What the hell was wrong with him?

He let some woman get in the way of how he played a game. He lost his focus. Instead of pitching another perfect game, or even a winning game, he played some of his worst. After nearly letting the opposing team score a grand slam, the coach pulled him out of the game for a relief pitcher. His pitching was off as well as his hitting.

Because of her.

This was why he needed to stay away and not think about her again. But those moments he spent with her would always be special. The way she felt leaned against him. His hand was on her waist, holding her. The way she stared into his eyes. The little smile on her face.

She was a flirt and he ate it up. He made himself believe for a moment that she had some interest in him. No! It was all who she was. A superstar celebrity that every guy fell over. He would not fall into her grasp.

They lost the game two to seven no thanks to him.

"We can't win them every time, kid," Coach said to him while he sat, shoulders slumped and head down.

Before this game, he was on a winning streak. He was on top of the world and liked the feeling. He was the talk around the bullpen, after every game the media favorite, and had the fans screaming his name. He liked the attention. But now with a loss and as many mistakes as he made, he felt the weight of the loss on his shoulders.

Now he wanted to go home after the game and wallow in pity. His teammates of course wanted to party. Win or lose that was how they liked to celebrate. He did not know how they were able to do it.

A pep talk from Coach did not help.

A rally from the team captain didn't help.

The media saying it was just one loss of many but they still had the best record, did not help.

"Come out with us tonight," Anthony said to him as they left the ballpark. "You don't even have to stay for long. Order an Uber if you do a little too much drinking. Or leave early, but come along with us."

"Get your mind off the game for once, maybe you'll play better." That was from Tyrone Johns, who wasn't even a starter on the team, and he had a better game than him today.

Because of her.

Did she stay and watch the game? She said her family was there and he could just sense her eyes on him somehow. It made him feel nervous and apprehensive with each throw. He and the catcher were not in sync at all. Maybe taking his mind off the game was a good idea. He could not play any worse for their next game tomorrow. Maybe going out and doing something different was the key.

"Okay, fine! Let's do this."

He made it to his place, showered, shaved, and found something interesting to wear. Nothing too fancy. Jeans and a nice dark shirt. He only was going out to hang with his teammates, bond with them, and relax after a game. He was not going to stay out too late. They had another game tomorrow, this was already too much for him.

He was barely legal to make it into the club. His birthday was seven months ago when he turned twenty-two. He was the youngest on the team at the moment.

He was meeting the guys at a place called Greg's Bar & Grill which was more nightclub than a place to eat. It was Friday night and he knew the place would be packed. Since coming up from the minors to St. Louis he had not been out on the town. This was his first time.

The last time he partied was when he got the call to move up to the Majors. He partied in Springfield with his teammates all night and into the morning. He drank and even smoked a little, but it was back to being serious as he headed to St. Louis the next day. After that, he told himself to stay focused, all year round, even off-season. All he did was work on building his strength to play on the big stage.

It seemed to be working. He was on top. As long as he stopped thinking about her.

The meetup place was in The Grove and it was a large place with plenty of seating and two separate bars. The music was loud and hip-hop, and the crowd was very diverse. He could vibe with that. It was dark but there were flashing strobe lights going off. He needed a moment for his eyes and ears to adjust to the sounds and sights. It did not seem to affect the ladies and guys on the dance floor dancing and chatting away. The women were looking good, he had to admit, but he was not there to meet women. Hang out with his teammates, that was it.

There were so many people there, but of course, the ten other players with him would not be recognized. That was a good thing. As popular as they were as a team, when they were out in public they were not recognized. It was not like they wore their uniforms or baseball caps to bring attention to themselves. He never had any problem doing regular everyday things.

"I think I need to fuck a nice hot honey to help me mourn our loss," Tyrone said to him. Tyrone was a short, dark-skinned brother who from what he remembered, had a girlfriend he met before. Unless they broke up. He had no clue. It was not his business. "I need some pussy, so it's Any miny money mo."

"Let's find some twins and see who they pick," Anthony said with a chuckle. "Because you know it's not true about who has the bigger dick."

Tryone threw up his hands in defeat. "Then I lose, all the honeys want a shot with you, Prince Charming. Not the short, stocky, Black guy."

Anthony popped an imaginary collar at that. He actually was born and raised in St. Louis. Grew up in North County area that was highly condensed with Black people and every other minority. Because he grew up with open arms to all, he treated everyone the same, despite looking like the epitome of a redneck white boy.

While they were in the minors and sharing a room, he watched plenty of girls walk out of his room in the morning. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, short, tall, thick, curly-haired, red-haired, bald head, weave down to there. Anthony was interested in all women had, so he did not discriminate. Tyrone stood no chance against Anthony who was tall and good-looking.

"This is my domain!" Anthony had enough swag in him, that's why he was everyone's friend and all the girls loved him. It was not like he pretended to be Black, it was just who he was. "These are my people."

"Pretty white boy, if you don't stop. Don't take all the sisters," Tyrone said.

"Let's see who pulls the most ladies tonight," Anthony stated.

"I don't just play ball good." Tyrone downed the shot in front of him. "Let the games begin."

He did not want any parts of the games they were playing with women. Standing at the bar,  he ordered a light beer. That would be his limit on the drinks. He would nurse that one till it was tepid warm. The rest of the team were knocking down shot after shot.

"Rico, how'd it go throwing balls with that hot piece of ass Tika?" Perez was a jerk for that and he wanted to punch him in the face right there.

Besides bringing up her name, he could not believe he was so disrespectful. He was accustomed to this type of behavior from guys, growing up playing sports. The locker room talk, the lack of respect for women. He may not be the ladies' man, but he liked to treat women in a respectful way. Even if it was a one-night stand, a woman deserved respect. Men could sleep around and it was cool. But women?

It was not right.

"Damn, I want a piece of her sexy ass," Anthony stated as the other guys nodded in agreement. "Just think of the things I could do to her when I get her."

Maybe tonight was not the night to hang with his boys. If this was where the conversation was headed, he was not interested.

"Can you guys lay off? Tika is not that type of woman. Just because she has had a few bad breakups doesn't mean she gets around like that."

"Ha! I bet she's freaky as hell," Tyrone said. "You see how she dresses in those little shorts, ass cheeks out? The way she dances and does that twerking? I want to watch her move like that on my dick."

Okay, that was enough. He gave Tyrone a hard shove and he fell back, lost his balance but did not fall. Tyrone may be older, but he was younger and taller than him by almost a foot.

"Hey, what's your problem?"

"You're my problem. Keep Tika's name out of your mouth, asshole. All of you."

He was out of there. Hanging with his teammates was such a bad idea. Tika did not deserve to be talked about that way. He did not know her, but he knew she was more than what they were saying.

Also, he knew he wanted to see her again.