Take Me Home by Dani Galliaro

Author:Dani Galliaro [Galliaro, Dani]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

The spread the Rossettis put out was impressive: slaw dogs with “sauce” (which seemed like sloppy chili to me), macaroni and tomatoes, baked beans, and the coveted pasta salad (which they were right, was memorable). The family set up for the famous Wiffle ball game. I was on Eli’s team, with Brianna and Darcy on the opposite team. The smallest cousins were decked out in their red, white, and blue regalia, picking clovers in the makeshift outfield. Brianna snapped pictures. Darcy had changed into a plain white v-neck t-shirt that made her boobs look fantastic, those jean shorts that occupied way too much of my brain space, and some white sneaks, her own version of patriotic I assumed. Her hair trailed out of the back of a navy baseball hat in a curly ponytail.

Her team was up to bat first. I easily could have caught Darcy’s hit that went past me, but I pretended it was out of reach. Couldn’t play around with her if she wasn’t running the bases, and I was definitely going to make the most of this chance. On the next hit, I was due to tap her out at second base, but she wasn’t having it. She looked at me quickly before tucking her lower lip into her teeth and dashing into the outfield, prompting me to chase her. She wasn’t going down without a fight. She was surprisingly fast for being so much shorter than me. Turning on a dime, she sprinted back for the base.

It was a valiant effort. It really was. She’d almost made it when I plucked her off her feet from behind, pinning her to me at the waist. She squealed. She thrashed. She beat at my arms.

“I WAS SAFE!” she shrieked, grabbing onto my arms like she was afraid I’d fling her down. She was so close that I could inhale her fruity-flowery shampoo scent, along with the soft scent of her sun-warmed skin. I spun her around twice before setting her soundly on the base, the ball pushed into her stomach. I leaned down to her ear, still laughing.

“You’re out,” I said calmly. She stumbled out of my grip, landing ass-first on the ground. She acted like she was mad, but I knew she wasn’t. Her cheeks were rosy, her doe eyes wild, and her mouth holding back a smile. I noticed Brianna had been snapping pictures all through our ballyard tussle. I extended my hand down to help Darcy to her feet.

“Nice try, Rossetti,” I said, smiling wide to try and charm her.

“I was safe,” she argued as I helped her up, jamming a finger into one of my dimples. “But I guess I can’t embarrass a pro with my skills. You’d never live it down.”

“Uh-huh, tell yourself that,” I teased her. That made three outs, so her team was up to pitch.

Darcy pitched and Brianna was the catcher. I batted cleanup. Only Eli, Bri, and Darcy knew about my former pro status. I was ready to talk some major trash to the little Bambi on the pitcher’s mound.

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