Kissing Me Softly (#Wattys2018)

13

Ethan's POV

I swung at the ball as hard as I could. It's been two weeks since I've seen Millie and I couldn't get her the fuck out of my mind. And quite frankly, I didn't want to. The last three days, I've really thought about how I feel towards her. I admit it, I like Millie. I want to be with her. I missed her. I just wanted to see her.

As of right now, our team was warming up for our first game. The stadium had begun to fill with students, parents, and fans. As our coach yelled for us to come in, we all ran and formed a huddle.

"Alright. You know what to do. Play hard. Swing hard, run fast, pitch fast. You boys got this. Gators on three!"

"One! Two! Three! Gators!" We all chanted.

The first eight innings were tough. We had played this team last season and had lost to them. I stood on the pitchers' mound and prepared to pitch as the batter got set. When he was, I took a deep breath before stretching back and pitching the ball as hard as a I could.

"Strike one!"

I took another deep breath then pitched a curveball.

"Strike two!"

Another deep breath. Another fastball.

"Strike three. You're out!"

Thank god. The bases had been loaded with two players already out. If I hadn't have struck this guy out, they definitely would've pulled ahead. Now we were finally on our ninth inning and I was the first up to bat. All I needed was to send it high and deep.

I took my stance at the plate and looked over the crowd as the pitcher got set. That's when I saw a familiar head of messy brown hair with my hoodie wrapped around her. She had her hands cupped around her mouth and was cheering for me. Chase and Kendra were next to her, laughing at her. I softly smiled as she finally locked her eyes with mine. I pointed to her before grasping my bat tightly.

The pitcher stared me dead in the eyes but I was focused on the ball. He pulled back to throw and when he did, I swung the crap out of it, sending it out of the field. I groaned at the pain that shot through my shoulder. I tossed my bat down and booked it for first base, the second, then third, then I ran my heart out to get home. We won!

My team ran on to the field and we all began to cheer and holler at the top of our lungs. That's when I heard one voice in particular.

"That's my boy!" Millie had been screaming while jumping up and down. Hm. Her boy. I chuckled when she realized what she had said as Kendra playfully smacked her on the arm. Elijah and Drew were now standing at my side as I watched Millie in awe.

"Dude, what are you still doing here? You did your part and won the game for us. Go get her." Elijah said with a smile. Drew nodded his head in agreement.

"It's time buddy." He told me.

"Hell yeah, it is." I muttered as I stared at Millie who was now munching on what appeared to be popcorn. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let her go."

As I watched her exit the stadium, I quickly ran after her and meet her, Chase, and Kendra in the parking lot. "Mil!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around as she placed a piece of popcorn in her mouth. Kendra looked at me then at Millie. "We'll wait in the car."

I shook my head. "I'll bring her home in a bit."

Kendra glared at me before looking at he best friend once again. Millie gave her a soft smile. "I'll be home later."

Chase intertwined his fingers with Kendra's and gently pulled her in the direction of their car. Millie slightly shook her head before she looked up at me. I gave her a smile. "I miss you." I told her softly. A rosy color appeared on her cheeks once again and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. There's that adorable blush again, that's number eleven.