The Tour

thirty one / glowing

I swirled my shaved ice in the cup, mixing the colors together. Alani looked over her own at me with raised eyebrows and a smirk. We were in the middle of another one of her interrogations regarding my relationship, which was always amusing to her. I was starting to think that it was a great incentive to be single, not that I really wanted that to happen, either.

She was leaving for a competition for the qualifying series tomorrow, but I had decided to pass up on this event. The goal was to earn enough points on the CT so that I would requalify for the CT by my ranking there, but if I wasn't placing high enough during my first few outings on tour then I would go to the QS and try to pick up some wins. That would allow me to requalify for the CT by having a high ranking on the QS. For now, I would stay home and spend my last couple of days with Will.

He was heading back to settle in a few days early, around January 4th. Will and Evan's coach wanted to get him situated with the athletic trainers to continue his rehab there. The walker was still around once in a while, but he had basically ditched it since the walk on the beach a few days ago. No one was more surprised with his improvements than his doctors, who couldn't believe their eyes. It was nothing less than a miracle.

"So you two are going to do the distance? Once you're on tour?" Alani checked.

I stirred the ice again. "Yeah, there aren't too many other options. At least he's going to school on the same island that we live on."

"It'll suck though. You were gone a lot last year though, so you know what it's like."

"Don't remind me," I groaned, "how is it for you and Daniel?"

She smiled at the thought of him, what a dope. "I trust him, which is important and helps. But it's really hard being gone so much, even when I'm only on the QS and don't have as many business deals and events like you. You know I can be touchy and kind of clingy, so that's tough. It'll be worth it though."

"Wedding bells in the future?" I winked.

That got a blush out of her. "Not for a few years, but I hope so. I'm trying not to be one of those island couples that rushes into things though."

I nodded and stabbed the remainder of my ice with my straw. Alani stood up a few minutes later and complained about how she had to go pack. I laughed at her procrastination and wished her good luck as we headed to our cars.

The drive home passed the baseball field that the boy's club team had used when they were in high school, and I looked over at the dirt out of habit. Two figures in dark green shirts were on the field that was usually closed to the public. I pulled over quickly and brushed my hair back into place after driving with the windows down.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure this field is closed. They don't want wannabees messing up the dirt," I called out as I leaned over the fence.

"Well I heard they say that because they don't want random girls coming over and flirting with the serious athletes," Evan yelled back as he continued to hit grounders from home plate.

Will turned from his position playing third and put his glove on top of his head as he walked over to the fence. He rested his arms over the fence next to me and smirked as Evan continued to yell.

"You can't be distracting him, he sucks! He needs all of the practice he can get!"

Will laughed, deepening the dimples in his cheeks. "What are you up to?"

"I was just out with Alani. How's it going over here?"

He shrugged and chewed on this inside of his cheek, glancing from River to Evan. "It's good to be back. The feet are still a little unsteady. Evan's not completely lying when he says I suck."