2oo8 Season It’s just, a little crush… Sal, Jason, Abbey and Dave Kester were all sitting around a table in the courtyard of a fancy hotel in Albuquerque. It was early morning on the team’s first day off of the season and they quartet had gotten together early for breakfast. They had their phones out and were all looking at their screens, except David who had his laptop, while they were waiting for their breakfast to arrive. It’s not that they were trying to ant-social with each other, on the contrary, they were all pulling their efforts to try and find a more permanent place to live. Since the start of the season Sal, Jason, Abbey, Dave and a few others, had been living in the hotel since they had not been able to find a place to live. They had all agreed to get up early on their first off day and try to apartment hunt. “Man, I don’t know about this apartment thing. If I’m going to be here long term, I may just buy a house.” Sal said as he continued to pour over the classifieds. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.” Abbey replied looking at her phone. “I spent five years renting in Chicago, it would be nice to have my own place.” “Speak for yourselves guys.” Dave replied as he kept his eyes on his computer. “They can cut, release or trade me at any time… ooo, here’s a good one. Rent is good and it has a pool and a gym.” He finished as he wrote the information of the complex down on his small notepad. “They can do that to any of us.” Jason replied as he kept flicking his eyes distractedly between his phone and looking across the courtyard. “They’re building this team around you three though. I doubt they would get rid of you guys.” David replied glancing up briefly. “Hey, here we go. Four beds, four baths, three thousand square feet. It’s on the outskirts of the city.” Sal said and turned his phone towards Abbey. “What do you think?” “It’s nice. And it looks like you have a couple acres of land as well.” Abbey replied as she glanced up. “I think I may have to call the listing agent and go have a look at this place.” Sal said as he showed Jason the pictures. “What do you think, Jason? This would make a sweet bachelor pad to have barbecues and stuff.” Jason was distracted again as he was looking across the courtyard and jumped when Sal spoke to him. His eyes were wide open for a few seconds while he shook his head. “Huh? What? Yeah it’s great, Sal.” He said as he quickly looked at the pictures then glanced down the courtyard again before looking at his phone. “What are you looking at?” Sal asked curiously. “What? Nothing?” Jason replied, but glanced up again before looking at his phone. Sal looked skeptical and glanced in the direction Jason was looking and smiled broadly when he spotted what it was Jason was looking at. “Ah, I see now. You were looking at that table where those three girls are sitting. So, which one were you checking out?” “I wasn’t looking at anyone.” Jason said unconvincingly as Abbey and Dave also looked up. “Come on man, don’t BS me.” Sal said with an offended look. Jason sighed and Abbey though his cheeks were starting to flush. “The one with the dark hair on the right.” Jason said as his eyes continued to shift. “She’s cute. Go talk to her.” Dave said as he looked back over quickly. Jason swallowed and looked nervous. “I don’t know.” “Come on, what’s the worst that could happen? She says no and you’ll never see her again. Getting turned down is all part of the game.” Sal offered. Jason was still looking nervous and was wringing his hands. “I’m just not… I get nervous and stuff around girls. I’m just not good…” He tailed off as he searched for his words. Dave laughed and jumped to a conclusion of his own and made a disparaging remark under his breath with a smile. The comment caused Sal to Laugh and Abbey rolled her eyes impatiently and looked annoyed. “That’s not true!” Jason shot defensively and Dave looked unconvinced. “I mean, I’ve kissed girls and have gotten to second base before.” “Bro. You know that doesn’t count, right?” Sal inquired rhetorically as he was still laughing and shaking his head. “Ugh, you’re both pigs.” Abbey said disgustedly before turning to Jason. “Just go say hi and introduce yourself. Ask if they don’t mind if you sit with them, start a conversation.” She finished but Jason still looked unsure. “Bro, your major league shortstop. This shouldn’t be so difficult.” Sal said when Jason hesitated. “Look. If you want I’ll even walk over there with you and help you get your foot in the door.” Abbey said when Jason refused to budge. “You wouldn’t mind?” Jason asked and Abbey got up and motioned for Jason to follow. Jason got up and followed Abbey as they walked across the courtyard. “This should be interesting.” Sal said sounding amused as he and David watched as Abbey and Jason approached the girls. It looked like Abbey made a quick introduction and there was a brief exchange between Jason and the girl he had pointed out. In short order, Jason had sat down at their table and Abbey made her way back to Sal and David. “Well I’m impressed.” Sal said when Abbey returned. “It’s because you’re a simpleton that doesn’t understand women.” Abbey said sarcastically with a smile and Dave laughed. Sal didn’t bite at Abbey’s barb but returned her smile and raised his orange juice in salute. A short time their later, their breakfast arrived and Abbey diverted the waiter to the table Jason was sitting at to deliver his bacon and eggs. Sal, Jason and Abbey continued their hunt for more permanent living quarters as they ate their breakfast and the subject moved onto their upcoming series against Toronto. Once they finished their breakfast, Jason finally reappeared, a solid half an hour after he had left, and was smiling. “We almost forgot you were still here. How did it go, ace?” Sal asked as Jason sat down. “Well we talked, and I got her number. We’re going to get together for lunch sometime.” Jason said still grinning. “No kidding.” Dave said disbelievingly. “Her name is Jackie and she’s actually a gymnast.” Jason said as he offered up some details. “She’s on the national team and those were two of her teammates. They’re here for a couple weeks getting ready for Olympic qualifying.” Sal smiled wickedly and raised his eyebrows. “Gymnasts are flexible.” He said and Dave laughed and Abbey looked annoyed again. “So. What’s your point?” Jason asked innocently. Abbey cut in before Sal or Dave could say anything raunchy again before paying her part of the bill and saying she was going to look at an apartment. “Which one?” Dave asked curiously as he paid his part of the check and Abbey told him where it was. “That’s where I was looking. Hey, we could be roommates.” “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Abbey replied as she said goodbye and Dave tagged along with her to look at his own apartment. “That just leaves me and you.” Sal said as he and Jason squared the rest of the check. “Want to come look at this house with me?”
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