes up?”

“I will later.” I sigh and wave him off. “I have to take them in to be dry cleaned anyway. Are you really going to make me run?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He winks at me and wraps his arm around my neck, kisses my head with a loud smack, and pushes me away.
 

“Why do I have to go? Can’t you go running without me and just come back here when you’re done?”

“God, stop whining,” he says and rolls his eyes. “It’ll be good for you.”

We leave my condo, ride down the elevator and walk out to the sidewalk, then break out into a slow jog.

“This is as fast as you’re going to go?” Blake asks me with a smirk.

“If you don’t like it, go by yourself.” I sniff and already hate the way it feels to run. I’ve always hated it. “How’s Emily?”

“Why do we have to talk about this?”

“So it takes my mind off the fact that I don’t want to be running.”

“So, let’s talk about
your
love life”

“Hell no, you’re the one making me run. So start talking.”

He sighs and stares out at the water, watching a boat drift by. “We’re good.”

“Well, that was informational.”

Blake laughs ruefully. “One of the things I love about you is that you don’t take my shit.”

“You don’t need me to take your shit. You have enough people in your life who do that for you.”

“True enough.” He picks up the pace, just a bit, and I growl at him, making him laugh again. “You’re kind of a weenie, Leash.”

“Emily.”

“She’s great.” He sighs again, not because he’s out of breath, but because he doesn’t want to talk about this with me.

I don’t care.

“She’s funny. Smart. Has a banging body.”

I shake my head and look up toward the heavens. “Seriously.”

“She seriously has a banging body.”

“Does it always go back to sex with men?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” He seems to give this some thought and then shrugs. “So I enjoy sex. Sue me.”

“I enjoy it too, but that isn’t in the top three things that I talk about when I discuss who I’m dating.”

“Okay, what are
your
top three things?”

“He’s smart, sweet and funny.”

“What’s number four?”

“He’s amazing in bed.”

He laughs long and loud, then high fives me. “You’re funny.”

“I know.”

“I really enjoy Emily,” he says, serious now. “She’s fun to be around, and she also doesn’t take my shit. If I cook something she doesn’t like, she’s honest about it. She’s sweet.”

“She is sweet,” I agree. “I’m glad it’s going well.”

“You are?” he asks, surprised.

“Of course. I want you to both be happy.”

“When we were at Dom’s, you didn’t seem so convinced.”

“I admit, I always imagined you’d be happy with someone other than each other,” I admit with a shrug. I’m breathing harder now, and that pisses me off. “But you’re adults.”

“How are things with Dom?”

I grin before I can stop myself, and Blake being Blake, he catches it.

“That good, eh?”

“I like him.”

“Thank you, captain obvious.”

I laugh and elbow his arm.
 

“He’s nice to me.”

“He’d better be, or I’ll kick his ass, friend or not.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Out of morbid curiosity, what do you like about him?”