AllFreeNovel
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Baseball is a team sport. But this little patch of earth in the center of the diamond can often feel like an island. And I’m marooned with the responsibility of controlling the score of the game.
I raise my leg and draw my hands into my chest, preparing to pitch. My arms follow my stride as I push off from the mount and let the ball fly. It’s a perfect strike, rattling the chain of the backstop with its force.
I keep practicing until the sun starts to sink, finally providing some relief after a sweltering day. I clean up all the equipment and then head toward the cabins.
When I enter mine, the three guys I’m bunking with are all lounging around in the air conditioning. Hugh is sprawled out on the couch, sipping a beer.
Brian looks up first. “Tell me you’re not just getting back from the field, Winters.”
“I’m not just getting back from the field.”
Brian swears, then shakes his head. “Man, you’re a machine.”
“Isn’t your arm dead?” my fourth roommate, Charlie, asks.
I flex my shoulder. “Nah. It feels good. I’ll ice it, after I shower.”
“Hurry up. We’re headed to dinner soon.” Brian straightens and stretches. “Sophie told you, right?”
“Yeah, she told me.”
“I’ll bet she did.”
I roll my eyes, then head into the bathroom to shower.
Brian basically shoves me out of the door as soon as I’m ready, eager to get going. My stomach grumbles as we drive along the long road that leads to downtown.
Mayfair is considered the best baseball camp in the country. It’s located on a huge complex that hosts a bunch of other training programs, including football and soccer. The only upside of the relentless heat is that Kentucky feels cooler by comparison.
The downtown section is larger than I expected the first time I came here, the summer before starting college. It’s supported by a nearby college in the colder months, and by the hundreds of athletes that attend Mayfair camps in the summer. Lots of new places pop up regularly, like the Mexican place we’re headed to tonight.
My stomach grumbles as soon as we walk inside the restaurant. I haven’t eaten since lunch, and burned a few hundred calories since. I’m starving.
Sophie is already sitting with a large group in one of the corner booths.
A loud cheer goes up when they spot us. Brian has the big personality that makes him the life of the party. And, as conceited as it sounds, I’ve always been popular without trying. I used to think it was my last name. But no one here aside from Sophie associates it with anything but the season. So I guess some of it is just…me.
I end up wedged between Brian and Hugh. At least arriving last means we’re at one end of the circular table, but it’s still a tight fit. There are already pitchers of margarita on the table. I ignore the cocktails and fill a plate with chips and salsa instead.
“You guys were outside all day?” Joel Maguire asks Brian. He’s here for football, not baseball.
Brian groans dramatically. “Yeah. You?”
“Nah, we lifted weights inside for a while.”
“Lucky.” Hugh grumbles to my left.
The waitress appears to take our orders. I glance over the menu, deciding on a chicken burrito. After enough ribbing from Brian, I order a beer too. He means well, but he doesn’t love baseball. Not the way I do. He—and most of the other guys I’ve played with—leave the game on the field. I’ve never been able to do that.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. My mom and Lennon are the only two people who call instead of text, and my mom is in Paris right now. It’s the middle of the night there.
I elbow Brian, who’s blocking me in. “Move.”
He sighs, dramatically. “We just got here.”
“Lennon is calling. I mean it, man. Move.”
“She is? Let me say hi.”
