“Oliver, thank you for caring, but please, I have to work.” I motioned to my desk, the stack of papers, and my laptop. It was clear I lied, since my voice shook and very few people were in the stadium this early. I needed a moment alone, away from this conversation.
He pushed off the door, staring at me another few seconds before he opened his mouth. He then closed it, indecision crossing his face as he sighed. “One thing you can file away about me, Doc, is that I refuse to let people belittle or insult others. If I hear them talk shit again in my presence, I will say something.”
Before I could respond, he strode off, leaving me even more confused.
4
Oliver
It wasthe night before our walk-through game, and I was nervous as fuck. I couldn’t sit still. I worked so goddamn hard to get to this point in my career that it seemed surreal. It seemed like a dream that could quickly switch to a nightmare. My pulse raced, and the familiar tingling started in my fingertips, a sure sign I had to settle my thoughts.
I plopped on my couch, doing my breathing exercises as my body settled. Just another moment of my physical reactions crossing the line. It was only 8 p.m., and I didn’t have to be at the field until lunch, yet I was restless. Usually, when I got like this, I needed to get the hell out of my condo.
Oliver: any chance you guys wanna meet up?
Ivy: WHY?
Callum: stop being a narc, Ivy Lee.
Ivy: He should be resting!!
Callum: What she meant to say was we are otherwise preoccupied for the evening and unable to put clothes on. But,in an hour, we can FaceTime if you need to talk through anything.
Ivy: Why are you this way?? Why? You could be normal.
Callum: When have I ever been normal?
I silenced my phone, snorting at their antics. It wasn’t that I couldn’t go somewhere myself, but it was strange to be a grown man going to a bar for a soda water. But fuck it. Baseball was on, and I could catch the end of the Cubs game. Grabbing my keys and phone, I slid on an older Cubs hat and locked up. My favorite bar in the neighborhood was called Graham’s, and it was a block away from my unit. The bartenders there knew me, didn’t give a shit that I played for the Rampage, and let me be.
Being around other people helped me escape my thoughts and stressors. I was an extrovert—being around people was my favorite thing about being on a team, that I was always around others and others energy fueled me. I loved being a part of something bigger than myself. So the thought of being by myself in my place, the walk-through gametomorrow, was too much.
“Hey, Oli,” Mario, the die-hard Cubs fan and part-owner of the bar nodded at me as I walked in. “Your usual?”
“You got it, my man.” I always took the third chair from the left, but tonight, someone sat in my spot.
I wasn’t irrational. I knew the chair didn’t belong to me. Yet…I had the biggest day of my career tomorrow, and I was superstitious. Mario noted me pausing and winced.
A woman sat there, brown hair piled in a tight bun. She wore a Cubs tank, showcasing her shoulders and toned arms. A flicker of interest surprised me—maybe it was the tight, almost professional hairstyle paired with the clearly used and old Cubs gear, but from the back, she was puzzle.
She banged her fist on the bar, shouting, “Let’s fucking go! Call in the closer!”
Oh, so a real Cubsfan.
I neared her, my lips twitching as she booed loudly at the TV behind the bar. Whatever perfume she wore clung to the air around her, the scent familiar somehow yet mouthwatering. Citrus and floral something.
“Hey,” I said, clearing my throat as I leaned onto the bar to her right. “This is gonna sound weird?—”
She turned, and surprise lit up her face.
It was Doc.
Sloane Mercer. The team mental health doctor, the woman who smiled at my shoes, yet shrank into herself when our male staff acted like a bunch of misogynistic assholes.
“Oliver” She pursed her lips—which were bright red—and tilted her head to the side. “What are you doing at my bar?”
“Your bar, huh?” I grinned, still not sitting down but choosing to lean my elbow onto the bar top. This put us close, closer than normal. Heat radiated from her, and I wasn’t gonna lie, I liked it. “Didn’t realize your name was Graham.”
“Ha-ha.” She rolled her eyes, but before she said anything else, the Cubs pitcher allowed a home run to tie the game. “Motherfucker. Wells always hits up and inside. You’d know that if you paid attention. One job here. One job. Don’t allow home runs. I swear…”
