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“Maybe his bat is too short.” Mia laughed as Luca hit another foul tip.
“Don’t worry, his ego makes up for it.”
“I mean, a dinger?” Mia snickered. “He couldn’t have chosen a different kind of hit, one that sounds more masculine and less like a dog turd?”
They roared with laughter beside me while I clenched my teeth. I wanted them to hit it off, but not at my expense. Though, I suppose I should be grateful. At least Mia was conversing with a member of the opposite sex whose name didn’t start with an “E” and end in an “N.”
Still, I started to tell them to shut-up, when the crack of a bat filled my ears. Luca made contact with the baseball. Time froze as I watched, heart beating in my chest. The ball flew left, low to the ground, landing a few feet in front of the shortstop.
I jumped to my feet and turned my gaze back to Luca, who barreled toward the base. His long stride ate the turf, and when he made it over the bag before the first baseman could tag, he turned around to face the crowd. His eyes landed on me, and my whole body felt like someone lit me up like a live wire.
I clapped and cheered along with the fans around me while Luca made a kissy face. And when I plopped back down in my seat, beaming, I noticed with some small satisfaction, the laughter beside me had died.
Chapter 8
BARRY
Isankdownontothe bleachers beside Scarlett, trying not to look like a dog with his tail between his legs. At the first opportunity I had to sneak away from Ella, I bailed. Still, that didn’t stop Luca’s ceremonious slide into home from playing in my mind, along with his cocky waltz over to her where he laid one on her like she was already his girl, like it was a given. And it probably was.
It hadn’t even been a week since both of us showed an interest in Ella, and already I’d lost. I mean, I knew I had no chance, but when she chose me for her lab partner, complimented my t-shirt, and asked me to sit with her at the game, I thought it might’ve meant something. But maybe I was wrong to get my hopes up.
After today, however, she made her motivation known. Because it certainly seemed like her intentions had been to hook me up with her sister. All the furtive glances between us, the effort to draw her into conversation with me and find commonalities felt calculated. But I didn’t have an interest in Mia, despite how funny and sweet she seemed. It was Ella I wanted.
I could feel Scarlett’s gaze on the side of my face, so I glanced at her. “Why aren’t you sitting with blondie over there?” she asked, nodding in Ella’s direction. “From here, it looked like the two of you were hitting it off.”
My thoughts drifted back to the conversation we’d had about our parents in Mia’s absence and how it turned so serious so quickly. I couldn’t help but think that said something about how comfortable she was with me. Still, I forced my gaze to the field, refusing to glance Ella’s way for fear she’d catch me staring. Instead, I focused on the players in the outfield like I gave a crap who won or lost and shrugged.
“It didn’t have anything to do with that nauseating display a minute ago, did it?”
The kiss.My stomach churned at the memory.
Why did it seem like the good guys always lost? Not that Luca was so bad. Truthfully, next to Topher, he was the only Royal that wasn’t completely terrible, but it would be nice for the underdog to win for a change.
I mumbled something incoherent when Scarlett bumped my knee with hers. “Hey,” she said, demanding my attention. “It’s not over yet.”
I grimaced, because I wasn’t so sure. Clearly, Ella wanted me to hit it off with Mia, which meant she wasn’t into me. “I think she just wanted to hook me up with her sister.”
“Did she say that?”
“Well, no.”
“Then you don’t know that.”
“But—”
“Barry.” Scarlett placed her hands on my shoulders and turned me toward her. “Have you learned nothing from Thorne these past couple months?”
I exhaled heavily through my nose.
“You like her, right?”
I nodded.
“Is she with Luca?”
“Not yet, but—”
“Then she’s free for the taking, and you, Barry Glick, are going to take her.”
