"Kenny's still not here to throw Ava a heater," Bertram pointed out.
"Who?" I asked.
"Kenny DeNunez, the pitcher," Benny explained, getting settled into the pitcher's position.
"Oh," I responded.
I lifted the bat up to my cheek, getting prepared to hit the ball.
"You ready?" Benny asked.
I nodded.
Ham crouched down behind me, getting ready to catch the ball. "Damn, it's so hot out here..." he complained.
Benny threw the ball at Ham, making it soar in the air.
"I should take off my shirt, will that turn you on?" Ham asked, breaking my concentration and missing the ball. He caught it swiftly in his glove and stood up.
"Damn it, Porter! I hate you, you rotten pig!" I scolded.
He just laughed, "you just want to see me with my shirt off."
I lifted the baseball bat, threatening to hit him with it. He flinched and bounced back a little, chuckling. He tossed the ball back to Benny and crouched down again.
"Nice try, Ava, you'll get it next time," Benny said, encouragingly.
"That wasn't my fault! Portabelly over here is being an idiot," I rolled my eyes.
"I know, he always is," Benny said back. He got ready to throw the ball again, and I got ready to hit it.
"Do you like Benny?" Ham asked as Benny was about to let go of the ball. "I bet you do. I bet you think he's cute--hot even..." he went on and on. Benny threw the ball and I tried to tune Ham out.
This time I hit the ball to the left of the field and started sprinting towards Squints who was covering first base. My foot hit the base and I ran towards Bertram, the second baseman for this game. I hit that base and I kept running. Then Timmy, the third baseman had the ball and I was in between him and Bertram. "PICKLE!!!" I heard Ham yell. I was running in between them and they were passing the ball back and forth. I got super close to Bertram, and then Timmy threw the ball to him and I sprinted as fast as I could to Timmy. My foot hit the base, leaving a Converse print on the base. I heard some of the boys cheer and I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my shirt.
"Nice job, Ava!" Benny called.
"Yeah, nice pickle!" Bertram said.
"Yeah, not so bad for a girl," I heard Ham mumble.
"What does that mean?" I snarked, turning around to face him.
"It means you don't play so bad for a girl," he said.
"What does me being a girl have to do with anything?" I snapped.
"Well, girls are weak. Baseball isn't for girls."
"Like you could do better than me, Porter," I mumbled.
"I could!" he shouted.
"Ooooooh," the boys sang.
"Alright, go on. Right here, right now!" I yelled.
"Alright, I will. Base up!" Ham called, walking towards his place. I crouched down behind him and aligned myself with Benny.
"Ready, Ham?" Benny asked and Ham just nodded. He threw the ball harder than he did for me and it flew in the air.
"Don't miss," I said, just as the ball was about to be at the right place. He swung too late and threw his bat down. I used to play catcher on my old team, so I knew all the tricks.
"Damn it, Ava!" He shouted, throwing his bat down, "that's not fair!"
"Hey, you did that for me. And, hey, no rules."
"There's rules!"
"Yeah? Like what? That girls can't play baseball?" I snarked, sarcastically.
"Whatever. Let's just play," he mumbled.
I grabbed the ball and threw it right to Benny. Ham got ready to bat and Benny got ready to throw. He threw the ball and I whispered the same thing to Ham again, and he swung too early this time.
"I already won, Portabelly," I mocked.
"No way. You're cheating," he said, "that's not fair."
"How is that cheating? You basically did the same thing for me," I said.
"Did not," he denied.
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Alright, guys, cool it," Benny said, "let's just finish this and then we can take a break."
"Yeah!!!" The guys agreed in unison.
"Don't miss this time," I whispered to Ham.
"Shut up!"
Benny threw the ball and Ham hit it this time, way over to the left. He dropped the bat and started running to first base when Squints yelled, "FOUL!!!" Ham immediately stopped in his footsteps.
"Hell no! No way! That was way in!" Ham complained.
"That was way out," I said.
"Oh, shut up," Ham shouted.
"I won. You lost to a girl!" I teased.
"Whatever."
"Alright guys, let's take a break," Benny suggested.
"Yay!" everyone cried.
