Let Love Shine by Melissa Collins Read Free Book Online

but that was
actually pretty funny. Except for the shit-storm I caught from my father about
not being in proper form and how I could have won the game for my team if I
knew what the fuck I was doing.
    Nothing like a little encouragement from your old man, huh?
    When the umpire calls “batter up,” Bryan takes one last
practice swing. Leaning up against the fence, Dylan coaches Bryan through his
at-bat and he actually manages to get a base hit. All kidding aside, Dylan’s a
great coach.
    “Thanks for letting him join.” I hold up one finger to Bryan
to remind him there’s only one out. Without turning around, I angle my head to
the bleachers behind us where Maddy and Melanie are cheering us on. “It means a
lot to the girls, and to me.”
    “Anytime, man. Besides we needed an extra player otherwise
the team would have had to forfeit the season.” The Bridge, where Dylan and I
work as Gay-Straight Alliance advocates, has always put up a company softball
team in the local fall-ball league. I played last year and I can’t even begin
to explain the memories that came to the surface. Being on the field again with
Dylan, made me miss Shane so much that there were some days I thought of
quitting. But when Maddy reminded me that Shane would be happier with me being
on the field than at home angry over him being gone, I knew that I had to stay.
    The batter after Bryan manages a single and Bryan squeezes
an extra base off a throwing error. With only one out and our strongest player
at bat, Todd, who is pretty much two-hundred-and-fifty-pounds of solid muscle,
our chances of winning this game, and the league championship, are fairly
decent.
    Just as expected, Todd lifts a fly ball into left field.
Bryan watches it soar overhead and starts running for home. The left-fielder is
crazy fast and before Bryan even realizes it, he is in position to catch the
ball; he’s just standing out there waiting for it to drop in his glove. Dylan
and I are flailing our arms and yelling, “Go back! Go back!” He’s still not
familiar with all of the rules of the game, so Bryan stops in the middle of the
baseline and just stares at us with a dumbfounded look on his face. “Dude, go
back!” I call out one last time before he seems to recall his running error.
    Who the hell could have predicted what happens next, but all
of a sudden, the left-fielder trips over his own feet or a large rock or
something like that, and the ball drops to the ground next to him. Dylan and I
resume yelling for Bryan to run. Confusion sets in on Bryan who hasn’t yet
figured out the ball was not caught. Behind me, I hear Melanie screaming for
Bryan to slide as the center fielder, who was backing up the play, launches the
ball towards home plate. Clapping, yelling, screaming, general chaos ensues as
both Bryan and the ball arrive at home plate at the same time. The softball
gods must be on our side today, because by some miracle, Bryan slides his foot
around the catcher and somehow completely avoids the tag.
    “Safe!” The umpire yells out as he slashes his arms through
the air. Bryan jumps up from his slide only to be tackled to the ground by the
rest of the team. Before he even sees it coming, one of the guys has the water
cooler hoisted up over his shoulder, ready to dump it on Bryan’s head.
    “Ah, fuck! That’s cold!”
    “Better you than me,” I laugh as I hand him his hat that got
lost in the pile up after the play at the plate.
    “Way to go, Bry!” Dylan high fives Bryan and the rest of the
team follows. The umpire hands us our championship plaque and we line up
quickly to take a picture for the office. It’s our third year in a row as
league champions and it’s fair to say that Bryan has won himself a spot on the
team from here on out.
    After the picture is taken and most of the guys head out to
their cars, Dylan, Bryan and I grab the last of the gear. “Great game, guys.”
Maddy and Melanie come over to us as we’re packing up the last of our