Page 118 of Honey Undone
“Bring it home, boys.”
JENSEN
Josh stood in front of me on the pitchers mound, dripping in sweat from the lights after four hard-fought innings. “Harris is fucking killing us,” he rolled the ball in his glove.
“How’s your elbow?” I asked him and earned a death glare. “Doc told me to keep an eye on you, answer the question.”
“It’s fine,” Josh snapped. “I don’t know how to beat him on the mound,” he said, his eyes darting around as he tried to come up with a solution.
“Your best pitch is a cutter,” I offered, “Use it.”
“I haven’t thrown one in months,” he huffed.Because it hurts to do it.I stared at him for a long second. We were running out of options.
“I thought your elbow was fine?” I poked.
“It is.” His eyes narrowed on mine, the lights of the stadium buzzing brightly above us as a reminder that we were constantly being watched.
“Then throw the cutter,” I said quietly, backing off the mound and pulling my cage down over my head. Harris approached the box and swung out his shoulders with his bat as Josh set up on the mound. I watched Josh, the same way I watched him every game. Counting his every breath, waiting for each finger to tap the stitching around the ball, check left, check left and right. Always more confident in his shortstop than his second baseman.
But the right had been checked twice lately. His faith was breaking.
I stood up calling a time out and the ump gave me a dirty look as I said it again louder that time. Coach was quick to follow, storming the field as I bombarded Josh.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Josh snarled as we both approached and Coach’s face told me he had a similar question.
“It’s not your elbow,” I said.
“Yeah I fucking know that, Jensen!” Josh got louder, only for Coach to put a hand out.
“We don’t have time for cryptic,” he warned me.
“He’s looking for Cael,” I said in a quiet hiss.
“No I’m not,” Josh scowled but his jaw ticked uncomfortably and I knew I was right.
“Four breaths, five fingers, check left twice, right once. Pitch.” I repeated the actions back to him. “It’s what you’ve done all season, until Cael got hurt. Now you check right twice. It’s making you unbalanced.”
Coach stared at me and then at Josh, his mind turning.
Without a word, he waved down our third base coach, Peter. “I need you not to argue with me right now, but give your jacket to Cael and put him out on the line.”
“What?” Peter scoffed.
“Just do it.” Coach barked and Peter took off toward the dugout, stripping from his jacket and handing it over to a confused Cael. Josh stared at me, his anger rolling off him in waves.
“Now pitch.” I jabbed and for a second I thought that Josh might hit me but he only looked over his right shoulder to find Cael.
“Fuck you, Jensen,” Josh said, but a small smirk formed on his lips.
He hated it but it worked, Harris wasn’t a match for the three balls that came at him. Josh had struck him out.
“There we fucking go!” I yelled across the gap and Josh just shook his head.
He managed to cold snap the entire inning, not a single run went out. Only two hits and both were flies.
“How did you know that would work?” Dean asked me as I stripped from my mask.
“I didn’t,” I said, with a shrug. “We’re all creatures of habit, Josh more than anyone. He just felt off balance without Cody behind him.”
