He heard Tika was at the game and created a mob as fans harassed her. He was back in the locker room after their win when there was a buzz about it. Already on social media, they were saying she was there to see one of the players on the Braves.

He wondered how true that after their conversation was last night. Maybe after he turned her down, she found someone else willing to give her what she wanted.

He still felt like a fool.

But he wanted to apologize as well. And check on her. He left the loud guys, found a quiet corner, and called her on the number he saved on his phone. He hoped she would pick up and would not block him.

"Hey."

He was so happy to hear her voice, he smiled. "Hey." Then nothing. He felt like an idiot. "I heard you were at the game today and there was a ruckus. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thanks for asking."

"Did you...come to see me?"

"Who else." That made him sigh with relief. "I'm sorry about last night and...you know."

"Don't. Believe me, it was very tempting."

He could hear people yelling in the background around her, and she yelled back at them.

"Sorry about that. It's crazy here. Paparazzi followed us out of there and we're all bunkered down for now."

"Still at the hotel? When I get back there, maybe we can hang out tonight."

"Ugh! We're flying out in an hour."

Damn, this was the kind of luck he had. "Where to?"

"L.A."

"Oh." Life of a superstar. He traveled a lot for baseball like now they were away from home for two weeks. He loved the game, the travel, not so much. "So maybe...next time you're in town I could see you."

"I would love that. My people were going to get in contact with you and set something up so we can-"

"Why? We're talking now, we can set something up ourselves." He was not going to blow his shot with her ever again. "While you're away, I would love to continue talking to you, like this, on the phone, if that's okay."

"Hold on a sec, Rico."

It sounded like Tika put the phone down while she yelled orders at someone, then she shushed them and picked up the phone again.

"Rico, I have to go, sorry, but yes, call me back anytime. I'll always answer for you. Bye."

Life of a superstar. And she was into him, for whatever that was worth. Even though he was excited about the possibilities, he went back to his teammates and did not say a word. He did not want to share this moment with them. It was all for him.

And he would do whatever it took to keep her interested.

After they made it back to the hotel, a few of the guys wanted to hang around and party. He found some of the older guys who were less rowdy to spend some time with. He could learn a lot from the old timers who had been playing ten ten-plus years. They had seen it all and done it all.

A few were married and wives traveled with them. A few had serious girlfriends who came to the games. They had families and homes and a life outside of baseball. As for him, all he had was the game.

"Rook, not out on the town getting into some trouble?" Stanley Towers asked him while they were having food catered in one of the ballrooms.

"No sir, I need to keep my head straight."

"Good for you. When I was your age...well, at least my first year in the Majors, all I had was the game."

"You still have the game."

"Not the same way I had it back then. Too focused on the game almost missed life."

"Why would you say that? You're married, have kids, nice house in Miami, what else do you need?"

"I'm saying I almost let it slip away too focused on the game."

"That's what we get paid to do, play."

"You're only twenty-two kid, there's still time to just enjoy being young and having fun with the game."

That was easier said than done. It was not easy to make it there, just because he was the youngest on the team. He could have been stuck in the minors for a few more years. He was where he was supposed to be, and it was worth any sacrifice.

After he ate and hung out with the guys for a few, he made it back to his room. He checked the time and wondered if Tika landed and was in L.A. He did not want to seem like a bugaboo, but he wanted to talk to her again.

He called her up.

"Hey you," he heard her sing-song voice.

"Am I bothering you?"

"No, I'm in for the night, how about you?"

"Same."

"I sure wish I could have seen you, I mean, besides watching you play."

"I like talking to you. At least we can do that. I know how busy you are with promoting the album and all."

"And now, I have a tour to prepare for."

"Oh really? Wow! I bet that will keep you busy."

"Yes and away from my family."

He knew she was talking about her daughter, and even her parents that she was close to. He understood how that felt. While he was not close to his siblings, his parents were his everything.

"But guess what, I convinced them to have us work in St. Louis getting the tour together and they are working on it now. Call for auditions, space for practice, all of that."

"So that means...you'll be in St. Louis more." He could not help but smile. This was music to his ears.

"I need to be near my parents you know, they're getting really old and I can't ask them to travel with my daughter. And she needs to be at home, and not on the road with crazy fans and paparazzi all over me."

"She's lucky to have a mom like you."

"What about you? Any kids-"

"No!" He quickly added. Although he would love a big family one day. "And thank God my sisters and brother have enough kids to give my parents grandkids. I am the only one without."

"So you have a big family? I'm jealous, only child here."

"I felt like an only child at times, but I'm not." He got comfortable in bed, and talking to Tika felt so normal. "My sister that's closest to my age is twelve years older than me. So all the rest are really old."

"Wow! Your mother needed a break, huh," Tika giggled at that.

"Something like that," he said, before he went on "I'm adopted. My parents adopted me when I was three years old. My sister was fifteen, my only brother, eighteen, and about to go off to college. My other two sisters were already out of the house when I came into the picture. Both married and had kids already. I think my sisters were...twenty-two and twenty-seven when I came along."

"Oh wow."

"So I have a nephew just about my age, he was three when I came along. Now my other siblings have kids. I have a total of eight nieces and nephews"

This was something he never really talked to others about. No one on his team knew he was adopted. It was something he did not like to share. To him, his parents were his parents, and nothing else mattered.

"Can I ask...what race are you? I mean, sorry, is that rude?"

Again, that was something he did not like talking about either.

"No, not at all. I'm Black. My bio-mom is Cuban, and my bio-father is African American. Both my parents are white, and all my siblings and nieces and nephews are. I don't think they treated me any differently."

"So, like Kaepernick."

"Yeah, something like that. Where I grew up there were more mixed-race, multi-racial people than any other group. I believe about forty percent of the residents consider themselves Black. But it's the boot hill of Missouri, so you know there were slave plantations down there in the past. Were they racist down there? Hell yeah! But my parents do not have a racist bone in their body. They did their best to help me understand both of my heritages, that's why they put me in baseball. They taught me Black history at home when all they were talking about were slaves and Martin Luther King in school."

"They taught me to be well-rounded, be about more than baseball. I also ran track. I earned a full-ride scholarship to Missouri State University for baseball. I gave it my all there because I knew that was what I wanted to do. Baseball actually doesn't come easy to me. I have to stay disciplined, focused and in tip-top shape to perform my best."

"Wow! You are so interesting."

He chuckled at that. "Not like you weren't the talk of town when you signed a record deal at sixteen and dropped the first album at seventeen."

"Okay! I love a guy that knows my backstory."

"I kinda followed your career. I enjoy your music. I love watching you dance and your voice is amazing."

"And I can listen to you go on about me all night." She let out a moan. "Do you find me sexy?"

"Beyond sexy. But you're so much more." He could stay up all night with her, but it was already midnight in Atlanta so it was ten p.m. in L.A. "I don't want to keep you up all night I know you're busy. Can I call you back tomorrow night?"

"You don't have to ask. Goodnight, Rico."

He had the best night of sleep with sweet dreams of Tika all night.