Inning of Love (Complete and being edited)

INNING FOUR.

DEAN

"You must be Dean." Seth's lip curls.

I clear my throat and put out my hand to properly introduce myself to the man at the door. I gulp, "Y-yes sir. I am Dean, it is nice to meet you."

"Seth, you leave the poor boy alone." A blonde girl dictates.

She steps in front of the brown-haired man and gives me a friendly smile.

"Hi Dean, don't mind this guy right here." She elbows Seth and giggles. "This is Seth, Scar's brother, and I am Valerie. I am Seth's girlfriend. Come on in."

"Thank you." I step into the small but quaint threshold. There are pictures framed everywhere, mainly black and white photos. I glance at the one nearest to me on the left and it seems to be the only one of color. It is a picture of Scarlett, Seth, and two other people that I presume are her parents. She looks beautiful in the picture and has the most jubilant smile plastered across her face. I wish she would smile like that more often. It is breathtaking.

"Dean, would you like anything to drink while you wait? She should almost be done." Valerie asked as I look away from the picture.

"No, thank you though."

"That was the last family picture that was taken before our parents died." Seth states as he stands next to me holding his glass of water.

"I am sorry about your folks. I kind of accidentally found out the other night when my mom was talking with Scarlett at dinner." I look back at the photo. "She looks so happy here."

"Yeah. She hasn't exactly been the same since it happened. You know what's even more crazy to me, is she hasn't even played since it happened. There wasn't a day where she wasn't pitching, especially when my pops was still here. I have never seen someone her age so devoted or in love with a sport. Literally, it was eat, sleep, softball for Scarlett. And when the accident happened, it just stopped. Almost like a part of her died with our parents."

I don't want to pry about how exactly their parents died so I don't ask. "I didn't know that she played ball." I admit, much to my dismay.

"Oh, fuck yeah she played." Seth boasts. "Here, let me show you a video of one of her games." Seth pulls out his phone and scrolls though his gallery and finds the video. "Here."

I watch the one-minute long video, becoming even more impressed with this amazing girl. "God, she has a fucking beast of an arm...oops sorry. Excuse my language."

Seth chuckles and pats my shoulder. "Dude, you are fine. I don't mind the language. Just take care of her alright. I really haven't seen her this happy in months and it gives me hope that the old Scar will emerge one day."

My body loosens and I give him an assuring smile. "I will, don't worry. I really care for her...oh wow!" My jaw drops as soon as I glimpse at the stunning girl in the royal blue dress. Her hair is straightened with a half-up, half-down look. The dress she has on is flawless on her, accentuating her toned legs in the front, and with the heels she has on, her 5'5 self will be able to reach my neck. I am 6'3, so her height is even more adorable to me. "Excuse me." I finally say to Seth as I walk over to Scarlett.

I put my hand over my chest as I am about to have a heart attack. I mean, it could happen as I stand here completely breathless. "You look remarkable." I mutter. Fuck, she's gorgeous.

She bats her eyes and I watch her eyes examine my outfit. I wore dark blue jeans, with a black button under shirt and a gray vest with a royal blue tie, and black dress shoes. I looked inadequate next to her. "You too." She mutters with a smile.