The Other Game

by J. Sterling

  “Jesus, Jack.” I rubbed my hand across my forehead. “You sleep with a guy’s girlfriend, and then you hit him?”

  “Yeah, and I couldn’t stop hitting him, but only because of what he said to Cassie. But before that, everything was great. And after that it was great too.”

  “Cassie wasn’t pissed? She seems like the kind of girl to get pissed over something like that.”

  Jack nodded. “I think under normal circumstances she might have been. But this wasn’t normal. He was a dick. She didn’t say so, but I think she was happy I hit him.”

  “How’s your hand?” I glanced at his left arm. His throwing arm.

  “Hurts like hell. But I hit him with the right, so it’s all good.”

  “I saw you guys come home,” I said with a smile of my own, and he cocked his head to the side.

  “What?” He gasped. “Were you with Melissa while I was out with Cassie?”

  “Yeah, but nothing happened. I can’t tell if she’s into me or not,” I said, hoping he’d have some insight.

  “I can ask Cassie, but Melissa seems stubborn. Like she might be a tough nut to crack, little brother.”

  “You might be right. Good thing I’m a patient guy. Cassie’s cool, though?”

  Jack breathed out a long breath, and then smiled. “She’s beyond cool. She’s so normal. She doesn’t care about the baseball aspect at all. I mean, she cares, but only because I do. She doesn’t see me the way other girls do, you know? She’s smart and opinionated and gorgeous. She has all these rules that she lives by, and I’m going to prove to her that I can live by them too.”

  “Wait, wait, wait.” I put my hand up to stop his Cassie-filled love rant. “Rules? What kind of rules?”

  “Oh, just these four like, I don’t know, rules. Don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t say things you don’t mean, and don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he said, rattling them off as if he’d memorized them for a test.

  I was lost. “And you’re supposed to prove them all to her?”

  “No. I mean, well, yeah. She has a fucked-up relationship with her dad, and so I think that’s where they came from. Shouldn’t be that hard; they’re pretty normal requests for any person.”

  “You’re right. I’ve just never met a girl who had rules before.”

  Jack shrugged and his face turned serious. “I told her about Mom and Dad.”

  My jaw fell open. “Wow. Really?”

  We rarely ever told anyone about our parents, especially girls. Jack and I had worked hard to keep our personal life private, at least when it came to our childhood. What had happened to us in our past wasn’t something we enjoyed sharing. Of course, people asked questions about why we lived with our grandparents, but we avoided those mostly, only offering bits and pieces of the truth.

  “Yeah. I mean, I hadn’t meant to, but the timing and the conversation just evolved and . . . I don’t know.” He pulled at his hair. “It just felt right. Are you upset that I told her? It involves you too.”

  “No, I’m not upset. I trust your judgment.” And I did. If Jack wanted to confess to Cassie about how our parents ditched us when we were kids, who was I to stop him?

  “Do you think it was a mistake to tell her?” he asked.

  “Do you?”

  “No,” he answered without hesitating. “I wanted to. It felt good to talk about all that crap with her. I don’t know why, but I felt relieved once she knew.”

  “I think you might really like this girl,” I said, stating the obvious.

  Jack met my eyes and nodded. “I think I might be in serious trouble when it comes to this girl. And I’ve never wanted to get into more trouble in my life.”

  “Did you kiss her?”

  He laughed and slapped my knee before using it to push off my bed. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

  “So that’s a yes?” He hadn’t really answered my question.

  “That’s a yes, little brother. And it’s more than you did with little Funsize tonight. I expect more from you.”

  “Challenge accepted.”

  As he walked out the door, I wondered how in the world I was going to get that beautiful little pixie to want me back.

  Jack poked his head back in my doorway as I was getting settled underneath my covers. “Cassie tried to say that our kiss changed nothing, but I told her it changed everything.”

  “Did it?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “But she asked me to prove it.”

  “Because she doesn’t believe you?” I shook my head, half-amazed at the things that came out of that girl’s mouth. Even more surprising was that it didn’t send my brother running for the hills.

  “Exactly.”

  “How the hell are you supposed to do that?”

  “I have a few ideas, but I might need your help,” he said before disappearing without waiting for my answer.

  He knew I’d do anything he needed.

  Things Are Changing

  The past four weeks had been fun to watch. Jack and I talked about the things he could do to prove to Cassie that she could trust him. Hell, I even wrote down a list of ideas, but he didn’t need it. He’d already known what needed to be done when it came to her. It was weird, but he had these spot-on instincts about her.

  The day after their first date, he stopped eating at his normal table. His legion of fangirls practically whined themselves to death when they noticed him not only eating at another table, but doing so with a girl. One girl.

  I thought one of them might faint at the sight, but thankfully they all remained upright. That didn’t stop the girls from throwing themselves at Jack every chance they got. He could barely walk through the student union without girls grabbing him, trying to pin him down with questions.

  Jack used to tolerate the madness when he was single, but now that he was chasing Cassie, he had no patience for the fangirls. His body language completely changed, more closed off, and he got a little meaner.

  He’d also started spending more time at Cassie’s apartment, which meant that both Cassie and Melissa saw my brother more than I did. I wasn’t too upset, though, because I saw how happy he was, and I’d never seen him like that before.

  On campus, the four of us became pretty much inseparable. At lunchtime in the student union one day, I saw Jack putting an overfilled tray of food on the table that we shared, and I made my way over with my own lunch tray to join him, Cassie, and Melissa.

  Before I could get there, a sorority girl named Andrea stopped me with a hand on my arm. “When is your brother going to dump that girl?”

  I pulled away from her. “Hopefully never,” I said with a smirk before walking away. I’d never understand these girls.

  As I neared the table, Jack was saying, “Cass, I don’t ever want to hurt you, but I can’t promise you that I’ll never screw up or make you mad.”

  “He’s good at pissing people off. Isn’t that right, big brother?” I smirked down at Jack, and he took a halfhearted swipe at me before I set my tray down next to him.

  “That’s the rumor.” He nodded with a smile, but Cassie didn’t look pleased.

  “Plus, if he pushes you away, then you won’t be the one who left him. He’ll be the one who made you leave,” I added a little too helpfully.

  Jack glared at me before looking back at Cassie. My insight into his motivations clearly struck a nerve.

  “I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Cassie said as she looked into his eyes. “So don’t try to make me.”

  Melissa frowned at both of them. “Jesus, I’ve never met two people more scared to let someone love them than the two of you.” Her gaze pinged between them, making her ponytail swing from side to side. “And don’t even try to deny it. You’re both all messed up from your stupid parents.”

  She lifted her hand in Cassie’s direction. “Cassie here, with her dad’s constant lies and inability to follow through on even the simplest, most mundane thing, has been disappointed and let down most of her life
.”

  Then she pointed at my brother. “And you, with your mom up and leaving, telling you it was your fault because you were a bad kid. You’re convinced that no one will ever stick around, that eventually they’ll leave you too. And somewhere in your twisted, screwed-up psyche, you probably think you deserve it.”

  And me, I just sat there slack-jawed that Melissa had the guts to bring up something so private in such a public place, and then throw it in my brother’s face. Apparently I wasn’t the only one stunned into silence; no one else said a word.

  Thank God this wasn’t my fault. Jack told me that Melissa had dragged our story out of him late one night, and that he had felt okay with her knowing. I wondered if he was regretting that decision right about now.

  Melissa took a quick breath and then delivered her final assessment. “You’re both so screwed up alone, that together you’re like the perfect mess.”

  I sat there absorbing her words, even though they weren’t meant for me, and wondered how much of what she said might be true.

  Will I behave the same as Jack when I give my heart away?

  Cassie recovered first, but her feelings were clearly hurt. “That’s an attractive analogy. Thanks for saying I’m screwed up,” she snapped.

  Jack reached for Cassie. “I’ll be the perfect mess with you anytime.”

  She quickly swiped under her eye and leaned her head against his shoulder. A deep sigh escaped her. “Melissa just doesn’t know anything about having messed-up parents. Hers are perfect. She can’t relate.”

  “Hey! It’s not my fault I won the parent lottery.” Melissa eyed Cassie. “Plus, we both know I’m not strong enough to deal with the shit you’ve dealt with. I would’ve had a nervous breakdown by now. I could never handle everything your dad’s put you through.”

  Cassie released a small laugh, but it was enough to ease the tension at the table. I was thankful for the reprieve.

  “I don’t know if it’s because I’m strong or because I’ve gotten really good at turning off my emotions,” she added in a low voice.

  “It’s definitely both,” Melissa said before turning toward my brother again. “And, Jack, I’ve never seen anyone completely shut off the way this one can.” She nodded in Cassie’s direction. “If you push her too far, she’ll flick off like a light switch. It’s scary.”

  “Really? That’s impressive,” he teased, and I stayed quiet, taking it all in.

  “You won’t feel that way if she does it to you,” Melissa said, her face the scary kind of serious. “Trust me.”

  “Well, I hope I never have to see it.”

  “If I didn’t compartmentalize, I’d never be able to function,” Cassie said hotly. “It’s the only way I can survive without being a total basket case.”

  “I get it, Kitten. Still impressive.”

  Jack smiled at her with what looked like love in his eyes, and I found myself desperate to change the subject.

  “So, when do you leave for Texas?” I asked Jack, then took a bite of my cheeseburger.

  “We fly out Thursday morning. Why?”

  “Just wondering,” I mumbled around my bite.

  Cassie straightened up and turned to Jack. “What do you do when you’re there? Like, how does it work? Do you practice? Do parents go?”

  I laughed at Cassie’s intense curiosity. I’d seen her on more than one occasion ask Jack a million and one questions at a rapid-fire pace when she didn’t understand something.

  Jack snagged one of my fries and popped it into his mouth. “Well, we typically fly in the day before our games start. We check in at the hotel. We’ll have practice and work out, and have dinner as a team. Some parents go, but not many.”

  “Does everyone get their own room?”

  “No.” Jack laughed. “We share rooms.”

  “Do you have like bed checks and stuff?”

  Melissa leaned forward, clearly interested in this topic of conversation, and I leaned toward her.

  Jack nodded before taking a bite of his pizza. Once he’d swallowed, he said, “We do. Usually Coach comes by and makes sure everyone’s in their rooms by ten.”

  Cassie breathed out in what looked like relief. “Any other rules?”

  “No girls and no drinking.” Jack raised his eyebrows and glanced at me as Cassie shoved against his shoulder, almost pushing him over.

  “I’m sure those rules never get broken, huh?”

  “Nope. We’re all complete angels when we’re on the road.” Jack’s gaze darted between Melissa and Cassie, before stopping on me in some sort of silent dare.

  I burst out laughing. “Angels, my ass.”

  “No, wait wait wait!” Cassie’s voice broke through the chorus of laughter. “Do you guys sneak girls in your rooms? Like random strangers?”

  Her gaze was focused solely on Jack. She wouldn’t settle for any less than the truth, and I glanced at him, wondering how he would handle this.

  “Yeah.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Kitten. The eyes.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes a lot, and Jack had taken to giving her shit about it each time she did it. It didn’t make her stop, though, and I believed he secretly enjoyed that side of her.

  “You’re such a pig.” She shook her head.

  “This isn’t news! But I’m a changed man, Kitten. I swear it.”

  I had to suppress a smile at the sight of my brother pleading with his girlfriend, who was clearly disgusted at the news of his old road-trip behavior.

  “We’ll see about that.” She stared back at him, her tone cautious.

  “Care to make a wager?” Jack offered.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Please, tell me you don’t need a bet to stay faithful. I swear to God, Jack.”

  “He doesn’t need a bet to stay faithful, Cassie,” I said, trying to help my brother out of the hole he’d apparently dug himself into. Although being faithful and in a relationship was completely new to him, even I had to admit that he’d been doing a damn fine job so far.

  “It sounds like it to me,” Melissa chimed in, but to me, neither of our opinions was helping.

  I glanced at Melissa. “Maybe we should leave them alone.”

  “I have to get to class, anyway.”

  She picked up her things, and my heart sank. That wasn’t what I had in mind. Not at all. I watched as she walked away, my eyes focused on her ass again.

  “You love her,” Jack said in a singsong voice, and I socked him in the shoulder.

  “Shut up.” I cast Cassie a sideways glance, and she laughed.

  “I think it’s cute,” she said, her mood suddenly lighter now that the focus wasn’t on her and Jack.

  “I don’t know what either of you are talking about,” I lied.

  Jack shook his head and let out a snort. “I see the way you two look at each other. I don’t know what you two are waiting for.”

  “It’s not me. She knows I like her. She just doesn’t like me back.”

  Cassie’s face twisted into a frown. “It’s not that. I don’t know what it is. She hasn’t said anything to me, but I think she’s scared.”

  “Of me?”

  “I don’t know, Dean. She’s weird when it comes to boys sometimes.”

  “But Dean’s not just any boy. He’s a Carter. And my little brother. She should want to go out with him,” Jack said, talking me up, and I sat up a little straighter at his praise.

  “I agree,” Cassie said. “But she’s stubborn. More stubborn than I am.”

  Frustrated, I grabbed my bag and hiked it over my shoulder. “If we’re done discussing my lack of a love life, I’m gonna take off.”

  Before they could say another word, I left.

  When the Team’s Away

  Jack might be leaving school in the morning, but the rest of us still had tests and homework to do while he was gone.

  Me, I had a love/hate relationship with his traveling, hating it because I didn’t get to see him pitch. Kno
wing he was out there throwing and I wasn’t able to watch was a special kind of torture for me. My entire childhood was filled with memories of Jack playing baseball, pitching better than anyone else we knew, and being able to hit the ball as well.

  When he excelled, I couldn’t help but feel proud. Especially after he’d gotten into so many fights, prompting some people to say he wasn’t going to amount to anything, and that he was a loser. Jack being able to pitch the way he did was like a giant middle finger to all the doubters who never believed in him. And it was as much a middle finger from me as it was from him.

  On the flip side, I loved Jack’s road trips because I thought they were cool. The whole idea of getting to travel someplace new to play baseball seemed like the best of both worlds. Plus, Jack always had the best stories when he came back. If he went somewhere that was known for something famous, he made sure to always bring something home for our grandparents and me. That thrilled us all because Jack was the only one in our family who ever left town. It was sad, but true.

  “I’m gonna stay at Cassie’s tonight,” Jack told me as I sat at my desk, highlighting an upcoming chapter in my history textbook.

  “And you’re telling me this, because?” I asked, not even bothering to look up from my work.

  “Because I’m going to have her take me to the bus tomorrow morning.”

  I placed my pen on the desk and looked up to see him standing in my doorway, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. “Are you leaving the Bronco with her?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Although she calls it the deathmobile,” he said with a laugh, and dropped his bag to the floor.

  I gaped at him. “She doesn’t like your truck?”

  What wasn’t there to like about Jack’s Bronco? Sure, it was covered with dents and scratches, and the paint had chipped in places, but the thing was a classic. And it looked badass.

  Jack shrugged. “I think it scares her. Anyway, she doesn’t have a car here, so I thought I would leave it with her. But only if you don’t need it, and you’re cool with that.”