Page 97 of Wild Pitch
“Make sure to spill some on your chest,” Rivera calls out.
Cade cracks a little and sends a glare to the stands of near forty grown men screaming embarrassing things that go from middle school level to definitely-for-adults. But finally he disappears into the dugout along with the photographer, with Rose at their heels because she’s been capturing video for the social media accounts, and I can relax for a bit.
“You doing okay?” Audrey watches me from the corner of her green eyes.
“Me?” I squeak like the makeup artist earlier. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem to be struggling.”
I blow a raspberry. “Not at all.”
Oh yes, super struggling. Mega struggling. I literally don’t know how I’m going to be keep a straight face the next time I have to massage him or ice him. I’ll be worse than the makeup girl.
Rose emerges from the dugout but still appears to be filming, she points both her phone and a camera toward the stands,and the guys from the team cheer for the video. She continues jogging the perimeter behind the home plate to join us.
Huffing as she sits down, she says, “I need a break in the shade. Whatcha up to, you guys?”
“I think we need a roommate meeting,” Audrey declares with no warning. As Rosalina and I stare pointedly at her, blondie raises her hands. “It’s nothing bad, just girl talk.”
“Oh.” Then I know exactly what the subject is. “I truly don’t think we need any girl talk.”
But then Cade steps out of the dugout, now wearing his team shirt but unbuttoned and his cap backward. He lifts his face and I stiffen, because he’s looking directly at me.
Or not? He could be observing either of my roommates.
Except I can feel both of them turn to me, right in time to catch the heat crawling up my neck. He seems to watch me for a moment longer while he walks over to the mound, the photographer and his assistant trailing behind.
As they take action shots of Cade pretending to pitch with his shirt open—as if real games allowed that—Rose chuckles. “Yeah, it seems like we do need girl talk.”
*
“What am I doing here?” I grouch from the middle of the couch, nursing a glass of wine and wrapped in my yellow fluffy blanket that makes me look like a certain cast member of Sesame Street.
“You, my friend, have feelings for a certain pitcher.” Rose clinks her glass with mine and after a quick sip that makes her shiver slightly, she continues, “And I’ve been down that road before, so I think Audrey had the right idea in calling for this meeting.”
“Wait, what?” I do a double take, my brain short circuiting. “You have feelings for Cade? Had?”
“Cade?” Rose’s dimples show thanks to her little grin. “Since when do you call him Cade?”
From my other side, Audrey points out, “Notice how she didn’t even deny it.”
“Rosalina Mena,” I say in a serious tone. “You need to tell me right now if you’re interested in him, because if you are then I’m not going to stand in your way.”
“Ugh, you adorable dork.” She throws her arm around me and pulls me toward her. I release a littleacknot just because she’s kinda choking me, but I also have to make a huge effort to not let my wine glass overturn. “And no,” she responds, pulling away. “I’m not after the cowboy. What I mean is that I’ve been to that rodeo of dating a pitcher, and I don’t want you to make my mistakes.”
“If not Cade, who?”
“Ben Williams.” Audrey sips from her wine as we both watch her. “What? I saw him leave your room in the middle of the night once.”
While Rose’s jaw drops, I shriek, “What? How did I not notice that?”
“You sleep like the dead.”
“Yeah, it’s kinda scary.”
“Okay, never mind that.” I wave a hand. “But Ben Williams? Really? And are you still together?”
“Hell no.” She leans back into the couch, sighing hard. “I dumped his ass.”
