Page 51 of The Way We Swing Back

“I’m sure you will,” I said. Then I leaned toward his ear and whispered. “The real question, though, is if you’ll still be dating Maissie.”

Gavin froze as I pulled away. His face went red immediately, his eyes pointed at the ground and unmoving. “Don’t say anything yet,” he said, his voice loud enough for me and no one else.

I nodded, remembering how long he’d kept his mouth shut about Tanner and me. “Up to you.”

“Fine,” he said, a grin tugging at his face. “If you really want to, you can tell them.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I replied.

“Dude, quit begging me,” Gavin said, a glint in his eyes. “It’s not a good look for you. I already said you could tell them. Just do it.”

Jake spoke up, his ears sensing gossip. “Tell us what?”

“Easton is being an ass and forcing me to tell you guys something,” Gavin said.

“You’re just making stuff up now,” I said as I shook my head.

“Will one of you two just say it so we can finish hitting?” Zach said from behind the screen. “Quit being dumb.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow at me, still thinking he could get me to talk. Not this time, kid. I shook my head.

“Okay, fine,” Gavin finally relented. “Maissie and I are dating.”

Jake jumped to his feet and flew under the netting. “MAISSIE?”

Zach whistled. “Little Gavin has a girlfriend. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“How about you three act normal?”

“We’re just teasing you, Gav,” I said. “Although I’m not sure how you can stand her, to be honest.”

He looked back at me. “She’s smart and funny. And she doesn’t treat me like I’m Tanner and Zach’s little brother, which is a nice change from literally everybody else in that school.”

I nodded, impressed. And maybe a little jealous, though not of Gavin exactly, but how simple it got to be for him. He liked a girl, the girl liked him, and the worst-case scenario was the three of us teasing him.

No closet. No best friend twenty minutes away, which might as well be three thousand miles, now with a boyfriend. Just a fifteen-year-old who’d figured out he liked someone and could tell his friends.

For me, I’d gotten a voice in my head that showed up every time I looked at Tanner too long, asking what was wrong with me. My dad built that voice years ago in a garage, and he and that stupid voice never had to consider that I couldn’t control who I liked any more than I could control the fact there are people who liked the Cubs.

“Good for you,” I said, and meant it. Even if I still had some things to figure out, it didn’t mean Gavin shouldn’t be happy. “But it’s weird you’re dating someone. When I met you, you were scared of girls and bawled during Up.”

“It’s a sad movie!” he shot back.

“When did this start?” Zach asked, holding the half-full bucket of baseballs.

“We kept texting after she tutored me. Kind of just happened, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“MAISSIE?” Jake yelled again. He paced around the cage, circling all of us.

“Yeah. I like her. And you two need to act like normal people when she comes over.”

“Anything for you, young master Gavin,” I said, giving a mock bow.

“Seriously.”

“Okay, we’re done,” I added, more serious. “Good for you, man.”