Foul Pole by Tina Gallagher
Chapter Twenty
Leo
Keera openedthe front door of Anjannette’s apartment as I walked up the sidewalk.
“Hey.” She stepped aside for me to enter. “Anjannette is upstairs grabbing some last-minute items. Come on in.”
I walked into the living room and settled into the oversized chair.
“I’ll be right down,” Anjannette yelled.
I glanced up and spotted her looking over the railing.
“Take your time. I expected traffic, but there wasn’t any so I’m a little early. ” She disappeared and I turned my attention to Keera. “I owe you a big thank you.”
“Why’s that?”
“For taking care of the studio so Anjannette can get away for the weekend.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that. Just keep making her happy.”
“I’m trying my best.”
“Well, whatever you’re doing is working because she’s getting back to herself again.”
I was going to ask what she meant by that but heard Anjannette walking down the stairs.
“I’m sure I’m forgetting something,” she said.
“If you are, we can always grab whatever you need down there.”
“True.” She looked around the room. “I guess I’m ready to go then.” Turning her attention to Keera, she added, “Enjoy the quiet here and call me if you have any questions or need anything.”
“You enjoy your trip, I’ve got it all under control.” She gave Anjannette a big hug then pulled back and looked at me. “She’s all yours.”
I walked over and picked up the suitcase from the corner then grabbed the small duffle bag she’d set on the couch.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah.” She grabbed her purse from the kitchen island. “I’m ready.”
I followed her to the door and we both stepped outside.
“Seriously,” Keera said from the doorway. “Forget about everything here and go have fun.”
We walked to the truck and I opened the passenger door for her and she settled into the seat.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I will be. Right now, I feel like I’m leaving my child behind.”
I leaned forward and kissed her.
“Don’t worry. Keera will be fine.”
As I’d hoped, she laughed, seeming a bit lighter because of my pathetic joke. She reached out for her seatbelt and once she clicked it into place, I closed the door. After tossing her bags in the back seat, I climbed behind the wheel and started the truck. Keera waved from the doorway as we pulled onto the street.
“Why don’t you put on some good vacation music?” I said as I made my way through her neighborhood.
She leaned forward and poked her finger against the touchscreen, scrolling through my playlists. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her smile a second before the opening chords of I Only Want to Be With You by Hootie and the Blowfish started to play.
“Hootie seems appropriate since we’re going to South Carolina and that’s where the band is from.”
“I like the way you think.”
“I love having a theme.”
I stopped at a red light and clicked on my left blinker.
“Are we taking the turnpike?”
“Yeah. Sorry we have to drive to Allentown, but there aren’t direct flights to Myrtle Beach from Avoca.”
“No worries there, but I know an easier way to get there. Turn right instead.”
I turned right and followed her directions and before long, we merged onto the turnpike.
“That was definitely a more straightforward route than I was going to take. Thanks for pointing it out.”
“You’re welcome.”
She opened her mouth to speak then hesitated.
“What?”
“Hmm?”
“What were you going to say?”
“You’re way too observant.”
“Don’t try to distract me from the question.”
She let out a sigh.
“I was just going to say that I wasn’t sure I should tell you to go the other way.”
“Why not?”
“In my experience, some guys don’t like that.”
At some point, I’m going to have to ask her about her ex just so I have a reference of what she dealt with. From the little I know, it seems like the guy’s a real asshole. I shifted my gaze in her direction.
“That’s ridiculous. Don’t ever be afraid to offer suggestions, or whatever.” I turned my attention back to the road. “In fact, don’t censor yourself at all. Okay?”
I loosened my grip on the wheel when I heard her chuckle.
“Okay, but you might be sorry you said that.”
“I’ll take my chances.” Deciding it’s time to change the subject, I asked, “Keera’s staying at your place while you’re gone?”
“Yeah, for the past couple years she’s been bouncing between her parents’ and her grandmother’s, so she jumped at the chance to stay by herself for a few days.”
“I get that,” I said.
“Considering she’s manning the studio by herself for four days, the least I can do is let her crash at my place.”
“I’m really glad you’re coming. It will be much more fun with you there.”
“I wasn’t sure what we’ll be doing exactly, but I think I packed something for every occasion.”
“Tonight we’ll just hang out with Trey, Nori, Crispin, and his boyfriend, Ben. The tournament starts at ten tomorrow morning and I’m guessing that will last until two-ish. Then there’s a reception-type thing at seven tomorrow night. And Sunday, Jack and Hannah are hosting a brunch.”
“They’re the people who run the foundation hosting this fundraiser, right?”
“Yeah, Jack is the shortstop for the Waves and his wife Hannah works in the PR Department. At least she did. They had twins last month so I don’t know what her plans are.”
“She had twins and they’re hosting this whole weekend?” I nodded. “Holy shit. I can’t even imagine.”
“Hannah is a force of nature. She’s the most organized person I’ve ever met.”
“I envy people like that.”
“You seem to keep things together pretty good.”
“For the most part, but it takes all my effort. And honestly, I live by my calendar.” She held her phone up. “If it’s not in there, chances are, I’ll forget about it. That’s how I missed my last hair appointment. I forgot to put it in the calendar, so as far as my brain was concerned, it didn’t exist.”
“Oh, I forgot to mention that I’m getting my hair cut later,” I said. “You’re welcome to come and see Crispin’s salon or if you’d rather hang out at the house or with Trey and Nori, that’s fine, too.”
“Crispin cuts your hair?”
“Yeah.”
“So you just fly to Myrtle Beach when you need a haircut.”
“Considering the fact that I live there part of the year, it’s not as ridiculous as the tone of your voice makes it sound. Besides, the first time he met me, he begged me to let him cut my hair and to give the guy credit, he does a great job.”
She shifted in her seat and leaned her elbow against the console.
“You know, it’s not easy having a boyfriend with such pretty hair.”
Even though we’ve been seeing each other for over a month now, that’s the first time she’s referred to me as that. Instead of making a big deal out of it, I just chuckled. But I wanted to shout for joy. It seems things are moving forward with Ms. Peach and I couldn’t be happier about that.
Anjannette
After we landed,we headed to Leo’s house to drop off my stuff. It seemed bizarre to me that he got on the plane without even a small bag, but I suppose it makes sense that he keeps enough things at each house so he can travel light.
His place here is as amazing as the other two and I have serious house envy. It still boggles my mind that he can afford three houses...well, I guess it’s four with the place in St. Pete. I mean, I know what he does for a living, so it stands to reason he makes good money. But he’s so down-to-Earth and modest, it’s easy to forget that.
We took a walk on the beach and relaxed for a while before heading to Trey and Nori’s. She convinced me to stay behind instead of going with the guys while they got haircuts. I was looking at the pictures scattered around the living room when Nori returned carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“I’m so glad you decided to hang out instead of going to Haven with Leo and Trey. It’ll give us time to get to know each other better,” she said, gesturing for me to join her on the couch.
After taking one last glance of a candid shot of her and Trey, I took the glass she held out to me and sat directly across from her.
“I have to say, I kind of love the pink hair you used to have.”
She snort-laughed.
“Yeah, you and Trey.”
“Trey liked it?”
“From what I understand, he hated both the color and pixie style when we first met. But I guess it grew on him. He’s told me more than once that I should do it like that again.”
That’s really sweet. I used to do all kinds of crazy things with my hair. In fact, it was purple and shaved on the sides when I first met Travis and he supposedly loved it. Of course, as the years went on, what he initially called my “cute quirks” were just more cause for criticism.
Before I could fall down that rabbit hole, I took a sip of wine and refocused my attention on our conversation.
“It looked cute on you, especially with that shorter style.”
She tucked her chin-length hair behind her ear.
“I’m not the same person I was when I cut and dyed it like that.” I raised my brow as I sipped my wine. “Bad breakup.”
“I totally understand that.”
“But I’m not opposed to the idea of doing my hair like that again after the wedding. I wanted to grow it out a little so I have more options.”
“When are you getting married?”
“The last Saturday in January. That gives us just enough time to sneak in a honeymoon before spring training starts in mid-February.”
“Are you having a big wedding?”
“No, it’ll only be about fifty people, and eight of those are the Marakis family.”
“Leo said Trey is tight with his family.”
“He’s like their seventh child. Which is great considering his real family sucks as much as mine does.” She took a drink then shook her head. “But enough about Trey and me. Tell me about you and Leo.”
“Oh, uh, we’ve been dating. I guess it’s going well.”
That last sentence came out more like a question.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that. I’ll stop being nosy.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just never sure how to answer that.” I shrugged. “I met his family last weekend and now I’ll be meeting his teammates, so I guess we’re doing well.”
“His family is really great and I’m sure his parents loved you.”
“Yeah, I think it went well, but I’ll admit it was really overwhelming at first. But everyone made me feel welcome, especially his mom. She was really sweet. It was just his immediate family Saturday night and Annita showed me how to make baklava. Not that I’m fooling myself into thinking I could replicate what we made.”
Nori groaned.
“Her baklava is so good. All the food is. We’re supposed to go there for Christmas and I’m not bringing any pants with a button. It will be leggings all the way. Hopefully you’ll be there too so we can stuff ourselves together.”
“Um, maybe.” Before that answer got super awkward, I said, “First I have to focus on meeting his teammates and their wives tomorrow.”
“Don’t lose sleep about that. The guys and their wives are all great.”
“I’m picturing a Real Housewives of Baseball scene.”
“Oh God no. That’s not what they’re like at all. I’ve been in their presence a lot,
especially the wives, and really like them. From what I understand, the Waves are a unicorn team in that aspect. The owner doesn’t tolerate egos or nasty behavior. In fact, everyone was surprised when he traded for Trey since he had a reputation for being a conceited hothead.”
“That surprises me since he and Leo are so tight.”
“It was all a front that Leo saw through shortly after they met.” She smiled. “Leo really is
a great guy.”
I nodded. I’m getting more convinced that Leo really is as perfect as he seems. For the past couple weeks, instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop with him, I’ve just relaxed and enjoyed myself. Keera keeps telling me I’m more like “my old self” and I’ll admit I’m feeling that way.
I’m still worried about getting too comfortable in this relationship. Or worse, getting so immersed in Leo’s world, I lose myself again. After all, his career has him traveling half the time and since I have the studio, I wouldn’t just be able to run off and follow him.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“How do you handle it when Trey travels?”
She set her empty wine glass on the coffee table then settled against the back of the
couch, tucking her legs beneath her.
“It’s a little easier since I live here so when he plays at home, it’s no different than if he
had a regular job. When he’s away, we FaceTime. If I had a break in my schedule, I’d meet him on the road.” She shrugged. “This is a topic the wives and girlfriends talk about all the time. They all have their own way of dealing with the crazy schedule.”
“I don’t even know if Leo and I will be together by the time the season starts, but I was curious.”
“If Leo has anything to say about it, I’m sure you will be.”