London Falling (22 page)

Victoria had five remaining bachelors on the show. During this week’s episode, she had gone to a major league ballpark where she and one of the bachelors had private batting practice with the team’s best homerun hitter. After practice, they watched the game from a plush box, and then had a picnic in centerfield.

Beau had taken charge of our fake dates and he didn’t mention anything to me other than going to the baseball game, but tonight was my first move to change that. I picked up the picnic basket I had packed with grapes, cheese, brownies, and champagne.

***

Date Eight: Diamonds Are Forever

Beau stood outside the gate of Boshamer Stadium, the ballpark where our date was planned. I was used to seeing him in T-shirts, but I missed his arms. Catching a glimpse of those muscles flexing made me miss them even more.

“Hey.” He was smiling.

“Hey.” Not running directly into his arms was taking restraint.

“Do you have your ID?” He pulled his out of his wallet and proceeded to the gate. This was one event that we didn’t need tickets for admission.

Luckily, Candace had given me a quick baseball synopsis when I found out what the date was going to be. She knew all things baseball after dating last year’s star pitcher. This was my first trip to “The Bosh.”

“Yep. It’s right here.” I waved my student ID and followed him past the ticket takers.

The sun was setting and the ballpark was slowly filling with fans. Beau pointed me in the direction of a block of student seats near first base. Candace told me to clap only when one of the Tar Heels made it to base. She thought that would keep me from making an embarrassing cheering mistake.

We filed into an empty row and Beau stretched out, resting his feet on the chair in front of him.

“Dude. What’s up?” Another T-shirt-wearing guy slapped Beau on the back and sat down behind us.

“Just here for the game, man. What’s going on this weekend?” Beau turned toward his friend, isolating me from the conversation.

“You going to Jamie’s party later? It’s going to be tight.” The friend was grinning from ear to ear.

“Probably. See you later, man.”

He walked away, leaving me to wonder if my two-part plan was getting ready to fall apart. More importantly, was Jamie a boy or a girl?

“Who was that?”

“A friend of mine from class.” Beau’s eyes were focused straight ahead at first base. I think this was the part where Candace said they warmed up.

“Ahh. Right. Friend from class guy. Cool name.”

Beau chuckled. “His name is Drew.”

“Are you going to the party after the game?” I was hesitant to ask.

“Hey, look. They are throwing out the first pitch.” He switched topics..

There appeared to be some kind of ceremony taking place on the pitcher’s mound. I watched as a young girl hurled the ball toward home plate. The crowd cheered. We stood for the national anthem, and then the first batter took his place, swinging the game into action.

Beau whistled every time one of our players hit the ball. He was intensely focused on the field. He got up a few times to run to the concession stand between innings. We had pretzels, a bag of peanuts, hotdogs, and nachos. It seemed like the ultimate guy dinner.

It was finally the bottom of the ninth and we had the bases loaded. Candace hadn’t prepared me for this scenario, but I was on the edge of my seat. If we didn’t hit someone home, we were going to lose. I didn’t need a baseball manual to realize this was crucial.

“Come on, Heels!” I yelled at the top of my voice.

“You’ve turned into quite the fan.” Beau smiled at me, then pierced the night with his fan whistle.

I blushed.

Number seven was at bat. This was it. The first pitch whizzed past him. The umpire called it a strike. The crowd around us booed wildly. He shuffled his feet in the batter’s box then steadied himself to face the pitcher. The ball sailed through the air, and I heard his bat hit it with the crystal clear sound of a solid whack. The stands erupted with cheering. Seven had done it. The runners ran across home plate—we won. The people next to me were going crazy.

Before I knew what was happening, Beau picked me up by the waist and smothered me in a hug. His chest was warm and hard. I didn’t even care that he was holding me so tightly I couldn’t breathe. As quickly as I was in his arms, he dumped me back on my feet.

“Sorry.” He quickly hopped over the stadium seating and headed for the exit.

I hesitated for a second. I wanted to rewind that moment, but I remembered the picnic basket in my trunk. Maybe it could happen again.

“London, you coming?” Beau hollered from the top of the concourse.

“On my way.” I took the stairs two at a time, dodging the slow pokes.

Beau waited at the top of the staircase. “Thanks for going to the game with me. It was a good win. I’ll get my date recap posted on the blog tomorrow sometime.”

“Wait. I don’t think the date should be over.” I pulled him over to the side of the line of traffic so everyone could walk around us.

“What are you talking about? We only have one date this week. We’re right on schedule with the show.”

“Victoria had more than one part to each of her dates. It’s not the first time we’ve had a doubleheader.” I hoped he appreciated I had worked in a baseball reference. “I brought a part two.”

I could see him moving backward. “I don’t think that’s such a great idea. We have enough to blog about after this date.”

“Beau, just give it a chance. It’s in my trunk.”

“The date is in your trunk?” He paused. “Ok. Well, now I’m curious. Let’s take a look.”

I led him out of the ballpark and down the block to where I had parked my car. The parking lights flashed when I pressed the unlock button on my remote, and popped the trunk. Beau followed me to the back of the car.

“What’s that?” He pointed at the picnic basket.

“Uh, it’s a picnic basket.”

“I know what it is. I mean, why is there a picnic basket?”

“Look inside.”

He sighed before reaching into the trunk and flipping open the lid of the basket. I watched as he rifled through the contents. I waited for him to register the significance of the menu.

“And you think this is a good idea?” He looked at me with one raised eyebrow and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“In the spirit of the show, I think we have to have a second part to this date. And one where we guarantee not to torch the food. I didn’t bring a single candle. Promise.”

I could almost feel his resolve thawing. “And where do you propose we have this part two picnic date?” He looked toward the ballpark. It was still crawling with fans and workers.

“How about the arboretum? I know it’s on your bucket list and I’ve never been there at night.”

Beau scuffed his shoe against the sidewalk. A few heavy seconds lapsed before he finally answered. “Ok. But just one drink.”

“One drink.” I smiled. One drink was all I needed.

Beau pulled the basket out of the car and slammed the trunk. It was a long walk to the arboretum from the ballpark, but it was undoubtedly one of the prettiest spring nights I had ever seen. The gardens were in the heart of campus. I had walked the gravel paths many times on my way to the theater, but I avoided the trails at night.

We entered the grapevine wrapped trellis walkway and turned into the botanical refuge. The garden was quiet and still.

“Where do you want to sit?”

I pointed under a tree that was just off the gravel path. “How about here?”

Beau placed the basket on the ground, and pulled out the blanket I had folded inside. As if he had a beach blanket full of sand, he shook it a few times before letting the corners fall to the ground. I worked out the gathered fabric and sat in the middle, giving Beau limited choices.

I poured two glass of champagne and handed one to my reluctant date. “Want to make a toast?”

“Nah. I’ll pass.” He took the glass and chugged the champagne.

“Brownie?” I offered a container of brownies I had baked earlier today.

“Sure.” He bit into the largest one in the pile. “So, what’s been going on?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that. I certainly wasn’t going to tell him Nina had to scrape my brokenhearted self out of bed and put me back together, or that I had been scheming for two weeks on how I was going to get him back. I opted for another truth. “Nina isn’t talking to me.”

He stopped devouring the brownie for a second. “What? She’s your best friend. How did that happen?”

“I told her what happened with Derek last week at the concert. She isn’t exactly over it yet.”

“That sucks. You two are really close.”

“It does. Thanks.” I reached for one of the brownies. “She just needs time, I think.”

“Probably.” Beau was back to his one-word answers. “It wasn’t your fault though. I heard what he said to you.”

“You did? You didn’t mention it.”

“He had no right to say any of that stuff. Like I said—he’s a jackass.” It was hard to see in the dimly lit garden, but I thought I saw jealousy flicker in his eyes.

“I don’t know if I really ever said thank you for what you did at the concert. So, thank you.” I reached across the blanket, but stopped before my hand touched his leg. It felt too soon. “What about you? How’s the bucket list coming along?” I leaned back, resting on my side.

He looked around the garden. “I can check this one off. Thanks. I’m almost done. I’ll definitely have it finished before graduation. I can’t believe it’s just around the corner.”

Ugh
. Graduation. The issue that was hanging between us no matter how many glasses of champagne I filled us with. I looked at my empty glass and debated refilling it.

“Ok. Drinks are over. Let me get you back to your car.” Abruptly, Beau started shoveling the snacks into the picnic basket.

I thought I’d at least be able to flirt my way into a second glass of champagne. He was like a brick wall tonight that I couldn’t climb over.

“I’ll just walk back. You can go.” If he wasn’t going to stay, I didn’t need him hovering.

“No way. I’m not letting you walk alone at night across campus.” He folded the blanket and stuffed it in the side flap.

“Ok. Fine. You can walk me back.” I didn’t want to argue with him. We had actually reached a place where we were at least talking again.

We trudged up the hill, then down a steeper hill until we reached my car. It must have been the champagne swirling in my head because it didn’t seem to take as long to return.

I pulled out my keys to unlatch the truck when they fell from my fingers and hit the pavement.
Shit.
Why did Beau make me such a klutz? He swooped in front of me and picked the keys off the asphalt.

“That’s settled. I’m driving.”

“No. No. I’m fine. I can drive home. It’s less than a mile.”

“Uh-uh.” He pressed the unlock button and opened the passenger door for me.

Annoyed, I slid into the seat and fastened my seat belt. “But what about your motorcycle?”

“I can run home. I didn’t ride here. It was such a nice night, I decided to walk.”

I looked at him suspiciously. He was always on two wheels.

“Let’s get you home.” He put the car in drive and careened us up the hill.

***

Nina’s bedroom light was on.
Good.
Maybe we could talk tonight. Beau parked my car next to hers.

“Good game. And good picnic.” He smiled. I thought I caught a glimpse of that look, but it was fleeting.

“It was. I think I’m turning into a sports fan after all. I guess I have you to thank for that.” I gazed straight into his eyes, wanting to memorize every little feature on his face and lips. “Thanks for driving me home. I didn’t mean for you to have to do that.”

“No big deal. I should know by now what a lightweight you are.” I wanted to sigh—he knew something about me. He turned and handed me the keys. My palm felt his fingertips hovering just over my skin. I clasped my hand around his and pulled his hand toward my waist.