The Fear of Striking Out

Tessa smiled as she watched the sunset and the street lights flicker on one by one – the nightlife of San Francisco was beginning to emerge. And that night, she was determined to have fun.

“So, what time do you want me to pick you up tonight?” Emily asked, as her and Tessa walked to their cars.

Tessa shook her head as she turned it towards Emily. “Why do you feel like you need to pick me up?” she asked, with a small laugh.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I figured since Brian isn’t going to the party after all, you’d need a ride.”

Tessa grabbed the handle of her car door and once again, shook her head at her friend. “Thanks, but I won’t need a ride.”

Emily looked almost taken aback by Tessa’s statement. “Oh? And why is that? I don’t recall you knowing how to get to my brother’s house,” she wittingly answered back.

Tessa laughed at Emily’s comment and rolled her eyes. “Em, I’m getting a ride from someone. They know how to get there, I assure you,” she answered.

Even though Tessa thought that would be the end of the conversation, Emily’s curiosity wouldn’t let it be the last of it. “And who may that be?”

Tessa sighed heavily. She wasn’t sure how Emily would react to her answer. “Um…Tim?”

“You sound a little unsure about that,” Emily replied.

“No, no. It’s Tim. He’s taking me to the party tonight,” she said, with a guilty tone.

“Does Brian know?”

Tessa took a minute to answer. “No. He hasn’t even answered me back from my earlier message. Besides, he’s just taking me to the party. It’s not like it’s a date or anything,” she answered, trying to soothe her guilt.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. “If you say you.”

Tessa gently grabbed Emily’s arm as she turned towards her car. “Hey! I care about Brian. I would never do anything to hurt him like that. I don’t have feelings for Tim and he doesn’t have feelings for me. Okay?”

Emily nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, okay.”



Tessa parked her car and waited inside it a little while longer, sitting back into her seat. She started to mull over her conversation with Emily that happened a few minutes ago. She started to reconsider going to the party. As she got out her phone to call Tim to tell him that she wasn’t going after all, she saw her mother was calling her.

“Mom?” she answered.

“Tessa?” her mother answered back.

Tessa laughed. “Hey, haven’t heard from you in a long time.”

“I know mijita. How are you?” her mother asked.

“I’m good. Just working and starting up an internship. How are you?” she replied.

“Good. Muy buen. About to go play bingo.”

“Of course you are. Why am I not surprised?” she laughed.

“And what do you do besides work? Don’t you have friends to go out with?”

Tessa rolled her eyes, as she always did when she talked to her mom. “I don’t just work mother. I’m actually going to a party tonight with some friends,” she said, forgetting she was going to cancel with Tim.

“Ah, si? That’s good. Be careful Tessa! And when do you fly out to Arizona?”

Tessa almost forgot she had a flight to catch the next day to meet her brother and sister-in-law in Arizona for the All-Star Game. “Tomorrow morning. At like ten. I won’t be out late tonight anyways,” she assured her mom.

“Bueno. Te quiero mucho. I’ll talk to you later,” her mother said.

“Love you too. Goodnight,” she said before hanging up.

It couldn’t hurt to go… I really do need to get out more. Besides, nothing’s going to happen she thought to herself before heading inside.

Tessa was greeted by the happy yapping of Tucker and the silent glare of MoMo. She fed her cat and placed a leash on Tucker, to take him outside. The air was fresh and cool – it felt like it would be a good night and Tessa intended to end it that way.

Her phone began to vibrate in her pocket and took it out to see it was her brother.

“Clayton?” she answered.

“Yessum?” he answered back.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Not much. Just wanted to remind you about your flight tomorrow and that me and Elle will be picking you up at the airport when you land.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you. I completely forgot about my flight and that y’all would be picking me up,” she said rather sarcastically.

“That’s what I’m here for,” he replied, either ignoring her tone or completely missing it. Tessa just rolled her eyes. “So, staying in tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” she lied. “I don’t wanna take the chance of missing my flight and all.” The last thing she needed was her brother complaining about her going out and convincing her to just stay home.

“Well, alrighty. We will see you tomorrow then. Have a safe flight!”

“Thanks! Y’all have a safe flight too.”



Tessa rechecked the GPS on her phone, making sure she was at the right address. She looked up at the beautiful home that sat near a cliff. It wasn’t as lavish as Barry’s, but stunning nonetheless. She quietly walked towards the front door and rang the doorbell. She wobbled in her stance from nervousness, even though she continued to remind herself there was nothing to be nervous about.

After a couple of minutes went by, she rang the doorbell again. Maybe he’s not even home yet, she frantically thought. As she was about to send him a text, she heard the front door open, and looked up to see Tim.

He looked happy to see her, but confused by her presence. “Hey, you’re here early. Wasn’t expecting you for another hour or so,” he said.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, thinking she should’ve let him know she was on her way. “I’m sorry. I ended up getting out of work early and then I thought I’d give myself some time in case I got lost or there was a lot of traffic. I could come back in an hour if you want me to,” she rambled.

Tim couldn’t help but smile and laugh a little. She was definitely something else, not like other women he’d met. “That’d be crazy,” he responded. “Come inside. I’m sure we can kill some time before we leave.”

She gave him a half-hearted smile and quickly walked passed him as she entered his home. Even the inside was lovely, not expecting it to be so clean. For someone who probably wasn’t home much, he made it seem like he had lived there for several years.

“Not what you were expecting?” he asked, as he watched her look around.

She turned to face him, shaking her head and she smiled. “It’s very nice, though. I especially like the view,” she said, redirecting her attention to the glass doors that led to the outside balcony.

Tim began to walk towards it, Cy following close behind. He motioned for Tessa to join him outside. He heard her whisper “wow” as she walked through the doors. It was a breathtaking view of the city and some mountains.

“I have never actually sat out here and enjoyed the scenery. I never noticed how amazing it is,” he commented as he sat down on one of the chairs.

She followed his actions and sat in the other chair. “I’d love to live somewhere like this with a beautiful view.”

Tim couldn’t help but stare at her. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Tessa felt his gaze on her and slowly turned her face towards him. “Something wrong?” she asked.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. You just look really beautiful tonight.” She was taken aback by his compliment. “I mean, not that you never look beautiful, because you do…” he continued.

She chuckled. “Tim, it’s fine. I get you. But thanks,” she said shyly.

After a couple of minutes, he changed the subject. “So, where in Texas did you live that you didn’t get a view like this?” he asked.

“I grew up in Dallas. Not that the city wasn’t beautiful, but I don’t know, there’s just something about San Francisco’s scenery,” she answered, staring back at the city.

“Dallas is a nice city. I’ve only been there a few times because of baseball, but I liked it. So, it was just you, your brother, and parents then?” he asked, wanting to know more about her.

She sat back into her chair and thought about her answer. “Um…Yeah, for a while. My parents divorced when I was nine and my dad moved to Houston for work. So, after that it was just me, my mom, and brother. But, we would visit my dad whenever we could, mostly during the summer.”

Tim understood and could relate to her. “My parents split up when I was young, too. We’re all still close. Do your parents come visit when they can?”

“My mom doesn’t like to fly. The only time she’s visited was when I started college and when I graduated. We’re usually the ones to visit her,” she laughed.

Tim laughed along. “And your dad? Hasn’t had the chance to visit?”

Tessa looked down at the ground and then back out to the view. He noticed she looked a little sad and hoped he didn’t strike a chord.

“My dad actually passed away five years ago.” Tim mentally kicked himself and wished he had never pried.

“Tessa, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” he apologized.

She turned to him and smiled. “No, you don’t have to apologize. There’s no way you would’ve known. I haven’t even told Brian or anyone here actually,” she admitted.

Tim felt shamefully proud that he learned of this before Brian. “Still… I can’t even imagine life without my dad,” he said more to himself.

“Cherish it and be grateful,” she answered. Tim just nodded in agreement. “So, what about you? Where do you hail from?” It was her turn to pry.

“I grew up in Renton and currently live in Seattle during the offseason.”

Her eyes grew wide at the mention of Seattle. “Seattle’s one of my ‘need to visit’ cities. My mom used to live there when she was little and always said how beautiful it was and that I needed to go.”

“Yeah, I love it there. You definitely need to go,” Tim suggested.

“One day. When I can afford it,” she sighed.

“Well, to save you some money, visit during the offseason and you can stay at my place. I have a spare room that hardly ever gets used,” he offered.

“That’s so sweet, thanks. And for some reason if you ever visit Dallas, you can stay with us – granted that I’m there.” They both laughed at her offer. “So, does your family still live in Washington?”

“Yeah, my dad and brother still live in Renton and my mom moved to Bellevue, just a few minutes outside Seattle. I visit them all the time.”

Tessa like that he was still close to his family. It reminded her a lot of her and her family. They had more in common than she thought.

Tim’s phone lit up from a text message and then noticed the time. They had been talking for well over an hour. “Shit, I should go get ready. We can leave as soon as I’m done,” he said, reading his text message. “Make yourself at home. I shouldn’t be long.”

Tessa went back inside and sat on one of the barstools in the kitchen, looking through her social media feeds, seeing what others were up to that night. She was about to comment on a friend’s status when the doorbell rang. She looked towards the hallway that led to the bedrooms, thinking Tim would come out to get the door. When he didn’t after the second ring, she slowly walked towards it.

As she looked through the peephole, her eyebrows scrunched together and her mood quickly went from excited to annoyed.

“Tessa?”

“Hi, Robin…”