Page 180 of Catch Me
Vince signaled for me to throw a forkball, but I gave him a small shake of my head. He knew me well, so he was confident I could do it, but I didn’t want to. He made a couple more signals, to which I shook my head again. When he gave me the one I wanted, he shook his head as if he was exasperated. Still, he trusted me, readying himself for the pitch.
Fast. Right down the middle. If he hit it, there was a good chance that ball would go far. Once Amir crossed home plate, we’d be tied. It could send us into an extra inning unless they scored again. We could recover from the loss, but I wanted to take this one more than anything. I needed it today.
The ball left my hand and soared too fast for the human eye to track. The bat hit it, though, and I sprang into action. I jumped as high as I could, then felt the sting in my palm. Pulling the ball from my glove, I immediately sent it back to home. Just a second before Amir hit the base, Vince slammed his hand down on it, and the umpire made a hammering motion.
The way the stadium erupted was like magic. I took my hat off, flinging it to the side so that I could run my fingers through my hair. My emotions went a little haywire as I watched the scoreboard change, bringing them to three outs and ending our fourth game.
We were almost there.
Chapter 60
Roman
“Congratulations,” I said, coming up beside Travis.
“Thanks.”
He was leaning on the railing at the edge of the boat, staring at the sunset. Since it was a ‘sunset cruise,’ I shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was taking it too literally. Or he just looked too good with the way the colors fell across his hair.
I held out a beer, and he eyed it for a second before he took it. Dropping my forearms to the railing, I studied the darkening sky.
“I’ve always thought sunsets were more beautiful than sunrises,” I noted absently, not really caring if he was listening. “They look different in every place. Even if it’s barely noticeable, I can see it.”
“Where’s the best one?” he asked, sounding bored.
When I looked at him, he turned his head toward me. After a second, I shrugged. “I haven’t been many places.”
“You should go.”
I dropped my gaze, then sucked in a breath when he used two fingers to lift my chin.
“Places. Go places.” He dropped his hand and looked at the skyline again.
“Maybe I will.”
“Why are you here and not with the others?”
“It’s prettier from up here, and they’re all being cute and shit. Sunsets are romantic, I guess.”
“I only watch them with Tessa.”
“Sounds like your ideal night.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, it is. What’s yours?”
“If I tell you, it’ll just make things awkward.”
“It’s already awkward, so have at it.”
I considered it for a minute. I kept saying I was done, yet here I was. Maybe this was the moment Linc eluded to. I could drop something, then walk away and leave the rest in his hands. It would probably end in disappointment, but that wasn’t any different from how things were now.
“Right here,” I said. “Watching the sunset with you, but Tessa would have to be here too, obviously. And I’d tell you all the things I didn’t back then.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every question I never answered.”
He looked at me and cocked his head. “Every question, huh? That’s believable.”
