Winning My Ex-Crush

Laird’s POV

Josh just looked confused, while Fenella smiled broadly and cheered happily.

“Wow, you’re so lucky! Just a little late, and you would’ve missed out.”

Once again, I knew she was just cheering herself up. She also considered it a marketing tactic so that customers wouldn’t regret buying her goods and would try to buy faster next time. I’ve watched her sell three times already, and her words are almost always the same at the end of the game.

“Laird?” Josh looked at me, seemingly surprised.

I whispered quietly to Josh, “I’ll pay you back later. Just consider it a treat for Sam.”

Hearing that, Josh smiled after understanding something. He nodded with a gleeful chuckle and took out his wallet, paying for all of her goods until they were sold out.

“Thank you, handsome and cool big brother. Thank you, Brad. Thank you, Laird,” the girl exclaimed joyfully as she received Josh’s money.

Fenella handed each of us a hotdog, a pack of crackers, and several small drink bottles soaked in melted ice in the small iron bucket. A wide smile spread on her face. She quickly disappeared through the nearest exit door, perhaps to return the box and deposit the money.

Josh suddenly teased me quietly, “Oh, you flirt. You womanizer.”

I looked at him in surprise. I almost choked on my iced tea. Josh smiled, displaying a mischievous expression to tease me.

“What’s gotten into you?” I asked embarrassedly.

“I’ve noticed how you’ve always paid attention to her. Even during the match, you’ve looked at her several times. You like her, don’t you? You little flirt!” Josh chuckled, and Brad did the same.

“Did you say that I like her? You’re ridiculous.” I took another sip of my iced tea to cover my possibly blushing face.

“No need to pretend. We can keep it a secret, you know,” Brad said, his hand moving to pretend to zip his lips.

“Outrageous.” I turned away.

“Don’t forget to pay me back,” Josh continued to tease me gleefully.

“I’ll pay for what I eat,” I said with a crooked grin.

“In that case, one hotdog, one iced tea, and one lemonade. That’s a total of 7 dollars,” Josh quickly calculated.

“I’m not taking the lemonade,” I said confidently.

“I bet you will. In a moment, you’ll take one of these lemonades.” Josh nodded his chin toward me.

Sure enough, I saw Fenella walking toward me, bowing to ask permission from other spectators. She sat right beside my empty seat, which I had intentionally left for her at her request.

Sweat trickled down her temples. Her ponytails were also damp under her pink baseball cap.

“Ah, such a relief!” She stretched her arms and rotated her shoulders.

I glanced at Josh. It seemed the boy could already guess what I wanted from him. Immediately, Josh handed me a bottle of lemonade. Without much ado, I finally handed the lemonade to Fenella.

“Wait, isn’t this what you bought earlier? Why are you giving it to me again?” She asked.

“Josh thought he was really thirsty earlier, but it turns out he’s full now,” I said, blushing.

“So, do I need to return the money?” She began to look worried.

“Nah, Josh treated us. Here, take it quickly.” She obediently accepted the lemonade from me.

“Thank you, Josh. I’ll pay you back next time,” she said to Josh.

I glared at Josh to prevent him from saying anything weird about the accusation that I liked that stupid girl. Josh gave me a quick laugh and then nodded to agree with my viewpoint.

“It’s fine,” Josh said to her with a wide grin.

We returned to focus on watching the game before I quietly asked Fenella. “How much did you earn today?”

“Today’s commission totals $10. So, next week, I won’t need to work anymore,” Fenella said after quickly drinking the lemonade.

“So you won’t come next week?” I glanced at Fenella on my left side.

“Yeah, it seems like it. It turns out it’s tiring to come to the field every week. If it wasn’t for the extra money, I’d never come here,” she said, compressing her forehead with the cold lemonade bottle.

“What?” My hands folded across my chest.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Oh, but of course, it’ll be different for you. You really like playing baseball, so it won’t be tiring at all for you to do this hobby you enjoy every week.”

Actually, the girl didn’t need to try to cheer me up. Somehow, I interpreted her words as a sign that she didn’t like baseball at all and wouldn’t come if it weren’t for necessity. Even after years in the league, she only came to watch the games I played a few times.

I suddenly realized that maybe I haven’t really had any supporters to pursue baseball all this time. Brad has Josh, but I’m alone. My parents don’t like me playing baseball because they think it’s a waste of study time. Lloyd, my younger brother, isn’t interested in baseball either.

Now Fenella, the girl I thought would always support me, also doesn’t seem to care much about me. The disappointment accumulated again with my consecutive losses and my failure to make it onto the major team this year.

“Well, maybe you’re right.” I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my tongue. “Good then. You don’t need to come anymore. Your shouts while selling were so distracting that we kept losing every time you came.”

Right after I said that, the Major Boston team managed to score the deciding point. The game ended immediately with Boston’s victory. I stood up abruptly.

“What did you say? Are you angry about what I just said? It wasn’t my fault.” Her voice also rose. She couldn’t accept being accused of being the reason our team lost.

“See you next week, Brad, Josh,” I said, ignoring Fenella as I patted Brad on the back. I took out 7 dollars and handed it to Josh.

Brad and Josh exchanged glances, then shrugged. They seemed puzzled by my sudden change in attitude. But they didn’t comment; perhaps they were too lazy to get involved. So, Josh just took my money and gave me a light punch to say goodbye.

“Hey, Laird.”

Fenella called my name again, but I quickly excused myself to leave the stadium, ignoring her. She followed me, but I continued to avoid her.

“Laird, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult your love for baseball. I mean, everyone has their own interests, right? But I think it’s unfair if you accuse me of being the reason your team lost.” Fenella argued to defend herself, and I simply nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I replied shortly.

It’s true; it wasn’t Fenella’s fault. If she doesn’t support me in baseball at all, I shouldn’t be angry with her. It’s her prerogative, right?

I shouldn’t blame her for my lack of skill in baseball, a sport I should’ve enjoyed. Still, there was an uncomfortable pain in my chest after realizing this truth so clearly.

Throughout the bus ride, even until we got home, Fenella kept apologizing. Her apologies went unanswered until she got tired herself.

“Laird!”

Fenella still tried to catch up to me, but I remained silent. I hurried my steps into the house and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.