It was 3:30 pm and the guys were sitting at the dugout drinking some pop. "Wanna go talk to Mr. Mertle now?" I asked Benny and Scotty. They nodded, "Sure." "We'll see you guys soon. We're just gonna go see how Mr. Mertle is doing." Benny said. "Look out for Hercules. He get's lonley." I told them. I got on my knees and started petting him. "Yes he does. He wants to be loved too. Oh yes he does." I said in a baby voice. "Uh Ash, you okay there?" Benny asked me while chuckling. I got up and cleared my throat. "Why, yes I am thank you." I said and walked ahead.
We walked to Mr. Mertles' front door and I knocked. "Benny? Is that you?" He asked. "Yes it is sir. It's me, Scotty, and Ashley. We're keeping up with the deal." Benny said. He walked up to the door and smiled, "Please come in." Benny opened the door and let us walk in. We walked into the same room that we were in last week. We sat down on some chairs. "Want anything to drink? I have some water and lemonade." Mr. Mertle asked us. "Uh, yes please. I'll have some water." Scotty said. "I'll have some lemonade please." I said Benny said the same thing too. He handed me and Benny a cup of lemonade and a water bottle to Scotty. He sat down at his desk. "How are you guys doing today?" He asked us. "Fine sir. We decided to take a little break from playing some baseball and decided to come see how you were doing." Benny said. "You guys play everyday?" He asked. "Yup. Everyday." Benny said. "Well, Benny could play all day. Morning, night, rain, heat. Whatever weather it is, he'll want to play." Scotty said. All four of us laughed. "That's good. Is baseball life to you?" He asked Benny. "It is. I really want to a professional player one day." Benny said. "You'll get there. You'll see. I have faith in you, and so does your friends and family. But... you have another thing that is life to you now. Don't you." He said. I was confused. "What do you mean sir?" Benny asked. "Ashley." He simply said. "Oh." I said. He laughed. "You two are dating. Am I right?" He asked. "Yes sir, you are." Benny said.
"How did you two start dating?" He asked. "Well uhm, I liked her and she liked me an--" Benny was starting to say the obvious but Mr. Mertle interupted him. "I know HOW you two started dating, but how did it happen? Weren't you the guy that was in love with baseball and only baseball. Only hanging around with his friends and nothing more. Come home from school and go straight to playing baseball. Not thinking about the girls at school that have noticed you and tried to get your attention." He said. I got a little jealous when he said that. I forgot. School starts soon and only the gang knows that we're together. I wonder what everyone at school is gonna think. "Something brought you two together. I'm guessing it's the love you two have for baseball." He said. Well, he was right. "You're right sir. It was baseball. But not just baseball. It was the way that he was so different, funny, kind. The way he defended my brother when the rest made fun of him. The way he is such a gentlemen. That also brought us two together." I said while looking at Benny and smiling. He smiled back at me. "I can feel the love in here. Oh lord!!" Mr. Mertle said and we all laughed. "Uhm yeah. If we're just gonna talk about Benny and my sister dating, is it okay if I leave?" Scotty said. We laughed. "You'll find a girl someday son. Don't worry about." He said. I looked over at Scotty and he was blushing. "Aww your blushing." I said. "Shut up!" Scotty said and we all laughed.
