8. Nyle Brown
I prayed over the team as we geared up for our first game of the season.
We were about two hours away from Maven Falls, playing in a summer tournament.
Three days of baseball gave me a high like no other.
That and the fact I knew Brittish would be close by.
After making sure the boys were in the correct batting order, my eyes searched the crowd for her.
When I spotted her sitting in her lawn chair, close to the batter’s box, I waved. She waved back with a shy smile, and I heard someone walk up next to me.
“Are you waving at my mama?” AJ questioned, peering up at me.
I swiped my hand down my face. “I am.”
“For what?”
“Because she’s my friend.”
“Since when? She didn’t tell me that.” Before I could say anything, AJ yelled, “Mama!”
Immediately, Brittish stood up with her hands out. AJ waved her over, and she came right over to the fence. All I could do was laugh. I could tell he wasn’t about to play with me over her, and I respected that.
“What’s wrong, AJ?” Brittish asked, looking from me to him.
“Coach said y’all are friends. Why didn’t you tell me that?”
Brittish bit her bottom lip with her eyes slightly expanded as she held onto the fence. “I was going to, Son. It slipped my mind. I’m sorry, but yes. Coach is my friend.”
“Since when?”
Since I had her legs on my shoulders.
The corners of my lips curved upward, and Brittish shot me a look that caused me to chuckle.
She already knew what was on my mind. Shit.
She made it hard for my thoughts not to go there.
There was no reason she should’ve looked as good as she did in a cut-up replica of the team’s jersey with AJ’s number on the back, biker shorts, and a hat.
My eyes dropped down to her breasts, and she crossed her arms.
“Nyle.”
“What?” I winked at her before AJ glanced back at me.
If it wasn’t for the umpire calling me over to meet the other coach, I would’ve been in trouble.
I knew the conversation wasn’t over. In between innings, when AJ was in the dugout, he interrogated me.
I did my best to answer every question to give him the reassurance he was searching for while focusing on the game.
It was the bottom of the sixth inning, and we were down by two. With two outs and the bases loaded, the pressure was on AJ who was up next to bat. I glanced over at Brittish who had her pointer fingers pressed against her lips as she watched.
Strike.
“It’s alright, Son. You see it now,” Brittish encouraged.
Ball.
Ball.
Strike.
AJ called time and stepped out the box. He blew through the circle his lips formed and patted his helmet three times before drawing a cross with the end of his bat. Once he stepped back in the box, I held my breath. Regardless of the outcome, I wanted him to know he was good.
The sound of his bat connecting with the ball had all the parents up on their feet, cheering. Brittish was the loudest of them all, jumping up and down as the ball landed deep in the outfield. AJ cleared a triple, bringing everyone on base home allowing us to win the game by one point.
Everyone in the dugout ran onto the field and rushed him, knocking him over as we all cheered.
Once I got everyone to settle down, I got the team lined up to congratulate the other team before we met in the middle and prayed.
Back in the dugout, I let the boys get all their excitement out before giving a short speech.
“I’m beyond proud of y’all. Our first game, and we took the win.
” They all cheered again, and I held my hand up to seize the noise.
“Everyone played well. I noticed some things we need to work on, but they were all minor mistakes. Remember, whenever you mess up, failure is the biggest part of baseball. No one is perfect, so never apologize or beat yourself up about anything. Dust your shoulders off and keep going. Now, since we won, we have one more game to play in about three hours. Take the time to rest, eat, and get back hydrated. I want the same energy, sportsmanship, and excitement for the next game.”
We put our hands in and broke apart. Weston and I stayed behind to make sure the boys grabbed all their belongings and cleaned the dugout for the next team.
When I stepped out, I was surprised to see Brittish and AJ standing there, waiting for me.
I walked over to them and rubbed the top of AJ’s head.
“That was a big hit, man. You did great today.” I praised him, and he beamed at me.
“Thanks, Coach. I’ve been taking in everything you and Coach Weston have been teaching me. My dad works with me at home too.”
“I can tell. Your hard work is paying off.”
“All the team is going to eat together. We want you and Coach Weston to come with us.”
I glanced over at Brittish, who stood there gazing at AJ with an immense amount of love in her eyes. It tugged at my heart, reminding me of how Nannie always looked at me. Renee had never.
Brittish must’ve sensed me staring at her because she glanced over at me and blushed. Her full cheeks became rosy as she bit her bottom lip and reverted her attention back to AJ.
“Are you going to let me sit by your mama since she’s my friend?” I asked AJ, and Brittish glared at me with her eyes bulged.
AJ’s mouth twisted. He lowered his eyes and looked me up and down. “I don’t know, Coach. You’re pushing it now.”
“Alright, I hear you. I’ll sit at the table with y’all.”
“Good.” He glanced over at Brittish. “You can sit with the other moms. Mama Z is meeting us there to come to the second game, so you can sit with her.”
“Aren’t I the parent, AJ? What if I want to sit with Coach?”
Brittish winked at me, and I swear, my stomach did somersaults. I adjusted my cap to keep from smiling too hard. She knew exactly what she was doing, and I couldn’t wait to tell her about herself.
Wagging his head, AJ said, “I’m not feeling that, Mama.”
“Alright.” Brittish held her hands up. “I’ll sit with Zaina.”
Before I could say anything else, AJ grabbed Brittish’s hand and started to walk away. He rambled where we were going to eat over his shoulder but never looked back. I would need to tread lightly around him when it came to Brittish.
I let Weston know where we were going and headed to my truck.
It didn’t take long to make it to the restaurant where the boys and their parents were taking up most of the seating space.
When they noticed me, they waved me over, letting me know they had saved me a seat.
I sat with them and chopped it up, talking about any and everything they wanted to.
The feeling of someone staring at me made me uncomfortable.
I knew for a fact that it wasn’t Brittish, or my feelings would’ve been different.
Discreetly, I observed my surroundings to see it was Chyna.
She elbowed one of the other moms, bobbed her head toward me, and waved.
I chucked my head back and reverted my attention back to the boys.
Seconds later, my phone vibrated against the table.
Brittish:
Let me find out you’re making new friends that I don’t know about.
I couldn’t help but to chuckle and look her way. She was glaring at me with her brow raised. Winking at her, I texted her back.
Me:
Never that. You’re the only friend I need, Pretty Lady.
Brittish:
Sure doesn’t seem that way.
Me:
Don’t tell me you’re jealous and possessive. That’s the type of shit that turns me on.
Brittish:
Bye, Nyle.
Me:
What you doing after the game?
Brittish:
Nothing. What’s up?
Me:
Let me take you out. I want to spend some time with you.
Three dots appeared then disappeared. My eyes found hers. She held her phone in her hand but wasn’t typing anything. I allowed a few seconds to pass before excusing myself from the table and going to hers.
“Coach! Where you going?” AJ yelled at me.
“To talk to my friend,” I replied and laughed when he scooted his chair back and followed me. Before I could sit in the chair next to Brittish, he slid in the seat and crossed his arms. Taking my L, I sat next to Zaina. “Hey, Zaina.”
“Hey, Nyle.” She snickered and leaned over. “AJ doesn’t play about his mama, so I don’t know how you’re going to navigate this.”
“I can tell, but I’ll figure something out. I guess I gotta win his heart in the process of winning hers.”
Zaina smiled. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“I do, and I guess I have you to thank for introducing us beforehand.”
“I did it on purpose too.” Zaina giggled. “You’re a good man, and she’s a good woman. You’re both deserving of love. When I saw you the night of my party, it was like a bell went off in my mind. Some of my other friends were upset I didn’t introduce you to them instead.”
“Nah, you did exactly what you were supposed to do. I appreciate you for it.”
“You’re welcome.” Clearing her throat, Zaina stood up and got AJ’s attention. “Didn’t you say you wanted some ice cream?”
“I do, but I can wait until later.”
“Let’s get it now so it can settle on your stomach before the game.”
AJ’s gaze went between all three of us before he scooted his chair back. He never took his eyes off me as he went over to Zaina, who draped her arm over his shoulder and led him away. When AJ wasn’t looking, I mouthed ‘thank you’ to Zaina and slid over to Brittish.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with him.” She snickered, shaking her head. “You’re going to get in trouble, being over here with me.”
“The only person who can get me in trouble is you. I’ve been thinking about you all morning.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, really. Why didn’t you text me back?”
“Because I was thinking about what you said.”
My brows dipped. “What was there to think about?”
“What we could do tonight.” She peered over at me and smirked. “Oh, did you think I wasn’t going to say yes? Did I have you a little nervous?” Brittish playfully tugged on my beard.
“Maybe so. I came over here to make sure you weren’t going to act funny with me, especially not after the other night.”
“I couldn’t act funny with you if I tried, Nyle. How do you feel about karaoke?”