IVEY:
Do not fondle him! He is mine.
“Ivey?” Miller just shrugs.
“Calling her Ivory seemed weird and she seems like an Ivey to me.”
Guess I should be happy my best friend and my girl are getting along. Miller hasn’t said anything else about Ivory’s intentions. I think the frequent phone calls and texts have proved that we are both making an effort to make this work.
“Gah, I am so ready to play some ball. We looked pretty good for having so much time off.”
“We’ll get our swag back in no time.”
“I’m hoping I keep my starting position. At this point, I wouldn’t put it past Coach to cut me.”
“That would make him stupid. He may still be pissed at you but he’s not a fool. Benching you would ruin the team’s chances. With only sixty games, he needs you on second.”
I hope Miller is right. But something in my gut tells me that I need to be prepared for anything.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Ivory
July 16
The season officially starts next week. Preston is so excited to be back on the field playing the game he loves. Between his early mornings, busy days, and late nights, we haven’t been able to talk as much the past two weeks. When the regular season games kick off, what little communication we have may be cut down even more.
Hearing the happiness in his voice when we talk on the phone makes up for the time apart. If only it eased the ache inside of me every morning when I wake up alone. I miss the feel of him in bed with me. The way he would tuck his head into my neck spooning me from behind. The way he would hold me tightly against him as if he couldn’t sleep without knowing I was there. The musky smell of man mixed with the rainwater scented soap he bought for me but decided he liked better for himself. I wonder if I can order the soap so I can at least have his smell with me. The scent in his shirt is starting to fade after a month.
My ringing phone jolts me out of my memories of Preston in bed. Hoping it’s him, I rush to answer it but see it’s Gabby.
“Hey.” Placing the phone on speaker on the armrest of the lounge chair on my balcony, I recline back again, taking in the setting sun over the Pacific Ocean. I make it a point to watch as many sunsets as possible now. It was something we always tried to do in Belize. Doing it here makes me feel not so far removed. Though the Pacific Ocean is nothing on the Caribbean Sea. And Santa Monica is no Long Caye.
“That’s it?Hey? Way to sound excited for my call.” Gabby’s faux annoyance makes me smile.
“I miss you.”
“Much better. I miss you too.”
“What are you doing? Aren’t you busy?” Working for a major league team and preparing for the season amid a global pandemic cannot be an easy job.
“Things are calm for the moment. The team is at training camp, though it is here at our home stadium, so that’s different. The league will be detailing the travel schedules soon. That may change things.” The team Gabby works for is still a new team, having gone through the expansion draft last year. This is their first official season as a baseball team in the National League East. A new team is a big deal. The last time the league expanded was in 1998 when Preston’s team was added. It’s weird I think of Tampa as Preston’s team now instead of my dad’s.
“Preston said travel would be limited to geographic regions.”
“That’s the plan. We’ll see how it works out. Everyone is testing, but there are some testing positive which impacts the whole team.” This is an unprecedented time for the world, let alone sports. Gabby sounds tired. “Other major organizations and sports are also making plans for a comeback but each are handling things differently. There is no playbook for this sort of thing.”
“Well, in case no one has told you lately, you are doing a good job.”
“Thanks, lady. Speaking of jobs, how is it going?”
Throwing my head back, I let out a deep groan.
“That good, huh?”
“It’s so frustrating, Gabby. I finally got released by the studio only to have to basically start from scratch. Like, I knew this wouldn’t be easy but I didn’t think it would be this hard. No one will take me seriously. I swear to God if I walk into another meeting with a network executive and they give me ‘the look’ one more time, I am going to lose it.”
“What look are they giving you?”
