It only took a couple days for Matthew to track you down on instagram and shoot you a message after following you.

I've never slid into a girl's DMs before. Am I doing it right? it read.

I wouldn't know, I've never been on the receiving end of a DM slide. Is this how you're supposed to respond? you quickly replied and followed him back.

In retrospect, I should've just asked AJ for your number. It would've been way less creepy!

No worries! I feel like an influencer or something you message back, throwing your number in at the end for good measure.

Your phone pings a few minutes later and you open up the text from the unknown number to see a picture of a plate of snickerdoodles. You expected nothing less from Matthew.

You know I can't taste them through the screen, right? You're not playing fair, Gubler.

Oh, you totally owe me some of your snickerdoodles before you get more of mine. That's fair.

I can't argue with that. I was actually planning on throwing together a batch later this week for a coworkers birthday. Maybe I could save you a few?

You know the way to a mans heart, Y/N! Maybe we could do dinner at mine this Friday and you can bring dessert?

There's no way this man is asking you out right now. Sure, you got along great at AJ's on Sunday, but you weren't really expecting this to happen and for it to happen so quickly. You start typing out a response when you realize you have to work Friday night.

I would love to, but I can't :( We have a game Friday night and I have to work have to work a bit.

You think for a minute and before Matthew has the chance to reply you shoot him another text.

Actually, wait. Are you a baseball fan?

*****

That text is how you found yourself waiting outside the staff entrance of Dodger Stadium for your date a few days later. You hate to admit it to yourself, but you're a bit nervous, shifting your weight from foot to foot in your hightops. You're in one of your many game day outfits which is just jeans paired with a jersey and a gray tank top underneath and your well-worn Dodgers cap to top things off. You place your hand on your back pocket to make sure Matthew's ticket didn't get lost on the walk down from your office.

You scan the crowd and finally spot Matthew headed your direction. A big smile spreads across your face and you wave to make sure he can see you. He spots you and waves back as he gets closer.

"Hey, Y/N," he greets you with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He looks as handsome as ever in dark blue jeans and a loose gray t-shirt with his sneakers and dark sunglasses and a sweatshirt in hand.

You pull the ticket from your back pocket, holding it out to him. "For you, kind sir. Did you get in alright with the parking pass I sent you?"

"Yeah, no problems at all! This is a pretty sweet set up you've got going on here," he says taking the ticket from you and looking around at the somewhat private entrance you're at.

"Perks of the job! Unfortunately, your going to have to spend a bit of time on the job with me throughout the game," you explain, leading him into the stadium. You let security check the ID badge you keep on a lanyard around your neck as they scan Matthew's ticket. The halls are busy, but definitely not as bad as the rest of the stadium full of fans. Everyone in the employee hallways have a place to be or someone to meet anyway, so they pay no mind to the two of you.

"So what work do we have to get done this evening?" Matthew asks, keeping pace with you.

"The main part of my role as a member of the publicity team is updating the team's official social media accounts. Tonight, I'm in charge of story posts for instagram and facebook, so mostly more candid stuff and major updates during the game. Professional photos will be posted at the end of the game, but another member of my team has that handled," you explain as the two of you head up a few flights of stairs. You scan your ID to get into another employee-only hallway which leads to your office. "But first thing's first." You open the door to your office and pick up a classic Dodger blue "LA" hat off of you desk and place it right on Matthew's head.

"No way! Is this for me?" Matthew says adjusting the hat so it fits snug on his head.

"Absolutely! You can't go to a Dodger game without some blue on you," you smile thinking about how cute he looks with his curly hair sticking out of the bottom of the hat.

"Thank you, Y/N. You really didn't have to do this."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. And now we're twins!" You pick up your work phone and head out of your office and back to the stairs with Matthew close behind you. You go up one more level and finally join some of the fans. These halls are still not as crazy as the rest of the stadium because they only access the box suites. The two of you finally make it to the door of the publicity suite and you scan your ID once more to get in. It's small compared to the fan suites, but it's really only meant for your team. Just a couch and a couple of arm chairs facing a flat screen TV inside and a dozen stadium seats right outside. There's a cooler full of water and beer and a stack of dodger dogs and garlic fries.

"This is crazy! This is your job? I'm so jealous," Matthew says taking in the space.

"Yeah, it is pretty damn cool. I forget sometimes because I'm just so used to it. I've been here for almost five years now and I lose track. Anyway, if you get lost, the suite number is on you ticket and just scan it at the door to get in. I'm pretty sure we're the only ones here tonight. No one really likes to work the Friday night games at the stadium so I always volunteer."

"I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to be here on a Friday night. You even get to drink on the job!"

"You hungry?" you ask breaking his trance.

"Starving."

"Perfect." you say going to grab a dog topping it with mustard and onions and grabbing some garlic fries, drizzling ketchup across the top. Matthew customizes his own dodger dog and grabs beers for the two of you. You start to walk towards the stadium seats to get settled until you remember you have a job to do. "Oh wait! Set everything down on the coffee table real quick." Matthew does as he's told and you arrange your dinner as artfully as you can and stand up on the couch next to it. You hold your phone over the top of the table and take a snap of your spread. "Perfect."

"The job starts now?" Matthew asks.

"The job starts now," you confirm. "But the game is going to start soon!"

The two of you sit side by side in the stadium seats and dig into the food. You take a break to post those photos as quick as you can, not wanting to miss out on any quality time with Matthew. You turn to see him finishing off his hot dog and getting ready to attack his garlic fries.

"Now, wait a second," you stop him. "have you ever experienced the world famous Dodger Stadium garlic fries?"

"No, I haven't. I thought the famous food was the Dodger dogs?" he questions.

"Well, yeah, but not in the Y/L/N household. I was raised on these fries so if you don't like them I don't think this will work out. No pressure or anything."

Matthew raises some fries to his mouth and chews slowly. He tips his head back and groans, savoring the garlicy taste. This man is after your heart.

"How have I lived so long without these?"

"Honestly, I don't know. People either love them or hate them. They are pretty loaded with garlic so they aren't for the faint of heart."

"And now you know for sure I'm not a vampire," he laughs as he goes for more fries. You finally bite into your own Dodger dog and keep your eye on batting practice, making sure you don't miss the first pitch before the game. You're so entranced that you almost miss Matthew trying to steal some garlic fries off your plate.

"Hey!" you shout at him as you smack his hand away. He looks at you hurt as he holds his hand, pretending to be in pain. "Oh, don't be a baby. There's a whole tray of them, go help yourself to more." He stands up and grabs a plate overflowing with fries claiming that they are for the two of you to share. We'll see about that.

"What's next on the instagram agenda?" Matthew asks.

"I have to get a shot of the celebrity first pitch, but that's about it. I have to post some more of course, but nothing is really scheduled out, just posting when it feels right. Is there anything you want to do or see during the game?"

"I really don't know. I've never actually been to a Major League Baseball game before so I am more than open to suggestions."

"I didn't know that! Not much of a sports guy?"

"Growing up in Vegas, we didn't have any professional sports teams so there wasn't really the opportunity to go to any games. And when I moved to New York and then LA it just wasn't something I really thought of doing."

"Fair enough. At least you have the hat now so you can blend in," you tease. "Look, the first pitch is coming up!" You pull out your phone and take a boomerang photo of the pitch and add it to the team's stories. "Two posts down, a few more to go."

You show Matthew how to shove your trash under your seats in true baseball fashion. The two of you relax into the seats and take in the beginning of the game. You pick up where you left of at AJ's barbeque last weekend and talk about anything and everything along with cheering for the boys in blue. You learn more about his childhood in Las Vegas and you tell him about growing up on the beach and learning to love baseball with your parents. He talks about playing Spencer Reid on criminal minds and lets you in on some embarrassing stories about AJ. You'll make sure to remember those for later when you need a bit of blackmail. Before you know it, the game has hit the seventh inning stretch.

"What's happening?" Matthew asks, genuinely not knowing about the tradition.

"It's the seventh inning stretch, silly," you explain as you stand up, pulling him up with you. "Does this mean you don't know the song?"

"What song?"

"Take Me Out to the Ballgame?" he shakes his head no. "Wow, you really aren't a sports guy. Lucky for you, the words are on the big screen. Sing along, pretty boy!" The song starts and you wrap your arm around his waist and push him to sway with you. It is tradition after all. He throws his arm around your shoulder as you begin to sing as loud as you can while he tries to keep up with the words on the screen in the outfield. Man, is he tone deaf, but its the effort that counts. The two of you laugh your way through the end of the song.

"I didn't realize we were even halfway through the game already," Matthew observes.

"Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe I've kept you hidden in this suite for the whole game. How does dessert sound?"

"Desert sounds incredible. Where to?"

"Into the belly of the beast." You make your way out of the suite and down a level to join one of the main halls in the stadium. The walkway is as packed as possible as everyone is scrambling back to their seats before the bottom of the seventh inning starts. Matthew grabs your hand so he doesn't lose you in the crowd and you more than welcome it. Squeezing his hand, you pull him along for a bit until you turn and stop at the end of the line leading to your favorite dessert spot. This stand has every single dessert that the stadium offers and you always have to treat yourself.

"What looks good?" you ask turning to face Matthew. To your surprise, he doesn't let go of your hand like you thought he would, but you're not complaining.

"A churro for sure. What else?"

"It's your first game so you have to get a soft serve helmet. Chocolate, vanilla, or swirl?"

"Swirl, duh. I'm not a monster."

"Correct answer." The two of you get called up to the window and you place your order for two churros and a swirled soft serve helmet. You reach into your back pocket to grab you credit card, but Matthew beats you to it. He pays quickly as you grab the churros from the cashier and he takes the ice cream. He stares in awe at the small plastic novelty helmet with a perfect swirl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream inside.

"How has this been kept from me for so long? Baseball games are amazing!"

"Slow down!" you stop him. "Let's grab a seat first." Not wanting to walk all the way back to the suite right now, you spot a completely empty row of seats towards the back of the section. You sit down and bite into a churro as Matthew goes in on the soft serve. "Bite?" you ask him, pointing the churro towards his mouth. He leans down and takes a bite off the top of the churro.

"Bite?" he asks you, holding a spoonful of ice cream near your face. You wrap your lips around the spoon and he slides it out, leaving you with a mouth full of soft serve. You forget where you are for a second because of the intense eye contact between the two of you. A loud cheer from the crowd pulls you out of your trance. Matthew smiles at you as you both blush and laugh the moment off. You finish your desserts and Matthew goes to throw away the trash.

"What are you doing?" you stop him before he tosses his tiny helmet. "You can't throw away your first soft serve helmet! You have to keep it. It's a tra-"

"Tradition?" he cuts you off. "There seems to be a lot of those in baseball. I love it, almost as much as I love this tiny helmet."

"Back to the suite?"

"Back to the suite."

You hang out and finish off a couple more beers as the game ends. You make a couple more posts to meet your quota so you don't have to worry about it anymore. The Dodgers finish the game in the bottom of the ninth with a walk off homerun which leads into the best part of working on a Friday night. Friday night fireworks.

"Damn, I love baseball," Matthew announces as he realizes what was going on. You search the suite looking for your jacket when you realize you forgot it in the office. It cools off quite a bit once it's dark out and the ice cream and cold beers sure don't help the whole situation.

"Shit," you mumble under your breath.

"What's up?" Matthew asks as he turns to you.

"Nothing, I just forgot my jacket in my office. I'm just gonna go run and grab it if you don't mind."

"Actually, I do mind! You'll miss the fireworks!"

"Matthew, I've seen them a hundred times, it's no big deal."

"But you've never seen them with me! How about this," he hops up from the seat and grabs his hoodie from the couch. "It's all yours."

"Oh, come on, you don't have to do that. I'll go grab mine, I'll only be a second I swear."

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Y/N. Hurry, the fireworks are starting!"

You pull your hat off and place it on the seat next to you as you pull his sweatshirt on over your head. You pull the hood up and get comfy as Matthew sits back down next to you, throwing his arm around your shoulder. You snuggle into his side as you both ooh and awe at the fireworks. You lean further into his shoulder and he places his head on top of yours. You look up at him, knowing exactly what you wanted to come next. Thank god he is on the same page because he leans down, pressing his lips to yours. There are fireworks going off right in front of you, but they're nothing compared to this kiss. You slowly pull away from him as an idea pops into your head. He looks at you with a soft smile on his face, but he's probably wondered why you stopped the incredible kiss.

"I have an idea," you fill him in. Matthew looks at you questioningly. "Do you still have your tiny helmet?" He nods. "Incredible." You pull his real hat off as you take the helmet from his hand. You grab him by the hand and pull him up out of his seat and steadily reach up to place the helmet on the top of his head. It balances adorably on his brown fluffy hair, making you giggle. You stand up on your toes to give him peck on the lips, making sure to not throw off his balance.

"Okay now face the outfield." Matthew listens and turns to face in the directions of the fireworks. You stand behind him and take the perfect boomerang of the back of his head, tiny helmet and all with a giant firework bursting in front of him. You save it immediately, as you begin to crack up at the moving photo. Matthew comes to your side to see the finished product and laughs right along with you.

"Wow, you are really good at your job," he teases, placing his hands on your waist.

"Oh, sweetheart this isn't for the job. This is for my personal collection," you say with a wink.

"Let's call it the first of many."

"The first of many it is."