The Other Game

by J. Sterling

  The stadium erupted with enthusiastic noise. Every Friday night home game started out the same way with ear-piercing shouts, cheers, and screaming girls as Jack walked toward the strip of white rubber on the tall dirt mound. He kicked at the dirt in front of the pitching mound, adjusting it to his liking before he stood tall on top of it. After he warmed up with a handful of practice pitches to the catcher, the game officially started.

  The first pitch flew by in a rush, and I sensed that he was on tonight. The sound of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt was so loud, it echoed against the backstop. The batter stepped out from the batter’s box and looked nervously at his coach before stepping back in. Two more pitches screamed by, and that was out number one of the night.

  “Strike three! You’re out!” the umpire shouted, and the crowd cheered loudly.

  Jack was in the zone.

  The rest of the game played out much like the first inning. When it was all said and done, Jack had pitched the entire game, giving up only three hits and one run.

  Afterward, Coach pulled Jack aside and escorted him over to the press area where he was besieged by reporters, scouts, and fans. This was the usual post-game wrap-up, and it could take up to an hour or longer.

  Gran, Gramps, and I took our time leaving our seats, shuffling behind the rest of the crowd as they filed out. I looked over to where Melissa had been sitting, but her seat was empty.

  My stomach growled, reminding me of Gran’s lasagna waiting for us.

  I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Gran, we can start eating before Jack gets home, right?”

  She looked back at me like she wanted to smack me upside the head, and I was thankful when she didn’t. After glancing at the delicate gold watch on her wrist, she said, “Only because it’s already ten. And I’m starving.”

  • • •

  When Jack walked through the door an hour later, we all shouted our greetings at him from the kitchen table.

  “Thank God for lasagna and you, Gran,” he said as he came into the kitchen and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

  “Great game tonight, bro.” I put my fist in the air, and he tapped it with his before grabbing a plate.

  “Thanks. I felt really good.” He shot me a quick smile.

  “You looked better than good.”

  “You threw so well tonight, Jack. I’m really proud of you,” Gran said with a smile before giving him a hug. “Now, eat.”

  “I’m starving.” Jack dropped into his seat at the table and piled his plate with more lasagna than a normal person should be able to consume in one sitting.

  Since the rest of us had already finished eating, Gran placed her hands on the table and slowly lifted from her chair. “I’m going to bed. You boys clean up, will you?” she asked as she headed toward their bedroom.

  “Of course. Thanks again, Gran,” Jack called out, and I knew damn well he’d make me clean up while he watched. Supervised, as he called it.

  “I’d better go with her,” Gramps said with a wicked grin, and then clamped a hand on Jack’s shoulder before shuffling out behind her, and I tried not to think about them being an actual married couple who did married-couple things.

  Shaking my head to rid myself of any gross thoughts about my grandparents, I swallowed another bite and waved a finger in the air toward Jack. “You know who was there tonight?” I asked, hoping to surprise him.

  “I saw,” he said with a smirk.

  “You saw?” That shocked me. Jack never saw anyone. He never looked in the stands, never paid attention to anything or anyone when he was pitching.

  “I saw,” he repeated matter-of-factly.

  “When the hell did you see? You never see,” I whisper-shouted, not wanting to disturb Gran and Gramps, but still not believing what I was hearing.

  “At the end of the game. I looked right at her.”

  “Shut the hell up.”

  “I know.” He shrugged. “I never do that shit. But she makes me crazy.”

  I couldn’t stop the smile that crept over my face. “I’m well aware. You turn into a complete idiot around her. But it’s fun to watch.”

  Jack forked a pile of lasagna and threatened to toss it at me, but I shook my head in warning. “You wouldn’t do that after all Gran’s hard work, would you?”

  He shoved the food into his mouth instead. “She wants me.”

  “Who, Gran? Gross, man.”

  “Not Gran, asshole. Melissa’s best friend. She wants me.”

  “Melissa’s best friend? Don’t you know her name?”

  “No. She’s never told me. I keep calling her Kitten and it pisses her off, which I think is funny. I like getting a rise out of her.”

  He munched on a crunchy piece of garlic bread, sending crumbs all over the table that I knew I’d have to clean up later.

  Frowning at him, I said, “I noticed. I think she secretly likes it. And her name’s Cassie.”

  “No!” He threw the rest of his bread at me. “Why’d you tell me that? Now I’m going to have to pretend like I don’t know her name so I can keep calling her Kitten and pissing her off. Damn it, Dean.”

  Realizing he’d lost his bread, he groaned. “Give me my bread back.”

  I chucked it at him. Jack caught it and shoved it in his mouth.

  “Anyway, Kitten came to my game tonight. And she brought her camera. I saw her taking pictures of me.”

  My jaw dropped open slightly. “You really were paying attention to her tonight. I’m shocked.”

  “You and me both,” he said with a shrug.

  “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  “Get her to go out with me, of course,” he said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

  “And what if she says no? She’s pretty good at blowing you off.”

  “I won’t let her.”

  “You won’t let her say no? How the hell are you going to manage that?”

  Jack pointed his empty fork at me. “Don’t you worry, little brother. I’ve got this.”

  I had no idea what he meant, but I couldn’t wait to watch and learn.

  He Did It

  I started to feel like I spent more time in the pizza restaurant at the student union than I did in my classes. But sitting at a table with Melissa made it all worth it.

  The girl was beyond adorable, so petite and feisty with those stunning blue eyes that drove me wild. She was funny and sassy, and I liked being around her. Melissa made things fun. The fact that she never asked me about Jack, which I secretly loved more than I should, was an added bonus.

  You know how when you meet a person who sparks something inside you? That was how I felt around Melissa. She made me feel more alive, and not for any other reason other than simply being herself.

  “Did you have fun at the game last night?” I asked.

  “How’d you know I was at the game?” Amusement danced in her eyes, replacing her initial surprise.

  “I saw you. Nice seats,” I teased, remembering how close they were to the dugout.

  She laughed. “I did that on purpose to torture Cassie. I wanted to embarrass her.”

  “Did you?”

  “Did I what?”

  “Did you embarrass her?”

  She clasped her hands together in front of her face and hid her adorable smile. “Oh my gosh, yes. She was mortified. It was awesome.”

  “Anyone ever told you that you’re a crappy best friend?”

  “Hey!” She slapped her hand on the table. “You take that back. I’m a great best friend. I wanted her to see that Jackass, the baseball player, was awesome. Nothing like Jackass, the stupid guy on campus.”

  I laughed again at the way she talked about my brother. Her clear-eyed impression of Jack was refreshing. “What did she think?”

  “She was impressed. Although she’d never admit it.”

  Melissa glanced up, and I followed her line of sight to see Cassie heading our way. She tossed her bag on top of the table befo
re sitting down.

  “Hey, Dean.” She smiled at me, and when I smiled back, she glanced over my shoulder and her smile died.

  “Thought you weren’t coming to my game?”

  Jack surprised us all by sliding into the seat next to Cassie. I had to chuckle a little inside as she pretended not to enjoy that attention from him.

  “My roommate threatened to set me on fire if I didn’t.” She tried to sound nonchalant as she scooted her chair away from Jack’s.

  “Well, at least now I know how to get you to go out with me.”

  “I’m not going out with you.” Cassie frowned before shooting both Melissa and me a desperate look. Save me, it said.

  “At least give me your number then,” Jack said, as confident as ever.

  “No thanks.”

  “Why not?”

  “‘Cause I don’t want to.”

  “Aw, come on, Kitten,” Jack said, and I almost lost it, thinking back to our conversation from last night.

  “Stop calling me that!” She stood up from the table before abruptly grabbing her things. “I’ll see you later,” she announced, her gaze focused solely on Melissa. Then she bolted from the student union with my brother hot on her heels.

  “Damn, I almost want to follow them,” I admitted.

  “Me too. But I’ll make Cassie tell me everything later. I’m sure Jack will tell you too.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not as fun as seeing it live and in person.” I grinned, and Melissa nodded in agreement before shooting up from her chair.

  “Where are you going?”

  She grabbed my sleeve and pulled me up by it. “Come on. I have to see this.”

  She didn’t let go of her grip on my arm until we were outside, but we saw no sign of either Cassie or Jack. It wasn’t until I scanned the campus and noticed a small gathering in the distance.

  I pointed. “That has to be them over there. See that little crowd?”

  Melissa looked up at me, hands on her hips. “Are you joking? You think I can see anything from down here?”

  I squatted to her level and realized that she couldn’t see shit. “Guess not. Want me to put you on my shoulders? Then you’ll be the tallest person here.” I was half joking, but if she wanted me to, I’d gladly hoist her up. She couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet.

  “No thanks. I like missing everything.” She laughed as she walked in the direction I’d pointed. “Does it ever annoy you the amount of attention he gets?”

  “Only every day.”

  “Because he’s a jerk?” she asked, her short but shapely legs working double-time to keep up with my regular pace as we headed in the direction of the crowd.

  “No. He’s not a jerk. It annoys me because he can do anything he wants and everyone eats it up. Girls, I mean. I just don’t understand how instead of hating him, they all worship him. It’s not like he’s boyfriend material or anything.”

  Melissa nodded. “Exactly! That’s what I don’t get either, but I’ve stopped trying to figure it out because everything about Jack Fucking Carter gives me a headache. Except this stuff with Cassie. Because I’ve never seen him act like this before.”

  “Me either,” I admitted as we caught up to the small group of people.

  “Really?” She shot me a look.

  “Swear.”

  “I enjoy my dates to be disease-free,” Cassie shouted, drawing our attention.

  “As do I,” my brother shot back, giving a head nod to someone who walked by.

  Cassie belted out a laugh. “Right. I’ve heard you’re not really particular about who you date.”

  He took a step closer and said, “Well, you heard wrong then.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Actually I heard you don’t date at all. You just sleep with any girl who bats her fake eyelashes in your direction.”

  “Ooh,” Melissa whispered at me, and squeezed my arm.

  “I really need to meet your sources,” my brother said with a grin.

  Cassie mumbled something under her breath before turning her back to Jack and storming away. The second I thought it might be over, he took off after her, clearly intent on winning this battle.

  I glanced at Melissa once they disappeared inside the building.

  She grabbed my hand, pulling me along with her. “We’ve come this far,” she said as she opened the doors and stepped inside.

  I had no clue where Jack and Cassie had gone until I heard my brother’s voice again coming from a nearby classroom.

  “Don’t make me beg, Kitten. Don’t make me beg in front of all these people. It’s embarrassing.”

  Melissa and I ran down the hallway and stood in the classroom’s open doorway like we were watching a live play.

  “I’ll go out with you, Jack,” some other girl shouted from her seat, and Melissa rolled her eyes at me.

  “Typical,” she whispered.

  “Perfect! I’m sure you two will have a great time together.” Cassie dropped into her seat and tried to bury her head.

  Jack used the moment to his advantage and crouched next to her, whispering something none of us could hear.

  “Ooh, he’s good,” Melissa cooed, and I wondered what exactly he was saying to Cassie.

  “What are you doing? Get out of here,” Cassie tried to whisper back, but the pitch of her voice carried.

  Jack said something else to Cassie, and when we couldn’t make it out, Melissa stomped a foot in irritation. “I want to hear, dang it.”

  “Promise you I’ll think about going out with the school’s biggest player?” Cassie said as Jack knelt next to her, his face so close to hers I thought she might hit him. “Oh, sure, I’ll think about it.”

  “Promise me,” he demanded, his insistence unrelenting.

  Blinking rapidly, Cassie glanced around the room before looking at Jack. “Fine. I promise I’ll think about it. Will you go away now?”

  A wide grin appeared on Jack’s face as he stood up without another word and walked out of the classroom.

  “Told you,” he said as he passed me, not slowing his pace.

  “She said she’d think about it,” I yelled as I caught up to him.

  “She’ll go, just watch. Won’t she, Meli?” Jack said over his shoulder.

  “Probably,” Melissa said from behind us, hurrying to catch up.

  We headed outside and followed Jack toward a cement bench, where he pulled his baseball hat even lower over his eyes. Then he sat down and looked up at us, his eyes all but hidden.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, expecting him to get up and continue walking back to the student union with us.

  “Waiting.”

  “For what?”

  “Her class to end. I’m going to ask her out in front of everyone. She won’t be able to say no then,” Jack said with a big grin.

  “Make sure you show those.” Melissa pointed at the pair of dimples on his face, and his grin only widened.

  “I knew you secretly liked me. But I know you like him more.” Jack nodded toward me, and Melissa scowled.

  “Don’t listen to him.” I threw my arm around her shoulder and steered her back toward the student union. “See you at home, brother.”

  “‘Bye, you two lovebirds.”

  “You’re so little.” I looked down at Melissa and smiled, wishing for once that I’d been born with at least one dimple for her to admire.

  She scowled again. “I’m not that little.”

  But she was. I was six feet tall, and she might hit five feet if she stood on tiptoe. I towered over her, and I loved the manly feeling it gave it me.

  “Do you have any more classes today?” I asked.

  “Nope. You?”

  “Just one.”

  “Sucks.”

  “Only because it’s not the class I have with you,” I said with a smile, and she swatted my shoulder.

  “Dean Carter, did you just feed me a line?”

  I chuckled and stopped walking. “No. Did it sound l
ike a line?”

  “Yes.” Melissa smiled, but kept walking.

  I watched as her perfect little butt moved with each step she took, her entire body sashaying like it couldn’t help it. She stopped and turned around to catch me staring.

  “What are you looking at?”

  Terrified that she might think I was some sort of pig like my brother, I practically stuttered. “Uh, nothing.”

  “Uh-huh.” She waited as I hurried to catch up to her. “So, do you want to maybe study together sometime?”

  I cheered inside my head, and had to stop myself from throwing my fist in the air and doing a victory dance.

  “Definitely. I could use the help,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. I knew damn well that I was doing perfectly fine in that class, but if she thought I needed help, she wouldn’t bail on me.

  “Okay, good. I always do better if I have a study partner.”

  My mind whirled at her words. How many study partners had she had? How could I convince her to only study with me?

  I could have sworn that before Jack’s antics with her roommate that Melissa and I were on track toward something. I couldn’t help but want us to get back on that road, wherever it was leading.

  “Can I get your number?” I asked while I still had the nerve.

  “Oh yeah, of course.” She recited her phone number while I tapped it into my phone. “Send me a text so I have yours too.”

  I did as she asked.

  Dean: Hi. It’s me. You know, Dean. The other Carter.

  When her phone pinged and she read the text, she laughed. “Got it. I’ll just put you in here as the Other Carter.”

  “Or the only Carter you like,” I suggested with a smirk, and she smiled back.

  “That’d work too.”

  “All right. I’ll talk to you later. You know, to set up studying and stuff,” I said, stumbling all over my damn words.

  “‘Bye, Dean.” Melissa laughed as she sashayed away.

  • • •

  When Jack walked through the front door that afternoon, I shot out of my room and walked into his, and plopped onto his bed to wait for him.

  He walked in and tossed his bag on the floor. “What are you doing in here?”