Out in the Field (Out in College 4)

We sucked.

I couldn’t concentrate. My mind was whirling with important details like whether I’d remembered to buy condoms and if I’d need any tonight anyway. And did Phoenix really mean “yogurt?” Yuck. I wondered if I could talk him into ice cream instead. Of course, if I didn’t up my game, I probably wouldn’t allow myself to have dessert anyway. That was a self-imposed rule. Sucky games were not celebrated.

See? I was a head case. It wasn’t just me. It was a freaking epidemic. Javi couldn’t agree with any pitch Minsky wanted to throw, which made our already moody pitcher uneasy and overly cautious. He threw marshmallows at the batters and then looked surprised when the ball blasted over his head. But Micah was probably the worst. He missed two easy stops, and the one he caught on the fly could have easily turned into a double play if he hadn’t thrown the ball five feet away from first base. We didn’t hit our stride until the sixth inning.

If we’d been playing a tough team, it would have been a bloodbath. Luckily, the Jaguars sucked too. I didn’t mind going into extra innings usually, but not against these guys. By the bottom of the ninth, we were tied at three apiece. I willed Micah to come through with a double to bring in our runner on third base as I swung my bat on the side. No such luck. He struck out and he wasn’t happy. He looked like he wanted to punch something or someone hard. I couldn’t blame him. We all had bad days, but his was terrible.

I stepped up to the plate and gave myself a quick pep talk. I adjusted my helmet twice, then kicked the side of the plate three times before cocking my bat high in an exaggerated stance. I got back into position to indicate I was ready, and when the pitcher inclined his head in acknowledgment, I knew he’d throw a curveball. Don’t ask me how. Maybe it was the way he leaned toward his left or the set of his shoulders. Either way, I was ready for it. Bam! I hit a line drive with enough firepower to get our runner home.

My team stormed home plate when Castillo came in to break the tie. The second I reached them, I was surrounded too.

“Dude, that was fuckin’ amazing.” Javi smacked my back hard.

Micah greeted me with a fist bump a moment later. “Nice work, man.”

“Were you showing off for your girl?” Javi chided. “I don’t think she’s here, but Sarah is. She’ll tell her all about it.”

I took off the batting helmet and tossed it on the ground outside the dugout. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know what happened last weekend,” Javi singsonged.

I highly doubted it. I rolled my eyes and shoved my hand through my hair distractedly before waving to my parents, who were talking to Christian and Rory in the stands. After I said a quick hello, I was outta there. As much as I loved deliberating the finer points of a game, I had big plans tonight.

“What happened?” Micah asked.

“We set Max up with Sarah’s friend, Sunny. Let’s just say…they ditched us to be alone.” Javi waggled his brows lasciviously before tipping his cap at someone behind me and stepping aside. “I gotta run. I don’t think Coach wants to chat, but I want to get out of here in case he changes his mind.”

“Later,” I called.

I moved into the dugout, slapping high fives along the way. I stuffed my batting gloves into the side pocket of my bag and hefted the strap over my shoulder, then made my way off the field with my head down. I didn’t want to run into our coach either. We were lucky to pull off that win, but I figured the lecture could wait until Monday.

I paused at the chain link fence to pull my cell out and glanced back when I felt someone behind me. Micah.

“You goin’ home?” he asked around a mouthful of bubble gum.

“Not yet. My mom and dad are here. I gotta say hi before I head out.” He stuck close to me when I stepped through the gate, like a piece of toilet paper on the bottom of my cleat. I shot him a curious look. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Hey…who’s the girl?”

I furrowed my brow. “What girl?”

“The girl Javi was talking about. What’s her name again?”

“Sunny. Why?”

“Is her last name Bell?” Micah made a weird face when I nodded. A cross between a grimace and something angry. I didn’t have time for drama. I started to turn away when he didn’t continue but stopped in my tracks a moment later. “I asked her out once. She turned me down. Guess you’re more her type.”

“We just met, dude…and we went to a play. It wasn’t a big deal. You know how Javi likes to talk,” I said.