Page 67 of Fun Together
“No hugs,” she says, holding her hand up to stop him from hugging her, too.
“And here’s Chris, our MVP for the night after that last play,” he says, motioning for an attractive Black guy with wire-rimmed glasses to join us.
Chris jogs over, and I notice it’s the guy who hit the home run at the end. He shakes our hands with a warm smile. “Nice to meet you all.”
“Congrats on the win,” I say.
He smiles shyly and reaches up to push his glasses up. “Eli is exaggerating. He had a pretty good run there in the fifth.”
Rett leans over to whisper in my ear, “Are we going to have to talk about softball all night?”
I shush her with my eyes.
Eli bends down to zip up his backpack before putting it on. “I’m starving. You guys want to get something to eat?”
“Sure, we’re down,” I say. Rett and I didn’t discuss getting dinner after this, so I hope she’s good with me volunteering our acceptance.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Third Base Woman approaching us. As she walks by, she shouts, “Hey Eli! This was fun!”
Eli turns to her and waves. “Maybe we’ll be on the same team next time!”
“Hope so!” She shouts before getting into her car.
“Who was that?” Rett asks him, a sinister sweetness seeping into her question. I would normally discourage her intrusion, but I’m curious myself.
“Oh, that’s Dani.”
From our spot on the bleachers, I couldn’t really see what she looked like. But up close, I’m seeing that she’s maybe one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. When Eli told me she was nice, I’m ashamed to admit I thought that was his way of saying he wasn’t attracted to her. But if he invited her to play softball, they must have hit it off. Maybe he didn’t want to rub it in after hearing how disappointing my date was.
I suddenly don’t feel hungry at all.
Rett hums in a very disapproving tone, before locking arms with me. “Faye wants pizza.”
I don’t miss that her suggestion just so happens to be my ultimate comfort food. “I want pizza, or you want pizza?”
She grins. “Who doesn’t want pizza?”
We decideto go to the Italian restaurant in the strip mall next to the park. It smells like warm bread, and the air conditioning feels amazing after sitting outside in the sticky heat for the past few hours.
“Faye, what do you do for work?” Chris asks after we order a couple of pizzas. He’s seated next to Eli, diagonally across from me.
“I’m an executive assistant at a software company. What about you?”
“I own a pet grooming business.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
“Well, at the moment I’m a one-man show, so I don’t know how impressive that is.” He looks down and toys with the napkin-wrapped silverware. “Right now, I have a van I drive around to people’s houses, but I just got a permanent space I’ll be opening soon.”
“So business must be good, then,” I say.
Chris very humbly shrugs his shoulders and takes a drink of his water.
“I’m dog-sitting for my parents next week so maybe I’ll call you up,” Eli says.
“Sounds good. What kind of dog do they have?”
“Great Dane. She might be bigger than your van, though.”
