Swing for the Fences (Dansby Swanson/Ender Inciarte)

Chapter 7

The rest of the day was quiet. Ender and Bristol remained paired off and Dansby took Jess out to a movie, something they always did when they were bored. They all had dinner together and none of them had spoken of the mornings incident, so silently they were all hoping it had passed.

It was All-Star break, so the next morning they would head to Miami for the events and a few days of downtime they'd planned to spend on the beach. Once they had landed, Ender took Bristo's hand and pulled her close, "I can't wait to just relax and watch a baseball game with you."

"Same," She leaned up and kissed his lips, "It's going to be the best."

Jessalyn stared at Dansby and rolled her eyes. He laughed at her reaction as he took hold of her hand, "Just me and you now. No more three musketeers."

"I'm okay with that," She admitted, "They're disgusting, to be honest."

Dansby laughed, "You said it, not me."

"I'll say it again, too."

About an hour passed before they were at their hotel and checked in. Bristol quickly yawned and fell back onto a bed. Ender wasn't far behind and he hugged her tightly, "Vacations are great."

Jessalyn rolled her eyes again and grabbed her shorts, "I'm changing and going to the beach. You two can stay here and do whatever it is you've been wanting to do the entire flight," Her nose was scrunched up, "I hope you remember that's how babies are made-" She slammed the bathroom door in a huff.

Ender snickered, "Thank you for the anatomy lesson!"

"Well then," Bristol knew she only said that to get to her. It didn't work, "I don't think that's going to happen."

Dansby laughed, "Always possible."

"Not for you-" Ender smirked and tossed a pillow at his best friend, "Now get going. Go to the beach. We'll be out later."

Bristol's eyes were closed and she sighed, "Stop glaring, Dans. I seriously just want a nap."

"Right," Dansby shook his head and met up with Jess at the door. He grabbed her hand and led her down towards the beach. Once they were out there, he laid the towel down he'd carried along with him, "Finally."

She sat down beside him and propped back on her arms. Her eyes scanned the water and she wasn't really sure what she wanted to say.

The next hour or so was spent talking about the past and catching up on the time since he'd left college. He had just told her a story of when he'd gotten called up and how nervous he'd been during that first game, "I swear, I thought I was going to die. You know what got me through though?"

She shook her head and brushed a stray hair behind her ear. Jess met his gaze and for some reason felt her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't speak.

"You," He laughed and turned his gaze to the water, "I thought about you and how you always made me feel comfortable."

"Wow, that's... pretty awesome," She didn't know what to say, "I uh- watched that game. I had no clue you even remembered us, really."

He smiled, "Of course I did. How could I forget you? I mean, both of you."

"I'm glad you didn't-" She admitted and nervously played with the hem of her shirt, "That was some pretty crazy accusations Ender and Bris were making, yeah? Saying we were taking twenty years to get together..."