Out of Centerfield (Washington Warriors Novel Book 1)

by Mertz, L.

  “Yeah, so this guy uses the whole, ‘does your head hurt, you fell from heaven’ line on me and I just say to him, ‘are you serious?’ and walk away. I mean come on, let’s get creative or something.”

  She is so funny trying to tell me who they are by her impersonations that I laugh so hard I’m crying. I feel someone standing near our table and I jump a little bit.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  It’s Johnathan. He tells me that he lives nearby.

  I start to apologize for being rude. I don’t know why I get nervous like this around him. He makes me nervous. We all chat for a few minutes, and I don’t know how it happened but we exchange phone numbers and I guess I’m supposed to take him around the city.

  Oh, great, I thought that we were going to have a nice morning out to breakfast, but no, he had to show up. It doesn’t help that I didn’t sleep last night. It’s entirely his fault. He’s just too damn good looking I couldn’t help but dream of him all night. What is wrong with me?

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Lauren yells at me.

  “Shhh… geez keep it down. I don’t know, I was just thinking that myself. I’m sorry that I’m being such a brat this morning. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “That’s not the word that I was going to use to describe you but okay...”

  I know what Lauren is thinking. I was being rude and I know it but I have my reasons. I just don’t know how not to be a bitch sometimes. Especially when I haven’t slept well the night before.

  “Okay, let just get out of here. You wanted to go shopping so let’s go.”

  Lauren and I grab our purses and head home to change into something more shopping appropriate than yoga pants and sweatshirts.

  “Oh my God!”

  “What?”

  “I just realized what I was wearing! I look like crap and Johnathan saw me like this!”

  Lauren hooks her arm into mine and leans her head on mine. “I thought you didn’t care about him?”

  “Oh shut up! I don’t really care but I don’t need to look like a drowned rat either.”

  “So, new outfit for the game tonight?”

  “Yeah…no…I’m wearing my grandfather’s jersey. Next time.”

  “Yes! I’m going to find something perfect. Let’s get home and change. Quickly.”

  Lauren loves shopping way more than I do, but I go with her because she can find a deal and if she can’t she makes one.

  *****

  “I’m exhausted.” I walk into our apartment and crash on the couch with all of my bags.

  We have a two bedroom apartment in South East. The area is known for being a bad area of the city but now developers are here and trying to bring the city back to life. It’s becoming an expensive neighborhood but since Lauren’s family owns the building, we don’t have to pay rent. It’s a beautiful two bedroom apartment with its own fitness center and a pool. The apartment itself has a nice kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances and I love to use all of them when I make dinner. We have a hall bathroom that we both share. It’s the perfect location for me since I can take a quick metro ride to school.

  “Oh please that was only a few hours. You know the damage I can do in a whole day. That was nothing.” Lauren says, crashing right next to me.

  “I’m going to go take a nap.”

  I grab all my bags and go to my room. We ended up at Union Station where we ate lunch. Lauren tried to get information out of me regarding how I feel about Johnathan but I wasn’t about to head down that road. I don’t know how I feel about him. I mean, he is good-looking, but looks don’t mean anything. Besides, I just met him yesterday. I tried not to think about what Johnathan is doing right now. I’m sure he is working out or something. You have to work out almost 24/7 if you are an athlete. Throwing all my bags down on the floor, I fall face first into my bed. I love my bed. It’s a queen size with a down comforter and it’s so plush I just get swallowed up into it.

  I wake up a few hours later to Lauren hitting my ass to wake me.

  “Wakey, wakey sleepy head. Time to get ready for the game.”

  “Ugh, really? I’ve got to get in the shower first.” I run my fingers through my hair and look at the clock. Crap, not enough time to wash and dry my hair. “A hat it is,” I say to myself more than to anyone else. I redo my hair into a messy bun on top of my head so that it doesn’t get wet in the shower.

  I climb into the shower and start washing the day off. I use my favorite soap ever—Sweet Pea—that my grandmother got it for me and I love it. I don’t know where I would be without my grandmother or grandfather. The two of them have been there for everything in my life. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them one day. I get out and dry off, throw on my bra and underwear and grab my favorite pair of dark blue skinny jeans. It’s only April and the nights can still get a little chilly. I put my t-shirt on underneath my jersey that has my Grandfather’s name and number on it and my thigh-high brown riding boots.

  “Ta-da! Look, I dressed myself, Lauren,” I say, walking into the living room with a big grin on my face and turn for her.

  “Oh, girl, you look cute except for that mop of craziness on your head.” She shakes her head and laughs at me.

  “I’m wearing a hat. Geez, don’t you know me better than that? This crazy monster on my head will eat Stanley if I don’t control it.”

  “Oh no, not Stanley!” She is bursting at the seams laughing.

  Lauren is wearing her own pair of skinny jeans and riding boots—except hers are black—and a jersey. I hate to admit this but we like to dress alike for the games. We always discuss which outfit we will be wearing. Needless to say, I would be lost without Lauren too.

  “Let’s get this show on the road, woman,” I yell at Lauren, who has walked away from me.

  “I’m coming, damn,” she yells back at me.

  We walk a few blocks to the stadium, forgoing The Dugout, and head into the stadium. I’m the only one here from my family so we just go straight to our seats behind home plate.

  “Ladies.” Stanley is there waiting for us. He wipes off our seats and then heads up to grab our refreshments. I can relax here; it’s the one place that I feel completely safe and at peace. The Warriors win the game tonight and the place erupts with excitement as we grab two wins in a row.

  Johnathan

  “Great game, man. That possible homerun you caught? I’ve never seen a white dude jump that high.” I’m getting hit on the back by the left fielder Daniel Price. He’s a cool guy, just over thirty years old but in great shape. He hits, runs, and throws just as good as the younger players. I’m kind of stuck in that mid age range. The oldest player we have is one of the pitchers and he’s thirty-seven.

  “Yeah, thanks, man,” I say, shaking my head and laughing to myself as he walks away to his locker laughing. We have one more home game this week and then we are off to Atlanta to face off with our conference rivals. I get out of my uniform and grab my towel just to rinse off in the showers. When I’m done, I reach for the horse liniment that I use to rub on my sore muscles. That jump was a little more than I bargained for and my left shoulder is hurting tonight. I’ll ice it when I get home. I look at the time and throw on my thermal and jeans then head out to call Mom and then Kevin.

  After talking to Mom and Annabelle I call Kevin because Annabelle was already in bed.

  “Hey, dude.”

  “What’s up, superstar?”

  “Stop, man. Where the hell are you?” It’s crazy noisy in the background. I hear music and people so he’s probably at the bar in town.

  “Hold on, dude. Let me get outside.” I hear him talking to someone about going outside. Then he’s back. “Okay, sorry I was just out with some of the guys from the farm celebrating.”

  “What are you celebrating?” I know that he was waiting on a bid to have the family farm go organic, but it’s pricey and you have to have enough money to keep going for at least three y
ears to get everything set up and the chemicals out of the dirt.

  “We got the bid, dude! I can do this organic bullshit and then Mom and I are going to be set for life. And it will also help out the community and shit, dude.” Kevin is rambling which means that he’s drunk.

  “That’s awesome, man. I’m happy for ya. I just wanted to call and check on things. I’m exhausted, this Major League shit is no joke.”

  He laughs. “Yeah I’m sure it is, man. So, have you met any hot chicks yet?”

  “Um…”

  “You have! You sick dog you! Ha! What does she look like? Tell me.” Kevin is yelling. He is such a girl sometimes. He gossips just as bad as the women at the beauty salon.

  “Next time. I have to go, but hey, when can you come out?

  “I’ll check my shit and let you know. It shouldn’t be a problem for me to come out in a month or so. Later, superstar.”

  I hang up the phone smiling. I’m glad that he got the bid; life will be a little bit easier for him and Aunt Cindy. Maybe I’ll text or call Kelsey in the morning before I go and work out. Yeah I’ll definitely do that. Maybe I can get her to take me out around town to look at all of the monuments. I grab a beer, head for my bedroom, and pass out on top of the covers again.

  Kelsey

  Lauren and I walk back home and once we reach our condo we grab a beer and sit on the couch. We are just winding down from the game tonight.

  “Let’s go out. I don’t want to sit here tonight,” Lauren says after taking a big drink, draining half of her beer.

  “Okay, I’m up for that. I’m not too tired since I took that nap. Let’s change and go out.”

  We both head for our rooms to change and when we come out we look at each other and we are both dressed almost alike. The only difference is the color of our shirts. Both of us have on dark skinny jeans tucked into our brown-heeled boots. I have on a green tank with my black and white feathered necklace and brown leather jacket. Lauren has a deep red tank on with her multi-layered gold chain necklace on and cropped brown leather jacket.

  “Well, don’t we look hot?” I say to her.

  “When don’t we look hot? Let’s go get me a one-night stand!” Lauren says as she grabs our purses from by the door.

  Shaking my head, I follow her out. We grab a cab and head up to North West to the clubs. We get to the first club and you can hear the music before you even get to the door it’s so loud, but that’s what Lauren likes. Using hand signals as a form of communication, we both head for the bar and yell our drink order to the bartender. I order a Margarita on the rocks with salt for myself and a Cosmo for Lauren. We order two each, down one of them at the bar, grab the other, and head for the dance floor. The DJ is playing great stuff tonight. I’m not here to hook up but Lauren is so I get to be her wing woman. After we dance for a few songs, we head back to the bar and get more to drink. I don’t know who Lauren is talking to but he’s kind of cute and I’m okay with talking to his friend.

  Lauren is ready to go home shortly after and get some from this dude. I’m so drunk that I don’t truly know what is going on until I am forcefully pushed into the cab. I haven’t gotten this drunk in a while. I don’t know how we make it home but here I am in my room and Lauren, from what I can hear, is having a good time herself. It’s time for me to pass out. I land face first into my bed. Oh, Jose has gotten me again.

  Game 3

  Kelsey

  I don’t know why I let Lauren talk me into things; they never turn out well. She wanted to go and pick up a guy to bring back home and that’s all fine and good when I’m sober but not so much when I’m drunk. I turn my head slowly because the room is spinning. Damn tequila. Slowly get up and head into the bathroom. Looking at myself in the mirror I thank God that I don’t have class today. I turn the shower on and turn the knob to set the water to the right temperature. Taking my clothes off that I wore to the bar because I clearly didn’t change before passing out. I stand in the shower and let the water just run over my body. Grabbing my soap and start to wash body and then my hair. I’m rinsing out the shampoo when I hear the door open.

  “I’m in here,” I yell to the intruder.

  “Oh, please, don’t act like I’ve never seen you naked before,” says Lauren.

  “You couldn’t wait until I got out or even better used the hall bathroom?” I say to her as I continue to rinse the shampoo out of my hair.

  “The hall bathroom is being used. And I need your help.”

  I pull the curtain back and poke my head out and look at her sitting on the toilet with the lid closed.

  “Are you serious? Clinger?”

  “Yes, I can’t believe some of these guys. I just want a wham, bam, thank you ma’am. But nooooo they think that I want a relationship, just because I have boobs and a vagina. Damn.” Letting out a loud sigh she continues, “Please, Kelsey.” She is poking her lower lip out at me and giving me puppy dog eyes.

  “Fine, but you owe me. Lots.”

  “Yay!” She stands up and starts clapping.

  “Stop! You, me, and Jose… never again. I have a huge headache.”

  “Oh, please, you always say that. Now, get out so I can use what’s left of the hot water,” Lauren says as she starts to undress.

  I rinse my hair one more time to be sure that I got all of the shampoo and conditioner is out of my hair and hop out, grabbing the towel that Lauren has for me in her hand.

  “I’ll let you know when he leaves.”

  “Thanks, babe! You’re my favorite.”

  I walk back into my room and put on my yoga pants and Warriors t-shirt. I tie up my hair into a messy bun on top of my head since it’s still wet. Banging on the hall bathroom door I yell, “Hey, you in there, time for you to go!” I bang some more then I see the knob move.

  “Oh, hey. Um…where’s Lauren?” random guy asks.

  “She’s gone and you need to be gone too. Let’s go.” I clap my hands to get him moving, but he just stands in the doorway looking at me. “Do you understand English? Get out! Now!”

  “Okay, okay, let me grab my shirt from her room.”

  “Oh no you don’t. It’s already in the living room with the rest of your shit.”

  I grab his arm and drag him behind me to the living room and throw his stuff into his arms and push him out the front door. Locking the door behind him, I turn my back to the door and let out a breath. That wasn’t that hard, but I really hate doing that.

  I walk into the kitchen, grab the Tylenol and a Gatorade and chug them both down while turning on the coffee pot. I wait for the coffee pot to finish and get a mug for Lauren and one for myself. I head for the bathroom; of course, she is in there singing what I don’t know. Lauren is a beautiful girl, but she can’t carry a note to save her life.

  “Hey!” I scream at her. “Lauren! Stop! Damn! I brought you coffee. The clinger is gone.” I don’t wait for her to answer. I put the coffee cup on the counter and walk into my bedroom.

  I go and lie down but I check my phone first and there’s a text message waiting. I open it up.

  Johnathan: Hey Kelsey its Johnathan Idk if you have plans 2day but Idk if u want 2 grab some coffee before I have to head in for practice?

  Oh shit. I start to bite my thumbnail; it’s a bad a habit that I have when I’m nervous. Crap. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want Lauren to find out about it. I’m semi-aware that I may have let me feelings out last night while I was under the influence of Jose. I text him back.

  Kelsey: Hey sure I can meet u at the same café as yesterday?

  I get an immediate response.

  Johnathan: Sure 10 mins?

  I answer with a “K”. I grab a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater that hugs my breasts Lauren picked out for me the other day from H&M. I throw on my Chucks and run out the door before Lauren can talk to me. I’m certain that I can hear her hairdryer so I know I’m in the clear to escape safely. I walk into the café but don’t see Johnathan yet so I head to the co
unter and order a caramel latte and as I wait for the barista to make my drink I see him walk in. He looks good enough to drink. He is wearing a grey long-sleeved thermal with the top few buttons undone. I think that I see a bit of a tattoo but I’m not too sure. That would be hot though. He sees me, smiles and continues to walk toward me.

  “Hey,” he says to me while giving me a hug.

  “Um, hey.” I wasn’t expecting a hug. “I already ordered. I didn’t know what you drink so…” I trail off my thought.

  “Oh, that’s okay I just drink it black. I’ll grab my coffee and we can sit.”

  Just as he orders, my drink is called up, so I grab it and stand with him until he gets his coffee. “So, how do you like the city so far?”

  “Oh, it’s noisy. Yeah, noisy.” He laughs. “Sorry, I’m used to noise being crickets and other bugs at night not police sirens and people yelling.”

  “That’s funny. I have to have the sirens and yelling or I can’t sleep.”

  “Yeah, it’s different that’s for sure. How is school coming?” he asks taking a sip of his coffee.

  “Oh, I’m almost done. This is my last semester so once finals happen I’m done. I don’t know what I’m going to do job wise. I think I’m going to help my grandfather out at the stadium at least for the season.”

  “That’s cool. I finished college before I started playing professionally because I need something to fall back on in case this whole professional baseball thing doesn’t work out,” he says, shrugging.

  “What is your degree?”

  “I did a double major and I have a B.S. in Business Management and Agricultural Sciences.”

  “Wow. That’s great. You did a double major and played college ball? Do you have a farm in Texas?”

  “How did you know where I was from? Are you stalking me, Kelsey?” He is smirking at me so I know that he is joking with me.