2. Puzzle Pieces

TWO

The crowd was rowdy tonight, no doubt drawn in by the media attention from last weekend. I threw my first no-hitter, and the city hadn't stopped buzzing since.

I tried to ignore the roar of fans, but the stadium was a living, breathing beast that pulled your focus in ten directions at once. Staff marched up and down the endless stairs shouting about whatever they were selling. A man who looked like Kid Rock balanced vodka lemonades on his head and narrowly avoided colliding with a small child that had a bison painted on his face.

I used the neck of my uniform to wipe the sweat gathering under my eyes and tugged my sunglasses back down. The dugout was fired up, and pressure began to tighten the plane of my shoulders. Playing like I had been was my only shot at the majors. I wanted it more than I'd ever wanted anything. My team thought it was going to happen, our coaches too.

The last pitch I'd thrown was called outside, but I knew it was a strike. The ump was being picky today, testing me after my last game. I rolled my shoulders and tried to breathe evenly. I was up for the challenge. I wouldn't get this far only to choke.

From behind home plate I heard someone yell, "Come on ump! Does your wife know how much you like to fuck us? That was a strike!"

No. Way.

I looked up to see Del standing in the family section with Logan Pierce's wife, Jules. Del had one hot dog in each hand and looked mad as hell. Hot as hell. Wait, fuck, no. She was at home this morning when we Facetimed before she started working. She didn't mention making the trip here, and she couldn't lie worth a shit. A pit formed in my stomach. Why was she here? Del was a planner. I would have received a calendar invite at least two weeks ago if she knew she was coming.

She looked good at least, as I scanned her body for any physical sign that she wasn't okay. She looked real good. No matter how many years passed, I'd never get over the initial reaction I had every time I saw her. Only a few seconds would pass before I remembered who she was to me. And why she was completely off limits.

I hadn't seen my best friend in months. The sight of her felt like the first sip of ice cold water after a brutal practice, when you could feel the cool liquid spread through your chest and branch out like tree limbs. She was invigorating. Seeing her there berating the ump on my behalf gave me major deja vu, like I was back home playing on my high school field in front of the people I loved most. Her blonde curls hung wild and free as she glared at ump's back and mumbled something else.

Shaking my head and hiding a smile behind my glove, I inhaled the husky leather and refocused. She wasn't wrong. The ump was being stingy tonight, but I wasn't going to lose my cool.

Night games were my favorite. The city buildings glowed behind the stands, giving me the best view in the ballpark. Huge spotlights lit up the field, casting a light haze over the ballpark as I took my position on the mound. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the runner on third was staying put. At the top of the 9th inning, we were up by one since Peter Callahan hit a homer in the third. The Rubber Ducks had a great pitcher this year, but so far I was throwing better than him. They'd only gotten one hit all night, and I wasn't letting this batter get away with a walk. This was going to end right here.

Del had calmed down, but she didn't return her ass to the seat. She stood there shifting her weight from one foot to the other, toned legs on full display in her little jean shorts. It was hard to keep my eyes off her, but fuck did I try. She was intimidating for a small woman of only five foot two. I knew she could pack a mean punch and that her legs were strong as hell. I missed working out together because she was a beast in the weight room.

Focus, Parker.

I tuned everything out and threw my signature slider. The batter wasn't prepared for the slower pitch and swung too fast. He caught it on the back swing, and it popped up in front of Brett Tori, our catcher and one of my closest friends on the team.

"That's you, Tori!" I yelled and pointed above his head, rushing to backup home in case the guy I walked on third tried to slide home.

Brett immediately threw off his helmet and dove to his left. He caught the ball by sheer will and trained accuracy. He stood, dirt caking the left side of his white uniform, and showed he had the ball in his mitt. The game was over.

My teammates rushed us. I was thrown up on Pierce's shoulders and Brett on Peter Callahan's. They whooped and hollered while the crowd went crazy. Once returned to the ground, my eyes searched for Del in the stands. People were beginning to file out, but she stood there watching me, still slowly clapping with a smug smile gracing her pretty pink lips.

"Get your ass down here!" I didn't know if she heard me over all the commotion, but she nodded like she understood.

Del hustled down the steps with Jules, along the netting and to the dugout as fast as her short legs could take her. Peter recognized the two girls and opened the gate to let them through. He definitely watched Del's ass in those frayed shorts as she climbed down. She put her hand on his arm to thank him, and I glared as the high points of his cheeks turned red. I never thought I'd have to tell Delilah Howard not to be nice to people, but it was going to be a conversation.

Del ran over to me and jumped into my arms. "Great game, superstar." She smacked a big kiss on my cheek as I spun her around before planting her safely on her feet.

I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and held her face in my hands. "What are you doing here, Peach?"

Summer looked good on Del. Her blonde hair got lighter, and freckles broke out over her nose and cheeks. My gaze found her crop top emblazoned with the Bison's logo across her chest. It showed off the soft skin I wanted to touch, but then I noticed?—

"Nice shirt." I played with the bottom hem, feigning frustration. "Any chance that's yours and not one of mine you decided to chop up?"

She shrugged out of my loose hold and did a spin. "You like it? I was feeling crafty, and the hotel concierge was so accommodating with my little project. I can't believe you still put me down in your check-in notes for games. I already took my things up to your room and unpacked for the weekend."

My eyebrows rose in question. "I get you for the whole weekend?" This was going to be the best three days I'd had in a long time. Since I pitched the whole game today, I wouldn't see the field until next week and could let loose as much as I wanted tonight.

"I'm all yours, big guy." Her eyes were bright and genuinely happy.

A guy could only dream.

Back at the hotel, we ordered in for supper. I showered, then went downstairs to meet the flower and food delivery guy. When I opened the door to my—or our—room, Del was lounging on the bed flipping through channels. She perked up the second she saw me walk in with bags of fast food and a bouquet of pink stargazers in my hands.

She groaned. "God that smells so good. I think I forgot to eat lunch."

"I'm sure we'll make up for it now. What do you want to start with? Ice cream or nuggets?"

She rolled her eyes. "All of it." I handed her the lilies, and she immediately inhaled the floral scent. "These are beautiful, Parker. Thank you."

"Missed your face." I meant it. We'd both been so busy lately, and if I was honest I really needed a Delilah reset to get me back on track.

We arranged the food like a huge buffet spread out on the comforter and dug in. There wasn't a sound between us besides the munching of food and crinkle of wrappers.

"Why didn't you get any ice cream for yourself?"

"Because I want peanut butter, but I can't endure your whining about my breath."

She shrugged. "It's not my fault it's repulsive."

"Uh huh," I acknowledged and then nodded to her luggage. "You know I love having you in town, but why areyou here?"

Her blue eyes widened like she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. "Uh," she started to talk around a mouth full of food, but covered her mouth and swallowed before continuing. "Can't I just surprise my best friend and come watch his game? Did I tell you how great you were today?"

I saw through Del like the glass those birds crashed into in a Windex commercial. "You could, but it's you. Did you finally leave Dean?" I hated that piece of shit, but I never had a good reason to justify it other than that he was an asshole and way too old for her. Del said that wasn't grounds for making her break up with him. It made sense, considering ‘asshole' was pretty much her type.

"Yeah I'm done with him. Caught him with his secretary this morning. Ironic, I know." She took a long sip of her drink. "The fucker was trying to make me jealous. Can you believe that?"

I snorted. "Seems like it didn't go the way he wanted." Thank God.

"Fuck no." She turned to me with an evil grin. "He was so mad when I didn't care. You should have seen his face."

I would have paid good money to see it, but Del had started blocking out her emotions to a worrying level in the last couple years.

"You aren't upset?" I dipped a fry into her oreo ice cream and scooped some up.

"Hey!" She batted my hand away. "I was planning on moving out in a few weeks. Just hadn"t found the time to look for apartments, ya know, cause I'm a crazy successful editor. One day I'll have a super fancy jeep, and Dean will have only been a blip on the radar."

I laughed at her measure of success. It was cute. That was Del though. She emotionally checked out at the first sign of anything real or slightly inconvenient in relationships. It was easy to think she was cold and detached, unless you were one of the few people she let into her life. To Del, showing emotion toward any man was a weakness. That was something she learned the hard way with her mom and dad's separation in middle school. It didn't help that it was reinforced in every relationship she had after.

"Are you actually okay though?"

She stopped rearranging her nuggets and glanced up to look me in the eye. Her words came out on a breath. "I knew it wasn"t going to last. I didn't want it to either, but it still sucks. I didn't see it coming so that rattled me a bit. Made me feel foolish."

I used my finger to brush a stray chicken nugget crumb off her pouty lip. "It's his loss. You deserve so much better than that."

Her cheeks tinted a little, and she looked away. "Louisa was definitely faking it too. Or at least overreacting."

I hummed, moving to lay at the foot of the bed and stretch out my legs. "What do you mean by that?"

"He was not good enough in bed to warrant the moans she was faking."

I nodded and looked down at my burger in my hands. Thinking about how Del knew this from experience made my hunger wane. I wasn't under the illusion that she was a virgin. I wouldn't claim to be a saint either, but I made a point not to think about her with other guys. And then I tried not to dwell on why it bothered me so much.

It brought up the memory of last summer when I almost kissed her in the pouring rain, covered in mud. I was finally going to make my move before we were interrupted, and then she pretended like it never happened. A few days later she was dating Dean, and my window of opportunity vanished. It was a recurring theme between us, Del running away when I got too close.

I was man enough to admit I was scared of how it would change our dynamic too, but I couldn't help feeling like we were wasting time by being apart. Just friends or more, I wanted Del in my life every day. In any way I could have her.

She didn't seem to notice I'd gone quiet. "I mean how hard is it really?" At my blank look her face fell. "Oh fuck, he's right. I'm the issue."

I shook my head, clearly not following her train of thought. "Wait what? No that's not why—" I grabbed her wrists to keep her from wringing her hands. "I'm going to need context here. What are you talking about?"

She didn't meet my eyes when she spoke softly while staring at her lap. "I mean it can't be that hard. I can do it on my own in like two minutes."

Fuck, I was not equipped to handle the mental image she was painting. Flat on her back, hands moving down her… No.

"Are you telling me he couldn't make you come?" The man was 35 for Christ's sake. How did you get to be that old and not know how to be half-decent in bed?

"Not once the whole time we were together. Unless I did it myself. I'm all for teamwork, but it got exhausting. And he was not all about using toys to help."

I rested my head in my hands. "I don't think you're supposed to be telling me this."

"Says who?" She carried on eating, but looked at me like she didn't quite understand my reaction. "I don't have friends that are girls, and I'm not interested in talking to my mom about this. So, lucky you." She pointed at me with a fry and smiled like I was her favorite person.

"Lucky me." I exhaled a long breath, "Well, you already know my opinion of Dean."

"You hate all my boyfriends." She narrowed her eyes. "You don't have the best track record either. You always pick the ones that look like they want you to choke them or something."

Del tended to word vomit, and by the look on her face, she was instantly embarrassed by the words that left her mouth. I could see the blush run up to the tips of her ears when she pushed her hair behind them and looked down. God, she was cute.

I saw the opening and went for it. "There's nothing wrong with a little breath play, Dellie Girl." My voice lowered involuntarily and her eyes shot to mine. I swear I could see the pulse jumping at the base of her throat. "I don't know what your asshole boyfriends have said, but we don't kink shame here."

She covered her mouth with a hand and looked up at me with big eyes. "I wasn't?—"

"I don't think you meant to." I pulled her hand away from her face and held it in mine. "I think you've been told certain things are wrong and shameful. But that's not true. Especially those smutty books you love so much."

Her eyes flicked to the nightstand, and she pulled out of my grasp to cross her arms. "I've been looking for that one."

I raised a shoulder. "I may have borrowed it without asking."

"That's called stealing."

"Debatable. And boy was I surprised to find out what you've been reading." I got up to throw away the empty food cartons, then snatched the book out of her hands and settled beside her against the headboard. Reading her favorite book and seeing the dirty, depraved things she highlighted was the first insight I got that Del and I might be more compatible than I previously thought. I took it with me after my last trip home. "Did Dean not like this one?" I leafed through the pages to find my own highlights in green to contrast her blue.

"You read it?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, even a jock has to read sometimes," I said with a wink. "Plane rides get boring after a while. I have the rest of the series on my phone."

Her mouth fell open. "You do not."

"I do. I had to know what happened to Lucas after he got kidnapped. I also remember you carting these books with you everywhere last summer. I wanted to know what had you blushing so hard every time I asked what you were reading."

"I didn't think you'd want to know." Her words were mumbled under her breath, but I heard every one.

"Like you would have told me what a reverse harem actually was?" I laughed. "Not a chance."

Del's expression was horrified. "Parker, you need to give that back right fucking now. This isn't funny." She reached over me to try and take it, but my arms were twice as long as hers.

I rested one hand on her leg and used the other to hold the book open to a page she'd highlighted the shit out of. "I've already read it more times than I can count, so taking it from me now is pointless." She gave up and pouted. "I could draw many conclusions from your highlights, but I kind of want to hear it from you. Also, can I borrow your other copies? I want to see what else you marked up in blue."