23. Jeff
JEFF
W ith our first game in two weeks, practice was more relaxed that I’d anticipated for a Saturday.
Everyone was in good spirits, laughing and busting ass to prepare for our opener against our rivals.
Zade was throwing fire on the mound, Tanner playing with a fierceness I hadn’t seen before in the outfield and Hilly, he took his role of leader on the field seriously.
He’d always covered a lot of ground at shortstop, but he seemed bigger this year, diving and back-handing grounders better than I had seen before.
I had never been prouder of my best friends and teammates and a wave of complete regret startled me as we were picking up equipment for the day.
My final season with them, with the sport itself, and the last time we would all be on the field together was coming to a close.
Can I really walk away from this?
“Maddow, come here for a second.” Coach Tee gestured with his large hand and I nodded before walking toward him. He’d played minor league baseball for a couple of years and had incredible insight when it came to calling pitches. “You seemed tense today. What’s going on?”
Am I just walking around with a fucking stick up my ass?
“I’m good, man. Thought we had a great practice.” I shrugged and saw our head coach looking over at us, eyebrows furrowed together. “I think the younger guys are picking up on blocking the plate significantly better than last year.”
“Yeah,” he said, his gaze not really focused on anything for a second. Then he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Hey, you having girl problems or any shit like that? Some of these guys are so caught up in their chicks I’m afraid a stupid fight will throw off their game.”
Tee liked to talk shit from time to time, but it always veered toward our opposing team or the Dodgers—his least favorite team in the National League—so for him to talk about our teammates caught my attention.
“They’ve never let their outside life affect their game.
They’re professionals, Tee. You know this. ”
He slid me a glance and barked out a laugh that showcased his years of smoking cigars. “You’re not seeing that Henderson girl? Heard she’s doing some interviews on the guys and one of the freshmen went on about her.”
Brandon. I fought an eye roll and nodded.
It wasn’t unusual for coaches to know a lot about our personal lives, but everything had me on edge, especially after Amber’s uncle had been at the stadium.
It felt wrong to want to lie to him about it, to protect her, but I did it anyway.
“Nah, we’re just friends. I don’t have time for any of that with my final season coming up. ”
“Don’t blame you, son. Enjoy being young and single. When you’re married and my age, life is not nearly as fun.” He clapped my back and sighed. “Sorry to keep you. Head on home and I’ll see you Monday.”
“Sounds good.”
I took off to set the buckets of balls in the dugout closet and found my roommates fucking around in the hall instead of leaving. “What are you clowns doing?”
“Waiting for you,” Zade replied, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Word on the street is you and Amber are finally a thing.”
“Christ.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “How the hell does everyone know this shit? I didn’t even know it until this morning.”
“Finally got himself snatched up,” Tanner replied, throwing his arm around my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug. “The lone wolf is no more.”
“Thought monogamy wasn’t for you, hm?” Hilly asked, the amusement in his eyes counterbalancing how much they were annoying me. This was karma, really, for all the bullshit I gave them about their ladies.
“Okay, okay, everyone settle down. Yes, I deserve all the grief you’re throwing my way, but Amber and I are just… together. We aren’t dating or boyfriend-girlfriend shit. Not like all your pathetic asses.” I shoved Tanner off me and flipped them off. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“ Ohhh , he’s sensitive about it. A classic sign. This is serious,” Zade chimed in and shoved my shoulder. Tanner and Aaron slewed insults and jabs back to back, and soon enough, I had Zade in a headlock and we were all laughing.
“I wondered what the hell the racket was out here. It’s just you four.
” Our coach joined us with a shadow of a smile on his face and it was a major déjà vu moment for me.
It was like a flashback from freshman year, the four of us messing around before practice and him walking into us mid-fighting.
The same nostalgic feeling I’d been carrying around hit me and it was one of the moments I wish I could stop time and Pause, just for a second longer.
“Sorry, Coach, we’ll head out soon.” Zade straightened and masked his face of the insult that was surely on the tip of his tongue. “Our professional bachelor here got himself a lady friend and we’re busting his balls.”
“That is newsworthy.” His stare bore into me, his words from earlier repeating in my head at his expression. Tell them, your conscious will be cleared. “Well, head out. Enjoy your free time while you have it.”
“Will do, Coach.” Aaron nodded and we followed suit, picking up our stuff and heading out of the doors into the freezing air. The sun still shone on our campus, but the bitter cold hung around. “I’m off to the bar to see Greta. Catch you fuckers later.”
That left me with Tanner and Zade and the words were almost there, the truth about everything, but I stopped myself.
I needed to check in with Amber and see what we could do about speeding up the process.
If her uncle was here, with a dude named Tony, it didn’t look good.
“If you need a ride back to the house, I’m heading there to drop shit off before going to Amber’s. ”
“Loverboy is busy. How precious.”
“Fuck off, Zade.” I laughed and ignored the side comments before jumping into my car.
They didn’t take my offer and they could walk in the cold.
Fine by me. I barely got the car started before they jumped into the passenger and back seat and started talking about the younger players on the team and who they thought was going to step it up this year.
It was easy to chime in and comment every minute or so on the short drive and when I pulled onto our street, a shiny black SUV sat in Amber’s driveway.
I never remembered seeing that car there before and I drove a little faster.
If they noticed, they didn’t say anything and I parked in a hurry. “Catch ya later.”
“Remember when you were that desperate for ass, too?” Tanner asked Zade.
Zade muttered something offensive, but I ignored them.
My skin tingled, not in the good way, and I jogged to her door.
It could be her parents, someone visiting her roommates, but in my gut, I knew it wasn’t good.
Voices carried from the house, but I couldn’t decipher if it was Amber or Laney.
My nerves picked up and I fidgeted in the cold, waiting for her to open the door.
Thirty seconds went by and I knocked again.
I was about to pound it even harder when Amber opened the door with wide eyes, red cheeks and a worried smile. She made a face and gestured behind her, but I didn’t care. I barged in and wanted to make sure she was okay.
“Jeff. Hi. I’m kinda busy right now.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, needing to touch her and make sure. She had her arms wrapped around her middle and the right side of her bottom lip was red—a sure sign she was gnawing on it.
“Y-yeah, of course.” She cleared her throat and pushed my hand away when I reached up to touch her. “I have some family here. I’ll call you later, okay?”
I looked around the small foyer and didn’t see anyone. I did not fucking like how she wanted me to leave with family being here. It had to be him. Martin Rhett. It was the only explanation why she was pushing me out. I mouthed, your uncle, and she nodded with a fearful look in her eyes.
“Amber? Do you have company?”
Her eyes darkened and she released a quick rush of breath. “Shit.” She lowered her voice and whispered, “Go with what I say.”
I nodded and didn’t want to tell her I was goddamn thankful she didn’t kick me out. Martin Rhett intrigued me and I wanted to meet the man responsible for so much of the shit going on. And to learn why Amber is so afraid.
She took a deep breath and gave me a long look that I couldn’t decipher.
She moved past me into the view of whoever was in the living room and I followed.
She’d changed into jeans that hugged her curves in some sort of way and lifted her hand to motion to the clean-cut man standing next to the sofa.
“Uncle Martin, this is one of my friends. Jeff, this is my uncle.”
“Jeff Maddow, from the baseball team?” he asked, a large smile on his face. His teeth were super-white and his skin very tan. “It’s great to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, as well.” I shook his hand that he held out and I took a minute to study his outfit. Fitted jacket, expensive-looking slacks and shoes, and a Rolex that reflected the sun shining through the window. “You a fan of the baseball team here?”
“I follow all the Big Ten sports. Baseball and football are my teams though. Played in high school and college. Sure miss it.” He jutted his chin to Amber. “How do you know my girl here?”
“We’re friends, Uncle. I told you.” She spoke in an annoyed tone and a million questions went through my mind. Like, what happened before I got there and what the hell do I say to his questions?
“Are you a part of the article she’s completing for one of her classes?
Media bias when it comes to athletes, yes?
” Martin asked, moving to sit down on the coach without any indication he was leaving.
Amber’s jaw started tensing and I followed his action, sitting on the couch hoping she would relax and join me. She did.
“Yeah.” I casually crossed one leg over the other knee and looked at Amber. “How much have you talked about the project yet? I don’t want to bore him with details.”
She blinked twice before catching on to my question. “Oh, just the differences between starters and non-starters.”
“Weren’t you going to add a section about the senior life versus freshman year? That punk Brandon was going on about his questions with you. Seems the kid thinks he’s going to be a celebrity now.”
“Amber does have an incredible talent at writing,” her uncle praised, and no alarm bells went off in my head.
As tense as the air was in the room, he seemed right at home and not worried.
“The freshman experience in comparison to the senior. That’s an interesting take.
Just the clout on the team has to be vastly different. ”
“You would think these youngins would know the drill when they come onto the team, but they’re all big fish coming from tiny ponds. The egos don’t last long.”
“Yes, that is very true, I imagine.” He sighed and looked at Amber with a fondness that contradicted the worry in her eyes. “You’ll have to send me the article when you’re done, Amber. I’m sure your family would be proud of you.”
Her eyes flashed and she let out a hard laugh. “Right. Because they love when I’m successful at anything.”
Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on me and I appreciated the way her uncle dismissed her. “Her mother favors her two older brothers, and her father is too busy working to realize it. That’s where I come in. She has me on her team.”
“Uncle Martin,” she warned, but I slid her a look and reached out to squeeze her arm.
She pulled back like my touch was fire, but I didn’t care.
If what he said was true, it made sense.
She lacked confidence about who she was and it would come through in small moments—something I never had an issue with.
“You have support here too. You know this,” I said, using a tone I rarely used. She blinked a couple of times and gave me a weak smile. “Your family should be damn proud of you, but what’s most important is that you’re proud of yourself.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” her uncle said, moving from the couch to stand up.
“I’m glad you have a friend here supporting you, Amber.
I’ll leave you two. An older guy can still read the room.
” He winked and held out a hand to me again.
“It was nice meeting you, Jeff. Hopefully, our paths will cross again soon.”
“You as well.” I shook his hand and watched when he hugged Amber tight.
Her face almost crumpled when he walked out of the door and I barely held my arms open before she flung herself at me.
She squeezed me tight around my middle and I rested my chin on the top of her head.
It felt perfect. The way her body fitted against mine, the way her hair smelled and how I could offer her even a little bit of comfort felt right. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Just… Let me enjoy this a little longer.”
So we stood there, hugging without an inch between us, for a good long while. I didn’t care about anything else but holding her and the thought didn’t freak me out. If anything, it caused me to squeeze her tighter.
“I can’t breathe, Jeff.” She laughed against my chest and looked up at me with the most vulnerable expression on her face. “Let’s go talk. I think it’s time this goes public.”