“Deal.” We shake hands and release them when the players giddily start running to the dugout.
“Hey!” Adrian grips the railing, leaning over to get a better view of them.
A tremor shoots through my body, making my hand shake as I attempt to button my jersey.
“I can’t believe they agreed,” I whisper in disbelief.
My heart squeezes and I swear I feel my lungs collapse. My back breaks out into a sweat and white dots dance in my vision.
I’m not breathing.Breathe, Daniel. Fucking breathe.
“Imagine, this will be our lockers one day.” Adrian stares at one of the messy lockers in awe.
Picking up my hat from the top cubby of my locker, I drag my drenched, trembling fingers through my hair before I put it on. Wiping my palms down my pants, I grip the safety pin and breathe in and out, slow and steady.
Closing my eyes, I attempt to collect myself, but moments with Adrian play in my head. His smile, his laughs, his dimples. The bridge of my nose burns, the emptiness in my chest far too intense for nothing to be residing in it.
No, something is there.
No,someoneis in there.
“So that’s how you use the dishwasher.” Josie pushes the start button and stands back, folding her arms against her chest. “Did you understand, or do you need me to write it down for you?”
I attempt to keep a straight face, but my lips deceive me and lift. “You know, I’m not sure if I got it. You might need to show me again.”
She pins me with an impatient stare, but her mouth is just as traitorous because it curls into a small smile. “I don’t have the time or energy. Look up a video. Please tell me you’re capable of using YouTube?”
Snarky, I love it.
I manage to suck some semblance of air into my lungs and greedily they absorb oxygen.
“You’re going to have to hold the cord just like this.” I show her how to hold the earbuds cord to the portable CD player. “Or the music will sound scratchy.”
“Daniel…” She presses her lips together, amused eyes locked on my fingers twisting the cord.
“Don’t you dare laugh.”
Her chin quivers.
“Josie, don’t.”
Her nose twitches.
“Josefine.”
She rubs her nose, but I still hear the snicker she attempts to stifle. It’s soft, muffled, but then it snowballs out of her mouth and she’s laughing.
“Your CD player privileges have been revoked.” I try to keep a serious face but she’s laughing and smiling. She sounds so pretty, so free, so her, I bask in the sound of it, forgetting for a moment what we were talking about.
“Don’t be like that, Garcia,” she says patronizingly, taking the apparatus from my hand and inserting the disc.
Everything stops spinning, my chest doesn’t hurt, and the white dots disappear instantly as if they were never there.
I breathe in and out and my world steadies. Memories of last night with Josie play in my head. When my phone lights up with a message, and I see who it’s from, I feel so grounded, the tremors stop.
Josie: Please don’t embarrass me out there. I’m not going to waste two and a half hours sitting on the couch to watch you lose
I laugh, catching weird looks from my teammates, but I ignore them, my fingers quickly moving on the screen.
