Throw Like a Girl
Page 24
“Go celebrate,” Addie says when she pushes away, disappointed tears already welling—though she doesn’t crumble, brave face on for me. I squeeze her once more and do what she says. It’ll only hurt more if I linger.
As I jog to the mound, I’m caught from behind. Forearms tan from baseball season haul me in, offset nicely by his bright orange Northland football jersey. I twist into Grey and wrap my arms around his neck, squeezing him as hard as possible into a hug. Jake streaks past us, on his way to Kelly. Over Grey’s shoulder, I spy Nick taking Addie into his arms by the Windsor Prep dugout.
“Touchdown, champ!” Grey says, pride thick in his voice.
I plant a kiss on his cheek and whisper in his ear, “Wouldn’t be here without you, teammate.”
Grey jostles his grip until I’m on my tiptoes, looking into his steel-gray eyes.
“Are you kidding me? You would’ve gotten here anyway. Our road was just much more fun.” He kisses me, hard and hungry. “Now, go up there with your team.”
I flash a smile back at him and run up to the mound, which is all noise and bouncing girls, with Kelly somewhere in the center. I hop in, fingers raised to the sky, hair ribbons catching the light in flickers of orange. We jump and scream for ages, no one escaping a hug, no one at a loss for love.
Our team huddle unfurls into a flock of girls thundering toward Coach Kitt. Even with Gatorade dumped and dripping over her back, Kitt directs traffic toward the handshake finale, the Windsor Prep players waiting politely in a line, tears smudging eye black.
I make it a point to say every girl’s name as we pass, a flip-book of my old life gaining speed with each stop and face. And when I hit the end of the line, there’s Danielle, her arms thrown wide. When I fall into them, they feel like home.
“I’m so proud of you, champ.” And now I’m crying, tears bracketing the grin I can’t lose. My sister is the first person I always want to impress, and nothing will ever change that. We’ll always be a team, even if we aren’t on the same side. “You’re totally going to rub this in for the next 365 days, aren’t you?”
I laugh as we unfold just enough—arms across each other’s backs, hands landing on outside hips—that we can both face Mom and Dad, calling for a picture. Mom is looking good, her cheeks almost full, hair thickening up. Behind them, Ryan has his hands up, grin a mile wide, while Heather gives him a deep hug.
“Eh, winning isn’t everything.”
Acknowledgments
Like Liv, I am privileged to have a bunch of amazing humans on my team—and even better that I get a chance to thank them now. Books are extra great in that way.
First, a major thank you to my wonderful editing team of Hannah Milton and Pam Gruber—I would dump Gatorade on you if it wouldn’t make a mess of the very nice Little, Brown offices. Your love and enthusiasm for Liv and her story is so tangible, I often feel like I could present it with a hug and a plate of warm cookies. Thank you so much for your guidance and care. I owe you a lifetime supply of doughnuts—Krispy Kreme, if you prefer.
And to the rest of the team at Hachette, Poppy, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and The Novl, thank you for your belief in my romantic girl-power football book. You got what we were trying to do and never batted an eye. And to our adorable cover models, Renee and Dylan, know that we’re all shipping you. Sorry/not sorry—you were perfect as Liv and Grey!
Thank you to my head cheerleader, Whitney Ross, agent extraordinaire, who grabbed the baton from the lovely Rachel Ekstrom Courage, and made sure Liv and Grey saw the light of day. You immediately understood exactly what I hoped for this book and my readers, and it wouldn’t be successful without you. And thank you to Rachel, who worked so hard to see this one through.
Thank you to my authenticity readers, who took such care in examining the relationships and characters detailed on the page. And to Randy Shemanski, who backed me up with his own knowledge of the sports we both love. Also, a last-minute shout-out to Jennifer Iacopelli, whose keen eye in the ARC stage caught one thing we all missed. If readers find fault in the depiction of the characters or the athletics in this book, that is my shortcoming, not of these early readers and their thoughtful consideration.
Thank you to the people who keep me rolling along day to day with a smile on my face. To the Kansas Writers crew, most especially for this particular book, Rebecca Coffindaffer, who provided excellent early feedback. To my Madcap writing retreat buddies who cheered me on as I hacked twenty thousand words from this baby in the Texas hill country. To my far-flung troop of author friends, I’m so lucky to have you book after book. And to my non-writer-ly buddies, who are extremely good at listening to me babble about writer-ly things. To my parents, Mary and Craig Warren, who always encouraged my love of athletics—Dad, all those Sundays watching the Chiefs totally paved the way for this book. To my husband, Justin, who lets me hog the TV when gymnastics is on and puts up with the fact that I only like post-season baseball (Go, Royals!). And to Nate, Amalia, and Emmie—follow your dreams but don’t lie to us about it, mmmkay?
And finally—I’ve always felt that sports create the best stories because the stakes are immediate, the drama is intense, and the conflict is built-in. Those little five-minute vignette reels detailing how hard an athlete worked when no one was looking—the struggles no one saw to earn the glory that might be front-page news? Almost better than chocolate (almost). My love of sports stories translated into working in sports journalism for the majority of my newspaper career. Therefore, I owe a huge thank you to those who I worked with over the years on the sports desk and in the press box. I learned valuable lessons, not just about sports and storytelling from you, but also about life. A special shout-out in particular to the women who filled these spaces with me—Lydia, Mel, Jenny, Jenn, Lindsay, and all the rest, plus the trailblazing ladies of the Association of Women in Sports Media (AWSM).
Discover Your Next Great Read
Get sneak peeks, book recommendations, and news about your favorite authors.
Tap here to learn more.
Bring the YA (book) party to your inbox with NOVL:
theNOVL.com/enewsletter
Booked all week.
theNOVL.com
Instagram.com/TheNovl
Twitter.com/TheNovl
Facebook.com/TheNovl
Fally Afani
SARAH HENNING
is a former sports journalist who has worked for the Palm Beach Post, the Kansas City Star, and the Associated Press, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband, Justin. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team. She is the author of Sea Witch, Sea Witch Rising, and Throw Like a Girl, and invites you to visit her online at sarahhenningwrites.com.