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carefully.
    I looked into her eyes for the first time and was a little startled. They were incredible. I’m not the greatest with describing things or explaining colors, but to me, it was like looking into dark Caribbean waters. They weren’t blue, but they weren’t green , either.
    I was pretty close to becoming a mute, but I managed to say, “Uh, yeah. Or ‘ T y’ is fine.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” she cringed. “I was just going by what the announcer said.”
    I had to pause momentarily. Oh, yeah, the announcer.
    “So… I’ll let you go, I guess,” she smiled. “I don’t want to keep you . ”
    She nodded behind me where the last two coaches were walking toward the batting barn. I also saw Aaron, Jack, and a couple other guys stic king their heads out the door, watch ing me. I decided she had basically made most of the effort to talk to me , and I was just standing there like an idiot , admiring her beautiful skin and lips .
    It was now or never.
    “Uh, w hat are you doing tomorrow ?” I asked her. “ I’m free the entire day. Would you be able to spend some of it with me ?”
    Wow. I couldn’t believe I actually did it. Never in my life had I been so forward with a girl.
    She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and I thought she was goin g to say no, but then she slowly began to smile . “I’ d like that, ” she nodded.
    “Ty!” someone shouted from the barn.
    “Oh , u h, I gotta go. Can I get you r number so I can call you later ?”
    “Sure,” she said with a nother smile. She pulled a business card out of her purse and wrote on the back of it. She handed it to me, still smiling.
    “Okay, I’ll give you a call tonight.”
    “Sure,” she replied again . I turned to walk away but she said, “ Hey, Ty?”
    I stopped to face her. “Yeah?”
    “D on’t you want to know my name?”
    I couldn’t help but smile when I sa id, “You’re Jayden,” and turned around to jog to the barn.
    When I got there everyone was staring at me, even the coaches, who were standing at the head of the group. It was deathly silent and I thought for sure I was toast for holding everyone up . Finally Coach Tucker folded his arms across his chest and said in his gruff voice, “So? Have you delayed our meeting for nothing, or did you f inally get her number ?”
    I was humored by the smile he was trying to hide and answered, “Well, hurry this thing up so I can go call her. ”
    The team exploded with cheers .
     
     
     
     
    I did call her that night around nine. I worked for the rest of the day, got home and showered, and locked myself in my room out of pure nervousness. She had been on my mind all day, and just the thought of actually talking to her after the game earlier left me with a permanent smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach .
    I stared at the card in my hand with her number on it. I flipped it over several times to read the business information on the other side. It was for a music store here in town. I wondered if that’s where she worked.
    She answered on the third ring and I could tell she was somewhere crowded.
    “Hey, uh, Jayden? This is Ty.”
    “Oh, hey!” she said.
    I could easily picture her smile and it made my heart race again . I was especially pleased that she sounded excited to talk to me.
    “Let me go somewhere quieter.” After a few seconds her voice returned. “Sorry about that.”
    “If you’re busy I can call you later,” I told her. I didn’t want to wait to talk to her, but I thought I’d be polite.
    “No, that’s okay. I’m just at my friend’s house. What are you up to?”
    “Me? Oh, I just got home from work. I was thinking about meeting up with some friends in a little bit.” Aaron had left me a message to join them where they were; I had been pretty tired when I got home, but now I was getting a second wind. “Hey, maybe you could meet up with us?” I tried.
    “ Oh, I’d like to , but I’m at a birthday party for Cali’s nephew. I was