Dare You to Fall for the Catcher (Rock Valley High 3)

At this rate, I’d never catch up. Not if Coach Padilla had her way.

Chapter Four

The clang of dumbbells hitting together was like therapy for me after that terrible start to the week. I lifted them high above my head, touching them together at the top, and then brought them down with control. All the while, Audrey and Trina laid on my bed, stuffing themselves with leftover cheesecake from my parents’ diner and watching me work out.

“Mandy, if you don’t come over here and have a bite, you’re going to miss out.” Audrey held out a piece of the creamy cake on her fork. She giggled and stuffed it in her mouth, humming with satisfaction. “Oh my gosh, if one of my parents owned a restaurant, I wouldn’t be able to fit through the front door of my apartment.”

Trina laughed and took her own bite. “I don’t think I’d ever eat a frozen lasagna again. Mrs. Hale’s cooking is the best.”

“Guys, I can’t stop for cheesecake,” I said, watching my reflection in the mirror. “This is serious. I spent two hours today watching other people improve their game, while I grew mold on the bleachers. I have to make it up where I can.”

Their silence told me they knew how important this was to me. They’d followed their dreams. Audrey was a budding music star and Trina already had one of her amazing sculptures gracing the lawn of Rock Valley High. This was supposed to be my year, too.

I wasn’t going to let it slip through my fingers. I was the one who controlled my future.

“Wait, is that what I think it is?” Audrey sat up, cheesecake abandoned. She pointed to the gray sweatshirt draped over the back of my fuzzy blue chair as if it were the piece of evidence needed to put away a notorious criminal.

Instantly, my ears burned hot. I dropped the dumbbells to the ground and hobbled toward the sweatshirt as fast as I could to stuff it in a drawer, but Audrey beat me to it. She snatched it up and waved it over her head like a victory flag.

“It is Jayden’s sweatshirt.” She held me off with her free hand as I tried to grab it. If it hadn’t been for my injury, she wouldn’t have stood a chance, but I was not at the top of my game today. “I thought you were returning this...what did she call it in the car the other day, Trina?”

“A disgusting physical reminder of everything wrong with men in the world today?” Trina offered, blinking up innocently at us from my bed.

“Oh, yeah. That was it.” Audrey grinned at me. “So why do you think she still has it, huh? Do you think there could be something more to this heat between Rock Valley High’s catcher and track star?”

I gagged and leaned on my dresser for support. They knew me better than that. The one and only possible reason for Jayden’s sweatshirt to be here was staring them in the face. With everything going on lately, I had forgotten it. Plain and simple. “You can’t be serious, A. I think you’ve been reading a little too much into the RockValleyBiz Instagram posts. Heat? More like burning hatred.”

“Hmmm, I’m not so sure about that.” She cocked her hip. “Believe me, I’ve been in your position. There’s a fine line between love and hate. I think Jayden gets under your skin because somewhere deep inside, you like him.”

My hand shot to my heart, as if Audrey had just put a bullet in me. Outrage spilled into every cell in my body as I sputtered at her, unable to put together any words to tell her exactly how wrong she was. Jayden and me? Get seri

ous.

Maybe there was a single second—a teeny, tiny, bitty second—when I’d entertained that thought. It had occurred four years ago at a silly little sixth grade birthday party when I’d been dared to kiss Jayden in a closet. Honestly, I couldn’t even think about that time again without going beet red.

It wasn’t like the kiss had been horrible or anything. Jayden had been surprisingly sweet in that tiny little three-by-three room. He even offered me a last-minute chance to chicken out. I hadn’t taken it. But for some reason, the moment his perfectly proportioned lips touched mine, everything changed between us. It was like he’d morphed into this alien creature with the main objective of finding out exactly what could make a preteen girl blow her top. And he was good at it. The whole thing made me shake with frustration.

Audrey laughed at my silence and smiled at Trina over my shoulder. “I never thought I’d see the day when Mandy was speechless. Mark it on the calendar. We should celebrate this momentous occasion every year.”

“I do not like Jayden Paul,” I replied, moisture returning to my mouth. “Not even close.”

She held out the hoodie. “Oh yeah? Tell me again why you still have his sweatshirt?”

Trina sat up on the bed, her eyes wide. “Maybe she just forgot.” I nodded my head in agreement. Thank you beautiful, kind, level-headed Trina. “Or...her subconscious isn’t letting her return the hoodie because she likes him but hasn’t realized it yet.”

I groaned and threw a hand over my face. I officially took back every nice thing I’d ever said about Trina.

“I’m only going to say this once.” I dropped my arm and shot them both a hard look. “There were no ulterior motives here. I do not like Jayden Paul. In fact, he could transfer schools tomorrow and I wouldn’t even notice.”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “Riiiiiight.”

“Give me that thing.” I finally snatched the hoodie from Audrey’s hands, and pinned it tight in my arms. The thing still smelled like soap and Jayden’s cologne, a strangely good combination. “I’m giving it back tomorrow morning. First thing. In fact, I’m going to put this by the front door right now so I don’t forget it again. But mostly, so you’ll stop with your crazy conspiracy theories. No more cheesecake for you, missy.”

Audrey grinned and dropped herself into the fuzzy chair. “That’ll never stop me. I’m already working on a song about you two. You’ve got me inspired.”

I groaned as I headed out my bedroom door on my crutches, the sweatshirt draped over my shoulders. Except for my bedroom, the house was dead silent. Mom and Dad were still working long hours at the restaurant, so they wouldn’t be home until later, and Charlotte was studying for a test at a new friend’s house.

The silence once bugged me, but I’d become used to it. It’d become a sort of comfort. Audrey and Trina came over enough to fill the odd lonely times with giggles and silly dance parties. That was enough for me. I knew my parents worked hard for the life they’d given me and my sister. The long hours were to be expected, especially when they were replacing a manager.