Archive of Our Own

The phone was ringing when Ginny got out of the shower. She twisted her towel around her head and went to pick it up off the nightstand, smiling at the name "Pop" on the screen. "Hey Pop."

"Hey Ginny Bean." She almost cringed at her lifelong nickname. "I'm just making sure you got a flight out."

"I did. I'm coming in Thursday night," she replied.

"Good. Will will be here Friday morning."

She took a deep breath, sat on the couch, and said, "I'm bringing someone Pop."

"A boy?" It didn't matter how old Ginny got, she would always be a gangly brace-faced tween to her father.

"Um, technically yes. But he's not my boyfriend. He's my catcher."

"Oh, Mike." Bill Baker was pleasantly acquainted with Ginny's catcher, having heard his voice in the background of several calls to his daughter. He’d seen them play together and it was nothing short of magic, the kind of symbiosis that could get Ginny a ring.

"Yeah. He doesn't have anything to do so he decided to tag along for the weekend. I hope that's okay." Even if he said it wasn't, it would have to be because there was no way Ginny would tell Mike she couldn't bring him along.

"It's fine, Ginny Bean. You know the Bakers have never met a stranger."

Her voice dropped to the girlish secretive whisper reserved for special father-daughter confessions. "He's special, Pop."

Bill chuckled, already having surmised as much if only because of the frequency with which Ginny spent time with her catcher. "Is he?"

"He's my best friend."

"Is that all?" Bill had advised Ginny to keep her head on straight when the Padres began courting her, but there was something to her relationship with Mike that told him his advice would be moot in that particular endeavor. His suspicions were concerned by the long silence that preceded her answer.

"Yeah." She didn't sound even remotely sure and his fatherly mind wandered to what boundaries his little girl had crossed with her team captain, but he didn't press. Whatever went on would come to light in good time. He just hoped it didn't hurt her career. He wanted to be more hands own, but she insisted he stay in Tarboro, that she do this on her own, and most of him knew it was to prove to herself that she could go on without him, a lesson that she’d insisted on teaching herself after they were in a car accident in her teens.

They talked for a while longer, Bill filling his daughter in on the happenings of the North Carolina Bakers while Ginny combed the tangles out of her hair. A little while after they hung up, Ginny's phone rang again. She picked it up without looking at it, already knowing who it was. She smiled and said, "You better be all packed, old man."

"Yeah," Mike replied. "I even broke out my good jeans. Gotta make the best impression on the Baker clan."

Ginny laughed. "You're not meeting the parents, old man. You're intruding on a family gathering."

Mike laughed too. "It's never an intrusion when it's the Mike Lawson, rookie."

"If you say so," Ginny teased.

"I say so. That's why I'm spending the night tomorrow."

"Why exactly are you spending the night?"

"Because we'll never make it to the airport in time if I leave you unattended."

Ginny wanted to object, but she was perpetually twenty minutes late to everything. And there was something to the idea of spending the night with Mike. She finally cracked, "I'll break out my best pajamas, then."

"Don't get all gussied up on my account. You can sleep in your panties. I won't look."

Ginny laughed. "You'll understand if I don't believe you."

Mike laughed. "I don't even believe myself."

This flirtation was a recent development that neither had discussed. It just hung between them, something like anticipation.

X

The doorbell dinged just as Ginny got out of the shower. She briefly thought she needed to change her shower time as it was always met with some interruption. She opened the door in her towel, expecting the Chinese food delivery boy who came so frequently that she knew him by name (Glenn; she was also aware that his wife Maggie had just had a little boy named Herschel who had the greenest eyes Ginny had ever seen on a baby), but found herself faced with her smiling captain. Mike quirked his eyebrows. "Baker, I'm flattered—and not surprised in the least—but this can't happen."

Ginny rolled her eyes as she stepped back to let him in. "If I had wanted that to happen, I'd have told you an hour ago so you could pop a Viagra."

Mike chuckled. "Aleve, Baker."

"What?"

"I'd have popped an Aleve for my joints. Everything else is firing on all—and I do mean all—cylinders."

Ginny laughed as she turned to go into her bedroom. Mike sat on the couch, watching her leave. There was no shortage of things he'd burn in hell for, but ogling his rookie would undoubtedly be somewhere near the top of the list. Especially when he realized that the mirror hanging to the left of the tv gave him an unexpected vantage point to peer into her bedroom where she stood before her own mirror. Unfortunately, he made the discovery too late and missed what he was sure was the holiest sight on earth. Instead, he was greeted to the sight of her smooth expanse of her side visible through the stretched armhole of her baggy tank top. And tiny black Nike shorts made of lycra that made him swallow and look away. He wondered what his rookie was up to as she twisted her hair in a bun atop her head, pausing to yawn before she secured her hair and left the room. He averted his gaze from the mirror, instead busying himself searching for the remote. He looked up when she dropped it in his lap. "It attaches to the tv."

He nodded, turned the tv on. "Ah the joys of modern appliances."

"We don't all live in caves, old man."

"It's a cave with a pool, though."

Ginny nodded as she plopped on the couch beside him. "We should have stayed at your place tonight so I could go for a swim."

Mike was grateful they hadn't. Ginny's pajamas were already too much. A bikini would have killed him on the spot. She stretched her mile-long legs out across his lap and he noticed her cotton candy pink toenails, smirking at her. "Didn't peg you for a pink kind of girl, rookie."

Ginny pulled a face. "Playing a man's game does not make me a man, Lawson."

Mike nodded. He didn't need to reminded that she was indeed a woman. The lace of whatever she wore under her top was doing a fine job of that. "Forgive me. It's just that you curse more than I do. Belch louder than me too for that matter."

Ginny laughed as she sat up to take the remote from him, started flipping channels. She looked at him curiously. "So are those your pajamas?"

Mike looked down at his t-shirt and sweat pants and shook his head, shot her a smile. "I sleep naked, Baker."

Ginny wrinkled her nose at him, though a part of her was curious about the wonders of an unclothed Mike. She was shamefully eager to join the "I've seen Mike Lawson's junk" club. "Not tonight you don't."

Mike laughed. "Come on. If you stay on your side of the bed, you won't even know."

"Who said you could sleep in my bed?"

"If you make me sleep on this couch, you're gonna be carrying me through the airport."

Ginny laughed, shook her head. "First you invite yourself home with me. Now you're inviting yourself into my bed. It's time for a talk about boundaries, old man."

Mike laughed too, rolled his eyes. "Fine, Baker, if it makes you feel better, I'll be your boyfriend. Happy?"

Ginny snorted. "Ecstatic."

They held each other's gaze too long, only looking away when the doorbell rang. She rolled off the couch, her ass in the air for what Mike swore was an eternity, then went to her room to get her money. Mike opened the door, surprised when the delivery boy said, "Hey Ginny."

"It's Mike, actually," he replied and the young man looked up from the brown paper bag to his face.

His dark eyes widened. "Oh shit you're Mike Lawson!"

Mike nodded, smiling slowly as he pulled out his wallet. "What's the damage?"

"Twenty-four fifty," he replied, still staring at Mike. "I can't believe I'm talking to you. My wife's gonna die!"

Mike gestured to his phone and from the doorway, Ginny watched them pose for a selfie before Mike paid him, giving him a twenty-dollar tip. He smiled, chirped his thanks, then left. Ginny fully entered the room, plopped on the couch. She pinched his cheek when he sat beside him. "You're so sweet."

Mike smirked, pulled his face out of her grasp. "You owe me twenty-five dollars, rookie."

"Let's call it your rent for the night."

Mike cocked an eyebrow at her. "Only twenty-five dollars for a night with Ginny Baker? Talk about a bargain."

Ginny laughed, nudged him with her elbow. "Fuck you, Lawson."

"Now that you can't afford," he replied.

They ate the dinner, watching When Harry Met Sally, before they went to Ginny's room. She climbed into bed and looked at her captain expectantly. "Let's see those boxers, old man."

Mike laughed as he pulled off his t-shirt. Ginny's face reddened. She didn't actually think he'd be so undressed when they shared a bed. She took a deep breath, reminded herself that this wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. But still her mouth went dry when he pushed his jeans down his legs.

Mike's nerves quirked when he caught sight of his scarred knees but he remembered that Ginny had seen them before. (He also remembered her curious tracing of the largest scars and the way his mind had hazed.) He took a quiet, deep breath then climbed into Ginny's bed, breathing in her scent of jasmine and cinammon. He lay back on her pillow, looked over at her with a smirk. "Your bed smells like a girl."

"I imagine it would since there's one in it," Ginny replied as she took the remote from the nightstand.

Mike frowned at her when she turned on the tv. "I don't sleep with the tv on, rookie. It's bad for melatonin production."

Ginny squinted at him. "I can't sleep without the noise."

"My snore will be more than enough." He took the remote and turned off the tv then rolled over. "Open the window."

Ginny shook her head. "It gets too cold in here."

"Only cause you're alone," he replied.

The comment hung between them and they stared at each other for too long a moment before Ginny slid out of the bed and opened the window a few inches. She returned to the bed. "Switch sides with me so I won't be under the breeze."

Mike moved to get out of bed but Ginny blocked him with her leg as she climbed over his body, the cotton of her tank top brushing his stomach. It shouldn't have been that sexy, and maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was her thighs brushing his. He decided not to ponder it, reasoning that that wouldn't do either of them any good in their current predicament. Her pillow was lemony with the scent of her shampoo and it didn't take long for her breathing to even out. The gentle rhythm relaxed him enough to forget the impropriety of his sleeping arrangements, and roll onto his side to stare at the back of her head. In the darkness, he could make out a pattern of stars tattooed down the back of her neck. He wondered how he had never noticed it before, and if it was new.

She shivered, shifted under the covers and Mike climbed out of bed, went to the linen closet in the bathroom and got another blanket, only pausing when he got back to the bed to recall why he knew about the linen closet at all. He drew a blank, guessing it was simply knowledge acquired by spending too much time in her house. He got back into the bed, spread the blanket over them, making sure to pull it up around her thin shoulders.

Mike wasn't sure when he fell asleep, only that when he awoke to use the bathroom, he was spooning Ginny. He looked behind him, blaming himself when he realized he was on her side of the bed. He tried to slip away but found their fingers intertwined in the hollow of her stomach. She only stirred briefly when he gently pulled free and went to the bathroom. She was on her back when he returned, still snoring softly. He slipped back into bed, careful not to disturb her, but she stirred again, rolled onto her side and into the curve of his body. He wrapped his arm around her, let her snuggle closer, nestling her leg between his and her head on his chest. She shivered and he gathered the blankets around her, pulling them up to her chin. Mike lay back, prepared for a long night of trying not to cuddle his rookie, but her even breathing lulled him to sleep in minutes.

He awoke the next morning with the feeling that he was being watched, and sure enough, Ginny was awake and staring at him, her chin on his chest. She frowned at his eyes fluttering open. "Damn I was almost sure of how I wanted to prank you."

"Always go with putting their hand in warm water. Always. It's fool-proof," he answered sleepily.

"Thought of that. But these are my sheets."

"If I were a harder sleeper, I'd had suggested taping my feet together, or putting shaving cream in my hand and tickling my nose." He yawned as she sat up, stretching her arms out.

She shrugged. "At least you're pretty in the morning."

Mike begged to differ. If either of them was beautiful, it was her. Especially with the light pouring though the window and making her glow. Even her hair seemed to shimmer as she crawled off the bed, unintentionally facing him with her ass, another glorious sight. "What time is our flight?"

"Ten. I told my dad we wouldn't be in until tonight though so I could crash. I can never sleep on planes." She disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and Mike lay back in bed, thinking that at least he'd have his own bed that night so he could put a little distance between himself and his rookie.

X

Mike's hopes were shattered with a few words from the bespectacled receptionist at the hotel. "We only booked a single room, Ms. Baker."

Ginny frowned. "Are you sure? I specifically reserved two single adjoining rooms."

He looked at the computer again and shook his head. "I'm not sure what happened, ma'am. I don't personally make the reservations."

"Okay so can you change it to give me what I asked for?"

He typed for a few minutes and Mike frowned at Ginny's frown. The turbulent flight had shot her nerves and he could tell this wasn't happening. Her frown deepened when the man shook his head. "We don't have anything but singles available at the moment, ma'am."

"Fuck me," she muttered.

Mike leaned on the counter. "But this room has a sofa bed, right?"

He nodded. "Yes sir."

Mike turned to Ginny. "There's a sofa bed. We can make this work, Baker."

Ginny sighed heavily, ran her fingers through her hair and Mike watched the man's eyes drop to the sliver of stomach revealed by her short hoodie. Mike stepped in front of him, blocked his view. "Can I get those keys?"

The man handed him two keycards. "I apologize for the inconvenience and hope the rest of your stay is enjoyable. And remember not to put your keys near your phones because it'll deactivate them."

Mike nodded and picked up one of Ginny's large suitcases, hefting his duffel bag onto his shoulder. He frowned at her as they walked to the bank of elevators. "Why do you need this many suitcases for a week?"

"One's clothes, one's shoes, one's makeup and accessories."

Mike laughed. "Just because you play a man's sport doesn't make you a man. I've gotta write that down somewhere."

They rode the elevator to their room and Ginny huffed as she leaned her rolling suitcase against a wall. She collapsed on the large single bed and groaned. Mike sat on the couch and smirked at her. "I think you need a nap, Baker. You're cranky."

She lifted her head from the pillow and frowned at him. "I am not. I'm hungry."

"Then let's get something to eat."

"I wanna shower first," she almost whined. "And I wanna swim."

Mike grinned as he pushed off the couch and walked to the bed to sit beside her. He pinched her cheek. "Somebody's grumpy."

Ginny groaned and pulled her face away. Mike laughed, deciding it was time for payback for all the times she'd annoyed him into smiling when he was grumpy. He tickled her side and she turned away from him, curling into a ball as she giggled. "Leave me alone, old man."

He shook his head though she wasn't looking at him then leaned over and rubbed his beard on her cheek, laughing when she squirmed away. "I hate you!"

"No you don't. Now get your bratty butt up so you can shower."

"I don't need a shower if we're going to the pool," she grumbled.

"Then get up and change. Do something besides whining before I smother you, Baker."

Ginny huffed and rolled off the bed, pulling off her hoodie as she went to her suitcase. She asked, "What do you wanna eat?"

"I don't know. I've never been here. What's good?"

"There's a bar down the street that's got the best burgers ever. After we swim, I'll take you."

X

Mike left the room, headed to the gift shop to buy swim trunks, and to get out of the room while Ginny changed. They were toying with some boundaries that he wasn't sure needed to be broken just yet. When he got back, she was in the bathroom so he quickly changed into his trunks and a white t-shirt then went to the door. "Get a move on, princess!"

"I need help," she replied before the door opened. She stood before him in an untied white bikini top then turned around to show him the back. "I can't get it snapped."

Mike took a deep breath, and said a silent prayer as he did what she asked. "Got it."

She nodded then turned around to smile at him. "Thanks, old man. Nice to know the arthritis hasn't gotten you yet."

She walked past him to the mirror and he watched as she adjusted the top. He made himself look away, remembering that he'd seen breasts before. He'd seen her in a sports bra and that was really the same thing. But her nipples, pushing against the top's almost minimal coverage were something new, something that would definitely kill him before the day was over. Assuming the tiny ruffled bikini bottoms, and the slivers of butt cheeks hanging out of them, didn't do it first. She sat on the bed and lathered herself with coconut scented sunscreen and Mike had to drag himself into the bathroom to splash water on his face.

When he emerged, Ginny was throwing her necessities into a tote. She looked up at him. "Want some sunscreen?"

He shook his head and she tossed it into the bag then stood. They went to the pool and Mike removed his shirt then plopped on a chair, rolling his shirt into a pillow under his head. Ginny stepped into his sun and he looked away from the menu to her face, avoiding dragging his gaze up her body. "Aren't you coming in the pool?"

"Nah. I'm gonna have a beer first."

He was surprised when she wedged herself onto the seat beside him and looked at the menu. "Get me a cherry margarita and some chips and queso."

He nodded and she hopped off the chair. Mike decided that if this was the sight that damned him, he'd burn happily with his memories. Ginny stood beside the pool and adjusted her suit then dove into the water, reappearing a moment later to slick her wet hair back from her face and look at him. He smirked. "Form could use a little work, rookie."

Ginny laughed, stuck her tongue out at him, then swam away. She was thankful he had decided not to get in the pool with her. The sight of him in his black trunks was doing enough to nearly kill her.

Mike sighed as he walked to the bar where a large man who reminded him of Al was placing an order.

"Give me an imported beer and some fries, and a wine cooler and salad for the little woman. Make it quick for me. She's about as patient as a bomb." He turned to give Mike a wry smile. "Told her she'd be better off with bird food."

Mike smiled. "Women, right?"

The man laughed, making his large tan belly shake. He nodded to his left and Mike peered around him. The man's "little woman" was a petite blonde wearing a red bikini that did little to hold in her stupifyingly large fake breasts. He blinked then looked back at the man. "Nice."

"Expensive," the man replied with a laugh. "Which one's yours?"

Mike almost told him he was alone but reconsidered because technically it wasn't true. He looked over to his and Ginny's chairs and smiled at the sight of her sitting on her completely reclined chair. She unsnapped her top, wrapped an arm around herself to keep it up, then lay down on the chair, resting her face on her towel. He turned back to the man and jerked his head in her direction. The man whistled. "I bet she could catch fish without a hook."

Mike laughed. "I hope she's through catching now that she's caught me."

The man laughed as the waiter gave him his food on a large round tray. He set it down on the counter then handed the man a folded bill. "Thanks kid."

He gave Mike a nod then walked away, headed for the blonde. Mike glanced at Ginny again then looked at the waiter. "I need an imported beer, a cherry margarita, and some chips and queso."

The waiter rung him up and Mike paid then asked, "Hey can you bring it over?"

"Yes sir," he replied.

Mike nodded and went back to his chair, looking over at Ginny. "So what are we doing tonight?"

Ginny turned to look at him. "I don't know."

"Come on Baker. You're supposed to be showing me the town."

"Well what do you wanna do?"

Mike shrugged. "How about you show me around the old Ginny Baker haunts. All the places that made you you."

Ginny thought for a moment, mostly considering where she would take him rather than what opening up to him that way would mean. "Okay, but if you crack one joke, I'm taking my bat to your knees."

Mike laughed. "Noted."

X

Mike was used to in-season Ginny. The Ginny that wore workout clothes every day unless she had an interview. Off-season Ginny was something else entirely, and he wished he'd been better prepared if only so he didn't catch himself staring at her like he'd never seen a living breathing woman before. After their swim, she showered and changed into a loose dark grey cropped hoodie and a pair of high-waist shorts with rolled hems that stopped immediately under her butt cheeks and threatened to stop his heart when she emerged from the bathroom in them. Mike watched her tie her white Converse, her damp hair pulled up in a bun atop her head, and was struck by how young she looked right then.

She stood, grabbed her sling purse off the dresser and put it on, then turned to look at him. "Ready?"

Mike realizes he'd been watching her and quickly jumped back into the present. "Yeah."

His eyebrows quirked at the sight of the rental car she led him to, a little blue Honda Accord. "You're driving?"

She nodded as she unlocked the car. "Yeah?"

His eyebrows quirked but he got in the passenger seat. Ginny got in too and he watched as she adjusted her mirrors and her seat. "I didn't know you could drive, Baker."

"Of course I can. Why would you think I couldn't?"

"I've never seen you do it."

She shrugged as she started the car and backed out of her parking space. "It's easier not to drive in San Diego. The traffic drives me nuts."

Mike wasn't sure if he believed her, a feeling that became stronger as she sped down the street in front of the hotel. Mike tightened his seatbelt and slammed his foot on the imaginary brake until Ginny finally hit the real one then turned to look at him. "You're gonna put your foot through the floor, old man."

"I'd rather do that than die because you don't understand that cars don't stop on a dime."

Ginny snorted. "Whatever. Turn on the radio and settle down."

Mike turned the radio up and Ginny immediately began singing along to a pop song he didn't recognize. He discovered the distraction of the music didn't do much to distract him from Ginny's terrible driving except give him a chance to stare at her face rather than the impending death of oncoming traffic. Soon they left the urban part of Tarboro and Mike looked out the window as they passed a large open field. She showed him the gas station where she and her teammates used to hang out, the softball field where she played for Tarboro Middle School, and the old pool where she had her Sweet 16 party.

After, she took him to her favorite Chinese restaurant. While they waited for a table, she stood between his legs, let him wrap his arms around her to shield her from the restaurant's chill. Mike wrapped an arm around her neck, rested his chin on her head. He wasn't sure what the off-season had done to their dynamic, why she was so open to his touch and what made him a moth to her flame, but he wouldn't question it until he had to.

X

When they arrived at the Bakers' stately family home the next day, everyone was in the backyard. Ginny smiled at her father and brother splitting the family into teams for softball. Bill looked up and grinned, exclaimed, "I've got Mike!"

Ginny's mouth fell open and she looked at her father with wide eyes. "Did you just pick someone over me, Pop?"

Bill Baker smiled as he walked over to hug his daughter. "You know you're my favorite, Ginny Bean, but this is a once in a lifetime chance to play with a future hall of famer."

"I'm a future hall of famer too!" Ginny whined.

Mike laughed as he shook Bill's hand, nudged Ginny with his other arm. "Yeah but I'll get there before you, rookie."

"You're gonna be in the ground before me too but that doesn't make you special, old man."

Will joined them, wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "Gin you don't need this. We'll just win and shut it all down."

"Damn right," Ginny agreed then smirked at Mike and Bill. "You're going old man...men."

Mike smirked at Bill. "Do you mind if I bat first? I've gotta shut her up."

Bill grinned and handed over his bat. "By all means."

He looked at Ginny. "You wanna change first, Ginny Bean?"

Ginny looked down at her denim shift dress and shook her head. "I can win just fine in this."

Bill laughed. "Okay that's it. I love you to death but I've gotta kick your ass today."

Ginny, Will, and their cousins edged out Bill, Mike, and the elder Baker siblings by one run. And Bill couldn't be sure but he was almost positive Mike took it easy on his little girl, especially after she sprouted a cocky, toothy grin when they got up by one in the eighth. He watched his daughter prance over to her catcher—her best friend—and grin, scrunching up her nose in his face. "You know earlier somebody promised to shut me up and, uh, I think I'm still talking so I think that somebody can suck it."

Mike nodded, smiling at her, and it was then that Bill noticed the water pistol in the catcher's hand behind his back. "You're right, rookie. The student has surpassed the teacher. You've learned to snatch the fly out of my hand."

"I should get that on tape," she gloated.

"Get this too." He sprayed her face with the water pistol and Ginny shrieked as she ran away, probably off to search for her own pistol. Mike was hot on her heels until she grabbed a water balloon from a barrel and tossed it at him.

The two engaged in a water battle until Bill's mother, Anna, came out of the house and leaned over the railing. "Genevieve Baker look at your dress!"

Ginny laughed as she tossed her last water balloon at Mike and they both looked down at her soaked dress. She turned to smile at the older woman as she walked to the porch, Mike trailing her. "It'll dry Nana."

"But I don't wanna hug you wet," the old woman replied as Ginny climbed the stairs. She hugged her grandmother, keeping her wet dress away from her grandmother's yellow sundress. Mike noticed the similarities in the women's features, that they were essentially older and younger versions of each other. The older woman had the same curls as Ginny, though hers were shining silver, and they had the same dimpled smile. He straightened his wet blue t-shirt when Ginny turned to look at him.

"Nana, this is Mike Lawson. He's my catcher. Mike this is my nana, Anna Baker."

Mike grinned as he stepped closer to shake the older woman's thin hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I can't believe you're someone's grandma. You don't look any older than me."

She and Ginny also had the same laugh. "You just made my day. I tell you what, you can have the first slice of pie."

"Nana!" Ginny exclaimed. "I always get the first slice of pie."

"Not today, Baker," Mike teased as they went into the house. A gaggle of children, all of them with dimples, were lined up to receive popsicles from a woman Mike guessed was Ginny's mother. Ginny laughed as Mike joined the line, grinned at the woman. "Can I have a red one?"

She handed him one over the children's heads and smiled. "You got the last red one."

"You've gotta go, old man. You're taking all the best stuff out of my visit," Ginny teased then looked at her mother. "I can't believe you gave him my favorite popsicle, Mom."

"He asked first," Janet Baker replied as she moved to hug her daughter.

"But he's already getting the first slice of pie," Ginny whined.

Mike laughed and offered the popsicle. "Since you're crying."

"Shut up," Ginny replied even though she took it.

Anna pulled a pan of macaroni and cheese from the oven and Mike smiled at her. "Can I rain check the pie and get some mac and cheese?"

"Not before me," Ginny huffed, moving around him to stand beside her grandmother.

"Be sweet, Ginevieve," Anna admonished.

Ginny scoffed, rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this. I've been gone for almost two years, I made it into the Majors, I'm walking talking history and you guys are treating a party crasher better than me."

"I want this on the record as your first sign of narcissism," Mike teased, bumping her with his elbow as he accepted a plate piled high with food. He handed it over to her and took the second one Anna made.

"Now the barbecue is out back. Y'all better get to it before Willie does."

"Are there ribs?" Mike asked as he followed Ginny out back.

"Are there ribs? A better question would be what don't we have," Ginny replied as they went out the back door.

Anna looked at her daughter-in-law, not surprised to find Janet looking back at her. Janet quirked her eyebrows and Anna nodded, replied, "Mmhmm."

Outside, Ginny piled ribs on a plate, enough for her and Mike to share, then led him to picnic table. A little boy with a bouncing afro bounded over and plopped onto Ginny's lap, looking at Mike. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mike. Who are you?"

"Aiden," he replied, extending his little hand.

Mike laughed as he shook it. "Pleased to meet you, Aiden."

"Are you Ginny's boyfriend?"

Mike smiled and shook his head. "No. She's mean to me."

At this, Aiden turned to Ginny. "You should be nice so he'll be your boyfriend, Ginny."

"Yeah Ginny," Mike teased.

Ginny smiled and shook her head. "Boys are gross."

Aiden turned to Mike and shrugged then slid off Ginny's lap, one of their ribs in his little hand, and walked away.

"So I'm gross?" Mike asked.

Ginny smirked. "Repellant is a better term for you."

Someone turned up the music and Ginny smiled as she set down her fork as a trumpet instrumental brought a smile to her face. "Come dance with me. This is the best song in the world!"

If Mike had a dollar for every song Ginny characterized as the best song in the world, he'd be a millionaire—well more of a millionaire—but he lets her pull him off the bench and dance him over to where her relatives are dancing in the open field. She's smiling as she sings along with everyone, "You make me happy/ This you can bet/ You stood right beside me/ And I won't forget..."

Mike was only vaguely familiar with the song, but Ginny's exuberance brought a smile to his face as she held his hands and danced with him despite his minimal movement. She threw her arms around his neck and sang, "That I really love you/ You should know/ I wanna make sure I'm right/ Before I let go..."

X

Mike managed to extract himself from the jumble of wrestling children and make his way to the porch where the old men were drinking. He took a beer from the cooler and opened it then looked around for Ginny on the large wraparound porch until he spotted her alone on the other end of the porch, leaning against the railing. He stopped a few feet away to stare without being caught. Her hair blew in the lazy breeze, as did the shirt of her denim dress. Her skin glowed in the gold of the sunset, and for a moment she seemed to be holding the universe together just by existing. He jumped at the contact of an elbow with his side. It was Bill, beer in hand. "She talks about you, you know."

Mike's eyebrows rose. He did his fair share of waxing on about Ginny to his mother, so much so that now she asked about her. He couldn't believe Ginny did the same. "Oh?"

Bill nodded. "Now my little girl is as independent as they come, but everybody needs somebody. Every pitcher needs a catcher if you know what I mean. And it almost killed me to let her go through this baseball thing alone, but she wanted to strike out on her own. Now I don't worry so much because it seems like she found someone."

"We're not—"

"RightYou know what I mean though ," Bill interrupted. "But if you ever want to make it something else, you've got my blessing."

Mike nodded, knowing what Ginny and her father meant to each other. He walked over and stood beside her. When he noticed the goosebumps on her thin arms, he took off his flannel to drape it over his shoulders. Ginny gave him a grateful smile and took it a step further, wrapped his arm around her and puilled her close.

Ginny rested her head on his shoulder, gave a content exhale. She could almost picture it. somewhere in another life, somewhere they weren't themselves, this was their life: a house filled with the laughter of children, the smell of dinner, and love that made her so full she could barely eat.

"Baker, I gotta tell you something." The words had been at the back of his throat for a week, since his appointment with his orthopedist which had made him tag along on her trip home. He needed her company more than ever. She turned her brown eyes on him, her forehead crinkled with worry. "Next season is it for me. My knees are... It's over."

He watched her face, unsure of how she'd react. He didn't expect her to rapidly fan her face adn reply, "Wait. Let me get some good tears going. When they make a movie of your life—Pride of the Padres has a nice ring to it—I want to be beautifully overcome in this moment."

"I'm serious, Gin." Much as he loved her snark, this wasn't the moment to be a little shit.

"I know." Her expression changed as quick as a coin toss, and Mike could swear she tucked her tighter into his embrace. "I knew a week ago."

It was why she hadn't questioned him inviting himself home with her. She couldn't bear the thought of him rattling around his large empty house, grieving the loss of the only thing he loved. He frowned at her and she explained, "Al."

She didn't divulge that she had bawled in his office, that she hadn't stopped thinking about pitching his last game. Mike's fingers tentatively threaded between hers on the railing. "Well...I might not make it the whole season. And I'm definitely not gonna make it to October. But if I don't, if something happens..."

"Fuck, Mike, are you dying?"

He frowned. "Can I make my speech please?"

Ginny laughed and nodded. "The floor's all yours, Mr. Dugan."

Mike smirked and continued, "I just want you to remember the Mike I was, not the guy who's getting ready to hang up their cleats."

"I think I'll remember the guy who revealed he knows all the words to "Toxic" on his birthday."

He had been drunker than usual that night, and Ginny wasn't far behind him. Everyone was thanks to Voorhies' hunch punch. He didn't remember much, except laughing with her all night, but that had nothing to do with the moment he was trying to create. "Baker..."

"Don't." She turned her head to look at him for the first time since he'd broken the news. "I don't wanna think about you retiring, about having to pitch to someone else. It's been my dream to pitch to you since I was 13 and it's gonna be over soon. Let me put it off a little longer. Please."

He nodded, moved to stand behind her, and wrapped his arms completely around her. They watched the sun sink below the horizon adn te lightning bugs buzzed to life in the open field beside the house.

If Ginny was able to entertain a life without Mike on the field, if her mouth wasn't so dry, she'd have told him that the man he was that day would be the one she remembered. He had stuffed himself with her aunt's potato salad, played hide and seek with her little cousins, done the electric slide with her grandmother. In the span of a day, he bloomed her girlhood crush and hero worship into something so chest-tighteningly sweet that it could only be love.

And if she could have told him that, she'd have asked him to remember her the same way. Not as Baker, or rookie, but as Ginny, the woman who had bought a new dress after he told her he was coming along, and who had gotten butterflies when he held her hand during their turbulent flight and again when she awoke in his arms after they agreed to share the hotel's bed for the sake of his back. She wanted him to forever see her as she was right then: sun-tanned and rosy-cheeked and so content in his arms, wanting to kiss him just once. Even if it never  happened—if they only got there in their wildest dreams—she wanted that to be the them he always thought of.

X

"Mind if we make a quick stop before we get back to the hotel? I wanna show you something." The day before when she'd showed him her old stomping ground, she'd left out the last place that she now wanted to show him. They drove to a tiny old baseball field a few miles from the house, and Ginny parked the car. She and Mike got out and he watched her walk to the pitcher's mound. She stood there, her hair gleaming in the field's floodlights, and Mike took his spot behind the plate, squatting and grinning at her.

"July 14, 2007. I pitched the first no-hitter in Tarboro Dragons history," she said. ,"And you know what my first thought was?"

Mike walked over to stand before her, grinning. "If only Mike Lawson could see this."

Ginny blushed crimson and his eyebrows quirked. He hadn't actually believed it until her eyes dropped to her shoes. "Seriously?"

She gave a sheepish nod, the tiniest smile quirking the corners of her mouth. "Around the fifth, people started murmuring. By the seventh, you could've heard a cockroach piss. And I remember when I struck out the last hitter, there was this deafening silence. My blood was roaring in my ears so I wasn't sure if it was really that quiet or if I was freaking out. Then everything exploded. The crowd went wild shouting my name. The boys actually picked me up on their shoulders, which I didn't think was actually a thing that happened. And my dad was louder than everybody. I don't think I've ever seen him that excited about anything except when he found out I was getting called up."

"And how did you feel?" He could picture her, gangly and grinning that smile of hers. "Fourteen years old, only girl on two teams of boys, and you pitched a no-hitter? I'm gonna be in the hall of fame and I never did anything so great."

"This is so embarassing but I was only concerned with one thing. Like, I had made peace with the no-hitter during the eighth so I wasn't really freaking out like everyone else but I was pretty happy. But in the back of my mind..."

"What was his name?"

Her eyes lifted to his. "How do you know it was a guy?"

He snorted. "I was 14 once, on a baseball team too."

"What was her name?"

"Angelica Albright." He smiled at the memory. "She was tall, not as tall as me but taller than other girls, and thin. Her skin was the color of caramel and she had this shiny dark hair that curled like springs. And she had this big smile with these shiny braces and these drimples-"

"So she was a young Ginny Baker?" Ginny laughed. "I knew you were hot for me!"

"You weren't even born then. And this is your second narcissistic moment in a day. You need help." He grinned at her laughing face. "Anyway, she used to hang around the field when we'd practice in junior high, and I had the highest batting average on the team just to impress her. Last game of the season and there she was, top of the bleachers wearing a baseball t-shirt. So naturally, I carry the whole game because after my first run, I hear her shout, 'Go Mike!' Long story short we win the game thanks to me and I come out of the clubhouse. Everybody's gone except her. She tells me good game and I tell her it was all for her. First kiss right there."

"You were 14 when you had your first kiss?"

He shrugged. "First with tongue. I think. Not the point, Baker."

Ginny laughed then replied, "Jason Wright. He played for the Tarboro Thunder. We were rival pitchers. It was very Romeo and Juliet. He was my last strike out, and everybody was so happy for me but I was terrified that we were over before we started. And I hoped he'd hang around after the game but he didn't. I was so upset that I barely ate my victory dinner. And I went to bed thinking that once again baseball had taken something from me. Until these rocks started hitting my window. And I snuck out for the first time in my life and we walked all the way back here. The whole way he was doing this terrible commentary of the game highlights but everything's funny when you like somebody. And I got my first kiss, right here in this very spot."

Mike smiled. "Sounds like love."

Ginny shrugged. "His family moved away before school started and we never saw each other again, but those three weeks were everything."

Mike smiled as he looked down at the mound. "This is hallowed ground, rookie."

Ginny laughed as his eyes lifted to hers. She wondered what it meant that she had those exact 14-year-old butterflies just from looking at him. Mike reached out a brushed a fallen curl back into place and Ginny reached out, tugged at his beard, smiling when he smiled. The butterflies took flight when his hand fell to her shoulder and his palm flattened against the side of her neck, his fingers curling around and his thumb reaching up to rub the curve of her jaw. Ginny knew he could feel her pulse jumping and the thought made her face warm as he leaned in close. He brought his other hand to her waist, pulled her close, and slanted his mouth over hers. Ginny held his shoulders, pushed up on her toes and licked her way inside his mouth. Mike's hand moved up the back of her neck to the back of her head, tangled his hand in her hair and tilted her head to deepen their kiss.

Jason Wright had been one thing, but the stars dancing before her eyes as she stood on that mound with Mike were something else entirely. When they parted, she released a breath she hadn't meant to hold. And she couldn't say what was on her mind, so she teased, "Did you kiss me here to compete with my first boyfriend?"

Mike cracked a grin even though some pimpled teen pitcher was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. He shrugged. "You know me, Baker."

The remark was just ambiguous enough that they could leave the mound pretending everything was normal.

X

The next night when Ginny's uber pulled up in front of Mike's house, he turned to look at her with a smile, that same feeling welling up inside him. "So you're welcome."

Ginny smiled, rolled her eyes. "Am I really?"

Mike laughed. "Yeah I charmed your whole family."

"And I should thank you for that?"

"You don't have to but it would be polite."

Ginny laughed and pulled him in for a hug. "You're welcome too, old man."

"I know," he replied then popped a kiss on her cheek. Ginny returned the gesture then scooted closer, rested her forehead against his. Mike's hand moved to cup her face and he caressed the apple of her cheek. "How do we do this, Baker?"

"We take our time," she answered. "We've got a few months before the season starts again so we've got time to...enjoy ourselves."

"When the season starts, I'll back off," he promised.

Ginny frowned. "Don't say it like that."

"You know what I mean."

"I always know what you mean, old man." She smiled against his mouth. "Will you call me later?"

"I'm coming over later so you can cook me a thank you dinner."

"You can have a thank you tuna sandwich."

"Why don't I just bring dinner over and you can put it on plates."

"You think I own plates?"

Mike smirked. "Jesus, Baker, I've gotta bring my own plates?"

"Why don't I just come over here and we order in?"

"Good plan but you're paying. And I'm not putting out either."

"Oh what a tragedy." Ginny laughed and pulled in for one more kiss. Mike reluctantly got out of the car and grabbed his suitcase. Ginny rolled down the window and called, "Make sure you're beautiful for me! Shave!"

"Not a chance!" Mike called back.