The Best Mistake - Cookie O'Gorman Page 0,27

It wasn’t like I hadn’t expected something to leak. I swear, these guys gossiped worse than any girls I’d ever met. But I hadn’t thought my whole team would be jawing at me the entire practice. I was fifth in the batting lineup, so I closed my eyes and leaned back against the bench. My mind usually blanked when I tried to relax.

But this time was different.

She was right there, unbidden, floating just in front of me. I could picture Honor’s face, down to the little dimple on her left cheek. Her smile was like the sun, and it immediately warmed and set me at ease. Somehow, I had to figure out a way to spend more time with her. I could definitely start hanging around her house. Emmy was her roommate, my excuse if I ever needed one for why I was there so much. But I didn’t want to come off as desperate. Plus, her other roommate/best friend, Charlie, might have something to say about it.

Still, it was the best plan I had.

Maybe I could invite her to a game? I thought.

“Hey,” Dex said, and my eyes flipped open. “Let’s go, Archer. You’re up.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the bat he held out to me, and slipped on my helmet. Quickly taking stock, I noticed we had a man on first and second with two outs. Time to get my head in the game.

I was loosening up my shoulders when Mitch Snider had a go at me.

“Word is you got rejected,” he laughed. “Can’t say I’m surprised. The ladies don’t seem to like you much, O’Brien.”

As Captain, I got along with most of the guys on the team. But Mitch had always had a chip on his shoulder. He was a senior like me, and he thought my brothers and I got special treatment since we were the coach’s kids. He couldn’t see the truth, that he just wasn’t as great as his big head lead him to believe, and that was a problem for two reasons. 1) It made him an arrogant player without the talent to back it up, and 2) It made him say and do stupid things.

“She probably wanted a real baller,” he added. “Not one that’s all hype.”

“You’ll have to do better than that,” I said.

“What?”

“You heard me, Snider,” I said, warming up my arms, practicing my swing a couple times as I looked down at him. “The insults only hurt if they’re true, and I’ve got the stats to back up my game.”

That shut him up—for about a second.

I had just assumed my stance when he said, “I bet I could’ve bagged her.”

I froze. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he said, throwing my words back at me. I looked down, and he was smirking. “Girl in the red dress, right?”

The first pitch blazed past me without my even seeing it.

“Strike one!” called Bear, but I was hardly listening.

Mitch threw the ball back then said, “I saw her at the party. Girls like that are so easy.”

“What?” I said softly.

The ball whizzed past again. I didn’t swing, heard the muffled “strike two” being called, but I was too blinded by his next words to care.

“I bet I could’ve had her on her back in 10 seconds flat.”

One moment, I was standing there frozen. The next I was up in his face.

“Asshole,” I said, pushing him back, hard. “What did you just say?” Another push. “You stay away from her.”

Bear blew his whistle and tried to get between the two of us.

“Break it up,” he said, pushing Mitch back as Dex pulled me from behind. “What the hell was that all about?”

Mitch shook his head. “I was just joking, and he came at me out of the blue.”

“Out of the blue, huh?” Bear turned his scowl on me next, his voice a mix of anger and frustration. “You’re supposed to be the captain of this team, Archer. You know you can’t go around pushing your teammates. What’s gotten into you?”

Glaring at Mitch, I said, “I don’t know, but you’re right. It won’t happen again.”

Bear grunted then walked away, shaking his head, and I noticed Coach/my mom standing there on the sidelines watching the whole thing. She hadn’t come over. She hardly ever intervened in scuffles like this, tried not to get in the middle of fights when it was one of us and another player to avoid talk of favoritism. I could see her disappointment from across the field. But I couldn’t regret it.

What Mitch said