Roman (Season Three: The Ninth Inning #7)

by Lindsay Paige

  “So, what are we doing, Roman?” Carissa asks curiously.

  “We’re going rock climbing, bouldering in particular.”

  “What is that?” she asks.

  “Usually, top rock climbing is where you wear a harness and have someone on the ground as your belayer. Bouldering doesn’t have the ropes; you’re on your own. Although, maybe we should rock climb, so I can be your belayer. I’d have a great view.” I grin.

  Carissa laughs. “You’re not doing that. If I have to climb a wall, so do you.”

  “All right, fine.”

  A few minutes later, we arrive at the facility. We both have to sign waivers, and then we have to wait just a bit before the next orientation begins. The staff makes you spend your first ten minutes making sure you know the rules, tips, safety guidelines, and they give you a tour of the place. It’s not too crowded, and I spot an area for us to start. Without waiting for Carissa, I start climbing.

  “What are you? A monkey who likes to show off?”

  I glance down at her with a grin. “Quit ogling and get your ass up here.”

  She hesitates for only a fraction of a second before she grabs a hold and starts climbing. Even though she doesn’t sound worried, she begins, “If I fall—”

  “I’ll laugh.”

  “And break something,” she continues. “I want Nurse Roman fulfilling my every request.”

  “Why am I a nurse and not a doctor?”

  “Nurses give more attention, and I’d need a lot of attention.”

  I laugh. “You’re not going to break anything.” There are giant mats below us to cushion any fall.

  She shrugs. We spend a good portion of the day climbing the surfaces inside this place. We don’t talk constantly, but we do here and there. I ask her things like what is the next crazy thing she wants to do, which is to visit a NASCAR track and drive a few laps. That does sound fun, so maybe we need to look into doing that one weekend. That would have to wait until the offseason.

  Carissa has more of an adventurous streak than I’ve given her credit for. She wants to jump off a cliff, swim with sharks, and go parasailing. When we sit down to eat at a nearby restaurant, I ask, “Where did your need to do crazy shit come from?”

  “I don’t know. It all just seems like fun, so why not? And maybe there’s a part of me that loves the fact that my mother is not a fan of that kind of stuff.”

  “Your parents are strict, right?”

  “I don’t know if I would put it that way.”

  “Then what way?” I ask.

  “My mom just likes it better when we do what she wants us to do, but she’s gotten better about it. Hector helped with that a lot.”

  “So how does she feel about you up and moving to Memphis?”

  Carissa sort of bypasses the question with her answer. “She should be happy that I’m near family. Why are we talking about me so much?”

  “Because you’re the prettiest and most interesting of the two of us.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. Her phone buzzes on the table, distracting her and preventing her a smart-ass comeback. Her lips press together as she flicks her gaze to me. “It’s Hector.” She finally picks it up to answer it. “Hey, big brother.” Whatever he says to her next makes her pause before answering. “Why would you go to my apartment without even knowing if I’m home? I do have a life, Hector.” Her eyes narrow at his response, even though he can’t see her. “Well, obviously I’m not home, and I’m already eating dinner, so you wasted a trip.”

  She wraps up her conversation with him a few seconds later.

  “We’re going to have to tell him soon, you know,” she tells me.

  “I know.”

  “I mean I like having a dirty little secret, but lying to my brother? Not so much.”

  I raise an eyebrow at her. “Dirty little secret?”

  She laughs and throws the paper from her straw at me. We finish our meal after a round of desserts. I pay and follow her as we head to the door. It’s a bit of a crowded restaurant, but one locals love. Anywhere you walk will be in a single file line, even in and out the main door. The door opens as we approach, and Carissa stops short.

  Oh, damn.

  Hector and Zoey are standing on the other side of the threshold, staring at us. Hector with confusion and suspicion, while Zoey just looks surprised.

  “What are you doing here?” Hector asks me.

  “We ran into each other at the complex. We were hungry, and she wanted to go to a local favorite, so I offered to take her,” I explain, hoping it all makes sense and he’ll believe it.

  “That was sweet of you, Roman,” Zoey says.

  “Sweet is a bit of a stretch,” Carissa says. “Roman just wanted to be nice and stay on Hector’s good side before Hector gives him a terrible nickname.”

  “What are you talking about? My nicknames are great. Maybe Roman’s should be AK.”

  “AK?” I ask.

  “Ass kisser,” he laughs.

  “Looks like your good intentions backfired, Roman,” Carissa says.

  “Yeah, we should go. You two are blocking the entrance and our exit.” Please, do not let him start calling me AK. That might just be worse than Sugar Daddy. Zoey and Hector step into the restaurant and, once Carissa waves goodbye, we leave.

  “That was close,” she says as I pull onto the highway.

  “Yeah.” Us telling him might have to come sooner rather than later. Maybe it’s good that he saw us together, even if he thinks it was under different circumstances. The picture exists in his head.

  “Are you still sleeping over?” Her voice is soft and unsure, causing me to glance over at her.

  “Of course, I am. Do you think one run in with your brother will send me running away from a girl as fantastic as you are?”

  “It could happen.” She plays it off with a shrug.

  “Not with us.” I’m in it for the long haul with Carissa. We’ll tackle the obstacle of her brother when the time comes, but the point is that we will tackle it.

  “Oh, great. You’re all here,” Hector says as he walks into the locker room.

  “No shit,” Blake mutters, causing us to chuckle.

  “Before we get pumped and focused for the game, I have an announcement to make.” We all turn toward him and wait. “Carissa’s birthday is coming up, so we’re having a get together. You’re all invited.” He continues talking, but I’m stuck on what he said first.

  She has a birthday soon? Why hasn’t she told me? How can I prepare for a birthday I don’t know about? I wonder when, or if, she’ll tell me. Everyone confirms that they’ll go, and then we finish dressing for the game. I shut Carissa out of my mind to focus on my job.

  We stretch and warm up. It’s a hot, humid evening, which is perfect for baseball. The air seems to stick to my skin. I quickly smile at Carissa after warm-ups. It’s been forever since I’ve had someone in the stands, watching me play the sport I love. There’s something comforting and peaceful about knowing she’s there.

  The game doesn’t start so great. The first batter hits a homerun. The next one swings hard, sending it soaring toward Tanner. Somehow, he misses what seems to be an easy catch of a fly ball. He’s able to throw it to Jordan and stop the runner from progressing farther.

  Baseball is a game of strategic plays. One where your reaction needs to be just right. This game? It’s one mistake after the other. I don’t think any of us have played this badly so far this season. It’s crazy how we can be playing so well and so in sync, and then for a game or two, everything falls apart. Let’s hope it’s just this one game.

  Losses are so much harder when it is an overwhelming one. We only got one run in, courtesy of Trent. Surprisingly, Coach doesn’t seem too pissed. He stands with his arms crossed over his chest at the front of the room.

  “Everyone loses. Today, we did. Let’s not make it a habit.”

  That’s all he says. He’s one of the oddest coaches I’ve ever had. Usually, you can’t get
them to shut up, especially after a loss. They rant and rave, yell and curse, and make sure you hear them loud and clear. Coach is unlike any other coach I’ve had. He says just enough to get his point across. He’s not overbearing. He doesn’t have to point out your mistakes, but he does sometimes if he doesn’t feel like you know. I kinda like it. It’s hard to judge his mood sometimes, though.

  “We playing video games tonight?” Spence asks as we walk out to the parking lot. I decided to take a detour to avoid family members that may be waiting for their men.

  “Yeah.”

  When we get back to the apartment, we both plop down onto the couch and start up the game.

  “So, how’s it going with Carissa?”

  “Fine. Hector and Zoey saw us leaving a restaurant the other day, but we were able to play it off. I think she’s getting antsy about telling him.”

  My phone buzzes with a text from the one and only.

  Carissa: Sorry about the game.

  Me: It’s not your fault.

  Carissa: Want to come up?

  “Are you texting her? Tell her she can come play with us.”

  I tilt my head at him. “Why would you want that?”

  “Because I’m sick and tired of everyone getting laid besides me. If she comes and plays the game, it’ll at least prolong it.”

  I laugh. “You’re sad, man.”

  “You try going out with Tanner. It’s getting worse. They couldn’t care less who’s around if he’s there. Swear on my life, he had a foursome last night. How does that even happen? And you know it’s not his first. I can’t even have regular sex and the King of Kink, his words, is having sex every day!” The longer he rants, the more annoyed he gets.

  I’m busting a gut from laughing so hard. “King of Kink? Where the hell does he come up with this stuff?”

  “I don’t know. He’s crazy.”

  I grab my phone and text Carissa.

  Me: Spence says you can come hang out with us.

  Carissa: What are y’all doing?

  Me: Playing video games and talking about Tanner. Just come on. You haven’t hung out with us yet.

  Carissa: Okay. Give me a few.

  ***

  FOR THE TENTH time this evening, Spencer cusses under his breath and Roman laughs next to me. When I came in, I didn’t inform either of them that I knew how to play Call of Duty. Spencer bet me ten bucks he could beat me. Of course, I play stupid and lose the first two games. Roman kept telling Spencer to stop being rude, but I tell him it’s okay. On the third game, I tell Spencer I’m getting the hang of it and bet him twenty dollars I can win. Which I do. It makes him a bit mad. On the fourth and fifth game, I slaughter him and win a total of one hundred dollars. Spencer’s face is beet red.

  “I just got hustled.”

  I can’t hold the laughter anymore. “Yes.” I try to hand the money back to him because I feel bad, but he shakes his head.

  “You make the bet, you lose the best, you pay the bet. But, never again, little girl.”

  I laugh again. “Sorry. I should have mentioned that when I was in college, I hung out with a lot of guys and played with them.”

  Spencer shakes his head and Roman kisses my cheek as he stands. “Another beer?”

  I nod, but Spencer says he’s heading off to bed. “Thanks for the money, Spence.”

  “Yeah. Yeah,” he jokingly says and heads down the hall.

  Roman comes back in and hands me a cold beer. When he sits down, I curl up into his side. “Do you want to play some more?”

  “Nah.” He turns off the Xbox One, and we sit in silence. “I heard something today.”

  “What?” I look up at him.

  “You have birthday coming up?”

  I sit back. “How did you hear about this?”

  “Hector. He’s having a party for you on Friday.”

  My mouth drops, and I bolt up from the couch. “He is?”

  “Um…” Roman looks around. “Maybe it’s a surprise party, and I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Now it makes sense.”

  “What?” He pulls on my hand, and I sit back down.

  “This morning, Zoey called me and told me she’s taking me out for dinner Friday with Abigail, Heidi, and Sofia. I thought it was a little strange since I’m usually dragging her away from her work, but now it’s all clear.” I’d racked my brain all day as to why Zoey wanted to go to dinner, and I thought it would end up being a Roman-intervention and making me tell Hector about our relationship.

  “I’m sorry. I thought you knew.”

  I can see how bad he feels. “It’s okay. I’ll play it off. And I didn’t mention my birthday because it’s not a big deal. It’s twenty-four.” I shrug.

  “It’s your birthday, and I want to celebrate.” He kisses me softly.

  I smile. “You’re sweet. Maybe we can do something Saturday after your game.”

  Roman nods. “Sounds like a plan.”

  I see he’s trying to hide a yawn, and I know the loss of the game is tiring. “Hey,” I stand up again and pull on his hand. “How about we go to bed? I’m tired and you seem to be too.”

  “You going to stay here?”

  “Is that okay?” I bat my baby browns at him, and he chuckles.

  “Sure. I guess.” He pulls me into his arms and his warmth fills me.

  I want to tell him I love him. Saying it out loud is something I’m almost craving to do, but it’s too early. I know I rushed things with Dane. It’s my girly DNA’s fault and partially my mother’s too. She’d told me so many times that after I graduated college, I needed to find a man, get married, and have babies. I met Dane not too long after I finished college, and we moved in together months into our relationship. Then everything snowballed from there.

  I’m realizing more and more how corrupt our relationship was. The fighting, yelling, the name calling, more on his part than mine, that’s not how it’s supposed to be. With Roman, he looks at me so lovingly. He never criticizes anything I eat, wear, or do. He likes doing new adventurous stuff, and I don’t worry about him sleeping around on me, even with him being on the road all the time.

  Does he love me too? He says we’re serious, and we’re going to tell Hector. It has to mean something. I refuse to be the first to say it. Nope, I’m not going to do it. I will not rush this, and I’ll keep that door closed for now.

  I strip out of my clothes, and Roman hands me one of his shirts right before sliding in under the blankets. I’m sure both of us want to have sex, but right now, our bodies are tired. I turn on my side and Roman spoons right behind me.

  This is what feels right.

  Felicia taps my shoulder as work on my lesson plans for the next week. “Carissa, may I speak to you?”

  I nod and follow her to her office. I know I’ve done nothing wrong, but I’m suddenly nervous as I take a seat across from her while she sits behind her desk.

  “I want to let you know how great you’re doing here.”

  I breathe a sigh a relief. “Well, thank you. That’s kind of you.”

  “I also want to make you aware of something else. I think you should try taking some substitution jobs in the area.”

  “Um…” I’m confused. She tells me I’m doing well, but tells me about other positions.

  “I love having you here. The kids adore you to the moon. I can see your potential and you belong in a school. You have too much talent and love kids. You belong in a classroom.”

  “Am I…am I being fired?”

  Felicia’s eyes grow wide and she gasps. “Heavens no. I don’t ever want you to leave. But a lot of the girls here do this as part-time work, or they’re on the verge of retiring. Besides me, you’re my only full-timer. I love having you, but I think a classroom setting is the best for you. If you don’t want to then I’ll be happy to keep you here as long as you want.”

  I smile. “You had me worried for a second.” We both laugh. “I love being here, but
yes, I do miss being in the school system.”

  She hands me a card and tells me how to register. Even though the school year is almost over, it’ll help me for the upcoming year. I thank her and head back out to finish my lesson plans. I know Zoey and the girls will be here soon to take me out to ‘dinner’. Since I know the real plan as Roman spilled the beans, I’ve already practiced my surprise face.

  I finish just as Zoey texts me and tells me they’re outside. When I walk out, I slide into the back of Zoey’s CR-V saying hello to everyone. I’m leaving my car here and I’ll have Roman bring me back. The girls are all dressed up and I feel a bit under dressed in my black dress pants and red wrap shirt.

  We’re all talking about our jobs and the goings on in our lives. Sofia tells of Grant’s latest triumph, and she seems to be glowing as she talks of her son. Will I be the same way when I have children? Mom never seemed to glow when she talked of us. At least, not that I remember.

  Zoey keeps driving all around Memphis and I’m starting to get hungry and bored. “Um…sis…are we going to eat?”

  Zoey looks at Sofia, who’s in the passenger’s seat. Sofia checks her watch. “Yes. We can go eat now.”

  I shake my head and roll my eyes. I know they have put a lot into this party, but I’m not seven. Do they think I won’t figure it out? I see Abigail on her phone texting in a frenzy. She has to be texting Felix, telling him we’re on our way. Soon, we’re pulling onto Hector and Zoey’s street, which is lined with cars all the way to their driveway.

  Really?

  We all get out, and since the sun is setting, the house is darker than normal. Zoey has the biggest smile on her face. I’m doing my best not to tell her I know because I don’t want to hurt her feelings. So, I play along and follow her into the dark house.

  When she flips the light on, the crowd jumps out at me yelling, “Surprise.” I fake gasp and cover my mouth. Okay, I won’t be winning an Oscar for my performance, but Hector seems to buy it as he hugs me saying ‘happy birthday’. I catch Roman’s green eyes, and he gives me quick wink.

  Once Hector releases me, I’m suddenly passed around the girls of the Angel’s players and even my co-workers from the tutoring center. I’m so happy they were able to make it. I even hug the guys, and I try not to linger too long with Roman, even though I want to.