Someone Someday (All in Good Time Book 2) (7 page)

"I mean, we're together right now in this parking lot," he said. "I thought that was what you meant." He smiled and winked at Morgan. "Lexi's my girl. She's my partner."

I was still staring at Jason when I said, "What he means to say is that we partnered up at boxing class just now." I glanced at Nick and Morgan who were both smiling. Nick was a nice looking guy, but this guy Morgan, oh my goodness.

"I saw you in there," Morgan said. "I was asking Nick about you because you weren't here the last time I trained. He said you've only been coming for a couple of months."

"Not quite that long," I said, "but I love it."

"Morgan's just stopping by tonight," Nick explained. "He trains with us during his off season, but that doesn't start till…" he hesitated and looked at Morgan. "What? October?"

"The beginning of October. If we don't go to post season, which doesn't look too promising this year." Morgan said.

Nick looked at me. "He's Morgan Turner. He plays for the Giants."

Chapter 9

My heart dropped the second Nick said Morgan played for the Giants. I assumed he meant the real San Francisco Giants and not some company softball team or something. I didn't watch baseball and had never even heard of anyone named Morgan Turner, but I'd been telling my sister that I was gonna marry a San Francisco Giant for years. It was just one of those outrageous goals you talked about but knew would never happen. The crazy part was that this news came on the heels of me feeling the tiniest spark of attraction for the guy. The combination of these two things had me slightly distracted for a second as we stood in the parking lot. The guys said a few things that I didn't even hear.

"It was nice to meet you," I said, once I gathered my thoughts enough to chime into the conversation. I said it as if I was about to walk off, which for some reason made Nick and Morgan both laugh.

"What?" I asked.

Nick smiled at me. "Did you not hear what Morgan was asking you just now?"

I looked at Morgan with surprise. "I'm sorry, no. Were you talking to me?"

His face broke into an easy smile. He had dark hair with a haircut similar to Jason's where it was cropped short on the sides but longer on top. His brown eyes were so dark I could get lost staring into them. He had a strong jaw with about three days of dark stubble along the edge of it, and his wide, curved lips turned upward in a half-smile that was absolutely irresistible.

I had to look away, so I focused on Nick even though I was waiting for Morgan to re-ask his question. "I asked if you did Jiu Jitsu," he said.

I glanced at him to find that he was still smiling.

"She just does boxing," Jason answered before I had the chance.

"Hey, well I'm headed back inside," Nick said. He looked at Morgan. "Are you okay waiting another half hour or so?"

"That's fine. I have a few texts to take care of. I'll wait out here."

Nick headed inside.

"Are you two going out after this or something?" Jason asked Morgan once Nick was gone.

Morgan shook his head. "I just flew in a little while ago, and I have a series starting tomorrow. I just came by to bring Nick my truck. He's putting a system in it tonight."

"So, what are you waiting for?" Jason asked. Morgan cocked his head curiously as if it was none of Jason's business, but answered, "I'm just waiting for him to get off work so he can bring me home."

Jason nodded as if that explanation made sense. "All right well good luck with your game," Jason said, as if wrapping up the conversation.

But at the same time he said it, Morgan looked at me and said. "Unless you're going my way and can give me a ride home."

I looked around thinking he must have the wrong person. "Me?" I asked. I stared at his truck, which was brand new and fully loaded. That thing could have eaten my little hatchback.

"You don't have to," Jason said. "He's just messing around."

Morgan's mouth moved like he was about to say something to put Jason in his place, but he reconsidered and instead just looked at me while he waited for an answer.

"Are you serious?"

Morgan lifted one shoulder casually and played with the keys in his pocket. "I don't mind waiting for Nick. I was just thinking I could ride with you if you were going that way."

I almost told him he probably wouldn't fit in my car. I almost asked him where he was going to see if I was, in fact, going that way. I almost made any number of excuses to avoid it because I was sure I looked terrible and didn't smell very good either. But then I glanced at Jason, who was smiling confidently as if he knew for a fact that my answer would be no.

"Sure," I said. "But my car's tiny, so you might have to squeeze in."

His mouth curved upward again. "That's not a problem. Let me run these keys inside to Nick and tell him I got a ride. I'll be right back."

He took off, leaving Jason and I standing there. Jason looked annoyed. "I can't believe he put you on the spot like that. You don't have to bring him anywhere, you know."

"You already said that," I said. "I'm a big girl, Jay, I would have said no if I didn't want to do it."

He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"Thanks for partnering with me tonight. I had fun." He could tell by my tone that I was saying goodbye.

"I had fun too. We'll have to hang out outside the gym sometime."

"Yeah," I said, in my usual non-committal way.

"I guess I just have to ask you for a ride," he said.

That made me giggle a little. "Night, Jason," I said.

"Night."

Jason reluctantly headed for his bike as Morgan approached wearing a huge grin. "You sure you don't mind?" he asked.

"I don't mind, but I should warn you that I'm sweaty and gross."

"I don't think you're gross," he said. He followed me to my little car and stood by the passenger's side while I dug for my keys and pushed the button to unlock the door. He was huge, and it was comical watching him squeeze his long legs into the tiny car.

It crossed my mind as I watched him sit down and adjust the seat that he was a total stranger who could easily overpower me. I couldn't believe it had taken me this long to worry about that. I had been so taken away with making Jason shut up that I agreed to give Morgan a ride without using any common sense.

I told myself a famous athlete couldn't afford to do anything stupid, but that didn't stop me from checking the door pocket to make sure my mace and pocketknife were well within reach. The sun was setting as I pulled out of the parking lot.

Morgan Turner smelled good. Not overpowering like Jason, but he was definitely clean and that was more than I could say for myself. It was a beautiful evening, so I decided to crack the windows just in case.

"You'll have to tell me where to go," I said.

"It depends on what you want to do."

I glanced at him from over the console with a perplexed expression. "I thought I was giving you a ride to your house."

"It's rare that I get a night off." I was focused on the road, so I wasn't looking at him when he continued, "I figured we could grab a bite to eat and maybe talk about your boxing skills."

I laughed as if he must surely be joking. "What boxing skills?"

"Oh, come on, don't be so humble."

I shook my head with a shy smile. "Well, I'm not sure if you're being serious about dinner, but there's no way I could go anywhere like this."

"I was being serious," he said. "I'm hungry." He motioned by pointing out the windshield for me to turn left. "There's a Mexican grocery store right over here. Let's grab a couple of tacos and sit outside to eat them."

I turned without argument. I wasn't sure why I was going along with everything he said. He was confident and forward, which I usually despised, but there was an underlying sweetness to his demeanor that put me at ease.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I said pulling into the small grocery store.

"Have you eaten here before," he asked.

"No. I didn't even know this place was here."

"You'll love it," he said. "You'll thank me for introducing you."

He held the door open for me as we walked inside. It was one of those places where no one spoke English and they were sort of a little bit mad at you for not being able to communicate with them properly. I'd eaten at one other place like this, but told myself I wouldn’t go back unless I brought a translator.

"I hope you're okay with ordering something for me," I said as we approached the counter.

"Sure," he said. "Is there anything you won't eat?"

I shook my head. "I'll try anything."

He smiled, considering the possibilities.

I spotted a sign for the restroom. "As long as you're ordering, I'm gonna head to the restroom for a second."

He nodded and I got out of line to go freshen myself up. There was only one stall, and I made sure no one else was in there before I turned on the sink and began talking to myself.

"What in the world are you doing?" I whispered out loud as I washed my hands. I bent over the sink and splashed cold water on my face before looking in the mirror again. My cheeks were still red from working out, and my hair was at least as bad as I expected. I took a minute to try to put myself in order, even though it was pretty much a lost cause.

Morgan had already ordered by the time I came out. He was standing at the spot where you pick up your order, and he smiled when he caught sight of me. I felt the tiniest sense of attraction toward him, and that threw me for a loop. It was a feeling I wasn't accustomed to. I told myself it was because of the whole "Giants" thing.

Before I got to him, a family came up, taking his attention. It was a mom, dad, and three kids. The oldest seemed to be in his teens, and he was the one talking the most. They were all talking at the same time, speaking Spanish, but the oldest son was speaking a mile a minute. "Tucker," I heard him say, in the midst of all the Spanish. He swung his arms in the motion of a batter taking a swing at a ball and pointed to Morgan smiling.

Morgan nodded and the mother put a hand to her forehead and let out a dramatic sound like she might swoon. The younger siblings just stood there watching the action. The dad got out his phone and showed it to Morgan, saying something in Spanish.

"Si," Morgan said, smiling and nodding. The rest of the family moved in to take a picture with him as the dad focused on the group. I tapped the dad on the shoulder and without words, offered to take the picture for him if he wanted to get in.

He nodded excitedly and rushed over to the group. They all smiled and I took a few shots. The mother dug a pen out of her purse and Morgan signed the oldest boys shirt, which had nothing to do with the San Francisco Giants. The family thanked Morgan profusely before heading away with huge smiles.

Our number got called some time during the exchange, and as soon as they walked away, Morgan picked up the bags that were prepared of us.

"That was crazy," I whispered as we walked out.

He laughed a little. "I wasn't expecting that either. People don't usually recognize me without my cap."

He led me to an outside area with three abandoned picnic tables. "They're packed at 6," he explained. "It's just late. They're about to close."

I gasped. "We forgot to pay," I said.

"I paid when I ordered it."

"Oh, I'm sorry. How much do I owe you?"

He made a little disapproving noise and regarded me through narrowed eyes. "What kind of gentlemen would I be if I asked you to dinner and made you pay for it?"

I felt on the spot and nervous. I didn't know how to respond, so I just whispered a thank you and smiled and waited as he took the tacos out of the bag.

"I'm sorry I don't know more about baseball," I said, finally thinking of something to say.

"Thank you Lord for these delicious tacos," he said quickly before he took a big bite. He chewed for a second, and shook his head before speaking. "It's okay," he said. "As long as it's okay that I know
too
much about it. It completely consumes my life for more than half of the year, and even when I'm in the off season, I have to train."

"I thought Nick said you train at the gym during your off season."

"I do, but that's just for fun. I only do a few classes a week."

"Do you do Jiu Jitsu?" I asked in between bites.

He shook his head. "I tried it, but it's too easy to get injured. Most of the people at Summit are awesome, but there are the few who would take pride in being the one who devastated the pro athlete. I actually have to be careful who I partner with in boxing too, but it's not as sketchy as grappling."

I thought about Jason and imagined he would be proud to say he devastated Morgan. "I'll take it easy on you if we partner up," I said.

He laughed. "I hope so."

We sat there in comfortable silence eating our tacos for the next minute.

"Would you tell me if I had cilantro in my teeth?" I asked, flashing a smile at him.

He laughed. "No," he said.

"You wouldn't?"

"No, that'd just be awkward."

I let out a sigh. "Well do I?"

"No," he said smiling.

"I don't?"

"No."

"How do I know you're telling me the truth after what you just said?"

He shook his head at me, laughing a little. "I promise you don't. Your teeth look great. They're shiny and white and there's nothing in between any of them."

We sat there for ten more minutes, talking and laughing about boxing, and movies, and Mexican food. He was incredibly down to earth. I would have never pegged him for a famous athlete—an athlete, yes. He had the build of an athlete. But, I always assumed there was a certain arrogance that went along with being famous, and he was the opposite of arrogant. He was confident, but there's a big difference between confidence and arrogance, and he completely lacked the latter.