Full Count (The Catcher Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

would you do?” I tease, tossing the
ball in my bare hand, egging him on.
                “Find a dog and make it bite you,” he finishes,
dropping one of his knees to protect himself.
                “That ’ s the best you can do?” I
joke even though I know it ’ s a good threat. Ever since
that Halloween night where I was chased and he got bit, I ’ ve
been terrified of bunnies and he knows it. They ’ re
one of the few things that make me strike fear. I can ’ t
even say their real name, even in my head.
                “Just throw,” Skyler demands. This causes me to
jumble the ball and throw it high and outside in what would be the batter ’ s box. “My balls are down here,” he states after he catches the
ball and drops his gloved hand in front of him.
                “I wasn ’ t aiming for your balls,”
I reply, trying not to look at him down there.
                “Were you aiming for two feet above me?” he
antagonizes me.
                “No,” I admit. “I told you I need help, Sky.”
                “Alright. Here ’ s what we ’ re going to do,” he begins as he takes off his hoodie followed
by his t-shirt underneath. Oh, yeah, because your abs aren ’ t going to distract me at all .But then he
puts his hoodie back on his bare chest and walks over to me with his dark
t-shirt in hand. “I ’ m going to blindfold you, and you ’ re going to learn how to control your pitches to get them
exactly where you want them without aiming.”
                “Sky, this is ridiculous,” I retort as he walks up
behind me and ties the shirt into a knot around my head.
                “Do you want my help or not?” he snaps.
                “Promise you won ’ t leave me out
here alone. Stray bunnies come out at night,” I command, the fear of being left
alone in the park with a creepy woods and the possibility of a wild animal
attacking me completely overcoming me. I can see him doing it.
                “ I won ’ t.
But even if I did, you would be fine. You ’ re tougher than
almost every guy I know,” he declares. His voice gradually distances from me
but only far enough so that I know he ’ s taken his place
back behind home plate. “Throw me a pitch.”
                “I can ’ t even see!” I exclaim,
slamming the ball into my glove to regrip.
                “Come on. Just throw one,” he insists. I don ’ t want to hurt him or disrespect him, so I take my stance,
feeling that my feet are exactly perpendicular to the pitching plate, and bring
my arm around to release the ball once it gets past my thigh. Skyler catches
the ball and crunches his feet in the hard grass as he walks it over to me.
                “What was it?” I wonder, wanting to know what the
pitch looked like.
                “Ball high,” he reports as he sets the ball in my
bare hand. Just as I think he ’ s going to release and
resume his catching position, he curls my hand so half of the ball is covered
by his hand and half by mine. “But it was a good miss considering you were
trying not to hit me in the balls.” I can hear the smile in his voice but try
to keep mine contained as he walks away from me. “Now, listen to me; focus… get
your grip on the ball… now, what do you see?”
                Puzzled, I tell him, “Nothing. Black everywhere.”
                “Buzz, listen to me,” he tries again. “Think about
pitching in a big game in front of a big crowd. What do you see?”
                Taking a deep breath, I actually close my eyes
underneath his shirt tied around my eyes. “ Your glove, ” I
answered.
                “ Good, ” he says firmly. “Now,
throw.” All I think about is him catching a perfect strike like I have seen him
do thousands of times during his own games as I sit behind the