Page 17 of Spotlight
“Good to see you again,” Tripp says to me. “How’s the arm?”
Instinctively, I make a fist with my right hand and squeeze until I feel the muscles contract all the way up to my shoulder.
“Rested and ready to get back out there.” So ready. The sooner I do, the quicker I can prove myself.
“I’ll bet.” Tripp’s grin widens. “The Mustangs are lucky to have you.”
Merrick lifts his beer toward me. “Here’s hoping you can pull them out of their slump.”
“Slump?” Tripp’s brows rise. “They haven’t had a winning season since the eighties.”
“Nineteen seventy-six,” I say.
An awkward silence hangs around the circle. The Mustangs are the worst team in the league, but they were the only one willing to take a chance on me, so I feel something like loyalty to them. Don’t get me wrong, I wish I were playing anywhere else next season, but I plan to seize the opportunity.
“Well, I, for one, am stoked you’re sticking around. I missed you, little bro.” Brogan places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes, then shakes me like a ragdoll. I’m taller than him, but he’s a big, muscular dude, and I think he likes to remind me of it any time he can.
“I’m excited to have a reason to use my season tickets,” Cody says. He’s the Maverick’s quarterback and has a more serious vibe about him than the others. “And I’m sorry about how things went down with the Twins. That was some impressive pitching for being pulled up at the last minute. Not a lot of guys could handle that kind of pressure.”
“Including me,” I say, feeling like I’m out there on the mound in front of thousands of fans and walking batters left and right all over again.
“Don’t even sweat it. You’ll get another shot,” Brogan says, ever the optimist.
“Yeah, for sure,” I add, trying to mimic his optimism—except I don’t feel it. “I’m going to grab a drink.”
Instead of heading to the bar, I go out a side door to the outdoor patio to have a few minutes of peace.
My steps slow when I spot Olivia.
She doesn’t see me and her voice filters out softly. “Five. Four. Three. Two.”
She pauses.
“Two and a half,” I say.
She swivels around to face me.
“Sorry. I came out here to get away. Seems great minds think alike.” I shove my hands in my pockets. “Mind if I join you?”
“It’s all yours. I was just leaving,” she says.
“Stay. I have so many questions I’ve wanted to ask you since New York.”
“Is that why you ran off while I was sleeping?”
Ah. Well that makes more sense why she’s pissed. She thinks I left her. I mean, I did leave her, but not because I wanted to. “Something came up. I went downstairs for a few minutes and when I came back, you were gone.”
“Which is where I’m going now. Bye, Flynn. It was…” She falters like she’s struggling for the right word, “interesting seeing you again.”
She’s gone before I can reply. I would have taken great, good even, but I guess interesting will do. It wasinterestingto see her too. And by interesting, I mean fucking fantastic.
5
FLYNN
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
That’s my only thought as I get a tour of the Mustangs training headquarters.
