Page 117 of Hard Hitter
Brows furrowed in concentration as he studied the pitcher. His wavy blond hair flipped out beneath his ball cap. He was sun-tanned and baby faced. His young features were a stark contrast to the ferocity with which he threw a baseball.
A wind-up and a pitch.
Crack!
Quinn’s back straightened and he watched as the ball flew into the outfield-Yes!
Tim ran to first base, then chanced it to second.
“Safe!”
Quinn let out the breath he’d been holding and grinned. The section of the crowd sporting green, gold, and white roared, cheering and clapping, getting to their feet.
The announcer’s voice boomed through the stadium, “With Hoyt on second base, we have Casey up to bat! Quinn Casey, a senior player for the Trojans, will be playing at Arizona State University in the fall.This just might be the guy the Trojans need to get their third consecutive state championship victory.”
“Damn right, I am,” Quinn muttered to himself with a smirk as he took his spot at the plate.
“Quite the ego there, huh?” The catcher remarked, having heard Quinn’s own confidence booster.
Without looking back at the catcher, Quinn kept his cocky smirk and replied, “It’s only ego talking if it’s not true.”
Quinn kicked the sand and clay mix at his feet and took one last look around to find Rae. Ever since that day with the clowns in the dunk tank, he felt like knowing she was there and seeing her cheer him on, giving him encouragement, was the ultimate good luck charm. He found her easily in the crowd and they locked eyes. She smiled and gave him two thumbs up, scrunching up her face goofily. He smiled back, brought his bat up to point it at her and winked with his sly, one-dimpled grin.
Turning back to the pitcher, he focused himself back into the game. Deep breath in, slow breath out. He smelled the grass, the red clay, silt, and sand. The chalk. The leather of the catcher’s glove. He tuned out the sounds, focusing on his breathing, then focusing on the pitcher. That was his world right now. The player on the mound, the ball, the bat. Quinn rocked his weight back and forth, shifting from one foot to the other. He gripped the bat, angling it up and behind him as he stared the pitcher down.
“Yeah, you’re in my world now, buddy,” Quinn whispered roughly.
As if in slow motion, the pitcher wound up and threw in a fastball. Quinn’s weight shifted back. His front foot lifted off the sand as he felt the force that he was about to unleash gather in his core. Time came back to normal speed, and he swung, full-force, hitting straight through the ball with a loudcrack!His lips curved back up into that familiar confident one-sided grin as he watched the ball fade, flying...flying...flying over the fence.
This was his victory lap. He saw Tim thrust both fists into the air as he continued to third base, then home. Quinn started toward first base,jogging without urgency and tossing his bat into the air on the way. The ball was out of here, he could take his time making his last lap of his high school career.
Again, the crowd in green and gold stood up, cheering and pumping their fists as they shared the victory with their team. By the time Quinn was at second base, the team was spilling out onto the field, jumping and shouting, clapping each other on the back, grabbing fellow teammates in tight, squeezing hugs. At home base, they all waited for him to finish his run before jumping on him in celebration.
The giant huddle of boys jostled him back and forth, messing up his hair even more as he dropped his batting helmet to the ground. Chris and Jett found him in the mass of bodies and both grabbed him up into a tight group hug.
“We fucking did it!” Jett shouted, followed by a loud howl as he tossed his ball cap in the air.
“We knew you had it in the bag for us, Case,” said Chris, slapping him on the back. Then he grabbed Quinn’s arm to bring him to a halt.
Their huddle had gradually moved, jumping and skipping, to the middle of the field. Chris turned Quinn around to face the fence near the dugout, bringing his attention to the absolutely stunning picture of Rae squeezing her way into the field. Quinn gave Chris and Jett each a pat on the back before jogging over to meet his favorite person on home base.
Rae jumped into Quinn’s arms, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, and he held tight around her waist as he spun her around, making her feet leave the ground. When Quinn stopped spinning, she set her feet back down and giggled as she steadied herself. He waited for the ‘Congratulations, All-Star’ or ‘You did it, Case!’ but it didn’t come. Instead, she looked him in the eyes, her bright blue ones twinkling back at him as she smiled, then for a brief moment he saw her gaze flit down to his lips. His heart jolted into action a split-second before he could register what was about to happen. Her arms tightened around the back of his neck as she pulled him down to her and kissed him.
Her lips were pressed against his, and his eyes went wide with stunned disbelief. When she didn’t release him or take her lips away, he closed his eyes and sunk into the kiss. Wrapping his arms tighter around her small waist, he pulled her body against his. Her lips were soft. They felt full and just completely perfect against his. She tasted like cinnamon and smelled like her familiar scent of coconut and vanilla. He wanted more. More of her. More of her mouth, her scent, her taste. He wanted to freeze this moment and stay in it forever. His heart was beating out of his chest and he was breathing her in, leaning over her, making her back arch slightly as he greedily demanded more of her lips.
At that cursed moment when they finally parted, she looked up at him and he was pleased to see she was just as breathless as he was. Quinn brought one gloved hand up and cupped the side of her face gently before pulling her toward him, joining their lips again. He had a hard time closing his eyes, because he wanted to watch this moment as long as it lasted to make sure it wasn’t a dream. He allowed his eyelids to flutter shut to give himself the courage to take the kiss one step further. Slowly, he slipped his tongue out and licked her lips. Quinn delighted at her small gasp of surprise, and smiled into her lips as she parted them enough to let him in.
Holy Mother of sweet baby Jesus. I’m kissing Rae. On the mouth. I’mFrenchkissing Rae. And she tastes like a cinnamon roll. That’s my new favorite food. Fuck, I don’t want this to end.
He felt as she began to let her arms loosen and her mouth started to pull back. Quinn shook his head in protest and pulled her closer to him. He loved her body pressed to his. He could devour her with his body and wrap her up in it. He could feel where her hips and the small mounds of her breasts pushed against him. It was only when he realizedotherparts liked pressing into Rae, too, that he finally let up.
Quinn’s forehead rested against hers where his hat was flipped backwards on her head. He let out a slow shuddering breath as he held herclose and smiled. He tried to be cool, he really did. Butdammit, this was Rae!He couldn’t help the stupid, big grin that wouldn’t leave his face.
“Good game, Case,” Rae said through her own grin.
Oh shit, that’s right. I just won the state championship game. Again.
“Yeah, thanks,” Quinn said breathlessly.
