The Game Changer (38 page)

“Great,” I say dryly, rolling my eyes at both of them. De gives me an apologetic look.

Stephen, who is left out of the loop, asks what’s wrong.

“Nothing, it’s Alexa, she likes to give Jesse a hard time,” Deanna answers.

“Oh… That’s right… Luke,” he answers quietly, reminded how I turned him down originally because of Luke.

There’s a moment of awkwardness before Timmy changes the subject. “Steph, let’s go look for Gary.” The two of them walk away to talk with one of the bouncers standing by the door.

“JJ, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he was coming with Timmy. I know you’re feeling uncomfortable.”

“I know you didn’t. It just doesn’t look right with Luke being away. I know how I would feel. I know he trusts me, but still.”

“I’m sure once we get inside, he’ll meet up with the rest of the guys,” De reassures.

Timmy and Stephen’s friend, Gary, call us over and waves us in. We push through the crowd, following Timmy and Stephen as they make their way to the bar. Stephen leans in close, because the music is blaring, to ask De and I what we want to drink. Minutes later, Timmy turns and hands De and I our drinks. While Stephen and he remain at the bar, waving over their friends from across the room to join them, De and I head out to the overly crowded dance floor.

As the band finished up with their first set, we head back to the bar. I check my phone, one missed message. It’s Luke:
Havin’ fun?????
It reads. Underneath is a picture
that looked to be
, Stephen and me getting cozy as he whispers in my ear.

“Look!” I inconspicuously hold out my phone to De. “That didn’t take long.”

“That Bitch,” De steams. “I am going over there right now! Who does she think she is?”

“No, don’t. I don’t want to give her the satisfaction... Let me call him. I’ll take care of it. Don’t say anything to her,” I say, trying to remain calm and keep her from doing something stupid. I push through the crowd, making my way out of the huge wooden doors. I sit down on a ledge outside of CJ’s, away from the crowds and loud music. I dial Luke’s number nervously. It’s hard to tell his mood from the text.

“What’s up?” he answers, sounding cocky. Not the usual way he greets me.

“Hi. I know, I’d be pissed if that were you...
but
... you have to consider the source,” I nervously rattle on how De and I didn’t know that Stephen would be with Timmy when he came to pick us up. I tell him the picture is not what it looks like. “Luke, you know how loud the music is here. He leaned in to ask what De and I were drinking. It was innocent on his part. He knows we’re together. She must have been waiting with her phone to snap a picture, but she somehow managed to cut out the part that showed De on the other side of him. Honestly, we haven’t been with him all night. He’s hanging with his friends. You know she loves to start trouble with me.” I pause, waiting for his response.

After a moment of silence, he finally answers, “Yeah, alright… Whatever. I’ll let you get back to your party.” Still not the tone I’m used to.

“Luke, please tell me you’re not mad. Do not let her get between us. I really miss you.”

“Really? It’s doesn’t look that way from here,” he says sarcastically.

“Please don’t be like that. You know that was nothing,” I plead, hating the fact that we are this far apart.

There is a few seconds of silence before he answers. “You’re right. I don’t want to argue. I know she likes to start trouble,” He still doesn’t sound quite himself, but at least he’s talking. He tells me about his game and how well Mikey’s been doing. We say we love each other before we hang up, but I’m not feeling satisfied with the way we leave things. Something in his voice still isn’t right, I know Luke well enough to know he isn’t his usual self.

Before I go back inside, I text Cathy. I head back through the big wooden doors where the blaring sound of the music fills the room. Everyone seems to be having a good time, I find De and Timmy standing by the back bar with the rest of his friends. I tell De, again, not to say anything to Alexa, I won’t give her the satisfaction of thinking she stirred up trouble for us. De totally understands when I tell her Cathy is on her way to pick me up. I don’t feel much like staying anymore.

As Cathy and I bash Alexa on our way home, I receive a text from Luke.
Sorry I acted like an ass. Didn’t mean to make u feel bad. Love u. Have fun
. I reply that I love him, too, and am on my way home. I really want to hear it in his voice, so I give him a call when I get in.

The next morning, De and I head to one of our favorite boutiques on the boardwalk. I want to look nice tonight; not my usual shorts, t-shirts and sneakers that I usually wear to the games. After searching through the racks of clothes, we finally find a pretty turquoise and brown cotton sundress that is adorable, but casual enough to wear to a game.

The traffic on the parkway seems to be heavier than usual and it feels like it takes forever to get there. By the time we arrive, the team is already on the field and Luke is in the bullpen warming up. I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see each other before the game, but I make my way down to the stands, towards the team’s dugout. As the team heads in my direction, I call out to Luke so that he can see that I’m here. He spots me and gives me a wink as he heads for the mound.

I love watching Luke pitch almost as much as I love spending time with him alone. It’s all a part of what makes him who he is. He just gets more amazing each time I see him. After another win
under his belt, we wait outside the ballpark for him and Mikey while hundreds of people hurry past us towards the parking lot.

“Hey, Luke should be right behind me,” Mikey says with his hair still wet from showering as he kisses Maria and I hello. “Where’s DeDe?” he asks, looking around.

“She didn’t come,” Maria answers.

“Really? Wait till I see her... She hardly came to see us all summer... I guess we’re not famous enough for her,” he jokes, hiding the disappointment written all over his handsome face.

Luke comes up behind me, draping his arm around my waist as he kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear that I looked beautiful. It sends chills throughout my whole body and makes me blush at his PDA. Lucca asks if the boys have time to get something to eat with us before they have to be back on the bus, but they only have about a half hour to spare before they have to leave.

“Shit. I left my phone charger plugged into the outlet in the locker room. JJ, take a walk with me,” Luke says as he takes my hand, leading me away.
“We’ll meet you by the bus,” he yells back to his mom, dad and Mikey.

“I think that was kind of obvious,” I say, laughing and holding tightly onto his arm as I try to keep up as we make our way back into the almost empty ballpark. He swiftly pushes pass the traffic of people, heading in the opposite direction. Luke leads me to a spot at the end of the stands that seems to be the farthest section away, towards the outfield. He finds a secluded spot, behind a huge pillar that blocks the view of the field.

“Wow, does anyone ever sit out here? You can’t see a thing. Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?” I ask as he picks me up and I wrap my legs tightly around his waist.

“Sure we are,” he whispers as he passionately kisses behind my ear and neck. “You look unbelievable tonight. Am I forgiven for last night?” He asks, not waiting for an answer as he covers my mouth with his and skillfully maneuvers our clothes so they will not interfere in his quest to have me right here.

“Uh, huh,” I moan, not wanting to waste one second talking until after we satisfy our need for each other.

Afterwards, we sit in one of the seats as he cradles me in his arms. I rest my head against his broad chest, listening to the sound of his pounding heart; not ever wanting to leave. “I love you,” I say quietly.

“I love you, too... so much,” He answers as he squeezes me tightly. “I’ve missed you really bad lately. I guess that’s why I got all nuts last night. I acted like an asshole.”

“You weren’t that bad.”

“Yeah, I was…
for a minute
. Mikey settled me down before I talked to you.”

“What?” I ask, not knowing what he was talking about.

“Well, I got back to the locker room after the game, I check my phone, figuring you called,  view my messages and the first one to pop up is you looking all hot with that jerk off whispering in your ear,” He says sarcastically.

“What did you think? Didn’t you figure Alexa was pulling one of her stunts?” I exclaim.

“To be honest, I was confused. At first, I just saw the picture. I didn’t look to see who sent it; I didn’t know what was goin’ on. Then, when I realized it was her, I think that pissed me off more. Of all people, she’s the last person I want in our business.”

“Luke, really... that upsets me. How could you think for even a second, that it would be anything more than something innocent?” I interrupt.

“I told you, it was only a minute. Mikey picked my phone up off the floor… Thankfully, I didn’t break it.” He chuckles as he continues, “he was like… ‘Dude, are you kiddin’ me? This is nothin’. This is Alexa startin’ trouble. JJ’s the best. She’s the last person you’d ever have to worry about doing somethin’ like that.’ And that was it, I knew he was right. I reacted before I thought about it. Dumb, huh?” he asks as he holds me tightly in his arms.

“Very dumb, but I probably would have felt the same way. How come when I called, you still seemed upset with me after you realized it was nothing?”

“I was bein’ an asshole, takin’ it out on you that I got pissed off in the first place.”

“Nice,” I answer sarcastically

“I thought you said I was forgiven?” he asks as he nuzzles my neck.

“You are.” I take his face between my hands and kiss him gently on his lips, hating that we’re already out of time and have to join the others.

(
Luke)

Mikey and I stand in the locker room, hardly able to believe that it is our last day at Duchess Stadium. We played our last game last night. We have a few things to wrap up with our coaches before heading home for the off season. It’s almost as if we’ve been in a dream; this past February we were starting our senior year, playing ball for Bay Point High and today we’re pros. We have to admit, as we often do, we both finished with strong performances and are excited to see what the future holds for us. Mikey, especially, has stepped up his game, he’s gotten stronger and he’s not just a huge asset behind the plate, but at bat as well. He’s been killing the ball all season. He’s played a huge part in our winning record. It’s great being here together so we can push each other to go further and further.

As we clean out our lockers, stuffing our things into our duffle bags, saying our goodbyes to the few remaining guys, coach yells out from his office, “Frick and Frack, stop by the office on your way out.” It’s usually how the team refers to Mikey and I, since we’re always together, even the local media got wind of it and it’s been mentioned in the local papers. We both look at each other, curious to hear what he has to say as we anxiously make our way to his office.

After coach congratulates us on a season well done, he gives word to Mikey that he got called up immediately to play the last couple of weeks with the Bowling Green Hot Rods in Kentucky. Their catcher was on the DL after suffering a torn ligament in last night’s game. They want Mikey suited up for tonight’s game. We are then instructed that we will both be reporting to the Fall Instructional League in Port Charlotte by the twenty-fifth of September. After giving Mikey a few last minute flight instructions, we say our goodbyes and head out.

“Man, can you believe this?” Mikey asks excitedly.

“No, it’s like a dream, this whole thing. It’s crazy. I can’t believe you’re gonna be playin’ with the Hot Rods tonight… It’s awesome!” I answer.

“Yo! I think this is the first time, we’re not goin’ to be together.”

“Awe, what are you sayin’? You’re gonna miss me?” I joke.

“Well, I don’t think I’m goin’ to miss you. Actually, I think I need a break from you for a few weeks.”

“Oh, now that’s funny. You need a break from me?” I ask sarcastically.

We continue the bantering on the drive back, both excited for his opportunity. We pack the car, thank Mary and Henry and head to the airport.

“I guess you’ll go from Kentucky right to Florida?” I ask.

“Yeah, probably. We’ll see. I have everything I need with me now. Do you think you could drive the car down? This way, we’ll have it in Florida?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“So what’s the rush? I don’t have to be there for another two hours,” he says laughing, referring to my heavy foot.

I bust out laughing, knowing that he knows me too well. Maybe it’s a good idea we spend a couple weeks apart. “I told JJ we weren’t getting home until Monday night. I want to surprise her.”

“I figured. Not to mention, get that last beach day in and party at the inlet tonight?”

“Labor Day Weekend. You know how that goes.”

“Ah, man, don’t make me homesick.”

“You’re gonna have an awesome time playing with them,” I assure him.