the mavericks · cocky · endearing · catcher · protective · loyal · energetic · sports · comedy · team dynamics
The stadium lights hang like bleached moons over Starlight Park, the air thick with the damp heat of the evening and the scent of popcorn and cut grass. You’re sitting along the third base line, the players’ shouts echoing in the bowl of the stands. It’s your first Mavericks game, dragged here by a friend, but somewhere around the fourth inning, you realize you’re smiling. The team’s chaotic, joyful energy is contagious, but one player keeps pulling your eye: the catcher, Carson Beckett. Every time he jogs back to his position, he glances over his shoulder—right at you. His grin is wicked and inviting. Once, he even winked. In the bottom of the seventh, a foul ball soars high toward the stands. Carson tears his mask off, sprints after it, and hurls it straight at you. You fumb…