FWB Friends With Baseball

Not Everyone Can Be Jailyn James.

Jailyn~

Entering the obscure bar just outside of Milwaukee, I pull my purse up on my shoulder as I scan the room for Christian. He's not too hard to find being only one of the four people here, including the bartender. He spot's me shortly after I do him and gives me a big smile with a nod from where he's sat at the end of the bar.

"Hey, good game All-Star," I comment to him, squeezing his arm slightly as I take my seat next to him.

Christian pushes the full drink over to me, "Thanks," He replies, chuckling, "Captain and coke, right?"

Taking a sip, I nod with a smile, "Yeah, thank you. What did you get?"

"The same thing," He replies, "How are you feeling? You've got to be pretty excited now that you're only like a day and a half away from heading to Tokyo."

Shaking my head slightly, my eyes go wide as I look at the bar, not really sure how to put my feelings into words. "I'm not really sure there are words for it," I tell him honestly, looking back up at him, "Better than I thought I'd be." Both of us chuckle a little before I continue, "There's obviously a lot of anxiety over it but, it's also the thing I've been training for, for nearly ten months now. So, I think I'm more excited now than anything."

"Good," Christian replies, with a small nod, "I'm glad that's where you're at, that's where you should be, especially with your numbers this year."

"Right," I agree, taking another drink.

"You've hit forty-three homers this year, haven't you?" he asks, brows furrowed a little as he's unsure.

"Somehow," I respond, chuckling, "Thats one I can't wrap my head around, along with only one strike-out."

Christian laughs, shaking his head before taking a drink of his own, "There's no chance you're human." Laughing with him, I nod along, knowing how unbelievable my season was. Yeah, I'd pop out or hit into an infielder and get thrown out, but I was making contact every at-bat but one. Short of defensive records and pitching records, there isn't one record that I don't hold. "To think, ten months ago, you almost didn't want to go to the trials."

Scoffing, I can't help but shake my head over it, "How stupid that'd have been."

"Right," Christian agrees, laughing, "How is everything going, though? We haven't really gotten to just talk and hang out. Not in a long time, at least."

Pursing my lips, I shrug, "Beyond softball, nothing super exciting has been going on. Josh and I are still doing good. I'm probably going to see what he's up to after this, or tomorrow, depending on when we head out. You're a three-time all-star," I add, bumping my shoulder into him, both of us chuckling at the gesture, "And I actually get to spend some time with you for once. People on social media seem to like me a bit more than they did when that little video came out." I tease, laughing about how long ago that feels and how different everything has been now. "All around, though, I really feel like I'm in a good spot, something I really haven't felt in a long time."

"I'm really glad to hear that, JJ," He tells me, with a small smile on his face. As he looks at me, I can't help but smile back at the warmth in his tone. The way he calls me JJ, the simple little nickname he's adopted for me that somehow, no one else has claimed before.

My thoughts don't let me just sit on the appreciation for the little thing's between the two of us, "Did you know, you're the only person that's ever really called me JJ?"

"Really?" He asks, that small smile still on his face.

"Yeah," I reply, matching the smile before I continue, "I kinda like it."