Page 75 of Convincing the Catcher

Her hair is slicked back into a low braid today and parted in the middle. She, along with the other softballers, wear their hair like this a lot. It makes them look pretty badass, I’ll admit.

She’s wearing black leggings and an NEU softball fleece, and even though she’s avoided me since we’ve been back on campus, this cafeteria isn’t all that big. She can’t elude me forever.

Clyde finishes talking, and I simply nod and shake his hand before smiling.

“It was great talking with you, Mr. Hues. Thanks again for all you do, and I hope to see you at the field this spring.”

Before he can say anything else, I see Tripp and my mom walk in. I release his hand and walk away because while I appreciate what all these donors do, some of them are absolute assholes.

Rich assholes, which are the worst kind.

Walking over to my mom and Tripp, I hold my hand out to my stepdad, and he shakes it before pulling me against him and slapping my back.

“There’s my dude,” he says, dropping my hand. “Sorry we’re late. Aviana forgot her homework at the house, so we had to turn around and go get it to drop it off to her.”

I hug my mom, and she smiles up at me. “Hey, babe. How are you?”

“I’m good,” I say, clearing my throat. “Since you guys are donors, can I just talk to you the rest of the time?” I chuckle, cringing. “Some of these people are assholes.”

“Oh, you met Clyde?” Tripp says, laughing. “I think he sucked as a kid, and if I had to guess, he got cut from the team and now uses his money to dictate the program.”

He glances at my mom, who’s shaking her head at him.

“Hey, it’s just an assumption, but … if the shoe fits.”

My mom swats at him but giggles before she cocks her head to the side.

“How is your friend Harland now that she’s back on campus?” she asks quietly, I’m sure not wanting to risk anyone else hearing.

My mom isn’t the type who harps on things in a way that’s overbearing. She likes to know what’s going on with her kids, but she also respects our boundaries. Her asking about Harland is strictly out of concern because as a mom whose kids lost their dad, she knows how hard it is.

“Well,” I say, glancing over in the corner of the room just as Harland hugs her coach, “I’m not really sure. We’ve both been busy, so I haven’t really talked to her much.”

When I look at my mom again, I can tell right away that she sees through me. When I went back to Montana, I told her that Harland was just a friend, and even though she did what she always does and didn’t push for more, I’m sure she knows deep down that I’m not the type of guy who would skip practice to be with a girl unless she meant a lot to me. So, right now, she probably knows that when I say we’re too busy to talk, what I really mean is … the girl is fucking ghosting me.

“Well, just remember to be there for her as best you can.” She nods. “Now off you go. You need to go thank donors and make everyone see you’re not a little asshole who ruins other teams’ dugouts on your Friday nights.” She waves me off. “Love ya!”

“That was harsh.” I frown, glancing at my stepdad. “She’s kind of mean.”

“I’m on her side,” Tripp says instantly, holding his hands up. “And she’s right. Go talk to some rich people. Maybe they’ll put money toward a new scoreboard.” He winks.

“True.” I chuckle, knowing that ours is getting a little ratty-looking.

Eventually, I saunter away, off to talk to more people—which is the last thing I want to be doing right now.

My mom calls something to me, but when I turn to glance back at her, I run into someone. When I go to apologize, my eyes lock with Harland’s, and once again, I’m wondering if the universe hates me or loves me. Because this could be good … or really bad.

“Sorry, Catch,” I drawl, running my hand up the back of my head. “Wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking, I guess.”

“It’s fine,” she mutters, not wanting to look at me at first.

Finally, she does, and the way her green eyes pop when she has her hair pulled back away from her face makes my heart skip a fucking beat.

“How have you been?” she asks, surprising me.

I think I expected she’d just rush away.

“I’ve been all right,” I say, nodding and keeping my hand on the back of my head. “You?”