Page 27 of The Future Play

“So, how’d you end up here?” he asks between bites of pizza.

I pick at my brownie, savoring every tiny bite.

“I wanted to go to college somewhere in New York that was close-ish to home while still giving me space to explore. SUNY FL has an event management degree, which is better than a lot of places that just have hospitality with a minor in event planning or management. Plus, it’s beautiful here.”

“It definitely is.” But his eyes are on me, not the dark lake in the distance.

“Tell me something about you. Something that doesn’t haveto do with baseball,” I say in an attempt to break the tension surrounding us.

“Not baseball? Sorry. Doesn’t compute.”

I bump my elbow against his. “Seriously. What do you do when you’re not playing baseball?”

“Think about baseball?” His eyes dance and he takes another bite of his pizza. After he swallows, he continues. “Seriously, though, sometimes it feels like my life revolves around baseball. I’m not mad about that, but I don’t have many other hobbies. Most of my free time is spent with this bunch of dorks.” We both laugh at that. “And with my family.”

“Tell me about them.”

He shifts on the bench, tucking his legs up and turning so he can look at me. “Well, as you noticed at the event, my parents are disgustingly in love. They prioritize our family and are actively involved in all our lives. My younger siblings are endless chaos. Penny is just hitting the age of being fascinated by romance and love, but she’s also really into everything ‘girl power.’ Her words, not mine. Basically, it’s a lighter version of feminism.”

“I like her already.”

He stares at me for a second, like he’s debating whether to say something. “I think she’d like you too.” He clears his throat. “Uh, Calvin might as well have a stuffed tiger called Hobbes because he’s that wild sometimes. Though he’s also thoughtful and a bit of a science kid. Then Mila is precocious and hilarious and has everyone in the house wrapped around her little finger.”

“They sound adorable.”

He side-eyes me.

“They can be the tiniest terrors. Especially when they work together. But yeah, I love them. My family and baseball are pretty much my entire life.”

“That’s not a bad thing.” It isn’t. I’m not as tight with my family as he seems to be, but I love them. And event planning is a big piece of my life too. Granted, I also love volleyball and play ina rec league every summer. And now this friend group is a huge part of my life too.

“What about you? You told me you were the youngest and said you had older brothers. How many?”

“Two. Josh and Pete. Josh is two years older than me and the most obnoxious human in existence, and if we get along for more than a day at a time, hell might freeze over. Pete is four years older than me and more chill. I drove him crazy when we were little, but now we’re pretty close.”

“Thankfully, I think I’m old enough that I won’t have to deal with any truly obnoxious stuff with my siblings. At least until they’re teens, but hey, I won’t be living at home by then.”

“Are you sure? You never know. You might be in your parents’ basement hosting some podcast about baseball stats while you wax poetic about your missed shot at the majors.”

He puts a hand to his chest. “Ouch. That was just mean. Don’t hit a man where it hurts.”

“Baseball?”

“Exactly.”

“What if I hit youwitha baseball?”

“It would probably hurt less.”

“Noted. Your preferred form of torture is having balls thrown at you.”

He chokes on a laugh. “That sounds like the start of a dirty joke.”

“I think once balls are involved, you’re closer to finishing than starting.”

“The event queen has a dirty mind.”

I shrug. “I told you I grew up with older brothers. I learned a lot about sex before I probably should have.”

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