Bre followed Collin out of the garage and through the lobby. They continued their way down the corridor and it wasn’t long before they came upon another series of long windows that overlooked what appeared to be an indoor recreation center. It was similar to a gym, but not quite the same. Much higher end. It struck Bre as the kind of place a professional athlete might go to train.

The place was huge. There was simply no other way to describe it. There were batting cages, a half-sized basketball court, a hardwood volleyball court, a tennis court, two bowling lanes, and not one, but two racquetball courts. All of it enclosed in a gigantic space. There was virtually no limit to how far this mansion really stretched. She wondered if Logan also offered helicopter tours of the place—if not, he should.

“Wow,” Bre said, unable to contain how impressed she was. “This is where you wanted to bring me? You know you don’t have to show off for me, right? You’re already going to get laid.”

Collin didn’t seem nearly as impressed by the place as she was. He flashed her a confident smile and headed straight for the batting cages.

“When I’m visiting the mansion I spend most of my time in here,” he said, matter-of-factly.

Bre watched in amusement as he chose one of the wooden bats from a rack sitting outside the cage. Collin gave it a couple practice swings before grabbing a helmet and slipping it on. She had to admit that his swing looked pretty natural. Not that she’d have any idea what a good swing was supposed to look like. He just looked… fluid and seamless. Maybe he really did spend all his time at the batting cages and it wasn’t just a ploy to show off for her. Not that showing off would have been the worst thing… at least, it would have provided more ammo for her to give him shit about.

“So you’re some big shot with the bat?” she asked.

He twirled it in one hand. His entire posture oozed confidence when he looked up at her.

“I’ve been known to knock some balls around from time to time.”

She let out a laugh.

“Letting go of how homoerotic that sounded, you care to make it interesting?”

“I didn’t take you for the gambling type.”

Bre shrugged and gave him a playful look.

“What can I say? I like to make things exciting.”

“Now that doesn’t surprise me,” Collin laughed. “But do you really think you can hit the ball farther than me?”

“I sure as hell hope not. Unless you hit like a girl.”

Collin let the bat fall off his shoulder. The stern look on his face caught her off guard.

“You shouldn’t say things like that. It’s sexist.”

Was he being serious right now?

“You’re not a girl, you can’t get offended by that.”

He shook his head, still looking annoyed.

“That’s not the point, and you don’t get to tell me how I can or can’t feel.” Wow, he really was serious. “And it has nothing to do with you calling me a girl.”

“No? Then please enlighten me: what does it have to do with?”

“Women place so much pressure on men. You want us to be the biggest and the strongest, the fastest and the smartest. You want us to never let you down while also always having the right answer. You want us to open up, be sensitive and understanding, but only when you’re in the mood for that sort of thing. Otherwise it comes across as weakness and it’s a huge turnoff.”

Bre’s eyes bulged. Was she really hearing this?

“Christ, I forgot how liberal and sensitive New Yorkers are… Fine. I’m sorry that I said it. I take it back. You don’t always have to be the biggest and strongest around me.”

Bre was so utterly beside herself that she almost didn’t notice when the smile broke across Collin’s face. Soon he was laughing uncontrollably. He even clutched his stomach at one point.

“I’m just fucking with you,” he said, dramatically. He belted out a few more laughs at her expense. “Man, I got you good.”

Bre shook her head. It was impossible not to smile along with him. He’d definitely given her a dose of her own medicine—she couldn’t deny that.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up while you can,” she said. “I hope you know you’ve just declared war. I’m not going to hold back anymore.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing? Holding back?”

“Just you wait and see…”

Collin finally recovered himself. He swiveled the bat around in his hand one more time, probably showing off.

“So if you aren’t going to try to hit the ball farther than me, what’s this wager all about?”

“Five pitches. You hit all of them, and you win.”

Collin barked out a laugh.

“Are you sure about that? You don’t even know if I’m any good. This could be the easiest money I’ve ever made.”

Bre rolled her eyes.

“You Wall Street boys are always trying to throw your dicks around. Who ever said anything about money?”

Collin cocked an eyebrow.

“What did you have in mind, then?”

“Oh, I can think of a few things that are much more interesting than money…”

Bre licked her lips, slowly, before nibbling her bottom lip. Judging by how much Collin’s eyes bulged out of his head, he got the message loud and clear.

“So if I win, I get…”

“Whatever you want.”

“And if you win?”

Bre bit her lip again as she slowly looked him up and down.

“I’ll let you know when I win.”

Collin flourished the bat one more time before turning towards the cage.

“You might as well start getting naked now… This is going to be the easiest bet I’ve ever won.”

He was confident. That was good. But Bre wasn’t worried. She had a few tricks of her own up her sleeve.

“We’ll see about that.”