Immediately all eyes went on me as someone from the players side of the rope approached our giant group. My teammates near me, gave me space and a spot up front like it was an unspoken decision to begin with. It made it easy for Rose, the short Asian girl to find me in the crowd.
She was in her uniform of khakis and an A's polo shirt. A lanyard was hanging from her neck, designating her as staff.
Rose grinned as she reached us. "It's good to see you boys so soon." She looked around. "Are these your teammates? Jeremy told me that you guys were invited for the CIF Champions announcement."
"Hi." I said politely.
She looked among the group. "Which one is your head coach?"
Coach stepped forward. "I am. How can I help you?"
She stuck out her hand and introduced herself. "I'm Rose Shimizu, I work in the public relations department for the A's. I'm actually going to act as your team's guide until you guys walk out on the field."
"Oh! Yes! We've spoken on the phone." Coach nodded. "Thanks for looking out for us."
"It's my job." She smiled kindly. "You all can hang out here until an hour before game time and then the grounds crew will come and prepare the field for game time. That's when I can show you guys around and we'll head for the outfield entrance with the other teams."
"The other teams?" Noah asked.
Rose nodded. "Yea, we invite all surrounding CIF winners from the spring sports."
"So cool." Dave mumbled.
"So there's going to be a lot of teams here tonight?" Kyle asked.
"No, we don't invite them all at once. We space it out. We honored a few teams last night and we'll do the same for the next couple of days." Rose explained. She glanced back at the dugout. "I can answer more questions when we have to leave. Why don't you let me go get Jeremy so he knows you guys are here."
"Go ahead!"
"Sorry to hold you up!"
"Will more players than just Patterson come out?"
Rose looked to the adult who asked that last question. "I'll see who's available. Most of the guys will be receiving pregame treatment or reviewing for the game." She turned and hurried to the dugout, going through, heading to their clubhouse.
"How greedy." Noah mumbled for only me to hear. "Can't he see that some A's players are already out signing autographs? They obviously want the more famous players to come out."
"So?" I shrugged. "Maybe he just wants his favorite player to come out."
"He's just taking advantage of the situation." Noah rolled his eyes.
"You take advantage of situations all the time." I pointed out.
Noah pouted. "I'm different."
Sure he is. I cracked a smile.
"Patterson!"
"Jeremy Patterson!"
"Over here, over here!"
"Jeremy, please sign this ball!"
"Patterson, can I have a photo?"
The fans behind the roping became a lot louder as Jeremy came out of the dugout. Rose was right behind him, pointing me out in the crowd. Jeremy ignored all the shouts and calls, heading for me directly.
I stiffened up, almost doing my best impression of a statue.
Zeke rested a hand on my shoulder. "You've got this."
That's right. I've got to clear the air. Be more open. Be more willing to reconnect. I tried my best to smile as Jeremy reached our group. The guys around me got quiet, stunned by his presence.
"Good to see you, Jake." Jeremy awkwardly lifted his hands, put them down, then decided to stick them in his back pockets.
My lips twitched and formed a real smile. "Yea. Thanks for letting us come in early." I tilted my body and showed him my team. "These are my teammates." I looked at my team. "Guys, this is Jeremy."
Jeremy nodded at everyone. "Hello. I watched your championship game. You all did great! It really made me miss being in high school."
"You were there?" Bryce's jaw dropped. A few of the other guys had similar reactions.
Jeremy smiled. "Yea." He glanced down at me. "I didn't want to miss it."
I looked away.
"Why don't you introduce him to your teammates, Jake?" Rose suggested, putting me on the spot.
I looked around. "Well…you know the Atkins."
"I do." Jeremy stepped a little closer. "Noah and Zeke." He took his hand out of his pocket and pointed at each twin. "Dave and Kyle."
"Wow!" Dave exclaimed.
"Not bad." Kyle nodded.
I gestured at my Coach. "And this is Coach Wilcox, the head coach. You've…met."
Jeremy's jaw clenched. "We have."
"No hard feelings." Coach lifted his hand for Jeremy to shake. "I protect my players first and foremost."
"Good to hear." Jeremy shook his hand and we moved down the line.
I wasn't close to a lot of the guys, but I was still able to name them, their position, and what grade they were in. When we got to Julian though, I mentioned that he would be playing softball with Noah and I this summer.
Jeremy was caught off guard. "Softball? You don't have a travel team to play on?"
I pulled on the jersey I was wearing. "It's complicated. We put together a team for an adult softball league though. It's only a month long." I moved along the line and introduced someone else.
Afterwards, he started to signed some of their gear as we worked our way back to the Atkins. It was strange for me to see him in action. He smiled and spoke with my teammates and their families, not showing an inkling of awkwardness. Was I the only one he felt awkward around?
Since there were so many of us, it took him quite some time to sign the autographs and take selfies. He grinned with ease and acted like he really enjoyed speaking with everyone. He didn't look like this when speaking with me.
Our hour was almost up and Rose was speaking with Coach on where we should go now as a group.
I felt an itch from within. Something I needed to get off my chest. I looked up at Jeremy, still separated by the rope. "Can…we talk for a minute?"
Jeremy looked around and saw that players were heading inside their respective clubhouses. "Yea, we've got some time." He looked up at Rose. "You can take the team away. I'll have someone else bring Jake to rejoin you guys."
Rose nodded.
"Jake?" Noah looked at me. "Do you want me to stay?"
I hesitated. A part of me wanted to keep Noah near. He was my protector and my best friend. He was always nearby. But maybe, that's the problem. I don't have to open up with Noah, it comes naturally between us. With Jeremy though, I need to work. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just hard to reconnect something that's been disconnected for so long.
"It's fine." I looked him in the eyes. I wanted some alone time with Jeremy. With Noah around, he would be 'Team Jake' the whole time and would just play the blame game with him. I don't want to guilt trip Jeremy, I want to get to know him. More importantly, I want him to get to know me. Have a reciprocal relationship with me.
I could see Jeremy's surprise as I sent away the Atkins with Coach and the team.
