Even before he set foot on the field on a major league diamond, Luis Seco-Olivera had lived more than he thought was possible. He'd made the Cuban national baseball team at 16 and struck out seven international All-Stars in a row during the World Baseball Classic. Soon after his father, the only thing holding him to the island, passed unexpectedly. Luis had seen the United States during the tournament, and he knew he could make it. Six months later, he'd made his way to the US embassy in Mexico City and defected.

Baseball life in the US had been a hard adjustment. Nobody treated him like the superstar he'd been before. He rode buses across the minor leagues, sleeping four to a room and eating cheese sandwiches after each game because he couldn't afford other food.

Soon enough though, he got the call. The big club was calling him up. The busses and cheese turned into chartered flights and steak dinners in one day. In his debut, he took a perfect game into the eighth and struck out 15. For the next two seasons, he just kept dominating. His picture went up on banners. He made the All-Star team. And he even got votes for the Cy Young Award, and a lot of people thought he should have won.

But in a lot of ways, Luis still felt empty. His English was good, but he was embarrassed to speak it in public; living out of the public eye was just easier. Dating was hard for someone who became famous overnight. He could find a girl to sleep with whenever he wanted, but he hadn't connected with a single one since he'd come to America. The American Dream was more elusive than TV led you to believe.

Luis was thinking about his struggles to adapt to his new country as he and a couple teammates pulled into the driveway of the hotel where the benefit was being held. Luis had forgotten the cause for this fundraiser, but the team had asked for volunteers and he'd been free. When you were young, you got volunteered for things. He joked with his friends as they made their way through the lobby, and signed an autograph for someone who recognized their faces. Finally they reached the right ballroom and stopped. A woman came up to them - she looked young, probably 20 or 21 just like Luis.

"Hi guys, we're so glad you're here!" she grinned. "My name's Julia, I'm an intern with the foundation. If you want to take a seat or grab a drink at the bar, the Director will be over to give you a final rundown of the night in five minutes."

Hi! Today I want to try out a new idea - Luis is a baseball superstar who's feeling unmoored in the United States. He has fame and money, but it's not making him happy. Julia is a college sophomore, just a girl from the suburbs who's working her internship. They don't know it, but they're going to fall in love!

I don't want this to be a story about a girl fixing a broken man - Julia has her own issues too and she's not just an empty vessel for Luis' problems. But I want her normal-ness - her lack of knowledge about sports, her totally traditional college schedule and social life, her expectations about dating - to help Luis figure out America a little more.

This is a big idea and I'm still figuring out the details of how to make it the best it can be. So I want a partner who's interested in something very long-term and who loves pre-planning. Tell me what team you want Luis to play for and where Julia goes to college in your first message as an intro! Let's see what we want out of this and how we can make it exceptional!

PM me here!