Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(49)

Puffy-face’s eyes went wide and everyone laughed as Krista smoothly turned back around.

Krista caught Tory’s gaze out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to meet it, he had looked away. She took that as a cue to work on her professionalism. She was the youngest there and it showed. Although, if she got in trouble because of it, she intended to use the defense: “He started it!”

Next was a water balloon throw. Krista was wearing white. She had on a pink bra. She was also poor at catching without a glove. Needless to say, this one had her nervous.

~*~*~*~

Sean, wanting to give Krista a chance to completely win over Georgie, took control of the pairings. He paired those two together, gave himself Dean since Dean was the hardest to control, and paired up Bob and Donald, who would both probably be lost causes in this competition. Everyone stood in a straight line, facing their partner. Then the balloon tosses began.

Turned out Dean played softball. Sean played baseball. The two of them barely had to talk and certainly had no time to get chummy. Sean threw, Dean caught, and then returned the balloon, etc. until they were done. They were the second ones finished, right behind Jack and Tyler from San Francisco.

Another ten minutes saw most others out or done. It left only one pair—Krista and Georgie. It was clear from watching for any length of time that Georgie thought the whole thing was a walk in the park. His lobs were right on, his catches were perfect, and he was totally relaxed.

Krista’s efforts, however, were crap. She was all over the place. Her throws were too high, too low, too far—anything but right on. Her catches made everyone suck in their breath that she’d drop it or clutch it too hard. And if it wasn’t for the amount of fun she was having, everyone would’ve been looking down on the girl that didn’t fit in.

Instead, everyone wore smiles.

“Relax,” Sean said in a great imitation of Marcus.

“Easy for you to say! You know how to play this accursed sport.” Krista spat back with a giggle.

“If you had talked baseball with us you might be faring better,” Georgie yelled across the field between them.

“Those who play sports, play sports. Those who can’t or don’t, are cheerleaders,” Donald said to her with a smile.

“Okay, yes, I said that. But look—look at this fantastic lobbbb…oh God, Geor…CATCH IT!”

Georgie lunged and just barely grabbed the balloon in a soft catch. Everyone sighed in relief. Sean had no idea he was so good at softball. It made the choice to pair them a lucky one.

“Look at her. She’s straining!” someone said.

Krista straightened up immediately, stopping Georgie mid-windup. She turned to the speaker. “Yes, Phil, much like you on the toilet. Don’t think I didn’t hear about your Monday morning blowouts!”

Everyone started laughing. Phil, who hadn’t impressed Sean at all when he’d met him, and who impressed him even less when the manager tried to immediately turn his back on Krista after moving, said sheepishly, “Sunday was taco night!”

There was a collective groan. Sean noticed Tory, who was always watching, wearing a scowl. There was a lot of sexual harassment going on this weekend, and Tory was both shocked and worried. He didn’t realize the culture was so anti-female, and he was legitimately worried Krista would sue. He also knew that if push came to shove, Sean would back her, and even press her, along that course. It was disgusting what he’d witnessed so far, and it was hurting business. They were missing the largest pool of dollars in the nation—those controlled by female spenders. It was the first thing Sean set his sights on—besides getting Krista back.

“Now shut up, please, I am a chick and this is hard for me,” Krista said loftily. She got more laughter. Someone started an “air-ball” chant.

Georgie gave a perfect lob, right toward Krista’s shaking, out-stretched hands.

“AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” She cut off her yell with a laugh as she caught it.

There was another collective sigh and clapping.

“Take that!” Krista yelled with pride.

“Two more lobs.” The ref called.

“Party pooper,” Krista muttered darkly.

More laughs.

Krista was completely herself. The crisis of wanting to do well, of working with Georgie, of heading toward a common goal with a team that hated her, all disappeared and it was just Krista, trying to catch a balloon. It was refreshing. The guys around her, regardless of what rumors they believed, loved her right then. They thought she was a gas. They laughed at her jokes and shared her moments of pride. She did what she’d always done best—she held them all at a personal level and stripped away the titles.

Krista focused on Georgie, bent like she was bowling, swung her arm, and gave the balloon a giant lob. The toss went too high with not enough projection—it would be short. Georgie wasn’t allowed to step forward, and if he did, they would lose. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to reach. The crowd held their breath.

Georgie poised on the balls of his feet, balanced just right to reach as far as he possibly could, his hands straining toward the falling balloon…and he caught it! He closed one hand around the blue orb, had a moment of swaying where he almost lost his balance, and stuck it! It was an amazing catch.

“Oh thank God!” Krista breathed in relief. She turned to the guy to her right. “I thought I was going to screw the pooch on that one!”