Tag Forever Mine

by Catherine Charles

  I was beyond ready to leave when Presley came up to me. “Hey, you.” She positively beamed when she smiled at me. She grabbed my hand and threaded our fingers together. “Come with me.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  At some point, someone had dropped off her old Toyota Camry at the funeral home and I climbed in the passenger seat. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and rolled down the windows, her hand riding the air currents just to help her feel alive as she sang along to an old Fleetwood Mac song.

  Soon we’re parked in front of the high school ball field and she grabs her gear out of the trunk. I catch a glimpse inside before she closes the hatch and I’m amazed when I see every type of sports equipment one could possibly own. This career truly was her life. My stomach drops.

  “Hey Coach. Thanks for meeting us.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother. It was such a shock when I found out.”

  “Thank you.” She tosses me a glove and I carry the bucket of balls to the pitcher’s mound. “Coach would you mind catching today? I’m not exactly dressed for it.”

  “Sure thing.”

  She follows me out to the mound. “Are you ready?” I nod my head, and she delicately strokes my arm, “Are you okay?” I shake her off, pissed that she can read me so well.

  “Fine.”

  She looks at me marginally concerned, “Okay then.”

  “Let’s do this.”

  “Coach, you ready?”

  “Ready.” Coach squats into position and she makes her way behind the safety net, aiming the radar gun at me.

  “Eighty-two. Nice start.”

  I throw again.

  “Eighty-six. That’s great Robert.”

  I throw again.

  “Ninety-five.” She puts her hand up. “Coach give me a minute would ya.” She walks out to me. I can barely hold her gaze as I shift on the mound. “Robert, what’s going on?”

  “What! Isn’t this what you wanted?”

  “Yes, bu—”

  “Then what’s the issue?”

  “Robert, you don’t go from throwing in the seventies to ninety-five overnight. Now tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’m mad, okay?” I take four steps away from her and spin back around. “No. I’m not mad. I’m fucking pissed off.”

  “Okay. That’s good.” Her voice is smooth and caring. “Who are you mad at?” Her eyes search mine and I’m forced to look down at the dirt. “Answer me Robert. Who are you mad at?”

  “I’m pissed at myself okay!”

  “Why?”

  “You know why Presley! You’ve always known why my game has sucked.”

  “Say it Robert.”

  I look back at the ground. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Doesn’t matter Presley. I’ve got my speed back and you’re leaving.” I turn to leave but she grabs my arm. I try to wipe away a tear before she sees it, but I’m too late.

  “Who said I was leaving Robert?”

  “I heard you and your mom this morning. And you’re right. You’ve worked hard for your career, for your name, for your business. The mentorship programs you’ve set up, the results that you get, the way you connect with people. Presley I can’t ask you to give that up. You were made for this. This is what you were created to do.”

  “Robert I have this business because of you. Every game I watched was because of you. Everything I learned was because of you. Numbers and stats made sense because of you. That night at the bar you asked me where my name came from. I told you why I went by my last name, but I never told you why I chose West. It was because of you Robert.” Her voice cracks and she wipes her eyes, “I wanted your name to be a part of who I was so much that I decided in a split second during my senior year of college while talking to two scouts, that from that day forward I would only go by Donovan West. Don’t you get it? I’m not going anywhere Robert. Not without you!”

  I watch in stunned silence as her chest rises and falls heavily. Her hands forcefully wipe her eyes as she stands just out of my reach. Her voice softens, “Now tell me, why are you mad at yourself?”

  “Because I tricked myself into believing a lie. I drove down to Tucson the day before to tell you about the rookie position I was up for. I planned to take you out to dinner to celebrate. I went to your dorm room and Liv said you were at the batting cages with Trey. I went there and saw you two laughing and Trey had his hands on your hips. Any person in their right mind could see it was platonic Pres, but I was jealous. You asked him and not me.

  “I drove back to Surprise that night and just festered on everything. I know that had I just called you, or hell, even gone up to you and Trey—” I have to stop as I choke against the lump in my throat.

  She looks at me with love and remorse. I’m on the verge of bawling like a little baby and she’s calm and composed.

  “The next day I skipped practice and went to a bar instead. I didn’t know what I was thinking, but I ran into Carter and he kept buying me drinks. We talked about him becoming my agent and what he could get for me. Turns out he also called the league and reported me for underage drinking. I was pulled from the rookie consideration and was benched for a month.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong Presley! You never did anything wrong, and even now, after everything I’ve done to you, everything I’ve said to you, called you, you are the one person who has had every right to walk away from me, and yet you’re standing right here on a pitcher’s mound with me.” I can't even pretend to stifle my tears. She deserves every ounce of honesty. “I didn’t go look for you. I lost five years with you because I was stupid and arrogant. I became pissed at the world because I couldn’t have you, but I never did anything to get you back.”

  She stands there in complete silence. Staring at me while I crumble.

  “Presley, please say something.”

  Her eyes sparkle and I recognize that smile. “Throw the ball.”

  “What?” I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand as she grabs a ball from the bucket and puts it in my glove.

  “Throw the ball, Robert.”

  I blink quickly to dry my eyes and wait for her to get behind the safety net.

  “One-oh-two. Again.”

  I throw another.

  “One-oh-five. Again.”

  I do as I’m told.

  “One twelve. Again. One fifteen.”

  Coach stands up and Presley comes back up to the mound, “Don’t ever question me again.”

  I pull her hard against my chest, wrapping my arm tightly around her shoulders, kissing the crown of her head as she fists the sides of my dress shirt.

  “Well I think it’s safe to say someone got his arm back.”

  Coach claps me on my shoulder and she looks up at me, her cute little chin resting perfectly against my sternum.

  “We’ll try again in a few days, but yea—I think it’s safe to say he did.” Her emerald eyes smile up at me as she tugs gently on my shirt. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Two weeks pass quickly, and I’m torn between taking the whole six months to prep Robert for professional ball, or to cut his rehab short so I can officially commit to him as more than just a trainer.

  He has continued to wake every morning at four thirty to help Gramps with the cattle and other tasks around the ranch before going to practice with Kevin, who, under Robert’s instruction has improved immensely. He’s just a freshman, so there’s still plenty of time for growth. With any luck he’ll be another minor league choice just like Robert was.

  Robert and I have spent a total of eight days out on the field ever since his speed returned and it hasn’t wavered. I’m more than certain the Rangers will be happy with a ninety-eight miles per hour average.

  I weigh all my options with him and take into consideration the different possible outcomes that might result if I cut him loose before the six-month mark
.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Mom sits down on the porch swing and hands me a peach iced tea.

  “I think it’s time to go back to Arizona.”

  “Well, you’ve done a remarkable job sweetie. Definitely your best one yet.” She bumps my shoulder with hers and for some reason I slightly blush.

  “I kinda liked this one.”

  “I know you do peanut.”

  “But now it’s time for you to settle a few lingering questions we have.” Robert’s momma comes out the back door, drink in hand and rest against the porch railing.

  “Hey Mrs. West. I didn’t know you were here.”

  “I came by to see your momma.”

  “What questions did you have?”

  “What are we talking about?” Robert comes through the back door followed by Gramps.

  “Oh great! We’re doing this now? Don’t forget I had August.”

  “Hush Dad!” Mom barks out.

  My head whips back and forth between the three of them trying to keep up with the very strange conversation going on among them. “What’s going on?”

  “Yea, I’m kinda at a loss as well.”

  Robert takes a seat on the swing next to me, putting his arm around the back rest and pulling me close to him before kissing my cheek. I’m honestly worried about the sturdiness of the old wooden swing and the fact it is now holding the weight of two adults and Robert’s monstrous frame.

  “It’s nothing peanut,” Mom says as she pats my leg.

  “We can discuss this later,” Diane chimes in, giving a wink to mom.

  “Like hell we are. I know you both aren’t above cheating, and I don’t wanna loose fifty bucks.”

  Robert snickers and I can't believe what I’m hearing. “Are you kidding me right now! Did you guys bet on us again?”

  “Oh honey. It’s not our fault, you two just make it too easy.”

  I roll my eyes at Mom.

  “Well I already lost the marriage bet, so what was this one for?”

  “We had a couple bets going.”

  “What! Mom!” Robert seems utterly shocked.

  I giggle and give him a sideways glance, “Not so funny now is it.”

  Tina is the first to speak up, “The first one was who was gonna cave first.”

  Diane looks pleased with herself as she raises her hand and wiggles her fingers in the air and Robert seems surprised. “I won that one.”

  “You bet against your own son?”

  “Hell yes I did, no offense dear, but I’ve seen Presley here with plenty of men. It’s her job to break the little pricks. I come over during the first part of the process because it’s more entertaining than anything on television.”

  I let out a snort as I try to hold in my laughter.

  Robert looks at me eyes wide. “Did you just snort?” His smile reaches from ear to ear and I’m confident in my decision to head back to Arizona. He’s changed so much over the last month there is no reason to draw out his progress just to hit the six-month mark. He’s ready for the next step and so am I.

  “No,” I giggle out. He digs is fingers into my side, tickling me while pulling me onto his lap, kissing me quickly before returning to the conversation at hand.

  “Thanks Mom. Really appreciate the vote of confidence you had in your only child.”

  “Oh hush you.” She swats at him and he moves just out of her reach.

  “Alright, so what else was there?”

  “When you two would finally fuck.”

  I immediately turn bright red as my voice raises about three octaves, “Mom!”

  Robert chokes on his drink, “I don’t even know if I want to know who won this one.” He chokes out in between gasps.

  Tina speaks very matter-of-factly. “Come on. It’s not like there’s anything to hide. We know that you two probably slept together within hours of arriving in Arizona, and then when Presley went on birth control—”

  “Mom!” I screech out. Robert holds me securely in place.

  “What? Presley, you used your insurance card. Did you not think your father and I would see it?”

  “Wait! Daddy knew?”

  “Yes. And we were very proud of you.”

  I turn into Robert, burying my face deep in his neck, feeling his arms wrap protectively around me, calms yet strangely arouses me all at the same time.

  “Anyway, as I was saying, I felt it was important that Diane know you both were being responsible, and we were in the clear from any pregnancy scares.”

  “Nice job with the IUD by the way Presley,” Diane winks at me.

  “Wait, IUD? Isn’t that a bomb?”

  “No Dad. That’s an IED. An IUD is placed at the top of Presley’s uterus. She can't get pregnant while it’s in there.”

  Shoot me. Just end this torture now.

  Robert’s chest vibrates and I glare at him. “Do you find this funny?”

  “Kinda.” That goofy grin is still on his face.

  “I’m going inside.” I try to move from his lap, but I’m held tight against him.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” he whispers into my ear. “So what if they know we have sex. They’d find out anyway. One day we’ll tell them you’re pregnant and they’ll know exactly what we did.” He pulls my earlobe between his teeth, sucking gently before running his tongue against the back side. I melt into him and suddenly I don’t care about IUD’s, IED’s, or any other alphabetical soup acronyms. My stomach warms with the notion of being pregnant with his child, and as if he can read my mind, he rests his hand low on my stomach. “One day beautiful.”

  We’re pulled from our bubble as Gramps yells out, “Oh hell! I give up trying to know what’s what.”

  I realize that while Robert and I were off in our own little world, the conversation of our parents betting on our sexual life continued on. “Please remind me again why you bet on when we would have sex?”

  “Not sex dear. When you two would first fuck. And that’s easy.” I do love how crass Diane can be sometimes. She’s definitely not one to mince words.

  Mom takes a sip of her tea and holds a finger in the air, “Mmm.” She sets the glass down on the armrest. “She’s right. The sexual tension between you two the day you showed up with Robert was so strong, I thought I was gonna get pregnant just by being in the same room as you two.”

  “So when was it? I got fifty on the night your folks and I took Gram—” Gramps words fade out.

  I hadn’t even put two and two together until just now. I was having one of the best nights of my life while he was having the worst night of his. I inconspicuously glance at Robert and can tell he is coming to the same realization.

  “And the second option was when Presley told us your speed was back up.”

  The day of the funeral. Why did our most recent sexual escapades seem to center around death? Sure we’ve had sex since then, but those two times, times when Robert and I were over the moon with each other, those were the times that were the hardest for Gramps.

  “So when was it?” Mom asks anxiously.

  Robert and I both sit quietly for a moment before he squeezes me tighter and I rest my head on his shoulder. He looks at me lovingly before kissing my nose and returning he attention to our overly intrusive family members. “I never fucked Presley.”

  “Good answer son.” Gramps gives Robert a nod of approval and one of those old man smiles, the kind that says, “I’ve been through a hell of a lot, and you’re alright in my book.”

  “So when do you two leave? Diane and I want to have a nice dinner with everyone before you head back.”

  I look at Robert, checking for any hesitation on his part, “Are you ready for this?”

  He holds my glance and without any hesitation he replies, “With you by my side, absolutely.”

  I give a short nod and my body instantly shifts from giddy, hopeful, aroused girlfriend to calculated Donovan. “Okay then. How about three days from now. We’ll leave early Sunday morning.”
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br />   “Sounds good.” I know Robert sensed my switch as he went from relaxed to slightly rigid, his eyes dimmed with a look of longing behind them.

  “Tina what do you want me to make?”

  “Let’s go inside Diane. We need to map this out. There’s decorations, dinner, drinks, dessert—”

  “Mom. Whoa. Plan? It’s just the six of us.”

  “Oh no honey. It’s everybody that had a part in this. Coach. Kevin. Charlie. Trey. Liv.”

  “Definitely Liv.”

  “And Walter. Honey this is a celebration for not only Robert, but for the both of you. Everything is right in the world again.”

  Our mothers and Gramps get a good laugh in while I give Robert a mischievous grin.

  “Well not just yet. Someone’s gotta learn to strikeout again.”

  Robert eyes me suspiciously and I sweetly smile back. “Don’t worry. I have a feeling you’re gonna like this.”

  Our mothers go inside, and we’re left with a peaceful silence.

  “Robert, can I get your help with something in the garage?”

  “Yes sir.” He gently taps my behind and I shimmy off his lap and onto the still intact porch swing. Robert kisses me before heading off with Gramps, three sipping kisses that leave me wanting for more.

  Once again I am all alone, Kringle resting by my feet. I take in the quiet as my time here draws to a close. Three days and then I’ll be gone, unsure of when I’ll return or even what my life will consist of once Robert and I are back in Surprise. He could very easily be down in Texas in two months and I need to figure out what I’m going to do with my career and my business.

  * * *

  I trail behind Gramps, making our way out to the garage, clueless to what he could need help with. We step inside and he heads over to an old black rusted toolbox and pulls out one of the bottom sliding drawers.

  “What did you need help with sir?”

  “No help needed.” He pulls something from it and then turns to face me. “Son, you’ve done great work these last couple of weeks. I’m glad to see you’re not still the same arrogant prick that showed up here a little while ago.”