A pit formed in Jade's stomach as they entered downtown Detroit. The dirty, cracked concrete walls of the freeway whipped by and darkness captured the vehicle as they drove through tunnels. It had been so long since she had been in this part of her favorite city.
"Are you excited?" Melanie—Jade's best friend—asked joyfully, nudging the redhead in the ribs with her elbow.
"W-what?" Jade murmured, breaking her trance. "Oh yeah," she said, almost blushing. "I should really be asking you if you're excited, Mel. This is your first Tigers game!" A smile broke across the plane of Jade's once sullen face.
"Oh, well, ya know, I'm not that big of a baseball fan," Melanie shrugged, waving her hand in the air.
"Either way," Bobby cut in, looking at his two friends in the rearview mirror, "you'll have an awesome time. It's not just a baseball game… it's an experience!"
"He's right," Jade nodded. She put her arm around her best friend's shoulders and pulled out her phone. "Let's get a quick selfie before we reach Comerica Park." The two young women posed with ridiculous face and Jade snapped the photo.
The rest of the trip seemed to have moved into slow motion—every second dragged by until they reached the parking of Comerica Park. The three friends climbed out of the Jade's white 1998 Toyota Camry, which Bobby so happily offered to drive.
"Oh, no! It looks like it's going to rain!" Jade whined, staring up at the darkening sky.
"It'll be fine," Bobby assured her. "It's not supposed to rain that hard. Now let's go get in line!"
Jade, Melanie and Bobby walked toward the baseball stadium together. Melanie linked her arm with Jade's and they smiled at each other happily. The young adults got their tickets checked and then broke through the crowd to enter Comerica Park. Jade chuckled as Melanie scanned the area with her eyes, grinning as she absorbed the sights, sounds and smells.
"This is incredible!" Melanie squealed.
"And the game hasn't even started yet!" Bobby laughed.
"Let's go get something to eat," Jade suggested. "I haven't eaten anything all day—been saving room for the stuff here!"
Jade led the way to the different booths around the park. She stopped at the Food Network stand and got some delectable fare that you would not expect to find at a ballpark. Bobby got the classic—a sausage with onions and green peppers. Melanie settled with a slice of Little Caesar's deep dish. Then they all got a few beers, embracing their newly found freedom to drink in public legally.
The three friends finally took their seats—a few rows back near third base; great seats. Bobby's parents always got season tickets so they would give the "kids" some every once in a while. But it had been what seemed like forever since Jade had been to a Tigers game. She strongly enjoyed watching her Detroit teams—she even played Fantasy Football.
From left to right, it was Melanie, Jade and Bobby. Melanie and Bobby had only known each for a few months so Jade grasped her role as being the bridge between the two. More storm clouds rolled in as everyone stood for the National Anthem. Once seated, Jade prayed… but was she praying for the rain to stay away or come? She wasn't sure. She just did not feel comfortable being so close to the Detroit Tigers.
Melanie cheered loudly when Max Scherzer threw his first pitch, while Bobby clapped and whooped. Jade just sat quietly and tried her best to smile, patting her hands together slowly.
Just as Jade started to relax, the rain clouds began to burst. A few drops at first but then it came down in sheets. The tarp was rushed out onto the field and the players and umpires took refuge in the dugouts. The crowd quickly got up from their seats and headed underneath the roof.
"What do we do?" Jade asked her friends, yelling over the slamming sound of the rain.
"Do we just go home? I mean, it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon. They'll probably just reschedule it," Melanie said solemnly.
"Yeah, maybe we should…" Jade agreed quickly.
"Now wait just a moment, ladies. We can't leave!" Bobby exclaimed.
"Why not?" The best friends asked in unison.
"Because, sometimes, when there are rainouts, the players will come out and sign autographs… ya know, as long as the rain clears up." Bobby grinned mischievously.
"I'm game," Melanie said concisely.
Jade turned to Melanie with a pleading look. "Are you sure? I mean…"
"C'mon, Jade. It'll be fun! We'll get to meet pro baseball players—and they're Tigers! Let's stick around!" Melanie gushed.
Jade sighed, rolling her eyes back into her head. "All right, we can stay."
Most of the crowd left, figuring that the game would be rescheduled. A handful of people hid around the makeshift restaurants that circled the actual ballpark. Jade texted her parents, telling them what happened. They wouldn't find out about the rainout until later since it was a day game during the week.
The rain eventually petered out to a light sprinkle and the friends noticed people crowding around need the dugout. Melanie grabbed Jade's hand and led her down to the area where the players were coming out to show their appreciation.
There was Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Torii Hunter, and… Alex Avila. Jade's eyes stopped there; they widened and she gulped, a cold sweat starting at her hairline and upper lip. She walked carefully toward the crowd of people.
"Ooh, Jade, check it out!" Melanie muttered humorously under her breath.
"Yeah, check out their tight pants," Jade said weakly.
Each step was getting heavier and heavier and it made it even worse the fact that they were last in line to get their autographs and pictures. The agony was just being drawn out. Melanie went for Torii first.
"Hello, there," Hunter said in a friendly voice. "How are you ladies and gentleman doing?"
"Great!" Melanie chirped. "This is my first Tigers game!"
"Aw, well, I'm sorry that it was rained out!" Torii said in a sympathetic voice.
"Naw, it's fine! It just means that I got to meet you guys!" Melanie gestured to the other players around them.
Jade got her Gryffindor journal that her sister got her in London signed by all the Tigers that were there and then she got to Avila.
Alex's attention perked up when he saw the thin redhead. Her skin was porcelain and her cleavage was peeking out through the bandeau she wore underneath her tank top.
"Hi," Jade murmured, waving slightly to the catcher.
"Hi," he mimicked. Alex began to stare… he knew this girl from somewhere. "Do I know you?"
Jade froze—oh, no. "Um, I don't think so?" She lied. I was just at that bachelor party you were at six months ago, she thought.
"I feel like I've met you before…" Alex pressed.
"No, I think I would have remembered…" I only gave you a lap dance.
"Oh, okay then. Would you like a picture together?"
Oh, I'm sure there's already plenty of pictures of us together. "Sure," she replied coolly.
Jade handed her phone to Melanie and she posed next to Avila. She was so nervous—she was sure that he could hear her heart beating out of her chest. Remembering the pictures trigged another anxiety-provoking thought process.
Jade was about to walk away when Alex stopped her verbally. "So is this your first game too?"
Jade turns back around, tucking her curly hair behind her ear. "Um, no. My first one was when I was 17. I've been to many since."
It was killing him. Where was this girl from? "What do you do for a living?" Maybe she had done work with the Detroit girls?
"I'm trying to get some modeling jobs… hey! Maybe that's where you know me from!" Jade faked enthusiasm.
"Maybe," Alex mumbled, rubbing his scruffy facial hair. It just did not feel right. "So are you from the Detroit area?" Maybe that was it.
"No, I'm from Grand Rapids, along with Bobby. Melanie is from Kalamazoo," Jade explained. Melanie waves from over by Torii.
Alex continued to question Jade as if she was a suspect and he was a cop, but he tried to stay as nonchalant as possible. He had this hankering that something heavy was hanging over their conversation and possible previous relationship.
The game was eventually called as a reschedule due the fact that the diamond was just too wet to play on. Jade, Bobby and Melanie decided to head home.
"Well, I've got to go," Jade said quietly, waving her hand toward the Tiger.
"Wait; don't you want me to sign that?" Alex points to the Gryffindor journal.
"Uh, yeah, sure, that'd be great!" Jade hands him the book and waits impatiently while he signed it.
"Who do I make it out to?"
"Jade…"
"Here you go…" Alex hands her the journal back. "Have a nice day; hope to see you again!"
Jade turns to follow Melanie and Bobby out of the stadium and back to the car. What did he mean by 'hope to see you again'? Jade highly doubted that their paths would cross again… at least she hoped it would be that way. She did not need to constantly be reminded of the six months she spent in the underbelly of Detroit.
"I'm ready to go back to my place and crash," Jade sighed, sliding into the backseat of the car. She was exhausted from the stress.
"Well, even though we didn't get to see much of the game, I had a lot of fun today!" Melanie said. "Torii is a really nice guy."
"Yeah, he is," Bobby agreed. "It seems like Avila took an interest in you, Jade…"
"Yeah, what was that about?" Melanie turns her head to look at her best friend. "Why did he think he knew you?" She raises an eyebrow.
"Oh, I don't know. He must have me confused with someone else…" Jade brushed it off.
Bobby turned on some music—Nine Inch Nails to be exact. He and Jade had been to a few of their concerts together. Meanwhile, Melanie was silently questioning Jade about Alex. Jade eventually communicated to Melanie that she had met Alex previous through her… work. Melanie was really the only one that truly knew the full extent of Jade's dabbling in the night life.
The two friends ceased their conversation once Jade had had enough. Melanie hopped on her phone, wanting to post pictures on Instagram of her and Torii. Jade decided to go through her autographs to count how many she got. Cabrera, Scherzer, Hunter and Avila… but what was this? Next to his signature, Alex wrote his phone number and a note: "Call anytime, Alex." Jade clapped the journal shut, her heart pounding again. She put her knuckles to her mouth and leaned her elbow up against the door of the car, watching downtown Detroit pass her by.