“He’s cute.”
“Yeah, he knows that too, but his knees are finally giving out and we’ve got a kid down in the minors who’s ready. Avery knows his days are numbered and he seems determined to drive me fucking crazy for every last one of them.”
Crack!
The stadium lets out a collective gasp, which explodes into cheers when the ball travels high and far and over the outfield fence. A home run.
“Woohoo! Yeah!” Xavier bellows from his seat, a brand-new Dodger hat on his head as he raises a fist in celebration.
“We’ll make an LA boy out of him yet,” Frankie teases.
Bianca shakes her head and pastes on a rueful smile and Frankie knows her well enough to stop with that.
The Dodgers eke out the win. Herrera did end up being toast by the second time through the Mets’ lineup and a long line of relief pitchers had to close out the game, just as Frankie predicted.
“Why don’t you come back with us tonight?” Bianca asks, as they gather up their things. “Julie’s back on the road and we have a spare bed and you won’t have to go back to an empty house.”
“I’ve been going back to an empty house for a while now, even when he was there. Thanks, but no, I . . . I have a ton of stuff to finish up here and an aging catcher to rake over the coals, and then I should go home and purge the entire place of anything that reminds me of Shane. Besides, you guys only have so many nights left together; I don’t want to intrude on that.”
“Right,” Bianca says with a sigh. “Clock’s ticking.”
“Have you discussed . . .” Frankie trails off when Bianca gives her a sharp head shake. “Okay, but if you need someone to talk to about it, I’m here.”
“Obviously,” Bianca says.
Frankie’s phone buzzes in her hand and she stares down at the notification for so long Bianca can’t help but glance at it. It’s Shane . . . he’s going live right now.
“Oh, this is . . . the least healthy thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I . . .” Frankie starts to protest. “Yeah . . . I’m just torturing myself.”
“Give me your phone,” Bianca says, holding out her hand.
“What?”
“Your phone. I’m going to block him everywhere.”
Frankie sighs, but hands it over and Bianca’s thumbs fly over the screen until the job is done.
“You don’t need to see that crap, even by accident. You are amazing and deserve the world. I love you, best friend.”
Frankie grins, pulling her into a hug. “Love you too, best friend.”
“You really gonna buy Frankie’s place?” Xavier asks when they get home, Amelia twining around his ankles and then hers before retreating straight back to her cushion.
“Maybe. It’s so cute and the neighborhood’s nice and it’s just the right size for me, you know?”
“The perfect place to start your new life.”
“Exactly.”
“You were amazing today.”
She wants to ask him, wants to know if he meant what he said about her, about how he said he feels. It . . . didn’tfeellike a lie, even though she thought it at the time and she knows him well enough by now, knows what it sounds like when he’s not telling the whole truth, when he’s not sure of his facts, but the way he spoke about her to Frankie . . . that felt . . . real.
“It’s nice, you know?” he says, as she follows him into the bedroom. He tosses his Dodger hat onto the top of her dresser and then pulls his shirt up over his head.
“What is?” she asks, as she lets down her hair. It’s been a long-ass day. They were up and out before the sun had a chance to peek over the horizon and it’s way past set now after the long drive home from Chavez Ravine.
