Page 1 of Pitching for Keeps
CHAPTER ONE
I'm doing great.Really, I am. I have a good job, a nice apartment in Dallas, and I hardly ever think about Jay Talley anymore. Maybe once a day. Twice, tops. Three times if there's a baseball game on TV, which I definitely don't watch. Except for Rangers games. And occasionally Astros games. And okay, fine, I have the MiLB app on my phone, but that's just because I enjoy supporting minor league baseball. The fact that I get notifications every time the Austin Stars play has nothing to do with checking if a certain pitcher's ERA has improved.
"Tracy, you're mumbling to yourself again," Megan says from the driver's seat, shooting me one of her big-sister looks. "Are you nervous about meeting Greg's groomsmen? Because I told you, they're all really nice. Especially Jay?—"
"I'm not nervous!" My voice comes out approximately three octaves higher than normal. "Why would I be nervous? I love meeting new people. Meeting people is great. People are... great."
Megan's eyes narrow in the rearview mirror. "Okay, what's wrong with you? You've been weird ever since I mentioned this weekend."
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just excited about your wedding stuff." I straighten my color-coded wedding planning binder—yes, I color-code everything, and no, it's not weird—and try to look casual. "Bachelor and bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinner, all the... festivities. Good thing I took the entire week off work."
I've been weird ever since Megan mentioned that Greg's friend Jay from college was in the wedding party. Jay's not exactly an uncommon name. There are probably thousands of guys named Jay in Texas. The odds that it'smyJay—not that he's my Jay; he hasn't been my Jay for five years—are astronomically small.
"Well, good, because everyone's meeting us at the restaurant in twenty minutes. Greg's already there with the guys." She grins at me in that way that means she's plotting something. "Did I mention Jay's single?"
My stomach does a little flip that has nothing to do with the fact that I skipped lunch. "That's... nice."
"He plays baseball. For the Austin Stars! Isn't that cool? Greg says he's really good. Maybe we can all go to a game this weekend!"
The color-coded binder slips from my suddenly nerveless fingers, scattering carefully organized vendor lists across the floor of Megan's car. I dive to collect them, grateful for the excuse to hide my face.
The Austin Stars. Of course. Of course it's that Jay.
"Baseball's boring," I manage, shuffling papers with shaking hands. "All that standing around."
"Since when do you think baseball's boring? You used to drag me to games all the time in college."
"That was... different. College baseball has more... energy." I can't find my rehearsal dinner seating chart. Why can't I find my rehearsal dinner seating chart? I need that seating chart like I need oxygen.
"Well, Jay played college ball too. At State, actually! Different school from Greg though. They were high school teammates back in the day. Small world, right?"
I locate the seating chart under my seat and clutch it like a lifeline. "Super small."
Five years. It's been five years since I've seen Jay Talley. Five years since I sat in those uncomfortable bleachers at State University, wearing his practice jersey and cheering until my voice went hoarse. Five years since he told me he was entering the draft early, since I told him to follow his dreams, since we decided long-distance would be too hard while he was in the minors and I was finishing school.
Five years since the worst decision of my life.
"Earth to Tracy!" Megan pulls into the restaurant parking lot. "Seriously, what is going on with you?"
"I'm fine. Just... you know. Thinking about all the wedding stuff we need to accomplish this week." I take a deep breath, channel my professional marketing manager persona, and reach for the door handle. "Let's go meet everyone."
The restaurant is one of those family-style places with sports memorabilia on the walls and TVs in every corner. Of course it is. Of course, Greg would pick a sports bar for this dinner. There's even a Rangers game playing because, apparently, the universe thinks it's hilarious.
I spot the group before they see us—a long table full of laughing people in the back corner. Greg's at the head, gesturing wildly as he tells some story. And there, three seats down, is a profile that makes my heart stop.
Jay's grown into his height, filled out in that way that says professional athlete rather than college kid. His dark hair is shorter now, more precisely cut. But when he throws his head back to laugh at something Greg says, it's the same laugh that used to make me feel like I could fly.
"There they are!" Megan waves enthusiastically, dragging me forward before I can bolt for the exit. "Everybody, this is my sister Tracy!"
The table turns to look at us, a blur of friendly faces and welcoming smiles. I'm introduced to Brian, the best man; Jake and Tony, the other groomsmen; various significant others whose names I immediately forget because Jay is turning in his chair, and our eyes meet, and?—
"Tracy?" His voice cracks slightly on my name.
"You two know each other?" Greg asks, looking between us with interest.
"We... had some classes together," I say, which isn't technically a lie. We did have that one communications elective junior year. That we were already dating and spent the entire semester passing notes like middle schoolers is beside the point.
"Small world!" Megan chirps, ushering me into a seat that is, naturally, directly across from Jay. "What are the odds?"
