AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lennon’s long, denim-clad legs approach me, and I promptly forget about Jake’s meddling.
She’s close to me. Really close. Closer than we’ve been for six months. She realizes it, too. Lennon’s lips are a terse line and her shoulders are tensed.
She misses Colt’s first two pitches, the second of which is an obvious ball. I call it, and he rolls his eyes.
Lennon readjusts her position, and I can’t help myself. “Drop your right shoulder.”
She does, along with her left. So she can lower the bat and glare at me. “You’re giving me pointers?”
“You didn’t seem to mind last time.” Lennon’s cheeks are pink, but I’m not sure if it’s in response to the cold or my comment. It’s just occurring to me, now that the alcohol and adrenaline are wearing off, that it’s fairly chilly out.
“Speak for yourself,” she responds.
“Fine. I didn’t mind giving you pointers last time.” I stand, abandoning my position so I can move behind her. I shift slowly, giving her time to move away if she wants to.
She doesn’t, and it prompts a powerful flash of déjà vu as I adjust her grip on the bat and then reluctantly step away.
It’s the first time I’ve ever been happy to see an opposing player hit the ball, and I don’t hide the stupid grin on my face watching her jog to first base.
Despite the other team managing to hit some of Colt’s pitches, the game winds down pretty quickly after that.
It’s getting late. I don’t know exactly what time, but I fight back a yawn as I massage my right shoulder. I’m going to feel those pitches tomorrow.
People depart in waves, but Lennon’s not one of them. She leans against one of the posts of the dugout, not even pretending to talk to anyone.
I help Jake return the baseballs, bats, and gloves back to the equipment shed before returning to the field. It’s almost empty now; just a few stragglers still here.
Mostly my friends. And hers. None of them are oblivious to social cues, so they disappear quickly once it becomes clear we’re both waiting on purpose.
Even once we’re alone, she still doesn’t say anything.
“It’s nice to see you,” I finally state. Lame, but true. And what I should have led with, as soon as she arrived at Jake’s. “How are you?”
“I’m in love with you.” Her response is matter-of-fact.
I experience a little sympathy for how Lennon must have felt when I dropped the same declaration on her. I know I surprised her then, butsurpriseddoesn’t really cover how I’m feeling right now.
It takes me at least a minute to regain the ability to speak. Once I do, I say the first thing that pops into my head. “Absence really does make the heart grow fonder, huh?”
“I felt this way before you left, Caleb.” Another shocker.
“You did?”
Lennon nods, then bites her bottom lip. “I know you said you were going to come back. I believed that you believed that. But…”Shedidn’t believe I was coming back. It’s so apparent, the words might as well be written across her face. “You lived here for four years, Caleb. Your grandfather is gone. Your parents are hardly ever here. You don’t even like horses! There’s nothing pulling you back here.”
“There’s you.”
“I thought you’d meet lots of girls and that anything you felt for me wouldn’t matter for very long. I don’t have the best track record of people choosing to stick around. And, you’reCaleb Winters. You have everything going for you. I was scared to find out what it would be like to compete against all that.”
“And all that’s changed? Just because I came home for winter break like I thought you knew I would all along?”
“No,” she says softly, shaking her head. “Nothinghas changed. That’s the problem. I thought your feelings would go away. And…I thought mine would too. I thought I’d be busy enough with everything here—that it would be a relief when you were gone. But not telling you how I felt and doing nothing about it…didn’t make any difference. So, I figured I would at least be honest with you, since you were always honest with me.”
“What are you saying, Lennon?”
She looks away, out at the field. “Nothing’s changed, Caleb. Landry is my home. I have Gramps and the farm. I don’t know if—or when—I’ll ever leave. And you have this whole other life now.” Her gaze meets mine again. “I mean, I don’t even know if you’re single.”
“I wouldn’t have flirted with you earlier if I wasn’t single, Lennon.”
