Page 23 of The Perfect Game

Standing next to Penny’s car, waiting for her to unlock it, I jumped when I saw a shadow next to me. I turned and squinted into the sunlight.

“Hey,” Ben said, smiling at me.

I laughed. “Hey.”

“I, uh, just wanted to thank you for coming to the game.” He paused, rubbing his hands on the sides of his uniform pants. His gaze bounced around the parking lot and finally settled back on me. “This summer is kind of busy with traveling for tournaments and stuff, but I was wondering if you’d like to, um, like, would you go on a date with me sometime?” The last few words came out in a rush, and I could see the cautious way he watched me, waiting for my answer.

With a wide grin, I said, “I’d love to. Just let me know when.”

His smile stretched from ear to ear, and he nodded, leaning forward to open the door once the lock clicked. I sat down in the seat, working to get the bulky boot in the car before he shut the door.

Penny started the car, and I waved to Ben as we drove away. I did my best to keep my gaze forward, sensing that Penny was bursting with questions.

“It looks like things are starting to move there, huh?” Penny said, keeping her tone as even as possible, even though she was grinning at me.

“Oh, shush. I’m glad he asked me. Now I’ll just have to see when we actually go out.” I watched the trees pass as we drove down the road, smiling at my reflection in the window. Ben had asked me out, and I was more excited about it than I’d been since James finally started noticing me. But this felt different. It meant more than anything James had ever done. I’d just have to wait and see how things turned out.

Thirteen

Ben

It had been difficult to get Serena out of my mind over the past week. The way she’d interacted with Daniel made the attraction I’d felt for her the past few weeks jump even more. And seeing her in the stands cheering me on had added a jolt of adrenaline to my pitching game. I’d even been able to ask her out on a date, although we hadn’t decided when to go out just yet. Between work and baseball, a lot of my time was already taken up.

We’d texted back and forth, nothing major, but it was fun to get to know her a little more, and it helped me relax because I could read and reread the message before I sent it, making sure it sounded somewhat decent.

We were at another tournament this weekend, this one a couple hours from home. I’d loosened up, throwing a few pitches with Zane, one of the backup catchers. Tom Dunn had the start on the mound, but Coach Lund had mentioned I would go in if he got into any trouble.

The rest of the team split up into infield and outfield groups, taking some practice balls to get them ready for the game. Zane and I leaned over the fence to the bullpen, watching the team practice. Each grounder or flyball, each throw seemed crisp and clean. We were as ready as we could be for this game and hopefully the next, as this tournament was the second largest attended by college coaches.

“How are things going with Serena?” Jake asked, walking up to the fence. Coach Lund had to go to the meeting with the umpire and opposing coach at the plate, leaving the infielders waiting for the game to start.

I frowned, irritation rising at his question. “Dude, we’re getting ready for a game right now. Get your head in the game.” We’d worked too hard to ruin things right now, and even though I liked Serena, now was not the time to be talking about girls and crushes. If I ruined our chances of doing well in this tournament, I’d never be able to forget it. I didn’t need to add one more nightmare of my imperfections to my nightly routine.

“Serena? Since when are you two dating?” Colt asked, strolling up behind Jake. He let his glove dangle over the fence as his other hand wiped at the sweat dripping down the sides of his face.

I shot Jake a look, my eyes narrowed and lips pursed. “We’re not dating.”

“You should be,” Jake said, grinning.

“Again, not the time to talk about this, Jake,” I said through gritted teeth. We were at the opposing team’s field two hours away, and I didn’t want to reflect on a loss for the entire ride home.

Colt looked between both of us, trying to figure out the connection. “Serena’s cool. I’d be all for you dating her. How does she feel about your stutter?”

Jake swiped Colt’s shoulder with his glove, sending the kid back a few steps. “Seriously? I’ll make sure Coach has you walk home from here.” He turned back to me. “Your stutter has gotten better lately. Is that because of Serena?”

He was just as bad as Colt. “I don’t know, I guess. I usually just have a hard time when I’m nervous.”

“Have you asked her out yet?”

I glanced over to where Coach Lund stood next to the plate, still listening to the umpire. Why wasn’t he done already?

“I said we should go out sometime, but we haven’t set anything up yet.” I studied my glove, tightening a knot in the leather that was starting to come loose.

Jake took a step back, pounding his fist into the palm of his glove. “Let’s make a bet.” This conversation was about to go off a cliff. “We win this game and you have to ask her out on an actual date. Not some future date that might happen before you start going gray.”

“And if we lose?” I asked dryly.

“We’re not losing, so let’s not worry about it.” All of us turned when we heard Coach’s voice calling the team to the dugout. To say I was relieved would be an understatement. I’d been trying to work up the courage to ask Serena out for several days, each time backing out at the last minute, whether it was through text or at therapy.

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