Whatever It Is

The next day, Anne showed up to Hazel’s apartment, knocking swiftly.

“Hey,” Hazel greeted after opening the door.

“Hey,” Anne replied, seeing Hazel's red eyes as evidence that she had been crying. “How are you doing?”

“Carlos hates me too,” Hazel sighed, motioning for Anne to come in.

“What are you talking about?” Anne said, closing the door behind her.

“Last night, after I left your place I went to Carlos’ apartment,” Hazel started.

“Why?” Anne asked, surprising Hazel with her snappy tone.

“Because I thought we should talk,” Hazel replied.

“And let me guess, you didn’t do much talking, did you?”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t believe that after everything that just happened with Gordon, you go out and do it again,” Anne accused.

“I didn’t do anything! We got in to an argument, and he got mad at me and kicked me out. He also says he never wants to speak to me again,” Hazel finished sadly.

“Well maybe that’s for the best. It’s not like the two of you can be trusted around each other,” Anne shrugged. Hazel glanced up confused.

“You were all excited yesterday when I told you I slept with Carlos,” Hazel said. “And now you’re-”

“I thought that maybe Carlos was coming around, maybe he’d finally settle down. But I talked to Gordon last night and I realized he has a point. All you really did was aid Carlos in his bad habit. Hell, you just said the two of you aren’t even friends anymore, so really you’re no different than the other girls he’s been with,” Anne folded her arms across her chest.

“Yeah. I’ve heard that before,” Hazel mumbled.

“That’s why I think it’s best if you just stay away from him. It’s just going to add to the drama.”

“But you and Gordon are always around him,” Hazel pointed out. “How am I supposed to avoid him?”

Anne just shrugged, walking toward the door.

“Listen, I’m really sorry, but I’m kind of on Gordon’s side with this one. So it’s up to him,” Anne said, opening the door.

“Thanks for your support,” Hazel muttered sarcastically.

"Hazel, just think about it. What were you thinking?"

"I told you I was drunk! And you know what, I think it's really great the way you're being a total hypocrite."

"Hypocrite?"

"You and Gordon were always hinting to me and Carlos to get together, and when we do ya'll have a fit!" Hazel exclaimed.

"First of all, Gordon's not that mad about the sex, he's mad about the lying about it! Second, we wanted you to date, Hazel. Not have a stupid, drunken one night stand and have you both get nowhere!" Anne replied.

"How do you know it wouldn't have evolved?"

"You're the ones who said you were just going to be friends! And you know what? He hates you now, so you're not even that! He's back to being angry and alone, and all you did was add another notch to his bedpost. Not to mention you messed with team chemistry, so congratulations, you've just fucked everyone over."

Anne turned around into the hall and walked away, and Hazel just stood there after shutting the door softly. She couldn’t believe that everyone was against her now, and she had a feeling she’d be a lot more lonely.

The more days that passed, the more upset Hazel got. It was evident that no one was going to be forgiving her anytime soon, and she had given up on calling Anne and Gordon the day before. They just wouldn’t answer. She debated going back to Georgia, but she was confident that eventually Gordon would get over it and everything would be okay again.

But as more time went on, Hazel became increasingly less confident. So she slept with his teammate; it’s not as if she completely betrayed him or anything. They had had bigger fights and made up a lot sooner. She was worried he’d never forgive her.

Carlos noticed Anne was solo during the last few games, but it’s not like he could ask her or Gordon about it. They were both still mad at him. He didn’t blame Gordon, really. And the younger man was actually being really mature about it all. With Carlos, at least. Gordon had come up to him right when he arrived in the locker room the day after the fight.

He told Carlos he was still upset, but when they were on the field they should just let it go. He wasn’t ready to forgive him, but he wasn’t about to be a total jerk to him either. Carlos respected that, and told Gordon he’d give him some space until he was ready to talk.

Carlos purposefully left out the part where he had also basically cut ties with Hazel, because he didn’t want to get into that with Gordon really. He didn’t know if the two of them had talked or made up or anything, and the last thing Carlos needed was for Gordon to be mad at him for calling his sister a ‘quick fuck.’

Instead of ever talking it out though, Gordon and Carlos just kind of avoided the topic. They were friends again, but no one ever mentioned Hazel. After week or so went by and there was still no sign of her however, Carlos was starting to get really curious. He knew he had told her to basically get out of his life, but it seemed like she was out of Gordon and Anne’s too. Did they ever make up?

And it didn’t explain why she wasn’t with Anne, either. They were still friends, right? It wasn’t like he could ask without there being some kind of backlash, so he kept his mouth shut.

One night, after a particularly impressive win, a few of the guys decided to go out to a bar since they had an off day the next day. Gordon opted out, since Anne was sick and he wanted to go home and be with her, so it was just Carlos and a handful of other guys.

Carlos, A.J. Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye, Chris Getz, Scott Podsednik and Mark Kotsay all piled into Chris’ truck, and while it was a tight squeeze it was also a short ride. They pulled up to the bar and poured out of the truck, all laughing about some comment A.J. made as they walked inside.

As they sat down at their table, Mark Kotsay nudged Carlos.

“Isn’t that Gordon’s sister?”

Carlos looked up immediately to where Mark was pointing, and sure enough, there she was. She was skinnier and bit more pale, but it was definitely Hazel.

Behind the bar.

Serving drinks.

To men that were leering at her.

That’s right.

Leering.

Without even thinking, Carlos stood up and pushed through the crowd to get to the bar. He stood at the counter, waiting for her to notice him, and when she did she nearly dropped the glass she was cleaning. They stared at each other for a moment, until the guy next to Carlos cleared his throat.

“Are you gonna order?” He asked gruffly.

“No, go ahead. I’m still thinking about it,” Carlos told him, not breaking eye contact with Hazel. The man muttered a ‘suit yourself,’ before asking for a Miller Lite.

“So, babe. Can I get your number?” The guy asked Hazel.

“Can I get six beers, please?” Carlos ordered a moment later, not letting her reply to the other man.

“What kind?” Hazel asked.

“Budweiser's fine,” he stated.

“How about that number, doll?” The man still hadn’t gone away, and he was irritating Carlos. When he thought about it though, he realized he probably wasn’t the first guy to have hassled her. Once again, before she could respond, Carlos cut Hazel off.

“Does your brother know you’re working here?” Carlos asked. The other man grunted angrily, turning toward Carlos.

“Hey man, can’t you see I’m talking to the lady-” He suddenly stopped short, looking Carlos over. “Hey, you’re Carlos Quentin.”

As if Carlos didn’t know that.

“Yeah, I am,” he agreed.

“You’re one heck of a player,” the guy said, sticking out his hand. Carlos shook it, nodding.

“Thanks.”

“Great game today too,” he noted. “Good luck the rest of the season.”

“Thanks,” Carlos said again. The man walked off, and Carlos felt a little proud of himself that he didn’t even have to be mean to the guy to get it to happen. When he turned back to the bar, the beer was already waiting for him on a tray and Hazel was busy with other customers. He had a feeling she did that on purpose, but he decided not to push it.

He grabbed the beers and walked back to the table, where the guys all made a noise of approval at his buying the first round.

“So, was it her?” Mark asked.

“Yeah,” Carlos affirmed, sitting down.

“Who?” Scott asked.

“Bacon’s sister is the bartender,” Mark provided.

“Bacon’s hot sister?” Chris questioned, shifting in his seat to see the bar.

“Yeah, I see her,” A.J. said.

“Since when is she a bartender?” Jermaine asked. “I thought she was a nurse.”

“I thought she was a masseuse,” Carlos spoke. Everyone looked at him, eyebrows raised. “What?”

“Why would you say that?” Scott asked.

“Gordon told me she was,” Carlos said, raising his hands innocently.

“Really?” A.J. inquired, glancing over at her again, interested. All the other men’s eyes followed, just when Hazel decided to look over at their table. She saw all eyes on her and turned away quickly, dumbstruck.

What the hell were they all staring at?

She slowly turned around again, and they were all still looking at her curiously.

Did they want more beer?

Hazel glanced at their bottles, which were still all mostly full.

What the fuck.

“Haven’t seen her at any games lately,” Scott observed.

“Yeah, now that you mention it, I haven’t seen her much either. She usually sits by Anne, doesn’t she?” Chris asked. All the men turned to Carlos, who was still looking at Hazel. When he finally looked away, he noticed their gazes.

“What?” He asked them, getting uncomfortable.

“What’s going on with Hazel?”

“How should I know?”

“You’re closest to all them,” A.J. said.

“Well, I have no idea,” he mumbled, taking a swig of his beer. They all gave him knowing looks, but they let his lie slide.

As the night wore on, there was a small group of men at the bar who were getting more and more rowdy and belligerent. A.J. noticed the rowdy group giving Hazel a hard time, and he nudged Carlos.

“Should we do something?” He questioned.

“About what?” Scott asked, eavesdropping.

“Those guys bugging Hazel,” A.J. said to his teammates.

“Nah,” Scott waved off, leaning back into his chair. “She's southern. She can handle herself.”

“Maybe against one of them but there's a whole mob of them,” A.J. argued, causing Mark Kotsay to snort with his use of the term 'mob'.

“Exactly. A mob we can't and shouldn't handle either,” Scott asserted.

“Why not?”

“First of all they have us outnumbered,” Scott observed.

“Well if you were a man about it you'd take on a couple of guys. Jermaine, you could handle like three, right?”

“Uhh…”

“Second of all,” Scott continued. "What happens when you break some fingers punching some drunk tool in the face? You'll be out the rest of the year for nothing."

“We'd be protecting a teammate's sister,” A.J. said.

“Do you know how pissed Ozzie would get?” Scott pointed out.

A.J. had no response for that one.

“Look A.J., you know that I love a good bar fight, and if they get grabby on her of course we’ll step in. You know if it were any other time, me, JD, Chris, Carlos and Mark would have your back. But at the peak of the season? For a bunch of overgrown frat guys who're just
being obnoxious? No way.”

“SOX SUCK!” One of the belligerent men suddenly screamed.

“Let's do this thing,” Scott said, standing up and pushing up his sleeves.

“Woah, hang on a second,” Mark stopped him. “We can’t go over there just because they said the Sox suck.”

“CUBS RULE!”

“Alright, let’s go,” Mark said, standing as well.

“You guys, come on. We can’t go over there and start shit,” Chris voiced, standing up and holding them back a minute. Carlos relaxed immediately, thankful there was one level headed person in their group. “If we go over there and they’re bothering Hazel, then we go and try and get her away from them. If they refuse and start swinging, swing back.”

Carlos’ eyes widened, and he scrambled to get up and follow his teammates who were already on their way up to the bar.