7. Jeff
JEFF
“ N ot again ,” Amber said between clenched teeth. Her roommate had a wild look on her face and I didn’t care for the interest Aaron had in our conversation.
“Heating up?” Aaron said with an eager look. “What’s this about?”
Amber snorted and I slid her a look. I guess this is in the open now. “She’s writing a piece on me for big project.”
“Amber is the best at what she does, so you’re lucky, Jeff, but she should be spending her time trying out these dating apps for her final semester of senior year. Not using all her time starting at your face. I don’t even care that you’re the best-looking baseball guy on the team?—”
“Excuse me, that is a bold statement,” Aaron interrupted. He always cared about his looks and he took personal offense to the Laney’s comment.
“Sorry, Hilly. I meant single guy on the team. It’s not fair to consider you, Zade or Tanner when you’re so into your ladies. It’d be a different conversation if you weren’t…”
Aaron gave a firm nod and I couldn’t help but laugh. This wasn’t the dumbest conversation I’ve had but it was up there. All hopes of everyone forgetting the topic were squashed when Aaron directed his attention back to Amber. “So, trying out the dating world, huh? How’s it going so far?”
“Great?”
“That was a question, babe,” Laney said, and leaned her head onto the palm of her hand, showcasing her blonde hair. “My girl here hasn’t had a date in years and is finally trying some dating apps that are more than hook-ups.”
I snuck a look at Amber and covered my smile with my hand.
Her entire face was red, but she looked at us head-on.
It was an endearing combination. “Dating is overrated,” I added, but all three of them stared daggers at me.
“What? Girls either date me to say they slept with someone on the baseball team or lie about that being their intention.”
“You would actually have to do it to know, dude.” Aaron lifted his beer to mine and slid his gaze to Greta. Right. I left for one summer and came back to couples everywhere. Hand holding, dinners, date-nights, movies and muffled sounds from their bedrooms.
I pulled on the collar of my shirt and downed half my beer. It wasn’t like I was a total asshole…there just hadn’t been anyone who caught my interest for more than a day or two. I was preparing to defend myself when Amber chimed in.
“Didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I agree with Jeff. Dating is overrated. If you want to hook up, just do it, or if you want to get dinner, just eat. The game of it doesn’t appeal to me.”
“Girl, you haven’t had any decent guys, that’s why.”
“Well, that I know.”
The girls laughed and I was going to ask Amber more about the decent guy comment when Laney motioned for them to leave the booth. “Are you both heading out?”
“Yeah,” Amber responded. “Can you let me out?”
“Sure.” I slid out of the wooden booth and couldn’t describe the odd annoyance forming in my mind. Did I want to hang out with her? No. But did I want them to leave? Also no.
What the fuck?
Once out of the booth, she stared up at me and it was the first time I’d noticed how long her eyelashes were. They were dark and landed on her cheek when she blinked. Huh. “I’ll be reaching out to you then for more questions.”
“Great.”
She smiled, not a real one, and took off with Laney. But not before I watched Laney throw her arm around Amber’s shoulders and say, “You doing any better? I’m sorry it happened again.”
I didn’t get to hear her response and something like worry took root. I wanted to know why Laney was sorry. What happened?
“You decide on an agent yet?”
Baseball. Draft. The future. Again.
I forced my attention away from Amber and back to Aaron. The determined look on his face was all I’d seen recently. The tightness, the worry and the desperation. Every couple of days it was the same conversation.
Agent.
Press.
Season.
“I haven’t yet.”
“Coach has met with me a couple of times for some guidance on how to decide and my parents have been as much help as they can, but it feels so heavy. I’ve heard of horror stories of choosing the wrong one.
I know they make money off us, but picking the right one…
Do I want a shark? A dealmaker? Or someone who will be like family for my entire career? ”
The muscles in my neck tensed and I finished the rest of my beer, buying myself some more seconds of silence. “Trust your instincts, Hilly. Our focus should be playing the best we can this season. If we do that, then the rest will be easier.”
“That’s what Coach was saying, too. I’m just worried about losing it all.” He spoke quieter, just above a whisper, and guilt consumed me. My friend needed support and I was being difficult because of my indecisiveness. I was better than that.
“I can see why you would worry about that, but, dude, you have a huge support system around you that won’t let you. Greta, your sister, us… Won’t happen.”
“The signs are the same, though. The anxieties and thoughts that spiral out of control.” His eyes were wild and it reminded me of his sophomore year, the year he went on a bender and did a lot of stupid shit that could’ve ruined his career.
It was just his reaction to life’s circumstances and while he’d made a lot of steps to be better, I would hate to see him go back to all that.
“Hilly. What has been your goal for your entire life?”
“Play in the majors.”
“How close are you to reaching the first step of it?”
He sighed and the worry on his face disappeared. “Final season.”
“This is it. Play your heart out. We all stayed and are getting degrees so we have backup plans, and we never know when an injury can happen and knock us out of the game. So play your fucking heart out this season, man. It’ll be the last time the four of us play together and I don’t know about you, but that’s motivating for me. ”
“Fuck. I never thought about that.” He frowned and held out his fist. I bumped mine against his and he grinned. “When did you become the wise one? I thought it was Zade, but you’re the parent now.”
“Playing abroad taught me a lot.”
Like how I don’t like the lifestyle.
Like how the egos are hard to handle.
Like how being away from my friends and family was too much.
“Plus, I still have control over my balls, unlike the rest of you…”
“Fuck off,” he replied, laughing at what I assumed was how right I was. But the stress was gone on his face and I shoved my own worries down. Aaron would break if he thought our coach had anything to do with a scandal that would blow up the news.
“Let’s get another drink and bother Greta.”
“Sounds like my kinda night.”
Okay. Time to do some work. Amber had done most of it so far and it bothered me. I was never the kid who did the least in a group project and a week in, my contributions were shit. Rosters. Other teams. New players on the team.
Brandon. Hotshot hitter and outfielder, recorded as having a full-ride scholarship to the school. Probably wouldn’t start this season but had potential next year after we’d lose four seniors. I scanned my phone for his number and almost cheered when I found it.
Jeff: Hey—you up for an interview with a campus influencer about your scholarship? It’ll get your name out there and she’s good.
Brandon: Maddow! Dude. Hell yeah.
It was too easy.
Jeff: You free tomorrow?
Brandon: I can be. Just name the time and place. Thanks for letting me know, dude. I appreciate it.
Boom. Interview set up. Now to find a time for Amber.
Jeff: Brandon’s in for an interview. Freshman on the team. What time are you free tomorrow?
Amber: Anytime before noon.
Jeff: Want to meet in the library? They have those private conference rooms.
Amber: Sure.
Jeff: Do you want to catch up before or after?
Amber: Let’s do after. I don’t think you should be there during the interview.
Jeff: Why not?
Amber: Look, I gotta go. But just set it up for me and we’ll talk after.
Well damn. It was all set to go and I didn’t want to show up empty-handed. I got to work and couldn’t wait to show Amber what I was looking up.
The next day I found a spot in the library a couple of tables away from the conference room where she and Brandon would meet for an hour.
I assumed they’d both arrived and had started since I hadn’t gotten a text from either one, but I wasn’t going to wait to hear how it went.
Not after what I’d found out the night before.
My notes were organized by sport, and I had the papers all lined up when laughter caught my attention.
Brandon and Amber walked out of the conference room and she had the biggest smile on her face—one I had never seen directed at me.
Her outfit was different from the ones I was used to seeing her in.
This one was a fitted red sweater that showcased the curves she did have—another feature I’d missed all these years.
He had his hand on her shoulder and she leaned into him before they turned to face each other.
They talked a little more, him touching her again, before he left her in front of the room.
Amber bit down on her bottom lip and held her closed laptop tighter against her chest as she watched him walk away.
Is she into Brandon?
An uncomfortable burning sensation formed in my stomach and I was glad he’d left. Without thinking, I blurted out her name and said, “Hey.”
The almost smitten expression melted off her face when her gaze landed on me, but something else was there.
Almost like a spark of excitement in her brown eyes.
She waved and nodded her head toward the room she’d just vacated and I swooped up my materials with one motion and met her there within a minute.
I was just desperate to share what I found out with her. That was all.
It had nothing to do with Brandon leaving.