Where I Need to Be by Kimberly Knight

gates. 
    “It’s so good to see you again, Spencer,” Becca said
as she greeted me with a warm hug that I thought was strange but
also nice. It had been almost a week since Vegas when I had seen
them last. 
    We made our way to get beer, hot
dogs, nachos and the famous   Gilroy Garlic
Fries   that
they served at the park. After grabbing our food, we headed over to
our seats which were on the third base line in the lower box. To my
surprise, Becca made her way down the row first, followed by me,
Brandon and then Jason. 
    “We can chat when the game gets boring,” Becca said
as she noticed my face. “I see Jason every day!” 
    We ate our food and drank our beers
while watching batting practice for the   San Diego
Padres . Over the course of the night,
Becca and I got to know each other better and I could really see
her becoming a friend. I learned that she was a photographer and
had an upcoming show at a local gallery in a few weeks, which she
invited me and Ryan to attend.
    Before the game they held a little
ceremony during which Buster Posey was presented with
the   Willie
Mac Award . Some of the previous winners
were in attendance as well as Willie Mac himself.
    During the game, Brandon continually rested his hand
on my knee. At first it gave me butterflies, but after a while my
pulse rate returned to normal. Most fans were dressed in their
orange Giants jerseys or shirts. Luckily I remembered that Fridays
were Orange Friday for the Giants and had worn my Giants shirt in
that color.
    The game was very exciting.
Crawford, Posey and Scutaro all hit RBIs and the Panda hit a
two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.  We sang the
traditional seventh inning stretch song in the middle of the
seventh, and in the middle of the eighth, the whole stadium sang
Journey’s song   Lights .
    I was having an amazing time. The Giants won seven to
one and I was getting to see another side of Brandon as I watched
him react to each play.  He and Jason yelled at the top of
their lungs and gestured wildly several times through the night.
 When Panda hit his two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth,
they turned to each other and whooped before bumping chests and
roaring.  Becca and I exchanged glances at that, rolling our
eyes and laughing.   Boys! After the game, Brandon and I
walked back to his two-story condo that overlooked China
Basin. 
    While he grabbed us beers from the fridge, I took a
look around his condo. The downstairs had an open floor plan with
floor-to-ceiling windows and dark hardwood floors. As you continued
from the living room into the kitchen, there were cherry wood
cabinets with black granite countertops and stainless steel
appliances. 
    He had dark brown leather couches
surrounding a cherry wood coffee table that sat on a beige rug,
matching end tables and a huge  flat screen TV mounted over
the fireplace. It reminded me of a bachelor pad minus
the   Ikea   brand furniture. 
    Next to the breakfast bar which was between the
kitchen and living room hung a black and white picture of The
Golden Gate Bridge on a foggy day. “That’s one of Becca’s,” Brandon
said when he noticed me looking at it.
    “Wow, it is beautiful!”
    “She invited you to her show on the twenty-eighth,
right?”  I nodded. “Care to be my date for the
night?” 
    “Sure, sounds like fun. Oh and Becca said that Ryan
should come as well. Mind if she tags along?” Given Ryan’s new
single status, I knew another night out would be good for
her. 
    “No, of course not.” Within seconds, Brandon was
right in front of me. He grabbed my beer and set it on the counter,
cupping the right side of my face as he slid his fingers through my
hair and kissed me. His tongue extended further into my mouth as he
deepened the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck to steady
myself as my knees began to weaken.
     “I’ve wanted to do that all night!” he said as
he broke free from our kiss. He took my hand and led me to his
couch.