Page 52 of The Pass
“Can you answer it for me? It’s my sister. She’s been calling every day to make plans for the Fourth.”
I grab it off the bed and take it to the open bathroom door. “Here.”
He pokes his head out of the shower curtain. “My hands are wet. Answer it and tell her I’ll call her back.”
I hesitate and he adds, “Otherwise she’ll just keep on calling. She’s annoying like that.”
He disappears back into the shower. Silently clearing my throat, I put the phone to my ear and answer. “Hey, Tara. It’s, uh, Sydney. Tanner’s in the shower.”
“Sydney. Hi.” There’s an awkward pause. “I didn’t realize you were still there.” She sounds less friendly than I imagined, but I figure that’s to be expected since she called her brother and someone else answered.
“Oh, yeah, hey,” I say cheerily. I’ve never met Tara or even spoken to her and this is not how I pictured it. “I hear you’re coming to the lake next week. I’m so excited to finally meet you.”
“Yeah, uh, you too. Can you have Tanner call me when he gets out of the shower?”
“Definitely. He wanted me to tell you that.” My face warms and I feel awful for reasons I can’t quite pinpoint. Maybe I expected her to be more excited? But I have no idea how much Tanner has told her about me.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Good to finally meet you or talk to you,” I babble on feeling determined to get some pleasantries out of this girl that seems awfully put out by having to talk to me. “You know what I mean.”
She doesn’t budge, though. “I do. Bye now.” Her tone isn’t hostile, but incredibly bland and detached.
“Bye.” I step back into the bathroom and set his phone on the vanity. “She wants you to call.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
“I’m going to get ready,” I say to the closed curtain and duck back out.
I replay the call as I get dressed for our date. Perhaps it was unrealistic to think Tanner told his sister anything about me. They’re just so close that I guess I assumed that my name came up occasionally if only in passing.
I’m still trying to shake the uneasy feeling as Tanner drives to our second date. He looks as gorgeous as ever in navy shorts and a gray V-neck. He hangs a right off the main road in town. “Ready?”
He comes to a stop in front of a large outdoor sports complex.
“Which one are we doing?” From the car I can see go karts, bumper boats, and paintball.
We get out of the car and meet in front. “All of them, if you want, but we’re starting at the batting cages.”
“Glad I didn’t wear my bikini and heels.”
“It’s a real great visual, not going to lie, but I thought you might not appreciate being ogled while trying to hit my fast ball.”
“You’re going to pitch to me?”
He nods, a charming boyish grin on his face. “Mhmm. Don’t worry, I’ll let you warm up with the machine first. I throw much harder.”
Once we’ve paid, I stand behind the cage while he warms up with the machine. He takes cut after cut, hitting the ball into the net on the opposite end. I could watch him like this all day. Totally in his element and showing off for me.
“Hey, batter, batter,” I say through the chain-link fence.
“Are you ready to give it a try?” he asks, briefly looking over his shoulder before hitting the next ball. The machine stops and he backs out of the cage. He takes the helmet in my hand and forces it onto my head, then kisses me. “Yep, a bikini would have really made this fantasy complete.”
“Your mind really is a scary place, isn’t it?”
He winks and motions with his head to the cage. “Get in there.”
I grab a bat inside and hit the button to start the machine. I haven’t swung a bat since… high school gym class maybe? I’m giving myself a pep talk when the first pitch comes flying by me. I swing, but it’s almost too late and I only get a small piece of the ball sending it off to the right.
