Page 8 of The Way We Swing

I cleared my throat dramatically. “Hey, cardinal, come here!” I yelled. Trying to keep a straight face, I turned toEaston. “Good, right? Still can’t figure out why I never win.”

Easton’s look of shock turned to a grin, and he started laughing. He lightly punched me on the shoulder a couple of times and said, “I absolutely hate you. That was awful.”

“It’s my only joke. I have to use it when I can.”

“You're ridiculous. But seriously, what do you want to do in school?”

“Maybe business. I’ve always wanted to open a baseball facility. We would have indoor fields, batting cages, vitamin and apparel shops. A place for travel teams to train. Like a second home.”

“That’s a badass plan.”

“Want to work for me someday?” I asked.

“I’ll be too busy playing in the majors,” Easton said. He swore out loud when my next shell hit him as I zipped by. “I’ll come back in the winter and be a guest coach.”

“You’ve got an open invite anytime you want,” I said. “What about you? You start thinking about what you’ll do if the major league baseball player thing doesn’t work out?”

“If I don’t make it to the majors, I’ll probably go play in Japan for a couple of years.”

I laughed, trying to imagine Easton playing in front of thirty thousand Japanese fans. “Seriously, though. What if baseball doesn’t work?”

“I might join the military or something. I’m not gonna be able to pay for school otherwise.”

“Can your parents help you at all?”

“Fat chance of that happening.”

Twice now, he had dodged questions on his parents. Was it privacy? Or was it armor? Maybe Zach knew.

I sat there thinking as the second race finished. Here I was in a house that cost way too much, and Easton was talking about how he wasn’t going to be able to afford college. I felt bad. He seemed like a smart guy, but it felt like he’d already written himself off if baseball didn’t work.

“You’ll find a way, I’m sure,” I said.

“I hope so.”

We finished the third and fourth races, with me winning three of the four. The N64 had been my biggest time-wasting vice over the last five years, and I rarely lost to anybody but Gavin.

“Probably time to crash,” Easton said, stretching his legs. “Early day tomorrow. Some hard-ass senior wants to run the entire team into the ground during summer vacation.”

“I heard that guy was a douche,” I said, returning his wink from earlier in the day. As much as I didn’t want the night to end, I knew he was right.

“Biggest I’ve ever met,” Easton said. He walked toward the couch. “Do you have a blanket I can borrow?” he asked.

“Come sleep in my room,” I said before catching myself.

Shit.

“I mean, I have a futon that’s more comfortable than this thing.”

“You sure? I don’t want to bother you.”

“Not at all,” I said.

Easton and I brushed our teeth side by side. When our elbows touched at the sink, my body tensed as I tried not to make a reaction that would give myself away.

I led Easton to my room, grabbed a blanket and pillow from my closet, and held them out to him. He finished putting his stuff in his bag and stood straight.

“Thanks,” he said.