“Well”—he entwines our fingers—“no need to feel sad. You’ve got me now.”

“Which means one thing,” I say.

“What’s that?”

“I’m going to have to learn baseball.”

“I’ll teach you. Trust me, you won’t have to do it on your own.”

I grin because he knows how to use my hot-button words. Don’t have to do it on my own. I’ve had to do everything on my own for so long that I’m tired, and I’m ready to share the burden.

I glance at the time in the car. “It’s getting late, I should go.”

“Wait, before you leave.” He pulls out his phone and hands it to me. “Give me your number. I like sending you DMs, but I’d rather be able to text and call you.”

“Oh, yeah, that might be helpful.” I take his phone and then lift my brow at him. “Are you really that guy who doesn’t have a case for their phone?”

“These hands don’t drop anything,” he says, showing off his very large hands.

“Yeah, but you’re now seeing me, and guess what, I’m a perpetual dropper.”

“You can’t be that bad.”

I take out my cracked and nearly broken phone and show it to him. “This is a few months old.”

His eyes widen before he scratches the side of his neck. “Uh . . . why don’t I just enter your phone number in?”

I laugh and tap away on his phone, sending a text to myself. When I hand it back to him, I say, “I’ll get you a pretty case for your phone.”

“Why do I feel like it’s going to be a picture of your face?”

“Because you’re starting to understand me on a deeper level.” I set my hands on my lap and say, “Okay, well, thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun.”

“Me too. I’m glad you came to the game. You made my fucking night.”

All the joking diminishes as nerves bubble up inside me. I know what will happen next.

Isn’t it obvious? This is the momentary pause before the big old moment. The moment everyone wonders about on a first date.

The kiss.

I have yet to do so, and a small part of me is worried if he will be a good kisser. A bigger part of me is worried that he will be the best first kiss of my life, and I know that once his lips press against mine, there will be no going back. Hands down, he will blow me away, and I will be forever attached to him. With one kiss, I am one hundred percent positive my life will change because he’s so different than anyone I’ve ever met. He’s patient and listens. He’s funny, not to mention incredibly handsome. But the best part about him is he’s not willing to give up on me. Despite the many times I’ve walked away, he hasn’t given up. The only other person in my life who has done that is Nichole, which tells me he’s a world above any man I’ve ever dated.