Major League Trouble ; Cody Bellinger

Nine: Distance is toxic, not us

In that moment, I felt both desire and opposition. Cody seemed almost frustrated. We knew the rules in our line of work, but our minds searched vigorously for loopholes.

Without hesitation, Cody took a chance and connected our lips. Actions really did speak louder than words. Part of me knew it was wrong but the other part of me would not allow me to discontinue this fanciful notion.

We pulled apart with our foreheads resting on one another's. I had no idea what was going to happen from here. "I've wanted to do that ever since the night at the club," Cody admits, with a hint of embarrassment. I smile at his comment. "What the hell are we doing, Cody?" My smile turns into a frustrated sigh as I paced towards the living room. "Damn it," he looks down, knowing he went to far. "I know this puts us in an awkward position," he begins. He takes a brief look at me as if contemplating what to say. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. If you want- I'll forget this ever happened," he hesitates the last part. That was the last thing I wanted. "I could lose my job, Cody," I had a million things running through my mind. "I guess it's for the best then. Strictly friends," he sighs. "That's the most we can be," I add thinking of the other options. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he says as I had my back to him. I couldn't look at him. It would just make things way harder than they already were. The last thing I heard was the door shut. As soon as it closed I broke into tears.

I may have just lost the best thing ever given to me.

—§—

March 3rd, Friday. (One week later)

Cody and I hadn't talked much since our unspeakable night last week. We exchange meaningful glances ever so often, though. I could feel that the other guys knew something was up between us but I had always brushed off any questions or concerns with a joke or a simple subject change.

Doc was at the Royals game with Cody, while I was in the dugout at the Diamondbacks. Things were not looking good for us. "Fuck!" Corey enters the dugout after striking out. I ignore it. He had a right to be pissed. We were losing 8 to nothing and Corey hadn't a single hit. After observing Corey's state of frustration, I made the switch to put Chris at shortstop so he'd get some time switched in Ramos to bat in his spot.

After the 7th inning, we finally put numbers on the board. Changes were made and they had seemed to work today. Everyone has off days. Corey was up and into the game again. His mood had gotten better now that he had calmed down. "Hey Jenna?" Corey asks, still invested in the game. "What?" I reply looking at him beside me. "What happened between you and Cody?" He states nonchalantly. "What makes you think anything happened between Cody and I?" I grow uneasy. "He wasn't himself this past week. Neither were you," he finally looks at me. "What are you talking about? I'm just as boring as I was last week," I try to joke but he doesn't laugh. "Cmon, Jenna. I know somethings up with you two," he half smiles. "I don't want to talk about it," I sigh. "That's fine. Just know that it's weird not seeing you both together all the time. And it's taking a toll on both of you," he looks back to the field. I think about what he meant.

—§—

March 8th, Wednesday.

It was 5pm. We had just lost against the Brewers and no one was even close to happy. "I have no idea what's gotten into us, but we need to fix it. Tomorrow we have an early morning practice. Hopefully we all benefit from it because this losing streak has gone on long enough. Get some rest. Some of you might want to get there early tomorrow," Doc says to everyone in the locker room. "Tomorrow's a new day," he adds before leaving. I follow that action to the temporary office I was given. Some of the media was going crazy over this spring training losing streak, blaming me for it. It didn't bother me much but instead provided me with motivation to prove them wrong.

On my way outside, Cody calls my name and jogs to catch up with me. "Hey," I say as he walks beside me. I was a little surprised. "Hey," he replies. I waited for him to say something else. I look over at him and notice he was staring at the ground in deep thought. He smiles before speaking again. "I can't stand this distance between us," he looks at me hesitantly. I sigh in relief. "Me neither. I thought it was just me," we both laugh at ourselves. "I know we can't really put what happened behind us, but maybe we can laugh about it," he asks hopefully. "I like that idea," I smile genuinely. "Thank God," he says relieved. "What do you think about pizza and binge-watching Friends?" I propose a plan for tonight. "I think that's an amazing idea, but if I may ask, what's Friends?" He questions with seriousness. "Oh my gosh! You're kidding right?" I was shocked. "Not at all," he laughs at my reaction. "It's only the most iconic television show of our generation," I over exaggerate. "I don't watch a lot of tv," he's amused by my enthusiastic description. "That's not a valid excuse!" I pretend to be authoritatively angry. "Well I guess you're just gonna have to show me every good movie and show ever made," he shrugs, trying to hide his smile. "Gladly. Someone's gotta educate you on the art of films," I say with complete seriousness.

Once we arrived back at the apartments, Cody came over immediately. He had already showered and changed in the locker room. "You order the pizza, I'm gonna go shower," I say immediately going to my bedroom. Cody set his bag down on the counter and pulled out his phone to call the pizza place.

"Is supreme Alright?" I hear Cody from outside the door. It startled me at first, as I was undressing. "Yea, that's fine," I reply back.

After a quick shower, I put on sweat pants and a dodgers t-shirt. I towel dried my hair as much as possible before exiting my room to find Cody on the couch looking at his phone and watching intentional talk. "Finally," Cody hears me. He looks back smiling. "What? I was barely in there 15 minutes," I smile too, defending myself. "Wow, you take forever," he shakes his head. "You should see how long it takes me on a bad day," I joke. "So today was good?" He looks at me hopeful. "I mean, pretty average," I shrug lying. It was amazing now that Cody and I were talking again. "Oh," he smiles, clearly not buying that. I roll my eyes but smile at his ability to tell when I'm lying. I sit down beside him and grab the remote, switching the tv to Netflix. I turn on friends, season 1 episode 1 and almost immediately there was a knock at the door. "Perfect timing," Cody gets up. "There should be twenty bucks on the counter," I look back at him. "Don't worry, I got it," he says grabbing his wallet and heading to the door. Instead of arguing, I watch him pay the guy in exchange for the pizza. He shuts the door and turns to me, smirking. I laugh at him and he soon joins me on the couch again. "Wait, lemme just-" instead of finishing my sentence, I get up and grab two bottles of water and napkins. I toss him one and sit back down. "Need anything else, princess?" He teases me. "No," I say with attitude jokingly. I press play and am overcome with nostalgia from when I started the show back when I was a teenager.

God I hate myself, sorry for taking over a month to update. I don't have as much motivation as I used to but I'm pumped for training season to start in a little over a month. I promise I'll probably update more then. And I'll try my hardest to have a new chapter before then.