Slugger

4: Homoerotic

you read the title to this chapter correctly

For the rest of the week, I'm pretty much all sunshine and smiles. And apparently since I'm pretty much more transparent than Sue Storm, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes for my friends to figure out why. Which makes it easier for me to gush my heart out about how much I'm looking forward to Saturday afternoon, especially when Nicole reveals that she was invited too.

However, this excitement is slightly stunted when I'm told I have to take care of my younger brother Jackie that afternoon.

"Tyler, why can't you take care of him?" I complain, walking into my room. It's not that I don't like taking care of Jackie, it's just that today of all days? Really?

"The team and I are hazing new members," he says, shrugging. "It's pretty much gonna take the whole day and I have to be there because I'm the captain,"

I sigh loudly and go to stand in front of my full length mirror to put some highlighter on my almost completed face. "Do you have to haze them?"

The incredulous look I receive from his reflection in the mirror tells me yes.

"Where are you going that's so important you can't stay with little Jackie?" Tyler asks. I've put too much highlighter on so I'm trying my hardest to blend it in but it's not working out well. 

"I'm going to a baseball game,"

"Which game? Fairbanks vs Moore?"

"I think so, your old best friend invited me," I say nonchalantly and watch his eyebrows shoot upwards in shock.  

"Dante? Really?" I nod and he leans against the door frame, smirking. "Well shit, look at you moving up in the world,"

I give up on blending my highlighter when it becomes too obvious that it's never going to happen. To be honest, who needs highlighter to glow? Not me. I'm a goddess, my glow comes naturally. At least, that's what I tell myself when my artificial shine doesn't work.

"Moving up in the world? What do you mean by that?" I begin wiping off all the makeup previously applied to my face. Everything just looks so odd without highlighter, I might as well just go makeup free.

"You know what I mean," He dismisses with a wave of his hand. "You know Dante used to be so in love with you in middle school,"

I turn and eye him up. "What do you mean he was in love with me?"

Tyler shrugs. "He told me,"

"And..?"

"Well I thought he was gonna ask you out but he never did." He yawns. "Kinda shit, huh, the two of you could've totally been that couple that everyone is surprised because they're still together,"

I turn around and look at my face in the mirror once again. "That couple really doesn't exist, Ty,"

"Ashley and Freddie," He says a matter of factly. Surprised, I catch his eye in the mirror.

"Holy shit, they're still together?"

Tyler raises his arms up and gets off the door frame, a smug smile on his face. "Point proven."

*-8*-8*

At three in the afternoon, Jackie and I meet Nicole at a Starbucks near Fairbanks high school. He's really not a difficult child and was strangely very excited to be coming to a baseball game when I told him where we'd be going today. I think he's just really happy to see Nicole.