Chapter 23

LYNN

"So, wait, this is the same guy from last summer?" Sadie asks through my earbuds. "That's a curveball."

Dammit! I still with one leg stretched in front of me and my head bent toward my knee as I try to complete my post-run stretches on the front porch. I didn't mean to bring Joey up. I just called my friend to catch up, and he kind of… popped out. "Yeah," I mumble before hurrying on. "Hey, what's up with your boss? Didn't you have some flirtation going on the last time I talked to you?"

"Nice try. We're still talking about you." My former dorm big sis cuts me off. "Why do I get the sense we don't hate him anymore?"

I straighten at that. "I never hated him. I just found him a little too similar to my overbearing brothers, that's all."

"But he made a bet about you, right? Yuck."

"No! That turned out to be a misunderstanding." I jump in to defend Joey. Why do I ever open my big mouth?

I can hear her trying to stifle a chuckle. "This is quite the turnaround. I didn't think I'd hear you coming to this guy's defense after last summer."

Since I know I'm busted, I sigh and start stretching my other leg. "Yeah, well."

"So, we like him now?"

"No!" Maybe I should just smash my phone on the ground and pretend I got hit by a truck.

"Wait, I'm confused." I can picture Sadie's kind eyes and her forehead scrunched up under her gorgeous red waves, and I give in.

"Sadie, I'm not allowed to like him. He's a baseball player for the team I'm interning with. I'm going to get fired."

"I thought they weren't paying you."

I straighten again and exhale as the sun tries to blind me. "Well, they're not. But still."

"Okay, I get it. It's important for you to keep your eye on the ball and protect your future. Very smart. Good job." There's an authority in her voice that reminds me why I dialed her number in the first place.

"So, you're saying I'm doing the right thing." Yes. Excellent.

But she laughs in my ear, turning the corners of my mouth southward. "Oh, girl, I see what's happening here. You're looking for me to give you an excuse to bang this hottie."

"No, I'm not!" When did I become such a liar? "I just… think I like him."

"Well, I think it's sweet. Does he… think he likes you too?" I so deserved that.

I sigh again. "Yeah. He kind of told me this friend-zone thing isn't going to last."

"Ha! I like this guy. To think he could be the man who finally captures my little sister's heart. I might swoon just at the thought."

"Sadie!"

"What? Is it so out of left field to think you could fall in lurve?"

"You're doing this on purpose."

"Probably, but to what are you referring?"

"Curveball? Out of left field? Eye on the ball? Your baseball idioms are too on-point to be unintentional."

"No, I swear. You're way off base."

A laugh bubbles up my throat. "I've created a monster."

"Like I always say, if you're not willing to swing for the fences, why play at all?" When she's done laughing at her own joke—okay, I laugh along—she sobers. "Hey, you deserve to have someone love you up, honey."

I make a noncommittal noise in response and ask, "Have you ever been in love?" Sadie was always focused on academics when she was at school, which is probably why we bonded in the first place.

"Sadly, no. Although I thought I was in second grade when Darren Valentine gave me a dandelion at recess."

"Aww. His name was Valentine?"

"I know. Adorable, right?"

"So what happened to this blooming love affair?" I ask as I settle on the top step of the concrete porch and cradle my water bottle in my hands.

"He told me it was a weed, and it was dirty like me."

I gasp. "That little asshole!"

Sadie laughs, clearly over her heartbreak. "It all turned out okay, though. My cousin Ruby threatened to punch him if he didn't apologize, so he ended up having to apologize in front of half the class. Two other boys asked me to ‘go' with them the next day, and thus began the phase I like to call my slutty years."

I giggle. "You are really something, Sadie."

"That sounds like what someone says when they don't want to insult you, but they also don't want to lie about how awesome you're not."

"Ha! I learned it from my mama."

"Fair. Anyway, if you want my opinion, maybe you should give this Joey guy a shot—after the internship, if that makes you more comfortable."

I squint at an unfamiliar sedan in our neighbor Winston's driveway and consider her advice before responding, "I'll be back at school. Forget I said anything." It's better to leave it alone.

But Sadie's not buying it. "And this baseball player can't drive an hour? Especially in the offseason?"

Hmm. "It would be weird…wouldn't it?" This is dumb. I don't even want a boyfriend.

"Only if you make it weird. Look, babe, what's the worst that could happen?"

My heart could get smashed to smithereens. I don't say that, though, instead going with, "He could dump me, and it would be all over social media, making me a laughingstock across campus and the entire state."

"Lynn!" Sadie huffs. "Remind me to work on your manifesting skills next time we see each other. I don't think you understand how this shit is supposed to work."