A Trip in the Fall Pt. 06

He smirked and then rolled his eyes, "I have something for you." He pulled out the picture and letter, handing it to her and continuing, "Sarah said to have a great rest of senior year." Mya smiled and looked at the picture, then unfolded the letter beginning to read it, her smile getting bigger and bigger. Brandon noticed Sarah coming towards the door, he subtly nodded for her to come out.

Mya stood with her back to the door and finished the letter before hugging Brandon, "Thank you so much coach! This means so much to me, please tell her thank you so much!"

Brandon patted her on the shoulder and said, "Why don't you tell her yourself."

My pulled back and looked at him, "Huh?"

Before Brandon could reply, Sarah smiled and said, "You're welcome Mya."

The girl jerked back and turned to see Sarah standing there in pair of gym shorts and an old t-shirt that hung off one shoulder, "Oh my god you're here! And you know my name!" Mya let out a squeal, causing Brandon to repel a bit.

Sarah just laughed, "Of course I know your name, Coach talks about how you make his life easier at school and keeping book."

"You talk about me?!"

He smirked, "Only the annoying stuff."

"I can't believe you're here. How long are you here for?"

"I fly back to Nashville Monday morning before you guys fly back to New Jersey."

"And you're staying here?"

Sarah and Brandon both laughed, Brandon responded this time, "Of course she is staying here. I figure we can give Mrs. Cline a break and you two can hang out."

"Really?!"

Sarah laughed, "Yes really. Now do you want to head back to the beach?"

"If you do, that is fine with me!"

Sarah laughed, "Let me grab my beach bag. Brandon are their chairs somewhere?"

"Yeah, they are down leaning against rail by the pool. Grab yourself one and I'll bring one down after I change."

Sarah headed back inside and Mya smacked Brandon's arm, "I can't believe you brought her here and didn't tell me."

"Ow! I wanted it to be a surprise for you."

Mya softened, "Thank you, this is so cool!"

They heard Sarah yell from inside that she was ready, as Mya turned to go inside Brandon remarked, "Hey kid, keep your paws off Brayden, I need him tonight."

Mya blushed, "Ummm. Ummm."

Brandon laughed, "You're not that slick, but please behave, seriously."

Mya nodded, "I will, I gotta go."

Brandon laughed as she ran back inside and led Sarah back down to the pool, then after grabbing a chair made their way down the boardwalk. He watched them reach the sand and Matt rise to give Sarah a hug and make the introduction to Mike as she set her chair down. While that was going on Brandon laughed as Mya ran over to her own chair, said something to the group she had been with while pointing to Sarah and then running back to set her chair down beside Sarah. As he turned to head inside to change himself, he could see Mya pointing to her book and Sarah nodding and digging her own book out and what was clearly becoming an animated conversation, bringing a smile to his face.

After changing and rounding somethings up for later, he walked down to the beach, grabbing his own chair and setting it in the sand between Matt and Mike. He glanced over, seeing that Sarah had pulled her shorts and t-shirt off, leaving her in a wide brimmed sunhat, and a one-piece bathing suit that was green on top, a white band around her waist, and the rest black. It wasn't her usual bikini, but with its V-neck showing some cleavage, it was more modest, but still very sexy. As he sat down, he said, "They been like that since they got down here?"

Mike looked up from his magazine, "Pretty much, they've been talking about school, books, and Mya has pointed out everyone to her."

Matt nodded, "And I have to say, I didn't know a one piece could look that good."

Mike chuckled and Brandon threw his flip flop at Matt. Matt yelled out, drawing the attention of Mya and Sarah, causing Sarah to pull her sunglasses down, "Boys, do I need to come over there?"

They both mumbled no, causing Mike to laugh aloud, then comment "I like her, she keeps you two in line."

Matt retorted, "I don't think so."

Sarah looked at him again, "I heard that Matthew."

That comment cause Brandon to join Mike's laughter as Matt sunk into his chair and Sarah turned back to her conversation with Mya. Once Brandon caught his breath, he looked at Matt, "Damn dude, she's only met you twice and she's using your full name."

Matt grumbled, then cracked a smile, "I'm glad you found her, she's not gonna put up with your shit either."

All three men laughed and turned their focus back to the boys running in and out of the surf, enjoying the late morning sun. As the clock neared one, Mike's phone vibrated and he pulled it out, reading a text then saying, "That's Lisa, the food is here."

Matt stood up first, "Gotcha, I'll go up and help get everything set up."

Brandon laughed, "You just want to be the first in line."

"Maybe, but I don't see you jumping up."

Brandon shook his head, then whistled for the players, telling them to get packed up and get back to the house for lunch, they all did so, and he noticed Sara and Mya hadn't moved. As the players all moved past, they nodded to Sarah and the one bringing up the rear was none other than Mike's son Brayden. Mya stood up as he paused, and she said something to him then noticed he stuck out his hand to shake Sarah's hand. Mya pulled on a pair of shorts before heading towards the boardwalk with him in tow.

With them gone and Mike following, it left just he and Sarah, so he picked up his chair and dropped it beside her's before sitting back down, "Well she has certainly taken to you."

"That's because I'm awesome."

Brandon laughed, "Well duh. Remind me what I've told you about her?"

Sarah thought for a moment, "Not much really, just that she was your student, now she's your student assistant. Her dad died a year or two ago."

Brandon nodded, "Yeah, and her mom works a lot, so Mya is left to fend for herself a lot. Don't get me wrong, her mom is wonderful and isn't neglectful, but I know Mya is by herself a lot.

Sarah frowned and nodded, "She an only child?"

"Yep, I know she is close with our one English teachers, Lindsey, but I'm not sure how much guidance she's getting on stuff."

"Yeah, she was talking about colleges a bit and how she is worried about leaving her mom. I wasn't much help there."

"Ehhh, you had an unconventional college experience, but you know what it is like being away from people you care about. She say anything else? "

"About what?"

"Brayden?"

Sarah pushed him gently, "I'm not sharing girl talk!"

Brandon laughed, "I don't wanna know everything, I've just never seen her around a boy before, and then there is this."

Sarah nodded, "I guess he asked her to prom."

"Ooooo."

"Oh shut up." They both laughed and then leaned back in their chairs, Sarah reached out, taking Brandon's hand, he squeezed it then said, "I'm really glad you're here."

She turned and smiled, "I'm glad to be here." He leaned over, softly kissing her before he heard his phone vibrate.

He broke the kiss with a groan, looking down at seeing a text from Matt, "Quit sucking face and come eat :-P"

He turned and looked seeing Matt grinning on the deck, he flipped him off before standing, "Okay, let's go eat before Matt starts hollering." Sarah giggled and stood, digging her short and shirt out of her bag slipping them back on. Brandon sighed, "How to you make getting dressed sexy?"

"I'm good like that. Now what is for lunch?"

***

They joined the team and the parents for lunch, Brandon took the time to introduce her to a couple of the parents that had been with him since he was the assistant. Lunch went well with Mya and Lisa making sure to include Sarah in conversations as much as possible. Seeing Mya latch onto Sarah brought a smile to his face, they truly did have a lot in common and Brandon could see that Sarah was genuinely interested in what Mya had to say.

With lunch wrapping up, Brandon quieted everyone down and said, "The vans are leaving in 45 minutes, that will get us there at 3:30, take some BP, then get warmed up and first pitch is at 5:30. Any questions?"

He looked around the table and seeing nothing he said, "Brayden."

"Yeah coach?"

"What uniforms tonight?"

"Are we home or away?"

Brandon pulled his phone, checking it before replying, "Home."

He saw the kid think before replying, "Red jerseys, black plants."

Brandon nodded, "You heard it, there's your uniform combo. Let's get dialed in and do what we came here to do."

The boys all stood up from the table, taking their plates to the dishwasher then filtering out towards their rooms, leaving the adults to discuss logistics of the game. With everyone clear on what fields they were on and dinner plans, they also began filtering out leaving Sarah, Brandon, Matt, Mike, and Lisa. Sarah smiled, "You all really have this down to a well-oiled machine."

Lisa laughed, "We kind of have to, or else it is chaos. The boys are basically feral squirrels if given too much free time."

Sarah turned to Brandon, "What do you want me to do?"

"You can ride over to the game with us, I'm sure you can find a tree to read under while we get ready."

Sarah nodded, but then Lisa chimed in from the kitchen, "Nonsense. Sarah, why don't you stay here and then catch a ride over with me and the other moms."

"I wouldn't be intruding?"

"Of course not. Do you seriously want to be in the van with those stinky and dirty boys."

Sarah laughed and replied as Brandon shook his head, "Come to think of it, not really."

"Then it is settled, we will leave here at 4:15."

Brandon stood up, "With that settled, I am going to go get changed." He made his way to the bedroom where Sarah joined him as he was pulling on his jersey.

She whistled at him, "Those pants do look good."

He turned and smiled, "My butt looks better in the gray ones."

She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, "So who do I need to talk to about those being in the rotation?"

He laughed, "We only have those and the white ones, so they will either be tomorrow or Sunday."

She kissed him, "I can't wait."

He kissed back, "You sure you're good with the parents?"

"Of course! They seem nice and Lisa is cool."

"Alright, just making sure. Her and Mike have been with me from the get-go and were big advocates for me getting the head job."

She kissed him again, then let go, allowing him to finish dressing, "Well they made a good choice. Any of the parents I should watch out for?"

He laughed as he packed his game bag, "Not really, some of them are gossipy, but I think Lisa laid down the law about you being here and keeping that quiet."

"Well, that's nice, I'm hoping no one notices me."

"I honestly doubt they will. Just keep your hat on and sit with the parents and it'll be fine."

Sarah nodded, "I guess if anyone gets too curious, I can hide in the dugout with Mya."

Brandon laughed, "That could work, but your gal-pal gets pretty serious."

Sarah smirked and shoved him, "I can pay attention to the game too, I understand baseball...sort of."

Brandon laughed and leaned down kissing her, "Okay, if you say so. I need to go over the game plan with Matt, you good on your own?"

"Yep! I think I'm going to head back down to the beach and read for a little bit before we head to the game."

"Sounds good, love you."

"Love you too!"

****

Brandon and the team left on schedule, and after double checking with Lisa about their departure time, Sarah headed back down to the beach, enjoying her book and the warm weather. At 3:30, her alarm went off, and she headed back to the house. She dropped her chair off with the others, hosed her feet and legs off; as she made her way inside, she waved to a few of the parents who had found their way to the deck before she made her way upstairs to the bedroom.

She stripped off her t-shirt and then her bathing suit, and grabbing a washcloth, wiped herself off, making sure to get all the sand off her. She thought about hopping in the shower, but decided against it, seeing that it was getting close to 4, and figured she'd just shower that evening. A small smile appeared on her face as she thought about sneaking a shower with Brandon.

She felt a shiver run through her body, but quickly shook it off as she pulled on a pair of black panties, then found a pair of black shorts in the drawer, slipping them on, then reaching for her new black bra. After adjusting her breasts in the cups, she found one of the t-shirts Brandon had gotten for her, pulling it on. She found that it wasn't the standard unisex shirt you often saw high schools sell, but instead it was more fitted and stretchier, with a V-neck instead of the standard crew neck. She checked herself in the mirror, even bending over a bit to make sure you couldn't see down it; satisfied that it was fine, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and grabbed the hat from the dresser, slipped on her black flip flops and made her way back to the living room.

She found Lisa and two other mom's milling around the kitchen, Lisa looked up, "Wow, you look so cute!"

Sarah blushed, "Thank you."

Both the other women shook their heads in agreement, and one who Sarah remembered was named Kim said, "Damn, dating the coach gets you all the good stuff. We need to request those type of shirts instead of these plain shirts."

The women laughed as Sarah said, "Does he not do an order just for y'all?"

The last woman who Sarah thought was names Jen shook her head, "Nope, just the same shirts that the boys get."

Sarah shook her head, then went to the fridge to fill her cup, "Well ladies, I'll have to have a chat with him and fix that."

Lisa smiled, "I like you more and more, are you all ready to go?"

Everyone nodded and made their way outside where a white Ford Explorer waited. Sarah hung back a bit waiting to see where everyone went, Kim climbed in the driver's seat and Jen headed towards the passenger seat, so Sarah climbed in behind Jen and Lisa got in behind Kim. As they pulled out on the street, Jen began to navigate them to the field while the moms talked about the game and the rest of the weekend, leaving Sarah take it all in. After about fifteen minutes, Jen turned to her, "So, we know who you are on TV, but tell us about yourself Sarah."

Sarah smiled, "There's not much to tell really. I grew up in Mississippi, about an hour outside of Biloxi, went to school at Ole Miss where I met Amanda and got discovered, then the rest is history." She ended with a chuckle.

Lisa added, "So how did you and Coach Baker meet? He's originally from Pennsylvania, right?"

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, my publicist and friend Morgan went to college with Brandon. He spent some time on tour with us last fall and I guess we just really hit it off."

Jen laughed, "I would say so. We've been trying to set him up with girls we know from the gym since he became assistant coach and I think he went on one date."

Lisa nodded, "Yeah, he was always so polite turning us down, none of us could figure out what he was looking for."

Jen continued, "Now we know though, and boy did he hit the jackpot."

Sarah felt herself blush again, "Thanks."

Lissa shook her head, "It's just a bummer that we are losing him."

Sarah nodded, "So he's told everyone?"

"Yeah, he told the team a few weeks ago and told the parents at the last booster meeting."

Sarah frowned, feeling bad for taking Brandon from people who clearly cared about it, "How'd everyone take it?"

Kim replied and turned smiling at the next stoplight, "Everyone was disappointed since he has been able to do a lot of good with the program, the kids love him, but we understand that it is a big step up for him career wise, and he will be with you."

"I feel like I should apologize for taking him away."

Lisa stopped her, "Nonsense. You two seem so good together, a baseball team at a high school in New Jersey shouldn't keep him from personal happiness."

Sarah nodded, "I know but..."

Lisa stopped her again, "But nothing. He needs to make this move; he is way too smart and qualified to stay where he is. I'm personally glad he is moving because this is going to be so good for him."

Jen added, "Besides, being together will make dealing with everything in life so much easier."

Sarah sighed, "That is for sure, it's been a rough few days."

"I hate to bring it up, but is everything taken care of? I heard Brandon on the phone the other day." Lisa asked.

Sarah sighed and looked out the window, "I think so. Looking back, I wish I had never done it."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and found Lisa smiling softly at her, "We all do things that might not be a good idea when people we love are hurt. That is what makes us human. I have to ask though; did you really knock her to the ground?"

Sarah shook her head, "Yeah, it helped that she was drunk."

From the front seat they heard Kim reply, "Damn girl, don't mess with you."

The car was filled with laughter, breaking the tension, once the laughter died down, Lisa spoke again, "All the drama sucks, I'm really sorry. Mike got sued last year because someone didn't follow their post op instructions, and social media blew up about how bad of a surgeon he was."

"Oh no."

Lisa nodded, "Yeah, luckily his insurance covered it, and when it went to trial, it came out that the person had gone skiing a week after having their gallbladder removed, but still, it's all anyone talked about for weeks."

"That must have been rough."

Lisa nodded again, "It was, but it was on a small scale, I can't imagine what it is like on your end."

Jen spoke then, "Yeah, but you're able to hide out a little here right?"

"We hope so; no one knows I am here except a couple of friends and our families. I flew private, so there's no pictures of me at the airport. Brandon told me to keep my hat on and sit with you all or in the dugout with Mya, but I don't want to be a distraction to him."

Kim laughed, "Girl have you looked in the mirror or how he looks at you, you're always going to be a distraction."

Sarah blushed as they pulled into the parking lot, "Well maybe a bit of a distraction."

They all laughed as they parked and then climbed out of the car, making their way to the ticket booth. After paying for their tournament passes, they looked at the map and made their way to field three where the previous game was just wrapping up. Sarah received a text from Brandon that read, "We will be in the first base dugout."

Sarah relayed the message to the other three women, and they made their way into the stands, finding Mike and a few of the other parents already in place. Their group joined them, making small talk as they waited for the game to begin. As the Panthers took the field for warm-ups, Sarah couldn't help but watch as Brandon worked his players in the outfield while Matt handled the infield. Once the warm-ups were finished for both teams, a young girl sang the God Bless America and the crowd settled in for the game.

***

The game was entertaining, Brandon and the Panthers pulled ahead 2-0 early, adding two more in the 5th, but the team from Kentucky wouldn't roll over, scoring three in the 6th and another in the top of the seventh, tying the game up. With a double from the lead-off hitter, then a walk-off single into the right-center gap by the third man up, the Panthers emerged victorious.

Sarah understood the basics of baseball but had never paid a lot of attention to it; even with that, she found herself not only being nervous for Brandon, but excited to see the boys make solid plays. Luckily for her, whenever she was confused or had questions, Lisa, Jen, and Kim were able to answer them easily, or would defer to Mike about the strategy that was coming into play. As the teams shook hands, the fans began to file out of the stands and make their way towards the fence.