The Forgotten Ones

throat. “Whatcha looking at, Al?”
    I scowled at her as my cheeks heated up. “I’m not looking at anything,” I said, looking down at my flip flops.
    I snuck a peek back at Ethan, who was laughing and standing inappropriately close to the girl. Then I remembered: she went to high school with us.
    “Hey, man.” Sean came up, clapping his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. Behind him, Rachel stood watching Ethan talk to the redhead, too.
    “Hey. We still on for some Home Run Derby?” Jeff asked, curling his arm around Nicole’s waist.
    I glanced back at Ethan. Lisa , that was her name.
    Sean grinned. “Of course I am. Let’s do this!”
    “Hey, Ethan,” Jeff hollered across the room. “Get your hands out of Lisa’s pants, and let’s go play ball!”
    Nicole smacked him and Joanne shot him a look, but Jeff and Sean just cracked up. They weren’t the least bit sorry.
    Ethan separated himself from Lisa and walked over to where we all stood, his smile wicked. Sean punched him in the shoulder.
    “What? We were just catching up.” Ethan’s teeth gleamed against his deep tan as he laughed. I stared back down at my feet again, wishing I were home doing laundry.
    “Hey, Al.” Ethan said, turning his grin on me. I attempted to make my face completely unreadable.
    Dammit. Why did I always have to react to him?
    “Hey,” I said, trying for indifference but only achieving awkwardness.
    “Come on, come on.” Jeff let go of Nicole and nudged Ethan toward the back door.

    While the guys were playing ball I sat on the deck with Nicole, Rachel, and a few of their other friends, and listened to them talk about who was dating whom and who was pregnant with whose kid. I recognized the tone of Rachel’s voice every time she spoke. The same one she’d used when she’d called me no-man’s land and decided I was a lesbian.
    This was the kind of the thing I avoided. Playing Home Run Derby sounded way better than listening to gossip from Nic’s snooty friends. I stood, kicked off my flip flops and headed off the deck, ignoring Nicole calling my name.
    Ethan stood with a wiffle ball in his hands, his expression intrigued. “You playing?”
    I glanced back at the girls on the deck watching me and shrugged. “Count me in.”
    Sean jogged over with the bat and held it out for me, grinning. He knew I’d played softball and run track all through high school to pad my transcripts. And I was no slouch at either sport. “Pick your pitcher, Allie-O.”
    The smirk on Ethan’s face was a challenge, and I couldn’t resist. “Ethan has the ball. He can pitch to me.”
    “I hope you haven’t gotten rusty,” Ethan said. He made a big show of stretching and winding up before he finally tossed the ball to me.
    I swung and smacked it over the pool house, and Sean started shouting and cheering. Ethan shook his head, but he was smiling. He clearly thought I would be an easy out.
    But no. I made it all the way to the final round, kicking Sean and Jeff out of the game.
    “You gonna let her win, E?” Jeff called, winking at me from the picnic table where he sat drinking a beer.
    Ethan chuckled, showing off those damn dimples. He looked down at the ball in his hands and then back up at me. “If I do, will you let me take you out?”
    “What? Like on a date?” I snorted, trying to look braver than I felt. “Not a chance.”
    “Wait a sec…I like this. Let’s make a wager,” he said.
    The guys were all hooting and hollering at me, my face no doubt crimson. I bit my lip, feeling all their eyes on me. “What do I get if I win?”
    “I’m thinking, hang on.” He held up his finger, his brow furrowed in thought. His eyes widened with excitement, and I knew I would regret whatever he had to say.
    “If I win, I get a kiss.” If it was possible, my cheeks flushed even more. Cue the laughter and the cat calls.
    “And, if I win?” I said, setting a hand on my hip to stop the shaking.
    He looked at me for a second, considering. “If you win, I won’t ever ask you out again.”
    The idea earned a chorus of “Yeah, right” and “No way” from the guys.
    My mouth fell open. I had not been expecting that, but his expression was serious. The laughing around us fell away for a second, and I could only stare at him, feeling the color drain from my face. His expression remained solemn, and he met my gaze head on.
    I nodded stiffly and swallowed. “All right.”
    His grin came back in full force. “Oh, and Al?” I raised my