Mayfield Titans

37

IT’S OFFICIAL

 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10

 

<Aiden>

 

Saturday morning found snow still on the ground, but the roads were clear and, except for the foothills, life was back to normal. Since he couldn’t come up with an excuse not to go, Aiden attended the Fourth Dimension meeting. While his new service position didn’t demand that he attend, Aiden knew it would be a good idea if he did. For the next six months he was the group’s literature representative. A major part of his duties was to talk about the literature they had on hand as well as what they didn’t have on hand.

 

There was one new person in attendance, Lyman North, who was fourteen and a freshman at the high school. He had just over a month of sobriety and had spent two weeks in a teen rehab facility. He appeared to be nervous, especially since he knew most of the kids at the meeting, or at least knew who they were. But he was greeted warmly by everyone and soon felt more at ease.

 

After the meeting, Aiden walked to Gordy’s house. Miles and Mason were already there and the four spent the afternoon eating lunch, playing games, and talking about various topics. Gordy’s mother was amused by how seemingly non-stop chatter could be spent on topics ranging from school, to sports, to girls, to boys, to general gossip, to whatever else struck their fancy.

 

Larry picked up Aiden a little before four o’clock. Aiden would be having dinner with Marty and spending the night with him. He had his overnight things packed and sitting on his bed and wanted Marty to pick him up at home because, well that was the way he wanted it done.

 

Aiden and Marty had dinner at the Mayfield Café. Marty had a ribeye, medium rare and Aiden had fish and chips. After dessert, they enjoyed an evening in Marty’s apartment on the Bednarzyk property, talking about topics that were bothering Aiden and Mariner spring training, which would be starting in February. Of course, Aiden had made himself comfortable by stripping down to just the Mariner t-shirt and Mariner boxers he had been wearing. He knew that pleased Marty because Marty had told him so.

 

One of the topics bothering Aiden was what a person could do about a teammate with a bad attitude. Marty said about all he could do was show the “slacker” how the game was played by playing hard and playing smart. What Marty didn’t say was that the higher he moved up the baseball hierarchy from middle school to the professionals, the more vocal leaders were that he played with. They were teammates who didn’t tolerate bullshit. His feeling was that at the middle school level it was best to lead by example rather than with one’s mouth. In fact, that was probably the best way at any level.

 

“Are you going to be the regular starter at third base this season?” Aiden asked.

 

“That’s my goal. I have no control over how that will work out—I can only control what I do and go from there.”

 

“Well, I don’t see anybody better than you right now, so I think I’m going to be watching you a lot at third base.”

 

“I always enjoy visiting with my biggest fan,” Marty chuckled.

 

Before bedtime, Marty and Aiden had their usual discussion about Aiden sleeping naked with Marty and, as usual, Aiden lost. Still, he had to try. Aiden wore just his boxers and liked that Marty didn’t fight him off when he snuggled up to him and wrapped his right arm around his muscular torso.

 

Rich, Jeffrey, and Nick were in the main house talking amongst themselves as well as with Jeffrey and Sammy’s parents. Sammy was overnighting with Jackson and Trent. He hadn’t been sure who he would end up in bed with when he left for their house.

 

Nick and Jeffrey’s on and off relationship was back on. Nick had transferred to Pepperdine for the upcoming semester and he and Jeffrey would be living together in a dorm.

 

“Girls are impossible to deal with,” Nick complained. “But then, so is Jeffrey, but he has the advantage that I love him because he puts up with all my weirdness.”

 

“I do that only because you’re a good fuck,” Jeffrey said.

 

The three planned on piling into Jeffrey’s bed with nothing specific planned beyond having SEX. Rich having sex with Jeffrey was Marty’s idea. “Then Jeffrey will be able to say he knows both of us intimately,” Marty joked with Rich and Jeffrey. They took Marty seriously. The addition of Nick was a bonus.

 

SUNDAY, JANUARY 11

 

<Aiden>

 

“Who’s got first shower?” Aiden asked sleepily when Marty woke him.

 

“I’ve already taken it,” Marty grinned.

 

“Rats. I was hoping maybe we could shower together.” Then Aiden’s eyes lit up when he saw that his idol was naked. “But there’s nothing to say you can’t have a second shower in the morning.”

 

“Dream on, sport.”

 

Aiden climbed out of bed and shucked his underpants, displaying his morning wood for Marty. “If you shower with me, you get to see this for the whole shower.”

 

“I must admit that sounds tempting. That is a fine piece of meat you’re sporting, sport. How big is that monster these days?”

 

“It’s over four inches and it shoots,” Aiden said proudly.

 

“No pubic hair yet, I see.”

 

“How come everybody makes a big deal about me not having pubic hair. I’m only twelve so it’s not that big a deal.”

 

“I thought you were almost thirteen,” Marty chuckled.

 

“I am, except for when people give me shit about not having hair. Now, do you want to come into the shower with me and admire my ‘monster” or not?”

 

“I want to do it, but I’m not going to do it. So, you go into the shower and wash up and do whatever needs to be done to tame that savage monster and keep it happy so we can get ready for the kick ass breakfast Mrs. B is going to serve up.”

 

“How do you know it’s a kick ass breakfast?”

 

“I know because Mrs. B ALWAYS cooks up kick ass breakfasts.”

 

Aiden headed to the bathroom. Marty picked up Aiden’s discarded boxers and tossed them on the bed. He picked out fresh underwear, shirt, and pants for himself and got dressed as his protégé showered. Marty wondered if Aiden really was taking care of taming the beast.  

 

After a quick jerkoff in which he fantasized about sleeping naked with Marty and then showering with him, Aiden washed himself quickly and came out of the shower. Marty noted that Aiden was flaccid. Aiden dressed and accompanied Marty to the main house for what was, indeed, a kick ass breakfast.

 

When Aiden skyped with Nolan that afternoon, he told him about cuddling up with Marty, seeing Marty naked in the morning, and undressing in front of Marty before heading for the shower.

 

“I think Marty liked seeing my boner,” Aiden told his boyfriend. “Anyway, my morning wood was more than just morning wood, it was horny morning wood, so I jerked off in the shower before I washed.”

 

“What gay dude wouldn’t like seeing your hardon?” Nolan inquired. “It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Mayfield Gay World after all.”

 

“You’re silly.”

 

“I swear I was being truthful. Too bad you couldn’t talk him into showering with you—maybe he would have jerked you off.”

 

“I tried. But better yet would be having you in the shower.”

 

“What would we do during a shower?”

 

Aiden told him, and ten minutes later he and Nolan had cummy bellies.

 

After logging off Skype, Aiden texted Happy Birthday to Everett who was celebrating his fourteenth birthday. His birthday with his family was at a steak and seafood restaurant in Olympia. “Eating pizza with you guys at The Bear would have been way more fun,” Everett told his teammates after Friday’s practice. 

 

MONDAY, JANUARY 12

 

“Nice hat,” Kalie said to Aiden when he sat next her on the bus. “Too bad it’s not a Mariner hat.”

 

“I always wear a Titans hat on game days,” Aiden reminded her.

 

“I don’t see why, since you don’t wear a hat playing basketball.”

 

“I can’t wear it in school either. It’s what my Pop calls, tradition.”

 

“My playing with your penis in the morning on the bus used to be a tradition, too.”

 

“And it’s also a tradition that I never get off on the day of a game until after the game.”

 

“I know, I’m just giving you a hard time. Are you going to beat this undefeated team?” Kalie asked, referring to the Monte Bulldogs.

 

“If we can stop Skyler Winsley, I’m sure we will win. But nobody’s stopped him yet.”

 

That was the theme during lunch too. Aiden saw Alex sitting at a distant table but made no attempt no talk to him. He didn’t want his thinking messed up talking to an asswaffle like Alex. He saved his chatter for his friends and teammates, many of whom gave him a good luck fist bump to help him on defense.

 

“We stop Skyler we got a great chance of winning the varsity game,” Miles said. “If we stop everybody, we have a chance of winning our game.” From what he had seen of the scores, the Monte JV was a good team and much more balanced than the varsity.

 

The JV game started before school was out. The Titans found themselves in a tough match. When the varsity players started filing into the gym, the second half was about to start with the Bulldogs holding a 17-13 lead over the Titans. Aiden spotted Nolan’s new friend, Greg, on the floor. Aiden knew Greg wore number 14 which made him easy to spot. Nolan was right, Aiden thought, the dude is sexy cute.

 

The second half score was 13-13 and Monte walked off with a 30-26 win over Mayfield on the Titans’ home floor. The loss left the JV with a 6-2 record. Lenny led the Titans with 7 points and Tanner was the rebounding leader with 6.

 

Aiden felt ready for his defensive assignment. He was surprised that while Skyler was taller than he was, he wasn’t three feet taller like he had imagined at times; the difference was more like three inches, which was often a significant difference in basketball, but was something Aiden felt he could work with. The three-foot difference was a bizarre thought he had to keep kicking out of his head as he tried to get into his zone.

 

The first quarter surprised everyone, including Aiden. Aiden played with his anchor down and his nose in Skyler’s bellybutton, as Coach Randall liked to describe a player displaying hard-nosed defense. While Skyler had the height advantage, Aiden was quicker afoot and was constantly harassing Skyler. Where Aiden had the big disadvantage was on the boards. Even when he blocked Skyler off the boards, the bigger player was able to snatch some rebounds away from Aiden without fouling him. 

 

On the offensive end of the floor, the Titans took advantage of the Bulldogs’ indifferent zone with a lot of reverse action. Moving the ball from side to side was a time-honored way of beating a zone. The play that was working for them was reversing the ball from a forward to the point guard at the head of the key and then to the weakside forward on the opposite side of the floor. As they did that, the off guard was cutting to the baseline. The forward threw a cross court pass to the guard, who would catch and shoot as the mediocre zone was slow to react to the pass. If he didn’t have a shot, the guard would reverse the ball to the point guard, who would hit the weakside forward again, who was often open for the shot or able to dump a pass inside.

 

Aiden was the off guard and was open four times in the first quarter for the cross-court pass. He hit three of the four, taking one of the good shots just outside the three-point line. He had seven points in the first quarter and held Skyler to three. Aiden won his part of the quarter and the rest of the team won theirs, holding a 12-5 lead at the quarter.

 

The second quarter was a similar story with a different cast. Aiden picked up his second foul a minute into the quarter. Coach Randall had a two-foul rule. When a player committed his second foul in the first half, he was substituted for. Randall didn’t want to have anyone in foul trouble before half-time. Aiden knew he would be coming out and gave way to Max. Max took Barry’s man and Barry shifted to guarding Skyler.

 

Barry and Skyler were the same height, but Skyler was a little quicker. Barry was well-drilled in defense, however, and stayed with Skyler, getting exceptional help from his teammates when Skyler managed to get around him. While Skyler wasn’t as frustrated as he had been when Aiden was on him, he still had to work for everything he got. He scored four points in the second quarter and the Titans outscored the Bulldogs 11-9, taking a 23-14 lead into the locker room.

 

Aiden was back on Skyler in the third quarter. Coach Randall reminded the team of things they had worked on in practice during his half-time talk and the team took those points of emphasis to heart. Once again, the Titans used a combination of great individual defense along with excellent team defense to hold Skyler to two points and the Bulldogs to five. The Titans had a 32-19 lead after three. Aiden scored another three points on a made basket on which he was fouled. He had 10 points to Skyler’s 9 and Skyler had played all eighteen minutes to Aiden’s thirteen.

 

Marty was sitting in the stands with Larry, Phil, and Rich. They were impressed with the hard-nosed man-to-man the Titans were playing; not just hard-nosed but fundamentally sound. The fourth quarter was a matter of not blowing a thirteen-point lead. The Bulldogs were an explosive team and could put on a run at any time. But they became their own worst enemies by putting on a half-court trapping defense. The Titans immediately went into their half-court press break, and before the Bulldogs knew it the Titans broke the press four times for lay-ins before their coach called off the trap.

 

Barry and Aiden kept Skyler at bay until he came out of the game with three minutes left and a season low 13 points. The Titans were holding a 44-23 lead and finished with a 48-28 win. Aiden finished with a season high 12 points to lead the team in scoring. Blake was the rebound leader with 11.

 

There was no hanky-panky in the showers after the game. The players were tired, and their minds were totally on their great win over a previously undefeated team. They were certain Meadow Park, their next opponent, was still undefeated since they were playing Clark Pass. Kentburg had their bye so there was no doubt they were still undefeated.

 

Aiden met Nolan on Skype after he got home. Nolan wasn’t surprised by the Titans’ win, but he was surprised that they won by 20 points over a team that had been undefeated. On the flip side he was unhappy that the Coyotes had to outscore Clark Pass 12-4 in the fourth quarter to eke out a 29-23 win.

 

“They ran out of gas,” Nolan told Aiden, “or they would have won their first game of the season and done it against an undefeated team. I know this sounds weird, but damn I hope they win a couple of games. Those guys work their fucking asses off, but they’re just too small and too young. But I’ll tell you this, we better watch our asses next year because I think they’re going to be good.”

 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 13

 

<Pierce>

 

As Pierce sat with Walker in the waiting room of Judge Wilson’s chambers, he thought about what a great day it had been so far. His extra work at school was paying off. Mrs. Andrews, who was one of the school’s guidance counselors, told him that when the new semester started in a couple of weeks, his schedule would be changed.

 

He would be taking freshman English at the Lake Union Academy first period. Lake Union was a private high school that had a close working relationship with Whitney Middle School.

 

His math class would be changed from advanced math to pre-algebra, which he would take sixth period at Whitney. His current math teacher had set up Pierce’s lessons to prepare him for the step up.

 

The algebra instructor was a high school teacher and the class was essentially a high school class. His Dad, who had taken the day off, sat in on the meeting and agreed with the changes. He would drop Pierce off at the high school in the morning and the high school would transport Pierce to the middle school after class in a school van. He was told there would be four other students riding with him. The two schools were just a few blocks from each other, but chances were he would be late for second period. Mrs. Andrews said his tardiness would be excused in advance, but that he should remember to enter his second period Physical Education class with as little fanfare as possible.

 

The long-term plan for him was to take summer classes which, along with his new second semester classes, should have him ready to enter high school as a sophomore instead of a freshman. Pierce was warned it would require a great deal of work on his part. He responded by saying he had no problem with working hard.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name being called by the judge’s clerk. He was escorted into the chambers of Judge Shelley Wilson for his final interview before approval of the adoption decree. The judge interviewed him for almost a half-hour and was impressed by what she heard. She had already talked to Mrs. Andrews, to Walker, to the Child Protective Services social worker assigned to the case, and to two references given to her by Walker. She had no doubt that Pierce was in the right place to spend his high school years.

 

“I’m going to sign the decree,” Judge Wilson told Pierce. It was all he could do to not whoop for joy. “but it is not official until after I officially declare you Walker Bledsoe’s legal son. I have one last question for you, Pierce.”

 

“Yes, Your Honor?”

 

“I can either keep your legal name Pierce Grayson or change it to Pierce Bledsoe. That is your call.”

 

“After what happened in my family, that’s a total no brainer; I want to be Pierce Bledsoe.”

 

“I expected that to be your answer,” the judge said with a smile. At the same time, she was thinking to herself “Damn, this boy’s got beautiful eyes.”

 

“Can I change my middle name, too?”

 

“That is possible providing you do it now.”

 

“Then I want my new legal name to be Pierce Walker Bledsoe,” Pierce grinned. “Yes, I already got Dad’s okay for it.”

 

“Then after your court hearing, that shall be your new name. I think that should be a good birthday present, don’t you?”

 

“Wow, you knew it’s my birthday?” Pierce quickly answered his own question. “I guess it is on my records. But, wow, Thursday is going to be my best birthday ever.”

 

<Justin>

 

When Pierce walked into the waiting room, he saw a young boy seated with two men. He wasn’t surprised to see his Dad engaged in conversation with one of the men; he knew his Dad was an outgoing, friendly man.

 

He heard the clerk’s voice behind him calling for Justin McKenzie. The boy and the two men stood up and were escorted into the judge’s chambers.

 

“I take it you didn’t fall on your ass,” Walker said as he looked at his smiling son.

 

“Excuse me? Fall on my ass?”

 

“When I had my talk with Judge Wilson this morning, she told me that she would approve the adoption unless you fell flat on your ass, so apparently you stood tall.”

 

“She really said that?”

 

“I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

 

“Who was the guy you were talking to other than somebody who knows that little kid?”

 

“That is Ryan, who is one of the boy’s fathers. The big guy is his other father. Ryan works for me and is one of my top programmers. His work is what they use on the light rail from the East Side to the airport to ensure it doesn’t crash into the train from downtown to the airport—at least that’s what he tells me,” Walker said half-kiddingly. “His husband is a middle school teacher. I knew he and his husband were looking to adopt the kid, but I didn’t know we would be bumping into each other today.”

 

“I guess Ryan didn’t program that meeting into his data base. Wow, so a gay couple is going to adopt that little kid…interesting,” Pierce said. “I bet there’s a good story behind that.”

 

“Their adoption hearing is right after yours on Thursday. I invited them to join us and Eddie’s family at Luigi’s. You’ll be able to get to know a lot of people better.”

 

“There’s so much good shit going on in my life right now, I can’t even keep track of it,” Pierce grinned. “And if I haven’t told you this yet through all the stuff you’ve been doing for me this week, I love you, Dad, and don’t you forget it.”

 

Walker gave his soon to be official son’s shoulder a squeeze. “Trust me, I won’t forget it; your love is very special to me. I love you, too kiddo—I love you big time.”

 

Because children under twelve years old had to have an adult sit in on their interview with the judge, Ryan and Mike sat with Justin while Judge Wilson asked a series of standard questions. The law allowed her a brief amount of time to interview the child without the parents after the main interview. She was required to have another adult with her, in this case her law clerk. She had a set of five standard questions for the solo interview which Justin answered satisfactorily.

 

One of her questions was what Justin’s legal name would be. His dads had told him that he would be asked that. Justin had told his dads at dinner the night before that he wanted his middle name to be changed from George, who was some relative of his mom’s he didn’t know, to McKenzie so he could always remember his Mom, his Dad, and his Grans every time he saw his name. Mike and Ryan found themselves holding back tears when Justin told them his choice with obvious heartfelt love.

 

After Judge Wilson finished her interview, she thanked Justin for being so well-behaved and patient. She asked the clerk to retrieve Justin’s fathers and she soon ushered Ryan and Mike back into the chambers.

 

“I will see you all on Thursday to make the adoption official,” Judge Wilson told them. “Congratulations to Justin McKenzie Boyer,” she grinned.

 

“Yippee for me,” Justin squeaked as the Boyer family left the room.

 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14

 

<Eddie and Curt>

 

While Judge Wilson was required to interview all adoptees, she knew her interviews of Eddie and Curt would be cursory. Their soon to be father was the King County Prosecutor, after all. The story of how he and his wife Susan had taken the boys off the streets was an inspiring one and she was eager to talk to the boys. She had seen Troy Miller’s birth sons at a couple of social functions and was impressed by their politeness, poise, and intelligence.

 

Since Curt was thirteen and Eddie was twelve, she could interview them without their parents present, but she liked having the entire family involved in all interviews no matter what the age of the adoptee. She would finish by asking each boy her five questions without the parents present.

 

During her interviews she could see that Eddie had a bit of an attitude at times. In her one-on-one interview with him, there were a couple of times when he seemed proud of his street skills and had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. She knew that Troy and Susan understood they had a daunting task on their hands, but she had every confidence they were up to seeing it through. Eddie admitted that not only did his new mother and father set high expectations, but so did his brothers. He told Judge Wilson that becoming a Miller was the best thing to ever happen to him.

 

Curt, on the other hand, was a boy who had been through a great deal of hurt. But he was also a boy who was proud of how he was dealing with his problems and was happy he was becoming part of a loving family. He put in a good word for Eddie, telling the judge how Eddie had helped him when he ended up on the streets. He didn’t go into the sexual angle, but he did describe Eddie as a big-hearted person who he loved like a brother even before he knew they would become brothers.

 

Judge Wilson finished her interviews with Curt, Eddie, Troy, and Susan together in her office. Both boys stated they wanted their last name changed to Miller but that they would keep their middle names. She signed the adoption papers to the smiles of all four. “I look forward to seeing you boys in court tomorrow,” the judge said.

 

“Our brothers will be there,” Curt informed her. “Then we’ll be a real family of brothers.”

 

Judge Wilson smiled. Everyone rose with her and she shook the hands of the two boys. It’s days like this that help me love my job, the judge smiled to herself.

 

<Aiden>

 

Aiden was pleased Kalie didn’t bring up his hat when he took his seat next to her on the bus. His mind was on the night game against Meadow Park and Nolan and he didn’t want to be bothered by silly stuff. Kalie knew Aiden well enough to not bring up the topic right then, but she wasn’t going to remain silent about it forever either.

 

Since the game against the Coyotes was a night game, Aiden ate a hot lunch and right after school was out he had a sandwich his Dad had packed away. He sat with Trent and Scott to watch the JV game. He and Nolan exchanged sly waves across the court, which elicited some good-natured joking from Aiden’s two friends.

 

Gordy played the entire first half, scoring ten points as the Coyote defense conceded some open shots to him as they tried to pack the middle to keep the ball from going inside to Tanner and Muddy. They weren’t successful in that endeavor, especially when they realized they were going to have to pressure Gordy. The Titans held a 22-14 lead at the half.

 

When the JV came out of the locker room, the varsity players replaced them and started preparing for the varsity game. Aiden knew that Gordy would be sitting out a quarter of the JV game so he could suit up varsity. He figured Lenny or Lance would replace him. Even though they were only sixth graders, they were as good as any of the guards on the JV except for Gordy. The JV finished with a 33-27 win over the Meadow Park JV.

 

The Titans would be playing an undefeated team for the third straight game and the players were determined to win two of the three—which meant winning this one. The Titan players knew that the Coyotes were struggling, but they also understood that the zero in the loss column said all that needed to be said. While Aiden wasn’t starting this game, he knew he would get plenty of playing time and hoped that he would get a chance to play defense on Nolan.

 

The game ended up being a disaster for Meadow Park. The Coyotes weren’t mentally prepared for the “in-your-face” style of man-to-man defense the Titans were now playing. Coach Randall’s preaching about defense and, more importantly, his incessant defensive drilling, was bearing fruit.

 

The Coyotes barely got a sniff of the basket in the first quarter, getting off only five hurried shots. They found themselves on the short end of a 12-0 score.

 

“You can’t blame me for this one,” Roland Barker snarled. “I’m not the only one missing shots.” Since Roland had only taken four of the team’s five shots, in a sense he was right.

 

Coach Billings glared at Roland, who glared back but said nothing. The coach mouthed some banalities about sucking it up and playing hard and it was still early, and anything could happen. He didn’t believe it and neither did anybody else. 

 

Aiden got his wish as he and Nolan each started the second quarter. “Coach said you’re my man,” Aiden told his boyfriend.

 

“That will make scoring even sweeter,” Nolan said, forgetting that his entire team had yet to score. The Titans scored the first four points of the second quarter before the Coyotes finally got on the board on a basket by Nolan. He didn’t score it off Aiden, however. He scored it off Everett on a fast break layup as Everett didn’t get back as quickly as he should have. Unlike what was happening with the Coyotes, it wasn’t Everett’s lack of hustle, it was confusion on his part as to who was supposed to be back for the fast break on a missed shot. Nolan’s basket made the score 16-2. The teams went into the locker room at the half with Mayfield leading 21-2.

 

Two of Mayfield’s baskets in the second quarter came because Roland didn’t bother playing defense. He simply waved at whoever had the ball and watched him score. After the second wave, Coach Billings pulled him. That they had just watched Roland play his last minutes of Coyote basketball didn’t surprise many of the Meadow Park fans in the gym; they weren’t seeing anything new from the malcontent.

 

Both coaches substituted freely in the second half. Mayfield’s bench was better than Meadow Park’s and the Titans ended up with a 41-12 win. The Titan players weren’t surprised by the win. They felt going into the game that they had a good chance of giving the Coyotes their first loss of the season. What surprised them (and the rest of the Seamount League) was the score; a 29-point win in a game everyone had expected to be close.

 

Aiden finished with five points, three assists, three steals, and a turnover. Nolan ended up with five points and five rebounds in the loss. Overall, it was a satisfying win for the Titans and a nightmare for the Coyotes.

 

When Aiden and Nolan met on Skype later that evening, Nolan was as pissed off as Aiden had ever seen him. “All I gotta say is Coach Billings better kick Roland’s sorry ass off the team,” Nolan snarled.

 

“It seems to me like he’s got no choice,” Aiden responded. “He killed you guys with his attitude and with the way he played.”

 

“Yeah, but his dad is friends with a couple of guys on the school board and I think Coach is scared of them.”

 

“Well, somebody has to do something about it.”

 

“Some of us on the team have talked about quitting if Coach doesn’t at least suspend him. And before you ask, yes, I told dad how I felt.”

 

“What did he say?” Aiden asked.

 

“He said to hold tight and see what happens. He also said if nothing was done tomorrow, he and Carter’s dad would have a talk with coach and the principal. And you know my dad—he’s a pretty nice guy, but you don’t want to fuck around with Judge Moyer.”

 

That was pretty much the extent of their conversation. There would be no jerking off that night, both because it was late and because Nolan was in no mood for it. Aiden hadn’t even asked about doing it—he read his boyfriend’s mood perfectly.

 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15

 

<Family Court>

 

The adoption hearings were scheduled for four o’clock and were the last thing on the Family Court docket. Judge Wilson had five adoptions on the docket, all boys. Her clerk informed her at twenty minutes to four that all the parties had arrived, which made the Judge happy. It meant she could start on time. Traffic and parking were always a problem in Seattle and sometimes, no matter how early someone thought they were going to be, they ended up being late because of that.

 

Pierce greeted Eddie and Curt. They laughed over the coincidence of their adoption hearings being on the same day. Curt introduced Drake, who was attending the ceremony with his adoptive father, Keegan. Drake had been through the procedure and knew what Eddie and Curt were thinking. Added to that, he thought that Pierce was one unbelievably hot dude. The feeling was mutual.

 

They talked about the reception at Luigi’s after the hearing. “It’s cool that we got the party room for our two families,” Eddie said.

“Three families,” Pierce corrected him.

 

“How?”

 

“See that little boy over there—no, not the baby, the other one.”

 

“Yeah. What about him?”

 

“Well, my dad is the boss of one of his dads. They just found out a couple of days ago their adoption ceremonies were on the same day. So, they’ll be joining us.”

 

“Sounds good to me,” Curt said. “It looks like it will be a giant party. I hope Luigi has plenty of pizza dough. Go get him so we can find out who he is,” he instructed Logan.  

 

The best thing about the party at Luigi’s is that Tony texted that he would be there, Logan thought to himself as he walked over to invite Justin to join the group. 

 

The adults, who seemed to be forgotten in the proceedings, chatted busily with each other. Troy introduced his brothers, Keegan and Phil, to Walker. Troy hadn’t known that Phil and Keegan knew Mike and Ryan.

 

“Larry apologizes for not being able to make it,” Phil said. Troy and Keegan had known in advance that Larry wouldn’t be able to make it as well as Aiden. They both sent video congratulations to Curt, Eddie, and Justin, plus they would be seeing Justin the next day.

 

They also introduced themselves to Brandon and Shirley Vogel who were adopting a sixteen-month-old baby who was about to become Aidan Vogel. Susan, who was the only other mother in the courtroom, wished them the best of luck. Phil asked them how the baby’s name was spelled and Brandon spelled it for them. Phil told them that his son’s name was also Aiden and even though the names were spelled differently he was a great kid with a great name, and they should expect the same from their Aidan.

 

“You’re all adopting older boys,” Brandon noted. “That must take a great deal of courage,” he chuckled.

 

The Vogel spouses each had their own parents there to witness the ceremony. Susan invited all of them to their party, telling them there would be plenty of food. Shirley thanked her and said they had already made their dinner plans.

 

The boys’ chatter stopped when a lady accompanied by two dark haired boys entered the courtroom. “Tony!” “Marco!” Logan and Justin called out at the same time. They quickly moved over to their friends.

 

“What are you doing here?” Justin asked Marco. “You’re not being adopted.”

 

A lot of boys, Marco’s brother Tony for one, would have come up with a smart response to Justin’s comment, but Marco simply said, “I came to watch you get a family of your own.” His mother, Marne, was impressed by the length of her son’s answer; generally, he would have replied, “I came to watch,” and left it at that.

 

“Cool. Come sit with me.”

 

“I was hoping to see you at the party,” Logan said to Tony. “This is even better. But how come you’re here when none of your friends is being adopted.”

 

“Because that way mom could take Marco and me to the restaurant together,” Tony replied.

 

“Yeah, that makes sense. I should have thought of that answer.”

 

Pierce saw that it was five minutes to four and wondered when people were going to start sitting down. His question was quickly answered when the bailiff entered the courtroom and asked everyone to be seated. He knew that nobody ever responded instantly to that request, so he gave plenty of notice. He was pleased when everyone was seated and ready two minutes before the judge was scheduled to enter the courtroom.

 

The adoption process was a combination of courtroom decorum and family celebration. Judge Wilson was experienced enough to know how to keep things calm when needed while allowing the gallery to celebrate when appropriate.

 

The Vogel family was called first. Judge Wilson wanted to take care of the baby before he became cranky. Plus, she had learned in doing her interviews that the other three adoptive families were connected in some way and handling them consecutively was the right thing to do. As soon as the baby officially became Aidan Lawrence Vogel, the grandparents cheered and applauded and the flashbulbs went off, which started young Aidan shrieking. When Phil heard Aidan’s middle name, he couldn’t help but be amused by how the names of the baby were connected to his family.

 

After the Vogels were finished, Justin was called up next. Mike, Ryan, and Justin’s grandmother, Amy McKenzie, applauded and smiled proudly. Marco said just loudly enough for everyone to hear, “He’s my friend,” and then watched quietly.

 

As soon as the formalities were completed, Judge Wilson declared Justin to be, “Justin McKenzie Boyer.” Justin held up his certificate and smiled for the cameras that flashed. Marco held up a sign that read, “Congrats Justin Boyer,” which he had made himself using crayons, and snuck in under his coat. Marne and Amy took pictures of Justin and his two dads and then Marne took a couple of pictures of them with Amy. The picture that everyone ended up loving the most was one taken before the posed group shots. It was taken by Ryan and showed Justin holding up his official certificate flashing a smile that truly lit up the room.

 

Pierce was next. Walker was the only person in the courtroom who had come just for Pierce’s confirmation, but he did have friends there. And those friends made themselves known after he received his certificate and officially became Pierce Walker Bledsoe. Ryan and Marne ended up being the chief picture takers while Curt, Eddie, and Drake provided the most enthusiastic applause. Pierce knew Drake was a member of the Miller family and thought he was one hot boy. He wanted to know the outgoing teen even better.

 

The finals consisted of Eddie and then Curt. Each had their own ceremony, their own applause, their own signs, and had their own pictures taken. But the last pictures were of Eddie and Curt together and then a big Miller family picture of Troy, Susan, and the four boys, with Eddie and Curt proudly holding up their certificates in one of them.

 

Judge Wilson finally pounded her gavel, and everyone was seated. She congratulated the new adoptees and court was adjourned. Pierce and Justin ran up to the judge, gave her handshakes, and thanked her. Eddie and Curt sheepishly followed them, upset that they didn’t think of thanking the judge first.

 

<Luigi’s Italian Restaurant>

 

Everyone gathered their belongings, left the courtroom, and headed for Luigi’s for the celebratory dinner. The party room soon became noisy and full of cheer. Camera flashes were frequent, laughter was frequent, and soon, the food was plentiful.

 

Justin drifted to Marco and the boys talked about working on their parents so they could have an overnight. Marco was happy that his new friend was so happy.

 

Tony and Logan paired up, of course, and found ways to touch each other. They sat next to each other while they waited for their food. When their legs touched, Logan pressed on Tony’s leg, causing Tony to pull away quickly. Logan was sure that Tony had misunderstood his push, so he moved his right leg so it touched Tony’s left leg. Tony didn’t pull back and pushed Logan’s leg. Logan then returned the pressure, causing both boys to grin.

 

Logan made the next move, which was to touch Tony’s left hand with his right and they clasped fingers and squeezed. Their grins became even wider, but they had to let go to eat. After Logan leaned close to Tony and whispered that he had a boner, Tony whispered back that he had one, too. Logan slyly reached down and squeezed Tony’s erection through his jeans. Tony looked at him with surprise and then grinned. They agreed that an overnight was necessary soon. 

 

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” Logan said quietly.

 

“I’ll come with you.” Tony hoped Logan wouldn’t think he was weird for wanting to go with him, but having his cock squeezed made him think Logan wouldn’t have a problem with it.

 

As soon as they stepped into the small bathroom, Logan locked the door. “Want to see my boner?”

 

“Duh, why else would I follow you into the bathroom?”

 

Logan quickly dropped his pants and underpants, showing off his hairless three-and-half-inch erection. Tony hesitated for a moment since being flashed in a bathroom was an entirely new experience for him. Then he pulled down his pants and showed off his similarly sized tool. His crotch was equally hairless.

 

“I think yours is bigger than mine,” Tony said.

 

“It’s close enough for government work is what my dad says. I’m not sure what it means, but it sounds cool.” Logan lightly touched the head of Tony’s erection. “I can think of another reason for you to follow me into the bathroom than just doing show-and-tell,” Logan said. “I can show you, if you want.”

 

“I want.”

 

Logan leaned in and planted a kiss on Tony’s lips while pushing his hardon against his friend’s. He started humping and kissed hard—he thought about pushing his tongue against Tony’s lips, but decided they had better return to the party room before people began wondering where they went. He broke the kiss and looked directly at Tony, who was flushed and breathing hard.

 

“Were you okay with that?” Logan asked.

 

“It kinda surprised me but yeah, I’m more than okay.” Tony cupped Logan’s balls and gave him a quick kiss.

 

“Now I really do have to pee,” Logan grinned. The boys stood side-by-side and peed into the toilet before pulling up their pants.

 

“You’re a really cool friend, Logan,” Tony said.

 

“So are you Tony. Now, let’s see if you spend tomorrow night at my house.”

 

The other pairing was Drake and Pierce. They had started flirting in the courtroom and their actions continued while they ate. “We need to get together,” Drake said as they worked on their slices of pizza. “We’re both adopted, and I think we have a lot to talk about.”

 

Drake had learned from his father that Pierce had lived a tough life.

 

“Tougher than mine?” Drake asked Keegan. “Like what?”

 

“I’m not at liberty to say but I think the two of you have a lot in common and might enjoy getting together.”

 

Drake thought that his dad was right. He found that he liked Pierce and was certain the feeling was mutual. He wondered if Pierce was attracted to him as he was to Pierce. His first impression of Pierce that he was one hot boy simply amped up as they got to know each other better. Pierce’s thoughts about Drake were close to Drake’s.

 

Pierce decided to get one thing out into the open, however. He didn’t want a budding friendship to end because he wasn’t up front with Drake. “Before we make any plans, would it bother you if I told you I was gay?”

 

Drake felt a rush of pleasure flow through his body and a tingle flow through his crotch. This was even better than he imagined. “It would bother me only if you were bothered by my being gay.”

 

Pierce flashed a wide smile. “Well, like they say in this old movie, ‘I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.’”

 

“Then let’s talk to our dads before this is over about us getting together. And since I live way off on the east side, maybe we could talk them into us making it an overnight.”

 

The two teens noticed Logan and Tony returning to the party room together after having left together. “I wonder what they were up to?” Pierce asked quietly.

 

“Knowing Logan, I bet it had to do with sex,” Drake smirked.

 

“Wow, that’s my kind of cousin.”

 

The arrival of pizza, lasagna, and spaghetti and meat balls quickly quieted the room as the group concentrated on eating. There was cake to be eaten as well, a large cake with the names of the four adoptees written on the icing.

 

Tony and Logan were ecstatic when a Saturday overnight was okayed at Logan’s house. Pierce and Drake were told by Walker and Troy they would have to wait for a get-together since Drake’s parents would have to be consulted first. Marco wanted an overnight that weekend and was disappointed when Justin told him he was going to a wedding out of town with his dads and would be away for a couple of days. They vowed to find a way to have an overnight during an upcoming weekend, however.

 

Three pairs of boys got the okay for overnight visits as soon as they could figure out when and where, which meant coordinating with the parents. But for Justin and Pierce, the youngest and oldest adoptees, one of the best days of their lives continued to get better. For Logan and Tony, their flirting during the party told them that they were ready to take their budding friendship to a different level.

 

Curt and Eddie hung out with Chase and didn’t feel left out at all. Chase would never let that happen. What Curt and Eddie felt they were missing at the party was the kind of special friendships they saw happening. But that evening it didn’t matter, they were now a permanent part of a great family and their lives felt great.

 

The four boys whose names were on the icing of the cake all felt the same way: they were now official and on that night they couldn’t ask for anything more.

 

<Justin and Dads>

 

After dropping Amy off at the Woodward Retirement Home, the Boyer family headed for their home. It was the first time the three of them were together alone as the Boyer family. They might have enjoyed the event in quiet contemplation if not for the gregarious eight-year-old in the backseat.

 

“So, if me and Marco can’t have an overnight together this weekend, when can we have one?” Justin whined.

 

“We’ll play it a weekend at a time,” Ryan responded.

 

“Yeah, but…”

 

“End of story!”

 

“Okay, I won’t ask again until next week. Why are we going to the wedding in Mayfield?”

 

“We told you. It’s because one of the grooms is Marty’s brother. We were invited because we all knew each other back when we were kids,” Mike replied.

 

“I thought you were older than Marty. And if you’re older than Marty then you’re way older than his little brother, so how could you all know each other?”

 

“Because of baseball and because we grew up in a small town.”

 

“What does a small town have to do with it?”

 

“You are full of questions this evening,” Mike chuckled. “It’s just that in a small-town people get to know more people because we see each other more.”

 

“Now I’ll know eight married men,” Justin said. “You and Daddy Dawg, Marty and Rich, Uncle Phil and Uncle Larry and the guys we’ll see get married.”

 

“Mikey and Peter,” Ryan said.

 

“Yeah, them. How come guys wanna marry each other? They can’t have kids that way.”

 

“Hey, Dawg, is there anybody in the backseat?” Mike asked Ryan.

 

“Not that I know of,” Ryan replied.

 

“Too bad. I think it might be nice if we adopted a boy to sit back there.”

 

“I’m sure Larry and Phil wish they had kids, too.”

 

“Okay, so they can have kids,” Justin conceded. “But they can’t get pregnant and have kids.”

“True, but we still can have kids to love very, very, very much,” Mike said, “just like we love you.”

 

“And I love my dads. I can’t wait to see Aiden again. I want to do more stuff with my big bro. He’s the best big bro in the whole universe.”

 

“I’m sure he is, and I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you, too,” Ryan told him as he turned the car into their street.

 

That night after climbing into bed, Justin said good night to Kenneth, his teddy bear, and directed him to keep the monsters under the bed at bay. He knew Kenneth would follow through since he had never seen a bed monster since he had Kenneth. Not that he had ever seen any before he had Kenneth, but with Kenneth on guard he was positive he would never see one—ever.

 

He then thought about what Marco had said to him during the party when they talked about spending a night together when he was sure nobody was listening. “Do you think I can see you naked when we do our overnight?”

 

Justin was stunned by quiet, shy Marco’s question, but he was not about to drop the ball answering the question. Even though Marco was already nine, Justin felt that they were equals. “Only if I can see you naked, too.”

 

“Deal.” That was the last thing Marco said until they had finished eating and went to talk to their parents about overnighting.

 

And now Justin imagined Marco without any clothes on and hoped he would get to see Aiden naked again. On this visit to Mayfield, Justin planned to find any excuse he could to be “nakey” with his big bro.

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16

 

<Aiden>

 

 Aiden’s three-day weekend promised to be “crazy busy.” Of course, there was the day at school. He would be getting out early for the Titan basketball game at Barrett. His pop would be at the game, although not until after the opening tip, but his dad would be home making dinner and being there to greet their overnight company if they arrived before he and his pop got home.

 

Aiden was looking forward to having his little bro spending a night. Justin was a bundle of energy and almost wore him out when he visited a couple of weeks ago. But that had been New Year, and everybody was hyped up, especially for the Happy Nude Year. Skip and Gage, who were close to Justin’s age, weren’t as full of non-stop energy as the little eight-year-old.

 

On Saturday afternoon they would be going to the wedding of Marty’s brother Mikey and Peter the steakhouse manager. After the wedding, Justin would be heading home with his Donkey and Dawg dads. Saturday night would be his only night of the weekend sleeping alone. He considered sleeping with his dads just to fill the weekend but put off the decision for Saturday night.

 

Then came Sunday. The plan was for him to be dropped off at Nolan’s house at noon and then spend the afternoon, evening, and night with his boyfriend. That was going to be the high point of his weekend no matter what else happened. The Titans were expected to easily defeat the Barrett Bruins, who had won only one game all season.

 

The game was as one sided as expected. The Titans jumped off to a 10-0 lead and coasted to a 44-16 win. Aiden had seven points, five assists, three steals, and no turnovers. Trent led the Titan scorers with 10 points and Blake was the leading rebounder with six. The JV won 37-21. Lenny was the leading scorer with nine points for the Titans.

 

The bus trip back to Mayfield was lively, but as far as Aiden knew at the time, everyone kept their pants zipped. It wasn’t until a couple of days later the he learned that Mason had jerked Lenny off as a reward for his good game.

 

After the bus ride, Aiden was picked up at the school by Larry. When they arrived home they learned that their company should arrive in about twenty-minutes. Aiden took his gear to his bedroom and then helped set the table.

 

The company arrived as Aiden came back down the stairs. Justin and his dads had left Seattle for Mayfield as soon as Mike came home from school. Ryan had taken the afternoon off so Justin wouldn’t have to wait at daycare or at a friend’s house.  Justin had been unhappy they weren’t riding the train and was assured that they would be train riding again.

 

“But for this trip, the car is the best way for us to travel,” Mike told him as they hit the freeway. Other than a stop at the Olympia Rest Area, they drove non-stop to Mayfield.

 

Justin led the way up the steps to the front door and rang the doorbell, giggling when he heard the opening bars to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Larry answered the door and ushered the company into the house.

 

“This Donkey smells dinner,” Mike grinned as he entered the house. “The smell of good cooking’s the best greeting a Donkey can receive.”

 

Hugs and handshakes were exchanged with the biggest hug being the one Justin clamped on Aiden, removing all negative thoughts Aiden had about Justin wearing him out. Let the little imp try to wear me out, because I’m ready for him, Aiden thought. He’s way too sweet and loveable to ever wear me out.

 

After dinner Aiden and Justin went downstairs to the game room. “You were pretty good at ping pong when you were here before,” Aiden said. “Wanna play a game?”

 

“I wanna BEAT you in a game, not play it,” Justin giggled.

 

“Okay then, let’s see you put your money where your mouth is. But ping pong is more fun to play if we take off our jeans and play in our underpants.” 

 

“How about playing nakey?”

 

“Underpants!”

 

“Okay, but then we get to play two games instead of one.”

 

Aiden readily agreed. “Great, that means I get to beat you twice.”

That was not quite what happened. Justin hustled his buns off in the first game and won 11-8. Justin pranced around the table chanting, “I won, I won, I beat my big bro, I won, won…” It was all Aiden could do to step in front of Justin to give him a high five—he was furious. He felt like he had all but given the game to his little bro.

 

Aiden reacted to Justin's victory as any competitive athlete would—he played harder and better. For the second game he moved his mental state from the “I love little Justin” mode it had been in, to being almost in one of his zones.  The result was an 11-4 win. Justin stuck out his hand and shook his big bro’s hand. “My big bro played a good game. Nice game, big bro.” 

 

Justin’s response surprised and embarrassed Aiden.  “You played a pretty good one yourself,” Aiden conceded. And he knew it was the truth; his little bro was a good player and a good little athlete, and a good sport as well.

 

“Now what?” Justin asked.

 

“Let’s go up to my room. I want to look at the basketball scores and see if Nolan is online.”

 

“Nolan is your boyfriend, right?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Are you going to get married like our dads and Marty and Rich and the two guys getting married tomorrow?”

 

“Deciding to do that is a long way off, bro,” Aiden chuckled. “Right now, we’re happy just to be boyfriends.”

 

Aiden picked his pants off the foosball table where he had tossed them. Justin did the same and asked if he had to put his pants on to go upstairs.

 

“Nope. Around here, undies rule,” Aiden replied.

 

When the boys raced past the adult room, Justin ducked into the room, wiggled his hips in his tighty whities, and yelled out, “Undies rule! Undies rule!” and the boys zipped upstairs to the sound of adult laughter.  

 

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