He was on the soft, slightly moist grass, lying next to Her, looking up at all the empty seats, blue sky, and the whispy white clouds above. They were like playful and curious clouds; they peered over the edges of the stadium at them, wondering what two little humans were doing lying there, looking back up at them. The curious clouds were accompanied by a harsh, bright yellow sun, which - even though it was partially hiding behind the overhang - was somewhat less curious and playful - almost cruel in fact.
He remembered when summer late mornings were simpler, running outside after breakfast and cartoons to throw water balloons at or ride bicycles with his friends. Even though it looked simple, Him lying next to Her, near short stop, looking up at the summer sky, their backs cooled by the remnants of the morning dew and their fronts being baked by that harsh summer sun, it could not have been more complicated.
"I'm sorry," he muttered as his thumbs danced with each other, his hands clasped together resting on his stomach.
She sighed. It was a long sigh, filled with smoke from burning regrets and desires.
"That did about as much good as the last fifty times you've said it," she mumbled. It was cold, like a mean splash of arctic water in his face - which actually would have felt good right about then.
A pair of birds flew across the sky, dancing with each other, making the cute, chirping little bird noises, happily in each other's company. As they flew away, a refreshing little breeze tickled them, as if the birds had made it. He sighed. Those birds had certainly looked happy; he envied them. He breathed in deep, taking in the musty, slightly zesty smell of the grass. It must have been cut recently. It probably was since there was going to be a game the next day.
"I was an ass," He said, emphasizing "ass" with a slight rasp in his voice.
"Yes, you were," She said, again in that cold voice.
He began to squint his eyes a little as the sun began to rise higher in the sky, peeking some more over the edge of the baseball stadium. A bead of sweat sprung from one of the creases in his forehead that the squint had created and slowly began to roll towards his sideburn.
"It's quiet, peaceful here isn't it?" he asked, hoping maybe this time he would get a better response.
"Yes, it is very nice," She replied, indeed in a slightly sweeter tone. "Your new job definitely has some perks."
The quiet was nice, in a way. Seeing the stadium like this was beautiful: empty, tranquil, sans all the beer, hot dogs, cotton candy, and loud fans. He felt fortunate that he had the opportunity to see it in that fashion. But in a way the silence was deafening, smothering him like the pockets of hot and humid air around them that, despite the old "heat rises" rule, refused to go away and hang around the ground, probably suppressed by the humidity.
"Can't believe they're gonna tear this thing down in about four months," he said.
"Yeah."
"Did you know the new one's gonna be called Busch Stadium, too?" he continued.
"Of course."
"Right," he said. "Guess that's pretty much common knowledge now, huh?"
"I guess so."
He sighed. "So, um, I gotta tell ya, my foot doesn't taste too good, y'know."
"What?" She said, seemingly confused.
"You know, like when you stick your foot in your--"
"Try your whole leg," she said, cutting him off sharply enough to actually sever the leg. His hand reached for hers. When his skin touched hers she said very sternly "DON'T." He withdrew.
He sighed. "Why did you come, then?"
"I don't know," She replied. More chirping birds flew about overhead. An annoying fly buzzed around His head.
"Something compelled you to," He said as he swatted the fly away as it tried to drink some of his sweat.
She just sighed in response.
"Look, what I did was terrible and I feel terrible about it," He said, whining...just a bit. "Can't we...do you think we can...go back to what we were?"
"Maybe...in time," She mumbled. "I don't know. I'm not even sure what we'd be going back to. It was just getting started."
"But it was a great start," He said. "But, actually, I'm more worried about our friendship...the one we have had for years. It would almost be worse to lose that."
Oddly, she made a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle. "We lost that when you kissed me."
"I'm not so sure about that," He muttered.
She just shrugged. He hated it when she did that. It was such a subtle, yet cruel way to totally disregard all of his efforts.
"So...what do we do now?" He asked quietly.
"I'm not sure," She replied.
After a short pause, He turned his head so he could see her face. She was still looking upwards. "How about we just lie here a little longer?"
"OK," she mumbled. He reached for her hand again. This time She didn't object.