"Pow!" With a 74 mph ball hit high in the sky, the ball falls on the grass passed the fence in left field and Trevor gets a home run. I was passing the volleyball around with my aunt—Anelle—when I told her I needed a water break. As I walked up the hill, I heard a screech from our team's dugout.
"You got this Matthew! Hit it hard!" I noticed that it was my brother voice who yelled that loud comment. Ever since my brother's season started, Matthew has made his way into being my crush. He was the best looking player on the team and he was part of the players who actually put some points on the scoreboard for the team. Although, the only problem I faced was that he probably didn't even know that I existed. On the contrary, I tried everything I could to put myself in the open for him, whether that was bringing the team snacks(even at 16 years old), going to every practice and every game and sitting in the front row on the bleachers during the games.
Matthew was inside the batter's box practicing a few swings. Moments later, he got into his athletic stance. In the blink of an eye, a ball gets thrown at him.
"STRIKE!" The referee announces. Without warning, another ball flies down the pipe and the referee calls strike again. I felt this strong desire to go over to the fence and cheer him on myself to attempt to make myself be known to him. Next thing you know, I opened my mouth and words came out.
"C'mon Matthew, you got this! I'll pay you 20 dollars if you hit a homer!" Then, he raised his hand to call time and looked over at me. He smiled and tipped his hat towards me. I couldn't help but smile when I realized that he finally noticed me. Seconds later, the pitcher threw his third ball and there was a crack.
"Yes Matthew! Atta boy!" I watched the ball as it dropped over the other side of the fence. I was stunned. All I could think about was, "Well there goes 20 out of my pocket." Behind me, Anelle started laughing. As I turn back around to the field, Matthew was passing third base. He was looking at me with his teeth showing and fell into the crowd of his team covering home plate. Moments later, he made his way out of the crowd and walked into the dugout. He points at me and motions his finger at me to come towards him. I get nervous and look back at Anelle.
"You better get over there," she says playfully.
"I'm going!"
"Oh, and you're gonna need this," Anelle comments as she hands me my wallet. I start walking toward the dugout and pull out a 20 dollar bill. I look at Matthew and he was smiling with his right arm bent against the fence. The rest of the baseball team was watching the game. It was dead silent between us.
"Hi. I'm Holly."
"Hi Holly, I'm Matthew." He put his hand over the fence for a handshake. As I'm bringing my hand up to meet his, I get interrupted.
"Go sit down sis! Nobody wants you in here. You're not allowed to talk to the players." My brother exclaimed.
"Hey! As long as I'm in here, she can be up here. And since this is your sister, you should treat her better!" Matthew says. Behind the fence, I was beyond shocked because no one has stood up for me like that, ever. "Where were we?" Matthew asks as he turns back in my direction. I brought my hand up to shake his hand.
"Hi." I said.
"Hey."
"Nice home run you got there."
"Thank you."
"Oh and here's this, as promised. I handed him the money. He took it, but he provided me with an offer.
"Thanks. But I will only accept this on one condition. You have to go on a date with me." I stood there in thought. I really wanted to go, but what would my parents say? They would probably get mad at me because they've never allowed me to go on a date with anyone. However, it was time for me to step outside my comfort zone.
"Deal, where are we going?" I asked.
"Do you like frozen yogurt or ice cream more?"
"Ice cream."
"Is Baskin Robins okay?"
"It's a date! See you then!" I confidently walked away with a permanent smile on my face. I sat down next to Anelle.
"I'll keep this a secret between you and me. I won't tell your mom and dad." Anelle stated.
"What's the catch?"
"No catch. It's your first date. Maybe on your second date there will be one though."
"Thanks Anelle. I love you."
"Love you too." Anelle says before pointing at Matthew. I directed my attention to the dugout and saw Matthew make a fist and say 'yes!' Some of the players were looking at me. He glanced at me and then sat down and watched the game.