pussy and showed me what I had to look forward to for the rest of the season.
13
Natalie
I woke to a cold, empty bed. My first reaction was that last night had been a dream, that none of it was real. Then I saw the note on my bedside table.
Natalie,
Thanks for the workout. I had a great time. Pretty soon I’ll consider myself a submarine pitcher. (Get it? Because of how I went down?) All joking aside, I hope you consider what we talked about. I think the four of us could have a really great season, both on and off the field.
-Rafa
His note put a huge smile on my face for the rest of the morning.
And like he asked, I did consider their proposition. I expected it to seem ridiculous in the harsh light of morning, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. I already spent most of my time with the team—at practice, during games, and together on long road trips. The idea of being shared by the three of them was intriguing and titillating. It made me feel naughty—in a good way.
The biggest problem was that we all worked together. If our relationship fizzled out or ended badly? Then things would get really awkward. Especially for me, just like Rafael had said. The risk was high.
But so was the reward…
I found Rafael in the clubhouse later that afternoon. He was in the tech room reviewing his game footage from the day before.
I poked my head in the door and lowered my voice so nobody could overhear. “I didn’t even hear you leave this morning.”
He glanced up at me and smiled warmly. “Yeah. You were dead to the world.”
“Normally I’m not a deep sleeper,” I replied. “I must have been really tired.”
“That must be it. All the excitement from opening day.”
We shared a secret smile together.
The game that evening wasn’t as fun as the one yesterday. Our second-best pitcher Jake Miner struggled on the mound, giving up five runs in three innings. Joel came out of the bullpen to relieve him. The blond pretty-boy pitched fine in the fourth inning, but then struggled in the fifth and sixth. His final line when he was pulled was three runs surrendered in three innings.
“All we needed was for him to throw strikes, and he walks three batters,” Coach Schultz grumbled. “Now we have to burn more bullpen arms in a blowout.”
On the other end of the dugout bench, Joel hung his head and sighed.
We won the game the next night, six to three. Hallaway, our closer, struggled in the ninth inning but managed to secure the win without giving up any runs. The night after that our offense got out to a huge lead, scoring eight runs in the first three innings. Joel came in to pitch the seventh inning. He got those three outs easily, but when he came back out for the eighth the opposing team crushed everything he threw. Fortunately we were so far ahead that it didn’t stop us from winning.
“Can’t trust him when we’re down, can’t trust him when we’re up,” Coach Schultz complained. He glanced at me unhappily. “Should’ve given Domingo the roster spot.”
I ignored him and finished taking notes in my notebook.
The next day when I arrived at the clubhouse, Joel hopped up from his locker and jogged over to me. “Hey! Coach Betts.”
“Natalie,” I said. “Coach Betts is my father.”
“Sure, Natalie. Whatever you say. Listen, I was thinking… Can you watch me throw a bullpen today?”
I blinked in surprise. “You want my help?”
Joel ruffled his blond hair. “Sure, why not? You seem to know your stuff, and I could use all the help I can get. If you’re not busy. And if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind. It’s my job.”
“Awesome! I’ll meet you out there.”
I popped my head into Coach Schultz’s office. “Is it alright if I work with Joel before the game?”
He laughed loudly. “Be my guest. Don’t think it’ll help much, but it’s not like you can fuck him up even worse.”
I bit back my annoyance and went out to the field. I didn’t like hearing the coach badmouthing his players like that. My dad had taught me that verbal abuse and negative reinforcement were terrible ways to motivate players.
We still had two hours until the gates opened, so Globe Life Field was empty except for staff and players. Joel was in the bullpen with his back to me while he stretched out. He