Who Says Girls and Baseball Don't Mix?

Chapter Three: Step Up To The Plate... With A New Friend

River's POV

We win. By three points, we win. Bay hit a double on his first time to bat; I hit a single, which he turns into a double, scoring our first point. Ryan hits me in on an amazing triple that fell in between Austin and James. After that, Brady hits him in on a single and it just went downhill from there. It had been three up, three down each inning up until the final inning and Gordon and Ryan finally called it. It is about ten o'clock.

Gordon is yelling at his team as we walk off the field. Ryan and Riley are smiling and laughing at Gordon's very...odd face when he yells. Everyone else, minus me, are all heading toward their cars. Most of them are talking with Bay, about life back in New York, while he just smiles and loves the attention. I roll my eyes and keep walking.

What came over me when I saw Jaxon? I haven't felt that way in almost six months. I sigh and look down at my hands. I frown, looking around. Crap! I forgot my glove and my bat bag. I turn back around and start hurrying back to the field. As I pass Bay, I shout, "Hey, I forgot my bag! You go on home without me. I can walk. It isn't that far."

My brother waves his hand in acknowledgement. I roll my eyes and keep walking. Gordon walks pass me, his arm wrapped around his girlfriend. I avert my eyes immediately and stare at the ground. But I don't avert for very long. Gordon and Brittany stop right in front of me. I raise my eyes, cocking an eyebrow. He coughs and Brittany nudges him. "Good game," he says, but it sounds forced. "I guess I may be seeing you on the baseball team this next year."

I nod to him and keep walking. Brittany hisses something to him, but if it is to say something else, he doesn't do it. I hear their footsteps walk off and I smile to myself, keeping forward. I head to the dugout, swinging around one of the fence poles, pulling myself into the dugout. I see my bat bag leaning up against the bench with my glove sitting right on top of it. I walk over and grab it. I swing it up onto my shoulder and head out of the dugout, right as I hear someone running. I look around and see a blurry dark shape over by the fence, running toward the first baseline.

I start walking back toward the fence, heading to the parking lot, but I keep my eyes on the blurry shape. It reaches the first base baseline, touches it, and turns around, jogging back. My bat bag bounces slowly against my back and I pause as the shadow comes into the view as he nears the third base baseline.

It's that Jaxon guy. He turns back around to start again but stops when he sees me walking over. He smiles at me, drawing an arm across his sweaty forehead. And that's when I notice he's completely shirtless. I avert my eyes as I get closer.

"Hey," he says kindly. "What are you still doing here?"

"I forgot my bat bag and glove," I tell him, still looking at more of his face that his body. "What are you doing here?"

"Running laps. Back down in California, we used to run laps if we lost a game. We run twice as many laps as how many points we lost by. You're River, right?"

I had a slight fan girl moment. "You know my name?" I didn't mean to sound excited about it, but that's how it came out.

He laughs. "Yeah. It seems everyone will. 'The Girl That Can Play Baseball As Well As a Guy' is who you're probably going to be known as."

"That's great," I say sarcastically. We stand there quietly for a few minutes. He rubs the back of his neck and I notice the lean bulge on his arm. Don't look! my mind hisses at me. Think about Tony. I stare down at the ground and say, "I should probably go." I turn to walk away

"Hang on," he says, moving quickly in front of me. I look back up into those gorgeous green eyes and my heart nearly stops. He gives me a crooked smile and my heart skips a beat. "Let me give you a ride. I don't think that you should be walking alone at night."