at Taco Bell.
“I’m glad you listened to my advice,” I said. “It was both our jobs on the line out there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…” I took another sip. “It was my idea for you to close. I pitched it during the coach’s meeting yesterday.”
His blue eyes almost bulged out of their head. “What! You’re the reason they sent me out there?”
“Yep! And you proved that I was right.”
He wiped his face with a hand. “Coach, I don’t know. That was just one game. Closing is a lot of pressure. I’m not sure I can handle it again.”
“You just said you were amped!” I argued.
“That’s part of it. I was also scared shitless! You really think I can be the closer?”
I put down my drink. It was dangerously good, and if I wasn’t careful I wouldn’t be able to drive home later. “Joel. I think you’re the perfect candidate to close baseball games, for all the reasons you just said. Your skill set is better suited to single-inning appearances. Three tough outs, then you’re done. You have that energetic personality on the mound that strikes fear into hitters.”
“I don’t know about all that…”
I moved closer to him and took his left hand in mind. I stabbed my finger into his palm and said, “This hand just closed out a major league baseball game. And it’s going to close out a whole lot more before the season is over. Your velocity on your fastball was higher in today’s appearance than any other. Your cutter had just enough movement on it to trip up the batters. They were totally fooled tonight. I told the other coaches to make you the closer because I believe in you. The stats support it. And from what I know of you, on a personal level, I know you’re going to succeed.”
There was still some doubt in his cobalt eyes, but he slowly nodded. His pretty-boy face was even cuter when he was thinking really hard about something. “Alright. If you believe in me coach, then I can believe in myself. But if I blow it, I’m blaming you.”
“Don’t worry—I’ll blame myself too!”
We shared a small laugh together. I was still holding onto his hand. I had only had two sips of the purple viking but it was already warming my belly and making my cheeks flush.
I started to let go of his hand, but his fingers tightened around mine. A small gesture, but it spoke volumes as he gazed at me.
And then Joel kissed me.
I didn’t appreciate it the way I should have. It was sudden and unexpected, which wasn’t usually a great way to start off a kiss. But when he pulled back and looked at me I wished he had not stopped.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have…”
“No! It was fine. I didn’t mind.”
He reached for his glass as an excuse to put two feet of space between us. “I shouldn’t have. Not with you.”
“Because I’m your coach?” I asked.
Joel shook his head. “Because of our agreement. The one I have with the other guys, I mean. We promised only to get involved with someone we all agreed on. And Darryl vetoed it. So I can’t do anything.”
“Well…” I trailed off. Should I tell him about how Rafael and I had been sleeping together? He clearly didn’t know, and if Rafael didn’t want to tell him then I shouldn’t be the one to reveal it.
“Well what?” he asked, suddenly curious. “Coach?”
Before I could answer, the doorbell rang.
“Food’s here! That’s totally the food. I’m going to go get the food.” He laughed nervously. “You want to run upstairs and tell the guys?”
“Sure,” I said, but he was already jogging out of the kitchen, leaving me feeling confused.
17
Natalie
I walked upstairs in a daze. Rafael had said I was totally Joel’s type, and that he would take to me quickly. He was right about that. But although Rafael had no problem doing what he wanted without Darryl’s involvement, Joel still had qualms. Loyalty to his friend and the agreement they had made.
I didn’t quite understand it, but I respected that Joel did.
The staircase in the foyer curved around a massive chandelier before ending at a landing with wooden floors and a wooden railing. The hallway looked like it was over a hundred feet long. I drifted down it, unsure where to go. The wall was adorned with life-sized oil paintings of English knights wearing armor and standing at attention after a battle. Each painting seemed like they