His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see the team chat picking up again.
Rook
Man, they’re gonna love you in Cali. U look like u could be a surfer.
Gonzo
Palm trees. Craft beer. Endless summer. I might actually be jealous.
Johnson
Did you guys forget he’s from Cali?
Enjoy those taxes tho
Gonzo
Not jealous anymore
CJ tossed the phone on the counter like it had burned him.
“Everything good?” The bartender’s voice was wary, and she eyed him like she was considering calling for the bouncer by the door.
“Never better,” CJ muttered.
As the bartender moved down the counter, CJ noticed the two men who had been talking were suddenly quiet, and the pause dragged on just long enough for CJ to feel their eyes on him.
“Hey, isn’t that…?” one of them muttered, his voice trailing off.
CJ didn’t wait for the rest. He pushed off his stool, dropped a couple of twenties on the bar, and shrugged into his jacket. The bartender called out to him as he pushed through the door, but he didn’t turn around. The cold air stuck to him all the way home. He walked fast, head down, as if he could outrun the echo still ringing in his ears.Replaceable. The word felt like a brand.
Back in his condo, the silence was overwhelming and his thoughts were spiraling. Front offices called trades “business,” managers called it “adjusting the roster,” and agents tried to dress it up as an opportunity. But, in bars with cheap beer and ten-cent wing nights, fans called it what it was. He was “replaceable.”
His phone buzzed again in his pocket and he dug it out with a sigh. But it wasn’t the team chat this time. It was Matt Caldwell,an old friend from college and the agent for the one player who made San Diego the last place CJ wanted to be.
Matt
You good?
CJ
Define good.
Matt
It’s just business. You know that, right?
CJ
Yeah. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.
Matt
San Diego’s not the worst landing spot. It’s a big market and you’ve got a chance
to make a big impact.
CJ stared at the words until they blurred, set the phone down, then picked it up again. He couldn’t stop himself.
