Play Along

Isaiah needs a massage because he tweaked his shoulder while sleeping on the floor the previous night. While she works out the tension in his shoulder, Isaiah can’t stop thinking about Kennedy’s admission and is sad to know that she was never hugged as a child. Kennedy tells him that she has a family dinner that night and asks that he not get into a fight with Dean, who plays second base for Atlanta, at the game. Kennedy moves to work on the front of Isaiah’s shoulder, positioning herself right between his legs, and Isaiah likes the closeness. He gently touches her leg, and she doesn’t flinch.

During the game, Isaiah hits a double, which puts him face-to-face with Dean. Dean mocks him for being poor and for getting Kennedy drunk as part of a ruse to marry her for her money. Seeing Kennedy anxiously watching them from the dugout, Isaiah shakes off Dean’s comments and calls him a “low-life” for talking about his sister in that way. The batter gets a hit, and Isaiah runs for home, scoring for the team. Back in the dugout, Kennedy thanks him for disengaging from Dean’s taunting.

Later, Isaiah hangs out with Kai and their friend, Ryan Shay, who is an NBA player. Kai wants to call Miller, but Isaiah takes his phone, so Kai uses Isaiah’s phone. Indy, Ryan’s wife, is spending time with Miller, Rio, and Stevie (Zanders’s wife). Isaiah ribs Kai for being unable to resist calling Miller, but secretly, he wishes that Kennedy would call or text. Suddenly, Kennedy texts from the family dinner and asks Isaiah to come. Her ex is there, and she says, “I need you” (102). Isaiah cannot get out the door fast enough.

Isaiah feels self-conscious because he is underdressed for the fancy restaurant. Kennedy is in a sleek black dress and high heels: a very different outfit than her daily casual wear. Isaiah takes her hand as they walk toward the table, which is full of her judgmental family. Isaiah says, “C’mon wife […] Time to play along” (105). Kennedy’s mother, Jennifer, and her stepfather gather at the table. Family friends Mr. and Mrs. Smith are also there to discuss a business deal, and Dean, Mallory, and Connor are in attendance as well. Isaiah detests the cold, overprivileged atmosphere and much prefers the found family that he and Kai have with their friends. Isaiah notices that everyone mostly ignores Kennedy.

Mallory makes a show of physical affection with Connor in a blatant attempt to make Kennedy jealous. Isaiah whispers in Kennedy’s ear and asks if he can touch her, and she agrees. He instructs her to kick him under the table if she becomes uncomfortable. Isaiah touches her hair, shoulder, and neck, then moves his hand to her thigh. Kennedy enjoys the touching and doesn’t signal him to stop. Mallory makes a snide comment about Kennedy’s ring, but Kennedy says she prefers it to the one that Connor gave her. 

The evening takes a nasty turn when Mallory lets it slip that she and Connor had an affair while Kennedy and Connor were still engaged. Mallory accuses Kennedy of being so cold that Connor turned to her in desperate need of affection. Before leaving the table, Jennifer tells Kennedy to let the gibe go, and Isaiah stands up for Kennedy. Impulsively, Kennedy kisses Isaiah in front of everyone, and then they leave. Kennedy has never kissed someone in public and is proud of herself, but she wants Isaiah to know that the gesture didn’t mean anything. He doesn’t mind that she used him to get revenge. Kennedy wants to learn how to be more physically affectionate and asks Isaiah to be her teacher.

Kennedy tells Isaiah that her engagement to Connor was an arranged relationship. Isaiah states that if he had known this, he would have tried harder to get her to fall in love with him in the past. Isaiah takes Kennedy to Chili’s, a restaurant that she has never visited. She feels overdressed in her Chanel but is comfortable with Isaiah. For the first time in her life, Kennedy realizes that she can choose a partner without the approval of her parents, but she fears that her issues with physical intimacy will cause problems. She knows that Isaiah has a lot of practice with relationships, and she sees how easy it is for him to show physical affection. While pretending to be married, she wants to practice being intimate with him in public and in private. Isaiah agrees, but he stipulates that he isn’t comfortable having sex with her if she is just using him to practice for another man. Kennedy says that she’ll cross that bridge when they get there. Isaiah plays footsie with her under the table, and for now, she is content with engaging in a small act of affection and enjoying the best meal she has ever had with a good man she trusts.

The team is on the road, and Miller is visiting Kai with Max. It is Cody’s birthday, and everyone is going out to celebrate, but Kennedy isn’t planning to go, because she usually doesn’t associate with the team. Miller insists she should go, and Isaiah wants her to go too. It has been a week since she asked him to help her with physical intimacy, and he still hasn’t touched her. Now, she finds that she is aching for his touch but feels guilty, as if she should have fixed the problem herself without asking for his help. Alone in their room, she asks Isaiah why he hasn’t tried anything, and he tells her that he is waiting to surprise her. He touches her face and whispers, “Lesson number one […] You can’t pencil affection into your little planner” (128). He removes his shirt and invites her to touch him, then hugs her affectionately and tells her that she can touch him anytime without asking. Being in his embrace feels different than any hug she has ever had, as though she is his “everything.” While Isaiah is in the shower, Kennedy corrects his mismatched clothes and socks.

The group goes to a jazz club for Cody’s birthday. Isaiah sits in the corner and watches Kennedy on the dance floor, happy to see her enjoying herself. A woman approaches him and asks him to dance, but he shows her his wedding ring. Isaiah notices Kennedy freeze when someone touches her on the dance floor. He jumps up, races to her, and wraps his arms around her for support. They sway to the music, but he can tell that she is still uncomfortable with so many people close by. Isaiah pulls her into a corner and talks her through touching him seductively. They end up making out and forgetting about everyone around them. Kennedy thanks Isaiah for being her teacher, but he says that she was already a good kisser.

Back in Chicago, Kennedy avoids further contact with Isaiah because she cannot stop thinking about their kiss and about the fact that she wants more. On game day, she massages Cody, and he jokes about her and Isaiah’s make-out session in St. Louis. Cody agrees that Isaiah is handsome, and when Kennedy jokes that Cody has a crush on her husband, Cody says that Isaiah isn’t his type. He says Isaiah is a genuinely good and loyal guy. Isaiah brings Kennedy a smoothie because she has had no time to eat. Dr. Frederick assigns her to the clubhouse instead of the dugout for the game, and Isaiah is angry. Reese arrives and demands that Dr. Frederick change the assignments. Monty doesn’t like Reese stomping around and giving orders. Miller is there, and she jokes with Kennedy about falling for Isaiah, but Kennedy claims that he is just helping her. Miller encourages her to make a move to show that she is interested, too.

Kennedy will soon have an interview for the head doctor position in San Francisco. If she gets the job, she will leave in three months rather than six. Isaiah is genuinely happy for her. During the game, Kennedy watches Isaiah, trying not to notice how good he looks in his baseball pants. Isaiah’s walk-up song is now their wedding song, and as the crowd sings along, he looks at Kennedy and winks.

Travis and Cody text the group chat to invite Isaiah to go out, but he declines. Cody jokes that he will come to Isaiah’s house if he brings someone home. At midnight, Kennedy knocks on Isaiah’s door. She pretends to deliver the hat that he left at the field, but Isaiah smiles, knowing why she is really there. Kennedy loses her nerve and tries to go, but Isaiah offers to cook for her. She notices that his apartment is full of cheesy inspirational signs that say things like “Live, laugh, love.” Isaiah explains that that they are the result of losing his fantasy football league. Isaiah makes his mom’s delicious spaghetti recipe. Kennedy asks if he wants to share more about his mom, but the topic is still touchy, mostly because he never really knew his mother. Kennedy reassures him that missing her means that he loved her greatly. This comment makes Isaiah think about her departure for San Francisco.

Isaiah recently injured his hip flexor while sliding into the home plate during the game, and Kennedy insists on examining it, but he doesn’t want the coaches or doctor to know about the injury. Isaiah lies on the bed while Kennedy examines his hip and groin, and it is torture for him to endure her touch in that area. She determines that the injury is just a sprain. Isaiah thanks her for keeping it “professional” but says that she can keep touching him in a nonprofessional way if she chooses.

Kennedy and Isaiah get into bed, and he asks her what she wants. He insists that they set up a safe word and that she set the pace, because he has wanted her for too long. She chooses “Mrs. Rhodes” for the safe word and says she wants to take it slow. Kennedy has never been intimate with a man who prioritizes her pleasure, so she feels uncomfortable declaring what she wants. Isaiah encourages her to be vocal, and she “feels safe to explore” (170) with him. Isaiah is attentive to foreplay, and although they don’t have sex, they both experience orgasms.

Isaiah is about to ask Kennedy to stay the night when Cody barges in the front door with Travis and Rio. They dive into the leftover spaghetti while sharing stories from their night out. When they realize that Kennedy is there, they offer to leave. Kennedy says that she is leaving and congratulates them on a good game. Isaiah walks her to the door and asks her to stay. He asks if he also had a good game, and Kennedy knows that he is not talking about baseball. She says, “[W]e had a great game tonight” (183).