Pitched by Ella Goode
Chapter Seventeen
Colt
I might not bethe brightest crayon in the box, but a black suit, a badge, and the title agent screams FBI. What the hell does the FBI want with GG, and does it have anything to do with the fact that she says she’s not normal? Is she in witness protection? Nah, that doesn’t make sense. She’s living with her grandparents. Although...what if they’re not her grandparents and they’re FBI too? After all, that one kid said they’d never seen her at the grandparents’ house before, and he wasn’t even aware that they had a grandkid.
“You have a tough game coming up?”
I look up to see Tuck staring at me. “Do I have milk on my face?” I swipe the back of my hand under my chin.
“No. How can it be on your face when you’re dripping it all over the table?” he replies.
I glance down and see a pool of white liquid rapidly speeding toward the edge. “Shit.” I scramble backward and catch the towel that Tuck throws to me. I hurriedly wipe everything up and then re-pour the milk into my cereal bowl. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“No kidding.” He rolls his eyes. “Is it the Harrisburg batter? The Newton kid? I thought you struck him out three times last game you played.”
“Nah. It’s not baseball.” I tap my spoon against the side of the bowl. In the past, I would’ve kept this concern to myself, but Tuck’s getting older and I know if I keep treating him like a kid, he’s going to get mad at me again, and eventually there’ll be a barrier between us that I can’t tear down. I don’t want that, but I’m also not used to sharing bad shit with him. Is this bad shit though? Fuck, I don’t know. I decide just to lay it all out.
“Cult,” he says after I finish. “She was in a cult.”
“Not witness protection?”
“Nah, because that wouldn’t explain how she doesn’t know anything about anything. Like not knowing what baseball is? Confused by the cafeteria? A person who had a regular high school experience would know that even if they were moved into witness protection. A person who is in some religious cult wouldn’t.”
“You’re right. You’re right.” That would explain a lot of shit about her. She’s worried about not being normal? I’m worried she’s going to find the real world too full of fuckery to want to stick around. I got to protect her more. “I wish I didn’t have the game today.”
“Really?” Tuck’s face is full of surprise. There’s never been a day that I woke up that I didn’t want to play ball, but things are changing. “If the FBI is around then something bad is happening and she’s in danger.”
“Have her come to the game. No one is going to do anything with a couple hundred people around.”
I shovel the rest of the cereal into my mouth as I consider his plan. “She only hangs with Tricia, and Tricia hates baseball.”
“I’ll bring her,” Tuck volunteers.
I start to say that Tricia isn’t the only person who doesn’t like baseball but there’s something serious in Tuck’s voice that stops me. I look him over with new eyes. He’s nearly as tall as me, and he’s filling out. My little brother isn’t the scrawny kid who got bullied in middle school.
“Baseball games are long.”
He shrugs a bit and crosses to the sink. “Guess you’ll have to speed it up.”
Guess I will.
* * *
I pitch eight innings.Coach takes me out after the 72nd pitch when Tommy makes an error at shortstop which means I couldn’t have a perfect game. Logan closes out the ninth, and we end the game in just under two hours. Tommy falls all over himself apologizing for the mistake, and the other guys start hazing him mercilessly.
“Don’t care, man,” I tell him honestly.
“I do.” He’s miserable.
“There’ll be other chances for perfect games.”
“Let me buy you a beer at least.”
“Sorry. Gotta go.” I slip away before he can throw himself at my feet. GG and Tuck are waiting for me in the parking lot.
“That was so fast,” GG exclaims, her gorgeous face alight with excitement. “You struck everyone out. People in the stands were upset with Tommy but no one scored, so I didn’t understand why.”
“I explained it to her,” Tuck tells me as we climb into my car.
“It’s no big deal.” Maybe another day, if I didn’t have GG, I would’ve been raging at Tommy, but all I feel is relief that the game is over. “Where should we go?”
“Drop me off at home,” Tuck orders. “We’ve got a league game scheduled to start at ten.”
“League game?” GG cocks her head.
“My brother is a twitch streamer and plays games online with friends.”
“You make me sound like a nerd,” Tuck complains.
“I think it’s cool even though I don’t know what that all means.” GG gives Tuck a smile which melts him into a pool of mush. We drop Tuck off at the house. Mom’s at work as she should be and won’t be home until two, which gives me some time with GG. My car idles in the driveway.
I want to rip off all her clothes and pull her onto my dick, but before that, we need to clear the air. “You want to tell me about the FBI at your house from yesterday?”
“No.” A laugh busts out from me. She giggles into her hand and then peers at me through her white-blond hair. “I like that you like me and if you find out all these details, maybe you won’t like me anymore.”
“I’m not an expert in this sort of stuff, GG, and I’m not going to make you share info you don’t want to share. I’m not that kind of guy.” I mean, I’ve got my own drunk mother that I’m not proud of. “But if you’re in danger, then I want to know so I can protect you. I deserve that, right? As your boyfriend?” I slide my hand onto her lap and clasp her cold fingers in mine. I’ve laid it out for her, and now I wait with my heart thundering in my chest.
