Chapter 10

"Time."

The umpire nodded as he stood up. "TIME"

Lauren huffed as she jogged to the mound where she was met with a very angry looking Bo. It was their season home opener and luckily the team from ASU wasn't the strongest competition since her and Bo seemed to be having communication issues. It was the bottom of the sixth inning and for the whole game the pair seemed to be slightly out of sync. Luckily Bo was good enough of a pitcher to work around their issues and Lauren was smart enough to adjust to the situation as needed. Even their teammates could see the pair was struggling and on more than one occasion Kenzi got on Bo's case upon entering the dugout when they were batting.

At one point even Tamsin had pulled Lauren aside to see what the problem was, especially given their odd conversation the night before, but the younger Lewis just shook her off and focused on the game refusing to talk to her older sister. Bo watched the interaction between the sisters with interest and when Lauren caught her looking over there Bo was confused by the hard stare the blonde sent in her direction. She wanted to go over and see what the problem was but she had to bat so she couldn't talk to her.

"What?"

Bo was annoyed that Lauren seemed so irritable and she just wanted to end the game so she could find out what the hell was wrong. However, the look on the blonde's face told her she wasn't in the mood for pleasantries and Bo had no clue what was going on.

"Can you put whatever issue you have aside and just finish this game?"

Bo looked at Lauren in complete shock at the younger girl's words. She wasn't used to being spoken to like that, especially from a freshman and she didn't know what was bothering the blonde but it was pretty obvious she wasn't Lauren's favorite person right now. Lauren just shoved the ball back at Bo and turned to walk back to home plate. She resumed her position behind the plate and systematically called the right pitches to put the side down in order. The team jogged to the dugout and Bo grabbed Lauren's arm to pull her over to the side.

"What is going on?"

Lauren glared at her and huffed as she shook her arm free from Bo's grasp. "Nothing is going on. Just trying to finish out this game."

Bo stared at her silently and noticed that Lauren wouldn't meet her gaze so she threw her hands in frustration and sighed. "Fine, whatever. Just stop being such a bitch."

Bo stormed off and sat at the other end of the dugout staring out at the field not saying anything to anyone. She didn't even look in Lauren's direction for the remainder of the inning. Two runs later the home team jogged back out onto the field for the final inning and Bo and Lauren still had yet to say anything to each other. The Coach noticed their tension and one of the assistants was going to say something to them but she stopped him from intervening knowing they needed to work through it.

"Batter up."

The first batter of the inning stepped into the box and Lauren relayed the signal to Bo who just nodded curtly and hurled the pitch with a little extra umph letting Lauren know she wasn't happy. The blonde retaliated slightly by throwing the ball back to Bo with probably more force than necessary and for a second Bo glared at Lauren with a raised eyebrow. The blonde just stared through her and Bo shook her head as she prepared for the next pitch. The rest of the inning went smoothly with little resistance from their opponents and soon the team found themselves gathered in the outfield for their customary after game meeting. Bo couldn't even recall what was discussed though as she followed the team back to the locker rooms to get changed.

"Lauren? Hold up…"

Bo jogged to catch up to Lauren who sighed as she paused at the request of the older girl. The rest of the team went ahead to the locker room leaving the pair alone on the field as the stadium emptied out. Bo moved in front of Lauren and looked at her with her hands on her hips and her glove tucked under one arm.

"You want to tell me what the hell was going on today?"

Lauren tucked her glove under her arm and looked straight ahead. "Nothing was going on."

Bo shook her head. "That's bullshit Lauren."

The blonde finally looked over at the brunette and gave her a small sigh. "Look Bo, it's noting. It's fine."

Bo tried another approach as she looked at the internal struggle of the younger girl standing in front of her. She softened the tone of her voice and looked at Lauren cautiously. "Lauren, something's obviously wrong. Everything seemed fine last night so what happened between then and today?"

Lauren wasn't sure how to respond without sounding slightly embarrassed so she just shook her head. "I'm fine, I must just be having an off day or something."

Bo looked skeptical. "Are you sure? I mean if you want to talk about it I'm here."

Lauren gave her a small smile for her effort. She knew it was unfair to Bo to act so erratically but she was having trouble dealing with the new emotions she was feeling and she needed to get a handle on them before she explored them further. "It's fine Bo. Honestly."

Bo looked at her skeptically and nodded slowly as she sighed. "Okay well like I said if you want to talk about it just let me know okay Baby Lewis?"

Lauren was about to nod and walk away but something about the way Bo had addressed her just then got to her. She rolled her eyes and nodded as she turned to leave in frustration but Bo's hand on her shoulder stopped her. "See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. What's with the mood swings?"

Despite her annoyance and frustration with the situation the only thing Lauren could feel at that moment was Bo's hand on her shoulder. There was a warmth radiating from it that she'd never felt before and it both shocked and confused her as she couldn't figure out why she was reacting so strongly to a simple touch.

Lauren turned around with a snarl on her face. "Maybe I'm just tired of being treated like a kid. Maybe I'm tired of being known as Tamsin's little sister or freshman or more importantly 'Baby Lewis!'"

Bo's eyes grew wide as she listened to Lauren rant and she really wasn't sure what to say in this situation as she still didn't really understand why it bothered the younger girl so much. Bo had felt Lauren tense slightly when she touched her and she didn't know if it meant she was scared or annoyed but she couldn't deny that one simple touch made her crave more. She put her hands up in mock surrender as she tried to get a handle on the situation. "Woah, okay easy fre-Lauren. Calm down."

The blonde was on the verge of tears and she knew they were out of frustration and annoyance more than anything else. It never really bothered her before to be known as the younger of the Lewis sisters but standing here, in front of Bo Dennis – someone who she may or may not have feelings for she realized it was the last thing she wanted to be known as. She wanted Bo to see her as an equal, a teammate, just another college student that found herself unnervingly attracted to the Junior pitcher.

"I am calm. I'm just…tired Bo."

Lauren's face betrayed the intent of the words coming out of her mouth and she knew she had to get out of there. No good was to come of her being there pouring her heart out to the older girl so Lauren turned and walked away leaving Bo staring at her retreating form. The older girl had the immediate urge to run after her and console her but she had no clue why she felt that way. It wasn't her thing, her style to be the comforting affectionate one and it left Bo even further confused than she already was.

Unfortunately for her also was the fact that the older Lewis sister had returned to the field looking for them and the only thing she saw was her sister walking away trying to discretely wipe tears away while making a bee line for the locker room. Lauren was so lost in her own head that she didn't even see Tamsin standing there looking at her with concern. Lauren walked right past her and into the locker room despite Tamsin's attempt to call out to her so without further thought Tamsin rushed back on the field ending up right in front of Bo who was still staring at Lauren's retreating figure in confusion.

"What the hell Dennis?"

Tamsin shoved her lightly mostly to get her attention and when Bo turned to look at her the fire in her eyes was unmistakable. "What do you want Tamsin?"

The taller blonde gave her a knowing look as she motioned in the general direction of the locker rooms indicating she was referring to her sister. "What did you do to her?"

Bo looked up at her with anger on her face as she brushed past the younger pitcher bumping her shoulder in a not-so-subtle display of annoyance. "I didn't do anything. Your sister is fucking crazy."

Tamsin grabbed Bo's arm to stop her and stared down at her with as much intimidation as she could muster. "What did you just say?"

Bo threw her hands up in frustration. "I said she's crazy. Yesterday she was fine, we went to dinner and everything was great. And today she's acting like she hates me. I know girls are weird but this kind of takes the cake."

As Tamsin was listening to Bo it suddenly clicked and she shook her head as she stared back at Bo. "Well maybe it's not her."

Bo looked confused. "What the hell are you talking about? Is this some kind of family trait thing that I don't know about? Is this a Canadian thing to talk in riddles?"

Tamsin rolled her eyes as she sighed. "No, but maybe you should be more careful when dealing with people and their feelings."

She stormed off after her sister and once again Bo was left watching the retreating form of a Lewis and she shook her head again. She had no idea what just happened in the past ten minutes but she did not have the energy to try and figure it out. She scowled as she followed the path Tamsin had taken to head back to the locker room and when she walked in she was happy it was empty. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone and it appeared neither was Lauren as her locker was clear meaning she'd left probably without showering. Bo sat down on the bench in front of her locker and stared into the space where her normal clothes were hanging as if the answer to her questions was somehow hidden in there.

"I haven't seen you think that hard since Florida lit you up in last year's Series."

Bo's head swiveled around and she smiled at the owner of the voice. She was extremely happy that Ciara was doing her graduate schooling at UCLA and the fact that she was getting her Master's degree in Sports Medicine was a bonus as it meant she got to spend time with the team. The blonde walked in and sat down on the bench across from Bo with a smile on her face.

"Good game today."

Bo nodded. "Thanks. Could have been better but not bad for the opener."

Ciara nodded. "Seems you have a few kinks to work out though."

She looked at Lauren's locker and back at Bo with a raised eyebrow and the brunette just nodded as she sighed softly. "You could say that."

Ciara peered at her curiously. "The Bo I remember would have laid down the rules with her and not given it a second thought. What's the problem?"

Bo shrugged. "I don't know. She's different I guess."

Ciara gave her a knowing smile. "Different how?"

Bo looked up at her with curiosity. "I don't know…different. She's smart and she really knows the game C."

The older girl laughed and nodded. "As did Nadia but I recall a few conversations where you put her in her place a time or two. So that's not all that's going on is it? What's wrong Bo."

The brunette shrugged as she started changing not even bothering to shower. "She's annoying. And she's crazy C. Seriously. Like bi-polar mental."

Ciara watched Bo brush off the situation and try to resort to her normal banter as she changed. She shook her head and laughed slightly as she looked up at Bo with a toothy smile. "Or, perhaps there's something you're not seeing."

Bo had her jersey halfway off and stopped to look at Ciara with questions in her eyes. "Like what?"

Ciara laughed. "Like have you ever considered this girl is smitten with you?"

Bo scoffed and threw her jersey into the bin to have them washed. "Please, she's all school and softball. So much so that she had to give me a speech on how those things are her priority and she just wants to be friends."

Ciara nodded patiently as she stared at Bo with pity in her eyes. "You really can be dense you know that? And as I recall you and I had this discussion your first year."

Bo smirked. "Yeah but I was just saying that so you wouldn't find me weird."

Ciara smirked. "And what was your true intention?"

Bo shrugged. "It doesn't matter, it isn't the same thing."

Ciara smiled at her knowingly. "Isn't it?"

Bo sat down on the bench in her sports bra and softball pants. "Hold on. You think she likes me?"

Ciara shook her head. "I'm saying you are charismatic and charming and cute when you want to be. And people are attracted to you. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that an impressionable young woman like her would be attracted to you so you need to be careful with her. She's tough yes, sure, but she's also young and figuring a lot of things out. Think back to your freshman year Bo, it's hard and there are a lot of things that you have to deal with at once. You can't expect her to have all the answers and perhaps this is part of that process. I don't know how she feels but if she is struggling with emotions that she doesn't understand of course she's going to be irrational and bi-polar as you put it."

Bo sat there with a dumfounded look on her face. She never really thought the younger Lewis would be attracted to her, like actually attracted to her and now she was thinking about their conversations trying to figure out why Lauren flipped out on her. What Ciara said would make sense if Lauren was a normal girl but the way she'd handled herself both on and off the field was so mature that Bo never really considered her like most of the freshman girls that she met.

"So what should I do?"

Ciara shrugged. "That's for you to figure out. But Bo, if this girl does have feelings for you, do be careful."

Bo looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not going to hurt her on purpose Ciara."

The older girl nodded. "I know you aren't Bo. But it's the accidental stuff that hurts most."

Ciara stood and gave Bo a hug before exiting the locker room leaving the brunette to think about what her former teammate told her. She didn't understand why she was the one getting the lecture on being careful. If Lauren had something to work out that was on her and Bo didn't see how it would make a difference one way or the other what she did or didn't do.

ooOOoo

"You want to grab food?"

Tamsin glanced at her sister out of the corner of her eye and waited for a response from the girl currently staring out the window silently. Lauren just shrugged and mumbled 'whatever' and Tamsin sighed as she decided ordering in was probably the way to go tonight. As she navigated her truck on the short drive from the field to their apartment she let Lauren sulk in silence knowing whatever was going to be said was probably better said in private. She parked and followed her sister through the front door of their apartment kicking the door closed behind her.

"Okay Laur cut the crap. I know what's bugging you."

Lauren threw her bag down in next to the couch and flopped down staring straight ahead. "Do you?"

Tamsin nodded even though Lauren wasn't looking at her and she joined her sister on the couch sitting on the other end tucking her legs up underneath her. "I do. And I think you need to let it go. Don't get involved in something that's ultimately going to end in pain."

Lauren glanced over at her sister briefly before turning and looking straight ahead again. "That all?"

Tamsin raised her eyebrow at Lauren's tone of voice and she stared at her with frustration. "Look Lauren, I know things are shit okay? I know you're overwhelmed with school and softball and with Nadia out you gotta step up but what I'm telling you is don't get involved with Bo. It's not going to end well."

Lauren laughed sarcastically. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

Tamsin looked confused. "Why not?"

Lauren turned to her and Tamsin could see tears of frustration quickly forming in her sisters big brown eyes. "Because everyone, including Bo Dennis, only sees me as a kid. As YOUR kid sister. And apparently that means I get treated with kid gloves. Bo doesn't have any interest in me because to her I am and probably always will be Baby Lewis."

Tamsin gave her an annoyed look. "Okay can we cut the dramatics for five minutes here please? Look Laur, it's okay if you like her, and I'm not advocating you do anything but I am telling you that if you can help it…be careful. She doesn't have the best track record and isn't the most notorious for being monogamous."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Did you even hear what I said T? She isn't interested so don't worry okay? I'll be fine, this will pass."

Tamsin sighed as she scooted closer and awkwardly put an arm around her sister. "You know…last year I had the biggest crush on one of the senior girls."

Lauren snorted. "Yes I recall, the same on I found you on top of the other week?"

Tamsin laughed. "No, not her. I mean yeah I had a crush on Ciara but that's not who I'm talking about. There was this girl…Evony, she was incredible. Beautiful, smart and one hell of a ballplayer. And unfortunately she also had a reputation for sleeping around. Something no one told me until after I'd been with her and fell hard for her. It was quite the lesson to learn and all I'm trying to do is spare you the same stress okay?"

Lauren looked up at her with confusion. "Why didn't you tell me about her?"

Tamsin shrugged. "She got injured two games into the season and had to sit out all year. I was embarrassed and angry that I'd fallen for her shit and the one person who helped me through it was Ciara."

Lauren sniffed a bit as she listened to her sister's story. "That why you are so into her now?"

Tamsin laughed. "Actually for the longest time I thought she and Bo were a couple. Turns out they're just friends and Ciara had a thing for me all season. She just never told me. Until now that is."

Lauren smiled at the look on Tamsin's face as she thought about the older blonde. Lauren had seen Ciara around the apartment once or twice since the day she'd walked in on them and she was pretty certain there was something more serious going on between them. Tamsin didn't normally talk to her about that kind of stuff though and Lauren just assumed this was going to be like all those other times when she didn't say anything so she just nodded.

"Well I'm happy for you sis."

Tamsin shook her head. "Hold on, I think you have the wrong idea. Me and Ciara aren't a couple."

Lauren looked confused. "What? I mean you two…"

Tamsin rolled her eyes. "We have needs that we help each other satisfy on occasion but we're just friends Laur."

The shorter blonde looked shocked. "But…I mean I've seen her around."

Tamsin nodded. "Yeah I'm helping her with her graduate assignment. My recovery process is what she's doing her graduate thesis on."

Lauren looked confused. "Who were you with the other night then?"

A few days ago Lauren had come home and Tamsin's door had been shut and locked much to her surprise. When she'd knocked to let Tamsin know she was home the older Lewis was obviously entertaining an overnight guest and she had been pretty clear that she didn't want to be bothered for the rest of the night. Lauren had assumed it was Ciara and just nodded as she went to her room to retire for the evening. When she'd gotten up in the morning both Tamsin and her guest were already gone so Lauren never had a chance to confirm who it was.

Tamsin laughed as she shook her head. "Well we're not talking about me are we nerd?"

Lauren joined in the laugher as she shook her head. Typical Tamsin. "No we are not. Thanks T."

Tamsin squeezed her shoulder and stood up to go take a shower. A knock on the door stopped her though and when she answered her body tensed as she took in the person standing in front of her. "What do you want?"

Bo sighed. "Is Lauren home?"

Tamsin looked back at Lauren who heard Bo's voice and just nodded knowing she probably owed the older girl some explanation as to why she was acting spastic. Tamsin barely opened the door enough for Bo to walk past and she shut the door loudly turning to them and giving Bo a hard glare. "I'm gonna shower, be back in a few."

The statement was obviously made to let Bo know she would be back to check on them and the brunette just nodded at Tamsin who glanced at Lauren before turning down the hall to go shower. Bo cleared her throat a little as she stood there awkwardly before Lauren took pity on her and motioned for her to sit on the couch. Bo sat down on the far end like Tamisn had done earlier and Lauren looked at her with tired eyes.

"What are you doing here Bo?"

Bo played with a string on her shorts. "I wanted to finish our talk from earlier."

Lauren nodded. "Look I'm sorry for snapping at you. But I'm fine honestly, and there's no problem here okay?"

She motioned between them and Bo nodded slowly all the while never taking her eyes off the blonde. "Lauren, what was that? I mean, why is this such an issue for you?"

Lauren took a deep breath. "I don't know. Honestly Bo. I really don't. But it's not a big deal okay?"

Bo could tell she was trying to brush it off but for some reason the older girl didn't want to let it go. "Well for what it's worth I don't see you as a kid Lauren. Really."

The blonde gave her a shy smile and Bo felt a warm feeling pass over her as she watched Lauren respond to that statement. "You don't? But you're always calling me freshman or Baby Lewis."

Bo laughed. "I call all the freshman...er freshman and well, Baby Lewis kind of became your nickname."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "I hate that nickname."

Bo chuckled. "Well sorry to say but I think it's gonna stick. Coach pretty much assigns them randomly and yours seemed to be obvious."

Lauren laughed and looked at Bo with a small smile. "Well it sucks but if that's how it works then I guess I'm stuck with it."

Bo nodded and smiled. "So…we okay?"

Lauren nodded. "We're okay."

Bo gave her a genuine smile and continued to futz with the string. "So, if we're okay how about joining me for dinner again?"

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me out?"

Bo looked up at her with a slightly shocked expression that made Lauren laugh. Even the blonde had been surprised by the bold sentiment that came out of her mouth but nonetheless it served its purpose. Bo stumbled a bit as she shrugged. "Doesn't need to be defined as anything more than dinner. And your rules are no dates right?"

Lauren rolled her eyes a bit. "Right. Okay well in that case, sure. I'd love to."

Bo smiled and nodded. "Okay. Well how about I go home and shower and we'll go get something later tonight?"

Lauren gave her a brilliant smile. "I'd like that."

Bo nodded and stood up. "Alright, well I'll see you later then."

Lauren nodded and waived as Bo walked out just as Tamsin had finished her shower. The older Lewis looked at her sister who now had a goofy smile on her face and shook her head. "What did Dennis want?"

Lauren shrugged. "Nothing. And we're going out for dinner tonight."

Tamsin frowned. "Laur, I told you not to get involved."

Lauren looked at her sister with a patient smile. "We're just going as friends Tamsin relax. I heard what you said earlier and I don't know what Bo's intentions are but for now I'd just like to get to know her. As friends. If something more happens we'll figure it out."

Tamsin sighed. "I don't like this. At all. But fine. And if she hurts you I'll just kick her ass."

She said the last part with a faux sweet tone and Lauren laughed as she stood up and walked over to give her sister a hug. "Thanks T."

Tamsin rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah. Look, whatever ends up happening you know I'm here for you right?"

Lauren nodded. "Yes, you are the best big sister ever."

Tamsin nodded. "And don't you forget it. Now go shower, you stink."

Lauren laughed and playfully shoved her sister out of the way as she went to take her shower. She was being truthful when she told Tamsin she was being cautious with Bo and that she understood what Tamsin was telling her. She had no intention to rush into anything but one thing was certain. Lauren found herself craving time with Bo in a way she'd never craved time with anyone and it was startling to her. She needed to figure out what she felt and what was going on or it was going to bother her to no end. She hoped she knew what she was doing but in true Lauren Lewis fashion she was going to take it one day a time. Just like she approached everything else she was going to be patient and figure out her next move carefully. She wouldn't make the same mistake her sister did and she was going into this with her eyes wide open. Lauren wasn't sure what would happen but for the first time since she'd arrived in Los Angeles and met Bo Dennis, Lauren felt confident that she would be okay.