by Skye Turner
Chuckling, I nod. “Yeah, they’re really good. And they seem to be taking over female country. Awesome for Baton Rouge.”
I sing the rest of the song with her before it ends and we’re quiet as I navigate traffic. The roads are pretty busy with the Sunday morning traffic. Glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, I decide that now is as good a time as any to talk to her about the try-out with the Braves this week.
Taking a deep breath, I say her name, “Cally?”
Her head turns and she smiles at me. “Yeah?”
I smile back and then just blurt out. “I have a tryout with the Atlanta Braves this week.” I see her pick at the hem of her dress.
Her eyes widen and she gasps before she recovers. She nods and says, “Oh, ok. Well–– well, that’s awesome. When is it?”
“We don’t play this week, so my agent scheduled it for Wednesday. I fly out there Tuesday and then my try-out is the next day. I’m scheduled to come back Thursday.”
She swallows and looks straight out the windshield. She’s not saying anything.
She’s about to tell me to bring her home…
Shit.
You should have told her last night during dinner, Jase! Not just blurted it out like an asshole while she was trapped in a car with you.
God, I’m an idiot!
Cally
Jase has a try-out in Atlanta…
This week.
Like in three days. In just a few days he’s going to go tryout for his dream job and right after that, he might know for certain that he’s moving to Atlanta.
Oh my God… how long has he known? Why would he only tell me now?
Chill out, Cally. It’s not like you’re dating.
I mean, we sort of are, but it’s so new. You have no right to be upset about this.
You know he wanted to go pro. This is his dream.
Only now… I’ve been dreaming, too…
Dreaming about a future that involves Jase… and me.
Hard to do if he leaves for Atlanta.
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what he expects me to say. I’m still trying to come up with something when he sighs and hits the steering wheel. I jump and glance over at him.
He smiles sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I’m a jerk.”
I exhale shakily. “What? No, no you aren’t. Sorry, I’m just kind of shocked. I mean we had dinner last night and you didn’t mention this…”
I see his lips tighten and he groans. “I know. And I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to have,” He gestures between us, “this happen.” He looks at me and then back at the road. “I really like you, Cally. I think we’re great together. I know that this is new and it’s not even defined, but I like you and I didn’t want you to tell me to take a hike.” He sighs. “And as I say that out loud, I realize that I’m even more of an asshole than I thought. That sounds so incredibly selfish.”
He mutters, “Jesus, Jase. You fucking suck!” I smirk and then chuckle. He looks over at me as his brow arches. “What?”
Laughing lightly, I reply. “Nothing. You just surprise me. Not many men would be calling themselves assholes right now.” I sigh and reach for his hand. His fingers link with mine. “Jase, I like you, too. A lot. A lot more than I thought I would and yeah… this news is a bit of a shock. But it’s not really. This is your dream. It’s everything you’ve worked for and you deserve this.
“Does it kind of suck because we’ve just started to get to know each other?” I nod. “Hell yeah, it does. But… nothing has been promised here. We’re just getting to know each other, right?!”
Liar… Liar… Liar…
Nothing has been promised, but you’re like two kisses away from falling in love with Jase and you know it!
Shut up! I went into this with my eyes wide open.
Not that it hurts any less…
Jase nods and squeezes my hand. “I know that, but I don’t want this to cause you to end things. I literally only found out a couple of days ago myself. Nothing has been promised between us, but I care for you. I’m not with anyone else, Cally.
“Playing for the Majors is my dream, yeah… you’re right. But I have other dreams, too. Like a great relationship with an amazing woman and I think I’ve found that here… with you. I don’t want to lose either one… and that is pretty selfish.”
Not as selfish as me wanting you all to myself…
But that isn’t even close to reality.
I nod. “I guess I’m selfish, too then.” His face shows his surprise and I chuckle. “I like you, Jase and I don’t want to lose this either.”
He smiles and sighs. “It’s just a try-out anyway… I might bomb it.”
Something tells me that is not going to happen. Deciding not to dwell on it, I ask, “So, when is the next home game? I want to come if the offer is still open.”
His face lights up and he nods. “You’ve got it. I’ll get you some tickets. We actually play away games for the next stretch so it’ll be about two weeks away on Wednesday night. How many tickets do you want?”
Laughing, I squeeze his hand again. “Two is good. I’m sure Evie would love to come with me. Hot guys in tight pants chasing balls… every seventeen year old girls dream!”
Jase throws his head back and laughs. “Oh my God…” His eyes twinkle as he looks over at me. “You know some of the guys are around twenty… I can always introduce her to one of them… If you think she’d be interested that is.”
I bust out laughing and shake my head. “She’s seventeen and just dumped her boyfriend… I’m sure she’d be plenty interested. Not certain her parents would share the sentiment though. That girl is a mess!”
He laughs again and winks at me. “Ok, I’ll see what I can do. Only the nice one’s though.”
Smirking, I look around at the area. We’re in LSU near the lakes. “I love this area. Your brother lives around here?”
He nods. “Sure does. They have a big house right on the lake. We’ll be there in about five minutes. His neighbor is the guy who founded Raising Cane’s.”
I chuckle. “Oh, nice. I love their chicken!” Jase grins. “Me, too. Perfect for a picnic. We’ll have to do that.”
A picnic with Jase? That is romantic sounding as hell.
Smiling, I look at all of the houses… that are getting bigger and bigger as we drive.
Holy shit! How rich is Jase’s brother?!
A dog running in an expansive yard as it plays Frisbee with two little boys while their parents watch on from the porch makes me laugh. The littlest boy tries to catch the wayward Frisbee and the dog jumps up in front of him to catch it. They both fall onto the ground and the dog drops his prize to roll around with the little boy. The parents laugh as the other child joins in on the fun.
It reminds me of Percy. I smile. “Percy will have to picnic with us if we do that. He loves chicken.”
Jase looks over at me and winks. “Of course he’ll come with us.
“How about tomorrow after you close? I can come help and after closing we can picnic at your place… or you can come to mine?”
He’s inviting me to his place?
“You’re inviting me to your place? Where do you live, Jase?”
He smirks and shake his head. “Um, well actually…” He points in the direction we just came from. “Back there. I have a house in the Garden District near campus, too.” He laughs. “But it’s nowhere near the size of these!”
I grin. “Ok, how about we picnic at your place… tomorrow night?”
“That sounds like a date, Cally.”
My heart soars as he turns into a long winding drive. I can’t help staring at the gorgeous house spread out in front of me with one of the LSU Lakes in the background.
Wow…
Chapter Fifteen
Jase
No practice today meant that I spent all day at Love & Paws. It was a busy day. I spent a good bit of time in the medical center with Whisper and her puppi
es. She seems to like me. She actually let me sit next to her while she nursed and she laid her head on my lap while I softly stroked her head. She’s a beautiful girl. I can’t believe that someone intentionally harmed her and then dumped her. She’s getting the love and attention she needs now though. Cally popped in while I was there and said that if she continues to respond so well to people she’d be moved from the medical center into one of the other buildings. She’ll still be with her babies and have room to move around, but they want to start acclimating her to other people so she can hopefully be adopted into a loving home at some point.
The vet student talked to me while we were in there together. It was a young woman who graduates in the fall. She said that the puppies still need to be with Whisper for about four more weeks and then they should be able to be put up for adoption.
I fly out tomorrow for Atlanta and hopefully by this weekend, I’ll have word on if they’re interested in me or not. I’m nervous and being here has helped keep me sane.
Cally was a hit at brunch yesterday. She already knew Bradi, which was a bonus, but she totally won Micah and my parents over, too. My dad actually pulled me to the side to tell me that she was a keeper. And he’s called me twice since then to check on “things”.
I happen to agree with him and love that my family loves her, too. I just hope she sticks around if I do sign on with the Majors. Of course she’ll never leave here and I’d never ask her to, so I have no idea how that would even work.
Stop thinking like that!
There is no guarantee I’ll even get an offer from any of them, so why am I worrying myself to death over the what-ifs?!
Jeff says that Atlanta is really interested though… If an offer comes before my try-outs with Minnesota… I’m not certain I’ll need to have one.
I left Whisper about an hour ago and am now outside with several of the dogs as they race around and play. Bandit and Noche haven’t left my side. They seem to have become attached to me. I’m sitting under the tree, leaning against the trunk with one on each side of me, peeling blades of grass when I look up and see Cally standing beside me. She smiles down at me and gestures to my sides. “Comfy?”
I chuckle and pat Noche’s head. He whimpers and then goes back to sleep as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Yeah, I am. These two seem to like me.”
She snorts and mutters, “It’s an ever expanding club.”
That makes me laugh aloud. “Careful, you’ll give me an ego.”
She rolls her eyes and sits beside me. “Shut it. You know your appeal.”
Leaning over, I kiss her lips. She sighs and I smile. “As long as I’m appealing to you…”
Her nose wrinkles and she rolls her eyes again. “Yeah, because gorgeous men who are great with animals and have the body of a Greek God are so unattractive.”
Reaching out, I link my fingers with hers. She looks at our hands and smiles. “Jase… this is scary.”
What is scary?
Confused, I ask. “What is?”
Her eyes lock on mine and she flicks her finger between us. “This. Us. You and me…”
I don’t understand.
Opening my mouth, I try to say something, but nothing comes out. So, I try again. “What do you mean, Cally? What’s scary?”
She sighs, lays back against the grass, and stares at the leaves over us. Scooting, I do the same so our heads are close together. Bandit and Noche scoot so they are touching me again. Turning my head toward her, I see Percy crawl over and lay next to Cally. Her hand absently reaches over and strokes his head. “You. You’re scary, Jase. The things you have me feeling are scary. A few weeks ago, I didn’t even know you and now, you’re pretty important to me.” Her head turns and our faces are so close together, I can feel her breath on my lips and chin. “I don’t believe in insta-love. I never have. I roll my eyes at it in books because it’s so… so not real… or so I thought…”
What? What is she saying here?
My voice is hoarse as I ask, “What…”
She cuts me off with her fingers on my lips. “No, wait. Let me say this. If you interrupt, I’ll lose my nerve.” I nod. “I don’t know what I’m feeling, Jase. I don’t recognize my own emotions here. But I know that I’ve never in my life felt them before and that–– that’s terrifying.
“I’m not saying that I’m in love with you. I don’t know if I am… I don’t know what being in love is like, but I know that this… that us… this is the most I’ve ever felt for anyone in my life other than my family. But the way I feel for you is way different than the love I feel for them.
“You stay on my mind. No matter what I’m doing, you’re always lingering there… in the background. Maybe this is love… maybe it’s not… but whatever it is… it’s real and it scares the shit out of me.”
What she’s feeling… what she’s saying she feels… I feel it, too.
So much.
I think I’m falling in love with Cally and it sounds like she’s falling in love with me.
Rolling, I prop my head on my palm so I can fully look at her. We’re still so close. “Cally…” My voice is throaty. “You’re the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. You’re always on my mind, too. No matter what I’m doing, you’re right there for me, too.
“I’ve dated. I’ve even thought I was in love before. But those feelings were nothing compared to this. I don’t know what I’m feeling either, Cally. But, I’m just as scared as you are.
“I’m pretty certain that I’m falling in love with you and from what you’re saying… I think you’re falling in love with me, too.
“It’s fast… but it feels perfect. Being with you… it’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done. When you smile at me… my heart lifts. Like it legitimately lifts.
“I know that sounds like some stupid ass line, but it’s not. I don’t use lines. And when I say them, I can’t believe you’re not rolling your eyes, but I hope it’s because you know that I’m sincere.
“When I get nervous or start to have a shit day, I think about you and I’m instantly lightened.
“The shit that is coming out of my mouth right now is like a scene from a chick flick, but I mean it.
You and me, Cally… We are a chick flick.
“Jesus, make me shut up…”
Cally
Jase is being so unlike a jock right now and it’s completely adorable.
He’s embarrassing himself and he just keeps going. I can’t stop the smile from spreading over my face.
His cheeks are flushed with embarrassment and I swear he’s the sexiest he’s ever been to me.
Leaning over, I cup his cheek and pull him down. He rolls some and as he hovers over me, I yank his mouth down to mine. My lips brush against his before my tongue snakes out and pushes past his lips to dance with his tongue.
He moans into my mouth as my hands trail over his back before settling on his ass and pulling him on top of me.
I forget where we are as we kiss feverishly. The only thing that prevents me from stripping us both naked and climbing on top of him is the voracious barking that finally penetrates my brain.
I break the kiss and gasp as I turn my head. Percy is jumping around beside me barking. As he sees me looking at him, he sits and cocks his head to the side as he looks at us. Jase laughs and Percy barks at him. Bandit and Noche are also very interested in getting in on the action and are climbing all over Jase while they attempt to lick his face.
He’s laughing as he holds them back. “Sorry, boys. I only kiss Cally like that!”
My face burns as I scramble to stand up. I look back toward the center to see if anyone is outside. Thankfully no one is.
With an embarrassed chuckle, I hold out my hand to Jase. “Um, I actually came out here to tell you that everyone is about to head home. We just need to get these guys back inside so I can lock up. I’ve already checked on Whisper and the puppies and fed, watered, and cleaned
up everyone else.” He takes my hand and I pull him up. He dusts his pants off and grins at me. “Oh, so you’re saying it’s time for our picnic.”
I nod. “It is. So, help me round up this crew?”
Within half an hour, we’ve managed to get all of the dogs inside. I refill their water bowls and top off their food before turning down the lights. Jase follows me to the front doors. “I just need to set the alarm and lock up. I’ll follow you?”
Jase smiles at me and as the light catches on his perfect teeth, I feel my stomach clench. He nods. “Yup. I’ll wait for you. I have to grab the Cane’s though. Is that still what you want for dinner? We can get something else?”
Shaking my head, I point at Percy. He’s following Jase around and his tail is wagging profusely. “Nope, he was promised Cane’s. Percy, go with Jase. I’ll be out in one sec.”
Jase takes the leash and Percy trots along beside him.
Sheesh… even my dog loves him.
Jase sighs as he leans back on the blanket he spread out on the ground of his backyard. “I’m so full.”
Chuckling, I finish breaking the last piece of chicken so I can give it to Percy. “That was good.”
Jase’s head turns so he can look at me. It’s twilight and we’re watching the stars start to appear in the sky. The buzz from the bug zappers, to keep the mosquitos away, is merging with the night sounds and the distant hum of traffic on the road out front. Jase’s house is beautiful. Another old house that was recently renovated, but the contractors kept the old southern charm. We’re under the old oak trees looking back at the house. There’s a screened in back porch with amazing cypress gliders on it and next to us is a cypress swing. The yard is completely private with an eight-foot fence and perfectly kept landscaping.
“Who keeps this place up, you?”
He snorts. “Hell no. I pay a landscaping company to handle the outside and I have a housekeeper who comes in twice a week to keep up with the inside.” He grins. “I do vacuum and do my own dishes and laundry, but since I’m never home, it’s just easier to pay someone to handle the rest.”
