Free Strike by Sheryl Zaines

strikes in a row, it’s called a turkey. When you get a turkey, you have to do the turkey dance.”
    * * * * *
     
    When she had left her apartment, she’d been rehearsing how to tell him that she just wanted to be friends. After a couple of hours with him and his friends, she knew she wanted more. For the first time in her life she was willing to jump into a relationship. With anyone else, the thought would send her running away. This guy was completely different. She couldn’t wait to get him up to her place, where they could be alone.
    She took him by the hand and led him up the stairs. She could feel her hips sway as she climbed each step, hoping that it was the sashay that seemed to draw men’s attention. She glanced back over her shoulder, giving him a smoldering look. He was looking past her to the new door she thought he’d already spent enough time inspecting. Oh, she would get his attention.
    She floated through the room, lighting candles and turning on the stereo, wanting to feel at home. Her body swayed with the beat of the music. She turned around, expecting that he would be watching her, but he was looking around.
    “You’re place is so homey,” he said.
    “Is that a polite way of saying how small it is?” Tori asked.
    “No.” Collin had been looking at a bookshelf covered not only with books, but also candles, photos and knickknacks. He turned around to face her before he continued. “That is the one thing I would never be polite about. I have a tendency to get claustrophobic, even in my own apartment. But in here it’s different. The way you’ve decorated, my focus is on the stuff in the room instead of how close the walls are. What really impresses me is that you’ve filled up the space without making it feel cluttered.”
    She appreciated the compliment he was giving her. Truly she did. It was nice to hear that someone liked the way she’d set up her things. The problem was that she wanted him to be focused on her, not her decorating techniques. When they were at his place it seemed as if they were on fire, but here she couldn’t even find a spark. Panic rose inside her. She was afraid that she had somehow messed everything up.
    “So is this how it’s going to be?” she asked. “You walk me to my door and then we have a civil conversation about the interior decorating? Have I already been moved into the ‘just friends’ category?”
    The friendly smile was instantly off his face and the look he gave her could have melted a glacier. He was devouring her with his eyes. It was as if a switch had been flipped and a hungry animal was now standing where he had just been.
    “In my mind, you’ve been wandering around naked since I showed up here the first time. You’ve touched my arm four times. It took all the restraint I had to not rip your clothes off the second the door was closed.”
    “But why?” she asked. “Why hold back?”
    “Because taking what I want, letting my need for you take over, only gets me a couple of hours with you. I love to watch you come and to hold your trembling body in my arms. But I’m not going to be the person you turn to when you don’t have anywhere else to run. I want more than that.”
    He wanted more than that. She had told fate that if they were going to be a couple, it was going to have to do something to bring them together. Well, fate had definitely intervened. She guessed it was time to step up and take a part in making things happen.
    “Now I admit that I was a little unsure at first,” Tori said. “I wonder if it would change your mind if I suggested you spend the night here.”
    “The whole night?” he asked.
    “Well, you can stay here as long as you like,” she said. “I’ll be leaving before sunrise, but only because I have to be at work before 5:00 a.m. I could wake you up before I leave if you wanted.”
    The smile blossomed and took over his face, though she didn’t have much time to enjoy it before she was kissing him. The