Page 20 of Embers in the Outfield

As my mind has been consumed with thoughts of Kennedy, I have welcomed the distraction with the extra shifts. Clay hasn’t touched on the subject regarding my “hookup” from the wedding, and I can’t say how relieved I am.

I hear the front door open, and I hear a voice I’ve now come to miss since that night when lines got blurred. When I would usually find this interaction exhausting and always keep my guard up to ensure I take the final jab, I now realize how much I longed to see and hear her in my vicinity.

I look over my shoulder to see Kennedy striding in, a smile stretched out across her face. For the last month, I’ve been telling myself that I have been hyping this woman up, trulyputting her on some fucking pedestal because I was horny and needed the release. But now, as I see her again, my thoughts realize two things: one—no, she really is that fucking gorgeous; and two, I’ve become consumed by her in the span of a few simple moments when my skin was near hers.

The moment she spots me in the kitchen, she stops cold in her tracks. She stares at me for a beat, frozen in place. Sammie looks at her and then swings her gaze at me, a questioning look taking over her features.

Kennedy must realize her misstep and recovers.

“Hey, Riv. I didn’t expect to see you here today.” For someone who usually sounds so sure of herself, she sounds quite reserved. We usually throw at least two jabs within the first few seconds of seeing one another, and so far, her words are soft in a tone she’s never reserved for me in the past.

I see the thoughts going through that pretty head of Kennedy’s before she must push them aside, and Sam walks up to her. “Let me take those from you. What did you bring?”

There’s a box that looks like it might carry some baked goods inside. I see the grease stains on the side of the box, and I wonder if she grabbed them from that bakery next to the stadium.

“They’re your favorite Danishes from Ginger’s Bakery. Thought you’d like it with your coffee this afternoon.” She smiles and continues to move further into the house, putting her purse down and removing her shoes near the couch.

Her eyes connect with mine one more time before moving beyond me to land on my best friend seated in front of me at the kitchen table.

“It’s good to see you, Ash. Looks like that Hawaiian sun did you some good. You’ve got a helluva tan going.” She smiles wide for Ashton, and a part of me is jealous that she didn’t greet me with that beautiful smile.

I watch her move closer to us, hugging Ashton when she rounds the table, yet only giving me a quick verbal hello and moving further into the kitchen to help Sammie with the items she brought with her.

The women are talking in hushed voices, not sure why the secrecy. Hopefully, Kennedy didn’t mention what happened that night because I have kept my mouth shut on my end. I do not need to open a can of worms with the endless questions I know I’ll get from Ashton, especially if he’s the last to know.

“When do you work again?” Ashton asks, picking up his phone when it chimes.

I sneak one more peek toward the kitchen, then move my focus back to my friend. “Tomorrow. It’s finally getting back to normal. The firehouse got hit hard with that stomach bug.”

“Yeah, Clay mentioned that. Did you have someone to watch Lola?”

Lola usually stays with Ash and Sammie when I do my shifts, but I had my neighbor stay with her while I had to work and my friends were off enjoying their honeymoon.

“Yeah, Sally watched her for me.” I take another swig of my beer, noticing the glances Kennedy is swinging my way while she talks to her best friend.

“Oh man, that chick has it bad for you,” Ashton says, and I quickly look at him, panic etched along my features.

“What?” I nearly yell, unease sliding down my spine that he sees right through me and Kennedy. Maybe I’m not doing as great a job hiding this attraction for Kennedy like I thought.

“Yeah. Sally has a major crush on you, dude. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.” Instant relieve courses through my veins at Ashton’s words.

I wasn’t clueless to my neighbor’s attraction to me. Her cheeks pink up every single time I talk to her. She’s a sweet woman, but I have zero chemistry when it comes to her.

She isn’t my type, if I’m being completely honest. I’m attracted to strong women, those who can power a conversation and won’t just succumb to whatever I want. I know many women like my neighbor Sally—molding their world to fit someone else’s. That might be attractive to some, but I sort of enjoy the pushback in a relationship. I like a woman to speak her mind. It’s becoming more apparent with these lingering thoughts about Kennedy that my attraction is to one woman, and she’s merely standing a few feet away from me right now.

“Well, it’s not something I’m pursuing,” I say, hoping that if Kennedy caught any of that conversation, she understands nothing is going on there.

The ladies meet us at the table with a fresh coffee and a piece of the Danish split in two. Kennedy settles next to me, unease evident in the way she sits stiffly by my side.

“I didn’t really talk to you much at breakfast the morning after. How did you enjoy the wedding?” Ashton asks, which causes Kennedy’s spine to straighten even more as if this question caught her off guard.

“Um, the wedding was beautiful. Every detail was perfect.” I see her swing her smile toward Sam, knowing most of the wedding was planned with so much detail Samara had envisioned. “I was exhausted afterward.” She takes a sip of her coffee, shyness oozing off her, which is new for the usual ballbuster she tends to be.

“I’m surprised you slept through the sounds next door to you with this guy.” Sammie says, and immediately, I snap my head up, shock evident in my expression.

Kennedy looks over to me with surprise in her gaze.

“Yeah, someone rocked his world that night.” She snickers. Fucking hell, Samara. I didn’t know she’d out me like this.

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