Page 26 of Running Home to You
Abby rolled her eyes. “Don’t play so scared.”
“I’m not!”
Kate peered into Abby’s copper gaze, sweat on her forehead, and fought the unbearable urge to take her face in her hands and shake her. She wanted something to shout in return, to even the score somehow, so she shifted to her consistently unkempt appearance.
“You should tuck in your shirt,” Kate said.
“You should untuck yours.” Abby smacked the bill of Kate’s visor, dropping it to her line of vision.
Kate’s mouth fell. While she typically responded to teasing with a passive laugh or unbothered shrug, she sought retaliation in a rush of maddening desire. She lifted her visor and chucked her mitt at Abby, who chortled. When Kate stammered an apology, Abby closed in, grabbed her shirt, and untucked it from her waistband.
“Stop!” Kate pushed her.
Their teammates scrambled to break them up, but there was no need. Abby laughed, hands on her knees, howling so loud that everyone stopped. Kate’s mouth broke into a beam, and then she laughed too. And when Abby returned her glove, grinning on her way back to shortstop, Kate forgot to breathe.
The day before they left for the tournament, they stayed late for additional practice. Mick hitting grounders, Jill at first base. They turned two at various angles, Kate so accustomed to Abby’s tosses that she no longer required a glance. She lobbed the ball to the perfect position, knowing that Abby would magically appear.
In the privacy of their own practice session, Kate admired Abby’s moves at shortstop, asked her how she did it, and in unparalleledglee, Abby scrambled to show her. They switched positions, Kate at shortstop, Abby at second. Kate mastered new tricks and flips, threw tosses behind her back, understood the thrill of playing without the need for perfection. Another new freedom found thanks to Abby.
“Okay, I’m calling it a night!” Mick said as the two of them slapped hands under the lights. “We’ve got a flight to catch tomorrow!”
“Want to stay a little longer?” Abby asked Kate.
She nodded. Even though she was tired and plenty prepared, she wanted more of the game. More of Abby too.
“You don’t listen to the ball, do you?” Abby asked her when Mick and Jill left.
Kate furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“You see. You know where it’s going based on where it hits the bat. But the speed of sound is unbeatable.”
“Actually, the speed of light is faster.”
“Of course it is.” Abby chuckled. “Here, let’s try something.” She peeled off her outermost layer, a baggy Padres T-shirt over her sweatshirt, and ripped it in half.
“What are you doing?”
“Just humor me.” Abby tore the T-shirt into strips with her teeth. Kate’s stare locked on to her mouth and fingers, and she swore the ground shifted beneath her feet, leaving her lightheaded. She cleared her throat and glanced away, as Abby chose the longest strip of fabric and stepped behind her. “You trust me?”
Her breath on Kate’s neck, and her chest hovering at her back, sent her spinning again. She barely managed to mutter, “Yes.”
Abby wrapped the fabric around Kate’s head as a blindfold. Then her hands gripped her shoulders. “You think a lot. You’re mechanical. Stiff.” Abby rubbed Kate’s biceps a few times, then squeezed her shoulders again. “Relax.”
But Kate couldn’t relax. The touch started a fire in her lower abdomen. She choked on a gasp as Abby’s hands swept down the middle of her back. Her neck and chin unconsciously lifted as if trying toascend somewhere higher. Somewhere she might understand the power of a simple graze.
“You don’t have to be so perfect.” Abby’s mouth must have been close to her ear because Kate detected heat on her skin. “Let it go.”
“Okay,” Kate whispered.
Abby disappeared, leaving Kate blind and bothered. She buzzed inside like she needed something—or someone—to hold her down. Another new sensation courtesy of Abby, only this didn’t feel like freedom. This threatened to keep her hostage until it decided to mercifully release her.
The metallic pop of ball against bat brought her back. Kate tensed, worried that it might come straight at her.
“I’ve got you! Just listen,” Abby said, smacking another.
She steadied herself and adjusted to the darkness. The sounds sharpened. She sensed if the hit traveled to her right or left based on the ping of the bat. Soon she knew if it was a grounder or line drive. After a game of pointing to the correct side, she ventured a few steps, attempting to beat the ball before it skimmed the dirt. By the end, Kate didn’t just understand the game, she heard it too.
When she removed the blindfold, Abby’s smile greeted her, and Kate froze. They’d known each other awhile now, but she looked different. Different from just hours ago. Her eyes shinier, her features gentler, her broadness not a threat but a marvel that Kate could stare at endlessly. She didn’t know why the difference emerged, but she thought it might be because Abby made her feel something real. Something free. Kate wondered if she looked different too. If Abby noticed Kate’s heart hammering when she rubbed her back.
