Basics [A Sandlot Story]

11 || Earth Shaker

The following morning, the air had that beautiful clean smell to it - the kind that only came about after the kind of insane rain they'd had yesterday.

Ty pulled herself out of bed early, ruminating over her meeting with Tony the previous evening. Her mother hadn't been happy when she'd finally returned, and didn't buy her fib about having to hunt around the store for the right kind of flour. But she hadn't grounded her, which she considered a win.

It wasn't until she'd dressed in preparation for a run that she realised his jacket was hanging off the end of her bed. She felt her cheeks burn crimson, remembering the way he'd draped it over her shoulders, letting his fingertips skim her arms. It hadn't even been cold - not really.

Clearing her throat, she resisted the urge to stuff it as deep into her closet as it would go, as if that would make it disappear. Instead, she tied it to her waist and headed for the front door. She knew vaguely where the di Marello house was, thanks to Phillips' guided tours of the Valley. It would just have to be a stop on her run today.

Getting into the rhythm of a run was always the hardest part. Ty's head always tried to rule over her instincts, measuring her breathing instead of letting it time itself to her footfalls. By the time she settled, she'd reached the main street, and the street lights began to flick off in the burgeoning daylight. This was one of her favourite times of day - the tiniest moment between first light and sunrise, before everyone was up and about, and when the air was still and quiet.

At the end of the road, she turned east, away from the ocean breeze and into the light of the rising sun. Twenty minutes later, she'd made it to the part of town Tony lived in, and the world had started stirring. She was having to avoid people on the sidewalk now - tradesmen and women hurrying on their way to work, mothers and children hand in hand, determined to make the most of the day before the California sun made it unbearable to be outdoors. It took her a few tries, but eventually she found the right street, and she slowed to a walk, untying the jacket from its place on her waist and looping it over an arm.

The sidewalk ended abruptly not twenty metres from the corner, leaving brown grass underfoot. The little cul-de-sac was lined with squat, wonky houses, most paved with white stucco and tiled with terracotta roofs. She found the right one completely by accident.

"Ty?" Tony called to her from across the road, rising from behind his bicycle. "What are you doing here?"

Ty crossed. A little row of sad-looking azaleas had mostly hidden him from where she'd been standing, and now she could see the array of tools on the ground, and the parts she assumed were for the bike. Holding his jacket aloft, she considered him. The skin under his eye had turned a dark purple.

"Came to return this." She told him. Tony took it from her, looking between them, eyebrows raised.

"You could have just given this to me tomorrow."

Ty fought the blush creeping up her neck. She hadn't wanted to wait until Phillips' meticulously planned pizza party at the clubhouse. She knew she'd never hear the end of it otherwise.

"I was out anyway." She shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant. "Thanks for lending it to me."

The confusion didn't leave his face, but he didn't contradict her. "No problem."

They stood in quiet, awkward silence for a moment.

"Well, I think I should head off - " Ty jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "I think I can get a few more miles in before it gets too hot."