Orange Sunset at the Plate

Marcus stood at home plate, the baseball bat feeling heavier than usual. Behind him, his best friend Leo heckled him with that grin that said I got your back, bro. The summer league championship game. Everything on the line.

"You got this!" Leo yelled. "Just don't think about Her watching."

Marcus's face burned. Chelsea. The reason he'd even joined the team. She sat in the bleachers, her orange hoodie impossible to miss even in the fading light. She'd barely spoken to him all season, just smiles in the hallway that made his stomach do backflips.

The pitch came. Marcus swung. Missed.

"Strike three!" the ump shouted.

His team lost. Marcus trudged toward the parking lot, Leo beside him, both heads down.

"Wanna go swimming?" Leo asked. "Clear your head. My cousin's pool."

Marcus nodded. What else did he have to lose?

They arrived at the house, and there was Chelsea, already in the pool. She waved. Like, actually waved. At him.

Then a dog—a chaotic golden retriever—came bolting out of nowhere, launching itself into the water with a massive splash. Chelsea laughed, and suddenly Marcus was laughing too. Something about the ridiculousness of it all. The loss. The stupid crush. The fact that this random dog just jumped into a pool like it owned the place.

"That's Buster!" Leo's cousin yelled. "He does this every time!"

Chelsea paddled over to where Marcus stood at the edge. "Hey," she said, droplets clinging to her eyelashes. "You almost hit that homer in the sixth inning. I saw it."

"I struck out," he mumbled.

"Yeah, but you almost didn't." She smiled, and something in his chest loosened.

Later, they all sat eating pizza, the orange sunset bleeding into twilight. Buster shook water all over everyone. Chelsea sat beside Marcus, their shoulders brushing.

"Same time next week?" she asked, casual as anything.

His heart hammered. "For... swimming?"

"Whatever." Her grin was exactly what he'd hoped it would be.

Sometimes, Marcus thought, you don't hit the home run. But life throws you something better anyway.