I’d have to come up with more things for her to do, just so she was thinking of me half as much as I was thinking of her.
“Just go ahead and text her. The longer you think about it, the creepier you’ll end up sounding,” Carter said. I looked up and he gave me a nod before moving on with his own prep. Out of all the guys on the team, Carter was the least rowdy and the most down-to-earth. So if he said not to overthink it, I trusted him.
Me:Do you plan on going to tomorrow’s game?
Kodi:Oh absolutely! I’m actually from around here, so I’ve gone to tons of Dastards games, and now that I get a free ticket, there’s nothing holding me back
I huffed out a little laugh. She really didn’t remember me in the slightest. We’d gone to her first professional game here together.
Me:Good, if you need any content stuff before the game, just let me know
Me:And if you don’t and we don’t talk before then, enjoy the game
Me:Oh and the charity game next weekend might be good for content too. I’ll send you those details tonight if you’re interested
After each text, the read receipt instantly marked my messages as read. And yet there was no response. It twisted my stomach into knots, more than getting rushed at by forwards from the other team with my teammates nowhere in sight. Did I come off awkward? Say something weird?
Kodi:Yeah, I can put that in the schedule. Do you know why Brooker would DM you ‘Don’t become a social addict and be late for practice’?
I looked over my shoulder to see Brooker and Fuller snickering in the corner.
Me:Yeah, he’s being an ass. You can ignore him
I put my phone back in my bag and finished lacing up my cleats, ready to beat Brooker’s ass on the field.
A Jab Exchange
Kodi
Despite my stadium banishment only lasting one season, I was too ashamed to go to any Dastards game since. But as an employee, it felt sacrilegious to miss out.
Plus I could go right up to the sidelines to watch and that was too good to pass up, even if it did mean going to work on my day off.
“Whoa, Kean’s PA is here!” somebody shouted as I walked down the back hall to the field. When I turned, I was surprised to see it was Renee’s player greeting me.
“Oh, hi, Lunez. Nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand to him when he got closer. “Kodi Davey.”
“Nice to meet ya, too,” Lunez said. “But you can call me Carlos. Hearing my last name makes me brace for an oncoming ball.”
Oh, this sucks. Renee’s guy was a total sweetheart. He was a younger guy, barely twenty, and had a baby face and big brown eyes that sparkled. But despite being his age, he wasn’t intimidated like some other new players; instead, he was practically bouncing with excitement. It was adorable.
“You ready for today’s game?” I asked him as we walked down the hall.
“Oh yeah! We’re playing a …” He paused and scratched the back of his head. “Well, the likelihood that we get in the lead well enough that I get a chance to play is pretty high.”
“Oh, I can’t blame you for wanting to get out on the field. Is this your first season on a professional team?”
“Second. I was in Raleigh for my first year but I got a new agent and she was able to get me transferred here. I wanted to be in Florida to be closer to family.”
“Oh yeah? Are they around here? I grew up over in Panama City.”
“Oh no, they live down in Fort Myers. So I’m not really familiar with the cities around here. Is that close?”
“Yeah, it’s just an hour or so east of here.”
“That’s amazing, do you get to see your folks much? Or I guess, do they still live there?”
Damn, it really sucked that I wasn’t Carlos’s PA, he would be a hell of a lot easier to work with than Kean.
