Hotbox (4 page)

“Uh, sure.” She climbed into my truck before I could say anything
else
, so I got in behind the wheel. “Is he wanting to come with us?” I asked, nodding to the guy still standing in the doorway.

She laughed. “Chris? No. He’s just being my father right now.”

“Oh. Should I go introduce myself?”

She laughed again. “No, let’s go.”

I paused for just a second, but said, “All right.” I pulled onto the road and glanced her way. She looked beautiful in jeans and a t-shir
t
, and navy blue Converse.
I thought I’d test out the line, “You look really nice.”

She smiled at me and said, “O
h, t
hanks. But it’s hard to get dressed when I don’t know what I’m going to be doing.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess. But you did a good job.”

“Thank you.
So did you.
”

I glanced down at my own appearance and smiled. It was probably my usual sports attire:
a t-shirt and
baggy shorts, and my favorite
pair of Nike
s. And let’s not forget the baseball hat. I rarely went anywhere without it.

After a few seconds I had to ask, “So is Chris…your friend?”

“Yes. Chris and his sister Cali are my best friends. We’ve known each other most of our lives. He’s like a brother to me.”

A brother. Good, I could handle that one.

“So do you usually stay there or…?”

“Oh, at the
Davis’s
? Sometimes.
Chris doesn’t live there, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she smiled. “
But I came over for breakfast
since it’s Easter. My dad and Tim always go golfing, so the rest of us pretty much eat all day long, and then make dinner and eat again
.”

Today was Easter
? I had no idea. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even realiz
e… I didn’t know it was Easter
. It’s not a holiday I celebrate. If you want to spend it—”

“Oh, no,” she smiled. “
I’m happy with my choice
.”

I glanced her way. “
Won’t your parents be upset
?”

She s
hook her head. “Nah
.
Like I said, my dad always goes golfing with Tim and their buddies for most of the day. And my mom
took off
when I was young, so she doesn’t have a say,” she smiled. “
What about you?
Don’t your parents have family dinners?”

I almost laughed because of the pitiful answer, but I didn’t want to embarrass her. “Uh, no. My dad’s not around much, and my mom died when I was four.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t really remember her,” I shrugged.
“
She died giving birth to my
brother
.”

Jayden
held
a noticeable frown on her face. “
Oh, I’m so sorry
. And your
brother
?”

“
He
died, too.”

“Okay,” s
he said taking a deep breath. “H
ow did we start talking about such tragic things?” She smiled at me with uncertainty.

“
Easter
,” I smiled back.

“Right, so let’s move on to something else. Where’d you grow up?”

“Tacoma.”

“And you’ve lived here for four years to go to school?
It’s funny how I’ve never seen you until recently.
”

I felt the same way, but I just replied, “Uh, n
o, just the last two. I transferred from
Tacoma Community
.
”

“Ah
, you were a Titan,” she smiled. “A
nd your dad?
Does he still live in Tacoma?
Or should we avoid talking about parents in general?”

If she only knew… “Uh, m
y dad is
in Tacoma
. But yeah, that’s probably another scary subject.”

“Okay… So about the weather…”
             
I laughed
. “It’s a nice day. But how about this instead.” I held up the business card from the
music
store
. “Is this where you work?”

“
Maybe
.”

“
Maybe?
Okay. Do you
collect business cards and randomly hand them out with your phone number on them?”

She was laughing
good-naturedly
.
“Yes, actually I have done that a few times. It’s fun to see people’s reaction when you hand them a card for a clown-for-hire, or a dog walking business.”

I laughed, but when I looked at her and she shrugged her shoulders, I could tell she wasn’t kidding. “You’re serious?”

With a smile she replied, “My friends and I do some weird things.”

I held up the card between two fingers. “So this is a farce?”

“Oh, no. I really do work there a few evenings a week. I wouldn’t dream of deceiving you,” she smiled playfully.

“Really? Because I’d hire you for my next birthday party, and I’d get a dog just so you could walk it.”

“Oh, yeah? What if I handed you the card for clogging. Would you try that, too?”

I pretended to think about that o
ne. “You know, it’s a toss up, b
ut I think I’ll go with… Yeah, definitely.”

She smiled again, and I couldn’t remember ever seeing a prettier smile.

“
How about you?
” she asked.
“
Where do you work?”

I showed her my hands, in case she hadn’t noticed. “I’m a mechanic. No matter what I do, there’s still evidence.”

She actually took
my hand
to examine
it. “Hardly. But what’s wrong with a
little
sign of hard work?”

She let go of my hand and smiled at me. I
was so distracted I
almost forgot where I was driving until I saw the college. I
turned
into the parking lot and
veered
toward the baseball field
s
.

Jayden took a look at the school around us and
asked
, “Do I need a better education?”

“From what I hear, you already have a good education.”

“Oh? And what have you heard?”

“Just that you had a bachelor’s degree two years out of high school.”

She slowly nodded her head. “Yes, that’s true.
Who’d
you hear that from?
”

“Jack.”

“Jack Houston?
”

I nodded.
“Uh huh.”

“Jack’s a nice guy
,” she said.

I nodded my agreement. “He said the same about you.
You know, that you’re nice.
So w
ere you in a hurry to get through school, or what?”

I parked right up behind the batting barn since it was a Sunday and no one was
t
here.
And apparently it was also a holiday.

“Not really. But
I had an associate
’
s when I graduated
,
and got a decent job while I finished the rest of it.”

“For what?
The music store
?”

“No,” she smiled. “That’s just a hobby. I work at
City Hall.”

I took a moment to process that.
“Are you my mayor and I don’t know it?”

She smiled
again
. “No, not exactly.”

“What do you do at City Hall?”

“Well, a
little of everything,” she softly laughed. “But I
mainly
work in Pat McGowan’s office; he’s the City Manager. I get to swim in paperwork
, phones,
and computers
all day long
.”

“Secretary?”

“Hmm, kind of. ‘Administrative Assistant’ if you wan
t to get technical.”

“So you have a nine-to-five
,
huh?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

“So do you like your job?”

“Yeah, I do. It keeps me pretty busy; there’s always something going on.”

I slightly nodded.
“What did you major in?”

“Business. Pretty general.”

I shrugged. “It’s what makes the world go round.”

“What’s
your
major?”

“
Business,
”
I smiled.

I got out of the truck and she did the same. I watched her think about where we were
,
and when she saw me grab my bat bag from the back of my truck, she laughed.

“Did I make a team I don’t know about?”

I couldn’t help but laugh
, too
. I loved her personality. She was very laid back and had a great sense of humor. I hoped she had the same attitude for what we would be doing
next
.

“
Yes, you did. You’re going to become Ty Huntington’s newest prospect.”

She raised an eyebrow at me and I realized how that must have sounded.
I wondered if I should clarify what I meant, but I decided I’d probably just make it worse.

“Uh, f
ollow me,” I instructed. I led her into the batting barn and watched her look around.

“Wow. I feel like I’m i
n a restricted area. Are commoners
allowed in here?”

“Only with the right escort,
”
I replied with a smile.

She nodded
as she eyed me carefully
.

“Over here,” I motioned. She followed me to one of the batting cages and I selected a helmet for her. When I handed it to her she
finally understood what
my earlier comment
meant
,
and
laughed.

“You’re going to make me bat?”

“Yep.”

“You might be sorry.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

She shrugged and
put the helmet on
. I pulled out a
special
bat from my bag and handed it to her, and set the pitching machine for an easy toss.

“Okay
,
so…have you done this before?”

“Not in a batting cage, but enough to know you have your work cut out for you.”

“I think I’m ready for a challenge,” I replied.
She returned my smile and I just about lost my train of thought. “Uh, okay so
spread
your stance a little…there you go…pull your right elbow up a
bit
further… Oh, wai
t. Are you right or left-handed?
”
I tried to remember which hand she’d written her phone number with…

“
Right
.”

“
Okay. So…choke up a bit, slide you
r hands up some more
…yeah. When you swing, just make it nice and level, and follow through like
this.” I showed her the follow-
through with my own bat and she nodded. “Don’t worry about
speed
yet, just practice that a few times
, nice and easy
.”

“Okay. Do I have to step or anything?”

“
F
or now
just pivot on the follow-
through and you should be good.
Turn your hips like this,” I showed her. “
But
when or
if stepping into it feels natural, go for it.
” She practiced a few slow swings and I nodded. “Looks good. You ready to try it?”

She exhaled and said, “Yeah, I guess.
But I feel really self-conscious, just so you know.
”

I smiled at how honest she was.
“You’ll do great, don’t worry about it. Step in there.”

She gave me a tentative smile but moved to the plate. “Where exactly do I stand
in here
?
I feel a little trapped.
”

“You’re okay right there. Maybe take a
half
step in… That’s good.”

“Okay, the balls are going here
, right
?” she pointed over the plate. “I’m not going to get pelted with anything
tricky
, am I?”