Being up most of the morning after putting Elijah onto the the school bus, Alana was tirelessly working on some more photos for her portfolio. With every passing second she found her eyes getting heavier and heavier begging for sleep to come.
The image posted onto her computer screen that she was almost finished editing was of a really cool sunset shot of this magical looking mosaic wall. There is this small little spot in Philly called The Magic Gardens and the entire building inside and out had been turned into a giant mosaic work of art by an old, hippie type of guy named Isaiah.
In her photo she snapped a shot of one of the many walls that glistened with thousands of pieces of random broken things ranging from mirrors, tiles, broken glass, even bottles. The best part is is that the sunset is being reflected back off of all the dazzling pieces of mirror that were cemented onto the wall creating a stunning orange glow to the entire picture.
With just the right amount of editing Alana was so proud of how this picture turned out. Part of her artistic style is doing little to no editing on photos. She wants to give the person looking at her work the real, raw truth of whatever story she was trying to capture.
This is why Alana loved Philadelphia for all of its artistic culture. Most of the local artists are like her, zero bullshit and one hundred percent authenticity. I mean for Christ's sake, Isaiah has painted tiles with vaginas and penises scattered all over his property. No bullshit, just one hundred percent real. That is what she wants to convey to someone who looks at her photographs.
Just when her eyes began to droop the loud vibration of her phone on the table a few inches away jostled violently. Alana looked at the unfamiliar number and wanted to just sent it to voicemail but then she remembered she had put her name and number up around Philly looking for some extra photography work so it could be a potential client. Or.... a telemarketer.
With a swipe of her finger she accepts the phone call, "Hello?"
"Hey, is this Alana?"
She would know that deep voice no matter how tired she was...
Okay, so maybe the "or" Alana was looking for was J.T. Realmuto.... Calling her. On her personal phone.
"J.T?" Alana breathed with uncertainty.
"Uh yeah, it's me." He says and Alana could just picture him awkwardly scratching the back of his neck with his toned arm.
"Hi! How are you doing!" Alana smacked herself in my forehead because she realized she probably sounded like a crazy person hopped up on either too much sugar or too many drugs.
"Im pretty well. I just got your number to tell you that the paperwork you signed was notarized the other day and we can start taking pictures whenever."
Alanas heart was pounding inside her chest.
"That's great, I'm really excited to do this. Thank you J.T. for giving me this killer opportunity. I feel like this will give me a little bit of an advantage once I graduate in a few weeks."
"No problem, from the little I have seen of your work I know you're amazing at what you do."
She smiled into the phone, "So when do you want to get started?"
It's like he already knew the answer to the question when he responded almost immediately, "How about tomorrow night? I'm sure you'll be there after the game?"
"Um well, yes, I will be there after the game but will I be allowed to? I mean, technically I'm working and the grounds crew will be there that I'm supervising."
"I've already discussed this with your manager and the creative services director I put into contact with you. They've agreed to let you work and get paid for your time. As well as having the night off from managing the grounds crew. They will come in in the morning to close up the field while we have an upcoming away series against the Marlins."
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Alana was gobsmacked. They were letting her take pictures and get paid to do it!?
"Um wow. I am shocked and so freaking greatful Jake you have no idea. I guess I'll meet you on the field after the game?"
"Mmhmm, I'll be the one wearing all the red and blue body armor over the pinstripes." He chuckles and it was so wholesome and real it made Alana smile.
She bites her lip to control the excitement flowing in her veins, "Goodnight, J.T."
"Goodnight, Alana." The way her name rolls off his lips sends giddy chills down her spine.
Alana ends the call and stood up from the desk screaming into the closest pillow she could find, jumping up and down like a child.
***
Alana got to the ball park a little earlier than usual just so she could clock in earlier to try and get some shots of the game. She was so elated to have a night like this where she wasn't confined in a stuffy office wearing stuffy office appropriate clothes.
For tonight Alana fashionably sported a pair of high waisted skinny jeans, a white spaghetti strap body suit, and some Adidas sneakers. Her normally wavy Latina hair was slicked back into two French braids on each side of her head. Around her neck hung something that was more precious than any jewelry; it was her camera. Draped across Alanas shoulder was the laptop bag she would use to upload photos so they could view them on a bigger screen.
As soon as she passed employee security and got onto the main concourse of the ball park, her nose was immediately flooded with the smells of popcorn, roasted peanuts, and sausage with peppers. These smells never get old and neither does the fans.
The fans were lively tonight even though the Phillies were down by three in the bottom of the seventh inning. This is another reason why Alana loved Philly so much. Win or lose the fans will always come out and show support for their team.
Although, she was curious if the fans are so lively tonight because the Phillies are playing against the Mets and nobody here likes the Mets. There is a level a pure hatred to that team much like the Eagles and the Cowboys.
Alana walked around towards the right side of home plate towards the Phillies dugout and flashed the security her employee badge once again. Once they gave her the okay Alana unzipped the camera from it's black case around her neck and began taking shots.
By now it was the top of the eighth inning and her heart did a little flutter when she noticed J.T. was up to bat with the bases loaded....
She started snapping so many pictures of him in his batting stance and some when he was swinging. Currently he was at two balls and two strikes.. only one more chance to get us some headway or even the lead. Alana her her breath when the pitcher let another ball soar through the air and it was like time had stopped the air thick with suspense.
Quickly changing the setting on her camera to a slow shutter speed she captured the ball flying towards J.T. and his face of pure concentration. The background of the photo was completely blurred making it look like the picture was frozen in time.
Just like that In the blink of an eye all you heard was this deafening crack of the ball colliding with J.T.'s bat. The ball soared through the air and fans immediately started jumping and screaming and J.T began running the bases. It was like the camera in Alana's hands had a mind of its own, clicking away getting as many pictures as possible.
You could see the Mets in their dugout start to spit or throw their hats on the ground in defeat. They know it was over before the ball even went outside of the park.
The crowd roared to life as the announcer yelled "GRAND SLAM FOR JT REALMUTO". The distinct "homerun" music began to play followed by the classic ding of the giant lit up liberty bell in the outfield.
Jt came running into home and Alana was abled to capture a sick looking picture of him jumping into the air with his fellow teammate Bryce Harper as they smacked fists instead of a normal high five.
Alana found myself screaming so loud even while trying to get the perfect shots. The atmosphere here for this team and for that man is contagious.
J.T. Is about to bound down the dugout steps when Alana yelled out to him, "Hey number ten! What's a grand slam mean??" She winked.
The man looks up at Alana as she was a few feet above his head and once he recognized it was her he beamed with a smile and shook his head. Alana didn't miss that shot either. The look on his face in that photo was so pure and so genuine filled with happiness. His defined stubble filled jawline and his dimpled chin was enough to make any woman swoon. Then mix in his piercing blue gaze and pearly white smile that met his eyes and Alana was in trouble and she hadn't even started working one on one with him yet...
***
Shortly after, the game had ended and while J.T. was doing his "Player of the Game" interview Alana quickly ran to her office and grabbed the dark Nike hoodie that she has been meaning to give back to him for a few weeks now.
Even just resting over her forearm Alana could smell his manly scent still lingering. How the hell do guys get their scents to last for so long. She was defeated know she could go through a bottle of body spray in a week because the scent never lasts.
Alana looked her office behind her before she ran to the little break room around the corner from the office to make a cup of coffee knowing damn well she would need the caffeine boost eventually.
Should I make J.T. a cup too? Does he even drink coffee?
She popped a pod into the Keurig and began brewing another cup thinking that if he doesn't drink it then she certainly could. Adding a splash of flavored vanilla creamer to both the coffee filled styrofoam cups she grabbed them, one in each hand. The dark hoodie was still wedged in between her arm, the heavy camera case pulled on her neck and the heavy laptop case bounced off of her curvy hip with every step Alana took.
Eventually, Alana made it to the hallway that lead to the Phillies dugout. Once she to the end of the hallway lined with hall of fame memorabilia Alana got stopped by a security officer who was looking rather bored.
"Do you have some identification ma'am" he spoke in a monotonous voice.
Alana looked down at her chest to see the bulky camera case was blocking her key card lanyard.
Skillfully balancing both cups of hot coffee in one hand she was abled to pull out the card to show him her ID. The man nodded and Alana pass through the wide double doors and into the short, dimly lit tunnel like hallway.
At the end of the tunnel was a small flight of maybe ten steps that led you up into the dugout. This was so sureal. Once Alana got to the top her breath got caught up in her throat. It just didn't seem real that she was standing in this dugout and the entire stadium was quiet. The stadium lights almost blinding after coming out of the dark hallway.
Alana had never been a fan of baseball until now but an empty stadium was a sight to see.
Setting down the two cups of coffees onto the bench, Alana then began to take out her laptop placing it about a foot away from the coffees, booting it up and logging in.
The dark hoodie was laid next to her thigh on the bench as she finally got around to removing the camera case from her neck and taking out the camera fitting it with the lens she wanted to use.
There was still no sign of J.T. yet but that gave her enough time to get everything set up and transfer the pictures took during the game onto the laptop using Bluetooth connection.
By now the stadium had mostly cleared other than the workers that were cleaning up on every concourse level along with a few clean up members that were walking down every row picking up left over trash or food bits.
Once she finished loading all the cool shots taken and reviewing them she decided to just take a peak around the dugout. Noticing a metal bat laying on the ground next to the on deck circle Alana picked it up out of curiosity. This thing was way heavier than it looked and she tried to pretend to swing it a few times wanting to know what it felt like.
"We really have to work on your hitting form."
Awe, shit.
Alana's head snapped towards the direction of the dugout in panic to see J.T. standing there with a smug look on his face.
He started clapping, "You know the goal of baseball is to hit the ball with the bat not the fans or players with the bat."
It was then that she realized the bat had went swinging out of her hands like slippery soap after J.T. managed to sneak up on her.
"Oh my god. See this is why I don't do sports." She quickly scrambled to grab the bat that landed ten feet away in the red dirt before returning to the dugout with an apologetic look on her face.
Dropping his duffel bag on the bench he takes a seat next to all of herthings. It appeared to look like he had taken a quick shower and changed out of his uniform from the game and into a clean one for the photos. He looked even better in his uniform up close than Alana had imagined.
She needed to make a correction to one of her earlier thoughts... Alana has never been a fan of baseball until now but he was a sight to see.
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Hey all, if you're liking this story please take a moment to leave a like or a comment 🥰 picture attached to this chapter is of the Magic Gardens in Philly!!