“I don’t make false promises.” I tried to think of the last time I’d made a promise to anyone. Last season, I went on a couple of dates, and showing up for those was a promise of a kind. Outside of that, my last commitment had been to my ex, Beth, two years ago.
Two years ago.Jesus. Time flew while I single-mindedly pursued my goal to earn a permanent spot in the big leagues. I’d pitched some games there last season when the pitching staffhad been decimated by illness, but I always ended back here. Triple-A, the minor leagues.
Leo opened the fridge, pulled out the OJ, and swigged directly from the carton before placing it back inside. “I’ll call her… sometime,” he said to be contrary.
I scoffed. “When? At three a.m., after your roommate passes out?”
He held up his hands, proclaiming innocence. “Hey, I tried to take away your booze, but you swung at me, so I gave up.” He gestured at his face with a circular motion. “Can’t have you messing with my moneymaker.”
I’d heard women call himstupid hottoo many times to count.
“Yeah, that’s certainly not your arm.” I attempted to elbow him as I passed.
Leo quickly darted away, dodging the contact. His laugh grew louder and louder until he stood in the doorway of my room. He ran a hand through his dark blond—brond, one of his women once told me—hair. “Ooh, something crawled up your ass this morning.”
I didn’t respond, depleted of energy. I couldn’t deal with Leo while agonizing over this trip. The alcohol last night had kept my mind off it, but I couldn’t be drunk for the entire weekend. I would have to face Brenna Quinn stone-cold fucking sober.
Avoiding her at my father’s funeral last month hadn’t been easy, but I’d managed. This time, there would be no escaping her. We would have to sit in the same room to listen to the reading of his will.
Dad’s lawyer shocked me when he said we couldn’t handle the paperwork without returning to Middlebury because I wasn’t the only one listed in the will. What could my dad possibly have wanted to give to Brenna? Despite our tense relationship, I’d expected him to leave everything to me, his only son.
“Seriously, man, you good?” Leo asked.
He knew about my past, about Brenna. For years, I kept that part of my life buried deep enough, I could pretend it never existed. Then six months ago, I experienced the pure torture of watching Brenna Quinn get engaged during one ofmygames. All my bad karma had found its way to biting me in the ass that day. One of only a few games I played in the major leagues with the Nashville Blitz, and I had to see the woman I used to love promise herself to another man.
I held it together until I got back to Houston. When Leo picked me up at the airport, he saw the state I was in and drove us to the nearest liquor store. I spent the rest of the night drinking away the image of Brenna kissing the douche who got down on one knee for her. He should’ve known she’d hate being proposed to in public.
That night, I told Leo every single detail of my history with Brenna. He sat rapt, hanging on every word. I’d never expected him to be such a good listener. Maybe it wasn’t only his good looks that drew women.
I looked up from my open, half-packed duffle bag. “I’ll be fine.”
“Do you know what you’re going to say to her?”
I shrugged, moving to my closet. “Hello. How are you? Goodbye.It shouldn’t take long to read the will, and then I’ll leave Middlebury behind for good.”
Leaveherbehind for good.
Six years since we’d gone our separate ways, and I still felt her absence.
At first, the pangs of loss constantly hit me—when I got drafted, my first paycheck as a minor league baseball player, my first pitch in the big leagues. The longing for her had dimmed over time, but now and again, I wondered what she’d say in certain situations.
Like last month, during the last game of the season, I left a curve ball hanging over the plate that the batter should have pounded into the gap. Instead, he sat on it, waiting for a heater.That the best you got, Sharpe?Her taunting voice had filled my mind, motivating me to get my head in the game and finish the season on a positive note. I struck out the remaining batters, even with my painfully throbbing arm.
“What if she wants to talk?” Leo asked.
I wondered how Brenna would act. It was our first meeting since our dustup at her high school graduation. I had no reason to assume anything between us would change, especially if I kept my comments short. But Brenna could surprise me; I didn’t know the woman she’d become. Maybe this version of her had gained the confidence I always wished she’d had when we were kids.
“I’ll tell her I don’t think it’s a good idea and wish her the best.”
Leo tapped the doorframe. “I’d work on that plan if I were you. The girl you described doesn’t seem like someone you can blow off.”
“Real encouraging… thanks, man,” I said with a sigh.
“How’s the arm?” he asked abruptly.
I followed his eyes to my pitching arm, realizing I’d been absentmindedly massaging where my shoulder met the top of my arm.
Fuck.
