the rookie | andrew benintendi

xiv | reunion

"Jake!" Ari called, spotting her high school friend walking back from the bullpen. He looked up at her, a smile immediately painting his face. He jogged over, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Ari! Oh my god it's been so long," he said, pulling away from her.

"Yeah, it has," she said, smiling up at him. "You made it."

"We made it," he corrected, "like we always said we would."

"This is crazy. Andrew and I were just talking about you," Ari gushed. "I told him the prom story."

"Oh, yeah," he laughed. "Classic. I thought I was so clever."

"You were! It was hilarious," she exclaimed. "Still the best practice moment."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I miss that team."

"Me too," she said. "But look where we are now. High school sucks compared to this."

He laughed. "That is true."

"You should probably go. Wouldn't want you getting in trouble on the first day in the majors," she joked, elbowing him.

"Yeah, probably," he said, looking over at the visitor's dugout.

"I'm really proud of you, Jake," Ari told him. "You've worked incredibly hard to get here."

"Thank you, Ari," he said, grinning. "You don't even know how much that means to me."

After a long moment of silence, the two walked off to their respective dugouts. Since there was still around an hour before the game, she found herself in the clubhouse. Like usual, the infielders‒plus Andrew, of course‒ played poker.

"Who was that guy you were talking to earlier?" Xander questioned as he put two chips forward.

"Oh, that was my friend from high school, Jake," she explained, looking over at the shortstop who was sitting next to her. "He just got called up yesterday.

"Good timing then, huh?"

She nodded. "For real."

Ari faced Jake in the 8th inning that night. He had looked good so far, getting two quick outs after coming in in relief. She smiled at him as she stepped into the batter's box, though it wasn't returned. When Jake was pitching, he was locked in.

The first pitch was outside and in the dirt. Ari stepped out of the box, tapping her cleats with her bat before stepping back in. The second pitch was far outside. She thought this was odd; he had barely thrown a ball all game.

Two pitches in the dirt later, she was dropping her bat and jogging to first base. Jake continued to throw strikes afterward, easily getting the third out. Ari furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What had happened while she was at bat?

She faced Jake again in the 9th inning. Though he had pitched well, Mookie's solo home run had given the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. She sighed as she twirled her bat, stepping into the batter's box.

Ball 1.

She shook her head, trying not to be annoyed with him. Obviously, he was trying to avoid pitching to her.

Ball 2.

She fought the urge to curse.

Ball 3.

She tried to calm herself down.

Ball 4.

"Fucking pitch to me!" she yelled, tossing her bat towards the home dugout. "I'm not a fucking baby!"

The catcher stood in front of her, though Ari had no intention of storming the mound. She shrugged the catcher off before jogging to first base. She glanced over at Andrew, who looked to be glaring daggers at Jake. She looked over at Jake. Seeing his name and number printed on his back should have made her proud, but all she felt when she saw that name was anger.

Thanks to Craig Kimbrel, the Red Sox held on to win 3-2 in the first game of the series against the Rays, though Ari wasn't especially happy about it. She was so confused and frustrated with Jake. She had been looking forward to facing him for so long and he had done that. She didn't get it.

"Are you okay?" Andrew asked as she threw her hat into her locker in frustration.

"Yeah," she responded, sighing as she tugged the hair tie out of her hair. "Just confused."

Andrew nodded. "I don't get why he did it. He clearly had no interest in pitching to you."

"It makes me so mad. This is the major leagues. This isn't high school anymore," she gushed, unbuttoning the jersey that she had worked so hard to achieve.

"Far from it," Brock added from next to her. "I wouldn't worry about it that much, Ari. Maybe he was just nervous about facing you."

"I know Jake," she insisted. "At least, I think I do."

"Just talk to him. That's the best thing you can do."

After changing into normal clothing, she went to find Jake. She caught him as he was leaving, walking back to the team bus alone.

She ran up to him, trying to hold in her many emotions. "What the fuck were you thinking!" she exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. "I know that wasn't a fluke. That wasn't you. What the fuck are you doing?"

Jake sighed. "I just wanted to help you. I want you to be successful."

"I don't need your help!" she yelled, obviously startling him. "I'm a major league baseball player, just like you are. I'm not a child. I don't need you to look after me anymore. I don't need you to help me. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"I just want you to be happy, Ari," he said quietly. He was obviously hurt by what she had said.

"I don't need you to do that for me, though," she said, matching his tone.

Silence fell between them again and before she knew it, he was leaning in to kiss her. Their lips brushed together for only a moment before she pushed him away with both arms.

She could barely think of anything to say to him. She was so angry that if she had tried, she was sure she would say something she'd regret. Instead, she stormed off, hoping that no one had witnessed the short but potentially controversial moment.

The next morning, she received a text from her agent, Leah. Upon opening the message, she found it was a screenshot of an article with a headline that made Ari feel sick.

Is Red Sox Star Ari Rowe Dating Rays Rookie Jake Ulrich?

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ooo dramaaa

11.18.17