[Moriarty9]

I was playing it cool, waiting a few days before I called Anna. She, however, apparently doesn't care to wait and gave me a call two days after we exchanged numbers.
She got right to the point.
"So you like baseball right?" Anna asked.
I laughed.
"Well yea, I didn't sign with the Tornadoes just to keep myself busy," I said.
"Yea, the mighty Worcester Tornadoes," she quipped. "I said baseball not Little League. My dad gets ticket to about a dozen Red Sox games each season. Since the Sox are kind of out of it and tomorrow is one of their last games he's not interested in going so..."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" I asked, smirking.
Anna laughed.
"I'm trying to sell you tickets at four times what they're worth," she joked.
"Well, I dunno if I can afford that," I responded. "I can probably afford, I dunno, dinner, the parking fee and a box of Cracker Jacks."
She laughed.
"Great, throw in a cute and single guy and I'm in," Anna responded.
"Woah, woah, woah," I said. "I can't guarantee anything like that. Settle for me and I'll throw in the Pike toll."
"Deal," she said.

*************************************

The next day, Saturday, I picked Anna up and we made our way to Boston for the Sox game. I was excited. It was only the second game I had been able to see this year and I was going with the cutest "Pink Hat" I'd ever seen at Fenway. Jon Lester was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox while Johan Santana toed the rubber for Minnesota.
As we settled into our Green Monster seats, we noticed a NESN camera crew set up to shoot an episode of "Sox Appeal," a dating game that takes place during Red Sox games. Inbetween innings we found ourselves acting as if we were on Mystery Science Theater 3000 by mockingly pretending we were the couples sitting there on the show.
As the woman and each of her three dates talked, we each acted as one of the contestants, using horrible baseball themed double entendres about "reaching second," "scoring," "just get in the box," or "he's got a really good stroke."
How we turned into 13-year-olds was beyond me but it was fun.
When we weren't goofing on the Sox Appeal folks, we were watching the Sox beat up on Santana - five runs on 11 hits and one walk. Lester, however, pitched pretty well, letting up two runs on five hits and five walks over six innings with five strikeouts.
In the top of the eighth inning my cell phone rang. Normally, in this situation, I'd let it go but I saw it was coming from the Tornadoes front office so I answered.
It was Dave Smith, our third base coach, with some good news - I had received a $5,000 prize from the Canadian American League for winning the pitcher of the year award and I was to pick up the award at an awards dinner next weekend in Atlantic City.
When I hung up I broke the news to Anna, who had figured out from my end of the conversation that something had happened. She congratulated me and gave me a hug as Jonathan Papelbon came into the ballgame to close it out.
Papelbon shut the Twins down in order, the Red Sox won the game, I got great news and we headed to Quincy Market for the rest of the afternoon.
We had dinner and walked around the city before heading home.
As I walked her to the front door of her apartment, I thanked her for the Sox tickets and her company.
"Anytime," she said with a smile. "I had a good time."
We experienced an awkward silence.
"Well I guess I should get going then," I said, trying to break the silence.
Anna nodded.
"You should call me next time so I don't have to hunt you down," she said.
I smirked and grabbed my cell phone and called her's. She shook her head, grabbed her phone and answered.
"Hello?" she said.
"So what are you doing next Saturday night?" I asked. "Because I've got to pick up some sort of award and figure I should bring someone with me so..."
She smiled.
"Sure," Anna said with a smirk. "Gotta figure there's bound to be at least one cute guy there."
I laughed.
"Sounds good. I'll pick you up Saturday morning, no later than 9:30 though. It's a bit of a ride," I said.
She agreed.
"Awesome," I said, before making a crackling sound as if the connection was weakening. "I'm going through a tunnel now ... I'm going to lose service ..."
She chuckled as I hung up the phone, calling me a "dork" with a cute little giggle.
"I should go, my roommate will probably get tired of trying to hide the fact that she's looking out the window blinds," Anna said.
I nodded.
"Alright, I'll talk to you later Anna," I said with a smile.
"I'll be waiting," she responded, opening up her arms as if she was awaiting a hug.
I smiled and we hugged, kissing her cheek.
She smiled.
"Fresh boy," Anna said with a wink.