“We are just friends.”
“Honey,” she said, squeezing my shoulder. “That’s what’s called an epiphany. What you have going on with Lee has nothing to do with just being in close quarters.”
“Bailee,” I said, letting go of a long breath. “I can’t believe it’s more than that. I almost told him once. How I felt. Feel, whatever.”
I ran a hand through my hair and let my head fall back.
“He’d just come home from college for the summer and wanted to hang out, but Gary had come down with something. So I went to Lee’s house alone. I pumped myself up to ask him if he could ever think of me as more than a friend. I took my time blowing out my hair and putting on extra makeup, actually letting myself hope a little on the way there.”
“So what stopped you?” Bailee asked.
“When he answered the door, Katie was behind him.”
I sucked in a breath. This story was years old and still hurt every single time I’d let myself remember.
“He wanted to surprise us. She’d come home with him for the weekend, and he couldn’t wait to introduce her to his two best friends. He had said he’d met a girl in school a few months earlier, but he hadn’t brought her up again, so I’d never expected him to bring anyone home. The chance I’d fooled myself into thinking I had was never real.”
“You never told me that,” Bailee said, enough pity in her eyes for me to look away.
“I’ve never told anyone that. It’s a terrible story.” I tried to force out a laugh. “I felt so stupid on so many levels. Stupid that I actually thought he could maybe look at medifferently, and stupid that I didn’t tell him before. Not that it would have made a difference. He belonged with Katie.”
“But Katie isn’t here anymore. Things change.”
“I suppose they do.” I nodded. “And I’m not that same girl. Or, I’m trying not to be.” A real chuckle fell from my lips. “I don’t know what his feelings are or where they come from, but I can’t hope.”
“Hope can be a bitch.” Bailee gave me a slow nod. “I’ll drop it. I wish I had some advice for you.”
“Me too,” I said as I bumped her shoulder. “So let’s enjoy the seats, and I’ll take you to meet Silas and Nate later.”
“You’re serious?”
I cracked up when her jaw dropped.
“Yep.” I patted her knee. “All part of the VIP life.”
The Bats struck early and had a five-run lead going into the fourth inning, but we’d dodged countless foul balls every time either team was up at bat.
“That’s the thing about the cheap seats,” Bailee noted as she craned her neck back and forth. “Foul balls don’t make it that high. At least not when I’ve gone to games.”
“Yeah, this is like every other batter,” I said, my head whipping to the crack of a bat as another ball headed straight for us. Bailee and I dodged, and before I knew it, two men diving for the ball knocked me out of my seat. I tried to steady myself as the ball hit the side of my head with a loud thunk. The stadium spun around me as my cheek kissed the concrete, and everything went black.
TWENTY-ONE
LEE
“How’s the knee?” I asked Chris after I spotted him wince on the bench.
“Only hurts when I first stand up. I can still shake it out,” he said, grimacing as he lifted his leg.
“You made it through six innings. Take a break like Silas said, and I’ll look at it later.”
Chris nodded, drawing his brows together.
“Hey, what’s happening by first base?” He nodded behind me.
I swiveled my head around to the section opposite the dugout on the first base line. A large crowd was gathered right where Stella and Bailee were sitting, but I couldn’t find either of them.
“Ricky knocked a foul ball into the seats, and I think it hit someone,” Nate said, stepping out of the dugout to get a closer look.
