Couldn't Be More From The Heart

“I’ll get it,” Chris said, grabbing Lyss’ bag. They were exiting Chris’ car, him having driven her home when the hospital released her. It’s not like she could drive with her broken leg.

And it’s not like she had a car to drive, either.

Lyss had protested when Chris said he’d drive her. She felt bad that he felt he had to. He had spent almost all his free time at the hospital with her over the past few days, and she was starting to feel guilty.

But Chris had insisted, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He grabbed her bag and opened the back door to his truck first, grabbing her wheelchair. He unfolded it an locked it in place before helping her out of his truck and settling her into the chair.

After he locked up his car, Chris wheeled Lyss into her apartment building and into the elevator. Lyss reached over and pressed the appropriate button, and the two of them waited in a comfortable silence as the elevator rose.

Once they had made it safely into Lyss’ apartment, the silence became awkward.

“So…” Chris mused.

“Thanks for bringing me home,” Lyss said. “And thanks for staying with me at the hospital and everything.”

“What was I going to do? I hit your car,” he chuckled.

“I also want to thank you for not…you know…leaving. You could have, and no one would ever have known.”

“Alyssa, there’s no way I would have done that,” Chris assured.

“I know. But I’m still thanking you, for not being the type that would,” she shrugged. They stared at each other for a moment, neither sure what to say next. “Well, I should be okay now, so if you want to leave-”

“Are you sure? I can stay,” Chris said.

“Nah, I’m sure you have better things to do,” Lyss laughed.

“Not really,” Chris replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Really? You mean, you don’t have practice or anything?” Lyss hinted.

Chris eyes widened slightly. No, he hadn’t been hiding the fact that he played for the Chicago White Sox, but he hadn’t been flaunting it either. He just assumed Lyss thought he was some normal guy.

“We had an off day today, actually,” Chris mumbled. Lyss nodded, a smile on her face.

“I’m a big fan, you know,” she said.

“Of me?” Chris asked, surprised.

“Of the Sox,” she laughed. Chris’ face contorted in realization. Of course she meant the Sox. What had he been thinking? “You’re not so bad yourself, though,” she added.

Chris looked up at her and smiled, scratching his head lightly.

“Are you hungry?” He asked. Lyss nodded and told him where the take out menus were. He grabbed a bunch of them and walked back over to her as they sorted though them. They decided on Chinese, and even though Lyss assured him he didn’t have to stay, Chris insisted once more.

A few hours later, they were sitting on the couch watching an old movie with the empty takeout boxes in front of them. Chris glanced over at Lyss, who was engrossed in the film.

“So, do you need a ride to work tomorrow?” He asked her.

“Um. No, I don’t think so,” Lyss said, tearing her gaze off the television.

“How are you getting there then?”

“I’m not,” she told him.

“Why not?” He quizzed, one eyebrow raised.

“I can’t. I’m kind of…a waitress,” she informed. Chris’ eyes got wide, his mouth opening slightly.

“Lyss, I’m sor-”

“Stop, Chris,” she laughed, sounding exasperated.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew you’d just try and apologize,” she said pointedly. “Really, it’s not a big deal.”

“Well, how are you going to pay for things?”

“I don’t know. I’ll figure something out,” she shrugged nonchalantly, turning back to the movie. Chris stared at her, bewildered. He said nothing else though, and tried to focus on the movie.

Chris spent every moment of free time he had with Lyss. Not so much because he felt he owed it to her anymore, but because he genuinely wanted to. The more time he spent with the charismatic brunette, the more attracted to her he became.

He was currently walking next to her as they made their way into the ballpark. She was on crutches, even though Chris offered to push her in her wheelchair, because she was absolutely ecstatic to finally be able to get around without it.

After hearing that Lyss was a fan of the Sox, he made it his mission to get her some good seats to a bunch of games. It was one of the only things Chris offered that Lyss hadn’t felt bad about taking.

They were early, obviously since Chris had to be there hours before the game started, but it also meant there were no fans around yet, so Chris was able to walk Lyss to her seat.

“Alright, I have to get to the locker room, but I’ll see you after the game okay? I’ll text you when it’s okay to come down,” he told her.

“Okay,” Lyss nodded.

“You sure you don’t mind sitting here for a while?”

“I’m fine Chris, just go,” she chuckled, knowing he was already running a little late. “Good luck.”

“Thanks babe,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. He pulled back, momentarily stunned at his own words and actions before leaving abruptly. Lyss watched him go, confusion etched on her face.

She was really starting to like Chris, but she wasn’t sure how he felt about her. And him rushing away after kissing her on the cheek wasn’t helping her figure it out either.

Alright. It’s safe. Take your time coming down. Lyss smiled at the text message, gathering up her things and grabbing her crutches. The White Sox had won, which made Lyss less apprehensive about going down to the locker room. If they had lost, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to experience that atmosphere.

Lyss slowly made her way down to the locker room, of course being stopped by security and whatnot. And when she did finally make it to the door, she wasn’t sure what to do.

Should she knock?

Should she just wait?

Before she could decide, the door swung open, revealing a shirtless Gordon Beckham. He glanced at her crutches and turned his head back into the locker room.

“Getzy, the girl you crippled is here!” He called out before turning back at Lyss and winking at her. “He really feels bad about it, you know? But he also doesn’t shut up about you, which is why we tease him. He likes you. A lot. Just F.Y.I.”

Lyss was about to reply when Chris came around the corner and greeted her with a small hug. He was still damp from having just showered, but Lyss didn’t mind.

“Come on in,” he motioned, helping her into the room.

“Guys, this is-”

“Hi Lyss!” The men all greeted simultaneously. She felt her cheeks heat up as she smiled, offering a meek ‘hello’ back.

“So Alyssa, are you coming over to my house tonight?” Catcher A.J. Pierzynski asked.

“Um, I don’t know,” she said, looking over at Chris.

“You don’t have to, if you’re tired,” Chris told her. “We’re just going to all hang out for a bit.

“Sure. I’d like that,” she nodded, inwardly freaking out. Sure, she now had connections to the White Sox, but hanging out a players house? That was like…epic.

As Chris drove to A.J.’s house, he repeatedly told Lyss she didn’t have to go if she didn’t want to.

“Do you not want me to go? Because I don’t have to, if that’s the case,” she finally said as they reached A.J.’s house.

“No! That’s not it at all! I just don’t want you to feel awkward or anything,” he told her.

“Why would I feel awkward?” She asked as they walked (well, Chris walked; she hobbled with her crutches) up the walkway.

“Well, it’s just…the guys, they can be a little, you know…suggestive, and I don’t want you to feel like they’re pressuring you into anything.” Chris rang the doorbell, avoiding eye contact with Lyss.

“…What?”

“I like you, okay? And they know that. And they’re going to tease me about it. And I’m embarrassed,” Chris blurted, just as the door opened.

“Chris, Alyssa! Come on in to the humble abode,” A.J. greeted. Chris walked inside quickly, leaving Lyss to slowly make her way into the house. A.J. walked her into the living room, where a few other players were with their girlfriends.

The doorbell rang again, and A.J. excused himself to go answer it.

“Hi,” a pretty brunette greeted, approaching Lyss. “Let me help you with that.” Her accent was distinctly southern, and it reminded Lyss slightly of Gordon Beckham. The girl grabbed Lyss’ bag, setting it by a few other purses and also helped Lyss onto a stool against the counter where she was sitting. “I’m Hazel,” she introduced.

“Lyss,” she replied, shaking her hand.

“You belong to Getzy?”

“Um, well, no…not really,” Lyss shrugged.

“Oh. It’s just the way Gordon talked…Hell, the way Chris talked, I thought-”

“You’re Gordon’s girlfriend?” Lyss asked, trying to change the subject.

“No Gordon’s my brother,” she told her. She then pointed across to Gordon, who had a pretty girl on his lap. “That’s Anne, Gordon’s girl.” Lyss nodded, trying to soak everything in.

“And who do you belong to?” Lyss asked.

“No one really,” Hazel shrugged. “I mean, out of all these guys, Carlos kind of has dibs, but technically we aren’t together.”

“But you want to be?”

Hazel turned to Lyss with a smirk on her face.

“How did this end up being a conversation about me?” She asked, eyebrow raised. Lyss just smiled innocently. “Do you want to be Getzy’s girl?”

Lyss didn’t have to answer for Hazel to know that the answer was yes. Lyss was looking over at Chris, biting her lip. A.J. came over just then, leaning against the counter lazily.

“Go talk to him,” Hazel nudged. A.J. caught on quickly, knowing they were talking about Chris.

“I don’t know,” Lyss denied.

“Christopher!” Hazel called out, causing Lyss’ eyes to widen.

“What are you doing?” She whispered. Chris looked over at them, and Hazel waved him over.

“What’s up?” He asked as he reached them.

“Lyss is feeling a little lightheaded,” Hazel lied.

“Maybe you should lay her down in one of the guestrooms.” A.J. added.

“I’m fine, really,” Lyss said.

“Nonsense,” A.J. waved off, helping her up and pushing her towards Chris. “Come on, I’ll show you where you can lay down for a little.”

Lyss found herself unable to protest as she was led down a hallway and left in a bedroom alone with Chris.

“Do you want a cold towel for your head or something?” He asked her.

She was about to say no, until she felt herself heating up just by looking at him. She opted for nodding, and Chris made his way into the connected bathroom. When he came back out, he sat next to Lyss on the bed and dabbed the towel gingerly against her head and neck.

“You okay?” He asked her. She shook her head no, and Chris looked at her, concerned.

“I like you too,” she blurted out. Chris stared at her, unable to respond. “I’m just worried, you know? Like, do you like me because of the situation we are in, or was the situation like, fate and we were supposed to meet?”

“Fate?”

“You think I’m an idiot for thinking like that, don’t you?” Lyss groaned.

“No, actually,” Chris said. “I just never thought of it like that.”

“How did you think of it?”

“I thought of it as me being lucky, meeting someone like you. I thought the way we met was unfortunate, but lucky nonetheless. It kind of gave me an excuse to spend more time with you, and during that time I kind of…fell for you I guess. But I can tell you one thing for sure,” he said to her.

“What’s that?” Lyss asked breathlessly.

“Whether it was fate or just plain coincidence, I can tell you that my feelings are completely genuine. I’m falling for you, hard.”

Lyss’ face broke out into a smile and she looked away, blushing.

“I think I’m falling for you too,” she whispered.

“Don’t fall as hard as I am, because I think I’ve bruised you up enough,” Chris laughed.

“That was so cheesy Chris,” Lyss laughed.

“You love it,” he pointed out, leaning in.

“I do,” she nodded, letting him kiss her. The kiss started out slow and innocent, but soon enough Lyss found herself being leaned back by Chris. As he laid on top of her, supporting most of his weight with his arms, there was a knock on the door.

“Condoms are in the second drawer on the left side of the bed!” A.J. called out. Chris buried his face into Lyss’ neck, sighing embarrassedly. She just laughed, running a hand through his hair. He rose off of her a few moments later, helping her up as well.

“I’m thinking I should go out there and introduce you as my girl,” Chris asserted.

“I’m thinking that would be amazing,” Lyss replied. Chris grinned and leaned down, kissing her softly once more. They pulled away and they walked out of the bedroom, Chris ready to show Lyss off to his world.