touched a baseball before in my life. It was embarrassing. Truly. I made two errors at first. Instead of moving my foot off the bag to actually catch the damn ball, I tried to stretch, thinking that getting the out was the most important thing when catching the ball was.”
Sucking in a breath and then blowing it out, I continued, “I just played bad. Bad enough that I was worried I’d never get the chance to start at first base again for the rest of my time at Fullton. After the game, Hayley was waiting for me in the stands, a scowl on her face. I wondered why she was mad at me or what I’d done. There were still people around too. Families of the players, my coaches, my entire team, and some fans. She yelled that I had embarrassed her in front of everyone. Asked how I could do that to her. Said I made her look bad, stupid even. She said that I was never going to get drafted and she was an idiot for even thinking that I might have a shot. That she overheard the scouts talking and they’d said I didn’t have what it took. What a waste of time I’d been when she could have been focusing on someone else. Someone who was actually going to play professional ball, not a loser who was going nowhere, like me.”
I sucked in a breath and tried to rid myself of the memories that were playing on the big screen in my mind. Reliving that moment was humiliating and made me feel about two inches tall.
“So, why is she all in your business again? I mean, if you’re so bad at baseball, why does she keep coming around?” Sunny asked, her tone vicious and accusatory. I knew it wasn’t meant for me, so I found it downright endearing.
“She thinks I’m getting drafted. Apparently, she followed my stats this summer.”
“Ohh.” Sunny let out a disgusted laughing sound. “So, you’re good enough for her again. I get it.”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
“I want to kick her ass,” Sunny growled. “If I see her walking on campus, I’m going to accidentally trip her. Or maybe I’ll not-so-accidentally shove her into a tree, face-first.”
“Damn, killer. I’d tell you to go for it, but she’s not worth it,” I said, meaning it.
“It’s just …” Sunny sucked in a quick breath before blowing it back out. “That’s a horrible story, Mac. Seriously horrible. Who does that? I hate her,” she snarled as she looked over my shoulder and avoided eye contact.
I liked seeing her all riled up on my behalf. It was hot as hell and made me feel good. “You all fired up like this is doing something for me.” I smirked, hoping I wasn’t ruining the mood.
Her head snapped back to me, the silver strands swaying with the movement. “Yeah? You like seeing me upset?”
I swallowed hard. “I like seeing you mad at her. For me. It feels nice,” I barely said the last sentence out loud because there were so many emotions in the room that it was hard to breathe.
“I think if the roles were reversed, you’d be pissed for me too,” she said.
I sank deeper into the couch as the scenario played out in my head, knowing she was right.
“I’d make him wish he’d never met you.” The words sounded honorable, but I was fucking serious. The thought of any guy doing that to Sunny made me beyond angry. “Shit,” I breathed out.
“What?”
“Is that guy me? Is that what I did to you? Did I treat you like that?” I asked, wondering if I needed to kick my own ass or not right now. Was Sunny trying to tell me something without coming right out and saying it?
Sunny’s eyes widened as she reached for me, her soft hand stroking my cheek. “No, Mac. No. It’s not even remotely the same thing. She was supposed to be your teammate, and she worked against you. She was your girlfriend. She should have supported you in your dreams, not helped tear them apart.”
“So, you’re not mad at me then?” I tried to clarify.
“Was I mad that you’d ignored me this summer when I thought we’d started something potentially amazing? Yeah, I was. Was I mad at how you’d treated me this year before tonight happened? Again, yes. But obviously, not mad enough to not forgive you because here we are.”
“I really am sorry.”
“I know.”
“Do you think you’ll ever forgive