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With a nod, Mikey headed for the field, leaving behind a muddy trail as she said, “Incidentally, I’m going to need a note for my teachers about my homework.”
“Your homework was in the bag?” Coach Jackson asked, frowning as his gaze shot to her ruined backpack.
“Sure. We can say that,” Mikey said, blinking as she joined the rest of the students trying out for the team as Coach Jackson was forced to turn his head and cough as he struggled not to laugh.
Popping the lollipop in his mouth, Sebastian grabbed her soaked bag that weighed a ton and opened it, wondering if they’d be able to save her iPad only to chuckle when he saw that her bag was filled with baseballs, sports magazines, snacks, and one of his sweatshirts.
“Can you salvage any of it?” Cole asked as he dropped down on the bench next to him.
“Just the baseballs and my sweatshirt,” Sebastian said, pulling the items in question out of the bag and set them aside before he grabbed the ruined bag and made his way to the trashcan set up by the fence. By the time he got back, his cousin Elizabeth was joining them.
“Why is Mikey soaking wet?” Elizabeth asked as they watched Mikey quickly make her way over to join Braxton as they waited for tryouts to start.
“I have a pretty good idea why,” Sebastian said as he glanced at Nicole and her friends, who were all laughing their asses off as they pulled their phones out and took pictures of Mikey.
“I’m taking care of it,” Jonathan said as they watched Mikey give Braxton a fist bump before making her way to the pitcher’s mound.
“At least they didn’t ruin anything important,” Cole murmured as he glanced at the wet pile on the bench.
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Coach Jackson yelled, drawing their attention back to the field in time to watch Braxton toss his baseball cap to Mikey before he settled behind home plate.
“I thought Braxton was trying out for first base,” Elizabeth said, frowning as they watched him gear up as he took his spot behind home plate.
“He changed his mind after working with Mikey for the past few months,” Jonathan said as they watched Braxton get in position. “He’s the only that can handle her fastball without flinching.”
Sebastian watched as Mikey put the baseball cap on backwards before holding up her glove. In seconds, a baseball was flying through the air and landing in her glove. Mikey slowly exhaled as her gaze locked on Braxton. Sebastian waited for Braxton to give a signal, but nothing came. Instead, Mikey gave her head a barely-there shake that had Braxton adjusting his stance and-
“Jesus Christ!”
-catching the ball that flew through the air a split second later and slammed into his glove.
“One hundred and two!” one of the assistant coaches announced as his stunned gaze flickered from the small device in his hand to Mikey.
“That’s my girl,” Sebastian said, slowly exhaling as he watched Mikey get ready for the next pitch.
“Christ, they’re good,” Cole said in awe as they watched Mikey and Braxton for the next hour.
They didn’t bother with gestures like most players did, they simply shared a look, readjusted, and executed the play. He’d never seen anything like it. They anticipated each other’s moves on the fly, communicating with a single look as they sized up the batter and took him out, leaving him struggling to figure out what happened as one of the assistant coaches yelled, “Out!”
After an hour, when none of the batters managed to hit the ball, Coach Jackson switched Mikey and Braxton out so that he could see what the rest of them had to offer. Sebastian watched Mikey as she cheered everyone on, held his breath every time she stepped up to bat, and screamed her name the loudest when the bat in her hand connected with the ball.
Three hours later, Coach Jackson called everyone in and gave them a speech that was nothing like the one that Coach Dilmore gave last year that tore Mikey’s world apart. He thanked everyone for their time, told them that he wished that he could give everyone a spot on the team, and when he announced that he would be announcing who made the team by the end of next week, Sebastian mentally prepared himself for the long week ahead.
CHAPTER35
“How long are you planning on pouting?” Sebastian asked the teenage girl sprawled out across his bed that had been mumbling, “They took the shower curtains too,” to herself for the past hour.
“I don’t like to put a time limit on these things,” Mikey mumbled sadly against the comforter, making him sigh as he gave up any hope of finishing the homework that Mrs. Blaine gave him before it was time to call it a night.
“You ready to talk about what happened today?” Sebastian asked as he tossed the highlighter on his desk with a sigh.
“I would rather pout,” Mikey muttered even as she turned onto her side so that she was facing him as she curled up into the fetal position, which he took as progress.
“Mikey, you can’t let this go on,” Sebastian pointed out as he stood up and made his way across the room.
“I don’t have a choice,” Mikey mumbled sadly with a sniffle.
“Yes, you do,” Sebastian said softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.
