Hotbox (3 page)

She was two years older than me? I wasn’t too keen on that. “So she graduated two years ago?” I asked
reluctantly
.

“Yeah, but she’s our same age. She
finished two years while she was still in high school, and then completed her bachelor’s after that.”
             
“You can do that?”
I asked.
I had no idea.

“Yeah, it’s a special program you can apply for. But you have to be either super
genius
, or super driven.”
             
“And
which
is she?”

He laughed. “Both, I think.
And she’s not a snob like Aaron convinces himself she is. She just plays a defensive game. I was her lab partner for half a year and I think every guy in that class tried to get a date with her.
”

“Even you?” I teased.

“No,” he chuckled. “I was already dating Megan. But…even though she’s really nice, I have to agree with Aaron. I don’t know, Ty. You might have a chance because you’re a nice guy, but I hear she just doesn’t date many guys. And if she does, she’s got quite a lengthy checklist, if you know what I mean.”

“So what are you saying the odds are?”

“Mmm, one in a
million
.” He
gave me a sympathetic smile
and walked away.

Yikes. P
retty bad.
But it was just as well, I figured. She’d barely get down her list before she realized I was not the ideal catch. Besides, I had way too many problems in my life to have time for a girlfriend. It was the same thing, every time. I just couldn’t get close to anyone. There were too many skeletons in the closet for most girls to deal with.

I was one o
f the last guys left in the dug
out besides two of the coaches who were talking to each other at home plate. I stepped out to head for the batting barn
with my gear,
but was
thrown
when I saw
that girl
standing by the railing with her friend. I was about to pass right by her
, ready to avoid her entirely,
when she
turned my way and smiled.

“
Nice game
, catcher.”

I slowed
my pace an
d barely got out a
, “T
hank you.”

My previous thoughts flew out the window just from the sound of her voice.
I knew this
was my chance to talk to her, b
ut I was completely caught off-guard. My stupid mouth wouldn’t say anything else, and I knew I was going to ruin it for myself. Luckily h
er friend hollered at someone in the stands and she left to go talk to her
; I was hoping that would help build my courage
.

“It’s Tyler, right?”
the girl
asked carefully.

I looked into her eyes for the first time and was a little startled. They were incredible.
I’m not the greatest with describing things or explaining colors, but to me, it was like looking into dark Caribbean waters. They weren’t blue, but they weren’t green
,
either.

I was pretty close to becoming a mute, but I managed to say,
“Uh,
yeah. Or
‘
T
y’ is fine.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she cringed. “I was just going by what the announcer said.”

I had to pause momentarily. Oh, yeah, the announcer.

“So…
I’ll let you go, I
guess,” she smiled.
“I don’t want to keep you
.
”

She nodded behind me
where
the last two coaches were walking toward the batting barn. I also saw Aaron, Jack, and a couple other guys stic
king their heads out the door,
watch
ing
me. I decided she had basically made most of the effort to talk to me
,
and I was just standing there like an idiot
, admiring her
beautiful
skin
and
lips
.

It was now or never.

“Uh,
w
hat are you doing tomorrow
?” I asked her. “
I’m free the entire day.
Would you be able to spend some
of it
with me
?”

Wow. I couldn’t believe I actually did it. Never in my life had I been so forward with a girl.

She didn’t say anything for a few seconds,
and
I thought she was goin
g to say no, but
then
she
slowly began to smile
. “I’
d like that,
”
she nodded.

“Ty!” someone shouted from the barn.

“Oh
, u
h, I gotta go.
Can I get you
r
number so I can call you later
?”

“Sure,” she said with a
nother
smile.
She pulled a business card out of her purse and wrote on the back of it. She handed it to me, still smiling.

“Okay, I’ll give you a call tonight.”

“Sure,” she replied
again
.
I turned to walk away but she said, “
Hey,
Ty?”

I stopped to face her. “Yeah?”

“D
on’t you want to know my name?”

I couldn’t help but smile when I sa
id, “You’re Jayden,” and
turned around
to
jog
to the barn.

When I got there everyone was staring at me, even the coaches, who were standing at the head of the group. It was deathly silent and I thought for sure I was toast
for holding everyone up
. Finally Coach Tucker folded his arms across his chest and said in his gruff voice, “So? Have you delayed our meeting for nothing, or did you f
inally get her number
?”

I
was humored by
the
smile
he was trying to
hide
and answered, “Well, hurry this thing up so I
can go call her.
”

The team
exploded with cheers
.

I did call her that night around nine. I
worked
for
the rest of
the day, got home and showered, and
locked
myself in my room out of pure nervousness. She had been on my mind all day, and just the thought of actually talking to her after the game earlier left me with a
permanent
smile on my face
and butterflies in my stomach
.

I stared at the card in my hand with her number on it. I flipped it over several times to read the business information on the other side. It was for a
music
store
here in town. I wondered if that’s where she worked.

She answered on the third ring
and I could tell she was somewhere crowded.

“Hey, uh, Jayden? This is Ty.”

“Oh, hey!” she said.

I could easily picture her smile
and it made my heart race again
.
I was especially pleased that she sounded excited to talk to me.

“Let me go somewhere quieter.” After a few seconds her voice returned.
“Sorry about that.”

“If you’re busy I can call you later,” I told her. I didn’t want to wait to talk to her, but I thought I’d be polite.

“No, that’s okay. I’m just at my friend’s house. What are you up to?”

“Me? Oh,
I just got home from work. I was
thinking about meeting
up with some friends in a little bit.” Aaron had left me a message to join them where they were; I had been pretty tired when I got home, but
now
I was getting a second wind. “Hey, maybe you could meet up with us?” I tried.

“
Oh,
I’d like to
,
but I’m at a birthday party for
Cali’s nephew. I was
personally
invited
by a five-year-old
,
” she lightly laughed,
“
so I need to be here.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I understand. What about tomorrow? Are you still available?”

“
Do you want me to be available?
”
she seemed to tease.

I loved the sound of her voice.

“Absolutely,” I answered. I couldn’t even think of anything clever to say.

“Then yes, I’m available.”

“Okay, give me your address and I’ll pick you up around eleven. Is that time okay?”

“Eleven…
in the morning
?”
             
“Yeah
.” Was that being too anxious? I didn’t care; I wanted to see her.
Oh man, what if she worked at that time or she just wasn’t able to—

“Sure, that works fine. But…you can just pick me up here. I won’t be at home.”

“O
h, o
kay.”

She gave me an address, and even though I wanted to keep talking to her, I thought she probably wanted to get back to the party.

Before she hung up I said, “
Oh, and
Jayden? Wear comfortable shoes.”

“Oh, like sneaker
s?
So
you mean
no high heels or flip flops
, right
?” she
teased
.

I guess those could be comfortable; I should have been more specific.
“No, no high heels or flip flops,” I smiled.

“Okay, see you tomorrow, Ty.”

             
I loved hearing her say my name.

Without the possibility of seeing Jayden that night, I didn’t feel like going out with the guys anymore. I
sat back
and just enjoyed the quiet of an empty house for once. Aaron called to see where I was, but I told him it was late and I was going to bed soon.

“You’re lame,” he informed me.

I didn’t care. I was excited for eleven a.m. …

Chapter Three

“I
still
can’t even believe you got her number,” Aaron laughed. “I’m impressed, Huntington. You must know how to work some magic.”

I scoffed
to myself
. Magic? Is that why I
had
felt so awkward around her? I didn’t dare tell him that, so I chose to remain quiet. It didn’t do any good because he kept at it.

“So, what’s she like? She didn’t turn you down, so obviously you’re somehow worthy in her eyes.”

I shrugged. I hardly knew what she was like. My time talking to her consisted of about five minutes total. “I don’t really know that much about her. She sou
nds really nice, like Jack said.
She’s kind of quiet in the way she talks, but she smiles a lot… She’s got perfect teeth, beautiful
blue-green
eyes—”

“And a nice rack
, huh
?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Oh, brother,” I mumbled, putting my hat on.

“What? You didn’t bother to check out something other than her face? You’re lame, man. I’ll give you a head start. She is
fine
—everything about her. When you get a chance, just take
those brown eyes of yours and
look behind her…”

I left out the front door before I could hear anymore.

I drove across town to the address she gave me. It
was a really nice neighborhood,
nothing like what I grew up in. Her friend must come from a well-to-do family
, and it caused me to think Jayden did too
. I gave her a call as I pulled up to the house, just as she had asked, but she was already coming out the front door with a smile
on her face
and a sweatshirt in her hands
. I got out to greet her just as another figure appeared in the doorway at the house. I immediate
ly recognized him from the game;
the guy she had been sitting with both times.

“Hey,” she said
cheerfully
.

“Good morning. How are you?”

“I’m great. Are you ready to go?”