"Cheers!"

The glasses clinked together as Jake and Nick smiled at each other. The court had decided to convict Rick Lane for almost 3 years. It was a shock to pretty much everyone, including Jake. He thought he hadn't given enough detail and that the court was gonna turn against him. He didn't bring a lawyer so he knew how that looked. But luckily, it worked in everyone's favor.

Now all Jake and Nick had to focus on was getting Brennan baseball to the championships.

Nick had decided that they should go to Dizzy's to celebrate after court. Riley was sitting next to Jake at the table, Nick and Mac together and the entire Brennan baseball team sat at a couple tables that had been pushed together. Halfway through the brunch, Nick stood up with his glass and Jake put his head in his hands.

He had known Nick long enough to know what was coming.

"Can I have everyone's attention?"

Jake thanked his lucky stars that besides the hostesses and servers, they seemed to be the only people in the restaurant.

"I just wanted to say how proud I am of this guy right here," Nick said, massaging Jake's shoulder. "Wolff, we've had a heck of a ride together and I have been blessed, no... beyond blessed to be by your side and I am honored to be your friend. And... I cannot wait to be your side to see us win a title"

The whole place erupted with cheers and shouts and everyone started chanting, "Speech!"

"Okay, okay," Jake said, standing with his hands up. "I... Life is about trusting your feelings, taking chances, finding happiness, learning from the past, and realizing that everything changes. Life changes. The biggest change of my life started with everyone sitting here now. Oh, boy, I was a mess when I first became your coach. I had no idea what I was doing or even what I was going to do long term"

Jake took a glance at Parker seated next to Collin and Pete and smiled. He got one back in return.

"And I struggled for a while. I really did. But I realized I wasn't thinking realistically. I... was trying to make myself the perfect person when in fact, me being imperfect was what made me mean so much more. I won't ramble on any longer but one time, a good friend told me this. One smile can start a friendship. One word can end a fight. One look can save a relationship. One person can change your life. I have had the privilege to coach alongside you Nick Zaminski and I will be honored to stand next to you when our kids get those medals in two weeks"

Jake walked over to Nick and gave him a hug, smiling like an idiot.

His life really had... Never been better.

"Yes! Hold up, 22. Yeah, baby!" Jake pumped his fist in the air as he watched Parker smack a double into right field a few days later. Brennan was winning 5-4 now and he couldn't be happier.

They win this game... And they're in the finals.

They had won 6 games so far. You needed seven wins to advance.

The inning ended as Pete grounded out but Jake clapped anyway.

"Alright, Brennan. I see you. Let's shut this down now"

The team all ran out to their positions, the blood pumping through everyone's veins. Jake wanted this for this team more than anything in the whole world right now. He would be ecstatic with joy if they could do this.

There were 2 outs, runners on 1st and 3rd, in a now tied game. Jake and Nick's fingernails were half gone. Kevin Grammar looked at Jake from the pitcher's mound. Jake looked back and pulled on his hat, signaling to Parker, Pete, and Hunter that they were gonna pull the Fox again. He smiled and nodded as he clapped his hands. Jake had been practicing the move even more at practice and he was sure they had gotten it down pat.

At least he hoped so.

Jake clutched the chain around his neck and fingered his dad's black ring on his finger, which he could put on now after his splint came off a week or so ago.

He hoped it would give Brennan some power right now.

The crack of the bat called Jake back into reality. It was a fly ball to Wayne Tricker.

He went back...

Back...

Back...

The ball landed safely in his glove. Nick bearhugged Jake as the entire field erupted into cheers.

They had done it. Brennan was gonna be in the championship game for the first time in five years.

Jake ran out to the team and they all just jumped up and down as water was thrown everywhere. Nick hugged Jake again, joyful tears filling in both of their eyes.

"Told ya you'd make history!" Nick yelled to Jake.

"I finally believe you now!" Jake yelled back.

The exchange couldn't have been more perfect.

Jake opened his office door and was instantly greeted with balloons, flowers, streamers and his chairs were covered with gift bags.

"Surprise! Congratulations!"

Sam Adair and half of the Brennan staff walked into his office watching Jake look around.

"Oh my gosh, everyone," he chuckled. "This is amazing. Thank you so much"

"Thank you, Jake. You've... Really made this school the best place to be for our kids. We really really can't thank you enough. So take the gifts. I'm pretty sure that there's some in there from your kids"

Adair winked and closed the door, letting Jake be alone for a minute. Jake set his stuff down on the floor and pushed the streamers out of the way, grabbing one of the bags,  and opening the card.

Dear Coach Jake,

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself. You have taught me that you don't always have to be strong. You are allowed to break down as long as you pick yourself back up and keep moving forward. You have taught me that I have a story and that my story matters. More so, you have taught me that other people need my story. Through honesty and vulnerability, I can open doors that would otherwise stay closed. It wasn't until I started to get honest and vulnerable with myself that I could get honest and vulnerable with other people.

You have taught me that despite my flaws and hurts, my story is still valid and that gave me the strength to validate other people's stories. Thank you for always understanding. You never judged me. You accepted me. And your open-mindedness and compassionate heart always comfort me. I am so excited to go on this journey with you as my coach.

Thank you for everything, Coach Jake.

Sincerely, 22.

Jake took a deep breath after he read that letter. Oh, jeez. His kids knew how to hit him where it hurt. He smiled as he put the card back in the bag, pulling out another baseball. There was nothing written on this one but Jake knew which one it was.

It was the ball Jake had hit Parker that day at tryouts when they first met.

Parker had kept it.

Jake fingered the ball in his hand, laughing softly as he put it back in the bag. All of the other papers were letters like Parker's from the team but there were two more bags on his chair that made Jake stop and study them extra hard. He opened one of the letters and started to read:

Jake,

I haven't been blessed to have been with you considerably on this journey and for your life. But now I understand what they mean when they say, "your lover may be your best friend"

Ever since I met you, you have been something special in my life. A sort of light, a guidance. You were charming, kind, and charismatic, and I couldn't help but be drawn to you. But, never in a million years would I have guessed that now, after all this time, you would mean so much to me.
The funny thing is, I wasn't looking for you, I just found you. Out of funny circumstances and total coincidence, we became friends and got to know each other's personalities, fears, hopes, and dreams. Then, we blossomed into something beautiful, something that I never saw coming. But as blind as I was, I'm extremely glad that you stumbled into my weird little life and that you became such a big part of it. There are so many wonderful things to thank you for that I don't even know where to begin. Words will never do it justice, but a girl can try, right?

I love how you love this sport and your looks are just an added bonus ;) I am so so proud of you and can't wait to see where you go.

Through it all, I will always be by your side, handsome. I love you, J.

Love, Riley.

Jake smiled as he read the letter. He had never planned on having someone like Riley in his life but how beautiful was life that it did you like that. And he was glad it did. He felt guilty he didn't spend as much time with Riley as he wanted but at the same time, he was gentle with himself. After all, she was always gonna be there for him. Jake knew there was gonna be so many more moments. And as he closed the paper, he thought of it and the time it must have taken his girlfriend to write that letter and he smiled again, tears coming to his eyes.

"I love you too, Ry," he said to himself quietly. He put the paper aside and took the final bag in his lap. This bag contained a photo in an envelope. As Jake opened it he laughed. It was a picture of him and Nick at Dizzy's. They both had a slice of pizza in their hands, grinning widely. Jake knew exactly when that was taken too.

Sophomore year of college. When Nick helped Jake write a paper and he got an A+ they went out to celebrate. Jake thought his emotions were at bay for the moment.

Until he read Nick's letter:

To my best friend, my rock, and my everything,

Because you taught me to see the world differently, I learned to treat the world differently.

Our friendship has taught me to appreciate the small moments and to not rush through my life. It has taught me that the smallest acts of kindness can sometimes be the most monumental; things like genuinely asking how someone's day is going. During one of our annual Dizzy's celebrations, I asked you why you wanted to spend your time making small talk with the waiter and you replied, "This is his whole day, standing there taking orders. We might as well make it a good day."

Your passion to make a difference in the world is unbelievable. You put your heart and soul into your endeavors and surpass any personal goal you could have set. Watching you do what you love and watching you make a difference in the lives of others is an incredible experience and I hope that one day I can have just as much passion as you have.

The love you have for your family is outstanding. Listening to you talk about your loved ones just makes me smile. You give me hope for my own great family one day. You love with all your heart and this quality is something I wished I possessed as greatly as you do.

You inspire me to be the best version of myself. I look up to you. I feel that more people should strive to have the strength and passion that you exemplify in everyday life. I have never been more proud to know someone and to call someone my role model. You have taught me so many things and I want to thank you. Thank you for inspiring me in life. Thank you for making me want to be a better person.

I literally cannot wait for Brennan's time to come. And I can stand by and say I was with you the entire time.

Thanks for everything, Wolff. You changed my life and we'll always be this way.

Great job, partner. You're ready to fly.

Sincerely,

Nick Zami.

Jake read Nick's letter extra hard and couldn't believe how lucky he was. His day flew by in a whirlwind of congratulations, showers, and gifts. He hadn't felt more blessed.

Two weeks later, Brennan won the championship game and were crowned champions for the first time in five years.

Jake and Nick had done it. They made history.

But the best part?

They did it together. Just as everything they did in life would always be.