Relentless

Aimee was fucking done with her job. It wasn’t her at all. A secretary at a law office was not the position she imagined herself doing to make a living. Well, in reality she never really knew what she imagined she’d be doing, but a secretary was not it. She went above and beyond what her bosses asked her to do, and it still wasn’t good enough for them. She was sick of sitting in uncomfortable clothes at an uncomfortable desk, hunched over a computer all day. Her neck constantly hurt from tilting her head to keep the phone in place on her shoulder, and she was sure she was getting carpal tunnel on both of her wrists. If she didn’t have an apartment and bills to pay, she’d quit.

She walked into that small apartment of hers, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her clothes off as she headed toward the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. She didn’t care that she was walking around in her bra and panties; she was fucking exhausted, and all she really wanted to do was curl up on her couch and veg out for the evening. She had movies she wanted to watch and a frozen pizza ready to be popped in the oven. She wasn’t going anywhere.

But, just her luck, as always something fucked up her plan. A knock on her door halted her action of pulling the pizza from its box. She groaned and looked down at herself, before shrugging. It was probably the UPS guy anyway, the same one who always delivered to Aimee’s building. And he was hot, so why not answer the door in her underwear?

“Where do I sign?” Aimee asked, pulling the door open, before she looked to see who was actually at her door.

Grady wore a look of shock as he stood frozen to his spot. Though, he couldn’t stop his eyes from moving up and down as Aimee realized the mistake she had made.

“I wanted to uh,” Grady coughed. “See if you were feeling better. You know, after last week. Since,” He cleared his throat. “You never called…”

Aimee laughed, running her left hand along her right arm, “Yeah, I meant to, but I got caught up in work.”

“You’re back at work, already?”

“I only missed one day, actually.”

She sighed at the frown on Grady’s face before moved aside and quietly invited him in. She told him to look around while she went to throw some clothes on. He wanted to tell her not to put clothes on, but he bit his tongue, going with his better judgment. He nodded his head as he stood in the living room and glanced around the place. It was small, no doubt, but he had seen that the week before as he carried her passed out body into her bedroom. He saw the frozen pizza on the counter in the kitchen and figured that was what she had been doing before he interrupted. Finishing the job, he smiled when she joined him in the kitchen.

“I put the pizza in,” He told her hoping she didn’t mind.

“Ah, thanks,” She smiled before offering him a drink and a place to sit down. Grady took both and brought the water bottle over to the couch with him as he followed Aimee, who had thrown on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Keeping his eyes locked on her face, he stared at her with a worried look.

“You look stressed, Aimee.”

Shaking her head at how fucking awkward the whole situation was, she just shrugged, “It’s work. I hate it.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m the personal bitch of Franken and Wheeler, attorneys at law.”

Grady made a face, “Quit.”

“I would if I could.”

Grady was about to respond when the buzzer on the oven went off, signaling the pizza was done. Aimee hopped up and pulled it from the oven before placing it on the counter to cool off. She turned to Grady, asking him if he wanted something stronger to drink besides water, but he declined. He watched as Aimee poured herself a drink which he quickly realized to be a ‘Bloody Mary.’ It was then that he remembered the bar he frequently attended near Progressive Field, and how they were looking for a female bartender. He also knew, because he knew the owner, that the money would be good.

Smiling at her, Grady said, “I think I may have a new job for you…”

- - -

When Aimee had walked into Progressive Field earlier that day, she felt like she and Grady had never been apart. Everyone that used to greet her when she walked in was still there, and the same people she used to sit with were still there, as well. She and Grady had been back together for nearly a month, and things they seemed had never been better. She felt like nothing had changed, and while Aimee usually welcomed change, she had never been happier to have everything the same.

She had spent the entire game against the rival Cincinnati Reds on the edge of her seat. The games always got to her because of the intensity, and she knew Grady felt the same. When he was in the outfield, waiting for the action or something to happen, Aimee could see him bouncing his leg or wiggling his fingers, craving the action to come his way. Without fail, like always, someone would tell Aimee to pass along the message to Grady that he “needs to stop being so twitchy.” Aimee would always laugh and without fail, tell her boyfriend after the game.

“Hey, beautiful,” Grady said, kissing her quickly after the game, which the Indians had won. Unfortunately for the team, it was too little too late. They had already been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and even though they had just won, Aimee could tell it was too little for the team, too. The mood was not the usual happy mood she remembered from before, and that bummed her out. She had grown to love all of Grady’s teammates as family, just like Grady had.

“I was thinking we can pick up some food on the way back to our place, cuddle up on the couch, and watch a movie,” Grady continued, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “You know, if you want to.”

“Sounds perfect,” She smiled, letting his lace his fingers with hers.

They hit up a local Italian place, getting two orders of pasta and an order of garlic bread to go before making their way to their large condo. Plopping onto the couch as soon as she was in the door, Aimee pulled the food containers open as Grady got them two beers from the fridge. She raised an eyebrow, knowing Grady didn’t drink much, if hardly at all during the season. He shrugged, turning the TV on and turning it to the local news.

“So, we have to talk.”

Aimee turned to him, taking a bite of noodles from her dish, “Ah, that doesn’t sound good. Are you going to kick me out again?”

“That’s not even funny,” Grady said, shaking his head and frowning. “You know I regret that more than anything.”

Laughing a bit, Aimee shook her head, “I was kidding, Sizemore. Ease up.” He still frowned at her, and Aimee relented, throwing her arms up in the air as she apologized. “I’m sorry! What do you want to talk about?”

“I’m done playing,” He started. Laughing at Aimee’s dumbfounded expression, he shook his head. “Not for good, but for the rest of this season, I’m done. There’s only a month left, and it would be best for me to get the surgery I need now, be more prepared for the season.”

“You need surgery?”

“Yeah,” Grady sighed. “I’ve had an elbow issue since spring training and a groin issue since just after that.”

“Grady…”

“I know, but I wasn’t going to miss the whole season. Even if we didn’t make the playoffs, I still had to try; you know that.” She nodded. “The team’s already out of the playoffs, there’s nothing else I can do. This season wasn’t exactly my best, you know?” Aimee nodded. Although she and Grady had been broken for the entire season, she couldn’t help but be kept up with how the team (and how Grady) was doing. She did work at a bar just outside the stadium, after all.

“This offseason’s going to be a tough one, then, isn’t it?” She asked, realizing how much rehab he would need to go through. When Grady nodded and sighed, rubbing his hands over his temples, Aimee put her food down and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her lips to his. “And I’m going to be there every step of the way, Grady. You know that,” She finished, using the words he had used on her just minutes before.

Grady grinned, “And I love you for that.”

“I love you, too. I’m glad you decided not to give up on us.”

“What can I say, Aim? I’m relentless.”