Trent (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #4) (27 page)

THE SMILE ON my face is
hurting my cheeks, but I can’t stop smiling. Between Trent, playing
with Kaelyn, and my new position, I’m overjoyed. I put my hair up
in a ponytail, because it’s humid and my hair is frizzy today.

“Are you ready yet?” Macy
yells from the living room. “We need time to find a parking
space.”

“I’m coming.” I look myself
over in the mirror. I’m wearing shorts and I’m hoping they aren’t
too
short. I thought about buying Trent’s jersey to wear
instead of just my Memphis Angels shirt, but I didn’t because we
weren’t in high school or anything like that. Plus, it’s too soon
for anything serious. We’re still taking baby steps.

“Scarlett!” Macy hollers my
name loudly. “I’m about to leave you!”

I nod at myself in the mirror
and race down to Macy.

“Wow, you look pretty hot,”
Macy says when I reach her.

“Are the shorts okay?”

“Trent is going to like
staring at your legs.” She winks and we both head out to her
car.

On the drive to the stadium,
I’m not even nervous. I should be, but I’m not. If anything, I’m
excited to see Trent. When I talked to him last night, he was
waiting to see what I had planned for our date. He now thinks I
cheated at Rummy. He’s as bad as the kids.

Macy and I retrieve our
tickets from the counter and head in. I purchase a drink, as does
Macy, before we head in to find our seats. Trent got us seats right
behind the dugout. It’s a little strange seeing the baseball field
this close. I’ve never seen it this close before. The grass seems
greener, richer. The dirt is more brownish-red and the line of
white chalk highlights it all.

“Wow. I love the fact you’re
dating a baseball player. Does he know any single guys on the
team?” Macy strains her neck to look out on the field, as if she
can tell which one is single and which isn’t.

“Stop staring and sit back.
I’m not going to ask Trent to introduce you to anyone.”

Macy laughs, but we clap with
the other fans as the team comes out onto the field. I quickly find
Trent and try to keep myself composed and not drool over his,
obviously, tight baseball pants, and bulging arm muscles.

“Are you panting over your
hot man?”

“Shut up.” I sigh. “He isn’t
a possession. He’s a person.”

Macy laughs and we both watch
the team warm-up. Soon, one by one, they head into the dugout, but
I watch one of the players toss a baseball to a pretty blonde
sitting a few seats down. I can’t quite hear what is being said,
but they exchange a few words. The girl catches the ball with ease
and several girls around us cheer. Then I see Blake push the
player's shoulder to guide him down the steps.

Next to the girl who caught
the ball is a dark haired girl with stunning tattoos lining her
arms, legs, and almost up to her neck; she looks familiar. Sitting
beside her is a pregnant female with a red hair, wearing Blake
Foster's jersey. I can tell by her small roundness that she’s a few
months along.

“Oh my God.” I turn to Macy.
“I think we’re in the family section.”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Look.” I twirl my finger
around. “There are mainly women and kids in this section.”

Macy looks over both of her
shoulders and down the aisle. “So?”

“What does that mean?”

“Huh?”

“Why would Trent put me in
this section?”

Macy laughs. “Maybe because
it’s awesome seats and he has the pull to get awesome seats.”

I try to keep my focus out on
the field, but my mind is spinning, because I’m sure Macy is right,
but now I’m nervous. Have I asked him if he’s told his teammates
who I am? I can’t remember, but would he? I wonder what they said,
if he did.

“Scarlett, you okay?” Macy
asks with concern.

“Yes,” I answer her and do my
best to push all these crazy thoughts out of my head.

A few moments later, both
teams come back out on the field and the national anthem begins.
Once that is finished and the first pitch is thrown, the game
begins. My eyes stay on the second baseman more than anywhere else
on the field.

Trent seems to be doing well,
but I’m thankful for the seventh-inning stretch. I need something
to drink and I’m hoping the Angels can pull out of this two-point
deficit they’re in.

“Excuse me.” The pregnant
female touches my arm. “Would you be Scarlett Knowles?”

My mouth goes drier than what
it already is.
Please don’t be a reporter.
“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Sofia Gardner. Trent
told me you were coming today, and I wanted to introduce myself.”
She holds out her hand.

I shake it. “Thanks. It’s
nice to meet you. This is my friend. Macy.”

Sofia shakes her hand as
well. “This is Zoey, Abigail, LA, and Harmony.” She points at the
girls down the row. “This is Scarlett, Trent’s girlfriend.”

My mouth drops. No. No, she
didn’t call me his girlfriend. I look at Macy who’s smiling.

“We’ve heard so much about
you,” the tattoo girl, Zoey, says. “It’s great to see you
again.”

“Um, yes. Thanks.” What else
can I say? If they heard about me, then they must know who my
brother is and how I’m connected to Trent. And I remember Zoey from
the art gallery. "Nice to meet you all too. We’re going to grab
something to drink.” I excuse Macy and myself. When I’m out of
earshot of all the girls, I face Macy. “She called me his
girlfriend. That means he’s probably said it, right? And why the
hell are we in the family section?”

“Okay, first stop being so
damn dramatic. Second, stop acting like you
don’t
want to be
his girlfriend, and three, shut up and enjoy it before something
else pulls the rug from under you both.”

I place my hand over her
heart. “I love you. Thank you for saying that to me. I mean it.” I
hug her tightly. “This drink is on me.”

Macy and I chatter about the
game and Trent. She’s happy for me. Hell, I’m starting to be happy
for me. When we make it back to our seats, the girls start to ask
me questions about my job and hobbies. Abigail loves books and we
started chatting about them. Thankfully, no one asks about my
family or how Trent and I met. I assume they already know and are
being polite. I enjoy all of the girls.

When the game ends, the
Angels lose by one, but the girls still seems upbeat and happy. I
guess it’s because the guys are home all week.

“Scarlett, would you and Macy
like to come down to the players' entrance?” Sofia asks.

“Oh no, thank you. I don’t
want to bother Trent after a loss. I appreciate it though.” I walk
down the row and head out with the rest of the fans.

Macy talks mostly about work
on the back to my house. I give her a hug before I leave her car
and head in. I take a quick shower, and I’m curled up on the couch
with my Kindle when my phone buzzes.

Trent: You could have come
say hi.

Me: I’m sure you were
busy.

Trent: I wasn’t because I
was hoping to see you before you left. Did you have fun?

Me: Lots of fun. I hate you
lost though.

Trent: Me too, but we can’t
win them all.

Me: Sofia and the girls were
nice.

Trent: They are. I told them
you were coming because I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.

Me: I wasn’t. Macy and I had
a lot of fun. Thank you again.

Trent: Anytime. What time
are you picking me up?

Me: How about 3?

Trent: See you tomorrow,
Scarlett.

I smile at my phone. I’m
Trent’s girlfriend.

I wasn’t sure what to do on
our date, but it hit me this morning. Something fun. Something
memorable.

I pull into Trent’s driveway
and head up to the door. He opens it before I can knock.

“Right on time.” He
smiles.

I nod. “Yep. Are you
ready?”

“Let’s go.” He shuts the door
and then takes my hand to the car. It’s nice with him touching me.
I enjoy it. There are times when I think I crave it a bit too much.
I shouldn’t. It’s a lot to take in. “Where are we going?” he asks
as he buckles his seatbelt.

I smirk as I start the car.
“Just wait.”

I head out of town and toward
a park in East Memphis. Trent tells me about yesterday’s game and
how he needs to fix his batting stance. I hadn’t realized what a
big deal it is about the way you stand and hit the ball.

I park at the first place I
find. “Follow me.” Trent nods and follows me out of the car and
down the block.

The crowd is vast and there
are vendors everywhere. “What is this?”

“It’s a Food, Wine, and Art
Festival. I wasn’t going to come until tomorrow, but I thought it’d
be fun for us.” I wait for him to answer, but he’s only staring in
front of us.

“This looks great. Let’s
go.”

My insides jump with
excitement as we interlace our fingers and head toward the first
vendor.

From that moment on, we taste
as much as we can, whether it’s food or wine. Everything seems to
melt in my mouth and is delicious. The wine is the same. Some are
fruity, while others are rustic. The street artists vary from
painters, musicians, and even street performers. Each is unique and
awe-inspiring. We continue to walk until the sun begins to set, and
Trent leads us back to my car. Before I can start it up, Trent
gently grasps my chin and pulls my lips to his.

“It's been a long time since
I had that much fun. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” My heart
races a bit at seeing his deep eyes looking back at me. “Would you
like to come back to my place and have some coffee?” I ask before I
even realize I’d been thinking about it.

Treat opens his mouth, and
I’m sure he’s going to decline. “Let’s go.”

***

I CAN’T REMEMBER feeling
more like a teenager during my adult life than I do now. Scarlett
and I have been kissing like horny, sex-starved teenagers for God
knows how long since we returned from our date. It was a fantastic
date, but the kissing may be my favorite part of the night.

Scarlett gently pushes on my
heaving chest. She’s exerting the same amount of effort to breathe
as I am. She looks beautiful, more than ever, and it’s probably
because she looks like she’s been thoroughly kissed. Her hair is a
bit out of place where I’ve been running my hands through it, and
her lips are perfectly swollen.

“Trent,” she says softly.
“What are we doing?”

I tilt my head in confusion.
“What do you mean exactly?”

“What are we?” She takes a
deep breath. “I just want to know what we are, what this means. Are
we dating? Are we friends? I want to make sure we’re on the same
page.”

I cup her face for a moment
before letting my fingers dive into her hair. “What do you want?”
She’s right. We need to be on the same page, but I’d like to know
which one she is standing on first.

“I want to date you,” she
breathes.

The only thing that happens
is I feel happy. Honestly, I was wondering and half expecting to
feel more doubt, more negativity, but I don’t. Maybe I’m ready to
date someone, to date Scarlett. I know Deborah would want me to be
happy. Lately, Scarlett is the person who makes me happy.

She already knows my history.
She doesn’t have any aversion to kids. She doesn’t give a lick
about my job. She thinks about the possible consequences for her
actions and how it’ll affect not only her, but Kaelyn and me too.
She’s a damn good catch.

“Then let’s date.”

“What about Kaelyn?” See?
She’s amazing.

“I think I should wait until
things are more serious before I let her get too attached, okay?
She already likes you, but,” I pause, trying to figure out a nice
way to say it.

“You don’t want her to get
used to having me around if I won’t always be there,” Scarlett
finishes. “I understand that, and I agree with you, Trent.” She
runs her hands up my chest before resting them on my shoulders.
“So, we’ll date, see how it goes, and maybe I’ll eventually meet
Kaelyn officially?”