𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 | 𝐛. 𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳

𝐭𝐞𝐧 | 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧

THE BARTENDER SLIDES TWO GLASSES TO US, taking the ten from Lennon. She hands me one, then grabs one for herself.
"Didn't take you for a drinker." I say, grabbing the glass.
     I press my lips to the rim of the glass, tilting my head back. The coke hits my throat and it's sweet and cold. The rum follows and it's also sweet. But, instead, it tastes like toasted sugar or caramel. It's warmer than the coke, sending warmth into my head. But, not enough to make my head fuzzy.
     "I didn't take you for a Drinker either. Guess we both were wrong." She says, drinking her drink as well. "Besides, I actually know how to hold my liquor."
     I raise an eyebrow, biting my lip as I set the glass down on the bar.
     "You wanna take me on?" I ask. "I'm pretty sure I could outdrink your arrogant ass."
     She smiles, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her lips are glossy and her skin is smooth like glass.
     "While I would love to take you up on that offer, I can't. You and I both have an image to maintain." She says.
     The tension between us is thick. If it was visible, you could cut it with a knife. I look over her shoulder and spot Cal talking to Rodger, Mark, and Tony. Cal looks over at us and, suddenly, his smile fades. I look back at Lennon and lean into her ear.
"Oh, don't look now, but Cal is watching us. I might just have to kiss you—make someone you actually care about jealous." I say.
I didn't realize how much anger I had hidden down in the back of my mind. I forced her away and locked her up and threw away the key to keep her forgotten. But, now, she's fished the key out of the lake I threw it in and freed herself from the prison I made for her.
"I don't care about Cal, Benny. If I did, I wouldn't be over here talking to you. I came to you." She says.
I smile, lifting the glass to my lips. I take another sip of the intoxicating tonic. Maybe, if I drink enough, I'll open my mind again and let her back in.
"Are you sure you really want to be seen with me? I'm not such a good boy to the press." I say.
She rolls her eyes, tipping her hat slightly. The dirt from all those years ago is still pressed firmly into the threads of the hat.
"Benny, aren't you forgetting something? I'm in the Press. And, may I add, you're the "boy next door" of the MLB. They love you." She says, leaning towards me.
Our faces are close and we share the same breath of air. She smells sweet. Daisies. She always smells like Daisies.
"I suppose I should go mingle with the other players, huh? But, uh, we should continue this talk. It was nice—like old times." She says.
I nod. She stands, walking away. She walks towards Cal and Rodger, waving as she approaches them. They all raise their glasses and smile. I order another drink, slowly sipping on it as the night goes on. I watch Lennon stand with Cal, Rodger, Tony, and Mark for nearly two hours before I decide their turn is up. My turn. I set my glass down on the bar after emptying it and approach her. I take her empty glass, hand it to Cal, and take her hand.
"I'd like to finish that talk now, in private." I say, raising an eyebrow at the boys.
She parts her lips and looks up at me, then nods. She looks at the boys and smiles.
"I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot more often now. Don't be strangers, alright? You've always got a friend in the Press." She says.
The boys nod, smiling at her. Her hand is small in my own and I'm suddenly aware of the chipped lavender nail polish on her nails.
"See you later, Davis, have fun tonight and don't drink too much, alright?" Cal asks.
She nods. I pull on her arm, dragging her away from them. My head is fuzzy and warm. I have tunnel vision. All I can see is her. She looks up at me as we walk to the door, her blue eyes piercing through me. My heart throbs in my chest and I'm suddenly overwhelmingly hot. My throat feels tight, like I've just run a marathon, and I desire to step outside. I move my feet faster and push the door open, the cool, evening air hitting me like a Mack truck. We step outside, the doors closing behind us.
      "Are you alright, Benny? You look exhausted." Lennon says, an eyebrow raised.
       I nod, leaning back against the wall, breathing deeply. She leans back beside me, staring up at the dark sky.
        "You did really good in today's game," She says, turning her head to look at me. "I was really proud of you. You've obviously gotten even better since we last saw one another."
        I raise an eyebrow and look over at her now. I stand before her, staring down into her piercing blue eyes, heart throbbing. My hand is beside her head and I'm leaning down to look at her. She hurt me so bad when she left, why am I still so magnetically attracted to her?
        "Benny, I never meant to hurt you. Something came up and—" She says.
"Can we just forget about the Sandlot? We were kids back there and now, we're adults. I don't really want to talk about the Sandlot anymore." I say harshly.
She furrows her brows and frowns at me, a sad, hurt expression on her face as she listens to me.
"The Sandlot is where your career was born—it's where you became 'The Jet'. You can't just forget your history," She says. "It's part of who we are."
I look down at her, knowingly giving her a mindless, sad, angry, confused expression. The Sandlot practically raised me, but Lennon being there was the main reason I stayed.
"Alright, everyone, party's over. Let's get back on the bus and head home." Daniel says.
            I stand up straight, nodding to Daniel. Lennon stares at me, eyes wide, curious, and full of wonder.
            "Lennon, sit by me again?" Cal asks as he exits the venue.
              Lennon nods, looking up at me seriously. She approaches Cal as he smiles at her.
              "Let's go," She says, walking away with him towards the bus.