Extra Innings (Perfect Catch)

1. One

One

Tae

“ D o I have to go?” Jude asks again. His hand grips the fabric at the hem of his shirt, twisting it in his grasp.

“Come on,” I coax him. “Finals are over; we deserve a little celebration. We don’t have to stay for long. We’ll just hit the party for an hour or so, then we can head back to my room.”

“Fine,” he says with a sigh. Jude still doesn’t seem totally on board, but he follows me through student housing until we get to Zach’s room. The music greets us before the door opens. Instead of my teammate opening the door, his girlfriend stands there in her cheerleading outfit holding a red solo cup.

“Hey Tae, Jude,” she greets us with an up nod of her chin. “Come in, the guys are around somewhere.”

I grab Jude’s wrist, pulling him into the crowd until I see the keg. First things first. We need drinks to loosen Jude up and keep him from bolting. I want a chance to enjoy the party, maybe flirt a little, even if I know I’ll spend the night with my straight best friend rather than getting laid. It’s all good; I’d rather hang out with Jude anyhow.

Grabbing two plastic cups and handing one to Jude, I raise mine for a toast. “To summer break!” I shout over the noise.

Jude rolls his eyes, humoring me by pushing his cup into mine before he takes a gulp of his beer. I take a drink of my beer as my eyes scan the room. A few of the guys from my baseball team catch my eye, but they’re busy doing their own things.

Looking at Jude again makes me think how mismatched we seem. My lean muscles and short stature—thanks, Korean heritage—make my butt stick out even more in my jeans. Playing baseball means I stay in shape, and in the off season I keep up my conditioning with jogging and swimming. Jude, on the other hand, isn’t big on physical exertion. He does nature hikes but usually at a slower pace so he can take in his surroundings. Still, he’s cute in that nerdy kind of way, with shaggy brown hair in need of a trim, bright green eyes.

Focus, Tae.

It’s not a big deal that I find Jude cute, but he’s straight. As in not interested. I drain the rest of my beer, and my eyes meet Cooper’s as he walks towards us. “Hey, Tae.” He pulls me in for a half hug, patting my back, and I do the same before he notices Jude and stumbles, trying to remember his name.

“Jude,” he says with a wave at Cooper.

“Right, care if I steal Tae for a dance?” Cooper asks.

Jude glances at me, seeming to silently ask if I want to dance with Cooper, and I shrug in answer. Like me, he’s one of the openly queer guys on the team. We’ve never hooked up, but a dance couldn’t hurt.

Jude takes a step back from me. “Feel free.”

Cooper looks at me, holding out his hand to lead me to the makeshift dance floor that has taken over the dorm common room. He leads us, turning away from me to grind his ass into my crotch as we move to the music. Cooper’s good looking. His hair is up in a man bun, revealing the shaved undercut, and he’s fit. His ass fills out the skin-tight jeans he’s wearing like they were painted on. But my eyes are on Jude.

Jude, who looks very uncomfortable right now as he stands on the edge of the crowd sipping his beer. The song seems to last forever and despite the way Cooper is dancing, I’m just not into it. He looks at me over his shoulder, catching me looking at Jude before his eyes move in the same direction. “You want to go back to your boy?” he asks.

“Not my boy,” I answer automatically.

“Sure,” Cooper says with a smirk, but he doesn’t move to stop me as I head for Jude.

Between the loud music and the crowd, I almost lose track of Jude as I make my way over to him. I reach him moments after a girl approaches him. I can tell from the way she’s twirling her long blonde hair around her finger that she’s flirting, but Jude seems clueless. He takes another sip of his drink and accidentally spills some of it down the front of his shirt. “Shit,” I see his lips move, but I’m not close enough to really hear him over the noise. Giving him a few moments in case he’s actually interested, I grab us a couple of fresh drinks. By the time I get closer, the girl has left, and Jude is wiping at his shirt, which is only making the wet spot spread further.

“Here,” I hold out a new cup. “I got you a drink. It looked like you need it.”

Jude sighs, draining the last bit of his other drink before sliding the new cup into the old one. “Thanks. How much of that did you see?”

“Just enough to catch you spilling your—”

A hand lands on my shoulder, interrupting me as Austin calls my name, “Tae, Jude. What are you doing on the sidelines? Let’s get in there and have some fun.”

I turn around to get a better look and hug my friend, but from the way he loses his footing, it’s clear he’s already had a few. “Looks like you’re having enough fun for all of us,” I joke.

“Don’t be a party pooper,” he tells me, rolling his eyes. “How about you, Jude? Wanna dance?”

“I ... uh ...” Jude looks from Austin to me like he isn’t sure how to answer. It’d almost be cute if he wasn’t so clearly panicking.

“We were actually just on our way out,” I cut in. “Hate to call it such an early night, but my parents are picking me up tomorrow morning. You know how it is.” I snag Jude’s hand, pulling him out of the room with me, and he lets out an audible sigh of relief. “Wanna head back to my room?” I ask him once we’re clear of the crowd again.

Jude rubs his palms on his jeans and takes a deep breath of fresh air. “I should probably get back to my own room,” he tells me, but he doesn’t seem sure.

“I’ve got a bottle of vodka. We could play video games and hang out. Just you and me,” I offer.

Jude hesitates, looking me over before he gives in. “Fine. Let’s go.”