“But because he’s a professional baseball player …” she says into the phone, picking up what I’m putting down.
“Exactly.” Guilt runs through me. “My thoughts of him shouldn’t change just because of what he does for a living.”
“It doesn’t hurt though,” she jokes, making me laugh.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Then respond like he’s your client and you still have no clue who he is. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”
“Yeah.”
“Then screenshot your entire message and send it to me!” Her voice is laced with so much excitement that I laugh out loud.
“Bye, Sasha,” I tease.
“Bye, future WAG.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
I chuckle as I do just that and stare at my phone, reminding myself that while he sat in my chair today, all I knew was that he was a cute guy, so I treat this like any other guy who’s texted me over the years.
So, I send a simple response.
Thanks for the ball. Nolan is currently sleeping with it like it’s a stuffed animal.
That’s awesome. A boy right up my alley.
I stare at my phone, having no clue what to respond with. Silence between us has my heart pounding as I desperately try to think of what to do next until I see the bubbles appear on his phone, showing me he’s typing something, so I sit and wait to see what he has to say.
Question for you. Where’s a good place to go get furniture?
I laugh out loud. So not a question I thought he would ask.
Like what type? What are you looking for?
All of it. I have a bed and a couch.
He snaps a picture, and my eyes open wide. The empty room, with just a couch and the TV on the floor, proves he wasn’t kidding.
Oh, like, legit, you have nothing!
He sends a laughing emoji back, then types:
This is the first place that’s only mine. I’ve always moved in with teammates, or the team put us up in places. I guess when you make it this far, they expect you to be on your own.
Is that a good or bad thing?
I chuckle to myself, truly not sure which one it might be.
The fact that I made it this far? Amazing. The fact that they expect me to have my own place … I guess, for me, not as great. It will be once I have everything here. I just need to know where to go to start.
I think about where I could send him. I’m a single mom, living in a small townhome, so most of my stuff is from IKEA or hand-me-downs, but I get the feeling he wants something a little nicer than that. I think about the shopping centers I frequent and remember there’s a cute place called Lainey’s Furniture, next to the Italian restaurant I take Nolan to if I want to treat him to a nicer dinner.
There’s a place located at Fifth and Broadway that always looks to have cute stuff.
Cute?
I laugh out loud.
