Cade has a phenomenal series.
She can't get on any local news without his name and face being plastered across the headlines. Newspapers are displayed in town. Captions read things like:
"BELMOUNT IS BACK." And "Belmount making waves again."
He becomes a local celebrity. He can't walk into the stadium without being mobbed for autographs. It makes her happy to know she is the only one he will be taking home.
She thinks Cam had informed the team of the situation after their heart-to-heart. She doesn't know what he said. She doesn't even know what she and Cade are. Cam hasn't entirely warmed back up to her yet. She knows he is just watching out for Cade. She is glad someone is. The rest of the guys don't act much differently. They're just happy to be winning games. They do flash them smiles when they're together, even when they are just standing together.
They've spent 5 of the last 7 nights together.
They're heading to Seattle this morning. The team has opted to fly instead of taking the bus for the sake of time. There is a direct flight from Boise. It's a short jont.
It's still early. This time, they don't have to pretend to find each other by coincidence when they arrive at the team bus to carpool to the airport. They had gone to their respective homes last night to pack for the trip.
She is waiting in the parking lot, Cade walks up and latches onto her.
"Hey, Gorgeous." He says and hugs her from behind.
He has on a black sweatsuit with matching Hot Shots logos on the pants and the hoodie.
"You look like you're going to mug somebody." She says, pulling the hood off of his head.
"It's cold." He whines and puts it back on.
"They're gonna think you're a squatter." She laughs.
He continues to hang onto her.
There are a few snickers from people passing through.
"Belmount, you big softy." Eric says and slaps his back.
Upon boarding, most of the team immediately finds something to lean on and promptly pass out. They find seats towards the back of the plane.
"Dan had a little talk with me yesterday." Cade says while fastening his seatbelt.
"About us." He says simply.
Her heart starts to beat faster.
"Us?" She questions.
"He says he is really glad we are happy and he doesn't care that were..." he trails.
"Doing...this..." he flicks his hand around over their legs.
"He just said when we are on the road or in front of visiting teams to keep it on the DL. I guess there is still a league-wide rule about team dating. He doesn't want to risk either of our jobs if the wrong person finds out."
That makes sense.
"So...does that mean..." She doesn't know how to comprise what she wants to say.
"Dating?" He asks. Since when is she the one who can't form cohesive sentences?
"Yeah..."
Cade shrugs casually.
"I mean...I've never really dated anyone before, but I don't know what else it would be at this point." He is blushing hard.
"Never thought I'd get to say I'm dating a star baseball player." She kisses his cheek.
He rests his head on her shoulder, making soft and happy noises.
YOU ARE READING
Secrets Of Third Base
General FictionCade is a semi-professional baseball player. He has battled demons his entire life. They're about to pull him under. The only thing that might save him is the team's newly graduated athletic trainer. She's fascinated by his condition. He's apprehens...
