Page 37 of Trip Through Your Wires

“Ready?” I nod to the cage when I see Cruz staring at me.

He brings the bat behind his head and lays it across his shoulders, gripping the barrel with his right hand. “You know, you too could be…”

“Get in,” I nod to the gate. I don’t want to hear it right now.

“Alright, alright,” he waves me off. “Man, you’re a surly bitch lately.”

I flip him off and wait for him to step up the plate before turning on the machine. We always paired up when we hit the cages. Taking a fast ball to the side of the head wouldn’t just be career ending, but potentially life threatening. That’s why you never worked the cages without a partner. One guy goes in, and one stays out to man the machine and keep watch. Coach’s rules.

Once Cruz is set up in the batter’s box, he whistles for me to start the machine. When the first pitch crosses the plate, he swings with textbook form and the bat cracks, sending the ball flying straight and hard into the net behind the machine. When the next pitch comes across, he swings in near identical form, and smacks the ball with the same force. Seeing he’s in a zone, I turn away from the cage and let him swing away.

Bringing my hands to my head, I take a deep breath and look up. He’s right. I have been in a bad mood this week. Today’s practice was an early one, and since I hadn’t been sleeping well, my ass was dragging.

But I can’t blame my attitude on that alone. Sleep was a tenth of the problem. The rest was because I missed Jenica. Chemistry aside, we were friends, and she listened to me—really listened—and I missed that. We could talk about anything and had. So why was she afraid to talk to me now?

I couldn’t stop thinking about her. That smart mouth and those gorgeous eyes. The grovel in her voice when she’d call in the middle of the night after waking from a bad dream. Shit, I would give anything to hear it right now. We could never have sex again and I would be okay with it, if only I could just talk to her.

Although, it would suck if we never did find our way back to that point again because sex with her had been an out of body experience. Watching her ride me, long dark hair tumbling down her back, and those perky tits on full display…goddamn, it was a sight. And that body…shit, it’s a work of art. Her physicality was hot and her beauty stunning. Even now in the dead of winter her skin is golden brown and I love the way it feels against mine.

I didn’t date or do relationships. The one and only girlfriend I had in high school had been enough. But I have never wanted a second night or more with any girl the way I have with Jenica and that was dangerous because she roused feelings I’d worked hard not to feel my entire life.

The tingle in my fingers and burn in my core. That anxious energy that nearly reduced my dreams to ash once….it snaked through me, looking for release. It was powerful and relentless and filled me with an unbridled energy that was unlike me in every way.

“Shit,” I mumble angrily, kicking my bag.

Cruz whistles and I look up. Seeing he’s done, I turn the machine off, and once it’s safe for him to exit, he steps out of the cage.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” he says slowly. “The other day in your room, when I asked why Jenica was at the house that day shit went down, you never answered me.”

“Man,” I shake my head. “Not this again.”

“She was there.” He points his bat at me and grins. “You two were together, weren’t you?”

I turn and reach for my bag. “She was there because she came to pick up the fliers for Caleb’s sister. That’s it. End of story.”

I turn around, bag in hand and watch as he hangs up his bat, then removes his helmet and gloves, and shoves them into his own.

“What?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything.

“Nothing,” he shrugs.

“Bullshit.” I motion for him to speak. “Out with it.”

“Out with what?” He zips up his bag.

“Clearly, there’s something you want to say.”

“Well,” he slings it over his shoulder and stops to look at me. “I was just going to say that I haven’t seen you with a girl in months.”

“And?” I press.

“And…girls are your thing, man. You know them as well as you do baseball.”

“So, what, because I’m not getting laid—”

“Ah ha!” He points. “So you admit it! You’re not hooking up with anyone because she will cut your balls off if she finds out, right?”

“Man Cabron,” I click my tongue. “Your fascination with my balls is becoming a little weird.”

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