safe with me. / c yelich. ✔️

5.

"if i could tell her..."

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n a d i a .

The car ride to wherever Christian was taking us was awfully quiet, almost awkward. I decided that I needed to spruce things up and strike up a conversation.

"So, Mister MVP, how's life been treating ya? Any fun things going on?" I asked as I turned my head to look at him. He glanced over at me quick before turning his attention back to the road.

"Life's been going. Y'know, baseball this, baseball that. I'm pretty engulfed in baseball, now that we're pretty far into the season." He shrugged. "But, I'm used to that by now. Got the All Star Game coming up, so I'm excited for that." He flashed me a smile.

I nodded, listening to him. "I mean, your life is way more exciting than mine." I laughed, running my fingers through my hair. "I don't do much, and now moving out from California, I gotta figure out my life." I said followed by a sigh. "I got a job with the pro-shop, but, I wanna hopefully get a job where I'm able to be out on the field, be able to see what's actually going on. See my favorite MVP hit some home runs." I told him with a wink, causing him to smile.

"I mean, once you started cheering for me, it was like a fire lit up and I played pretty good for the rest of the game. Like I said, I think you're going to be my good luck charm."

My cheeks flushed a shade of pink when he mentioned his good luck charm comment again. Stop Nadia, he's just your best friend...Right?

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Christian pulled up to this small diner I didn't even recognize and I looked over at him. "We going back in time?" I asked with a laugh.

He shrugged and looked at me. "I went here with the guys one time and it's kind of cool. The inside is all 50's themed, and I know you used to be into vintage stuff, I thought we could check this place out." He said as he went around to my side of the car and opened the door just as I was reaching for the handle.

"Thanks, bud." I laughed, looking up at him. That kid was fucking tall, last time I saw him, I wasn't looking all the way up at the clouds to see him.

Christian nodded and grabbed my hand and swung our arms like how we used to when walking in the halls at school.

Everyone always thought Christian and I were going to be a couple. For the longest time, people thought we were actually dating. At the time we thought everyone was crazy, even now, it's just something that I never thought about. When Christian left for the Major League in Miami, I was crushed; I knew I didn't know when the next time I would see him would be. But, I was proud of him for going out there and crushing goals and achieving dreams he always talked about. I just wish what we had didn't fizzle out..

We walked inside the restaurant and took a seat in a booth, Christian sitting across from me. I fixed my jacket as I sat down and looked over at him. "So.."

He looked at me with a charming smile. "So..How's family back in California? I miss your mom's lunches she would pack me." He laughed.

"That's because you never packed a lunch or took what the school was offering and she wanted you to be healthy!" I said with a laugh. "But, they're great. Mom's still got her publishing job, Dad's still a VP, little Oliver is at home with mom and dad. Then there's me, Aspen and Gage out in Milwaukee." I kept my attention on him, noticing how he didn't take his eyes off of me once. He was genuinely interested in what I had to say.

"Man, I remember when Oliver was born! Crazy to think it's been almost 6 years since we last saw one another." He said as he ran his fingers through his brown curls.

I nodded. "Crazy, right? I missed my best friend like crazy. I bet he was a major flirt with all the girls while in Miami, though, right?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"For a little bit, but then I really focused on baseball and myself. I think I seriously dated one girl and that lasted about 9 months. Other than that, I was just talking to girls here and there. But the conversations would become so dry, it was hard to keep a conversation going with them." He shrugged. "What about you? I bet guys can't resist your beautiful self, they probably are drooling over you." He stated as I blushed and rolled my eyes.

"Oh totally, the boys are chasing after me. Got them in my messages every day.." I said sarcastically. "Honestly, I haven't dated anyone in over a year. He was a nice guy, just, didn't really connect towards the end of our relationship. I didn't want to keep him around if he obviously wasn't happy and we weren't really doing anything to mend the relationship." I explained to him. "I'm surprised you weren't flirting it up with the girls. I'm sure they couldn't keep their hands off of you."

Christian's gaze never left mine. "Nah, I respected their boundaries, and some, really didn't respect mine, but, I got over it. I want to find a girl eventually though that's going to be my number one supporter and be there with me until the end, y'know? Loyalty is everything."

I nodded, agreeing with what he said. "And you definitely deserve that. You're a very handsome guy, and you're nice as well, so it shouldn't be hard for girls to fall for you. I mean, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to be loved by one of baseball's best and most attractive." I said, realizing I should've just shut up. Way to go, Nadia.

He rose an eyebrow then smirked at me. "Does Nadia Anes have the hots for me? Even after not seeing me for six years?" He teased, causing me to blush really red.

"Shut up! I can call my best friend attractive, or is that against a code?" I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.

"So that gives me permission to say my best friend is absolutely gorgeous?" He asked, causing me to hide my face in my hands to avoid him seeing me blush so hard.

"Christiannnnnn, stoooppp." I whined as I looked up at him again. "You're just saying that because you're my friend."

"Such a lie. I truly mean it." He said, a more serious tone to his voice.

I looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Well, thank you. I really appreciate it.."

Christian gave me a nod. "No need to thank me. Now, let's eat!"

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I hadn't had that much fun with someone at dinner in a long while and it was definitely more better with Christian being the one to take me. The car ride definitely wasn't awkward; we were jamming out to old throwbacks that we would sing in the car back in high school. It was probably the most fun I had since before I even started dating my ex.

When we got back to my place, Christian decided he was going to walk me to the door. "Christian, you seriously don't have to walk me to the door, I'm fine." I said, looking at him with a smile.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to." He said, insisting he walked me to the door.

As we got up on the porch, I gave him one last hug before looking up at him. "Thank you, again. I had a lot of fun tonight and it's always fun with you." I smiled at him, looking in his eyes.

Christian gave me a smile, looking back in my eyes. "I had a lot of fun, and I said you don't have to thank me." He leaned down and as I thought he was going to kiss me, he kissed my forehead, causing me to blush. "I'll text you later. But, coming to my game tomorrow? Would love to see my best friend sporting my number." He asked, and I nodded.

"I definitely will be there cheering you on." I said. "But, I might need a Yelich jersey; Don't have one yet. But I know this one guy, he's got a ton.." I hinted, giggling.

"I'll bring you one of my shirseys. It'll be a special one, no one else has it. Except for my number one fan." He winked and gave me a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he pulled back from the hug and I nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Yelich." I said as I smirked and then laughed.

"See you tomorrow, Nads." He said before I walked in the house. He hadn't called me Nads in so long..

I can't believe I'm falling for my best friend..