C h a s i n g D r e a m s ➮ C a r r i s o n

• 15 •

Carrie walked into the hardware store. She had gotten the okay from Harrison to start her newest house project while he was still out in LA. She wanted to repaint a few of the bathrooms, and depending on if he stayed with the Dodgers next season or not, she wanted to redo the kitchen.

They still weren't sure what was going to happen with Harrison for the following season. The Dodgers hadn't offered him a contract extension yet and they hadn't given them any signs as too if they would or not.

Carrie believed it was going to be coming soon. The Dodgers met a high asking price from the Cubs as seen by the talent they gave up for him. The Dodgers were also one of the super teams along with the Red Sox and Yankees who carried almost an unlimited cap hit. They could sign and pay a majority of the league's highest paid players without having to worry about those players taking up the majority of that seasons cap space.

From a business perspective, it would be very odd for the Dodgers to trade for Harrison only to let him walk in free agency after only having his services for two and a half months. They would most likely sign him to a four year deal with two or three club options allowing them to pick up the option at the end of his contract and either retain him or be compensated if he signed with another team. With the options, it would be cheaper for the Dodgers to keep him instead of having to trade for him or sign him a few years down the road.

In Carrie's point of view, when Harrison got a contract extension from the Dodgers, her kitchen project would move to LA when they built their new house. But for now, the bathrooms had to be taken care of. She wasn't buying the colors anymore and she believed it would be more appealing for buyers if they had to sell this fall.

She had no idea what colors she wanted to do for the bathrooms but it had to be fixed soon. Carrie didn't know what happened but all of a sudden she strongly began to dislike the colors they had chosen a few years ago.

Carrie made her way back to the paint section with a few colors she wanted to get samples of. She would either narrow it down from there or most likely come back for more. Carrie wished Harrison was here because he was better at deciding stuff like this. Sure he could still help, but he wouldn't be able to see them in person.

She already felt overwhelmed with all the possible choices. Pulling up the picture she had to compare, Carrie found herself reaching for a few of the blue choices first. There was one at the top of the display, a dark blue, that she couldn't reach. Harrison would be making fun of her right about now.

Suddenly a hand reached past hers and grabbed the sample. "This the one you're looking for?"

"Yes thank you."

"Do you need help with anything else?" the man asked.

Carrie looked at him for the first time and wanted to leave. He was extremely handsome with dark brown eyes that matched his curly hair and a light beard. He must've seen some of the samples she was holding as he dug into his apron and pulled out a few more that were similar to hers. "Here's these if you want to look at them too. It'll save me the time from having to put them back," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," was all Carrie could manage to say.

"What are you going to be working on?" he asked.

"Just going to be touching up some parts of the house," she answered. "And deciding if I actually want to or not."

He questioned her. "Well I'm not sure if I want to paint if I end up moving," she told him. "But if I end up moving I think it'll look better to buyers anyway."

"What's your name?" he asked. "I'm Dawson."

"Carrie."

"Let me show you something Carrie."

She followed him over to a computer where he pulled up pictures of a light blue shade of paint that matched everything in every picture it was in. "I like this color because it goes with pretty much anything."

He then dug out the sample from the filing cabinet below the computer. "Take this one home and try it. I think you'll like it."

"Then once you find out which one you like," he said and handed the sample to her. "And I'm going to bet that it's going to be this one. Then come see me and I'll get you set with whatever else you need."

"You really think this one is that good?"

He nodded. "You wouldn't believe how much of that we've sold." Then he said, "I'll bet you a date you'll like that one the best."

"You're getting way ahead of yourself."

A big smile crossed his face. "Trust me, you'll love it so much you won't be able to convince yourself to do anything else. Then I'll score myself a date."

"I don't think so."

"You wanna bet on it?" he asked. "If you walk out of the store with that one, even if you get others, you go on a date with me."

"And what happens if I hate it?"

"Then you don't need to worry about me."

"You're really betting a date on a can of paint?"

"I am."

Carrie shook her head and let her ego get the best of her. She was always up for a challenge and that usually meant betting against Harrison on something. "Fine, but don't get your hopes up."

"Do I get your number?"

She just looked at him. "You could consider it a tip for the help," he pointed out.

"I could just go get somebody else."

"You could but they're not as good as me."

"You're not getting my number."

"How about when we go on a date?"

She gave up. "Okay then but we're not going on a date."

"Whatever you say."

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