Page 9 of Trip Through Your Wires

Marcus and Allison had been going strong since they met in Cherry Cove last summer. He seemed to like her enough to go the distance, literally, and I was happy for him. It did seem weird he was always heading to Seattle and wondered if we’d be seeing her here more with the season starting, but guess it was none of my business. He seems happy and that’s all that matters.

He’s still in the dark about what really happened last summer, and Cruz and I plan to keep it that way. The less Marcus knows, the better. Plus, he’s the only one out of the three of us that still talks to Cal, and knowing he doesn’t have to lie for us, makes me feel better.

“Oh, come on,” Cruz shakes his head with a laugh. “It’s not like that, man.”

“But it is,” Marcus laughs back. “You’ve got your girl and Jenica will be here which means he’s got his.”

Marcus looks at me and Cruz’s eyes follow. “I’ve got what?” I ask, pretending not to know what he’s implying.

“Who?” Marcus corrects. “And never mind. Your mind is clearly elsewhere, and so is mine.”

“Say no more.” Cruz looks over at Ellery, who is waiting patiently by the dugout. “We’ll miss you at the party. Ellery has cooked up some kind of group costume. Hope it still works with four.”

“Knowing her it will,” Marcus laughs. “Tell her I will wear it some other time to make up not being there.” Using his glove, he pats Cruz on the back, then high-fives me. “See you Monday morning.”

Cruz and I watch him jog across the field and I can’t help but think about how different everything feels this season. Last year, Marcus, Cruz, Cal and I were a foursome that played and partied together. Our apartment was filled with non-stop laughter and our off the field antics were as legendary as our game play. But with Cal gone and Marcus always jetting up to Seattle, the dynamic had changed, and it’s only a matter of time before things change again. Only, this time for good.

The next few months were going to chart the path for the rest of our lives. It was an exciting time. Every time I stepped onto the field, I felt one step closer to my dream of playing pro ball. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy when I thought about closing this chapter and leaving Highland behind.

“Alright,” I say once Marcus is out of sight. “I’m headed out, too.”

“Where’s the fire?” Cruz laughs as I turn and head for the dugout to grab my bag.

“No fire!” I call back over my shoulder. “Just somewhere I have to be.”

I give Cruz a finger wave and grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I make my way to the parking lot. When I reach my 4-Runner I unlock the door, throw my bag inside the cab, and look back over my shoulder. Ellery’s joined Cruz at the mound. Knowing them, they’ll stay there making out there for a minute—maybe even have a quickie—which would be great, honestly, because it would give me enough time to get home before they do.

I climb into the driver’s seat and start the car, releasing the emergency brake before looking over my shoulder to back out of the parking spot. When my chest pad hits the steering wheel, I realize I still have my gear on. Throwing my car back into park, I hop out and while the engine is running, rip off my chest protector and leg guards, toss them into the car, then hop back in.

Shit, maybe there was a fire and it melted my brain, because it wasn’t like me to rush off the field and forget I was still in my gear. I’m usually the first on the field and the last off because I love this game. I have lived and breathed it for longer than I can remember and have a pre and post-game ritual that I take seriously. But when it comes to Ellery’s best friend Jenica, rational thought flies right out the window.

Fiery and smart, with an acerbic wit, eyes the color of the sky, and hair as dark as night, Jenica and I have developed a bond since last summer. One that comes with the kind of benefits that make my pulse race and my dick twitch.

But it’s not the thought of a late night make out session that has me running home. It’s the message she left on my answering machine earlier today. She was coming up for the weekend a day early and her flight would have gotten in somewhere around the seventh inning.

She didn’t say why she had changed her flight, but she wouldn’t have done so unless there was a good reason. It would cost her money that she didn’t have, and I wanted to know what that reason was. Something told me it wasn’t good, however, given the unease in her voice which belied her usual confidence.

I could have asked Ellery before the game started. Surely she knew. But by the time I got to the field the team was already warming up and there was no time. However, seeing as she didn’t look in a hurry to get home, something told me she didn’t know, which meant Jenica only told me, giving me even more reason to worry.

Last summer, I told Jenica that I would always be there for her and I meant it. The night I pulled that gun from her shaking hands, I’d never been more serious about a promise in all my life. Day or night, I would be there if she needed to talk, and I’d kept my word. When she called, I answered, and when she came up to visit and the memory of that night haunted her dreams, it was my room she tiptoed to, and bed she crawled in.

I would do anything for that girl. Hell, I already had. I’d gotten rid of the gun that shot Royce and made sure nothing on that beach connected her, or any of us, to his murder. I was committed to her safety and making sure that night didn’t change who she was because that snark and sass that she doled out in spades…there was nothing like it. She was one of a kind. A real force of nature.

The first time I saw her, it felt like I’d been hit with a ton of bricks. Her blue eyes were captivating, and her coolness intrigued me. But when we finally kissed that night at the cave and she let me into her orbit, that interest turned into more.

I never expected Jenica would drop her guard the way she did that night but once she did…shit, that kiss was hotter than any I’d ever shared with a girl. Hell, it was as hot as the threesome I had last year with the Branson Twins after the Tri Delt semi-formal. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. That mouth of hers was too delicious for words.

After that night, whenever we were together, the tension between us was palpable. In fact, we were about to have a repeat performance when she came over to grab the stack of missing persons fliers I’d held onto. But just as we were about to kiss, we heard Cruz yelling on the beach and both of us bolted out the door.

From there, everything happened so fast—Jenica pulling out her gun and shooting Royce, his body floating in the ocean, Cruz and I working fast to cover up the fight he had with both him and Cal. That night we were driven by adrenaline, keeping the girls safe, our only objective. But once our inquisition of Cal came to an end and the sun came up, the shock of what happened wore off and reality set in.

Cruz would not let Ellery out of his sight. Even when their parents came to town, and the two filled them in on a version of events we all agreed was the only truth people should know, he was by her side. While Ellery had Cruz, Jenica needed someone to have her back and I decided that was me. I took up the same protective stance with Jenica and didn’t let her out of my sight the rest of the summer.

It wasn’t until the night before we headed back to Highland, however, that Jenica and I finally kissed again, and this time it lasted all night. She let her guard down fully and we did things I’d been dreaming about from the moment I first laid eyes on her. Things we continue to do every time she is here.

But no matter what we do, no matter how hot our nights together get, the line is clear. No sex. Make out sessions ended at third base. We’re friends that fool around and make each other feel good. I liked satisfying her needs, and she feels safe with me, and that’s it. It goes no further. Doesn’t matter to me what we do if I’m being honest. I love it when she visits.

But by the time I pull into the driveway at home I’m so keyed up at the idea of just seeing her, that the pang of regret when I don’t makes my chest hurt. Then I remember she wouldn’t be waiting outside. She has her own key and probably let herself in.

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