Page 21 of The Perfect Catch

“Senior Committee brought me here,” I said with sarcasm. “What about you guys?”

“We thought we’d come support Logan. He’s been worried about this game all week, even though he looks like he’s breaking records every time he steps onto the field. You doing anything after?”

“Probably just heading home. I’ve got work early tomorrow morning before the dance.” I kept forgetting to ask Kate what the plans were. Seeing her before the game made me think she was so on top of things, but then again, she had a lot on her plate.

Nate glanced in the direction of the student section, and I turned around to look over at Kate. When I looked back at my friend, he gave me a mischievous grin.

“What’s the story with you and Kate? Did you tell her about the kiss?” Nate leaned in, looking as though he couldn’t wait to spread the gossip.

I gave him a firm punch to the shoulder and shook my head. “Did Jake tell you about that?” Hot anger hit my chest, and I wanted to punch something.

Colt chuckled. “We heard Penny and Serena talking about how Kate needed to get over the Masked Kisser, and we kind of put it together, bro.”

I closed my eyes, wishing I hadn’t stopped to talk to them. But the thought that she was still thinking about that kiss made me work to hide a smile as I said, “Nothing is going on between us. She’s pretty much out of my league.”

Colt shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve seen her check you out a few times just standing here.”

I had to will myself not to look in her direction again, or that would give away my feelings for the girl—something I didn’t need with Nate and Colt here. They would never let me live it down.

“We’ve done stuff together, but it’s just been for the committee. Remember that if I don’t participate, Mr. McKee will suspend me from baseball for the rest of the year.” I watched as their expressions sobered. Good misdirection.

“Sounds like a benefit to me. Being forced to hang out with the girl you’ve been pining for over the past year has got to be awesome,” Nate said with a grin.

I studied his eyes, and while I found a sliver of mischief there, he was rather sincere in his words. Had I really been that obvious?

“Yeah, it’s probably better that you don’t get into any more trouble,” Colt said, slapping my chest with the back of his hand. “We don’t need Wade to catch for us, or we’ll lose every game this year.”

I tried not to smile too wide about that, but it was the truth. We didn’t have many catchers on the team, which is why I’d been starting varsity since my freshman year. The one who could take my place if something happened to me was a junior, and he struggled to hang on to anything that Ben Clark threw at him.

“I better get back to the group,” I said, sipping my drink once more. I turned around, trying to be discreet at this point, and saw Kate glance in my direction. Her bright smile caused my heart rate to speed up, and I think it skipped a beat.

“Good luck,” Colt said. “Maybe try and recreate that kiss again. See what she thinks of it.” He waggled his eyebrows a few times.

I reached forward and nailed him in the shoulder with my fist, not holding anything back. My teammates knew me as a tough guy who didn’t take crap from anyone, and even though I secretly wanted to kiss her, I couldn’t let them get to me or I’d never hear the end of it.

“Leave it alone, Colt,” I said, teeth gritted.

He reached up and rubbed where I’d hit him, his nose scrunched in pain. “All right, I will.”

I turned and strode back to the stands, taking my spot next to Kate and trying to focus on the game rather than the memory of our first kiss swirling around in my mind. How was I ever going to keep working with her if I couldn’t forget about it and just get through this punishment?

Chapter 16

Kate

The game was a lot of fun, and we won for the second time this season. Dax mentioned how the football team wasn’t very good this year, but when the freshman and sophomores were seniors, the team might even have a chance at taking a state title. I liked talking to him about stuff like that. No one else in my life usually cared enough to explain the little things to me.

“Logan is our outfielder. He’s also one of the wide receivers, which means he usually runs down the field and catches the ball from the quarterback.” He had to lean into me to explain since the crowd was so loud, but I didn’t mind. I was more attracted to him at the moment, as the mint-colored polo he wore accentuated the tan of his skin and the bulk of his arms.

As we spent time together, I found so many things buried deep, maturity being one of them. He was kind of an old soul, but around his friends, he did what he could to act like the typical egotistical playboy.

“Did you ever play football?” I asked on the drive back to my house.

Dax shook his head. “No. It wasn’t one of the things I really cared about back then. I’ve always had a love for baseball. There are so many little details that go into it, and it fascinates me.” He stopped talking, his body going stiff. When he spoke again, it was more of a gruff, macho tone than the sincere one from the sentence before. “I mean, who doesn’t like slamming a baseball over the fence or throwing someone out on the bases.”

I reached over and touched his forearm lightly. “Why do you do that?”

“What?” Dax turned to me for a second before glancing back at the road.

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