“No. Not at all.” She drops the end of the bat to the ground and drags herself to me. “It’s just that the ball is too fast.”
“Too fast, huh?” I lowered the pitching speed to 40. It’s a miracle the ball is even making it over the plate at that rate. Stray tendrils of her hair dangle around her face, and I have to sit on my hands to keep from sweeping them behind her ear. “When you hear the ball being released, start your swing and then keep going, even after you make contact.”
“What if the ball hits me?”
“It won’t.” I get to my feet and position myself in the batter’s box. “This is a machine so it’ll pitch the same ball over and over unless you tell it differently. There’s no wild human here.”
She doesn’t look convinced. Her not liking baseball is not something I’d accounted for. I love baseball. My brother loves baseball. Even my mom loves it. Everyone I know lives for this game, but GG looks at the bat like it’s about to turn into a snake. I take it from her, turn the pitch speed up to one hundred, and motion for her to get behind the net. When she’s out of harm’s way, I step on the start button, and the ball machine whizzes to life. Chicks love the long ball, they say, but I guess they meant from a distance.
“So you’re not a fan of the game, huh?” I ask as I ready for the next pitch.
“I’ve never seen one.”
I’m so surprised that I forget a hundred mile per hour pitch is coming my way until it’s almost too late. I jump back, and GG gives a little squeak.
“You said that you couldn’t be hit,” she accuses.
“I forgot what I was doing. What do you mean you’ve never seen a baseball game before?”
“I’ve never seen any game.” She gives me a wide-eyed look of chagrin. “Not baseball or football or hockey ball.”
“Hockey ball?” I’m dumbfounded.
“The one with the ice skates.” She makes a motion with her hands which I think is to mimic skates moving across ice.
“It’s just hockey,” I correct. “No ball. They use a puck.”
“Oh.” Her hands go up again. “See? I don’t know anything.”
“Baseball’s the best sport,” I say but inside my mind is spinning. I’ve never heard of anyone so sheltered. The reports about her lack of test-taking make a tiny bit of sense if she’s been homeschooled this whole time. I heard that home-schooled kids are mad smart because they don’t watch TV and shit like that. But all of this reinforces my thinking that she’s an innocent that needs protection. I don’t have time in my life for this, but I can’t see myself walking away either.
Chapter Fourteen
Georgia
“I’ve been looking all over for you.” Tricia drops down in the seat across from mine in the library. “You okay?” She lifts a brow, studying me. I chew on my bottom lip, not wanting to lie to her. “Come on, spill it,” she pushes.
“I hung out with Colt last night.” Her face shows surprise, but she doesn't look mad.
I thought he and I were both making sure our paths didn’t cross again after I’d gone off on him at the mall, basically calling him a bully. I hadn’t heard a peep from him since. Then out of nowhere when I was leaving school he popped up and bulldozed me into hanging out with him. I have no clue how he freaking does that to me. Or why, for that matter. That boy is giving me whiplash.
“What happened?” I give her the Cliff’s Notes version. “Then he just dropped you off? No kiss or can I get your number?”
“He took my number,” I admit. “But no kiss.” At least that’s not a lie. We hadn’t kissed. I thought for a moment he might try when his eyes dropped to my mouth, but I bolted out of the car before anything could happen. He’d been MIA since our last kiss.
“He’s been acting so strange. I think he’s really into you. That’s the only explanation I can come up with.” I shake my head. “It’s no coincidence that he started acting weird after he laid eyes on you.”
“No. That can’t be it, and besides, you’re into him.” I hate the thought of her and Colt being together, but I also hate the thought of hurting anyone. I’d do almost anything to not hurt anyone. I never want her to feel as though I betrayed her. She’s my first real friend, and I don’t want a guy coming between us.
“It’s a stupid crush, and he’s not even interested in me.” She shrugs her shoulders, playing it off like it’s no big deal. I’m not sure what to make of it. “I mean he’s never dated before so he must be really into you if he took you out.”