Page 101 of Trip Through Your Wires

“Hey man,” I lift my chin in acknowledgement. “What’s up?”

He strolls into the room and looks around. “Just came in to check on you.”

“Oh yeah?” I sit up. “Why is that?”

He shrugs. “Saw you sitting here, contemplating the meaning of life. Thought I’d see if you’d found the answer.”

Marcus is an intuitive guy. He speaks when he has something to say and seems to know when there is something you need to hear. With the exception of our snow day a few weeks back, I haven’t spent much time with him lately. Any time I do see him it’s on the field or in the clubhouse.

“No answers,” I grin. “Just more questions. How are things with Allison?”

“They’re okay.” He sits down on the edge of the bed and places both hands behind him, leaning back. “A couple bumps here and there.”

“Bumps?” I can’t help but note the way he says it. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just the whole, ‘where do we go from here,’ thing.”

“Ah,” I nod, knowing that debate well.

I know Marcus had a couple of calls from scouts a few weeks back, but I didn’t think conversations with any had progressed. Then again, neither Cruz nor I had told him about the Rockies and imagine if Coach asked us not to say anything to the team, he’d say the same to anyone else entertaining offers.

“Are you not ready for something more serious? Or don’t want to talk serious until you know where you’re headed?”

“I don’t know man,” he says honestly. “I thought she and I were serious.”

“Did something happen?”

“Not something, but someone.” My eyes widen and he lifts a hand to stop whatever I’m thinking. “She knows. She encouraged it.”

“She did?” Now that’s a surprise. I can’t imagine Jenica ever encouraging me to hook up with someone else. In fact, I do believe she said she would tear any girl apart that looked at me, and frankly, that was hot, I’m not gonna lie.

“It’s pretty ordinary out there,” he says casually. “West Coast is super open-minded. Seattle in particular is pro anything that goes against social norms,” he air quotes.

“So, if it’s normal,” I can’t help but ask, “why did it cause issues?”

“Well, she didn’t think I would like what she suggested and I did.” He smiles slightly and shrugs. “Sometimes we don’t know what we like until we try it.”

“So what does that mean? You racked up a lot of frequent flier miles last semester to just throw in the towel.”

“Oh, I’m not throwing in the towel,” he straightens. “We’re just giving each other some space. To be honest, I’m more interested in the rumor going around the team.”

“Rumor?” I shake my head with the change in subject. “Which one is that?” The guys were always talking shit and sometimes it was hard to keep up.

“Well, word has it a couple of guys got offers. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

The way he’s looking at me makes me think he knows, and I hate that we haven’t told him. The fact Cruz and I have been keeping another secret from Marcus makes me feel like a Grade A dick. What happened last summer was one thing, but getting an offer was another. Marcus is one of our best friends. He should know. Especially since it was a dream we all shared.

I look down, not sure what to say. I want to tell him, I do. It’s just…things weren’t firm yet. There were a lot of moving pieces and Cruz and I agreed we wouldn’t say a word until we were sure.

Thankfully, I don’t have to say anything. The sound of someone knocking on my door a second time tonight shifts both of our attention to the door.

I turn and when I see Cruz standing there, look at him in surprise. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it date night?”

“Not tonight.” He comes into the room and plops down on the bed next to Marcus. “Ellie is working on a paper that’s due Friday. Needs to finish it before she heads down to Charleston to see the series. Since her night is busy, I thought we could have a guys’ night. A little pizza, beer, and pool. What do you say?”

“Hell yeah,” I grin, and lift my chin in Marcus’ direction. “You in?”

“Fuck yeah.” He claps. “Let’s do it.”

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