“I don’t know how I feel. Besides, it’s not that easy.”
“Bologna! You know how you feel. All you have to do is look in those stormy eyes of his and say, ‘Grant King, I’m mad about you. Now kiss me’!”
“Okay. I’ll say that exact thing to Grant the moment you tell Lucas how you feel.”
Casey stuck her tongue out at me and continued working on the braid she was weaving into her thick auburn hair.
“I agree with Casey,” Jordan chimed in from my computer monitor.
“No one asked you,” Hannah teased.
I rolled my eyes at my two best friends who were tuning in for their weekly fill of tomboy drama.
“Well, whatever happens, you better call us first thing tomorrow morning,” Jordan replied.
“I will,” I promised. “But only because I want to hear how much butt you girls kick in your games. You don’t need it, but good luck!”
“Ditto,” they replied before signing off.
Casey sighed. “You’re so lucky to have the Trio. Maybe I should try out for the team next year and we could be a foursome?”
“Maybe . . .” I replied, my heart falling as it always did when I tried to think about future plans.
“Or not,” Casey said sounding dejected.
“No, Casey, you know I’m incredibly grateful to have met you. You’re my best friend here.”
“Really?”
“Of course. And I’d love to play baseball with you next year, it’s just . . . who knows where I’ll be next year. I don’t usually stay at the same school two years in a row and getting my hopes up only makes it that much harder when I have to leave.”
Casey was quiet for a while. Her eyes raked over the bare pink walls of my bedroom and landed back on me before she spoke. “I get it. Moving so much must suck. And you’re right, you’ll probably have to move again. But until then, you should try to enjoy being where you are. Canceled plans aren’t a big deal, but never making plans . . . that feels like a really sad way to live.”
I swallowed hard. Her words were simple and sincere and somehow made everything seem much more tangible. Grant, friendships, my future . . .
I smiled at her and she pulled me into a hug.
“Now,” she said grinning at me, her big chocolate eyes bright again. “Let’s do something about your hair.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Grant
When Alex walked up to our carnival tent I froze. I’d only ever seen her in jeans or her baseball clothes before, but now she stood before me in a flirty red dress, jean jacket and Converse. Her long brunette hair fell in loose waves cascading down her shoulders and her blue eyes flickered brightly, like flames ready to scorch my heart.
Alex Prince looked even more out of my league than usual and I found myself thankful the weather was cool enough to warrant the jean jacket she wore over her dress. If I saw any more of her flawless skin, I think I might’ve melted into a puddle of useless drool right before her eyes.
“H-Hey,” I managed to stutter as she slipped behind the counter to join me in the milk jug tent.
“Hey, yourself,” she replied.
I was grateful that’s all Alex said because my heart was still figuring out how to find its rhythm again as my eyes traveled the length of her endless legs. I tried to meet her eyes but as I did a breeze kicked up, sending her beautiful brunette waves swirling toward me, her citrus scent crippling my senses.
Alex did her best to tame her unruly hair, but a few strands clung to her lashes and I couldn’t resist freeing them. I moved closer, my fingers gently brushing the hair from her face. A tiny gasp escaped her parted lips at my touch and heat scorched me from head-to-toe as I imagined what it would be like to brush my lips against hers.
“Oh good! You’re here,” Mrs. Bishop said causing us to jump apart. “I just wanted to thank you again for taking charge of the game tents, you two. Do you have everything you need?”
I nodded, still unable to speak.
“Great. Make sure all the tickets you collect get turned in at the end of the night and if you need anything at all you just give me a call.”
“Thanks, we will,” Alex replied politely.
When Tyler’s mom was gone, Alex turned to me. “So, how does this work? Just knock the tower of milk jugs down and get a prize?”
“Yeah,” I replied finally finding my voice. “But it’s not as easy as it sounds,” I said picking up one of the near weightless whiffle balls and tossing it in my hand.
Alex picked up a ball too, frowning. “It’s impossible to knock anything over with one of these.”
“That’s kind of the point.”
“Are all carnival games a scam?”
I laughed. “Have you never been to a carnival?”
When her cheeks reddened my eyes went wide. “No way. You’re a carnival virgin?”
She shrugged. “In my house, if it’s not baseball it’s not worth doing.”
“Well, you’re in luck. Tonight, I’m gonna show you what carnivals are all about. Which is basically food, fun and fraud.”
“Fraud?”
“As you so cleverly discovered, most of the games are set up to take your money. But I can show you a few tips if you want to win one of these,” I said tugging the rainbow horn of a plush unicorn hanging from the wall.
Alex laughed. “Learned some trade secrets while working the game tents over the years?”
“This is actually the first year Coach has made us work the tents. We usually just get to attend and have fun.”
Alex’s face fell. “Oh. I guess that’s probably my fault.”
“No. It’s a varsity thing. Only the juniors and seniors work the tents.”
“Oh. Well, as enticing as it would be to learn all the secrets that carnivals have to offer, I don’t think I’ll get to experience much from back here,” Alex said gesturing to our little tent of milk jugs and cheesy prizes.
“We don’t have to work all night. Besides, I might be able to get us off early.”
“How?”
“You just leave that part to me,” I said sliding my phone out of my pocket and firing off a quick text to a few of my sophomore teammates. When I was done, I took my post on a stool, suddenly feeling much more confident that I could make something of this night with Alex. “So, what else don’t I know about you?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I didn’t know you’d never been to a carnival. What other rites of passage have you not experienced?”
“What is this, twenty questions?”
I shrugged. “We’ve gotta do something to pass the time.”
She smirked. “I guess getting to know each other is part of Coach’s assignment . . .”
“Let’s make it interesting,” I said. “Ten questions, never-have-I-ever style.”
“I don’t drink, so I’m not sure never-have-I-ever will work.”
I fought my grin, liking her more and more. “I don’t drink either, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play.”
“Really? You don’t drink?”
“Why is that surprising?”
“I don’t know. I’ve seen you at Tyler’s parties, I guess I just assumed you were partying with everyone else.”
“It’s possible to have a good time without getting drunk,” I replied a little more harshly than I’d intended.
“I agree.”
“Okay, back to the game. We each start with a bucket of ten whiffle balls. For every question we get right, the other person loses a ball.”
“I think I can get on board,” she said fighting a smile. “Give me an example.”
“Okay. So, if it was my turn, I could say, never have I ever had a brother and you’d lose one of your whiffle balls because you have brothers.”
“I see, so we’re playing dirty.”
“It’s not dirty. It’s strategy.”
She laughed. “Fine, but I’m going first.”
“Age before beauty
?” I teased grabbing us each a bucket of balls.
“Rude! You don’t even know if I’m older than you.”
“Actually, I do. It was on your practice jersey order form. You’re two months older than me.”
She scowled. “You mean the order form you altered to put Princess on all my shirts?”
I couldn’t resist teasing her. She looked fiercely beautiful when she was arguing with me. “Precisely. Which is why I won’t take one of your whiffle balls just now for getting a question wrong.”
Alex stuck her tongue out. “It didn’t count. I didn’t say never have I ever.”
I laughed. “Then get started already.”
Alex chewed her lip in thought making my heart race. It took all of my will power not to reach over and free her gorgeous lips from her teeth.
“Okay, I’ve got one,” she said. “Never have I ever had a tattoo.”
I snorted a laugh in surprise. “That’s the question you’ve been burning to ask me? I’m seventeen. Of course I don’t have a tattoo.”
Alex wrinkled her nose as she scrutinized me. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
“If you want me to strip then we should really be playing poker.”
Her cheeks flushed pink and I instantly regretted my words. I didn’t want to ruin our lighthearted vibe and I truly did want to get to know her better. There were a million questions I was dying to ask, but I needed to work up to the big ones.
“Kidding!” I teased. “My turn. Never have I ever been skydiving.”
“Never have,” she said snatching a ball from my bucket. “Have you ever been?”
“No, but I’d love to.”
“So, you’re an adrenaline junkie?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t say that. I just think it would be cool to see the world from a new vantage point.”
She smiled. “I can respect that. Okay, never have I ever pulled a push door.”
I rolled my eyes. “Everyone’s done that!”
Alex laughed and held her hand out for another ball.
I begrudgingly gave it to her and thought of my next question. “Never have I ever gotten stitches.”
Alex sighed and tossed one of her balls into the bin.
“Really? When?”
“The first time I was four and riding on the handlebars of my brother Sam’s bike. He hit a bump and my chin hit the bike,” she said pointing to a thin white scar barely visible on her chin. “The second time I was ten and I fell out of a tree I was climbing,” she said hiking up her skirt to show me another pale scar. This one was much larger and disappeared higher up her leg.
I sucked in a breath at the sight of so much tantalizing skin feeling my blood pressure spike. Luckily, Alex mistook my gasp for sympathy rather than desire.
“It didn’t hurt that bad,” she said. “At least not that I can remember anyway. What about you? No stitches?”
“Nope.”
“So, no scars?”
“None on the outside.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Alex
I studied Grant, wondering what he was hiding with that cryptic answer. It was something he did often. Since we’d been starting to hang out more, I’d noticed that he was good at dodging things he didn’t really want to talk about, but sometimes, when his guard was down, he let little bits of truth slip out. Each one a piece of the puzzle I was desperate to put together.
It was another reason I was enjoying this game so much. I wanted to figure him out.
Maybe then I could figure out what to do with my feelings for him.
“It’s my turn. Never have I ever snuck into a movie.”
He grinned and tossed one of his balls into the bin. “I snuck in to see the original Star Wars movies a few years back when they were playing at the Cineplex.”
I couldn’t contain my laughter. “You’re a secret nerd!”
“Am not! Star Wars is a classic.”
“Nerd!” I exclaimed. “It’s okay though, my brother Will is a total Star Wars dork and I still love him.”
Grant’s eyebrows rose and I realized my word choice, making my cheeks flush. Luckily a group of kids appeared at our booth to distract me from the awkwardness of saying I loved Grant.
Why had that slipped out?
“To be continued,” Grant said with a cocky smirk before turning to our first patrons of the evening. “You guys ready to win some prizes?”
A cheer went up as three little boys held up their tickets. I collected them while Grant handed out the whiffle balls. The first two boys gave it their all and even hit the tower of old-fashioned milk jugs a few times, but none of them budged. When the third boy stepped up to try, Grant walked around to the front of the tent to help him. He was a head shorter than the other boys, so Grant put him on his shoulders after whispering something I couldn’t hear. The boy’s first toss hit the top jug on the tower furthest to the right and knocked it off.
The little boy and his friends cheered like crazy as Grant jumped around celebrating with them. I watched on in awe, my heart melting at the touching scene.
Who would’ve ever guessed Grant King was good with kids?
I smiled to myself.
Never have I ever had a crush this bad.
After collecting their prize and a series of high-fives from me and Grant, the three boys moved along to another tent, but their celebration had attracted a slew of on-lookers who were now patiently waiting their turns at our tent.
Nearly an hour had gone by before the crowd dissipated. It seemed that with no other winners, the milk jug game had lost its appeal.
I stuffed the last of the tickets I’d collected away as Grant took a seat on the stool next to me.
“That was fun,” I said still grinning from cheering on our past contestants.
Grant was smiling too. “It was.”
“I can’t believe that little boy was the only one to knock down a jug. What did you say to him?”
“Carnival secret,” Grant replied with a wink. “Now, I believe it’s my turn to ask a question.”
I laughed and picked up my bucket of balls. And just like that our game was back on.
Grant
With each question Alex answered I had a hundred more I yearned to ask. The game I’d come up with had been a brilliant idea to get to know her better, but at times I felt dangerously close to revealing too much about myself. I didn’t like letting my guard down, but the more Alex and I spoke, the harder it was not to let her in.
But was that the right move?
I’d known she was out of my league from the start. And that was before I found out she had a famous dad and brothers playing pro. Plus, I still stood by my decision not to date this year. But I couldn’t deny how attracted I was to her. And not just the way she looked, but the way she made me feel. For the first time she made me feel seen and it opened a flood gate of emotions I’d locked away for far too long.
I loved that Alex refused to let my usual turmoil rage silently inside me. She wasn’t scared off by my abrasive personality. If anything, it made her push me harder. She asked real questions, made me want to open myself back up to the world—something I hadn’t realized I’d stopped doing.
If I was honest, I’d started building walls to protect myself ever since my mom left. I guess I thought if I never let anyone in then I couldn’t get hurt so deeply again.
But somehow, it was like Alex could see the scar tissue that prevented the truth from easily rising to the surface and she was relentless; like a flame, making ashes of my fears until slowly, one by one, I found the words to open up.
“Never have I ever run away from home,” she said.
I huffed a laugh, shaking my head at the unpleasant memory that surfaced. Once again, it was like Alex could read my mind. I tossed another whiffle ball out of my bucket with a sigh. I was down to three.
Alex watched me expectantly, waiting for me to elaborate. We’d begun exchanging the stories that went along with eac
h truth our questions revealed but this one wasn’t as easy to divulge as the others.
I took a deep breath and held onto the courage I felt in her presence. “I guess it was about ten years ago now. Wow . . .” I trailed off as I let that reality sink in. “It was the day my mom left. My dad told me she wasn’t coming back so I packed a bag and decided I was going to find her and go with her.”
Alex was silent, her knee pressed lightly against mine as we leaned against the wall of plush toy prizes. “What did you do?” she finally asked.
I shrugged. “I looked for her until it got dark. Then I gave up and came home. I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Grant . . .”
“It’s not a big deal,” I said desperate to change the subject, but Alex took my hand.
“It is a big deal, Grant.” Her voice was soft, but her blue eyes bore into mine with the intensity of a flame. “It is a big deal.”
“I guess.” I managed, pushing the words out, my throat tight with emotion.
“Parents are supposed to protect us.”
I looked at her then and was surprised to find more than pity in her eyes. There was strength and support and anger for what I’d gone through and it made me want to pull her into my arms and kiss her right then and there, because finally, I’d found someone who understood what it was like to be let down by someone who was supposed to safeguard your heart.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I asked, standing up and pulling Alex to her feet too.
“But we’re supposed to be working.”
I checked my watch. “I called in a favor. Some of our sophomore teammates will be here to take over our booth in five minutes. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Alex studied me like she was trying to decide if I was telling her the truth. In the end she nodded and followed me out of the tent.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Grant
The crisp evening air made it easier to breathe. It had been getting stuffy inside the tent with all that truth surrounding me. Out here, under the stars I felt lighter. I told myself it was the combination of neon lights and the appetizing smell of fried foods that lifted my spirits, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was mostly the fact that Alex was still holding my hand.
Playing the Field Page 13