Kaylee ignored Noah's protest and turned to Alisha. "Want to give it a go?"
Alisha blushed. "I don't think so. I'm not that good. I just know the basics. I doubt I could get a hit off someone who really plays softball."
"I'll go easy on you." KJ offered.
"Like other teams would?" Andy scoffed. He put on his batting gloves. "Let's go. The others can decide later if they want to bat or not." He grabbed his bat and helmet and headed for home plate.
"Don't mind him." Julian said. "He's very...inarticulate. He doesn't mean any harm."
"I understand." Alisha put her head down in embarrassment.
Noah rested his hand on her shoulder. "Who cares what he says? KJ said she wouldn't mind going easy so it's not like you're hurting anyone. Use this opportunity to practice swinging. Some teams might be good, but some should just be underhanded pitching. Besides, this is for fun remember?"
Alisha perked up. She grinned at Noah. "You're right. I'm not here to become a star player. I'm here to have fun."
I scrunched up my nose. I don't know how truthful that is...I thought she was more here for Noah than anything.
"You can pitch a bucket of balls to everyone that wants to hit." Zeke told KJ. "It's up to your discretion on what kind of pitching to throw." He looked at me and then tilted his head to the outfield. "Let's go, Jake."
I grabbed my glove and went to follow. Julian also came along.
"Wait for me!" Noah called out.
I glanced back in time to see Alisha holding him back. "Just pick up your bat instead."
I laughed to myself and jogged to catch up to Julian and Zeke. Mr. Miller and Stu chose to practice batting too, and probably had the idea to help Alisha with the mechanics.
"I thought you would be more upset not getting to hit." Julian laughed as I joined them.
I shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Zeke let's us play at The Cages a lot." So I'm not really missing out.
Julian looked at Zeke with a thoughtful expression. "Do you think Andy would listen to me more if I took him to there a few times?"
Zeke replied. "I can let you know when we go so you can join us."
"Yea, please do." Julian nodded. "Our relationship was fine before, but now that we're spending more time together, I'm unsure of what to do or say."
"I know the feeling." I spoke up.
Julian looked at me in surprise. "What?"
Feeling a little shy, I looked towards home plate as the others got ready to bat. "Jeremy and I. We aren't close. Now that we're trying to get along, it's a little awkward at times." I just didn't think Julian and his brother would be the same way. "Why aren't you two close?" I looked at him, curious.
It was Julian's turn to look embarrassed...and a little shy. "There's no real specific reason. We just have two different personalities. And there's an awkward age gap of four years. When I started high school, he was still in elementary school. And then baseball took a lot of my free time. Before I knew it, we got to this point. I'm about to leave for college and he's about to start high school."
I looked to Zeke. "But...Zeke and Noah aren't like that?" And they have just one year less.
Zeke cut in. "It's different when you come from a bigger family. The twins shorten the gap. Even then, we all have our moments of feeling distant from our siblings. It's part of growing up." He looked to Julian. "You can become close if you want to." He looked down at me. "Same with you and Jeremy."
I nodded obediently. I knew that. And, we were trying. Texting most days. An occasional call. I was working on my notebook full of questions. Jeremy was also trying to stay involved, asking about my classes and my plans for the summer.
"It's a two-way street." Julian sighed.
The others started to bat, breaking up our short chat about brothers. Julian went to cover left, Zeke took over center, and that left me in right field.
Andy was first up, with a small net behind him in place of a catcher. KJ was doing her complete motion and looked like she was trying her best. At least, that's what I assumed from the way Andy whiffed a few times. It didn't last though. He started to foul off a few, scaring the others to stand in the dugout to prevent getting hit from one of the wayward foul balls. Towards the end of the bucket of balls, he really got good, connecting with a few. After the bucket emptied, he had to collect most of the balls since more than half didn't give very far. He shared a few words with KJ after filling up the bucket and then went back to the bags to drop off his batting stuff.
Kaylee was up next. She did even better, showing off her skills in her favorite sport. She showed KJ the difference between their level, sending most of the balls to the outfield.
I caught a few that came my way, and didn't trip, slip, or stumble. After my fifth catch, my confidence started to go up. I glanced to Zeke in center field, wondering if he knew that I needed this more than practicing batting.
Noah went next after Kaylee said something to him. They were talking to one another, but I was too far to hear. I did hear Noah say to KJ, "Give it your best!" He didn't miss a pitch. He fouled what was close and launched the rest to the outfield. I was impressed. Noah outshone Kaylee even though he had to use a different bat, and the just everything was different. He must be getting better at timing his swing thanks to the constant trips to the batting cages.
Alisha went next, and KJ visibly slowed down her pitching for her. She didn't do too poorly, but of course if we run into a serious pitcher, she won't stand a chance. I could hear Noah yelling advice at her between the pitches, taking on a coach-like role.
Mr. Miller and Stu would occasionally give some advice too, but they weren't as enthusiastic as Noah. They both chose to take some swings after Alisha, asking KJ for simple lobs. To my surprise, they crushed them all over the outfield, making me get a full workout in.
I changed my mind. Zeke pulled me out here to work on my sprinting, not my confidence in catching fly balls. I started to miss a few as my legs got tired, but I didn't dare give up knowing that Zeke was watching.
After everyone was satisfied, we packed up. It was then that I noticed that the twins had pulled a disappearing act.
"Kyle probably doesn't want to see Marie." Noah told me as we changed out of our cleats.
"What a wimp." Kaylee scoffed. "Has the guts to dump her, but can't even stand seeing her car? Loser." She glanced up at Zeke. "No offense."
Zeke's lips twitched. "None taken."
Andy didn't say anything to us, packing up in silence. Him and Julian left together after Julian said, "See ya later." The group started to break up until Noah, Zeke, and me, were left.