Catching His Heart (Love And Baseball Book 1)

by Kelsie Swaney

  She didn’t say anything, just opened the door and walked in, indicating we should follow. I looked at him with panicked eyes. He was smiling but as he absorbed how freaked I was he frowned. He turned me around and pushed my hair behind my ears.

  “Hey calm down, it’s alright. I want them to know, don’t you?”

  “I do, but you know that they are going to have a problem with our standing Friday movie nights, right? I don’t want to give those up Carson, I love them too much,” I said as I cuddled against him.

  “I won’t let that happen. I love them too, more than anything else. Baby, I promise you that I won’t let them take anything away from us.”

  He dropped a kiss on the top of my head and grabbed my hand. He led me in, straight to the living room where both of my parents were sitting. I swallowed hard and Carson squeezed my hand, trying to give me a little of his strength and confidence.

  I smiled up at him and let go of his hand. I moved to my dad and kissed his cheek. He eyed Carson but kissed my cheek back.

  “Good morning daddy,” I said with a smile.

  “Good morning baby girl. Is there something you failed to mention to us yesterday,” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Um…yes,” I said before biting my lip.

  “Care to enlighten us,” my mother said with a smirk.

  “I may have downplayed what I was doing last night. I went out with Carson, but as more than friends,” I said quickly.

  “How long has this been going on,” my dad asked seriously.

  “Last night was our first date, but I suspect that’s not what you meant,” Carson said from behind me.

  My dad nodded and I wanted to hide. I didn’t want to talk about this. I didn’t want my dad putting Carson on the spot. I also didn’t want to have to think about how to say it, but luckily Carson beat me to it.

  “I can’t speak for her, but for me it’s been for going on for as long as I can remember,” he said before walking up and taking my hand.

  I nodded and looked up at him before I spoke. He was smiling, and I decided I liked this smile more than any of his others. He kissed my cheek and I took a deep breath, ready to lay my cards on the table.

  “As long as I can remember. I never thought he would feel the same. I suspect he thought the same thing. When we figured out we both felt like this this we decided to go out and see if we really could pursue this without ruining everything.”

  “And,” my mom asked.

  She was smiling at us like she already knew the answer. I made her sit and wait for a second because I could tell it was driving her nuts. Serves her right for cornering me with this conversation.

  “We really can,” Carson and I said at the same time.

  I shot my gaze to my dad. He was being silent. I wondered what was going through his head, until he finally smiled. I let out a relieved sigh and Carson arms tightened around me in a tight hug.

  “Good. I’ve been waiting for you to man up and admit how you feel,” he said to Carson.

  “She didn’t make it easy, let me tell you,” Carson said before I turned around and playfully smacked his chest. “What, you didn’t! You were going to make me suffer while waiting for you to say yes.”

  “Yes, yes I was. I just wasn’t sure if the risk was worth it,” I said with a smile.

  “We are always worth the risk,” he said quietly.

  “I know that now, that’s why I’m willing to try,” I said with a smile.

  My parents smiled, so he leaned in and kissed my cheek. When he pulled away I leaned in and felt the most addictive sense of rightness. This was where we were always meant to be. Now if he would only tell me that he loves me.

  After a few minutes, I remembered that I was supposed to be getting ready, so I ran upstairs. I quickly got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, opting for vans instead of heels. I had expected Carson to have gone home since he didn’t have class today, but he was still there waiting for me. He took my hands and looked me up and down, smiling the entire time.

  “I’ll drive you and pick you up. I want you to hang out with me tonight,” Carson said happily.

  “Have her home before midnight tonight Carson,” my dad called out as we walked towards the door.

  “Will do sir,” he called back.

  As soon as we were out the door he let out a deep breath. What was he so nervous for? I was the one who has to live with them. I guess he really does like me since he was nervous about my parents’ reaction. He knows they are important to me, so he wanted them to approve. Figuring that out made me feel like I was glowing with happiness from the inside out.

  “I thought your dad was going to kill me there for a second,” he said with a laugh.

  “Nah, I wouldn’t let him kill you. I kind of want to keep you alive,” I said with a grin.

  “Only kind of,” he asked with wide eyes.

  His fingers drifted to my sides. I had a sneaking suspicion he was going to tickle me, so I tried to take a step back. When I did his hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me back to him. He kissed me slowly and softly, not letting me go for several minutes. Finally, he pulled away, but only so we could both take a breath.

  “Alright, I totally want to keep you alive,” I said breathlessly.

  He smiled triumphantly and let me go. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the steps, back to his truck. He drove me to school and, of course, we blasted our favorite country station with all the windows rolled down along the way.

  When we got there, he got out and held me in the cage of his arms, not wanting to let me go. He finally accepted that he had to let me go, but when he did I felt a hand on my arm. I turned and saw a blonde haired, blue eyed, extremely pretty girl. Carson turned around to say something to me and his expression was angry and nervous when he saw the girl.

  His nervousness had me worried. What about this girl could possibly make him nervous? I mean it could be that they dated, and he was nervous about me finding out, but that didn’t fit with the way he was fidgeting. There was a story there that I needed to know, but I instinctively knew he wouldn’t want to tell me yet. His nervousness made way for his anger, he didn’t like this girl being near me at all.

  “What do you want Allie? Leave my girlfriend alone,” he said coldly.

  “Oh, so now she’s your girlfriend? That’s not what she was when we were together a few weeks ago,” Allie sneered.

  My heart stopped in my chest. I knew he had been with other girls, I didn’t necessarily know who until now, but it still hurt to hear her say that. I automatically hated this girl because she had just ruined any possible enjoyment I would have gotten out of Carson calling me his girlfriend and being protective. I pulled my arm out of her grasp and moved into Carson’s arms. I got up on my toes and kissed him.

  “I’ve got to go to class babe, but I’ll see you tonight. Have fun with your little friend,” I said with a fake smile.

  He didn’t let me move just held me there. “We aren’t done talking about this babe. You don’t need to be jealous. It’s always been you, I just went out with her because I was tired of wanting someone that I couldn’t have,” he said into my ear.

  I looked up at him and I could see that he was telling the truth. The proof was in his eyes and they have never once lied to me. I threw my arms around him and nuzzled his neck. He stroked my hair and kissed my temple.

  “Me and you baby, that’s all I’ve ever needed,” he said before kissing me one last time.

  I smiled as I walked away, bumping Allie’s shoulder as I went. I heard her growl, but it only made me laugh. I winked at Carson over my shoulder and went to class. I heard him whistle as I walked away and it made me smile.

  Once in class I took out my phone and checked the date. Today was the day that Rascal Flatts was coming to town. I sighed unhappily. I wanted to go to that concert so bad, but of course I couldn’t afford tickets and by now they would be all sold out. I would just have to go next time.

  I paid a
ttention throughout my two classes but I felt melancholy due to missing one of my favorite groups in concert. When I was done I walked out and there stood Carson, just as I expected, and he was holding something in his hand. As I got closer I saw two pieces of paper that looked suspiciously like concert tickets. I stood inches away and tried to look at them, but he quickly put them behind his back.

  “I want you to know that what I hold here is your birthday present and I have to give it to you early. Before I give it to you, I need to ask you a question. Who is the best,” he said with a laugh.

  He was driving me crazy! I have an extreme desire to know things, and he knows this about me. My curiosity was reaching cat-like levels, and it was making me jumpy. I tried to grab them from him, but he used his tall stature to hold them over my head where I couldn’t reach.

  “You are, now what is it,” I said as I jumped up and down excitedly.

  He brought his hand back down and showed me two tickets to see Rascal Flatts tonight, front row. I grabbed his hand and looked at the tickets. My mouth dropped open and I squealed before throwing my arms around his neck, knocking us back a few steps. I kissed him hard before pulling my lips from his.

  “You happy baby,” he asked with a chuckle.

  “So happy! I was just thinking about how I wanted to go to that concert so badly. God Carson, you have no idea how happy you just made me,” I said as I cuddled against him.

  “Ok, well we have to get you home so you can change before we go. We both know it’s going to take you forever to pick out a pair of shoes.”

  I cuddled him close again, too happy to let him go just yet and too happy to thump him for the shoe comment. After a minute he pulled away and smiled. I grabbed his hand and drug him to the truck, laughing the entire way.

  When we got back to my place I ran inside and immediately ran to my room. I spent an hour trying to pick an outfit, finally deciding on an old Rascal Flatts concert tee, it was well worn, with a few holes in here and there, but one of my favorites. I also threw on a worn pair of jeans, just to match the look. I smiled and squealed while I tried to decide if I wanted to wear my boots or not. Then again, wearing my converses would work too. I just didn’t know how to decide, so it was time to bring in a tie breaker.

  I stuck my head out of my bedroom door and called Carson upstairs. While I waited, sitting on the floor in front of my closet, I pulled out a few more options and put them in a circle around me. He walked in and looked at me, not seeming at all surprised to see me sitting on the floor surrounded by shoes.

  “Why does this sight not surprise me,” he asked, echoing my thoughts, as he shook his head and laughed.

  “Because you know I like shoes,” I said simply.

  He smiled again but looked at all the shoes. “So, what’s the dilemma babe,” he asked.

  “I can’t decide what shoes to wear,” I whined.

  “Switch to shorts and wear your boots. I love the sight of you in shorts and those boots babe,” he said before kissing me and walking out.

  I thought about his suggestion. He had a point. I rock those boots, and this outfit screams for shorts. I changed quickly, throwing his jacket on to keep out the slight chill in the air.

  I walked down and everyone was smiling. Carson walked to the bottom of the stairs and grabbed me and twirled me around. He kissed my cheek when he put me down.

  “You are driving me all types of crazy right now,” he said as he put his forehead to mine.

  “Oh really, it’s the boots isn’t it,” I asked with a smile.

  “No,” he said with a grin.

  “The boots with the shorts,” I asked again.

  “No, it’s the girl in the boots and shorts, and the fact that she’s in my jacket,” he replied.

  My mom was saying “aww” off to the side while I melted. My face was red, of course, but I was too happy to care. I grinned up at him and he looked like he was melting right along with me. His hand moved up to play with a really curly piece of my hair while he smiled about whatever he was about to say.

  “It’s also the fact that I get to call that girl mine,” he said before kissing me for a second.

  After he pulled away he looked over at my dad, who was conveniently looking away. He looked back at me and we both smiled. I walked up to my dad and kissed his cheek, telling him that I love him before moving on and doing the same with my mom.

  “Bring her back after the concert. Oh, and make sure she’s in one piece,” My dad called from the front door.

  “Don’t worry daddy! I’m gonna be fine, I’m with Carson after all. I’ll see you guys when I get home unless you’re asleep. Either way I’ll tell you all about it over breakfast,” I said with a smile.

  “Love you baby,” my mom called.

  “Love you both,” I called back before getting in the truck.

  I bounced around as Carson pulled out of the driveway. I was so excited that I couldn’t sit still. I kept bouncing until Carson unbuckled me and grabbed my hand. He pulled me to sit beside him on the bench seat, laying his arm across my shoulders to tuck me into his side before kissing my temple.

  “I love seeing you this happy and excited,” he said with a grin.

  The nervous Carson from this morning was gone, most likely as a result of getting away from Allie. I wanted to know what he was keeping from me, but I didn’t say anything, just connected my phone to his aux cord and turned on one of my favorite new Rascal Flatts songs, Riot. I looked up at Carson and he pulled me closer. I could tell he liked my song choice, which was part of the reason I picked it, but I really chose it because it said exactly how I felt about him.

  “This song is how I feel about you,” he said before dropping a kiss on my lips.

  “I was going to say the same thing to you,” I said before curling up against his side.

  Neither of us said a word after that, just let those words sink in. We were both seriously into each other, that much was obvious. Was it enough to turn into love on his part though? Was there any chance he could love me the way that I love him?

  We drove for a while until, finally, we were there. We stood in line, waiting to give the guy at the door our tickets. We joked and talked while we were waiting and he held me close the entire time. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have him here with me. This was by far the best birthday present ever.

  When we finally made it inside I jumped up into his arms, wrapped my arms around his neck, and wrapped my legs around his waist. He laughed and held me tight before kissing me. We stood like that for a minute before he twisted me around so I was on his back. He carried me towards the large crowd of people congregated around the door, waiting to be let in.

  When it was our turn the guy looked up at me still perched on Carson’s back, smiling. Normally I would just smile back, but something about this guy creeped me out. I buried my face in Carson’s neck and hid until the creep quit looking at me. Carson quickly walked us in and squeezed my calf. I leaned forward and saw the frown on his face. He didn’t like how that guy had been looking at me any more than I did.

  “He creeped me out,” I said seriously.

  “I know,” he said as he ran his hand up and down my leg.

  As he walked us towards the front I stretched up and put my chin on top of his head, smiling while I saw the opening act setting up. I squealed, because the opener was none other than Scotty McCreery. This was going to be a once in a lifetime experience and I was getting to experience it with my best friend. When we got there, he lowered me to the ground and I couldn’t believe how close we were.

  I looked up at Scotty McCreery, and he happened to look in my direction at the same time. He winked and I leaned into Carson. He laughed at me, but I was too busy swooning to care. After I snapped out of it I turned to Carson.

  “God, I love tonight! You gave me the greatest birthday present ever Carson,” I said with a smile.

  He didn’t say anything, just pulled me in close. I kept an eye on the sta
ge from the corner of my eye. I saw Scotty turn to his band and then point at us, so I had a feeling he was going to play I Love You This Big. I didn’t tell Carson because I wanted to see his face when Scotty started playing that song.

  After a minute the band started to play, and Scotty grabbed the mike. “Hey guys, I need to make a quick dedication. I know I should be playing my newer stuff, but I just saw this couple right up front. They look like what this song feels like, and that’s rare, so this song is for y’all,” he said before nodding to his band.

  He winked at me once more and then he started singing. Carson pulled my back to his front and started singing along, right in my ear. Halfway through the song I couldn’t wait anymore, so I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck. Just like that the world was ours and there was no one else in it. He kept singing to me and you know that I was practically a puddle on the floor. After the song ended he kissed me softly. I stayed locked in his arms as Scotty finished off his set with some of his newer songs.