In less than a month, it will be the first anniversary of my second book, Baseball & A Girl. It was cool to see it debut at number one on Amazon’s Young Adult category after all the pre-orders. It was even more rewarding to see how many lives it touched, given that the book focused on real-life issues, primarily life-changing challenges, health, love, family, and depression. I have received many DMs, emails, and texts asking if there will be a sequel or if this story will be part of some trilogy. The answers are Yes and Yes.
Trust me, I wish I had more than twenty-four hours in a day so I could spend more time doing what I love, which is writing, and deliver these requests promptly. But as Kelvin and I shared the same life-altering health condition, things don’t go as we planned.
I admit that I am currently working on other novels and manuscripts. Projects that hopefully take me to the level I would like to be, a traditionally published author. But I promise I have not forgotten my Baseball and a Girl fans. Here is a preview of what’s to come. This piece isn’t exactly in the sequel. It could very well be in the third book of the franchise, tentatively titled Love & Baseball, which could be extended into four books instead of three.
INTERVIEW WITH THE WALK-ON BASEBALL PLAYER
“You were splitting time between Kam Smith and Ezequiel Arnold at shortstop and second base. Now that you’ve taken over the starting second base spot, how do you feel?” Simone asked.
Kelvin didn’t hesitate. “I live to take people’s spots,” he said, straight-faced.
Simone chuckled. “You can’t say that.”
“You’re right,” Kelvin said, allowing the hint of a grin. “I feel bad that Kam got hurt. But in sports, it’s always next man up.”
Simone narrowed her eyes at him. The aspiring journalist and the walk-on freshman phenom were lounging in her dorm room, mid-interview for the campus news blog. Kelvin wasn’t much of a talker, usually. But when the girl who brought him out of his shell—in more ways than one—wanted an interview, how could he say no?
Especially when she was his girlfriend.
Was she his girlfriend? They hadn’t discussed that yet. As Kelvin was concerned, why put a label on something, maybe adding pressure to something that flowed so easily?
She was cute in the obvious way: dark curls, smooth brown skin, full lips made for kissing, eyes that pulled you in. The kind of sporty tomboy who somehow made even that look girly—the kind of girl who wore thigh-high gym shorts and didn’t even realize the effect she had.
Kelvin wasn’t bad-looking himself. Five foot nine, maybe five-ten on a good day. Solid build. Classic Caribbean Islander skin tone, dark brown eyes that could flash with confidence or retreat into something deeper. Baby-faced, but those eyes-those carried stories.
“I heard you tie a tire around your waist and run with it in the mornings. Is that true?” Simone asked, her pen poised.
“If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready,” Kelvin replied, without missing a beat.
Simone groaned and dropped her hands from the laptop onto her mattress. She sank lower into her hoodie, chin disappearing into the collar.
“This isn’t going to work,” she muttered. “You’re coming off like you’ve got a whole act going.”
Kelvin’s eyes dropped to her bare legs for a moment. He liked her in those shorts—too much. But when he felt her stare heating up, he looked back at her and met her gaze head-on.
She wasn’t wrong.
He’d been dodging this talk since the moment they started dating. Whatever he hadn’t shared—whatever he’d carried—it had started to feel like an afterthought since starting college. Lighter. Less like a burden.
Maybe it was time.
Maybe right now was the moment to finally say it.
“I gotta share something with you,” Kelvin said, his face unreadable.
“Will it make this dull-ass article more appealing?” Simone teased.
“Absolutely. But it’s also personal.”
Simone caught the seriousness in his expression and softened. “Oh… I mean, I won’t put anything in that you don’t want me to.”
“I know.” He nodded. “I don’t have an act going. I just choose what to show and when. My brother calls it a defense mechanism.”
“I don’t understand,” Simone said gently, pushing her laptop aside.
“Ask me that first question again. This time, I’ll answer it honestly. Then it’ll all make sense.”
“Okay.” Simone hesitated, then pulled her laptop back into her lap. “I asked why you don’t seem to celebrate your accomplishments. You made the roster as a walk-on—nothing. You hit a walk-off homer in your first game after six straight on the bench, and you skipped the party. Is it always just business with you?”
Kelvin exhaled. “It’s because every time something good happens in my life, the rug gets pulled out from under me.”
Simon’s eyes softened. “What do you mean?”
“This goes all the way back to Little League,” he said. “I’d make the all-star teams, but I barely played. They’d stick me in as a late-game defensive sub, nothing more. Then in high school, I had to transfer schools just to get playing time, because my brother was already the star shortstop where we lived. If I wanted to play, I had to go somewhere else.”
He paused, eyes wandering around the room, like he hoped the walls would finish the story for him.
“And then… when things finally started working out for me, I almost died.”
Simone froze.
Kelvin continued, matter-of-fact. “Even after I recovered, most doctors said I’d never play baseball again.”
She sat in stunned silence.
“So now,” he said quietly, “I don’t get too high or too low. Because nothing lasts. The highs, the lows—they all pass. I try to stay in the middle. That’s the only way I know how to keep going. I don’t have the luxury of celebrating or sulking.”
“That’s… sad,” Simone whispered.
“Why?”
“Because everyone deserves to celebrate their wins. Everyone deserves to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“When?” she asked, almost challenging.
“During the process. During the games. During the training. People think I’m a madman when they see me running with a tire at sunrise, like I have to do it. And yeah, in my mind, I do have to work harder than everyone else. But I also love it. That’s when I’m happiest.”
Simone cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind me asking—and I won’t include this in the article unless you say it’s okay—what exactly happened to you?”
“I had a massive brain bleed from something I was born with—an AVM. That’s short for something long and hard to pronounce. Google can explain it better. I needed radiation surgery. Afterward, I had to relearn how to walk. I went to a memory clinic, speech therapy, the whole deal.”
Simone covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears. She was stunned by how calmly Kelvin spoke, as if he were talking about someone else’s life.
“How can you say all of this like it’s just… normal?”
“Because that’s just how it is.”
“But it’s not,” Simone said, her voice barely above a whisper. “How long was the recovery?”
“I’m still recovering.”
“What do you mean?”
“The radiation takes two years to fully work. I get MRIs every six months to see if the AVM is shrinking. If it’s not gone in another few months, I’ll need another surgery. As long as part of it’s still there, I’m at risk. If it grows again, it could cause another brain bleed. A deadly one. I’m in year two right now.”
Simone quietly pushed her laptop away again. She got off the bed, pacing slowly with her hands on her hips.
“What’s the status now?” she asked, voice cautious.
“There’s still a small piece left.”
She stopped pacing. “I heard you were originally committed to the University of Rhode Island?” She asked, changing the subject to gather her bearings.
Kelvin nodded. “Yeah. I had a scholarship to play there. But I had a seizure near campus during my senior year. After that, they rescinded the offer.”
Simone’s eyes widened.
“So next week’s series—when we go play at URI—it’s personal,” he added. “I need to show them what they gave up.”
“Is that why you’ve been so on edge lately?”
“Yes.”
That was a lie.
There was more to it than that. The past he left behind in Rhode Island—Analise, Carrie, Vanity, Ryan. The messy connections. The unfinished stories. And the question of how he’d react when it all came rushing back.
Simone looked at him, her brown eyes searching. She could feel it—he’d been pulling away. As much as Kelvin tried to hide it, she felt the shift.
“What has your condition taught you?” she asked softly.
“That I need to appreciate every single second. Nothing is guaranteed. If I’m going to make it through this, I can’t lose focus. It might sound harsh, but it’s the only way I know how to live. Some people think I’m an asshole for it… But I like who I am. It works for me.”
Simone gave a small smile, trying to lift the weight in the room. “Off the record… I like you.”
Kelvin smirked. “I like you too.”
He could see it in her, the same thing he saw in the others—she wanted to make him feel better. She wanted to fix things. He got up from her bed and walked toward her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.
“I promise I’ll give you a better interview next time,” he said quietly.
“You better,” Simone replied, biting her bottom lip.
“How could I say no to you?”
“You know I don’t take no for an answer,” she teased. Then her tone shifted, more serious. “Is there anything else I should know before I make that trip to Rhode Island to watch you play?”
Kelvin narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean... any ex-girlfriends? Lingering feelings? Loose ends? Anyone who might try to pull you back home?”
And for the first time in whatever kind of relationship they had, Kelvin looked her straight in the eyes—and lied.
“No.”
The Novel Baseball & A Girl is available for purchase on Amazon , Barnes & Noble, and are available to order through your local bookstore.
