“I’m sure.” I moved from my spot behind the island and walked over to her. She blinked a lot, but when I slid an arm around her waist, she leaned into me. “You’ve met those two, but these two ladies are Fiona and Michelle.”
“Hi! I’m Sarah Blue.” She held out her hand like a dork and the girls shook it, both smiling and giving me warm looks. “What do you have so far?”
“Kids, donations or puppies,” Bummy said. “We need him to not look like a shitshow.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, hesitant on letting her see that part of my life. My reasons for keeping her separate were fading, because I wanted her to know everything—but that meant more of a chance for her to rightfully walk away. I was a mess.
Blue frowned and studied the list on the counter. “We could host an adoptathon.”
“Uh, what?”
“Yeah. We both could benefit from it. See, I need to get word out about the business, and you could sponsor the adoptathon. We work with a local animal shelter to get radios and news and big sports ballers there to help adopt rescues.” She pointed at Bummy and Gideon. “You guys are big and famous, right?”
Fiona snorted. “Oh my god, I love you.”
Blue blushed but kept focused. “You are. I know it. So you guys can be there, too. You know I hate to use your famous-ness to help, but if you are needing something to show you aren’t a drug-using monster—which you’re not—what do you think?”
“Fuck. That’s a great ass idea,” Bummy said, sharing a look with Michelle that I knew meant they would have a million questions about Sarah. “I’m in.”
“Me too,” everyone else said before turning to me.
“Are you sure?” I asked, waiting until Sarah looked at me, so I could see her eyes. They were expressive and I would know if there were any reservations. There weren’t. I reached down and intertwined our fingers. My friends couldn’t see the gesture and it comforted me when she squeezed my hand back.
“Uh, for sure. This is a huge win for me just starting out.” She smiled and took a deep breath. “Wow, we have work to do. When would be a good date?”
“Our homestand ends in a week before we go on another road trip.” Gideon leaned on the counter and scrolled through his phone. “Then we have another long homestand. That could work.”
“What does homestand mean?”
Michelle’s face somehow got an even more gooey expression, and I avoided her stare. I squeezed Sarah’s hand again. “It’s when we have games here in Phoenix for a week or two. Road trip is when we play other teams out of state.”
“How many, uh, games do you play?”
“Three to four per team.”
“Huh.” She shrugged and went back into business mode. Fiona caught my eye and mouthedoh my god oh my god, and I had to agree. Sarah was special. There was no doubt about it.
“Third week in August,” Gideon said, clarifying when our next homestand was.
“So, six weeks away? Hopefully I can find a shelter that would be up for it,” she said, pulling out her phone and typing away. “I’m taking notes.”
“Wait, can I ask a question?” Fiona said, causing Sarah to look up at her. “Do you really not watch baseball? I’m just… I don’t think you’re lying, but this is fascinating.”
Sarah’s ears turned red. “I don’t. Sports are not my thing. I think I’ve seen some Olympics? Maybe golf twice? I prefer reality TV or crime shows.”
“You’ve never been to a baseball game?”
Sarah furrowed her forehead, tilting her head to the side. “Nope. Maybe t-ball when I was younger, because my cousins played. But in the last fifteen years? No.”
“You have to come to a game!” Fiona screamed, making Gideon wince.
“Fi, calm down there. Don’t scare her,” he said.
“Shit, sorry.”
Sarah looked up at me with questions in her eyes. “I mean, it could be cool, but I’m in no hurry. If you want me to go to a game, I will, but if you prefer I don’t, I won’t lose sleep over it.”
She was asking me if I wanted her there.God, this girl…
