Page 17 of Protect My Heart
Old? I’m not old. I’m 28. But I guess when you’re 15, 28 is old.
‘Well, after you compliment her, maybe ask what she’s interested in, what she likes to do.’
‘I already know all that. She takes dance classes and reads a lot and likes being in school plays.’
‘Okay, yes, but asking her about that stuff shows you’re interested in her, in more than her .?.?. chest.’
‘Yeah, I could see that. Girls like talking about shit, so if you get them to talk there’s a better chance they’ll like you.’ He smiles at me. ‘You’re really smart, Mr. Kanfield. I see why you get so many girls. So what do I do when she’s done talking?’
‘Ask her if she’d like to go do something. Make it something you know she likes, and if you’re not sure, ask her. Like ask what her favorite ice cream is and then offer to take her for ice cream.’
‘Ice cream?’ He scrunches up his nose. ‘That’s kind of a lame date.’
‘There’s only so much you can do at your age and ice cream is cheap. That’s another tip. Offer to pay. If she wants to pay for herself, that’s fine, but at least offer. And remember to be nice, compliment her, and ask her questions.’
‘I gotta write this down.’ He reaches behind to his backpack.
‘Here.’ I hand him a notepad from my desk and a pen.
He scribbles down ‘Nice. Compliment. Ask.’ ‘Thanks, Mr. Kanfield. You’ve got a lot better advice than my friends.’ He hands me the notepad and pen. ‘I’ll see you around.’ He walks to the door. ‘Hope you win tomorrow!’
He’s talking about the baseball game. It’s one of the last games of the season. We have a weak team this year. My best players graduated last year and I was left with kids who aren’t as skilled or as interested in the game. The past few years, football has become the sport everyone wants to play and baseball is suffering because of it. For awhile, football was losing players because the team sucked and nobody wants to be on a losing team. But then they started getting good, good enough to go to the playoffs, and now younger kids are wanting to play football over baseball. That’s why I started the summer baseball camp, to get younger kids interested in the game so they’ll want to play on the team when they get to high school.
It’s almost four, which is when I’d usually be out on the field, practicing with the team. But it’s raining and I saw some lightning, so I cancelled practice for today. It’s Friday. I should be going home and getting ready for a date, but I don’t have one. And I can’t go out with my brothers because they’ll be out withtheir girlfriends. I’m the only single one left, something my mom reminds me of on a regular basis. Just last week she was asking who I was taking to Nick’s wedding, as if I couldn’t possibly show up without a date.
My older brother Nick is getting married in a couple weeks at the orchard our family owns, the one he now runs. I still can’t believe he’s marrying Lyndsay, the girl he had a crush on all through high school. I was even more surprised when he proposed to her after only dating her a few months. Nick is always very cautious and overthinks every decision, so proposing to her that soon tells me he knew Lyndsay was the one after just a few dates. He had no doubts.
That’s what I’m looking for. That feeling of knowing the girl I’m with is the one for me, without a doubt. Thinking about that brings my mind back to Mia. She’s waiting for me to give her an answer about dinner. I don’t know what to tell her. I really want to see her, but what if I have dinner with her and all those feelings come back? All the feelings I had that night? Feelings that ended in disappointment and months of thinking about a girl I can’t have. I’ve been trying to get her out of my head so I can move on with someone else. Seeing her again is only going to make that more difficult.
But I really want to see her.
Scrolling through my phone, I find Noah’s number. I haven’t talked to him since his wedding, but he’s the only person I can ask about Mia.
‘Hello?’ he answers.
‘Hey, Noah, it’s Jason.’
‘Hey, man, how’s it going?’ He sounds really happy. I guess married life has been good to him.
‘I’m keeping busy. Baseball season’s wrapping up soon.’
‘How’s the team this year?’
‘We suck,’ I say with a laugh. ‘But next year should be better. I’ve lined up private coaching with some of the kids this summer. They’re not bad players. They just need to work on their skills and practice more.’
‘You still doing the camp?’
‘Yeah, but I’ve changed it to be for younger kids. The older teens weren’t signing up. They’ve got too much going on in the summer.’
‘Yeah, I could see that.’
‘How’s married life?’
‘Couldn’t be better. We’re looking at houses, got some trips planned for the summer. Next fall we plan to start trying for a kid.’
‘That’s great! I’m happy for you.’
‘How about you? You seeing anyone?’
