Home Run

19| Baseball Tutorials

I watched him slump down onto the dirt, a baseball in one hand and the bat in the other. He was all alone at Riverdale High School's field. I wanted to run up to him and scare him but I decided against it. Instead, I waited. I waited for him to talk to himself or perhaps he might have screamed out all the anger building up from inside him.

But nothing happened. He just sat there looking past the lights that illuminated the field and into the darkness.

"Trevor," I called. He slowly turned his head towards me, a smile crept up onto his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. I sat down next to him on the ground.

"I stopped by your house because I thought you might have wanted my company and instead I saw a shirtless Curtis open the door telling me you were at school."

When I saw Curtis' toned body, I instantly remembered my ninth grade crush on him. He was in tenth grade at the time but fourteen year old me had the biggest crush on him. At one point I was positive we would get married in the future. But now, all I see him as is a friend.

"You miss me already?" He teased. "I just saw you yesterday during dinner at your house. Which was very pleasant by the way."

The dinner yesterday was everything I wanted it to be. Filled with laughter and non-stop conversation. I wanted Audrey and Trevor to forget their problems for at least the duration of a meal and I think I accomplished that. Mom and Dad thankfully didn't ask how their parents were like they always would when Audrey and Trevor would eat with us.

I changed the subject. "Why are you here all alone?"

"I wanted to practice by myself." I raised an eyebrow at him. I knew he wasn't telling the truth. He said, "I don't want to be at home because my dad is still living there. Everyone is pretending that nothing is wrong, that our family isn't whole, they're all ignoring the fact that our family is broken. It makes me sick."

I took his hand and examined it while in thought. I looked at the small details, every line, mole and visible vain I committed to memory. Because I knew that these were the only hands I wanted to hold for the rest of my life. These were the only hands I'd ever hold because there's no one I want more in this world than him.

"Your family isn't broken. You have Audrey and your parents but the only difference is that they're not together anymore. But they're still there for you."

"Audrey?" He chuckled to himself as if I told him a joke. "For the past week, it's like she doesn't care anymore. She's been fucking Curtis everyday and I'm so tired of hearing it through the walls. At first, I was sort of relieved because I was going through this with my sister but now I'm alone on this."

"She's dealing with her pain in a different way," I said.

"You don't see me having sex with you on a daily basis."

I disregarded what he said. I wanted him in every possible way but we haven't talked about having sex. Him uttering those words made me nervous but excited, though I knew he was just saying that to make a point.

"Maybe you should try to talk to your family about it, your feelings I mean, not the sex part." I continued, "I know it might not change anything but you'll feel better about it. Weights will be lifted off your shoulders because your feelings about their divorce is holding you back from living your life. At the very least, they'll know how you feel."

He brought up our joined hands to his lips and kissed my hand gently. He looked me in the eyes. "Natalia Olivia De Luca, what would I do without you?"

"You know after all this free advice I'm giving you, you owe me a lot Trevor. When will you ever pay up?" He dragged his fingers up my exposed leg and he rested his hand on my thigh. I regretted wearing shorts. His hands on my skin gave me goosebumps. It made me feel things I didn't with my past boyfriends.

"There's not much I can give you my princess, perhaps I'll be forever in your debt."

"Perhaps you will," I said. "Or maybe you could teach me how to hit a baseball properly."

He laughed as he scratched his head, "that's not where I thought this was going but I'm happy all the same. I hope you know I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my girlfriend now."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

•••

After teaching me how to stand and hold the bat properly, Trevor ran across from me. He was holding the baseball and I was absolutely terrified it would hit me in the face. I remembered his advice, to put the weight on the balls of my feet and to keep my knees bent. I faced my body towards him, my hands were getting sweaty.

"You ready?" Trevor asked. Before I could yell out an answer or even nod, he threw the baseball at me. I swung the bat a little too early because the ball only hit the tip of the bat.

Trevor ran to get the baseball. "Not too bad," he said as he walked towards me.

I heard a loud buzzing near my ears. A previous experience I had when I was younger flashed before my eyes; a wasp stinging me in the arm. I swung and flailed my arms around, with the baseball bat still in my hands. Luckily, there was no wasp after me. Although, Trevor yelled in agony.

I had hit him in the chest.

In my defence he could have moved out of the way.

"I am so sorry," I reached out towards him. He was clutching his chest.

"It's fine it just hurts," he winced. "A lot."

We walked over to the bleachers. We sat in the first row as I faced towards him. My fear of wasps has gotten the best of me before but not to the extent of accidentally hurting someone and potentially killing them in the process.

"You're not going to die, are you?" I asked.

"Nope, you're going to be stuck with me for a long time," he laughed.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and processed the past few hours together. I was at my happiest whenever I was with him.

"I wish it's always like this," I said.

"Yeah," Trevor agreed. "I love it when girls hit me with a baseball bat."

a/n How do you guys feel about their relationship that is now in full swing? Do you ship it or do you prefer the other ships?

Comment your thoughts and don't forget to vote! Have a great weekend ♥︎