What a Shortstop Does

Part 1

Chapter 1: Cliché

Being a lesbian as a softball player seemed a little cliché. But there it was, Sarah was a lesbian.

Not that she was ashamed of this realization, she just didn't expect it. She rarely shared details of her sex life with anyone. Well, lack of sex life. Which is probably why it took her until sophomore year of college to put the actual label on her sexuality.

"Sarah, I mean, I appreciate you telling me, but, like...I knew that? I mean, I've known you were gay." Her roommate, teammate, and best friend, Carly, giggled through the phone.

"How did you know? I didn't even know!" Sarah groaned as she tossed her long, dirty blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

"What do you mean? Sarah, of course you are. I never brought it up because I thought you just didn't want to talk about that kind of stuff. But it's not like the obvious signs weren't there." Carly giggled again as Sarah switched the phone to her other ear and resumed pacing around the park. She had no idea what possessed her to stop her daily run and call her roommate to come out, but here she was, sweating, pacing, and bearing her secrets over the phone.

"What signs?"

Carly took a deep breath through the receiver. "Well, you've never brought up guys in any kind of sexual context. You actively cringe when you get hit on by them. But with girls you're smitten, like, you just show more interest. Also, you watch lesbian porn."

"How the fuck do you know what kind of porn I watch?!" A jogger passing Sarah in the park blanched at her outburst and quickly slipped by her on the path.

"Hon, we're roommates... and I might have peeked at your browsing history once or twice." Carly didn't even have the decency to sound embarrassed.

"Carly, that's really weird."

"I'm nosy! I can't help it. Anyway, is that why you called me at ten in the morning on a Saturday? Just to tell me you like tacos more than hot dogs?"

"You're gross."

"You know it!"

Sarah sighed. "No, I called you because I thought you'd like to know before we sign our housing applications for the fall. I wanted to be honest and give you a chance to pick a different roommate."

There was a pregnant pause. Sarah waited for one of the hundreds of scenarios she'd imagined. Since her realization a few weeks ago, Sarah had played coming out to her best friend over and over in her head. She had no reason to think Carly would freak out, after all, about half of their team was gay. But working with teammates is still different from living together. She didn't want Carly to be uncomfortable. She wanted to give her friend an out to choose a new roommate, one who wasn't a confused lesbian. But of course, Carly broke the silence in a truly Carly-way.

"Sarah, are you going to start hitting on me?"

"What? No, I-"

"Are you going to have lesbian orgies in our room?"

"Carly, what the hell? Ew-"

"Are you going to keep watching tv with me, help me study, and clean up after my microwave messes?"

"I-," Sarah paused, Carly was the messiest cook she'd ever met, it was their running joke that Carly could ruin microwaving water. Sarah's heart beat with hope, "Yeah, I will."

"Then I don't need another roommate. I've got mine. Okay?"

Sarah couldn't help it, she teared up a bit. "Okay."