680 V2 ch152 (1/2)

I glanced at the other dugout again. ”...can I go talk to him first..?”

Coach Leroy nodded. ”Don't spend too much time on it though. You need to warm up properly no matter which team you're on.”

I nodded, understanding. Then I hurried to the dugout entrance and headed for the other dugout, hoping Zeke would see me.

He did. Almost like he knew I was going to panic. He exited his dugout and met me behind home plate.

He looked down at me. ”Scared?”

”Nervous.” My hands drifted to my stomach, holding it. ”You won't leave?”

”Why would I?” He asked.

My eyes narrowed. ”I thought you or Rhys would be in my dugout...”

Zeke flashed me a small smile. ”I'm still here, watching your every move. And, you know Coach Leroy. He's a great coach and a good man. He won't let anything happen to you.”

I slowly nodded. ”I know...I just...”

”Needed some reassurance?” Zeke asked. I blushed and looked at my feet. ”Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of. If you want, you can come to my team.”

”Coach Leroy said that too.” I peeked up at him. ”You don't want me to do that though, right?”

Zeke chuckled. ”You don't have to, if you don't want to. You've already done very well this week, with expanding your comfort zone.”

I scratched my cheek and took a look back at the dugout. Coach Leroy stood just outside the dugout, waiting patiently for my decision. I looked back at Zeke. ”It's okay. I'm okay. I just...freaked out for a second. But you're here. It's okay.” I repeated again, trying to comfort myself.

Zeke reached out and gave me a pat on the head, pushing my hat down. ”Don't beat us up too much.”

I grinned and took a step back. ”Noah won't be happy if I don't beat you.”

Zeke laughed. ”Alright. We'll see. Go and warm up.”

We parted ways, heading back to our respective dugouts.

I stopped in front of Coach Leroy, feeling a little embarrassed. ”I'll play for you.”

Coach Leroy gave a hearty laugh. ”Happy to hear it. Head to the outfield and follow Chandler through warmups.”

I followed his instructions and joined the others in the outfield, sticking relatively close to Landon. When it came time to pair up to play catch, I didn't even have to ask Landon. He just assumed we would partner up and it cut my anxiety in half.

After warmups and just before game time, Coach Leroy announced the starting lineup. I was the first name called, batting first and playing second base. Landon was also in the starting lineup, but playing left field and batting seventh.

As the home team, we took the field first. The umpires and coaches allowed us some extra time to throw the ball around and let the pitchers throw a few extra balls off the mound. Coach Leroy stated that the pitchers would be changed throughout the game as he was trying to give all of them exposure.

In the dugout, in the middle of the inning, I switched into a helmet and grabbed my bat.

”You don't use batting gloves?” Landon asked before I headed out.