From The Other Side

30. let's talk future

THIRTY
let's talk future

Wednesday, April 30th

Isaiah and his teammates didn't end up winning the playoffs. But they made it to the finals—the farthest Magnolia High's baseball team had ever gotten—so that was enough for him.

Not just for him though. Apparently it was enough for scouts as well, because they started lining up for him, which quickly became overwhelming. It left him with tons of options, and Isaiah was only leaning toward three of them.

There was one in California, another in Washington, and then one a few hours away from his hometown. Isaiah didn't like living in Texas, but he wasn't fond of being so far away from his family and friends. He knew Marcus and Ashton were taking a year off before they decided to go back to school, Steve was heavily considering a university in New York, and Morgan was already dead set on starting off in community college. The only person he hadn't heard from was August.

Said boy was across from him, laid flat on his back, chin tucked into his chest. His laptop was resting on his stomach, eyes squinting against the bright light coming from the screen. He wasn't wearing any headphones, so Isaiah could hear the weird fighting noises anime characters made. He was invested in whatever he was watching, thumb pressed against his teeth, and Isaiah cracked a smile, amused.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping me?" Isaiah asked, reaching out to shove at his good-ish leg. In fact, it was getting better. Physical therapy was going well for August. "Exams are coming up."

August flapped his hand dismissively. "Wait," he murmured. "This episode is almost over."

Isaiah sighed. "August."

"Shh."

Isaiah huffed and set his notebook down before scooting over to August's side, plopping down beside him. He rested his head against his shoulder, frowning at the screen. "What's this one about?"

August smacked the space bar to pause it and glanced down at Isaiah, hand reaching out to play with his curls. "You don't actually wanna know, do you?" Isaiah grinned and shook his head, causing August to roll his eyes, but he was smiling.

"I know I want you to study with me," Isaiah mumbled, but he draped his arm over August's torso, adjusted his head on his chest. He wasn't making any move to get up or study, and August was trying his hardest not to laugh. "So we can pass."

August hummed. "You know," he said, ghosting his fingertips across the back of his neck. "I actually want to study, too."

Isaiah lifted his head, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah." August slid his hand underneath Isaiah's shirt, traced the faint outline of his abdomen, slid his fingers up his chest, shirt dragging with it. "I heard Human Anatomy is a tricky subject. I should probably familiarize myself with it early."

"Oh my God."

August chuckled, replaced his laptop with Isaiah's hips. He hooked his fingers through his belt loops and lightly tugged, smiling a sultry smile. "I don't see you complaining."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow. "You don't see me not complaining either."

August let go. "Touché." He tucked his arms underneath his head, watched as Isaiah faltered, then reached for his arm. He pulled it back, used his free hand to lift the hem of his shirt up, and placed August's palm against his stomach.