Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross Page A

be on my skin in some situation that doesn’t involve hooking me up to electrical wires. “I know Jim has issues with your mom but he’s a good guy. You’re lucky, Annie.”
    Hearing him explain his past this way, it kind of makes the ex-convict thing seem both understandable and also behind him. I mean, look at him… He’s a professional athlete, not that professional athletes haven’t been known to commit horrible crimes now that I think about it…
    But I don’t want to think about that Jason Brody. I want to focus on the guy seated on my bed, here late at night with nothing on his agenda outside of helping me run at state.
    My gaze travels to his finger holding my hair, and he drops it immediately.
    “I know I’m lucky. In fact, we should do something special for my dad,” I suggest.
    “Like what?”
    “Let me help you study for that GED test,” I spit out fast before I can take it back. I know this would make Dad very happy. He’s talked about it a bunch with Brody when I’ve been around, and I’ve overheard him and Savannah discussing the subject.
    Brody chews on his bottom lip again—he’s thinking. “I want to, I really do…”
    “Okay, then it’s settled. I’ll help you study and whatever I don’t know, we’ll find someone who does. It can be like a summer project for both of us.”
    “I’m not going to pass that test, Annie,” he says with some hesitancy. Finally, he lets out a breath. “I feel like that guy in Shawshank Redemption saying, ‘ I don’t read so good. ’”
    I stare at him openmouthed. “You can’t read?”
    He rolls his eyes. “Of course I can read. I’m dyslexic. It’s not a big secret or anything, though I’m not looking for a big PSA campaign for learning disabilities with my name attached. Even if I can learn the material, taking the test in a timed setting… It would be almost impossible to pass. It’s like asking your dad to hop on his right leg.”
    I’m quiet for a long moment, my brain reeling with ideas. “Don’t give up on it yet. I bet there’s some alternate test or an oral exam.”
    He looks nervous already. “I’m sure there’s something, but it would have to be completely confidential. I know it may seem mean and self-centered, but I’m not ready to be a public advocate for dyslexia.”
    “Your secret’s safe with me.” I do the sign of the cross that I’ve picked up from Catholic school.
    Brody drifts into several seconds of deep thinking, maybe about the GED test, maybe about his parents or mine. I can’t do anything but stare at him while he stares at my book, pretending to flip through the pages. I didn’t think it was possible to find someone you can relax around and yet they still get your heart racing.
    I don’t know when this happened, but I know for sure tonight I’ve developed a big fat crush on Jason Brody, and unfortunately there’s a club forming and membership is growing with every inning he pitches.
    And this isn’t like my previous boyfriend Kenny or any other relationship I’ve been in. Those were more like experiments in learning how to make out and pretend you love someone. With Brody, I want to slice him open and see everything inside. I want to stand by the railing at Kauffman Stadium, all the way in the stands, and feel his eyes meet mine. No, I want to see his eyes search for mine. To pick me out of a crowd of thousands.
    But I’m not stupid. I get that this is nearly impossible, and I’m not planning on stepping in that direction ever. I’m just a high school girl (high school girls are off-limits according to Savannah), and he’s a hot rookie pitcher whose life is currently in the process of taking a one-eighty turn. My dad has been his mentor, his biggest supporter, of course he’s going to connect with me. Of course we’re going to share in our respect for my dad, but I can’t imagine him ever wanting more from me. It doesn’t fit.
    “You can unhook now,” Brody says, nodding toward the