as i stood on the field after the game, I looked over at the boys and smiled. the boys held their state banner with the largest smiles on their face. the boys handed the banner back to the coaches after what seemed like millions of photos later, and headed back to the dugout to grab their things. i noticed Tyler heading over and I ran towards him.
"nice game, stud" I smirked at him. we were always joking around. it was our kind of friendship. he turned his head and looked down at me.
"hey Juls, thank you." he whispered, stepping closer to me and a light flush of color rising to his cheeks.
"that's what friends are for, right?" i said, right as Brock and Ethan ran over. immediately after they reached me, Brock and Ethan began bombarding me with their excitement and I noticed Tyler mutter some words before walking away. what those words were, I wasn't able to make out. i shifted my focus off of Tyler and looked at the 2 boys in front of me, clearly very excited.
"nice job guys! im so proud!" i said giving both my brother and Ethan hugs.
"regionals is gonna be so much fun, we're one step away from our dream." they said with so much pride in their voices.
"just remember, don't strike out on tv." an evil smile slipped across my face, a small laugh coming out. i patted both boys on the shoulders before continuing away to congratulate the other boys.
--
and here we were, a group of parents, siblings and hyped up baseball players sitting in an already crowded tavern at 10:00. i walked over to the large table with the boys, while the parents occupied the nearby bar area. i slid into one side of the booth with Brock, Ethan and Ryan sliding into it next to me. on the other side, Tyler, Tanner and Zach slid into it while the other boys took over the connecting booth. in between the chatter of the boys, food was constantly coming out to the table.
"eating like champs?" brock asked, stuffing his mouth with another mozzarella stick; one of the many plates that were brought to the table. the table erupted with laughter. after a couple minutes of just our normal conversations, the boys must've gotten another idea on how to use the food. it wasn't until Tyler hit me with a piece of food, that I became aware of what the boys were attempting to do. whatever he hit me with touched my shoulder and fell down to my lap.
"really Tyler? it's on." i demanded, a playful hint in my voice.
"is that a challenge?" He questioned back, picking up another piece of food to throw at someone else.
"it is, Jones" I said, chucking the piece of food at him. he laughed as it hit him just above his chest. at this point, the boys were into a full food fight with each other. sooner or later, the waitress was over to tell us to all stop.
"i win." i leaned across the table and teased him, the smirk coming back to my face. i noticed in the darkness of the tavern, that his face had begin to turn a light red. just friends. only friends. those words had replayed in my head multiple times until it was finally time to go. eventually, the parents left the bar area and came over to grab us. i quickly said my goodbyes to each of the boys, knowing I'd be seeing them again soon. while I was walking to the car with Brock and my parents, I heard my phone beep in my back pocket. i pulled it out and looked to see a text from Tyler.
Tyler⚾️💫: i had so much fun tonight :))
i read it and just decided to respond to it later. the whole car ride my thoughts went to the bet and how I was slowly running out of time. things weren't going to change. there was no way I was going to lose that bet of something so simple, yet I found myself struggling to grasp the concept of it. even if things did work out the way they were supposed to for the bet, it was going to be one hell of a battle to get there.
