When we got up to the window he reached for his wallet, but I stopped him.

"My treat, remember?" I stated.

"That"s right," he chuckled, taking a giant step away from the teller.

I laughed at his over-exaggeration as I paid for our tickets.

"Do you want any popcorn or anything?" Judd asked as we entered the building.

"No, I"m not hungry. Maybe just a drink," I replied. "I"m going to run to the restroom. Meet you back here?"

"Sounds good," he replied.

I went to the restroom and called Molly while I waited in line.

"Hey, Molls, how"s it going?"

"Great. We had a tea party and then Karrie gave me a makeover. She fell asleep watching T.V. I was just about to take her to bed."

"Thanks so much for watching her."

"Anytime, Sam. How"s the date?"

"It"s going a lot better than I expected it to."

"Yay! Well, I"ll let you get back to it. See you later."

I smiled to myself as I hung up the phone.

I was really lucky to have the friends I did. After my text to James last night, she had shown up at my house this morning and threw a plastic shopping bag at me.

"What"s this?" I asked as she walked past me into the house.

"After your sorry-a.s.sed text last night, I figured you needed a little pick-me-up for your hot date."

I opened the bag and pulled out a pretty blouse.

"You bought me a shirt?"

"You said you didn"t have anything to wear," James replied with a shrug.

I grinned and pulled her into a big hug. She struggled in my arms, like I knew she would, but her arms came around me briefly to hug me back.

"Thanks," I said sincerely. "You"re the best."

"It"s just from the Goodwill. It"s not like I spent hundreds on it."

"It"s the thought that counts. I really appreciate it."

"Alright, alright," James replied as she walked back to the door. "Don"t let Judd take advantage."

With those parting words she"d walked out of the house.

Now I stood in front of the mirror, admiring the cut and style. I felt good in what I was wearing.

Once I reapplied my lip gloss and smoothed my hair, I exited the bathroom to meet Judd.

He was leaning against the wall with a drink in his hand. He wasn"t looking my way, but was watching a monitor playing previews. This allowed me to study him as I approached.

His face was undeniably handsome and his body was to die for. I found my hands itching to feel his hair as I got closer.

Judd turned as I neared and smiled.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

We walked down to our theater and found a seat just as the lights began to dim. Judd took my hand in his as the previews began to play.

The movie was hilarious and had us both laughing out loud. I"d never felt so comfortable with a guy, yet so completely aware of him next to me. I kept stealing glances at him throughout the movie. I swear, by the time the closing credits ran, I was ready to crawl into his lap.

The lights came up and we were still sitting in our seats holding hands. I looked over at him and smiled.

"That was a good movie."

"Yeah, I thought the chick that played the sister was hilarious."

I laughed and nodded my agreement before I looked around us at the rapidly emptying theater.

"Ready?"

"I guess," he responded, causing heat to rush through me at his gaze.

I cleared my throat and stood, tugging his hand a bit to get him to stand up as well.

We walked out and he asked, "Do you want me to give you a ride back to the restaurant or to your house?"

"Just the restaurant," I responded, and I thought I noticed his face fall a bit. I knew he must be confused by how secretive I was being, but I was in no way ready to discuss Karrie with him.

The last time I"d told a date about her, the response had been less than favorable. He seemed to think the fact that I had a kid made me damaged goods or something. Maybe it was just too much for him to handle. I mean, it"s not like I"m looking for a husband, or even a father for Karrie, but as soon as a guy heard I was a single mom he a.s.sumed that was the case.

I really liked Judd, and was afraid that he would react in the same way. For once, I"d like to be like a normal twenty-two year old, and just enjoy getting to know a man.

"Alright," he replied.

The ride back to the restaurant was over way too soon. I could have held onto Judd all night.

I got off the bike and Judd stayed seated. I walked up to him and handed him his helmet, then watched as he put it on. It was funny. As unsure as I was to go on the date in the first place, I sure wasn"t ready for it to end.

Judd looked up at me, eyes serious, and pulled me closer to him.

"I had a really great time," he said, his voice gruffer than usual.

"So did I," I admitted.

His hand traveled up my arm and over my shoulder to my neck. He cupped the back of my head, drawing me closer until I was a mere breath away from him.

I dropped my gaze to look at his lips. If I puckered my lips they would touch his a" that"s how close we were. When I brought my gaze back up to his eyes, he was watching me intently with his pupils dilated.

Judd inhaled sharply, coaxing me toward him the rest of the way until our lips met. His head was c.o.c.ked to the side, and he let his lips brush softly against mine before running his tongue along my lips. My mouth opened on a gasp, and he took the opportunity to sweep his tongue inside my mouth. In one heated second I was almost brought to my knees by the shear potency of that kiss.

It was intimate, hot, and I never wanted it to end.

"See you around," Judd said, dropping his hand and pulling away as he leveled the bike.

I nodded and stood paralyzed as he drove away. I brought my hand to my lips and smiled before I turned around to walk back home.

The cool night air would come in handy, because my whole body was on fire.

After I finished cleaning up Mrs. P"s shop, she handed me a bunch of fragrant flowers. I couldn"t tell you what kind they were if you paid me, but they sure smelled good. I put them in a sack and secured them within my bike"s top case, figuring they would help make my dad"s house smell better.

I put on my helmet and then took it off a second later, realizing it would need to be adjusted now that I didn"t have all of my hair.

I"d gotten it cut yesterday and still wasn"t used to it. This morning in the shower I"d put a glob of shampoo in my hand, not realizing that I didn"t need it.

It would take some getting used to, but I still looked pretty good.

Helmet adjusted, I took off toward my dad"s. I hoped he was responsive this time around. He never missed a game, but if he was recovering from a bender, getting him ready to go wouldn"t be pretty.

As I rode, I thought back to my date with Sam. I really thought everything had gone great, but since I didn"t have her number or know where she lived, I couldn"t get a hold of her to see if she"d be interested in going out again. It was frustrating, but at the same time made the antic.i.p.ation greater.

I had no idea if she felt the same way about our date as I did. I also had no idea if she was going to take me up on my offer and come to the game today.

I couldn"t wait to find out.

When I got to my dad"s house I walked in, only to be surprised to see him in the kitchen making eggs. He even looked like he"d showered recently.

"Hey, Dad," I said with a smile. "You"re up bright and early this morning."

"Season starts today, doesn"t it?" he asked without turning from the stove.

"Yup," I replied, opening the cupboard that held my mother"s vases. I grabbed the one closest to me and went to the sink to fill it with water.

"What the h.e.l.l"s that?" my dad asked gruffly.

"Flowers from Mrs. P," I replied, placing them on his small wooden table. "She said she didn"t want them to go to waste."

"I don"t need flowers," Dad said, looking at them with distain as he sat down to eat his breakfast.

"Well, I thought they"d liven the place up a bit."

Dad stopped scowling at the flowers long enough to look up at me.

"Got a haircut," he said. "Least you don"t look like a girl anymore."

"Alright, Dad. I just stopped by to remind you about the game and to fix your screen. Do you need a ride, or are you gonna meet me there?"

"Haven"t missed a game yet, have I? I"ll see you over there. I don"t want to get stuck having to wait around for you afterwards."

"Okay, old man," I said, dropping a kiss on his forehead as I walked out to fix the screen. "I"ll see you and your charming personality at the field."

Once I had the screen back up and functioning properly, I rode out to the baseball field to get ready and warm up.

"Lookin" better, Judd," Coach said when I walked into the locker room.

I ran my hand unconsciously over my much shorter hair. "I guess," was my reply.

I suited up and looked around, noticing for the first time that Tuck wasn"t in the locker room.

"Hey, is Tuck already warming up?" I asked our pitcher, Chris.

"No, man," Chris responded. "Coach said that Tuck called and told him that he got food poisoning from some sushi last night. He"s laid up, so he won"t be playing today."

"b.u.mmer," I responded. I"d never gotten food poisoning before, but I was sure it sucked.

I"d have to go by and check on him later.

I jogged out to the field, where my senses were awakened by the chatter of fans, the smell of hot dogs on the grill, and the sight of a freshly chalked field.

G.o.d, I loved game day!

I put my gear in the dugout before I walked out to check the stands for my dad. I knew he"d make it in time, but I always felt better after actually seeing him.

I saw him sitting in his favorite spot, bottom left with a clear view of third, and then surveyed the still-arriving crowd. My gaze stopped at a flash of red.

She was here.

I was a little taken aback at how excited that made me.

Sam caught me looking, so I nodded at her to let her know that I"d seen her. She leaned down and said something to the curly-haired woman next to her, then began her descent down the bleachers.

I walked out to meet her and we arrived at the gate at the same time.

"Hey," I said with a grin, unable to hide my pleasure at seeing her again.

"Hi," Sam said back. Her hair looked really red in the sun, even more so than I remembered.

"I"m glad you came," I admitted. This honesty thing was kinda cool. I was enjoying the lack of bulls.h.i.t.