Page 19 of Nailed at Home Plate

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Kellan offered his reassurance as the laughter tapered off. “Get a few beers into you and you’ll follow along with any dance we put you through.”

“Just…not before games, Kel. The whole point of this is to get Jamie to be, well…comfortable. Er…morecomfortable.” Cady added as she collected her things. “I’ll see you boys tomorrow at the bar. And you’ll need to be on your best behavior. We have a game in two days, Jamie’s big debut. And you knuckleheads had better not fuck it up for him.” There was an edge to her voice. All the guys took note, as her warning somehow scared them straight. Well, straight enough for the Sillys.

“Jamie?” Cady’s voice softened as she stepped over to me. My heart went feral all over again, thudding against each curve of my rib. A rather vain attempt to throw itself at the woman.

“Yeah…?”

“Um…good job today.”

“Uh, thanks.” My ears went hot with her rare compliment. Maybe I didn’t fuck up today after all.

Shit. I forgot to apologize. Perhaps it was best to attempt one thing at a time.

Shut Up and Dance

WALK THE MOON

The noise of the bar was almost overwhelming. Anxiety had been eating away at my insides all day. I played World Series games and wasn’t as nervous as I was today. But willingly walking into a line dancing bar, in a pathetic attempt to learn how to dance better, was infinitely more terrifying.

Ever since Cadence gave me that compliment yesterday, I was on cloud nine and more determined than ever to please her. She asked me to come here and give it a try. If a coach tells me to do something, I’m going to do it. Especially with my career on the line.

There was a ruckus off to the left, a group of line dancers in full swing on the dance floor. I noticed a few of the Sillys guys out in the mass of people side-stepping and swaying along to the music. The song wasn’t country, it was something more in the pop genre. I was in over my head.

“Jamie?”

The voice sent a soothing warmth flowing through my overly tense body. It was an immediate response. I was rather taken aback by it. Especiallysince it was the same voice that had been the bane of my existence while with the Sillys.

“Hey, Cady.”

“Oh, thank fuck, you came.” The words were a breath of relief, but goddamn my fucking body for thinking they were absolute filth. Because well, in any other context, it would be the dirty reason. I silently congratulated myself on deciding to wear jeans tonight. The denim had a much easier time hiding my half-hard-on.

Shoving my hands into my pockets to subtly give my cock a bit more breathing room, I shifted with a glance back over at the dancing masses. Cady must have sensed my apprehension as she reached out and caressed my bicep. The touch did absolutely nothing to help the situation in my pants. It only made it worse when her hand lingered longer than was technically acceptable between coworkers.

“I think you need a drink first.” Her hand turned into a vice grip as she began leading me off in the direction of the bar and away from the dance floor. Nothing like getting right to business. She was much more comfortable around me than usual, which I found odd. Until I noticed the bottle in her hand. “Fuck,” She suddenly stopped and turned back to me with an exasperated look. “I’m a total asshole. Do you drink or am I an ass for encouraging you to fall off the recovery train…?”

“No, you’re fine. I drink.” I laughed, still rather breathless from the last few minutes. “From time to time.”

“Well, then that should make this a hell of a lot easier.” Cady nodded and dragged me after her once again. “I’ve already been pregaming myself withTiffiny.” She nodded to the brunette in the corner with her nose in a book. Squinting, I recognized her as the person behind the team mascot, Ding Dong. Tiffiny gave a half-assed little wave before diving back into her book. Cady snorted. “Don’t mind her, apparently it's too peopley in here.”

I held back my chuckle. While it wasn’t overly obvious that Cady was tipsy, she was looser around the edges. Her having a much calmer demeanor helped me ease into this brand-new situation.

Placing my order with the bartender, the two of us lingered at the end of the bar. It was mostly vacant since the crowd was out on the dance floor making utter asses of themselves. At least I wouldn’t be the only one in that aspect.

Cady helped herself to another round and the two of us made our way to a high top with barstools off to the side. There were a few bottles that lingered on some of the surrounding tables. They were soon reunited with their owners as the guys made their way back for a dance break.

“Jamie! You made it!” Truitt slapped me on the back as he took a large swig of his beer. A dribble made its way into his beard. A few other hearty greetings quickly followed. This was the kind of comradery a baseball team needed to have. Even if we were here for line dancing.

“Yeah yeah… Just let me get a beer or two in me first.” I took a quick swig to emphasize the point. “Then maybe I’ll attempt to make an ass of myself.” That got a round of chuckles from the crew.

“Smart. Damn, I need another cold one after that dance.” Schmidt shook his empty bottle and a few of the guys chimed in with their agreement. Theywandered off to the bar which left me alone, once again, with Cady.

She’d been quiet during the little interlude with the guys, and for good reason. Half of her brand-new beer bottle was gone.

“Let's go.” I cocked my brow at Cady. She swiftly downed the rest of her drink and abruptly stood up.

“Where?” I managed to choke out, still taken aback by how quickly she drank her beer.

“Dancing.”

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