Page 58 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Travis

“That kid is a good one.” Dad tipped his beer toward the house.

I looked inside and saw Roman sitting at the island with his tablet. Always with that damn tablet.

“What?”

“He’s a good kid.”

“I heard you,” I said, feeling exasperated. “I don’t know what you mean, though.”

“Genuine. Good-hearted. You know.”

I couldn’t help but snort. Genuine. That was an interesting way to describe him.

“What happened with you two?”

I took a large bite of my hotdog. Turning away from the house, I watched Tessa chase West, then whirl around as Linc went to snatch the ball from the ground.

He froze, keeping eye contact with her. I heard him swear and swipe it just before she charged him.

He threw it to West, who caught it barehanded, then tucked it like he was holding a football and sprinted away.

“Why would anything happen?” I asked finally .

“He said you aren’t friends.”

“Okay?”

“Christ, Trav. Since when are you so testy?”

I scoffed. “Testy? I’m tired, and maybe it’s weird to discuss why I’m not friends with someone. There doesn’t have to be a reason.”

“But is there?”

“Doesn’t matter.” I brought a Coke to my lips and drained it. When Tessa wrestled Linc to the ground, I chuckled and shook my head.

“Alright, tell me what you were saying about the Rangers,” Dad suggested.

Looking down at my plate, I tried to decide if I wanted to. “I’m just feeling the pressure, I think.”

“To win?”

“There are a lot of expectations.”

“I’d tell ya it’s not about winning, but you’re in the major leagues, so that’d be a lie. It’s not all about winning, though.”

“I know.” Leaning against the deck railing, I moved a chip around my plate. “I guess it’s just that my vision of it as a kid didn’t really match up to how it felt.”

“How’d it feel?”

“Amazing. But also terrifying. And I thought, there’s no way this is how it was for Féliz. He didn’t look like he was ready to throw up when he threw that last pitch.”

“Neither did you,” Dad pointed out. “Dreams are different from reality, but that isn’t bad. I’m sure Féliz was feeling exactly the way you were. And how you are.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Are you not happy?”

“I am. Of course I am. It’s just like something is missing.” Setting my plate down, I shrugged. “Probably just overthinking it.”

He was silent, looking deep in thought. We both watched the guys play with Tessa, who couldn’t be happier than she was right now. She’d miss all of the attention when they were gone, but she’d just have to settle for having me, as usual.

Stretching my neck, I inconspicuously glanced inside.

Roman was staring at the guys too, and after a second, he looked down at his tablet.

I wondered if he was drawing Tessa right now.

There was a buzz under my skin, this urge that I recognized.

At one time, he’d told me that I could watch him draw whenever I wanted.

“Sometimes,” Dad said, thankfully bringing me back to the moment, “when something is so important to us that we build it up in our mind, it also feels like it raises the stakes. It can tip in one way or another, and we want to hang on to our original perception of it. But it doesn’t have to turn out exactly how we envisioned it for it to be everything we wanted.

If everything was like that, life would be pretty boring, I think. ”

“But what if we don’t like what happens?”

“Who cares? Win or lose, this is still your dream, Trav. Stop trying to control the journey. Just live it.”

“Just live it,” I repeated. “You’re probably right. Thanks, Dad.”

“It’s my job to share whatever wisdom I’ve managed to scrounge up over the years. Now, how about you get me one of those good beers for my trouble?”

With a laugh, I pushed away from the railing. I walked casually to the fridge and grabbed a beer, then swiped a second one. When I set it down beside Roman, he looked at me from the corner of his eye.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Thought you might like one of these.”

“Uh, okay. Why?”

I glanced at the tablet, confirming that he was drawing the scene outside. It was just a rough sketch, and I wondered what it would look like by the time he left.

“I’m a nice person, remember?”

He just made a hum in his throat, then wrapped his fingers around the neck of the bottle. Holding it loosely, he brought it to his lips. He set it down again and started drawing. When he ran his fingers through his hair, I could smell his cologne.

Before I could get lost in watching his stylus dance across the page, I walked away, returning to the deck so I could give my dad his beer. He thanked me, but I didn’t respond. Instead, I jogged down the stairs and whistled for Tessa. She whirled around, panting and giving me her most crazed look.

“Tag, Tessa,” I challenged, then bolted. The guys joined in, and I laughed when Kai got pounced on. “Last one standing wins! ”

“What do they win?” Brooks shouted. He swore when Tessa nearly got him.

“Bragging rights?”

“I’ll take your Jeep,” Tilian said.

“I got you a nice car,” Brooks replied.

“I didn’t ask for a nice car, bitch.” He grunted when Brooks tackled him to the ground.

“Get your ass out here, Valdez!” Kai called.

A minute later, Roman appeared from inside, raising his hood as he stepped onto the deck. He didn’t seem keen on joining in, but when Tessa charged him, a smile lit up his face and he shifted his weight back and forth on each foot.

“You don’t stand a chance,” he taunted as he reached the grass, earning a bark in response.

When he looked up at me, I realized that I was watching him. I raised my brows, challenging him. He leaned toward Tessa and said something softly. I narrowed my eyes, not trusting their exchange.

“Get him,” he said, louder this time.

Instead, she lunged for him. He laughed, dropping onto the ground with her.

It only took her a few seconds to divert to somebody else, but Roman stayed where he was, staring up at the sky with his hands on his stomach.

His hood covered part of his forehead, and I could see the dark waves that reached his eyes.

Somehow, the shadows made his cheekbones stand out more, along with the elegant slope of his nose.

As I looked at him, I thought it was a shame that he couldn’t stand where I was and draw exactly what I saw.

Tessa’s bark in the distance made me blink and turn away.

If I was lucky, she’d actually sleep in tomorrow after all of this running around.