Nickelback sang out loudly on her night stand, waking her instantly. A hand reached out from under a thick comforter and fumbled around until it located the offending cell phone and dragged it back under the blanket. She flipped it open and the music ceased.

“Huh?” she asked sleepily. “What do you want, Alex?”

“C’mon, Tabs. Don’t tell me you’re still in bed?” came the astonished reply.

“I swear I’m going to kill you,” she mumbled, not threatening in the least.

Alex laughed. “Seriously, Tabs, it’s Opening Day, I got the ball and Mom and Dad just flew in. They want to see you.”

Tabby threw the blankets off her face as she rolled to her back. “It’s like twenty degrees out there. Who’d be stupid enough to sit outside in this weather?”

“You,” he snorted disdainfully. “And it’s not that cold.” He paused, his voice turning soft. “You know you wouldn’t miss my first start of the season. I’ll leave your ticket at Will Call. Take your ID. And if you get there before the first pitch, I’ll buy you a beer.”

She yawned and stretched, listening to her bones crack happily. “Make it a hotdog and two beers and you have a deal.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Never thought I’d have to bribe my best friend to come watch my Home Opener - especially when I get to pitch.”

“I’m lowdown and sleazy that way,” she retorted.

He chuckled, making her smile. “Don’t be late.”

She flipped her phone shut with a tired, frustrated groan. “I forgot to ask him what time the stupid game starts.”

She shuffled to the living room and rummaged around through the papers on her tiny desk. She searched fruitlessly for the tri-fold schedule he’d sent her a couple weeks earlier. She plopped down in the desk chair, gazing absently around the room. She supposed she should just call his cell and ask him.

She hoisted her sleepy body from the chair and dragged her bare feet to the kitchen. She reached for the fridge and paused, tiny smile on her lips. There, held in place with a round magnet, was her schedule. She yanked it off and banged her head lightly against the door. The game started at 1:20 and she still had to shower and call a cab. She glanced at the clock – she’d have to hurry.

She stood at the Will Call window, shifting from foot to foot, and watched the time nervously. The Indianapolis Racers, the new MLB expansion team, were quite popular already even though the team was only three years-old. Alex had been with them since their inception.

She glanced at her watch as the line moved a fraction of an inch. It was already 12:40 and she wanted to catch him on the field and wish him luck before all the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day.

She’d known Alex Miyerson almost since birth. They grew up together in a small Arizona town – his family practically adopting her. Both Alex and his older brother, Kevin, treated her like a beloved little sister. She was an only child of a sometimes unstable home and had latched onto the Miyersons at an early age.

She finally made it to the Will Call window and removed her gloves to fish her ID out of her pocket. “Tabitha Hays,” she said as she slid her ID under the glass. The ancient clerk smiled warmly and turned his back on her. He returned a minute later and handed her an envelope with her name scrawled across the front.

“Enjoy the game, miss,” he said.

She shoved her gloves back on her hands and snatched the envelope off the lip of the window. She moved away and cursed her stupidity as she hastily yanked off her gloves once more to dig the ticket out of the envelope. Included with her ticket was a note. She unfolded it and read it quickly.

Better hurry, Tabs. I know you’re running late and if I don’t see you in your seat before the first pitch, no dogs or beers for you.

She grinned as she shoved the note in her back pocket and approached the turnstiles. She handed her ticket to the girl scanning them and moved with the crowd toward the stairs. She checked her watch joyfully. It was still a few minutes until one and she had enough time to run the entire perimeter of the stadium and still make it to her seat before first pitch. Well, if she were in better shape.

She located her section behind the home dugout, relieved to find the April sun shining down on it. She recognized a couple people watching the players warm up and she slid in the row behind them. She stuck her head between them.

“Beautiful day for baseball, huh?” she asked. They both started and turned to face her, stunned.

“Tabitha! You frightened me to death,” Kathryn Miyerson declared, leaning in to kiss Tabby on the cheek.

Lee Miyerson chuckled as he stood and offered her a hand. She took it and hopped over the seats to plop between them. She rubbed her gloved hands together and scanned the field for signs of Alex.

“You look like you’re going to a Colts game,” Lee said, blue eyes smiling at her.

She frowned and studied her apparel. She’d dressed in jeans, a Racers t-shirt under a hooded sweatshirt, a down, winter jacket and a Racers stocking cap perched on her head. “It feels like football season, not baseball season. It’s cold out here,” she defended. “And where is he, anyway? I jumped out of my nice warm bed to rush over here?”

“He’s warming up,” Lee said and pointed to the left of the dugout. “And I thought you came for the beers and the hotdogs?”

She grinned when she spotted his tall, lean form winding up to carefully release a ball to the catcher. She hadn’t seen him since Christmas and her heart swelled. “I came to see him, too.” She stood and her grin turned devilish. “Should I calmly acknowledge him or shall I do the lovesick fan routine and embarrass him?”

“Lovesick fan, definitely,” Lee laughed.

“Stop it, you two,” Kate scolded. “I’m sure he’s nervous enough as it is.”

“Ah, a little embarrassment will calm his nerves,” Tabby said, waving away Kate’s concerns. She moved up a few rows to stand behind the dugout. She considered climbing on top of it but figured that would be going too far. Alex was her best friend, sure, but the beefy security officer standing nearby wasn’t. “Yo! Miyerson! You gonna get us a win today or what?”

He paused as he was about to grip the ball and spotted her. He grinned and shook his head. She held up an imaginary cup, pretended to drink and shrugged.

“Talk to my dad,” he ordered. He threw the ball to the catcher, smile still on his face. She gave a quick wave to one of the relief pitchers she recognized and climbed over the seats until she reached her own.

“How is school going?” Kate asked.

Tabby peeled off her gloves and sat back, watching Alex. “Good. It’s almost over. I’ll be so happy when I’m done.”

“Do you have any jobs lined up after graduation?” Lee asked as he signaled for the beer man.

“I have a couple interviews next week.” She grinned at Lee and accepted the beer he handed her. “One of them is with a sports magazine.”

His face lit up pleasantly. “Which one?”

“Sports Monthly Review. They put out a bunch of small publications so I’m not sure where I would fit in.”

Kate sipped cautiously at her hot chocolate. “Where are your other interviews?’

Tabby sighed and rolled her eyes. “I have one Monday at Young Women’s World. One of my professors recommended me for it.”

Lee snickered and Kate reached across Tabby to smack his arm. “That would be nice, don’t you think?”

“Well, it would be a job,” Tabby admitted reluctantly. “Personally, I’d prefer the sports magazine.”

Kate stared at her, toying absently with a lock of her dark hair. “I should honestly slap my sons for making you into such a tomboy. You are such a lovely girl, too.”

Tabby snorted. “Lee would have had a fit if they would have played dolls with me instead of teaching me how to play ball and climb trees.” Lee tapped his cup to hers in agreement. Just then, a voice announced the ceremonial first pitch was to be thrown out by some politician. After a few photos and an escort off the field, a local singer did the National Anthem and the umpire declared it time to ‘play ball’.

The crowd went crazy as music blared through the speakers as the players ran out on the field. Tabby shivered as Alex trotted to the mound and picked up the rosin bag. He threw it up a few times, catching it in his palm, then dropped it behind the mound. He began tossing the ball to the catcher as the opposing team’s first batter stood in the on deck circle, swinging his bat.

“He better pitch a perfect game for dragging me out of bed. I mean a no-no,” Tabby said.

Beside her, Lee grunted. “I’d like to see him last until the fifth inning. Especially in this cold weather.”

As the first hitter settled in at the plate, Tabby watched the intensity in Alex’s eyes as he bent at the waist and shook off his catcher’s signs. His right arm dangled in front of him until he finally gave a curt nod and straightened. He stood, still as a statue, for a couple seconds until he kicked up his right leg and pushed with his left, firing a fast ball across the plate. The umpire called it a strike and Tabby clapped with the other fans around her.

She loved to watch him pitch. His body was fluid in motion; liquid pouring out of a glass. He was meticulous about mechanics, followed a fitness regime all year long and worked extremely hard. That was what earned him the Opening Day starter spot. And that was what made him one of the best young pitchers in the league.

Alex did his job and shut Cincinnati down early. Tabby relaxed and checked out her program. She scowled at the lineup card, comparing hers to Lee’s.

“What’s with the rookie catcher?” she asked.

“Peterson blew his knee out in Spring Training. They called up this Kyle Shepard from the minors.”

“That sucks,” Tabby said, furrowing her brow. “How bad?”

“Alex said it wasn’t that bad and I hope he’s right. An injury like that could sideline him for the season.”

“Poor Ryan.” She remembered the always jovial veteran catcher at one of Alex’s infamous cookouts. He was always nice to Tabby, treating her as if she was Alex’s biological sister. His wife, Emma, was one of Tabby’s friends. She frowned at the empty seat next to Kate. “Hey, where’s Sara?”

“Tokyo, Milan, Paris,” Lee said airily, waving his hand. “Who knows?”

“She’s in New York,” Kate said, clucking her tongue at Lee. “She wanted to be here but she couldn’t. I bet she has connections at some fashion magazines. I bet she could give you some names and you could send them your resume.”

“I don’t think fashion is my thing,” Tabby said with a tight smile. “They’d probably laugh me out the door.”

“You’d do fine,” Kate assured, patting her cheek. “Is your mother coming for graduation?”

“I don’t know,” Tabby said, her eyes trained on the game. The shortstop, Ian Pitner, was at the plate. “I haven’t talked to her in awhile.”

Kate let the matter drop as they watched the game. Alex left the game in the bottom of the sixth when a pinch hitter came up to bat in his spot. He had a 4-2 lead but Tabby could tell his arm was tiring.

She watched the new catcher curiously. He was tall, though not as tall as Alex, and cute, she mused. He had dark hair and a bit of stubble on his cheeks. His eye color was impossible to tell from where she was sitting but they were dark, too.

The game ended with a Racers victory and Lee offered both women and arm. He led them through the crowd, showed his pass to a security guard, and escorted them to the players’ parking lot. They waited against the wall as the players slowly trickled through the door, some of them stopping to chat about the game.

Finally, Alex emerged and hugged Tabby tightly, nearly lifting her off her feet.

“Good game, Cy Young,” Tabby teased when he finally eased her back to the ground. “But you need to strengthen that back leg a little more, huh?”

He mussed her hair, rolled his eyes and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Yes, ma’am.” He winked at her and grabbed her hand. “Come on, my dad is taking us to dinner.”

“I am?” Lee asked. Kate smacked his arm again.

“I need to change my clothes,” Tabby protested. She eyed his dress pants and button up shirt. “I can’t go like this.”

“You do look like an Eskimo,” he said with a wry smile. “I’ll take you home after I drop Mom and Dad off at the rental car place.”

He stopped before red Mustang convertible. Tabby’s eyes popped out of her face. “Sweet! Can I drive?”

He leaned close to her ear and she shuddered involuntarily. “Not a chance in hell, Tabs,” he whispered, his breath warm on her cheek. He unlocked the car and opened the door. “Now get in.”

They discussed the game and made dinner arrangements on the way to the car rental agency and once they dropped off the elder Miyersons, Alex headed to Tabby’s apartment.

She located his CD case and flipped through the pages. “What are you looking for?”

She roared with laughter and held up a Celine Dion CD. “No way! You listen to this?” Tears formed in her eyes and her laughter continued to roll off her lips.

He snatched the disk from her hands and tossed it to the back seat. “That’s Sara’s,” he grumbled.

“Whatever you say,” she giggled. She held up another one. “Is this Sara’s, too?” He glanced at it and rolled his eyes. “Where is the Nickelback CD I sent you?”

“It’s number two in the stereo,” he told her. He pushed a button and familiar music surrounded her. She grinned and sat back in the leather seat. “Sara hates this CD, by the way.”

“She has no taste. I mean, look at who she’s dating?” He glared at her for a second then smiled his impish grin. She leaned over and pecked his cheek, blush flooding her face.

They pulled up in front of her building and she coaxed him inside. She’d moved out of the dorms and into the apartment over the winter and Alex had yet to meet her roommate. She was looking forward to seeing her roommate, Jen’s reaction to an actual professional baseball player in their tiny home.

“How was class today?” Jen asked as they breezed through the door.

Tabby snuggled into Alex’s side and gave him a squeeze. “I skipped class to hang out with Alex at the ball game.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “We made out in the bleachers.”

Jen gasped, eyes wide. “Tabby!”

Beside her, Alex sighed heavily. She suppressed a giggle. “No one cared.” She released Alex’s waist and took his hand. “He’s taking me to dinner now so I have to change.” She dragged Alex behind her to her bedroom and shut the door.

He sat at her desk and glared. “What was that all about?”

She shrugged and tugged a pair of black jeans and a light yellow sweater out of her dresser. “Just playing with her. She’s always gossiping and digging into my private life. It’s annoying. At least now she has something to gossip about.”

Alex opened one of her textbooks absently. “Go change.”

“I’m about to so turn your head.”

He sucked in a breath. “Tabs, go change in the bathroom!”

“Too late,” she said as she slid her jeans off her legs and threw them at him. He groaned and concentrated on the open textbook in front of him. She laughed as she hurriedly tugged the sweater over her head. She yanked the rubber band out of her hair and reached over his shoulder to grab the brush she tossed there that morning. “I’m decent. You can look.”

“You are evil, Tabs. You’re going to kill me one of these days.” He ran his hands through his light brown hair and studied her with his incredibly blue eyes. “Are you ready?”

She found his hand and pulled him to his feet. “Yep. Let’s go.”

She had an unusual need to touch him. She never really thought about it before as it was nothing for her to hug him or hold his hand. Maybe it was because he’d been gone for months, traveling with Sara and then off to Spring Training. She’d missed him terribly, even though they spoke on the phone frequently. But it wasn’t the same to her. She liked having him near. He was like a security blanket – always had been. He was the one she ran to when her parents would fight, often climbing into his bedroom window in the middle of the night. He’d turn the radio on, very low, and talk to her about everything and anything to take her mind off what was happening next door. And that last horrible night, he was the one who came to her rescue, protecting her fiercely at his own personal risk. She hero-worshiped him most of her life, except for an awkward teenage period when she fancied she’d had a crush on him.

“Why so quiet?” he asked as they drove toward the restaurant.

She removed his right hand from the wheel and held it in her own. “I was thinking how boring it was while you and everyone else were away.”

He laughed and gave her hand a little squeeze. But his laugh didn’t quite reach his eyes and she worried. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Her stomach fell to her feet. “That’s a warning if I ever heard one,” she muttered, trying to stay lighthearted. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” he assured her. “I just wanted to talk to you about something that’s been on my mind lately.” He glanced at her quickly and returned his eyes to the road.

“What? Quit stalling and just spit it out.”

“Well, my career is going pretty good, if I can manage to stay off the DL, and I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time to settle down.” He glanced at her again. “I’m thinking about asking Sara to marry me.”

Her heart fell to her stomach at her feet.

A/N: I do love this story even though it's loaded with drama.

I uploaded this early then found a bunch of errors so I fixed them and reposted.

Anyway, another baseball story (haha). Hope you like it and thanks for taking the time to read it.