Annette and Garrett are already standing by the backstop. They could be posing for a picture themselves. Garrett’s got one hand against the fence, a fitted blue Henley shoved up his forearms and muscles on display across his shoulders and back. Annette is looking up at him, somehow leaning in and arching back at the same time. He looks like he’s never been happier.
Why not? She probably thinks it’s great he wants to keep playing. She can massage his arm every night and kiss his scars.
Annette sees me then, and she shifts away. I notice a camera bag hanging over one shoulder as she smiles and waves a hand.
I still kind of hate her.
When I reach them, Garrett’s got his hands in his jeans pockets, but I can feel his tension as if we’re tuned to the same station.
“I see you’re wearing my favorite sandals,” he says.
“I live to make you happy.” They’re words we might have said teasingly a week ago, but now they sound flat. Empty. The way I feel. “Where do you want us?” I ask Annette.
“Let’s try it with you guys in the broadcast booth.”
Garrett gestures for me to go first. He’s careful not to touch me as he takes a seat on his stool. I move mine a few inches away, and we get settled while Annette unpacks her camera.
She finally takes a look at us and shakes her head. “You’re too far apart.”
“It’s how we sit when we broadcast,” I say.
“Nope. Garrett, slide closer.”
I hear the stool scrape along the ground, and the hairs on my neck rise to attention.
She takes a look through her viewfinder. “Closer.”
Another scraping sound. The leg of his stool is so close I can see it out of the corner of my eye.
“That’s better.”
Garrett shifts on the stool, and my pulse quickens. “Josie, can you lean right a little? Yep. That’s it.” She lowers her camera to give us a smile. “You guys fit together perfectly.”
No, we don’t.
But I can feel that we do. I roll my shoulders, shaking off the thought that if I just leaned back…
His breath is warm on my cheek, reminding me of the other day in his room. I swear I hear him inhale as if he’s smelling me. Heat shivers down my spine. “Are you done?” I blurt to Annette.
“I haven’t started.” She laughs. “You both look like you’re delivering bad news.”
“We’re serious broadcasters.”
She snaps a series of pics, shifting one way and then the other. I hold my breath, which is probably why a few minutes feels like an hour. “Let me check and make sure I’ve got something here.” She turns her back to us, finding some shade to review the photos. “Don’t move,” she adds.
Shit.
A minute passes. Then another. I flash back to the Haunted House at Disneyland where the walls start to press in.
He clears his throat. “Did you video Mai?”
“I did. She asked the same question she did in the car.”
“You want to prepare the answer for that? Or should I?”
“I can do it. I also got her dad on video asking why some baseballs have colored laces.”
“Good.”
I nod stiffly. All of me is stiff as I try not to move. Not to let an inch of me touch an inch of him. It feels like it’s a million degrees in here.
“I tried a few practice questions in the cafeteria. We’ll have to plant some so we can cover the topics we want, but I think it’ll work.”
“Excellent.” I sound like a recording of a robot.
“Can you meet after school on Monday to put them together?”
“I’ve got inventory on Monday.”
“Tuesday we have a game. What about Wednesday?”
My throat is suddenly so tight it actually hurts when I swallow. “I can’t on Wednesday.”
“I mean after your Book Club.”
“I have a date.”
His breath sucks in, and the tension flares between us. My shoulder blades feel like they’re on fire. I don’t care what Annette says. I slide off my stool and move to the doorway. Crossing my arms over my chest, I breathe Garrett-free air.
Annette leans in. “Hang on. Don’t go anywhere. I’ve got one I like but I’m trying to see if I can adjust the lighting.”
“I’m sure whatever you have will be fine.” But she’s already hunched over her camera again.
“A date?” Garrett’s face is unreadable. “With who? That guy at the bookstore?”
“His name is Bryan.”
He leans to his side and rests one hand on the counter, but it’s an awkward movement. Or maybe it’s that I feel awkward. “You guys are dating now?”
“It’s our first date. We’re going to an author event.”
“Oh. Sounds…fun.”
“It does.” I ignore the sarcasm in his voice. “Which is why I said yes.”
“Great.” He stands and shoves his stool under the counter. “Really great.”
“Okay,” Annette says. “I think we’ve got a couple that will work.” She pauses as she looks from Garrett to me, and her smile vanishes. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing,” he says.
In near perfect unison, we say, “Everything is great.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Should or must?” Mai demands. “I’m taking a vote.”
“I abstain,” Avi says.
“Me too,” Jasmine adds quickly, raising a hand to make sure she’s officially off the hook.
Mai points a finger at me before I can say a word. “No abstentions.”
We’re sitting in the cafeteria, and I’m munching leftover meatloaf in a tortilla. It’s better than it sounds. The four of us have been eating lunch together since our sophomore year when we bonded during a Walk for the Cure. Circling the school track for six hours can do that. Avi and Jasmine are brains like Mai, and though we don’t do much outside of school, I’m glad they’re both staying in-state for college.
“You first,” Mai says to me. There’s a plea threaded with the demand. The days are flying by. March is now April, and Mai thought she’d