love letters (harrison bader)

chapter two

William Congreve to Mrs. Arabella Hunt (ca. 1690):

"May I take farewell of thee 'til my soul takes leave of my body; at least he cannot restrain me from loving; no, I will love thee in spite of all opposition."

***

The first call came when Georgia was getting ready for Anthony's celebration dinner for his first week as a Yankee. Of course, because Callie had planned the whole thing, they were going to a fancy restaurant with their whole friend group and a few of Anthony's old teammates. She wasn't expecting it; the pair had exchanged texts once or twice, but never made any effort to seek each other out before.

Yet still, Georgia's phone rang. And, she might not admit it, but when she saw that it was him calling she raced to pick it up. "Hey," she said nervously.

"Hey, baby," Harrison Bader's voice rang clearly through her phone.

"Absolutely not," she responded immediately, all awkwardness dissipating. Harrison was still his normal, flirty self, "Are you going out tonight?" 

"Yeah, with a bunch of the guys," Harrison replied through a smile, "It'll be fun. We're just going to a sports bar near the stadium. How about you?"

"Anthony's girlfriend is throwing him this dinner to celebrate his first week in the majors. It's just going to be me and my siblings, Anthony, Callie, Allison's husband Eric, and two of Anthony's old teammates." she explained. The dinner would be extravagant, since Callie was throwing it. They were meeting at Masa for dinner and, most likely, to share a very expensive bottle of wine. Georgia could only hope her sister, Allison, would be footing the bill.

"Wow, none of us made the cut?" Harrison joked, feigning offense. 

"He met y'all last week, Bader," Georgia responded playfully, "He's known us since he was fourteen." 

"Please, it's Harry," he protested, "And, then I guess I will spare you the invitation." Suddenly, Georgia's thoughts became rampant. Was Harrison, or Harry as he insisted, really considering inviting her out with the team?

"This time," Georgia responded wistfully. She felt bold and she didn't want to waste it, "But next time you find yourself about to go out... call me?" She heard Harry choke on the other line and anxiously awaited his reply.

After a long pause, Harry stated, "I probably would have anyways." Georgia felt her heart come to a crashing halt. For what felt like ages, but must have been only a few minutes, she was rendered completely speechless. "Hey, I'll... catch you later, okay? Have fun at dinner!" Harrison continued.

"Um, yeah, I- I'll try. You too." Georgia hung up the call, still having minor heart palpitations, and started to do her hair. Mindlessly, she continued going through the motions of getting ready-- applying makeup, curling and re-curling her stubborn hair, and trying on outfit after outfit, hopeful for the perfect combination. Eventually, she settled on a brown sleeveless bodysuit, low-rise jeans, a brown leather jacket, a pair of red heels, and her prized possession-- her red Chanel flap bag. She finished off her outfit with her matching set of Van Cleef white motif jewelry: a ten motif necklace, a bracelet, and a pair of magic earrings. She had received the set in pieces: first the necklace as a birthday gift from Callie, then the bracelet as a christmas present from her parents, and finally, the earrings, which she bought herself after two long years of saving up her minute paychecks from managing her college bookstore.

Georgia must have just finished getting ready in time because she heard a knock at her apartment door. Rushing to open it, she realized it was her older siblings, Austin and Allison, and Allison's husband Eric. "Hey guys," she exclaimed, "I'm just finishing getting ready. Why don't y'all come in?" Whenever she talked with her siblings, her North Carolina accent peaked through.