Page 1 of Curveball

PROLOGUE

PHILADELPHIA — PRESENT DAY

RIPLEY – AGE 28 {QUINCY – AGE 33}

No, no, no, no. It can’t be true. I close my eyes and then look at the pregnancy test again, hoping for a different result. Peeling them open, I find that it still has two lines.

Deep breaths, Rip. Deep breaths. Mom did it alone, you can too.

Maybe it’s a false positive. Yes! That’s it. It happens all the time, right?

I grab the second test I bought and place it by the sink next to my toilet. Downing a large glass of water, I wait. It’s not like I can pee on demand six minutes after I last went to the bathroom.

I look at myself in the mirror. My long, curly, red hair is down and looking good, but my skin appears unusually pasty.This is my first northeast winter. It’s not actually winter quite yet, but it feels like it to this California-raised girl.

Needing a distraction, I walk into Arizona’s room. It’s empty without her. I miss her so much. My best friend is shooting a bathing suit ad campaign in Fiji right now, only one week into her two-month worldwide shoot.

She’s going to look amazing. She has the perfect body for it. I doubt I’d ever be asked to do a skimpy bikini campaign. I’m what you’d consider, “curvy” or “big boned.” Of course, those are the nice words. I’ve had plenty of the nasty ones slung at me throughout the years.

Nonetheless, I’m doing a bit of modeling for plus-size lingerie right now. It’s been very empowering, and the company called me back this week asking if I’m available to work with them again.

The younger me laughs at that fact. I was incredibly insecure about my body for a long time. Now I do my best to embrace it.

A smile finds my lips, knowing the boost in my confidence is in large part thanks to one special man who made me feel sexy. Because of him, I eventually learned to accept my own body.

My daydreaming is broken by the ringing of my text tone. Looking down at my phone, I notice that it’s my teammate, friend, and neighbor, Kamryn Hart.

Kam: Get your sweet tits next door. I want to pregame, and my sister is MIA. Again!

Kam’s identical twin sister, Bailey, is her roommate. She nannies for a single father and has recently been needed many more evenings than in the past.

Kam and Bailey live in the apartment next door to us. It’s been fun having our entire college crew back together again.We’ve all played on separate professional softball teams since we graduated six years ago. A few months ago, we were all signed by the new team in Philadelphia, the Philly Anacondas.

Arizona, our catcher, is dating Layton Lancaster, the star of the local professional baseball team, the Philadelphia Cougars. Layton has been Arizona’s dream man for as long as I can remember. I’m so happy for her that they found each other and fell in love. She’s had a bumpy road and deserves all good things.

Her brother, Quincy, the longtime object of my affection, is on the Cougars too. In fact, he and Layton are best friends.

Our group has become close with several of the Cougars players, including Layton and Quincy. We’re meeting them for drinks at a bar, Screwballs, tonight.

Me: How do you know that my tits are sweet?

Kam: Don’t all gingers have sweet tits? It’s practically the law.

Me: LOL. I think you’re right. Give me a few. I just got out of the shower.

Not true. I’m dressed and ready to go, but I need to find out if I’m pregnant. This will change everything. I realized several weeks ago that my period was late, but it took me until now to work up the courage to buy the test and take it.

Kam: Hurry the fuck up.

I let out a laugh. She’s so impatient. And direct.

I think the water is finally doing its job on my bladder. Time to walk theplank.

Seven minutes later, I stand there in shock. I’m. Fucking. Pregnant.

I know what this means. I just officially lost the man I love. Forever.

An hour later,we walk into Screwballs. I’m doing my best to smile and act like everything is okay, despite knowing I’m going to have to do something that makes me physically ill.

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