Glory Days

Glory Days by OlympusMons90

"Don't forget to lead with your hips. Your grip and your stance are good, but you're leaning into the swing too much." I instruct my six-year-old son Dylan, who's doing very well for his age.

We're down at the local park near my house in Freehold, New Jersey, doing some batting practice once again. Freehold is where I was born and raised, and it's where I was hoping to raise my son too, before his mom and I got divorced. My ex-wife Julianne and I got divorced four years ago, she's now living in Trenton with her new boyfriend, they've just got engaged too. And while I'm still pissed about her leaving me, even four years later, I have to admit that she's been a good mom to our son. I have no complaints there.

As for me, I'm Mike Johnson, a thirty-one-year-old carpenter, a single father, and a Yankees fan too. Although I've also watched the Phillies play on more than few occasions as well. I was a decent lead-off hitter in high school, but I'm hoping that my son can do better than me. He's showing good technique and a great eye for the ball for his age, it's just the little things we're trying to improve on.

He'll be starting his first proper little league spring season shortly, as he played tee-ball last fall. He's signed up to play in Trenton of course, so I'm making the most of our weekends together to get him ready for the first pitch. I remember getting ready for my first spring season of little leagues too, and while it seems so long agio now, those memories still live with me to this day.

On Sunday evening, we drove back to Trenton, dropping my son off with his mom, before driving back to Freehold. I look forward to our father-son weekends together every second week; it's one of the few things I have to enjoy in life at the moment. Two of the others are my Sunday league baseball, and my weekly Friday drinks with Gina who lives just up the block from me.

Gina Rossi, now there's a girl that I wished that I had dated instead of my ex, but that's not how life pans out. We both went to Freehold High School together, same grade, same class. Back then she could really turn all the boys' heads, she was stunning. In my humble opinion, she still is stunning and can still manage to turn heads as well. Although I'm not sure if that many guys are on the hunt for a divorced mother of two in her early thirties these days.

Her and her husband Bobby got divorced two years ago now, he ran off with another woman and hasn't been back to Freehold since. They had been together since back in high school, getting married shortly after. Bobby Taylor was a good friend of mine too, which is why I never tried to go out with Gina. Me and Bobby also played on the high school baseball team together, along with our other best friend, Joe Stanley.

Gina and Bobby's eldest Tyler is the same age as my boy, Dylan, and they often hang out together when I have my son here on the weekends. Her daughter Gabby is four now, and she's a spitting image of her mom, with her long brown hair, a pretty smile with the same hazel eyes.  

Gina and I always catchup for a drink or two on Friday's, it's become our thing as she has no intentions of going out to bars or anything with having two young kids at home. But I'm happy to have her company as well, and we often sit around laughing while talking about the old times, she says it helps when she feels like crying about her situation.

It's been a long week at work, we've been building a new house in West Freehold where I've spent most of my time with Darrell, who's another carpenter that I always work with. We've spent the day talking about baseball mainly when we have the chance, and our favorite teams' rosters going into the new season. Darrell is a big Mets fan, but I try not to hold it against him, not too much anyway.

With Friday wrapped up, and not having to drive to Trenton in the morning to pick up my son, I might have a few extra beers at Moore's Tavern later, after I have a couple with Gina first, of course.

"Hey Mike. I'm just putting Gabby to bed; I'll be back out in a few minutes." Gina informs me as she goes back inside.

I take my usual spot out on the front porch, opening my first beer of the night. The weather is lovely outside right now, with the chilly weather finally starting to warm up a little with the onset of Spring.

"Tyler, you have one more hour, then it's bedtime as well, okay?" Gina says as she exits the front door to join me.

"Let me guess, he's playing games right now." I reply as I hand Gina her beer.

"Yeah, he's been hooked on Super Mario Cart lately, he'll spend hours on that game if I let him. Apparently, him and your son Dylan are racing each other right now."

"Yeah, but we're lucky that they also both like to get outside and play too, most of their friends just want to sit in front of their phones all day." I respond.

"True, and Tyler now wants to start little leagues soon as well, although I think he mainly wants to because of how excited Dylan is. Unfortunately, Bobby never spent much time playing catch ball with Tyler like you have with Dylan, Tyler is still lacking a bit of co-ordination. I've tried with him, but he doesn't want to throw the ball around with his mom."

"Well, maybe I can drag him down the park on the weekends too, just like I do with Dylan. And he can join me and Dylan when I have him here as well."

"You don't mind, really?"

"Not at all. I love watching them progress, learning and improving. I used to love throwing the ball around with my dad at the same age, every kid should have that experience too."

"Yeah, I wish that Bobby felt the same way. He was too busy working most weekends when he wasn't playing baseball with you on Sunday mornings, although now I question what he was actually up to the rest of the time, he had to meet those girls out somewhere. Maybe he preferred to get laid than to spend time with his own son."

"Well, let's not talk about Bobby, let's keep the happy thoughts going, shall we?" I reply, not wanting Gina to dwell on her ex too much, she's already done her fair share of that over the last two years already.

"And what about you, Mike? What do you have planned for the weekend without your son? Has your baseball season started yet?"

"Not yet, and I don't have any other plans apart from being here, having a few drinks with you, but I might go to Moore's Tavern later, I guess we'll see what happens."

"And tomorrow and Sunday?"

"Not much, why, are you asking me out?" I smile back at Gina.

It's our running joke, that we're both now over thirty and divorced with kids. That it would make sense for us to date, because no-one else would probably want us now. But in reality, I know Gina hasn't been ready for that, it's taken her some time to get over being betrayed and left behind like what Bobby did to her. And while I find her very attractive still, she's the ex of one of my former best friends and she's now one of my best friends too. I worry what will happen if there are no sparks between us if we ever tried, and what that would mean for us remaining friends thereafter. So far, I've been enjoying her company way too much to risk it.

"I would, but isn't it the man's job to ask the woman out? I'm actually just wondering if you'd like to go with me to the store on Saturday afternoon, I've bought one of those refurbished dryers, but it's way too heavy for me to carry on my own."

"Sure, I can go pick it up for you, just give me the details before I leave, okay?"

"Are you sure? I can go with you."

"Nah, then you'd have to drag Tyler and Gabby along too, and we both know that's like herding cats sometimes. It's easier if I go get it myself."

"Thanks Mike. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."

"Hey, that works both ways. I'd be sitting out on my own porch drinking by myself without you being here. It's good to have someone to lean on."

"Yeah, it is. Make sure you say hello to Jeff for me if you do end up at Moore's Tavern later, is he still dating the barmaid there?"

"Yeah, Samantha the twenty-two-year-old. I don't know how he does it, it's not like he's the best-looking guy in the joint." I chuckle with my response.

"He's not too bad. Maybe not as good looking as you or Bobby were back in the day, but it's good to see that's he's found someone."

"But for how long? Ten years is a big age gap."

"Yeah, I guess so. I wouldn't know the first thing to talk about if I was out on a date with a guy ten years younger than me." Gina responds.

"A guy that age, you wouldn't be talking much. He'd just want to have sex with you over and over again, not much conversation needed."

"Maybe I should be looking for a younger guy then." Gina starts laughing.

"Hey, us old guys might not be as energetic anymore, but at least we know what we're doing." I chuckle along.

"Hopefully, yes." Gina replies, looking over at me.

For a moment, our gaze holds for a little too long, before we both look away. We find other things to chat about, mostly to do with us being back in high school or shortly after, when we were younger. I think that's because our current lives feel like it's slipping away from us, on a predetermined path that seems to roll along all by itself. It feels good to remember the days when everything seemed new, more alive somehow. Back when our future was still unknown, when we enjoyed every day like it was our last. Yeah, those glory days.

It's about nine-thirty as I approach the entrance for Moore's Tavern, when I'm surprised to bump into Joe Stanley walking out. Joe, along with Bobby, were the two guys I hung out with the most in high school. We both played together on the same baseball team too. Joe was the star pitcher for our team, the one guy that we all thought was going to make it into the majors.

"Joe, what are you doing here?"

"Fuck me, Mike, how are you?" Joe responds, before giving me a warm hug.

"I'm good. Were you just leaving?"

"Yeah, although I wouldn't mind having a few more now that you're here. Come on, let's go back inside."

I grab two beers from the bar, saying hello to Jeff for Gina as promised while I'm at it. Jeff went to school with us too, he's a decent guy but wasn't one of my closest friends back then. Nothing against Jeff, we all had one or two people we spent most of our time with, and he had his friends, just like I had mine with Joe and Bobby.

Sitting back down across from Joe, he still looks in good shape, although his hair is getting a little thin up top just like his old man.

"So, what brings you back to Freehold?" I ask after handing him his beer.

"I've just moved back. I've got the sports clothing store in town; I'm going to be running that now."

"You mean the one your old man got you to buy as an investment years ago when you first moved into the minors? I never thought you'd come back here to run it though."

"Yeah, me neither. But my dad was right to want me to have something to fall back on in case I didn't make it. Back then I was so sure I'd be a millionaire pitching for the Yankees."

"Me too. What happened? I heard you needed a major shoulder reconstruction back when you were still pitching for Somerset."

"Yeah, and my fast ball has never been the same after that. I didn't know it back then, but that injury cost me any chance of making it to the show. After that I had to rely more on my sliders, curveballs and splitters, but without the threat of a true fastball, I was way easier to hit at that level."

"I can remember being in the batting cage with you back in high school, struggling to get anywhere near your speedball, man. I was always left swinging at clean air, looking like a fool."

"Yeah, well, those days are long gone now."

"So, where have you been playing since you left Somerset? You must have left there some years ago now."

"I went and played for Portland, up in Maine. I was still the starting pitcher when I first moved up there, but the last few years I've only been a reliever. Last season I barely got to pitch an innings, so I retired a few months back at the end of last season. It's taken me this long to sell my place up there and to move back home."

"And are you planning on staying?"

"Yeah, I guess so. My parents are still here, I have the store to run too, and at least I'll have a few old friends here like you and Bobby. Speaking of, do you still see Bobby much these days?"

"Nah, he skipped town with some chick he hooked up with about two years ago. Haven't seen him back here since."

"Didn't he have some kids with Gina?"

"Yeah, two kids, they live just up the block from me, I was with her earlier tonight actually."

"You and Gina? Does she still look as good as I remember her?"

"Yeah, she still looks great, but no, we're not together, just good friends now."

"And I see that Jeff works here as the head barman, do you hang out with him too or anyone else back from when we were in high school?"

"No, not really. Just Gina. I have a guy that I work with, Darrell, I hang out with him sometimes too, but he's a couple years younger and moved here after we left school."

"And you're a carpenter still, right?"

"Yeah, still building houses, with the occasional refurb job."

"Are you still playing baseball on the weekends? What are the weekend leagues like here now?"

"Yeah, I play on Sunday mornings still, but it's nowhere near the levels that you've been playing at, of course. The season is starting up again soon as well, are you looking to join?"

"Maybe, I need something to do on the weekends now, and it's a good way to meet people too."

"Yeah, but you know you'll be a big deal here if you do lace up. We don't have any other guys at the moment who have played in the minors that aren't in the veteran comps already. One or two played in college, but that's about it."

"And what about your team, do you guys need a new pitcher?"

"I don't think we'd say no if that's what you're asking."

"Well, let me know when registration starts, I'll sign up."

"Yeah, will do. So, apart from coming home to run the store, is there any other reason? I thought you were engaged or something the last time I heard a few years back."

"Yeah, but that didn't end well. We were meant to get married almost two years ago now, but we broke up a few months before the big day. Bit of a shame really, she would've been a good mom as well."

"So, you don't have any kids then?"

"No. We were planning on having them, but then it all went sideways."

"Let me guess, you got bored while away on a road trip or something." I ask, wondering if his playboy days are truly behind him.

"Yeah, something like that. So, there's nothing left for me but to start over again now, and I might as well do it where I have some family and friends, although it's a shame that Bobby isn't here too."

"Yeah, but we'll get by. It'll be just like the old days again." I reply, trying to remain upbeat.

"Yeah, no doubt. What about you though Mike? I don't see a ring on your finger, so I'm assuming that you and Juliane have split up too. I remember that you guys had at least one kid together, right?"

"Yeah, Dylan is six now. Me and Julianne got divorced about four years ago."

"And are you dating anyone now?" Joe continues.

"No, I'm not."

"But you do hang out a lot with Gina, who's divorced from Booby now?"

"Yeah, but like I said, we're just good friends."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind asking her out if she still looks as good as she used to."

"Joe, she's not some random chick to hook-up with. This is Gina we're talking about. She's one of us."

"I know, but that doesn't mean she doesn't get lonely too, just like us. Maybe she needs someone in her life now that Bobby is gone."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if another Bobby is the right type of guy for her."

"But I bet you're the right type, while I can't be trusted, right?" Joe laughs, I'm thinking he's just poking me now, trying to see if I'll bite.

"I'm just saying that she went through a lot with Bobby leaving her with two young kids like that. She doesn't need to be dragged through all that again with someone who's not serious about being with her."

"Well, who knows, maybe I can be that serious guy for once. I am making a lot of changes with my life. Maybe it's time I settled down and started a family too."

"With someone who already has two kids with one of your best friends from high school?"

"If I didn't know better, it sounds a lot to me like you really like her, Mike. I'm betting that you haven't had the balls to ask her out yet though, have you?"

"Joe, can we drop this? I don't feel like talking about Gina this way. We have plenty of other stuff to catch up on."

"Alright, sorry if I've hit a sensitive nerve with her. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? Do you want to come over and have lunch or something?"

"Yeah, maybe. But first I'm doing something for Gina, but after that I should be free. Maybe we make it a late afternoon thing?"

"What, she has you running errands for her too? Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two? It sounds like she's already your old lady." Joe again begins laughing.

I just shake my head, the Joe that I remember hasn't changed one bit, not even after spending ten years away in the minor leagues. He's still quick to get a rise from people, to always poke the bear. But he's always been good to hang out with also, always the life of the party. He and Bobby were a lot alike in that regard, it made it easier for me to be my quiet and more reserved self with them around, they always provided all the entertainment anyone ever needed.

Eventually we both headed for home, promising to meet up again on Saturday afternoon for a few drinks and a good meal. I'm happy that Joe's back home, that I have someone extra to spend my time with now. Especially if we're also back playing baseball together again once when the season kicks off shortly. It really will be like old times once more.

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I picked up the refurbished dryer from the store and installed it for Gina on Saturday afternoon, before heading over to Joe's new place for a meal and a few too many drinks. On Sunday morning, I took Gina's boy Tyler down the park, throwing the ball around with him for a while before I gave him some batting practice too. Gina was right, he's lacking a little co-ordination right now, but nothing too bad that can't be fixed with a bit more practice.

Tyler's a good kid, I'm happy that my son and him are friends when my boy visits, kids need to have good friends growing up.

After another week at work, I again find myself up the block from home, visiting Gina once more with a six-pack in my hand.

"I know you've got Dylan this weekend, Tyler has been talking about going to the park with you guys to do more batting practice, and I mean he's been talking about it a lot. I haven't seen him so excited about anything before this." Gina tells me as she sits down next to me.

"Well, I'll be picking up Dylan first thing in the morning. I can take them both down the park as soon as we get back from Trenton, if Tyler's keen."

"He'd love that, and thanks for including him too. He's really looking forward to his first season of little leagues now."

"It's my pleasure, he's a good kid."

"I ran into Joe while I was running around town doing some work stuff during the week. He hasn't changed a bit." Gina tells me, she's currently working for a small insurance firm in town.

"No, he definitely hasn't. Did I already mention that I caught up with him last Friday?"

"Yeah, you told me you were heading over to his place after you installed my dryer."

"That's right. And we had plenty of drinks over at his place too. I lost count once the tequila shots started. I think I need to cut back on my drinking a little." I chuckle at the end.

"Well, you still managed to take Tyler down the park the following morning, so it couldn't have been that bad."

"Trust me, Tyler did all the running last Sunday, that's for sure."

"So, will you and Joe go back to being best friends again now that he's home?"

"Probably. I'll still be coming over here to see you though on Friday's, that won't change."

"I hope not. Although maybe Joe will want to join us too."

I look over at Gina, a part of me wants to tell her that I'd prefer to keep our little catch-ups just between us, that I like these moments that we're here together, alone. That we can meet with Joe on Saturday nights instead, but I know that she will never want to go out to bars and have to get a sitter in all the time.

"Yeah, maybe." I answer, not sounding too positive about it.

Gina is sitting here silently watching me, like she's studying me for a moment.

"What?" I reply, trying to break the uncomfortable silence between us.

"It's nothing. It's just, no, it's nothing." Gina answers cryptically.

Just then, we're interrupted by Tyler popping his head out of the front door, to make sure that I'm taking him down to the park with Dylan in the morning as well. Gina chuckled when he went back inside, confirming just how keen her son is on playing baseball now.

Together, Gina and I enjoyed a few more beers while talking about our lives and the people we know, most of it going back to the stories of our time when we were younger, back in high school. Some things never change.

Dylan and Tyler were a handful on Saturday morning; it was difficult getting them to concentrate on the different drills I was trying to put them through. Now I know what the coaches of these little league teams must go through, and I only had two of them without any meddling parents in the bleaches.

I met with Joe again on Saturday night while Dylan had a sleepover at Gina's with Tyler. This time me and Joe went back to Moore's Tavern for a few drinks; we even got Jeff to join us for a while when his shift ended.

Sunday I was back down at the park with the two boys, and they did a lot better this time. Later I went and registered for the new baseball season, meeting Joe at the clubhouse for sign-up day. The rest of the guys were pleased to see Joe there, all except for Tom who's been our regular pitcher for the last two seasons. He knows he's now the relief pitcher for sure.

During the week, me and Darrell kept talking up our upcoming baseball season, Darrell is our catcher, and quite a good one too. And he'll need to be this season, now that he's at the end of Joe's pitches. We had our first two training sessions during the week also, it felt good to be back out there, going through all the drills I've been doing since I was my son's age.

On Friday night, Gina and I again shared a few drinks, but she seemed a little quieter than usual. I couldn't put my finger on it, and she said she was fine when I asked her if anything was up.

On Saturday I was again down at the park with Tyler, and even after only a few sessions, he's improving quite a bit. It's funny to think that Dylan and Tyler are just starting out on their baseball journey, whereas guys like me and Joe are desperately trying to hold onto ours in the Sunday leagues. No doubt we'll eventually join the veteran's league too when we get even older, but right now we're still able to mix it with the twenty-somethings.

This weekend I'll have Dylan once again; I'll go pick him up from his mom's place in Trenton on Saturday morning. But first I'm looking forward to having drinks with Gina once again on Friday night. If I'm being honest, apart from having my boy with me, seeing Gina is the part of the weekend I look forward to the most. Well, that and the new baseball season which starts next weekend.

Once again, she's being a little quieter than usual, but I'm not sure if I should press her not, but in the end I feel that I need to.

"Is something up? You've been a lot quieter these last two times I've been here." I ask Gina as we're starting on our second beer.

"Umm, can I ask a favor of you, Mike?"

"Yeah, sure."

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"No plans. I won't be going out with Joe this time, not unless you want to look after Dylan once again."

"Well, that's just it. I was hoping that you would take Tyler this time instead. So he can have a sleepover at your place with Dylan."

"Yeah, sure. I can do that. Do you have something planned for Saturday night?"

"Yes, I do. I'm going out with Joe this time."

"What, like a date?"

"Maybe. We're just catching up for a few drinks, but maybe he thinks it's a date though."

"And what about you?"

"Do I think it's a date?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe, I'm not sure. It's hard to tell with Joe sometimes, you're never sure if he's being serious or not a lot of the time."

"But, do you want it to be a date though?" I ask, my heart sinking a little, waiting for her answer.

"I don't know. I haven't been out on a date with anyone since Bobby left. It gets lonely."

"Why not ask me to take you out then? You know I would."

"Why not ask me yourself?"

"I wasn't sure if you were ready to be going out, if you were ready to be interested in other guys again."

"I wasn't sure either, until Joe asked me out. Who knows, maybe I am ready now." Gina shrugs before taking another sip of her beer.

I'm sitting silently, wondering why she would go out with Joe and not me, when I've been here right in front of her all this time. Maybe Joe's right, maybe I lacked the balls to ask her out myself. Too worried that she'd say no or that she wouldn't be interested in me like that.

"So, are you still okay with taking Tyler tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, that's no problem." I respond.

I had trouble pretending that everything was normal between us after that, making up an excuse to leave after just one more beer. Gina looked a little down too, like she had just broken up with me or something, although that's not what's happening.

It was hard watching the game on the TV on Saturday night while Dylan and Tyler were in my son's room playing video games. I kept thinking about Gina being out with Joe. That it took him only a couple of weeks of being home to do what I should have done ages ago, and that's ask her out.

I'm kicking myself for not taking the opportunity with her, she's the best girl I've ever met. Not just with her looks, but with who she is, how we get along, how much I enjoy just being with her. Why haven't I asked her out? I've made excuses about her not being ready, but clearly that's all bullshit. She's been ready, but maybe not ready for me. Or maybe she has been, and I've just been too chicken shit to find out.

Now I get to sit here and stew over what they might be doing right now. Is she going back to his place tonight, or maybe he'll go over to hers. Can it ever be the same between us if they do start seeing each other? Will I have to sit there and be friends with the both of them, with Gina being with Joe while knowing that it should've been me?

I try not to dwell on them and what they're doing, but I'm finding it difficult. Eventually I head off to bed after the boys are already asleep.

On Sunday morning, I take them both back down to the park for some more practice. Both of their little league seasons start this week, my son's back in Trenton, and Tyler's not far from here. When I drop Tyler back at home, Gina comes out to meet me, but I don't say much of anything, not wanting to find out how last night went between her and Joe.

I see Joe again during the week at our training session on Tuesday afternoon, he's pitching at me in the batting nets. So far, I've struggled to lay anything on him.

"Come on, Mike. You can do better than that. Do you want me to tell you in advance which pitch I'm doing so you can get a bit closer?" Joe jokes with me, this is all normal banter between us like when we were back in high school.

"No, I'll figure you out sooner or later. Then I'll be hitting homer's all day long." I reply defiantly.

"Just like you have with Gina, huh? Oh, wait, you've been striking out with her too." Joe laughs as he winds up for his next pitch.

I swing hard, trying to knock him out of the park, but once again I'm left swinging at clean air.

"Well, I've probably been doing just as good as you have. I bet you struck out on Saturday night too." I answer, as Joe winds up again.

As he leaves me swinging at ghosts once again, he's laughing at me, shaking his head.

"Who says I struck out? Maybe I hit a home run, hit a couple in fact. Maybe she kept wanting an extra innings, so I had to oblige." Joe chuckles, I'm not sure if he's just talking crap to get into my head right now, or if there's some truth to what he's saying.

After my next failed swing, I toss the bat to the side and walk away, taking off my batting gloves as well.

"Ah, come on Mike. I'm just fucking with you." I can hear Joe calling out as I head for the locker rooms.

As I go to leave, I can see Joe calling out to me again, as he's walking over to where our cars are parked, but I don't wait for him. I know I shouldn't be acting all jealous like this, that I told him that me and Gina are just friends, but this is affecting me way more than I thought it would.

On Thursday, I worked back on the job I'm doing with Darrell, getting him to tell the guys that I can't make it to practice tonight, but in truth I'm just avoiding Joe. Avoiding what's going on between him and Gina.

Joe sent me a text later, asking if I want to have some drinks on Saturday night, knowing that I don't have Dylan this weekend. But I didn't respond. I didn't show up at Gina's on Friday night either, I just couldn't do it. If they're going to be dating, fine. And while I know I should have made my feelings for Gina clearer, both to her and to Joe and that's on me, but also I don't have to be there acting like the loyal friend while they're together right in front of me.

Gina didn't text or try calling me when I didn't show up last night, I think she knows exactly why I didn't meet up with her. I will have to see Joe on Sunday though, that's unavoidable. I'm not missing out on playing baseball just because they're now dating one another.

On Saturday night I've decided to go out, I need a drink and I don't want to be sitting here drinking at home all alone. So, I'm heading down to Moore's Tavern once again, and I'll probably drink until I get my fill.

I'm sitting up at the end of the bar, drinking bourbon, not really talking with anyone. Right now, I'm just hoping that I don't look back at this moment, wishing that I'd done more to be with Gina, to not just let her go and be with Joe without telling her how I feel, but it's probably too late already. Especially if they've already slept together.

Yeah, this isn't something I'd want to look back on, but I probably will. So, I do the only thing I can right now, and that's drink way too much. If Jeff wasn't here running the bar, I probably would've been cut off long before now, maybe I'll regret that later.

"Hey Mike. Drink this, it's water." I can vaguely hear Jeff saying to me.

I feel dazed, like I'm just waking up, unsure where I am.

"What's going on." I try to say, but somehow the words don't come out right, at least not in a way that anyone could understand me.

"Mike, are you okay? Drink this." I can hear Jeff say once again.

I'm trying to open my eyes, but everything is still fuzzy, and it's now that the back of my head is starting to hurt. What the fuck happened? That's when I hear another familiar voice, one that brings some peace to my thoughts.

"Is he okay? What happened Jeff?" I can hear Gina asking.

"He's been drinking too much and got shoved by some guy when he was coming back from the toilets. I think they might have been arguing or something, I'm not sure. Anyway, we found him passed out on the floor, I think he might have whacked his head against the wall, but he seems okay, just very drunk still."

"Okay, can you help him out to my car? He's too heavy for me to carry him on my own, and I don't think he can walk by himself right now." I hear Gina respond.

I feel Jeff picking me up under my arms, and I can sort of stagger on my own two feet once upright, but I'm glad that Jeff is there to support me. I sort of remember being placed into Gina's car, but I don't really remember the drive home, nor me getting inside her house.

I'm waking up on the couch inside of Gina's home, it's early Sunday morning and my head still feels like shit, like I've been hit with a sledgehammer, and that's not from the bump on the back of my head, but from the hangover I'm feeling right now. I do remember Gina giving me some water last night when we got home, and checking the back of my head with a washcloth too.

Now I'm also remembering me talking with her last night as well, telling her how I feel about her, that I love her, that I always have. Fuck! I didn't, did I?

A sense of utter shame quickly creeps over me, how could I have told her that right after she's starting to date Joe? Not because of Joe himself, but because of how pathetic I must look right now. That I didn't have the balls to ask her out before Joe did, then I go get drunk to drown my sorrows, drunk enough that she has to help me home. And then I tell her that I love her like some jealous kid back in high school. Seriously?

I have no idea how I'm going to face her right now; I just want the world to open up and swallow me whole.

Somehow, I manage to get up and walk to the front door, leaving her house to walk the few houses down to my own. I get right into the shower, trying to wash away the shame I'm feeling right now. It's only now that I remember that I'm meant to be playing baseball this morning.

I can't do it, I don't want to see Joe's face right now, him probably already knowing how pathetic I was last night. Me telling Gina I love her after he's already fucked her. Besides, there's no way I'm in any state to be playing in about three hours' time.

I text Darrell after my shower, letting him know that I won't make it today, that I'm feeling under the weather and to let the coach know too. I'm sitting out on the couch in my living room, feeling like absolute shit when I hear a knock on my front door.

I slowly get up, hoping that it's not Joe, here to take me to the game this morning.

As I open the door, I see that it's Gina standing in front of me.

"Can I come in Mike?"

"Umm, sure." I answer, moving to the side to let her through.

Gina takes a seat, as I go back to the couch myself.

"Hey, thanks for bringing me home last night. I don't remember too much about what happened, just that you were there with Jeff taking me out to your car."

"You're lucky that Jeff was working last night, that he called me and not the police or you might've woken up in a holding cell."

"Yeah, I did drink way too much last night."

"Do you remember the scuffle you got into at the end?"

"No, not really. I was probably being an asshole, I don't really remember."

"And do you remember anything else about last night? Perhaps after I got you home?"

"A little bit, but I'm trying real hard to forget it now." I answer, knowing exactly what she's referring to.

"Really? So, you didn't mean what you said to me last night?"

"Gina, do we have to do this right now? I'm hungover and my head feels like shit, not to mention how embarrassed I am about what I said to you."

"Then just tell me, Mike. Did you mean any of it or are you embarrassed because you don't feel that way now that you're sober?"

"I'm embarrassed because I didn't tell you how I truly felt about you before you started dating Joe, before you two started sleeping with each other. Now I look like a fucking clown, telling you that stuff when I'm way too drunk to even walk home."

"Hold on, first, me and Joe aren't dating, second, we never slept with each other, and third, if you're a clown, you're my fucking clown. Now tell me, did you mean any of it or am I the one that should be embarrassed right now?"

"No, not at all. You being embarrassed, that is. I meant every word of what I said last night. I'm in love with you Gina, I have been for some time now."

"Now, was that so fucking hard to say?" Gina asks, showing me her wonderful smile once again.

"No, I guess not." I reply, chuckling a little too.

We both sit here for a moment, looking across at one another.

"Are you really going to miss the first day of the season? That's not like you at all." Gina eventually asks me.

"I didn't want to run into Joe; I thought that maybe he'd already know about last night if you two were together."

"Well, we're definitely not together. Going out with Joe last Saturday reminded me why I always liked him, but would never want to date him. Besides, just being out with him made me realize that I'm already in love with you. I kept thinking about how much I wanted it to be you that I was with that night, and not him. It was fun to catch up with him, but that was it, I was home by ten."

"I'm happy that your date didn't go too well then. I spent the whole night thinking about what you two were up to, knowing that I dropped the ball by not asking you out a long time ago."

"And why didn't you? I've been wanting you to ask me out for a while now, I've been worried too that you simply didn't want to be with me, that you only wanted to be friends."

"No, I just didn't want to risk what we had by asking you out if you didn't feel the same way about me. I was worried you would say no, plain and simple."

"Well, now that we've cleared all that up, go get your gear, we've got a game to get to. Tyler and Gabby are coming too, so I should get back to them and get them ready. I'll drive, I'm not sure if you'll be under the limit yet." Gina answers as she gets up to head the few doors down to her place.

I quickly get changed, grabbing my gear and texting Darrell back, before walking down to Gina's house, seeing Tyler and Gabby already out front getting into their car. Gina is just locking up, before joining us in the car as well.

"Alright, who's ready for some baseball?" Gina asks as she starts up the car. Both kids cheer 'yes', and then I do too, smiling across at Gina as we reverse out of the driveway.

As soon as I get into the locker room, Joe comes over and sits next to me, putting his cleats on.

"So, are we all good or are you still having a hissy fit over me asking Gina out?"

"You could've told me nothing happened between you two. But no, you had to throw shade at me in batting practice." I answer.

"I had to get you off your game somehow, it's what pitchers do, dumbass." Joe laughs at me.

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't know it would get to me that much, is all."

"That's because you two are crazy about each other, but neither of you wanted to admit that. You're lucky it was me that came along, and not someone else that wouldn't have stepped aside so easily."

"Yeah, thanks, I guess. Still not too sure what for though." I chuckle.

"For not banging your future wife, that's what. If she got the full Joe-Show, it might have been tough for her to go back to you afterwards." Joe continues to laugh before nudging me in the side.

"Come on, let's go play some ball, shall we?" Joe says as we both stand to go out onto the field.

And Joe is right about Gina being my future wife, because I am going to marry her, that's for damn sure. And maybe together, me and Gina can start making some new memories and not always be thinking about our glory days in the past so much.

Maybe our glory days are only now just beginning. Maybe it's what happens next that I'll be looking back on when I get older, telling boring stories of. I know I probably will.

The End.