“Hey, big bro. You missed me?”
“What the hell? Where are you? What made you call?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—slow your roll, Q! Look, before I answer any of your questions, I need to know where you live. I’m at the Atlanta airport and would like to hug my big bro before I get around to the serious shit.”
“Shit—you’re at the airport? Uh—okay. Stay there. I’ll have a car sent to you right now.”
“Oh my gosh—look at you! You always have to use your big bucks and big moves to make a statement, don’t you?” She laughed, that same infectious laugh that warmed my spirit and made me feel at home. “I’m using some stranger’s phone, but text me your address really quick and I’ll call up an Uber. No big deal. Bye loser.”
She hung up before I could speak again. I stared at the phone for a split second before sending my address. I couldn’t hesitate for long. I didn’t need her having second thoughts about being here.
Why was she here anyway? I knew we had a bond and a connection that was familiar…but did it really run that deep?
She showed up when I needed her most.
I hoped. I prayed. I begged.
I couldn’t believe it had worked.
Chapter Twelve
KANDY
“She’s the new pitcher?” The tone of disgust coming from my own teammate was like a slap right in the face.
As soon as we’d walked into the diner, Morgan and Gina, another lovely teammate of mine, groaned at the same time, and when I looked where their eyes were focused, two girls were coming our way, both wearing basketball shorts and Notre Dame T-shirts.
The girl who’d given me the rude tone was Jay and it was clear she wasn’t a huge fan of the freshman pitcher.
“Have a little class, Jay, seriously.” Gina folded her arms over her chest. She was a sweet girl—strawberry blonde hair, freckles, green eyes, really toned legs and arms, and a sweet southern accent.
“I don’t know if I’m the main pitcher yet,” I responded with a slight frown.
“Well, of course you are. The senior pitcher is hurt and will still be out when the season starts. You’re the only other pitcher we have…for now anyway.” She smirked then sipped from the straw of her cup. The girl beside her giggled at the snide remark.
I didn’t know who she was, but her skin was a smooth sable, her eyes a rich dark-brown, and her hair in coils so tight I was sure it was a bitch to comb through it. Trust me, I knew all about the kinky hair. My hair coiled a lot too, to the point that if I didn’t comb it after a shower, I’d regret it when it dried.
“I guess you’re another one of those, huh?” Morgan asked Jay.
Jay frowned at her. “Another one of what?”
“One of Sophie’s ass-kissers. You know what? It’s cool—I get it. I mean we can’t all be as talented as Kandy or even Sophie, and I bet it’s super fucking scary to know you can easily be replaced by a freshman. Wait, aren’t you an outfielder, too?” Morgan seemed truly curious, but I knew her motive was to get under Jay’s skin. Jay looked around the diner nervously, focusing on the girl with coiled hair before looking between us.
“Yeah, so what?” Jay grimaced.
“Oh—just wondering.” Morgan took a step forward. “Because I’m coming for you. You might wanna watch out.” She winked and flashed a smile in Jay’s face. “Come on, ladies. Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
I walked past the girls, fighting a smile as they looked at each other and scoffed, watching us walk away.
“You are a badass,” I laughed.
“I told you I don’t have time for these bitches. I dealt with the snobby bullshit in high school, but I’m not dealing with it in college. If we don’t put our feet down now, they’ll never respect us.”
“That’s true,” Gina agreed. “Some of the girls on the team can be really snobby.”
“You know, you’d think since we’re a team, that we’d all get along. I mean, at the end of the day, we’re going to see each other all the fucking time,” Morgan went on as we slid into one of the booths. “We all got here by working our asses off and staying dedicated. I just don’t understand girls like them, or how they make it onto the softball team at all with their prissy, arrogant personalities.”
“Eh, well, I couldn’t care less. I’m good at ignoring the snobby bitches.” I shrugged as I picked up one of the table tent menus. “I only had one real friend in high school and she was all I needed. We kept to ourselves and got by just fine. I had some really cool teammates, but most of them were kind of like Jay. Only they’d smile in my face and talk shit behind my back. Wasn’t cool, so I hardly hung out with them. I think most of them despised me because my best friend dated most of their boyfriend’s before them.”