The scout nodded as he looked at her for a moment. “Well, if you want, I can get you a try out for the University’s softball team.”
Tara’s face drained of all color as her eyes grew as big as silver dollars. She shot me a quick glance to see if she had heard what she thought she had heard.
I raised my eyebrows and tried not to smile but my heart pounded in my chest. The thought of Tara getting her dream was special. No one deserved it more.
“With the Huskies?” she said to him with a bit of a tremble in her voice. “They’ve been national champions twice in the last ten years.”
Mr. Seaver nodded. “I know your school doesn’t have a softball team. But I know an athlete when I see one. And anyone who can catch Grant here should be able to handle college-level fastpitch softball. It would probably come down to your hitting. I can’t promise anything, but it is a chance.”
She looked back and forth between us, I wanted to yell at the sky. This could be the answer to all of her problems.
Suddenly, her brow furrowed. “Are you doing this because you hope it will make Grant pick your school.”
Mr. Seaver laughed and shook his head. “If you knew Coach Kinkade then you would know that she doesn’t let anyone mess with her team. No, it is just a tryout, there will be several dozen girls there. The rest is up to you.”
Tara studied the problem for a long second. Searching for any catch or hidden trap. But at last, she smiled widely and nodded.
“Thank you, yes, I would love that.”
The scout smiled and said, “I’ll get the information to Grant’s coach. It is in few weeks. On the sixteenth, I’ll let Coach Kinkade know that you are coming. The rest is up to you.”
Tara smiled, her face beaming with pleasure. God, how wonderful she looked. My heart melted at her joy with the world.
She turned to me and then threw herself at me, giving me a hug to beat all hugs. Her soft scent of lavender engulfed me, making my heart sing with pleasure as I dropped my arms around her and returned her embrace.
As my hands settled onto the small of her back, I couldn’t help but notice how well we fit together. Her curves just seemed to mesh softly with my body. As if she had been designed for that specific purpose.
My eyes closed for just the briefest of moments as I drifted off into thoughts I shouldn’t have. Not about Tara.
Sighing heavily, I pulled back and smiled at her. She smiled up at me and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything,”
“If I hadn’t been warming you up he never would have seen me. If you weren’t so good, he wouldn’t have even been there.”
I shrugged my shoulders, then grabbed my glove and headed for the dugout. Get your head back in the game, I told myself. But that awkward feeling was hanging around, haunting the back of my brain as I remembered the way Tara had felt in my arms.
For some reason, it took me three batters before I could get back to pitching the way I should have. Coach shot me the stink eye and raised his shoulders, silently asked me if anything was wrong.
I shook him off and turned back to the mound. What could I tell him? That I was suddenly having weird thoughts about my best friend. Nope, not happening.
Instead, I bore down and focused on the game and was able to get out of the inning without giving up a run. But deep inside of me, I knew I wasn’t done thinking those thoughts.
Chapter Four
Tara
My mind was permanently stuck in hyperdrive. All I could think about was trying out for the University of Washington’s softball team. It was preposterous when you think about it. This was the top of the female baseball world. And I might have a chance to play for them.
Even with all that going on. Deep inside of me, I couldn’t forget the way it felt to hug Grant. How wonderfully safe it made me feel to have his arms wrap around me. Biting my lip, I fought to put the feeling away and try to focus on the tryouts.
I hadn’t told anyone yet. My mind just refused to believe it was true and I was afraid if I said anything the bubble would burst. It was all just unthinkable.
Of course, my stomach was in constant turmoil. How would I do? I didn’t really have any experience. Sure I could catch Grant and hit off him. But was that enough?
And then there was the thought of paying for it all. No way would I get a scholarship. Paying for community college was hard enough, how would I pay for a full four-year university.
As I approached the field to watch Grant’s practice, I was struck that things weren’t normal. The guys weren’t running sprints. No one was tossing a ball. They all just seemed to be standing around waiting. Several of them shot me smiles as if they were waiting for some prank to be pulled on me.
Coach Livingston and Grant stood by the mound with a young woman dressed in shorts, and a baseball jersey, her ponytail sticking out of the back of her hat.
Coach waved me over. “Tara, this is Ann McCaffery,” he said as if I should know the name. “She played for the Huskies and coaches over at Travis High School.
I shook her hand as she gave me a warm smile. My mind was racing trying to figure out what was going on.
“Nice to meet you, Tara,” the young woman said. “I wish I had known about you a few years ago. I would have gotten you to transfer to Travis so you could play ball for us.”
My stomach fell. They knew. I grit my teeth as I tried to smile back at her. How did they know? Then I saw the look Grant shot me and understood. He had told everyone. How dare he do that before I was ready? No, he did this for me, I realized. This was Grant’s way of looking out for me.
“She’s going to pitch to you,” Coach Livingston said. “We’ve only got a few weeks so we won’t be able to get you fully ready. But we can knock the rough spots off.”
I frowned at him trying to understand.
“Hey, I offered to do it,” Grant said with that huge smile of his.
“You mess up that arm and I will skin you alive,” Coach said to him. “No, Tara needs to see the real thing. Throwing a softball underhand is totally different. Besides, it will do you good to stand on the sidelines for once.”
Grant shrugged sheepishly and took a step back. This was no longer his show.
Coach McCaffery smiled at me and said, “Coach Livingston says you can catch anything anyone can throw at you. So we need to focus on your hitting. They can always use a good catcher, but it is your hitting that will determine if you make the team or not.”
I nodded as I tried to understand what exactly was going on.
“Grab a bat girl,” Coach Livingston said. “We don’t have all day. I’ve still got a team I need to get ready for the next game.”
Swallowing hard, I got a bat out of the rack and walked up to plate. Jenkins was crouched down taking warm-up pitches from Coach McCaffery. He shot me a smirk and said, “You’ve got this.”
A warm feeling filled me as I realized they were all pulling for me. I could see it in the faces of the guys out in the field. That hopeful, expectant confidence. I glanced over at Coach and Grant by the dugout and got the same look.
Everyone wanted me to succeed. But what if I didn’t, what if I let them down. A sudden fear rushed through me as I realized this wasn’t me and Grant playing catch. This was for real.
Taking my stance, I took a couple of practice swings and looked out at the pitcher. She smiled, began her windup, and whipped a ball past me before I knew it was coming. The sharp snap of the big softball hitting Jenkins glove shocked me.
Okay, this was serious. She didn’t throw faster than Grant but because she was so much closer, the ball got on me quickly. Taking a deep breath, I forced my heart to slow down. Nodded my head to her to go again.
The ball came on a lower plane than Grant’s fastball. But it was straight and steady.
My world disappeared, sights, colors, sounds, all vanished. It was just me and that ball.
On its own, my foot stepped toward the field, my arms tense
d, then released, bringing the bat down and through the ball like I’d done a thousand times before.
The bat’s sweet spot connected with a satisfying pop and the ball shot out into the left field gap. An immense sense of accomplishment flowed through me as I watched the ball rush pass the outfielder all the way to the fence.
Coach McCaffery twisted to watch my hit then turned back to me and smiled as she nodded her approval. But it was the admiring grin on Grant’s face that really made me feel special.
After another ten pitches, Coach McCaffery told me to get suited up so she could see how I did behind the plate.
“You’re going to have to get a softball mitt,” she told me when I crouched down behind the plate.
I nodded as I calculated the cost.
She wound up and pounded a ball into the back of my glove. She nodded then said, “Okay, this one is a curve, get ready for me to bounce it out front.”
Sure enough, the ball bounced an inch in front of the plate, I sprang to the side to block it with my chest like I’d done a thousand times for Grant.
We ran through a dozen different scenarios. Me throwing down to second. Taking long throws from the outfield. Everything I might need to do in a game.
When we were done, Coach McCaffery smiled and called me over.
“You’ve got the talent,” she said, sending my spirits soaring. Was she right? Did I have a chance?
“But,” she continued, sending my hopes to a screeching halt. “They don’t have a history on you. So it will come down to your performance at the tryouts.”
I swallowed hard as I nodded that I understood.
She smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “You just do what you showed me today and you will be fine.”
I sighed internally. Was this really happening? Could my secret dreams really come true? Then without any anticipation, a strange thought jumped into my brain. Which would I rather have, Make the team, or have Grant love me the way I loved him?
Pushing the question away, I thanked her again then got out of the way so the team could start their practice. But deep down, I knew the answer. I also knew it would never happen.
.o0o.
Grant was quiet on the way home, unusual for him. I had expected him to pepper me with questions, but he’d become a silent sphinx all of a sudden. For just the briefest of moments I wondered if he was jealous, but then I had to laugh at myself. The boy was on the road to the Majors. He had nothing to be jealous about.
No, something else was bothering him.
“What do you think are my chances?” I asked him. “Of making the team?”
His brow furrowed for a second. “If they’ve got any sense, you will make it for sure.”
“Come on, tell me the truth,”
He took a deep breath. “At this point, probably fifty-fifty. It will depend on your competition and how well you do.”
I nodded, that was pretty much what I figured. I had to smile to myself. I could always count on Grant, to be honest with me.
“But hey,” he said with a slight smile. “It could be worse, they could have had tryouts a day earlier.”
“Why would that be bad?” I asked with a frown.
He glanced over at me for a second then shook his head. “Prom is on the fifteenth.”
“So?” I replied as I tried to understand the significance.
“Aren’t you going to the prom,” he asked. “I mean this is your last chance to attend a high school dance. Don’t you want to go?”
My stomach turned over with gut-wrenching shame. How could I explain that going alone would be the ultimate embarrassment?
“Who are you taking?” I asked, desperately hoping to shift the attention back on him.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Well you won’t have a problem finding someone,” I said. “There will be a dozen girls waiting in line for you to ask them.”
He looked at me strangely for a second then said, “What about me and you?”
My heart stopped. “What do you mean, what about me and you?” This was not possible.
He shrugged his shoulders, “You and me going to the prom together. It’s our last chance to get you to a dance.”
My lungs hurt from the lack of air, I had forgotten how to breathe. Had Grant Metcalf just asked me to the prom?
“Besides,” he continued with that insufferable smirk of his. “This way I don’t have to figure out who to ask. You’ll be doing me a favor.”
The balloon burst. “God, Grant, you can be such a jerk sometimes.”
He frowned and I swear the boy really was clueless, he had no idea how much his words had hurt.
“What?” he asked. “Does that mean no, you won’t go with me.”
I turned on him and gave him my best glare, trying desperately to send a mental message to the idiot about just how mean he could be.
It was useless. At last, I sighed heavily. “No, it doesn’t mean no. But it doesn’t mean yes. Not unless you ask me nicely.”
Again he frowned. “What do you mean nicely?”
“Like I’m a girl, not your sidekick. Like I have actual feelings. Unlike those other lug heads, you hang around with.”
He stared at me for a long second then I could have sworn the light finally went on over his head.
He smiled slightly and nodded. “Tara Pearson, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the High School Prom?”
My insides froze into solid ice as my brain frantically scrambled. This was Grant. Why was he asking me to the prom? What did it all mean? It couldn’t be romantic. We’d never even flirted with each other. Was it simply that he didn’t want to be bothered asking anyone else. I was an easy solution.
But so what, I told myself. It meant me attending Prom on Grant’s arm. I could well imagine the look of jealousy from every other girl there. That alone made it impossible to say no.
When you add in the fact that I had dreamt about this for most of my life. No way was I letting this opportunity slip away. But no way was I making it easy for him.
I looked up into his eyes and said, “Maybe. Let me think about it and I will get back to you.”
Chapter Five
Grant
What had I been thinking? Asking Tara to the prom. How much of an idiot could I be?
It had just bubbled out of me before I could stop myself. Why? It wasn’t just the thought of everything coming to an end and this being our last chance to party.
No, something else had pushed me and I didn’t know if I wanted to explore those feelings
Treat it like no big deal I told myself as I stepped outside the next morning. If she didn’t want to go, no problem. It didn’t mean anything, it was just a suggestion. But deep down inside, My stomach was twisting itself into knots.
Tara shot me a quick smile as she came out to get in the car.
I froze for just a second. She looked different somehow. Not the same Tara. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was different.
“So, did you think about it?” I asked as I slid into my seat, unable to keep my mouth shut.
“Think about what?” she asked.
Oooh, the girl had a cruel streak at times.
“The Prom,” I snapped.
She gave me an innocent stare as if she were trying to figure out what I was talking about. And why had her answer suddenly become so important to me, I wondered?
“Oh that,” she said. “Not really. I’ll let you know in a couple of days. We have plenty of time.”
My stomach sank, that cruel streak was getting bigger every second.
“Why the delay?” I asked. “Either you want to go with me or not.”
She turned in her seat and slowly shook her head. “Just a couple of days. You never know. I might get a better offer.”
My insides scrunched up as I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from snapping at her.
Throwing the car into gear I pulled out, m
y mind scrambling to figure out why I was so upset. We drove to school in awkward silence which was unusual for us. We were never awkward together.
Tara occasionally shot me a quick glance and I swear she was enjoying my pain.
Well, two could play at this game. If she said no, then I swore to myself I would ask Cindy Lewellyn. That would teach Tara. Just imagining her anger at me asking her arch enemy sent a small thrill through me.
Then the realization of what I was thinking about doing hit me. No way would I do that to Tara. Besides, Cindy would have driven me insane within the first thirty minutes. No, if Tara said no, then I’d just wouldn’t go to the Prom. Not a big deal. Life would go on.
Glancing over at her, I tried to figure out what she was thinking and why she looked different for some reason. But I came up blank on both fronts.
.o0o.
Tara
Grant was squirming, and I had to admit to myself that I was enjoying it more than I should have. But then, he deserved it.
I had planned on making him wait until the end of the week, but then I saw the worry in the back of his eyes and realized I couldn’t do that to him. Besides, that awkward silence between us tore at my stomach too much.
“Okay, I’ll go with you,” I said.
He turned to me and frowned. “Go with me where?”
I slapped his arm with the back of my hand. He smiled that Grant smile of his. The one that melted my heart and made the world seem good.
Grant Metcalf and I were going to the prom together. Miracles could come true. Sure, it was just as friends. Nothing romantic. But still, it was the prom and he’d asked me, not some other girl. Yes, miracles did come true.
.o0o.
Needless to say, my life became a whirlwind. Besides, all the normal stuff that had to get finished up at the end of the year, finals, tests, and boring stuff like that. I spent the beginning of each practice working on my hitting. Then after practice, Grant and I would put in extra time.
After Friday’s practice Coach Livingston called me over. The guys had all gathered around like they were waiting for a surprise. Shooting each other expectant smiles. My stomach tightened up. I knew their history of pranks and practical jokes. I had learned long ago to be wary.
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