Page 34 of Worth the Risk

“Great work guys. Let’s take a short break before the rest of the team gets here.” Grabbing their gloves and bats everyone heads towards the dugout to the tunnel that leads to one of the main buildings that houses the locker room. “Hey Ethan. Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure Cap.” Ethan jogs back a few feet to where I’m still standing on first base. “What’s up?”

“Great work today. You were really stretching for some of those balls. Is your arm feeling okay?” Some of the throws in his direction had been a little off causing him to stretch his right arm across his body. Not uncommon in baseball but it can lead to pulled muscles without the right stretching and training.

“It’s alright.” He flexes at his elbow a few times. “A little sore I guess.”

“I get it. My freshmen year here I was pulling muscles like crazy.” I chuckle at the memory, I swear I was massaging my arms every night. Only once I got more into studying athletic training did I start to understand proper rehabilitation and how to prevent injuries. “Make sure you’re really stretching and recovering, I can show you some different ones that have really helped me.”

“That’d be great. Thanks.” He smiles genuinely at me. I’ve noticed over the past few months Ethan is always willing to learn, his drive to be better is a trait I recognize from myself my first year on the team. A spark I’m realizing I feel in other aspects of my life now and not so much baseball anymore. I push the thought aside as I always do when I feel this way and follow Ethan back to the locker room to get prepped for actual practice.

“Mills, my office.” Coach calls across the locker room as everyone gets ready for practice.

“Be right there, coach.” I take a swig of my water and jog through the locker room to coaches office. I knock on the door and he nods his head for me to enter.

“James quit. You know anything about that?”

“I do. He hurt my friend Emilia. Tried to take advantage of her, I told him it wasn’t acceptable behavior for anyone and definitely not for anyone on our team.”

“Christ.” Coach shakes his head, shuffling through some files on his desk. “Does you friend want to call anyone? We can talk to the dean.”

“No, sir. She just wants to forget it.”

“Alright well if she does want to, let her know I’ll be in her corner.”

“Thanks, coach. I appreciate it.”

Chapter 22

Emilia

It’s homecoming weekend and it’s the first one in my four years here that I made sure to take it off work. So, I guess I’ve technically been to homecoming before but I always worked at The Blue Bean over the weekend. The coffee shop is usually closed on the weekends but always made an exception for this one weekend. From tired students to parents craving a caffeine fix I always made great tips so I had no problems taking the shifts. Today, however, I'm enjoying the day, taking in all the different booths that decorate the quad. Liam told me a few weeks ago to take this day off work so we could cross yet another thing off my bucket list.

There’s a range of booths from athletics to different clubs on campus. Some are trying to recruit new students while others are offering fun activities like face painting. There’s even a big stage set up for different musical acts to take place throughout the day. Rosie and I started the day by grabbing hot chocolates from The Blue Bean. The sun is shining but the air is brisk, with a slight breeze so we wanted something to keep our hands warm. After walking around for a bit Ro had to go take her station at the photography club booth. Most of the clubs have students work in shifts so people can see their families or enjoy the day with friends. Liam took one of the early shifts at the baseball booth so we would be able to hangout the rest of the afternoon.

I wave to Rosie, heading off to find where the baseball team is set up. Walking through the crowd, hot chocolate warming my hands, I spot Liam talking to another guy, who must be their coach. I haven’t seen Liam like this before, except for the time when he told me he was going to play in the major leagues. His posture straight, his jaw clenched, he looks like he needs to take some deep breaths. When he spots me I swear I can see some of that tenseness dissipate. A huge smile breaks across his face as he waves to me.

“Hi.”

“Hey. My shift is almost over.”

“Well, who is this?” A man with gray hair, probably in his fifties, asks looking from Liam to me.

“This is my… friend. Emilia.”

“Ahh. Nice to meet you Emilia. I’m Coach Russo.” He reaches out to shake my hand, something that looks like realization flashing behind his eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Well Mills, Dylan just got here so you can head off. See you at practice tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Coach.” Coach Russo claps Liam on the back before turning his attention to the rest of the guys in the tent. “Is that hot chocolate?” Liam looks at the cup in my hands.

“Yes. Want some?” I offer it to him, not even thinking about it.

“Please.” He takes the cup from my hands, bringing it to his lips, taking a big gulp. I watch, stuck in place as the muscles in his throat work to swallow the sweet drink. It does something to me. “Emi?” My haze is broken, I clamp my slightly agape mouth shut. “You okay?”

“Yep!” Nope. Not okay at all.

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