The Quiet Part Out Loud by Deborah Crossland

Author:Deborah Crossland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2023-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Alfie

I FEEL LIKE YOU’RE RIGHT IN front of me. If I could only reach you. I don’t remember it ever being this foggy in the city before. At least it isn’t raining.

It rained the first day of baseball practice, but Coach made us play anyway, shouting at us every time someone stopped to wipe their face or wring out their shirt.

Winners train. Losers complain.

I don’t know how many times he said it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be hearing that in my head for the rest of my life.

I gained a couple miles per hour on my pitch, which was pretty amazing considering the ball and I were soaking wet. That fall workshop we did really paid off. I only hoped my arm would hold up when the scout from San Francisco showed. Overall, it was a pretty good practice.

But the best part was you waiting for me when it was over.

You were so cute with your yellow polka-dot umbrella and matching boots. You must’ve gone home and come back because your hair was tucked into a bun on the top of your head and you were wearing leggings instead of the jeans you had on at school.

When Coach finally excused us to the locker room, I detoured toward the fence where you were waiting to say hello.

“Isn’t there a song about yellow polka dots?” I took the umbrella from you and held it over both of us, kissing your cheek.

“I think that’s a bikini, not an umbrella.”

“Fine with me.”

Did I ever tell you how my heart skipped a beat every time your cheeks turned pink like they did that day? I think it’s my favorite color in the entire world.

“I doubt it’d go as well with the boots.” You circled your foot in the air. Water dripped from my hair onto my face, and you wiped it away with your hand. I took a step closer to you so our lips almost touched.

“Want to bet?”

“Thanasis!” Coach bellowed from across the field. “Get in that locker room and ice that shoulder. You have scouts coming!”

A lump formed in my throat and I closed my eyes, too afraid to find yours. We were so good, so happy finding who we were together. The last thing I wanted to do was think about the future, especially one where you might not be in it. But then your lips grazed mine and you smiled into my mouth, sending me straight into the sun breaking through the clouds.

“Busted,” you said. I opened my eyes to find a playful smile in your own. But like the storm swirling in the sky above, something else hid behind your amusement.

“Guess I better go.” I offered the umbrella back to you. “Thanks for coming to visit.”

“Anything for the starting pitcher. I’ll talk to you later?” You took a step back, and the cold inched its way in between us.

“I’ll text you when I’m off.” I wiped at the water sliding into my eyes and watched you walk toward the parking lot.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.