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Installment 9
by
Erastes
Copyright 2015 by Erastes
Chapter
17 – A New Attachment.
When Tyler woke up the next morning, he was happier than I'd ever seen him. He kissed and hugged me again before I convinced him to put on some clothes so we could go downstairs. He still had that goofy smile on his face when he went out the door to catch his bus.
The rest of the day went as it normally would have, except I was still questioning if I had done the right thing the previous night. I attempted to put the thought out of my mind for as long as possible, so I would be able to concentrate on my work. The distraction of focusing on my job helped to some extent, but the plan wasn't perfect and I still struggled at various times with my conscience over what I'd done. This went on for the rest of the day and continued until after I got home and finally fell asleep at the end of the day.
I felt a little better when I woke up Wednesday morning, possibly because 'the guilt' wasn't so fresh in my mind. Whatever the reason, I was able to concentrate on what I was doing until it was time to go home again. Tyler's next game was that same afternoon and it was a home game, so I hurried to pick up the other boys and took them to watch Tyler play. I was surprised to discover Tyler was pitching, because he hadn't mentioned it to me the night before. Seeing I'd never watched him pitch in a game before, I was curious to see how he was going to fare.
After his team finished stretching and warming up, Tyler searched the stands to see if we were there, just as he had done at his first home game. When he spotted us, his face lit up, so there was no need for him to wave in our direction or make any other acknowledgment that he saw us. Instead, he stood beside his teammates and waited to take the field.
As Tyler faced the first batter, I could tell the kid was no match for him. Tyler easily threw the ball by him and struck the kid out on just three pitches. The next batter didn't do much better, but it took four pitches to strike him out. The third batter popped out to Dylan at second base on the first pitch and the top half of the inning was over with just eight pitches.
Now that I knew the boys on Tyler's team better, in more ways than one, I was interested to see how they performed as well. Dylan was the leadoff batter and he hit a little blooper over the first baseman's head for a single. Nathan, the catcher, was up next. He laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and advanced Dylan to second base, although Nathan was thrown out. Trent, the center fielder, was up after that and lined a shot over the shortstop's head. Dylan had to wait momentarily to see if the ball was going to be caught by the leaping shortstop, so he was only able to advance to third on the hit, but the team now runners on the corners with one out.
Tyler stepped to the plate next and I could tell he merely swung at the first pitch to protect the runner, as Trent stole second base. The other team's catcher tried to make a hard throw back to the pitcher so Dylan would think he was throwing to second and then try to run home. Dylan, however, was smart and didn't bite, so the other team's plan was foiled. Tyler took the next pitch for a ball and then he ripped the third pitch back up the middle. Dylan scored easily and Trent raced around third, as he headed home. He was very fast and slid across the plate safely, as the center fielder overthrew his cutoff man and the ball bounced to home plate. When Tyler saw that happen, he raced to second, but his hit was only scored a single.
Jacob, the left fielder, was up after that and he hit a long fly ball to right field, which was caught. Tyler wisely tagged up and took third, but now there were two outs. Crawford, the shortstop, came up to bat after Jacob and he hit a single between the first and second basemen, which scored Tyler easily. Then Jamal, the third baseman, stepped to the plate. On a 2 - 1 pitch, he took a mighty swing, but only connected with the bottom half of the ball. It popped into the air and drifted backward, into foul territory behind the plate. The other team's catcher tore off his mask, located the ball and settled under it, as he snagged the ball for the third out. The inning was over, but Tyler's team now had a 3 - 0 lead.
Tyler did well pitching the second inning too, although he gave up a leadoff hit to the cleanup batter. The boy was way out in front of the pitch though, since Tyler threw him his three-finger changeup, so the kid didn't hit the ball squarely. He merely caught the pitch off the end of the bat, but it was still hit hard enough to squirt past the pitcher's mound. The ball had so much spin on it that Dylan wasn't able to handle it cleanly at second base, so the boy was safe at first. Dylan made up for that miscue on the next batter though, because the ball was hit to him again and he turned it into a 4-6-3 double play. The last batter in the inning then struck out.
Tyler's team scored two more runs in the bottom of the inning and it wasn't much of a contest after that. Tyler pitched masterfully and hit just as well. By the time the game ended, his team had won 11 - 1. Tyler also went 4 for 5 at the plate, with three singles and a double, which brought his batting average up to .570 (9 for 16).
Tyler's brothers greeted him like a conquering hero, but the entire team had played well. It had been an impressive start to their season so far and they were undefeated after three games. After I congratulated Coach Hendricks and the rest of the players, Tyler wanted to ask me a question.
"Would it be alright if Dylan came home with me on Friday night?" he whispered, so no one else would hear. "His parents said he could stay Friday and Saturday night, if it was ok with you. Can he? Please?"
"I suppose that will be alright," I agreed, as he raced off to give Dylan the good news. Then he came back to walk with his brothers and me to the car.
We picked up subs on the way home, since it was getting late and the boys were hungry again - nothing new about that. Then after I got the younger pair in bed, Tyler approached me again.
"Dylan told me he wanted to try some things when he stayed over, to see what it was like," he mentioned. "I hope that's ok with you?"
"I told you before that it would be fine. I think it's important for you to try those things with guys your own age too," I assured him. "Just keep the noise down."
When he looked at me funny, I merely laughed, to let him know it was a joke. After he thought about if for a few seconds, he finally caught on.
"I don't make a lot of noise when we do stuff," Tyler proclaimed, to let me know I had nothing to worry about.
"But Dylan might be a screamer," I responded. The thought of that made Tyler laugh.
"Well I guess you'll find out then, since you're right across the hall," he teased, before heading to the shower.
Thursday was pretty uneventful, along with most of Friday. That was until I picked Tyler and Dylan up after practice. They were all smiles as they walked out of the school after their showers.
"Hi, Mr. Blake," Dylan greeted me. "Thank you for letting me come stay with you. My little brother is staying with one of his friends too, so our parents could have the weekend alone. They're celebrating their anniversary, which was yesterday, but this way they can have fun without us kids messing things up."
I knew Dylan was referring to his parents having sex, but I also realized he and Tyler were planning to do that as well. I still had to chuckle at his comment though.
"I wish you had told me about that sooner, because I would have wished them a 'Happy Anniversary' at your last game," I told him. He merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry. I didn't think about it then," he admitted, while looking a little sheepish.
"That's ok. I'll wish them a belated 'Happy Anniversary' when they pick you up or I take you home," I informed him, so he didn't feel too badly about it.
While Dylan and I had been talking, Tyler asked Marcus to sit in the front seat, so he and Dylan could sit together in the back. Marcus was thrilled to take the 'big boy' seat in front, as the others climbed in the back and buckled in.
"I've decided to take you boys to the diner tonight, instead of fixing something at home," I announced, as I started to pull away from the school.
"You don't have to do that," Dylan countered, as his face took on a look of concern.
"It is, if you want to eat, because I don't feel like cooking tonight," I informed him. "We'll eat at home all day tomorrow, so count this as a break from my cooking."
"You did a good job at Tyler's party," he shot back.
"Thank you. I appreciate that," I confirmed, as we got closer to the diner.
"We go to this place a lot and they have a picture of us up on the wall that says we're their 'Outstanding Customers'," Tyler told him. "That means we gotta be good and not mess around."
"I can do that," Dylan agreed, as I pulled in and parked the car.
When we went inside, Tyler pointed out the picture to Dylan and the manager came over to say hello, before leading us to a booth. Marcus and Ethan sat next to me, so Tyler and Dylan could sit together on the other side.
"Who's this cutie?" the waitress asked, as she handed us the menus. "Have you taken in another one?"
"No. He's my friend and he's staying with us for the weekend," Tyler announced, as he grinned at the waitress.
"If he's a friend of yours, then I'm sure he's wonderful too," she replied, before leaving to get our water.
We all quickly decided what we wanted and were ready to order. After the waitress left the table, the boys continued to chat with Dylan, while we waited for our meals to arrive. As soon as that happened, their mouths were too full of food to say anything else, but I knew they would soon be looking for even more. For that reason, I told them we still had ice cream at home, which was leftover from the party, and there was also some cake too, which I'd put in the Tupperware cake carrier. I suggested that if the cake was a little hard, they could put some ice cream over it and it would soak up enough moisture to correct the situation. They were satisfied with that explanation, so we went home after I'd paid the bill.
Tyler and Dylan were giggling and joking around the entire way, so I felt this was going to be an interesting evening. During the trip, Tyler also informed me that the coach had given them the weekend off, so I didn't have to get up early just to take them to the school. That was fine with me, so I thanked him for letting me know about this well in advance.
I kept Ethan and Marcus busy by having them cuddle with me while we watched TV, so they wouldn't bother the older pair. When I took the younger boys upstairs for their bath later, the other two were still in Tyler's room, but I had no idea what they were doing. After I put the little ones to bed, I was heading back to my room when a totally naked Dylan and Tyler came strolling down the hallway, toward the bathroom.
"We're going to take our shower together, since we got sweaty horsing around in my room," Tyler explained, although I hadn't asked a question.
"That's fine. I'm just surprised to see you both without anything on," I replied.
"Why? You saw me naked at Tyler's party, so what's one more time?" Dylan conceded. "I'll admit it was a little strange when you first walked in on us in the family room that night. You might not have known it, but when you covered your eyes some of the guys started to reach for their underwear, but only until Jacob signaled them not to do it. Then when Jacob asked if we were all ok with it, most of us agreed, but a few of the guys didn't say anything. I'm not sure if they were ok with it or not."
"If I'd have known that I would have left," I confessed. "I'm sorry if I crossed the line, but I wanted to see what the arguing was about."
"It was cool, especially after you explained all that stuff to us," Dylan assured me. "Then when Jacob asked you to measure all of our dicks and you didn't want to do it, because you were afraid of upsetting us if you accidentally touched our dicks, we all realized something. From then on, each of us was convinced that you would never try to take advantage of us and we could trust you completely."
"I'm glad to hear that," I replied, slightly relieved.
"I was one of the guys that didn't think it was a big deal if you saw me naked at the party, so I don't have a problem with it now either," Dylan confirmed again. "Marcus saw me naked and was cool with it too. In fact, I think Marcus is a really neat kid. I wish my little brother was more like him. He freaks out if I walk into the bathroom we share when he's naked or in the shower, even if I can't see anything. I think he's a year older than Marcus, so that makes it even more disgusting. You guys are just so understanding and open about things, and I like that a lot."
"Well you're pretty open too," I pointed out, while glancing down at his body. Dylan blushed slightly at my remark.
I didn't really mind though and he gave me quite a show. In that regards, below the waist he and Tyler could have been twins, except Dylan's pubic patch was slightly lighter in color.
"If you boys are going to shower together, then you might as well use the shower in the master bath," I suggested. "It will be easier for you that way, because it's bigger. I'll go downstairs while you're in there."
"You don't have to do that," Dylan countered. "You were going to your room, so you can still go there and we'll try not to bother you."
I could tell that Tyler had been thrilled by my offer to let them use the master bath, so after Dylan assured me I could still go to my room, they turned around and headed back the way they'd just come. The only difference was that this time they turned right, instead of left, when they got to the end of the hall.
Since Dylan wasn't bothered if I was in the bedroom while they were showering, I followed them back and watched their cute little butts wiggle, as they headed toward the master bath. They went in there shortly after I reached the bedroom door, and while I was reclining on the bed I thought about how I hadn't felt any signs of arousal while looking at Dylan's body. I had, however, felt a slight twinge when I glanced over at Tyler, but luckily it wasn't enough to give me an erection.
As I lay on the bed, I started to read my book, as I had been planning to do. I often do it to tire myself enough to fall sleep, it's just that I never did it when Tyler was with me. He was too much of a distraction to concentrate on anything else. About twenty minutes later, I heard the water shut off and the bathroom door opened. Both boys were giggling again, as they came into my room.
"I know there's such a thing as morning wood," Dylan stated, which immediately brought my attention to their condition, "but is there something called evening wood too?" He and Tyler began laughing hysterically after Dylan said that.
As I glanced up, it immediately became obvious they were both sporting erections. It also made me wonder what they had been doing in there beside washing up, but neither one attempted to cover himself to prevent me from noticing. I had no idea why Dylan had said that, because they probably could have passed by without me spotting their erections, if they had been quiet. For some reason, it seemed that he wanted me to notice that they were both hard. I wasn't sure what Tyler might have told Dylan about me or possibly divulged about any of the things we had done, but I certainly hoped he hadn't revealed any of those details to Dylan. I'd have to ask Tyler about it the next time I had a chance, but for now they headed toward my bedroom door and scooted across the hall to Tyler's room.
I heard some more giggling coming from Tyler's room before I fell asleep, but nothing more. I slept fairly well that evening, and even though I didn't have to, I still woke up around my normal time the next morning. After emptying my bladder and washing my hands, I went downstairs to figure out what I was going to fix the boys for breakfast. I decided to see what they thought about French toast, since I had everything I needed, including a bottle of maple syrup in the fridge.
Marcus and Ethan came down first and said they were willing to try French toast, even though they'd never had it before, at least not that they could remember. I fixed enough for the three of us and sat down to eat with them.
"This is really good, Uncle Blake!" Ethan exclaimed after taking a couple of bites.
"Yeah, why haven't we had this before?" Marcus wondered.
"I guess I just never thought about it until now," I explained simply. That seemed to suffice, so I didn't add anything more.
Marcus and Ethan had gone off to the family room to watch cartoons after they finished and by that time Dylan and Tyler managed to stagger down the steps as well. I was impressed that they had slipped on their underwear before joining us, but I had a feeling they'd been up fooling around most of the night, since they still looked extremely tired. Once they entered the kitchen, I asked if they wanted French toast or something else.
"French toast sounds good," Tyler told me.
"Yeah, that would be great," Dylan agreed, and while I was fixing it for them, Tyler spoke.
"We didn't make too much noise last night, did we?" he asked with a cheeky grin. I knew he was referring to my earlier joke.
"Shhh," Dylan urged, as he elbowed Tyler in the side.
"Oof," Tyler groaned after that happened. "It's ok. Uncle Blake doesn't care. He didn't say anything about us being naked last night or having boners when we got out of the shower did he?"
Dylan looked at Tyler strangely before responding.
"So you're saying he doesn't mind if we do stuff like that?" Dylan whispered, hoping I wouldn't hear.
"Look, guys. I know nearly every boy likes to fool around at your age or maybe even when he's older, and it's not a big deal, as long as you both agree and are careful," I stated. This surprised Dylan, because he didn't think I'd overheard his comment. "I'm not stupid and I know stuff like that happens, but just don't go spreading it around or telling anyone that I gave you permission. All I'm saying is, I won't interfere with what you're doing, as long as you both agree and no one is getting hurt."
"Neat," Dylan mumbled in response. "You're pretty cool, Mr. Blake."
"Thank you. Just remember what I told you," I responded.
"Ok, that's cool," Dylan replied, as I sat the plates of food down in front of them.
Both boys were very quiet as they ate, so I waited until they were finished before I asked them if they wanted more. They did, so while I was fixing it, I asked them another question. "What would you like to do today? I know Ethan and Marcus want to go to the park, so they can practice baseball. Would you two like to join us?"
"Yeah, that would be cool," Dylan quickly answered. "Maybe I'll even get as good as Tyler." This time Tyler nudged Dylan in the ribs with his elbow.
"I'm up for it too," Tyler agreed. "I don't want my brothers to lose out, since the sign up for the summer league will be in 3 or 4 weeks. Games usually start at the end of April."
"As long as everyone's agreeable then, we'll go after lunch, so you boys can do what you want until then," I agreed.
"Great! Let's go back up to your room," Dylan urged. "I'm feeling horny again."
"Guys, you don't have to announce it in front of me," I advised them, as they got up from the table.
"You would have noticed any way," Dylan countered, as he pointed at the obvious erection in his briefs.
"Jeez, get out of here before you start giving me a blow by blow description of what you're doing," I teased, before turning around to clean up the mess.
"You can come watch, if you want," Dylan offered, although I wasn't sure if he serious or merely joking. I was going to assume the latter, so I ignored his offer as I continued on with my work. "Aren't you coming?" Dylan asked again, when I didn't respond.
"No, you boys need your privacy," I finally replied. "I'll go see what the two munchkins are up too instead."
"Your loss," Dylan shot back, as he and Tyler headed toward the stairs.
I had to assume he was just being cheeky and getting a kick out of teasing me, but I'd speak to Tyler about it later. If the boy was being this forward so quickly, then I might have to tell Tyler that Dylan couldn't stay here again. I hated to have to go to that extreme, but I didn't want to invite possible trouble for us either. One offhand remark like that in front of others or a joking comment that someone else took seriously could bring my world crashing down around me.
Tyler came downstairs about an hour later, but he was alone. That confused me, so I asked him where Dylan was.
"He sucked me off, but then fell asleep after I did it to him," he replied. "He's up on my bed totally zonked."
After Tyler told me this, I felt an irrational twinge of jealousy. I know I shouldn't have, especially since I'd encouraged him to do it, but something inside me was saying that only I should be doing those things with Tyler. I just shrugged off the feeling and broached another topic with Tyler instead.
"I'm a little worried about the things Dylan said to me earlier. Was he being serious about it?" I wanted to know.
"Nah, he was just teasing you," Tyler assured me. "He likes you a lot and thinks it's neat that you don't mind what we're doing."
"I was just worried that he might like me a little too much," I responded. "I already have to fight off one kid, so I don't need another one playing games like that with me too."
"I'm not playing games with you," Tyler objected. "I may be doing that with Dylan, but he just wanted to see how you'd react. He might have even let you watch if you really wanted too, but he was only yanking your chain."
"I hope so or I may have to say 'no' the next time you ask if he can stay over," I warned.
"Don't do that! I'll just tell him to be more serious from now on," Tyler offered, to calm my concerns. "He's a nice guy and I really like him. We've had a lot of fun together."
"Ok, as long as he tones it down a bit," I agreed.
"Does that mean you don't want to see us naked either?" he followed, while trying to discover what limits I was going to set.
"I don't mind that and can handle it, as long as he doesn't try to do more, at least where I'm concerned," I confirmed. "Even though I've broken a few rules with you, I definitely can't do it with anyone else."
"Ok, I understand," Tyler agreed. "I'll make sure Dylan understands it too."
"Thank you," I added, before I went to check on the younger pair again.
After lunch, I took all of the boys to the park and put them through their paces. I worked them hard during fielding practice and Dylan was impressed with how the little ones were doing.
"They're gonna put you to shame when they're your age," he told Tyler.
"I hope they do," Tyler agreed, not letting the comment bother him.
When I pitched batting practice to them later, the fact that we had an extra fielder meant the boys didn't have to run quite as much. I think Ethan and Marcus liked that and might want to bring Dylan with us more often, since it meant less work for them. After we finished up, I took the boys to Krispy Kreme for a donut, as a reward for how hard they'd worked.
When we got home, I gave Marcus and Ethan their baths, since they got quite dirty at the park. As I was finishing up with them, Tyler approached me. Dylan was behind him and they were both totally naked again.
"Do you mind if we use your shower again?" Tyler wanted to know.
"No, that's fine," I told him. "I'll be downstairs when you finish."
As I started to turn to leave, Dylan spoke to me.
"Mr. Blake, I'm sorry about earlier," he apologized. "I guess I got carried away, because I've never been able to joke around with an adult like that before. It was a lot of fun, so I didn't realize I was crossing the line and going too far. I just feel really comfortable around you and didn't realize what I was doing, but I promise I won't do anything like that again. Ok?"
How could I be mad at him after an apology like that? As I turned around to tell him he was forgiven, I didn't realize that he'd moved right behind me. After getting over the shock, I finally spoke.
"I forgive you," I told him, which earned me a smile.
"You mean I'll be able to come back here again?" he followed, as he studied my face and awaited my answer.
"I don't have a problem with it, so you're more than welcome to do this again," I agreed.
Before I knew what was happening, Dylan threw his arms around my chest and gave me a big hug. Wonderful! Another naked boy was hugging me. How and why do these things keep happening to me?
Dylan came down with the other boys for breakfast Sunday morning and I decided to fix omelets and home fries this time. Marcus had actually made the suggestion the night before, because he seemed to like them so much, but each boy greedily wolfed down everything I set in front of him.
"Do you know what time your parents will be coming home?" I asked Dylan while he was eating.
"Why? Are you in a hurry to get rid of me?" he wanted to know. He still looked slightly worried that I hadn't completely gotten over my reaction to his earlier comments.
"No, I just wondered how much time we'd have to do other things," I answered.
"Oh, ok. I don't think they'll be home before noon though," he replied. "They said they'd call when they got back. They kept the invitation from Tyler's birthday party, because it had your phone numbers on it."
"That's good to know," I agreed. "So how would you boys like to go see a movie then?"
"Which one?" I heard several voices ask nearly at once.
"I was thinking about going to see 'When the Game Stands Tall'," I replied. A couple of people at work told me it was pretty good.
They all agreed it sounded like a good idea, so I sent them upstairs to get dressed. While they were gone, I checked the times that particular movie was being shown and discovered we had to wait a while before that would happen. The boys decided to challenge each other playing video games in the meantime, so I let them do that until it was time to leave.
When we got to the theater, Marcus sat next to me on one side and Ethan climbed on my lap, as usual. When I glanced over at the other side, I saw Dylan was sitting next to me and Tyler was on the other side of him.
"I hope you don't mind," Dylan stated when he saw I was looking at him. "I have a lot to make up for, as well as to thank you for all you've done for me."
"It's not a problem," I confirmed, as I reached over and tousled his hair. He leaned his head against my shoulder when I did that.
"Thanks," he said, before he sat up straight again.
The movie was pretty good and it emphasized the concepts of integrity, honesty and teamwork. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it presented some good lessons for the boys. As I looked around, they seemed to be enjoying it too, so I was glad I'd brought them.
"It's just like you said," Dylan observed, once we were in the car. "The good teams are really close, but they also did the right thing in the end, instead of going for the record."
"Yes, they did," I agreed. "It's a valuable lesson to see they did what was right, rather than going for personal glory."
The boys all nodded their heads in agreement, as I drove them home.
Since we hadn't heard from Dylan's parents by noon, I fed the boys lunch. When we still hadn't heard from them by the time the boys had finished eating, I decided to ask Dylan another question.
"I know these three want to go back to the park today, so do you think you'll have time to join us?"
"Sure, as long as you take your cell phone with you," he agreed. "That way if my parents call, we can tell them what we're doing."
"Ok, just bring your things down from Tyler's room and we'll leave them in the car while you're working out. That way if your parents call, I can just drop you off after we're done," I explained.
"Yeah, that's cool," he agreed.
I worked the boys the same way I'd done the previous day and Dylan's parents didn't call until we were just about ready to stop. When my cell phone rang, I assumed it was them and picked it up quickly.
"Hello," I answered.
"Hi, this is Don Cochran, Dylan's dad. I just wanted to let you know we're back. Would you like me to come pick him up?"
"First of all, I'd like to wish you and your wife a belated 'Happy Anniversary'. Dylan didn't mention anything about it until I'd picked them up Friday night," I offered. "And you don't have to pick him up. We're at the park right now, because I was working with my three boys and Dylan on their baseball skills, so I'll drop him off on the way back."
"Thanks for the anniversary wish and for letting him stay with you," his dad told me. "Do I owe you anything for his food or whatever else you did?"
"No, he was our guest and it was my treat," I answered.
"Thank you and we'd be happy to do the same for Tyler some time," he replied.
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that, seeing he and Dylan have gotten to be such good friends," I confirmed.
Shortly after I ended the call, we finished up and I took Dylan home.
"Thanks for everything," Dylan told me, as he got out of the car. "I had a great time and hope we can do this again."
"You're welcome and I look forward to it," I concurred, as I watched his parents open the door to greet their son. They all waved at us as we drove away.
When we got home, I gave Marcus and Ethan their baths and then Tyler asked to speak with me. This mildly confused me, but I went off with him anyway.
"Thanks for letting Dylan spend the weekend with us," he began. "I had a really great time with him and I'm sure he'll want to do it again."
"I take it that means you're sexually satisfied for a while?" I asked in jest.
"Maybe," he conceded, although not completely giving in. "I just want you to know that it doesn't change how I feel about you. I still want to do things with you too, if you're willing. You're the one I love and anything I do with anyone else is just because you won't do it with me."
I felt it might be best if I didn't respond to his statement, but at least now I understood why he wanted to talk.
The rest of Sunday was pretty low key and I spent the night giving Ethan and Marcus some extra attention, but I also answered some questions they had for me.
"Are you going to have a party for us too, when it's our birthdays?" Marcus asked, somewhat concerned.
"Of course I am," I assured him. "We'll have your parties on a Saturday too and I'll invite any of your friends that you want."
"Will it be a sleepover party?" he followed, while studying my reaction closely.
"That's a privilege you'll get when you're older. You can have a sleepover when you turn 13 too, just like I did for Tyler. Ok?" I followed, just to be certain.
"I guess, but I wanted to have a sleepover party for my next birthday," he replied, while looking disappointed.
"I think we'll hold that privilege for when you're older," I replied, to his dismay. "You'll be able to have a sleepover when you become a teenager though."
I hated to turn him down, but I just wasn't ready to have a bunch of rugrats running around that I would have to do more for and possibly totally entertain. At least Tyler's friends were able to do nearly everything for themselves, so I just had to supervise. I considered that Marcus' friends might be able to do that for the most part too, but then I began to worry about something else. I suddenly shuddered at the thought he might try to get his little friends naked and then measure their penises as well, just like he'd seen the big boys do. I certainly didn't need kids that age telling their parents anything like that!
I may eventually decide to lower my age restriction after I've had time to think about it more, but I felt Ethan's friends would just need too much assistance and attention. If the boys think a sleepover is something they'll only be allowed to have when they're older, then they'll be happy if I let them do it sooner than that. However, I'll always be able to stick to the 13-year-old age limit, if I don't wish to change my mind after giving the idea more consideration.
Ethan seemed ok with my announcement, as long as I promised to have a party for him when it was his birthday. He hadn't stayed up for Tyler's party, so as far as he was concerned, the sleepover wasn't that special. I planned to keep it that way, at least for the time being.
Monday and Tuesday were basically our run of the mill days, but Tuesday afternoon Tyler had another baseball game. It was an away game, but it was close enough that I felt I could drive there in time to see most of it. With that in mind, I rushed home after work to pick up Ethan and Marcus first, and then I drove to the school where the game was being held. I had to stop and ask a few people where the field was, because it wasn't at the school and I couldn't locate it right away. We finally discovered it was a short distance away from the school and arrived just as our team was coming in to bat again. Tyler smiled when he saw us, so I went over to ask him the score.
"It's the top of the third and we're ahead 5 - 0. We only had one run in the first, but I had a hit and got an RBI. Then, we scored four more runs in the second inning and the team batted around. There's a chance I could come up to bat again this inning, but some of the other guys would have to get on base first."
It sounded good, so the boys and I went over to see if we could find room on the bleachers. Once we got settled in, a bunch of Tyler's teammates found ways to get on base. A couple got on by walks, a few others got hits, including one by Tyler, and they ended up scoring four more times.
When that half of the inning ended, I saw Trent was pitching and Tyler was playing center field this time. It must be that he plays whichever position the current pitcher generally plays. The last time we came when Tyler wasn't pitching, Crawford was, so Tyler was filling in for him at shortstop. It was good that Tyler was so versatile, because it would indicate he shouldn't have trouble making the various teams as he got older.
Trent was looking fairly good on the mound, but he gave up two doubles that inning, one to right and the other to left, so the team they were playing scored a run. The score was now 9 - 1, as they headed into the top of the fourth.
Tyler didn't come up to bat this time and his team only scored one more run. However, the other team didn't score at all and stranded two runners on base. The first guy hit a single and the second one walked, but Trent settled down after that and did a good job keeping them from scoring.
Tyler came up again in the top of the fifth and hit a fly ball to center field. The kid playing out there made a fantastic diving catch and robbed Tyler of another hit, but his team managed to drive in two more runs. That meant the score was now 12 - 1.
I was surprised to see Tyler come in to pitch and Paul go out to play center when they took the field again and wondered why, but Tyler looked sharp on the mound. He fanned the first batter, got the second batter to hit a grounder to Dylan at second and then got the third batter to pop up to Stanton, who had come in to sub at third. I was waiting for Tyler's team to come to bat again, but they lined up to slap hands with the other team instead. I was baffled by this and asked Tyler about it when he came over to see us.
"I thought you played seven-inning games?"
"We do, but the scorekeepers told the umps we were ahead by more than 10 runs, so they called the game because of the 10-run rule," Tyler answered. "That rule can be called as early as four and a half innings if the home team is ahead by 10 or more runs or after five full innings if the visitors are leading by that much."
"That explains it then," I agreed. "But why did you come in to pitch though? I thought Trent was doing fine."
"He was, but he told the coach his arm was starting to hurt," Tyler informed me. "That's why the coach told me to pitch and had Paul go to center field. Coach Hendricks said it would help to keep me loose for Saturday's game. It's an away game too and I'm pitching."
"Seeing it's on a Saturday, we'll be able go too," I stated. My comment brought a grin to Tyler's face.
"Do you think I can ask Jacob to stay over on Saturday, after the game then?" he wanted to know.
"I don't see why not," I replied.
"Great, I'll tell him on the bus," Tyler added.
"Aren't you riding back with us?" I asked, surprised.
"Coach Hendricks wants us all to ride back on the bus," he told me. "Something about school liability, but he also wants to talk to us before we get back to the school."
"Ok. I'll see you there then," I confirmed.
Tyler hurriedly raced off with his team, while I led the little ones back to the car. They wanted to know why Tyler wasn't coming with us too, so I had to explain it to them, and they were fine after I told them what was happening.
On the ride to the school, I began doing some calculations in my head. Tyler went 3 for 5 today, which meant he was now 12 for 21 for the season. If I'd divided correctly in my head, I figured his batting average was now .580. Pretty impressive, if you asked me.
We met up with Tyler when he got off the bus, but since he was still in his uniform and the boys were complaining they were hungry, I decided to order take out. Once the boys agreed on pizza, I called and placed the order using my cell phone. Then I drove over to pick it up. When we got home, I made each of the boys a green salad to go with it, because I wanted them to have some vegetables too. I was happy none of the boys complained about doing this, as long as I had ranch dressing for them to put on it.
Once they were done eating, I bathed Ethan and Marcus and got them ready for bed, as Tyler went in to clean up. Once they were tucked in, I completed my nightly ritual and turned in too, since it had been a long day.
We merely followed our normal routine for the rest of the week and nothing out of the ordinary happened. On Friday night, however, Tyler came to speak with me about something that was on his mind.
"You remember that Jacob will be coming home with us after we get back from the game, don't ya?" he asked, with a look of concern.
"I certainly do," I replied. "I figured I'd drive you over to get on the bus with the team first and then I'd just follow the bus to the game. That way I won't have trouble finding the field this time, like I did at your last away game. Since I assume you'll be riding the bus back to the school afterward, I'll pick you boys up there and then we'll bring Jacob home with us."
"Great! I'm glad you remembered," he stated, as he began to dance about. "Oh, and the coach warned us this was probably going to be a tough game. He said he's been talking to some of the other coaches and found out this team has been beating the teams they've faced by as much as we have, maybe more. He said that meant we'll have to be ready for a battle or we could lose this game. I'm a little nervous, because he said I'm gonna pitch."
"Yes, I remember you telling me that," I responded. "I'm excited for you, but just do your best. That's all any of us can ask of you, so don't go putting extra pressure on yourself or make any more out of this than you need to."
"I'll try not to," he agreed. "Coach Hendricks says if I'm doing well, he'll let me stay in as long as I can. When he told me that, I said I could probably go the distance, if he needed me to."
"Just don't be too proud to ask to come out if you feel any soreness or tightening in your arm," I warned him.
"I won't, because I don't want to get so I can't pitch," he agreed. "I want to be able to play all through high school and maybe even in college too, not just this year."
"Good thinking and I'm sure you'll have a long and successful career ahead of you, as long as you stay focused and take care of yourself," I assured him.
After we finished our conversation, Tyler gave me a very quick hug and kiss, before he took off for his room. I wasn't sure if his brief parting gifts this time meant he was starting to lose interest in me, but it did leave me curious.
Saturday morning, I got the boys up and moving early. The game was scheduled for 10:00 and the bus was leaving the school at 8:30, so I didn't want to be late getting him there. After I got everyone fed, the boys got dressed and I loaded them into the car. After dropping Tyler off to join his teammates, we followed the bus to the other team's field and then watched the team warm up.
Our team was up first, since we were the visiting team, but they didn't start off as well as they usually did. Dylan grounded out to the pitcher, Nathan struck out and then Trent popped up to the first baseman to end the inning.
I watched Tyler warm up and thought he looked fairly sharp, so I was eager to see how he was going to stand up against the better competition. He struck out the first batter on a foul-tip third strike that the catcher, Nathan, held on to. Then, he got the second batter to a 1 ball, 2 strike count. Tyler started the next pitch out at eye level and the kid thought it was going to be called a ball, but unfortunately for him, it was a fork ball that dropped sharply before crossing the plate. The kid never moved the bat from his shoulder before the umpire called strike three and the boy just stared at Tyler as he walked back to the bench. Then, the next batter hit a weak grounder to second base and Dylan easily threw him out at first.
Tyler was up first to start the second inning and fouled off six pitches before finally hitting a single through the hole between third and short. Unfortunately, Jacob popped up to the shortstop next and then Crawford struck out. After that, Jamal hit a grounder to second for the last out, leaving Tyler stranded on base.
To start the bottom of the second, Tyler got the first batter to pop up in foul territory to Curtis at first. Then the next batter hit a blooper over second and became the other team's first base runner. That seemed to piss Tyler off, because he threw harder than I'd ever seen to the next batter and struck the kid out. Then, he got the next boy to hit a grounder to Crawford at short and he tossed the ball to Dylan at second for the force out.
Antonio was the first one up in the third inning for our team and tried to bunt his way on base. Unfortunately, he popped the ball up in foul territory and the catcher made a diving grab for the out. That brought up Curtis in the ninth position in the order and he went down swinging. Dylan then flew out to left field, but it was a good sign. It was the first ball any of our players had hit out of the infield in the air.
It was the bottom of the third and there was still no score. The eighth and ninth batters in the other team's lineup were up first and then it would go back to the top of their order. Tyler struck those two out easily and then he got their leadoff man to pop up to third. I was impressed, because the farthest the other team had hit so far was the blooper that went over second base.
Nathan was up first in the top of the fourth and he hit a single up the middle. Trent then bunted to move Nathan over to second, but he was thrown out at first. Then Tyler stepped up to the plate. He fouled off four pitches this time, before he hit a shot between the center and right fielders. The ball rolled a long way and Nathan scored easily from second, while Tyler ended up on third with a triple. Jacob was up next and hit a long fly ball to center, and even though the center fielder caught it, Tyler was able to tag up and score. After that, Crawford hit a hard grounder to the shortstop, but the kid was able to handle it and threw Crawford out at first.
Our team seemed to be getting to the other team's pitcher now, so I wondered if he was beginning to tire or was he just losing focus. It didn't really matter though, since our team was starting to hit him harder and were now leading 2 - 0, as we headed into the bottom of the fourth inning. Tyler was going to have to deal with the heart of their lineup this time, so it was going to be a tough test of his pitching ability.
Tyler struck out the first batter fairly easily and then the next batter hit a grounder to Jamal at third and was thrown out at first. The other team's cleanup batter hit a double down the third base line after that, which gave me cause for concern, but then Tyler got the next batter to hit a soft liner back to him for the third out.
Jamal was up first in the top of the fifth and ended up grounding out to the first baseman. Jose then came in to sub for Antonio and play right field, but he only managed to hit a little blooper to the other team's third baseman. The boy handled it easily for the second out and then D'Wayne came in to pinch hit for Curtis and play first base next. D'Wayne managed a seeing-eye hit that went just beyond the reach of the second baseman, which brought Dylan to the plate again. After fouling off a couple of pitches, Dylan hit a wicked liner to third, but it was directly at the third baseman. The kid instinctively brought his glove up to protect his head and ended up catching the ball for the third out.
In the bottom of the fifth, Tyler faced the sixth man in the lineup first. That kid tried to bunt his way on, but Nathan was as quick as a cat and jumped out from behind the plate, scooped up the ball and threw the boy out at first. The next batter worked the count to 3 balls, 2 strikes and then Tyler tried to get him out with the fork ball. Tyler didn't start the pitch out as high this time, possibly hoping the kid would think it was going to be a strike and swing at it, but the kid merely froze. When the ball broke, it dropped below the batter's knees and was called ball four. I felt the kid got lucky after getting fooled by the pitch, because he ended up trotting down to first. The next batter hit a sharp grounder to Dylan and he quickly turned it into a 4-6-3 double-play to end that half of the inning.
Nathan was up first to lead off the sixth inning and hit a bullet past the third baseman. He only ended up with a single though, because he slipped coming out of the batter's box. Trent then lined out to the first baseman, which brought Tyler up to bat. He hit the third pitch to left-center field, but the left fielder made a spectacular running catch. Nathan thought it was going to drop in, so he had been running and now had to backtrack before getting doubled up. He made it back to first safely, but then Jacob flew out to the right fielder to end the inning.
The ninth batter was scheduled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, but his coach put a pinch-hitter in for him. That kid hit the ball, but only managed a slow roller to third that Jamal scooped up easily and threw the boy out at first. Tyler then struck out their leadoff batter from the top of the order again and got the next batter to pop up to short.
We headed into the final inning with Tyler's team still ahead 2 - 0, but I could tell that some of the other parents in the stands were getting a little nervous. It was our team's last chance to score a few extra runs and create a larger buffer, but the sixth, seventh and eighth men in the order were due up. Crawford stepped to the plate first and hit the ball well, but the second baseman made a nice leaping grab to rob him of a hit. Stanton then hit a dribbler back to the mound and was thrown out at first. Jose followed that with a soft liner over the third baseman's head for a single, but then D'Wayne grounded out to the second baseman for the final out.
This meant the other team was coming to the plate with their power hitters scheduled to bat, starting with the third man in the order. Tyler threw a four-seam fastball past him for a strike and followed that up with a two-seam fastball. That pitch tailed in on the batter and caused him to hit the ball down by his hands when he swung. He merely popped the ball up to D'Wayne at first base for the out. The cleanup batter was up next and this was the kid who'd hit one of Tyler's four-seam fastballs down third for a double during his last at bat. I could tell Tyler remembered this and was seeking revenge.
He started the kid off with a three-finger changeup and the boy was way out in front of the pitch. Then, Tyler threw him a forkball and the kid ended up swinging over the ball when it dropped. After two off-speed pitches, the batter was looking for another one, but Tyler reared back and threw his four-seam fastball by him for the third strike. It was the hardest I'd seen Tyler throw all day and the kid wasn't ready for it. His mouth was still hanging open as he walked back to the bench after striking out.
The other team was down to its final out and their fifth batter was coming to the plate. Tyler got two quick strikes on him, but then he seemed to lose focus for a moment. He threw a two-seam fastball that tailed out over the plate and the kid connected with it. The ball soared out to left field and it appeared as if it was going to be over Jacob's head. Jacob was doing his best to catch up with it and made a fantastic over the shoulder catch for the last out.
Tyler was so overjoyed that he ran out to meet Jacob as he was running in and ended up tackling Jacob to the ground, as they celebrated their victory. It was their closest game so far, since they only won by a score of 2 - 0.
After slapping hands with the other team and telling them great game, the boys went to get on the bus. Coach Hendricks, however, came over to speak with me first, before he joined them.
"Tyler pitched an incredible game," he announced, as soon as he got close. "I think it's the best game any kid has ever pitched for me at this level."
"He did look sharp, but he's lucky Jacob had his back on that last one," I observed.
"He didn't make many mistakes, but we were lucky the other boys were able to pick up the slack when he did," Coach Hendricks pointed out. "I want to talk to them on the way back or else I'd let him go home with you."
"Not a problem," I assured him. "I'll pick him up at the school. Great game, coach. Congratulations."
"Thank you, but I had very little to do with this one," he replied with a wink.
I then got the other two boys in the car and we drove back to meet the bus at the school.
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E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other ‘constructive’ comments or advice may be sent to: ErastesTouch@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn’t get deleted as junk mail.
My other stories:
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/
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Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.