Look Twice

I don't know how to describe Abraham. He's the kind of guy that you would miss if you didn't look twice. He's there, in the background. He says he was there all those nights I've been at the bar. By contrast, I am not a background person. Abraham recently said to me, “Take everyone you know here and divide by 10. That’s who I know.” He’s been a member of the league for three years; I’ve been a member for less than one.

The only real reason I noticed him in the first place is because he was the pitcher of a team I was playing against. Had he played any other position, I would not have seen him. I’m the kind of person that likes to have fun with the pitchers and try to psych them out. Lawyered likes to refer to this as "flirting." Abraham played along with my antics.

I stood behind the plate and pointed to my eyes and then to his eyes and back to mine. Then I stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed and pitched me the ball. His team was good. I don’t think I made it on base the entire game.

And then it was his turn to kick. As catcher, I crouched into position next to Abraham. Lawyered pitched the ball. Abraham made it on base easily. When Abraham was on third base, I was ordered to block home plate to prevent him from scoring. I did as I was told. The result was Abraham crashing into me as he scored. I didn’t know it was him at the time. Abraham would remind me of this months later.

That’s what I knew of Abraham the nights we played flip cup together at the bar. He understood my playful nature and was reciprocal. He would tease, such as giving me the fake name. He would laugh as I blew his cup off the table while he was trying to flip it. He’d pour my beer from his own cup as I scrunched up my nose and complained of backwash.

One night, sometime after the kissing but before I went to Mexico, I looked him up on Facebook. Whereas I have all of my information hidden, Abraham did not. I admired his ability to have a public online presence. I doubt I’ll ever be able to have one after my days spent with S.

I clicked through albums and albums of pictures. In those pictures, I didn’t see someone who was perpetually in the background; I saw someone who was the star in his own life, which, really, is what Facebook is all about. I saw the hockey fanatic, the baseball fan, the beer drinker, the amateur runner. I saw someone who loves his family. I saw his playful nature extend to his funny if not awkward profile pictures. It humanized him. It turned Abraham from That Guy From The Bar into That Guy Who Has Interests And Feelings. That Guy Who I Want To Know.

And what may have been born from boredom morphed into a full-fledged crush.