Page 24 of The Way Love Heals

“What’s wrong, AJ?” Brittish asked, looking from me to him.

“Coach said y’all are friends. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

Brittish bit her bottom lip with her eyes slightly expanded as she held onto the fence. “I was going to, Son. It slipped my mind. I’m sorry, but yes. Coach is my friend.”

“Since when?”

Since I had her legs on my shoulders.

The corners of my lips curved upward, and Brittish shot me a look that caused me to chuckle. She already knew what was on my mind. Shit. She made it hard for my thoughts not to go there. There was no reason she should’ve looked as good as she did in a cut-up replica of the team’s jersey with AJ’s number on the back, biker shorts, and a hat. My eyes dropped down to her breasts, and she crossed her arms.

“Nyle.”

“What?” I winked at her before AJ glanced back at me.

If it wasn’t for the umpire calling me over to meet the other coach, I would’ve been in trouble. I knew the conversation wasn’t over. In between innings, when AJ was in the dugout, he interrogated me. I did my best to answer every question to give him the reassurance he was searching for while focusing on the game.

It was the bottom of the sixth inning, and we were down by two. With two outs and the bases loaded, the pressure was on AJ who was up next to bat. I glanced over at Brittish who had her pointer fingers pressed against her lips as she watched.

Strike.

“It’s alright, Son. You see it now,” Brittish encouraged.

Ball.

Ball.

Strike.

AJ called time and stepped out the box. He blew through the circle his lips formed and patted his helmet three times before drawing a cross with the end of his bat. Once he stepped back in the box, I held my breath. Regardless of the outcome, I wanted him to know he was good.

The sound of his bat connecting with the ball had all the parents up on their feet, cheering. Brittish was the loudest of them all, jumping up and down as the ball landed deep in the outfield. AJ cleared a triple, bringing everyone on base home allowing us to win the game by one point.

Everyone in the dugout ran onto the field and rushed him, knocking him over as we all cheered. Once I got everyone to settle down, I got the team lined up to congratulate the other team before we met in the middle and prayed. Back in the dugout, I let the boys get all their excitement out before giving a short speech.

“I’m beyond proud of y’all. Our first game, and we took the win.” They all cheered again, and I held my hand up to seize the noise. “Everyone played well. I noticed some things we need to work on, but they were all minor mistakes. Remember, whenever you mess up, failure is the biggest part of baseball. No one is perfect, so never apologize or beat yourself up about anything. Dust your shoulders off and keep going. Now, since we won, we have one more game to play in about three hours. Take the time to rest, eat, and get back hydrated. I want the same energy, sportsmanship, and excitement for the next game.”

We put our hands in and broke apart. Weston and I stayed behind to make sure the boys grabbed all their belongings and cleaned the dugout for the next team. When I stepped out, I was surprised to see Brittish and AJ standing there, waiting for me. I walked over to them and rubbed the top of AJ’s head.

“That was a big hit, man. You did great today.” I praised him, and he beamed at me.

“Thanks, Coach. I’ve been taking in everything you and Coach Weston have been teaching me. My dad works with me at home too.”

“I can tell. Your hard work is paying off.”

“All the team is going to eat together. We want you and Coach Weston to come with us.”

I glanced over at Brittish, who stood there gazing at AJ with an immense amount of love in her eyes. It tugged at my heart, reminding me of how Nannie always looked at me. Renee had never.

Brittish must’ve sensed me staring at her because she glanced over at me and blushed. Her full cheeks became rosy as she bit her bottom lip and reverted her attention back to AJ.

“Are you going to let me sit by your mama since she’s my friend?” I asked AJ, and Brittish glared at me with her eyes bulged.

AJ’s mouth twisted. He lowered his eyes and looked me up and down. “I don’t know, Coach. You’re pushing it now.”

“Alright, I hear you. I’ll sit at the table with y’all.”

“Good.” He glanced over at Brittish. “You can sit with the other moms. Mama Z is meeting us there to come to the second game, so you can sit with her.”