Chapter 7

Tuesday's game started at the more normal hour of eight PM. Of course, if it was like Monday's it wouldn't end until Wednesday!

I went to class, studied in the afternoon, then hit the dining hall for supper. I went up to Vinnie's a little early, about six. Mitch was just leaving and Vinnie welcomed me in.

I grinned as I held up a pair of peach-colored satin panties to go with the peach bra he had worn last night.

"Ah, geez," he said. "I wish the Yankees would close this damn series out." But he took the panties and bra from me and went to put them on. "Close your eyes," he said.

"Why should I? You've seen everything I've got, haven't you?"

"Not everything. The panties are still on, aren't they?"

"Fine," I sniffed. I closed my eyes while Vinnie put the undergarments on. OK, so I peaked. A little. I got a look at--you know. Boy, it looked awfully big!

"OK, you can open your eyes now," he said, none the wiser. He sat down next to me--obviously a bit fidgety.

I had to giggle. I knew what satin panties did to a guy--hey, Eric had told me. It's one of the reasons he liked wearing them. Satin panties on the, er, male equipment was rather stimulating, according to Eric.

And Vinnie was fidgeting up a storm! "Problem?" I asked with a little giggle.

"Nah. Not at all," he lied. "You still have to get down to your panties, Princess," he said, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah, right," I said, and quickly shucked my clothes and bra. This really was almost becoming second nature.

I sat down next to him and, if anything, he got more squirmy! I couldn't resist. "A little too much stimulation, there?" I said, grinning.

"And how," he admitted. Then he glared at me. "You knew this was gonna happen!"

"Yep," I admitted. "Eric, my drag queen best friend, commented on what satin panties did to him."

"Oh, great," Vinnie moaned. "And looking at you in all your glory isn't helping."

"I think that was a compliment," I laughed. "Anyhow, I'd help you out and all, but we wouldn't want to soil the panties."

He blinked, and then cracked up. "Jeez. Talk about coming out of your shell."

"What can I say," I said, grinning at him.

He grinned back, then got serious. "Look. We didn't get a chance to talk last night. Are you still OK with what happened the other night?"

"Yes," I said, but I suppose it was a bit tentative.

"You sure? That didn't quite sound like it."

"Well, yeah, I'm mostly OK," I admitted. "I surprised myself, that's for sure. And I guess I'm a bit confused because of that. But I'm fine. I don't regret it for a second, if that's what you mean."

"Good. And I understand the confusion part."

"You do?"

"Sure. Hey, this was supposed to be a fun bet. We weren't even supposed to like each other. And look what happened. I didn't plan it this way, Princess. It took me by surprise, too."

"Yeah."

"The question is, now, what are we going to do about it?" he said.

"Do about it?"

"Yeah, where do we go from here?"

I think I broke out in a cold sweat. Where do we go from here? I didn't know what to say. I think I knew what I wanted, but I didn't know what to say. "Uh, go from here?" I managed to stammer stupidly.

"Yeah. Well, look. What happened between us the other day, I know you don't do that with just anyone. So, well, I figured you must have some feelings for me."

"Uh, yeah," I got out.

"Good," he grinned. "So, what do we do about it?"

"Do about it?" I said. Jeez, I sounded like a parrott. A stupid parrott.

"Hey, Princess, I didn't mean to fluster you so much."

I grinned at him a little sheepishly. "Well, this is a hard conversation to have while I'm sitting here almost naked."

"Then why don't you put your clothes back on?"

"Uh, well, I don't think I have to do that. I'm just a bit overwhelmed."

"Well, whatever makes it easier for you."

"I don't think anything would," I said with a little laugh. "What do you want to do about it?" I asked him.

"I want to start dating. Exclusively. I really like you a lot, Princess."

If I had been chewing gum right about then, I think I would have swallowed it! He must have seen it in my eyes, because he said, "You're surprised?"

"Well, yeah."

"You shouldn't be."

"Look, you know my experience with guys is just about nil."

"True. Though you've taken to this bet so easily sometimes I forget."

"Yeah."

"So, what do you say?" he asked anxiously.

"I say yes," I smiled at him.

"Great!" We kind of grinned at one another, and then he kissed me. We didn't do anything more than that, but it was very nice.

Then the game was about to start.

"Well, we're back in Yankee Stadium so this nonsense will stop. I'm looking forward to seeing you completely naked, Princess."

"We'll see about that," I said, though deep down I agreed with him. The Sox had made it interesting, but it couldn't last.

Schilling took the mound. They'd done something to his ankle. All the talk was of some boot, but he wasn't wearing a boot, just his usual spikes. But he was pitching, and it started out well.

Lieber, who owned the Sox in game 2, also started out well for the Yankees.

In the third inning, they showed Curt Schilling's white sock. There was a red splotch on it. Vinnie caught it: "My God, he's bleeding into his sock! And he's pitching this well? I got to give him credit--what a warrior."

I could only agree. But the Sox weren't doing anything witih Lieber. Until the fourth.

There were two outs. Millar doubled, then went to third on a wild pitch. Varitek singled him home. Cabrera singled, putting men on first and second. Then something strange happened.