Mayfield Titans

 

 

CHAPTER 56

BUSY BREAK

 

MONDAY APRIL 13

 

<Aiden and Mac>

 

After texting and live chatting over the weekend Mac, Lance, Lenny, Trent, Muddy, and Riley agreed to meet with Aiden at his house at eleven in the morning. Larry would work with Lenny, Mac, and Muddy on their catching and Lance, Trent, Riley, and Aiden would throw some pitches as opposed to just tossing the ball around. They would take a break sometime after noon and munch on the sandwiches Phil had prepared for the boys on Sunday. Phil had to work, or he would have coached the pitchers. The Titan coaches couldn’t help because the workout could be considered as an organized practice.

 

Mac surprised Aiden by riding his bicycle into the driveway a few minutes after ten. Aiden was still dressed in his morning garb, which consisted of his birthday suit and socks. He took off upstairs to put some clothing on while Larry answered the door.

 

“Well, hello, Mac,” Larry grinned. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

 

“Good morning, Coach. I hope it’s okay to be early,” Mac said nervously. He hoped that his early arrival wasn’t upsetting Coach Sanders, who was THE coach in Mayfield baseball. Ever since Mac decided to try following the rules, he was constantly worried about screwing up and losing whatever trust he had managed to build.

 

“Early is good—I like it.”

 

“Even an hour early?”

 

“Well, it does help to let people know in advance if you’re coming that early.”

 

“I’m sorry. It’s just, I need to talk to Aiden about something.”

 

“Not a problem. Learn from it. Aiden had to run upstairs to put some clothes on. He enjoys being naked and wasn’t expecting you yet.”

 

“I wouldn’t have minded seeing him naked,” Mac grinned.

 

“Maybe next time,” Larry laughed, happy that Mac was willing to show a glimpse of the impish side of him.

 

Aiden quickly pulled on a pair of gym shorts before bounding downstairs to meet Mac. “Hi, Mac,” Aiden said as he held out his fist. The boys bumped fists and Mac was ushered back to the visitors’ room. While Mac was a straight boy, he still had an eye for a good looking boy and loved what he saw of Aiden, which was almost all of him. His smooth, slender torso gave him an athletic look, but left no doubt that he was still a young adolescent.

 

“How come you’re so early?” Aiden asked.

 

“I wanted to talk to you about something. I know I should have called first, but it just kinda popped into my head I needed to talk before we started our workout.  Your dad told me that you weren’t wearing anything when I got here. You sure didn’t have to put anything on for me,” Mac smirked.

 

Aiden fought off his momentary irritation at his Pop for ratting him out. He didn’t know Mac that well and wasn’t sure he wanted to, although his attitude about his teammate had changed a lot since the day they had worked on his catching.

 

“Do you want to talk here, or up in my bedroom?” Aiden asked. As soon as he asked, he chided himself for inviting the one-time asswaffle up to his room for no reason.

 

Larry wandered into the room. “Did Aiden offer you any juice or a morning snack?”

 

“He didn’t, but if I could have something to drink that would be great.” Mac had worked up a thirst on the bike ride out.

 

“Aiden’s manners are usually better.”

 

Yeah, because the people who come into my house have been my friends for a long time, Aiden thought. Then he chewed himself out for being so negative after the positive things that had passed between Mac and him a few days ago.

 

“Sorry, I was just finding out what Mac wanted to talk about and it kinda slipped my mind,” Aiden said.

 

“No problem, Aiden,” Mac said. “I know I surprised everybody.”

 

“How about some lemonade? My Dad just mixed up a huge batch yesterday.”

 

“That sounds good. I got kinda thirsty riding out here.”

 

Aiden went out to the kitchen to get some drinks. Mac watched his ass disappear wishing he were wearing tighter shorts. “Let’s go up to my room,” Aiden said. “We got plenty of privacy up there.”

 

The house phone rang just as Aiden and Mac started for Aiden’s room.

 

“I’ve got it,” Larry said. He saw from the caller ID that the caller was Keegan, and he knew what it was his brother-in-law wanted. “Good morning, Keegan.”

 

“Good morning, Larry. I assume Phil is at work.”

 

“Yes, he is. And I assume you are calling about the topic we’ve been discussing and can’t seem to resolve.”

 

“That would be correct.” Since Lincoln’s birth, Keegan, Phil, and Larry had been discussing setting up a time for Aiden to meet his new brother. Between work, school, baseball, and other barriers, they had not been able to find a mutually agreeable time. Larry knew that Aiden was eager to see the little critter, who was already two months old, and was becoming impatient regarding the delays.

 

“Life has this habit of getting in the way of plans,” was the best Larry and Phil could tell him.

 

“But he’s my real live brother. I want to see him,” Aiden would grumble.

 

“How is your weekend looking?” Keegan asked.

 

“Funny you should bring that up because Phil and I were discussing a trip to Kirkland next weekend to see the urchin. We have this coming weekend booked and Aiden starts his summer baseball turnouts the following Saturday. Practice is supposed to be over by noon, so we should be able to make your place by three-thirty at the latest.”

 

“Things seem to keep getting in the way, but let’s just do what we can when we can and schedule the Saturday after next. We don’t have room for guests, but Aiden is welcome to sleep on the couch or with Drake. There is a bed in the nursery, but we’d just as soon have Lincoln sleep alone at his age.”

 

“I understand. If you can recommend a good close by hotel, we’ll make a reservation. I’ll double check with Aiden and Phil to make sure the weekend is clear, but I don’t see a problem. Phil or I will give you a call Monday or Tuesday to set up the details.”

 

The two chatted a bit and then ended the call. Larry elected to give Aiden the news later. He did call Phil, who was ecstatic to get the news. “Aiden has been wanting this really bad. Don’t wait too long to tell him,” Phil closed.

 

“He’ll know before you get home from work.”

 

While Larry and Keegan were talking on the phone, Aiden led Mac into his bedroom.

 

“Nice room,” Mac remarked as he inspected the premises. “How do you keep it so neat and organized?”

 

“Just like anything else, I work at it. My dads keep telling me that in the long run being neat and organized will save me time.”

 

“I like the train setup around your room. I just don’t see a train.”

 

“I like trains. My friend Nolan helped me set this up—he and his dad have a huge model railroad setup at his house,” Aiden told him. “I’ll run it around the room a couple of times after we talk, if you want.”

 

“Sure.”

 

Aiden plopped down on the bed, his back against the wall. Mac sat in the desk chair. “Whoa, what’s with the big stuffed donkey?” Mac asked.

 

“That’s Horace. He sees all, knows all, but reveals little. He also helps me feel better when I get feeling shitty about stuff.”

 

“Maybe I could use a stuffed donkey,” Mac grinned. “Like right about now. You see, ever since that workout I’ve felt shitty about something I said and I know people heard. There was two people I needed to talk to about it. One was you and the other was Trent.”

 

“Trent’s coming today, you know.”

 

“Yeah, I know because I talked to him on Saturday. He said I should talk to you since I’m gonna be catching you a lot plus we’d be working out at your house. So anyway, you need to know, so now I’m going to tell you. I’m not good at talking about the bad things I do and having to say this twice is extra hard, but here I go.”

 

Aiden shifted his position on the bed, causing Mac to shift his position when he could see that Aiden wasn’t wearing any underpants. As a result of the position shifts, he could catch a glimpse of Aiden’s cock and balls.

 

“This happened after the last Mayfield Baseball Club meeting,” Mac began. He went on to tell Aiden about how Russell, Roger, Jared, Yonder, and him had planned their meeting disruptions and how they had talked after the meeting about not playing their hardest to keep the Titans from contending for the league championship and to even make intentional errors during a game.  Plus, they planned to make Aiden look bad every time they could. “That’s pretty much it,” Mac finished.

 

“I knew all that,” Aiden confessed.

 

“You did? How?”

 

“Some guys heard you talking after the meeting.”  

 

 Mac fought down the urge to ask who they were. “And you still let me in your house?”

 

“We both seem to forget that last Saturday we hugged to start our new relationship,” Aiden reminded Mac.

 

“Yeah, but we also both know there was something I wasn’t telling you. I don’t care that you already knew about what I said, I feel better because I told you.”

 

“And today you told me. Like my dads like to tell me, confession is good for the soul.”

 

“So, how about a fresh hug since we got that out of the way.”

 

“We probably should turn Horace around first. He can be very sensitive,” Aiden said.

 

“How could he live in your bedroom and be too sensitive to watch a hug?”

 

“Well, why don’t we find out then.”

 

Aiden rose from his bed and Mac stood up. Mac, who was over six inches taller than Aiden, looked down at him. Aiden was a beautiful person, inside and out. After getting glimpses of Aiden’s junk, Mac was sorely tempted to pull down his host’s pants to get the full glory of his beauty. Instead, he bent down some so Aiden could hug him face to face. He placed his hands on the waistband of Aiden’s gym shorts but made no attempt to yank them off.

 

After they broke the hug, Mac looked up at Horace. “He’s not sensitive—he didn’t even turn red.”

 

“That’s because I still have my shorts on,” Aiden smirked. “I know you wanted to pull them down.”

 

“Guilty as charged. And before I go, I want to see that train run, except I can’t see where the train is.”

 

Aiden dropped the bridge across the door, took his remote off his desk, and started his “California Zephyr” moving around the room. Mac broke into a wide smile when he saw the train come out from under the bed.

 

“Oh, wow, cool,” Mac said as the CZ traveled around the room.

 

“If you don’t mind, I’m gonna put on some baseball pants and a tee,” Aiden said.

 

“Go ahead. I won’t look.”

 

“Yes, you will. I mean we just started getting honest with each other, right?”

 

“Well…”

 

Before Mac could say anything, Aiden stripped naked and walked over to his dresser. Damn, he DOES have a fine ass, Mac thought. And he’s almost done with seventh grade and doesn’t have any pubes? Just makes him cuter, I guess.

 

Aiden slipped on a pair of white Hanes briefs and a Titans’ t-shirt, then went to his closet, took out a pair of gray baseball pants and finished dressing. Mac wished Aiden’s striptease had lasted longer—a lot longer. “My cleats are in the basement, so let’s head down after I tell you something I’ve been thinking about.”

 

“What, that you want to see if Horace blushes if I strip naked?”

 

“No, although he wouldn’t mind seeing you naked. But this is something a little more serious. Are you going to talk to Trent and tell him you told me about what you said, or should I? I mean he is the team captain and should know.”

 

“You’re right and I thought the same thing.  I’ve set up to talk to him after our workout. You know one thing that came out weird?”

 

“I think the whole thing was weird but tell me.”

 

“Roger and Russell didn’t make the team because they thought that not working hard meant not working hard in practice. And Yonder quit after a couple of practices.  I mean by the time we started practice I knew I wasn’t going to do what we talked about because Trent and them had come to my house and I ended up joining the No Matter What Club, which meant more than not drinking and drugging and shit.”

 

Aiden finished Mac’s thought. “Yeah, it also means being honest and being a good teammate.”

 

“Yep. I told my so-called friends we need to get serious and play and practice serious. Jared figured it out, but nobody else did.”

 

Aiden stopped the train under the bed, raised the bridge, and the boys walked down the hall as the door chime played Beethoven. Aiden opened the door and greeted Trent, Muddy, and Trent’s brother, Jackson. Lance, Lenny, and Riley showed up a few minutes later and the workout got underway.

 

While it wasn’t a formal practice, the workout was as organized as one. It was what one would expect from a two-time Class A High School Baseball Coach of the Year. Jackson helped Larry by tossing junk high, wide, and in the dirt for the various drills. The state high school coaches’ manual allowed Larry to use one or two players to help the kind of workout he was holding.

 

“Too bad Scott couldn’t make it,” Trent said as he threw to Lenny, who had his catcher’s gear on. He brought the gear that had been checked out to him for the season. Muddy also had his own gear while Mac used gear that Larry had on hand for just this kind of situation. When Larry learned that Mac wanted to ride his bike to the workout, he had Aiden text Mac about the spare gear.

 

After breaking for lunch, the boys put in another forty minutes and would have gone on longer if Larry hadn’t brought an end to the workout. “You all worked hard, and I can see you’re getting a bit tired. I know Jackson’s throwing workout has gone as far as I wanted it to.” Jackson was slated to throw two innings in Wednesday’s Nooner and Larry wanted him to get some extra throwing in, even if it meant not throwing any strikes.

 

Riley got some throwing in as well, pitching to Muddy and Lenny and playing catch with Aiden. Larry was impressed by the velocity the little kid was able to muster and by his control. He thought Riley looked sound fundamentally with only a few tweaks needed to help him look even better. He was certain Coach Ecklund and Coach Seaver were working on those minor flaws—they were good coaches.

 

“Thanks for not hating me and thanks big time for the hug,” Mac said to Aiden before leaving. He was going to Trent’s house and was secretly pleased when Trent’s father, who had driven his pickup, told Mac he could ride with him and Trent. Muddy, who had ridden out with Trent, was being picked up by his mother.

 

<Trent and Mac>

 

It didn’t take Trent and Mac long to get settled into Trent’s room after arriving at his house.

 

“I see you didn’t bring a change of clothes,” Trent said.

 

“I didn’t think I needed to since I was riding my bike. I guess I kinda worked up a pit,” Mac said.

 

“I think we both did, and I know Jackson did and he’s doing something about it,” Trent said as they heard the shower come on. “Tell me what you want to tell me, and we can shower together after Jackson’s done.”

 

“But I don’t have fresh clothes, plus I’m riding my bike home.”

 

“First, riding your bike home from my house isn’t like riding way out to Aiden’s house—I mean, you live, like, less than a mile from here and even teens like us can’t work up much of a pit that quick. Plus, put on enough deodorant and you’ll be fine. And second, you’re about the same size as me, so I’ll loan you a pair of my most raggedy underpants and socks to wear.”

 

“Yeah, but…”

 

“And third, it will be fun, and since I know we’re going to be really serious for a few minutes, having fun is good. Now, tell me what’s bugging you.”

 

Mac repeated what he had told Aiden. He also told Trent that he had confessed to Aiden and gave him Aiden’s quote about confession.

 

“Sounds like Aiden’s dads use the same dad manual as mine. I’ve heard close to the same thing from him and mom.”

 

“So, it must be in the mom manual, too,” Mac said.

 

“No doubt. Probably the teacher manual, too. Okay, so you confessed to Aiden because it looks like you two are going to be a battery, plus you were invited to his house. You confessed to me because I got picked to be the team captain. I think you’ve got one more confession to make.”

 

“To the coaches?”

 

“Kinda, but this will be even harder. It will be the most important of all—you need to tell the whole team. You know that guys heard what you said, and everybody found out about it pretty quick. You’re lucky we tried to be good teammates and didn’t give ya a bunch of shit about it, and trust me, that wasn’t easy. I think they need to get a confession and an apology from you, too. It doesn’t need to be a big, long drawn-out thing - just a few sincere words and I know it’ll all be cool.”

 

Mac didn’t hesitate in responding to Trent’s suggestion. “I’ll do it next practice, or you can kick my ass.”

 

“Deal,” Trent grinned. He held out his right pinky and Mac wrapped his right pinky around it, completing a sacred pinky swear.

 

Trent pulled off his t-shirt and said, “Now, let’s shower.”

 

“Wait, I’ve never showered with anybody before except in a locker room,” Mac said. “At least not when I was sober.”

 

“First time for everything.”

 

“I think I might have done it a couple of times in, like, fifth grade or something, but we were just little.”

 

“Quit worrying, Mac. It’s easy. You get yourself wet, you wash with soap, it’s cool if you wash the other guy’s back,” and even better if you wash his ass, Trent thought, “then you rinse, dry, and get dressed.”

 

“I got that part figured out, but what if I bone up or something. I mean you know how easy that is.” Especially when you shower with somebody like Yonder and you’re both drunk and stoned, Mac thought.

 

“It wouldn’t be the first boner I’ve seen,” Trent told him.

 

“I didn’t think so, but just in case…oh, you’re naked already.”

 

“You mean you weren’t watching me undress?”

 

“I guess not.” Mac quickly stripped.

 

Trent reached into his closet and tossed him a towel. “You’ve got a nice body—and a lot more hair than me.”

 

Mac had a bush of pubic hair, the start of a treasure trail, light fuzz on his calves, and underarm hair. Trent was smooth except for a small line of scraggly hairs over his penis. Trent liked hairy bodies, like his brother’s, and felt himself starting to chub up. He kept his back to Mac until they reached the bathroom. Trent shut the door and locked it after Mac entered the room.

 

“Dude, you’re the one who’s boning up,” Mac smirked.

 

“You’ve got me all horny. I want to get off with you bad.”

 

“I thought you weren’t gay.”

 

“This isn’t about gay or straight dude, this is about sex,” Trent rasped. “Leave your towel here and let’s go back to my room.”

 

Mac set his towel on top of Trent’s and followed him back to his bedroom. He wasn’t sure if this was what he wanted, but his rock-hard cock was telling him that this was exactly what he wanted.

 

“You’ve got a nice cock,” Trent said as they flopped down on his bed. “How big is it?”

 

“Around five-and-a-half inches.”

 

“Fuck, mine’s not quite five. Can I touch yours?”

 

“Do whatever you want, dude.”

 

Trent reached over and started masturbating his teammate and new friend. Mac soon made it mutual masturbation, which turned into Trent getting on top of Mac and humping him, which led to Mac enjoying his first sober kiss with a boy. The boys were kissing, rolling around on Trent’s bed, humping each other, until, in what seemed like an instant from when they started, Trent groaned out, “Ohhhhh, shit, Mac, I’m cumming,” and shot his seed over Mac’s belly. Mac followed by seconds, shooting thicker cum over Trent’s crotch. The two thirteen-year-olds lay next to each other fighting for breath.

 

“Fuck, dude,” Mac finally uttered. “That’s better than getting stoned and drunk—it just don’t last as long. And here I thought sex with guys was for wussy little fag boys—at least if you’re sober.”

 

“I’ve fucked guys and girls and I like them both.”

 

“Does kissing and humping a guy make me an official Mayfield boy?”

 

“Being a cool dude and a good teammate and all the stuff you and me talked about makes you an official teammate and friend—that’s what counts with me. But being a sexy dude is a nice bonus.”

 

“I’d be happy to give you another bonus sometime. Even kissing was cool, and I’ve never kissed a guy except when I was fucked up. I gotta tell you, you kiss as good or better than any girl I’ve kissed.”

 

“Well, if they had a No Matter What thing to sign for sex, you could count me out,” Trent said.

 

“You and me both, dude. You and me both. Now, let’s go get that shower in.”

 

“Even after cumming, you still want to shower with me?”

 

“As we all like to say, it saves water and electricity.”

 

Trent followed Mac to the bathroom. Just before he entered, he saw Jackson’s bedroom door open. His brother took a step out, grinned, and gave Trent a thumbs up sign. “You know what I was thinking just now,” Trent said.

 

“What?”

 

“You are now an official Mayfield Titan and I can’t wait to pitch to you.”

 

The teens enjoyed a relatively calm, but still erotically charged shower.

 

<Lance and Lenny>

 

When Lance and Lenny arrived home, Lance heard their house phone ring just as he shoved his key into the front door. With three kids, Leslie Hazen knew chaos would break out if everybody had their own phone, so they had only three phones, her cell, a cell for the twins, and a land line. Plus, the setup was cheaper than having four individual phones, even on a family plan, especially with the land line and their internet bundled. When all three kids were in middle school the next year she would probably have to consider a new solution, but she had put that decision off until August at the earliest.

 

Lance entered the duplex, picked up the phone, and greeted the caller with a brief hello. He, Lenny, and Brenda had been taught not to identify themselves on the phone, even if they knew who was calling. They were to let the callers identify themselves first. Lenny saw that the caller was Coach Seaver, the JV baseball coach.

 

“This is Coach Seaver,” the coach said after Lance’s greeting. “Who am I speaking to, Lenny or Lance?”

 

“This is Lance, coach.”

 

“I’m afraid I have bad news. The league has decided to cancel the spring break JV games.”

 

“Why?” Lance knew he was going to be pitching and was instantly disappointed.

 

“A lot of reasons, but the big reason was they were scheduled after the start of the season and that is apparently against some rule in the state handbook.”

 

“That’s not fair. It’s not like we were getting any extra games. I mean we’re cut down to just ten games already and were happy we could get an extra game to play.” The varsity teams played a 12-game schedule, but the JV teams would be playing a shortened schedule because three of the schools in the Seamount Middle School league did not field a JV team.

 

“I know. I’m on your side all the way and so are the rest of the coaches right up to Coach Fitz.” Coach Fitzgerald was the school district athletic director. “But the state made the ruling this morning and that takes care of that.”

 

“So, we won’t have anything tomorrow?”

 

“Coach Ecklund and I are going to have an optional practice for the JV and the varsity. If we have 18 players, it will be a scrimmage game.”

 

“Well, me and…I mean, Lenny and I will be there, coach.”

 

“Great, we’ll see you at nine o’clock. And before you squawk, that was when the game was scheduled to start. We will stop the game at eleven if it’s still going on which will give everybody time to get to the Nooner.”

 

As they made their calls, Coach Seaver and Coach Ecklund heard the words “that’s not fair” more often than they thought possible in one day, even in dealing with middle school kids. They couldn’t complain much in this case, because they agreed with that assessment even though they felt it would be unprofessional to tell the players that.

 

Of course, texts, emails, and calls filled the players’ afternoon, and the word “fair”, as in “it isn’t fair,” continued to be the focal point of the boys’ feelings.

 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

 

<Mayfield Middle School baseball field>

 

All the baseball players on the Mayfield Middle School roster except for Gordy and Jared Finn, both of whom had been excused in advance, were at the field by nine o’clock. While the varsity players empathized with the JV players’ disappointment, they were happy to be able to play baseball—any kind of baseball.

 

Mac was one of the happy ones since Coach Ecklund had told him he would be catching at least five innings. The coaches scheduled the scrimmage to be eight innings if time allowed them to tack on the extra inning.

 

The boys were pleased to see that the field had been dragged and chalked and that they would have a regular umpire officiating the game. Coach Ecklund knew they had the money in the budget to bring in an umpire and ended up using the umpire who had been scheduled to work the canceled game. The only thing missing was uniforms, but even playing in their practice gear was better than not playing at all.

 

The coaches split the players into what they hoped were two evenly matched teams. Some of the JV players wanted to play the varsity so they could beat the older kids and show how much better the JV was than the varsity but, as with everything else that was happening regarding baseball, they had to accept the decision and move on.

 

One team named itself the Mariners and the other team was the Dragons. When Mason protested that he had never heard of a team called the Dragons, Barry, who suggested the name, told him to look up the Chunichi Dragons of Japan when he got home. Real team or not, the rest of the players on the team liked the name Dragons overwhelmingly. The Mariners, who were off to an 8-4 start in the American League, was suggested by Aiden and was picked without any protest.

 

The coaches had set up the pitching in advance, knowing that there was a good chance someone might not be able to make it through their scheduled stint. Coach Seaver, who coached the Dragons, had a rotation of Trent (three innings), Max (two innings), Riley (two innings), and Everett (one inning). Coach Ecklund planned on having Scott (three innings), Aiden (two innings), Lance (two innings), and Emmett (one inning) pitch for the Mariners.  

 

Considering the amount of time the players had gone without practice, the game was a well-played, competitive affair. It went the entire eight innings with the Dragons winning 5-3. Every pitcher threw his scheduled innings.

 

Mac started at catcher for the Dragons and was pleased to be able to catch Trent. He wished Aiden had been placed on the team, then he could have caught both Aiden and Trent. He caught the first four innings and the eighth inning and managed to go one-for-three with an RBI double as well.

 

After the game, the coaches praised the players for a job well done. “Since we are allowed two practices over break, our original Friday practice is still on the docket,” Coach Ecklund announced. The Friday practice had been scheduled to be their only practice during the break. The scrimmage counted as a practice, even though attendance had been optional.

 

Before Coach Ecklund could dismiss them, Mac stood up and said he had something to tell the team. The coach nodded and said, “Go ahead, Mac.” He wondered if what was about to be said was part of the amazing transformation he was seeing in Mac.

 

Mac turned so he was facing his teammates. “Guys, I just want to apologize for things I said before the season started. I was living with my head up my ass and said things I never should have said. Thanks to boys like Trent, Scott, Barry, Aiden, hell, just about all of you, I am learning what being a real part of a great team is about. I promise to do my best to see that never happens again, and if I slip, I expect you guys to let me know. And my apology includes Coach Ecklund.”

 

“Unless somebody says different, as team captain, I accept your apology, and thanks for doing it,” Trent said. Nobody objected—instead Mac’s teammates shouted out their thanks and encouraged him to keep doing what he was doing. As he smothered a grin, Coach Ecklund thought that he was getting to like Mackenzie Dixon more each day.

 

As soon as Coach Ecklund dismissed them, the boys hopped on their bikes, grabbed rides with parents, or hoofed it to the high school for the annual Nooner. The Nooner was scheduled every year on the Wednesday of spring break. The town of Mayfield all but shut down as the town citizens filled the Mayfield High School Stadium, one of the best in the county, for the noon start pitting the Mayfield Mustangs against a top nonleague opponent.

 

This year’s opponent was the Sequim High School Wolves. Sequim was located in northwest Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. The Wolves had finished fourth in the state the year before and were 7-2 compared to the Mayfield Mustangs’ 5-3 record. Mayfield fans anticipated a good ballgame.

 

The middle school players started arriving at the ballpark about a half-hour before game time and quickly attacked the vending carts provided by the local eateries. The Bear Pizza cart was the most popular. The ballpark was a concrete and steel stadium with a large seating capacity. Every year the Seamount League held some of its league playoff games there. It was not unusual for District Tournaments and State Tournament regionals to be played there.

 

The ballpark was filled close to capacity for the game, but a section was set aside in the upper reaches of the stands behind third base for the middle school players. Attending the game was not required, but every player who participated in the scrimmage showed for the game. The Nooner was THE event of spring break, after all.

 

The Wolves were a veteran team. Nine of the fourteen players who made the trip were seniors. The remainder of the players consisted of three juniors and two sophomores. The Mustangs were a young and growing team. They also had fourteen players suited up. Their roster consisted of three seniors, six juniors, four sophomores, and a freshman. The freshman and two of the sophomores also played some JV ball.

 

Mark Elder, one of the three seniors, started the game and was in top form. While the team might be young, Elder was considered one of the top pitchers in the Seamount League as well as the Southwest District. Chuck Hanson, the Wolves starter, was also a senior. He had a 3-0 record for the season. Control was his main weakness, and he was struggling with it this game. The patient Mustang hitters were making him throw strikes, and when he did they often were not quality strikes. As a result, the Mustangs grabbed a 4-0 lead after four innings on their way to a 5-2 win.

 

The Nooner win meant free sodas at the Bear for the week for anyone with a ticket stub for the game. While admission was generally free for the Mustang games, tickets were needed to attend the Nooner. The Mustang fans and students went home happy.

 

Aiden went with his dads to the Mayfield Café for dinner. They were joined there by Coach Ecklund, Coach Fitzgerald, the Mayfield athletic director, along with his son David, and Devon White, the Mustang JV coach. They sat at one of the big corner tables. David, a junior, played for the Mustangs and had started the Nooner at third base.

 

Maggie, everyone’s favorite waitress, came to the table with menus. “My goodness, I will be serving the elite of Mayfield baseball tonight. I’m surprised you elected to eat here instead of some hoity toity place like the Mayfield Inn.” The menu at the Mayfield Inn’s restaurant was no better than the Mayfield Café. Their claim to fame, outside of being situated on Highway 12, was having white tablecloths on their tables.

 

“So called hoity toity restaurants don’t have the best waitress in Mayfield serving them,” Coach Fitz grinned. 

 

“Plus the food here is much better,” Larry added.

 

“Congratulations on the big win this afternoon, Larry. Well done.”

 

“Thanks Maggie. Were you there?”

 

“Was I there? How could I face my customers if I missed attending the Nooner?  But let me tell you, it was a madhouse here after the game.” Maggie scanned the table and said, “We seem to be missing a couple of wives here,” Maggie said, referring to the wives of Coach Fitzgerald and Coach Ecklund.

 

“You should see them soon along with Emma Loomis and Cindy Barnes.” Emma Loomis was the middle school head softball coach, and Cindy Barnes was the high school’s head softball coach. 

 

“I see how that works,” Maggie grinned. “The wives sit with the softball coaches to hear them second guess the baseball coaches. It’s a good thing you won, Larry.”

 

“Did you hear that, boys? Maggie pegged you as part of the elite of Mayfield baseball,” Phil chuckled.

 

“Only because we’re sitting with coaching royalty,” David responded. He knew how to butter up coaches. “But while my dad is a great football coach, I don’t think he could coach baseball players on which way to run around the bases.” David also knew how to yank his dad’s chain.

 

Aiden and David sat quietly through dinner, soaking up the coaches’ talk about baseball fundamentals and strategy along with the ins and outs of the afternoon’s game. Both boys heard things to file away and digest later, long after they had digested their dinner.

 

“The boys looked really solid today, Larry,” Coach Fitz said. “Like they’re poised for a run at the league title.”

 

“I was pleased, but one thing to remember is that while we are talented we are young; we have only three seniors.” Larry looked directly at David and went on. “Young means being inconsistent, which is why Coach White and I spend a lot of time running drills in practice and getting on your rears when your minds run off in strange directions because of your inexperience.”

 

“Well, we are getting more experience all the time,” David said. He had no problem agreeing with Larry’s admonishments.

 

“And that was a factor in your win today. And I’m really sorry your game was canceled, Aiden, but it looks like the Titans picked up some experience of their own.”

 

“I was just happy to get a couple of innings of pitching in,” Aiden said modestly. Aiden was playing varsity exclusively, so the cancelled JV game didn’t affect him.

 

“He looked good, too,” Coach Ecklund said. “Pitched two innings, gave up one hit, and struck out two.”

 

“And no walks,” Aiden grinned.

 

“Walks are what killed Sequim today,” Coach Fitz said.

 

“Especially since we were willing to be patient at the plate, just like our coaches keep telling us,” David added.

 

“Nothing like good coaching to set a team up for a win.”

 

The chatter died down when Maggie brought dessert—chocolate cake with a dollop of ice cream. “Dessert is on the house,” Maggie told them. “Your reward for…, Hmm, how can I say this politely in front of the boys? Yes, your reward for kicking ass,” The table roared with laughter as Maggie left to check on the female contingent.

 

<Kalie>

 

For the last couple of days Aiden had been waging a battle with himself about whether or not to go to Kalie’s party. Seeing a bunch of naked girls didn’t give him much of a thrill, but he did want to see what his friends would be doing.

 

Even though he thought Nolan had the right idea when he said there was no way he wanted to go to the party, Aiden decided to go, but had no plans to spend the night. While his dads were adamant about no clothing optional parties involving girls at his house, they had no problem with him seeing naked girls at somebody else’s house. They had given Aiden a talk on sexual responsibility more than once and knew that he also heard the warnings in health class at school.

 

Aiden had been more interested in having a postgame dinner with his dads and the coaches than playing strip games with a bunch of girls. The boys at the party would be right in the middle of the strip games, but, except for Kalie’s cousin Ian, seeing those boys naked was a frequent occurrence.

 

“Well, hello Aiden,” Kalie’s mother said when she opened the front door and ushered him into the living room. “I’m sorry you couldn’t make it for dinner. There’s still some pizza left if you are hungry.”

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Carter, but I had plenty to eat for dinner,” Aiden replied politely.

 

“Everyone is in the back house, which I’m sure doesn’t surprise you.”

 

Aiden grinned and went through the kitchen, out the door, and to the back house. He could hear the music as he reached the house. He opened the door and walked into the house without bothering to knock.

 

“Well, it’s about time you got here,” Heather said. She was wearing nothing but a t-shirt, bra, and panties. The strip game was obviously in progress evidenced by the fact that everyone was in some state of undress, but nobody was naked.

 

“Hey, at least I came. I could have just gone home with my dads after our dinner,” Aiden stated. He was annoyed by Heather’s bossiness. “I told Kalie what I was going to do.”

 

“Some of us can’t believe that you thought eating dinner with a bunch of coaches was more important than coming to Kalie’s party on time and eating with us.”

 

Kalie sauntered over and stepped between Aiden and Heather. She knew there was bad blood between the two and she thought Heather looked angry when Aiden entered the house. “We’re happy you’re here Aiden. Gordy thought that when you got here you should strip down as far as him and then join the game.”

 

Aiden looked for Gordy and saw him sitting between Miles and an empty seat, which Aiden assumed belonged to Kalie. Gordy was shirtless and barefoot. He decided Gordy’s proposal was fair and told Kalie so.

 

“Then strip down,” Kalie grinned. Aiden did so amid the sound of hoots and catcalls. He also felt his cock harden inside of his jeans, something he had hoped wouldn’t happen. Kalie explained the rules of the card game they were playing, which Aiden barely understood and paid little attention to. He figured he would remove whatever somebody told him to remove.

 

Aiden had been wrong about the empty chair next to Gordy; it had been left open for him. He sat in it and traded fist bumps with Gordy and Miles. Miles was wearing everything except his shoes.

 

Aiden perused the room to see who was there. He came up with a mental list consisting of himself, Gordy, Miles, Kalie, Heather, Brittany, Christy, Michelle, Trent, and some new faces. The new partygoers were Everett and his girlfriend Stacy, Rusty and Collin along with a seventh grader named Tanya, and Emmett and Brenda the Brat. Aiden knew that Rusty, Collin, and Tanya had enjoyed a few three-ways together. Everett and Stacy had lost their virginity to each other at the start of the eighth-grade year. In fact, the only virgin girls at the party that he knew of were Kalie, Brenda, Michelle, and Heather. He wasn’t sure about Christy since he didn’t know if a girl being fucked by a dildo meant they had lost their virginity. Emmett and Brenda were the big surprises since they were only sixth graders and had never attended a “big kids” party before.

 

“I thought Ian and Gretchen were going to be here,” Aiden told Gordy.

 

“They didn’t want to play the strip game. They’re in the back bedroom making out and probably fucking,” Gordy responded. Aiden understood brothers having sex together—it felt good and nobody was hurt. But he couldn’t figure out brothers fucking sisters.

 

Aiden noticed that Brenda and Rusty were the closest to being naked. Brenda was down to her panties and Rusty to his boxers. Kalie started the game up again and soon those two were naked and were joined by others. Aiden thought it was appropriate that he and Gordy got naked on the same turn. As he had feared, he was rock hard as was Gordy. But this was Gordy’s kind of party and it made sense for him to have an erection. Aiden felt that all the girls in attendance, including four who were now naked (Brenda, Heather, Kalie, and Tanya), should have squelched his hormones. It was the first time he’d seen Brenda and Tanya naked. Brenda was still just a kid, but he had to admit that Tanya had a nice body, at least for a girl.

 

“Well, will you look who has a boner?” Heather chortled as she walked up to him. “It’s mister gay boy himself. Where’s your boyfriend? Did he chicken out or is he maybe really gay and can’t get hard around girls like the fake gay boys do.”

 

Aiden was about to say something crude, but Gordy came to his rescue. “Heather, ease up. Aiden is gay and you know it just like everybody else knows it.”

 

Heather ignored him and went on. “You know, Aiden, if you had a girlfriend like me I’d be at every party with you instead of hiding at home because I can’t get a boner like your boyfriend does.”

 

“I don’t have to listen to this,” Aiden muttered.

 

Ian and Gretchen came out of the bedroom wearing wide, satisfied grins. There was no question of what fourteen-year-old Ian and his twelve-year-old sister had just finished doing, if for no other reason than they could hear Gretchen’s moans through the door.

 

“No, you don’t have to listen to me,” Heather went on. “You can take me into that bed that’s empty and warm and use your boner like a man would instead messing with around like you’re still a little boy. And that’s what you are…”

 

“Heather,” Kalie broke it, “stop that or…”

 

“It’s cool, Kalie,” Aiden fumed as he picked up his clothes. Heather didn’t comment on the fact that Aiden’s cock was now limp, nor did anyone else. Aiden walked past Ian and Gretchen and into the bedroom. Heather started to follow, but Gordy and Trent both stood in her way. Aiden dressed and texted his dads that he wanted to be picked up.

 

“You’re not going home because of Heather, are you?” Kalie asked .

 

“I’m going home because I’m not having any fun,” was all Aiden would admit to. He walked out of the back house, followed by Gordy and Kalie, who were both naked. Aiden stopped after the three were outside.

 

“Hey, it’s not your fault Kalie. And thanks both of you for standing up for me—you’re both great friends. But I’m done doing these kinds of parties with Heather or any bunch of girls—I’ll do stuff with you and Gordy, maybe throw in Brittany, but no more groups. I’ll see you all later.”

 

He turned to walk away, but Kalie stopped him. He turned back and faced her. She looked straight at him and then planted a kiss on his lips—a passionate kiss full of tongue and she started squeezing his ass. For a moment Aiden wished he hadn’t put his pants on. He returned Kalie’s grope by squeezing her naked ass and pressing his tongue deep into her mouth before they finally broke the kiss. It was the best kiss he had ever had with a girl.

 

“Thanks again, Kalie, I needed that.”

 

“You might want this, too,” Gordy said as he planted a kiss of his own on his best friend’s lips. It wasn’t quite up to the intensity of his kiss with Kalie, but Aiden had to admit he enjoyed it as much or more.

 

He went into the main house and told Kalie’s mother and father good-bye.

 

“Are you leaving so soon?” Kalie’s mother asked.

 

“Yeah, sorry. I guess I’m just tired after a long day,” he lied.

 

When Aiden stepped out on the front porch, he saw Larry was waiting for him. He sat in the back.

 

“That was a quick party,” Larry commented.

 

Aiden told him about getting flack from Heather, without revealing that some of it centered around his being naked and having an erection. “She’s mad because I’m gay and I won’t even make out with her.” Aiden twisted the truth a little but presented the essence of what Heather had said.

 

“There is nothing as vindictive as a middle school girl scorned,” Larry chuckled.

 

“It’s not funny, pop, because that is totally true and Heather the bitch proves it.”

 

It wasn’t the first time Aiden had snarled about Heather, so Larry wasn’t surprised by Aiden’s comment, although he was surprised he had let the girl be the reason for his leaving the party and he said as much.

 

“Pop, I was so mad I had to leave. If Heather had been a boy we would have gotten into a fight and no way I was going to be like that with a girl, even a girl as wacked as Heather is.”

 

“I respect your decision, son.”

 

“Thanks, pop.”

 

After Aiden and Larry arrived home, Aiden chatted with his dads about baseball for a while. “Is Sammy going to play any varsity this year?” he asked Larry. It was as much a personal question as a baseball question. Sammy was still his friend and AA sponsor and Aiden wanted Sammy to kick ass in baseball.

 

“He might suit up for a game or two,” Larry answered, “but I would rather have him play, especially pitch, as much as possible.” Sammy was a sophomore and if the JV team had an ace, he would be the ace. “I can tell you that if I do call him up, he won’t be pitching. I want him to save his arm for JV games where he will learn more about the art of pitching.”

 

After finishing with his dads, Aiden went upstairs and met with Nolan on Skype. Nolan was surprised Aiden was back from the party so early, but after Aiden told him the reason, he understood completely.

 

“She’s one reason I didn’t want to go. We’ve got a few Heathers in my seventh grade, too, and like you said, they’re total wack jobs.”

 

They talked baseball for a bit until somehow, the topic of sex was brought up, and then their chat was all about sex. Their jerkoff fantasy was Skip teaching Justin how to give a blow job on a bed while the two of them were doing a sixty-nine on the floor.

 

Next: Contrasts