Marisol's POV- March 2018

Cody apologized last night, and I forgave him. Turns out it had just been a misunderstanding on both our parts. There was one person to blame, and it was neither of us. His mom had tried to play matchmaker herself and ...in short terms cut me out of the picture. She kind of succeeded because Cody did in fact date this girl during his offseason. He broke up with her and he emphasized to me that he never really felt anything for her.

"So which one is yours?"

Desi did not give dad the response he was looking for.

"He's not mine"

Dad smiled.

"Oh, but he wants to be"

Before he could get a reaction from her, someone spoke up.

"Dr. Clarke?"

Uncle Andy raised an eyebrow as he looked away from the field.

"Yes?"

Leo chuckled.

"Dad, I think he means Desi"

The worker looked a bit embarrassed as he looked at Desi who replied,

"That's me"

Looks like Chris wanted to see her.

"Can you come with me? I'll bring you right back"

She turned to us,

"I'll be right back,"

As she walked away, Dad nudged me.

"So which one is hers?"

"Number 3" I answered.

His eyes darted to the field.

"Looks like he's headed into the dugout"

"Probably to see Desi" I stated.

He nodded.

"So, can you drive?" I wondered.

Dad smiled.

"You enjoy your margarita"

I stood up and turned to look at my uncle.

"Uncle Andy, do you want a Dodger dog?" I asked.

"Yes please, with everything except radish"

"Got it" I said.

I looked at dad.

"Will you share some cheese fries with me?" I questioned.

"Always"

Leo stood up.

"I'll come with"

By the time we got back to our seats, the players were finishing up their stretches.

"Did you two see Desi? She went up there a bit ago"

"It's packed up there," I told dad as I took a seat next to Leo.

I handed Uncle Andy his hot dog and water bottle.

"Thank you, darling"

Leo nudged me getting my attention. He gestured towards the field, and I followed his gaze to see Cody looking right in our direction. When he noticed I was looking he smiled and mouthed 'hey' as he timidly waved. I waved back and glanced towards my dad's direction to see he was looking down at his phone. However, Uncle Danny was smiling at me. He wiggled his eyebrows and pretended to zip his mouth and throw away the 'key'. The ceremony started just as Desi took a seat next to me. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my reusable fork in order to enjoy my cheese fries.

"So what did Chris want to see you for?"

Even Uncle Andy laughed at Leo's stupid question.

"Don't you dare say, he only wanted to see hi"

Desi smiled and looked at Leo.

"He just wanted to see me"

I'm sure more happened than that, but thankfully the Opening Day festivities began. The game did not end in the way the Dodgers had hoped, and they took their first L of the season. Once it was over, a worker informed us that Mr. Taylor requested he fetch us. It was a fucking maze down there, how did these people not get lost? Thankfully, we did not go into the family room because Chris was waiting for us.

"Hey"

It was so cute to see Desi get so flushed and giddy over a guy. Even Uncle Andy seemed to enjoy the sight because he smiled as she replied to Chris' greeting,

"Hi"

The smile on his face grew as Chris gave her a hug and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, man"

Leo and Chris greeted each other with a half hug/back pat. When he pulled away from the hug, his attention focused on Uncle Andy.

"It's nice to see you, Dr. Clarke"

Uncle Andy smiled.

"You can call me Andrew, Dr. Clarke is too formal"

They shook hands and then Chris' attention turned towards me.

"Hi, Marisol"

I smiled at him.

"Hello, Chris. Give me a hug" I told him.

A voice interrupted our hug.

"Marisol"

Chris squeezed my shoulder when we saw Cody approaching us.

"Oh, hey" I awkwardly greeted.

Cody offered me a small smile as he looked down at me.

"Hey, can I steal you for a bit?"

Before I could respond, dad cleared his throat.

"Hello, I'm Sergeant Clarke...Marisol's father"

Now he decides to play the overprotective dad.

"Cody, meet my dad, whose name is Daniel" I stated.

Dad smiled at Cody as they shook hands.

"Where are you taking my daughter?"

Before Cody could reply, Uncle Andy butted in,

"Go on now, you don't need to give him an explanation"

I followed Cody, and once we were out of sight I cleared my throat.

"What is going on?" I wondered.

"We're going to clear things up with my mom"

Well, this was going to be interesting.

"Come on"

He took a hold of my hand and began leading me down the hallway.

"I'm perfectly capable of following you," I told him.

I admit, I very much enjoyed holding his hand but well...I had to draw a line.

"Sorry"

He let go of my hand and I crossed my arms across my chest as I followed him.

"So where is your mom?" I wondered.

"Waiting by the car"

I nodded and followed him into the player's lot, which was mostly empty.

"There you are!"

Cody nodded.

"And who is this?"

She was kind of just...glaring at me.

"Mom, this is Marisol. Marisol, meet my mom, Jennifer"

"It's nice to meet you in person" I stated.

The look of confusion appeared on her face.

"We've talked on the phone before" I reminded her.

"We have?"

Cody nodded.

"Yeah"

She looked at me.

"When?"

"Right before the World Series, you told me Cody was out with his girlfriend," I explained.

I didn't think it was possible for someone with a tan to pale up the way she did. The ride to the airport was painfully quiet. I decided to sit in the back and observe her as she tried to make an excuse for what she did. Once at the airport, Cody got out of the car with her. Even though I stayed inside the car, I was able to hear what he told her.

"Zoey and I are not getting back together. If you cannot understand this, then please do not visit me. I'm going to try to fix what you managed to fuck up for me, and nothing you say will change my mind. I love you mom, but this is my life...not yours"

I don't think she was expecting that response from her own son. She said something to him, but I chose to turn my attention somewhere else by scrolling through my IG feed. There was a knock on the window that made me look away from my phone. The door opened and Cody smiled at me.

"Do you want to sit up front with me?"

I looked at him and pretended to think it through.

"You don't want to live out a cab driver fantasy?" I questioned.

He chuckled.

"No, I'd rather not"

Once I was seated on the passenger seat, Cody closed the door and went around. As he did that, I took a deep breath and looked out the window. Once he was in the car, I cleared my throat.

"Why'd you bring me with you?" I wondered.

He smiled.

"I was hoping we could talk?"