“Well, Hadley read it and she saw that you’ve been spending some time with someone. She wants to know if you want to bring her to dinner?”
“Um…” I run my hand through my hair. Dinner with Hadley Carter is at the top of my must do list, but having the boss there – not so much. However, it would be stupid to pass up an invite from him.
“I can tell you’re uncomfortable, so I’ll make sure to extend the invite to the team. We’ll make it a party. Hadley will have fun with something like this.”
“Okay, Boss. Let me know when.”
I stand and shake his hand, taking my class assignment with me and leaving his office. I pull out my phone and text Daisy as I walk back to the clubhouse.
Do you have Media Marketing?
Daisy: No, why? Do you need media training?
Sadly, yes! I’ll tell you about it later. Dinner tonight?
Daisy: Only if you win :)
Thanks, no pressure now! Can’t wait to see you...
I hit send before I can erase the last sentence, and shut off my phone so I’m not waiting for her response. I want her to know that I want to see her. I hope my message conveys that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her.
Despite the early afternoon drizzle, the evening has shaped up to be pretty pleasant. Even at the end of April, it’s still chilly at night but getting warmer each day. Tonight, when I step out of the dugout for batting practice, my eyes are right on Daisy’s seat and, much to my surprise, she’s sitting there with her elbows leaning on the visitor dugout, watching our second baseman, Bryce Mackenzie, take his swings. She hasn’t noticed that I’m on the field yet and as much as I want to go over and talk to her, I can’t. I need to maintain some sort of professionalism right now.
Instead, I walk over to the stands and start signing autographs. The little kids, and even some big ones, flock down to the fence to get a signature on their ball, glove or bat. A few of the other guys join me, making this a team effort.
I move along the fence, making sure everyone is getting a chance instead of having to wait in a large crowd. I really like giving kids one-on-one attention. The bigger kids tend to squeeze the little ones out, and that annoys me. I take a ball from a little guy dressed in BoRe gear. His toothless grin reminds me of myself when I was about his age. For the longest time, I missed my four front teeth. Eating food that summer was difficult, especially popsicles.
It’s still not my turn for batting practice so I move over to the third base side of the field, just steps away from Daisy. I know she can see me now and I when I look toward her, she’s smiling. I’ve impressed her, or at least I think I have. I’m waiting to see if she’ll come down to the opening. Each time I glance at her it seems like she’s thinking about it. I sign a few more items before moving to the other side of the dugout where Daisy is standing.
A few of the fans rush down, but my eyes are locked on hers. Before I left the clubhouse, I grabbed a brand new baseball and wrote: Will you go to dinner with me tonight? I did this with the intent of giving it to her after the game started, but I don’t want to wait. She walks down the few steps to get to get to me, saying ‘excuse me’ along the way. At first the fans balk, but I think they get the drift that I want to see her because before I know it, she’s standing in front of me.