Home Run Kiss

Eight

The only person that showed up this morning was Noah. I was a little disappointed, but it was pretty early and chilly, so I understood why the rest of the boys didn't show up. Noah teased me a little about my squeaky shoes, and then we were off on our run. He didn't do that bad, but he did slow me down a little. I didn't mind it; I had a lot of fun with him. We agreed to run together more often, which made me incredibly happy.

The rest day went by quick enough. During the day, the baseball group chat had gotten a text from Taylor to meet at the baseball diamond for something, but he didn't explain what for. I didn't want to go, but Granger persuaded me to come. We walked toward the baseball field. I questioned him on why we had to go there since Taylor didn't explain why we had to be there, but he was silent the whole way. We made it through the school, and then Granger opened the side door for me. As I stepped out into the chilly February air, I pulled my sweater closer around me. Unfortunately for me, I decided to wear a dress that day, and it barely hit the middle of my shins. I could feel my skin prickle up as the cold air brushed over my legs. 

Most of the baseball boys were already on the field, which was strange. They were never that early when they had to practice. They all had their phones out, looking like they were waiting for something. "Granger, seriously, what's going on?" I asked him as we stepped through the gate to the baseball diamond. 

"You'll see in a second."

My eyes scanned over the boys, and I saw Noah at the back of the group. He wasn't bent over his phone like the rest of the boys, but he was staring straight forward. Ditching Granger, I ran over to him, tapping his shoulder with my hand. "Noah, what's going on?"

"We're getting ready to play a game," he said, turning to face me. He had an excited gleam in his dark eyes, and that made me frown. "It's a special game us baseball boys play. We also include the girlfriends and Sophie, but since Sophie isn't here and you are, you get to play with us. Trust me, you'll have fun."

My phone buzzed in my sweater pocket, so I quickly grab it. Sophie texted me and said that I had to call her right now. A small tendril of worry snaked its way through my body, so I clicked the call button. Sophie answered on the first ring, saying, "Are you with the baseball boys and their girlfriends?"

"Yes." My frown deepened. "Are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine. I just want to hear what's going on."

Rolling my eyes, I put her on speaker and held my phone out. Noah glanced at it and laughed when he saw Sophie's name. My eyes travelled along the rest of the group, and I noticed a couple of girls that I had met in my classes. They must be the girlfriends. Lucky them. 

"Alright, everyone is here," Taylor said, his rich voice ringing out into the chilly air. I could see him towering over the rest of the group. "We are back for the yearly game we play: Water Wielder!" An excited rumble started, spreading through me like an earthquake. "Sophie, our old manager, made the teams, and I will be reading them off soon! For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about," he said, his eyes landing on me, "this game is where you are teamed up and then every week, you get a target to try and get out. You have to use water guns to get them out and then text the group chat that you got them out with picture evidence."

Teams? Hopefully I wouldn't be paired up with one of the boys I didn't know. I really didn't want to do this game either, so I hoped that Sophie didn't team me up with anyone. She knew me well enough that I was busy enough as it was, though she did want me to venture out of my comfort zone. I could see her now, pairing me up with a random kid. Great. 

Taylor read off the names for the teams, and soon enough, there was only a couple people left who didn't have teams. Noah, Granger, Xian, Taylor, a girl I didn't know that well, and I were left, which was kind of a good thing. 

"Lola and Noah," Taylor said, and then laughed to himself. "How cute. Their names rhyme."

"Thanks, Soph," I whispered to my phone before ending the call. Turning toward Noah, and I grinned at him. "Looks like we're partners."

"This is going to be amazing. You're a fast runner and I'm a great hider," he said, a huge smile on his face. "Do you have good aim? Because we use water guns to get the team we're assigned out."

"Sure."

Noah started moving toward Taylor, and I noticed a bag full of water guns sitting next to him. Noah picked up toward guns and came back to me, handing me my gun. His fingers brushed against mine for a second as I took it from him. I ignored the feeling in my chest. It was probably just heartburn, that feeling that was circulating through my chest. It really couldn't have been anything else. 

"I'll explain the ins and outs of the game to you later," Noah said with a nod to me. "I have to go now, but be careful. The boys know how to play already and they might try to get you since you're new and all."

I held my water gun close to me and said, "Got it. I'll try not to get out."

"Good." He offered me a smile. "Let's win this thing!"