Mayfield Titans

CHAPTER 65

THE MAYFIELD LEGACY

 

 FRIDAY, MAY 15

 

<Aiden and Kalie>

 

Aiden sat next to Kalie in the aisle seat. This was a serious day for boys’ baseball and girls’ softball and being naughty on the bus wasn’t an option for either of them. The softball team was looking at finishing the regular season undefeated in their game at Meadow Park, who were 8-3. They had clinched the East Division title two games before. The baseball team was looking at winning the division title at home against Meadow Park.

 

“Are you going to be able to pitch today?” Kalie asked.

 

“Nope, not after throwing twenty-five pitches, yesterday. Coach Ecklund said once I threw my twentieth pitch, I was ineligible for today’s game,” Aiden replied.

 

“Why didn’t he bring in a new pitcher in the eighth?”

 

“I didn’t ask, but my Pop says that he didn’t want to run the risk of burning out another pitcher. He wanted Max and Everett good to go if Trent needed to be relieved. He is also bringing Lance up from the JV to be ready for anything. The way things turned out, it looks like he should have brought in one of the eighth graders,” Aiden lamented.

 

“I’m glad we don’t have those kinds of pitching restrictions in softball. I mean we have some, but not as strict as you guys in baseball.”

 

“Throwing a softball is easier on the arm than throwing a baseball,” Aiden said as if Kalie didn’t already know that.

 

<Mayfield Middle School>

 

During morning announcements, Mr. Donovan, the Principal, advised the students and staff that the boys’ baseball team would be playing the Meadow Park Coyotes at home after school. He said that a win would give them first place in the Seamount League Eastern Division. “They will then play the Monte Bulldogs at the Centralia Sports Complex next Thursday. I also wish to congratulate the Titan JV team on winning the division with their 3-0 win yesterday. There are no playoffs in JV ball.

 

“Our undefeated girls’ softball team will be playing the Harborview Tugs at the Centralia Complex for the Seamount League championship on Wednesday for the Seamount League softball championship.

 

The school was buzzing over the baseball game. There was no doubt that the bleachers would be full of students and that the parents attending the game would be stringing their lawn chairs along the first base out-of-play line. From what Nolan had told him, Aiden was certain quite a few Meadow Park fans would be watching as well, with their chairs along the third base out-of-play line.

 

At lunch, the Titan players who would be playing for the Yard Goats were speculating as to who Coach Hallion would be pitching in the Jamboree on Saturday. “We know that it won’t be Riley, Aiden, Trent, Grant, or Scott for sure,” Gordy speculated. “And depending on how today’s game goes, Lance or Max might not be available either.”

 

Aiden knew Grant would be starting the JV game that afternoon. He asked him who else might pitch if Grant didn’t go all the way.

 

“What do you mean if I don’t go all the way?” Grant asked. “I’m going to follow in Riley’s footsteps and go all seven innings.”

 

“It helps a lot that Riley went seven yesterday—it means none of the pitchers had to use up precious pitches in relief,” Miles pointed out. “And if Grant can’t pitch seven innings, then Emmett and Rusty would be the next ones to pitch.”

 

“Coach Hallion has his work cut out for him tomorrow finding enough pitchers to cover the nine innings, especially since nobody can pitch more than three innings,” Aiden said. “But we’re lucky most of the Goats know how to pitch if somebody like Miles…”

 

“Me?” Miles asked.

 

“…yeah, so if somebody like Miles has to come in, he’ll be getting some instant pitching lessons.”

 

“I sure hope they aren’t going to need me.”

 

“Don’t worry, I doubt it’s going to happen. Not all the pitchers we mentioned are going to be pitching today and Warren should be available. Besides, anybody who throws fewer than twenty pitches today can still pitch tomorrow.”

 

“Enough about Jamboree pitching. Let’s get to talking about the Titans winning today,” Riley said. Everyone agreed enthusiastically and that was where the conversation headed.

 

<Mayfield Middle School baseball field>

 

The Titans were taking infield when the Meadow Park bus arrived. Aiden would have loved watching Nolan getting off the bus. Since he was the starting second baseman, however, he was on the field going through the pregame infield practice ritual and couldn’t get a glimpse of his boyfriend. Nolan did manage to get in a good look at Aiden on the field. Not for the first time he thought about how hot his boyfriend looked in a baseball uniform and wished they were playing on the same team.

 

When game time arrived, Scott and Coach Ecklund met with the umpires and the Meadow Park coach. Since the game was a crucial matchup, two umpires were assigned. Not all coaches liked having their team captains (if they had any) involved in the home plate conference, but Coach Ecklund felt it was a key aspect of being a captain. His exception was if Scott or Trent was the starting pitcher because he didn’t want their pregame concentration disturbed by the meeting.

 

Aiden was starting at second and batting second for the Titans. Nolan was the starting pitcher for the Coyotes and was batting fifth. Trent was the starting pitcher for the Titans and, in a change from his usual protocol, Coach Ecklund had Trent batting third. Normally he had his starting pitcher bat lower in the batting order.  But in this game he wanted to mimic the protocols he would be using for the championship game. That included having Trent, his best hitter, batting where a team’s best hitter normally batted, and that was in the three hole.

 

The consensus among the Seamount League coaches was that Trent was one of the top three pitchers in the league and that Nolan was the best seventh grade pitcher in the league. The game promised to be a good matchup. During the home plate conference Aiden looked around the field. His prediction had held true—the bleachers were full and lawn chairs were lined up along both out-of-play lines.

 

Seeing many of his fellow students, along with parents, staff, and fans of baseball in general in attendance, sent a mighty rush through Aiden. He was more than ready to play.

 

The Meadow Park leadoff hitter came to the plate and settled in. The umpire pointed to Trent and called, “Play Ball!” The game was ready to start.

 

The fielders got into their ready positions as Trent nodded to accept Mac’s sign for the opening pitch. Trent went through his windup and threw a fastball at the knees to start the game with a strike. He struck out the first batter to start a 1-2-3 inning. Nolan put down the side in order as well. Neither Trent nor Nolan allowed a baserunner over the first three innings.

 

Trent struck out the side in the top of the fourth. As the Titans ran off the field after the third out, the crowd noted that Trent hadn’t allowed a baserunner in his four innings of work, striking out seven of the twelve batters he had faced. Nolan had been perfect through the first three innings as well and would now be facing the top of the Titan order for the second time.

 

Gordy led off the inning and hit the ball on the nose but lined it at Nolan who raised his glove in time to make the catch. Nolan’s reaction had been more to keep from being hit by the line drive than to catch the ball. “Oops, look what I found,” Mason said to nobody in particular in the Titan’s dugout.

 

Aiden came to the plate for the second time in the game after grounding out to shortstop his first time up. This time he got the upper hand on his boyfriend by shooting a hard-hit grounder up the middle on the first pitch for the Titan’s first hit. That brought Trent to the plate.

 

Aiden quickly stole second on the first pitch to Trent, which was a ball. When Nolan went 2-0 on Trent, Aiden wondered if his Sugar Bear was still a little shook up by the line drive hit at him by Gordy. He wasn’t surprised when Jake Burroughs, the Coyote catcher, trotted out to the mound to settle Nolan down. Aiden knew that Nolan thought highly of the catcher, who was an eighth grader. The umpire soon walked in front of the plate and called out, “Let’s play ball.” Jake returned home and got into his crouch behind the plate.

 

Whatever Jake had said to Nolan didn’t work because Trent got into a fat fastball and hit it toward the left field foul pole. It looked like it might have the distance to go out. When it hit the left field foul pole, the base umpire signaled home run. Aiden scored and then stopped and waited for Trent. He gave his teammate a high-five as soon as he crossed the plate. The Titans had a quick 2-0 lead.

 

Muddy was the next batter. He laid into the first pitch from Nolan; there was no doubt that his shot was going out. The only question about it was whether it was ever going to come down. Nolan had given up two home runs on two pitches and the Titans owned a 3-0 lead.

 

Phil was sitting next to Bob Jackson, the owner of Bob’s Burger Barn. When Muddy launched his moon-shot Phil said, “That thing looks like it might come down in your parking lot, Bob.”

 

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Bob laughed. The Burger Barn was well over a mile away from the middle school. “I hope not, though. I don’t know if my insurance covers damage from baseball games.”

 

“But think of the publicity.”

 

“Good point, Phil, good point.”

 

Nolan had given up home runs on consecutive pitches and looked down. As much as Aiden felt elated at the sudden turn of events, he couldn’t help but feel empathy for his Sugar Bear. He wished it had been a different pitcher on the mound for the Coyotes.

 

Any thought of Trent pitching a no-hitter ended when he gave up a lead-off double to Jake Burroughs, the catcher. The Coyotes were obviously not going to roll over and die just because they were behind—they didn’t stay in the race for first until the last game of the season by waving a white flag when things got tough.

 

Trent struck out the next batter and then Nolan came up to the plate. The two boys shared nods of mutual respect and then Trent threw two quick strikes to put Nolan in the hole. Trent buried a breaking ball to try to get Nolan to go fishing for a bad pitch, but Nolan didn’t bite. Mac then signaled for a fastball inside, but Trent caught too much of the plate with it and Nolan drilled it over Everett’s head in left field. Everett got the ball in quickly, holding Nolan to a double, but Vic Amora, the designated runner for the catcher, scored standing up.

 

Mac, Aiden, and Scott all called out words of encouragement to Trent, who settled down to strike out the next two batters. The Titan lead was now 3-1 which is how it stayed going into the top of seventh.

 

Coach Ecklund had checked with Mac and Trent about how Trent felt. Trent said he felt good and Mac agreed, especially since he had put down the last five Coyote hitters. Trent had thrown 68 pitches, twelve pitches short of his 80-pitch limit. Coach Ecklund had Everett warming up to come in when Trent reached the 80 mark.

 

It turned out that Everett wasn’t needed as Trent threw an efficient seventh. He struck out the first batter on five pitches and got the next one to ground out on the fourth pitch. That gave Trent 77 pitches. There was one exception to the 80-pitch count—if a pitcher had thrown fewer than 80 pitches at the start of an at bat, he would be allowed to complete the at bat before being removed from the game. When the count reached 2-1 it meant this batter would be the last one Trent faced no matter what happened.

 

On the 2-1 pitch, the batter took a powerful swing and foul tipped the ball off Mac’s left shoulder. The teen cried out in pain as the umpire called time and Coach Ecklund ran from the dugout to check on his young catcher. Mac took off his mask and dropped it on the ground as Trent and his coach approached. While Mac had been hit by a foul before, this was the hardest he had been hit.

“Holy fuck that hurts, coach,” Mac whispered.

Ecklund simply nodded in agreement. He wasn’t about to say something dumb like ‘I know how it feels’ - he just wanted Mac to know he was there. He had coached many baseball games and knew catchers often took a beating.

Ecklund pulled Mac’s uniform shirt away from his body to see if the skin was broken - it was not but there was a huge welt where Mac had been hit. Mac looked at his coach and nodded as he carefully moved his arm and shoulder.

“How do you feel, Mac?” Ecklund asked.

Mac took a couple of deep breaths. “It’s gonna be OK,” he said. “Coach, I’m sorry I said ‘fuck’. It just kinda came out.”

“Not an issue.”

Mac moved his arm and shoulder a few more times then picked up his mask and put it on. “I’ll be OK,” he said quietly. “Let’s win this thing.” He couldn’t help hearing the appreciative applause from the fans.

Ecklund looked Mac straight in the eye. “Listen, Mac. If it tightens up or anything, you holler.”

“Will do.”

Ecklund gave Mac a quick pat on his ass and nodded to the umpire. “Let’s play.”

On the very next pitch, the batter lofted a fly ball to center which Barry tracked down for the third out, a 3-1 win, and first place in the Seamount Middle School League East Division.

The traditional handshake line was put on hold as the Titan outfielders ran into the infield, the bench players piled out of the dugout, Scott and Gordy shared a hug as did Max and Aiden. Mac and Trent got the first hug in, however, as Mac dashed out to the pitcher’s mound to hug his batterymate who had done such a great job on the mound. The pain in Mac’s shoulder seemed to have vanished.

 

Meanwhile the Meadow Park Coyotes fought off tears with little success. Their season was over. The Mayfield players kept their celebration short, which wasn’t easy to do. They agreed on a short hug fest. Winning the division was the last step in achieving their real goal—the Seamount League Championship. The players were pleased that they would be going to the championship game as division champions instead of division co-champions.

 

Scott took a quick look toward the Meadow Park dugout to see what the Coyote players were doing. He could see they had formed a handshake line and could tell they weren’t going to wait on the Titan players much longer. “Hey, guys, let’s shake hands,” he called out.

 

Scott led the Titan players through the handshakes, fist bumps, and high fives. The Titans were impressed by the sportsmanship displayed by the Meadow Park players. Some had to wipe their tear-stained faces, but all walked through the line giving their sincere congratulations and wishing the Titans good luck against the Monte Bulldogs. The rivalry between Meadow Park and Mayfield had been hard fought but friendly.

 

“Are we still good for tomorrow night?” Aiden asked Nolan as they met each other in their lines. Aiden could tell that Nolan had shed a few tears and was fighting hard not to shed more.

 

“I’m ready to get my revenge by kicking your ass in ping pong,” Nolan grinned as they moved away from each other. Aiden elected to not take the bait and said nothing.

 

After the ritual ended Aiden and Nolan sought each other out. “Anybody staying with you tonight?” Nolan asked.

 

“Most of us are going to the Burger Barn—Bob, the owner, is treating every player to a double burger, fries, and a milk shake. Gordy, Riley, the twins, and Mason are coming over to my house after we eat. But with the Jamboree tomorrow nobody is spending the night,” Aiden replied.

 

“A good group. Make sure you save something for me.”

 

“I don’t think anything is going to happen, so no worries. You make sure you’re ready to take it.”

 

The Meadow Park bus arrived carrying the girls’ JV softball team, who had boarded at the Park Department athletic complex. The boys headed for the busway to board it and go home.

 

“I’ve got nobody either. Mom and Dad are treating the Jamboree like a game that counts so no overnighting.” Nolan started to head for his bus and then stropped. “Wait a minute. You say that Mason is coming to your house and nothing is going to happen? I don’t think so,” Nolan laughed as he walked away.

 

The Mayfield boys noisily entered the locker room. Their time to celebrate would be short since most of them would be playing for the Yard Goats in the Southwest League Jamboree the next day. The team agreed that starting with Monday’s Titan practice, their entire focus would be on beating the Monte Bulldogs for the league championship.

 

While they showered, the varsity boys had to give Mac a classic teen dose of admiration and good-natured ribbing about the huge bruise on his left shoulder. As they toweled off and started dressing, the bus with the JV boys and varsity girls’ teams arrived. The JV boys had already found out that the varsity had won their game and had no qualms about making a noisy entrance into the locker room. They had clobbered Meadow Park 20-3 in five innings. Nobody was surprised that the Titans had won since they were in first and Meadow Park was in last, but everyone, except Aiden, was surprised as to how one-sided the score was. Aiden wasn’t surprised because Nolan had predicted it the night before.

 

“Our JV team is a major suck fest,” Nolan had told Aiden. “And next year we graduate so many eighth graders a bunch of those JV guys are going to be varsity starters and you know what that means for the good old Coyotes.”

 

“That you might be battling Gardner for last place?”

 

“You got it, Sweets.”

 

The girls had won their game 5-1 to finish their regular season undefeated.

 

<Aiden, Gordy, Grant, Riley, Lenny, Lance, and Mason>

 

The atmosphere in the meeting room at Bob’s Burger Barn was festive. The adults and kids sat separately, but some conversations traveled between groups. Bob Jackson, the owner, was a big supporter of Mayfield Athletics and sponsored Phil’s 14 and under team, the Mayfield Dynamos. Their uniform shirt said “Dynamos” across the front, even though Bob’s Burger Barn was their primary sponsor. Dynamos was the team’s name because it was the name of the Barn’s double burger. It was named the Dynamo because the Mayfield Dam was an important part of the town’s economy. The team took on the name both because of the featured burger and because of the dam. The uniform had a patch on the left sleeve touting Bob’s Burger Barn. Bob was one of the adult board members of the Mayfield Baseball Club. He also sponsored the 12 and under girls’ softball team.

 

Bob usually made a small profit when he treated a team he sponsored or, as in the case of the Titans, a team he simply wanted to treat. By the time the parents, coaches, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, and family friends had purchased their meals and drinks, he almost always made money. The key was not to treat teams to a full meal too often and to make the affair a special occasion. Because he was treating both the varsity and JV teams this time, he would probably lose money, but it was tax deductible.

 

As the eating and celebrating ended, the families and friends left the Barn for home. Aiden and his friends rode to Aiden’s house in the Odyssey, which Larry drove. Phil drove his pickup home. Larry was celebrating, too; after defeating Clark Pass 6-1, the Mustangs finished in first place in the Seamount League by a game over Kentburg. They would be playing Long Beach in a playoff game on Tuesday. If Mayfield won, they would go to the District tournament next weekend—if they lost, they would be playing the loser of the Winton-Kentburg game to go to District. That game was a loser out game.

 

The first thing the boys did when they entered Aiden’s house was strip down to their underwear. The second thing they did was enjoy a dish of heated peach cobbler ala mode as promised by Phil. While they ate and chatted about the next day’s Jamboree, Gordy looked up the Seamount Middle School League scores.

 

“Harborview beat Monte,” he announced.

 

“That means we’re tied for the best record in the league,” Aiden said. The Titans and the Bulldogs both finished with a 9-3 record.

 

“Monte didn’t have anything to play for except for having the best record,” Mason said.

 

“And sometimes that’s not good enough,” Gordy said.

 

“They’ll be more than ready to play us on Thursday,” Aiden speculated.

 

“We’ll be even more ready than them,” Mason said.

 

“And get this,” Gordy said. “Kentburg beat Winton 7-6.”

 

“Winton kind of faded at the end,” Lenny observed.

 

“Yeah they did, but that’s not why I gave the score. I gave it because it meant that five of the six teams in our division had a winning record—only Gardner had a losing record. Gardner finished 1-11. So, don’t let anybody try to tell you the West Division is tougher than our East division. I figured that our division had a 40-32 record.”

 

“Which makes the West 32-40,” Riley said.

 

“Nice job, Riley,” Lenny grinned as he gave Riley’s crotch a gentle rub through his briefs.

 

“And we beat their champions 5-0 when we played each other,” Mason said.

 

“Don’t forget that we also lost to Evans, which finished where?” Aiden asked. He didn’t know how Evans had done in its last game.

 

“Tied for second since they kicked poor Pine Lake 14-2,” Gordy replied.

 

“I should have known that. Anyway, the standings don’t mean shit now. It’s down to two teams—us and Monte. We’re both first place teams and both have 9-3 records.” Aiden looked down at his phone. “And I just got a text from Skyler. He says he hopes we’re ready because he knows the Bulldogs will be ready to win the game that really counts.”

 

“And so the fun begins,” Gordy chuckled.

 

After dessert, the boys went down to the basement to play games. They only had an hour left before parents would arrive and their brief time together would end. The games and the teams changed on a whim. It didn’t take long for everyone to remove their underpants as they worked up a good sweat. Because of the short amount of time they had, the games they played were abbreviated versions.

 

Nolan’s prediction that Mason would have a difficult time keeping the gathering from being sexless proved to be prophetic. Gordy, Mason, and Aiden were sitting in the hot tub while the twins and their boyfriends played ping pong in the basement. That was when Mason made his move.

 

Mason was sitting close to Gordy when he announced that he was thirsty.

 

“There’s cold lemonade on the table in the main room,” Aiden reminded him.

 

“I was thinking of something a little thicker. It’s something I haven’t tasted in forever,” Mason said as he looked directly at Gordy.

 

“What are you looking at me for?” Gordy asked.

 

“Because I wanna drink your cum,” Mason said as if he were talking about the lemonade in the basement.

 

Gordy felt horny and was in the mood for something different. “Okay, but we do it in the back room and it’s just you and me.”

 

Mason was certain that Gordy was going to turn him down and had been readying himself to ask Aiden. “For real?” he asked.

 

“I know I surprised you, but it is for real,” Gordy said.

 

“Let’s go then.”

 

Gordy and Mason got out of the hot tub, dried themselves, went into the basement, and then the backroom. Grant, Riley, and the twins watched the two enter the basement. “Looks like somebody is extra-horny,” Lenny said.

 

“And it looks like somebody is losing, and it ain’t us,” Lance grinned. “Shall we finish this off?” he asked Grant.

 

“I’m all for it.”

 

Aiden sauntered into the games room to watch the ping pong game. “Who’s winning?” he asked.

 

“We are, 8-5,” Lance replied. “We’re playing to eleven since we’re the only ones who want to play and there won’t be time for another game no matter what.”

 

In the backroom, Mason didn’t bother with any foreplay. He went directly for his target. The target was 4.5 uncut inches and was dribbling a smidge of precum. Mason loved Gordy’s cock and especially his thick, but still sweet cum. The only chance he’d had to suck it recently was when he was visiting Gordy, and that was an infrequent occurrence. When he proposed giving Gordy a blow job this time he was surprised by Gordy’s consent and wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.

 

He took all of Gordy’s cock into his mouth and went to work giving a top-notch blow job. Gordy knew how good Mason’s blow jobs were and wondered why he didn’t let his horny friend go down on him more often. Nothing I can do about that right now, he thought. Right now, I’m going to enjoy every second. After that thought he focused entirely on what Mason was doing with his talented mouth.

 

Lenny had been right when he said Gordy was extra-horny. It wasn’t long before Gordy moaned and squealed with delight as he shot his mature tween cum into Mason’s eagerly waiting mouth. Mason savored every drop before swallowing. Mason pulled off Gordy’s sensitive cock when Gordy told him it was time to do it. He then remained on his knees and jerked off to his own satisfying cum, shooting his much thinner load onto the stained carpet.

 

“That was awesome, Mason. Thanks,” Gordy said earnestly.

 

“Better than Kalie?”

 

“She does okay, but she still needs to learn how to  make a cock feel super good, just like I have to learn more about making a pussy feel good.”

 

Mason rose to his feet. “You’re gonna fuck her soon, right?”

 

“I will before we start eighth grade. And who knows what will happen when we camp out together in a couple of weeks. She really wants to do it then and I’ll bring a condom even if she is on the pill. But I still think it will work better on a bed than in a sleeping bag.”

 

“I hope it goes great. Just do it when it feels right to do it…and who knows, that might happen in a tent.”

 

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Gordy inquired.

 

“Ask away. Like Aiden says, you can ask whatever you want, but I might not answer it.”

 

“Have you ever wanted to have a boyfriend?”

 

“I tried twice,” Mason said, referring to Muddy and Lenny. “It hasn’t worked yet. I want one, but I’m not ready. I like sucking cock and getting fucked whenever I can without having to check with a boyfriend.”

 

“Gotcha. Thanks for giving me an honest answer. You’re a good friend, Mason.”

 

“And you’re a great friend, Gordy. You, Aiden, and Miles are my very best friends, even if two of you are straight.”

 

“Being gay or straight or whatever has nothing to do with being friends. You’re my friend because I like you a lot and don’t you ever forget it.”

 

“I won’t,” Mason said. “Can I give you a friend-to-friend kiss before we go back out?”

 

The kiss was wet with tongue and lasted a couple of steamy minutes. The two friends walked out to the games room feeling good about what they had done together and about their honest little talk.

 

“How did it go, guys?” Aiden asked as they entered the games room where Riley and Grant were playing foosball.

 

Mason and Gordy each gave a thumbs up. “Who won the ping pong game?” Gordy asked.

 

“Me and Grant came back and beat my cocky older brother and Riley 13-11,” Lance said. “Remember that on Thursday when we play for the championship. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

 

“Well, I can tell you one thing that is over, and that would be this little dessert party, so get dressed. Your rides will be here in just a few minutes,” Phil told them as he came down the stairs. He took a moment to admire the naked boyhood on display and then headed back upstairs.

 

As far as bedtime scheduling went, the parents were treating this day like a school day. Even though the dessert party was short, it was a great way for good friends to have fun and celebrate their big win.

 

SATURDAY, MAY 16

 

<Aiden>

 

When his alarm went off, Aiden grumped and turned it off. It was way too early to wake up on a Saturday and Coach Hallion should have refused to play one of the early games. Nobody played a baseball game that didn’t count at nine in the morning, was how he saw it. He was grateful, however, that his dads had insisted he go to bed right after his friends left. He had thought about waiting up for Marty to call, but the Mariners were playing a home game and it would be late before Marty called, so he texted Marty and told him he had to get to sleep early. He was also grateful that his big bro had sent a text congratulating the Titans on winning the Division title. But that was last night, and this was now, and now meant getting out of bed, which he finally did.

 

Aiden took a quick shower, which he thought was a waste of time since he was going to get all pitted out on the baseball field. Since he always felt better after taking a hot morning shower, he took it anyway. When he came downstairs in his Yard Goats uniform, Aiden saw that Larry had the kitchen table laid out for a pancake breakfast, good for needed carbs.

 

“Good morning, son,” Phil said as he poured pancake batter on the gridle. “All zoned in for the day?”

 

“Morning, dad. I didn’t zone in last night. I had too much fun with my homies and then after they left, I just wanted to go to sleep. I didn’t see why I should zone in on three little games that don’t count for anything.”

 

“I can see your point.”

 

“You can? That’s different.”

 

Phil judiciously ignored his son’s snarky remark. “It’s more about teams getting used to playing with each other on the field than anything else.”

 

“Plus, it’s also about playing some extra baseball which is never a bad thing.”

 

“And that is an excellent point.” Phil set a plate in front of Aiden with a stack of three pancakes, two eggs over easy, and four strips of bacon. He figured that was a good start.

 

“Of the three teams we play, the only one I know anything about is East Centralia,” Aiden said. “I know them because that’s the team the Meadow Park players are on.” Each team would play three inning games against three different teams. The Titans would be playing East Centralia at nine, Ocean Park at ten-thirty, and Kelso at one.”

 

“It bites that Meadow Park doesn’t have its own teams for older middle school kids,” Aiden said to Phil between bites of pancakes. “They have to go all the way into Centralia to practice. And not everybody on their team plays for Meadow Park and a lot of Meadow Park players didn’t make the team.”

 

“They should still be pretty good, though. Centralia is the biggest town around,” Phil said.

 

“Yeah, but they also have three teams. But the Meadow Park players can only turn out for one of them, and that’s East Centralia.”

 

Larry entered the kitchen in time to see Aiden shovel another forkful of pancakes into his mouth. “It looks like somebody is hungry,” he grinned.

 

Aiden finished chewing and then said, “It’s awesome you’ll both be able to watch us play today even if it doesn’t count for anything.”

 

“Ah, but it’s baseball.”

 

“That’s exactly what I told dad.”

 

<SW Washington League 13-and-under Jamboree>

 

To allow his players a little extra sleep after having played the afternoon before, Coach Hallion didn’t require them to be at the field until eight-thirty for the nine o’clock game. The game was scheduled on Field 1. According to the schedule the Goats would be using the third base dugout which was where they met. Aiden saw Nolan on the first base side of the field and waved. Nolan smiled and waved back. The jamboree was considered to be a friendly get together by the players and few of them had their game faces on.

 

The two umpires met with the coaches. Neither team had picked team captains yet, and even if they had, not all coaches liked having their captains take part in the home plate conference. Since the Goats had come the longest distance Coach Hallion called the coin flip. He called heads and the coin landed tails. The East Centralia Scrappers would be the home team for the mini game.

 

Lance started the game for the Goats. Coach Hallion wanted him to throw the first two innings. He was sharp, giving up only a one-out single in the second. The Goats led 3-0 going into the bottom of the third and last inning. Coach Hallion had Emmett come in to pitch. Emmett struck out the first batter and walked the next two. The fourth batter in the inning was Dominic Ward, the big stud for the Scrappers. Dominic hit a lazy fly to Miles in left, which brought Nolan to the plate.

 

Emmett got two strikes on Nolan, who took two pitches for balls to make the count 2-2. He fouled off the next two pitches. Emmett took a deep breath and peered at Mac for the sign. Mac called for a fastball. Emmett’s fastball wasn’t all that fast to start with and the fat one he threw up to the plate had Nolan drooling. Nolan took a vicious swing at the pitch and got all of it, launching the ball over the left fence to tie the score at 3-3. Nolan’s hit was a hefty poke since the fence on the field was a good 20 feet farther out than the ones on most of the middle school fields. Nolan had truly gotten all of the ball. The next batter grounded out to Aiden and the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

 

“I heard a tie is like kissing your sister,” Nolan told Aiden when they met after the game.

 

“I wouldn’t know,” Aiden said. “You’d have to ask Muddy, he’s the expert on sister kissing. But I’ll tell you, your tater was a poke Muddy would have been proud of.”

 

“That’s the farthest I’ve ever hit a ball, including batting practice. I could have used something like that yesterday, that’s for sure.”

 

“No offense, but little sixth grader Emmett is a way different pitcher than big eighth grader Trent,” Aiden reminded his boyfriend.

 

“And nobody knows that better than me.”

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound all negative.”

 

“You didn’t sound negative, you sounded truthful.”

 

Emmett and Lance walked by them on their way to Field 4. “Nice job out there,” Nolan told Emmett. “Aiden told me you didn’t pitch that much for the JV’s, but I thought you did okay for somebody full of rust.”

 

“How did you hit that ball so far?” Emmett asked. “I didn’t throw it that hard.”

 

Nolan pulled up his sleeve flexed his right bicep. “Feel the power, kiddo,” he grinned.

 

Emmett gave Nolan’s exposed bicep a squeeze. “You got some muscle, It’s hard for my skinny arm to get anything past that.”

 

“Hey, you handled Dominic pretty well, and that dude is so strong it’s sick. And it wasn’t like you didn’t make me work. You got me to foul off some pretty good pitches before you sent me that fat one. And as for you Lance, we couldn’t touch you. For a couple of dudes still in sixth grade you were both tough.”

 

“Who do you guys play next?” Lance asked.

 

“Woodland,” Nolan replied. “I don’t know squat about them.”

 

“We play Ocean Park. Rusty and Warren will be pitching for us. We’d better be getting to our field,” Aiden said. He and Nolan traded a quick hug, but as confident as they were in their sexuality neither one was ready to exchange a kiss in a complex swarming with parents and jocks.

 

Rusty pitched two scoreless innings, confusing many of the hitters on the Ocean Park Steamers because he was a lefty. The confusion was not unusual at this level of ball because left-handed pitchers were a rare commodity and were looked on by many as being somewhat otherworldly. Warren, who was a sixth grader, was also a lefty. He was more talented than Rusty but wasn’t quite as experienced. The hitters were now seeing a left hander for the second time. Some of them realized that he was just another pitcher and the Steamers managed to scrape out a couple of runs in the third, but the Goats hung on for a 4-2 win. East Centralia clobbered Woodland 12-2 in their three-inning game.

 

The Titans had an hour break in their schedule for lunch as did East Centralia. Aiden, Gordy, Nolan, and Nolan’s best friend Carter ate together. They purchased drinks at the concession stand, but Phil made enough sandwiches to feed six boys, so there was plenty to eat. “You don’t need to be stuffing yourself on hot dogs and hamburgers,” Phil had told Aiden at breakfast. “A turkey salad sandwich will fill you up without bogging you down.” Larry had charge of distributing the sandwiches and met the boys at a prearranged location.  

 

Larry left to chat with some high school coaches in attendance, as well as to give the boys their own space. He understood how important this break was for them and that they didn’t need a dad horning in on it. But that didn’t stop another adult from sitting in with the boys at their invitation.

 

“Eric!” Aiden called out when he saw his other big bro and the Titans’ volunteer assistant walk up to where the boys were sitting.

 

“Hello, Aiden and Gordy,” Eric grinned. He pointed to Nolan. “I think you’re the gentleman I met at the big Thanksgiving Feast and you’re Nolan and are Aiden’s boyfriend. You’ve really grown since I saw you last.”

 

Nolan stood and shook Eric’s hand. “Yep, although if you think you can call me a gentleman, you’re wrong,” Nolan grinned. “And next to me is Carter, who is the best friend I have who is not my boyfriend. And he isn’t a gentleman, either. Carter, this is Eric Simmons, who is a genuine hero in Mayfield.”

 

Carter rose and shook Eric’s hand as well. “But we do a good job of faking the gentleman thing.”

 

“You know why Eric is a genuine hero in Mayfield, right Carter?” Aiden asked.

 

“I’ve heard he was a pretty good baseball player and played with Marty Carlson of the Mariners.”

 

“Yes, to both.” Aiden then told Carter about Eric’s perfect game.

 

“Whoa, I’ve heard about that game, but I didn’t know you’re the dude who pitched it. I can see why you’re a hero.”

 

“Yes, I pitched a great game, but a hero I’m not,” Eric said modestly. “And don’t forget that Kevin Corcoran was my catcher and he called a fantastic game.”

 

“Did you watch our two morning games?” Aiden asked.

 

“Sorry, but I just got here. I had the morning run out to Westport but got back in time to see your third game.” Eric worked part-time for the Centralia Clark Pass and Pacific Railroad as a locomotive engineer as well as an electrical engineer. He was also on call with BNSF for electrical engineering work as needed locally.

 

“As long as you’re here, can I ask you something?” Aiden asked.

 

“Ask away, my good friend.”

 

“Well, since you’re kind of a big brother to me like Marty is, I want to learn what I can about the legacy of the Go to State Club and Mayfield baseball before we play our championship game on Thursday.”

 

“I’d be happy to answer any questions you have, but not now—this is about playing and not talking.”

 

“Well, we play at one and should be done before two and should be home by three, so let’s do it this afternoon since I bet you’re not working.”

 

“You might want to ask Coach Larry first,” Eric said.

 

“He should be here to in a few minutes to pick up the lunch bags and the uneaten sandwiches,” Aiden told him. Phil had packed the lunches in reusable bags.

 

“Gasp! You mean you guys left sandwiches uneaten?”

 

“We left two of them. Do you want one?”

 

“Sure, I was just on my way to get a hot dog when I saw you guys. If Coach Phil made it then I know it’s going to be a great one, which makes leaving two of them uneaten even weirder.”

 

Eric was interrupted by Larry coming to get the sandwich bags. He and Eric exchanged hugs. When Aiden finished explaining what he had in mind, Larry invited Eric to come over after the Goats’ last Jamboree game. “Noah is invited as well.”

 

Eric accepted the invitation and said, “Noah is doing interning until ten tonight, but I’ll be sure to tell him what he missed.” He then bit into his sandwich, licked his lips, and once again asked how four adolescent boys could let two delicious sandwiches go uneaten.

 

Eric, Larry, Aiden, and Gordy headed for Field 4 and the Goats’ mini game against Kelso. Nolan and Carter went in the opposite direction to Field 2.

 

Kelso drew players from two middle schools and had a deep and talented team. Max pitched all three innings for the Goats and impressed Coach Hallion by holding a good-hitting team in check, but the Kelso Kings had a big eighth grader going for them and he shut out the Titans over his three innings, giving the Kings a hard-fought 1-0 win. Anybody who thought the players didn’t take the three inning mini games seriously would have thought otherwise watching the Titans and the Kings go at it. East Centralia defeated the Longview Lions 5-2. Nolan went 2-for-2 with two RBI doubles.

 

Coach Hallion gave the team a brief talk and then Aiden went with Eric to meet his dads at the main complex gate, the agreed upon meeting place. Nolan’s game was just finishing when they walked by Field 2.

 

“There was some tough pitching in your game,” Eric said.

 

“Max pitched way better than anybody thought he would,” Aiden said. “I’m surprised he and Everett didn’t pitch more for the Titans. I hope Coach Hallion uses Max some more. And Everett will be playing for my dad on the Dynamos, although I don’t know how much pitching he’ll be doing for them.”

 

Nolan joined Aiden and Eric and the journey to the main gate resumed. On the way they ran into Skyler and Greg. The boys greeted each other with fist bumps while Eric looked on. “How did you guys do?” Aiden asked Skyler.

 

“We won all three of our games that don’t count for shit,” Skyler replied.

 

“But you had fun, right?” Nolan asked.

 

“It was better than having practice today,” Greg said. “So, yeah, we had fun.”

 

“Just want you to know, Greg and I have now done it both ways,” Skyler reported.

 

“Welcome to the club,” Aiden said. “When are you guys coming to visit us so we can have a blast?”

 

“Probably after school is out. But I know I’ll be seeing Aiden on Thursday for something else. Are you coming to the game, Nolan?”

 

“Centralia is practically in my backyard, so, yeah, I’ll be there. My dad and I have been planning on it,” Nolan replied.

 

“Great. Thursday is going to be more fun because I know you guys. See you then. Me and Greg have to go find my grandparents.”

 

“Hey, before you go, let me introduce Eric to you. He played for my dad in high school and was on the back-to-back state champions. He’s helping with the coaching when he can.”

Skyler turned on his good manners button and shook Eric’s hand as did Greg. Neither Skyler nor Greg knew that Eric was the kid who threw the famous State Tournament perfect game, but they would soon learn it from Aiden. The two Monte boys then returned to their search.

 

“What was it they both did?” Eric asked as if he hadn’t already guessed the answer.

 

“Nothing big. Just something Nolan and I told them about.”

 

“Whatever you say, bro.” Aiden had no doubt that Eric knew what they had been talking about and was grateful that his other big bro didn’t push it.

Phil shrugged as if to say he didn’t know either.

 

“Nolan and I are probably going to strip to our underwear when we get home,” Aiden warned Eric. Larry and Phil listened in with interest, wondering where this was going to end up.

 

“That’s cool,” Eric said. “You can even get naked if you want.”

 

“For real?”

 

“Unless the coaches say no.”

 

“The boys claim to be naturists,” Larry said. “I’ll leave the decision up to you.”

 

“Nolan and I will talk about it when we get home,” Aiden said.

 

Aiden had hoped to see Calvin at the Jamboree and talk to him about the great game the Eagles had played and about his walk off hit, but the schedules of Clark Pass and Mayfield didn’t mesh properly. He got a couple of glimpses of Calvin and gave him a small wave during one of them. However, he wasn’t sure if Calvin had seen it.

 

Nolan’s mom and dad showed up at the gate as they had arranged. They had Nolan’s overnight bag, which they switched for his equipment bag. Nolan introduced his parents to Eric. Paul Moyer knew who Eric Simmons was and was quite pleased to meet him. He was surprised at Eric’s size; he was 5’11 and around 160 pounds. He expected a legend to be larger, but maybe being a young man of average size only served to enhance that legend.

 

Vivian Moyer embarrassed Nolan with her standard “be a good boy” speech and then embarrassed him a second time with a motherly hug. Larry, Phil, and Paul were both impressed that the teen was able to take the public mothering stoically except for having a red face from mother induced mortification.

 

<The Legacy>

 

Much to Eric’s disappointment, Aiden and Nolan elected not to strip naked. But Eric had to admit there was something erotic about two young adolescents “dressed up” in t-shirts and boxers, especially when the boxers on the older of the two didn’t do a great job of hiding what was likely an impressive package for a thirteen-year-old. Eric sat with the boys in the living room—the boys on the couch and Eric on an overstuffed chair. Phil and Larry sat in the baseball watching room and watched the Yankees playing the Red Sox at Boston.

 

“Tell me what it is you boys wanted to talk about,” Eric said.

 

“It’s more Aiden than me. I don’t live in Mayfield, don’t play for Mayfield, most likely never will,” Nolan told Eric. “That said, the story interests me because Aiden talks about it so much. And now I’ll shut up so Aiden can answer your question.”

 

“I guess what I want to know is how you guys started out in sixth grade creating the Go to State club and ended up winning two State Championships when you got to high school,” Aiden said.

 

Eric smiled and took a deep breath. “That, my young friend and little bro, is a long story. When we got totally serious, we were really seventh graders and had the help of older kids like Marty and others in eighth grade. What we had was the right kids at the right time along with some key adults, like your dads, who took us seriously.”

 

“When did everything start to work out for you?”

 

“It took a while. We had a lot of obstacles from some of the adults who didn’t take us seriously. Some even wanted to sabotage us. The way they saw it was that there was no way a bunch of tweens and teens could actually run a baseball program. Obviously, they were wrong.”

 

“Did older guys like Mike the Donkey and Ryan the Dawg help any?”

 

“Quite a few of them did, but those two were key. If nothing else, they were huge in making being gay acceptable at the Mayfield Schools. And you can’t believe how much Marty meant to us once he got sober and quit being an asshole.”

 

“I can’t imagine Marty being an asshole,” Nolan said.

 

“Sometimes I sorta can,” Aiden told him. “When he calls me on my bullshit and pisses me off I want to think of him as being at least an asswaffle.”

 

“I knew Marty when he suffered from being an alcoholic and being an asshole. Like I said, when he got sober his leadership started to stand out. One was when he stepped in and talked a big part of the team to agree to walk out on a kegger. I was one of them. The other was his harangue in the dining car of the ‘Coast Starlight’ when we were heading to California for a tournament. That was a classic tirade.”

 

“You guys rode the train down?” Aiden asked. Eric nodded. “Damn, I wish we could do that.”

 

“Maybe next time,” Nolan said.

 

“Oh, I think that could easily happen,” Eric said. “You’ll be amazed by what you and your peers can accomplish by setting goals and working together to reach them.”

 

Eric spent the next twenty minutes answering questions from Aiden as well as Nolan on how the pieces came together for the two state championships. Eric wasn’t surprised when Nolan asked him about the perfect game and answered a few questions about the game that had become a local legend.

 

“I’ve followed the club and how it’s worked even after graduating from high school,” Eric said. “It’s had some great moments, especially after your pop coached the Mustangs to a third state title after we left. The founders are gone but the legacy continues. Recently it’s been in a down cycle. From what I’ve heard, the three classes in the middle school this year have done a lot to kick start the club back into action. The kids and adults on the board were doing a good job, but membership was going down. You guys have been getting players active again. If I ever live permanently in Mayfield, I’d love to get active. As it is, I’m doing some volunteer stuff for Bob Jackson and Gordy’s dad, Aaron. And I think having the mother of the twins on the board is going to kick ass because mothers have this way of kicking ass,” Eric laughed.

 

When Aiden asked Eric if he had any suggestions on how to make things even better, Eric said, “Just work hard, listen to people’s ideas, and remember the real key to winning is what you do on the field. Your pop is one of the best high school coaches in the state. You and your teammates have the person to coach you to the top. The question is do you want to win badly enough to get there?”

 

“We’ve been close to winning the championship in all the sports we played the last couple of years and haven’t done it. That’s why we think winning the Seamount Middle School League in baseball this year is so important. We want to use that to build on, so we know how to win when we get to high school.”

 

“Oh great, so you use us to build your championship. Thanks a lot,” Nolan said with mock anger.

 

“Nothing is stopping you from doing the same,” Aiden told him.

 

“Except we’re lacking one big thing.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“What you and Eric were talking about—a legacy. A history of winning and of being leaders. We have some good guys, but all the pieces don’t fit together like they seem to do with you. We win, but you guys are learning how to win even when you lose.”

 

“Which brings up my last question,” Eric said. The boys gave him all their attention. “What will you guys do if Monte beats you on Thursday?”

 

Aiden thought for a moment before replying. “Think of our history and our legacy and be ready to build on what we learned by losing so we can win next year.”

 

“Great answer. You’re a good pupil and a good little bro. Oh, and I’ve got Thursday off and will be at the game.”

 

“My dad and I will be there, too,” Nolan announced.

 

“Awesome,” Aiden said. “I don’t know if we’ll win, but I know we’ll play a good game—no, we’ll play a great game and make everybody proud of us. Our theme for our three practices this week is to do what it takes to be great.”

 

“I know you’ll succeed at that,” Eric told him.

 

<Aiden and Nolan>

 

“I can’t believe how our towns and schools aren’t that far apart, but are still so different,” Nolan said later that evening after he and Aiden retired to Aiden’s bedroom. “We just don’t seem to have what we need to get over the hump, either in talent or in attitude.”

 

 “I happen to know somebody on that team who is a great player and a leader and who knows what he’ll do over the next five baseball seasons—hell, six if you include this summer.”

 

“And who would that be?”

 

“The guy on my bed who somehow has worked up a giant boner that he’s going to stick up my ass.”

 

“Oh, you mean I get to fuck the dude who fucked up our season yesterday.”

 

“Why not? Fuck me hard, fuck me deep, and give me some big, wet, sloppy deep kisses while you do it.”

 

Outside of their virtual jerk off sessions, it was the first sex in way too long a time for the two young lovers. They took total advantage of the opportunity. Nolan rammed Aiden hard until both boys came to screeching orgasms. They were noisy enough to be heard in Phil and Larry’s bedroom. It was a sound that brought smiles to the faces of the two—it meant the boys were enjoying each other and enjoying life.

 

Their second orgasms came when Nolan bottomed for Aiden. The sex took longer and wasn’t as intense, but the passion they felt for each other didn’t die down at all. Number three was the boys kissing and humping and shooting what boy seed they had left on each other.

 

 At that point, the boys had totally worn themselves out. They cuddled up and fell asleep wishing there was a way for them to go to the same school, play on the same team, and sleep together more often. Since there wasn’t a way for that to happen, they were going to make the best of every opportunity to be together.

 

It’s like the Mayfield Titans, Aiden thought. Nolan and I will do what we need to be great boyfriends, just like the Titans will do what they need to be a great championship team.

 

Next: Doing What it Takes