Summer Swing (11 page)

Somehow I managed to remember Dawn’s Snickers bar, and just using the excuse that there was a long line seemed to be good enough. She didn’t even question the fact that Harlan had returned with me, and for that I was especially grateful.

However, the game just finished up when the last two batters struck out, and Gage’s team ended up losing 2-1. Dawn and Wyatt left right at the conclusion, but I sat around with Harlan to wait for Gage. I could even tell that Gage was really bothered that Harlan was still with me, and I couldn’t blame him
. His cautious gaze disappeared,
though, when Harlan explained
to him
what had happened in the parking lot.

I was exhausted by the end of the night. Gage had taken me to the ER and Harlan met us there. Thankfully I got to fill out the paperwork while I sat
in
an exam room
—a perk from being escorted by the doctor himself
. Another technician took my x-rays for me while Gage waited in the other room with Harlan. Nothing was broken, but I had one hell of a bruise that covered about
six
square inches of my left thigh. And after the trauma of the tetanus shot was over with, Gage insisted on driving me back to my parents’ house in Lake Oswego. Then
he
took my dad to the ballpark to pick up
my
car and bring it home.

It was almost
two
in the morning
by the time I actually went to
sleep
that night
.

I should have known that Dawn would
find out
what happened sooner or later. I had to get up at four
-thirty
for work, but she called me at
the office at
eight and really laid into me about how I handled the situation (by not telling her). I tried to explain that it was only because I didn’t want everyone else in the stands to know too, and she took offense to that, feeling accused of being overdramatic. It was true, so I didn’t even deny it. It amazed me that she was
so calm when it came to her job, but
I guess other peopl
e’s trauma isn’t the same as dealing with her own family
.

I was exhausted by the time I
got home that afternoon. Gage was just arriving at the ballpark for another game and he insisted that I stay at home and rest. It was a good thing because I conked out at five o’clock and didn’t wake up until he called to check on me at nine. I didn’t even see him for the next two days because his team had away games, so when Friday night rolled around, I was dead set on seeing him pitch again.

My leg was still sore, but it was a lot better than the first couple of days. I guess I was just thankful that it wasn’t worse. I could only imagine how bad it would suck if I’d actually broken my leg.

Over the next
week
I gradually got familiar with a few of Gage’s teammates. He had a couple of guys that he formed friendships with right away, and they would say hi when they saw me at the games. I hardly got to spend any time with Gage because I went to work so early, and then he left for his games almost around the same time that I was heading home for the day. If it was a home game
,
his team arrived early to prepare the field, and if it was an away game
,
he had to leave earlier in the afternoon to travel. On days there weren’t games they’d practice in the mornings, but sometimes they even practiced earlier in the day and
then
had their game that night.

I knew the two guys from California really had moved into Wyatt’s house because
there wasn’t
another host family to house them
yet
.
They tried squeezing in with another pair of guys that were housed, but it was just too crowded.
I hadn’t met them or seen them at the house because I hadn’t even
been
there
for a while.
Life kind of seemed to get busier when I
took on more responsibilities at
work, and it became more
of a challenge
to balance everything.

The weekends tended to be when I tried to sleep a little extra, but it was also when I just enjoyed doing
nothing
. Gage’s games were usually in the afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays, so I got to sleep and relax a little, and
even
if he was
n’t
pitching that day, I
still
made it to the ballpark.
I just liked being there where he was, no matter if he was playing or not.

He pitched again on Sunday, and since my parents were both off that day, they also went to his game.
Gage was comfortable around my parents, and they liked him as well. I’d met Gage’s parents only once when they came up
from Medford
the week before to watch him pitch.

They were enjoyable to be around, but I particularly liked his dad because he was funny
and easy going
. Helen was
pleasant enough
, but she wasn’t really warm and friendly like my
own
mother
was. I thought it might just take some time for her to get comfortable around me, but Gage admitted that she was just a little more serious most of the time.

Dan was kind of the opposite, and if it hadn’t been for his light-hearted personality, it might have been difficult to be around
Gage’s mom
.
Dan and Helen were both at Gage’s game that Sunday afternoon, so I introduced them to my parents and was glad they had each other to talk to.

When the game had ended
,
the players began their usual routine of straightening up the field—raking the infield and both the home and visitor’s bullpen
s, cleaning up the dugouts, etcetera
—and I sat and waited for Gage as usual. My parents had invited his parents over for dinner, so while they further discussed details and directions, I casually observed the guys working on the field. I was beginning to get down a lot of their personalities just by being at the games and watching them interact with their teammates or other people
, or just from things that Gage occasionally said
.

Benji
was the goofy one—always happy but seeming to love anything that
made
anyone
laugh
. Gary was the hardest on himself—you could tell when he wasn’t happy about a play he didn’t make or something that didn’t go right. Vance tend
ed to be the team cheerleader—b
eing a bench player didn’t give him
much else to do. And then there were ‘the
mosts
’: Troy talked the most,
Kiani
argued with the umpires the most, Reese spit the most, and Jamey slapped the most butts.

Then there was the guy that I deemed to be the biggest loner on the team. I knew he was one of the pitchers because I’d see him hanging out with the other pitchers in the bullpen, but I didn’t believe I’d seen him pitch yet. But every game he was out there taking care of the fields, whether it was beforehand when the guys hosed the dirt infield to keep the dust down, or afterward when—every game—he would take a rake to the far side of the field and rake out the visitor’s bullpen all by himself. I hardly ever saw him talk to anyone either, but I didn’t notice him
all
the time, so I guess I couldn’t
decide
if that was true
or not
.

He easily caught my attention that
afternoon
because he had the rake in his hand and was headed across the field for the visitor’s pen. It was probably only the third or fourth game I’d noticed him at so I didn’t even know his name or anything.

I didn’t have a roster either, so I was trying to look up the team information on my phone when Gage called my name from the dugout and motioned me to come down. A lot of people usually joined the players down on the field
after a game
, but I always stayed in the stands. I just didn
’t want to get in Gage’s way
while they were cleaning up, and I didn’t want to seem like the needy, clingy girlfriend either.

“We’re having a team meeting in a little bit
,
so I’ll probably be a little late,” he told me.

“Oh, really? Your parents are coming over
,
too.”

“They are? Hmm. Well
I’ll do my best to get there as soon as I can then. What time is it now?”

I checked my phone and said, “Four-fifteen.”

“Then I should get there by six. Okay, sounds good,” he nodded. He slid his hand behind my neck and gave
me a kiss. When he pulled away
I noticed that one guy again.

“Gage, what’s his deal?” I asked, nodding toward the pitcher coming back from the bullpen.

“Who, Tyse?”

“Is that his name? Number
fifteen
. He’s a pitcher, right?”

“Yeah, Tyse Morgan. He’s another starter but hasn’t played yet. Something about getting cleared because of a hand injury, I think.
He’s really good though;
I’ve seen him throw some practice sessions
.
Why do you ask?”

“Is he always like that?
Kind of…loner-ish?
He always seems to be by himself.”

“Yeah, he is. H
e’s really quiet at home, too.”

I
paused
as I understood what he meant. “He’s one of the guys that lives with you now?”

He nodded. “
He’s from San Diego, and so is…” He glanced around the field for a few seconds until he found who he was looking for. “So is Wes,” he nodded to a guy that was carrying some equipment to the storage shed.

“Do they both know each other?”

“No, they’re from different cities. Wes just graduated from high school, and Tyse might be a few years
older. Why do you ask
?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.
I kind of feel sorry for him. I just wondered if maybe you could talk to him a little more. Maybe he just feels out of place here or something.”

“Aw, you’re such a softy
,” he smiled.
“
You’re like the playground teacher, trying to ma
ke sure everyone gets along
.
But Tyse kind of puts up his own walls; I assume he
prefers
it that way. Hey, I gotta get going though,” he
added
. “Sorry, but I just wanted to tell you I might be a little late for dinner.”

“Okay, no problem. Better l
ate than not at all.”

I wanted to kiss him again, but I always felt self-conscious around his teammates. However, Gage
was the one that
kissed
me
and told me goodbye one last time.

Chapter Seven

“Hey, you left before I could talk to you,” Miranda said to me over the phone. I was just pulling onto the freeway from work, headed for Gage’s house. He didn’t have a game that Wednesday night, and I was looking forward to spending some time with him.

“Sorry, I finally have a relaxing evening to look forward to,” I chuckled.

“With Gage? He’s such a cutie, Elle. I’m glad your first date worked out.”

“Not because of anything
I
did, though,” I clarified. “Gage is just really easy to get along with. Anyways, what’d you need to talk to me about?”

“Oh! Just some rumors I heard.”

“Oh yeah? About me?”

“Yep. And about Gina’s maternity leave that starts in August.”

“I’m not following you…”

“They’re looking for someone to replace her on the afternoon show for six weeks.”

“Oh, yeah… Oh! You mean…?”

“Yep, I heard your name mentioned, like, five times!”

I sucked in a breath of air. “
Really
?”

“Uh huh. I think you’re a shoe in for it, but don’t tell
anyone
that I told you.”

“Oh no, no, I won’t,” I assured her.

“Okay, that’s all I wanted to tell you, so I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Miranda.”

“Yep, no problem.
Enjoy your night
.
”

I was pretty excited as I took the exit for Gage’s neighborhood. All I could think about was getting even closer to a permanent position on-air one of these days, and I’d forgotten that Gage
was with Wyatt and
wasn’t going to
be
home until four-thirty. I had planned on stopping at the store because I was going to make him dinner, and it completely slipped my mind.