May 25th, 2009
Alex rolled out of bed and rubbed his eyes, looking over to the clock to see the time. 6:00. He groaned and flopped back onto the bed. The Baysharks had just begun a twelve game homestand and with most of those games being in the late afternoon or evening, he didn't have to be at the ballpark for batting practice and meetings until a little bit after lunch. He stared up at the ceiling as the first rays of sunlight began to peak through the blinds and slowly brighten the room. He muttered, "Well…if I can't go to bed, I might as well head to the beach."
He slowly rolled out of bed, slid on a pair of board shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and a pair of flip flops. He grabbed some milk, a bowl of cereal, and a few minutes later had grabbed his surfboard, tossed it in the back of his truck, and was headed for the beach as the early morning sun began to peak over the Atlantic Ocean.
A few minutes later, he parked his truck near the Myrtle Beach Pier, not far from where he dropped in the day before. He tossed his shirt and sandals in the passenger seat, threw his keys underneath the wheel well, and grabbed his surfboard, heading for the beach.
Serena slowly opened her eyes at the feeling of sunlight pressing in. Sure enough, she opened her eyes to the early morning sunlight shining in the window that she had left open the previous night. She slowly sat up, stretched, and yawned, looking down at her clock as she did so. 7:00. She stared out at the water through her window, catching sight of the beautiful blue water, and thought, "It sure looks like a beautiful morning to go to the beach."
Serena slipped out of her bed and into her closet, putting on a blue bikini and a white coverup. She pulled her hair up and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She set a pot of coffee out, grabbed some yogurt, and pulled the first book out of her summer bag. Before setting out from New York, she had gathered a list of fiction, philosophy, and historical works that she intended to have finished before the end of the summer. While Serena had never been much of a reader outside of what had been extensively required by Constance, she had made the decision that the summer leading into her first semester of college would be used to expand the mind. Serena knew that this would be her chance to start over, to make herself into a more refined woman, and did not want to waste that opportunity.
After drinking a cup of coffee and finishing off her light breakfast, Serena put on a pair of Versace sunglasses and stepped out onto the deck, down the walk, and out onto the beach, where a pair of comfortable shaded chairs awaited her. As she slipped down into her chair, the summer morning breeze whipping across the sand and throwing her hair back, she smiled. "This…this is not a bad way to start the day."
Alex took a hard cut on his board and dropped back in, kneeling down on his arm and dragging his fingers through the water of the crashing wave. White water dropped in as the wave crashed down and Alex smiled, running his other hand through his hair and smiling wide. Surfing in the morning, baseball in the evening. What could be better?
As if on cue, Alex caught sight of a familiar house on the edge of the beach. Noticing a beautiful blonde sitting out in front of the beach mansion, Alex cut in again, this time dropping in and catching the energy of the wave, which pushed him though the sand dune and towards the beachhead.
Serena looked up from her book and noticed a guy on a surfboard closing in on the beach. Upon closer look, she noticed that it was the surfer from the day before. She smiled to herself and muttered, "Well, this just might be a sign."
The surfer rode the wave in before casually hopping off the board in step, grabbing it and walking out of the water and up to the chair where Serena sat, trying her best to hide a smile and appear stern and intimidating. The surfer gave her an easy grin and said, "Alright, if I can make you smile, you have to deal with me for five minutes. That sound doable?"
Serena managed to maintain her tough glare and replied, "Sure, I think I can get behind that. But if you give me some cringey pickup line I am turning around and walking back to my house."
He nodded, tilted his head, and said, "Alright, fair enough…roses are red, violets are blue…"
She gave him a look and said, "I don't love where this is going…"
Alex grinned and softly finished, "I don't look like much but damn…look at you."
Serena, despite her best efforts to be tough and hold the upper hand, felt her heart melt a bit at the handsome strangers' sweet remark and his country accent that seemed so endearing. She smiled and Alex grinned. "Told ya."
She smiled wider and said, "You know, I was hoping that you would come talk with me."
Alex knelt down to a crouch in the sand and replied, "Well, you sure played it off well."
She sniffed and replied, "Hardly. I lost my edge fifteen seconds after you met me."
Alex shrugged, smirked, and replied, "You lasted longer than most."
She rolled her eyes and Alex laughed, holding his hands up and said, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You have to admit, you set me up well, though."
She shrugged, smirked, and replied, "Probably lasted longer than you do."
Alex doubled over in laughter at the opportunistic dirty joke before replying, "Touché, ma'am."
He held out his hand and said, "Alex."
She took it, smiled, and said, "Serena."
"Nice to meet you, Serena. What're you doing around Myrtle Beach?"
Serena cagily replied, "Well…just decided to get out of town for the summer and find a new beach."
Alex nodded, dodging her interesting answer. "Yeah, I can certainly understand that. Can't beat the beach for a few months."
Alex looked over at her book and raised his eyebrow. "Emerson?"
Serena nodded earnestly. "Yes! While most of what I read by him were novels, I find him fascinating. He has such a personal outlook on the world in his philosophy. He's enthralling."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Oh, his philosophy is quite the personal outlook, alright."
Serena gave him a look. "What does that mean?"
Alex gave her an apologetic glance. "Sorry, that came out incredibly elitist. What I mean to say is…he stresses the supremacy of the individual over the collective. I just happen to wholly disagree with him in his outlook on life and interactions with other individuals. If we spend our whole lives looking out for ourselves…I don't know, that seems to be kind of empty and pointless though, doesn't it?"
Serena shrugged, thinking of Chuck, Blair, her mother, and countless others that had selfishly looked out for their own interests' time and time again in the face of doing what was right for those around them. "I think that he embraces our true nature. We're all like that, we just like to think that we're not. Emerson doesn't hide from that reality but chooses to embrace it instead. Sounds freeing to me."
Alex nodded. "Well, you make a fair point there, I'll give you that. But that's assuming that we're all like that."
She looked up at him and asked, "Well…aren't we?"
Alex stared down at her and in an instant, got locked in her eyes. Her deep blue eyes were filled with curiosity as the two stared into one another, trying to decipher the person that sat across from them. The moment was long and yet seemed to end in an instant, as Alex coughed uncomfortably, snapping the moment, before replying, "I don't think so. I think there's too much good in this world for one to be able to reasonably argue that people only care for themselves."
Serena looked away and nodded, twisting her head in deference as she replied, "Well, I'll hand it to you, I think you won this round."
Alex chuckled. "Philosophy isn't about winning. It's about trying to come together to figure out how to best live life."
Serena pursed her lips, nodded in approval, and remarked, "I'll be honest, I didn't expect a surfer with your accent to have a deep knowledge and appreciation of philosophy."
Alex laughed. "I would be lying if I said that were the first time I've heard something like that. Truth is, I never really much cared for philosophy, but if you're gonna truly appreciate history and all its aspects, it's good to have a working knowledge of dominant philosophies at the time you're studying."
Serena asked, "So, you're a big history guy?"
Alex nodded earnestly. "Huge history guy. I've loved it since I was a kid. It's what I would be studying if I were in school."
Serena looked at him with confusion. "Wait, you're not in school?"
Alex shook his head. "Nah."
"I could have sworn that you were. People don't usually have that knowledge of philosophy without some kind of college education."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'd agree. My Mama pushed us in the classics and arts though, so I've got a little bit of token knowledge."
A curious Serena asked, "So what do you do then, since you're not a student?"
Alex responded, "I'm a ballplayer."
Intrigued, Serena raised her eyebrow and replied, "Oh?"
He nodded. "Playing for the Yankee's AA affiliate here in Myrtle Beach."
"Really?!"
Alex nodded, surprised at her enthusiasm. "Yeah. Why the excitement?"
"I'm from New York!"
Alex smiled. "Really? That's awesome! Hopefully, I'll be joining you there in a couple years."
She nodded. "Well, I certainly would love to know a Yankee player."
"You a big baseball fan?"
She looked up at him, but her lip sheepishly, and replied, "Well…I know that the luxury boxes serve really good mimosas."
Alex laughed. "Well, the price that you have to pay for those luxury boxes, I would hope that they do!"
She nodded and laughed along with him. "The new stadium is gorgeous, though."
Alex replied, "Yeah…I'm hoping I get to run out onto that field one day."
She looked at him, smiled, and said, "I'm sure you are well on your way."
Alex chuckled. "Well, odds say that I never sniff Yankee Stadium without a ticket, but…I appreciate the thought."
She observed his countenance and remarked, "You know, you don't strike me as a baseball player."
Alex asked, "Why's that?"
"You hear that all baseball players are cocky, arrogant jerks. You don't seem cocky at all."
Alex chuckled. "Mama beat it all out of me."
Serena giggled. Alex asked, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, I don't know, just the way you said Mama, the remark about her beating it out of you, it was just…so southern."
Alex shrugged, smiled, and said, "Well…I am pretty damn southern."
Serena nodded and remarked, "I can't argue with that."
Alex smiled and changed the subject, asking, "So, why don't you like baseball?"
Serena replied, "I never said I didn't like baseball!"
Alex laughed. "You didn't have to. I'm used to it."
Serena opened her mouth to respond, but soon closed it, to which Alex nodded and remarked, "Told you."
Serena stuck out her tongue before replying, "It's not that I hate it or anything, but basketball and football, they're so fast, they're quick, they're filled with action. Baseball, well, it's…"
"Slow?"
She nodded sheepishly and replied, "Yeah, it's slow."
Alex nodded. "Oh, I one hundred percent agree."
She looked at him, surprised. "You do?"
Alex nodded. "Yeah, it's slow. But that's what is so beautiful about it. The thinking, the strategy, all of it in between pitches? I love it."
"Well, the way you describe it, it certainly makes a little more sense."
Alex nodded. "Then…I don't know, it all comes down to a batter staring down a pitcher. Everything comes down to one pitch. It's beautiful."
She looked at him, winked, and said, "It certainly is the way you describe it."
Alex chuckled, smirked, and said, "One of these days, come to the ballpark and catch a game. Check it out and you'll see what I mean."
Serena smiled and replied, "You know, I think that I just might do that."
Alex arrived at the ballpark with a skip in his step, ready for batting practice and hopeful that a certain blonde might be sitting in the stands to watch that Monday evening. He walked into the clubhouse about a quarter past noon, walking to his locker and slipping on shorts, turfs, and a compression shirt after entering the building and grabbing a quick snack.
However, as he was turning around to head out, he heard a gruff voice with a southern twang remark, "Well, I see they let just about anyone in here these days, don't they?"
Alex turned around and glared. He recognized the voice. Alex replied, "Certainly seems so, if you're in here."
The man glared back. "You got something to say, pipsqueak?"
Alex stepped forward and stared down at the man standing in front of him, who while tall was still shorter than Alex. "Yeah, weren't you listening, shorty?"
The two glared at one another for a moment before they both burst out laughing and grabbed one another in a tight hug. Alex said, "Luke, it's so good to see you!"
Luke Collins, the Baysharks starting catcher, had blue eyes, brown hair, and stood 6'1 with a muscular frame. He was one of the top prospects in the Yankee's system and having an incredible season that had him on track to being called up to the show sometime in the near future. Despite the couple years of difference in age for the two ballplayers, Luke and Alex had grown up in the same city and had been best friends since childhood, dreaming of one day being called up to the show together.
Luke asked, "You settled in yet?"
Alex snorted. "You've seen my place before. You know it takes me all of fifteen minutes to settle in anywhere."
Luke chuckled. "True. One of these days you're gonna get your first big league check and you're just gonna let it sit there because you don't know what to spend it on, you ole cheapskate."
"Beats spending my signing bonus before I make it to camp, bud."
Luke hissed. "Wow, we're getting personal now!"
Alex laughed and slapped his friend on the back. "It's good to be back together, Collins."
Luke laughed and nodded. "Right back at you, Walker. Hey, team BP in a couple hours. Wanna have a little home run derby? Loser buys dinner."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I can get behind that. I need some steak in my life."
"Pride goeth before the fall!"
"Well, you'd know that better than anyone, wouldn't you?"
Luke rolled his eyes as he walked out of the clubhouse and towards the field, throwing a pack of seeds at Alex as he did so. Alex dodged, smiled, and walked out to the cage, intent on taking his first cuts in the cage. He wanted to swing the bat well today. Scouts would be there, Luke and he had a bet going, and most importantly, a cute blonde would hopefully be coming and Alex was intent on impressing.
Serena arrived at the ballpark in style. After arriving at the beach, it seemed only fitting that her summer at the beach be spent driving around in style. After leaving Alex and the beach that morning, a shopping spree at the Myrtle Beach Luxury Outlets had finished with her walking off a car lot with a brand-new white Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. She arrived with the top down, pop music playing, and a wide smile as she saw the stadium emerge as she drove over the river and towards Golden Park.
She pulled in, parked, checked her makeup, and then walked inside. The late evening sun had already started to drift down, allowing for much of the stadium to be in the shade. She walked up to the ticket booth, where an elderly gentleman with a nametag that said "Raymond" was greeting people with a warm smile and jolly candor. After waiting in line for a minute, it was Serena's turn. He smiled and said, "Well now, what can I do for you, young lady?"
Serena smiled and said, "One ticket, please."
Raymond nodded and asked, "And what kind of ticket would you like, dear?"
Serena shrugged, bit her lip, and said, "Ummmm…I don't really know?"
He laughed and said, "Well, I think that you want some shade and I would imagine that you are here to watch a special somebody, so I'm thinking first level along the first base line."
Serena blushed. "I mean…maybe?"
Raymond smiled. "I've been doing this for a long time, honey. Myrtle Beach ballplayer is probably looking forward to seeing you, so I'm sure you both would appreciate you being near the dugout. That sound about right?"
Serena smiled and said, "I think that sounds okay."
"Eight dollars, please."
Serena nodded and handed him her card. He took it, swiped, and then handed both the card and the ticket back to her. "Thank you very much, miss! Enjoy the game."
Serena smiled and nodded. "You too."
She walked in, passing through a gate that led to the concessions and concourse underneath the grandstands surrounding the stadium on the left and the start of the first base bleachers on the right. She walked to one of the concessions stands, got a large soda, and then found her seat, which was positioned just to the left of the home dugout, three rows up on the first base line. With a few minutes left until the game started, both teams were warming up, throwing balls around with ease. She smiled, took a sip of the drink, and began to study what was unfolding in front of her. "After all, if I can study philosophy and history this summer, no reason I can't study baseball too, right?"
Alex finished throwing with one of the other outfielders, nodded that he was warm, and then jogged back to the dugout to get a sip of water, suck on some sunflower seeds, and spend a few minutes relaxed before the game started. He jogged back in, walked down into the dugout, dropped his glove, took a sip of water, threw in some sunflower seeds, and then walked up to the edge of the dugout, leaning on the fence and staring out at the opponents, seeing if there was anything he could identify about them while waiting for the game to begin.
He heard a soft voice call out, "Well, you certainly look a bit different without a surfboard."
Alex turned around and caught sight of Serena, who was leaned up against the netting along the first base line at the edge of the brick façade surrounding the field. He smiled and walked out of the dugout and around to the edge, where he came face to face with the gorgeous blonde. She was wearing an expensive jean skirt, a white blouse, and had her hair pulled back with a white and blue patterned bandana scarf. She was a picture of perfection, nearly knocking the words out of his mouth.
Finally, he managed, "You look…really pretty."
Serena smiled to herself. Maybe it was the way he stopped and lost his words, maybe it was his accent, maybe it was the way the instead of saying "pretty" it sounded like "Purty," but it was incredibly cute. As was he. He was wearing a white jersey and pants with a green and yellow hat. He had his wrists taped with white tape, a green three-quarter sleeve compression shirt, white cleats, high pants that were pulled up to reveal green socks, and eye black.
She twisted her head, smiled shyly, and replied, "Thanks…you don't clean up too bad, yourself."
Alex laughed. "Well, clean might be a bit of an overstatement. The game hasn't started yet."
"Hey, thanks for inviting me. Honestly, I didn't have anything to do with my night…and this actually looks really fun."
Alex smirked. "I told you!"
She laughed. "Can't you just take the compliment?!"
Alex shrugged. "Depends."
"On what?"
"On if you stick around the entire game!"
She chuckled and smartly responded, "Oh, is that a challenge?"
Alex heard Lou bark at him to get in the dugout and get his glove. As he stepped back and slipped around the end of the dugout, he yelled out, "Maybe!"
As Serena took her seat, she realized that she would not be alone for long. She looked over after hearing a rustle of movement and caught sight of a short and athletic blonde woman with a wide smile walking over and taking a seat next to her. The woman smiled and with a thick southern accent greeted, "Well, hi there! I'm Claire Bennett."
Serena smiled and replied, "Serena. It's nice to meet you."
"Don't think I've seen you around here before."
Serena shook her head. "No, this is my first time."
Claire nodded. "I thought so. You look gorgeous, but your outfit doesn't exactly scream baseball fan. So…which one is your guy?"
Serena blushed. "I don't have a guy. Also, why does everyone keep asking me that?!"
Claire laughed. "Oh, it's alright, honey. They all asked me the same thing a couple years ago and look at me now!"
Serena asked, "Which one is yours?"
"Luke Collins. Starting catcher."
Claire pointed at the guy wearing catcher's equipment who was talking to Alex. Serena caught a good look at his face and nodded. "Wow. He's cute!"
Claire nodded. "Yes, he is! I keep telling him he outkicked his coverage by finding me, but the truth is that I might be the one who is swimming in the deep end."
Serena laughed and Claire raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
Serena sighed, stopping herself from laughing before responding, "The southern sayings and phrases just make me laugh. I don't know why, but they do."
Claire nodded and chuckled. "Yeah, they're something else. But don't change the subject! Which one is your guy?"
Serena shook her head. "I told you! I don't have a guy! I'm single."
Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine then. Which one of these good-looking guys has your attention?"
Serena looked at Alex for a moment before replying, "Well…I met Alex this morning and he said I should come check out a game. Seemed like a fun way to spend the night."
Claire nodded, smirked, and replied, "Well, I certainly can't blame you there. He's an attractive guy. Real sweetheart, too. Good choice."
Serena asked, "Do you know him?"
Claire nodded. "He and Luke are really good friends. They grew up together, so we met pretty soon after Luke and I started dating. I moved in with Luke near the end of the first season that we were dating and we moved back to St. Simon's Island for the offseason so that the two could train together."
Serena nodded and gently probed, "He seems like a really nice guy. Different from a lot of other guys I've met."
Claire nodded and smiled. "Yeah, he's one of the good ones. I'm glad he and Luke are back together. They bring out the best in one another."
A few minutes passed by as the top of the inning went by. Five batters went through. A strikeout, single, walk, flyout to left field, and a grounder to second base brought the top of the inning to the close. Serena watched the game, Alex, and Claire, taking the time to study her companion. She watched how Claire studied the pitcher, muttering about "break," "offspeed," his "stuff," and a bunch of other terms that Serena didn't have the faintest idea of.
After a few moments of intent study, Claire glanced over and noticed Serena looking back at her with a sheepishly lost expression. Claire smiled, squeezed her arm, and asked, "What do you want to know?"
Serena bit her tongue, tilted her head, laughed awkwardly, and replied, "Well…everything?"
Claire nodded and replied, "Let's start with the basics. I watch the pitchers quite a bit since Luke is a catcher. He calls the games, meaning that he tells the pitchers what pitch to throw and where to throw it. I like to study the patterns and see how the pitchers stuff is playing that day."
Serena stared at her, absolutely lost. Claire smiled comfortingly and said, "That means whether or not their pitches are effective. If their speed is good and their pitches have a lot of spin or break, then "their stuff is playing.""
Serena nodded. "Okay…that makes a little sense."
Serena watched as a pitch went low, hitting the dirt in front of home plate and bouncing back at a rapid speed. Luke slid to the right, catching the ball with his chest, bare handing the ball that bounced off his chest, and throwing it to first, nearly picking off the runner who was at first. Claire jumped up and cheered, "Great block, baby!"
Serena clapped and smiled, excited despite not understanding what had just happened. Claire sat back down and said, "If that ball bounces away, then the runner can advance to second base, which would put him in scoring position. Luke's job is to "block" those pitches."
Serena nodded and remarked, "That looked like it hurt."
Claire nodded. "Yeah, it isn't the best feeling in the world. But when he makes a great block…well, let's just say there's a massage and a reward waiting for him when he gets home."
Claire smirked and Serena squealed, lightly smacking her new friend on the arm. "CLAIRE!"
Claire shrugged, still smirking. "I like when my ballplayer makes plays. That's all I'm going to say."
Serena laughed and Claire remarked, "Stick by me, Serena. We're going to teach you all about the baseball life."
The game continued on, with little going in the Bayshark's favor. The home team was sluggish, with little effective offense and several key errors. As the top of the ninth inning rolled around, they clung to a faint hope, with the Baysharks trailing 2-1. The first batter walked, the second batter laid a sacrifice bunt, and the third struck out, leading to two outs and a runner in scoring position.
Alex stood out in the outfield, shifted his heels, and leaned forward as the third pitch was thrown towards the batter. The batter snapped his wrists forward and slammed a line drive down the left field line. Alex charged the ball, legs pumping as he rushed towards the ball that was rapidly dropping to the ground. He dove, reaching out for the ball that seemed just out of his reach, closing his eyes as he stretched out his glove and preparing for the impact of the ground.
Claire jumped up as the ball shot off the bat, Serena following her and watching it fall. It was a hard hit ball and there seemed to be no way that Alex would get there in time, which Serena had learned meant that a run would score. She brought her hands to her mouth, anxiously wanting a win and knowing this would put the game almost out of reach.
But then, Alex covered ground in a rapid pace and dove, reaching out his glove and grabbing it as he hit the ground and slid forward a few feet. The rest of the crowd jumped up and cheered, joining Serena, who yelled and cheered with joy at the magnificent play that Alex had made.
Alex pumped his arm and yelled, slamming fists with teammates as they jogged towards the dugout, invigorated and filled with life for the first time that game. With Luke and Alex due up, Luke rushed in, throwing his catching gear off and grabbing his batting gear before rushing to take a few warmup swings. Alex took his time, sliding on his helmet, batting gloves, and casually striding forward, taking a few gentle swings as he watched Luke step up to the plate.
He looked back at Serena, gave her a wink, and then focused in on the closer that had been brought in, taking in the pitcher, watching his stuff and honing in on what would await him when he stepped up to the plate.
Claire jumped up and cheered when Luke managed to hit a soft shot to center field, which dropped in for a base hit and brought Alex, the winning run, to the plate. Serena watched anxiously as he stepped forward, rap music playing overhead as he strode towards the batter's box.
Alex stepped up, cracked his neck, held his bat up to the pitcher, focused in on the pitcher, narrowed his eyes, and dropped into his stance. "Alright. He wants a ground ball. Needs a double play or an easy out. Gonna try and blow a fastball past me. Yeah…fastball low. Okay. Here we go…"
Alex watched as the pitcher got his sign and brought his glove up, peaking over at Luke, and then entering the stretch, whipping the ball towards Alex. Alex kicked his leg up, dropped his hands, and then threw them forward.
CRACK
Serena and Claire both jumped up and watched as the ball flew off the bat and down the right field line, carrying with great speed. Alex grinned and flipped his bat, starting a quick jog and not bothering to follow the ball. He knew where it was going.
Serena and Claire both cheered and yelled as the ball carried over the fence. The Baysharks rushed out of the dugout, mobbing a smiling Alex at the plate. He managed to work his way through the crowd and walked up to the edge of the dugout, where a smiling Serena hand her hands on the net and leaned against it. He tossed his batting helmet to the dugout, slid off his batting gloves, gave her a wink, and said, "So…I think you MIGHT just like this baseball thing."
