Page 29 of Wild Pitch
“Uh, yeah. You called me, remember?” Staring at myself in confusion through the mirror, I run my hand through my wet but still unwashed hair. “Everything okay, darlin’?”
“No! Yes. But actually no. Everything is most definitelynot okay.” There’s something like a screeching quality to her voice that immediately puts me on edge.
“Okay,” I say slowly, in a low tone of voice to not spike this wild animal on the other side of the line. “I need you to explain to me what is wrong so I can try to figure out something.”
“My freaking ex is what’s wrong!”
My eye twitches.
I remove the phone from my ear because another scream like that will send me to urgent care, and instead I set it to loud speaker and put it back on the vanity.
Now that I have confirmed this isn’t a nine-one-one type of emergency, I ask, “What about your ex?”
“He’s getting married! To my other ex!”
“Other ex?” My eyebrows rise all the way.
“Yeah, my ex best friend. They just—ugh, I can’t believe I found out through Instagram. That like, adds insult to injury.”
“So let me recap. You called me in a panic because your ex is getting married to your other ex, almost giving me a heart attack in the process, and interrupting my shower?”
“I—Sorry, what? You were showering?”
“Yeah, and I’m starting to get cold. Can I finish that and call you back?”
Garcia’s voice sounds several notches higher as she says, “Oh. Yeah. Of course. I’m uh, sorry. Yep.”
“‘Kay, talk to you in a bit.” I hang up and this time make sure to put my phone in Do Not Disturb, which I should’ve done all along. Live and learn.
I can’t get back into the relaxation headspace I was in before Garcia’s call, though. Instead of taking forever and a half to enjoy my two-seventy-degrees water streams, I end up rushing through it as if I had just finished a game and was getting readyfor a press conference. As I towel off, I remember I meant to shave as well but that’s gonna have to wait until tomorrow now.
I get dressed in record time and flop on my soft bed, towel hanging from my head, to call Garcia back.
“Sorry about that,” is her greeting the second she picks up. “I momentarily lost my mind.”
“Momentarily?” I tease and receive a huff in return.
“I admit I’ve been in a fugue ever since I found out the two of them got together.”
“Hmm.” I bend my arm to use my hand as another pillow. “I assume that if you called me it’s because you want me to do something about this.”
“You are very clever, Cade Starr. Has no one ever told you that?”
I snort. “No need to butter me up, darlin’.”
“Fine, I’ll get to the point.” She proceeds to make a long pause where she does not, in fact, get to the point.
Picking up my phone from the pillow I tossed it on, I confirm the call is still connected. “Garcia?”
“I’m here,” she says a lot quieter than before. “You already saw how bad I am at the whole flirting thing. Twice.”
“Right…” That’s all I dare to say because she’s legit worse thanbad. A cartoon robot probably has more game than her, but I’m not gonna be cruel in pointing that out.
“So, I really need your help to speed up the timetable.”
“There was a timetable?”
“Thanksgiving. It’s uh, a long story.”
