Page 99 of Catch Me
I watched him study a silver, metal bat. He ran his fingers along it, then twirled it in his hand. After setting it on top of everything else, we headed to the front of the store.
Everything cost an ungodly amount, and he didn’t bat an eye. Once we had it all loaded up in the Jeep, we headed down the road. He turned up the radio, and I found myself wrinkling my nose.
“Of course you’re into country.”
He glanced over at me. “You’re not?”
“No.”
When he turned it up more, I hung my head. I’d brought it upon myself by saying something about it.
He started to sing, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. His head swung back and forth, making his hair fly into his face. The Texanreally came out when he was like this. Never in a million years would I think there’d be something attractive about it, but here we were.
I snorted a laugh, and when he got louder, I was torn between watching him sing or jumping out of the car.
He pulled up to a brick building and put it in park, but he didn’t stop singing until the song was over. Realizing I’d just been listening to him, I stepped outside and headed around to the back. When he joined me, he was smiling.
“It’s a good thing you don’t have a date,” I noted.
He leaned his shoulder against the car. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because they’d ghost you as soon as they realized how crazy you are.”
“You stuck around.”
My cheeks heated. Thankfully, he opened the back door and started hauling things inside. I grabbed as much as I could, grateful for the distraction.
When we got in the building, there were already people everywhere. He apologized to an older woman for being late, and she waved him off. There was warmth in her eyes as she watched him set the boxes down on a table. She looked at me and cocked her head.
“You’re not one of the players,” she said.
“I’m a friend of Travis’.” After setting everything down, I held out my hand. She shook it firmly, which I thought was a good thing.
“We appreciate all the help we can get, of course. And if you’re Travis’ friend, I’m sure you’re good.”
“That’s subjective.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Everyone kinda sucks in comparison to him, I think.”
When she laughed, I relaxed a little. “That’s why you should never compare yourself, hon. We’re all perfectly unique.”
“For sure.”
I went and grabbed the last of the toys, then stood around awkwardly. Travis was talking to some people in the kitchen who all seemed to know him. I wondered how often he volunteered here. The guy really never stopped doing shit.
It looked like they had everything covered, even while they served the food. I didn’t feel as weird about it as I observed, though. It was nice to watch him with everybody, and I found it nearly impossible to look away. There was something about the way he moved, the way he talked and interacted with the world around him, that was uniquely fascinating.
Pulling out my tablet, I started to sketch the room. It was random and wouldn’t be interesting, but it was something to do. At least this time, I could pretend it wasn’t about him.
“Don’t stare,” a man said in a hushed voice. “It’s rude.”
I looked over at him. There was a kid by his side, and I realized that he was watching Travis. As if he felt my stare, he shifted his gaze to me. His eyes fell to the floor, and he inched backward.
He looked so unsure of himself that I found it hard not to say something. Chewing on my lip, I went over to the two of them.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Sure,” the guy said. “He’s just impatient.”
I glanced back at Travis. “If he’s waiting for him, I’m sure he’ll be free soon. He probably wouldn’t mind if you went and talked to him now, even.”
