Page 13 of Stalked By the Shortstop
“But it’s okay with you?” Jeremy added, his tone completely genuine, taking both Tere and me by surprise. “I just mean, are you going to be okay?”
“She’s perfectly safe,” Laundry Guy said, and before I knew it, Tere waved bye while mouthing she would be right back, before turning and disappearing into the huge frat house. The place was enormous. It wasn’t my first time here, but every time, the mini-McMansion took me by surprise.
Not that I was solely focused on the architecture of the frat house. Nope. I was just trying not to stare at my laundry guy sohard I might start drooling. He cleared his throat, and I turned to face him. His eyes were locked on me, a lot like earlier when he’d held the door open for me.
“Are you an Omega?” I blurted, hating how seriously terrible I was at small talk.
“No. Not really my thing.” I nodded.
“Oh, cool. Cool,” I muttered, feeling anything but. A breeze picked up, and I shivered.
“You cold?” he asked with a ferocity that took me off guard since we didn’t know one another’s names.
“Oh no.” I shook my head. “Umm, I’m—” My tongue was suddenly too big for my mouth as he, without missing a beat, pulled his hoodie up and over his head in that weird overly complicated way guys did, leaving him in a hunter-green henley that fit his upper body perfectly. Holy crap, he was built.
“Here.” He stepped closer.
Not only to hand me the thing, but to dress me in it.
I wasn’t sure how a guy his size could be that fast and graceful.Some people have all the luck,I thought to myself, almost snorting. I could barely walk in a straight line and was lucky if I didn’t end up with a new bruise at the end of the week for somehow bumping or stumbling into something.
“Let me fix the hem,” he said quietly, moving closer. It felt like the air seized from my lungs when he kneeled in front of me. With our size difference, this was the only easy way he had to dress me.
Holy shit, he is dressing me!
How the hell did this happen?!
“Oh, I can do that! Umm…” My fingers brushed his, and it felt like a zip of lightning and heat rushed through me. “Shit.” I pulled my hand back and watched as his jaw clenched, but his eyes were no longer on me.
“I’m sorry, did I shock you?” The words slipped past my lips before I could think to stop them. He simply grunted, pulling the hoodie down and fixing the hem that went lower than the brown corduroy skirt Tere had picked out for me to wear. Still kneeled in front of me, he caught my eyes with his.
“Better?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?” I asked, but he simply shook his head, and something came over me. This overwhelming need to talk and keep some kind of conversation plowed through me. “It could be because of the metal from the, umm, grommets of the pull ties of the hoodie.” I patted said grommets.
“That right?”
“That with the pool and the grass, well, the turf. Static electricity and what not.” I sounded like a rambling, bumbling idiot.
But for some reason, he wasn’t looking at me like he thought I did.
Nope. He looked at me like he thought I was cute. I glanced down at myself and frowned.He probably thinks I’m cute in the way otters and puppies are cute.Great.
His sweater was massive on me. I probably looked like a kid wearing their parents’ clothes. If you saw me from far away, I was pretty sure it looked like all I was wearing was a Diamond Serpent baseball hoodie. Did that mean he was a baseball player?
“Better?” He stood up to his full height, and I had to take a deep breath to get my bearings.
“Yeah, thanks. That was really nice of you.” My stupid nervous energy got the better of me.
“I’m Jason,” he introduced himself, taking my hand in his without asking permission. Naturally, I shook it back.
“I’m Sadie.”
“Sadie.” He said my name with a reverence I wasn’t sure could be faked. “You want a drink, Sadie, or?—“
“Umm, I have this. Thanks, though.” I lifted the red Solo cup in my hand, and he nodded. Not that I was going to drink it. My cheeks flushed with heat. As much as I didn’t want to leave and really wanted to get to know Jason a little better, maybe ask if he played for the baseball team since that’s the sweater he’d put on me, I needed to get out of Dodge before I said something nerdy again.
“I should probably, umm…” I wasn’t sure what the hell I should do, but standing here staring at the guy wasn’t helping me not look like an idiot.
