Page 9 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“Shut up,” Andrew muttered, pulling his hat down farther over his forehead. Edward and I made eye contact, both snickering, while Andrew very determinedly gave David his undivided attention.

“Okay, we’re up to bat first so here’s our order.” He pointed at me. “Riley, I want you leading off.”

There was a general outburst of cheers, wolf whistles, and a few taunts from my teammates. I took my hat off and waved it at them, bowing.

“Edward, you’ll take the number two spot.” David went through the list, assigning the batting order. I could feel Andrew tense up a little when David announced that he himself would be batting last, the clean-up position—Andrew’s favorite.

“Definitely still salty,” I muttered in his ear. Andrew flicked my hand.

“If you’re not careful, I won’t cheer for you,” he muttered.

“Yeah, right.” I grabbed the batting helmet and my bat and headed out towards home plate, taking a few practice swings as I went. The crowd of locals on the stands behind me cheered as Posey Conley, one of the twins' other cousins, announced my name over the PA system.

I could hear Jenny and Zane chanting my name, and I gave them a little wave, twirling around when I reached home plate. “Find some dignity, woman,” Andrew shouted above the noise. I blew him a kiss and he groaned loudly. I laughed, taking my place at the plate and facing the pitcher.

He was tall and impeccably groomed, looking, as so many of the staff at the Big Hotel did, like he had just stepped out of the pages of a men’s magazine. Seriously, where did Jenny’s grandparents find these people? He leaned down into position, eyes narrowing as a slow grin spread over his face.

“Easy work,” he muttered, the sound carrying across the field to me.

A little rush of anger shot through me.Not worth it, I reminded myself, taking another practice swing before stepping into the box. Much better to just show him.

The first pitch was fast and outside. “Ball!” Donovan Tucker, the Island School’s principal-turned-umpire called behind me.

I watched the pitcher get into position, considering my move. From that one pitch I could pretty much guess what I was dealing with here. Should I let him get a strike or two in? Build up some false confidence? But that would force me to hold back. I remembered the mocking twist of his smile. I was definitely not in the mood to hold back.

The next pitch, too, came in slightly outside, but within reach. It would have been close if I let it go—but that didn’t matter. I swung, feeling the satisfyingthwackof ball meeting bat, and knew right away that I had a hit. I took off for first, watching out of the corner of my eye as the ball sailed up and over the gloves of the outfielders, bouncing a few times as it made its way toward the fence. The crowd and my teammates were cheering as I sprinted around first.Probably a double, I thought to myself, turning my head slightly to watch the fielders run for my ball. I grinned to myself. Maybe a triple.

As I neared second I saw David standing at third. We made eye contact and he raised his eyebrows a little, as if asking me how I felt. I ducked my head in agreement and put on a burst of speed, really sprinting now. I made it to third just before the ball hit the third basemen’s glove and high-fived David as he shook his head.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got some heat on those legs of yours?”

“Once or twice.”

I turned back to our team as Edward approached the batter’s box. Behind him I could see Andrew, shaking his head at me. But he was grinning. From the corner of my eye I could see that the pitcher had his head turned in my direction instead of towards home. I met his gaze, surprised to see that he was still smiling slightly. He no longer looked mocking, however. Instead he seemed impressed. He nodded at me before he turned back to home and got into position.

Was he flirting with me? I had never been good at figuring those cues out. But there was definitely something about the way he was looking at me just now.He’s pretty cute, I thought, watching him shake his head at the signal from the catcher. Dark hair, dark eyes, tall. Compared to Edward’s broad form at home plate, the pitcher looked thin—but in an elegant sort of way. Definitely more polished than the guys from the island. Not really my type but, hey, I was just looking, right? He bent to get into position, giving me a very nice view of his ass, and I grinned to myself. Looking was paying off pretty nicely for me.

The sound of a ball hitting leather made me snap my eyes back towards home plate. “Strike!” Donovan called. Shit. I had missed it.

Get your head in the game, I told myself, determined to ignore the cute pitcher.

Edward took another strike and a ball before sending me home on an easy single. I returned to the dugout to cheers and slaps on the back.

“That was just showing off, going for that triple,” Andrew said, as I grabbed my water bottle.

“Hey, I didn’t win a full-ride track scholarship to waste my talents, buddy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Next you’re going to remind me about the multitude of records you hold at the Island School.”

“Don’t forget at the Class B state meet.”

Andrew shook his head. “So nice to see such a modest girl.”

I shoved his arm. “What do I have to be modest for? I kick ass.”

That got him laughing. “Yes, you do.”

We beat the Big Hotel team easily, scoring seven runs (two RBIs for me) to their two. Andrew pitched a flawless final inning to end the game, earning a standing ovation from both the crowd and our bench.