The Player and The Played: Kyle's Game [#1]

Two | Liam | Baseball Bats & Curry

Two: Baseball Bats & Curry

I could hear the voice of my sister calling me across the mall not just once to get my attention but repeatedly, "Are you just going to ignore her?" Shannon chuckles spinning a soccer ball in his hands as we look at the new sports equipment that had come in just in time for the school year seasons to start.

I hear my name called again, closer than before, "We're not exactly moving." I murmur under my breath picking up a baseball from the wall stand, tossing it up to test its weight.

"Liam! Damn it! Come on." I don't turn to look at Holly until her hand grabs my free wrist, giving a tug to make me turn to her before releasing.

"Hello Holly." I raise an eyebrow as she steps back a few steps.

Her eyes quickly dart over to Shannon before just as quickly she returns her attention to me, her cheeks turning red upon realising who I was with. "I'll be back." Shannon muttered, his good mood that he'd had all day slowly disappearing as he put the soccer ball back on the rack and left to go look at all the sport clothes at the other end of the shop.

Holly doesn't speak until Shannon disappears from her line of view, "Could you do me a favour?"

I raise an eyebrow once more before turning away putting the baseball back on the rack where I got it from, "Depends what it is Hol." I say walking around her to get to the baseball bats, I needed a new one for this years' season.

"Can you take Laurel home?"

I put the bat back down and turn to my sister at her request. "Why can't you?"

I watch the wheels start to turn in her head and I realise my error, the last time I asked such an open-ended question we were standing for twenty minutes as she recited a story in detail. "Well see,"

"Short version please." I intervene quickly, not wanting to hear everything that had happened to bring her to this moment.

"I brought her out here to meet a friend and said that if she wanted she could stay and hang out with a couple of us but if she wasn't up for it then you'd take her home." Holly ends her short version with a cheeky grin as she runs a hand through her hair.

"You already signed me up for this without asking?" I sigh, not even slightly surprised at my sisters' antics and turn back to the bats, picking one up and balancing it in my hands. "You're lucky I like her, where is she?"

Holly lets out a whoop of victory and runs off, giving Shannon the opening he needs to come out of his temporary exile. "Why do you even bother looking at different bats, we all know which one you'll get." He enquires picking up a different bat to the one I held.

Picking up the bat I'd end up getting.

"No harm looking." I shrug still turning the bat in my hands.

"What did Holly want?" He questions as we both put the respective bats back where we grabbed them from.

I run a hand through my hair as we turn towards a hat stand at the end of an aisle, "Holly dobbed me in to help my new neighbour get home without getting completely lost."

"Does she happen to be a cute little brunette?" Shannon questions as I pick up a black baseball cap.

I inspect the hat, turning it over to look at the clasp at the back, "Yeah that's her, why?"

I look up confused as Shannon does a weird wave, like a Mexican wave with his fingers, at someone behind me. "Why hello," Shannon grins, "Do you happen to be Liam's new neighbour, by any chance?"