Page 5 of The Perfect Play

I looked up as I turned around, seeing Jake still watching us. What was up with him? Years of silence and now he was interested in what was going on in my life? I just hoped the interest hadn’t come because of what was written on my notebook.

I was feeling confident as the girls made it out to the field and changed into cleats, ready for the tryout. This was the highest number we’d had in the last few years, and after seeing some of them throw, I wondered if they thought a new coach wouldn’t care if they’d ever played in their life.

After a quick introduction, Coach Ambrose said, “Line up behind home plate. We’ll get started with conditioning now.”

From the smile on her face, this was not going to be good.

Chapter 4

Jake

For some reason, I couldn’t keep my mind off Penny Davis. I was lucky that the hundreds and thousands of reps I’d done throughout the year took over, because all I could think about was my next-door neighbor. Seeing her precision in pitches, I knew all those long nights of throwing against the back shed had paid off. She was determined; I’d give her that. And when she’d seen me watching her, I’d had to hold back a smile at seeing her look of shock turn to one of irritation.

For some reason, I felt a slight attraction to her. It was strange to be looking at her and suddenly curious about who she could have a crush on. But then again, I’d always been comfortable around her back when we hung out. Was it the possibility that she could be taken by some other guy now that was getting to me?

As much as I’d hoped to avoid major running at the tryouts, my teammates were right in assuming it would be brutal. We sprinted and jogged for nearly forty-five minutes to start off the day, and by the end of that, at least five of the guys had packed up and left. It was always assumed that baseball was an easy sport since the players stood around most of the time. But with a team as competitive as we’d been the past few years, conditioning helped get us through the later innings of the game.

I nearly lost my cheeseburger when Coach Maddox finally told us to grab our gloves and head out to the field. The time flew from there as I moved from station to station. When we finished up, I looked over and was surprised to see the softball girls just barely leaving their field.

Penny was walking next to some of the girls I didn’t know, and I grabbed my bag, jogging to catch up with her.

“So, how’d it go?” I asked, giving her one of my biggest grins.

Her eyebrows rose, and she shifted her bat bag onto her shoulder. “What do you want, White? I think this is the most you’ve talked to me in years.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I want to talk to you. It looks like you guys had a tough tryout.” I turned my attention forward, not in the mood to gloat over the doe-eyed expressions of the girls walking on Penny’s other side. This was definitely a first.

“Lots of running and then the usual drills.” Her words came out clipped, as if she was just waiting for me to leave. I could take a hint, even though I wanted to badger her about who she was crushing on one more time. Why was that so interesting for me all of a sudden?

After a quick nod, I said, “Well, I hope you make it. I’ve gotta run, so I’ll see you around the yard.” I picked up my pace to catch up with Dax, who’d almost made it to the locker room.

A quick shower later, I came out to a nearly empty parking lot and threw my bag in the trunk of my new Jeep. Well, the restored version. From after the accident.

I shut the window and walked to the driver’s side, hearing a car trying to start but not turning over. I glanced to the left and found Penny with the most determined expression I’d ever seen, turning the ignition on her rust bucket.

I waited at least a minute before walking over to her. When she saw me outside, she rolled her eyes and slammed the steering wheel. A few seconds later, she rolled her window down.

“Here to gloat, White?” The sarcasm in her voice caused me to laugh, much louder than I expected.

“No, just thought I’d see if you need some help.” I crossed my arms on her door and glanced in. “Sounds like you need a new car.”

A fist flew at my left shoulder, connecting and leaving a surprising throbbing in its wake. “Easy for you to say. My dad can’t afford to buy me everything I want.”

I winced, thinking of all the strings attached to the “gifts” my parents gave me. Sure, it was nice to have an awesome SUV to drive around, but it didn’t come without guilt and expectations, especially from my father.

She leaned forward and tried the ignition another time or two.

“Sorry, I’m not good with cars, but I can offer you a ride home.” I stood and motioned to my Jeep a few parking spots away.

Penny frowned, her lips pursed as though she’d eaten one of those sour candies. “Did you get knocked in the head at practice today? Because you’re acting really weird.”

“What do you mean ‘weird’? We used to do stuff like this all the time, even before we could drive. Maybe I realized how much I’ve missed hanging out with you.” As much as I wanted it to be a line, the kind I usually fed to all the fawning girls, the truth of it hit me in the chest. There were a lot of good memories with Penny by my side, and for the first time in a while, it was like I’d woken from a strange dream and wanted things to go back to the way they were before life erupted, for both of us.

She turned the key once more and shook her head when it didn’t start. Opening the door, she stepped out, her pointer finger waving before she even said any words. “The only reason I’m getting a ride from you is that I’ll be late for work if I don’t.” She slammed her door and marched over to my Jeep, not waiting for me to join her.

We hopped into the Jeep, and I put it in drive, turning the wheel toward the exit. The sound of the radio blasted through the vehicle. And then it didn’t.

I glared at Penny. “Hey, this is my vehicle. That means my radio station.”

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