Page 160 of Drop Three

I chuckle, throwing my batting helmet on and securing my gloves. “Maybe this is a sign, man. Not all pitchers should be in the batting lineup.”

Cal turns to me like he’s gonna peg me with a fastball, and hell if I don’t think about running—and quick. With Cal being one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues, I’d be a fool to be caught in the crossfire of his ninety-five-mile-an-hour fast pitch.

The dude throws heat.

“Save it. My turn,” I tell him, insisting he stop his bitching and get out of the cage.

It’s been longer than I can remember since Cal and I have just hung out. Although, I sense his intentions for today are not to hang out and bust each other’s balls over our batting stats.

I take my place on the man-made plate and wait for the reader to signal my first pitch. I can do this shit in my sleep.

I can’t wait to be back on the dirt.

“So, Poppy called Dakota last week,” Cal says.

My head lifts. “Oh, yeah?”

I didn’t tell Cal that I texted Poppy to tell her that now is not a good time for me to date. It’s not his business, but I figured it was worth him knowing at some point, given that she’s friends with Dakota.

“Said you weren’t interested in seeing her anymore.”

I nod. “Yeah. Just wasn’t feelin’ it.”

I adjust my speed on the machine reader and swig my Gatorade before getting into position.

Cal stares at me intently. “How so?”

I turn to face him. “I don’t know. We just didn’t click. She’s a cool girl, though.”

“She’s textbook for a beautiful and cool girl, B.”

I don’t know what he wants me to say. I’m also not sure why it matters. I handled it like a gentleman. I called her and respectfully made sure she understood where I was coming from and knew she wasn’t the problem.

“I’m not gonna force something that’s not there, Cal.”

He hums and I know that’s him agreeing to disagree with me before changing the subject.

“You ready for spring training?” Cal asks me as I take my first pitch.

Ball.

“If I had it my way, there would be no offseason Cal, you know this.”

He laughs. “It’s addicting.”

It is—the most potent drug an athlete could find.

That’s one thing Cal and I immediately meshed on—he loves the game as much as I do.

Is the offseason nice for a break? Yes. Traveling and staying in different cities every few days is fun at first but gets exhausting after a while. I’d trade that out more than anything, but I won’t because if it weren’t for our gruesome schedule, I wouldn’t be able to play the game I love six days a week.

It’s never been about fame for me. The game is my outlet.

It always has been and always will be.

I credit the game for keeping my head on straight after I was released from prison. I can’t let myself think about where I would be now without baseball.

“Yeah, it is addicting.”

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