by Stacy Borel
“Well since we are starting out with intros, let’s begin with the two friends. Why don’t you tell us your names, where you’re from, and what your major is.”
As if on cue, Wrigley didn’t skip a beat. “I’m Wrigley Brooks. I’m from Athens, Georgia. And my major is still to be determined. Focusing more on making baseball into a career.”
“Ah, baseball. You here on scholarship, Wrigley?”
“Mhmm. Could’ve gone anywhere really, but I picked LSU because this school is top rated for its program. More players are drafted out of your school for the Majors than anywhere else. No brainer.” He sat back in his chair and grinned, proud of himself.
I took note of the girl directly across from us and the star struck, googly-eyed stare she was giving Wrigley. I was familiar with those looks and had seen them worn by many girls when it came to Wrigley Brooks. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and tell her to get in line behind all the others. Meantime, the overtly attractive male next to me need to give me space. Every time he shifted in his seat, the smell of his cologne wafted in my direction. I held my breath, and gripped the sides of my desk to keep from leaning toward the delicious musk. I knew exactly what he was wearing too. A store called Tilly’s carried a men’s spray that matched him perfectly.
“And how about you?” Rob questioned.
“Ummm…” I was drawing a blank. I was never one for public speaking, and I definitely didn’t like being called on unless I willingly raised my hand. Where was I from again? I sat there with a blank expression, looking every bit of the stupid I felt. My cheeks warmed and I shifted in my seat.
“Hadley.” Wrigley tried to get my attention.
I peered at him then at the professor. “I’m Hadley Marten.” What else did they want to know?
“I’m assuming you’re from Athens as well?” I nodded. He was trying to help me along. “And what is your major Miss Hadley?”
“Business.” I nearly whispered.
“Good choice,” he commended. “If you keep your focus, it’ll take you far in life.” He waited for a moment until I gave him a shy smile, then he moved on. “You’re up next, guy in the plaid pajama pants.”
And like that, the attention was off of me as people in the room answered Rob’s questions. I heard a few of them, but the rest faded into the background. The noise in my head was louder. This was all a bit too much for me to process. First class of the day, and I was already stumbling, just like I had in high school. I was a smart girl. I made good grades, and applied myself academically. But what I wasn’t good at were people. Wrigley showing up in my very first class, when I was ready to break the mold I’d put myself in, had me sinking back in my seat. I still didn’t understand. Why was he here? Had he asked my parents about my schedule so he could take some courses with me? If so, why didn’t they tell me? This is totally something they’d do. Maybe they’d asked him to check up on me. Either way, I’d be asking when I called later.
Wrigley stayed quiet for the most part through the rest of the class while each student introduced themselves. When it was the googly-eyed girl’s turn, I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He perked up when she spoke. Perfect. Mutual interest apparently. Why wouldn’t there be? She was cute, after all.
Her name was Ryian, she was from New Orleans, and majoring in fashion. I suppose it would have been rude if I pretended to snore while she spoke. Of course, the girl with long, blonde hair, curled to perfection; bright blue eyes and shiny lips would be a fashion major. Her designer jeans, and lace tank top was adorned with accessories to match. Seemed a bit cliché if you asked me. However, I did like her name. Boys names for girls was sort of my thing. I planned on naming my future children that way when the time came. When she was done, she gleamed at Rob and squared her shoulders. Settle down Miss Priss. We all know you rehearsed that in your head before you were called on.
“Pssst.”
I was wishing I’d chosen a different school. I picked at the edge of my now empty coffee cup. Boston had accepted me, and even though I wasn’t a fan of snow and winter, it may have been a better choice for me. Do they even play baseball up north? Dumb thought, of course they do. A Chicago team had just won the World Series. But I don’t think I’d have had to worry about Wrigley Brooks plopping down in a seat next to me in any classes had I gone there.
“Pssst! Hadley!” Wrigley had been trying to get my attention. “Hey, you okay?” His features were etched with concern.
There were still students giving their introductions in the background. Was I okay? I wasn’t one to be overdramatic about things. Honestly, I was fine, but my confidence had taken a hike. My first day excitement had fizzled out when he’d walked into my class. My class. I wanted nothing more than to get out of here and start my day over like this never happened.
“I’m good.” I mustered a smile as I whispered back.
His brows drew together and I knew he wasn’t so sure, but he’d have to accept my answer. I’d stopped confiding in Wrigley when we were twelve. Plus, this was about my discomfort with him being here. I couldn’t exactly say, ‘Hey would you mind finding a different political science class? This one is mine.’
The remaining half hour dragged. My fellow classmates proceeded with their intros and I couldn’t care less. Rob told us a little bit more about himself; he got married after grad school, had a daughter, and taken this teaching job a year later. He explain a little of what we would be doing in class each day, which mostly consisted of discussions. We would occasionally be placed in groups of two or threes to pose arguments. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I liked my independent work.
Little Miss Fashion Major did everything she could to grab Wrigley’s attention. She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Reapplied her gloss, and combed her hair. She laughed a little too loudly when someone said something funny, and each time she moved even a millimeter, I imagined doing heinous things to her. This was nothing new to me though. I hated every girl that stood out and he looked at longer than necessary. It was only a matter of time before I caught them exchanging numbers after class.
When Rob wrapped up the first session, he handed out the syllabus and told us he would be going over it next time, along with assigning us reading the first chapter in our textbooks. I was relieved when the class was over. Except now I had a full first semester with Wrigley and seeing him no less than twice a week.
I was neatly sliding my papers into a folder to put in my bag when Wrigley bumped my shoulder, playfully. Just his touch had my adrenaline pumping. “What are you doing after class?”
Was he serious or just trying to make conversation? “I planned on going to the café to grab a quick bite to eat.”
“Missed breakfast?”
“Something like that.”
“Oh.” He furrowed his brows. “What are your plans later?”
Okay really, where was he going with this? “I don’t know. Probably getting a head start on the reading assignment.”
“Is this your only class today?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. I thought maybe it would be cool if you came to one of my practices or something.”
Huh? I was confused. This was completely out of left field for him. Did my parents ask him to check up on me? The thought was there, again, that they had. If that was the case, it was completely unacceptable.
“Since when do you ask me to come to your practices, Wrigley?”
“Since now.”
“I’ve all but grown up with you and you’ve never asked me to come watch you.” I slung my bag over my shoulder and faced him. His caramel colored eyes were piercing. “And that one time at t-ball doesn’t count. I was on the team.”
That made him smile. “Man, that was ages ago.”
I cocked a brow, still waiting for an answer. “You’re babysitting me, aren’t you? If my mom put you up to this, you can tell her I’m fine.” I pushed my chair in.
“What? No.” He looked thoroughly conf
used. “I’m just asking if you want to come watch a practice, that’s all.”
“Seems a bit out of character for you, don’t you think?”
“If, by out of character, you mean being nice, then no.”
We walked side by side on our way out of the room. Wouldn’t you know it, Ryian was standing near the door. She was waiting to pounce when he came out but stopped short when she saw me. Her eyes narrowed. Wrigley hadn’t noticed her yet.
“I’m not trying to be rude by declining, but I’m just trying to understand your angle.”
He grabbed my arm just above my shoulder. His hand was so warm and it cause goosebumps on my bare skin. I hoped he hadn’t notice. He stopped and made me face him. His beautiful eyes were piercing and demanded my attention. I had to tip my head back to look up at him.
“Hadley, there’s no angle, no gimmicks, it’s just an old friend asking if you wanted to hang out. That’s all. I just thought it would be nice if you came and we could catch up.”
His words were genuine. Resigned to saying yes before I turned into a puddle of mush in front of him, I said, “Okay. But not today. I was going to run some errands.”
He flashed me his perfect smile. “Then come tomorrow. We practice every day, except Sundays when coach wants us to weight train.”
I shifted my weight from one side to the other trying to remain indifferent. “Tomorrow then.”
Ryian was still standing nearby and I knew she was going to approach him when I walked away. That knowledge really made me want to turn and say, ‘Back off bitch, he’s not yours.’ He wasn’t mine either. But length of knowing him counted him as more mine, than hers, right?
“We will be in field C. Just come chill in the bleachers. We start practice at four.”
I smiled. “Four o’clock then.”
He winked, and I blushed. Damn bodily reactions. I walked away before I could watch him flirting with another girl. I’d seen it for years; seeing another one would probably make me vomit.
And how did I just let him talk me into seeing him practice? That’s me physically making an effort to go out of my way to be by him. Didn’t I grumble at myself for this very thing for the past couple of days. Now I was going to be heading straight into the danger zone. Being in the radius of Wrigley Brooks was not good for my soul. I couldn’t back out now, I’d have no good excuse. He’d refute all of them. Aurora was going to have to come with me. I just couldn’t do this by myself.
She was going to be my Switzerland. My middle man if things got awkward. I could rely on her to make it not awkward. Lord help me when I told her she was going to get to see some of the boys from the other day. My walk back to my dorm was nowhere near as bright and hopeful as it had been two hours ago.
Chapter Three
AS SOON AS I WALKED into my room and found a very groggy Aurora just rousing from sleep, I asked if she would do me a favor and come with me. Her sleepy eyes flew open and she squealed like an excited school girl. Giddily clapping her hands together, she hopped up and down, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know what I’m supposed to wear.”
“Uh, what do you mean?” I tossed my bag on the floor and plopped onto my bed.
“I mean, do you have any idea how many attractive guys could be there? We should make our best impression.”
Her excitement was a total buzzkill. “Aurora, I’m not looking to impress anyone. There’s no need to be all dolled up for a bunch of sweaty, smelly males, that I promise you aren’t bothering to look at who is in the stands.”
She twisted to look down at me. She cocked her hip out and put her hand on it. “Yes they do. I dated a football player in high school, and they definitely watch who is there.”
I swallowed. Well, that didn’t make me feel any better, but Wrigley already knew I was coming, so it’s not like he had to look for me. “I think a tank top and shorts will suffice.”
Aurora scowled. “I mean sure, if the tank is cropped, and there’s lace on the shorts. Then it would be a really cute outfit.”
I laughed. “Baseball isn’t meant to be glamourous. It’s just a game that goes on while it’s hotter than Hades outside and people eat peanuts and drink beer. You know, America’s favorite past time and all that.”
“I’m surprised anyone still says that. We all know football is America’s favorite sport.”
I laughed at her very blonde comment, but decided it wasn’t worth explaining further. “Well, you can get as dressed up or down as you want to. I’m happiest, and most comfortable, in plain clothes. I have no reason to dress up. No matter how many attractive guys are playing.” Or the one that I was going there to watch.
She ignored me as she dug through her closet searching while I pulled out my political science book and cracked open the first chapter. Then, just like that, the hours slipped by...
I covered my eyes from the glaring sun as I searched the field for Wrigley. Four o’clock the next day had come too fast and Aurora hadn’t given me the chance to escape the dreaded event. This was the worst idea ever. I mean, hands down, the worst possible thing I could’ve said yes to and I still don’t know why I said yes. But I did and here I was, sitting in the middle of the bleachers, with my new roommate bouncing her knee beside me, as a field full of guys tossed and caught baseballs.
“Do you see him?” she asked.
“See who?” I wasn’t sure if she was asking about Wrigley, or the guy she’d shouldered a week ago.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “The one from your town.”
“His name is Wrigley.”
“Okay then, have you seen Wrigley?”
I laughed at her over excitement. “Yes, he’s in the dugout.”
What I wasn’t going to tell her was that the moment we stepped onto the bleachers, my eyes scanned every square inch of field searching for him. When I’d found him, I hadn’t taken my eyes off of him. I wondered, as I stared at him, if he had even noticed that I was here. It’s not like he continuously looked up here to check. Wrigley had only invited me out of kindness, and, even then, I should have declined. I already felt ridiculous for being here.
Aurora had wanted to sit on the front row so we would be seen, but I had other plans. I continued marching up the steps and decided somewhere in the middle to top of the bleachers was the perfect place to plop my butt down and hope like hell this went by quickly so I could get back to my room.
Her eyes scanned the dugout, looking for him. He was currently sitting on the bench, grinning at something one of his teammates was showing him on his phone. My mind automatically assumed the worst—it was probably a girl. I’d seen him doing it plenty of times before. Looking at girls on Instagram or Facebook. I always thought they were stupid for seeking out random females and drooling over photographs of people they didn’t know. Those sites are all about lighting and perfect angles.
I brushed aside the feeling of jealousy and sat while Aurora started gabbing on about one of her classes. She was majoring in art, and was excited about all of her classes. In her one class, they were going to be sketching a live model. I laughed as she spoke. She was always so animated, her arms swinging around, facial expressions galore. The more I got to know my new roommate, the more I liked her. She was the furthest thing from shy that could be as it turned out. Aurora was more of an eccentric person. She was a young girl at heart, hence the child-like bedroom. But her playful flirtiness and laughter was contagious and she drew attention to her like a moth to a flame. I’d noticed a few times that guys paid attention to her.
“Eeek! I see him.”
I laughed. “You know, Wrigley is just a guy.”
She shook her head. “No, not Wrigley, I’m talking about the blond one from the other day.” She shifted forward and squinted her eyes as if to see him better. “I mean, really, that butt looks fantastic in baseball pants.”
This time I really did laugh out loud. “Aurora, all guys look good in baseball pants.” I glanced away from Wrigley to see what she was looking at.
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br /> Some of the boy’s attention shifted towards us, my laugh too boisterous. I turned bright red under the already hot sun. Damn it. Hopefully nobody heard my comment. That was when Wrigley came out of the dugout and lifted his hand to his forehead to block the sun from his eyes. He was looking right at me. His mouth tipped up into a cute goofy grin. When he waved, I barely raised my hand enough to wave back one time. I could tell he was chuckling as he shook his head.
Practice for them consisted of running sprints around the field, throwing ground balls, swinging the bats, and catching. Typical, if you asked me. Then again, I was raised around the game. My dad loved it and had actually attended a few games with Wrigley’s dad, Paul. Aurora didn’t seem as interested as I was. It became evident to me that her sport of choice was boy watching. The comments coming out her mouth over the hour’s time had my stomach hurting from laughing. It was a nice change of pace to really hang out with someone...to have someone talk to me like a normal person...like a friend. It was almost soothing, if that was the best way to describe it. This was how life should have been for me the last ten years. Boys, shopping, clothes, text messages, and hanging out. Too bad it hadn’t been.
I hadn’t realized till halfway through the practice that three girls had come to sit on the bleachers toward the front corner. They were whispering amongst each other and I got the impression they had been listening to Aurora and everything she had been saying. Not that my roommate would honestly care who’d heard her. But it bothered me that they seemed to be laughing at her expense.
All three of them were very pretty. Like triplets with their brown hair falling in cascades to the middle of their backs. They wore similar clothing, the type that begs for attention and looked perfect on their tan bodies. I instantly didn’t care for them. I should have felt ashamed for judging them, but I couldn’t help it. They reminded me of some of the girls in high school.
Every once in a while, the trio would glance back at us and say something to one another before laughing. My hands balled into fists at my side as frustration bit into me like a sore thumb. I did notice one of them had a large bag next to her that looked like it was carrying bats, and there was a mitt lying next to it. I wondered if she was a girlfriend to one of the players, or simply there because they were invited.
