The One Underneath

|| Freight Train ||

"I see daddy!" Ava said happily, pointing at AJ as he walked up to bat.

"Go daddy!" Austin chanted.

We watched as he got a hit down the third base line and made it safely into first. Then, next to bat was ole Alex. He wasn't pitching today, but was pinch - hitting instead.

The rest of the game went pretty well, us winning 8-3. After the game, Lisa, the kids, and I were outside the clubhouse waiting for AJ to come out. Alex did before AJ, and he caught my attention.

"Hey, Pierzynski, come over here?" He looked at me, putting his hood up over his head. I nodded and slowly walked over to where he was standing against the wall.

"What's up?" I looked up, crossing my arms.

"How are you?" He asked me awkwardly, causing me to laugh a little.

"I'm good," I paused.

"You?"

"I'm doing pretty good right now, can't complain," He smiled crookedly.

"But, I'm not here to make small talk. I wanted to know if you want to come to this patio bar thing like five minutes away."

"Eh, why not? I'll come." I decided.

"Well, let's go, I guess." He laughed.

"Hey Lisa, tell AJ where I am, okay?" I called over to her. She nodded and gave me the thumbs up.

"Where are you parked?" I asked him, the only constant sound was the gravel under our feet.

"Right here." He unlocked his BMW.

I walked to the passenger side and climbed in while he put his stuff in the back, then made his way to the drivers seat and got in.

"Ready to go?" He asked, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his center console.

I laughed at this action,

"Sure am, freight train."

"Freight train?" He questioned, lighting it up.

"You smoke like a freight train." I explained, smiling a bit.

"Ah, I get it now. Did you come up with that one by yourself?" He replied, making me laugh loudly.

"You're something else, Wood."

"I know." He said, taking a puff off the cig, then flicking a few ashes out the window.

"Here we are." He pulled into a small diner. It had a patio with small stringed lights all across it in rows. The tables were black and the chairs red. We got seated in the patio, Alex ordering a beer with some name I couldn't pronounce, while I got a water. The waiters and waitresses were dressed very casually, but also dressy at the same time. So like a dressy - casual thing.

"So, we haven't got to like formally talk. Tell me about you." He starts, staring at me directly.

"Well, what do you wanna know?" I asked.

"Why do you live with Pierzynski?" He asked bluntly, causing my throat to get a little hiccup in it.

"It's a long ass story." I laugh, but not in a good way.

"I've got time." He stared at me.

"Let's just say, my parents were not very decent and leave it at that." I rub my hands on my jeans nervously.

"Okay, anyways," he starts.

"What made you want to start playing softball?" He finally goes onto a topic I actually enjoy.

"AJ. I watched him playing baseball and he seemed like he was having the time of his life. He's also the reason I'm a catcher." I smile.

"Continue. I'm enjoying watching your eyes." He admits, causing me to blush.

"So in elementary school, I started playing it, mainly because I wanted to be like uncle J. But in middle school, it took on a different meaning to me. It was the only stable thing really,"

"And I mean that in a sense of, no matter where we moved because of AJ and baseball, whenever I put on my gear, or stepped into that batters box, I was a completely different person for a little while. Then when we moved down here my freshman year of high school, I started playing on the school softball team. A few colleges were super interested in me late my junior year, but UGA and Vanderbilt really wanted me." I breathed.

"Why'd you choose Vandy?" He looked at me. This was the first time I had seen his eyes actually have some type of spark in them since that day when he was talking about pitching.

"Because I wanted out of Georgia. That's honestly the only reason." I admitted.

"Makes sense." He shrugged as we got our food.

"Do you live by yourself?" I turned the conversation back on him as he took a bite out of his pizza.

"Sure do." He stated simply. We sat in silence for pretty much the rest of the meal until we got in the car.

"Am I taking you back to AJ's?" He looks over at me.

"Yes, please." I say, causing him to laugh.

"What?" I smile.

"You just have really good manners." He laughs again.

"Okay.. Thanks, I guess." I trail.

"Wait, how do you know where AJ lives but I've never seen you there?" I question as we turn into our subdivision.

"I was there for his forth of July party." He states, getting back in the throttle.

"Oh, I was out of town for that because softball." I reply, unbuckling my seatbelt as he pulls in the driveway.

"Thanks for the ride." I smile, opening the door.

"Hey," he stops me.

"What?" I look at him.

"This one's for you." He tells me, lighting up another cigarette.

I laugh,

"See ya later."

A/n: longest chapter yet! I hope you guys enjoyed it because I think this is so cute. Love you guys!