The Shortstop (6 page)

“Yes, dear.”

“That is not funny, Mr. Lawson.” When I chuckle at her expense, she smacks my ass. “I just merely asked if you thought she would change her mind.” She turns on the shower, waiting for me to agree, which I won’t. Saying that Daphne may be having second thoughts would encourage Annie to pick up just where she left off in regards to meddling in their relationship. I quickly glance her way while pretending to be concentrating on the last of my shave. “I know what you’re doing. You’re avoiding my question.”

“No. I’m just trying not to kill myself while you stand there all pissed off and naked. You’re distracting me.”

“Okay, I’ll just ask her in the car on our way home.” She turns on her heel and enters the shower. Damn it. The ride home will be worse than the one to get here if all they talk about is Billy.

I remove my briefs and follow right behind her. She yelps when I gift her ass with a good smack of my own. “If you turn our four-hour ride into a talk show over the status of their relationship, I’ll pull over and force you both to walk home.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A promise.”

“I could get picked up by a psychopath, and he could kill me and dump me on the side of the road,” she challenges. “Besides, you wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt me.”

“You know me well. But…” I walk her backward into the stream of the shower, pulling her into my arms and hardening as she rubs against me provocatively. “I wouldn’t hesitate to make her walk home, best friend or not. As for you, I can think of other ways to punish you.” Before she can respond, I kiss her, lift her, and sink into her, effectively ending our argument.

Annie

“Did you have fun today, baby?” Quint asks as he shoves his clothes into his small suitcase.

“Wait, Q, everything will wrinkle.” A blank look crosses over his features, making me laugh. “Never mind.” I take the crumpled button-down shirt from his hands and circle his waist with my arms. “I had a great day. Thank you for a magical vacation, the best proposal ever staged, my gorgeous ring, making me so happy…” Leaning up, I place a long, hard kiss on his lips. He frowns when I pull away. “But mostly, thank you for loving me.”

A breathtaking smile spreads across his face. “Thank you for saying yes,” he says before bending to kiss me this time, using everything he’s got.

Daphne walks in, groaning at what she sees. “Ugh, do you two ever stop?” Looking exhausted, she sits heavily on the bed as we resume packing our bags.

“You look wiped out, Daph. What did you do today?”

“Nothing. I went down to the pool and relaxed with a book. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Quint’s eyes fix on mine, and he throws me a seductive wink. We were very loud last night, all night. I quickly turn toward the bathroom to hide my blush. My disappearance doesn’t stop her from continuing. “You weren’t exactly quiet when you got in last night,” she calls out to ensure I heard her.

“Um…sorry if we woke you up when we came in.”

“You woke me up and kept me up. Jeez, all night?” Quint smirks arrogantly, and Daphne shakes her head. “After you loudly announced you wanted to show me your ring, I was dying to know details. But you slammed that door and got down to business pretty quickly.”

“We were celebrating,” he says with a grin.

“Is that what you call it?”

“No, I also call it getting some good fu…”

“Shut up,” she interrupts him with an exaggerated eye-roll. “Well, having heard more than I needed to last night, I thought it would be best to separate today. Actually, I had two motives for disappearing. First, I needed to spare myself from your lovefest, but mostly because I wanted to give you privacy. I feel guilty that I infringed on your romantic weekend. I’m a great friend, right?” She’s clearly looking for validation of her good deed.

“Yes, you are. We did miss you, though.”

“We did?” Quint mumbles under his breath. When he sees my face, he quickly adds, “What? I’m kidding.”

“It’s a good thing I have thick skin, Mr. Lawson. Of course, if I had
known
you were proposing this weekend, I wouldn’t have come
,”
she responds with a boatload of attitude.

“You expected me to tell the biggest mouth at FSU
a secret like that? No way in hell was I giving you that information.”

“Did you tell Billy?” she quips, folding her arms defensively.

Quint stops shoving his clothes into his bag to stare at Daphne impassively. “Yes, but Billy doesn’t have a gigantic mouth. If I tell him not to tell anyone, he doesn’t. You, on the other hand, can’t keep information to yourself if your life depended on it. Should I list all the times you’ve spoiled my surprises? Let’s see, there was the time when I got her tickets to go see Devil’s Lair. Oh, and let’s not forget when you…”

“You can stop talking now.”

He laughs and says, “I love being right.” Quint zips up his bag and gives me a quick kiss. “I’m going to go check us out and bring the car around. Meet me downstairs.”

“Okay.”

Once he leaves, Daphne holds out her hand. “Let’s see.”

I place mine in hers, and she tilts it side to side to inspect my ring. “Not bad. I didn’t know the jock had it in him.”

“He can be very romantic.” I defend Quint’s chivalry.

“Did he hide it in a package of sunflower seeds?”

“Funny.”

“I’m kidding. Are you ready to start the next chapter?”

“Yes and no. I had such a nice little vacation with him. I’m sad it’s over. I’m also nervous.”

“What are you nervous about?”

I shrug indifferently. I’m not ready to voice my concerns to Daphne, especially since Quint hasn’t a clue that I’m nervous. “I don’t know. I guess just getting settled in a new state, starting up again in the fall at a new college.”

“You have the whole summer ahead of you. While your hubby-to-be sweats his ass off on a baseball field, you and I will be beach bound. We deserve to relax. I plan on getting a killer tan this summer.”

“Aren’t you going to get a job? How are you going to afford to be a beach bum for two months? I’ll be searching for a job, maybe something part-time so that I can attend as many of Quint’s games as possible. I’ll quit once school starts.”

“Ugh, boring. You really want to go through more schooling?”

“It’s kind of necessary for my field, Daph. I need my master’s degree.”

“I’ve told you before to ditch the teaching thing. Do something more exciting.”

Her lack of responsibility is exhausting. “And what would that be, pole dancing?”

“Quint would never allow that. Besides, you’re not coordinated enough,” she responds as if becoming a stripper is actually an option. “I’ve told you before. Do something more flexible, like writing a book or freelance for a newspaper. You love writing.”

“I’m not sure I’m good enough to make it a career.”

“Cut the shit. I’ve read your stuff, and it’s very good.” She stands after I zip up my suitcase. “School is overrated. If I could land a job on the local news without a degree, I would. I worked my ass off these four years, and most of the shit I learned I’d never use in my lifetime. I deserve a little R&R before jumping into the workforce. It’s going to take a while to get my audition demos ready. I’ll need a killer tan to look superhot. I’m just proactive in my job search.”

“Brilliant argument,” I say as I lead her toward the door. We stand side by side, sweeping the suite one last time to be sure we didn’t forget anything. “Ready?”

“To drive back to my pathetic life? Yep.”

“Your life isn’t pathetic.”

“Um, okay, Miss Newly-Engaged-to-the-Love-of-Her-Life.” Out in the hall, she says, “Which leads me to the heavy-duty thinking I did today.” A few hotel guests are waiting for the elevator with their small children, stopping her from continuing. I’m left wondering what she’s been thinking. I have a feeling I know. She might have avoided the conversation of Billy the entire time we’ve been here, but she can’t fool me. He’s definitely been on her mind.

I wait expectantly while the elevator descends floor by floor. Once we exit into the lobby, I say, “Spill it. What were you thinking about?”

“I miss him.”

“I figured, but I’m surprised you’re admitting it. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I really like him a whole lot. It’s okay to really, really like someone, right? People are always falling in ‘like,’ right?” She emphasizes the word
like
with air quotes.

“Daph, he deserves someone to love him back, not merely like him a ‘whole lot.’” I mimic her air quotes gesture.

“I know.” The look of defeat is hard to ignore. As if she needs to further explain herself, she adds, “I do care about him. I love spending time with him. When we aren’t fighting, it’s good…real good. I can live with that. Maybe, he can too?”

Through the lobby doors, I spot Quint waiting for us in the car. The minute he sees us, he comes out to help us with the bags.

“You guys all ready to go? I figured we’d grab something to eat halfway home.” He slams the trunk shut and turns to Daphne. “Did you pee? We are not stopping for a few hours.”

“I’m not five.”

“Yet, why do I think you’ll be asking to stop to pee?”

“Listen up you two, there will be no fighting in this car. I’m in a great mood and you guys aren’t going to ruin it.”

Lucky for them, they both agree before we set out. I’m not sure Daphne wants to talk about Billy, so I wait for her to bring it up. Five minutes into the ride, she does.

“Do you think he’ll speak to me?” she asks quietly from the back seat.

I shift in my seat to look at her face. Quint looks confused but keeps his mouth shut. “Sweetie, he’s not vindictive. If you tell him you want to talk, I’m sure he’ll agree.”

“I’ll text him. I hate the suspense of not knowing. It’ll drive me nuts wondering, and then I may drive you two nuts because of it.”

“Great,” Quint mumbles out loud. “I hope you’re wearing good walking shoes.”

“Ha-ha.”

“Annie Weber!”

One very distinct, high-pitched whistle pierces through the applause.

Quint.

I can pick his whistling out anywhere. A faraway “Way to go Annie!” follows, with yet another shrill whistle. My face breaks out into a huge grin. Once I step up onto the platform, I quickly look out at our graduating class. Sure enough, there’s my man standing proud and applauding like a madman. I’m the last of us to receive our diploma. He cheered for Daphne and Billy as well, but the noise he’s making for me is off the charts.

This moment is very surreal. We did it…and like every other major event in our lives, we did it side by side.

“That’s my girl!” he screams so obnoxiously loud, the audience breaks into laughter. My cheeks flush from embarrassment, but I can’t even be upset with him.

I felt the same gushing pride when he received his diploma a little while ago. I was bursting with it when he crossed the stage looking so handsome in his cap and gown. Every female’s set of eyes, both young and old, watched his every move. Some stared at me in judgment, as they have since we arrived freshman year…as they have our whole lives.

It’s not hard to read their thoughts. I’ve had to endure a shitload of cattiness when it came to some random skank trying to steal my guy. The fact that I made it through without causing anyone physical harm is nothing short of a miracle. It doesn’t matter because soon I’ll have to fight off his fans. It’s a reality I have to accept if I want to be in his life. Forget his successful baseball career, his charm, or even his looks; Quint is simply the whole package and people flock toward him wherever we go.

As I now take that same walk across the stage, the past four years flip through my thoughts in superfast motion. A flood of memories and visuals only confirms how damn fast these four years have gone. The first day of classes comes to the forefront of my mind. If I hadn’t had Quint with me, it would have been a very different experience. Having him beside me made me more relaxed, less stressed. He’s always been my sounding board, my crutch.

He sits on the aisle, and as I walk past his row back to my seat, he scoots out to plant a quick kiss on my lips. Our fellow graduates all laugh and hoot, embarrassing me further. He is simply too much.

After one final speech and closing comments,
Pomp and Circumstance
finally plays. On a normal day, this song just pulls on my heartstrings. Hearing it today causes me to lose my shit.

Quint ignores the usher’s command to walk forward and instead walks back down the aisle toward me. He smiles when he sees my tears. “We did it, baby! We did it!” I’m wrapped in his ironclad embrace and he spins me, causing a traffic jam for all the graduates behind us. My tears turn to giggles while everyone within a ten-foot radius stares in annoyance.

The usher points directly at Quint and yells, “Move forward!”

Ignoring him, Quint puts me down and takes hold of my face. “I love you, Annie. Congratulations, baby.”

“I love you, too. The sooner we have dinner, the sooner we can ditch our parents and celebrate.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Pulling on his hand, I use that excuse to get him to focus and walk forward the way we are supposed to. “Let’s go, shortstop.”

We spot our parents waiting for us in the lobby. Their faces light up from their beaming smiles.

“Darling! I’m so proud of you,” my mom flings her arms around me, crushing me in a death grip. Dad takes over next. Over his shoulder, I watch the Lawsons hugging Quint in the same way.

They all arrived yesterday. I’m glad they arrived a day early because now the inquisitions are over. Our moms are happy for us, but it was my mom who was quick to point out that we’re still too young for marriage or a pregnancy.