Page 60 of Tagging Bases

Daniel’s grin fades as he takes in the fear on my face. I’m staring up at the Cyclone, watching one of the cars whiz by on the track. My stomach drops at the sheer height and speed of it all.

I gulp, trying to tamp down the panic rising in my throat. The truth is, I’m terrified of roller coasters. Always have been. Something about voluntarily strapping myself into a tiny metal car and hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds just doesn’t appeal to me. Go figure.

But of course, I’ve never admitted this to anyone. Not even to Roy when he made me watchFinal Destination 3for Halloween when we were younger. And especially not to Daniel. I have a reputation to uphold, after all. I’m Charlie McManus, star pitcher and all-around tough guy. I can’t be seen quaking in my boots at the thought of a silly amusement park ride.

Daniel bumps my shoulder with his, startling me out of my fear spiral. “You good, dude? You’re getting green around the gills.” He wriggles his finger on the side of my neck, causing goosebumps to pop up all over my skin.

“I’m fine,” I lie. “Just…really excited, you know? Can’t wait to experience that sweet, sweet adrenaline rush.”

He eyes me skeptically, and I curse under my breath at the fact that he knows me so well.

The line inches forward, and my palms start sweating. Each click and clack of the ascending cars is a harbinger of doom. Nausea rises in my gut. Black spots dance before my eyes.

Sensing my growing unease, Daniel leans in close, his breath warm against my ear. “Hey, if you’re nervous, you can hold my hand.”

My head whips toward him, eyes wide.Is he fucking with me?

But despite the grin on his face, there’s an earnestness in hiseyes that wasn’t there seconds ago. He holds out his hand, palm up, in invitation. “I promise I won’t tell anyone that big, bad Charlie McManus needs his best bro to hold his hand on a wittle roller coaster.”

I scowl at his mocking tone. Okay, so maybe he’s fucking with me a little, but I’d be lying if I said his offer wasn’t tempting.

Before I can second-guess myself, I slap his palm. “Fine. But if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it until my dying day.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

And then, because he’s an absolute menace, he delivers a firm smack to my ass.

I yelp, jumping nearly a foot into the air as a fiery blush rises to my cheeks. He cackles gleefully, clearly pleased with himself for catching me off guard.

Blinking rapidly, I try to process what just happened. The ghost of Daniel’s meaty paw still tingles on my right ass cheek as we shuffle forward in line. He’s smacked my ass countless times before, during games or when we’re goofing around. But now, with all these confusing emotions swirling inside me, it feels…different. Charged with new meaning.

A few minutes later, we’re climbing into the front car of the coaster. Daniel’s thick thighs press against my leaner ones as we squeeze into the tiny space. The proximity sends my heart rate skyrocketing before we even take off.

As the attendant comes by to check that the lap bar is locked, Daniel holds out his hand, wiggling his fingers. “Last chance to back out, McManus.”

I scowl at him but quickly latch onto his offered hand as the car lurches forward with a mechanical groan. My fingers immediately tighten into a death grip as we climb up the eighty-five-foot hill with a steadyclack-clack-clack.

“Oh, dear God,” I mutter as the only thing I can see now is the clear blue sky. “This is it. This is how I meet my maker.”

Daniel chuckles beside me. “It’s gonna be fine, youbig baby. I got you.”

Easy for him to say. He’s not the one whose life is flashing before his eyes as we near the peak. I chance a glance at him and instantly regret it. While I’m sitting here rigid with terror, he’s completely at ease, a boyish grin on his face as he takes in the view of the park below us.

God, since when did Daniel become so…attractive? The way the sun highlights the angles of his jaw, the sparkle of excitement in his eyes, the flex of his forearm as I crush his hand in mine.

I’m so preoccupied with studying my best friend that I don’t even register that we’ve reached the top until suddenly, we plummet straight down at warp speed.

A blood-curdling scream rips from my throat as my stomach shoots into my mouth. Beside me, Daniel lets out an exhilarated whoop, his free hand thrust into the air. I don’t know whether to squeeze my eyes shut or scream myself hoarse as the wind whips against my face.

Just when I think we’re about to crash into the track below, the car swoops back up, pressing me into the hard plastic seat. We come extremely close to the wooden beams above that I swear my hair grazes them. Naturally, I shriek, thinking about how close I was to decapitation.Why isn’t there a height restriction on this death trap?

Suddenly, the track banks sharply to the left in a high-speed U-turn, and the centrifugal force threatens to send me flying right out of the car. “Oh, God!” I howl.

We rise again, climbing another steep incline toward a towering U-turn banking to the right. I risk another peek at Daniel. His face has split into an even wider grin as pure joy radiates from him. I don’t understand how he can be having the time of his life while I’m seconds away from revisiting my breakfast.

The coaster teeters at the pinnacle for a breathless moment before diving down the other side. This time, a strangled yelp escapes me as we hurtle down toward a camelback hill.

Weightlessness steals the air from my lungs, and for a second, it’s euphoric. My eyes roll back, and a small smile appears on myface, that is, until we swoop under the high-speed curve from before.

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