"So how serious is it?" Owen asked Jamie, the two stood several feet away throwing the ball back and forth warming up for practice.
"I dunno." Jamie caught the ball, hurling the ball back. "She met my mom-"
"Your mom? Jeez, Reagan are you going to marry this girl?"
"Marry? No. Stop being weird about it! You met my mom too, we're just friends"
"Yeah okay, Reagan." Owen chuckled tossing the ball back much to Jamie's annoyance.
"Amanda." Mary hugged her longtime friend and neighbor tightly. Amanda had been gone on and off the past couple of weeks grieving her family's loss. Mary hugged David next and right after Frank did the same. The four sat down at the table scooting their chairs in looking over the Lunch menu.
"Thank you so much for meeting us here," David announced.
"Wouldn't miss it." Mary smiled, the four ordered their meals and drinks that arrived at the table shortly after.
"How's your family?" Amanda began the conversation.
"Everyone is doing their thing, Danny and Joe are still NYPD. Erin Is settling into her Law Firm, Jamie-" Both Mr. and Ms. Reid's removed their eyes from the menu noticing Frank's long pause. "He's playing baseball again-"
"Frank... that's amazing."
"The whole team is and he's been doing really good lately," Frank added.
"I miss that kid being around, he has to visit more... I figured he's been doing well, he hasn't been over in while... Right after everything he'd come over and hang out in Mason's room, even fall asleep on the couch in Mas's room." David smiled pleasantly.
"Is he still going to commit to Los Angeles?" Amanda wondered.
"I don't know." Frank placed his fork down. "Every time we or his brothers bring it up, he wants to take off."
"I see." David nodded in thought.
"The deadline is soon and he has to make a decision soon or he loses his full ride," Mary spoke.
"You think I can talk to him?" David said.
"Absolutely, we'd really appreciate it," Frank assured.
Eddie watched his chest rise up and then down, Jamie had fallen asleep thirty minutes ago and to Eddie's annoyance, it was to one of her favorite movies. But she remembered he came over right after practice and he was exhausted. 'He's kinda cute when he asleep' she continued to watch the end of her movie, periodically peeking over at Jamie.
"Are you watching me?" Jamie said, his eyes still closed.
"Excuse me? you fell asleep in my bed. We were watching one of my favorite movies."
"A boring movie," Jamie mumbled. Eddie hit him with one of the pillows on her bed. Jamie laughed, sitting up his hair sticking up as well.
"Just look how romantic that is." She sighed full attention drawn to the tv. Jamie sat watching.
"What's romantic about it." asked blandly.
Eddie pointed to the TV. "Look at the kiss it's so passionate." She pleaded.
"It's scripted there's no passion there," Jamie grumbled. Eddie laid flat on her back, her head resting on a pillow.
"Oh yeah, Reagan? What does a real passionate kiss look like cause last time I checked movies these days barely have-." Eddie blurted, getting ready to start a mini-agreement there was no doubt in her mind that there wasn't passion.
"This," Eddie yelped as Jamie rolled on top of her, cupping her face with his hands, looking at her in the eyes sensing the feeling was mutual and began kissing her deeply.
"Oh my." Eddie grinned when Jamie pulled back.
Jamie grinned rolling off of her. "Real thing is always better than TV-" Eddie rolled on top on to him, kissing him deeply. Their make-out session lasted a little over five minutes until they were interrupted by a knock at the door causing Eddie to fly off Jamie to her room door. Jamie sat up nervously with his hands interlocked in his lap.
"Hey Lisa," Eddie opened the door frantically.
"I made you and your friend snacks," Eddie looked down at the tray she was holding.
"Oh great, thank you so much, Lisa." Eddie smiled, Lisa peeked in the room, smiling back. Eddie wide-eyed Jamie as she closed the door placing the tray on the nightstand.
"Is everything cool?" Jamie, he asked nervously.
"It's cool, let's just put on a movie." Eddie walked over to her TV changing VHS tape. "I got Mulan, A Bug's Life, The Prince of Egypt." Eddie continues to name them Jamie's face was not amused until she came across one she knew he'd be thrilled for. "The Sandlot, The-"
"The Sandlot? put that on right now!" Jamie was fully invested.
"I hate guys." Eddie jammed the VHS tape in returning to her spot on the bed next to Jamie.
"You're the best," Jamie said. landing wet smooch on her cheek.
"Eww Reagan," Eddie laughed wiping his saliva from the side of her cheek.
"This movie is my everything I've watched it a million times with Mas, It's one of the reasons I learned to love the game." Eddie watched how tuned in he was, he'd seemed like he'd never seen the movie before he was so interested.
"I've never even seen it." Eddie quaked, taking a chip from the tray.
"Seriously." he spat.
"Yeah seriously, It's always been downstairs in our movie box but I've just never wanted to watch it."
"Good thing I'm here, I'm going to change your life."
"You kinda already have." She smiled genuinely.
"You changed mine too." He placed his arm around her as she leaned gently on his chest.
Saturday, Gameday.
"You ready kid?" Danny knocked before entering Jamie's room. "It's about time." Danny smiled calling out seeing his kid brother in his uniform for baseball.
"My heart is beating like crazy," Jamie admitted.
"Then you're ready," Danny smirked, he sat on the edge of Jamie bed. "I'm really proud of you kid-"
"We both are." Joe entered the room.
"Thank you guys, the support that you guys gave me over the past few weeks... It's meant a lot." Jamie said.
"Of course, we're always here for you J." Joe ruffed his hair. "Win or lose. we're proud."
"Mom, Dad, Erin, Pop's and Linda are all downstairs waiting for you." Jamie sighed the butterflies away picking up his sports bag.
"I'm ready." Jamie received supportive pats on the back from his brothers.
"My handsome young man," Mary boasted.
"Such a stud," Erin commented.
"Alright, guys... I'm blushing." Jamie said in the most annoyed sarcastically way possible.
"Let's get this show on the road!"
"So like we're sitting next to his family?" Denise had to clarify for the hundredth time. Eddie grew unsure of the idea each time she asked.
"Denise please stop! you're making me thousand times more nervous." Eddie begged.
"It's okay you'll do fine I'm a huge talker so if it gets awkward I can help you out." The two girls were getting closer to the field.
"He told me last night that his entire family was going to be here. Both of his brothers, his sister and his parents." Eddie began to panic being close enough that she sees the packed bleachers.
"It's oka-"
"What are we going to talk about! I don't know what to really say!" She began to panic
"Tell them how you suck faces with their beloved Jamie." Denise made kissy noises, jokingly mocking her.
"Oh my god." Eddie sighed.
"Eddie, I'm kidding, calm down you're seventeen and you're acting like you're going through a midlife crisis. It's okay, It'll mean a lot to him and them that you're here for him." When the two girls reached the bleachers, they looked around for a few moments looking for Mary.
"Hey, Eddie over here!" Mary called out.
"Come on." Eddie lean Denise over through the crowd where the rest of the Reagan's were.
"Hello, Eddie and-"
"Denise." The brunette smiled kindly.
"This is my husband Frank," He shook hands with both of the girls. " Danny and Joe." The boys taking after their father doing the same thing, "Henry, Erin and Danny's wife Linda." The greeting from his family was nothing that she expected, they were so kind and welcoming.
"So how did you and Jamie meet," Danny asked the first time.
"Jeez, Danny let the girl sit down first at least." Erin scolded. "You can sit over here if you'd like." Erin offered the two girls to sit on the girl's side of the bench. "You don't want to be anywhere near those boys when the game start." Eddie laughed taking a seat.
"I met Jamie almost two months ago in photography" Eddie replied to his question. "He said my name wrong and he thought I hated him for it."
"Your name?" Joe asked not understanding.
"So I was new to the class and our teacher Coach Troy made a new seating chart and when Jamie saw the chart he wasn't partners anymore with Mason and he was with me he read my name… My real name is Edit and he pronounced it as edit." The family giggled.
"Oh you met Mas, Jamie never told us that." Erin interlude.
"Yeah I did, only talked to him at lunch and in class but from those encounters... He was truly one of a kind."
"I miss that kid," Joe muttered.
"Let's see how this game goes," Frank said optimistically trying to change the tone away from such a sad subject.
"Look at the kid warm up," Joe called out, Jamie was on the mound, he widened, up and hurled it straight down the middle, he was looking sharp but in Jamie's mind he couldn't shake the fact that this wasn't his position and began to take a strain him.
"Hello everyone welcome to Bedford High, as the Aggies take on Liberty Wildcat's, may all the gentleman remove their caps for our national anthem." After that was done the announcer began where he left off.
"Will everyone please remain stand for a moment of silence, in the remembrance of Bedford High's Senior Captain Mason Reid, who passed away earlier this month." The moment of silence lasted a little over thirty seconds. After the moment of silence was over Frank lifted his head his eyes immediately landing on his youngest son, Carefully watching every movement from him. Jamie wiped the tears from is eyes, one of the guys patting him gently on the back. Jamie looked up to the clear New York sky taking one finger, pointing up. "Coaches send your captains to the plate for the coin toss."
"Coach, we never made a new Captain," Assistant Coach Noel noted.
"Sh*t," Troy mumbled under his breath. "Um, Co-captains are Kastin, Alex and Jamie." The three boys named walked to the plate meeting the Umpire and the Captain from the other team.
"Batting is heads, the field is tails since you're visiting Liberty you choose."
"Head's." The other player said cockiness heard in his voice. Umpire flipped the coin.
"Tails, Liberty head out to the field, Bedford is at bat." The announcer announced. The boys shook hands and return to their dugout.
"Let's go Aggies!" Danny shouted from the crowd. The game was in full swing, It was still the second inning and it was Jamie's first time on the mound, and the home crowd erupted in cheers a certain cheerleader cheering louder than the others, screaming Jamie's name. Denise noticed her friend looking over at what was happening.
"That's Teresa Mancini." Denise pointed out in disgust. "Her and Jamie dated Sophomore and Junior year."
"Oh yeah," Eddie said still staring over.
"She's a b*tch," Denise whispered into her ear. "And she broke his heart."
"How come I never learned of this?" Eddie replied back to her.
"She doesn't have our lunch and she's usually with the football players." Denise shrugged.
"Do you know what happened?" Eddie asked the crowd was so loud that she knew no one was listening.
"I don't know.. I don't want to speak to rumors, but I know he was pretty beat up about it. Teresa is one of the prettiest girls in the school, but she's extremely rude... I'll tell you about it later okay?" Eddie nodded, She was intrigued to find out more.
"Strike!" The umpire shouted.
"Jamie's on fire," Joe shouted grabbing on Danny's shoulder. Eddie went through the whole game with that one thought on her mind she smiled when needed and cheered when had to but it wasn't genuine, She wondered what happened with Jamie and Teresa and she couldn't stop thinking about it and she especially couldn't stop thinking about what Denise had said.
"Aggie's Win!" The announcement shook out of her train of thought. She watched as the boys stormed the mound after Jamie.
"That's my boy!" Frank applauded.
"Wooo! Jamie!" The Reagans, Eddie, and Denise waited patiently outside the gate with the other parents, for the coaches to finish talks with the team. When they were finally released, Every player and cheerleader left the through the gate one by one, until the one person they waited for didn't come through.
"Where the hell is a kid?" He said his excitement dying out. Eddie and Denise Peak through the fences to see the only two people left on the field Jamie and Teresa, they were in conversation, Teresa way more into it than he was, she was flirting, she was flirting hard. They were obviously too far away for any of them to hear, but Denise looked over at Eddie rolling her eyes at the cheerleader's actions, Teresa hugged him, whispering something to his ear, she said something else when the hug broke reaching for his hand and walked away smiling.
"I literally can't believe her." Denise fueled into Eddie's thought.
"Good game Jamie! "So proud." Jamie hugged his family.
"Thanks, guys." he smiled happily.
"Hey dinner on me," Henry announced.
"Eddie we would love to see you there." Mary smiled. Eddie nodded pleasantly, the rest of the Reagan's walked off to the parking lot.
"I'll see you by the car," Denise gently told Eddie. "Bye Jamie."
"Bye," Jamie said confused watching her walk off. "Hey."
"Good game." She remarked.
"It was crazy!" Jamie beamed. "I was super nervous about everything but-"
"Who was that girl you were talking to on the field a few minutes ago." Eddie interrupted. Jamie cocked his head back shocked.
"Wh-what?" Jamie placed his bag onto the ground.
"I know you heard me," Eddie grunted
"That was Teresa-"
"Your ex-girlfriend." Eddie fumed.
"Eddie? What's going on."
"I'm trying to figure that out with you. I saw you and her on the field."
"Okay."
"Okay?... Really?" Eddie began to walk off, Jamie caught her wrist mid-step.
"Eddie come on, yeah she's my ex, she doesn't mean anything-"
"Her whispering into your ear and giggling and grabbing your hand didn't look like it didn't mean anything!" Eddie yelled.
"She asked if I wanted to go to her party." He responded in protest. Eddie rolled her eyes. "I said no,"
"Good for you Reagan." Eddie snatched her wrist from his grip.
"Will you just talk to me." Eddie stopped in her step to his pleads, she turned around facing him. "Whatever is going on can we talk about it and put it past us."
"Okay, why did you guys break up?" Eddie fumed.
"She dumped me." He replied.
"Yeah… why." Jamie looked away shaking his head.
"I'll see you around Reagan." Eddie dashed off.
"There you are." Joe called out. Jamie walked passed them tossing his bag in the truck "The others are at the restaurant."
"Kid what's up." Danny noticed.
"Where's Eddie?"
"She's not coming." Jamie got in the back seat, slamming his car door.
"Easy kid what's up." Danny placed a hand onto Jamie's shoulder
"I don't want to talk about it." Jamie snapped, removing Danny's hand.
"Jamie just say it! come on, It's just me and Joe."
"I just got dumped!" Jamie shouted. "Again!"
"Oh gosh." Jamie tried to sink further into his seat at their reactions.
"What happened, she seemed fine."
"Teresa was talking to me."
"Just talking?" Joe raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah just talking, She asked me if I wanted to go to her party and I said no, and she said she was proud it was a good game, that's it." Jamie exclaimed.
"You didn't hug her or do anything did you?" Joe asked as Danny drove out of the parking lot.
"She hugged me."
"Ooooo," Joe and Danny said simultaneously.
"You never hug your ex when you have a girl. Linda would kill if i had."
"Linda is your wife and Eddie is not my girl." Joe and Danny made worryful eye contact. "She is but also isn't, I never asked her out."
"If she gets mad at you for talking to a girl then she's your girl."
"Ugh forget it, she totally snapped on me, I have no idea what to do.." Jamie ran his hands through is hair frantically. "I'm crazy about her! and I dont get why she's mad! It's not like I kissed Teresa!" Jamie groaned. "She'll probably never talk to me again." Jamie agonized.
"She will kid." Joe assured him. "Just talk to her."
"Thanks, why didn't i think of that!" Jamie rolled his eyes. "I tried! she yelled at me!"
"Never talk to a woman who's mad." Jamie held his head confused.
"What Danny mean is, don't try to talk to a woman in the moment that she's mad, give her time to calm down." Joe clarified.
"Okay look let's just not bring this up again, not mom either please."
"Of course not." Danny said unconvincingly.
"Ugh, I'm serious! this is why I never open up to any of you guys." Jamie exclaimed. Danny eyes wided.
"I'm sorry Jamie, especially if I ever made you feel like you can't tell me anything." Danny put the car into park, finally making it to the restaurant "And we won't say a word to anyone."
"Let's eat?"
"You did what?" Denise exclaimed after Eddie explained the whole conversation.
"I overreacted okay!" Eddie cried into her pillow. "It's just when he didn't stop her from doing what she was doing.. to me, It felt like they were making out! He tried to explain, but I was so mad and he wouldn't even tell me why she dumped him."
"He likes you Eddie."
"Probably not after that!" She continued to cry.
TBC!
I've been so busy with finals but i'm almost finished with next chapter! Please review and favorite if you like the story. I would love feedback!