Page 24 of The Future Play

“Can I see a picture, pleaseeeeee?” Penny whines.

“Fine,” I sigh, pulling out my phone. I go to Amanda’s social media and pull up a selfie of her smiling brightly, the sun behind her making her hair look redder, then hand my phone to Penny.

“Oh, wow. She’sreallypretty.”

Yeah, she is.Only a moron would think she’s not. She’s gorgeous. But I sure as shit can’t say that.

“And you think she’s pretty,” Penny says, handing my phone back. “I think you should date her.”

Now Mom chokes and coughs on her sip of water.

“Serves you right,” I hiss. Then I put my big brother voice back on and turn back to Penny. “I’m not going to date her.”

“Why not? Oh. Does she not like you?”

I put a hand to my forehead. “She likes me fine. We just don’t want to date. Contrary to what some people think, boys and girls can be just friends.”

Penny’s brow scrunches. “Well, I guess that’s true. But you should still think about it. I think I’d like an older sister one day.”

Again, I feel my parents’ intense stares, but I make some kindof affirmative noise to Penny, then eat the rest of my salad as fast as I can.

If life were simpler, maybe there could be something between Amanda and me, but we both have separate focuses and goals, and we’re determined to achieve them.

But as I load up my car and settle in for the drive, I can’t deny that I’m excited to spend the weekend with her.

“So,are you ready for your season to start?” Aaron asks as we lounge on the oversized couches in the lake house. My family has money, but I never realized Joel’s family was loaded too. This place is huge and fancy. It has six bedrooms plus lake access. It’s insane.

The game today was great. I got to see Aaron in action as a coach—not that I’d never seen it before. He’s been working with me for years, but this was different. It was watching him in his element as a professional, and he kicked ass.

College starts a couple of weeks before we do, plus we’re still on spring break, so I’ve got another seventeen days until my first game of the season.

“I’m ready. Not sure what to expect in terms of if anyone will be watching me.”

“You know they will.”

“Not big scouts. Not yet.”

“There might be. Maybe not in person, but from a distance. Local media will be covering it for sure. Your name has gotten around, Jame. Even my coach knows. Don’t underestimate the power in that.”

“Do you think I’m good enough to make the draft out of high school?”

“Yeah. I do. You won’t go as high as you would if you went to a D1 school first, though.”

I nod slowly. It’s a lot to think about, and there aren’t a lot of guidebooks for stuff like this. Going from a high school athlete or even a college one into professional sports is a whirlwind. I have to think about agents even though I can’t legally get advice from one until after I’m drafted. But I’m supposed to make those connections so I can have one I plan to work with when the time comes. It’s confusing and stressful and not what I want to focus on.

“I just want to play the best baseball I can this year.”

“That’s all you have to do,” Aaron reassures me. “You planning to do any camps this summer?”

“Not really. Coach mentioned some new one but couldn’t tell me anything about it. I’ve done Cooperstown ones before, but I don’t feel like there’s that much new for me to learn. I need to hone my skills, not gain new ones. That’s where you come in.”

“Can you afford me? I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m kind of a big deal coach now.”

“Such a big deal. I’m truly honored and humbled to be in your presence.”

He grins at me. “As you should be.”

I lean back against the couch. “Think we’ll still have this when I make it to the majors?”

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