Chapter 23: Budding feelings

Catherine Rose P.O.V

When Stephen hit his first Homerun I cheered so loudly that Aria beside me covered her ears with her hands but I couldn't care less my son had scored 2 runs in his first at-bat ever. After Stephen entered the dugout I sat back with a big smile even for an away game and a practice game on top of that but there were quite a few player parents in the stand behind their dugout just like me

when the scoreboard showed 8-2 for the opposite team I was scared for Stephen losing his first game ever wouldn't be a pleasant experience but I was scared for nothing as my son closed the gap little by little until they were ahead of course other players also contribute to the victory but the biggest contributor was with no doubt, my son

After the game ended Aria, Layla and I waited at the exit of the baseball field waiting for Stephen to come out while talking about the game but mostly about his performance and how impressive he was

''Excuse me are you the mother of the new kid Rose'' asked a woman approaching me and initiating the conversation

''Yes, that's my son Stephen... Oh sorry where are my manners I'm Catherine... Catherine Rose nice to meet you your son is also on the team?'' I asked introducing myself while extending my hand for a handshake

''Well in fact I have two sons playing for the team but today was the youngest one playing I couldn't miss this I'm the mother of Chase and Tristen Riggs, Helen Riggs It's a pleasure to meet you'' she said shaking my hand

''The pleasure is mine, since you have two sons on the team you must have watched a lot of their games before, is it always so nerve-wracking watching them play like this, I've seen my husband play a lot back in the day but I don't recall it being that stressful'' I asked her trying to keep the conversation going

''Haha my husband also played in college and I can tell you it wasn't as bad as now, but seeing our sons and cheering for our husbands are two different things don't tell this to my husband but since I gave birth he dropped a position on my love list each time I have a new kid hehe'' she said laughing

''Your love list?'' I asked puzzled

''Yes the people I love the most in order, my three children take the 3 first spot then my Father and my Mother and lastly my Husband hahaha 'my love list' you've never done something similar'' she asked

''No but if I were to, my son would take the first place for sure hehe'' I said laughing

''Well I just wanted to welcome you to our little community there aren't a lot of people today but home games are different and I can see by your son's performance that he will for sure make the team so we will have plenty of chance to talk again, I can see our kid coming out now I need to go see you soon Catherine'' she said before heading toward her son

Not long after my son also appeared I could see him talking and laughing with one of his teammates spotting me he said something to his teammate then they clasped their hand together while bumping their shoulder in a half-hugging position before separating themself with a bump fist 'was that a handshake or a hug' I thought after seeing this 

''Hey Mom, Coach said that we could go back with our parents if we wanted so we can leave now I'm famished can we stop somewhere to eat I almost did eat before the game, ah that was so fun, Aria did you see the first ball I hit hahahaha that felt so good...'' my son was talking without stopping clearly showing just how excited he was

''Alright Alright calm down I know you are excited but can you please calm down for a bit and shouldn't you say hello to Layla that's quite rude'' I said with a little smile

'' Sorry I was keeping the best for last, I'm glad that you came if your message gave me a 2 times boost in power you being here double it again'' said my son looking at Layla with the kind of gaze that I knew all too well 'My son is interested in this young lady' I thought 

''W...w...what are you saying dummy I'm not a power boost item like the ones in the video games you play humph'' Layla said blushing

''Hahahaha of course not hahahaha shall we go now'' said my son still laughing

''Humph I'm not talking to you'' said Layla starting to walk toward my parked car

''You really like teasing her like this aren't you'' said Aria beside me

''She's just too cute when she blushes'' said my son with a cheeky smile before following behind Layla

''Why do I feel like the third wheel'' I asked Aria

'' Humph you didn't have to ride back home with them all week'' said Aria before also following after them 

''Ah teenagers'' I said with a smile

Layla P.O.V

Seeing Stephen play was a fun experience I could see he was really having fun and the smile on his face when playing made him even more handsome than he already was the silly smile he had on his face after hitting his first home run was really cute I thought at the moment. Of course, seeing Catherine shouting loudly in joy was also funny to watch and her t-shirt made me smile every time I would see it hehe 

Aria was also smiling when Stephen would come in to play from the conversation we had together earlier I could guess why they were this happy seeing Stephen playing baseball. I didn't understand everything so I would often ask questions to Aria who would then patiently explain to me at the end of the game I had now a pretty solid base of baseball knowledge

Waiting for Stephen at the exit I was a little nervous I was wondering what would he say about my presence here. I didn't have to wait long before I spotted Stephen walking out of the field with his new friend Caden if I remember correctly Stephen told me about him in one of our conversations saying that from all his teammates Caden and Jalen were the ones he was feeling the most close to

When he arrived beside us he was so excited that he couldn't stop talking which I found really cute then his mother reminded him that I was there and what he said in answer made my heart skip a beat, I wanted to find a hole to crawled into I know he likes teasing me but I could feel it when he was serious or when he was joking and right now he was 100% serious

Even if for others it would look like he was joking I knew he was not he really thought what he had just said which made it all the more embarrassing because he said this right in front of his mother. From our interactions and the fact that we spent almost all of our time together besides practice and when we were in our respective homes, I knew he was interested in me and I was sure he knew I too was interested in him we just chose to say nothing for the time being

While I was walking toward Stephen's mother's car trying to hide my embarrassment and thinking about all this I heard footsteps behind me, I turned my head to look behind me and saw Stephen catching up to me so I turned my head back and looking in front of me intending to ignore him for embarrassing me in front of his mother

''Don't ignore me hehe. I'm sorry I was too excited and my mouth slipped'' said Stephen matching my pace and walking right beside me

''Humph how could you say something like that in front of your Mother this is so embarrassing'' I said to him a little angry

''Honestly, it doesn't matter you know how I feel about you and I'm pretty sure my mother thought I was joking... well maybe not anymore'' he said after a little pause

''What do you mean?'' I asked him

''Well you see when you left Aria told me that I really like teasing you and I answered that you really look cute when you blush ... so yeah haha'' he said laughing

''Thats not funny you idiot'' I said punching him in the arm a couple of time

''What are your plans for tomorrow'' he asked acting like I didn't punch him just now

''I will be going to the shelter all morning but I'm free in the afternoon so I will probably relax at home what about you are you going to train like usual'' I asked back

''Hmm just light training what shelter do you go to I don't think you ever told me'' he asked

'' It's not really a shelter but I say shelter because people get confused when I say animal hospital It is Mill Creek Animal Hospital, I can watch veterinarians doing surgery when I'm not busy and the staff is really kind and taught me a lot of things I'm really grateful for them'' I explain with a smile

''What do you usually do there?'' asking me another question

''Well it depends sometimes I take care of the cages food and water sometimes I speak with the owners of the animal they just brought for you know .. end their life without suffering it was really hard at first and I'm still getting used to it but Dr. Brant told me that the sooner I learn how to deal with this the better Veterinarian doctor I'll become and in rare case, I assist in surgery but nothing important just taking care of the blood-stained cloths or putting syringe in the trash most of the time I'm just on the side looking at what they do'' I said excitedly 

''That's pretty impressive already I bet you will be one of the best in your class when you study in college with all that experience you will be ahead of everyone'' he said in an encouraging tone 

''Hehe I don't care about that I just want to be better for the animals'' I said

''Hey I'm sorry to interrupt you two but Stephen my Mom just texted me asking if you and Aunty want to eat dinner at our home, Autny asked me to ask you if you could wait until we go back or if you are too hungry to wait'' said Aria who had appeared beside us at some point

''Alright is Uncle cooking?'' asked Stephen

''Of course, have you ever seen my mom cook a bet she could burn boiling water haha'' said Aria

''Hehe then I think this will be worth the wait, we will need to drop Layla home first and that's also good I can take a shower at your place before dinner so my dad won't see me in this uniform'' said Stephen almost drooling

The ride back home was spent talking about the game well Stephen and his Mother did most of the talking while Aria and I were talking about other things only occasionally chiming into their conversation when they would ask us questions we soon made it to my home and I stepped out of the car after saying my goodbyes and telling Aria and Stephen that we would see each other on Monday

''So how was it'' asked my Mom as soon as I stepped into the house

''I didn't understand a thing at first but it was fun, and Mom I know why you dated a baseball player back then'' I said with a mischievous smile

''Oh and why is the reason you thought of'' said my Mom

''This uniform really doesn't hide much'' I said not shy or embarrassed at all 

My Mom and I always had that kind of relationship with my Father being this overprotective my mom didn't have to discipline me much or whatever so we developed a friendship Besides our mother/daughter relationship I could pretty much talk about anything with my Mother

''Hahaha this was indeed one of the reasons the other one being he was a smooth talker but a big jerk, so Stephen was looking good in baseball pants'' asked my mother with a sly smile

''The smile on his face was the most attractive thing about him today, Mom do you think there would be something wrong with me if I had feelings for a guy I got to know for only a week?'' I asked her dying to know if I was weird or not

''You are young and when we are young we don't ask ourselves 1000 different questions about what we are feeling and sometimes its a good thing and other time it isn't I once dated a guy after only knowing him for 4 days of course it didn't last long but we tried and you know your grandfather asked your grandmother out the very next day they met and they are still together, so there is nothing wrong with you honey'' she said to me reassuring me a bit

''Thanks, Mom I'm going to take a shower and change myself now'' I said before passing by my mother

Stephen Rose P.O.V

After dropping Layla home we made our way to Aria's home it didn't take long for us to arrive, as soon as we got there my mother fell under the multitude of questions my aunt had. I think that she was a little mad that my mother kept her out of our secret I didn't tell her to not make matters worse but she was also the last one to know about my tattoos having only learned about them 2 days ago 

Leaving them behind I took my bag and entered the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes, I always thought that taking a hot shower or bath was one of the little pleasures in life that people don't enjoy enough and every time I'd take a cold shower or ice bath this belief will reinforce himself a little bit just like now 

Stepping out of the bathroom after a quick shower we all sat around the table for a good meal, Uncle's cooking was superb like always today was Chicken Parmesan with zucchini noodles and green salad one of my favorite dishes of all time 

We didn't stay long at my Aunty's house not long after dinner we bade farewell and made our way back home on the ride back I closed my eyes and wished for the system I immediately found myself in the white room, earlier today I felt that I had gain points so I was just taking a quick peek since I had the time and my Mom would only think I was resting 

Looking at the blackboard quite a few achievements were now written on it 

+5 ( First baseball game)

+1 (playing an entire baseball game)

+10 (first home run)

+10 (first triple)

+10 (first RBI)

+8 (1pts per RBI)

Reading everything I was satisfied of course those first-time points won't happen again but gaining 44 points in one practice game satisfied me now with 69 points I was close to being able to spin the wheel again or maybe I should stack points for the professional one I thought wishing to leave the space

''Are you tired?'' asked my Mom when she saw me opening my eyes

''Not really I was just thinking back about the game, Mom next game will be at home and I will surely pitch so I think it's time to tell Dad soon I don't want to tell him too late making him unable to come to my game on Saturday, I think we should tell him tomorrow after dinner what do you think?'' I asked her finally deciding to tell my father about me playing baseball

''I think that there's no need to hide it from him anymore also it will be hard to hide it from him the longer this continues with more people knowing that you play it's bound to reach his ears one way or another and I think that he wouldn't like hearing it from another person than his son, I think that telling him is the right choice Sunshine'' said my mother 

''Hum alright I'll tell him tomorrow... talking about tomorrow I will be out in the morning and maybe also a good part of the afternoon but I will be back in time for dinner'' I said an idea popped into my head mid-sentence

''Dont train yourself too hard you just finished a game today maybe you should take a break, no?'' said my mother assuming I was going out to train again

''Dont worry Mom, I know'' I said with a smile

10 minutes or so later my Mom parked the car in our driveway after transferring my bags into my own car I followed her inside my Dad was sitting in the living room watching the Atlanta Braves baseball game on the TV of course being the fan that I was I took a seat beside him 

''Anything interesting happens? I asked him while taking a bunch of peanuts in my hand from the bowl put on the coffee table in front 

''Not really, defense is solid but pitchers throw too many wild pitches, well with how young their bullpen it isn't surprising but when you throw 1 wild pitch per batter you face you might want to go back to the basic'' said my father always giving more attention to pitcher then the rest of the team

''Not all young pitchers thro like that right'' I asked

''No this one is just... special let's say hahaha'' he said laughing

We watched the game together before I started feeling tired around 9h30 seems like my sleeping habit during summer affected me more than I thought wishing good night to my Dad before going to sleep ' I can't wait to see her face ' I thought before closing my eyes drifting to sleep