Chapter 18

-44 Days Left-

Anna just landed and the countdown had already begun. It was June 29th and she had 44 days in San Jose with Kristoff until her flight back to Denver on August 12th. It wasn't long but it would be a nice vacation. She had never been to the Bay Area before which was strange since she was born and raised in Southern California. But So Cal and Nor Cal have this weird rivalry between the two and Anna's family never had a need for traveling to the other part of the state. But one thing the two parts had in common was the traffic. She was only six miles from the condo but holy hell this was awful.

Traffic is bonkers but I'll see you tonight! Anna added a few star-eyed emojis to her text to emphasize her excitement. Kristoff was at the field and that's why she was currently riding in an Uber to their AirBnb. The Giants organization was still footing the bill for Kristoff's hotel for another three days but Anna wanted to settle into their temporary home. There was no point in unpacking at the hotel just to repack and unpack again at the rental. Anna didn't really expect Kristoff to text her back but she kept checking just out of habit. With his baseball schedule now, he rarely had his phone. There was some downtime but more often than not Kristoff would be napping in the team's clubhouse before his pre-game warm-up.

The condo was nice. It had a modern aesthetic that Anna wouldn't choose for herself but she couldn't really complain. It was a fully furnished place less than a mile from Excite Ballpark, the San Jose Giants' home field. The furniture in the place looked more for style than for comfort and some of the art on the walls was...interesting. Walking back into the master bedroom, Anna was happy to see a king sized bed with a plush comforter and huge pillows. This room was far cozier than the living space. She dropped her large suitcase on the rug and started unpacking its contents. Anna was glad to see the faded black baseball cap hadn't been squished too bad. She straightened it out and looked at the orange SJ logo stitched on it. Anna thought it was strange that the San Jose team had the same mascot as their major league counterpart in San Francisco but it made buying fan gear much easier. The only difference was the 'SJ' instead of an 'SF'. Anna left plenty of space for Kristoff's things in the closet and drawers and then brought her toiletry bag into the attached bathroom. The bathroom was small but the owners clearly tried to pack as much into it as possible. There was a double sink vanity, a separate pocket door for the toilet and a large walk in shower with a ceiling mounted, rain shower head. Just standing in the space, Anna knew it would be cramped with both her and Kristoff in it. But the shower could definitely fit them together… Anna ran her tongue over her teeth and laughed at herself.

Anna felt gross from the travel so she took a quick shower. Making sure she kept her hair out of the stream, Anna got out, toweled off and went back into the bedroom to get dressed. It was hot outside, well hot by Anna's standards. Apparently it could reach upwards of one-hundred degrees here and today it was only in the mid-eighties. Anna opted for a black tank top and loose fitted denim shorts to go with her SJ hat, along with plenty of sunscreen. With the stadium's 'clear bag' policy, Anna packed her mini-backpack with all her essentials and headed to the garage. The listing said the house came with bicycles for renters and she wanted to make sure they were usable. The stadium wasn't far but she knew Kristoff would appreciate having a quicker mode of transportation besides walking. Thankfully, all the tires were pumped up and the bikes were in good working condition. Anna liked the turquoise beach cruiser so she wheeled that one closest to the door, she grabbed one of the bike locks too and put that in her bag. Checking her phone (Kristoff never did text her back), Anna had a few minutes before she needed to go. The game started at 7pm and she wanted to get there around 6:30 just to get her ticket and take a look around.

Anna had no issue locking up her bike, getting her ticket at will call and then finding her seat in the stadium. There were bleachers all down the first and third baselines and fold down seats behind home plate, where her seat was. The ballpark was pretty basic but the hills in the distance were a nice scene to look at out past the outfield fence.

When Anna first saw Kristoff her heart leapt and she was all of the sudden nervous, not unlike months ago when they first started talking. It was strange seeing him in a uniform that wasn't Arendelle's navy blue but he could pull off orange and black just fine. Anna was admiring him from a far when she noticed his eyes scanning the crowd. She stood up and his eyes caught the movement. Anna's seat was behind home plate but closer to the third base side where the home team's dugout was. Kristoff jogged over to the fence and Anna hopped the two rows in front of her to meet him. Thankfully she didn't fall.

Tonight the Giants wore white pants and black tops with San Jose stitched across the chest in orange, "Nice uni." Anna bit her lip.

"Nice hat." Kristoff wanted to smirk but the joy was so clear in his eyes that it turned into a wide grin. Anna's smile grew to match his. She just wanted to stare at him, instead she took her phone out and snapped a quick picture before he got embarrassed, "A candid shot for all your internet followers."

"You get into the Airbnb ok?"

"Yeah. Are you going to come over tonight or-"

Kristoff didn't even let her finish her question, "Yes!" he practically yelled.

Anna snickered at Kristoff's enthusiasm, "Good." Her earlier visions on them in the shower resurfaced.

Kristoff looked over his shoulder and then back to Anna, "Well I better get going…"

"Go get 'em 35." Anna referenced the new number Kristoff would be wearing while on this team.

-34 Days Left-

It didn't take Anna long to get into the groove of Kristoff's schedule. His alarm would go off at 10am (it was rare that she woke up before that). They would lay in bed for twenty-ish minutes talking and cuddling and more often than not that turned into something else. She was glad he not longer wanted to abide by their no-sex-before-a-game rule. Once they finally got out of bed, Kristoff would shower and Anna would make breakfast. During home stands, Kristoff had to report to the field at 2pm so that gave them a few hours together.

San Jose was much different than Arendelle, and Living Rock for that matter. Kristoff had never lived in a big city and this was the heart of Silicon Valley. Anna could tell he was a little overwhelmed with the go-go-go mentality of the city so they tried to stick to more easy-going activities like hikes or farmers markets or even museums.

Once 1:50pm hit Kristoff would bike to the field and get ready for his 7pm game. That included treatment with the trainers, watching film in the club house and extra work with the specialized coaches. Kristoff had told her the 'extra work' was optional but she wasn't surprised Kristoff jumped at the opportunity. He had been Big Man On Campus at Arendelle and in the NCAA. But he was here to learn and better himself.

"I never even imagined this stuff could be real. You should see the technology they have us using. We wear these weird shirts and they hook this circle thing to the chest, I swear we all look like Tony Stark. And this machine sends all this data and information back to the computers in the Sports Science office. They can see how many G-forces we exert, our vitals throughout the work out and even what type of recovery our body needs."

It had only been ten days but Anna could already tell Kristoff was maturing as a player. He was completely open to whatever the coaches and trainers had for him. Which was great, because they didn't just want Kristoff to be a good Minor League player, they were trying to get him to San Francisco. After all the early afternoon stuff was done, then came the pre-game warm up. The team headed out at 3:30pm for an hour of batting practice then had downtime and a light dinner before they stretched and played catch at 6:20ish. Then it was game time. Anna was at every home game, 6:30 sharp. She liked to talk to the different stadium employees before the first pitch. Her favorite so far was Olaf, the 50-something year old guy who made the snowcones.

One of Anna's favorite things about these games was that Kristoff was playing different positions now. Seven out of ten nights Kristoff was the starting shortstop for the San Jose Giants but he had given her the run down on this All-Star shortstop in San Francisco. So Anna understood why the organization wanted to move Kristoff around and see what he could do in other positions. Occasionally he would be playing third base. The throw across the field was a slightly different angle but it hadn't been a problem with all the extra work he put in. One night he was even put in left field and he looked comfortable enough. Shortstop was the toughest position (if you didn't count pitching or catching) and Kristoff was a good shortstop. And good shortstops were good athletes. So third base or outfield or wherever they wanted to put him, he would adjust.

Seeing as Anna didn't have any friends to sit with (apparently she was the only serious girlfriend on the team) she fell back into the routine of keeping notes each game. Sure, their fancy 'Sports Science' could track the men's vitals or whatever, but Anna could read body language.

The games ended sometime around 10pm and Anna would ride back alone. Kristoff had more work to do at the field, either recovery treatment or a session in the gym, and then would usually be home, already showered, after 11pm. The couple would decompress, talk about the game or what the trainers said, maybe watch Netflix and then head to bed. And then do it all over again the next day.

During the days Kristoff was out of town, Anna did her best to stay busy. There was plenty to do in San Jose and the surrounding areas but Anna missed Colorado. (It was nice to have four In-N-Outs all within ten minutes of her though.) Anna kept trying different "hikes" in the area but they were disappointing to say the least. She joined a gym to stay in playing shape and she even found an indoor batting cage. The place was a little outdated, but it would work for the next few weeks. Understandably, Kristoff didn't have much time to talk while he was traveling. It's not like Anna talked to him during the day while he was home, but at least she got to see him in person at the field and sleep in the same bed with him. They would exchange sporadic texts and the occasional facetime after the game but while the team was away Kristoff had a roommate in the hotel so that was slightly problematic.

The night before the boys had finished their latest series at home and they were headed on a seven day road trip. There were eight teams in the California League, four in So Cal and four up north. The next closest team to San Jose were the Oakland A's minor league team, the Stockton Ports. Their field was a little more than an hour away, without traffic, but Anna didn't have a car. Sure, she could afford one but she wasn't frivolous with her money. Instead she paid the subscription fee to live stream the games instead.

"You have everything packed?" Anna walked into the bedroom to find Kristoff laying sideways on the bed, looking at his phone. He didn't answer right away and Anna furrowed her brow at him. After a few more seconds of silence, she nudged his leg.

"Sorry, yes I have everything packed, sorry. Mattias just sent me something to look over." Anna was thankful for the older man in Kristoff's life. He really did have Kristoff's best interest at heart, though the 10% cut he was getting had to be nice…

"What is it this time?" Anna asked, laying on her stomach next to him.

"Lulu...lemon?"

"What?!" Anna shot up.

"What?" Kristoff asked, startled.

"Lululemon wants to sponsor you?"

"That's what this email says." Kristoff furrowed his brow at her, still confused by her reaction.

Anna realized how insane she must look and tried to relax her expression, "Oh I mean, yeah, that's cool. Are you going to do it?" she asked in a fake casual voice.

Kristoff laughed at her, "Do you want me to give them your email?"

"You know the NCAA doesn't allow that." Anna mumbled back, pouting. Again Kristoff laughed at her. He placed his phone down and wrapped his arms around Anna's waist, dragging her back to the bed.

"I'm going to pass on the lemons." Kristoff spoke softer now. Anna had trapped his right arm against the bed but he still held her tight, his left hand brushing her loose hair out of her face.

"You are such a boy. Every girl and their mom would jump at that brand deal." Anna whispered back and pursed her lips trying to hide her smile.

"Yeah but all the big money is in shoes. And all the shoe brands are also clothing brands so..."

"So you can't alienate yourself with a niche brand in fear of missing out on those bigger deals." Anna finished.

"Exactly."

"So you're sure you're all packed?" Anna used her nails to scratch down Kristoff's arm.

He cocked an eyebrow, "You know I went on a lot of road trips before you came along. And I got along just fine."

"You literally forgot your toothbrush when you went to Omaha." Anna deadpanned.

"And the gas station had the exact same one! Crisis averted." Kristoff pinched her back, making Anna arch into him. They laid there silently, just holding each other.

"Seven days huh?" Anna muttered.

He sighed, "Yup."

More silence.

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?"

It was Anna's turn to sigh, "I haven't thought about it yet. Yosemite is less than four hours away but that would require a rental car and camping supplies that I don't have. Maybe I'll go see the Golden Gate Bridge, see what all the fuss is about."

"That sounds fun. The bridge part, not the Yosemite part. I don't want you falling off of Half Dome or something without me."

"Oh but we could fall off together? Cool..." Anna laughed and scrunched up her nose. Kristoff snorted and buried his face into her neck. His scruff scratched at her chest and she shifted her body on top of his trying to pull away. It only turned into a more compromising position. They hadn't even been together a year but it felt like an eternity. In the best way possible. The last year had aged him quickly and it was surreal that he wouldn't be going back to Arendelle in the fall. He was on his own now, but he was so glad Anna was with him.

"I better head to the stadium." Kristoff said regrettably, "But I'll call you tonight."

-27 Days Left-

Anna wanted to stay up and wait for Kristoff to get home but he told her it wouldn't be until three or four in the morning. She convinced herself she could do it, but she only vaguely remembered the movement of the bed as someone slid in next to her in the darkness.

Anna felt extra groggy as the familiar sound of Kristoff's alarm going off at 10am woke her. That alarm only went off when he had home games but today was his day off. He (they) could sleep in and then have the entire day to do whatever they wanted without the time limit of Kristoff having to head to the stadium. There was a huge Six Flags amusement park an hour and a half away. Anna hoped they could go, ride roller coasters, eat junk food and watch the animal shows (because of course they had animals too).

Anna's body was trying to shut down and fall back asleep but her brain alerted her to the fact that Kristoff had left the bed and was pulling open dresser drawers. Opening her eyes, Anna blinked rapidly trying to get the sleep out of them. Kristoff was in the corner pulling on his team gear. "What are you doing?" Anna's voice was thick with morning sleep.

"I'm going to meet with the trainer and then I've got an appointment with the team masseuse and have some recovery treatment."

"Oh, uh- I just thought...that you had a day off today."

"I do, but I still need to take care of myself." Kristoff's voice was even.

"Yeah, yeah you're right. What- what time do you think you'll be back?" Anna stuttered. She was trying to sound understanding without letting the disappointment bleed in.

Kristoff shrugged and finished pulling on his shirt, "Maybe three o'clock."

Discontentment shot down Anna's arms, there goes her idea for the day. She bit her lip and rolled over in bed, "Ok, text me if you head home earlier."

"What are you going to be doing?" Did he assume that she already had her own plans on his day off. Anna knew Kristoff wasn't suspicious of how she spent her time but there was a disconnect growing between them.

"I- um," There was no point telling him about her would-be plans since it would only make him feel guilty, "I'll probably head to the gym and the grocery store."

"Ok well let's do something when I get home ok? And maybe try a new restaurant for dinner?"

"Sounds great."

It was 4:30 when Kristoff finally walked into their condo. Anna had been dressed and ready for an outing two hours ago. She wanted to be annoyed, she really did, but the logical part of her brain reminded her he wasn't doing this on purpose. He was here to play baseball, it was literally his job. He wasn't out gallivanting around town, hanging with his buddies-he was working. These players put in hours of work now and had the off season to rest. The only issue was, she wouldn't be with him in the off season. This was her only time with him until god knows when.

"Long day for your day off." She hoped she sounded sympathetic. Kristoff mumbled something and fell face down into the couch.

"Do you want to-"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." His already groggy voice was muffled by the couch cushion.

Anna walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked good-a fresh face of sun kissed freckles, loosely curled auburn hair highlighted from the sunshine, she even had some tinted lip gloss on. Anna pulled her hair back into a bun and carefully removed the dangly leather earrings she had purchased at a boutique downtown that day. When she walked out a minute later, she could hear the soft snores coming from the couch. Picking up her phone she redialed the last number she had called. "Yes, hi, I made a reservation earlier-...for Anna...yeah...yeah, no can you-...yeah can you cancel it? …Yeah we had a change of plans, sorry about that...oh thank you...yeah you too."

Anna, dejected, took a few chicken breasts out of the refrigerator, the rice and spices from the pantry and started to preheat the oven.

-26 Days Left-

Because of his late afternoon nap, Kristoff woke up way before his usual ten o'clock alarm. He hadn't realized it the night before but he fucked up. He had told Anna they would have a date that would turn into dinner out. He hadn't outright noticed her appearance when he got home but his memory told him she had put in extra effort for their plans. Then his dumb ass fell asleep on the couch. He woke up hours later to a plate of chicken, rice and brussel sprouts, the plans of trying a new restaurant long forgotten. Anna had already eaten. She didn't say anything but he knew he fucked up.

He wanted to make it up to her. He would start with breakfast. He was able to climb out of bed without disturbing her and used his phone to request an Uber.

When Kristoff returned an hour later, he took the to go boxes out of the bag and put the crepes, bacon and fruit onto a real plate. Anna would know he didn't make it but the presentation was everything. She was a heavy sleeper so Kristoff put the plates down before he gently stroked her hair. When that didn't work he called her name softly and squeezed her shoulder. Finally she stirred and rolled in his direction, "Whaaat?" she groaned.

"I have fooood." He sang. Anna's eyes slowly opened and looked up at him. His hair was getting long, almost to the point of needing to tie it back but Anna liked it. He could probably pull off a man bun too, he had that whole Norse God thing going on. Anna's thoughts of Kristoff replacing Chris Hemsworth in Thor were quickly shoved away when she noticed the plates of food on the nightstand. She sat up against the headboard and looked at him with sleepy admiration.

"I'm sorry for dropping the ball yesterday. But I want to make it up to you. We'll start with this." Kristoff handed Anna her food, a fork and a napkin. "And then...have you ever heard of the Winchester Mystery House?" Kristoff made his voice waiver in a bad impression of a ghost.