Page 24 of Last Night Was Fun

Like the field.

“Yes way,” Pedro said with a proud grin. Right then, the doors behind him opened a tentative crack. A head appeared from inside and looked out at them. “Right on time,” Pedro said.

A tall man with dark eyes and hair whom Emmy might have recognized if not for all the booze gave them a nod and waved them in. “We’ve got to do this quick if we’re going to do it,” he said.

“Oh, we are most certainly going to do it,” Pedro said, and stepped inside.

The rest of them followed into the dim hallway and closed the doors like a tomb sealing shut behind them.

“If you get in trouble for this, it wasn’t me who let you in,” the man who had in fact let them in said and then disappeared into a shadowy doorway.

Emmy spent every day at the ballpark, but somehow being there after hours and in a restricted zone flipped the mundanity into a daring thrill. She excitedly shoved her way forward and squeezed Pedro’s arm. “Can we go on the field?!”

He shot her a flat, sarcastic stare. “No, I broke us into the park to hang out in our office.”

Emmy squealed in delight. “This is the best surprise ever!”

They crept through the catacombs of the stadium like the cast ofScooby-Doo, peeking around corners and scurrying past cameras. Eventually, they made it onto the field. The sheer scale of it humbled Emmy every time. On the rare occasions she got to put her feet on the grass, scuff the dirt,feelthe energy of forty-five thousand fans in the seats, she fell in love with the sport all over again. It was no wonder little kids dreamed of one day going pro.

She caught sight of Gabe jogging out to the mound. They’d scooped up a few gloves, bat, and ball on their journey. Gabe tossedthe ball to Pedro as he backpedaled, and then caught it when he threw it back. Silas and his pink-haired companion wandered into the outfield to lie in the grass and stare up at the sky.

Emmy wondered if they’d had more than just drinks.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, Gabe Ruthless,” Pedro cheered as he jogged to home plate, punching his mitt.

“First off, Babe Ruth was left-handed,” Gabe said from the mound, in reference to his nickname’s origin.

“Always a buzzkill with the facts, Olson,” Pedro said. “Come on, let’s see it.” He squatted behind home plate as Gabe warmed up his shoulder.

Emmy looked on from the third base line, leaning on their filched bat like a cane.

Gabe stretched out his arm a little more and then went into a windup. The ball flew from his hand with surprising precision given everyone’s state and landed with a sharp smack squarely in Pedro’s glove.

“Woo! Okay,okay!” Pedro sang and stood to throw it back. “The Bambino’s still got some heat.”

Gabe caught it with a smile and kicked at the dirt. He shook out his arm, ready to go again. The second pitch flew by even harder.

“Owww!”Pedro howled with a laugh when he caught it. “You were all-state in college, right?”

“Yeah,” Gabe said with another shake of his shoulders. He was warmed up now.

Emmy snorted without even meaning to. “Of course you were,” she muttered.

“What’s that?” Gabe asked.

She kicked the bat so it swung up onto her shoulder and cocked a hip. “I saidof course you wereall-state in college. I bet your alma mater has a shrine dedicated to you.”

Gabe scowled at her as Pedro hollered again.

“Uh-oh! We’ve got a heckler!”

Emmy used the bat to point at Gabe. “Did you put that on your résumé?College baseball legendturned stats nerd? It’ll take more than history with the sport to get this promotion.”

Gabe shook his head. “You talk a big game, Jameson.”

“Oh yeah? I also swing a big game, Olson.” She twirled the bat around like a baton and gave him a cocky grin.

“Is that a challenge?” he said with an arched brow she could see even from the sidelines.