Fighting First Love

Closure

Dedicated to TheRedDelilah for the amazing new cover, banner on the side, and a little helpful inspiration:) It worked girl!

Warning: I'm not a baseball expert so I apologize if I got anything wrong. Can you blame me, everytime I watch a game I get distracted by the uniforms...H-O-T-T hot! Lol!

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The game was intense. I was smack dab in the middle of Keri and Leah, the latter of who was cuddled up to her boyfriend Bryce. They were official now and totally adorable. I couldn’t wait to make things official with Caleb, and as corny as it may seem I was excited for all the triple dates we could go on. I was proudly sporting Lance’s jersey while Keri now wore Leroy’s, but hoped one day soon I would be wearing Caleb’s.

The crowd erupted bringing my attention back to the game. Number 23 had just been struck out by Blayne who had been playing one of his best games so far. I had texted him Caleb’s advice this morning, making sure not to say who gave it even though I’m sure he knew. He’d put it into action therefore not allowing number 23 to get off one of his signature home runs.

It was the last inning and our team was down by two. They were switching sides and this would be our last chance to take the game. If I was a nail biter, mine would have been bitten completely off, the tension was that thick. Lance was up to bat and he struck out on the first pitch. He took a step back and rolled his shoulders, then approached the plate once again. The pitcher threw a fast ball that Lance barely connected with, but it had enough force behind it that it sent the fielders scrambling to pick it up. It was all the time my brother needed to reach first base.

I breathed a sigh of relief, until the next batter was up. Koa appeared to be his usual confident self, but the way he cricked his neck told me he was far from relaxed. Regardless of his nerves, his bat connected with the ball after the first pitch and traveled much the same path as Lance’s did allowing him to make it to first and Lance to advance to second.

Next up to bat was our catcher, Connor, who unfortunately struck out. Our second baseman, Andrew, met the same fate. The crowd was vibrating with anxiety, putting all our hopes in the next couple of batters to bring us a run. Blayne was up, and I took a moment to study him. He swung the bat a few times, then rubbed his shoe in the dirt for a bit. How many times had I watched this familiar routine and shared in his anticipation? How many times had I been anxious to give him a victory kiss if he won or a consolatory kiss if he lost? At this moment I wanted him to get a good hit, but not for the reasons of the past. Just because I wanted the best for him.

With that thought in mind, I crossed my fingers and sent silent words of encouragement his way. At that moment he looked at me as if I were speaking directly into his ear, then smiled before stepping up to the plate. He seemed determined to get a hit, the intensity of his gaze must have shook the pitcher because he threw ball one and two before earning a strike on his third pitch. One strike was all Blayne would allow, and on the next pitch he hit it with such force the ball went flying. Unfortunately not far enough to bring Lance home, but a good enough distance to now have the bases loaded.

With Lance on third, Koa on second, and Blayne on first, the outcome of the game rested on the shoulders of the next batter who just so happened to be Leroy. After a few words with the coach, he was patted on the back and made his way to the plate. The other teams catcher must’ve made a snide comment when he got there because Leroy tensed and ignored him.