Batting Style (Unabridged‪)‬

Blaise

There are a few things I know for sure: I’m gay, I want to do costume design for film and television, and a supportive family is what other people have. Oh… and fate’s not my biggest fan. That’s fine, though—who needs fate? I’ve got friends I love, a welcoming community, and a plan. Graduate college? Check. Build up my portfolio? Whenever I can. Impress industry pros? Done. Save the money for my dream internship? Working on it. All I’ve gotta do is stick with the plan, and that internship is mine next year.

And then Jordan Marks walks into my life, and my plan turns into a loose guideline. Suddenly I’m learning about baseball and giving away shifts at work so I can watch him play. My goals are the same, but maybe there’s room in them for the world’s sweetest athlete.

Jordan

I’m pretty sure the gods of baseball don’t care if I wear a suit on game day, but Franklin U and Coach do, so when mine rips, replacing it is an urgent mission. That’s how I meet Blaise Warner and my “I guess I could be bi” musings become full-blown “I wanna learn to handle a bat” demands. Blaise is smart, talented, and has goals… and he’s more than happy to teach me a new batting style.

But as we go from casual to more, the things I never mentioned—like my dads’ connections in the entertainment industry—become heavy secrets. Plus, while our friends know we’re dating, nobody else does. That’s not fair to Blaise, but do I really want to be the latest queer college ball player?

I don’t get a chance to figure it all out before things fall apart, and now we both have to decide what our real priorities are.