Page 71 of Spotlight
They start for the door.
“Does ice cream count?” Ruby asks with a wink.
* * *
I can’t remember the last time I watched a baseball game on TV, but that’s exactly what I do while Greer is with my sister.
Flynn looks just as good, no, better, with the camera zooming in on him before each pitch. The time in the sun has turned his skin a golden tan that makes his hair look redder, especially in the sunlight.
The Mustangs are up by one run in the top of the eighth inning. Flynn’s shoulders lift and fall as he lets out a long breath. He’s tired. The announcers have been tracking his pitches and noting that he’s thrown a lot today. They’ve also noted that he’s been very inconsistent since coming up to the Major, and I feel instantly defensive of him.
He just threw a no-hitter two weeks ago. How quickly people turn from praise to criticism.
I cheer for him alone in my living room. He strikes out the next two batters and the top of the inning ends. I feel such pride I’m giddy with it.
Lake City gets two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, and then Flynn strikes out the first three batters in the ninth inning, ending the game.
“They won,” I say to myself, wishing so badly I was there. The announcers are back to singing Flynn’s praises. Jerks.
I send Flynn a voice message. “Congrats, Hotshot.”
* * *
Greer returns around dinnertime, cranky and sassy. She fights me over every bite, pushing her green beans around the plate and looking sullen.
“Finish up. It’s bedtime.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Okay,” I say and take her plate. “Time to take a bath.”
“Can we watch a movie after I’m done?”
“Not tonight. You need sleep.”
She stomps her foot, and I have to fight a smile. She’s in that irrational mode where she doesn’t realize that her bad mood is because she’s tired.
Her footsteps echo down the hall to the bathroom, but by the time she gets in, I can already hear her singing happily.
I clean the kitchen, checking my phone every few minutes for a new text from Flynn. I’ve gotten so used to hearing from him that I’m disappointed when two hours have passed since the end of the game with still no word from him.
I’m about to go check on Greer and give her a five-minute warning that it’s time to get out of the bath when there’s a knock on the front door.
My brows pull together as I cross the apartment. Maybe Ruby wants to talk out her story.
I pull open the door, faltering when it’s the man I’ve been thinking about for three days straight on the other side.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, then step forward and hug him.
I think my action takes us both by surprise because he chuckles as he wraps his arms around my waist.
“I needed to see you.”
Those words make my pulse race.
I step back and stare at him in amazement.
“Is it okay I’m here?”
