Page 190 of Out of Left Field

Her face lit up when she saw me. I fist-pumped the air. “That’s my woman!”

During halftime we devoured all the food in the suite. All of it. “Maybe next time we should preorder more food.” Wes rubbed his belly. “I mean, we just played a game of our own. We’re hungry boys.”

Everett rolled his eyes. “We can order more food. Do you want chicken nuggets off the kiddie menu?”

Wes made big eyes. “With ketchup.”

Rhett growled some more. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.”

Erik just shook his head. “There’s a cheesesteak stand. Want me to order your favorite?”

I realized he was looking at me. They all were. Sure they were here to have fun, but it finally sank in. They were here…for me. Me and Rhett. But also…me.

Years ago, Erik and Wes would just as soon shoved me in a taxi and waved goodbye to get me out of their hair. Now they were hanging out with me, ready to order my favorite food.

“Uh, yeah. That’d be great. Thanks.” I had to clear my throat because for some reason it was all clogged up.

After they left I stood there staring at the table. Getting my act together was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I got my career back, fell in love, and for the first time since college, found new friends.

“You okay?” Everett asked. He slid a new bottle of water my way.

“Did I waste the last eight years?” If I’d dealt with my anger, with the betrayal, would all of this have happened sooner?

Everett sighed, running a hand through his long beard. “If you wasted them then so did I, and I really can’t think of it that way or I’ll lose my shit.”

I thought of Everett spending all those years back home, of the time he got with his family and his brother. They would have been prime years for his health, but were those years wasted by not playing baseball? “You’re closer to Isaac than ever, right?”

He dipped his head. “Yeah, and I’d never trade being the best uncle in the world to Rosie.”

I shrugged. “Then it wasn’t a waste. We just took unexpected paths to get here.”

“Where is here?”

Did he really not see what he had right in front of him? Had I been this blind only a few months ago when Isaac urged me to find a new purpose? “Here is where it all comes together, my friend. Here is where we decide who we want to be. I wish I hadn’t been so angry or such an asshole, but it drove me to play harder, to be better, than I ever would have. So I’m going to stop regretting what I did and accept that it made me who I am. Maybe you should do the same.”

Everett frowned at his orange sports drink. “And who am I?”

“The best damn closer in baseball. Grown men shit their pants when they see you emerge from the bullpen, Ev. They know they’re fucked.”

The corner of his lip twitched up. “That is fun to see. I guess I’m just not sure who I am off the mound. Not anymore.”

I snagged a pair of binoculars from the center of the table. “With Willa hanging around again, it’s time to reunite the three amigos. Sometimes going back to who you were reminds you of who you want to be.” Or, in his case, who he was madly in love with.

All they needed was some time together. They’d been so close to realizing it all those years ago. Now, older and wiser, maybe they wouldn’t be able to ignore the signs.

“I’d love to hang like we used to. Annalise fits right in. You know Willa adores her, right?”

It all felt so damn perfect. “They’re becoming good friends. We should all get together, maybe go on a vacation when our seasons are over.”

Everett lit up at that. “We could go hiking in the mountains. Or to a tropical island. Europe!”

I laughed, just so fucking glad he was all for it. “We’ll get drinks and dream up some ideas. See what the girls think.”

“It’s a plan.” He wrapped me up in a bear hug. “Go watch your woman.”

I took the binoculars outside the suite so I could get a good look at her face as she came back out onto the field for the second half. She had a grin on her lips. No sign of stress or pressure, which was good. Some athletes made big plays and then put more stress on themselves to perform even better. But Annalise was cool as a cucumber.

I wanted to think I’d worn off on her a little bit, but I was pretty sure she was simply amazing all on her own.