Page 70 of Man Flu

Chapter Twenty

One Foul Ball for Another

OUCH. DON’T THEY KNOW the athletes will see these stupid headlines? Assholes. I’m guessing they all still have their balls intact.

Last night, at the top of the ninth inning, Logan Grier was up to bat when a slider pitch came in at eighty-five miles per hour. It looked as though Grier was preparing to let it fly, but didn’t decide in time. The ball made contact with the bat and ricocheted off of his right foot before bouncing directly upward into an unfortunate bodily location. Grier was knocked out cold, clearly not protected properly by his gear. He was quickly carried off the field on a stretcher, and we are still waiting on a final diagnosis of his injury, but at this time, things aren’t looking good for Grier and his career.

There’s footage. I don’t know if I can watch. My muscles are hard as stone right now at the thought of what happened. I’m aware I don’t have that body part, but I know how sensitive that area is for men, and the thought of being hit there in those dangling parts makes me cringe.

Like any car accident, though, I can’t stop myself from clicking play.

As Logan walks up to the plate, I notice a look on his face I haven’t seen before. I can’t tell if it’s pride, or maybe just a different kind of happiness. It’s hard not to admire what he looks like in his uniform, the way his pants hug his muscles, and the bands on his wrists accentuate his dark tanned muscles. I can only see one side of his profile, but it’s pretty much the definition of perfection. He’s covered with some of the reddish dirt from the encircling field, and it accents his appearance like a halo. Wow, he looks amazing. The pitcher throws the first ball, and Logan prepares to swing but stops. His forearms tighten, and his hand grips the bat a little tighter.

How could I not have ever been a baseball fan? It just got a lot hotter in here. This Logan is completely different from the Logan I know right now. Not that I know him well, but it’s like he’s two different people. The crowd is screaming his name, and the video switches to the stands where the crowd is watching, enraptured. They love him. Here I am, not knowing who the hell he really is, and he’s been staying in my house for two days. Maybe because I wasn’t drooling all over him, he found me intriguing.

The announcer begins talking about the pitcher winding up, and—I can’t do this. I can’t watch him get hurt. I won’t be able to un-see it, and it’s all I’ll be thinking about the next time I see him.

I hit pause and close out of the search engine. My mind is everywhere but mostly centered on how life managed to bring Logan and me together in such a peculiar way. I mean, it all started when he got assigned to my office as a temp. Then he wanted to have lunch with me. Nothing was coincidental. He had intentions, but what were they if he didn’t want me to know his secret? I love how men think women are so confusing, yet I’ve spent more time scratching my head over the men in my life than those men have probably spent scratching their balls. It’s not right.

I head down to the kitchen, grab my phone off the center island, and text Brielle. I don’t usually send her messages on the weekends, but I need to know if she knew about Logan. Maybe I’m the only one in the world who didn’t know who he was or what happened to him. The whole “living under a rock” thing I’ve been doing since Rick and I divorced doesn’t always bode well for me.

Me: Hey, have you ever watched a baseball game that Logan was playing in?

I’m not surprised to see the dots flickering immediately. Brielle lives on her phone, even when she should be working. I told her she should get the thing surgically adhered to her palm.

Brielle: Who hasn’t? LOL

Me: …

Brielle: Hannah, really? You didn’t know about Logan?

Me: No.

Brielle: So, you saw it?

What does it look like? I’ve heard it looks like a flat tire. Poor Logan.

Me: I’ll see you tomorrow.

Brielle: Lame. Byeeeeee.

I’m circling the downstairs feeling completely out of my element, just as I remember I’m leaving for a trip in two days. It totally slipped my mind, and I’m nowhere near prepared for this expo.