Page 31 of Rival Summer

boston

I pushed openthe door to the locker room, a blur of commotion and jumbled hair darting past me. The girl was throwing on a large shirt and sprinting out. Bailey smiled at me, smug as ever as he leaned against the lockers, his arm still outstretched from holding the door open for her escape.

"Cutting it close, aren't we?” I asked, eyeing him as I beelined to my locker. The echo of shoes tapping against the concrete floor signaled the rest of our teammates' arrival.

"Almost getting caught is part of the fun," Bailey replied, his lips twisting into a grin.

I shoved my bag into the locker. "Yeah, and coach kicking your ass would also be fun."

Our teammates began to file in, the locker room swelling with the sounds of locker doors slamming and muffled conversations. I scanned the room as it started to silence, catching Bailey and Reese exchanging barely-contained smirks. I followed their gaze to see Coach striding in, a pen in his hand, a bright orange thong dangling on the end.

I fought back a smile that I knew would piss off Coach. Around me, shoulders trembled and snickers were hastily smothered. Bailey's nonchalance stood out amongst the stifledamusement around him—he lounged back, arms crossed over his chest, trying his best to portray innocence.

Coach's glare swept across the room like a lighthouse beam, fierce and warning. "How many times do I have to tell you all this clubhouse is a gift," he barked, the thong swinging from the pen with each punctuating gesture. "If I catch any of you fooling around in the locker—," he paused for effect, "—room, you will be benched. And I'm not messing around this year."

Coach's eyes narrowed slightly as they landed on Bailey, but he continued undeterred.

"Try me," he added with a steely edge, "and all of you will take turns wearing this at practice." Coach shook the fluorescent undergarment one last time for emphasis before tossing it into a nearby trash can.

I risked another glance at Bailey, his expression now unreadable. When Coach finally walked out of the locker room, the rest of us erupted in uncontrollable laughter.

Coach didn’t take it easy on us. We ran drill after drill. Bailey's little stunt had earned the whole team an afternoon of agony.

"Alright, hit the showers!" Coach bellowed, wiping his brow. "Don't forget, two hours from now, you're back here for Devils’ Day Out. No excuses!”

Groans echoed around the field but Coach's glare silenced all complaints. "I don't want to hear it," he snapped. "Cry to your pillow, not to me. Now, get out of here!"

"Riley!” Coach yelled, catching me off guard. “You stay back. My office. Now."

I followed behind him to his office. He didn’t say a word on the walk.

"Sit down," he said, pointing to a chair opposite his cluttered desk.

"Coach, if you think I had anything to d?—"

"Would you just sit?" he cut me off.

I obeyed, sinking into the chair while he rummaged through the papers on his desk. Finally, he found what he was looking for and slid a packet across to me. "Don't say I never did anything for ya."

Confused, I picked up the packet. "What is it?"

"Open it and see for yourself."

The words Chicago Cubs were printed at the top of the first page, and my breath caught in my chest. Plane tickets, itinerary—it was all there. A dream, laid out in front of me.

"Chicago... They want me to visit?" I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.

"You'd be perfect for their organization," Coach said with a nod. “They’re one of the best, and they’re interested in you for the draft.”

"Coach, this is..." a wave of disbelief crashed over me, and I slowly sank back into the chair.

"Enjoy the moment, kid. You've earned it," Coach encouraged, leaning back in his chair with satisfaction. “Only downside is that you’ll miss the Bayside Ball, but duty calls.”

"Thanks, Coach.”

I looked down at the envelope again and Chandler's face flashed in my mind. I hadn’t realized until that moment how I felt about it—I wouldn't have the chance to ask her to the ball, to finally have her on my arm. Did I really have to miss that?

"Now get outta here." Coach gestured toward the door.

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