Page 5 of Run Home

Adrian! 1. Good game, as always. 2. I have an idea of something special to do for Griff and Danae, and I need your help.

Let me know when you’d have time to talk. I realize your schedule is tight, but sooner rather than later would be helpful. Make time in the name of your best friend.

What Sam doesn’t realize is that I’d clear every nonmandatory thing from my schedule for her. No need to invoke Griffin’s name.

When she first moved from Oklahoma to Kansas City to live with Griffin, she was a young twenty years old. According to Griffin, she’d been run through the wringer and unfortunately went straight into it again shortly after arriving. His protective-older-brother concern would have immediately shut down any possible attraction to her at the time.

But I was also a young twenty-four-year-old, living up the “you only live once” mentality to the fullest. I was more interested in spending my free time out at the clubs with friends than seriously dating. So there was no attraction to worry about.

Fast forward six years to now, and a lot of things have changed. Drastically.

Sam has grown up. She’s come into her own in a lot of ways the past couple of years. Last summer, she let Griffin know it would be her final season working as his personal assistant so she could pursue cosmetology school. When Griffin’s reinjury last July cut his season short, Sam sped up the timeline for her to start school. From what I can tell, she’s thriving.

I’ve also grown up. Sure, I still squeeze every drop of fun out of life and chase every unique opportunity available. But watching Griffin settle down with Danae over the past year makes me wish for something I don’t have.

Someone to look forward to outside of the team. Someone consistent to share all those fun experiences with. Someone I can make smile every morning, every night.

All my life, I’ve been driven by paranoia that I might miss out on an unforgettable experience. But now, I realize what I’m missing out on is a person. My person. The person out there for me. My whole perspective has shifted in the last year. I’ve also spent even more time than usual hanging out with Sam in various contexts, and more-than-friends attraction has fully infiltrated my thoughts about her.

The one thing that hasn’t changed? Griffin’s protective-older-brother concern.

So my growing interest in Sam being my person has me jogging circles around attraction to her instead of going for it.

Which has me—historically smooth and charming with the ladies—feeling like a thirteen-year-old boy who’s never talked to a girl before when it comes to Sam.

Setting my phone down on the console, I shake out my hands before picking it up to reply.

ME

Let’s talk in person. Tomorrow is an afternoon game, so I could get together in the evening. Or the day after is a night game, so I could do first thing in the morning. What’s better with your school schedule?

I reread the text four times to make sure I sound accommodating without giving away my eagerness to see her. Satisfied, I hit send, then lock the phone so I can drive the twenty-five minutes from the stadium to my house.

The Kansas City Crowns stadium is near the Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kansas. When I was called up from the farm team to join the Crowns at age twenty-three, I rented an apartment situated above a trendy retail area in Leawood, a ritzy suburb of Kansas City. I loved being a short walk away from great restaurants and cocktail bars, becoming a known regular at every establishment.

After some uncomfortable encounters with a woman following me around last year, I felt the itch for more space and privacy and bought a home in a gated community southwest of the stadium. The sprawling house is far more than I need as a single guy, but I appreciate the large yard, mature trees, and quiet neighbors.

It’s something I’ve never experienced before—certainly not during my childhood in Valencia, Venezuela. Then again, baseball is about the only thing in my life that’s consistent from my childhood. Sometimes I start to miss the perpetual noise and lights of the city and wonder if I made a mistake moving into this house.

But then I wonder if the quiet would feel more like comfort if I had my person here with me.

Thoughts of Sam fill my mind as I drive through the gates into my neighborhood, wind down the still streets to my house, and pull into the garage. I think of her as I close the garage door and walk into the dark mudroom, flipping on every light and turning on the built-in speakers to fill the empty space with music.

As if my thoughts had materializing power, my phone buzzes with a text notification.

SAM

Tomorrow night works. 7ish? But I can just call if that’s easier for you.

Running a hand over the thin goatee on my chin, I stare at the phone screen, thinking. I smile and use one of Sam’s weaknesses to my advantage, typing a suggestion I know she won’t refuse.

ME

I was thinking sushi. But if you just want to talk on the phone . . .

SAM

YES SUSHI ALWAYS SUSHI