Strikeout Season

The summer air hung thick and sticky, but my palms were sweating for a totally different reason. Marcos stood by the dugout, his baseball uniform stretched across shoulders that had gotten somehow broader since June, laughing at something Jenna said. I'd been crushing on him since seventh grade, and now, three years later, I was still just the teammate's little sister who sometimes filled in when their pitcher was sick.

"You ready, Cass?" Coach Miller called, and I nodded, my heart practically running a marathon in my chest.

I took the mound, trying to look like I belonged there. Like I wasn't the same girl who still slept with the teddy bear her dad gave her before he split. The one thing I could bear to hold onto when everything else felt like it was shifting under my feet.

Marcos glanced up from his conversation and caught my eye. "Looking good out there, Cass."

My stomach did something stupid and gravity-defying. "Thanks," I managed, glad my voice didn't crack.

The batter from Riverside stepped in, tapping his cleats. I wound up and threw the first pitch—ball one. Outside. Classic. I could feel my face getting hot, could practically feel everyone watching, waiting for me to mess up. Jenna was whispering something to Marcos, and my brain decided that obviously they were laughing at me, because that's what my brain did.

But then Marcos turned back to the field, cupped his hands around his mouth. "You got this, Cass! Bring it!"

Something settled in my chest. I threw again—strike one. Then again—strike two. The crowd noise faded to static. The batter swung at my next pitch, a perfect fastball right down the middle, and missed.

"Strike three! You're out!" the ump yelled.

My teammates rushed the mound. Marcos reached me first, high-fiving me so hard my palm stung. "Where were you hiding THAT?" he asked, grinning like I'd just saved the world.

"Around," I said, feeling something real and solid and bright blooming in my chest. Maybe this summer wasn't going to be about watching from the dugout after all.