Page 96 of The Problem with Players

Without thought, I wrapped my arms around Nathan as we continued to leap up and down in pure shock from Cameron knocking it out of the field!

I didn’t know I could feel so damn happy from one hit. My happiness was more than winning the game, though. It was about Cameron finding his confidence, finding his strength in the midnight hour, and showing up not only for the team, but for himself, too.

Thatwas why I did what I did.

That was why I loved this sport so much.

The crew all shook hands with the opposing team, and their coaches shook hands with us.

“That was damn impressive, Coach K,” Coach Riley said from the opposing team. “It seems you and Coach P have a good thing going on over here. The other teams you have coming up should be prepared for challenging runs with your team. Great game.”

I thanked him, still feeling as if my heart was going to explode from my chest. The amount of pride I had swirling in me was almost all-consuming.

After the game, I had all the guys meet in the stands to tell them how proud I was of them. The energy burst shooting through everyone was something worthy of the movies. I knew it seemed like a basic win to the outside world, but for us, it stood as a shift. Things were changing for us, and I knew if we kept moving forward, we could go far this year.

It had been a long time since I’d felt so hopeful.

After the team headed home, I went to my office, still high as a kite. Not long after, Nathan came in, clapping his hands together in celebration. “Can you believe that?!” he exclaimed, his energy still an eleven out of ten. I couldn’t blame him because I was also still bursting at the seams.

I walked over to him and shoved his shoulder. “What the heck?” I laughed in complete awe, shaking my head. “That was fucking phenomenal.”

He playfully shoved me back. “I can’t believe it. Those guys were on fire.”

I shoved him back, and he playfully fell backward, landing against the edge of my desk. “It was like they were high. Jackson, Caleb, Tommy, Cameron! Freaking Cameron! I can’t believe it! What in the world did you say to him? I saw his energy lift before the dancing happened. What did you say?”

“I told him what I wish I would’ve heard during some games when the pressure felt so high and all on me,” heexplained, placing his hands against the edge of my desk. “I told him that he was good enough, no matter what happened, and that the world wasn’t resting on his shoulders.”

My breathing slowed as I stared at him in complete awe.

“Nathan?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re a fucking remarkable coach.”

His smile reflected our shared triumph that afternoon, and for what felt like the first time, we were coasting on the same wave, feeling the same feelings as one another, completely in sync.

“Avery?” he said.

“Yes?”

“You’re a fucking remarkable coach.”

And just like that, everything began to shift.

In the afterglow of the electrifying baseball victory, the air in my office felt supercharged with excitement and relief as I studied Nathan. His biceps were on full display as he held the edge of my desk with a wicked smile of bliss plastered against his mouth. My eyes danced around and peered at the walls adorned with strategies and team rosters, signs that spoke of the countless hours of dedication Nathan and I had put in over the past few weeks. This wasn’t just my win. This was ours.

It was clear as day to me that I couldn’t have gotten the team to where they were without Nathan’s guidance because he added such an important part to the game that I’d somehow forgotten over time—heart.

He was the heartbeat of our team, and somehow, he’d managed to get my heart beating again after so much time of it being shut off.

I shook my head as I paced the room, replaying the game’s final moments as the air between Nathan and me sat thick with an unspoken bond forging between us through the victory.

“Can we talk about Caleb, too?” I expressed as I recountedthe pivotal play that got the team to a solid spot in the eighth inning. As I turned to him, my stomach fluttered with butterflies that surprised me. Nathan’s gaze met mine, with unspoken words lingering in the air. Did he feel it, too? The tension that I had no clue how to decipher? My pacing came to a halt as my eyes stayed locked with his. At that moment, the world beyond the office walls faded, leaving only the two of us suspended in the aftermath of our victory.

Without a full understanding of the impulse, I found myself closing the distance between us. Nathan, as if drawn by the same invisible force, straightened up, his attention fixed solely on me. The air shifted, charged with a new, unexplored tension.

My heart raced, pounding against my chest with a fervor that matched the adrenaline of our win. My mind, which was normally so focused and clear, was a whirlwind of emotions and a newfound desire. What was happening to me? What was this feeling taking over?

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