29. Nessa

Nessa

Championship Series: Game Three

J ared was stuck with me—whether he liked it or not—because there was no way I was giving up his sister. Bella was fucking awesome.

“Is there a particular brand of condom that you recommend?”

She also had zero filter.

“Preferably one that has minimal negative impacts on the environment. I read a story once about dolphins choking on discarded condoms.”

“Well,” June said, pausing to sip her latte. “Now I’ll never look at a dolphin the same way again.”

“Or a condom,” Kaylani added.

I pointed toward the belly button ring peeking out from beneath her cropped hoodie. “Isn’t that how you got into your current situation, Kay? Lack of condoms?”

All four of us broke out into giggles, drawing the attention of several neighboring groups. Yesterday’s movie night in the park had been a huge success, so when a few folks had requested that we do it again, this time to watch the Roasters’ game on the big screen, I’d agreed. So long as the popcorn machine held out and the rain held off, we might do it again tomorrow, too.

Miles and Myron waved from their matching beach chairs. I hoped to have a fraction of their swag when I was their age. They weren’t the only family that had come prepared.

Rose City knew how to turn out—and turn up—for a picnic in the park. Plush camping blankets and foldable chairs littered the lawn, all directed toward the inflatable screen set up beside the gazebo. Some fans had opted for takeout from local restaurants, while others had packed elaborate charcuterie spreads from home.

June, Kaylani, Bella, and I had gone with a potluck smorgasbord of sorts—gluten-free crackers and at least three different kinds of cheese, Mr. Hu’s famous lo mein noodles, a plate of Totchos from the tavern, and last but certainly not least, warm beverages and pastries from Jo’s bakery. It was the carb fest of the century, perfect for an autumn night under the stars.

Unsurprisingly, my friends had welcomed Bella into the fold, no questions asked. In fact, Bella was the only one who had come prepared with questions—about erogenous zones, body language, and appropriate dating attire to name a few. Based on our conversations so far, it was safe to say that Bella didn’t have a close set of girlfriends to talk to about this kind of stuff, so we were more than happy to fill in the . . . gaps in her education.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Bella answered, picking the cheese off another potato tot. Bella had several sensory issues when it came to the food she ate, and one of those was hot, melted cheese.

“Are these hypothetical questions, or are you sleeping with somebody?”

“I just want to be prepared,” she said, very matter-of-fact. “There was a guy from my internship last summer that I thought might make a strong candidate—”

“Girl,” June interrupted. “Do you ask them for their credit scores, too?”

“—but I didn’t like the way he treated service workers.”

The three of us exchanged a look, one that said fair enough. There was a special place in hell for the Karens and Kyles who were rude to service workers, right next to the people tossing their condoms in the ocean.

“There’s no rush,” I told her. “You’re talking to three unmarried women in their thirties.”

“Excuse me,” Kaylani protested, holding up the heavy rock weighing down her finger. “Ryan did, in fact, put a ring on it.”

“Take it from me, the right one is worth the wait.”

Her nose scrunched up. “Are you talking about my brother?”

“Well—”

“Because we’re very close, but I would prefer not to hear about his sexual prowess.”

“I promise,” I said around a giggle. “I won’t go into those kinds of details. All I’m trying to say is that I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to dating—”

“We all have,” June amended.

“—and if I could do it all again, I might have stepped outside of my comfort zone a little sooner.”

Bella furrowed her brows. “But shouldn’t the right person be willing to step into my comfort zone?”

Huh. Just when I thought I might have figured out all of life’s unanswered questions.

“Yes,” Kaylani answered. “But you have to be willing to do the same.”

“ And, ” I said, holding up a forkful of noodles. “You have to get out and find them first.”

“Are you familiar with a Venn diagram?” June asked, seemingly out of the blue. I wasn’t sure where she was going with this. Nonetheless, I found myself nodding along, even though the question had clearly been posed to Bella. “Two overlapping circles meant to show the relationship between sets of items, or in this case, people.”

She illustrated her point with two round crackers.

“They each have their own interests, personalities, etcetera. One person’s comfort zone might extend miles beyond the other. But where the crackers overlap—”

She paused to spread an even layer of goat cheese over one of the crackers, just enough so that the face of the other stuck to it. “—those are their values, their hopes and dreams, the things they love to do together. That’s what keeps them together. That’s their comfort zone.”

“The goat cheese?” Bella asked.

“Yes.”

June’s strange albeit delicious analogy put my relationship with Jared into focus. At first glance, Jared and I were two opposing forces—two circles—that had next to nothing in common. But our shared love of community, our passion for books, the importance of our friends and family—the goat cheese, if you will—that was what brought us together.

He matched my freak . . . in more ways than one.

“I guess that makes sense,” Bella mused.

“Trust me,” I told her, resting my hand on top of hers. “You’ve got plenty of time to find Mr. Right. Or Mr. Right Now because there’s no shame in that either. My advice is to focus on finding yourself first. That’s the relationship that really matters."

I gave myself a mental pat on the back when the corners of Bella’s lips twitched upwards.

For the next couple of hours, we watched the Roasters trounce the Nashville Neon. I squirmed in my seat when the cameras flashed a close-up of Jared’s boyish grin after Roman’s homerun at the bottom of the eighth. I was still getting used to the beard, and the delicious burn it left on my body. He pitched a solid seven innings, giving up only one run and two walks, so he had to be feeling good. I snorted when he and Roman did some juvenile handshake that ended with them bumping hips like they were at a senior center dance.

“My brother is one of the good ones,” Bella said, leaning closer so only I could hear her.

“You’re wrong,” I told her, smiling when she tilted her head to the side. “Your brother is the best.”

After the Roasters’ win, June took Bella out for a round of drinks at the tavern, and I took my tired ass back to Jared’s house for a bubble bath. It was going to be hard to go home to my subpar clawfoot after soaking in his tub the last couple of days.

I had just relaxed back against the small, puffy pillow when my phone buzzed across the bamboo bath tray. I’d suggested it to Jared during the first night we’d stayed over at his place. Much to my delight, the tray had arrived via overnight delivery before we’d sat down to breakfast the next morning. Along with a variety pack of bath bombs.

I propped the phone up with my soapy fingers and answered his call.

“Hi.”

“Hi, angel.”

“Guess where I am.”

Jared groaned when my hand sloshed through the bathwater.

“Naked. In my tub.”

“Got it in one, baseball boy.”

“Switch to video.”

Ooh, I like where this is heading.

I did as he asked—well, ordered really—and smiled when his bare torso flashed to life on screen. After a few seconds of rustling, he settled back against the mountain of hotel pillows and lifted the phone to his face.

“That’s better.” He fingered his beard “Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes.”

“You played a great game today. Did you get the pictures I sent?” I had sent him a few photos from tonight’s public screening.

He nodded. “Dani and Clarke already have a few of them queued up to share to the Roasters’ social media tomorrow.”

“That’s cool.”

“How are you and Belles getting along?”

“Like cheese and crackers,” I told him, choosing my words carefully. And even though he didn’t get the inside joke, a lazy smile split his face. “She went out for drinks with June.”

“Drinks?”

“Yeah, they’re probably down at the bar on the interstate now, picking up some bikers for unprotected sex.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “That’s not funny.”

I swirled my finger through the frothy bubbles over my belly. “She’s doing fine. We handed out popcorn during last night’s movie, and she came to work with me today and hit it off with Xan. In fact, I think they’re going for a hike together tomorrow.”

“Damn, she didn’t waste any time.”

“Yup,” I said around a smile. “She’s an official Pacific Northwesterner now. Her flannel shirt and Birkenstocks come next week.”

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen when I get home.”

“What do you mean?”

I tried not to get distracted when he rested his arm behind his head, showing off the belladonna tattooed on his triceps. “Like, where is she going to stay?”

Dani had temporarily offered Bella the use of her room, but she would be back with the rest of the team the day after tomorrow. Neither of us had an extra room for her. Jared, however, had a spare house next door.

“What about the other unit?”

“I haven’t even had a chance to start working on it yet.”

“Does it have a bedroom?” He nodded. “Does is have a working bathroom?” His head bobbed again. “Then that’s a great place to start.”

A laugh shook his chest. “What would I do without you?”

“If you play your cards right,” I told him, smiling coyly. “You might never have to find out.”

I trailed my fingers through the bathwater, drawing a path up and over my hardening nipple. His hooded eyes traced the movement.

“You’re killing me, angel.”

“We can’t have that, can we?” I snuck a hand beneath the layer of bubbles, diving deep until they circled my clit. My fingers were no match for Jared’s thick digits. The man played my body like a fine-tuned guitar. “Have you been a good boy, Jared?”

“The best ,” he answered, his voice thick with desire.

His eyes never left mine when he set the camera on his nightstand and snaked a hand into his briefs.

“Show me.”