it’s the first positive press i’ve had all year
you know baseball’s all i have
i can’t get sent down to the minors
besides if i get sent down you’ll have to put up with me way more
i’d owe you forever
Why does Jake have to beaskinginstead of demanding? It makes it worse. Because I can’t say no when he asks like this—not when his career is on the line, not when I’ve been looking out for him for years.
My fingers hover over the keyboard. I could text Lucas right now. Explain the situation. Tell him it’s all fake—that Jake’s just my idiot pseudo-brother who needs me to save his butt again.
But if I tell Lucas, I’m risking Jake’s career.
And if I don’t tell Lucas …
I finally type:
Scottie
If I do this, you have to promise me three favors.
Arch Rival
anything but we have to date til spring training. agent says we could stage a breakup before season starts
Scottie
Fine
But our breakup will be the stuff of legends.
Arch Rival
you’re the best scott
owe you big time
He sends a gif of a cat with heart eyes. Like that’s supposed to make this better.
I look across the table at him, and he’s making puppy dog eyes as big as anything Lucas could do, completely oblivious to the fact that he’s about to ruin everything good in my life.
I stand abruptly, my chair scraping against the floor.
“Where are you going?” Mom asks.
“Bathroom,” I say, even though I’m heading for the front door.
“Scott—” Jake starts. I don’t turn around.
“You got what you wanted, Rodgers. Leave me alone.” I grab my coat and slip outside into the cold.
The porch light casts long shadows across the snow, and I lean against the railing, arms crossed tight over my chest. Through the window, I can see my family laughing, Jake already back to his game like all my hopes of a love life aren’t about to implode. I pull out my phone to look at Lucas’s last text.
From this morning.
Lucas
