Read Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) for Free Online Page B

back.”
    “Whatever.” Ollie knew that on any other day, Keith probably would have pushed him a little harder, but not today.
    The first two hitters on Ollie’s team popped the ball up in the outfield— easy outs. Ollie was standing outside the dugout taking a few warm up swings when he realized Sparks was standing just a few feet away by the fence, beckoning him to come over.
    “Keith is gonna hit a single,” Sparks said softly so that nobody else could hear.“ Don’t swing at the first pitch.”
    “All right.”
    “Hey, listen to me! You don’t think I know it, but you’re still planning to swing at the first pitch. Don’t! Hit the fourth one. Trust me.”
    “Fine. I won’t swing at the first pitch. You’d better be right.”
    He watched as Keith hit a grounder that snuck between the shortstop and third baseman. Now it was Ollie’s turn at the plate, with Keith on first and two outs.
    Right after the pitcher released the first pitch, Sparks yelled from the stands, “Don’t swing!”
    Ollie had already started shifting his weight and was about to let his bat fly through the zone, but he held up at the last second. The ball bounced behind home plate.
    “Strike one!” the umpire said, pointing his right index finger.
    Ollie stepped out of the batter’s box and took a few steps toward the stands, pretending he needed a few seconds to continue warming up his swing. “I should have swung at that one.”
    “Trust me,” Sparks said.
    The next pitch landed in front of home plate and the one after that nearly hit Ollie on the foot as he backed away. He lined up for the fourth pitch, trying both to act natural and to listen for his limpy little helper.
    “Swing!” Sparks yelled just in time.
    He did. The ball sailed gracefully down the third base line. As Ollie ran, he began to slow up at second base. Keith was rounding third on his way to score the team’s first run. He pointed an excited finger at Ollie as he made his way back to the dugout, and Ollie grinned at him.
    Unfortunately, the next batter grounded out.
    Seeing that Keith had grabbed his mitt, Ollie waited at the ridge of the grass for Keith to meet up with him. He handed Ollie his glove. “If we’re gonna play a rover, I’ll do it.”
    “No, trust me. I’ll play rover.”
    “Look, I’m team captain, and I’m faster than you are. I’ll do it.”
    “No, trust me.”
    “Alright, fine! You’re rover. But if we lose, it’s your fault.” Keith organized the outfield accordingly.
    Ollie took his position where Sparks, who was still sitting in the bleachers, was pointing. He found himself in perfect position to snag the first hit of the inning; a soft line drive over the shortstop.
    “This guy’s left handed,” Keith yelled. “Move over to a short right-center position.”
    Sparks was pointing elsewhere, though, so Ollie stayed put. He found himself in perfect position for the next out as a result. The third out came easy too, and Ollie held his head up high as he made his way back to the dugout again.
    “Good call on using a rover,” Keith said, as they walked back to the dugout. “I could have sworn that lefty was looking to pull the ball toward right field, but... good call.”
    “When ya got it, ya got it,” Ollie said.
    Through the next handful of innings, Ollie was in perfect position more often than not. On every at-bat, Ollie had reached base safely. He wasn’t able to singlehandedly rout the other team, but once the final inning came around they were only down by a score of 10-8.
    The sun had disappeared a long time ago, and the lights were the only source of illumination across the field. The other ballgames on the nearby fields had all finished; most everyone had either left the grounds or was making their way to the parking lot.
    Ollie was showing the first signs of life since Anne had knocked the wind out of him earlier that day. With everything else having gone so badly, he was hoping he could at least have this one