Natalie leans forward again and studies me while sipping her beer. “She’s in love. Simple as that.”

“I am,” I sigh, and lean back in the hard stadium chair. We have good seats over the first base dugout, but they aren’t cushioned seats, so by the sixth inning, I can already feel my ass start to hurt.

But how could I not be in love? Apart from everything I see, when we’re in our apartment, alone, with our history between us, seeing him on the mound—his intensity so palpable—it’s hard not to fall in love with the man.

And he’s so captivating to watch, especially in person.

The smooth intake of his breath.

The calm but confident persona.

The concentration in his gaze.

The power in his legs.

And then there’s the slow way he looks up from his glove and down at the batter, barely a lift of his head, just enough to catch his brilliantly beautiful eyes under the brim of his black hat.

He sets his hands, glances up one last time, and then powers off the mound, lunging forward and throwing the ball right into the catcher’s mitt, the batter given no chance.

Strike three.

The umpire clocks the batter out and the inning is over. I stand and cheer boisterously with the rest of the crowd. They love Maddox. He’s a Rebel favorite for many reasons, but the biggest reason, apart from his phenomenal skill, is his loyalty.

Head tilted down, glove poised at his side, he walks over the field, stepping right on the foul line like he always does, not caring about the superstition of hopping over it. And as he makes his way back to the dugout below me, his sexy swagger keeps me positively riveted. I gulp, because . . . Maddox. Then he slowly lifts his head and makes eye contact with me. There’s a slight smirk to his grin, and when he winks, I nearly fall into my chair in lust.

Lord, have mercy.

“Oh, dear God. That. Wink,” Dottie says breathlessly. “I think my ovaries just combusted.”

Natalie fans her face. “Um . . . hawt. Like exponentially. A bad-boy wink. Like he knows what he’s going to be doing to you tonight.”

I sure hope so. I didn’t wear this uncomfortable underwear for no reason.

Dottie leans in and whispers, “Have you found out yet, about the . . . piercing?”

I smile wickedly. “I did.”

“And . . .” Natalie asks, leaning in as well.

“Let’s just say it’s so much better than I expected.”

“Wow . . . just . . . wow,” Natalie says while shaking her head. “How does it feel inside you?”

“Don’t know. We haven’t had sex yet.”

“What?” Dottie snaps. “Are you insane? The man is a walking sex machine and you haven’t done it yet? How is that possible?”

I shrug. “Taking it slow, got my period, road trips. You guys know.”

Natalie nods her head. “So what does that mean for tonight?”

“It means, you guys better not keep us out long, because I have plans for me and my man.”

“Damn right you do.” Dottie holds up her beer and I hold up my water. We clink and drink.

Yup, I better get all of Maddox tonight . . . it’s time.

“Why have I never seen this skirt before?” Maddox whispers into my ear as he sits on a stool that overlooks the two bowling lanes we acquired. I’m standing between his legs, his arms looped around me, holding me close.

After a solid win for the boys, we waited for them by the locker room and were greeted with strong hugs and endless kisses. Then we broke off in our respective vehicles—I bitched about Maddox’s gas guzzler the entire time—and met at the bowling alley where Dottie reserved two VIP lanes where no one can bother us. We’re served endless food and drinks. The perfect night.

We chose to play guys versus girls and we’re surprisingly holding our own, thanks to Jason sucking it up for the guys.

I loop my arms around Maddox’s neck and say, “I’ve had it for a while, but figured this was the perfect time to wear it.”

“To bowling, where I can also see your cute little ass poke out from the bottom when you toss the ball?” he asks, his hand sliding across my bare back.

“Have you been looking?”

“Uh, yeah, babe. Kind of hard not to fucking stare at you right now.”

I chuckle, knowing my outfit did just the trick. I chose a Maddox Paige T-shirt jersey, which was made for a child, and that I cut the bottom off so my midriff is showing. No bra, because honestly, why? And I made sure my hair was extra curly and voluptuous today. I paired the outfit with some cute red Keds and called it a day.

“Well, now you know how I felt watching you on the mound tonight. That look you give the batter before you throw the ball does funny things to me.”

“Funny things, huh?” His hand slides under my shirt and up my back. “What kind of things?”

I play with the fabric on his chest and say, “You know, the sexual things.” He chuckles and I can feel the rumble of his laugh against my hand.

“I like sexual things.” He draws a lazy circle on my back with his thumb. “Are you thinking about—”

“Paige, you’re up,” Jason calls out. “Stop fondling your lady friend and come roll another strike.”

Maddox sighs heavily. “And you thought going out with friends was a good idea.” He stands from the stool, presses a kiss to my lips, and says, “I could think of so many more things that are better than bowling with Jason and Cory.”

“Want to place a little bet of our own to make things interesting?”

“Maddox, you’re uuuuup,” Jason drags out.

“Give me a goddamn second,” Maddox snaps and returns to me. “What kind of bet?” His eyes darken and narrow, clearly interested.

Playing with his shirt, I lean in and stand on my toes, trying to reach his ear as I say, “If your team wins, you get to do whatever you want to me tonight, but if my team wins, I’m in charge.”

His chest rises and falls more rapidly against my palm and when I pull away, I notice the clench in his jaw, the desire in his eyes.

“Done,” he says and then walks past me, but I grab his hand before he can get too far away. He glances over his shoulder down at our connection, a question in his brow. “Kiss good luck?”

He smirks and leans in, gripping my chin. “You’re going to need it.” He presses a chaste kiss across my lips and then walks up to his boys.

I watch as he grips both of their shoulders and talks to them as if he’s their coach. “Listen up, boys, sex is on the line here. I need you two to pull your shit together and get some strikes, because that fine piece of vegan ass over there just made a bet with me I can’t lose.” When everyone looks at me, I roll my eyes and go over to the girls who both stand behind me, a wall of girl power.

“What was the bet?” Jason asks, looking far too excited.

“Not getting into details, but let’s just say I need to win.”

Cory grips Maddox’s shoulder as well and says, “I’ve got you, because I have a bet going on as well with Natalie, and even though if I lose I still win, I really want to beat her.”

“What? You have a bet too?” Jason looks over at Dottie. “Babe, why don’t we have a bet going on?”

“Because you cry when you lose,” Dottie says with a smirk.

Jason’s eyes narrow. “I don’t cry.” Dottie snorts. “I don’t,” he says with more conviction and stands, clearly ready to win for the men. “We are going to win, and when we do, you’re going to have to put my balls in your mouth like I’ve been asking for the last few weeks.”

I snort. Natalie cringes.

Dottie stands there with her hands on her hips, challenging. “I told you I don’t like how small your nutsac is, it freaks me out.”

“It is not—” Jason’s temper rises and then he takes a deep breath. Speaking through clenched teeth, he says, “You know damn well I have big balls, so don’t even. And if you want to get into specifics, why don’t we talk about your labia.”

“That’s enough. Fuck,” Maddox says, gripping his hair and looking pained. I think we’re all pained. Nutsac and labia talk isn’t necessarily bowling talk.

“There is nothing wrong with my labia,” Dottie defends, staring daggers at Jason.

“No, there isn’t, but we can still talk about it.”

“Or we can fucking bowl. Christ.” Maddox pushes past Jason, who won’t break eye contact with Dottie and in that moment, as Maddox steps up, picks his ball, and starts to wind up, I can’t help but fall slightly in love with Jason and Dottie’s relationship. The give and take, the repartee, the heat building between them. It’s fun to watch, and also makes me yearn for so much more with Maddox. Before we started our . . . well, dating, I would have said that we had the same confidence in each other. We had verbal sparring down to an art. But that was before I realized how . . . vulnerable Maddox is. How much he fears that he’ll somehow break what we have or that I’ll walk away. And even though he neglected our monthly calls on occasion, knowing how much I was in his mind from his sketchbook made me feel secure. So how do I help him feel the same way with me?

“Strike, baby,” Maddox says, picking me up and swinging me around.