Third Base (The Boys of Summer Book 1) (15 page)

W
hen I walk out of the bathroom, Daisy’s back is to me. The streetlights shine through my sheer curtains, casting a soft glow around her. Dressed in black lace, she looks like an angel with a little hint of the devil. I step toward her and ghost my fingertips along the back of her shoulders. Goosebumps pebble her skin, causing her to shiver. I hold back the urge to rub against the swell of her ass. Doing so would only end with us in bed. Not that I don’t want to be there.

“Are you cold?” My lips follow the path of my fingers as I kiss along her collarbone. I’m torn in two, right now, struggling between wanting to take her back to bed and celebrating her birthday. I
did
buy her a cake and want her to make a wish – a wish that I hope I can make come true – before her birthday is over. I glance quickly at the clock on my bedside table and see that my time is running out.

“A little,” she says low that I can barely hear. I kiss her neck and tug on her ear before moving toward my dresser. I pull out a t-shirt and look at her as she stands in the same spot. Her shyness makes her more desirable than I could have ever imagined. I want to pull her into my arms and hold her, cradle her and keep her out of harm’s way, even though I know that I can’t. Daisy is far from meek or needing to be saved and I need to stop thinking like that.

I hand her a BoRe t-shirt. It’s white and almost touches her knees because it’s too long for her. The fabric is slightly see-through, showing just enough of her bra to give me a semi. She’s so fucking hot right now with my shirt on and her hair falling out of her hair up-do.

“In ten minutes, your birthday will be over.”

She glances at the clock and nods. “I had an amazing birthday.”

I brush some imaginary lint off her shoulder. It’s really just an excuse to touch her. “Did you get anything for your birthday?”

“I got a lovely dinner and a fancy ride in a black car where a very nice man opened my door. I got to dress up in my grandmother’s prom dress, something I’ve wanted to do for years, and received the biggest smile from my grandfather. Then I got to be with a man that I really like, in a way that we’ll always remember.” She stretches up on her tip toes and brushes her lips to mine. My hand rests on her hip, intent on keeping her close, but she pulls away.

“I have something for you.” I take her hand in mine and lead her out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She props herself up on the white marble countertop and for some reason I find that extremely sexy. She’s now my height, and it’s something I’m going to take advantage of. I step in between her legs and slide my hands under her shirt and into the waistband of her panties. Daisy wraps her legs around me, caging me in. There are quick flashes of us like this in the morning and something deep inside tells me that I could get used this. But even I know it’s too soon to think about a future together. We’re just starting out. Everything is new and fresh with us, exploratory. In a week, she could hate me.

We share an intense kiss that has me on edge. The thought of spreading her out on my counter and feasting on her runs through my mind. Except I really want to finish celebrating her birthday. Reluctantly, I pull away and let my fingers drag along her body until I’m no longer touching her. I keep my back to her as I pull out the cake I ordered. I set it on the counter nearest my refrigerator and lift the lid. This had to be my hardest purchase to date, ordering a cake for someone that I’m trying to get to know. Thankfully, the baker gave me some insight and collectively we decided that a white cake with chocolate mousse filling would do the trick, topped off with buttercream frosting.
Happy Birthday Daisy
is written in elegant script and is surrounded by white flowers with black and red accents. I went with black and red because of our BoRe connection. For all I know she hates these colors, but it’s the thought that counts.

I set a single candle deep into the frosting and light it. It crackles like a sparkler. As soon as I turn around with the cake in my hand, I’m singing to her. I can’t carry a tune, but the expression on her face right now tells me that it doesn’t matter. Her hand is covering her mouth and tears form in her eyes as I hold her cake out in front of her.

“Happy Birthday, Daisy.”

Daisy drops her hand from her mouth and clutches the edge of the countertop, leaning forward.

“Make a wish,” I suggest, even though I’m sure she knows to do that. She breathes out, and the flame disappears into thin air. “What’d you wish for?” I ask, putting the cake down next to her.

“I can’t tell you. If I do, it won’t come true.”

“Is that so?” I ask over my shoulder. I pull out two plates and grab two forks from the drawer along with a knife.

“It’s what my grandma used to say.”

“Do you miss her?” Let me stick my foot in my mouth with that question. “I’m sorry. I know you miss her.” I slice a piece of cake and set it on the plate, handing it to Daisy along with a fork. She scoots back onto the counter and crosses her legs.

“I miss her, but she was sick so I’m happy she’s not suffering anymore. I know my grandpa misses her a lot and I catch him, every now and again, talking to her as if she’s in the kitchen.”

I don’t know what it’d be like to lose my grandma or my parents. We have such a strong family bond that I think we’d fall apart. I know for certain that I wouldn’t be who I am today without them and here Daisy is, with only one grandparent left.

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me,” she says, before taking a bite of her cake. Her lips wrap around her fork and her eyes close as she savors the taste. “Oh gosh, this is freaking heavenly,” she says as she looks at me.

“Um…” I’m thankful that I’m partly hidden by the counter right now because my growing dick is begging for a small bit of action. “I’m glad you like it.” Fuck, I love it and want to stand here all night and watch her lick her fork.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

She nods. “I think after what you did for me, I should answer everything you ask.”

I place my hands on her thighs and massage them. “I did that for us. I enjoyed it, too. Everything that we’ve done tonight, it’s all for the both of us,” I tell her. “But I was going to ask if you remember your parents?”

Daisy puts her fork down and slides herself toward me. My hands slide up her legs as she moves. I don’t hesitate to make sure my fingers go under her panties and use my hands as leverage to bring her closer.

“I have pictures, but no real memories. I have some things that I made up from the photos and stories I’ve heard, but I don’t remember them.”

“I’m sorry,” I say for lack of a better response. I lean forward and kiss the tip of her nose. Daisy rests her forehead against mine while her fingers play in my hair. My hands move from her ass to her waist and I hold her against me with my arms wrapped around her. As much as I want to think otherwise, I know I’ve already fallen for this girl in front of me.

She kisses me quickly and as much as I want to hold her mouth to mine and not let go, I do. This isn’t the time or place to start making out, especially since I just asked about her parents. Daisy puts her head in the crook of my neck and sighs.

“I should be getting home,” she mumbles, effectively ruining any chance of her waking up in my arms. It’s for the best though. If I had her in bed I’d be on my knees begging her to let me take her. It’d be a selfish move on my part, but I’ve been walking around with a raging hard on since I’ve met her, so I can’t help it.

“For the record, I want you to stay.” She looks up and smiles.

“Someday, I’d like that, but not tonight. I didn’t make arrangements with the nurse and can’t leave my grandpa alone at night.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” I try to fix her hair, but learn quickly that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I help her down and hold her hand as we walk back into the bedroom. My bed mocks me, reminding me that I’ll be sleeping in it alone tonight. That fact shouldn’t bother me except I had my hopes up that Daisy would spend the night.

Daisy excuses herself to get dressed in the bathroom and I use the opportunity to change out of my tuxedo pants and into some sweats. I plan to put on the shirt that she’s wearing so I can feel like she’s near me after she leaves. When she comes out, she looks almost as good as she did earlier, but I see the difference. Her hair isn’t as perfect and her lips are slightly redder. She comes to me and I brush my thumb over her bottom lip, wondering if my whiskers hurt her.

“It’s worth it,” she says, holding my hand to her face. She moves my thumb slightly, kissing the pad before linking her fingers with mine. “You should probably put a shirt on. It’s cold out.”

“I was planning on wearing the one you had on.”

“Why? It probably smells like me.”

“Exactly!” I wink and take my shirt out of her hand, putting it on. I go back to holding her hand because it feels good and I want to.

We walk outside and the early spring air is frigid. I shiver, forgetting to grab a sweatshirt, and run us down the stairs and to my car. I help her in before sprinting to the driver’s side. I start the engine and crank up the heat, flipping the switch for the heated seats to come on while both of us shake from the cold.

“I’m an idiot. I should’ve grabbed you a jacket.”

“It’s okay, the car will warm-up in a minute.”

I reach over the console and pull her into my arms. Science class taught me that body-to-body friction is the best way to combat the cold. Also nakedness, but I don’t see her letting me take her dress off. It’s only a matter of seconds before my butt starts getting warm from the seat and warm air is blowing in from the vents. I hate to let her go, but getting her home to her grandfather is her priority and I’m not about to put her in a position to choose. I can wait.

The drive to her apartment takes only seven minutes due to the lack of traffic this late at night, or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. I park along the street in the no parking zone closest to her door and jump out, racing to the other side so I can open the door for her. It’s evident that any guy she dated before me never opened her doors. She needs to get used to me doing this for her. It’s the way I was raised.

I’m sure her neighborhood is safe considering Boston’s finest take pride in every neighborhood they work, but I’m still leery and hold her hand until we’re at the front door of her building. I stand behind her while she unlocks the door and step in with her.

“Do you think the elevator is working?”

“You don’t have to come up,” she says, standing on the first step. Even now, with her heels on, I still have the height advantage.

“It’s not that I don’t want to walk you to your door, I just thought we could make out in the elevator.”

Daisy laughs and pulls me up the stairs. It’s nice to see the tenants are quieter now than they were when I came to pick her up earlier.

“Our luck, we’d get stuck and the fire department would have to come. If they showed up, we’d be all over the news and the BoRe Blogger would have a field day with you.”

“Ugh, don’t get me started on that site.”

“That bad, huh?” she asks as we reach her floor.

I shrug and lean my arm against her wall as she unlocks her door. “Like I said before, some of the shit that gets posted isn’t accurate and it’s hard to have a life when he’s always lurking. I’d like to meet him and give him a piece of my mind.”

“He? What makes you so certain it’s a guy?”

“Because all the women love me,” I tease, pressing my lips to hers. The kiss is chaste, but lingering. I cup her face with my hand and hold her as long as possible. When she pulls away, she covers her lips briefly.

“I need to go,” she says as we hear rustling behind the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams and Happy Birthday, Daisy.” I brush my lips against her cheek and turn away. Each step is more difficult than the last, and while part of me wants to turn around and go back to her, the other part wants to nurture whatever this is between us and see where it goes.

Boston’s beloved Renegades are falling!

What the hell happened?

We’re five games into a nine game home stand and things are not looking good, people. It’s time to put your rally caps on and start yelling at these guys. Come on, we pay good money for our tickets. At least they can show up!