Page 4 of Totally Played
“Then it doesn’t count. Come on, my turn.”
He throws me a grounder, and I mirror his trick play, catching the ball and spinning in place before sending the ball toward first base. It’s a perfect shot, and it connects with the duck, sending it back flipping to the grass.
Coach claps, and I feel my face grow warm.
“Nice work, Calvin, let’s see if you can pull that off in the game. The crowd would love it,” he says with a nod, and Duckie slams into my side.
“Hey, Coach, what about me?” Duckie asks.
“Your spin needs work.” He laughs and walks over to Ryan, who’s pitching into the nets at the side.
Tim jogs my way. “Don’t listen to him, mate. Your spin was spot on, just need to work on the release. Lift your elbow up a tiny bit before release, and you’ll have it. I set him back up, go on, give it a go.”
Listening to Tim talk is like talking to a drunk Scotsman, with slang words only he knows, like arvo and knackered, and he swears in the middle of sentences for no other reason than to emphasize importance. I don’t hate the accent, though. It reminds me of when we’d sit and watch Crocodile Dundee movies with dad. He’d be throwing out the “That’s not a knife” line for days afterward. Always makes Mom smile. Tim is the only Aussie on the team, and last year on our real-world tour, he got to show us around Sydney during Mardi Gras. That was an experience, let me tell you. I still pinch myself when I think about how many countries I’ve been to and the things I’ve seen.Sure, a lot of the places we were short for time and got to see little more than the baseball field and airport, but a few places, like Australia, we had time to really explore. Tim’s partner, Lion, organized for us to go on this big boat party for Mardi Gras, and it was incredible.
Duckie jogs back to where he was, and when he’s ready, I throw him the ball. He catches it, spins, and sends it down, and just like Tim suggested, with his elbow raised just a touch, the ball stays high enough to knock the duck right off home plate.
“Woooo,” Tim and I cheer, and Duckie runs toward us, launching himself into a hug like we’ve just won the whole game.
“Nice one, Grant,” Ian, Duckie’s boyfriend and press reporter for Unlaced, calls, and Duckie can’t hide his joy, ditching us and running over to thank him with a quick kiss. Warm-ups are usually closed to anyone but players, but it’s game one, so the press are here watching, seeing who’s ready and who’s slacked off over break.
“Tony, pick up the pace,” one of the coaches calls, and I glance toward my brother. He’s running at half speed and still looks like shit. He really should have stayed in last night. I grab an energy drink from the cooler and take it over.
“You look like crap, brother,” I say, handing him the bottle.
“I’ll be fine. Just need to warm up.”
“You look pretty warm already,” I say, holding my hand against his head. “You’re burning up.”
“I was just jogging, I’m fine,” he replies, swatting my hand away. I don’t know if it’s a twin thing or a brother thing in general, but I know he’s lying.
“You’re sick. You can’t play today.”
“I’m not sick. You’re being overprotective. Just leave it.”
“Fine. I’ll leave it,” I say, turning and walking back over to Duckie and Tim.
“What’s his problem?” Tim asks as they glance behind me.
“Hungover,” I lie, and they nod and get back to warming up. Tony wants to pretend like he’s totally fine. I can do that. For now.
Chapter two
Ashley
Iglareatthehotel room bed as I drop my key on the table and kick off my shoes. I want so desperately to climb into bed right now, but Jennifer insisted we meet back at the hotel dining room for dinner with the client, so now I have to somehow not look like I’ve gone a week without sleep. While she might be keen to keep schmoozing with the clients, I can think of nothing worse than putting on another performance when I would much rather be curled up with room service and some made-for-television movie. Something with a happy ending. Fuck knows, I’ve been searching for mine for long enough.
My phone chimes, and the nerves in my neck actually tighten at the sight of her name. Why the fuck did my boss insist on my taking Jennifer on this trip? I’ve been the alliance manager for RED Tech since its inception in a college dorm room in Texas five years ago, and we’ve only grown. The trials for our new app for farmers are well underway, and the sensor patent cleared last week, so it shouldn’t take much for me to convince the investors and software partners to stick with us. I’ve beenhandling these clients on my own fine until now. I don’t need help. At least that’s what I tried to tell my boss and best friend, Redmond Summers. But she’s his kid sister and just graduated from college with a degree in Art History and no clue what she’s going to do with it, so into big bro’s tech start-up she goes.
It’s nepotism at its best, but then again, I only started out in this job because I was best friends with the guy who started it all, so can I really be that pissed about her getting a leg up, too?
I swipe open the message.
JENNIFER: I’ve made reservations for six. The client is now bringing his wife and their son. I’ve checked and the restaurant had a separate section set aside for all their GF meals and have been made aware of your allergy.
Okay, so she’s not so bad.
ASH: Thanks, you’re a star.
