on deck; a. judge

29.

[a]

Honestly, I hated waking up alone. I had gotten so used to waking up with someone next to me that waking up with no one there just didn't feel right. But, it was only five days. Duty calls, and Ellie is a hard working lady.

I walked into the gym after I had dropped her off at the airport and set my water bottle down in a cubbie before someone came up and patted me on the shoulder. "Sup, Judge?" I turned to see it was Giancarlo, should've known.

"Hey, man." I say as I bring him in for a bro-hug. "Are you happy to see me at the gym?"

G chuckled. "Thrilled, man. You needed to get back in here anyways. Can't be cooped up in the house." He smiled. "So Ellie is in LA, I hear?"

I nod. "Yeah, they sent a bunch of the people from the front office out to LA for some conference. It's like a three-day gig, I guess. I don't even know what it's about. But, it's fine, I'll probably end up cleaning up the place while she's gone.." I shrug. "A little weird being alone."

He nodded, listening to me. "So you two are good? No problems?"

I shook my head. "No, we're doing really good. I'm really happy with where I am and where our relationship is. It's healthy and strong." I tell him.

"I'm happy for you, man. You deserve it." He tells me and I just nod in agreement. Giancarlo had been there for me when things ended between Laci and I, and I'm super thankful to have him as a friend. "You and Ellie are good for one another. You compliment each other."

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"You two just get along well and the way you guys clicked, even though I'm sure you two couldn't stand one another to begin with. The way you two connected and fell in love so fast is crazy, but also kind of amazing. It was like you needed that bad breakup to realize that maybe she's the one you've been looking for. As cheesy as that sounds.." G says and I just sit there thinking. He was right, though.

I nod again, continuing to listen to what he had to say. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I know she couldn't stand me at first when she first moved in. I don't really know what happened, but, I guess it was just some good chemistry between us, and the flirting happened with one another and then all of a sudden, I'm asking her to be my girlfriend." I shrug, getting up to head over to the PT room. "I think we work good together."

G nodded, patting my shoulder again. "And that's what you need. You need someone who's going to keep you grounded, and Ellie does just that. You can see how much you've changed both personality and demeanor wise just since meeting Ellie. She really has helped you for the better."

I nod in agreement once again. She really has...

====

Once I got home, I decided to do a little cleaning around the place. I'll admit, it was super fucking messy, especially downstairs. My dishes, my garbage, if it wasn't anything baseball related, I honestly didn't care how messy it got. Ellie always kept the upstairs so fucking clean and precise, I don't know how she does it.

I got all of my dishes and laundry cleaned up before my phone rang, pausing my music. When I went to grab my phone, I see that it was Ellie FaceTiming me. I set down what I was working on and went to go sit on the couch, answering the call.

"Hi stranger." Ellie says when I answer the call.

"I was cleaning and you interrupted my jam session." I laugh, shaking my head.

"Well, cleaning and jamming are two different things. Which one were you really doing?" She smirks at me.

"I can't do both? Weird, because I definitely was.." I chuckle, "How was your day? Things go well?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, felt like forever though. It was like all introduction things. But, they were good. I have a little break and then a bunch of us are heading to dinner." She shrugged. "I sat on this panel about like analytics and stuff with baseball and how things are changing, it was kind of interesting."

"Oh damn, my girl is professional." I tell her, causing her to blush. "I'm glad you had a good day, though."

"It's alright." She shrugged, "It was draining, but I'm glad it's over. Ready to have a cocktail or two and just unwind for the night." Ellie laughed.

I nod, listening to her. "Yeah, I ordered in some food and now I think I'm gonna go chill in bed and watch games."

Ells rolled her eyes. "You watch games even when you're not playing? Weirdo."

"What? I like to see the competition." I shrug, "Plus sometimes I watch like soccer or tennis. Or just like ESPN in general, I like to see what they're saying about me."

"I guess that makes sense." She replies. "Why do you care about what people say?"

I shrug. "Just seeing if they have their facts straight. Some people like to fuck around and twist my words, making one thing sound like another." I tell her, "I usually have my agent reach out to them. But, they're all on my ass about me getting number 62." I shake my head, walking into my bedroom.

"I would purposely not hit a home run, just to piss everyone off and keep questioning when you're going to break the record." Ellie laughs. "Just rile everyone up."

"I've thought about it, honestly. Just going out and playing like absolute dogshit." I tell her, sitting in bed.

"That would make headlines." She smiles, laying down in her bed. "I miss my bed already, I wanna be home.."

"You don't miss me? What a shame."

"Of course I miss you, silly! But, my bed is very comfy and this hotel bed ain't cutting it." She says as she props her phone up. "I may or may not miss cuddling. But, that's just maybe.." She smirks.

I shake my head, "Damn. I guess you don't want any when you get home then, huh?" I ask and she just widens her eyes. "That's what I thought."

"You're a little shit." She smiles. "But hey, I'm tired, so I'm gonna try and nap before dinner. It was good to see your face, I miss it." Ellie says, smiling at me.

"Definitely was nice to see your face. I hope you had a good day, babe. Make sure you text me when you're back from dinner. Hopefully I'm still up and I'll FaceTime you then."

Ellie nods. "For sure, babe. I love you, and I miss you."

"I love and miss you too, Ells." I say before hanging up and I'm sat in my bedroom alone, the silence filling the room again. The only noise coming from my television. It was super quiet without Ellie home, and it was just weird. Four more days...