What a Shortstop Does Ch. 15-19

A few more steps, she saw the third base woman raise her glove, incoming. Sarah willed her feet to go faster, pushing her muscles to contract. The third base coach was yelling, jumping, signalling, Sarah dropped into a slide. Her right foot led the way as she raised up her arms over her head and tucked her left leg underneath her. Dirty kicked up everywhere, but she felt her foot connect solidly with the bag. A second later, the third base woman's glove hit her shin.

"Safe!"

The dugout went nuts.

"YEAH yeah, Number Seven!"

"Golding going home!"

Sarah got up and dusted off her pants. She shifted her gaze to first base and saw Carly's thumbs up. She'd made it too. Good. She allowed herself one peek at the stands before setting her sights on home. Becca was up to bat, not the strongest hitter, but good with strategy. Sarah watched her take in the scene and make a signal communication with the first base coach.

Carly was on first, no one on second, Sarah on third. If Becca could get on base, they'd have bases loaded with one out and Tara was up to bat next. That was a big 'if' though as Becca's hits tended to be pop flies to infield, which would get her out instantly. Sarah positioned her right foot on the bag and lunged again.

"Here we go, here we go!" The cries from the dugout as Becca set her stance were filled with nervous energy. They were down, three runs to two, and it was the bottom of the ninth. Sarah had to get home to keep the game going. She watched Becca square up and the third base coach made a noise for Sarah. Shit. They had all kinds of signals to tell each other what was coming, but they also had great team chemistry to just know what the next woman would do. Sarah could read Becca like a book, even if she'd missed the third base coach's signal. The way Becca angled her feet, her loose grip on the bat, the twist in her hips: Becca was going to bunt. Suicide bunt to get Sarah home.

Sarah tensed her shoulders and angled her body, ready for the run.

Becca did exactly what she expected as the ball rocketed toward her. She lowered her bat, thigh muscles pulling her body around, and bunted. Sarah didn't wait to see the hit. As soon as the ball left the pitcher's hands, she took off. Becca's bunt went out and the pitcher went for it as she ran for first. Sarah saw the catcher in position and made a split second decision to dive. She hated diving. Her first dive in eighth grade had ended with a fractured ulna in her right arm and five weeks of writing with her left hand. Of course, she was a better player now. Still, that memory always gave her a pinched feeling in her gut when it was time to dive for a base.

Three more steps, two more, one, angle forward, leap, arms extended, keep your side to the ground, eyes on the base. Sarah hit the ground and felt the dirt slide under her uniform in the back of her mind she found herself glad that her shirt was tucked in. Her right hand connected firmly with the base. She also felt a glove slam on her ass.

"Safe!" The umpire's cry was quickly drowned out by the raucous dugout. Sarah grinned into the dirt and waited for the glove to leave her buttcheek before standing.

The catcher looked pissed and stormed back toward her ready position as Sarah dusted off her uniform and flashed a giddy grin at the dugout. Carly was screaming and jumping on third. Jeez, that girl could run. Becca was on first. Apparently the pitcher had panicked in getting to the bunt and didn't make a call for first or home in time. Sarah jogged back to the dugout calling out Carly's number and slapping Tara on the ass as she went up to bat with a determined expression.

Her teammates in the dugout slapped her high fives and knocked her helmet. She stole a glance toward the short stack of bleachers as she removed her gloves. Her parents were giving her enthusiastic waves. A few rows away, Ro smiled and made a subtle pucker to blow her a kiss. Sarah raised her eyebrows and looked pointedly back to the field.

"Here we go, Tara! You got this hit!"

After one ball and one strike, Tara did hit it. She hit it hard.

Her left-handed swing blasted the ball out between first and second, skipping along the ground. But before she'd even made contact, Carly was off third and sprinting home. Tara ran for first, mostly to get out of Carly's way, there was no way she was making it and didn't need to anyway, there was only one out and Carly was going to score.

When she hit home, an earthquake erupted from the dugout. Sarah banged the bench with her fists and hollered. The benches emptied as the umpire signaled the win and Carly was slammed by her teammates in a pile of congratulations. They lined up to shake hands with their opponents and thanked the other team for a good game. Sarah's shake from the catcher was a little firmer than it needed to be. The girl flashed a wicked grin.

"Nice run, Number Seven, nice ass too," she said as she released Sarah's hand.

Sarah chuckled. It wasn't the first time she'd been hit on by an opponent, but it was always more amusing after a win. Also, before this past summer, she'd find herself giggling immaturely at the stereotype of a gay softball player. Now that she realized she fit that stereotype, well, it was still kind of amusing.

"Great game, honey!" Sarah's mom wrapped her in a hug and her dad gave her a high five, "You too, Carly!" They called over her shoulder as Carly walked by with David and her mom in tow.

"Oh, hey, um, I want you guys to meet some people," Sarah's heart was suddenly in her throat as Ro walked over with two of her classmates. "Mom and Dad, this is Roisin and Kyle and Dana. Guys, these are my parents."

"Nice to meet you all!" Her mom smiled and turned to Sarah, "We'll meet you at the car in a few minutes. Let's go get some dinner before we have to take off."

"Sure thing. I'll be right there!" Sarah turned to thank Kyle and Dana for coming. They congratulated her and wandered off toward the main campus. Tara and Kate could be seen kissing by the fence as Ro and Sarah walked back toward the dugout for Sarah's bag.

"So, you are going out with your parents?" Ro started carefully.

"Yeah, I'll come over later if you want, though?"

Ro smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "Sure, Sar. Great game by the way. I couldn't believe it the way you slid into base, twice! That was impressive."

"Thanks," Sarah grinned. She grabbed her equipment bag from the pile and led Ro back out and away toward the parking lot. "I'll see you in a couple hours, I'm gonna shower before I come over too."

Ro nodded as Sarah gave her a little wave and headed towards her parents car. She hoped they'd looked casual enough that her mom wouldn't ask any questions.

_ _

With softball season in full swing and Ro in not one, but three spring shows, their time together was scarce and mostly relegated to texting. Sarah collapsed into bed each night after gruelling practice or a late bus ride back from a game thinking of Ro's arms miles away. Often, she'd wake to send a good morning text to her girlfriend before starting the process all over again. Early class, lunch, more class, practice, dinner, shower, study, sleep. It was exhausting. Luckily, spring break loomed and this year the team was not taking an annual trip due to their coach expecting a baby.

Sarah and Carly were giddy over their upcoming freedom.

Carly was going camping with her mom, her brother, and David, where she'd planned to go "completely off the grid" as she put it. She was busy planning camping meals and researching how to conserve rain water and heat it.

"Carly, there will be a bathhouse. You're going to the state park not the middle of the Appalachians," Ro rolled her eyes as she watched Carly packing bags and testing out her new hiking boots.

"I know, but what if it loses power? Or we get lost on a hike? I need to have better survival skills, Sarah. I want to really connect with nature."

"I think you really want to connect with David in a tent," she mumbled. A pair of wool socks launched across the room, hitting her in the temple.

"Shut up! We're not even sleeping in the same tent. Mom made sure of that!" Carly's annoyance that her mother had insisted on a boy-girl split for this trip was a sore point. "Anyway, what is the sleeping situation at Ro's? Are you allowed in her room?"

Sarah tossed the socks back in a perfect spiral. "I have no idea," she admitted. "Ro and I haven't had a chance to talk about it. I'm just glad they agreed to me coming to visit."

Carly paused, "What did your parents say when you told them?"

"They are both working next week. They wouldn't have had time for me anyway. As far as they know, I'm spending the week with a friend in her hometown a few hours away," Sarah shrugged. Her parents readily agreed to her going with Ro partly from the guilt of not having any plans for her one week off this semester. Their spring breaks when Sarah was in high school were always short because of softball season, but they usually did a long weekend somewhere. This year, her father was picking up extra shifts at the hospital and her mother was working on the charity golf outing and working her usual hours at the clinic.

"So you still haven't told them about Ro?"

"No," Sarah sighed. That subject was a point of contention in her life.

"How does Ro feel about that?" Carly's question was hesitant, but not accusing.

"Not great to be honest," Sarah turned away from her roommate, "But I think it's best to ease them into it. They met Ro at the last home game, so now they have a face to the name. Eventually, I'll tell them she's not just a friend...but that comes with all the other announcements too, ya know?"

Carly stepped around to place a hand on Sarah's shoulder, "Yeah, I know. But don't wait too long. They're bound to figure it out sooner or later with the way you talk about her."

Sarah nodded and brushed Carly's assuring hand. She knew that hiding her relationship was bordering on lying now, but still she couldn't bring herself to tell her parents the truth. It would change everything about their relationship. A small voice in her head asked if that was really true, if her coming out would change anything, but she quieted that voice with her usual anxieties.

The decision to spend spring break with Ro at her house was surprisingly easy. Ro mentioned a few times that there was a big Irish heritage festival in her hometown the first weekend of their spring break and her participation was mandatory. When she'd found out Sarah had planned to mope around her house and spend a ridiculous amount of time in batting cages, she was horrified.

"You should come to my house! I'm sure we have batting cages...somewhere in town, and then you can meet my other brothers!" Ro had pleaded. After Killian, Sarah wasn't sure she wanted to meet the rest of the Daly boys all at once on their turf, but Ro was vibrating with excitement at the idea.

"Yeah, alright. If you promise me some green beer and a kiss even if I'm not Irish!" Sarah had teased.

"That's so crass, Sarah. Besides, if you're drinking the right beer, it's too dark to tell if it's green!"

Sarah gagged a bit at the thought, but smiled at how Ro's enthusiasm for their week grew.

That was why she was carefully selecting and packing, with Carly's help, some of her better outfits for the week ahead. Carly had a good eye for clothing that didn't make the wearer look like a pack of highlighter markers. She'd already nixed several of Sarah's more eccentric tops in favor of cleaner lines and colors. Again, she brought up the tube sock's lack of sex appeal as Sarah tried to cram several pairs into her suitcase. With a final shove and zip from each of them, their bags were packed and piled in the center of the room. They opted to watch a movie together since studying was not going to happen this close to break.

As the credits rolled, Carly leaned in to give Sarah a hug. "Sar, her family is going to love you. Just make sure Ro knows how you feel about her okay?"

"Thanks, Carly," was all she could manage as they turned out the lights and crawled into their beds.

_ _

After morning classes on Friday, the campus was practically deserted. By noon, Carly had hugged Sarah goodbye and tossed her packs into David's waiting car. Sarah and Ro agreed to meet at Ro's apartment after her class finished at three. This left Sarah just enough time to get lunch and head over. They packed up easily and were on the road by 3:20pm with plans to arrive at Ro's for dinner.

Riding in a car with Ro was like embarking on an epic road trip, even if they were just going a couple hours. She had sweet tarts, red vines, pretzels, and sodas packed into the front for Sarah to dole out. Her phone was plugged into the sound system with several playlists ready to blare their way down the highway.

"Jeez Ro!" Sarah exclaimed when she saw the sugar content of their snack bag.

"I like candy while I'm driving," Ro shrugged. Sarah smiled. It felt good to be alone with Ro, leaving campus for a break. The spring season was always brutal on her social life, even in high school, but she felt it more this year with a girlfriend she was neglecting. Of course, Ro had been busy too. She was in two shows through the local theater companies and had a recital coming up in her program. All of this on top of their regular class schedules meant little time for each other. Sarah realized it also meant they could afford to eat junk food with the amount of calories they were both burning daily. She opened the Red Vines and passed one to Ro.

The drive went far too quickly with Ro's constant singing, Sarah's jokes about Ro's singing, and their occasional lingering touches. Ro made it clear now that her mother would not let them stay in the same room, but she'd promised to take Sarah around town each day to get some alone time together. She even joked about a couple spots she could park the car and they could make use of the backseat. Sarah was just thinking she could sneak a hand into Ro's shorts when they pulled up to a two-story brick house with an immaculate front yard.

"Here!" Ro announced. "Oh shit. It looks like the boys all came for family dinner," Ro groaned. Sarah noticed there were four cars in the driveway as Ro guided her car to the curb.

"All of your brothers are here?" She tried not to sound too intimidated.

"Yup. Whole Daly gang turned up early I guess. I'm sorry," Ro shut off the car, "I thought we'd have until at least Sunday before they all showed up. I mean, Shay works in town and Connor lives here still, but I thought Killian wouldn't be on break yet."

"It's fine," Sarah said confidently, "it'll be good to meet them all at once."

"You have no idea what they are like together. I used to wish Connor had been born a girl, then at least I'd have someone on my side. But now that he's a snotty high schooler, I don't think he would be on my side no matter his sex." Ro unbuckled and took a deep breath. "Well, here it goes, Golding. I hope you're ready." She leaned in and gave Sarah a quick kiss on the lips before toppling out the car door into the late afternoon sun.

_