Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Isaac adjusted his cowboy hat and sat next to me. “Sunday Morning,” he murmured.
“It’s Sarah.”
“I know,” he smirked, gazing out at the baseball field.
His jean-clad leg pressed to mine, and I tried to scoot a little closer to Heather, but there wasn’t wiggle room.
“Do you like baseball?” he asked.
Heather snorted, and I elbowed her.
“Duh, what do you think? I’m here, aren't I?”
“That’s not an answer.” He chuckled, and it felt like a condescending response. “I don’t really care for it. I prefer football. Track. Basketball. Not baseball. It’s pretty boring.”
I glanced back at Violet to see if she was hearing him, but she was focused on Matt making it to home plate with the next batter.
“Then why are you here?” I asked.
“Same reason you are: to support Matty.”
“Oh my gosh, you call him Matty?” Heather asked, leaning forward to see Isaac.
“Isaac has a problem with real names,” I said.
“That’s not true. I only have special names for special people,” he said, playfully nudging my leg, which made Heather pinch my arm.
When I looked in her direction, she and Joanna were gawking at me and Isaac. I shot them a wide-eyed SOS signal before facing forward.
“Well, I’m calling you Isaac,” I said.
“Because I’m not that special?”
“You’re something,” I murmured before lowering my voice to ensure Violet didn’t hear me. “But special, is not it.”
Isaac adjusted his body in a way that made his leg and arm press to mine.
“I’m going to the concession stand,” I announced, quickly standing. “You coming?” I asked my friends.
“No, we’d better stay and save seats,” Joanna said as Heather filled my space to sit close to Isaac.
She grinned at me.
“Since you’re going,” Isaac dug into his pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill, “mind getting me a Mountain Dew, Sweetarts, and popcorn?”
I stared at his money and then at him.
He smiled. It was a little lopsided, and it brought out a tiny dimple on his right cheek. “Thanks. You’re the best.” Sometimes he had a slight Southern accent, like he brought it out when he needed to sound convincing.
Heather and Joanna covered their mouths and snorted.
When I didn’t take the money, Isaac pulled a five from his pocket and added it to the ten. “I’ll get yours too.” He grabbed my hand and shoved the bills into it.
“Isaac, what do you say?” Violet said.
I was dumbfounded. Isaac’s mommy had to prompt her twenty-four-year-old son to use his manners.
He wet his lips, giving me a look that felt a little inappropriate. “Please.”
I huffed before worming my way down the bleachers to the concession stand. It was a lot to carry, but I stuffed his roll of Sweetarts into one pocket and my peanut M&M’s into the other. Then I hugged the bag of popcorn and held the two drinks in my hands. As I walked, I carried them filled to the brim with big ice cubes bobbing around.
Climbing the bleachers, I tried so hard not to spill on anyone, but as I handed the Mountain Dew to Isaac, my toe caught on the edge of the bleacher, and half of his drink sloshed onto his shirt and crotch.
“Oh my gosh!” I quickly sat next to him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sarah, don’t worry about it. Isaac’s used to getting dirty,” Violet said.
Isaac shifted the drink from one hand to the other to wipe his arm on his jeans while scowling at me.
My nose wrinkled, and I handed him the popcorn. Then I retrieved his roll of Sweetarts and his change. He needed a third hand.
“Slide them in my front pocket,” he said, leaning back a bit to give me access to his jeans front pocket.
My gaze flitted between his pocket and his eyes. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," I murmured, while shooting a glance at Violet, who was focused on the game because she actually liked baseball.
“Um …” I handed my drink to Heather. “Hold this one second.”
After she took my drink, I hooked one finger into Isaac’s pocket to tug it open enough to slip one of the quarters into it, but I still had two dimes and three pennies to go, as well as four one-dollar bills and the Sweetarts.
Sweat gathered on my brow and upper lip.
He ducked his head and whispered in my ear. “As much as I love this slow seduction you're doing in front of my mom, maybe you should just hold my popcorn and let me do it.”
Jerk!
Why didn’t he just say that instead of asking me to do it? Why didn’t I think of it?
Oh, that’s right: Isaac made me lose my mind.
My face heated as I took his popcorn with one hand and wiped my brow with my other while looking at Heather and Joanna. “HELP. ME!” I mouthed.
They giggled.
I angled my body away from his for the rest of the game. When Matt pitched a perfect last inning, winning the game, I wasted no time standing to get out of there.