Emerald City Boys

CHAPTER 32

 

BUSY BOYS

 

SUNDAY, JULY 5

 

8:30am

 

<Drake and Pierce>

 

Pierce was cuddled securely against his boyfriend with his back against Drake’s chest and his ass against Drake’s groin. They’d been exchanging whispered sweet nothings for about 20 minutes.

 

“Do you think your dad’s out of bed yet?” Drake whispered.

 

“He’s like all old men,” Pierce replied. “He’s always up and around early.”

 

Drake kissed the back of Pierce’s neck. “Your dad’s not an old man,” he giggled.

 

“I know - but he IS always up early.” Pierce snuggled his ass tighter against Drake’s groin. Drake reached over Pierce’s body, lightly fingered his nest of pubes, then fondled his semi-hard penis.

 

“I love you so much,” Pierce whispered. “I’ll give you half an hour to stop that.”

 

Drake quit fondling Pierce and reached instead to hold his hand. “We’ll have a mess in about half a minute if I don’t stop now.” The boys squeezed each other’s hands.

 

“It couldn’t be any worse than the mess we made last night.”

 

Drake kissed Pierce on the shoulder. “Yeah, but what a beautiful mess. I wonder if your dad heard us.”

 

“Shit, Duck, the whole neighborhood probably heard us,” Pierce chuckled. He rolled over to face Drake and the two of them shared a kiss. “You make me feel so fucking good.”

 

“We’ll see if he says anything.” Drake sounded a little concerned.

 

“Not a lot we can say if he does,” Pierce said with a shrug. “What’s done is done. You know, someday I’d sure like to do a four way with Chase and Dillon.”

 

“Damn, Pooka, that was a fast change of subject. Are you serious?”

 

“Hell yeah, I’m serious. Dillon is getting to be a fox - in the last year he’s grown a lot. He’s a hottie.”

 

Drake rubbed his hand over Pierce’s chest and kissed him. “You’re my hottie. What say we grab a shower and head downstairs. My stomach is saying ‘feed me’ and last night I heard Walker say something about going to IHOP this morning.”

 

“You got a deal. First, I gotta pee and poop.”

 

Twenty minutes later, freshly showered, still naked, and looking like the two beautiful teens they were, the boys joined Walker in the den. He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and alternating his attention between the morning paper and ESPN SportsCenter.

 

“Morning, guys.”

 

“Morning, dad. Did the M’s win last night?”

 

“Yep - 5 to 4. Marty didn’t play, though. Not sure what might have happened with him. What have you guys got planned for today?”

 

“After breakfast, I gotta head for home and help my dad with a bunch of yard work,” Drake said.

 

“I’m not sure what I’m gonna do,” Pierce said. “Maybe just lounge around and watch today’s Mariner’s game. I gotta get my bedding washed. And it’s my turn to make dinner tonight.”

 

“What are you going to make?” Drake asked.

 

“Chicken caprese with pomegranate glaze. That was the first meal I ever ate here with Walker - even before I was legally his son. He taught me how to make it. So, it’s got some meaning for both of us.” Walker and Pierce exchanged thumbs up.

 

“Well, speaking of breakfast, if you two are ready to throw on some clothes, I’m ready to buy breakfast at IHOP,” Walker said.

 

“Pooka, I think he just said the magic word,” Drake said.

 

“What? ‘Buy’?”

 

“Well, you’ve got a point there - although I was thinking ‘breakfast’,” Drake said with a chuckle. The two teens took the steps two at a time as they rushed upstairs to get dressed.

 

“The empty food pans need to be returned to the deli so that will be our first stop,” Walker said as the boys came back downstairs.

 

Pierce was wearing a white tank top with maroon shorts and Drake was wearing a maroon tank top with white shorts. They both had on flip-flops with rainbow stripes on the straps. Their appearance literally screamed “couple”.

 

Walker couldn’t help smiling. “Naturally you guys planned those outfits.”

 

“We wouldn’t have had it any other way,” Pierce grinned.

 

Walker drove first to Trader Joe’s to return the deli pans and then to IHOP. The place was only moderately busy, and they were seated immediately. Drake and Pierce both ordered the strawberry banana pancakes with apple juice while Walker ordered eggs benedict with tea.

 

“I can’t wait to begin the serious planning for our Alaska cruise,” Pierce said. “It’s going to be an amazing time.”

 

“I think we’ve already talked about what you might need for the trip that you don’t already have,” Walker said.

 

“I’ve been saving money for souvenirs,” Pierce said. “I think I’ve got all the clothes and underwear I’ll need. Maybe think about a new hoodie. What do you think, Duck?”

 

“I’m making mental notes of what all we’re saying so I can talk to my ‘rents about what I might need,” Drake said. “A new hoodie sounds good. I’ve already bought some sexy black briefs for you to look forward to. I’m hoping there’s a gift shop on the ship.”

 

“No worries about that,” Walker said. “There’s just about any kind of shop or store you can think of.”

 

“We’ve got our dance routines pretty much down pat,” Pierce said. “So, if there’s music in the atrium or wherever we’ll be ready to dance.”

 

The three of them continued their talk and plans about the cruise until they were done with their breakfasts. Walker signed the check, and they were ready to leave.

 

“Thanks, dad. That was delicious,” Pierce said.

 

Drake nodded. “Thanks, from me, too.”

 

As they walked out to the car, Pierce spotted two blonde girls walking toward them, apparently with their family. He grinned broadly.

 

“Oh, oh,” he said to Drake. “I see double KK trouble coming our way.”

 

Kerri Kinsman was the first to spot Pierce. “Hey, hot dude!” she exclaimed as she offered Pierce a hug.

 

“Hey Kerri! Hey Kelli!” Pierce greeted. “What’s up?” Pierce got a hug from Kelli as Kerri offered Drake a hug. It was all she could do to keep from groping the bulge in his white shorts.

 

“Dad, mom, this is Pierce,” Kelli said. “One of the best dancers in our Swing Dance Club at school. Some of us think he’s THE best. This is my dad Ken and my mom Kathy and my brothers Kelton and Kelvin.” Ken Kinsman stood about six foot five.

 

The Kinsman boys were twelve years old (they would have said “almost thirteen”), blue eyed, blond, and utterly identical. They were wearing Mariner t-shirts and Mariner caps along with shorts and flip-flops.

 

“Good morning,” Pierce said as he offered a handshake to the Kinsmans. “This is my dad, Walker, and my boyfriend, Drake.”

 

When they heard the word “boyfriend”, Kelton and Kelvin shared a glance and probably some remark on the impenetrable personal communication channel that all sets of twins seem to possess.

 

“Did you have a good day yesterday?” Kelli inquired.

 

“We had a great day,” Pierce smiled. “Good food and good swimming.”

 

“Looks like you got a little sun, too,” Kerri said with a smile as she continued to undress Drake in her mind.

 

“Yeah, we all got a little,” Drake said with a leer.

 

Sensing that the conversation might be headed in the wrong direction, Ken Kinsman decided he needed to get his family moving. “We better get in line for our table. A pleasure to meet all of you.”

 

“See you guys at the next Saturday dance club meeting,” Kerri said as her family moved toward the restaurant entrance. “Have a great day!”

 

“Will do,” Drake assured her.

 

Pierce and Drake were both choking on subdued hysterical laughter as they walked toward the car. “You’re so bad,” Pierce said as he punched Drake in the shoulder.

 

“Well, we all did get a little... sun.”

 

“You’re so full of shit. That was almost as funny as the time you told that woman in the park about your sex change.”

 

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Walker exclaimed as he unlocked the car. “Hold the phone! What’s this sex change shit all about?”

 

Pierce and Drake proceeded to tell Walker the whole story - in the end, they all roared with laughter.

 

“One look at Mrs. K and you can tell where the girls got their figure,” Drake noted.

 

“Agreed,” Pierce said. “And if those boys inherited their dad’s height, I’m gonna want to see what they look like in five or six years.”

 

“Yeah - both dressed and undressed,” Drake snickered.

 

“Well, I was coming to that,” Pierce agreed with a laugh.

 

Back at the house, Drake and Pierce thanked Walker for bringing the food everyone enjoyed the night before and for breakfast this morning. Drake unlocked his bike and took it down off the porch.

 

“I love you, Pooka,” Drake said as he and Pierce shared a hug and kisses. “I’ll text you when I get home.”

 

“Love you, Duck,” Pierce replied. “Be careful out there.”

 

As he rode away from the house, Drake couldn’t help realizing that Walker never mentioned hearing the howls of passion from his son’s bedroom as he and his boyfriend shared fantastic sex the night before. As Pierce walked into the house, he had the same thought. As Walker walked into the house, he was wondering if the boys thought he would mention it. In the end, he was glad he didn’t. He also didn’t mention that he was jerking off at the same time and that listening to their howls caused him to have one of the biggest cums of his life.

 

About 45 minutes later, Pierce’s phone chimed. The text from Drake read “home safe luv u 2 the moon” followed by three emoji kisses.

 

Pierce’s reply read “luv u big time” followed by three emoji kisses.

 

MONDAY, JULY 6

 

<Lake City Athletic Fields>

 

The Lake City Falcons lacrosse team closed the three-day Fourth of July weekend with a rough and tumble practice. Coach Vincent was pleased that all of the players were able to practice. He had scheduled the holiday practice for early evening to ensure that most of the players would be able to attend. The fact that all of them were at practice was a bonus.

 

The players gathered around Coach Vincent for an end of practice meeting. “Tomorrow, we play Mercer Island at home. They gave us a tough time on their field,” the coach said. (The Falcons had won 17-12) “We’re both battling for first, so be prepared for another battle.” The Falcons had a 7-1 record and the Islanders were 6-2. “Be at the game by six and be prepared to play your hardest. I know you guys always do, but it never hurts to remind you that playing extra-hard is one of this team’s strengths.” He told them what the starting lineup would be and dismissed the team.

 

Since the penultimate session of the Geology Camp would be meeting the next morning, Trajan had arranged to spend the night with Levi; like he needed an excuse to do so. Trajan and Levi had munched a snack before Arlene drove them to practice. George, Levi’s dad, picked them up at practice.

 

When they arrived at Levi’s house, they hustled to Levi’s room where they stripped out of their practice gear and came back out to the kitchen wearing boxer briefs, bathrobes, and flip flops. A plate of hot macaroni and cheese with steamed broccoli sprigs was waiting for them on the kitchen table. Neither course lasted long as the hungry teens wolfed them down along with three big scoops of ice cream each for dessert.

 

Because they would be getting up early the next morning to attend the Geology Camp, Trajan and Levi headed for Levi’s bedroom early. They quickly stripped naked and sat next to each other on the bed.

 

“It wasn’t that long ago that I was scared of getting naked with you,” Levi said. “But you helped me make it work and now you know how much that changed.”

 

“Are you talking about the party on the Fourth?” Trajan asked.

 

“Heck yeah, I am. You made me feel comfortable with myself and my body and being naked around other guys. Not only that but now I’m cool with seeing other guys naked and with boners and all that stuff. I had a boner at the pool and it didn’t even bother me.”

 

“I’m glad you had fun, because I was kinda worried you wouldn’t. I, for one, knew that there was gonna be a restriction on nudity.”

 

“Next is going to be a skinny dip or something like that where nobody cares who’s naked, and where they were naked, and what anybody was doing when they’re naked,” Levi grinned. “And thanks to you, I might be one of them. So, here’s hoping somebody has a nudist party.”

 

“But without girls,” Trajan said.

 

“Absolutely without girls. I don’t think I’m ready for that; at least not yet. Um…do you think you can show me how to kiss?”

 

“Yes and no.”

 

“Yes and no? What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Trajan felt himself getting hard at the thought of kissing his best friend. “It means I’ll share a couple of kisses on the lips, but we save the serious kissing lesson for when we have more time.”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

Levi then surprised himself by planting a quick kiss on Trajan’s lips. Trajan wrapped his arms around Levi’s athletic torso and returned a longer one. Levi sprouted an instant boner.

 

“I wish we had more time,” Levi said.

 

“Well, we don’t, but we will soon since there’s only two more days of the camp left. Right now, what do you say we jack off which should help us get to sleep.”

 

“We haven’t really done that much.”

 

“And that thought makes me ready for a quickie.”

 

“I’ll follow your lead,” Levi grinned.

 

The two teens jerked off together, watching each other as they did so, ready to see who would shoot first. Ten minutes later Trajan shot over his torso and seconds later Levi stifled a moan and did the same. They looked at each other and grinned with satisfaction.

 

“That was fun,” Levi said. “But I wanna clean this stuff off of me.”

 

They were soon in the bathroom cleaning their cum off, taking care of their teeth, and having their evening piss. The relaxed, naked, boys slid under the covers of Levi’s bed and were asleep within a couple of minutes of each other.

 

TUESDAY, JULY 7

 

<Geology Camp>

 

Trajan and Levi were dressed and had finished breakfast when Susan dropped off Logan and Tony. Logan wished he could have seen them in their underwear, although naked would have been better. He had yet to see either one in that state of undress. But he knew that was wishful thinking more than real thinking, nevertheless it was still fun to think about.

 

The boys quickly piled into Arlene’s car. As she drove them to the UW, she asked them questions about the camp. She wondered how they enjoyed the experience, what they liked best, and what they disliked, if anything. The day would be the last camp day on the University campus. They would be taking their field trip to Mount Rainier the next day.

 

“The only thing I don’t like is that we have homework due tomorrow,” Tony groused.

 

“It’s, like, only a two-to-three-hundred-word essay on what we got out of camp and filling out the survey,” Logan said. “If you’d taken care of it last week you wouldn’t be griping about it.”

 

“I’ve done the survey, but I hate writing. And now I’ve got to write something in July,” Tony pointed out.

 

“And your point is?”

 

“My point is no point. But there really wasn’t that much time to do stuff since we made that trip to Mayfield, and I sure wasn’t going to do anything there.”

 

“I wasn’t either, which is why I got it done before we left.”

 

“I’ve got mine done, but I never went anywhere except to a party at Logan’s house,” Trajan said.

 

“You should have said Chase’s house, since I wasn’t there,” Logan pointed out.

 

Arlene was enjoying the byplay between the middle school boys. She hadn’t asked Levi about the status of his assignment. She had a lot of confidence in her son’s work habits and would have been surprised if he hadn’t finished the brief assignment.

 

“Well, if it matters, mine is finished, too,” Levi said. “I think my doing it has kept me from being on restriction the rest of the summer.” He was sitting in the front seat next to his mother and enjoyed the smile he put on her face. He didn’t see what the big deal was since the assignment had taken him just a half-hour to finish.

 

“I’ll have mine done after dinner,” Tony assured everyone. “I’ve got no practice and no game today.”

 

The boys were kept busy at camp. They spent the time learning about what to look for on their field trip and then had a lesson on types of rock (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic) and how to identify rocks. They were randomly split into groups of three with the goal of identifying as many rocks as they could.

 

Trajan’s group consisted of Louis Barnes, a thirteen-year-old entering eighth grader, and Linda Zurfluh, a twelve-year-old seventh grader. Levi was with Logan and Evan Hardy, an incoming eighth grader. Tony ended up with Nigel Parker, a sixth grader, and Annie McGrath, a seventh grader.

 

Each group had a rock identification book to aid them. There were twenty rocks on the identification sheet for them to match to a rock. Trajan’s group got twenty right. Logan and Levi’s group had eighteen. Tony’s group identified seventeen correctly. 

 

They would be working together on rock identification on part of the field trip and would have their books with them. Nobody would be keeping score, but Arlene and her assistants would be checking on their progress.

Arlene told them they would all meet in the Geology lab at seven in the morning. “Don’t be late,” she warned them. “We won’t be waiting for you. And remember, lunch will be provided at the Park.”  The campers were excited about the upcoming field trip and made a noisy exit.

 

<Justin and Marco>

 

Justin and Marco rode to their game with Mike the Donkey. Ryan the Dawg didn’t show up until the beginning of the third inning because of work. But he was there in time to see Jammers score three runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead. They held the run in the sixth inning to win the game.

 

Justin and Marco were excited about their win over the Ballard Blaze in their final league game. The win left the Jammers with a 14-2 record and the top spot in the league playoffs which would be starting on Friday and the boys were in a great mood.

 

The Donkey stopped at Dick’s Drive-In to pick up post-game burgers and fries which put the boys into an even better mood. Justin was sorry Karl couldn’t come with them and spend the night for some fun. He wasn’t surprised that Joey couldn’t come either since Joey’s mother had him on a very tight leash.

 

Justin couldn’t think of a better person to stay overnight with than his boyfriend, Marco. After munching their dinner of burgers and fries, the boys watched the Mariner game with the Dawg and the Donkey. The Mariners matched their score with a 6-4 home win over the Angels. They were especially pleased to see Marty get a single, a double, and an RBI.

 

“Marty’s gonna be the Rookie of the Year for sure,” Justin said.

 

“He’s right there with the best, but there’s still a lot of baseball left,” the Dawg reminded him.

 

“Good, that just means he’ll get even better,” Justin grinned.

 

That night the boys found bedtime pleasure humping each other. Marco was on top for a while, but their active bodies eventually rolled so they were on their sides, pushing their bare cocklets and kissing hard and deep. They finished with their little butts pushing their smooth bodies against each other until Justin moaned long and hard with an intense dry cum, trying not to get too loud. Justin stopped humping and rolled on his back, breathing hard. Marco took advantage of the opening and within minutes he enjoyed his own body shaking dry cum.

 

“That must be what fucking is like,” Justin said after he exchanged a couple of kisses with Marco.

 

“As soon as we’re ten we’ll find out,” Marco said.

 

“I can’t wait.”

 

“Does that mean we’ll be doing it, like, tomorrow?”

 

“No, it means I can’t wait even though I will have to wait since we said we’d be waiting even though we want to do it now,” Justin said using his Donkey Daddy’s unfailing logic.

 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8

 

<Geology Camp>

 

The start of the field trip went smoothly. The meeting went quickly and the campers left the building and headed for the bus loading area. Their’s was a University of Washington bus and seated forty-eight people, which was more than enough seats. It was equipped with a toilet. All twenty campers were taking the field trip along with Dr. Hanson, her two student assistants, and four parents who volunteered to help chaperone the trip. 

 

The weather was perfect, and Mt. Rainier stood tall in all its glory, beckoning the campers to discover all they could about it. They arrived at Paradise at nine o’clock. The bus driver parked in the bus parking lot where the campers were met by park ranger Kathy Fielder who would be their guide.

 

The day was filled with learning about the mountain. They visited a glacial moraine where they put their rock identification skills to work and admired a nearby glacier, the source of the Puyallup River, and the park museum at Paradise. Their explorations involved riding the bus to one of the sites and a lot of it was on foot. Kathy did a great job of relating to the middle school campers and making the history and geology of the region interesting to them.

 

Lunch was served at noon in a picnic area at Paradise. They enjoyed pepperoni pizza and a side of coleslaw. Since nobody had opted for the choice of a vegetarian pizza, none was served.

 

Their tour finished just before three o’clock. The campers thanked Kathy for her great job as their guide. The bus started on its way to Seattle at three-ten. Trajan suggested to Levi that they sit toward the back of the bus. He thought of seeing if Levi might want to get a little daring and see if they could get each other off.

 

As the bus worked its way out of the park Trajan, who had a partial erection, opened the button on his shorts and unzipped, revealing his black boxer shorts. He then unzipped Levi’s shorts and slid his hand inside. He moved his finger along Levi’s soft cock and was ready to place his hand inside his friend’s underpants, but he stopped to stifle a yawn and realized that he was more tired than horny.

 

He pulled his hand out of Levi’s pants and said, “Sorry dude, but I’m beat. I owe you one sometime, somewhere,” Trajan said.

 

“I understand,” Levi yawned. “I feel the same way. I mean we were up before six and, like, spent the entire day on the go except for lunch. But trust me, I’ll be happy to collect my debt.”

 

Not bothering to zip up, Levi lowered his seat back and was asleep almost instantly. Trajan followed soon after, the flaps of his shorts wide open.

 

Tony and Logan, who were more used to being daring sexually together, didn’t even get as far as opening their shorts. They quickly dropped off into a nap of their own.

 

Slowed some by rush hour traffic when the bus reached Seattle, the return trip took a bit longer than the morning trip. They arrived at the UW’s bus loading zone at five-thirty. The campers had kept their parents apprised of their progress and their rides were waiting for them. But before meeting with their parents, many of the campers exchanged hugs. The exchange of phone numbers had already taken place.

 

Levi and Logan each rode home with their mothers. Marne picked up Tony and Trajan and took them home.

 

Everyone agreed that they’d had a great time but now they were tired and hungry with the emphasis on hungry. They munched greedily on snacks and dinners. They were all in bed early thinking of ways they could satisfy their sexual appetites the next day and managed to fall asleep with those erotic thoughts running through their minds.

 

THURSDAY, JULY 9

 

<Drake and Pierce>

 

As was virtually always the case at the Bledsoe house, Walker was the first one out of bed and into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. He had taken the day off and had let himself sleep in for a while. It was now 8:00am - Walker knew it would be another hour before Pierce joined him for breakfast, but that gave him a chance to check his personal and company-related email boxes and catch up on the news.

 

Almost exactly an hour later, Pierce came downstairs wearing white boxers and pink slippers. He had already exchanged good morning texts with his boyfriend and taken a shower.

 

“Morning, dad,” he greeted.

 

“Morning, son.”

 

Pierce made himself a cup of decaf in the Keurig coffee maker. “What sounds good for breakfast?”

 

“I’ll make some waffles if you make some scrambled eggs with bacon.”

 

“You got a deal. Sounds perfect.”

 

Walker got the waffle iron heated and the waffle batter mixed while Pierce fried up some bacon, scrambled the eggs, and put glasses of orange juice on the table. Fifteen minutes later they sat down to eat.

 

“Tomorrow’s the 10th,” Pierce said. “It’ll be six months since you and I stood in the courtroom and the judge signed papers officially making me your son.” Pierce’s blue eyes teared slightly. “I love you, dad. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”

 

“I love you too, son,” Walker said. “I’m prouder of you than you’ll ever know.”

 

“Thanks, dad.”

 

“What do you say we go to Luigi’s tomorrow night for dinner? Just as a way of observing the event?”

 

“That would be awesome, Dad. Thanks! I love Luigi’s.”

 

“Do you want to invite Drake to join us?”

 

Pierce shook his head. “Dad, I love Drake more than anything in this world. But let’s make this dinner just you and me.”

 

“It’s a date.” Walker and Pierce bumped fists across the table.

 

“By the way, I’ve got three tickets in the Terrace section for today’s game at T-Mobile Park,” Walker said as he and Pierce finished their breakfast. “Boston is in town. Would you and Drake like to go?”

 

“That would be great, Dad! Thanks! I’ll check with Drake.”

 

“Sounds good,” Walker said. “Meanwhile, I’m going to go take a shower.”

 

Pierce put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher then grabbed his phone and called his boyfriend.

 

“Hey, Duck, you want to go to a Mariner game today with dad and me?”

 

“Sure,” Drake replied. “Sounds great. I’m up in the park right now with Lincoln and Fido. We’ll be back home in about ten minutes - should I come over there?”

 

“That works. We’ll plan to have lunch at the ballpark. The Mariners are playing the Boston Red Sox. Don’t forget to wear your Mariner shirt with ‘CARLSON’ and number 20 on the back.”

 

“I won’t forget. See you in a while. Thanks! Love you.”

 

“Love you, too.”

 

Drake wheeled Lincoln into the house, lifted him out of his stroller, and put him in his crib.

 

“You’re getting heavy, little bro,” Drake remarked.

 

“Sixteen pounds last time I weighed him,” Natalie said. “All in all a healthy five-month-old boy.”

 

“Yeah - a healthy boy who needs changing. Pierce called me while we were up at the park.”

 

“What’s going on with him today?”

 

Drake pulled off his t-shirt and pulled on his Mariners shirt all the while explaining Pierce’s invitation to his mom.

 

“Sounds like fun, honey,” Natalie said as she admired her son’s muscular almost-six-foot-tall body. “You going to have lunch at the ballpark?”

 

Drake grinned as he hugged his mom. “For sure. How did you know we already had lunch figured out?”

 

“Let’s just say moms have a feeling for those kinds of things,” Natalie replied with a wink. She hugged her son. “Speaking of food, here’s a couple things you should know.”

 

“I’m all ears,” Drake said.

 

“Your dad had to make a special truck run down to Kelso today to deliver some machinery. He’s due home tonight at about six and he wants to grab a shower then go to Ivar’s for seafood. How does that sound to you?”

 

“That sounds great, Mom. Ivar’s is awesome. Count me in. What’s the second thing?”

 

“Dad’s off work next Tuesday so we’re having the Hanovers over for a cookout. Feel free to invite Pierce to join us.”

 

Jim and Jenny Hanover were the Miller’s next door neighbors. In their late sixties and retired, they had met Pierce, knew he was Drake’s boyfriend, and loved him. “I’m sure he’d love to be here,” Drake said. “I’ll give him the invitation. I gotta get going.”

 

“I love you, sweetie - thanks for taking Lincoln out. Have a good time. Let me know when you’re on your way home.”

 

“Will do.” Drake texted Pierce that he was on his way then used his usual combination of light rail, city bus, and bicycle to get to Pierce’s house. Pierce was sitting on the front porch waiting for him as Drake rode up the front walk.

 

“Hey, Pooka,” Drake said as he carried his bike up onto the porch and locked it.

 

“Hey, Duck.” The two teens exchanged hugs and kisses and went into the house.

 

“Morning, Drake,” Walker greeted. “Game starts at 1:20pm and it’s 11:00am now - we might as well head for the ballpark.”

 

“That should give us time to have something to eat before the game starts,” Pierce said.

 

“Do you guys always have food on your mind?” Walker asked with a smile.

 

Drake and Pierce looked at each other and grinned. “I think we’ll agree that that’s a true statement,” Pierce said. “I gotta go upstairs and put on my Marty Carlson shirt and get my binoculars so I can scan the crowd for hot boys.”

 

“Well, I’m ready to go whenever you guys are,” Walker said.

 

Pierce came back downstairs carrying his binoculars and wearing his Marty Carlson shirt, blue shorts, and rainbow striped flip-flops. “You ready, Duck?”

 

“Let’s hit it,” Drake said. “I’m getting hungrier every minute.”

 

It took about 20 minutes to get to T-Mobile from Walker’s house. During the trip, Drake filled Pierce in on his plans to eat out that night with his dad and mom and invited him to the cookout on Tuesday.

 

“We’re going to Ivar’s tonight. I love their seafoood.”

 

“Awesome - I love Ivar’s,” Pierce said. “Dad and I are going to Luigi’s tomorrow night for dinner. Tomorrow makes six months that we’ve been father and son - something to celebrate.”

 

Drake kissed his boyfriend. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

“And count me in on the cookout next Tuesday,” Pierce added. “It’ll give us a chance to work out our invitation list for the Magnolia Madness party.”

 

Walker parked the car in the stadium’s parking garage and they entered the ballpark. As they walked along the main concourse, they noticed two boys and two adults walking toward them. The dark-haired boy suddenly shouted, “Hey Drake! Hey Pierce!”

 

Pierce and Drake immediately recognized Tim Whalen - he was wearing his Mariner shirt with WHALEN and number 41 on the back. They figured the boy with him must be his friend Gene that he had mentioned at the blowout.

 

“Tim!” Pierce shouted. “Awesome to see you!”

 

“This is my friend, Gene,” Tim said. “Gene, this is Drake and Pierce - the dudes I told you about. I met them at that blowout party they had some time back in May.”

 

All four boys exchanged fist bumps. The two adults accompanying Tim and Gene introduced themselves to Walker.

 

“Apparently the boys already know each other,” the man said with a grin. “I’m Kurt Whalen - this is my wife, Jan. Tim and Wade are our sons. The boy with Tim is his best friend, Gene.”

 

“I’m Walker Bledsoe,” Walker said. “The blond is Pierce, my son. The dark haired boy is his boyfriend Drake. The three of us were here at the ballpark back in May as part of a large group of fans. We all met Wade and Tim back then and got autographs. Is Wade playing today?”

 

“We texted with him about half an hour ago,” Kurt said. “He’s not in the starting nine but he is suited up. Your son must know Marty given that he’s wearing a Carlson shirt.”

 

“Yes, they know each other well. Plus, Pierce and Drake both know a lot of the boys from Mayfield - Marty’s hometown.”

 

“Hey, Dad,” Pierce said. “Can we order food? We’re getting hungry.”

 

“That was the voice of the bottomless pit saying feed me,” Walker chuckled to Jan. “I’m sure you and Kurt are both aware of the way teenage boys can put away food.”

 

“Yes, very,” Jan said with a laugh.

 

“We’ve also got a 28-year-old that eats the same way,” Kurt said with a smile. “Wade’s got his own place and buys his own groceries but any time he comes to the house he still eats like a fifteen-year-old.”

 

“Great to meet you dudes,” Gene said to Drake and Pierce. “Tim told me about the great blowout party you guys had at Aiden’s house.” Gene lowered his voice. “He said everybody got naked. I wish I’d been there.”

 

“Aiden’s parties are always a great time,” Drake said. “What brings you guys to the Emerald City?”

 

“We haven’t seen my brother, except on TV of course, since back in May when you guys were here for the blowout party,” Tim explained. “Wade invited us up here to see him while the Mariners are on this home stand. He got us seats and he’s taking us out to dinner Saturday night. We’re flying back to California on Sunday.”

 

“Where are you folks sitting?” Kurt asked Walker.

 

“We’ve got a table reserved in the Terrace section,” Walker replied. “How about you?”

 

“We’ve got seats up in one of the guest suites thanks to Wade,” Kurt said. “We’d better be getting up there. A pleasure to meet you.” Kurt and Jan again exchanged handshakes with Walker. Kurt turned his attention to Tim and Gene. “Come on, guys, let’s get to our seats.”

 

Walker led Drake and Pierce to the Terrace section where he had reserved a table. The seats in the Terrace section were on the second level along the first base line and behind the Mariner dugout. Sitting at a table in the Terrace section was like sitting at a bar with the view of the ballpark stretched out in front of you. Each table had four chairs and a monitor that displayed the network telecast of the game along with numerous commercial advertisements. The monitor could also be used to display the food menu. Walker and Pierce had sat together in the Terrace section once before, but this was Drake’s first time being there.

 

“These seats are awesome,” he raved. “It’s just like sitting at a bar with a ginormous TV in front of you!”

 

“And naturally you’d know since you’ve sat at a bar so many times in your life,” Pierce said sarcastically as he gave Drake an elbow.

 

“Yeah, yeah - credit my active imagination.”

 

“Ok - I’ll buy that.”

 

A muscular green-eyed young man wearing a reddish-blond crew cut approached their table. “I’m Hank,” he said. “I’ll be your attendant during today’s game.” He showed Pierce and Drake how to use the monitor at the table to display the food and drink menu. “When you’d like to order, just let me know.”

 

“Damn,” Drake whispered as Hank walked away. “Hank is a hottie. I’m sure I’ve seen him at school - I think he’s a senior.”

 

“Have you ever seen him in the shower room?” Pierce asked with a leer.

 

“Not that I recall but it’s something to put on my bucket list,” Drake replied with a huge grin. “Kid’s got a hell of a body on him.”

 

“Yeah - I, uh, kinda noticed that,” Pierce said.

 

“Pooka, don’t give me that ‘I kinda noticed’ shit. Your eyeballs just about popped outta their sockets.”

 

“Guilty as charged,” Pierce chuckled as he gave his boyfriend a quick kiss.

 

Drake returned his boyfriend’s kiss. “I figured you’d own up to it.”

 

After perusing the menu, the boys decided on individual thin crust pizzas with Dr. Pepper while Walker chose a classic ballpark hot dog with iced tea. Pierce motioned to Hank that they were ready to order - Hank typed in the order on his handheld device just as everyone stood for the playing of the National Anthem and the game got under way.

 

About ten minutes later, Hank brought the food to their table.

 

“Do you go to Lake Washington High?” Drake asked. “I’m almost sure I’ve seen you there.”

 

“Sure do,” Hank replied as he set Drake’s pizza in front of him. “I’m a senior there - center fielder on the baseball team.”

 

“I go out for track,” Drake replied. “I’m Drake - this is my boyfriend, Pierce.”

 

Fist bumps were exchanged. “Great to meet you guys,” Hank said with a big smile. “I got other orders to get out. Let me know if you need anything.”

 

“Oh, I need something all right,” Drake whispered.

 

“Ok!!” Walker announced rather loudly. “Time to start paying attention to the ball game.” He and the boys laughed heartily.

 

At the end of the seventh inning, with the score tied 2-2, Pierce suddenly noticed an advertisement on the big video board promoting back-to-school clothes and supplies. The ad pointed out that the first day of school in Seattle was September 1st.

 

“Hey, Duck,” Pierce said. “Is your first day of school September 1st?”

 

“Yeah - isn’t everybody’s?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Pierce asked. “I don’t go back until September 9th.”

 

Drake shrugged. “I figured everybody went back September 1st,” he said. “Anyway, what difference does it make?”

 

“Damn, dude,” Pierce said with exasperation. “All it does is totally screw up our plans for having our Magnolia Madness party on August 29th.”

 

“You lost me, Pooka,” Drake said.

 

“Look at this,” Pierce said as he opened the calendar app on his phone. “We get back from our cruise on August 15th. There won’t be enough time between then and September 1st to have the party.”

 

Drake was having trouble following his boyfriend’s logic. “I don’t see why not.”

 

“Trust me - there just wouldn’t be. All the other guys like Chase and Eddie and Nathan and Curt will be starting school the same day you are. They’re all gonna be busy getting ready to start school.”

 

Drake opened the calendar app on his phone and both teens busily began pointing out various dates. “Okay, what would you propose as a solution?”

 

“We need to have the party before we go on our cruise. Like on July 18th.”

 

Walker couldn’t help overhearing the conversation and knew he’d be drawn into it at some point. He mentally prepared his reaction.

 

“What about the food?” Drake asked. “For me it won’t be a party unless Cable is there to do the grilling.”

 

“Hey, Dad,” Pierce said hopefully. “We’ve got a question. Can you check with the party caterers and see if they can change the date for the Magnolia Madness party to Saturday July 18th?”

 

Walker did a classic job of playing innocent. “Why? What happened? Why do we need to change it?”

 

Pierce gathered his thoughts into what he hoped would be a coherent explanation. “I just found out from Doofus Duck here that school in Seattle starts on Tuesday September 1st. I figured it started on Wednesday September 9th the same day I start school. The schedule just won’t work the way it is, Dad. It would mean that all the guys like Chase and Eddie and all of them start on September 1st. That day is just too close to August 29th for it to work out. We really need to move the party to July 18th before we go on our cruise.”

 

“I never thought about the difference in school start dates,” Drake said defensively. “Who cares if Poopy Pooka here doesn’t start until the 9th. We could still have the party on August 29th - there’s no need to go to all the trouble of changing it.”

 

Walker held up his hands in the classic T-shaped gesture for time out. “Hold it, guys,” he said. “Time out. I’ll text Vance Preston and ask him about changing the date.” Walker sent a text to the owner of Aurora Catering asking about the change. “You realize, of course, that this is pretty short notice.”

 

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Pierce said. “I don’t mean to screw everything up, but it just wouldn’t work out having the party so close to the day Seattle school starts.”

 

“If we change the date, we gotta be sure Cable can be there to do the grilling,” Drake said with a leer.

 

Walker’s phone chimed as Vance sent his reply. “Okay, here’s what Vance says:  he can’t do it on Saturday the 18th but he can do it on Saturday the 25th and Cable will be there.”

 

Drake and Pierce looked at each other and exchanged shrugs and nods. “Thanks, Dad,” Pierce said. “That’ll work.” They didn’t say so in so many words but both teens were really relieved that Walker stepped in and helped out.

 

“Now we gotta be sure to get invitations to all the guys so they know the date’s been changed,” Drake pointed out.

 

“For sure,” Pierce agreed. “No sweat. We’ll get it done.”

 

During the discussion about party dates, Boston scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning and in the end beat the Mariners 4-2. Neither Marty nor Wade had figured in any of the Seattle scoring. Both men had hit into inning ending double plays - Marty in the bottom of the fourth and Wade in the bottom of the seventh.

 

“I told my mom I’d let her know when I was on my way home,” Drake said as he sent a text to Natalie letting her know they were leaving the ballpark.

 

“Hopefully the traffic won’t be too bad,” Walker said as they climbed into the car.

 

The time of the game had been only 2 hours and 20 minutes and traffic flowed smoothly - they got back to Walker’s house about 4:30pm. Both boys thanked Walker for the trip to the ball game - Drake unlocked his bike and carried it down off the porch.

 

“I gotta head for home, Pooka,” Drake said. “Mom said dad will be home at 6:00pm and he’ll want to shower and get to Ivar’s. Thanks again for inviting me. Glad we got the Magnolia Madness date all worked out.”

 

The boys shared a prolonged hug and kiss. “I love you so much,” Pierce whispered. “Text me when you get home. Have a great dinner.”

 

“Love you, too,” Drake said. “Have a good night.”

 

<Jammers>

 

After the Lake City Jammers defeated the Ballard Blaze on Tuesday to clinch first place in their division, Coach Wood had told the team they would be having a practice at four o’clock on Thursday at the Lake City baseball park to prepare them for their first playoff game. 

 

“We’ll be playing the Sumner Giants at the Highline Sports complex,” he told them at their pre-practice meeting. “The way the playoffs work is simple. There are four divisions in the South Puget Sound 10 and Under League with the top two teams in each division making the playoffs. In the first round the North Division plays against the South Division and the West plays the East Division. We’re in the North Division and Sumner is in the South Division. The winner of each matchup goes to the finals, which means four of the eight teams will play in the finals for the league championship.”

 

Justin’s hand shot up and the coach called on him. “So, if we get beat in the first game…”

 

“That AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN!” Karl shouted out.

 

“I know that—we know that, but it’s good to know everything that can happen, right Coach?”

 

“That’s correct, Justin. To put it simply, if we lose to Sumner then our season is over,” Coach Wood answered. “I’ll tell you guys the starting lineup after practice.”

 

The players went to their practice positions. Except for the die-hard baseball geeks Justin, Karl, Joey, and Marco, the players didn’t completely comprehend what Coach Wood said about what teams play who and goes where. What they did know was that if they didn’t win, their season was over.

 

The practice was quick and smooth and included infield practice and a set number of swings for each player in the park’s batting cage which Coach Wood had reserved. Coach Dansby pitched the batting practice and Coach Wood hit the infield practice.

 

When practice was finished Coach Wood announced the starting lineup for the next day’s game. The only surprise was a big one since everyone had speculated that Karl, their biggest, strongest, and hardest throwing pitcher would be the starter. What they didn’t take into account was that Karl had pitched four innings in Tuesday’s game and was required to have four days rest before he could start again.  Instead, the honor went to Justin. While not as fast as Karl, his control was much better. Coach Wood felt that while Karl was the more dominant pitcher, the two were equal as far as their status in the pitching rotation was concerned.  Coach Wood could have picked Marco or Dayton, but he felt Justin was his best choice to start.

 

Mike and Ryan were so happy when Justin told them he would be the starting pitcher they decided to go to Luigi’s for dinner. Ryan put the stew he’d prepared for dinner into the freezer, and they went to celebrate the news. Knowing the sometimes fragile ego of their nine-year-old son, the Donkey and the Dawg felt a special dinner would be just what Justin needed as befitted an ace pitcher. 

 

<Ballard Park baseball field>

 

The Magnolia Stampeders enjoyed an easy 11-4 win over the Ballard Locks to improve their record to 6-3. They had five games left to play. Coach Dale Strong figured winning half their games would give them a good chance for the playoffs, but he kept that opinion to himself. But as he heard Logan, Madison, and Bailey tell their teammates, they should be satisfied with nothing less than winning all of their games, he knew they would be ready for the upcoming games.

 

FRIDAY, JULY 10

 

<Ballgame results>

 

The Vipers shut out the Ballard Fishermen 5-0 with Curt throwing a three-hit shutout and going two-for-four with an RBI. His brother Eddie went oh-for-three but threw out two baserunners in the first three innings. He also received a ton of praise from both Kurt and Coach Henderson for his good work behind the plate.

 

The Jammers won their playoff game against the Giants 5-2. Justin gave up five hits and two runs while walking one and striking out six in five innings of pitching. Felix Novak pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning to close out the game and earn a save.

 

In Lake City the Falcons won their Lacrosse match against the Mukilteo Dragons 18-6. The Dragons were the weakest team in the league, so the win was expected. Trajan scored the first goal of the game. The win improved the Falcon’s record to 9-3 while the Dragons dropped to 2-9. Since the Falcons had nothing scheduled over the weekend Trajan spent the weekend at “home”.

 

He worked at the restaurant Saturday, earning spending money. Sunday, he gave his cousin Tony lessons and practice in the art of oral sex. Marco spent the weekend at Justin’s house since the Jammers would be playing on Monday and the two friends spent the weekend thinking about baseball, eating tons of great food prepared by Poppa Dawg, getting Daddy Donkey baseball lessons in the backyard, and having fun in Justin’s bed.

 

Next: Busier Boys

 

Thank you to my editor Larry for writing the scenes with Drake and Pierce. We decided to make “Emerald City Boys” a two author endeavor as I work to get caught up on my writing.