Curveballs in the Sand

Marcus stood at the makeshift plate, sweat dripping down his back as Jenna watched from the beach towel. She was the kind of pretty that made your brain glitch out—laughing at something Maya said, hair catching the sunset like she was literally glowing.

"You gonna pitch or what?" Tyler called out, already looking bored. The rest of the crew was scattered across the sand—some in the shallow water, others under the palm trees that lined the beach like tropical sentinels. This impromptu baseball game had been Tyler's idea, because everything was Tyler's idea, and Marcus had agreed because Jenna was going to be there and Marcus was an idiot with zero chill.

His family's golden retriever, Buster, barked happily and trotted onto the makeshift field, clearly under the impression that this whole game was for his entertainment.

"Buster, chill!" Marcus groaned, but the dog just wagged his tail harder, dripping water all over Marcus's cleats. He'd been swimming in the ocean like a maniac for the past hour.

Marcus adjusted his grip on the baseball. His hands were sweating, and not just because it was ninety degrees out. This was it—the moment to prove he wasn't just the quiet kid who sat behind Jenna in bio and forgot to speak when she asked to borrow a pen.

"Windup!" someone shouted sarcastically.

Marcus wound up and threw—a curveball that was supposed to break away from the plate but instead sailed directly into Tyler's power zone.

CRACK.

The ball soared over everyone's heads, arcing beautifully toward the water. Buster went absolutely feral, barking and sprinting after it like this was the best thing that had ever happened in his entire dog life.

"Bro!" Tyler groaned. "We only have one ball!"

But then Jenna was laughing—not at him, with him. She jogged over to where Marcus stood frozen in embarrassment.

"That was actually kind of legendary," she said, smiling in a way that made his stomach do weird things. "Want help getting it back?"

They waded into the water together, and when Jenna's hand accidentally brushed against his, Marcus decided that maybe curveballs that didn't break at all were exactly what he needed to throw.