Page 50 of Rounding Third

“Good. I don’t know how I’ll be. This girl is driving me crazy.”

“I get it. Why don’t we have lunch today? You can tell me all about it and we can figure things out.” I clasp his shoulder and squeeze gently as I pass him and head for Levi’s office. I don’t want to keep the new coach waiting and as the guys start arriving, Leo isn't going to speak openly anyway.

I rap my knuckles on the open door and wait for Levi to lift his head from whatever he’s working on. I want to make sure I'm respectful to his position on this team. I need him to know I'm going to follow his lead… unless he turns out to be a crap coach, then all bets are off.

“C’mon in. Do you mind shutting the door?”

“Am I in trouble already?” I sigh.

“Not at all,” Levi chuckles. “I'll be asking some personal questions and I obviously don’t know how open you are with the team since I'm new.”

Levi twirls his pen between his fingers as he opens a notebook and flips to a page with my name at the top.

“Shit, you’re taking notes? Should I be worried?”

“Only if you lie. Then I’d have a record of you lying.” He grins. “My memory sucks. I want to make sure I remember the important things and writing them down helps. Ok. Who do you view as the leaders of this team?”

“Um… Owen? The coaches?” I run my sweaty hands down my pants and try not to fidget. Something about being called into the coach’s office makes me feel like I'm in trouble.

“I mean out of the players. Which players do you feel lead the team? The ones who can get you riled up when you need to be or calm you down when things are going wrong.”

“Wyatt and Cord,” I respond without even thinking about it.

“That’s funny. Every single player said the two of them.” Levi grins as he jots their names down next to a number one. “Do you feel like you can confide in anyone on the team?”

“Yeah. Wyatt, Cord, Leo, Wheeler, Covey, and Schmidt. We hang out a lot, they’re basically my brothers. I know they always have my back.”

“Good. I like to see you guys forming your own family. The closer you are off the field, the better you’re going to play together on the field… You have a girlfriend, right? Liliana?”

“Yeah, Liliana Sweets. She’s the greatest.”

“Owen said you haven’t been dating long. Do you think the travel schedule will cause issues with your relationship?”

“Nah, Lils knows the deal. She’s a sports reporter and we’ve been friends since college. She knows exactly what a season looks like for me. This might be our first season dating and I know that’s going to bring its own challenges, but we both know I’ll be traveling a lot.”

“That’s good. You need someone who will be supportive.” He nods his head as he jots down a few more things.

“How’d you meet your wife?” I ask. I know he’s been married a long time. They always look happy together when their pictures show up in the gossip rags.

“I met her at a college party.” He smiles softly. “She knocked a bottle of water all over me and then turned me down when I asked her out.”

“Ouch,” I wince. “I can't imagine what I would’ve done if Sweets had turned me down. I'm fairly certain I’d never play another game well again.”

“Eh, it’s fine. We figured it all out in the end and that’s all that really matters. Now we have our happily ever after with three kids and a Labrador Retriever. What else could a man want?”

“You’re living the dream.” I smirk.

“Yeah, I am. Now, I want to make this the dream team. Give me your ideas about what we could do better? I'm happy to hear all of your ideas. I want to make this the best team to ever step foot on a professional baseball field. And if you ever feel like I'm doing something wrong, please pull me aside and talk to me. This isn't my team, it’s our team.”

Chapter 24

Liliana

“I can't believe you didn’t take the box seats.” Winnie grimaces as she steps over a spilled container of French fries.

“I don’t want box seats, I want to watch Smithy play. There’s no better seat than sitting as close to third base as I can. Plus, it’s the opening game of the season. I want to be as close as possible.” I smile as a handful of college guys stand to let us walk past them and take our seats.

“We’ve been watching him and Wheeler play for years, Lils,” she grumbles as she falls into the seat next to me. “I'm not saying let’s stop watching, I'm just saying can't we be more comfortable while we do it?”

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