Strike One

Chapter 11: The only thing fair in life is a ball hit between first and third

Chandlers Point of View:

I tell Lex that that is Whitney. That is the girl I've been ranting and raving about. "Then why does she look like she hates you right now," Alex asked me? I turned to look at her over my shoulder and she looked incredibly disappointed and hurt. I look back at Alex, " Dude, she has to think we are on a date or something?" Luke and Keri both laugh out loud at that statement, only because Alex and I are brother and sister. I put my head down and immediately regret not having told Whitney about Alex. Then again, how the hell could I, in between her squat reps?

I laughed, " I'll get this situated and fixed. She is confused. I would really like you to meet her though, Lex. I do think you would like her." She smiles at me, "you said that C, but looking at the way she just looked at me. I know a woman and that chick wants me dead. She is actually into you. Who would have thought?" Her and Keri both laughed at one another. I shrug my shoulders, they think they are making jokes, but in reality - they both know I'm a catch. I just never opened up to anyone before. I need to fix this with Whitney, I need to get over to her before she leaves, or we do.

We finish up our meal and I see that her waitress is bringing over their order now. I asked our waitress to bring over our check, "I got it," I informed them as they all scrambled to get to their wallets. It should be my treat. I did have them drive all the way down here and, besides, Luke will pay for one of my meals the next time we are out. I quickly handed my waitress seventy-five dollars and told her we were all set. I grab Lex and tell her we are going over there. I inform Luke of this, and he says, " OK, we will see you outside I guess."

I hurried the two of us along the aisles to get to Whitney. Once I'm at her table, she looks up to me with a mouth full of food and immediately places a napkin over her mouth and throws up her pointer finger, indicating 1 second. I

smile, Abi jumps in, "Hi Chandler, please introduce us to your girlfriend," she demands. At that specific moment, I'm proud of Abi, she is protecting her friend, she doesn't need to, but she is. Lex laughs, "Ewe, No. Sorry Chan, I'm Alexandra Mckielson. I'm Chandler's longtime hometown neighbor, best friend and basically sister," she holds her hand out to Abi to shake it. Lexi then looks at Whitney and shakes Whitney's hand too. They both introduce themselves, indicating who they are and that they play softball here at Michigan. Lexie unfortunately informs them that she was already aware and has heard so much about Whitney, my face has to be purple. I feel like I could die.

Whitney's cheeks turn a beautiful shade of red and I'm delighted that she obviously feels something towards me, or I suppose she could be embarrassed by the notion. Either way, the red cheeks on her are delightful and suddenly I feel the urge to feel them between my hands. Nope, get it out of my mind!! I quickly remembered that they were all kind of just chit realized that I was here for a purpose, "Sorry, guys we saw you from over there and wanted to come over and say Hi. Lex and her sister came into town for dinner and to catch up. If I had seen you sooner, I would have invited you over to our table." I informed them. Whitney smiles, "Incredibly nice of you, but we were just enjoying some girl time, so no worries. It was really nice to meet you Alexandra," she said. Lexie jumps in, "No, it was so nice putting a face to the name. By the way, call me Lexie. My mother calls me Alexandra and well she and I don't get along so well." That comment makes Whitney laugh and she shakes her head as if to inform Lex that she understood.

Whitney smiles, "Yeah, my mom calls me Whitty - it makes me want to vomit." Not taken. Abi laughs, "Whitty, ew. Nah, were calling you Whit Nasty. Wait till you guys see this girl on ESPN. She is going to kill it this year." Everyone laughs and Whitney's cheeks grow pink again. I smiled, "Well ladies, see you probably tomorrow. It was nice to see you though." I made sure that the last sentence was focused on Whitney, so she knew I meant her. They wave us off and Lexie and I head out of Hop Cat.

"HOLY s**t! Chandler, she is into you too. Now that she doesn't want to kill me, I think I'm going to like her," Lexie explains. Luke looks at Lexie and gives her a smile that I know all too familiar. I looked toward him, "No. Stop." He immediately looks away and begins talking to Keri about God knows what. Lexie looks at me as Luke and Keri take a couple of strides ahead of us in the direction of our apartment. "What was that about," she asks? "Nothing, I told Luke to leave you alone. I don't know if he really meant it, but I know he thinks you're adorable, er whatever. I just don't want you to get hurt," I explained to her.

She stops dead in her tracks and grabs me by the shirt, "Hear me, YOU don't get to make my decisions. I'm a grown ass woman. Stop trying to always be the hero. No one will ever be good enough for you, you know that. Just stop. Please, for the love of all that is holy. Please, just stop," She begged me. I look down at her, and of course she’s right. I do this often. I tend to be overprotective of her and have probably shooed away more than a handful of decent men in the last couple of years. "I'm sorry Lex," I muster. She smiles and hugs me.

We all stopped at the corner where I knew they parked in the garage next to us, but Luke and I had a little more of a walk ahead of us. We give our hugs and say goodbyes. I'm not incredibly pleased when I see Luke hug Lexie for far too long or because of the giant smile that is across both their faces once they depart. I feel a mix of emotions between anger, anxiety and guilt. I know Luke wouldn't hurt her, especially because he knows that if he does, I'll kill him. They waved us off and headed to the parking structure. We turned too and headed back down the sidewalk towards our apartment.

We walk in silence for a bit, until Luke musters the courage to finally speak to me. "Dude, I know how you feel about Lexie and that she is your sister for all intense purposes, but I think I like her. I really think I do. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I feel butterflies, I think. That or I guess it could be vomit. I don't know, I've just never felt this way before and I think she feels the same way," he explains. I stopped and turned to look at him, "it's fine. If you do truly like her, treat her right and we won't have a problem. Make one mistake and either I'm kicked off the team for kicking your or you off the team for leaving in a body bag," I say. He shakes his head in agreement and we both shake hands to seal the deal.

We continue walking and Luke asks, "When are you going to tell Whitney you have the hots for her," he asks? I laugh, "I'm not. She has a lot on her plate. I'm just going to try and be there for her, be her friend and maybe, one day I will have the balls to tell her how I feel. But right now, I think she just needs support," I informed him. He smiles, "You and I both know that's crap, you're into her and she is into you," he says. I shrug my shoulders, "Sometimes, in life, the only thing fair is a ball hit between first and third bro," I say. He nods, because there wasn't anything he could have said that would have made that situation in my head any different.