Page 82 of Make My Heart Malt

When I stroll from the bedroom into the living room, I’m met with six sets of eyes watching me. I sheepishly smile at everyone and give a small wave, slightly self-conscious. Garrett turns to me, his eyes full of affection, and in a few steps, his fingers entwine with mine. He gives my hand a comforting squeeze, simmering my nerves a little.

He bends down and whispers, “Don’t be nervous. Everyone will love you.” He turns his attention to his teammates and friends. “Hey everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Dessa.” Over the next several minutes, I officially meet Randy, the center fielder, and his pregnant girlfriend, Tori, along with second baseman Joe Salter, his wife Melanie, and their two kids. Cora is an adorable four-year-old with curly red hair and Blake, who’s six years old, has a mop of thick, dark brown hair like his dad.

With a swift motion, Garrett snatches his backpack off the floor and effortlessly tosses it over one shoulder. Turning his attention to me, he says, “We have to head to the stadium for our pre-game workout and meetings. These lovely ladies will take care of you.” He presses his lips to mine. My heart jumps to my throat as my eyes go wide. This is the first time we’ve kissed in front of other people. I'm unsure if he meant to do it or if it was out of habit. He pulls away a fraction of an inch.

“Did you mean to kiss me?—”

“In front of everyone? Yes.” He gives me another chaste kiss.

“Enough with the making out. You'll have plenty of time to do that after we win,” Joe teases.

Garrett holds up his hand, about to give him the middle finger, thinks better of it with the kids present, and waves him off instead. He cups my cheek. “I’ll see you at the stadium.”

The guys leave and Tori and Melanie turn to me, wide, knowing grins on both their faces.

“Tell us everything,” Tori says.

“We’ve never seen Garrett so invested in someone. Even when he was with that one girl. The model,” Melanie adds.

Months ago, I remember seeing Garrett in the tabloids with a model on his arm, and every time, I’d roll my eyes. I don’t know if it was jealousy or spite seeing him with someone else when it was so easy for him to leave me. But looking back, he was never smiling. He never looked at her like he looks at me now. It solidifies what we’re doing, what we have, what we share, is real.

Cora tugs on her mom’s shirt. “Okay. Let’s go get lunch, then we can interrogate Dessa.” Melanie winks, then adds, “Only if you want.”

“Sure. Even though there’s not much to tell,” I say with a shrug.

Tori’s dark eyebrows raise to her hairline. “With the way he looks at you, I’m sure there’s a lot to say.”

We all climb into Melanie’s SUV, and she drives us to a restaurant a few blocks from the stadium.

After we’re seated and food is ordered, Tori turns to me. “How did you and Garrett meet?”

How complicated do I want to make this? I’m not really one to share my life story with strangers, so I go with a simplified version. “We were friends a long time ago and then we lost touch for ten years before reconnecting at his brother’s wedding.” I take a sip of my water.

“Oh, so there’s a lot of history.” Tori rests her chin on her hand and leans in.

Cora sits on Melanie’s lap while Blake sits next to her drawing in an activity book when she asks, “So you haven’t experienced the full baseball life yet?”

I shake my head. “I get the gist, but no, I’ve never actually done it. What’s it like? What’s the game-day routine?” This is something that’s always fascinated me. Garrett’s told me about his day-to-day routine, but I don’t know how it is from a partner’s perspective.

“It all depends on where we are. Sometimes we’ll go out for food before a game, sometimes we’ll eat at the stadium. We’ll watch the game, and then afterward we’ll hang out in the family room while the players finish their post-game interviews and workout. Then we do it again the next day.”

I nod along with everything Melanie’s saying. I know baseball is a grueling schedule. Could this be my new life? “Do you two also live in Seattle?”

“We have a condo in the city, but we also have a housein Florida. Joe and I both grew up in Melbourne, so that’s where we like to go in the offseason,” Melanie says.

My eyes go wide. “Wow. So, you have three different houses.”

Melanie nods.

“Same here,” Tori adds, resting a hand on her small baby bump, “except we stay in Seattle during the offseason. Also, I’ll add, we don’t necessarily go to every game because it can be a lot of travel, especially once the baby comes. Instead, if the team has a charity event, the wives or girlfriends will attend those in lieu of a game. It lets us be supportive outside of just being at the game.”

My mind is blown. I never would have imagined the significant others would play such a prominent role at these events. “Was it hard to adjust to living your life on their schedule? Did you give up your own careers to follow theirs?” Now that the floodgates have opened, I have all the questions. Things I never thought about before. I don’t know if I want to give up who I am to follow someone else’s dream.

“I won’t say it’s easy,” Melanie says, “but it’s gotten easier over time. It’s become our routine. A part of our daily life now. They play one hundred sixty-two games a season, then more if the team makes the playoffs. But the four or five months Joe’s not working is the most amazing time. He’s home and so attentive to the kids. We get a lot of family time in during those months, so it kind of makes up for the time he’s away.”

I nod along, hanging onto her every word. This could be my life someday. “It’s especially hard for Garrett and me right now because he lives in Seattle, and I live in Minnesota. We wouldn’t necessarily have those four or five months together.”

“When you date a baseball player, you date baseball.”Tori laughs. “I didn’t expect everything to be like this. I readjusted my work schedule as a fashion blogger so I could do it remotely. I’ve been super lucky with that.”

---