“Yeah, I can eat,” he says, but then he cringes, the double entendre too much for the both of us.
I bet he can, is the only response that pops into my head, and even though I don’t say it out loud, I know my face absolutely gives me away. He sends me a withering look, but he breaks almost immediately, his grin slow, but growing wide. And I can’t help it, despite biting my lip to hold it back. I let out a slightly hysterical giggle and, once it escapes, there’s nothing I can do to stop myself.
I dissolve into laughter so hard and so long that my eyes starttearing. And he’s laughing too, a pleasant gravely sound that comes from his chest. Somehow, that’s also incredibly hot.
God, this is just a vicious cycle. Is there anything he can do right now that won’t turn me on?
I try to take a deep breath, reaching for a napkin from the holder at the edge of our table to dab the tears away from my eyes, grateful that a bunch of mascara doesn’t come away as I do. This is good. Laughing is good. Laughing together is even better. We can just move on now, talk about the plan for the off season and how we’re going to win a championship.
A waitress comes over to the table, a timely distraction.
“What can I get you?” she asks.
“Beer for me,” he says, and I just shake my head. I cannot drink alcohol when I’m like this. Alcohol and this feeling? That’s a terrible combination.
“Just a Diet Coke, thanks,” I order. “We should get food.”
I deliberately phrase it that way and he sends me a knowing look, but nods.
“Burgers?”
Perfect. Burgers are maybe the least sexy thing in the world to eat.
“That sounds good. Cheddar on mine, medium rare,” I say.
“The same for me, with bacon too. Fries to split?”
I nod and the waitress jots it all down and scampers away through the ever-growing sea of people.
“Okay, lay it out for me,” he says, leaning forward in his seat, resting his forearms on the table. “Nakamura is the main target, but this team needs more than just an A1 guy behind him.”
“You’re right. The original plan wasn’t to have Quicke in the rotation, but here we are,” I say, sending him one final short glare before moving on. “But he’ll be a decent contributor.”
“What about behind the plate?”
“You noticed that, huh?”
“That Gibbons had elbow surgery and will be out for a year, maybe more, maybe forever, depending upon his recovery? Yeah. I noticed.”
“We’ve got a kid in the minors, young, a little bit raw.”
“What does Stew think about him?”
“He thinks he’s got the makings of an All Star.”
“What do you think about him?”
“I think, with the right coaching, he’s got the makings of a Hall of Famer.”
“Sullivan, is the reason you didn’t give Stew a harder time about hiring me because you think I can help this kid – what’s his name?”
“Cole Davis.”
“Okay, and who else will Cole Davis be catching this season?”
“We’ve got Huff for the third spot and Verdasco in the four.”
“And your fifth starter?”
