“Thanks, see you later at the stadium.” Caleb ended his call and turned to Lucas. “That was Coach Newberry. Johnston just sprained his ankle. He’s out for now.”
“I’m sorry. What happened?”
“Idiot was skateboarding with his son. Fell off the damn thing.”
“Ouch. What part did he play?”
“Position,” Caleb corrected. “It’s not a part, it’s a position.” He gave a small smile. “He’s an outfielder. Plays center. Nice guy.”
Lucas swallowed hard. The way Caleb looked at him heated his skin.
“Anyway, Newberry said that Johnston offered to sit with you tonight and help you report the game, so we may not need any more tutoring sessions.”
Lucas’ heart fell to his stomach and his gaze flew to Caleb’s eyes. Did he see disappointment there, too? He looked away and headed to the door. “Oh…well, thank you for the lesson.”
Caleb met him at the door and pulled it open for him. “See you tonight?”
Lucas nodded and stepped out into the sunshine. He had a lot to remember for tonight. He didn’t have time to sort out all his feelings for Caleb. Right now, he just wanted to do a good job and get reassigned to the news.
* * * *
The second game in the series against the Lions went much better, but Caleb felt disconnected all evening. He had hoped to see Lucas before the game started, but no such luck. Now every time he heard theman’s voice over the speakers, his damn heart did little flips and his skin buzzed with anticipation.
At least they won the game. Barely. When they were shaking hands afterward, Juan looked at him quizzically.
Caleb just shook his head and mouthed, “Can’t.” He didn’t explain that if he hadn’t met Lucas, he would have been all in.
Juan gave him a half-smile and shrugged, clearly disappointed.
As Caleb headed back to the locker room, Jamie caught up with him, removing the head of his costume as soon as they disappeared from view. He wasn’t allowed to take it off in front of the fans. His brown hair was matted to his head and sweat dripped off him. He grinned. “Sorry for the stink. It’s hot as hell in this thing.”
Caleb laughed. “Well, you do make it look fun. The crowd loved it when you kicked the stuffed carrots into the stands.”
“Yeah, that was my idea, too. They ordered a bunch of felt carrots and I pretend to munch them and then toss them to the kids,” he explained, his lips curving into a smile. “Did you see that little guy who ran after one of the carrots? He wanted one so badly, I climbed into the stands and gave him one.”
“You’re a good kid, Jamie,” Caleb said as he slapped him on the back.
“Kid? I’m nineteen,” he shot back defensively. “You’re only…what, twenty-four? Twenty-five?”
“Twenty-four.”
“See, not that much older.”
“Old enough. And wiser, too. I’ve already been to college, worked several jobs, and traveled the world.”
Jamie cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Okay, not the world, but I’ve been to South America,” Caleb conceded.
“Well, I’m a college freshman, you know. I’m not a child. And I’ve been to Europe,” he said, a little indignantly.
Caleb stopped walking and noticed the blush on Jamie’s cheeks. Fuck. It dawned on him that Jamie had a crush on him. “Still, Jamie, I am older,” he said gently.
Jamie looked away and nodded, clearly understanding what Caleb meant.
They entered the locker room and headed their separate ways.
“Guys,” Coach Ibarra called, “a quick meeting.”
They all filed to the end of the room and took a seat. Caleb scanned the area, hoping he’d see Lucas, but once again, he was out of luck.
“Good game! Not great, but much better than yesterday,” Newberry told the guys. “Glad to see your attitudes were better today.” He waved over Coach Ibarra and slung his arm around his shoulders. “Coach has a favor to ask. I’ll let him fill you in.”
“Thanks, Sean,” Ibarra said and faced the group. “Look, you all know I volunteer at the Rain Valley High School. I was talking with the baseball coach and we thought it might be good for them to come out in two weeks on Saturday and spend the day working on their techniques. I know that a Saturday is a rare day off for us and those of you who don’t want to participate don’t need to. This is completely voluntary. They’re still in school, so it really needs to be on the weekend and that particular Saturday is one of the only days we have off for a month.”
“Count me in,” someone shouted from the back.