Dare You to Fall for the Catcher

by Lacy Andersen

  “Jay-bear!” A woman with a short, blonde pixie cut and a bright neon green t-shirt with the number twelve sewn on it came rushing up to the back of the dugout. “Are you okay? How’s the arm?”

  “I’m fine, Mom.” Jayden tucked his chin so I couldn’t see much of his face, but I could’ve sworn that the back of his neck was reddening against the white collar of his uniform. “You don’t have to make a scene.”

  A grin worked its way onto my face as Jayden’s mom continued to fuss over him, despite his protests. Jay-bear? That was officially my favorite nickname of all time. And way more humiliating than my full name.

  “I just had to be sure you didn’t break anything,” she said, her worried face nearly plastered to the fence. “I was having major flashbacks to when your brother broke his leg sliding into home base. That injury almost ended his baseball career.”

  “Nothing’s broken and I’m nearly back to normal,” he said, finally lifting his head to give me a look that begged me to intervene. “Right, Mandy?”

  “Yeah, totally.” I held up a ball of gauze. “No broken bones here. Just a scrape.”

  The grateful expression he shot me made my insides melt a little.

  “Good.” Jayden’s mom sighed with relief. “If anything changes, let me know. I’d better get back. I left my box of popcorn with your dad and if I don’t stop him, he’ll eat the whole thing. You know how he is around salty snacks. Thank you for taking care of my baby, Mandy.”

  She rushed off and I couldn’t hold in my laughter any longer. As soon as she was out of earshot, I threw my head back and giggled.

  “Jay-bear?” My gaze met with his. “Seriously?”

  Indignation rolled off of him and there was a slightly pink tint to his cheeks. “She’s been calling me that since I was a baby. I can’t break her from the habit. It’s not worth the effort.”

  I laughed again, thoroughly enjoying the way the tips of his ears turned red. The baseball uniform was one thing, but a blushing Jayden was somehow even more attractive. As he tried and failed to shoot me an unamused scowl, I felt something inside of me move toward him, as if a string were attached to my organs.

  The sudden and unexpected sensation made the laughter die inside my throat. I clamped my mouth shut and bent down to cover the strangled noises I was making by adding another layer of gauze to his arm.

  That was weird. Apparently, I’d inhaled too many of the fumes from the alcohol wipes.

  “So...” I needed a topic—anything to distract me from the shapely muscular arm I was currently wrapping. “Where’s your brother at now?”

  His body tensed at my question. “What?”

  I lifted my chin just enough to look him in the eyes. “Your brother? Your mom said he broke his leg. Did he go on to play baseball in college?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He relaxed slightly, but his expression was guarded. “Um, Ricky played at State for a year, but decided it wasn’t for him.”

  I wasn’t sure why talking about his brother was bringing out this weird, stiff side of Jayden. Maybe he didn’t like talking about his family. Some people were kind of private about that stuff.

  “Wow, impressive. I’ve heard they have a really good team. Baseball must run in the family for you guys.”

  “Hopefully, it’s the only thing that runs in our family,” he said in a low, dangerous tone as he stared down at his wrapped arm and flexed it.

  I sat up straight, curious about what he’d meant by that cryptic statement. It sounded serious. But by the time Jayden finished checking out his arm and looked up at me, the tension was gone from his face and the cocky half-grin was back.

  “Thanks, Amanda. You’re pretty good at that. They just might let me keep my arm now.”

  “Anytime, Jay-bear.”

  I snorted with laughter at the pained grimace that passed over his face. But as soon as our eyes met again, the silliness abruptly ended. Jayden was looking at me with an expression that contained a flicker of heat hot enough to set the leftover gauze in my hands on fire. My throat thickened and my head went fuzzy. I felt that tug again, right below my ribcage.

  The slight parting of his lips was all it took to redirect my attention to them. I knew from experience how soft those lips could be. Longing swelled up inside me in a way that I wasn’t prepared for. I bit my bottom lip and dared to flick my eyes up to his. What I saw there made the longing all the stronger. He watched my mouth so intensely that it caused my cheeks to heat.

  “Jayden...?” I wasn’t sure what I was trying to say, but he tore his gaze away from my mouth just long enough to glance up at my eyes.

  “Yeah?” he asked gruffly.

  “I...” My heart was pounding like a gong. “You—”

  The metal ting of a baseball against a bat rang out and the dugout broke into a frenzy. We both looked over to see Lawrence run over home plate. The crowds cheered as the scoreboard gave a point to the home team.

  I shook my head and snapped the first aid kit shut. Whatever spell had been cast over me had been broken. The fact that I’d just been obsessing over Jayden Paul’s perfectly shaped mouth was embarrassing. Thank goodness Audrey wasn’t here to see me blushing. I avoided Jayden’s gaze, even as he gently placed a hand on my upper arm, causing tingles to burst along my skin.

  “Thanks for putting me back together, Mandy.”

  He dropped his hand, stood, and began walking toward the front of the dugout, leaving me to stare in shock at his retreating back.

  I’d wanted a distraction to keep me from missing track, but this was definitely not what I’d had in mind.

  Jayden Paul was not kissable.

  Not for me.

  I couldn’t forget that.

  Chapter Ten

  The diner was always bustling on a Saturday morning. Brunch was my mom’s specialty. But without a manager and with one of the waitresses calling in sick, today was especially crazy.

  “I can’t thank you enough for filling in, kiddo.” Mom peered through the kitchen window as she plopped a steaming hot dish of apple huckleberry waffles, crispy hash browns, and scrambled eggs on the bar. Blonde wisps of hair fell into her flushed and sweaty face.

  “Ditto, sweetheart.” Dad stood behind me, checking out a customer on the cash register. His dark blond hair was combed neatly to one side and held in place with some kind of product. He smiled over his shoulder at me. “Thanks for taking some of the load off. Once we get a new manager in here, things will be back to normal. I promise.”

  “No worries.” I put the newest order of food up on the receipt reel. “I don’t mind.”

  I really didn’t mind. It was kind of nice to have something else to take my mind off of track and school. But most of all—to take my mind off of Jayden and whatever it was that had passed between us at the game yesterday.

  “By the way, how’s your ankle holding up?” Mom asked, her concerned gaze moving to my thick plastic boot.

  “It’s fine,” I said with a shrug. It had been a little sore this morning, but nothing I couldn’t work through. “I’m just glad I have the boot now so I can help you guys out.”

  The thankful smile Mom gave me was worth any amount of time I spent filling in at the restaurant. They didn’t ask me to do it very often. My parents had always been very big about keeping family and business as separated as possible, especially when it came to us kids.

  They didn’t want to put any of the pressure of running it on our shoulders, but we’d always been welcome in the diner. There was a red vinyl-covered booth over in the corner that had been our designated spot since we were tiny kids, where we had unlimited soda fountain refills and all the waffles we could eat.

  Charlotte sat there now, her math book and notes spread open on the table and her brow wrinkled in frustration as she stared at it. I grabbed the plate Mom had just dropped off and headed in the direction of the booth, stopping briefly to snag some silverware and add a dollop of whipped cream to the waffle. Charlotte was under the solemn opini
on that a waffle wasn’t a waffle until it had whipped cream.

  “Brunch is served,” I announced, sliding into the booth across from her. My customers were all good at the moment and I could use a little break off the ankle. Now seemed as good of a time as ever to corner Charlotte. “I don’t know how Mom does it, but everyone is raging about this new waffle flavor. You’ve got to try it.”

  She cupped her face with her hands and glared at the textbook. “Not now. I think if I stare hard enough at my homework, it’ll combust and I’ll never have to think about tangent functions again.”

  I smiled sympathetically at her. Although I might have been better at math, I knew what it was like to struggle in class. I didn’t have Trina’s brains or Audrey’s drive to do well in school. The only reason I was so devoted was because a failing grade would’ve kept me off the track during the season.

  “Here, at least take a bite.” I put the plate on the book, directly in front of her nose. “Maybe a break will help revive your dying brain cells.”

  Her low sigh hinted at surrender and she tore off a piece of the waffle, dipping it into the cream before stuffing it in her mouth. The satisfied moan she made had me laughing.

  “Told you it was good.”

  “How does she do it?” Her blue eyes darted toward the kitchen where the top of Mom’s head showed in the window. “And will I ever find anything I’m as good at?”

  I snatched a bite of her hash browns and shoved them in my mouth. “Sure, you will. We all find what we’re good at eventually.”

  “Easy for you to say.” She fiddled with the fork and then chewed on her bottom lip. “You’re already great at running and track. I’ve got nothing and no one.”

  The hash browns seemed to lose their taste as I watched Charlotte stuff another piece of waffle in her mouth, a sad glint in her eyes. If what Trina had said was right, Charlotte was mourning a lot more than the fact that she wasn’t cut out for Top Chef. I’d already offered to help my parents out with the restaurant today, but maybe I could solve two problems for them in one day.

  “Hey, Sis, can I ask you a question?” I pressed my lips firmly together and waited for her to answer.

  She glanced up at me with a noncommittal expression. “Sure.”

  “How are you doing in the friends category?”

  Her demeanor changed from wilting flower to stiff and suspicious. “I don’t know. Fine, I guess. Why? Is this about Sarah, again?”

  “No.” I grimaced and tightened my pony tail. “And yes. I mean, since Hunter moved away, have you been able to find some new friends at school?”

  Grief flashed in her eyes so quickly I nearly missed it. It was replaced by a cool, unengaged frown as she leaned back in her booth. “Duh. I’m not a loser. I’ve got friends.”

  “I know you’re not a loser.” I swallowed to keep the frustration out of my voice. Why was everything a battle with her? I was just trying to help. “I want to make sure you’re doing okay. I love you and I want the world for you, baby sis.”

  Her chin quivered as uncertainty washed over her face. She grabbed the paper napkin from beside her plate and crushed it into a ball. Her eyes darted across the diner to where Mom and Dad stood together bent over a stack of papers, which probably included resumes for their next manager. I noticed Charlotte’s eyes pause longer on Mom, the tell-tale sign of worry appearing in the hard lines around her mouth. I knew that she worried about Mom, too. We both did.

  “I’m fine, really,” she said, bringing her gaze back to mine. “I’ve been hanging out with some new kids. Sarah introduced me to a couple girls from the cheerleading team.”

  I made a face and she rolled her eyes.

  “They’re not all bad, I swear. I just need to find my person. It’s not easy finding a new best friend, you know?”

  I could understand that. Replacing Audrey and Trina would’ve been impossible. They were the only ones who kept me sane during this entire injury business. Without them, I’d be as lost as Charlotte.

  “I get it,” I told her, spreading my hands flat on the table in front of me. “I really do. I want you to find your person as soon as possible. I want you to be happy.”

  She pulled her lips back from her teeth in a hopeful expression and her eyes widened. “Does that mean I can go to a party with Sarah next Saturday without you going all postal on me? It’s at Savannah’s house and it’s super exclusive. If I miss this, I’ll never make any new friends.”

  Groaning, I buried my head in my hands. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage a friendship with Sarah, but chaining my little sister to her bedroom probably wasn’t the best way to help her make friends. Plus, I’d officially decided to take this crisis on to help my parents. There was only one thing I could do and I was officially going to hate it.

  “Fine, you can go.” I held up my finger as she squeaked with excitement. “But I have two conditions.”

  “Shoot,” she said, bouncing on the bench.

  “One: you get all of your overdue math homework turned in this week.”

  She nodded until I was afraid her head was going to pop off. “Done.”

  “And two: I get to drop you off and pick you up from the party.”

  It might not have been ideal, but at least I would know that my sister was safe. I’d been to Savannah’s parties before. They didn’t typically get too crazy, but I didn’t trust that Sarah. This was the best solution.

  Charlotte slumped in her booth, her eyebrows pulled low over her eyes in a grumpy expression. “Are you serious? I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Maybe not.” I shrugged as I slid out of the booth. “But that’s your only option. Take it or leave it.”

  It only took me two steps toward the kitchen for Charlotte to release a heavy sigh behind me. “Fine. It’s a deal.”

  I didn’t let her see my victorious smile.

  Everything was starting to feel under my control again. Only two weeks left of this boot. I’d be back on the track. My sister would find the friends she needed.

  And I would officially be done with everything baseball-related.

  Including a certain boy with blue eyes.

  Chapter Eleven

  I’d never hated a fashion item so much as that boot. And that was saying something, coming from the girl who refused to wear Uggs or anything with a heel over four inches. Apparently, I’d been kidding myself when I thought I had an ounce of control in this life—and that black boot served as a reminder of my failures.

  It was only Wednesday, but it felt like this week had dragged on to become a month. It hadn’t been so bad, until my physical therapist chewed me out this morning for working two waitressing shifts this past weekend at the diner. My ankle recovery was behind schedule. Everything I was doing was only making things worse.

  Story of my life.

  The only thing that had a chance to break me out of this terrible mood was the sound of Adele crooning passionately over the Rock Valley High baseball diamond. I sat hiding in the tiny announcer’s booth, elbows resting on the table with the sound system and controls to the scoreboard, my troubled gaze blurring as I watched the baseball team practice below.

  A nagging voice inside me was telling me to be better, to show off the work ethic Coach Padilla had talked about, but I just didn’t have it in me at the moment. Besides, that work ethic was what had put me in this position to begin with. So instead, I was sulking.

  The hesitant sound of footsteps coming up the staircase to the announcer’s booth was my only warning of incoming company. I didn’t bother turning around to see who it was. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t until Jayden slid into the seat beside me did my traitorous heart do a little skip.

  “Um...hey, Amanda?”

  I looked over at him, not feeling energized enough to spar. “Yeah?”

  His eyebrows were drawn together and he stared down at a black water bottle in his hands, as if this were a painful question. “The guys are wondering if you could play something o
ther than Adele? It’s kind of putting a bummer on practice.”

  I sighed and reached over to shut the sound system off. Silence was preferable to something peppy. “Better?”

  “Yeah.”

  He licked his lips and sighed, staring out the observation window at the guys practicing their swings with plastic Wiffle balls. We sat in silence for a minute as I tried to get up the motivation to go check on the inventory of the concession stand, but misery won out and I remained glued to my seat.

  “Are you okay?” Jayden asked suddenly, shifting in his seat to look at me.

  I rubbed the back of my neck and gave him a half-hearted smile. “Fine. Why?”

  He squirmed a bit, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I don’t know. I just thought I should check. I mean, isn’t blasting Adele like the universal female sign that something’s up?”

  I snorted and turned toward him. “Says who?”

  He scrunched up his face in thought. “I...I don’t know. Everyone?”

  “Is that just what guys think?” I laughed. “Or do you have a sister that blasts Adele when she’s hormonal?”

  He frowned. “No, it’s just me and my brother. No hormonal sisters.”

  “Right.” I groaned and leaned back in my chair. “Fine. Maybe something’s up. But I’ll deal with it. I’m sorry if my female hormones disrupted your practice.”

  “Screw practice,” he said forcefully. I could feel him studying the side of my face. “What’s wrong? Maybe I can help. There’s more to me than just my good looks, you know.”

  I snorted again, but I couldn’t help the small smile that worked its way onto my lips. There he went, surprising me again. It was really hard to convince myself that my attraction to Jayden during the game last week was just a fleeting jumble of emotions when he was being so uncharacteristically sweet. I kept my eyes glued to the observation window, refusing to give myself the pleasure of staring at his good looks.

  “I don’t think anyone can help,” I said. “Not unless you can reschedule the Hawarden track meet this weekend. It’s the best one of the season and I’m missing it. Oh, and while you’re at it, heal my ankle. Because, according to my PT, it’s not getting any better. Better yet, I might have made it worse. So there, that’s why I needed a little Adele in my life. Aren’t you glad you asked?”