Then there’s a ball flying my way, and a solid baseball player who smells like butterscotch and sunshine on the beach guiding my hands and arms to swing the bat, until—
Crack!
“I hit the ball,” I gasp.
“You hit the ball!” Mackenzie crows. “Run, Waverly! Run!”
Cooper’s body drops away from mine. “Run,” he echoes, giving my shoulders a gentle push, and I realize I’m standing here like a doofus who knows nothing about baseball despite the number of games I’ve watched.
I have torun.
And so I do.
I run like someone’s chasing me, which is basically how I feel almost all the time.
Someone wants something from me. Someone wants to hurt me. Someone wants to take my success from me.
But right now, I’m running so that Levi’s stepdaughter doesn’t throw me out at first base.
I never played baseball. Or soccer. Or did swim team.
And as I dash down the first base line, laughing with the joy that came from the feel of that ball smacking the bat, I decide to ignore the disappointment at not having Cooper cradling my body, and instead, embrace the excitement of trying something new.
Something new.
That’s what I need in my life.
Something new.
Robinson Simmons catches the ball at first base and hands it to Piper while Ash, the Fireballs’ new baby dragon mascot, makes thekeep running, go to second basemotion. I shriek and swerve away from Piper and Robinson, missing first base completely, which I’m well aware is against the rules.
“Run, Waverly!” someone yells in the crowd.
More people join the chant, so I turn and keep running, all the way to second base, where Glow the Firefly, another of last year’s mascot contenders who hasn’t found a new home yet, is chasing away anyone who might try to catch the ball and tag me out.
“Safe!” Mac yells from behind home plate three feet before I step onto the base.
“What?” Levi yells back.
“She is totally out!” Piper shrieks.
“I demand a video review!” Francisco shouts.
And while they’re arguing, and at the urging of the mascots, I take off running for third base.
Lying to myself the whole way that I don’t also want to see if I could get to third base with Cooper Rock.
6
From Cooper Rock’s text messages…
Some random number:I can’t stop thinking about this, despite trying very hard for literal weeks, so I’m going to come right out and say it. We should talk. I feel like I missed some very important information a long time ago, and it’s keeping me up at night, and I’d like to move on. So I’d like to chat. In person, if possible. But no one can see us together for obvious reasons, if you’ve seen the gossip pages today. I don’t want drama, and I don’t want this to be a THING. I just want to talk.
Cooper: Hello, you have reached 1-800-Talk-To-A-God. For Zeus, press 1. For Mars, press 2. For Ra, press 3. For Brahman, press 4. For Cupid, press 69.
Random number: Okay. Noted. Never mind. Bad idea.
Cooper: Undo. UNDO. Control-Z. UNDO.
