Page 76 of Easy Out

“It’s his name.”

“Yeah, but I can’t remember the last time anyone ever called him James without Hart wanting to punch them. He really likes you, Lauren.”

“You can’t know that just from a name.”

“Can’t I? Hart doesn’t let anyone get close to him. Not since elementary school.” Sydney doesn’t explain further. She doesn’t have to. I know why Hart closed himself off to anyone except his true friends.

It still doesn’t explain why he’s included me in the mix. Except for the fact he doesn’t have a choice. He needs me to pass Morelli’s class. I gave him the option to do the questionnaire instead of spending time together. Although that was more for my benefit than his.

“You have accomplished the impossible,” Sydney says interrupting my thoughts. “You have bagged the elusive James Hart. Do you know how many girls have tried to get his attention over the years?” Yes. Yes, I do. I’ve witnessed girls on multiple occasions trying to talk to Hart or get him to glance in their direction.

“I haven’t bagged him Syd. That sounds icky. We’re friends.”

“Why are you downplaying what the two of you have?”

“Why are you getting so angry over it?”

“I’m not.” She crosses her arms over her chest. I hook my arm through hers and rest my head on her shoulder.

“I really like him Syd. He keeps telling me not to worry about tomorrow, but it’s all I seem to be doing. What if I’m just a good time until he gets drafted? You’ve said it yourself. Hart is elusive and impossible to catch. I’m not any different from the other girls that go to this school.” Sydney lays her head on mine.

“Look at him. Do you see his face?” Hart’s brow is furrowed, and his head is tilted to the side like he’s trying to figure out something. “As soon as you cuddled with me, he stopped moving. He’s worried about you right now.”

Hart clenches the baseball in his hand. Every player on the field is waiting for him to throw the ball and continue the play. I don’t know if I want to vanish into thin air or run to him and reassure him that I’m fine.

Wyatt catches Hart’s arm when he begins to walk across the field. That makes me straighten my back. Wyatt points to me and says something to him. Whatever Wyatt says seems to placate Hart. He tosses the ball to Wyatt, and they run the play again.

“That man cares about you. Deny it all you want, but it’s obvious to me. I agree with Hart. Don’t think about what happens next. You are both here now. You’ll never regret falling in love even if it breaks your heart.”

“Spoken like someone with experience.” I hug her arm.

“Unfortunately. And look at me still encouraging you to go for it.” Her eyes drift in Koa’s direction behind home plate. “Do you two have plans for after practice?”

“He’s coming over to eat and do homework.”

“That sounds…not exciting at all.” Sydney couldn’t be more wrong. Everything with Hart is exciting. A car ride. A walk across campus. Cooking dinner. Watching a movie. Doing homework.

“You’d be surprised,” I singsong. Sydney giggles. I focus on Hart again. I really should pay more attention if I plan on writing about him and baseball.

The guys are throwing balls around like it’s part of a synchronized dance routine. Occasionally, they switch positions to cover a base for another player. To my untrained eye, they look like they can manage to win a few games. Hart would remind me that they are a champion team and will win more than a few. The thought makes me smile.

“Sweet lord in the heavens,” Syd swears and pulls out her binoculars again to get a closer look. A few of the guys have taken their shirts off and are using them as towels to wipe the sweat off their bodies. “I did something right in my life to earn this reward.”

Hart isn’t one of them. Something I’m oddly grateful for. The idea of all these girls in the stands seeing him with his shirt off makes me unstable. I’ve never been jealous over a guy but there is a first time for everything.

He does lift the hem of his shirt to wipe his face, giving me a free peek of his lower abdominal muscles and the dusting of dark hair leading below the belt of his pants. Muscles that I’ve kissed and explored with my tongue.

The coach claps his hands, breaking me and Sydney out of our trance, but not before Hart catches me staring. I throw him a look that says, ‘what did you expect?’

He looks back at me with a boyish grin. It’s a reminder that while he’s confident, he’s still as inexperienced as I am. It’s something I find endearing and makes me like him even more.

Damn it. I’m falling for him and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

“Same time next week?” Syd asks. I stand up to stretch. My thighs are slick with sweat from sitting so long in the heat. I brush a few stray hairs off my face that have escaped from my ponytail.

“Maybe.” I don’t want to assume Hart wants me here all the time.

“Are you going to stand there and tell me you don’t want to watch this again?”

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