The Barista
Touring a campus you’ve grown up near seems pointless to Caitlyn. Not to mention she’s already toured the athletic facilities once when she was being recruited out of high school. What was the point of pawning her off on to Vi? She’s pretty much told Coach Sevika she was choosing Piltover. Apparently her word didn’t carry much weight to it.
“So, what exactly can I take care of for you today, Cupcake?” Vi had to be the most arrogant person Caitlyn had ever met. She was certain Vi was simply screwing around with her, unpleased that another talented player such as herself was coming to take some of the spotlight.
“I said don’t call me that. And you don’t have to take care of anything. I know this school better than I know Ionia. My parents went here.”
Vi shakes her head in acknowledgment. “Ahh, yes. The fact they have a library named after them didn’t give that away.” Her words ooze with sarcasm and it annoys Caitlyn more than she cared to admit. No, she wasn’t exactly ecstatic about becoming a legacy student, but they were still her parents. If anyone got to be annoyed by them it was her.
“Is this dynamic going to be a problem? If I’m coming here, I need to know I’m going to have a catcher I can trust.”
Vi smirks, “Kiramman, I’m going to catch anything you throw my way.” At this point Caitlyn is convinced the other athlete is a womanizing flirt. The ace makes a mental note to avoid that locker room drama. There’s nothing worse than a teammate who sleeps around and brings unnecessary attention to their self.
“Now, as much as I’d love to carry on with my afternoon not babysitting you, let’s find something else to do since you’re too good for the tour. Coach S will kick my ass if I don’t manage to woo you to come play for us.”
It’s honesty Caitlyn isn’t expecting. Through the arrogant bravado Vi is displaying, she’s only there because her coach has asked her to be. Any other team would be jumping over backwards to get Caitlyn to choose them and yet while it seems Sevika is trying her best, Vi looks like she could give less than two shits.
“You do understand what I bring to the table if I transfer here?” Caitlyn finds herself suddenly arguing her own case. It feels like this woman doesn’t appreciate the talent that is in front of her.
Vi scoffs. “Fuck what a pitcher thing to say. I wasn’t born yesterday. I know you’re a good pitcher.”
“I’m an excellent pitcher,” Caitlyn interjects. She’s rewarded with an eye roll from Vi.
“OK..you’re an EXCELLENT pitcher.” Vi emphasizes the adjective Kiramman demands to be used. “Look, it ultimately doesn’t matter what I think because you’re going to do whatever you and either your family or whatever pretty boy warms your bed at night decide to do. While yes, you are an excellent pitcher, your ball to strike ratio suffered last year because your catcher couldn’t frame your outside pitches for shit. She also had one of the highest numbers of passed balls allowed in the country because she can’t handle that drop ball of yours. I, on the other hand, have only allowed 2 passed balls in three years. She had 2 in three games. So, it’s up to you. You may not like me, but I can promise you that you’re not going to find another catcher at this level with the resume I have.”
Caitlyn was beginning to wonder if everyone in this program can break down gameplay like the coach and the catcher. While they were required to watch film, Caitlyn couldn’t tell you much about the defensive ability of many teams, but offensive inadequacies of players she could tell talk for days about. That’s why she’s able to retort, “Well, you struggle with the outside pitch.”
“Yea, me and half the batters across the conference. That’s not news. That’s just another day at the office. Try again.”
Caitlyn was getting frustrated. Perhaps her ego wanted to get stroked. She wanted to be wooed by way of being told what an asset she would be. Coach Sevika had somewhat done that, but in reality it seemed while she appreciated Caitlyn’s talent, her concern was beating Ionia. Caitlyn was was just a cog to add to that war machine.
Vi on the other hand, was ignoring the possibilities having an ace like Caitlyn would bring. Piltover could win that title that had alluded them two weeks ago. With the offensive line up the Commodores had providing runs for an ace like Kiramman, they would be unstoppable.
“Where can I get a good cup of tea?” Caitlyn will take the high road.
Vi lets out a whispy chuckle. “There’s a cafe just on the outside of campus. That’s your best bet.”
“Well, lead the way, player of the year.”
The shocked expression on Vi’s face lets Caitlyn know she’s finally scored a point in this fight. It lets Caitlyn know Vi didn’t believe the ace knew anything about her. In reality, Vi was the only player she’d investigated. There were no two players who needed to be more in sync than the ace and the catcher. So far, things weren’t looking good.
——
Anyone could have seen the barista was flirting with Vi. Making comments about how lovely the extremely tight t-shirt looked wrapped around Vi’s muscles. How she’d watched every pitch of the World Series and was bummed Piltover lost. She was fan girling.
And yet, Vi didn’t bat an eye at her.
“You have a fan I see?” It’s the first light hearted statement Kiramman has made since being shoved onto Vi by Coach S.
Pink hair shakes as the woman heartedly chuckles. “Sierra? Yea, she’s been trying to get my digits for six months now.”
Caitlyn hums. “And why haven’t you given them out? Too focused on pissing pitchers off?”
Just the corner of Vi’s lips curl up. It’s a look Caitlyn knows well. “I’m not interested in trying to find love.” She hesitates. Her eyes look up from the latte she is drinking and meet Caitlyn’s. “At least not again.”
The vulnerability takes Caitlyn’s breath away. All too well does she understand the sentiment. It had been four months since she and Maddie had separated. Perhaps it was the fact they’d been forced to play nearly a full season of ball together, but Caitlyn just couldn’t get her out of her mind to even begin to start over.
“I understand that.” Her voice is soft and low. The words betray her and put on full display she is a scorned lover.
“Ahh. So no man that warms your bed. He has instead left a scar on your heart as well.” There is no animosity in Vi’s words. In fact, there is an understanding.
“SHE betrayed me.”
Vi only nods. No acknowledgment of sexual preference. No further prodding about who or what happened. It’s simply a nod to let Caitlyn know her hurt is seen.
“What about you? Are you in the scorned lover club as well or is it the unrequited love?”
Vi looks somber. The arrogance has fled and all that’s left is a shell that is no longer impenetrable. “She died. Last year.”
Fuck. Suddenly it hits Caitlyn like a bag of bricks. There’d been an accident last year. An old high school friend of hers had been killed by a drunk driver while walking home one evening. The story had been she was walking home from a friend’s house, but now Caitlyn sees it wasn’t a friend’s house. It was her girlfriend’s.
“Alexis Northerton.” Vi looks shocked when Caitlyn says her name. Moisture is forming in her eyes, but Caitlyn can tell Vi is doing everything in her power to keep it together. “My mother called me when it happened. I was supposed to come home for the service, but Maddie made me travel to her home in Noxus instead. Should have dumped her ass then.”
Another chuckle. The two women sit in silence for a few moments, allowing the sorrow to dissipate from the air.
“Well, if nothing else, it should be fun to watch some of these Piltie nobles lose their shit when the starting pitcher and catcher for their university softball team are both lesbians.”
She makes the statement just as Caitlyn is taking a drink of tea. Of course, it garners a reaction from Caitlyn that causes her to spit her tea out. Vi truly and deeply laughs at the incident. Meanwhile, Caitlyn is horrified.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to kill you. It just makes me laugh knowing we are going to break their traditionalist hearts.”
It’s actually a sentiment that Caitlyn loves. Growing up in a noble family, she had been told that while her athletic career was important, when it was over she was expected to marry and produce an heir. Even in such a modern society, her families economic status reduced her worth to nothing more than an incubator.
Her mother was furious when she found out Caitlyn did not fit that mold. So much so that she’d never actually acknowledged Maddie as Caitlyn’s fiancé. When the breakup occurred, her mother had simply said “Now you can find a man to make you a woman.”
“If you only knew, Vi.” Vi looks at her with a quizzical expression, but Caitlyn is not ready to put her homophobic mother on blast yet. Instead, she turns the conversation back to business.
“So, why should I choose this fine university to play the last year of my collegiate career at?”
It was a test and Vi knew it. “Well, even though I should be all you need to know about,” she pops Caitlyn a grin, “let me give you some stats. This past season Piltover finished with an overall team batting average of .362 which was a good 20 points higher than Ionia. Our on-base percentage was .445 compared to you all having a .432. We average 2.32 home runs and 1.7 doubles per game. Our fielding percentage was .982 on the season. Don’t forget the 136 stolen bases. All we need to finish the deal is a lock down ace.”
“How do you know all that?”
“I know my team. It’s my job to know my team. I am the commander when we step out on to that field. I can tell you exactly when my pitcher is about to run out of gas. When she needs me to call time and visit her to calm down. I can tell you which batters we should avoid throwing inside or outside pitches to. I can tell you which runners are going to try to steal second on the first pitch and who will try to lull the pitcher to sleep and go on the second pitch. I am an extension of Coach S. The only difference is I’m crouched behind the dish and she’s seated on her bucket throne.”
Caitlyn was, impressed. Perhaps it was just Vi who could rattle off numbers and strategy. She’d never had a catcher with so much knowledge of the game before. Vi could be a great asset.
“Alright, brick wall. Tell me about Noxus? They seem to think they can compete next year since they signed the #2 recruiting class.” Caitlyn wanted to further test how much Vi knew. Not so much because it would play in to her decision, but it fascinated her how much knowledge Vi had.
“Noxus is a wanna be. Even with the girl from Zaun they’re so excited about, they’ll still struggle to compete if they don’t up that abysmal team batting average of .269. Which doesn’t sound bad, but when most teams are above .300 you just can’t compete. Medarda is their best pitcher by far. She also is a solid contact hitter, but her mother, or Coach Ambessa, thinks she should be a pitcher only so that hurts them. Takes their best bat out of the line up.”
Caitlyn was flabbergasted. It wasn’t just team knowledge, it was individual player knowledge. “You’re a savant. I swear.”
Vi uncomfortably shifts in her seat. “I just have a lot of alone time to study.”
“Shit, Vi. I didn’t think.”
“It’s okay. It’s helped us improve and keeps my mind occupied.” She looks off into the distance which earns her a big smile and a wave from the barista.
“It’s okay to move on, you know. I’m sure she’d hate knowing you aren’t living your best life.” Caitlyn lifts her cup toward the smiling barista. May be fate was bringing her home not just to finish her career, but to help the surviving lover of a former friend.
Vi lets out a soft chuckle. “Eh, even still she’s not my type. I’m more into hard headed woman that aren’t afraid to fight for what they want.”
Suddenly Caitlyn can only focus on how gorgeous Vi’s eyes are. They’re like two grey storms bringing new life to the land below. She notices a scar on Vi’s top lip that appears to have been an injury from long ago. Her lips are a soft pink that when curled into a smile, radiated pure joy.
What the hell was happening to Caitlyn Kiramman suddenly?
The ace clears her throat and looks down at her phone. “Shoot we’ve been here almost two hours. We should probably get back to the athletic complex.”
Not a word is spoken on the trek back through campus. Upon their return, Coach Sevika and Caitlyn’s parents are waiting outside the building. Cassandra looks like she was ready to leave an hour ago while Tobias is still chatting with the coach. Everyone exchanges pleasantries when the older Kiramman woman announces it’s time for their departure.
The athletes face each other before Caitlyn heads off toward whatever her next destination is.
“I know I’ve probably not properly wooed you today, but I do hope you’ll consider coming to play here. I think we can get you that third title and I can definitely help you break Coach’s strikeout record.”
Another stat dropped into conversation like it’s common knowledge.
“Plus if you come here you’ll get to see this smiling face every day.” Vi does her best pose which causes Caitlyn to chuckle. “Oh,” Vi reaches in to her pocket and pulls out a napkin with a phone number. “If you have any more questions that’s my number.”
Caitlyn looks at the digits and smiles. “So I can get your number, but not the barista?” If she didn’t know better, Caitlyn would believe she was jealous.
A wry smile comes to Vi, “I only give it to people who I think our worth my time and you seem like you fit that category.” Caitlyn is stunned. Vi simply winks and says “Hope to get to catch you later, Cupcake.”