Page 47 of Bad Ball Hitter
Pulling into the parking lot, I spot Lila standing in front of her car with its hood propped up.
“Uh-oh. What do we have here?” I mutter as I pull up in front of her car. I take in her white blouse and navy skirt and frown. Definitely not the attire to check out an engine, but also not something to wear to the store. Where is she heading?
I don’t waste time hopping out of my car. “What’s going on?”
“Gun Man!” a little voice yells beside her. “We’re having car trouble.”
Lila spins around to face me, and my heart nearly stops. Tears glisten in her eyes as her bottom lip trembles. “Something’s wrong with it,” she says frantically. “I have an important appointment that I can’t miss, but I don’t know how to fix it. I’m already late, and I can’t cancel because I don’t have his number, and if I don’t show up, I’ll lose everything, and?—”
“Whoa, slow down there, Tiger.” I place a finger on her lips to stop the longest run-on sentence ever spoken and wrap my other hand around her waist. She hiccups under my touch, bringing back painful memories. But I push them aside; there’s no time for memory lane. Her urgency is palpable. “Where do you need to go?”
“I’m meeting my banker at the café on Ninth.”
“What time?”
“About ten minutes. I was going to drop Jake off first at his friend’s house, but I don’t have time now.”
I check the time and wince. There’s not enough time to make it to the game if I run her to the appointment and talk to Miranda. Showing up late after they’ve benched me won’t look good. Management could see this as a big “fuck you” on my part. But seeing Lila’s panicked face guts me. What was it AJ said? Fame isn’t everything. Don’t let the good ones slip away. Yeah, I have zero intentions of making that same mistake.
“Hop in the car. I’ll take you there.”
“B-b-but what about Miranda?” Lila asks, but she’s already gathering her purse and Jake’s booster seat.
“Let me handle her.” You’re way more important to me. “I’ll take you to the café first and then drop Jake off.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Trust me, Tiger, you’d be fine,” I say, though I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince more, her or myself. “But let’s go.”
I guide her toward my sleek sports car. How her petite form fits into my side reignites the reason for calling things off with Miranda. But I swallow down the wave of emotion threatening to consume me. This is not the time or place.
As she climbs into the passenger seat, I round the car and slide into the driver’s seat. The scent of her perfume fills the inside of the car, a sweet floral aroma that reminds me of spring mornings and the old times we shared.
Waiting to go after her will be more challenging than I thought.
I shake the thought from my head, focusing on now. Green lights and smooth roads guide our journey as Lila frantically checks the time.
“Try not to worry. We’ll make it,” I reassure her, pushing the sports car a little faster.
Jake pipes up from the back seat with his Spiderman action figure. “Gun Man, Spidey says ‘thanks for the ride’.”
I chuckle. “Tell Spidey he’s always welcome.”
Lila turns in her seat to check on Jake. The blue of her eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, catches me off guard. I have to look away, focusing on the road ahead. Everything about her tugs at me; her vulnerability brings out an unexpected protective instinct I’ve forgotten I had.
“Is everything okay, Mama Lila?” Jake asks, his voice filled with worry. Lila reaches back, gingerly brushing the hair off his forehead.
“Everything’s okay, sweetie,” she replies with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Drake will get you to your friend’s house.”
I catch a glimpse of her just as she turns back to face the front windshield. She’s beautiful, even when she’s on the edge of panic; maybe even more so then. And it hits me how much I’ve missed her presence, how much I’ve missed being there for her.
Once we take off, I ask, “You’re meeting a banker at a café shop on a Saturday?”
Her cheeks blush, and that slight hint of embarrassment causes my hands to grip the steering wheel tighter.
“He’s a customer of mine.” She shakes her head. “So much has happened. My boss’s wife—the owner—had a stroke. She’s not doing too well. Anyway, that prompted him to step up the timeline of selling his business. We’ve been discussing the terms for a couple of years. He wasn’t supposed to sell until next year, but that has changed with his wife’s health condition. Owning a pet salon is my dream. I’ve been saving for a down payment for a while. Anyway, Jett overheard my situation and offered to help.”
I bet he did.