Chapter 4

My mom ended up signing me up for the Navy’s softball camp. They train really hard, so she thought it would be good for me if I wanted to be an LSU prospect. I was excited to see how it would go.

I tossed my hair up into a ponytail so that I could braid it out of my face. I threw on my Huffington visor and my LSU t-shirt with my black shorts. Keegan loves these shorts. He says I fill them out nicely. My boy was always complimenting me.

Mom had bagels set out for us. So I grabbed an Everything bagel and my softball bag and ran out of the door. I threw everything into my car and then hopped into the driver’s seat. It was kind of weird driving myself places. I was so used to riding with Bay, my mom or Keegan places.

When I got to the camp, I could see girls already warming up. Crap! I’m fifteen minutes early and I’m still late. I hurried over to the field, trotting along as fast as I could with my giant bag and mask . My dad made me start wearing a pitcher’s mask after I got hit by a line drive in 7th grade. I told him I was fine and my reflexes are way faster now, but he wasn’t hearing it at all.

As I stretched I noticed a girl looking at me every once in a while. I tried to smile at her, but she didn’t show any emotion, so I just kept warming up. The coach started to call us over to the dugout, so we all started to gather our things and head over.

“Hey there ladies! Welcome back for those that have been on this ride with us before and welcome to our new faces, Brees, Hailey, Lisa, Maddie and Jagger,” she said, gesturing in my direction as she said our names.

Jagger was the girl that kept looking at me. I wonder where she is from and what her position is? Hope I can make one friend here. I didn’t know anyone and I wasn’t a very social person.

Coach gave us partners to play catch with and I ended up with Jagger. We went by first base line and set our distance and began to throw the ball. She had a pretty solid toss.

“So Jagger, where are you from?” I asked, throwing the ball back to her as I caught it.

“I’m from Texas actually. It’s my dad’s summer so I am here visiting him. Are you from here?” she asked fixing her glove with her teeth.

“Yeah, born and raised. What’s your position?” I inquired noticing her form.

“Catcher! And I assume you are a pitcher by your stance and prep,” she guessed.

I nodded. That was an astute observation. This girl had really been studying me.

“So, weird question. But why were you staring at me earlier?” I asked, feeling myself blush.

“Umm, you’re stunning. No secret or hidden agenda. I saw you walk in and I was like oh damn, she is gorgeous,” she said tossing her hair back.

“Oh, umm, thanks. I didn’t expect that answer but I’m flattered,” I said giggling at the thought.

We practiced for about two hours and then coach let us know our full schedule for the season. When I looked at it, it was pretty intense. How was I supposed to spend my entire summer with Keegan if I had practice four times a week.

Jagger came over to me after she grabbed her things.

“Hey can we exchange numbers? I don’t know anyone here and would love to have a friend while I’m here in Louisiana,” she offered.

“Oh for sure. I will introduce you to my friends also. We have a really good time together,” I said.

“Sweet. I’ll text you later and maybe we can plan a hang?” she asked.

“Of course. I can’t wait,” I said running off to my car.

I loved the idea of having a new friend. Casey would like Jagger too. I needed to get Case a new boy so maybe Jagger could help me out with that little project.

I got home and showered. I couldn’t wait to call Keegan after being away from him all day. Baylen and my mom were out to dinner for their once a month “date night,” so I was home alone and didn’t like that idea.

As I dried my hair, I heard my phone pinging, so I knew my boy was missing me as well. I put my hair up into a scrunchie so it could finish drying and grabbed my phone to call Keegan. I saw that I had three text messages from a number I didn’t recognize.

“Hey Brees, it was so nice meeting you today. Can’t wait to play ball with you all summer and get to know you better,” said one text.

“Oh this is Jagger by the way,” said another.

The final text was an emoji with the winkie face. Not the text I was expecting but I’m glad she felt a connection with me and I’m sure we will be great friends.

I jumped on my bed and called up my boy. I couldn’t wait to tell him about my day. As the phone rang, my heart began to race. He made me so giddy even after a year of being his girlfriend. After a few rings, the call went to voicemail. What the heck? I don’t think that has ever happened. He must still have some team stuff going on. I know he had his initial call today with the team.

I decided to text Jagger back. We ended up texting half the night. She was an easy person to talk to. And having divorced parents, she totally understood my life. She was an only child though, so no annoying brother getting in the way of her love life.