Mayfield Titans

 

CHAPTER 46

BORROWING FROM THE PAST

 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23

 

<Aiden and Kalie>

 

“Are you ready for my party on Saturday?” Kalie asked Aiden as he sat next to her on the morning bus.

 

“You’re the one who has to be ready,” Aiden responded. “All I have to do is show up with a birthday card and a lock on my zipper to make sure I don’t take my pants off.” Like most Mayfield birthday parties, Kalie’s was a no-present party. That didn’t mean that very best friends didn’t sneak in a present or sneak money into their birthday card envelope. The idea was to keep anyone from feeling like he or she had to bring a present of some sort. One of the plusses of a Mayfield birthday party was the amount of care kids made in selecting or constructing their birthday cards. Aiden planned on sneaking a ten-dollar bill into his birthday card envelope.

 

“You know you want to take your pants off,” Kalie grinned. “You always like to take your pants off at birthday parties.”

 

“But this is a girl birthday party.”

 

“So? It’s not like you haven’t been naked at my house before. You’re starting to turn into Gordy—all afraid of being naked or doing sex or whatever he gets afraid of.”

 

“Gordy isn’t afraid,” Aiden said firmly. “He just wants to do what he thinks is right.”

 

“And now you’re starting to agree with him, aren’t you?” Kalie was half-teasing and half-serious.

 

“Look, I was just joking about the lock on my zipper. Let’s just wait and see what happens. And before you ask, I haven’t decided if I’m spending the night and so I haven’t asked my dads about it yet.”

 

“How come boys are so hard to understand?”

 

“Maybe it’s because we’re so awesome.”

 

“Whatever. I still like you no matter what.”

 

“Good. And even better, the Mustang baseball team starts practice today.” Aiden was eager to change the subject. “Gordy and I plan to help out at practice until our practices start.”

 

“From what I can see out of the window, you’ll be practicing inside.” It was raining steadily and Aiden knew that even if it stopped soon, the field would probably be too wet for practice. He didn’t mind—indoors was warmer and there still would be enough going on to keep Gordy and him busy taking care of equipment.

 

<Lance and Grant>

 

“Are we still going after school?” Grant asked Lance as they ate their lunch at what was now the Titan baseball table. While it was actually three tables in a row put together to make up one table, the boys treated it as a single table. The students on second lunch understood, without anybody saying it, that the layout was the “jock” table, reserved for the participants of whatever sport was in progress. With basketball over, baseball was now the sport in progress, even though turnouts didn’t start until March 16.

 

Even though girls’ basketball was in season, girls were welcome to sit at the table if they planned on turning out for softball. Most of the girls preferred sitting at their own tables. They wanted no part of the testosterone filled atmosphere of the “jock” table. They much preferred chasing after boys in their own territory and under their own terms.

 

“As long as your mom can drive us,” Grant replied to Lance’s question.

 

“She said she was getting off work two hours early to do it.”

 

The boys were talking about going to Centralia Hospital to visit Alex Guerrero. Grant’s mother had turned down Grant’s request to drive him and Lance. Even though Grant tried to convince her otherwise, she blamed Alex for introducing Grant to alcohol and drugs.

 

“Mom, we got stuff from older kids and me and Alex got each other to drink and smoke weed,” Grant had argued on Wednesday when he told his mom he wanted to visit Alex in the hospital.

 

“Grant, you were ten years old. I don’t want you seeing him.”

 

“But, mom, he needs to know he has friends and we want to help him to get well.”

 

After arguing back and forth, with Grant sticking to his point about how Alex needed the help of friends to get well, Grant’s mom finally gave in. “But only if you find another parent willing to drive you and that you take one of your friends to visit with you.”

 

“Thanks mom. I won’t let you down.”

 

“I know you won’t, son, but I’m your mother and I can’t help worrying about you. Just don’t think this means it’s okay for you to be friends with him. I’m letting you do this because it might help a sick boy.”

 

What Grant didn’t understand was why, if his mother was okay with him going, she wouldn’t take him herself. What didn’t occur to him was that his mother saw this as a way to say she was okay with Grant’s idea while at the same time thinking he wouldn’t be able to find someone to take him to Centralia. When he came up with Lance and Lance’s mother to help with his plan, Grant’s mother had no choice but to approve.

 

By Friday afternoon, Grant had arranged the visit, providing Alex was still hospitalized. Lance’s mother called Alex’s mother, who was happy somebody was willing to visit her son, even if one of the boys going was Grant. She blamed Grant for getting Alex into drugs and alcohol, but now that Grant was clean, she decided to allow the visit. She was desperate for anything to help her son.

 

And so, Grant, Lance, and Lance’s mother left for Centralia as soon as school was out. After arriving at the hospital, they checked in as visitors and were ushered to Alex’s room by a volunteer. Leslie Hazen remained at the entry to the room to give the boys some privacy.

 

When Grant saw Alex he couldn’t believe how sick he looked. His face was ashen and his eyes looked dull.

 

“What are you doing here?” Alex growled when he saw Grant and Lance enter the room.

 

“We came to see you,” Grant replied. He had become used to Alex’s grouchiness. He knew his mother didn’t really have much to worry about when it came to Alex and him becoming friends; there was no way Alex was going to let that happen. But he believed that letting Alex know somebody cared would help him get better. He was being of service, just as he was learning to be from his friends in the Fourth Dimension and from Taylor Gresham, his drug and alcohol counselor. Grant was determined not to let Alex’s attitude discourage him.

 

“Why, so you can laugh at the dude who tried to kill himself? Well, I didn’t try, okay? I just had too much of everything. But if you really want to know, I wish I was dead, even if I didn’t try to do it, okay?” Alex dropped back on his bed. It was as if his little tirade had worn him out.

 

Grant persisted. “We thought you could use some friends who don’t care what you did and just want you to get better.”

 

Alex stared at the ceiling. “I know Grant is here because he’s a pain in the ass but why is that twin here?” he asked in a barely audible voice.

 

“To be your friend and help you get well.”

 

“Bullshit,” Alex muttered. “I’m outta this dump in a couple of days and I get to go to some rehab place where nobody, not even my mom, can visit me for a whole two weeks and maybe longer if I’m not good. It’s all bullshit because I don’t need no friends.” Unlike his initial tirade, in which Alex tried to stare down his two visitors, he talked in a monotone as he continued to gaze at the ceiling. “You guys can go now because like I said I don’t need no friends.”

 

When Grant didn’t respond, Lance decided to step in because Alex was pissing him off. “That’s a bunch of crap, dude,” Lance said strongly. “Everybody needs friends and Grant’s the best friend a guy can have. And I’m here to be your friend, too.”

 

Grant maintained his calm demeanor. “When you get out of rehab, just remember you can call me and talk to me.”

“And me too,” Lance added.

 

Alex took his eyes off the ceiling and glared at the two boys in his room. “Get the fuck out and go home. I don’t need nobody’s help because I ain’t worth helping.”

 

Grant was undeterred. “We’ll see you when you get back home.” He gave Alex a smile and a wave as he and Lance walked slowly out of the room. Lance waved as well and caught Alex giving them the finger before he turned.

 

“Well, that was a waste of your time,” Leslie Hazen said as she drove out of the hospital parking lot. “I’m sorry you boys had to go through that. And Grant, I have to say that I admire how you maintained your poise in there. I kept waiting for you to blow a fuse. The same with you, Lance.”

 

“Thank you for the compliment, Mrs. Hazen,” Grant responded. “This isn’t the first time Alex has been like that with me. Guys like Sammy and Peter and Aiden in my group of friends and Taylor, my counselor, all said if I just let Alex know he has a friend when he’s ready, then I did all I can do.”

 

“You did a very good job of doing that,” Leslie said.

 

Grant looked to his friend Lance and lightly clasped his hand. “I think Lance did great too, because now Alex knows he’s got two friends when he’s ready.”

 

“You are a very mature young man, Grant. I’m pleased that Lance has you as his best friend.”

 

“As my boyfriend,” Lance corrected. He and Grant had let Lance’s mother know what their relationship was, but she was having problems latching on to the idea.

 

“Humor me boys. For now, in my mind, you’re both twelve and you’re both the very best of friends. I know what you think of each other, but you both have more growing up to do before I can accept more.”

 

Grant gave Lance a warm smile when he felt his boyfriend give his hand a hard squeeze. He wanted badly to kiss the luscious lips of the boy next to him. They looked more than ready to be kissed. 

 

Leslie broke the reverie as she said as much to herself as to the boys, “But with the maturity the two of you displayed this afternoon, I can’t help but think my outlook on your relationship might change sooner than I think.”

 

Lance and Grant exchanged smiles. Just as they had been with Alex, they were willing to be patient with Lance’s mother, knowing that if they showed her how much they loved each other and how grown up they were about it, it wouldn’t be long before she accepted their relationship.

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26.

 

<Mayfield High School Mustang baseball practice>

 

After having their first three practices indoors, the Mustangs were finally able to have their first outdoor practice of the season. The weather was cold and breezy and not conducive to good baseball, but Larry and his two assistants knew that outdoor practice, despite the cold, damp weather, would be more productive in the long run than another practice indoors.

 

Aiden and Gordy couldn’t show up for the practices at the baseball field until after the practices started because of the way the school schedules played out. Their job, once they got on the field, was to keep equipment picked up and out of the way and do whatever tasks the coaches or the student equipment managers assigned them. Ron Tate, a sophomore, and Luke Greer, a junior, were the managers for the season. Aiden liked them; they were hardworking and good at telling him and Gordy what to do without being bossy about it.

 

Aiden knew many of the players, not only because his dad was the head coach, but also because of his work with the Mayfield Baseball Club. He enjoyed the interaction with them during practice, in particular Jackson Hallion, Peter Astor, Andy Hoffman, Mark Elder, Sammy Bednarzyk, and David Fitzgerald. There were 43 boys turning out for the three teams: freshman, JV, and varsity. Considering the size of the school, Larry thought it was an excellent turnout. Twelve of the players turning out were freshmen. A couple of the high schools in the Seamount league did not field a freshman team because they didn’t have enough bodies to fill them.

 

Larry planned on keeping 39 players on the active roster, the twelve on the freshman team and 27 to fill the JV and varsity (he was allowed up to 40). The other four boys could opt to turnout and make up a taxi squad. They were all eligible to play if they continued to turn out and could suit up for a game if someone was injured or they performed well enough to bump a player down to the taxi squad.

 

After practice, Aiden and Gordy helped the high school managers put away the equipment. Larry then dropped Gordy off at his house and he and Aiden headed home. This would be their usual routine for the three weeks they would be helping. Aiden had tried to convince Larry that if he were allowed to ride his bike to school and Gordy rode his, the two of them would be able to make it to practice much sooner than when they had to walk to practice. Larry told him he would think about the idea, which Aiden knew was father speak for “I don’t think so.” Still, he and Gordy planned to have a lot of fun being around baseball until the middle school turnouts started on March 16.

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27

 

<Kalie>

 

Aiden wished Kalie a happy birthday as soon as he plopped into the seat next to her on the morning bus. Kalie would be having her thirteenth birthday party at her house the next day. She invited twenty kids, but the house plus the backhouse were big enough to hold them all. Only seven of them would be spending the night: Kalie’s cousins Ian and Gretchen, Gordy, Aiden, Miles, Brittany, and Christy Caine. Kalie wanted to invite more, but her parents decided that having a large group of hormone driven tweens and young teens was a recipe for disaster and thought a smaller group would be more manageable and would require little or no supervision.

 

The strategy had worked for their son Travis, so it should work for Kalie, was how they saw it. The fact that his overnights were all boys, who were more interested in sneaking beers than anything else (or so they thought), created a different environment than Kalie’s mixed parties. That didn’t factor into their thoughts or it didn’t matter to them. As with her tween parties, as long as Kalie was happy, and nobody got hurt, they were willing to let things play out. But Kalie’s mother did reserve the right to give a talk on responsibility before the overnighters were left on their own, a right she invoked.

 

“Are Ian and Gretchen going to be coming up tonight?” Aiden asked. Kalie’s cousins lived in Eugene, Oregon.

 

“Nope. They will be here by party time tomorrow. But Christy will be spending the night tonight. We’ll have some fun warming up for tomorrow,” Kalie grinned. Kalie was convinced that her new friend, who had moved to Mayfield in the fall, was a lesbian. 

 

“Good luck in your basketball game,” Aiden told Kalie as the bus pulled into the busway. The Titans were playing Kentburg at home.

 

“I wish you and Gordy could come.”

 

“Oh, yeah, we are going to be there. Pop said he was okay with us supporting our friend on her birthday. Trent and Everett are going to help with the high school practice equipment.” Aiden stood up to start down the aisle. He stopped and faced Kalie. “Happy birthday, Kalie. Now that you know Gordy and I are going to be there, you have no excuse to lose to Kentburg.”

 

The game was a good one, with Kalie hitting the winning shot with seven seconds to go to give the Titans a 24-22 win over the Kentburg Royals. Kalie told her friends and teammates after the game that the win was a special birthday present. She thanked Gordy and Aiden for coming to the game, exchanging a chaste hug with Aiden and a little longer one with Gordy.

 

Her parents were both at the game and she rode home with them. Gordy and Christy Caine, who was rapidly becoming one of Kalie’s best friends, rode along since they had been invited to enjoy Kalie’s birthday dinner at Florentino’s Mexican Restaurant in Kentburg. Larry picked up Aiden and drove him home.

 

After dinner, Gordy was dropped off at his house, but Christie went to Kalie’s house where she would be spending the night. Christie shared Kalie’s bed that night. Kalie knew that Gordy would be her bed partner the next night. After spending time with Kalie’s mother and father, the girls went to the backhouse, where they undressed and watched a movie. They held hands and kissed lightly a few times but didn’t get into heavy petting until the movie was over. Then it was an evening of French kissing, sucking boobs, finger fucking, pussy eating, and three orgasms apiece.

 

As she and her friend fell asleep in each other’s arms, Kalie wondered if sex with Gordy would be as good as making out with Christy. She wasn’t concerned about making out with Gordy—that much had become quite satisfying once he understood how to take her to an orgasm. What she was wondering about was the one thing she couldn’t do with Christy, and that was fucking.

 

<Lance and Grant>

 

Lance and Grant had been waiting for the opportunity for love making after their visit with Alex. This was the night to do it since Lenny was overnighting at Emmett’s house.

 

The two traded blow jobs for one cum and madly dry humped for the second. Their plan had been for Lance to fuck Grant. The humping was supposed to be warmup. Instead it became a sexual wrestling match, with wet kissing, cock rubbing, and even a few minutes of Lance rimming Grant. Grant came so close to cumming from Lance’s tongue licking his ass that he finally rolled over his friend with the intention of entering him. But he was too close to orgasm and all he could do was rub his cock along Lance’s torso as he kissed his friend’s neck. Their mutual orgasms let to a mess, which they enjoyed rubbing around their bodies and faces.

 

“That was crazy wild,” Grant grinned as they recovered.

 

“I like crazy wild,” Lance said.

 

“You licking my ass was as wild as we’ve gotten.”

 

“Wilder than us peeing on each other?”

 

“Yeah, except I think the ass licking was better since it got me close to cumming and peeing just makes me think about being nasty. I mean that’s nasty, too, but it’s way sexier.”

 

“Lenny says licking assholes is called rimming.”

 

“Well, next time I’ll rim you to be fair.”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Lance grinned.

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28

 

<Scott Keller and Ronnie>

 

Scott enjoyed his first train ride as an unaccompanied minor, riding the Saturday morning Amtrak Cascades to Tacoma, where he was met by his Aunt Annie, Uncle Fred, and his Cousin Ronnie, who would be turning 12 the next day. Scott’s parents had other commitments and could not make Ronnie’s birthday party. While they felt bad that they couldn’t be there, they saw it as a great opportunity to give Scott some extra responsibility by allowing him to ride the train as an unaccompanied minor.

 

The only person at the party Scott knew very well was Ronnie’s best friend Ward. He had met some of the others briefly on previous visits and he quickly fit into the group, which consisted of seven boys and five girls plus Ronnie, Scott, and Ward. It was a fun party with the usual mix of games, chatter, laughter, fun, and food.

 

Scott was the only person who would be spending the night, and he knew why Ronnie chose to have it that way. Ronnie wanted to lose his virginity on his twelfth birthday, and he wanted to lose it to his cousin. Scott’s outlook on sex with his cousin had changed considerably. He was now eager to give Ronnie his wish. Now that Scott had lost his own virginity to Trent, he felt grown up enough to give his cousin what he wanted.

 

He wanted the experience to be a good one for his cousin, and to help with Ronnie’s understanding of what was happening and how he should prepare, Scott connected Ronnie with Aiden. Scott knew Aiden and Ronnie had a close brotherly relationship and had enjoyed sexual contact with each other. He had no doubt that once he had helped Ronnie complete his first experience, it wouldn’t be long before Ronnie and Aiden went all the way together.

 

After saying their goodnights, the cousins retired to Ronnie’s bedroom. They took care of their evening business so that once the sex was finished, they could fall right to sleep if they wished. Scott stripped Ronnie’s clothes off then undressed himself. He admired his cousin’s almost four-inch tween cock which, as Ronnie was quick to point out, had a couple little dark hairs growing to either side of his groin.

 

Scott had learned much about the art of making out from Trent and Aiden. The kisses he and Ronnie shared, along with the licking and petting were examples of what a great student he had been. Aiden had snuck some lube and a couple of condoms to Scott at school the day before.

 

“Marty is pretty excited about what you and Ronnie will be doing,” Aiden had told Scott when he handed him the accoutrements. Marty had taken a personal interest in Ronnie’s recovery from cancer and the two had become text pals, especially now that Marty was in Arizona for Spring Training. “He said since it’s going to be Ronnie’s first time and your first time as a top, using a condom when you cum will keep you guys from making a big mess. That’s why I’m giving you a couple of them along with the lube.”

 

Scott smiled to himself as he broke off a long kiss in which he and Ronnie had ravaged each other’s mouth. Scott loved that Ronnie wasn’t shy about what was going to happen. The reason Scott had been reluctant to have sex with Ronnie was because he had seen him as an innocent little boy as well as his cousin. He could see that his twelve-year-old cousin had gone from innocent little boy to tween horn dog in a truly short time. As Scott wrapped on his condom around his cock, he couldn’t help but think of Aiden teaching Ronnie the finer points of anal sex. For that matter, Aiden could probably teach me a thing or two as well, Scott thought.

 

For his part, Ronnie had been using his fingers to help loosen his ass. When he and Ward had jerked off together after school at the start of the month, they were on Ward’s bed with their pants and undies pulled down to their ankles and the hems of their shirts hitched up around their necks. Since Ward’s mother was home, they wanted to stay partly dressed in case she called for them to come out for some reason.

 

Since Ronnie often put a finger or two up his butt when he jerked off, he did just that on Ward’s bed. When Ward asked what he was doing, Ronnie blushed with embarrassment, but told Ward what he was doing and why. He also mentioned using his finger felt good and made his orgasm seem better when he hit the hot spot in his ass.

 

He waited for his friend to tell him what a perv Ward was; instead, he simply said, “Wow cool. Go ahead and keep doing it.” Two weeks later Ward was helping Ronnie by finger fucking him during their jerk off sessions and swooned when Ronnie returned the favor. Ronnie had no doubt that if he liked being fucked by Scott, he and Ward would be fucking each other as soon as they could.

 

That was the thinking and dynamics that led to the moment when Scott penetrated his cousin’s ass and proceeded to fuck him. While the boys’ inexperience showed at times, Scott knew enough to make the experience good for Ronnie and Ronnie had been prepared enough to understand that the experience might hurt some, but the good feelings would trump the pain.

 

All of that was true and when Scott rammed his cock deep into his cousin’s ass and filled his condom, Ronnie’s orgasm came just seconds after his older cousin’s. The twelve-year-old had a swath of clear boy cum across his belly and a satisfied feeling inside him.

 

“Thanks for the great birthday present, cuz,” Ronnie said after he and Scott recovered.

 

“It was sure a fun one to give to you,” Scott grinned.

 

“I hope we get to do this more.”

 

“I bet we will, but not tonight.”

 

“Or tomorrow. But soon, I bet.” Ronnie rose from his bed. “I need to piss and wash off. I can’t wait to text Aiden and Ward that I have had real sex and am not a virgin anymore.”

 

After pissing and climbing back into bed, the cousins got cozy, their naked bodies wrapped around each other. They kissed good night and fell asleep, thinking that what they were feeling had to be how brothers should feel about each other.

 

<Kalie’s Birthday Party>

 

Just as he was finishing his breakfast, Aiden received a phone call from Nolan. “Hey, dude, what’s up?” Aiden asked as he held a spoonful of Rice Chex in his hand.

 

“What time do we plan on getting to Kalie’s party?” Nolan asked.

 

“We plan on being there when the party starts, which is two o’clock.”

 

“Which means dad and I will pick you up at two so we can be what mom calls ‘fashionably late’ to the party.”

 

“What time do you plan on leaving it?” Aiden asked.

 

“Um…well, it depends.”

 

“On what?”

 

“On whether you’re spending the night.”

 

That led to a few moments of silence which Aiden filled by finally eating his spoonful of cereal as he thought about how to answer Nolan. “I haven’t asked my dads about spending the night.”

 

“So are you going to?”

 

“I dunno. I mean, if I stayed I don’t know quite what I would do. Gordy is going to sleep with Kalie, Miles is going to sleep with Brittiany on the big king. One pair is going to sleep with them. It could be me and Christie, or me and Gretchen, or me and Ian. Everybody else gets to sleep in the beds laid out on the floor.”

 

“I bet you want to sleep with Ian,” Nolan giggled.

 

“Gretchen will want me to fuck her, Christie would be interesting since we’re both gay, so, yeah, Ian is a guy and that’s who I want.”

 

“What if we both left the party together and I slept with you on your bed.”

 

“That would leave somebody without a partner.”

 

“Jeez, Aiden, you have all these sexy parties at your house and don’t consider they could have a three-way?”

 

Aiden took another bite of cereal and then said, “I just know if I asked my dads about spending the night just a couple of hours before the party, they’d say no. In fact, I am totally positive they would. Do you want top or bottom?”

 

“Top.”

 

“You’re on. We’ll leave an hour after the birthday dinner. I’ll call Kalie and tell her I can’t stay.”

 

“You mean you’re going to lie to her?”

 

“No way. I like Kalie too much to lie to her. I’m just going to tell her I can’t stay and not tell her I can’t stay because my boyfriend wants to fuck me raw.”

 

Kalie’s party was a combination of fun games, good food, lots of chatter on topics from sports to sex, and with two exceptions, everyone keeping their clothes on even though there were some wandering hands. The exceptions were Kalie checking if Aiden had put a lock on his zipper by pulling it down, opening his pants, and pulling them and his underpants down to his knees, and fondling his junk in front of Gordy, Christie, Ian, Miles, Brittany, and Nolan.

 

“You need to get a better lock on your zipper,” Kalie grinned. “The one you have was pretty easy to open.”

 

Aiden pulled up his pants, thankful Kalie hadn’t caused him to bone up. He knew that a girl, even a girl he had messed around with, giving him an instant erection was something he would never hear the end of from Gordy, Nolan, and Miles. The other exception was Everett and his girlfriend Stacy stripping naked in the main bedroom of the backhouse and Everett fucking Stacy on the king bed. It was the third time the two had fucked and without question it was their most erotic fuck. Only Kalie and Gordy were aware of what had happened between the two, although Aiden and Nolan would soon find out the information from Gordy.

 

The partiers who were not spending the night left around seven. Kalie was disappointed Aiden wasn’t staying, but said she understood. “You and Nolan don’t get much time together, although you could have both stayed overnight here. You’ve done it before.”

 

“We wanted the private time,” Aiden told her. “But, hey, I hope you and Gordy finally go all the way tonight. I mean it is your thirteenth and all and I know he wants to do it. So maybe tonight is the night.”

 

“I hope so too. I hope we have as much sex as you and Nolan tonight.”

 

After everyone was gone and the parents had finally headed to bed, Kalie, Brittany, and Christy went out the kitchen door and across the yard to the backhouse. Kalie’s parents knew what was going to happen and had given the “everybody stay safe and be responsible” speech when they announced that the boys would be in the backhouse and the girls in Kalie’s bedroom and suggested they stay separate and safe. The reason the boys were ostensibly staying was the big pancake breakfast in the morning.

 

Gretchen was already in the backhouse. She had her parents’ permission to stay with the boys as long as she and Ian didn’t get physically involved so she didn’t feel the need to sneak around. Gretchen, Ian, Miles, and Gordy were naked. For some reason Gordy rarely felt self-conscious about being naked in Kalie’s backhouse.

 

The three girls got naked as soon as they entered the backhouse. The matchups had already been made. Gordy and Kalie got the queen bed in the main room. The rest squeezed into the king in the back bedroom. Those five had fun playing around and getting each other off. They were all veterans of sexual play.  Christy was the only virgin, a status she maintained that night.

 

Miles had intercourse with Gretchen, their first time with each other. Miles was beginning to think there was more to sex with girls than he originally thought. Brittany was willing to make out and mess around with Ian but wouldn’t let him fuck her. Christy made out with Brittany or Gretchen or both when they weren’t making out with Miles or Ian.

 

Gordy and Kalie got each other off twice, but once again Kalie didn’t lose her virginity. She tried hard to talk Gordy into having intercourse with her, and while he was willing to finger fuck her and eat her out to orgasm, he couldn’t get up the nerve to go all the way. But Kalie did get two promises out of him when their hormones were boiling again after their first orgasms.

 

“Are you ever going to do it to me?” Kalie asked. “I know you do all this practice stuff with your friends, but you’re my boyfriend and I want you to have sex with me. I think Aiden wants to do me worse than you do, and he’s gay.”

 

“I know. It’s just that it’s scary and I don’t want to do it with a crowd around. I want just you and me alone together.”

 

“But we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, so what’s so scary about it? You’ve fucked Aiden so you know you can do it to me.” Kalie didn’t know that Gordy had bottomed for Miles. “So, how about this…you promise to do me before we start eighth grade.”

 

Gordy gave it some thought. He was so close to just doing it then he could feel his dick quiver. “Okay, deal. But with just the two of us together.”    

 

“You mean we’re never going to do it with our friends like they’re doing in the other room?”

 

Gordy gave that some thought. He was so horny to get off with Kalie again that he was ready to agree to anything right then except having intercourse. “Okay, after our first two times anything goes, unless it’s like a night one of us wants nobody else around.”

 

“Does anything goes include Aiden fucking me?”

 

“Sure. I can agree to that because I know there is no way Aiden is ever going fuck you.” And that ended the promise making as Gordy and Kalie adjusted their bodies for the sixty-nine that would bring them to their second orgasms.

 

<Aiden and Nolan>

 

“I still don’t understand how Gordy’s parents let him stay overnight with a girl,” Nolan said as he and Aiden prepared for bed. “I mean, aren’t they pretty strict about that stuff?”

 

“They think everybody is sleeping in the two different houses. The girls in one and the boys in the other.”

 

“His parents need to talk to my mom about what us kids do for sex,” Nolan giggled. “And speaking of my mom, I bet she’s way happier I’m sleeping with you tonight than she would have been with me sleeping with girls at Kalie’s house. Do you think your dads would have let you stay?”

 

“They have before, but with me cumming more with thicker cum and getting pubes they’re way stricter about it.”

 

“You’ve got pubes coming?” Nolan asked in surprise. “How come you haven’t said anything?”

 

“Get on your knees and take a look.”

 

Nolan got down on his knees and looked closely at his boyfriend’s barren groin. “I don’t see a thing.”

 

Aiden placed his finger on his pubis just off to the right side of his erection. “Right here.”

 

Nolan got his face into Aiden’s groin. “Nothing.”

 

“Look where my fingernail is.”

 

“You mean that little tiny thing that’s about a zillionth of an inch?”

 

“Hey, it’s a start. Everybody can’t have a gorilla crotch like you got. And as long as you’re down there, you could suck me off.”

 

“Dude, what’s wrong with you? I’m down here on the bathroom floor. I’m not gonna suck you off here.”

 

“Then get up and finish brushing your teeth and you can have your way with me on my bed. I thought with you on your knees and my boner in your face, you’d want me to bust my nut on your face.”

 

“What I want is to fuck your ass. So, let’s finish up in here and get down to serious business.”

 

That serious business was good for two rounds with Aiden on the bottom for both. He knew he would get his turn to top next time. Nolan was always willing to switch roles when Aiden asked.

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 1

 

Sunday morning was hectic for the overnighters. Scott was slated to catch the 10:30 “Coast Starlight” out of Tacoma. As much as he wanted to get Ronnie and himself off, there wasn’t enough time nor any opportunity.

 

The big breakfast was the headliner at Kalie’s house. Kalie’s parents weren’t surprised to see that everyone had ended up in the backhouse but said nothing about it. They had told everyone to be safe and responsible and felt they had done their job. They were parents not jailers.

 

Aiden did get his chance to top Nolan. It happened in the shower, where they rarely had sex. Groping and feeling up was common between them but sex in the shower simply took too long. And yet, sometimes it happened, and this was one of those mornings. Nolan leaned against the shower wall as Aiden shoved his soapy cock up his ass and fucked him. The act only took a couple of minutes as Aiden was as horny as he could remember being in the morning. Nolan blasted his cream on the tile, then pointed the shower head to the wall to wash it off.

 

“Wowsers, that was different,” Aiden said after their mess went down the drain and he turned the shower off.

 

“It was nice to do something different,” Nolan said. “That was extra sexy. But doing it made me extra hungry.”

 

“It was extra sexy but doing it in the model railroad room and cumming on the table was even sexier.”

 

“I won’t argue with that,” Nolan grinned as he pulled a towel off the shelf.

 

MONDAY, MARCH 2

 

<Mason>

 

After finishing dinner and his homework, Mason sat at his laptop. He was fascinated by the rock group he was watching. The group was called At the Majestic and the musicians were kids. They quickly had him hooked. He had never heard of them but happened on one of their social media sites while surfing. Shit, these guys are good, Mason thought as he replayed one of their songs a couple of times so he could sing along with it. He could see that they were not only a good sounding band, but a good-looking band, made up of cute teen boys.

 

He was surprised when the music ended and a video of two boys, named Michael and Alejandro, popped up. The boys began talking and Mason grabbed his mouse so he could move on to more music, but he stopped himself.  The boys were so hot looking he decided to listen to what they had to say. They were introducing the video he had just been listening to.

 

He had no problem listening to it again. He was growing to love this band. But when the boys stopped talking the video shifted to Michael, who was now dressed up and standing at a podium. He wondered what that was about and decided to find out, hoping they would get back to music when it was over.

 

What he heard baffled him. It was all about a crime in a place called East Harbor, California. Fuck, is this a music site or something else? he thought. The name East Harbor rang a bell; he thought that might be the city where the Yard Goats wanted to play a tournament.  

 

The video appeared to be a press conference with Michael talking to reporters, who soon were asking him questions. He bookmarked the site and listened to the rest of the press conference. After it ended, he sent Aiden, Miles, and Gordy a text with the link to the site.

 

Aiden was talking sexy with Nolan on Skype when he heard the text come in on his phone. He saw it was from Mason and gave it a quick read. Mason was adamant that he watch the video as soon as he could—it was something about a boy band and a crime in East Harbor, California. East Harbor was close to San Marco, where the tournament the Yard Goats wanted to enter was going to be played.

 

“Mason sent me something weird,” Aiden told Nolan. “I need to log into the site he sent and see what he’s talking about.” He told Nolan about East Harbor and tournament.

 

“East Harbor’s been on the news for a shooting and killing that involved guys who were kidnapping kids for sex or something like that,” Aiden told Nolan. “I asked my pop if that had anything to do with us and he said no, there’s crime everywhere, even in Mossyrock. I need to see what this is about.”

 

“Send me the link so I can check it out, too,” Nolan said.

 

Aiden did so. What Mason sent started with Michael and Alejandro’s talk. Damn, those guys are sexy, Aiden thought. That Michael kid is unreal—no wonder Mason likes the band. Then came the press conference and in it he heard Michael’s last name—Meijer. The same last name as Matthew, who lived in East Harbor and had sent them the tournament invitation.

 

“Wow, those dudes are cute,” Nolan said. “That press conference is some serious shit.”

 

“Yeah, it is. Listen, I need to talk to my dads about this. We’re gonna have to save our jerkoff for tomorrow.” 

 

“I’ll explode before then. So, you take care of talking to your dads and I’ll take care of communicating with my boner. And I’m going see how good this band is.”

 

After watching the two videos, Larry and Phil agreed that it contained some fascinating information. “You’re right about Meijer being Matthew’s last name,” Larry said.

 

“I bet Matthew and Michael are brothers,” Aiden speculated.

 

“It’s very possible. When we heard about the shooting incident on the news, I didn’t think it had anything to do with us except for its happening in East Harbor. But it looks like there is a connection.”

 

“Speaking of connections, I wonder if this is related to the murders in Mossyrock,” Phil said.

 

“I have a feeling they are very closely connected,” Larry said.

 

As they were talking the video of At the Majestic was playing. “Those boys are damned good,” Phil pointed out. “And as I recall there was going to be entertainment at the Majestic. Coincidence or another connection?”

 

“I don’t know, but we do have some mysteries to be solved.”

 

“Do you think we should go to a different tournament?” Aiden asked.

 

“I know this sounds off beat, but my answer is, I can’t help but think the Yard Goats are meant to go to East Harbor to be a positive part of some lives,” Larry said. “I have a feeling this is going to be a fantastic experience for us. August is a long way off, but I think this is going to be something very special for us and for the boys in the band.”

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 3

 

<Jackson and Trent Hallion>

 

It was Jackson’s seventeenth birthday, and the Mustang baseball players sang Happy Birthday to him in the locker room after practice. He blushed and thanked his teammates for the little surprise.

 

“We thought about baking a cake, but Aiden, Gordy, Ron, and Luke would probably have eaten it all up during practice,” Peter said.

 

“Especially Aiden and Gordy,” Sammy added to a round of laughter.

 

After practice, Jackson enjoyed birthday dinner at the Mayfield Café with his parents, Sammy, Peter, Mark Elder, John, and of course his brother, Trent. After dinner they had birthday cake and ice cream at the Hallion home. Jackson’s friends left for home after dessert. After his parents went to bed, Jackson prepared for his final present of the day. He took his clothes off and snuck into Trent’s room, where is younger brother had fallen asleep. Jackson had Trent’s permission to wake him up if that happened, which Jackson did.

 

Trent had only been asleep for fifteen minutes, but still needed to shake the sleep out of his head. He had gone to bed naked, which was what Jackson had expected, but which still delighted him. “Are you ready?” he asked his younger brother.

 

“Let’s do it, bro.”

 

Knowing there was no time for preliminaries, Jackson lubed himself and his brother, and then took care of his basic teen needs with a hard fuck of his thirteen-year-old brother. The firm, no nonsense sex satisfied both him and Trent; Trent leaving his cum over his chest and belly and Jackson pulling out just before orgasm and then jerking off to his own orgasm that left his thick teen cum mixing with Trent’s thinner essence. Jackson licked up as much as he could, gave his brother a thank-you kiss, and retired to his own bedroom. It had been a great birthday for him, but his birthday cum with Trent, as good as it had been, left him convinced that he wanted to be with a girl on his eighteenth birthday.

 

<Aiden>

 

Aiden, his dads, and Mason sat at the computer in Larry’s office watching the video of At the Majestic perform. Aiden and Mason had talked at length about the band and its connection to baseball.

 

“It’s hard to believe those are kids,” Larry said. “Not only do they sound professional, but their video and their entire site looks professional.”

 

“Matthew Meijer sings as well as Matthew Grant played baseball,” Phil chuckled. “That’s a lot of talent stored in one teenager.”

 

“Mason and I did what you asked and searched Michael Grant,” Aiden told his dads.

 

“And what did you find out?”

 

“He is the same person as Michael Meijer, which pretty much means he and Matthew are brothers.”

 

“That Michael dude’s had a rough life,” Mason said. “Rougher than some of the kids we know like Rusty and Eddie. At least nobody got murdered with them, I guess.”

 

“That’s not true with Pierce Walker,” Larry reminded everybody. “Pierce’s father murdered his mother and tried to kill Pierce. Pierce managed to get away, his father killed himself, and Pierce ended up on the streets.”

 

“Yeah, that’s pretty rough,” Mason acknowledged.

 

“What do you think of the Mayfield Baseball Club giving money to the band for their GoFundMe account?” Aiden asked his dads. At The Majestic’s GoFundMe page was a link for donations to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

 

“I think it is a noble idea,” Larry responded. “As we know, even little Mayfield has kids who have had to deal with this problem. Mason brought up Rusty and Eddie. Your cousin Curt is another example as is cousin Drake. Pierce is indirectly in our lives and spent a long time on the streets.”

 

“We have a board meeting and full membership meeting on Tuesday. I could ask then. I wonder how much we should give and if I can convince them to make a donation. There’s lots to think about.”

 

“Why do you need to ask so soon?”

 

“I don’t have to, it’s just that it’s the next meeting.”

 

“Do you think it might be possible to wait until the April meeting so you can use the extra meeting to formulate a solid plan? Get a couple of club members to help you make your presentation. Find out what sources for money exist. See if Rusty, or even your cousins, might be willing to speak on the topic. There is a lot you can do if you give it a little time.”

Aiden sat quietly for a bit contemplating what his pop had told him before speaking up. “In other words, I should have a plan.”

 

“Exactly. And you are a good planner as are some of your friends and teammates.”

 

“I want to help,” Mason said. He was proud that he had found the band online and wanted to remain a part of the process he had started.

 

“I have my first assistant. Thanks, Mason,” Aiden grinned. Mason beamed with excitement. He wanted to start doing more with his group of friends than just being a sex partner.

 

“I will give you one piece of unsolicited advice and then I’ll keep my mouth shut unless asked to do otherwise or I think you’ve gone completely off track. At your board meeting on Tuesday let your fellow board members know what you plan on doing and ask Mark to put your fundraising idea on the April agenda.”

 

“Okay. And I hope I don’t get off track. But I bet I’ll be asking for help.”

 

“I doubt that you will get off track son. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. You are a good leader and a thorough planner. And your dad and I will be available to answer questions any time.”

 

“Come on, Mason, let’s go to my room and start planning.”

 

“Thanks for listening to us, Coaches,” Mason said to Phil and Larry as he and Aiden went across the hall to Aiden’s bedroom to start making plans. Aiden liked that he and Mason could walk into his bedroom without their primary goal being sex.

 

THURSDAY, MARCH 5

 

Coach Hallion sent a group email to the potential Yard Goat players who had attended the team meeting the week before telling them that they were officially entered in the SoCal Basebrawl Tournament. The logistics would be dealt with once the team roster was completed in late April or early May. Looking at the list, he noted which of the boys had parents who were active in their support of athletics. Those were the first parents he would contact about being chaperones on the trip. One great recruiting tool was that their travel expenses would be paid.

 

But the important thing for James Hallion was having two sets of parents he was certain he could rely on. Since he had coached the team when the kids were younger and had remained close to them because his son Trent played on the team, he knew the parents well. He checked the names of three players whose parents he would contact first.

 

When the kids received the email, the texts were flying. They had no doubt that the Yard Goats were going to have their best summer ever.

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 7

 

Aiden had spent the last four days thinking and talking about the At the Majestic band as well as the tournament that they had entered. Coach Hallion’s announcement on Thursday had made things official.

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 10.

 

<Mayfield Baseball Club Meeting>

 

Larry ended practice a half-hour earlier than usual. The Mayfield Baseball Club’s general meeting was scheduled for 7:30 and the board was slated to meet at 6:45. Larry wanted to give those who planned on attending the meeting time to shower and have dinner.

 

Because Ron and Luke, the equipment managers, had played summer ball the year before they were automatically members of the Club. Neither boy turned out for school ball because of injuries; Ron had a cast on his left arm after breaking it in a skateboarding accident and Luke was recovering from a knee injury suffered in the last Mustang football game of the season. While Ron was hoping to be ready for summer ball, Luke’s rehab was far enough along that he could take part in throwing drills in practice. His doctor told him that he would clear him for full participation at the start of April if he didn’t have a setback. Both planned on attending the Baseball Club meeting.

 

One of the reasons for the rising interest in the Club was the work the board and the active members had done in spreading the word to high school, middle school, and upper elementary school players who had played summer ball, or were planning to play summer ball.

 

Aiden was the board member in charge of the membership committee and was the force behind the middle school and upper elementary recruiting. He gave Andy Hoffman the responsibility for high school recruiting.

 

The improved web site was also a good drawing card as it was full of information on what the Club did for baseball in Mayfield as well as reasons why players should be active members. The efforts seemed to be paying off.

 

After the equipment was put away, Aiden, Gordy, and the managers checked with Larry and his assistants, Coach Morris and Coach White, to see if they had any other jobs that they needed to do. Larry thanked them for a good job. Once the locker room was cleared, Gordy and Aiden rode with Larry to the Mayfield Café for dinner.

 

Maggie was their server and she was her usual outgoing self. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite customers. Where have you guys been? My life has felt empty without you.”

 

“We’ve been really busy with baseball,” Aiden replied.

 

“Well, since baseball is my favorite sport, I suppose I can forgive you all for your long absence. And where is Phil, by the way?”

 

“Right here,” Phil answered as he walked up to the table.

 

“I will get your drinks as you make up your mind what to eat. I will recommend the beef stroganoff. Chef Michael has worked hard and put extra care into it.” She walked away without taking their drink orders since she knew what they liked. The way she saw it, if they wanted something different, they would let her know.  

 

Larry ended up having the stroganoff, Gordy and Aiden had hamburgers, and Phil enjoyed the baked salmon. After dinner they went to the Miller home where Aiden and Gordy did their homework. Larry had Aiden and Gordy at the community center in time for the board meeting. As a Club member, Gordy could sit in on the board meeting as an observer. 

 

The board meeting was quick and informal. Its main purpose was to discuss the general meeting agenda and the five proposals submitted by the board members. Aiden had submitted two of the five.

 

“Aiden’s first proposal wants the Club to use the old ‘Go to State’ name,” Mark announced.

 

“The work and cost of changing our name is not worth the effort,” Ben Cook, one of the adult board members, said.

 

“Mister Cook, maybe we should let Aiden explain his proposal before commenting on it,” Mark said. The high school senior and board president had no problem standing up to adults—in fact, Mark was now a legal adult, himself. “That is the usual procedure.”

 

“You are correct,” Ben responded. “My apologies for being out of order.” He looked at Aiden, who was the youngest member of the board. “I am interested to hear what you have to say.”

 

Aiden was a little shaken when Ben dove right into his criticism. He knew it wasn’t personal, but he found himself taking it personally. The least he could have done was let me explain my proposal, Aiden thought. Aiden had become used to adults listening to what he had to say, something he knew didn’t happen to a lot of his classmates, teammates, and friends.

 

Instead of starting out with the presentation of his proposal he had practiced and polished, Aiden found himself defending himself. “I don’t want to change the name of the club. I know that’s something that we can’t do, and I don’t think ‘Go to State’ should be our name. But what I do think is that we should use things like ‘Go to State’ or ‘playing for State’ or whatever else we want to make up as our motto.”

 

Aiden had discussed his proposal with his dads, with Marty, with Gordy, and even with Nolan, even though his boyfriend wasn’t a Mayfield Mustang.

 

“I see what you’re saying,” Ben said. “I misunderstood what you had in mind.”

 

You probably would have understood it if you hadn’t been rude and barged in right away, was the thought that whirled through Aiden’s mind. But, like Marty, his dads, and his Fourth Dimension friends liked to say, “It’s better to be nice than to be right,” and better yet, “First thought—NO!” As in, don’t act on the first thing that pops into your head. 

 

“But the varsity is probably not good enough to go to state this year,” Anthony Jefferson, a junior stated. His comment created a collective gasp from the rest of the board. What they had just heard was blasphemy. Anthony realized he was going to have to do some quick backtracking.

 

“What I meant,” Anthony retorted, “isn’t that we’re not going to try to get there. It’s just that everybody thinks we’re not good enough and we have to show them they’re wrong.”

 

“I don’t know who this ‘everybody’ dude is,” Peter Astor said, “but he’s full of kaka. We’ll never get anywhere if we don’t believe we can do it. I like Aiden’s idea and I’m ready to try.”

 

“I agree with Peter and I’m going to add one more thing,” Sammy said. “I know a lot of this is about the Titans and the middle school. They’re going to start believing NOW. It’s just like back in the days of Marty, and Eric, and Noah, and the Corcoran twins, and all those dudes who DID make ‘Go to State’ the name of the club and said it every year of middle school and through high school. Aiden and Gordy and Trent and all those dudes want to start doing it NOW!”

 

That ended the discussion on Aiden’s proposal. It was placed on the agenda in new business for a discussion at the general meeting. Aiden felt relief that his work had paid off and he wondered how the general membership would accept it.

 

Aiden then presented his second proposal, which was the Mayfield Baseball Club making a contribution to the fund set up by At the Majestic. “I know you guys probably have more questions than I have answers,” Aiden said after he finished. “I want to do some more research into this. Mason is helping me and I want to get some help from the board and maybe another member so I can come up with a good plan for the April meeting.”

 

“What I think you should do is present your proposal as a motion,” Mark told Aiden. “That way someone can move that we table it until we get more information, and I will see that it gets put on the April agenda.” Wow, that’s just the way pop said things would work out, Aiden thought.

 

Aiden then read the motion and Trent seconded it. as Aiden had requested when he saw Trent at school earlier in the day. Sammy then moved that the motion be tabled, Trent seconded, and the board agreed.

 

The general meeting had 42 baseballers in attendance, plus the eight players on the board. Larry, Phil, Coach Morris, Coach White, and Coach Ecklund were pleased with the turnout, as were the adult members on the board. The recruiting effort by the membership committee had paid off. Their next challenge would be to keep the enthusiasm alive.

 

The meeting moved quickly, much to the relief of most of those boys with short attention spans. The first three of the five proposals on the agenda were routine housekeeping items. To help the meeting move along, Mark had tabbed teammates to make the motion to accept the proposal as read. All passed with only one no vote on the third one from Mac, who voted no just because he could. Plus, he couldn’t believe that anybody really cared if a comma should be added to the third paragraph of Article 2 of the By-Laws.

 

The fourth proposal was for the Club to set up their fund-raising booth at the Fourth of July celebration at the city park and at the Nooner varsity game which was played during spring break.

 

“I thought we got a ton of money to spend from that rich guy who died,” Conrad Hepp said. Conrad was a senior who played outfield and pitched.

 

Mark responded to the question. “I think that Mr. McCall can answer that best, Conrad.” He was referring to Seth McCall. Seth McCall was a volunteer who took care of the club’s finances. He had two grown sons who had been members of the club growing up, including Noah, one of the club’s founders.

 

“That’s a good question, Conrad,” Seth replied. “Mr. Davidson’s will was very specific as to how the money could be spent. It could be earmarked for paying tournament expenses, league entry fees, and other miscellaneous disbursements and expenditures. The club can also pay up to half the cost of new uniforms with the approval of the board. The other half would have to come through sponsorship and fund raisers. Equipment was not covered and would be paid for in full through the same two sources or through donations.”

 

“Yeah, but if all the money is in the bank, who would know what was being spent on what?”

 

Seth and some of the other adults in the room never failed to be surprised by the lack of financial education coming from the schools. “We have separate budgets along with separate bank accounts. It is important that we follow the rules set down unfailingly.”

 

“No wonder this club is so lame,” Mac Dixon called out. “You think you gotta follow all the orders.”

 

“Mac, you’re way out of line,” Mark responded irritably.

 

Mac was ready to have the last word when he sensed somebody hovering behind him. He turned his head enough to see it was Phil and decided to keep his mouth shut—for the time being.

 

Andy Hoffman moved that the proposal be accepted as written, Lance seconded it, and it passed overwhelmingly with a voice vote.

 

The last proposal on the agenda was Aiden’s suggestion to use “Go to State” as a model of a Club motto or mottos. Aiden read his proposal and told the members his reasons for submitting the proposal. Anthony Jefferson had learned enough in the board meeting to understand that it would be best if he kept his opinion to himself.

 

After some discussion about wording that led to some minor changes to the motion, Mac decided to give his opinion. “I guess Aiden wants this so he can be, like the center of attention, since it won’t win any games. I know that Aiden and his buddies haven’t won any championships in summer ball or in school ball and won’t ever win any because they aren’t good enough.”  Nobody missed the fact that Mac made no mention that he had played on most of those teams.

 

For quite a while, Aiden had been intimidated by Mac, wanting to be liked by the bad boy of Mayfield Middle School. That was no longer the case now that he had started to realize how off kilter he had been for wanting to be a part of Mac’s partying crowd. He now had no desire to be accepted by Mac and could see him as the asswaffle he really was. As a result, he had no problem stating his position to Mac loud and clear. He felt it was even more important that Mac understand what his proposal meant if Mac was going to be on the Titans, which was something he hoped wouldn’t happen.

 

He wanted to find out what Nolan and Marty thought about Mac. After what Nolan went through with asswaffle first class Roland Barker on his team, he was very eager to get his boyfriend’s take. As for Marty, he was almost always Aiden’s first go-to when he had a problem to discuss. When he and Marty were finished talking, Aiden would do what Marty always suggested to do first—talk to his dads. It wasn’t that Aiden didn’t talk to his dads about a lot of issues, but Aiden felt he needed an outside opinion before he started. He found that discussions with Marty or Nolan often made talking to his dads easier.

 

Right now, however, he needed to answer Mac’s comment. “My proposal isn’t just for my teams, it’s for all of the teams that are part of the Mayfield Baseball Club and for the school teams. If we don’t set our goal to be the best, then we’ll never be the best. Like our teachers and coaches tell us, nothing is ever guaranteed.” Larry and Phil were impressed with Aiden’s poise and how well he expressed his reply. Their little boy was growing up quickly.

 

“I want the Mustang varsity to go to state,” Aiden continued, “and I want the JV and the Freshman to work to go in a year or two, and I want the Titans varsity and JV to work to be ready to play there when we’re Mustangs. Plus, I want for all the summer teams to do the same amount of work. And for us, I want to work at more than going to state—I want us to work to win it.” His little speech was met with a round of cheers from the players in attendance.

 

Aiden blushed at the response his emotional talk received. For him it totally made up for Mac being his usual stupid self because it told him his teammates were behind him. He considered the high school players on the Mustangs to be his teammates because Marty said everybody in Mayfield had to be in the Go to State mindset together.

 

Gordy moved that Aiden’s proposal, with the changes that were made, be voted for. Lance was the second. There was no more discussion, and the motion was voted on. It passed with noisy yeas from the majority, followed by five loud nays from Mac, Roger, Yonder, Russell, and Jared Finn.

 

“Those five are going to be trouble for the Titan varsity,” Larry commented to his fellow coaches.

 

“They have to make the team to be trouble,” Norm Ecklund grinned. “I can’t help but feel that those boys haven’t put in the offseason work that a lot of these kids have. They aren’t buying into Aiden’s motto because they know they haven’t done what needed doing.”

 

Mac and his minions walked out of the meeting room together with Lance, Grant, Miles, and Mason not far behind. “That fucking Aiden thinks he’s so fucking good,” Mac told Roger. “He’s a little wimp who would be stuck playing JV ball all his life except that his dad is the high school head coach.” He stopped in the hallway and signaled his buddies in close. “I think it’s up to us to get things back to normal where we just go and play. This whole go to state bullshit will end in a hurry if the Titans happen to lose their first few games, you know what I’m saying?” The other four nodded their heads.

 

“And if somehow Aiden looks bad, that’s makes it even better,” Jared added.

 

“Tomorrow, at school, let’s set up a time we can all meet and do some planning.”

 

What Mac didn’t realize was that the acoustics in the hall were such that Aiden’s four friends who were walking ten feet behind them could pick up almost everything they said. The looked at each other but said nothing.

 

Just coming out of the meeting room door were Gordy, Trent, Aiden, and Scott Keller. Like Mac and his group, they were talking about getting together as well. “Pop’s going to have the indoor batting cage set up on Saturday for the high school kids. He said we could use it for a couple of hours after they were finished. Coach Hallion and Coach Scott are going to throw, and the pitching machine will be set up. It will be fun.”

 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Trent said and the other two nodded in agreement. Titan baseball turnouts were a week away and most of the Titans were determined to do the work that needed to be done.

 

Next: On the Field