Page 98 of The Run Back Home

"I'm not," he admitted, leaning forward to kiss me gently, just once. "But don't get mad when I stop looking over at you."

My mouth dropped open as I scrunched my face up dramatically.

"This is a big year for me," he said, leaning his elbow on the armrest of his seat, his body still turned toward mine. "CMU doesn't want to see me slipping even though I'm already committed for next year."

"But—"

"And I'm pretty sure they won't take 'But my girlfriend's smoking hot and makes my pants too tight to fucking move my feet' as an excuse when I completely shit the bed."

My eyes wandered playfully as I ran my tongue along the inside of my cheek. "If you're looking for an apology, you're not getting another one from me."

Jace cocked a brow. "Oh yeah?" He reached across and yanked me toward him.

I laughed and willingly crawled further onto his lap. "Yeah."

"Good." He nipped at the spot below my ear, and I tilted my head to let him in further. "Because I'm damn sure not sorry about it."

He planted another kiss on my throat.

"And I might not look at you during the game, but just know, you're all I'm thinking about."

I hummed. "I wouldn't tell CMU that either."

"They'll know," he said, his lips on my chest. "Everyone knows I love you, Lenny."

Carson winds up again, and the whole crowd freezes. The batter swings and connects, sending the ball soaring into left field. Josh Hart calls for it, waving his glove before snapping it shut.

Out one.

The fans cheer and my best friends clap when they take three seconds away from staring at the boys in the dugout to actually notice the game's still going on. I smile at Jace's mom sitting in her lucky seat with the other parents.

I watch Jace reset again, my knee bouncing as my fingers on one hand tap against my lip. I almost don't notice when Molly Campbell leans down from the bleacher behind me, her chin nearly resting on my shoulder.

"You're so lucky," she says, her mouth so close to my ear that her warm breath shoots right down my collar.

I startle, twisting around, my nose nearly brushing her cheek. "Oh… hi, Molly."

"I can't believe you're dating Jace Holloway," she squeals, her voice high but sincere. "He's totally going to be in the MLB one day."

My chest floods with equal parts pride and defense. "That's the plan," I say matter-of-factly, my subtle reminder that if she knows that, his girlfriend does too.

She smiles at me, too star-struck to have meant it offensively. "That's crazy." She giggles, rolling her eyes back to the field—undoubtedly staring at my boyfriend—which makes me even more uncomfortable.

"Alright well, I'm gonna—"

"Oh my God!" she shoots back, sitting straight up, her palm covering her mouth.

My eyes flick between hers and the field, waiting for her big revelation.

"You're gonna be a freaking MLB WAG. God, can you even imagine it? Lenora Holloway—it sounds like a movie star."

I huff out a laugh, my grin not quite reaching the corners of my mouth as I try to process any part of what she said.

"You know… a WAG." Her eyes grow larger. "Wives and girlfriends of the players. You're gonna be famous too. This is nuts. Mage Hollow royalty in the making." She sucks in a deep breath. "The Mage Holloways!"

The anxiety I thought I felt from the game doubles as Molly's words continue to spew from her mouth. Not all of them stick, but enough make their way past the cheers for our second out for my heart to beat even faster.

I knew Jace was special the moment I met him, and not just because of baseball. Still, every athlete at Mage Hollow High was thrilled to have his talent on the field. And CMU was smart—they started scouting him early.