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I grin and bump his fist back.
“Let’s do it.”
The game is tense from the start. Two great pitchers with great hitters on each team.
“Tanner seems like he’s throwing better,” Joel notes as we watch from the dugout.
“He is. He needed to get out of his own head.”
I feel Joel’s fiery gaze on me. “Is that what you needed?”
I quickly glance at him before looking back at the mound. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you threw like a frickin’ champ the other morning. Almost like you were never hurt.”
My gaze snaps back to him. “What are you saying?”
He shrugs. “You didn’t fight for it last year. You’re fighting now.”
My blood boils.I didn’t fight for it?I open my mouth to say something, to tell him how wrong he is, when Coach M yells, “Hey Wilkinson, come here!”
Joel glances at me, then heads over to Coach. I watch as Joel goes from surprised to excited to confident. Then he walks back over to me.
“Coach is putting me in. I guess Brady’s shoulder has been bothering him, so he wants him to sit out the rest of the game.”
I stare at him, and I swallow my anger. Because this is awesome. Getting play time during the first game of the season as a freshman? That’s huge. I smack his shoulder and give him an affirming nod. “You’ve got this.”
He looks at me seriously. “So do you, A.”
I let out a silent sigh and nod.
“Well, go on. Get out there.”
He smiles a giant, proud smile and heads onto the field.
Joel has been on fire since he went into the game. He flawlessly landed two double plays and narrowly beat two runners to the bag to get them out. He also got two hits. One he was out at first and the other he got on base and eventually scored off another player’s double. Joel’s always had a sixth sense about how to move on the field, how to use his body. No one can steal a base like him, even if he hasn’t gotten to use that particular skill set yet. It was always him and Rae stealing bases. Sneaky, just like they are when they play Spy.
Who isn’t on fire? Tanner. His pitching has worsened throughout the last inning, and I know Coach is getting close to pulling him.
Another erratic pitch.
Our lead pitching coach, Coach Sanderson, is about to go out on the field when I grab his arm. “Let me.”
He looks me over and nods, giving me a baseball swat on the butt as I go. I jog up to Tanner and look at him. His eyes aren’t on me. They’re up in the stands. I follow his gaze and see his parents fighting. My gaze flits to the girl he pointed out earlier. She’s watching him, clearly concerned.
I grab Tanner’s shoulder. “Enough. Look at me.”
His eyes find mine.
“You wanna keep playing baseball?” He sucks in a breath and nods. “Then tune it out. Tune it all out. Forget about them. Their relationship. How they feel about this. What they want. Focus on whatyouwant. Focus on what matters.“ My eyes track to the brunette again, and so do his. Their eyes lock and she gives him a little nod. He smiles and looks back at me, eyes clearer and full of confidence.
“Okay. I’ve got this.”
“Remember why you love it.” I smack his shoulder and jog back off the field.
“You done kissing his ass?” Coach Sanderson asks.
“Tell me if you still think I was kissing his ass after this pitch.”
