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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Evan
Last night was, I’d say, the perfect night. Getting to be with my family and getting to know Christy more was honestly the best of both worlds.
When I wake up, I text her with a simple:
Good morning.
I love that she responds with:
Morning!
And we leave it at that. I know we are both busy, but just having this little connection is all I need to get up and get my day going.
We have a day game, then head out to New Jersey for a three-game series there. After that, we come home for another three- game series, and then I’ll have a day off. Well, kind of a day off considering I get to sleep in and not leave for our next series until nighttime.
The seven-day countdown until I get to see her again has begun.
I head to the locker room, then shake my head when I get there, remembering my locker is still bright pink.
Gunnar, our shortstop, places his hand on my shoulder. “Do you want help getting that off?”
I look back at it and then turn to him. “It’s kind of growing on me. I’ve been playing well, so maybe I’ll leave it.”
He laughs. “Up to you, man.”
I finish getting ready and head out to the field for some BP. When I step on the field, I see Eddie Stone standing nearby, watching everyone hit.
He turns to see me and walks toward me. “Hey, Evan,” he says, so I stop what I was doing and walk his way.
“Hi, Eddie.” I hold out my hand to shake his.
We do, and then he places his other hand on my arm. “Quick question for you. Who were the three little boys running the bases on opening night? I didn’t think you had any kids.”
“Oh, no, I don’t. Those were my two nephews and the son of a girl I’m seeing.”
He nods slowly. “Okay, well, if you could keep it to just true family, we’d appreciate it.”
I pinch my eyebrows together, never thinking there would be a problem with bringing them to the field. “Was I wrong, bringing them down here?”
“Oh, no. No, you’re totally fine. It was opening day and all. Your nephews don’t live here, I take it?”
“No, they live in Texas, where I’m from.”
“Okay then, it won’t be an issue. Just forget I said anything.”
He pats my back and goes back to where he was when I arrived at the field, leaving me confused as I walk back to where my bat is kept on the field.
“What was that all about?” Kelton asks.
I think about it some more before I respond, “He was saying to keep any kids I bring down to the field to pure family.”
He lets out a sharp laugh. “Seriously?”
I look at him and drop my hands to the sides. “That’s weird, right? Kids always run the bases.”
He shakes his head. “Yeah, but he’s always been a little on the odd side. I’ve been seeing him around more, so I get the feeling he’s looking to take over completely from his old man and become the not-so-silent owner.”
I look at Eddie, then back at Kelton, still confused as to why he would stop me just to say that.
Kelton slaps my chest with the back of his hand. “Don’t let him get to you. Owners think they run this show, but really, they don’t. Forget about it and move on.”
I nod. He’s right. I’ve met some interesting people in the front office of teams I’ve played on, so this must be no different than those.
We lost our game, so there’s a somber mood in the locker room as we pack our things to head out tonight for New Jersey. That’s the game though. It’s a game of failures. I’ve been told my entire life that how you deal with those failures is what sets you apart from a player and a professional player. The game can eat you alive if you let it get to you.
“See you tonight,” Tripp says, holding his hand out to me.
I slap it in a bro way. “Yeah, see you tonight.”
We have a few hours before we have to meet to go to the airport for our flight, so I head home, shower, and pack.
On my way to the airport, I text Christy.
What’s your address?
She sends it to me, and I respond with:
Any chance you can sneak outside in 5 minutes?
Yeah, I’ll put a show on for Nolan. That will give me at least a few minutes.
I smile at my phone screen, click her address to bring it up on my car’s navigation, and put my phone in the cupholder. If I only get a few minutes with her, I’ll take it.
I pull up to her house, and before I can text her that I’m here, she opens the door and walks out with a giddyup to her step as she hurries toward my truck.
I open the door, hop out, and meet her halfway by picking her up and kissing her with everything I’ve got.
“Mmm,” I hum as I place her back down on her feet, then lean against my truck but keep her hand in mine. “Glad I made a detour on my way to the airport.”
She grins, looking more beautiful than ever with her hair pulled back. “Me too. Where are you going again?”
“New Jersey for three days, and then I’ll be back home.” I wrap my pointer finger with hers. “We’re still on for something when I get back, right?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
We grin at each other like silly teenagers.
I pull her into me. “I couldn’t leave without stopping to say goodbye.”
She places her arms around my neck. “I’m sure glad you did.”
She leans up to kiss me, and I know I’m done for this girl.
I pick her up so she can swing her legs around my waist, and then I hold her up against my truck. It takes everything I got to pull my lips from hers, and I place my forehead against hers.
“I have to get going, or I’m going to be late.”
She slides down my legs until her feet are on the ground, and I move aside to let her go, keeping ahold of her hand though.
“I’ll call you when I can.”
She steps away until our hands part. “Okay, play well.”
“I’ll try.”
She smiles and waves until she’s back in her house, and I get into my truck, forcing myself to drive away from her.
Once I’m in my hotel room for the night, I should be trying to get some sleep for tomorrow, but instead, I text her.
Coaches always warned me about girls like you.
I watch the bubbles appear and disappear a few times, but I wait for her to reply before I say anything else. I laugh when I see her response.
Girls like me?
I smile as I type.
Yeah. Girls who take up that space in your mind that should be focused on the game.
I hit Send and wish to God I could see her reaction. I mean every word too. I can’t stop thinking about her, even though it scares me a little that she takes up that much of my focus.
I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
I laugh out loud, though I’m completely alone, and there’s no one to hear me.
It’s a great thing for me. For my game? We’ll see tomorrow. Wish me luck.
You don’t need luck. Go be you. That’s what got you here.
Spoken like a true mom.
She sends me a winking-face emoji, and I know it’s the perfect thing to end our conversation, or I’ll continue to text her all night.
The next morning, we hop on the bus from the hotel to head to the field. I sit in my seat and instantly pull out my phone to see if she texted me. I hover my thumb over the text box, thinking of what I should say.
“Are you texting the girl you brought on the field the other day?” Gunnar says as he plops down next to me.
I eye him with a smirk, but don’t answer.
“Well, fuck.” He drops his head back, sighing, then looks at me again. “You’ve got it bad. Who is she?”
I chuckle as I stare at my phone. “My hairstylist.”
He laughs like he thinks I’m kidding, then turns to face me when he realizes I’m not. “Wait, you’re not fucking with me, are you? I thought you said you were single during spring training?”
“I was.”
“Oh, she got you like that?” His eyes open wide. “How long have you known her?”
I smirk. “What’s today?”
He smacks my arm. “Has it even been a week?”
I shake my head.
“Yeah, no.” He stands to move seats. “I’m sitting elsewhere. That shit can rub off on a guy. I’m good.”
I stand to push him as he moves seats, then sit back down to get back to trying to figure out what to say and decide just on Morning , so she knows I’m thinking about her. Then I tuck my phone away to focus on the game.
I’m thankful I was able to push my thoughts of her aside and ended up having the game of my life, going three for four and making two diving catches in the outfield. When I get back to my hotel for the night, it’s pretty late, but I still pick up the phone and call her anyway, hoping she’s awake.
“Hey there, Mr. Top Ten Plays of the Day,” she says as her hello, her voice more cheerful than normal.
“Are you watching sports news now?” I ask, surprised to hear.
She laughs out loud. “No. Sorry. But my brother-in-law, Jamie, has been very excited to fill me in on all your accomplishments today.” She pauses. “In live play-by-play text messages throughout the day.”
I can’t help the loud laugh that escapes my mouth at her annoyed tone. Today is where she moved her clients from when she helped me buy everything so I know she was at work all day. Considering she wears an Apple Watch, it must have been going off quite a lot.
“I’m not sure if I should apologize for having a good game or …” I leave that last part hanging.
Her giggle puts an even bigger smile on my face. “No, I’m just kidding. He’s a firefighter down at Station 47, and today must have been a slow day because he didn’t miss one second of the game. I had fun though, knowing how you were doing. Congrats.”
“Thanks. Yeah. We all had a good game. Two more to go, and then I’ll be home.”
“What do you do until then?”
I fluff the pillows behind my back, then let out a comfortable sigh. “Tonight, I’m just going to hang out in my hotel room and crash for the night. We have a night game tomorrow, so I can sleep in a little bit, and then I’ll meet the team for lunch before we head to the field.”
“Is this what it’s like on the road? A lot of just hanging out in a hotel room?”
“Yep. Pretty much. Some guys go out, but I’m not trying to get that label as the newbie on the team. It’s safe in my room.”
“Are you one who gets into a lot of trouble when you go out?” she asks.
“Nah, I’m more the quiet guy in the corner with a beer. Some guys can get the newbie to do some pretty stupid shit. I’ve seen my fair share, so I know when to just stay back.”
“Evan, the responsible baseball player. Who are the craziest guys on the team?” she asks with mischief in her voice.
“Are you trying to get me to spill the tea on my teammates?”
“Maybe …” She giggles.
“Well, I’m still getting to know a lot of them. We do carry a forty-man roster after all. There seems to be a little of everyone. Some guys are married with kids, some have pretty steady girlfriends, and some are a little on the wild side.”
“Do you all sit in your little corners on the bus or airplanes?”
“Do we what?” I ask with a laugh.
“I mean, is it like married guys over here and single guys stay to the back, away from the married ones to keep them out of trouble?”
Now I’m really laughing. “No, it’s not like that. We all pretty much mix together. But Gunnar did get up from sitting next to me today when he saw I was texting you. He acted like me being in a relationship was going to rub off on him, and he said he wanted no part of it.”
“So, is that what this is? Are we in a relationship?”
“I know I’ve only known you for, what, maybe a week? But I’d like to get to know you more, and I hope it is a relationship we both feel like exploring.”
“I’d like to explore with you,” she says, melting my heart.
“I have quite a lot of me that you can explore more when I get home,” I tease.
She lets out a sharp laugh. “Oh, really now?”
“Sorry, I had to go there. I’m serious though. I get home in two days, then have a three-day stretch that ends with a day game, so I’ll be home in time for dinner. We’re still on to hang out, right?”
“That’s, um …”
I can tell she pulled her phone away from her ear to look at a calendar, so I do her one better and text her.
“Here, I just texted you a copy of our playing schedule. This way, you’ll know where I am on any given day.”
“Why does this feel like I’m stalking you?”
“Considering the entire rest of the world has access to my exact schedule, I don’t think it’s stalking if you know too.”
“Okay, touché. I’ll keep this one handy, so I know what state you’re in at least.”
“You’ll see I have the fifth off, but we fly out that night, so let’s plan something for the fourth.”
“Sounds good. I’ll ask Sasha to watch Nolan.”
“I don’t know. We may need the little guy around if you expect me to keep my hands to myself,” I say playfully, gauging where she thinks we are in that aspect between us.
“That’s exactly why he needs to stay with my sister.”
I swear I feel the blood rush to my cock just at the idea of getting to be alone with her. “Oh, so it’s like that, huh?” I tease.
“I mean …” She pauses, leaving the unsaid words hanging in the air.
“And on that note, I’m going to end this call before I have to go jerk off in the shower.”
That gets a laugh out of her, which makes me way happier to hear than I ever thought anyone laughing would.
“I’m just kidding, but I should get to bed.”
“Okay, have a great game tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it again from Jamie.”
“I will. Tell him I said thanks for keeping you so up-to-date on my playing abilities.”
She chuckles. “I will. Night.”
“Night.”
I go to hang up the phone and hesitate for a second, not wanting to stop talking to her, but forcing myself to do so, knowing if I don’t, I’ll stay up all night with her on the phone, and I need to get to sleep.
At the next game, the announcer introduces us as we walk out to the first baseline since we’re the visiting team. I’m standing next to Diesel, waiting for the home team to be called.
“And now, welcome country music recording artist Delilah Monroe to sing our nation’s anthem,” the announcer says.
A beautiful blonde walks out of the home dugout, waving to fans as she approaches the microphone.
Out of nowhere, Diesel leans over and whispers to me, “This is the girl my agent is hooking me up with.”
“Wait, what?” I turn so fast to question him that I knock him with my shoulder since we are standing closer together than I thought.
It’s just shocking to me. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve looked at him as not really the relationship type.
He rolls his eyes. “Way to be sly, bro.” He nudges me with his arm, as if telling me to face forward again.
I do, then take my hat off my head to hold it to my heart. “Way to catch a guy off guard, bro. Who is she?”
“Delilah Monroe,” he responds in a duh fashion.
“I know that part. Why is your agent setting you up?”
“Long story …”
She starts singing, and I smile, knowing I won’t be the only one in a new relationship on the team, even if he’s being set up and their relationship might not be as real as mine.