Chapter 9

Chandler

Even dressed down,Cheyanne was my favorite visual. Her hair was pulled into a low bun and covered by a snapback. The oversized T-shirt she had on and cargo pants with Jordans was a stark difference to the dresses, slacks, linen shorts, and trousers I was used to seeing her in.

I liked this too.

"Hi." She greeted me shyly as I stood in front of the stadium.

"Hey. Thanks again for inviting me."

"It's no big deal."

"It is to me. You ready to go inside?"

She nodded, avoiding my eyes.

That was cute.

I allowed her to lead the way, and I was surprised to learn we'd be sitting behind home plate.

"Your grandfather got you the best seats in the house for your return to the game," I said as we got comfortable.

"Yeah, Papa never does anything halfway."

"That's good to know."

"Why is that?"

"It shows the expectation he'll have of the man you marry."

"And why does that concern you?"

Her smile made me smile. "Because it's going to be me. I need to know how I need to come in order to gain his approval."

"Chandler…" Instead of completely shutting me down, she remained silent, and I swear I felt like Urkel with Laura.

"See… I really am wearing you down, baby. I'm wearing you down."

"Yeah, and it only took two years," she said through her chuckle.

"You're worth the work and the wait."

Silence found us, and I was cool with that. I didn't mind her going into her mind. If she needed to think about us and the changes happening between us, I was confident this wouldn't be a time she shut down.

I was surprised a second time when we were approached, and Cheyanne was greeted by name. We placed an order for food and drinks, and when I tried to pay, the attendant told me it was already taken care of. I assumed her grandfather had taken care of that too, which made me even more curious about who this man was. With all the research I'd done on Cheyanne, I couldn't find any information about her family. All I had to go on was what she'd told me.

The game started, and we ended up having a great time. Seeing Cheyanne in this element was an experience, to say the least. She was competitive and, surprisingly, the type of person who was passionate and knowledgeable about the game. I loved that she wasn't a woman I couldn't vibe with. We could do more than grab food and make small talk. By the time the game was over, I was just a bit more obsessed with this woman.

As we made our way outside, I asked, "Did you take a car, or you drove?"

"Town car. I wouldn't be caught dead driving in this traffic."

I chuckled. "That's why I offered to drive."

"Yeah, but Papa wanted me to meet him after the game, so I figured I'd just use his car service."

"What does your papa do?"

Instead of giving me a straight answer, she said, "He's an entrepreneur like you."

When we made it to the car that awaited her, I told her, "I had a really great time, Chy. Thank you for inviting me."

"You're welcome, and thank you for coming. This was really fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime."

"For sure. Just let me know when." She nodded and tried to step into the car, but I halted her with, "Actually, I want to be intentional with this."

"What do you mean?" she asked sweetly, looking up at me with a comfortable smile.

"I want to take you out. When can I?"

"You mean… like a date?" Her giggle as she tried to step away from me was all I needed to see to know how to handle her.

My hold was loose as I gripped her wrists and used them to hold her arms behind her back. Pressing her into the car, I reveled in the moment her chest caved and she stopped breathing.

"I'm going to keep you here, like this, so you won't run from me," I assured her. Cheyanne needed to be grounded to be present, or she'd go off into that pretty little head of hers. "I want to spend time with you outside of work. You can call it whatever you want. When can I do that?"

"Um…" her eyes shifted, "Saturday?"

"That's too far away. Can we have breakfast in the morning?"

I counted five Mississippis of her grinning and looking at everything except me. It was interesting to watch the otherwise confident and communicative woman become shy and unravel in front of me. When I was tired of waiting, I kept her wrists bound with one hand and used the other to pull her attention back to me by her chin.

Instead of allowing her to lead, I said, "I'm taking you out for coffee or breakfast in the morning. Your preference. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Okay." She agreed quietly. "I'll see you then."

Finally releasing her, I stepped back so she could get inside the back seat. Once she was in comfortably, I closed the door and stepped back, watching as they headed out of the lot. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I walked away with a chuckle as relief filled me. Finally, it seemed, Cheyanne and I were headed in the right direction.