Fast Pitch

by Graysen Morgen

  Fast Pitch

  Graysen Morgen

  Triplicity Publishing, LLC (2013)

  * * *

  Rating: ★★★★☆

  * * *

  Graham Cahill is a senior in college and the catcher and captain of the softball team. Her life is chaotic with her senior thesis due and graduation coming up. She's not thrilled when she has to spend extra time practicing with the new hotshot freshman pitcher.

  Despite being an all-star pitcher, Bailey Michaels is young and arrogant. She struggles at the mound and is not willing to admit she has a problem with ball control.

  Graham and Bailey are forced to get to know each other off the field in order to learn to work together on the field. Will the extra time pay off or will it drive a nail through the team?

  About the Author

  Graysen Morgen is a bestselling author. She was born and raised in North Florida with winding rivers and waterways at her back door and the white sandy beach a mile away. She has spent most of her lifetime in the sun and on the water. She enjoys reading, writing, fishing, and spending as much time as possible with her partner and their daughter. You can contact Graysen at graysenmorgen@aol.com and like her fan page on facebook.com/graysenmorgen

  Fast

  Pitch

  By

  Graysen Morgen

  Fast Pitch © 2013 Graysen Morgen

  Triplicity Publishing, LLC

  ISBN-13: 978-0988619623

  ISBN-10: 0988619628

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events of any kind, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Edition – 2013

  Cover Design: Triplicity Publishing, LLC

  Interior Design: Triplicity Publishing, LLC

  Also by Graysen Morgen

  Falling Snow

  Fate vs. Destiny

  In Love, at War

  Just Me

  Love, Loss, Revenge

  Natural instinct

  Secluded Heart

  Submerged

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to Lee Fitzsimmons, the person who spends countless hours correcting my mistakes. You are right, it is hard to find good help!

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my partner. After years of asking me to write a softball book, here you go. Without you none of this would be possible and I thank you for it every day.

  Chapter 1

  "Are you ready yet? We were supposed to be there five minutes ago, Dash." Graham Cahill ran a hand through her spiky, short, dirty-blond hair and paced the floor of their tiny campus apartment. She was a senior at the University of Central Oregon studying biology and was also the catcher on the softball team and the team captain.

  Her roommate, teammate, and best friend Dashtin Oliver swayed across the living room floor with a goofy grin on her face pulling her plain brown hair back into a ponytail. She was the shortstop on the team and also a senior.

  "Don't get all bent out of shape, Graham. It's the first day of practice and it's snowing. I seriously doubt we'll be doing a whole lot."

  "I'm leaving. If you're not in the Jeep in the next few seconds you can walk," Graham said grabbing her bag and hustling out the door.

  The red Jeep Wrangler was rolling backwards as Dashtin jumped in with her bag. Her car was in the shop for the umpteenth time so she was relying on Graham for transportation and Graham was punctual where Dashtin was notorious for being late.

  "You're a pain in the ass," Graham said.

  "Yeah, but you love me." Dashtin smacked her arm. Graham rolled her eyes and shifted gears.

  "You know, you may have been on time this morning if you hadn't had to chase your latest conquest out of your bed."

  "How was I to know the girl would be so difficult to wake up," Dashtin said.

  "Do you even know her name?"

  "Does it matter?"

  Graham shook her head. She cared for her best friend and worried about her. In the four years she'd known her Dashtin had never had a serious girlfriend. She preferred the one night stand routine claiming she was too young to settle down and play house.

  The Jeep brushed up against the snow bank as Graham parked in the lot outside of the athletic building. Both women grabbed their bags and hurried inside.

  ~

  Linda Walker, the head coach of the UCO Pioneer softball team was going over the team rules as her two star players meandered in.

  "What's rule number one, ladies?" she asked.

  "Don't be late," they said simultaneously.

  "What happens when we are late?" Coach Walker asked.

  Graham and Dashtin pushed their bags to the side. "We assume the position," they said as they got down on the floor in the push-up position.

  "So where were we before our fearless captain and her sidekick decided to greet us with their presence?" she said checking her notes. "Oh yes, as you can see it's not a good idea to be late to team functions. I take my job seriously and I take this team seriously. Those of you that think this is playtime will learn very quickly that you are wrong." She talked for another five minutes before she allowed the two to join the rest of the team.

  Graham's arms were burning; she wanted to bitch-slap her best friend.

  "Now that we're all together, let me start by introducing our two new team members. Claudia Manning comes to us from Seattle, Washington. She's an outfielder with a three-forty batting average." Coach Walker pointed to her and a light skinned black girl stood up, smiling nervously.

  When she sat down the coach pointed to another girl that stood. Graham noticed how petite the girl was right away. She had dark, wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail, bright green eyes that glowed like cat eyes, and a silky smooth olive complexion.

  "This is our new pitcher, Bailey Michaels. She was an All-Conference player for her high school in Austin, Texas with a three year record of striking out 102 batters in 51 innings."

  Bailey smiled and sat back down. Dashtin elbowed Graham and held her hand out at dwarf height when she looked at her. Graham grinned and rolled her eyes.

  "I'd like to be the first to welcome you both to the Pioneers," Coach Walker said. "I know you haven't had a chance to meet everyone yet, but let me introduce my coaching staff." She pointed to a wiry redhead who waved. "This is Deanna Parker the pitching and assistant coach. Bailey you will get to know her very well."

  Coach Walker pointed to the young woman next to her. She had dark, straight hair pulled back in a ponytail and dark brown eyes. "This is Helena Mendez our student coach for this season. Now that we all know each other let's break-up into groups. If we can't be out on the field we'll work out in the gym."

  Everyone moved quickly from the locker room into the large gym full of weight training equipment with a few treadmills and elliptical machines. Graham and Dashtin walked over to one of the weight benches and started stacking weights on the bar.

  "What do you think of the new pitcher?" Dashtin asked.

  "I have no idea. I don't know her."

  "She looks too small to be a pitcher. She's cute though."

  "I can't tell you anything about her until I see her throw a ball. She is a little shorter than most pitchers and for crying out loud don't sleep with her. She's a freshman," Graham said lying down on the bench. She pushed the bar up off the stand with Dashtin's guidance and lowered the weight to her chest before pushing it up.

  "Oh it's not me she's inte
rested in," Dashtin said when she saw the younger pitcher watching Graham lift the weights.

  "What?" Graham said wiping the sweat from her forehead.

  "Nothing." Dashtin raised an eyebrow protectively at the young pitcher when their eyes connected.

  They quickly switched positions and Dashtin went to work bench-pressing the weight. Graham looked around the room and noticed Bailey was on the rowing machine. Every time she moved her t-shirt rode up slightly showing off her six pack abs and her arms flexed with every pull of the machine. Graham took a second look. The young girl might be short in stature, but she had a hard-body under her workout clothes.

  Two hours later they had worked their way around to all of the different weight stations and ran on the treadmills.

  "Practice is officially over ladies," Coach Walker said. "Tomorrow we'll hit the indoor cages if the snow hasn't cleared outside."

  "Graham, I need a few minutes," Coach Parker said when Graham and Dashtin started for the locker room. She called the new pitcher over to where they were standing. "Bailey have you met our catcher and team captain, Graham Cahill?"

  "No," Bailey stuck her hand out. Graham wrapped her hand around the smaller, soft hand and shook it gently. She smiled down at the bright green eyes connecting with her blue ones.

  "You two need to get to know each other. You'll be attached at the hip. We'll start drills tomorrow," Coach Parker said.

  "So, you're my catcher." Bailey said with a grin rolling her bottom lip between her teeth.

  "I'm the team catcher. Pitchers come and go but I'm there from the first pitch to the last, every game," Graham said.

  "Looks like we have a lot in common then."

  "Are you really the stand-out pitcher that coach says you are?" Graham asked. She had to admit the girl was very cute, but very young and very cocky.

  "You don't think I am." Bailey asked.

  "I didn't say that."

  "It's implied."

  "How tall are you?" Graham asked.

  "Five-foot-two," Bailey rolled her eyes and looked up at Graham who was clearly four or five inches taller. She'd been judged over her height her entire softball career. Her first coach said there was no way she'd ever be a college level pitcher. She planned to prove everyone wrong.

  Graham nodded and turned towards the locker room. Bailey watched her walk away. Graham was leaving with Dashtin on her heels as Bailey entered the locker room.

  "Roll through McDonald's on the way home," Dashtin said.

  "Yuck. You need to quit eating that shit food."

  "I don't see you cooking for me, Ms. Healthy Homemaker."

  Chapter 2

  Graham was reading an online syllabus for one of her upcoming classes for the spring semester. She was glad to have no classes for a week. Dashtin was down the hallway singing to the blaring radio. Graham popped her head out of her doorway in time to see her strut by with her hair down which only meant one thing, she was going out on the prowl.

  "I'm going to Sister Fred's with Whitney and Vanessa from the team. A few other people are going to meet us there. You should go with us. Whatever nerdy thing you're in there doing can wait," Dashtin said.

  "I'm reading a class syllabus and trying to decide if I really want that class first thing in the morning."

  Dashtin raised her eyebrows and smirked.

  "If this nerd hadn't done some of your homework freshman year you probably wouldn't be in your senior year now."

  "Touché. Now get dressed we're leaving in a few minutes. I'm going to call Whitney and tell her I'm riding with you so they can just meet us there."

  "I'm surprised Whitney's hanging out with you. Didn't you sleep with her?"

  Dashtin laughed. "That was sophomore year, way in the past."

  "I see." Graham shook her head and went to her closet in search of something to wear for a night out on the town.

  ~

  Dashtin walked into the restaurant that doubled as a bar with a dance floor. She held Graham's hand pulling her through the crowd to the back where their teammates and other friends already had a high-top table.

  "You guys seem to be late a lot lately. What gives?" Whitney asked. She was the first base player on the team and had long, thick curly auburn hair. Graham and Dashtin pointed at each other and laughed.

  "This morning was her fault," Graham said pointing at her best friend.

  "I take it tonight was yours?" Whitney asked her.

  "Something like that."

  Dashtin grabbed two fresh glasses for the pitcher sitting on the table. She filled both glasses with the light beer and handed one to Graham.

  Graham studied the menu while Dashtin watched the people dancing nearby.

  "What are they doing here?" Dashtin said.

  "Who?" Graham looked up in time to see the two new freshman from the team walking from the dance floor towards the table. She watched them take seats at the opposite end of the table. Bailey's eyes met hers briefly before she turned back to the menu.

  "What's your grudge with the newbie's?" Whitney asked. "Did they turn you down?"

  "Funny," Dashtin said rolling her eyes.

  "The pitcher's a little cocky," Graham said.

  "I don't know much about them except they're in the East Dorm with Katie and Hannah."

  "I was in the East Dorm my freshman year. In fact, that's where I met Graham before we even had our first team meeting. I had no idea who she was," Dashtin said.

  "Did she hit on you?" Whitney asked Graham.

  "Of course, she hits on everything." Graham laughed. "Honestly, I'm not her type so it worked out for the better and we became really good friends right away."

  Graham looked at the end of the table. "I wonder if they're as overwhelmed as I was."

  Dashtin followed her line of sight. "They've been here for six months. I'm sure they're fine."

  When the waitress walked by their table Graham ordered a cheeseburger and fries and took a sip of her beer. She watched the enigmatic pitcher placing her order at the end of the table.

  "Hey, bump-on-a-log, let's dance," Dashtin said bumping shoulders with her.

  Graham stood and held her hand out to Dashtin.

  "So chivalrous." Dashtin grinned pretending to swoon.

  "Oh get over yourself," Graham laughed.

  Graham and Dashtin danced to a handful of fast song with smiles on their faces. Anyone that knew them knew they weren't together, but a few of their moves made them look like a lot more than friends.

  "How long have they been together?" Claudia, one of the new freshmen, asked.

  "They've been inseparable since their freshman year. They're not a couple though, actually never have been. They're just best friends," Vanessa said.

  Bailey watched the dance floor.

  The music quickly changed to a slower song so they walked back to the table hand-in-hand laughing and smiling. Graham sat down, drank a few sips of her beer and dug right into the cheeseburger,

  An hour later Graham still had part of her first beer in her glass and Dashtin was dancing with multiple girls on the dance floor. Helena Mendez, the team's student coach, made her way over to the table where Graham was sitting.

  "Hey," Graham said.

  "Want to dance?" Helena asked.

  "No thanks."

  "You don't know what you're missing," Helena bent down and whispered close to her ear.

  "Thanks, but no thanks," Graham stated more firmly. She was ready to go anyway and she knew Dashtin would find a ride home with no problem so she tossed some cash on the table and stood up. Helena quickly walked away.

  "Don't drink too much tonight, ladies especially if you're driving. I'm sure Coach Walker will be out for blood tomorrow and we don't need to be hung over," Graham said to the group.

  "Yes, ma'am fearless leader." Whitney saluted.

  Graham laughed and shook her head.

  "Hey Graham, if you're leaving would you mind running Bailey and Claudia back to the East Dorm? I'm not su
re how much longer I will be and they have a curfew," Vanessa said.

  "Sure," Graham said waving for them to join her.

  A light sheen of snow was falling when they got outside. Graham unlocked the Jeep and Claudia climbed into the backseat while Bailey sat in the front passenger seat.

  "How do you girls like East Dorm?"Graham said as she drove out of the parking lot towards campus.

  "It's okay," Claudia said.

  "I was in there my freshman year too. I don't think much has changed."

  "Where do you live?" Bailey asked.

  "University Pointe Apartments."

  "Do you have roommates?" Bailey asked.

  "Dashtin and I share an apartment."

  "That figures," Bailey said under her breath. She focused her attention on the passing buildings as Graham drove through the middle of the college campus to get to the dorms on the other side. The freshmen were housed as far away from the bars as possible.

  "What's your major?" Claudia asked.

  "Biology," Graham said. "Have you two decided on majors yet?"

  "No. I can't decide between business and education," Claudia said. "My mom's a teacher and I've always wanted to be a teacher, but I like the idea of working in the corporate world one day too. What made you pick biology?"

  "I've always been into science. I'm a closet nerd." She laughed and looked over at Bailey.

  "What about you?"

  "What about me?" Bailey asked turning away from the window to look at her.

  Their eyes met in the dark. The streetlights glowing through the windshield lit up Bailey's face. She had the most beautiful, soulful eyes Graham had ever seen.