The Perfect Game (The Perfect Game 1)

“Hello?” I answered, scooting my body from her mattress.

“Hey, Kitten. ” His familiar voice sent chills racing up and down my spine.

“Hi. ” I didn’t protest at the nickname. I was too busy being caught up in the sound of his voice. I never realized how much I’d missed it until it was beaming into my eardrums, the comfortable familiarity forcing nervous energy to ping throughout my insides.

“I have to tell you some stuff,” he started to say and my legs immediately gave out, the words a reminder of the heartache I’d experienced not that long ago.

“What do you possibly have to tell me now, Jack?” I snapped at him, hoping to mask the pain I still carried, as Melissa gave me a thumbs-up of support.

“Chrystle lost the baby. ” His voice relayed the unfathomable information and I fell to the floor, my back sliding against the wall in Melissa’s room.

“What?” My breath hitched and a lone tear rolled down my cheek.

“I mean, she didn’t lose the baby. Well, that’s what she told me, but she was really never pregnant. She lied. ” He paused to take a breath, then let out a sigh. “About everything. ”

“Oh my God, Jack, I’m so sorry. That’s…insane. How’d you find out?”

“I overheard her on the phone telling her best friend how stupid and gullible I was. And that she’d try to get pregnant for real. ” His voice lowered.

“That little bitch. ” The words escaped my lips as my mind drifted back to the night in the parking lot.

“Cass, I left her. I’m annulling the marriage and I got called up tonight. I leave for Arizona in an hour. ” His tone changed and I recognized the joy in his voice.

“Jack. ” I smiled, my eyes meeting Melissa’s. “That’s incredible! Congratulations. ”

“Thank you. But, Cassie?” He paused. “I’m really sorry. I should have listened to you. I never should have married her. ”

“You didn’t know she was lying, Jack. And you were just trying to do the right thing…no matter how misguided. Your heart was in the right place. I was just devastated that it wasn’t with me. ”

His breath whooshed over the phone line. “My heart has always been with you. Since the day you first rolled your gorgeous green eyes at me. You’ve always had my heart. I’m the one whose been lost without it. ”

His words were everything I wanted to hear and didn’t. We’d come so far from where we once were. So much damage had been done and while I still loved him, I was scared to give my heart to him again…at least not easily. “I’ve had to learn how to live without you. ”

“And how’s that working out for you?” he asked with a slight laugh.

“Not that great,” I reluctantly admitted.

“Yeah, it didn’t really work out for me either. ”

“It sure seemed to. ” I wondered if his words meant what I thought they did.

“I never stopped loving you. I know I hurt you…shit. ” He stopped as a loudspeaker echoed in the background. “I have to go. I really want to finish this conversation, okay?”

“Sure,” I answered, knowing that eventually I’d need to tell him I was leaving.

*****

Left tickets for you and Melissa at Will Call. Please come. I really want to see you.

“Are you still staring at that text?” Melissa teased.

I rushed to look away from the screen and into Melissa’s eyes. “Not anymore. ” I smiled.

“I feel like I’m having déja vu,” she announced with a sigh.

“Why’s that?” I rolled my eyes.

“Because I’m begging you to come to Jack’s baseball game and you won’t. Cassie, it’s his major league debut! At Dodger Stadium! You have to come to that!” She pleaded with me, her eyes wide.