The Perfect Play: A Boy Next Door Young Adult Romance (Rosemont High Baseball Book 1)

by Britney M. Mills

  “What do you mean by that?” My defenses rose, ready to punch him if he said anything bad about my father.

  “He’s barely acknowledged me over the past few years. It’s just nice to see him smiling at me again.”

  I balled my hand into a fist and slugged him in the shoulder. “I think he always thought of you as a son. When things went south between us, he turned into a protective bear. I can only imagine this looked a lot like the past, when things were simpler.”

  Jake looked at me, his eyes searching my face, a softness in his features that I hadn’t seen since a few weeks before my mother had taken off. Were all the memories invading his brain like they were mine?

  I felt the sarcasm drain away, and it made me feel vulnerable, something I’d never wanted to happen in front of him again. The attraction I now felt for the boy in front of me went way beyond what I’d tried to bury over the last few years. He was all wrong for me, and yet, there was still that goodness under the bad-boy exterior he tried to show the world.

  “I better get home. But I’ll see you around, Davis.” He winked at me, and the effects were paralyzing. He’d made it to and around the wooden fence that separated our yards before my hand was able to rise up and wave.

  My insides were on fire as I thought about all that had happened in the space of twenty minutes. How was I going to survive if I liked him as much as I was beginning to? He was Jake White, playboy of Rosemont High and ultimate betrayer of my trust. But those little peeks into his life reminded me so much more of the boy he’d been before that I wanted to trust him again, wanted to spend more time with him.

  Maybe I was just a glutton for punishment.

  Chapter 14

  Jake

  I couldn’t believe I’d gone over there and tried to relive something we’d had before. It was selfish, and I ended up with a large dark bruise by Sunday afternoon. I’d been thinking about Penny almost constantly since I left her backyard, and it all seemed surreal, like someone had bridged the gap of three and a half years when Penny and I hadn’t talked to each other.

  She had a right to be surly after all she’d been through, but there was a moment there at the end when I saw the old Penny, the one who was game for whatever adventure I proposed. The one who would forgive me for all my faults.

  Was that the reason I felt so attracted to her? I missed the life I had before my world started caving in? I wasn’t exactly sure, but I knew I needed Penny in my life, whether it was just as a friend or otherwise. She kept me grounded, didn’t let me get too full of myself, and she reminded me that planning for the future was worth a bit of time and effort. I just needed to find a way to apologize.

  I was hanging out in my room Sunday night with my music on, tossing a ball in the air, when my mom knocked on the door.

  “Someone’s here to see you.” She gave me a curious smile, probably because people coming to visit me at home never happened.

  She stepped back and disappeared down the hall, leaving the hall empty for several seconds. I sat up, wondering if I was supposed to head downstairs, but Penny came around the corner, her eyes darting around my room as if taking in everything that had changed over the years. I’d put up a couple of new posters and had a few more trophies from our summer baseball team, but other than that, it was about the same.

  “I didn’t think I’d see you here anytime soon,” I said, lying back down. I tossed the ball up in the air again, barely missing the ceiling.

  “I brought you these.”

  Turning my head, I saw a plate covered in tin foil. Baked goods.

  I jumped up and took the plate, peeling off the foil. “Homemade cupcakes? You made these for me?”

  Her jaw shifted, and she gave a curt nod. “I just wanted to say I was sorry again about hitting you yesterday.” From the tone of her voice, she wasn’t completely convincing.

  I peeled off the paper of one and took a large bite, giving a small sigh at the chocolate cake. It had been a while since my mother had cooked, let alone baked, and I couldn’t help shoving the rest of it in my mouth.

  The disgusted look on her face caused me to laugh, causing little bits of cake to get stuck in my throat. Pounding on my chest, I finally got them to pass.

  “Your dad sent you over, didn’t he?”

  “No!” she said, folding her arms and glowering at me. After a few seconds, her gaze dropped to the ground. “He might have mentioned something, but I made the cupcakes.”

  I nodded. “Well, I have to say your baking skills have definitely improved since that one time you almost lit the kitchen on fire baking a pie.”

  She took in a deep breath, and when she spoke, it was like she was trying to get out everything before she lost her nerve.

  “Did I do something to make it so we weren’t friends anymore? Because I’ve been going over and over what happened between us for the past three and a half years, and I still haven’t figured out what I did to push you away. If anything, those first few months after my mother left were the ones I needed you most.” Her voice broke on the last few words, and I couldn’t look at her. Seeing the raw emotion of the hurt I’d caused was too much.

  I picked up another cupcake, taking a large bite of it. After sitting on the bed, I raised my eyes to hers. For a moment, I considered spilling all the details that led to my ghosting her. But as I thought of the sickly yellow bruise still visible on my upper rib from the last time my father was in town, I knew I wasn’t ready. There was no way I was ready to share that humiliation with anyone, even one of my oldest friends.

  With a quick shrug, I said, “I don’t know, Pen. I was an idiot. Can’t you just forgive me so we can be friends again?” My words came out with more exasperation than I’d wanted, and I watched as her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed.

  “Don’t choke.” It was a whisper, but for some reason, it was worse than her yelling at me. She turned on her heel and left without another word.

  “Way to go, Jake,” I said out loud. The best chance I’d had at rekindling our friendship, and I’d botched it. That might as well be my middle name these days.

  Chapter 15

  Jake

  Monday morning, I threw a hat on, knowing I’d get a million questions about what had happened to my head. The brim rested right on the bruise, the discomfort making it uncomfortable at first. But my stubbornness to wear it got me through until I barely recognized the pinch of pain.

  I’d gotten to school just as Ms. Lovell opened her classroom. We had an essay due on Wednesday, and I figured the best way to answer my questions was to ask the teacher herself.

  Once I left her room, about ten minutes before the first bell, I saw Dax over by one of the large pillars that made up the commons area.

  “We missed you at the Montgomerys’ party, man. What happened to you on Saturday?” Dax asked as he reached out his hand. We clasped hands and gave each other a bro hug before resting back against the wall.

  “It was just a long day. I wasn’t up to a party.” To be honest, I’d forgotten about it.

  Dax shook his head. “The whole thing was crazy. Probably a good thing you skipped it since you’ve already talked to the police enough in the past month.”

  I turned to look at him. “Let me guess. The police showed up and arrested several people.”

  “Yup,” Dax said, glancing over the common area. I hadn’t been at school early enough all year to walk through there in the morning. “There’s Jen’s group. We should go say hello.”

  Jen Stephens had been on my radar a month ago, and I’d been working on angles to hang out with her for quite some time until, well, until I’d bumped into Penny that day before class. Had that been the turning point?

  I still had no idea who the writing on her notebook referenced, and a part of me was dying to know, while the other hoped I never would. Because if it wasn’t me, it would hurt more than a punch to the gut from my father.

  “I’m good. Let’s just sit over here. There’s Ben. Where ar
e Nate and Colt? Are they here yet?” I scanned the large room but came up empty.

  “I just got here too, man. I think Nate had an appointment with the doctor this morning, though.”

  I swallowed a large mound of bile in my throat. It didn’t matter how much time passed, I’d probably always feel guilty for what happened with Nate and the window at the diner.

  At that moment, I saw Penny walking with two other girls who looked familiar. One of them played basketball, and the other was one of the student body officers. But what I noticed most was Penny’s hair half-down. She’d worn it up in a ponytail for so long that I hadn’t realized she’d grown it down to mid-back. The coppery waves bounced along as she walked. She wore a white blouse and skinny jeans, causing me to stare longer than I should have at her curves. She was no longer the stick from our youth.

  “What’s your problem, man?” Dax asked, hitting me in the chest.

  “What do you mean?”

  Dax frowned. “You were practically salivating over Penny Davis. Do you like her?”

  “No, of course not. She’s my neighbor. I guess I was just surprised she had her hair down for once.” I stole a peek of her again, and it seemed Dax had done the same.

  “Yeah, you’re right. I’ve never seen her with anything but a ponytail.”

  I sensed Dax turning back to me, poised to ask questions, and I just hoped it wasn’t anything about why I no longer had an interest in Jen Stephens. Because then I’d have to admit my feelings for Penny were growing.

  I turned it over in my mind several times, and although it was selfish, I didn’t want to do anything until I was sure something could work between me and Penny. I just needed the opportunity to finally tell her I wanted to try and go back to the way things had been before. But that might jeopardize my current relationship with the rest of my friend group. They were all about the partying and being seen by everyone, whereas Penny preferred to keep her head down and work to get out of Rosemont.

  The bell rang, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I was actually somewhat relieved to be in class instead of getting the third degree from Dax. Life had gotten so complicated in the last three weeks, and I wasn’t exactly sure how to handle it.

  The day sped by, as did Tuesday, and then I was out on the field, warming up for a big game against Croydon. I felt good, like today was going to be an awesome day. The ball was launching off the bat with ease, and I’d been able to smoothly field anything Coach Maddox hit at me.

  Fast forward to the middle of the game, and I was standing out at shortstop when I looked up to the stands and was surprised to see Penny sitting there in the bleachers. Her friend—Kate, I think her name was—sat next to her, the two of them talking about something and smiling. Penny’s hair was pulled back now, probably because she’d been at practice before, but seeing her up there gave me a new motivation for the game.

  I hadn’t wanted to impress anyone as much as I wanted to at that moment, and I focused as Ben pitched the ball, the slider breaking toward the ground and faking out the hitter as he swung and missed. I slammed my fist into my glove, moving my feet back and forth to stay loose.

  The next pitch came, and the batter connected, sending the ball to my side of the field. I kicked my legs into gear, ready to field the ball, when Logan Hardwick, our third baseman, fielded it cleanly and threw it over to first base, getting the guy out.

  I cheered and gave Logan a high-five with our gloves before jogging over to get back in place. Ben walked the next batter, causing me to shift closer to second base in case the guy decided to steal. The first pitch to the next one was hit, too far for Logan to get this time. I sprinted as hard as I could, diving to stop the ball before it continued to the outfield. I pushed up onto my knees and turned to throw the ball to second, getting the runner out by a step.

  Three outs. I heard the crowd go wild, and I stood, dusting myself off and trying to keep the wide grin off my face. I looked up to where Penny was sitting and was surprised to see her clapping and smiling back at me. Was she actually cheering for me?

  I ran into the dugout, ducking a bit as the guys starting slapping me on the back, our normal custom for a great play. I leaned against the fence closest to the stands and clapped my hands together, more pumped than I’d been in quite a while. I loved this game, and I loved that someone I cared about had actually shown up to support me in it.

  Chapter 16

  Penny

  I’d thought about going home after practice, but I was so burned-out on homework that I decided to stay with Kate and watch the boys play against Croydon. It was always a tense matchup. Kate had been assigned as one of the officers to support the team, so at least I wasn’t alone.

  It would be easy to lie and say I wasn’t watching the shortstop closely, thinking about the closeness we’d shared the other day in my backyard. Or about the way his lie to explain the distance that sprang up between us at thirteen had caused the curiosity to flow rather than making me angry. He’d always looked at the ground and shrugged when he was lying, and it seemed like that hadn’t changed in all this time.

  I hadn’t had much time to talk to him since then, even though we’d worked the same shift at the diner the night before. The place had been so busy that it was hard to say more than “Hi” and “Excuse me.”

  And then he dove, showing off his athletic ability that some would only ever dream of having, making the play look like it was no big deal. Something like that would have taken me months of practice to perfect, and I knew for sure that Jake no longer practiced outside of team practice. Definitely an advantage to not being a pitcher.

  I couldn’t help but clap, and seeing him look in my direction caused my breath to hitch. As much as I wanted to know what his expression meant, I had to convince myself it meant nothing.

  I’d seen him walking the halls with a different girl every week, and I was not going to be one of his conquests. But he’d been so different, so vulnerable during the moments I’d spent with him over the past few weeks.

  “That was awesome!” Kate shouted above the cheers in the rest of the stands.

  “Yeah, it was!” I said, matching her volume.

  The audience settled down and got ready for the bottom half of the inning to begin. Logan, the third baseman, was first up to bat. He was a year or two younger than us, and I didn’t know much about his skills except that his swing always hesitated a second too long before he swung, making it difficult to connect.

  Kate tapped my leg and gave me a look that I knew meant she was going to ask me a question I didn’t want to answer.

  “I’m so glad you stayed to watch with me, but I have to ask. Does it have something to do with Jake White?”

  I frowned, hoping to cover the sudden rush of heat to my cheeks. “What are you talking about?”

  “Well, it’s just that every time we’ve talked in the past week or two, you’ve said something about him, and I was just curious if you were developing some stronger feelings for him. Didn’t you used to like him?”

  Blowing out a breath, I stared out at the field, cringing as Logan stared at the third strike. I’d rather run out and play instead of sitting here with all the questions I was bound to get from her. But the great thing about Kate was that she wouldn’t make fun of me.

  “It’s so complicated right now. I’ve been mad at him for years, and all of a sudden he’s been going out of his way to say hi and be nice to me again, as if he’s trying to go back to the way we used to be friends before he ditched me. I wish I could say I felt nothing for the guy, but when I see those glimmers of his former self, I go right back to being a tween crushing on the boy next door.”

  Clapping her hands together, Kate looked like she was over the moon. “Yay for you finally liking someone again. I know Johnny Goodman moving was hard. I was beginning to think you’d never be interested in anything but dead men from history again.”

  I laughed at that. I had a few historic heroes and might have talked about them m
ore than most over the past few years. “Thanks for that, Kate.”

  “It’s true. And I’ve seen Jake glance up here more than once. What if he has feelings for you too?” The joy on Kate’s face made me pause for a moment. I’d focused on my future for so long that to actually enjoy the moment suddenly scared me.

  “Let’s be honest, Kate. We know his reputation. I refuse to be one of the girls on his long list of conquests. He’ll get bored and move on anyway.” The words ripped at my chest as I said them, but that was the reality of liking the bad boy. There was no happily ever after when it came to guys like him.

  But could he go back to being the guy from before my mom left? The consoling one who cared about how things were going in my life and who I could talk to about anything, even the harder stuff?

  He acted like I’d built a wall to keep him out, but he was the one who refused to open up about why he’d suddenly ditched me to drink and party with his friends. And with the car accident and then Nate’s face going through the window at the diner, I was better off steering clear of him. Not to mention his apparent willingness to stay in town forever. There would be plenty of time to find someone when I got to college.

  Even as I thought it, I watched him pick up a bat and slide on a batting helmet before taking a few swings in the on-deck circle. Gosh, why did he have to look so attractive doing that?

  Chapter 17

  Jake

  I saw Penny walking through the halls after lunch that Friday, but before I could say anything, two of her friends joined her, Kate and a tall blonde. Kate was in one of my classes and had been extra nice to me, even more so since the baseball game on Tuesday. I hoped I wasn’t attracting her attention, because that would just mean more awkwardness between me and Penny.