Page 18 of The Future Play

I shake my head. “I’m up for whatever.”

“Sweet. A shit ton of sushi incoming.” She taps a few more times on her phone screen, then sets her phone down on the nearby table. “Let’s see if we can get all those twinkle lights down before it gets here.”

She walks out of the room like a woman on a mission, and I follow after her, ready to be put to work.

“Finally,”Amanda says, sitting down next to me on atablecloth on the floor, in the center of which is the mass quantity of sushi she ordered.

She hands me a bottle of fancy sparkling water, then pulls the lids off all the containers, doing a little happy dance as she fills up a plate.

Smiling, I grab a plate and add some pieces as well, watching her all the while. I’ve never seen someone so excited for sushi before.

She sighs happily once the full plate is sitting in front of her, then grabs a piece and takes a big bite, groaning with happiness. “Oh my god, yes.” She finishes chewing, her eyes slipping closed like she’s enjoying a lot more than food. “God, I’m a slut for a spicy crab roll.”

I choke on the bite I took, my cheeks instantly burning red.

“What? Are you not used toladiesswearing?” she asks with a laugh.

I take a drink of water, then a deep breath in and out before answering. “No. I just wasn’t expecting those exact words to come out of your mouth.”

She shrugs. “No regrets. Spicy crab is the best. I would do many dirty things for one of these rolls.”

She takes another bite, letting out a happy noise.

I have no idea what I was expecting from Amanda when I first saw her, but she’s somehow exactly it and nothing like it all at once. She’s fierce but playful, and there’s a calm undercutting her wildness.

“So why event planning?”

“Why baseball?”

“Baseball chose me, and I couldn’t resist the siren song of the field.”

“Think you’ll play pro?”

“I know I will. Just a matter of how and when.”

“Confident.”

“As are you. You know you’re good at what you do. I know I’m a great pitcher. That alone won’t get me there though. I’mdedicated and constantly pushing myself to be better. If that means making baseball my life until I get where I’m going, then I’m willing to do that.”

She nods as she takes another bite. “Same.” After she swallows, she continues. “I have a nonstop drive to learn and grow. And after tonight, I’m ready to fully commit to building a business. As for how I ended up in event planning, I guess that’s also similar to you. I don’t know if it chose me, but it’s where I felt at home. I’ve always loved parties. I used to throw themed tea parties for all my stuffed animals and usually forced at least one of my brothers to participate. I was always on the planning committee for events in high school. Once an idea comes to me, I can see the whole thing laid out in my mind. It just makes sense to me. Plus, it’s perfect for someone like me who always has a hundred tabs open in my brain.”

She shrugs as she pops another piece of sushi into her mouth.

“Let me guess, you’re the oldest child?”

She smirks at me, then slowly shakes her head. “Nope. I’m the youngest. And the only girl.”

“Surprising.”

“Why? Because I’m not a spoiled little princess?” Her eyes dance with mischief.

“That’s not what I meant. Not all youngest kids are spoiled. My mom’s the oldest in her family and she and my dad’s older sister both have that oldest female child vibe where they’re always thinking of what needs to be done, don’t know how to slow down, try to do everything by themselves, and always feel like they need to take care of everyone else. You give off those vibes big time.”

Her smile falters—just for second—like it did when I made that stupid joke about how we were keeping her because she brought coffee the day we met.

She grabs another piece of sushi, nibbling on it before she says anything else.

“It might be the curse of being the only girl in the family, butI think it’s more because my brothers sucked the will to live—or at least be present—out of my parents. Don’t get me wrong, I can always seek my parents out and they’ll be there for me, but a lot of the time, I was left to my own devices. Or I was told to ask my brothers, which usually ended up in me doing it myself anyway. Let’s just say if anyone was going to getHome Alone’d in my family, it would be me. Not because I’m a little shit like Kevin McAllister, but because the squeaky wheel always got the grease in my house, and I never learned to squeak loud enough.” She waves a hand like she’s trying to clear away all the words she just said. “Anyway, that was deeper than it needed to be, so back to you. You have younger siblings?”

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