John is in the back doing the grooming today, so Oscar and I can go over the designs for the Hamilton show. Teegan is busy working on her computer, her feet propped up on the counter, tapping to the music playing over the speakers.

“You need to leave.” Oscar put his hands on his hip, staring right at Teegan.

“Me?” she asks, pointing to herself, forehead wrinkled.

“Yes, you.” He glances to me and then back to her. “He’ll get nothing done if you continue flirting with him.”

“I’m working.” She shuts her laptop, leaning forward. Her blouse dips open, granting me a glimpse at her pink bra pushing up the swell of her tits. Fuck me.

“You’re flashing him”—Oscar points and then turns away—“your lady parts.”

Teegan glances down and then shifts her blouse back in place.

“Don’t do that on my account,” I joke and she rolls her eyes in a playful way that has my hands begging me to throw her down and kiss her until she’s struggling for a breath.

“I’ll go for a walk a few stores down. Maybe pick up an ice cream cone and lick it real nice and slow.” She packs up her computer in her bag.

“Are you trying to get him to fuck you on the counter?” Oscar asks.

Teegan giggles and waves him off. “I’ll be back.”

Cooper picks up his head and then springs to his feet when Teegan puts on her light sweater.

“I think he wants to go with you.” I pet my four-legged friend. In the past two days, I’ve kept Cooper as far from Teegan as possible. I don’t allow him up on furniture, I’ve called him back when he’s gone to follow her to the bathroom. It’s clear she’s not comfortable with dogs, but Cooper is a big part of my life—hell, dogs in general are—so at some point she’s going to need to get more comfortable.

“I can’t take a dog to an ice cream shop.” She shoots over a winning smile.

“So you’re serious about the ice cream cone?” I lean back, crossing my arms across my chest, gazing at the piece of eye candy that’s now mine.

The lust in her eyes matches my own. “Dead serious.”

“Maybe you should practice, you know? I’d hate the ice cream cone to drip all over you.”

“You wouldn’t want to lick it off me?” She pretends to pout.

Oscar raises his hands. “I’m out. You two go home and fuck or something. Get it out of your systems. You’re both basically useless at this point.” He shakes his head, grabbing his stuff and walking out of the store without a backward glance.

I don’t stop him because I don’t really want to be working. Well, unless it’s working on getting Teegan off.

“What are you going to do now?” she asks.

I creep toward her, my eyes holding her gaze as I break the small distance between us. With my body pressing hers to the wall, my hand skates down her side, coming back up between her breasts.

“I like this button undone.” I flick open the button she just clasped to not flash Oscar.

“You’re trouble.” She doesn’t fight my advances.

“And you’re coming home with me.”

“You have a shop to run. Designs to design.”

“And a girlfriend to satisfy.”

“Well.” She tilts her head. “I don’t want to be needy or anything.”

I bend down to kiss her and the door chimes, announcing someone’s arrival. Teegan pushes me off of her and my back hits the edge of the counter on the other side.

“Son of a bitch.” I grab my back, but Teegan’s right there, her hand massaging.

“Sorry.”

“You do realize that as long as we’re not naked sprawled out on the counter, we can show affection when we’re here?”

She giggles and then she turns her head to see Jagger strolling in.

“And here Teegan thought it was someone important,” I say.

“We need to practice.” Jagger hops on the counter. “We have to start off strong.”

I roll my eyes.

“Practice?” Teegan asks and then I realize with all the time I’ve spent with her over the past few days, not much of it has been talking.

“We play on a softball team. Our first game is tonight.” I pull her body into me, her back to my front.

Jagger watches intently, but he remains uncharacteristically quiet. Must have learned his lesson from Vance.

“You should come. Vance is bringing Layla and the kids,” I say.

Teegan shakes her head. “Maybe next time. I’ve barely been home lately.”

Jagger’s eyes float to mine and then he hops off the counter. “I’ve got the equipment in the car. Let’s go.” He nods to the door, but this is the first I’ve heard of practicing and I was just about to hit a home run with Teegan before he barged in.

“I’m working,” I say.

He inspects the area and spots John in the back. “John can handle it.”

I don’t even mention that Helen, the new hire for afternoons, is due in ten minutes. That’d only give Jagger ammo. “I don’t need to practice,” I say. “I’ve been making my way around the bases for the past few days.”

Teegan’s elbow lands in my ribs.

Jagger coughs out a laugh. “Fine, but I’ll drop you from the lineup if you aren’t taking this serious. We have to beat Knobs and Knockers.”

“We’re not talking the World Series here.”

Teegan turns in my arms. “You should go. I have work to do anyway.”

I grab a hold of her hand on my chest, wanting to guide it south. It turns out my girl gives amazing hand jobs, too. “I should watch the store and watch you.”

“Is this why I saw Oscar dry-heaving before I came in?” Jagger pretends to cover his eyes. The pervy bastard would probably watch us if he could.

“Go. Really.” Teegan raises to her tiptoes and kisses my cheek.

“You really can’t come to the game?” I ask.

“I have a lot of work to do, but text me when and where and I’ll try.”

“If you don’t come, I’m heading to your house right after the game.”

Her lips upturn a bit and she plants another kiss to my cheek. “Have fun with your friends.”

“Yeah, Jimmy, go and play with your friends. When Mommy flicks the porch light on you have to come home.” Jagger gives his best female impression and I shoot him a look that hopefully says that if he makes fun of my woman again, I’ll throat-punch him.

Teegan laughs at him, unaffected by his jabs. What a girl.

I catch her by surprise when I dip her, kissing her so thoroughly that she won’t forget me in the short time we’ll be apart.

“Man, I’m going to join Oscar out by the bush.” Jagger walks away. “You should come, Teeg, you can see who the real man is between us.”

The door chimes and Jagger’s gone, thank God.

“You could come to the field.” I give one last attempt.

“We’ll see.”

“I’m going to text you the address. Try really hard.”

“Promise me kisses like that and I will.”

I dip her again, but this time her back ends up on the counter and my hand is on her tit. Like I said, she’s edible and I can’t help but be a starving man around her.

* * *

Payne, our designated bat boy, grabs the bat Jagger dropped as he ran to first base. He stands there now, his fists pumping and arms moving like Rocky.

You’d think the guy never made a success of himself. He always has something to prove no matter what activity we’re doing.

“Let’s go, Leo.” Payne claps and cheers from next to Vance on the buckets.

Poor Vance got stuck being our captain, even though Jagger tried to mess with the votes. The man has a hard time letting his control go.

I look past the chain-link fence to the bleachers, but the brunette I’ve been waiting to see isn’t there. Instead, Layla sits there with her baseball hat low, her hair in a ponytail and Via on her lap. She’s lifting her arms up in the air in a cheering motion. The other wives and girlfriends line the aluminum seats, too.

I’m at the plate, and I take the first pitch, which turns out to be a strike.

“Swing the bat!” Jagger screams. If only I could hit a line drive right at first base, my night would be complete.

“Come on, Leo,” Payne cheers for me and I hear his small hands clapping.

The second pitch comes and I swing, this time missing the pitch.

“Strike two,” the umpire says and I step out of the batter’s box, shaking my head.

I glance up to the stands one last time and I blink to make sure it’s not a mirage. There sits Teegan, one bench down from Layla, her purse in her lap and her million-dollar gives-me-a-hard-on smile plastered on her face.

The third pitch comes in and I swing, making contact, and the ball sails over the back fence line.

“Woohoo!” Jagger screams and fist-pumps the entire time he runs the bases.

He’s waiting for me when I reach home, patting my head and then my ass.

“Whoa, this isn’t the MLB, buddy.” I slide away from him.

“Hey, Jagger, that’s my property you’re touching.” Teegan is at the fence line now, clinging to the fence.

“He was mine first and then you came in and made him straight.” Jagger pretends to cry until he hits the dugout and then he’s screaming and cheering and woohooing.

I rush out of the field and pick her up in my arms, swinging her around. She giggles and pats my shoulders to put her down.

“Thanks for coming,” I say, my face inches from hers.

“Nice home run.”

“It was for you. Now you have to come to every game.” I plant a swift kiss on her lips. I’d dive deeper and longer, but there’s a crowd and Teegan doesn’t seem to like public affection. Unless finger-fucking her on a plane counts.

“Deal.”

“Come on, Romeo,” Vance says.

“Hey, maybe you should take a few lessons from your friend. I have to struggle to fit my lips though the opening of the fence,” Layla says, her eyebrows raised in Vance’s direction.

“Come here.” He crooks his finger.

“No,” Layla says.

“Come on, you know you want to.” He smiles, those dimples out and on display.

Layla rolls her eyes, but stands up. I hold my hands out for Via and she passes her to me on her way over to Vance. Teegan positions her body so she’s a step away from me.

Layla and Vance kiss through the fence and then she pokes him in the stomach with her finger. “When did the wooing stop?” She laughs.

Vance reaches down for his mitt at his feet. “I woo you every night.”

“Uh-huh,” Layla says and then takes Via from my arms. “Enjoy it while it lasts,” she says to us.

Teegan laughs. “Layla, this is Teegan. Teegan, this is Layla Andrews.”

“We’ve met,” Layla says, smiling.

“The staircase,” Teegan adds on.

“Man, you keep seeing me at times when my man is falling short.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Come sit with me.” She leans in close. “The other women are afraid to approach me.”

I kiss Teegan on the cheek and then smack her ass. “Have fun, but don’t get too distracted. You’re here to watch me, remember.” I point to myself and she rolls her eyes.

The two women go up the bleachers and the anxiousness leaves my body as I head back to play the rest of my game. It already feels like I’ve won with Teegan here.