Before I change my mind, I send him a text and then shut off my phone. I have no choice but to shut him out. I’m not going to be sucked into his player lifestyle and be one of the women he plays with. Wasn’t there a saying about baseball players? A whore in every city? Forget it. No thanks.
9
Neil
After the game, I’m the first one to the locker room so I can get my phone and call the woman that has me playing at the top of my game. She fills every void in my life and I’m happier with her than I’ve ever been. Sure, there’s plenty we still need to get to know about each other, but I’ve never been more sure about a woman, and I know I’m already falling for her.
I take my phone out of my locker and power it up. A text from Naomi pops up on the window and a part of me is hoping she’s sent me a picture of her. I wish I had grabbed one of her before I left. When I get the message app open, I find a picture of myself from the internet. There’s three girls hanging on my arms and my smiling face is staring back at me. The two words, the only two words that come with the picture are: GAME OVER in big, bold capital letters.
I try calling her and the rest of the day it goes straight to voicemail. I try again in the morning, after staying awake all night, and an automated message tells me that the number has been disconnected. She’s changed her number!
I’m going out of my mind trying not to panic. I know that with every passing minute that I can’t get a hold of her, she’s less likely to hear me out. We still have one more game of the series, but there’s no way I can do it. I know Coach is going to rip my ass and I know I’m probably going to have to pay a hefty fine for missing, but I don’t care.
I book the next flight to home and then go see my coach. “What’s wrong, Fox? You look like shit. You been drinking?”
“No sir,” I tell him. “I’m sorry, but I’ve had an emergency back home and my flight leaves in an hour. I’m going to have to miss this afternoon’s game.”
He rubs his chin, looking at me skeptically. “Family emergency, huh?”
I nod my head convincingly. To me, it is a family emergency.
He drops his hand and comes over and slaps me on the back. “Fine, son. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll put Kent in for you tonight.”
“Thank you, Coach,” I tell him before running out of the stadium to catch a cab. The flight home is only two hours and I think the whole way about what I’m going to say to her. I know the picture looked bad. Hell, that’s probably not even the worst one out there. But the fact remains, I haven’t even thought of another woman since I met Naomi. She’s the one I want, and I’m willing to do anything to prove it.
Naomi
Of all the places I could have gone, I go to my mom’s. I don’t know why I did, but here I am. And I’m not sure about the advice she’s giving me. “All I’m saying is you should hear him out. When you called the other day, telling me about the mishap, I knew then that there was something special about that man. Naomi, I could hear it in your voice. You really like him. I know I’ve made mistakes. I know you don’t want to be like me. But you also don’t want to completely destroy your life trying to avoid love either.”
I look at her incredulously. “Love? No one said anything about love. We just met. I don’t… I don’t love him.”
My heart is rapid firing in my chest. I open the palm of my hand and start waving at myself, trying to cool off my overheated body. No one said the word love.
My mother starts to laugh. “Look at you. You’re so worried about falling in love, picking the wrong guy that you’re causing yourself to have a panic attack.” She sits down on the couch beside me and grabs on to both of my hands. “I know you’re worried about it, but you shouldn’t. You’re not me, Naomi. You never will be. I know how much you cringe every time I get married. But I’m living the life I want and you need to do the same. When you find love, it will be forever. It will be with a guy that loves you, cherishes you and wants to be with you. You are not going to make the same mistakes I did.”