The Hitting Zone
chapter-700

The two were at a stalemate. Zeke didn't know what to offer Noah and Noah didn't have any material wants. We left the store and headed for Alisha's.

"She said we could park in the driveway since we brought some food." Noah told Zeke as we got close.

Zeke glanced at him. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with her crush on you?"

Noah's cheeks gained some color. "Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

Zeke revealed a small smile. We arrived on her block and saw the street parking was mostly occupied. Thanks to Noah we could park in the driveway. Noah sent Alisha a text that we were here and then we started to unload the car. All three of us had our hands full as we headed for the door.

Alisha opened the door before we could knock. "Hey, Noah!" She smiled. "Jake. Zeke. You guys have perfect timing. The adults just finished grilling the first set of burgers. Do you need help carrying in anything?"

"No, we've got it." Noah answered, smiling.

Alisha led us through the house to her backyard. There seem to be a clear divide between the adults and the teenagers. All the adults sat or stood near the grill while most of the teens crowded the food table.

We found an open spot and started to set the fruit, brownies, and chips down. Then we all grabbed a plate of our own and started to fill it up. When Noah reached for the brownies, Zeke stared at him.

"What?" Noah said defensively. "I didn't say I was going to quit sugar today." He took his pile of food away to avoid Zeke's gaze.

I hurried after him with my own plate of food; also sneaking a few brownies.

"Wait for me!" Alisha followed us.

Noah paused for a second, waiting for the two of us to catch up. We decided to sit at one of the small tables by the pool.

"I'm surprised there aren't more people in the pool." Noah told Alisha as we started to eat.

"I'm sure there'll be some after we finish eating." She said. She looked at me. "Want to learn how to swim today?"

I swallowed a lump of food that sat heavy in my stomach. "No thanks. No swim trunks."

Alisha grinned. "You can borrow my dads."

"Stop messing with him. Jake isn't ready yet." Noah told her.

Alisha laughed. "Sorry, Jake. I was just teasing you. I'm not going to swim today either."

"Don't you like being in the pool?" I asked. Every time we come over, she usually goes in.

She shrugged lightly, smiling. "I live here. I can go in the pool every day if I wanted. But I thought I would hang out with you guys this afternoon. You've been gone for so long!"

"We've only been gone a week." Noah licked the ketchup off his fingers. "And even though we're back, we're going to be busy with baseball this week too."

"Yea, same." Alisha nodded in an understanding manner.

I didn't think anything of her comment and kept eating, but Noah spoke up.

"What do you mean by 'same'?" He squinted, putting his burger back down on his plate.

Alisha grinned. "I meant what I said: same."

"Are you going to take part in the softball camp?" Noah asked.

Alisha shook her head. "How is that the same as baseball? I'm going to the baseball camp."

I paused. Uhhhh. I immediately looked to Noah.

Noah looked surprised and then a little troubled. "Alisha...not to hurt your feelings, but...I don't think baseball is for you."

My lips twitched. That's an understatement. Softball isn't for her either. She spent the summer acting more like a cheerleader. Well, if she likes it enough, I'm sure she can practice and get better. It's not like I was any good at fielding, yet I was abled to improve. She can too.

Alisha laughed. "You guys should see your faces." She munched on a chip, happy. "I'm not talking about playing baseball. I want to help the team by being a manager or something. A ball girl? I don't know. I'm going to the fields tomorrow to meet with Mr. Miller and he's going to introduce me to your head coach."

Noah looked relieved. "Oh, thank goodness. I was scared that you were delusional or something. Not that I wouldn't support you, but being realistic..."

Alisha smiled and leaned back in her chair, holding her plate of chips. "Don't worry, I understand. If I wanted to play-play, then I would have tried out for the softball team."

"Why not??" Kaylee overheard Alisha on her way to our table. "C'mon, it'd be fun!" With only three chairs to sit in, she sat on Alisha's lap.

Alisha laughed. "You know I'm not any good. I loved playing with you guys, but there's no way I can play competitively."

Kaylee smirked. "So why don't you be our manager? Why do you want to do it for the baseball team? Hmm??"

Alisha blushed, glancing at Noah for a second.

Feeling awkward, I put my head down and focused on eating.

"Because she likes me more." Noah grinned.

"Shameless." Kaylee rolled her eyes. She stole one of Alisha's chips and threw it at Noah. Noah swatted it away. "Aren't you embarrassed?"

Alisha nudged her, giving her a look. "This was my decision. I like baseball. I watched the games during the season so why not participate in any way I can?"

"As long as you're not there to chase after Noah." Kaylee said with raised eyebrows, getting off Alisha.

A weird silence fell over us.

Alisha got up suddenly. "I'm going to the bathroom." She walked back towards the house.

"Way to go, Kaylee." Noah rolled his eyes and stood up. "Can you not be so unpleasant? For one day? You know Alisha isn't like that." He didn't wait for a reply and went after Alisha, leaving me alone with Kaylee.

Kaylee looked down at me. "Do you think I'm unpleasant?"

I shook my head quickly.

Kaylee grinned. "But, you think I'm scary right?"

I hesitated. Is this the time to lie? I bit my bottom lip as I thought about what to say. "I'm scared of everyone so that's-"

"You're not scared of Noah or Alisha." She cut me off. She sat down in Alisha's chair and looked at me directly.

...what should I say? I gulped. "Well..."

"Do you hate me?"

I immediately shook my head. "No. Of course not." I knew Kaylee was a good person at heart. She's just a little prickly. The first time we met, she was very defensive of her sister, but I won't forget the fact that she did make us cookies. She also played softball with us all summer. "I think...we're friends."

"You think?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you not want to be?" I asked, feeling a little down.

"How can you be scared of your friends?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I'm scared of the twins. And Zeke. And technically, we're family."

"Good answer." She nodded.

I waited. Then swallowed my anxiety before asking, "So? Are we friends?"

She laughed. "Yea, of course. I was just messing around."

I sighed with relief. This girl...really stresses me out.