Kissing Me Softly (#Wattys2018)

4

Ethan's POV- 3 weeks later

I placed my hands over my head, trying to catch my breath. It was the end of practice, which meant conditioning. "Alright guys, bring it in!" I yelled, catching the teams attention. They began to form a huddle around me. "As you know, our first game is in a couple of weeks. We've practiced hard and when we get to the game, we need to play harder. We need to start the season out strong." I paused and looked around at my team.

"Good job today guys. Gators on three!" I yelled once again and on three, the whole team screamed "Gators!".

I grabbed my bag, throwing my cleats in it before strapping it over my shoulder. As I made my way to the car, sweat continued to drop down my face. Baseball was my outlet. It made me feel good, it made me work for something, and most of all, it was my passion.

I had started out when I was four. I, of course, played T-Ball as a young child but as I got older, I got into it more seriously. I was going to camps, clinics, you name it, I was there. In elementary school, I had played softball because they didn't offer baseball. When I got into high school, I had made the varsity team my freshman year and played varsity all four years.

My parents, well my father never really stood with me on this. He saw sports as a waste of time. He didn't believe I had a career going for myself. This ultimately made me work harder because I wanted to prove him wrong. When I was living under his roof, I was a full-time student-athlete along with two part-time jobs. My mother had said I was working myself too hard but I didn't think so. I believed I could work harder.

So I set a goal. I told myself that I would save enough money to take myself to college. And I did just that. Except, the money I had earned and saved didn't go towards my education. My junior year I had committed to playing for the Gators and my senior year, I was offered a full ride scholarship to the University of Florida, which is a D1 school.

I had used the money to get myself a house off campus because quite frankly, I liked my personal space. I did have another part-time job but I only worked three days out of the whole week and they were normally nights.

My mother on the other hand. She supported me through everything. She was the one who took me to my practices. She made sure I was on top of my game as well as school work. It was so hard leaving her with my father. But, college brought new opportunities and new people.

As for Millie and I, we haven't been hanging out much. Mainly texting. Between her classes, my classes, and my practices, we couldn't really find time to hang out.

I threw my bag in the back seat of my car before climbing into the driver seat and pulling out of the parking lot. As I drove past the campus, I noticed Millie sitting on a bench, staring down at her phone with a frown. It was dark out, why was she sitting out here by herself?

I pulled in front of her and rolled my window down. "Mil, what the hell are you still doing here?"

She jumped at the sound of my voice, her head whipping up quickly. "Oh, I had to stay after today but Kendra had a date with Chase so I didn't want to intervene."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, get in the car."

"No, it's okay. You just got done with practice, go home."

"Millie, please just get in the car, I'm not going to leave you out here in the dark." I told her, hoping she would cooperate.

She grabbed her stuff and made her way to the passenger side. When she climbed in, she scrunched her nose up. "You smell."

I gave a deep chuckle. "Well Mil, you see, that's what happens when you have practice for three hours straight."

She shrugged and began to fidget with her bracelet. "When's your first game?"