home run

strawberry

It wasn't surprising to Leigh that their correspondence came in bursts. They were both busy, and even though she would argue that the man who made half a million dollars last year is probably more busy than she is. The Cubs were going to be back in town on Friday and Anthony's texts began to sound like he wanted to see her again. In fact, at one point, his text did read 'Can I see you again?'.

Leigh was having conflicting feelings about hanging out with him: of course she wanted to, he was pretty adorable for a grown man two years older than her and attracted her to him like a tide, in and out. On the other hand, Leigh was embarrassed about the first two times they had met, even feeling a modicum of shame for her appearance when they formally met at Starbucks.

She was pouring all this out to Kate while they had their Thursday drink at the bar her brother practically lived at. While he was closing at the Korean BBQ, the two girls walked the block and had a couple of drinks waiting for him to join them. During those drinks, Leigh explained to Kate why she was feeling self-conscious about seeing him again.

"And like, what if he does end up wanting to date me?" Leigh took a panicked gulp from her bottle.

"Is that a problem?" Kate laughed, her voice light and lilting in the moderately loud bar.

"I barely have enough time to sleep. I can't imagine trying to find enough time to sleep with someone else, you know?"

Kate rocked forward, hiding her giggle behind her curtain of brunette hair. Leigh envied her: even though she didn't finish school with a degree, she has a good job that pays her well and still finds time to spend with her friends, her boyfriend, and her dog. All of Leigh's friends had a lot of things on their plates and still managed to find time for extra responsibilities. She wondered, through her alcohol buzz, what was wrong with her? Why couldn't she find that balance as well?

"I'm serious! Plus, I don't know, I'm nervous about seeing him again. The only reason I was so outgoing the first time was because I was still kinda drunk." Leigh groaned.

"You're overreacting, you really are. You've been texting on and off all week, you should be fine. Anyway, I heard you laughing the other night while you were in the bathroom," Kate shrugged, "If you're comfortable enough to text him while on the toilet, I think you can handle hanging out with the guy."

"But have you seen his butt?" Leigh closed her eyes and pushed her glasses up to press the heels of her hands against them.

"Who's butt?" Michael approached them from behind Leigh, leaning over and greeting Kate with a kiss and a quiet 'hey, babe'.

"Leigh's been keeping the fact that she's been texting Anthony Rizzo all week." Kate ratted her out with a kind smile and Leigh dragged her hands down her face.

"What?" Michael asked, turning to look at his sister, "Anthony Rizzo, as in, the Chicago Cub who barrelled you over a month ago?"

"The same." She replied, taking another healthy drink from the bottle next to her elbow on the bar. The bartender saw Michael and waved, pouring him a beer and sliding it down to him.

"So what's that about? Are you suing him or what?"

"No, she's been flirting with him and he wants to hang out." Kate answered for her with one raised eyebrow.

The worst part was, Leigh couldn't even be mad at Kate, she was too cute and too sweet to even glare at. So she just remained silent while the couple spoke about her.

"Is she gonna hang out with him? Should I be concerned? I don't even know this guy." Michael made a pinched face beneath his beard. Since Leigh had been staying in the city with them more often than not, he turned on the full older brother protective mode and was determined to screen any males she spoke to, especially if they came from his group of friends.