I feel so clueless because I don’t know what she meant by that. And she thinks I pity her—fuck, that’s not what I wanted her to feel.
They lower the music as we all gather around Coach D now that practice is over.
Angel stands next to me and bobs his head to the beat of “Moscow Mule” by Bad Bunny. Bryson subtly curls his lip, contempt flashing across his face at the music. That only causes Angel’s smile to deepen and quietly mouth the words to him.
Bryson rolls his eyes and directs his attention to Coach D.
He can’t stand that it’s in Spanish. He’s thrown fits, saying it’s unfair he has to listen to something he can’t understand. No one has ever had an issue with the music and all, minus Bryson, vibe with it.
Not sure when it happens, but I zone out staring at Bryson. When his eyes meet mine, his brows furrow but then they soften and he smirks.
I know the intention behind it. It’s theI fucked your girlfriend and she loved itsmirk.
Usually, those smirks piss me off and I have to repeatedly tell myself not to punch him. But I surprisingly don’t feel anything but annoyed.
What did Josie see in him? Why him? Was she devastated when she found out Bryson cheated on her? Is that one of the reasons she wanted to end it?
“Stop looking at him,” Angel whispers.
I look away, forcing the irritation and anger away. It hadn’t been there before, but now I’m really fucking angry and have the desire to do more than just punch him.
“All right everyone, get a partner. Sparky, get us going,” Coach announces.
That manages to diffuse the resentment fueling me.
After every practice, Coach D has us stand at the line in front of one of the guys and bump chests or high-five each other.
I stand in front of Angel, smiling as he continues to bob his head and now shimmy his shoulders. But it somewhat dips as I think about Adrian and what life would’ve been like if he was here with me.
I shake out of it, knowing the guys are waiting for me. “All right, boys, you know what to do. Go big or go home!” I shout as some of us take a few steps back and when we’re far away enough, run toward our partner who is doing the same, jump in the air, and bump our chests against theirs. We do it a few more times, me giving them words of affirmation and enthusiasm. After all, I’m their captain.
We circle around Coach again. The atmosphere is lighter now. Even Bryson seems to be in a decent mood.
“I’m proud of all the hard work you’ve all been putting in this offseason. From my pitchers and my outfielders to my infielders, you guys are doing an absolute great job. I can see you’ve all been working hard, and it’ll pay off this coming season.” Coach D pauses, a miniscule smile tipping on his face before it fades. “Don’t get cocky; keep working hard and don’t slack off in or off the field. Now let’s have a good lift and then we’ll call it a day. Nice work, gentlemen.”
“Bring it up,” I say as he takes a few steps back and I step in the middle, raising my hand and the guys follow suit. “Familyon three.”
“One. Two. Three.Family!” we raise our voices in unison.
We all disperse, grabbing our stuff, and head out of the field to the weight room.
“You know that saying if looks could kill…” Angel trails off as he throws the strap of his bag over his shoulder. I nod, not sure where he’s going with that. “You’ve never looked at Brysonthat way, and today you did. Look, I know Amanda was your girlfriend and I hate that that happened to you but?—”
“This isn’t about Amanda,” I interrupt but regret it. “I mean this isn’t about either one of them. I zoned out and didn’t realize I was staring at him.”
“You could detonate the whole goddamn world with the way you were staring at him.”
“That’s dramatic. I can’t help the way I look. Can I not make faces anymore?”
“You can. You can make all the faces you want, but that face was something else.”
“I was just thinking of something I did.”
“What did you do?” He smiles, sounding entertained.
I swallow hard. “I emailed Josie about swimming lessons.”
He comes to a complete stop, but I only slow my steps.
