I was morerelaxed than I’d been all season by the time Mason and Bill dropped me off in front of the hotel. I wanted desperately to kiss Mason goodbye, but that was out of the question for multiple reasons.
Besides the fact that it wasn’t a secret where we stayed when we were in town and there could be photographers or fans lurking in the shadows, I had to remember that any of my teammates could come walking up the sidewalk at any moment.
And if that wasn’t enough to deflate the semi I’d been trying to hide most of the morning, Bill was waiting at the passenger’s door for me to vacate his seat. He’d been cool so far about the whole loud sex in the bathroom, but I wasn’t about to press my luck with him.
He offered me his hand as I stepped out of Mason’s bright yellow Jeep Rubicon. “It was good seeing you again, Sean,” Bill said sincerely.
I stiffened when he pulled me in for a hug, mostly because I wasn’t used to parents being openly affectionate. The Tucker household was much more one where love was known but not shown.
He kept his voice low as he gave me the only advice I was going to get regarding whatever was or wasn’t happening with his son. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Mason. You’re both good kids and you deserve to be happy. That being said, you both have a lot on the line, so you need to beware of that. Don’t be a stranger.”
He thumped me on the back and sent me on my way. I waved over my shoulder as I walked into the lobby of the hotel. Jason was sitting on one of the plush couches waiting for me.
“I was starting to think Mason had tied you up and thrown you in the basement,” he kidded. “You sure look like you’re in a better mood today. Did Mason take you out to get your mind off life for a bit?”
Oh, if he only knew…
But I couldn’t tell Jason how much Mace helped me without my cheeks flushing, thinking abouthowhe’d helped improve my mood.
“Nah, we stayed in, played some video games, and I gave him a hard time about his bitch of an ex-wife. You know, normal shit for a change. I’m going to run up and change. I’ll be back down in a few.”
I rushed up to my room, knowing that the bus would be pulling up out front in about ten minutes. It was stupid of me to stay out all night, but it wasn’t like anyone would say anything since my body felt better than it had in a long time.
Mason had to have the most comfortable bed on the market, or maybe it was having Mason curled up against my back all night that made it possible for me to wake up so rested.
The team bus pulled into the park shortly after two in the afternoon. Unconsciously, I found myself scanning the parking lot in search of Mason’s Jeep. It stood out like a beacon, and I smiled at the thought that we were both here. Yeah, it was cheesy, but I didn’t care.
As always, we sat down for a team meal before the rest of the guys headed out to stretch while I made my way to the training room for a rub down. I wasn’t nearly as stiff as I typically was the day after a road start, but I still groaned as the trainer massaged the kinks out of my shoulder and arm.
I had to keep reminding myself that no matter what else was going on outside the training room, I had a routine I needed to follow. Some people thought that being a pitcher was easy work since I only had to show up on the field once every five days and work for a few hours, but the truth was that the work never stopped. And if I threw my carefully crafted schedule out the window so I could get into the outfield early to help with batting practice, I’d be paying for it later.
I turned on a playlist as I started working on the elliptical. There were a lot of exercises I wouldn’t be able to do since Chicago’s visitor’s facility was rather sparse, but I’d still get a decent workout. As I fell into a steady lope, I reminded myself that after this series and a few days in Boston I’d be back to all the comforts of home.
Fans were starting to trickle into the park by the time I made my way to the outfield. Being so close to home, there were a number of families who’d driven down for the day, and I was reminded that there was more to the game than winning or losing when I saw a little boy waving wildly at me as I approached.
I hated to admit it, but had I been pitching today, I would have likely kept my head down and kept walking with a casual wave so I wouldn’t break my concentration. Lucky for him, I wasn’t, so I took a moment to walk over to the end of the Bulldogs’ dugout.
“Hey man, thanks for coming out today,” I greeted the kid, who couldn’t have been much more than nine or ten. “You going to help me cheer for the Mavericks?”
“Y-y-yes, sir,” he stammered, flashing me a grin full of teeth that looked too big for his mouth. “C-c-can I g-get a p-picture with you?”
A few older kids had noticed me near the railing and were making their way down. I didn’t want to be a prick, but Stu would have a conniption if I didn’t get to work. “Yeah, but we have to hurry. If I don’t get out there, they’ll boot me to the curb,” I said jokingly.
“They c-c-could never do that, Mr. Tucker. You’re the b-b-best!” I wasn’t so sure about that, but it was nice to hear all the same. The kid turned around and leaned against the railing so his father could snap a picture with his phone. As I said goodbye to the kid, his dad mouthed a quick thank you and they were off.
“Aww, that was cute,” a familiar voice chortled from the dugout. I looked to my right and saw Mason leaning on the railing, watching me.
“Don’t you think you should get some batting practice in?” I scolded. “Dobson is on the mound today, and you didn’t do so hot yesterday.”
It did make me feel slightly better that Mason hadn’t gotten a hit off me. He might have been the only Bulldog who hadn’t gotten on base while I was on the mound.
“It’s okay, I’m pretty sure you used insider information against me.” We both laughed loud enough to get the attention of one of his teammates. “I’d better get to it. Some of us actually have to work today.”
“Jealous?” I asked.
“Maybe a little,” he responded with a crooked smile.
There was so much more I wanted to say to him, namely I wanted to find out if we were going to get together again tonight, but I couldn’t ask that now. It was foolish of me not to think of asking when we were at breakfast or in the car.
