Page 52 of Nothing Like the Movies

My good mood was immediately wiped out by stress as I slowly walked over. Half the guys probably hadn’t even looked at it because it wasn’t a real game; who cared who was starting? The coaches were going to rotate everyone in and out, so it legitimately didn’t matter.

To anyone but me.

I inhaled through my nose and stepped closer, my eyes tracking down the list, looking for the pitcher.

“You up for it?” I heard from behind me.

“What?” I turned around, and Ross was leaning against the wall, looking down at his phone.

“We’ve got you down for the start,” he said, his eyes still on the phone. “And I just want to make sure you’re ready.”

“Seriously?”Normally I’d try to be cool, but it was Ross. I was beaming like a goddamn toddler as I couldn’t stop myself from yelling, “You’re not messing with me, right?”

“Christ, Bennett, you’re embarrassing yourself,” he said, but thesmile on his face was almost as big as mine. “It’s just an exhibition game—settle down.”

“I can’t,” I said, wondering why my throat was scratchy.

“I know.” He gave me a nod, like he was acknowledging theeverythingthat the exhibition game meant to me personally, and said, “Just don’t do something stupid like busting an ankle or throwing out your arm before Saturday.”

“I won’t,” I said around a laugh, a little too close to happy tears for my comfort.

I pretty much sprinted out of there (after ripping the paper off the wall and putting it in my bag because I knew my mom would want it), filled with a wild energy that gave me the urge to turn cartwheels all the way back to campus, I swear to God.

The second I was outside, I FaceTimed Sarah.

“What?” she answered, and it looked like she was walking to class. Or from it. She was definitely walking somewhere on campus as she said, “Why are you bothering me when I’m late to class?”

“Because I thought I should give you a heads-up that I’m starting Saturday, just in case you want to ditch Stanford to road-trip it down here and catch an exhibition game.”

“Oh my God!” Sarah screamed, her face swallowed by that little-brat smile of hers. She stopped walking and said, “You’re starting, holy shit!”

“Right?” I said, still in shock.

“Did you tell Mom yet?” she asked, still squealing. “I doubt she can come, but she’ll want to know! Oh my God!”

“No, you’re the first person I called,” I said, wondering if I’d ever be able to stop smiling.

“As it should be, Wesley,” she laughed, raising a knuckle to wipe the corner of her eye. “Gaaaah, I’m so happy for you!”

Sarah was one of the only people who actually understood why it was so important to me, which made it important to her, too.

It felt big for the Bennetts, after everything.

It was a chance for a redo.

“Thanks,” I said, swallowing hard. “I’ll let you get to class, and I have some happy skipping to do that cannot be done properly—or safely—while holding a phone.”

“Yeah, you go. Safety first. Later,” she said, laughing as she disconnected the call.

I was on cloud nine for the rest of the week, feeling like I’d passed some sort of test by getting the start. My mother bawled like a baby on FaceTime, which made me get a little choked up. It also made me remember the time I’d avoided FaceTiming Liz because I didn’t want her to seemecry, but no way in hell was I looking back at the past right now.

Not when there was so much to look forward to.

That forward-only vision was the main reason I gave a big old “hell no” to Lilith Grossman when she emailed again, asking if she could do a follow-up interview to the one Liz had already done.

She said she’d love to really delve into the amazing way I’d “overcome adversity.”

No fucking thank you.

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