Page 201 of Out of Left Field

“Did you have fun at least?” I fed a couple of towels through the bars.

The original plan was for the three of us to go down together, but another group needed to split up, leaving an older man solo. I volunteered to partner up with him.

Didn’t realize the Universe was going to seize the opportunity to scream at my friends again.

“Why are you laughing at us?” Ev asked as he took the towel.

“Because this is funny. I wonder if it’s a sign.”

Willa scowled at me. “I’d tell you to shove your signs where the sun doesn’t shine, Seth Butler, but I’m so happy to see you smiling I’ll keep my smartass remark to myself. For now.”

I put my hands up. “I’m just saying. You two keep getting trapped in different places. It’s been a lot lately. Maybe there’s a reason.” Did I really need to say it? I was starting to think I did.

Willa sighed. “Yeah, it’s a sign college is over and we’re going our separate ways.”

Everett’s face fell. “Willa just accepted a job. In LA.”

And we’d both been drafted by the Mantas. We only had a few more weeks before we needed to report for training. In Florida.

Nowhere near LA.

So maybe they did see the signs, but they were just ignoring them. What was the point of admitting you had feelings if you were about to spend years on opposite sides of the country?

Willa had a gift. A true, amazing, uniquely hers talent for telling visual stories. She wanted to make documentaries, but she had such an eye that more than a few people in LA were interested in her. Her plan was to spend a few years trying to make it in Hollywood, bank some money, and then pursue her dreams.

It was a solid plan.

Ev and I, on the other hand, were going to try to make a career of baseball. It was a long shot. More than likely we’d spend a few years in the minors before hanging up our cleats. Maybe we’d get called up for a few games. That was the dream. I wouldn’t have dared to hope for more before Lori broke up with me.

Now it was all I had. And I needed somewhere to channel all this anger, so baseball was getting all of me until I figured out how to live with my feelings.

Ev had a great arm. I had no doubt he’d make it into the Mantas rotation someday.

After four years of being inseparable we’d all be living very separate lives.

I watched as Ev swallowed hard and stared at Willa. There was so much longing there. So much pain.

And Willa was oblivious. For now. They always flip flopped. One mooning over the other at a time. Never catching on.

Maybe Everett would make it to the Mantas and Willa would bank that money in record time. Maybe in two or three years they could be together when Willa wasn’t out in the world filming stories that needed to be told. I could see Willa meeting up with him on the road. Maybe when she was editing she could travel with him. Then after a few more years he’d retire and he’d follow Willa to the ends of the earth.

They could be so happy together.

If they weren’t so damned afraid of it all.

The connection they had was special. Rare. So rare I was sure I would never have it with someone.

And I sure as shit wasn’t about to go through what I just went through ever again. The Seth Butler Love Department was closed. For once in my life I was going to have some fun being single. Live a little.

But Everett and Willa? They’d never hurt each other. One day…when they were ready…they’d be happy together.

1

WILLA

Eight Years Later…

Try as I might to capture the sprawling blue sky over the Cotswolds, my camera kept straying to the silhouette of Everett Anson. Tall, broad, and with a look of deep concentration, my best friend was a confusing mystery. Maybe that’s why I kept studying him through my lens instead of taking the photographs I had planned.