My car sputtered as I pulled in next to Owen’s fancy sports car. He tried to explain the vehicle to me a dozen times, but it went in one ear and out the other. I left the keys in the cup holder, because I knew not a single soul was going to try to take the rust bucket, and exited the car.
Off in the distance, past the banner proclaiming the area Owen Ramsey Field, the man of the hour stood proudly surrounded by a group of boys, all of various heights and ages. I picked out little Roman immediately. He anxiously swayed back and forth with his bat in one hand as he looked up at his idol. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. All the kids and teens hung onto Owen’s every word. Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed my phone and snapped a few pictures.
As I slipped my cell back into my pocket, Owen’s eyes caught mine, and his grin doubled in size. He mentioned something to the kids, and they scurried off in pairs as he jogged over toward me. Before I could even get a word in, he cupped both of my cheeks while pressing his lips against mine.
“You made it,” he said in awe.
Laughing, I replied, “I literally told you thirty minutes ago I was on my way.”
He shrugged, but his enthusiasm didn’t diminish in the slightest. I wondered how many times growing up he’d been promised something and then it didn’t happen.
“How is the camp going?” I asked as he grasped my hand and tugged me into step with him.
“Good. The kids are really eager to learn.”
“Have your fans shown up yet?”
Owen chuckled and explained that Coach Rudicell rushed them out of the park, claiming he was going to call the cops since it was a private event.
“I don’t have anyone to pair you with, so you’re playing with me,” he informed me, and he winked as we reached a bag with about ten bats inside.
“Owen. No. I didn’t sign up for this. I’m just here to watch.”
“Ah, come on,” he said with a boyish grin I couldn’t say no to. “It’ll be fun.”
His blue-gray eyes twinkled, and I found myself agreeing but reminded him about my lack of hand-eye coordination.
“This isn’t some new competition for you to prove you’re better at something else, is it? I am well aware you’re better at baseball.”
Leaning down, hovering his lips over my ear as he gently slipped a bat into my grasp, he teased, “Maybe I just want to see you handling my big, long stick.”
“I have a big stick too!” an innocent voice called out, and Owen and I jumped apart to find Roman standing close by. Thankfully, it was clear the young boy was referring to his actual baseball bat.
“Hey, kiddo. What’s up? Shouldn’t you be over there with Johnny, practicing your hits?”
“Yeah, but I wanted to come say hi to Miss Aspen.” He turned to face me. “Hi!”
“Hi, Roman. When your mom picks you up, please tell her I said hi to her too.”
“Okay.” He looked back and forth between me and Owen before he scurried off to his partner.
“All right, we probably only have a few minutes before we’re interrupted again.”
I tried to assure Owen that I was more than content watching him coach for the afternoon, but he wasn’t hearing any of it. He set up an area away from the kids for their own safety. Stepping behind me, he pressed his hips against my backside as he adjusted my grip around the bat and then directed me on my stance. I felt ridiculous as I stood there in the grass, watching Owen walk away while he grabbed a ball from his cargo shorts.
“Just try to hit it, okay?” he called out as he positioned himself across from me.
Nodding, I narrowed my stare, hoping it would help me focus. Owen threw the ball much slower than I’d seen in person or on TV. I forced my eyes to stay open, fighting every intuition to close them. Even though I had no idea what I was doing, the ball made contact with my bat with just enough force to bounce it back toward Owen.
“I did it!”
“Great job, baby!” he exclaimed as he collected the ball. “Let’s see if we can get one more.” He called over one of the older kids to pitch, while Owen came and stood behind me again. The ridge of his cock was pressed against my ass again, and I could barely concentrate.
“You’re going to make me miss it with you standing behind me like this,” I told him.
“Naw. We got it.”
Owen adjusted his grip on the bat around my hands. The moment our hands touched, I felt… powerful. Like I could actually get a grand slam.
“You’re controlling it. I’m just the added muscle.”
The pitcher wound and then released the ball. Taking a deep breath, I swung the bat with every ounce of strength I had. Not expecting to hit anything, the thunk of the bat hitting the ball startled me. A flash of white soared through the sky, landing on the other side of the park.
“Oh my gosh! We did it!” I dropped the bat as I twisted around and jumped into Owen’s arms.
“You did it. I just gave you a little extra strength.”
“Wow. That was… so cool.”
“It is pretty cool.”
I peered over Owen’s shoulder and saw his camp had formed a little crowd, watching us. “I think you’re wanted over there. I’m going to go sit by the lake and watch. Okay?”
“All right,” he said, then pressed a chaste kiss to my lips.
The remainder of the camp lasted another two hours. I spent my time listening to music on my phone and watching the kids play. A couple of young families came and went on the playground while the town’s walking group made a few laps around the lake.
It was the most relaxing day I’d ever had.
