Full Count (The Catcher Series Book 1) (46 page)

             “It
’
s three hours away,” I
point out. He hates sleeping away from me for one night, and same goes for me;
how will we go however long that will require to be away from each other?

             “I
’
ll make it two and a half,” he
jokes, giving me a flirty squeeze.

             “What am I supposed to do with you three hours away?”
I whine.

            Skyler goes silent for a long moment as he processes
my question. Either he hasn
’
t thought about it at all
prior to today, or he
’
s thought about it way too damn much
and is trying to find the right words to express it.

             “I haven
’
t decided if that
’
s where I
’
m going or not. He
’
s
just here to watch me right now. No offers.” I bury my head into his chest,
trying to memorize the smell of his game-worn jersey and the heat from his
chest that I love so much. “Hey… when an offer comes, we
’
ll
discuss it. You and me. This decision isn
’t just mine.
”

             “Sky, yes it is,” I argue, mumbling into him.

             “No, it
’
s not. Besides, weren
’
t you talking to scouts who were
literally
from across
the country? Pretty sure I saw Pat Murphy,” he changes the direction of the
wind.

             “Pahleeze. They
’
re just here
because ESPN is here,” I brush it off.

             “Sweetheart, it
’
s the other way
around; ESPN is here because you
’
re being recruited as a
sophomore.” Skyler smirks at me like he knows the entire premise for my life.
Or maybe he
’
s just proud of me, and I
’
m
being stubborn.

             “
Well I
’
m
not going to school across the country from you,” I declare, grabbing onto his
hand to further confirm my statement.

             “Ha, see? The tables have turned,” he snickers in a
lighter mood. Okay, that
’
s definitely his
I
’
m proud of you
and
you amaze me
face.

             “
I won
’
t do it,
” I say again.

             “Why not? What if they give you a really good offer?”
he suggests, his brows creasing. He doesn
’
t like this idea
any more than I do, but he
’
s playing devil
’
s
advocate. This is why it
’
s beneficial to date someone that
doubles as my best friend. We both have to pay our own way through college,
despite our parents having the means to pay for us. I guess they think we
’
ll appreciate it more that way.

             “
I won
’
t
go to school away from you because we
’
d have to break up
and we made a deal,” I blurt out. His face instantly hardens, as does mine. I
don
’
t want to be discussing this right now. We have an
audience, a professional one.

             “Why the fuck do you think we would break up?” he
questions me sternly. “Did you not hear me the other day when I told you and
everybody else that there will
not
be a fucking breakup with us?”

             “It
’
s college. That
’
s what couples do,” I tell him. “87.3% of couples who do long
distance relationships in college break up within the first three months of
being apart.”

             “And where the fuck did you find that statistic?” Skyler
snaps at me in the same lighter mood from moments ago. He laughs knowing that I
pulled the stat completely out of my ass. I have nothing. Nothing except
nerves.

             “A very reputable source,” I joke, trying to keep a
straight face.

             “
I don’
t care what fucking
statistic you throw at me about other people. It
’
s us
against them, sweetheart. You and I will fucking win every damn time, no matter
what the statistical odds.” Skyler is pretty damn convincing, so for now I’m
just going to focus on the upcoming state tournament and summer vacation with
my boy and our crew.

Skyler and Bianca
’
s story
continues in The Catcher Series

Book 2:
Swing For the Fences

Book 3:
Going Down Swinging

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to all of my friends who helped me in the process
of publishing Full Count, especially Jessica, Gretchen, Meghan, Isabel, and
Elizabeth who have each invested a significant amount of time in The Catcher
Series. Also thank you to the Ritchie sisters for inspiring me and giving me
advice to follow this dream. To anyone who reads this story, I appreciate you
helping make my dream of being an author and a storyteller come true!