Page 34 of The Perfect Catch

I shrugged, picking at the grass around us instead of looking up at him. “Nothing is going on between us.”

“But you want there to be, right?” Colt asked, pulling off his socks next to me. I shifted over, trying to avoid the breeze sending the smell of rank feet in my direction.

“I don’t know, guys. I mean, I have to focus on school and actually graduating. My grandmother would flip if I don’t graduate. And I want to be there, holding up the state championship trophy next spring. I can’t be with her in a relationship.”

Jake shook his head. “Please, man. Look at Penny and me. Sometimes a relationship makes it so you have someone to lean on all the time, someone to build you up when you strike out three times in a row.” His face went sour, probably replaying those at-bats in the last game.

As much as I wanted to argue with them that having people in my life sometimes made things even more lonely, the idea of it warmed something in my chest.

“I think you need to tell her you were her secret kiss last spring,” Ben said, sitting down next to us. He’d already finished packing up his bags and changed into shoes. It was late, but sitting there, not having somewhere to dart off to, made the time with the guys a little repose, something I needed to get recharged.

“What good will that do me? ‘Hey, Kate, I’m the awkward guy that kissed you last spring. Will you be my girlfriend?’ No! Girls don’t do that.” Anger surged, but it wasn’t directed at my friends and teammates. It was directed at myself. Because as much as I wanted a relationship with her, I was freaked out of my mind at the fact that as easily as she could say she liked me, she could also reject me.

Jake bent his legs and draped his arms around them, his stare causing me to turn away. “Dax, it’s all about the leap. You’re just going to have to figure out how to tell her and see where things go. If Kate isn’t the one who will like you in return, then you’ll just keep working, keep moving on, and you’ll eventually find someone else.”

As much as I wanted that to be the case, telling her about the kiss was something I worried about more than even college coaches sitting in the stands.

“I’ll figure it out,” I finally said.

We sat there a few more minutes, talking about different things, but my mind was somewhere else, swirling with what I’d have to do and soon. I didn’t want to lead myself along if I didn’t have a chance with Kate. And I was already teetering on that edge.

Chapter 24

Kate

When I arrived home after the game, I could feel something strange in the air, and it didn’t take too long to realize what it was. I walked into the kitchen, setting my purse on the counter as I removed the jacket I’d worn to the game.

“Where have you been?” my mother asked as she walked out of her bedroom. I could see a smidge of frustration on her face, as well as triumph, like she’d won a game.

“I went to the baseball game with Penny and Serena.” I strode over to the cabinet and pulled out a glass. Without glancing at her, I stuck the glass into the dispenser in the fridge.

“I don’t know why you continue to hang out with those two. Brynn is almost just as bad too.” She didn’t sound happy about it, but I’d grown so used to this argument, and as much as I wanted to please her in most things, giving up my group of friends was the one option I wouldn’t give up.

“They’re good girls, Mom.” I took a sip of my water, turning to face her as I did so.

She sighed, her way of saying she would concede on that alone.

“Just don’t keep missing your activities. I don’t need another call from the shelter wondering where you were.”

I shook my head. “Mom, I wanted to hang out with my friends and see a baseball game. I’m the student body president. It’s good to support the other kids. I can go to the shelter another time.” I paused, gritting my teeth as I tried to formulate what I wanted to say and how to say it. “I know you’re trying to look out for me, but I need some time to do what I want, when I want.”

A long pause settled over the room, and from the lack of expression on her face, I was a little worried about what she was thinking. Had I just stood up to my mom to the point that she had nothing else to say in return?

“I agree,” she said slowly, a smile spreading, highlighting her features. “There are some things we need to keep strict about, though. Don’t plan anything for tomorrow night. I have something we need to do.”

I groaned and then drained the rest of the water. “I hate it when you say that.”

Her lips pinched, and her eyes flashed at me.

It wasn’t worth the fight this late at night, and I just said, “Whatever,” as I walked out of the room and trudged up the stairs.

My mind raced, trying to come up with something she could torture me with further. And on a Friday night no less.

I didn’t have the brainpower right now to worry about it.

I lay down on my bed, swiping on my phone to scan the latest pictures from the people I followed on Quickstagram. Life looked so easy for some of these people, their parents giving them the freedom to come and go as they pleased. What would that be like?

Chapter 25

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