Free Play Dirty (Make the Play #4) by Amber Garza Page B

is happy you came too.” Taking a deep breath, I lift my head and scour the field for him. The truth is, I have no idea if Josh will be happy his mom is here. So far he’s barely acknowledged my presence. In all the games I’ve attended over the years, I’ve never seen Josh engage with anyone in the stands. Not girlfriends or family members.  No one. But I’m praying that tonight will be an exception. It’s obvious that his mom needs that.
    We watch the boys play for a few minutes in silence, and then Coach Hopkins calls them over to him. Josh’s head swivels in our direction, and I hold my breath. When I first got here I imagined this moment. I pictured Josh beaming at me while Ashley seethed with jealousy and Hayes looked on with discomfort. When Ashley and Josh were dating, she would get so upset with how poorly he treated her when she came to the practices and games. I remember feeling bad for her at the time.
    But today Josh doesn’t react that way to me. His lips spread into a large grin as his gaze rests on me and his mom. He bobs his head toward us, and his mom appears happier than I’ve seen her all night. It makes me smile too. Not a fake one either.
    Deep down, I know this is all part of the plan. I know that Josh is only smiling at me to make Ashley jealous, but it doesn’t feel that way. It feels real. It feels like he’s genuinely happy to see me.
    The weird part is that I desperately want to believe that’s true.
    “You should come over for dinner,” Josh’s mom says suddenly.
    The boys have jogged off the field and are now huddled around Coach Hopkins. I glance over my shoulder at Ashley. She’s busy typing something on her phone. It makes me wonder if she’s noticed anything about Josh or me at all.
    “Tonight?”
    “No.” Ms. Easton shakes her head. “I’m afraid tonight will be take-out. What about Friday night?”
    I think about all the times Josh has turned down my offer to come over to my house for dinner. There’s no way he’d be on board with this. I’m about to shake my head and graciously decline, when she continues.
    “It will be so much fun. It’s just been Josh and me lately. Not much reason to entertain.”
    She’s so lonely that it would be impossible to turn her down. “Sure.” I bite my lip. “I’d love to come over.”
    She rubs her palms together in anticipation, her eyes lighting up. “Great.”
    When she settles back down on the bench, I’m glad I said yes. I have no idea what Josh will think about it, but it doesn’t matter. His mom’s broad smile reveals that I’ve done the right thing. Lately it seems that all I do is screw up or hurt people. It’s nice to know that I can still make someone happy. That I still have some humanity left inside. That not everything I do is for a selfish motive.

JOSH
     
    Usually I don’t welcome an audience when playing ball. I don’t mind my parents watching. In fact, when I was a kid there was nothing better than looking into the stands and seeing my parents sitting there. And even though I’d never admit it, I feel sad when my dad misses a game now. He used to make sure to come to every single one. But that was before Olivia. Before he left my mom and me for another woman.
    It’s girlfriends in the stands that bother me. The other guys seem to love when their girlfriends come watch them play. Hell, Ashley even comes out to cheer Hayes on during practice, and he eats it up. But I’ve never liked it.
    Mostly because girls expect attention. They don’t just want to sit on the bleacher quietly. They want to holler things out, and it’s normally the wrong thing at the wrong time. And they’re not happy if I don’t acknowledge them. But the thing is, that when I’m on the field I need to stay focused on baseball. I can’t get distracted.
    And girls are a distraction, plain and simple.
    I know that the other guys think I’m a jerk when I ignore the girls who come watch me. Cal and Chris used to give me crap for