Chapter 22
Aaron
The atmosphere inside Empire Stadium Park was absolutely electric.
It was a flawless Saturday evening in late July, and the massive stadium was a buzzing hive of energy for Jonah King’s highly anticipated home debut.
When I arrived at the ballpark, Jalen and Cal were already there.
Cal’s team had secured a media-credentialed broadcast table situated right on the field level, tucked just a bit off to the side of the home dugout—the ultimate prime real estate for a high-profile sports podcast doing a live pre-game broadcast.
I immediately walked over to help Cal and a couple of technicians from his media team set up their heavy audio-video gear.
Just past the dugout railing, Mars and Nia were already settled into their front-row premium dugout suites, the elite VIP seats that put you close enough to the field to hear the dirt kick up under a player's cleats.
I couldn't lie; the second I stepped onto the field level, my eyes instinctively began searching the surrounding tunnels and seats, completely longing to catch a glimpse of Pepper’s face.
But she hadn't arrived yet.
A quiet smile touched my lips just thinking about her.
We had stayed up past midnight on the phone, talking and laughing about silly little things from our past, and sometimes just staying entirely silent, letting the quiet breathe because neither of us wanted to be the first to hang up and break the connection.
The high-fashion lifestyle shoot at Leo's on 3rd had been officially rescheduled to Monday, which gave our production pipeline a bit more creative breathing room—even though, true to our new pact, we barely discussed work at all.
"What's up, guys?" I called out, stepping up to the broadcast table and offering handshakes to my boys.
"What's up, man?" Jalen grinned, dapping me up.
Cal stopped adjusting a high-end shotgun mic for a brief moment, narrowing his eyes as he looked me up and down.
"Something about you looks completely different today, man."
"What do you mean? I look exactly the same," I said, genuinely confused, adjusting the brim of my black team cap.
"What he means is that you look significantly less uptight," Jalen chuckled, turning around to wave smoothly at a group of fans who were screaming his name near the lower stands.
He was always the reputable, golden-boy quarterback hero we all loved, entirely comfortable in a stadium crowd.
"Y'all are just saying that to get under my skin," I muttered, shaking my head.
I stepped behind the console to help Cal route the digital interface cables from his computer to his heavy-duty ear mic.
"No, man, I seriously mean that in a good way," Cal confirmed, his tone turning earnest as he tested his master audio levels. "The tension is gone, bro. You look loose."
I hesitated, looking around the immediate perimeter of the dugout to make sure the coast was completely clear of any roaming Jolt execs or stadium personnel.
I leaned in closer to the guys, dropping my voice.
"If we're being completely honest... I really, really like Pepper, man."
Jalen let out a loud, knowing laugh.
"Duh, bro. We have eyes. We saw you at Aura."
He paused, his expression turning a bit more serious as he dapped me on the shoulder.
"But... I bet it feels damn good to finally let your guard down and come to terms with it."
"It does," I admitted, a tight knot forming in my chest as the lingering shadow of September crept into my mind. "But... I don't want to rush into something serious knowing she has to pack up and leave for Tokyo at some point. I don't want to break my own heart."
"Damn... I wasn't even considering the expiration date," Cal muttered, completely stopping his mic test for a second to let the reality of the timeline sink in.
He looked at me, his eyes softening with years of brotherly advice.
"But hey, don't sweat it right now, Aaron. You guys have a whole month left together on this Jolt production. Do not waste a single second of it worrying about a departure that hasn't even happened yet. Just live in the moment."
"Yeah," I breathed, letting out a long, slow breath as the logic settled over me. "You're right."
Just as I was about to say something else, a sudden burst of familiar laughter drifted down from the tunnel.
Pepper and Stormy appeared right on the side of Nia and Mars’s dugout seats.
And as usual, Pepper looked good as hell.
She had her legs completely out today, wearing a pair of fitted short-shorts that instantly reminded me of the first night I saw those thick, jaw-dropping thighs moving on the lounge dance floor.
She had an Apollos jersey loosely tied at her waist, her silky red hair gleaming like fire under the massive stadium lights.
She scanned the field level, and the exact second her eyes found mine, she flashed a massive, radiant cheese and waved at me.
I waved back, biting the inside of my cheek, desperately attempting not to blush like a schoolboy in front of my best friends.
"Yeah... I know that exact feeling, man," Jalen murmured with a heavy smirk.
He walked past me, patting my back hard in a firm, brotherly way that told me he was happy for me.
Jalen and I quickly finished up helping Cal secure his digital camera tripods, leaving him to go straight to work on his mic controls for the live pre-game show.
We cleared the media partition and stepped into the premium dugout box, joining the girls right as the teams took the field for batting practice.
The stadium was roaring, the energy was thick, and as I took my seat directly next to Pepper, our shoulders brushing in the warm summer air, I knew the rules in my handbook were officially gone.
As we got settled into the front-row dugout suites, the electric hum of the crowd seemed to fade the moment I sank into the seat right next to Pepper.
"Hi," I said softly, leaning my shoulder slightly against hers.
"Hi," she responded, a beautiful, lazy smile playing on her lips.
She leaned closer, her warm breath fanning my ear as she whispered, "I didn't know you snored, Fields."
I glanced over at her, letting out a sudden, defensive laugh.
"I don't. That was definitely you, Red."
She burst out laughing, nudging my arm with her shoulder.
"Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that."
Before I could defend my honor any further, the stadium loudspeakers crackled to life, announcing the starting lineups for the Houston Apollos.
The roar that went up when Jonah King’s name was announced as the starting pitcher was deafening.
In baseball, the starting pitcher dominates the entire game; they control the pace, the strategy, and the defense from the mound.
Jonah was the crown jewel of this mid-season trade, and forty thousand fans were screaming his name.
A moment later, a hush fell over the massive ballpark as the announcer asked everyone to rise for the national anthem.
Pepper and I stood up closely beside each other in the tight VIP box.
As the stadium lights dimmed slightly and the first notes of the anthem echoed through the open-air rafters, our bodies shifted with the crowd.
My hand subtly grazed hers against the railing.
Neither of us pulled away.
Instead, our knuckles lightly brushed, a quiet, electric current running straight up my arm that had my heart beating faster than a sprint.
The moment the anthem ended, the stadium erupted back into a wall of sound.
The umpire shouted his first official call, and the game was underway.
We were all completely tuned in, leaning over the dugout suite railing and cheering at the top of our lungs.
Jonah looked completely locked in on the mound, his form flawless.
Right before he threw his final warm-up pitch, he casually glanced our way, spotted the crew, and waved with a quick chuckle.
But before he turned back to face the batter, I couldn't help but notice him flash a sharp, deliberate wink straight toward Stormy.
Stormy instantly rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but a massive, blushing smile completely gave away her entertainment.
"Oh, he is a smooth one," Nia laughed, nudging Stormy from the seat behind us.
By the bottom of the fifth inning, Jonah was throwing an absolute masterclass on the mound, racking up strikeout after strikeout, and the entire suite was high on stadium food, drinks, and victory.
Pepper had finally gotten her hands on that massive sausage and peppers she’d been daydreaming about, taking a happy bite while I sat beside her, completely mesmerized by how effortlessly she fit into my world.
Then, the massive, state-of-the-art Jumbotron hanging over center field suddenly cut away from the live game feed.
A giant, flashing neon pink heart framed the screen, and the words KISS CAM began dancing across the display.
The stadium below erupted into a roaring wave of cheers and laughter as the camera operator began scanning the lower bowls, trapping unsuspecting couples in the frame.
Inside our dugout suite, Jalen let out a sudden, booming laugh, pointing frantically up at the hidden monitors mounted in our box.
"Oh, look out! It’s coming this way!" Jalen hollered.
My head snapped up to the ceiling monitor, and my lungs completely locked.
Framing the entire giant stadium Jumbotron, right in the center of that flashing neon heart for forty thousand screaming baseball fans to see, was the interior of our premium dugout box.
And the camera was locked dead onto Pepper and me.
The crowd below us, realizing the lens was focused on the front-row VIP suites, started cheering louder, the chant of "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" rippling across the stadium sections.
My strict handbook and my rigid professional rules instantly flashed in my head, but as I turned my eyes down to look at Pepper, her hazel eyes were wide, glittering with a wild, playful challenge under the stadium lights.