Chapter 11

As soon as Gina and I made our way through the entrance, I spotted the big event tent and heard loud music coming from it. Kids with their parents rushed by us in order to get to it.

"I wonder what's going on over there," Gina said.

"Cody didn't tell you? The guys are signing autographs before the game."

"How do you know?"

"Crew told me."

"Crew?" She stopped, eyeing me curiously. "Are you guys talking now?"

I shrugged.

"Why is it you tell me nothing?"

"Nothing to tell," I said as we headed toward the tent. Three long tables were set up, and the baseball players sat on one side while the little kids stopped to visit each player, getting autographs on photos, balls, or bats while their parents took photos.

"Look how good he is with kids," Gina gushed.

I knew she meant Cody, but my eyes were focused on Crew, who sat at the very end of the line of players. Kid after kid approached him, and, to my surprise, he took his time speaking to each of them. His eyes shifted between the kid and whatever he was signing for them with a genuine smile on his face. The mothers always stood nearby; their smiles were just as wide as their kids'.

I wasn't blind.

I understood the charm. Crew was good-looking, athletic, and his lines were convincing. But he was no different than the others. He proved it with the number of girls I'd seen him with in the short time I'd been back. He'd make them fall for him. Then, he'd find another one in some other town. It was inevitable.

As if he could sense me staring across the tent, his eyes lifted to mine and a slow smile spread across his face. Of course, he'd think I was there for him. So, instead of letting him think he was right, I raised my middle finger to my cheek and scratched.

He laughed before returning his attention to the kid in front of him, smiling at him like whatever he was saying was the most important thing he'd heard all day.

"Let's go get a spot," I said to Gina.

"You go. I wanna watch Cody interact with the kids some more. It's so adorable."

"Suit yourself." I turned and made my way over to the first base line.

Other families greeted me as I took a spot on the grass. I stared out at the field as the groundkeeper raked the dirt around home plate, getting lost in my thoughts.

I wondered how many sides there were to Crew. The athlete. The womanizer. The hero to little kids. The caretaker. I pulled out my phone, wondering why it took me so long to stalk his socials. Surprisingly, he didn't have any, so I searched up his name. Baseball photos appeared first. Some were high school photos while many were college photos. He hadn't changed too much over the years. His jawline had definitely become more defined and chiseled and muscles had filled out his short-sleeved jersey. I continued to scroll and stumbled upon photos of him at parties with girls and teammates clearly pulled from social media. A tinge of jealousy swirled inside me.

"Whatcha doing?"

I flipped off my phone and looked up to find Sam standing there. "Hey."

"Glad you made it to another game," he said. "Figured you were done for the season."

"Yet, here I am."

"Hoping to see me?" he asked.

I laughed.

"Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye last night," he said.

"Yeah, sorry. I got so tired all of a sudden."

"No worries. As long as you were okay."

"Hey, I bet you made some kid's day today," I said, swiftly changing the subject.

He smiled. "Yeah. They love meeting us."

"I still have all of my autographs from when I was a kid," I said.

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Never missed a game."

"You want my autograph?" he asked.

"Will it be worth something someday?"

"Let's hope so."

Someone called Sam's name, and he turned to see who it was. He looked back to me. "I gotta go get changed. You staying for the whole game?"

I shrugged. "If I don't get bored."

He laughed before disappearing toward the field house.

I switched my phone back on and continued my search. I read through some articles about Crew's stats and the many awards he'd won. He was on a full ride to Alabama for baseball.

"Well, that was fun," Gina said as she approached holding a blanket.

"Did you clean up the drool?" I asked as she spread out the blanket beside me.

"Shut up. It was adorable," she said as she sat down on the blanket. "I couldn't help but watch."

I scooted onto the blanket.

"Did you know the sponsorship banquet's tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Why would I know that? Or care?"

"Because, besides the Fourth of July which you missed, you know it's the biggest event of the summer and all the host families go."

"Lucky for you, your family didn't host this year," I said.

"Yes, but Cody invited me," she countered.

"Exciting," I said, trying to sound excited for her.

"Are you going with your—"

"Absolutely not."

"Well, then I have good news. Cody said I could bring you. You can sit with us and his host family."

"No, thanks."

"Please."

"You don't need me there," I assured her.

"Of course I do. If you don't recall, there were many summers that I followed you around on your crazy adventures, most of them involving cute boys. I never said no. I just acted as your loyal wingman. Now, I finally have something going well for me, and you want to deny me this happiness?"

I rolled onto my back. "Ohmigod. Could you be any more dramatic?"

"Absolutely," she said.

I laughed, knowing she was right. Summer after summer I dragged her on missions to find cute boys, and she never once let me down.

"What else are you gonna be doing?" she persisted.

"Painting my nails. Scrolling social media. Sleeping."

"Peyton?"

"Fine."

"Fine?" she asked.

I pushed myself back up. "I'll go to the ridiculous banquet."

"You will?"

"Don't make me say it again."

She squealed. "Thank you! We're gonna have so much fun."

"Speak for yourself," I said, very aware the whole night was gonna suck.

"Let's go shopping for dresses," she said, like it was the most fun thing we could do together.

"Let's," I said, my tone telling her just how unappealing it sounded.

"Don't worry. You'll be in our wedding," she said.

My brows shot up. "What?"

"When all of this works out, and Cody and I decide to get married, I want you to be my maid of honor."

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we, crazy girl?" I asked.

"I'm manifesting it," she explained. "I'm putting it out in the universe to make it happen."

"Uh-huh."

"And, because of your help, I know it will."

"I know what you're doing," I assured her.

"What am I doing?"

"You're making it so I can't back out, even if I want to."

She pressed her hand to her chest. "Me?"

I swatted her hand away from her chest. "Yes, you conniving little bitch."

She laughed. "You know, you're the only one I'd ever let call me that?"

"I love ya, bitch."

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of the night I felt a slight tugging around my neck. I swatted at it and heard soft laughter in the darkness. It was Crew lying beside me, and I realized he was toying with the shells on my necklace.

"What time is it?" I muttered.

"Three a.m."

"Did you just get in?"

"I think so," he said, a slight slur to his words.

"Wild night?"

He chuckled. "How could it be? You weren't there."

I didn't respond, but it didn't matter. He continued playing with the shells around my neck. "I like your necklace…"

"Yeah?"

"It's pretty like you."

I groaned. "How much did you drink tonight?"

"How'd you know I had some drinks?"

"Because not only are you slurring, you're talking crazy."

"No, I'm not. Your necklace is pretty," he said. "And so are you."

I tried not to smile.

"Pretty, powerful, proud…Peyton is," Crew said. "See? I'm a poet too."

"Drunk is what you are."

"Are you going to school to be a poet?' he asked.

"That‘s not a real thing. I'm going to be a journalist."

"Be a sports journalist so you can write about me," he said.

"You know, you won't get to the pros by going out and getting wasted."

"I can get wasted if I wanna. We've got a night off tomorrow."

"Yeah, I heard. You've got the big banquet."

"You gonna be there?" he asked.

"Why?"

He finally released my necklace and fell onto his back. "So I can see you," he mumbled before the soft purr of sleep replaced his words.