Page 13 of The Best Friend and the Shortstop

Last month, Alex and I bailed on the holiday party when the drinking got a little out of hand. We fell asleep watching A Charlie Brown Christmas instead of spending the night throwing up in a bathroom. My head was nestled against his chest, and I let his heartbeat lull me to sleep. My gaze drifts to that spot on his chest and the tight fit of his long-sleeved white T-shirt. I’ve never questioned whether or not that spot on his chest is mine when I need it.

Alex’s cough breaks my trance and my eyes flit up to his. He smirks.

“You spacing out there, Nik?” He drops his chin a touch, a hint of a smirk playing at his lips. I think he realizes I was staring at him. Oh my God, was I making a swoony face?

“I hate accounting,” I retort, my answer swift.

Alex pushes his textbook toward me and spins it around.

“Wanna trade?”

My eyes scan the first line: A study in international marketing completed by the firm of Kaufman and Stokes reveals that the concept of cryptocurrency has both advantages and risks. I push the book back to him and make a gagging sound.

“No, thank you.”

He winks as he spins his book back around. I bet he practiced that wink before he first deployed it. I think he started doing it his junior or senior year of high school. I vaguely recall some teen movie we were all into where the guy every girl was crushing over winked like that. Alex made it his own, though. It’s like a token he gives out to make hearts flutter. At least, that’s what it does to me. I’m good about swallowing the butterflies when they creep up, however, and hiding how happy these tiny gestures make me.

God, Nikki. At this point you might as well hang Alex’s poster on your dorm room wall.

Alex is again engrossed in his boring-as-hell text. I glance up and shake my head, admonishing myself for letting the last twenty-four hours derail as badly as they have. I sit up straight and steel myself to be brave, my lips parting and the words I’m really not into Brayden about to fall from my mouth when the only person, perhaps on the planet, who can make my insides boil with jealous rage saunters behind Alex.

Alicia’s gaze hits me briefly as she brushes her fingertips along Alex’s shoulder and the back of his neck. He startles, his head jerking around. I bet he was expecting to find one of his teammates fucking with him, but instead, he got his former . . . whatever he and Alicia were. He relaxes back into his seat and twists to open his stance to her. She’s standing closer than any normal acquaintance would, hovering on the verge of being between his knees as he looks up at her. Alicia’s glossy red lips flash that superior smirk. That look, it’s for me.

“Hi, Alicia,” I say, leaning forward and resting both elbows on the table as I prop my chin on my fists. I give her a different kind of grin, the kind that says you’re a bitch.

“Nicole,” she drones, using my formal name, which not even my mother uses.

“Hmm,” I say with a slight nod, acknowledging the ice between us. I’ve never liked Alicia. I don’t trust her. I’m certain that sentiment is mutual. It’s not the kind of thing she and I need to hash out so we can be friends. We’re too different. And I don’t want to be her friend. I want to graduate and never see her face again. Three years of maturity and growth does wonders for the backbone. At least it did for me when it comes to dealing with girls like Alicia.

Alex, however, only cuts people out of his life if they’ve cheated on his mom. And since he and Alicia have history, he’s always kind to her. Which is noble of him, and makes him . . . him. All my jaded self sees is the girl who manipulated me into kissing my best friend for the first time in front of her, simply so she could diminish it. And I’d bet my life on the fact she has a similarly unflattering opinion of me.

“You coming to the game Friday? Opening day.” Alex glances at me, that twinkle in his eyes. He’s still a kid when it comes to his excitement for baseball.

“Yeah. I’d love to,” Alicia basically squeals. The study room monitor hushes her.

“Great. See ya then,” Alex says, sending her off with a nod. And then . . . a wink. Dammit. He gave her one too.

The muscles around my mouth twitch, and I know I’m doing a poor job of hiding my reaction. The pursing of my lips deepens at the corners, and I can’t get it in check before Alex glances back to me.

“Oh, stop. You never liked her. If she shows up Friday, be nice.”

I shake with a short, silent laugh. It’s not like I’m going to start a brawl or anything. Now, imagine one? Sure. I’ll imagine clawing her eyes out all day. But, acting on those impulses? No, even I know it wouldn’t be my best look. And it would be from a really bitter place. But I don’t have to worry about any of that.

“She’s not showing up for your game,” I toss out, rolling my eyes and forcing myself to focus on my homework.

“She might,” he says in an offhanded way. I know he’s not really trying to defend her, but rather trying to soften me. I’m irritable, though, so I react, snorting another quick laugh.

“What’s that for?”

I close my eyes for a second and exhale through my nose. I hate when he calls me out for being snarky. But also, I’m not wrong. And maybe if I told him how I felt yesterday, or the day before, or any day we’ve been together, then I wouldn’t be lugging around the jealousy beast all the time. The one that refuses to give Alicia any credit for supporting Alex’s dreams.

I open my eyes and meet his gaze.

“Because when you dated, she never showed up for a game. Not once.” I shrug as Alex stares on, squinting slightly in suspicion.

“Nah, she came to a few.”

I shake my head, and a suffocating weight crushes my chest. Alex’s expression is caught between serious and playful, the faint curve to his lips softening as his eyes try to read me.

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