Bat Boy (Easton U Pirates 1)

Kellan was sitting in his usual spot in the very back of the bus, and after deliberating about it for far too long, I slid out of my seat and forced my legs to head his way, ignoring any curious looks thrown in my direction. Besides, this was what I usually did on long bus rides, so no one should’ve been surprised. Not even Kellan. But he still tensed up as soon as I plopped down next to him.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a terse voice, undoubtedly feeling the same strain as me.

“Bugging you, like I’ve being doing for months,” I replied, meeting his eyes, and they softened. “Why should this bus ride be any different?”

When I reached for his earbud, he tried to hide his smile. And when I pressed our shoulders and thighs together, he didn’t protest either.

I swallowed roughly, suddenly feeling a surge of emotion as I listened to some obscure song I didn’t ask him about. Not this time. I didn’t think I’d be able to find my voice. Instead, I slid my hand over to his on the seat and knotted our fingers together. He didn’t react or respond, and the only way I could tell he was feeling something too was because his Adam’s apple kept bobbing up and down as he stared out the window.

And there we sat, listening to who knew what and holding hands, away from the prying eyes of anyone else, and it felt…fuck. Just perfect. The only thing that would’ve made it more perfect was if it could be out in the open. But that was an empty wish, and I would need to learn to accept it. For now. We were in the middle of regionals, and I needed all the positive energy I could get so I could transfer it to the team I was supposedly captain of. It was high time I got my shit together.

Before I overstayed my welcome, I squeezed his fingers, untangled our hands, then gave him his earbud back. Just as I was about to get up, he reached for my elbow, and when our eyes met, his were filled with so much affection, it made me shiver.

“Did you bring Kacey with you this trip?” he asked in a rough voice.

“Of course. For good luck.” I winked, and fuck if his smile didn’t light me up inside.

I forced myself up and back to my seat with Hollister, who looked at me and asked me if I was okay. I nodded, trying not to let the melancholy show. I’d known Kellan for the better part of a year, had texted with him daily for weeks, and I still couldn’t let him know in a more public way that I was absolutely crazy about him.

Instead, I decided to do my job and act like the team captain. With that thought firmly in place, I rose to my feet and gave my team a pep talk.

“We can do this,” I said in closing, after reminding each of them what they excelled at—including Devers, our star batter, who was no longer on injured reserve and had only just joined the lineup for our final game. “Now let’s get all hands in.”

The players nearest me stood and reached forward while everyone else pumped their hands in spirit, Kellan too. “Be fierce, play smart, win big!”

Except my pep talk was short-lived, along with our patchwork chemistry. We ended up barely beating the first and second teams in back-to-back games, then fell apart the next round against the Rangers by five runs. Since it was a double-elimination bracket, that meant we only had one more shot in the following two days to defeat the losing team and advance to the next round.

We sat glumly in the stands to watch the next game and see what team we’d be up against in the losing bracket. Turned out it was the Rockets, a team we were less familiar with than others we’d studied, which put us all on edge.

The mood was sulky, and even after we showered, and the team met up in the hotel lobby to walk together to a nearby restaurant followed by a tour of the city, everyone seemed way too tense and distracted. What a difference a day made. At least we had a bit of prep time tomorrow before we played again the day after. That might help lift our spirits.

“Team meeting before practice tomorrow,” Coach announced once we got back to the lobby. We all said our good-nights as the players trudged toward the elevators, then off to their rooms, Hollister and Kellan included.

But I stayed on the first floor with the idea of heading to the gift store to find something for Ricky. He liked when I brought him stuff from other cities, and since most of our families were only watching the first round of the tournament from one of the sports channels that carried college games, he’d love it. Plus, it might help my mood as well—not to mention my urge to text Kellan. He’d been subdued all day, either lost in thought or talking quietly to the assistant coach, so I wasn’t sure what was going through his mind.