Page 29 of Love in the Outfield

“I’ve seen you in action. No one can resist.”

I laugh. “Seriously though, Georgia kind of ruined me for anyone else.”

“How so?”

“She’s the real deal. No bullshit. She’s a genuinely nice person. She doesn’t care about material things or status.Couldn’t care less about me being an MLB player. In fact, in her eyes that’s a negative.”

“Makes her the perfect match then. Gotta fight for it.”

“Then we have our families. I’m sure we’re going to make the Hatfields and McCoys look like BFFs.”

His eyes widen. “Your parents? Aww, I don’t believe it. Wendy and Mark are the best.”

I shrug. “For some reason Mom’s never liked Georgia.”

“Oopsy. No bueno.”

“Got that right. I had it out with her last night after I broke the news. She is completely off her rocker when it comes to Georgia. There was no reasoning.”

“What about Mark?”

“Dad’s cool. Maybe he’ll talk some sense into her. Bottom line, Mom can come around and be respectful or miss out on being a part of Auggie’s life. It’s up to her.”

“She’ll come around. I like your mom. Hard for me to imagine her being hardcore.”

“Usually, she’s pretty chill. I don’t understand it. She doesn’t think Georgia is good enough or some stupid shit like that. It’s a side to her I’m not used to.”

“She’s being protective of her baby boy.”

“I suppose, but it’s not a good look.”

“How about Georgia’s family?”

“You know they’ve got to hate me for skipping out. Her mom, Loretta, is a force of nature. So are her sisters. Her brother was always pretty chill but I’m not looking forward to a confrontation with any of them.”

“I feel ya. Don’t know what to tell ya, bro. Looks like I’ll have plenty of entertainment for the next few months.”

“Fuck off.”

Dean laughs. “Just kidding. I’ve got you. Let me know how I can help.”

“I may take you up on that. You have a way with my mom.”

“She does love me,” he brags.

“You’re the one she should be keeping an eye on.”

His eyes go wide in faux shock. “You must be thinking of Max. I’m the son she wishes she’d had.”

I snort. “Yeah right.”

Dean pulls out his iPad and says, “Let’s take a look at our starting pitcher for tonight’s game.”

“He’s a beast.”

“That he is,” Dean says distractedly. He chews on his bottom lip in concentration until he finds what he is looking for. “Here we go.” He angles the laptop so I can see it and hits play. I easily slip into baller mode. We can never take our lead for granted.

Before I know it, we land, exit the plane and pile onto the bus that will take us to the hotel to check in. By request, Dean and I are assigned to share hotel rooms for the rest of the season for away games. We’ll have a couple of hours to relax before heading to the stadium. Every game is important at this point and our rest is as important as our workouts, considering the beating we take on the daily. We’re closing in on the playoffs and we’re within spitting distance of making it to the postseason. My bet is that we’ll be moving on and competing for a spot in the World Series.

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