Ship to Wreck

2

Christian came down from the high of his walk off, the cheesy grin not leaving his face. Though the outcome was exhilarating, the fact that the game went 12 innings was not. He was ready to hop in his truck and just go home, but he needed to grab some food before he could do that.

Chipotle. The answer was always Chipotle.

He knew the one on Ogden was always dead around this time of night, and it was the closest to his apartment, so he parked his car as close as possible and looked down as he walked in. He loved Milwaukee fans, but he was exhausted. Completely exhausted and didn't really want to put on the MVP face.

A clatter broke him out of his head and he instinctively bent down to pick them up, his head nearly slamming against the owner of the keys on the floor. When he looked up, his breath nearly caught in his chest. She was... stunning. Something about her bright green eyes truly enraptured him.

"Long day?" Christian found himself asking, seeing the dark circles under her eyes.

"Just a bit, thank you," the stranger smiled, her full lips nice and pink. Jesus Christian, stop thinking with your dick.

"I feel that today," he responded, watching her chuck the offending keys into her purse. God she had a certain... flair, that seriously intrigued him.

"Well, thanks again, kind stranger," she smiled again, a tilt of amusement on her mouth. Christian needed to see more of that smile. He craved it.

"Let me buy you dinner," he rushed out, feeling his chest get warm with embarrassment. She probably had a boyfriend, or at least a cat, and not enough time to eat dinner with a fucking stranger.

Yep. The grin showing off her pearly whites just about confirmed the rejection.

"That's very kind of you, but I have to get my boyfriend food, too," the stranger gave him almost a challenging smirk that had Christian shrugging.

"I don't mind, really," Christian found himself saying.

Which is how he found himself paying for himself, Ms. Athena Williams, and her yet-to-be-named boyfriend.

He really didn't mind; a name like Athena and a smile like that were enough to have him smitten.

***

"Garrett, you need to give me more than 10 hours notice for an event!" Christian sighed in exasperation, half-heartedly eating his Chipotle. It was nearing midnight after a night game, and now he was being asked to speak at a local high school the next morning.

He loved his job, and he was honored to receive the MVP...

But he kinda wished he was the lesser-known Marlin's outfielder again. He wanted relaxing days again.

"I'll do it, G. Send me the address," he said softly, downing his beer. Guess it was an early night, instead of finding a girl on instagram.

"Will do, Christian. Thanks again, man. The kids have no idea. They'll be stoked," Christian could hear Garrett's smile through the phone and he knew he was making the right decision. He got more of his gratification from the smiles he got from kids.

Christian hung up and finished his dinner, sighing again. He needed a full night's sleep if he was going to be dealing with teenagers at 10am.

As he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but see Athena's face as he fell asleep.

Those eyes.

***

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Christian," Christian smiled and shook the hands of the two coaches in front of him.

"I'm Duke, the coach of girls softball," he smiled brightly, giving Christian a firm handshake.

"I'm Jeremy, the baseball coach. Thank you for coming out on short notice. It's the start of the season for the boys and they're coming off a disappointing end to last season. They could use some advice," the other coach said, a bit somberly, as he shook Christian's hand.

"Of course. Milwaukee is such a great baseball community. Anything for the kids, y'know," he smiled.

"Exactly. So we'll be in the gym, just this way," Duke said, still smiling and leading Christian to the typical high school gym, where about 75 people were hanging around.

Almost immediately, his eyes landed on a figure trying to corral the girls team.

Athena. Shit.

***

His speech went... like any other speech to a high school. But, the whole time, his eyes were on Athena. God, seeing in her element was seriously fucking with him.

"Hey, man, thank you so much for coming out. The kids seriously appreciate it, and so do we," Jeremy smiled brightly. "You are welcome here any time and always have tickets to their games, though I am sure you're busy."

"Thanks, man. I may take you up on that some time. They're great kids," he smiled and shook his hand again before discreetly making his way to Athena.

"Hello there, Ms. Williams," Christian smiled softly, heart racing at her blush.

"Hello, Mr. Yelich. Thank you again for dinner," she smiled softly, brushing a softly curled strand of black hair behind her ear, showing off her industrial piercing.

Mailman. Mailman. Mailman. Christian thought to himself, taking a deep breath.

"It's my pleasure," he smiled softly, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

"Can I pay you back?" Athena asked, going to her pocket.

"Nope. Maybe... Let me take you out to coffee when you get off. Just as a new friend," he smiled.

"I... I can do that," she smiled softly. "I'll probably be done at 4. How about you give me your number and I'll text you when I'm done. Anodyne?"

"I'd like that," Christian grinned and put his number into Athena's phone. "Text me when you're off. It'll be right around when I get out of the gym so I'll be close to Anodyne and we can meet there."

"Perfect," Athena gave her new friend a smile and a soft wave before ushering her class back.

Jesus Christ, Christian. What are you doing? He asked himself, unable to stop himself from watching Athena as she left.

Thank god for off days.