Page 33 of The Strike Zone

Alice: He wants to be

Scout: We’re just friends

Alice: He asked you on a date

Scout: And I said no. Hence, we’re friends. And you swore you wouldn’t repeat it

Alice: I’m keeping my promise, but that doesn’t stop me from saying you’re only friends until the day he’s in your panties *smirk emoji*

Alice: How soon will that be?

Scout: Why do I hang out with you again?

Alice: Because your life would be dull AF without me

Alice: How’s Chicago anyway?

Scout: Dull without you

Alice: See, told ya. Bring me back some deep dish, will you?

Scout: I’ll see what I can do. Gotta go

Alice: Same, probs should do some work and get selling

Ishut my phone off, slipped it in my pocket, and glanced up.

Joey and Cyrus, along with a few of the other guys, were standing around in the loading bay of Wrigley Field, waiting for our rookies to arrive. A couple of them were tossing a baseball to each other; Jess, one of the comms girls, was on her phone, and the rest were leaning, bored, against the wall.

While it was—unfairly, I might add—assumed the social team did nothing more than stand around and capture whatever they happened upon, we didactuallywork our butts off. We ran to a tight schedule, especially on away stretches when we were under more of a time crunch.

Not to mention when things went wrong, we couldn’t wing it as easily as we might be able to back at Lions Stadium.

Because something always went wrong, which likely accounted for the reason why we still hadn’t started yet.

We were definitely too busy to have—one, two, three…seven of us—waiting like this. Usually there were three guys here max, all working on rotation because we always needed someone back at base in New York. But the first away game against the Cubs was always a popular one to travel to.

I checked my watch again, then the schedule on the clipboard. We were going on thirty minutes delayed. Any longer and it would get pulled because the rookies would be needed at practice, or whatever they did before a game.

“Does anyone know what the holdup is?”

The response I got was either a shrug or a head shake.

“I walked past the locker room an hour ago and could hear a lot of swearing, mostly,” added Cyrus, without looking up from the mini handheld video camera we were using.

“Did any of you see the dress-up?”

Joey shook his head. “No, but they’re big. I saw the carriers for them.”

“Okay. We’ll keep waiting, I guess,” I replied as my phone buzzed again.

Shit Head: Scout, please answer.

Shit Head: I miss you. I want to explain.

Shit Head: Are you really going to keep punishing me for one stupid mistake.

Shit Head: It wouldn’t have happened if you’d come with me like I’d asked.

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