Page 101 of The Strike Zone

“Don’t jinx it.” I groaned, just as I noticed a couple of figures in the entrance to the tunnel.

He spoke too soon, however, and by the time Tanner had waddled up to home plate to stand with Murray and Barclay, the audience had increased to several of the senior team, including Beulah Holmes, head of legal, Lowe Slater, and the good doctor, Marnie Matthews.

My sixth sense was working overtime because where Marnie went, Jupiter wasn’t far behind.

Thirty seconds later and there he was, along with Boomer Jones, Saint Velasquez, Stone Fields, and just to really round this morning out, Coach, followed by several of his assistant coaches. Everyone was in early today, it seemed.

At least Scout was now across the diamond, where I prayed she’d stay.

I kept my eyes trained on Tanner swinging his bat surprisingly well, considering, and moved to stand on the other side of Lux. He was giant enough to keep me out of Coach’s eyeline.

“This is quite the audience,” he muttered as Ace got into position on the mound.

“Ready?” called Scout. “On my count. Three, two, one.”

Ace pitched, but even from where I was standing against the boards, I could see he’d barely put any force behind it.

Tanner hadn’t had enough time to acclimate to the size of the costume, not to mention that now he was wearing the head, it was virtually impossible to see what he was doing. He swung and missed it, but the force of his swing had him spinning in the wrong direction, so instead of running to first base, he ran straight toward the mound, tripped, and fell over, only narrowly avoiding Ace.

While everyone else was doubled over laughing as they cheered Tanner, Barclay, the consummate canine professional in his specially made doggie baseball uniform, chased his ball perfectly around each base and, after passing third, sat by Murray’s feet and waited for his biscuit.

The guys manning the tripods ran forward and helped Tanner to his feet when it was clear Ace was laughing too hard to be able to help.

“That is the best thing I’ve ever seen,” wheezed Lux, clearing the tears from his eyes.

“I hope Scout didn’t think she was going to get this in one take.”

The second take didn’t go much better, nor did the third. Tanner had tripped over his feet each time. The only one who’d managed to totally nail their performance time and again was Barclay, no doubt everything to do with the biscuits he was getting at the end of each run.

Lux was still trying to contain himself, along with nearly everyone else. Jupiter was making Boomerangs of Tanner falling over. Penn Shepherd was standing with his senior executive team, not one of whom was making any effort to disguise their amusement.

But it was Scout I couldn’t take my eyes off.

Her mouth wide open, head back as she belted her laughs to the heavens, her chest heaving with each jagged inhale. I was too far away to properly see her face, but I knew her nose had crinkled up and the line of freckles that had grown over the last few weeks would look almost like a smudge.

It was frightening how long I’d stared at her face while she’d slept next to me.

In the end, Tanner got to second base before Scout called time on the whole fiasco. Removing his lion head, he waddled back to the dugout, his bottom lip protruding in a sulk.

“Buddy, that was awesome,” Lux said, still wiping his eyes dry. “I haven’t laughed like that in ages.”

Tanner grunted in response. “I think I’ve broken a rib.”

“Parker, you’re up.”

Twisting around to the sound of my name, I found Scout gesturing me over to home plate. I’d been having so much fun watching Tanner that I jogged over with a wide smile trained directly on her, before I remembered where I was and who was watching. But it was too late, I couldn’t turn it down.

“Hey there.” I grinned, stepping in as close as I reasonably could. Close enough that I could catch her fresh cottony scent. Close enough to breathe her in until my chest flickered. But not being able to kiss her when I knew I could was a new kind of torture. Just an hour of barely acknowledging her while Tanner attempted to get around the bases was hard enough. “You look very pretty today.”

“Thank you,” she replied, her face almost blank.

She was certainly winning at this secret relationship acting thing. I, on the other hand, may as well have taken a Sharpie to my forehead.

“I like seeing you in a Lions shirt, but you know what would be even better?”

“Let me guess…yourLions shirt?”

“Got it in one.” I held her gaze, watching her pupils flare as she tried to hold in her smile.

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