Ken shook his head, "I have photos of all the receipts, if you want an accountant to look over it you're more than welcome."
"N—No… I believe you." He said with a pale face. "I think I'll sit this one out and eat at the hotel."
Ken shrugged, "Suit yourself." With that, he replied to Latrell and asked for a place to meet with him. In reality, Ken was not going to press Steve to pay him back, he just wanted the guy to understand how much money he was spending, in hopes that when he started getting pay checks he would think twice about splurging.
Of course he wouldn't say this out loud since it might have the opposite effect.
Soon enough Ken got an address and caught a taxi out the front of the hotel to meet up with his friend. He was taken into town and he was dropped off at a nice Italian restaurant.
The place was pretty packed, but he found his friend on one of the outside tables, seated next to the young Michael. He could tell that the two seemed to be a little uneasy, probably because of the bad loss he had experienced in today's game.
Ken let out a laugh, "Why do you guys look like you're at a funeral. It's just a loss, it happens all the time." He said, waving it off.
"Haha, you're right. I thought you might have been pissed about it though." Latrell answered with a smile.
Michael on the other hand let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Ken might have been in a bad mood, but looking at his smiling face, it seemed he was still optimistic.
"Look, losing sucks but it's not like we're out of the tournament yet anyway. I'll be pitching from the start tomorrow, so I'm hoping we can at least win this next game." Ken admitted.
Michael's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He had always loved to watch Ken pitch. The guy seemed like a giant whenever he stepped on the mound.
"It's good to see you again Michael." Ken said, turning to the boy. "I wanted to thank you for the letter you sent to me back then. You helped remind me never to give up."
"Huh?" Michael was gobsmacked. He had indeed sent a letter, but it was only to thank Ken for helping him out. "I—I… You're welcome." He said softly, feeling a little embarrassed, but there was a big smile that crept onto his face.
He suddenly felt a lot closer to Ken than he had before.
"So are you still playing baseball? You should be in your senior year of high school by now right?" Ken asked, changing the subject.
Michael nodded shyly, "I got offered a scholarship at California State."
"Whoa, that's awesome man. Congratulations." Ken said genuinely. Of course he knew that Michael had great potential since he had used Identify on him when the kid was in the crowd, but to hear that he had come so far was heartwarming.
"Yeah, the kid's got a PG rating of 10. He's one of the top 5 recruits in the country man." Latrell said with a grin. He seemed to be enjoying the embarrassed expression on Michael's face a little too much.
Ken whistled, "I better be careful in the future. We might even play each other in next years College World Series." He said with a hearty laugh.
The trio talked about baseball for a while, bonding over the sport they loved. The waitress came by and asked for their order.
"You guys get what you want, I'll pay for the meal." Ken said succinctly.
Michael was about to refuse, but Ken sent him a look which cowed him. "Don't take away my right as your big bro alright?" he said, sending him a wink.
'Big bro?' Michael heard these words and suddenly felt his eyes tearing up. Ever since he had seen Ken standing atop the mound back then at the U18 World Cup he had begun to idolize the guy.
He wanted to be as cool as Ken. To one day stand on the same stage, to play alongside or against him. This was why he had worked so hard up to now.
To hear this validation from Ken who occupied such a large part of his heart truly made him feel like the luckiest person in the world. It took some effort, but he managed to nod, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes quickly so that he wouldn't embarrass himself.
"Big bro?" Latrell scoffed, "You're more like a boring uncle." He said, sending Ken a wink.
"Sounds like you want a salad for dinner." Ken replied with amusement.
The three ended up ordering some pizza to share. This restaurant had the authentic woodfire oven, and they were recommended it by the server. As someone who was Japanese, Italian fo0d was his second favorite cuisine.
The food came out and he was not disappointed. Finding great Italian food in Florida was not something that he had expected, but this place seemed to be quite popular amongst the locals.
By the end of the meal, Michael had come out of his shell more and was actively contributing to the conversations. He was no longer the 13 year old kid from back then.
"That Leo has gotten a lot better since the U18 World Cup." He said, munching away at a slice of pizza.
Ken nodded, "Tell me about it. Sometimes I feel like that guy isn't even human, but a machine built in a baseball lab."
"Don't remind me…" Latrell complained, "That Trent Waters guy is also a pain. He was 3rd this season in Home runs. Between the two, we keep getting smashed in the opening 3 innings."
The trio ate and chatted for quite a while before Ken paid the bill. The conversations were light and everyone was in a great mood by the time everything was over.
"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow. We should do this again before we all go our separate ways. I'll bring Steve next time." Ken said with a smile.
With that, they parted ways.