I nervously fixed my jersey, subconsciously tightening the tie in the front. You'd think I'd be used to performing in front of a crowd. I've been a popular recording artist for three years and have toured every summer. But performing the National Anthem at a LA Dodgers game is a lot more pressure than singing one of your own songs.
"Y/N, meet Joe Keery," the worker who showed me the field said. I looked over to see the actor Joe Keery following him. "He'll be throwing the first pitch of the game. Y/N is singing our national anthem."
"It's nice to meet you," Joe smiled. "I've heard your songs on the radio. You're very talented."
"Thank you," I said, clearing my throat to get rid of the sudden frog that appeared. "I've seen your show. It's creepily awesome."
"Thanks," he chuckled.
"After you sing and after you throw the first pitch, we have VIP seats set up right over there," the guy continued. "Mason will show you where they are."
"Ms. Y/N, we're ready for you."
I wiped my hands on my jeans, trying to hide my nerves by putting my hands in my back pockets.
As the announcer introduced me, I started to walk onto the field.
"Hey."
I turned around to see Joe smiling at me. "Good luck," he winked.
"Thanks."
"And now, singing the National Anthem, award-winning artist, Y/F/N Y/L/N!"
The woman behind the cameraman nodded and I took a deep breath before starting the song. The nerves instantly went. This always happens. I get nervous before a performance but as soon as I start singing, they go away.
As the song ended, I lowered the mike and the crowd applauded. I looked around and my eyes landed on Joe. He sent me a wink as he applauded. We kept eye contact as I walked back toward him as they escorted him to the center field.
Right as we passed each other, I whispered, "Good luck."
"Thanks," Joe said with a small chuckle.
Mason escorted me to my VIP seat as Joe got ready to throw the first pitch. As they announced his name, he made eye contact with me again. I sent him a wink and he instantly sent me one back.
I had no idea why we were acting so flirty, but I went with it. Joe stood on the pitcher's mound and threw the pitch. I smiled when it went straight to the catcher.
As soon as the catcher caught it, the crowd went wild. Joe waved to the crowd and then found me. He jokingly shrugged, pretending to be cocky. A worker escorted him over to his seat, next to me.
"Nicely done," I said as he sat down.
"Thank you," he chuckled. "It was easy."
"But terrifying?"
"What?" He scoffed. "No."
I looked over at him, sending him a knowing look. He laughed as he put his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. You're right. I was freaking out. I probably practiced throwing a baseball a million times yesterday."
"Don't worry," I giggled. "I wrote out the lyrics to the National Anthem and read them over and over to make sure I didn't forget them."
"Well," Joe smiled, "you sounded amazing."
"And you threw the perfect first pitch."
* * * * *
Throughout the game, Joe and I had a blast. We cheered on the players, Joe explained several things about the game, and we ate hot dogs. I had never met him before this but it seemed like we instantly clicked.
After one of the innings, they put up the kiss cam. Joe and I laughed as they showed young couples and elderly ones. We didn't think much of it until it happened.
My heart jumped into my throat when Joe and I ended up on the kiss cam. We looked at each other with matching red faces.
"Shall we?" He asked.
"They won't leave us alone until we do," I chuckled.
We hesitated a beat before slowly leaning in. The crowd went crazy as soon as our lips touched. My eyes fluttered closed as Joe deepened the kiss. We slowly broke the kiss, the crowd still going crazy. We cleared our throats and looked away.
We sat next to each other for the rest of the game but didn't say anything. There was a slightly awkward tension between us now. As soon as the game ended, my private security team got me. They escorted me out the same way the players leave.
I was about to get in the car when someone called out to me. I turned around to see Joe jogging over. My security was about to stop him but I jumped in.
"It's okay," I said quickly. "He's fine. Can you guys wait in the car?"
They nodded before getting in the car. I wrapped my arms around myself as I took a few steps away from the car as Joe stopped in front of me.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I just. . . Well. . ." He hesitated. He cleared his throat before asking, "I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner tomorrow night."
I bit back my smile but failed to hide it. "I'd like that," I said, my voice softer than usual.
I grabbed my phone and handed it to him. He smiled before trading his phone for mine. We put our numbers in each other's phones before handing them back.
"I'll call you and we can decide where to go," Joe smiled.
"I look forward to it."