Page 33 of No Easy Catch
Okay, I needed to find this dude before I could even think of what to say. I was going to step three before steps one and two were even done.Idiot.A small part of me wanted to askAmber how she would do it. She had been beyond resourceful getting information from people and she would know how to find Dillon. I span my pencil in my hand, hoping for inspiration to kick in. A couple of minutes went by, then more, and I sighed, defeated at my lack of creativity.
Fuck it. I was asking Amber.
Jeff:How would you go about finding the habits of a person online?
Amber:Are you taking up stalking now?
Jeff:I don’t have enough going on, obviously, so yes.
Jeff:No. I’m stuck on how to run into Dick Pic Dillon casually.
Amber:LOL. Find a bar he likes to go to, hang out there, act like you recognize him.
Jeff:And ask him if he knows your uncle?
Amber:Oh, probably not. Hmm, not sure. You could say you’re looking for him, or trying to find him to help a friend, or…
Jeff:I wish you were the one doing it, you’re better on the spot than me.
Amber:I accept the compliment but I’m not doing it. You’re on your own. Let me know when it’s done.
Okay then.I was on my own.
Dillon… Most of his posts were from The Hound or Big Sal’s—notorious bars for frat guys—and he constantly posted about Tootin’ Tuesdays where he went for dollar beers. It wasn’t where I would picture someone like him going, but it would work.Perfect.I’d head there and question him.Somehow. I closed my computer, pocketed my phone and took the stairs two at a time to end up near the front door.
Zade and Tanner saw me put on my jacket and Tanner asked, “You heading out, man?”
“Yeah, thought I’d try Tootin’ Tuesdays.”Don’t join me, please.
Tanner’s eyes lit up and he jumped from the couch.Shit.“Dude, I’m coming. I need some beers after my shit of a day. Wanna come, Zade? It’d almost be like old times.”
“Nah, Callie’s coming over. Her internship moved to other sports, so she’s been busier than normal.” He shrugged and always had the same soft expression on his face when he talked about his girlfriend of almost three years. His hard eyes—ones I feared when he was on the mound—went all gooey and he had this dumbass smile on his face. I didn’t relate, or even try to, when they all talked about their chicks. The rest of the guys were all like that in the house and while I dug their girlfriends, it could be a lot.
“That cool I’m coming?” Tanner asked but I couldn’t figure out a way to say no. What other reason could I give for why I was going to a bar…alone? I nodded and said bye to Zade as we headed out of the door. Tanner waited until we got to the driveway before he said, “Kenzie wanted a night out with her roommates and I wasn’t about to sit around with Zade pining after Callie. He’s a sucker.”
“You’re just as bad, dude.”
He shrugged with a huge smile on his face. “I know.”
I hit him on the shoulder as he laughed at himself and we walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before arriving at the bar. This was where it got tricky—I had to find a way to talk to Dillon without Tanner realizing anything and without drawing any unwanted attention. Tanner would know immediately if I did anything out of character. He was annoyingly perceptive.
Cool, no big deal. I can do this.Tanner waved at some folks and I froze, waiting to see if they would call him over to their table…but they did not. I tried not to show my disappointment when he put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll get the first round, buddy. For two bucks, I’m game.”
“Thanks.” I used his absence to look around for Dillon and couldn’t find him anywhere. His picture was pulled up on my phone and I glanced down, memorizing his face and ridiculous haircut. It wasn’t a large bar. If anything, it was kind of small and grungy for attracting such a preppy crowd. He should stand out amongst all the people here dressed in dark clothes and plaid. A few people glanced at me when we walked in with recognition on their face but it wasn’t like walking into The Lion or another sports bar on campus. This was a dive, hole-in-the-wall Tootin’ Tuesdays.
“Here you go, my friend. Cheers!” Tanner handed me my drink and we each took a long swig before plopping down on two bar stools. “It feels like yesterday when we arrived fresh-faced and anxious as fuck to start playing ball. We were wild those first few years, huh?”
I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, we were.”
“Can’t say I regret it. Honestly, the past three and a half years have been the best. Playing ball, hanging out and living with you guys. The longest we’ve been apart was when you left last summer. I know you don’t talk about it a lot, but, man, how was itreallyplaying overseas for three months?” He set his mug onthe bar-top and while his face looked relaxed, his shoulders were tense. It was a common occurrence for any one of the guys to stress out aboutthe futureand while their tension was fueled by something different than mine, I could still relate.
“Parts of it were hard, I won’t lie to you. The curfew, the range of maturity levels of the players and their recklessness, and the demanding schedule were tough.” I scanned the crowd again to see if Dillon arrived and felt bad about my straying attention when Tanner frowned. “If I have a shit day here, I can come back to the house and no one will mention it. You’ll offer me a beer and we’ll kick it. Over there, if you have a shit game, no one talks to you. There’s no family aspect and while that could be because I was a newb, it sucked. Felt like an island instead of a team.”
Tanner winced for a second and masked his worried face with a forced smile. “I’m nervous about the lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m stoked to get drafted and to finally get to live out my dream. But I do good with routine and everything is so unknown. The minors could be a long journey of different cities, the worry of never getting the call up. If I think about it too much, I start to sweat. Plus, this thing with Kenzie might be somewhat new and I want it to last with her. It’s never been like this for me…thinking about someone elseandbaseball. Does that make me sound sappy as fuck?”
I forgot about my secret plan for a second and reached out to put my hand on his shoulder. “You know what you want. There is nothing sappy about that. I gotta say though, it was hard as hell being away from everyone. I had to battle time zones and international costs, but it was eye-opening.”Just tell him. Tell him your doubts.
He flinched and rubbed his temples with his fingers. “Do you think a relationship can survive that?”
