“Hey,” Daniel yelled as he pushed his way inside.
“You aren’t invited to this conversation,” she snapped. “Nor are you allowed in my room without my permission.”
“Becca’s trying to impress you with all the fancy talk.” He plopped on her bed. “And I can go where I want.”
“Why are you dating him?” Becca looked more like her mother with a heart shaped face and high cheekbones. Her eyes were a striking golden color that I didn’t think was humanly possible. “He’s such a loser. I bet there are much smarter and better-looking guys at Xavier.”
The blood rushed to my face and I glanced away from her. “Smarter, yes.”
“Not better looking?” Daniel asked with a cocked eyebrow.
“Gross,” Becca said as her brother pushed off the bed to stand beside me.
Daniel’s hand snaked into mine. Heat swept up my arm like a California wildfire. He squeezed and pulled me out of the room. “Come on. I’ll show you our game room. Becs, quiz her later.”
Becca huffed and muttered to herself. Once we were in the hall, she slammed the door. Daniel let go of my hand, leaving it cold.
He pointed at a different closed door as he walked down the hall. “That’s my room.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, grabbing his arm.
He looked down where my fingers curled around his wrist.
“Doesn’t your ‘girlfriend’ get to see all your little secrets?” I yanked him back toward the door and opened it to the biggest mess I’d ever seen. There were DVDs, magazines, and books scattered everywhere and a life-size skeleton wearing a blue plaid shirt and cargo shorts. The bed, once I figured out exactly where it was located, was a pile of comforter and sheets and clothes. “This is beyond disgusting.”
“You’re the one that opened it.” He slid his fingers through mine and tugged me toward the other end of the hallway. “Come on.”
“Why do you have a skeleton in your room?” I said, staring at the mess. “And I thought I saw a massive computer system in there.”
He tried to drag me away, but I let go of his hand. Daniel teetered, and I stepped into the room. At least there wasn’t an odd smell. On the same wall as the door was a computer desk with a huge flat screen monitor. This was the only clean spot in the room.
I turned it on.
“Good evening, Daniel,” a computerized voice said.
I started laughing. “Holy crap. That’s awesome. Where’d you get that voice?”
“Nowhere.” He turned a pale pink. “It’s just a program.”
“Where did you buy it?” I sat in the chair and felt him directly behind me.
“Didn’t.” He spun the chair around and knelt before me. “I created it in a programming class I took last year.”
He started to explain code and it went over my head. So far over my head, my eyes must have glazed over.
Daniel laughed. “This is boring you.”
“No, really it’s not.” I smiled like I was Grandma at a benefit, interested even if I really wasn’t. “It’s cool. I’m just not that big into computers or anything. How do you know so much?”
“The usual. Books, magazines, internet. It’s not that complicated.”
“For me it is. You might as well be talking Klingon.”
“Okay, come on.” He pulled me to my feet until we were chest to chest. “Let’s move on before you fall asleep.”
I didn’t even try to move away. “Why do you say that?”
“The look of death on your face.”
“Stop. I’m not bored.” Then it hit me almost as hard as that pitch I took in the back. “Shelby didn’t like any of this stuff, did she?”
He shrugged and took a step back. “No.”
“Not everybody is like her, you know.” I reach out. My fingers skimmed over his forearm. I shouldn’t have touched him, but I wanted him to know I wasn’t like her. “Don’t let one idiot ruin you.”
He stared at me, leaning down slowly. I tilted my head, wanting him to kiss me. And I hated myself for it.
“Daniel, please come downstairs,” a sweet voice screamed up the stairs.
He turned away, breaking the moment. “Coming.”
With a sheepish grin, he headed out of the room with me behind him. He stuck his hands in his pockets.
Don’t do this. Don’t fall for Daniel. Don’t, don’t, don’t. He’s still hung up on Shelby. And I’m still with Theo. Why else would I call him on my way here? Don’t fall for Daniel. Think of the team. But I wanted to take his hands from his pockets. I wanted him to feel them warming mine again. I wanted him to stand so close I could feel the heat from his body and hear his heart beating.
And I wished like hell he would’ve kissed me. I wanted him to kiss me.
I didn’t know what to do.
Becca peppered me with questions about Xavier during dinner. She was a nonstop whirlwind of conversation. Daniel’s parents sat back and broke in only when she took a breath. When Mr. Cho asked what my father did for a living, I told the truth. Mostly. “My father is a lawyer and a partner in his firm.” I just left out minor details. Like that he wasn’t practicing and that he’s a U.S. Senator, for example.
I realized a few minutes later that it had been wise not to bring up my father’s political life. Daniel’s parents started talking about the new immigration bill going through the House. My father opposed it as too liberal. Daniel’s dad thought it wasn’t liberal enough. I kept my mouth shut.
Becca tried to drag me to her room after dinner, but Daniel peeled her off me.
“I didn’t get to show you the game room. Up for a round of racing?” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Only if you want to get your butt kicked.”
He stuck his hands back into his pockets and we went back up the stairs. My thoughts raced with the all too recent memory of grabbing his tight thighs.
Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.
We walked toward a door at the end of the hall. Daniel opened it and led me up another flight of stairs into a large attic room. A flat screen hung on one end with an overstuffed ocean blue sectional in front of it. The other side of the room had a drafting table, a computer, and three large bookshelves.
“It’s also Dad’s office,” Daniel explained when he saw me looking at the drafting table.
He walked over to the TV and turned everything on. I sat on the couch, tucking my legs in and grabbed a game controller. Daniel plopped beside me, making me roll into him. He wrapped his arms around my waist to keep me from falling off the couch. I stiffened, but not because I was uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” he said. “I should’ve warned you about that.”
He didn’t let go. I didn’t make much of an effort to get up either. Again, I thought he was going to kiss me. Then Becca burst into the room.
“Daniel, Mom wants to know …” She stopped as she saw us struggling to sit up. “I’ll just tell her no.”
I stared at the door, horrified. At my behavior. At being caught … doing what?
“I better go,” I said, standing up too fast and losing my balance. Daniel put his arm around my waist to steady me. “Please don’t.”
He stood up, keeping his arm around me. “Don’t what, Vic?”
“I have …” I didn’t finish. He knew what I was going to say.
He leaned down toward me. The boy was determined.
“What about the team?” I whispered.
“Screw them.”
I tilted my head to meet him but looked away when I felt myself leaning in. This wasn’t right. “I can’t.”
He put his forehead against my temple.
“I should go,” I forced through the breath I held.
I said good night to his family. Daniel walked me out to my car. We stood in that awkward silence that always shows up right after something romantic almost happens between two friends. A feeling I knew all too well lately.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, turning back
toward the house.
“Daniel, wait.” I closed my eyes. I couldn’t leave it like this.
“Yeah?” He leaned against the hood but didn’t look at me.
“I’m sorry.”
“Didn’t we already go over this upstairs?”
I sighed. “Yes. And no. I just …” I started crying like a princess who lost her tiara.
He looked to the sky. “Get it out of your system, Vic. You think I’m a nice guy but not ‘The One.’ You have a horrible boyfriend and would like to keep it that way –”
“Shut up. Just shut up.” I smacked my hand on the roof my car as hard as I could. “I don’t have …” I paused to figure out how to say it. “I don’t know for sure, but I think Theo’s cheating on me.”
He whipped around to face me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just … I didn’t want it to mess with the team. And I really didn’t want to get all romantic with …” I wiped my cheeks. Damn it. Stop crying like some little girl. “But I like you too much –”
He rushed at me. I stepped back into the front quarter of my car to get out of his way. He cupped my face, pulling my lips to his. His kiss was angry and hungry at the same time. He relaxed when he realized I wasn’t fighting, but kissing him back with the same intensity. I put my hands over his to steady myself. My knees buckled. The aftershave he barely wore filled the air. He pulled back, kissing my nose. The warm night air felt cool against my lips. Theo never kissed me like that.
Theo.
“Victoria –”
The way he said my full name reminded me of the last person I wanted to think of. It didn’t matter that I liked the way Daniel said it.
“I have to go.” Guilt choked the words in my throat.
I jumped into my car and raced to Grandma’s. Theo and I hadn’t broken up exactly. I mean, it was implied when I hung up on him. But then he called me. And I called him back. I liked Daniel way more than I should, but I needed to clarify my relationship with Theo. What if Theo came back and we made up?
My head hurt from all this.
Too many what-ifs and not enough answers.
TOP OF THE 4TH
It goes without saying that things were uncomfortable during the game on Thursday. Again. We lost by a run. I went oh-fer again, and I made my first fielding error of the year. Coach said they ruled it a hit, but it was an error in my mind. Their first baseman smacked a line drive over my head. I jumped and knocked it down, but I should’ve had it clean. My leap was a millisecond too late. It cost us the game.
Daniel tried to act like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t kissed me. Like I hadn’t run away. Whenever he headed toward me, I went the opposite direction. Not easy to do in a crowded dugout.
After the ninth inning, he was the first to leave. He didn’t try to say another word before he left with his mom and Becca. Coach and I were the last ones in the dugout.
“Word must’ve gotten out that we’ve got a girl on our team,” Coach growled as he sat on the bench next to me. “Stands keep gettin’ more crowded.”
I shrugged.
“Look, Vic. I dunno what’s gotten into you, but snap outta it. This team could win the district. Hell, we can make a run at the city championship. So whatever’s got you outta sorts, get over it and get back in line.”
“Easier said than done, Coach.” I stopped pretending to fix my cleats and grabbed my gear. It was a long walk to the car. When I climbed in, I glanced at the empty passenger seat.
I never should’ve kissed him. He’d be here now if ... I couldn’t think about it. I drove home and cleaned out Grandma’s basement.
Daniel ignored me the next day at practice. It was fair. I deserved it. After all, I’d done the same thing to him the day before. So we kissed, big deal. I never wanted to go out with a guy on the team anyway. At least, that’s what I repeated to myself whenever a pang of hurt filled my chest. The rest of the team kept giving me odd glances here and there. As soon as practice ended, Daniel high-tailed it out of the park. And I cornered Reggie in the dugout.
“What’s going on?” I asked in my sweetest voice.
Reggie didn’t look at me. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. I saw you talking to Daniel. What’s going on?”
He shook his head. “You do not want to hear this.”
My heart fell to the soles of my cleats. “Yes, I think I do.”
“You really don’t, Vic.”
“Damn it, Reggie. Tell me.” I stomped my foot on his.
“Ow, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He sat on the bench and motioned for me to join him. This had to be really bad if it required a sit down. “Shelby showed up at his house last night after the game. Apparently the guy she’d been seeing got a little violent. He beat her sober.” Reggie shook his head. “Her parents kicked her out. She’s hiding at Daniel’s house. She didn’t have any other place to go.”
I struggled to get my mind around this. Shelby broke Daniel’s heart into a million pieces and now she was back. Where did that leave me? And why should it bother me so much? “Why didn’t he just tell me?”
He shrugged. “You’d have to ask him that. Besides, you were doing your best to avoid him yesterday.” Reggie clamped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Vic.”
Grandma insisted I go to the Habitat house with her that afternoon. The more I protested, the more she demanded that I go. When we pulled up to the site, my hands shook uncontrollably. I stuck them into my pockets before Grandma could see them.
We walked toward the house in the same deafening silence that we held onto in her car. I kept my head down, scanning the site for any sign of Daniel. I didn’t want to run into him, but I wanted to know he was okay.
He wasn’t there. Neither was his dad. I wasn’t really surprised considering what Reggie had told me. Charles, one of the foremen, took me into the house and put me to work. I learned how to spackle. It was something I hoped I’d never have to do again since I totally sucked at it. Fixing my mistakes only made me feel worse, which was pretty much the entire day of feeling like crap. By quitting time, I was too tired to think about Daniel, Shelby, or Theo. I needed a hot bath and a good night’s sleep before the game the next day. It promised to be our toughest yet. The Robins shared the same record as our Wolverines.
At least we had a scarier name.
When I got to the field, I noticed the stands were pretty full. I didn’t believe I was the cause of that even if Coach and some of the guys thought so. I wasn’t the first girl to play baseball. The regulars were in their usual spots, like Adam’s girlfriend and Reggie’s parents. Then I spotted someone I never thought I’d see.
My mother. In jeans. And one of my baseball hats.
She looked so out of place sitting on the cheap metal stands. I dumped my stuff in the dugout and ran up to her.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked not bothering to withhold the shock in my voice. “And where did you get those jeans?”
“From your closet.” She struggled to get comfortable, wiggling back and forth with her hands daintily in her lap. “I thought I’d come watch. Is that okay?” She had to have come from lunch at the Tea Room. I could smell the Earl Grey on her breath masking the hint of brandy.
“Yeah, I guess.” I shrugged and stared at her for a moment. This didn’t make any sense. The last time she showed up at anything – sports, debate club, trivia bowl – was when I was fifteen, unable to drive, and the service didn’t have an available car.
Reggie’s mom cleared her voice two rows down and glanced up at us over her shoulder. She smiled, moving over enough that I’d get the hint.
I figured it couldn’t hurt anything and Mom would have someone to talk to during the game. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to some other parents.” In a soft voice only she could hear, I added, “And your husband is just a lawyer, okay?”
Mom shot me a look that would melt glass before climbing down the steps. I in
troduced her to Reggie’s mom and they immediately fell into conversation. I knew she’d be fine. She shined in awkward situations.
“Hudson, is that your mom?” Reggie asked when I got back in the dugout.
“Yeah. Stands out, doesn’t she?” I glanced back at her as she laughed her fake that-was-funny laugh.
“Just like you do,” Adam said, smacking me on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s warm up.”
I looked to the field. Daniel was already there in his gear, throwing with Calvin. I wanted to run up to him to kiss him and smack him at the same time. Instead, I jogged to the opposite end of the field and stretched with Adam and Reggie.
We started the game off on the right foot. Their pitcher threw at me and grazed my jersey. The crowd booed. Even my mom got into it, yelling at the ump to throw the guy out. That made me smile. Maybe a little too wide.
“What’re you smiling at?” the first baseman asked.
“Your pitcher just gave up a run. What’s not to smile about?” I tugged on another batting glove in case I needed to slide.
Then I stole second. It was damned close though. I got my hand on the bag a split second before the tag. No way I’d take third off this catcher.
Ollie got a nice hit over the second baseman’s head, moving me to third.
Then Jayden did what he does best. He crushed a double into left center. Ollie and I both scored. We took the lead. The game kept going back and forth. Delvin wasn’t his sharpest on the mound, but neither was their pitcher. At the end of the ninth, we were on top ten to eight. It was a good win.
Daniel started to take off right after the last out. I caught him in the dugout.
“Hey, wait a sec,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Will you stop and talk to me?”
“I can’t right now, Vic.”
He pulled away and hurried toward the stands. An Asian girl with stripes of hot pink in her hair waited for him. She was petite with a smirk on her face that was part mischievous and part all-knowing. I hated her instantly.
“That’s Shelby,” Calvin said over my shoulder.
Extra Innings Page 7