Page 117 of Stealing Second

“Strike two!” Amias yells.

“Z, what the hell are you doing?” Jase laughs.

“Don’t go easy on us!” Whit yells in. “We’re going to kick your asses fair and square!”

“Mrs. Pope”—Zandor shakes his head—“you might want to tell her to take it easy on us. Jesus, girl, where did you learn to pitch?”

“I think you should just focus on the ball, Mr. Steel.” Cora smiles as she throws another.

“Strike three, old man. You’re out!” Amias calls.

“Settle down, son,” he grumbles as he walks away from the plate.

Cora strikes Jase and Xavier out next.

“She’s incredible,” Chloe says. “Absolutely incredible.”

“I remember you pitching in high?—”

“You might not want to bring up those years, or you’ll be in the doghouse again,” Chloe cuts Danny off.

Gwen York is first up to bat, and Abe pitches her a perfect ball. She hits it to left field and makes it to first. Fawna hits second, a grounder, scooped up by Xavier, who hesitates before basically handing it to Justice.

“Uncle X, why do I have to be the bad guy?” Justice snaps at him.

“Bully,” his wife, a dark-haired beauty who’s especially pregnant in a dress and wearing a Justice League ball cap, yells at him.

“Queenie, chill. We don’t need you going into labor tonight,” he calls back as he tosses the ball to Abe instead of trying to get the double.

Nikki is up next and hits it right into Abe’s glove, gaining their second out.

“Hit me home, Shaw!” Gwen yells as CeCe steps to the plate.

Watching her get into her stance is sexy as fuck. She kicks dirt onto the plate, taps the bat to it, kicks more dirt back with each foot, and then drops that ass down. She flips her ponytail over her shoulder and shakes her ass just enough for me to stiffen up a little at the thought of her doing that ass drop while straddling me.

Abe’s pitch to her is beautiful, and she doesn’t swing.

“CeCe, that was a gift!” he calls to her.

“You might not want to do that again, Mr.—”

“It’s Abe, kid,” he cuts her off.

“Strike one,” Amias mumbles.

She smirks, steps back, and does all that again.

He pitches a little outside, but she steps to it and nails it.

I’m on my feet, cheering her on as I watch the center fielder run his ass back to the damn fence and scoop up the ball. By this time, Fawna’s on third, looking back, and CeCe, who is fast as hell, is on second.

“Go, go, go!” Gwen screams, jumping up and down.

“Oh my God, really?” Fawna squeals as she runs to home, making it in, right before the ball lands in Cyrus’s glove.

Abe jogs over and grabs her in a hug. “Good sprint, little deer.”

Nikki pulls her away. “She gets that from her mom.”

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