Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:05:37 +0000 From: Douglas DD DD Subject: The Perfect Game Chapter 11 Being in sixth grade at the bottom of middle school food change isn't easy. It's even harder when turning out for a team---the seventh and eighth graders tend to be bigger, faster, and stronger. With a JV team the eighth graders are eliminated since they can only play varsity, but the seventh graders are still there, wanting each position they feel is rightfully theirs. Eric and Scott are sure they're going to make the team at the same they are not sure so they are going to make the team. This is the case in this chapter as the sixth graders turning out for the Mayfield Middle School Titans give their best and then have to wait to find out if they made the second cut and will have a spot on the JV team for the Spring. Comments are most welcomed at thehakaanen@hotmail.com. Many thanks to those of you who have taken the time write. CHAPTER 11 SECOND CUT Eric woke up with a start. He couldn't figure out what was on top of him. He slowly opened his eyes and let the haze clear out of his head. The weight on him was Scott's head and arm as his friend was strewn partially across his own chest. The pleasant memories of the night before now started to flood him as he realized he had morning wood. He also realized he had to pee. He slowly worked his way out from under Scott, but the movement woke his friend. Like Eric it took him a couple of moments to get oriented. "Hey, cutie. Good morning," Scott said in greeting. "Cutie? You called me cutie?" "Well you are kind of cute, you know." "I hate being cute. I want to be handsome or something." "Cute will have to do. It's all I can think of right now." In spite of his protestations, Eric was pleased to be called cute by Scott. But he also wondered if being called cute by another boy was gay even if he was your best friend. Then he kicked the thought aside and lived in the moment. And the moment said he was happy to be naked in bed with his best friend. "What time is it?" Scott asked. "You can see the clock better than I can since you are practically smothering me." Scott peered around Eric to look at the reading on his alarm clock. "Almost nine," he said. "Still too early to get up." "Maybe for you, but I gotta pee." "Then get up and pee and come back to me. Hey, I could turn that into a song. What do you think?" "I think it needs a little work. Now get up off me so I can go pee." Scott rolled off of Eric and reached down to fondle his genitals. "Looks like you gotta really pee. You've got some serious wood down there." Eric grabbed Scott's dick, which was hard as well and smiled. Just twenty-four hours ago he never would have imagined waking up naked in bed with a friend and both of them fondling each other, yet this morning it felt as natural as shaking hands. "Guess we both should get up and pee. I suppose as long as we're up we might as well shower and stay up...and I don't mean down there," he said with a high-pitched boy giggle. Scott couldn't help but giggle as well. He felt happy and content in ways his young brain couldn't explain; being with Eric made him feel good all over. The boys battled their boners and worked to fill the toilet bowl, standing side-by-side taking care of their morning business. "Who showers first?" Eric said, wishing in the back of his head that they just have just stepped into the shower and peed there---with their boners it would have been much easier. He didn't wait for an answer saying, "I think I should first since I'm the guest." "I think we should shower together," Scott said, taking the lead as he so often did. "I think you're right," Eric replied with the bright smile that kept making Scott's heart speed up. Scott turned on the shower, testing the water temperature. He had Eric check it as well to make sure it was okay. The water passed its test and both boys stepped into the shower. It was a large walk-in shower with one shower head. The boys stood next to each other, shoulders touching, moving a bit from side to side to get their heads and bodies wet. The warm water and the feel of each other's wet body had a predictable effect on them. Eric watched Scott's semi- hard dick become full hard in a matter of seconds and his quickly followed the lead. The two of them were quickly getting used to seeing each other with a boner. "Can I wash your back?" Scott asked somewhat breathlessly, his normally high boy voice sounding a bit lower than usual. "Yeah, go ahead, that would be cool." Scott grabbed the soap and soaping his friend's back up by his neck, getting the shoulders, and then working his way down until he reached the top of Eric's glistening white bubble butt. He washed the right cheek, then the left, not only rubbing the soap along the perfect mounds but rubbing them and kneading them. Eric closed his eyes and moaned. "That feels really good," he said. The cascading water quickly took the suds off of Eric's back. Scott found himself totally turned on by the quick journey of his soap filled hands. The youthful hormones flowing through his body took him over. He put the soap on the soap holder and brought himself up against the cute blonde in front of him. He wrapped his arms around Eric's waist, letting his hands slide down Eric's wet belly to rub across his hard, throbbing, four inch cocklet. Eric moaned with pleasure, not at all surprised by the amorous advances of his friend. He leaned back against Scott's young, athletic body. He could feel Scott's hard penis pushing against his right butt check. Scott fondled Eric's testicles, rubbed his swollen cock, took his other hand and felt his buddy's left butt cheek as he rubbed his dick against the right one. He leaned his chin on Eric's shoulder, causing him to hunch down some. The result was his dick pushed against Eric's butt cheek even harder as his own facial cheek made contact with Eric's smooth cheek. It was hand to cheek, cock to cheek, and cheek to cheek. Scott started humping against his friend, tiny grunts emanating from his lips. His mind was so much on his own dick, on the feeling of their wet bodies together, that his right hand dropped from Eric's cock and rubbed the blonde boy's sensitive belly. Both boys were now lost in themselves and in each other. They both wanted nothing more than to let their dicks explode. Even without Scott's hand on him Eric could feel the explosion welling up in him. Scott pushed hard against Eric, his motions becoming more frantic, his left hand somehow finding its way into Eric's ass crack. Without thinking Scott kissed Eric's neck as his right hand rubbed Eric's belly and chest, his left hand rubbing Eric's ass, and his hard boy cock humping Eric's ass and back for all it was worth. Eric was stunned at Scott's kissing him. But then he didn't care because it all felt good and right. "Oh, fuck, Eric, I'm gonna cum!" Scott got out as he shot three large drops of almost clear boy cum over Eric's back and butt. Eric moaned as he felt the warmth over him even with the water running and he suddenly came himself. His dick twitched, spasmed, and shook and a drop of clear liquid shot high in the air as he had a no touch cum. Both boys felt week in the knees and sank to the shower floor. Scott had his back against the back wall and Eric leaned back against him as Scott put both arms around his friend. Both boys were momentarily breathless and speechless. What they had just experienced was their most intense orgasm ever. Scott realized that this was so much more than that first JO in the shower with Marty so long ago. This was almost like...well, like sex. He kissed and nipped at Eric's neck, heedless of what his friend might think, but feeling it was okay. And it was. Eric tried to gather his thoughts, but couldn't seem to get anything together in his head, so he just leaned back against his friend, loving the feeling of the arms that were wrapped around him and the nibbling of Scott's lips on his neck and then on his cheek. The water from the shower fell on the boys. They had almost forgotten it was there. It was Eric who spoke first. "That was so beyond awesome." "It was. I came so hard I'm still shaking." "I cummed without touching myself. It was amazing. I never felt anything so good." "Me either. I came on your butt." "You kissed me," Eric said quietly. "I know. Are you mad at me? Do you think it was maybe gay or something." "No. I liked it. We just got all hot. This must be what sex is like. It was way more than just jerking off." "I was thinking the same thing. I just wanted you so much." "Just so you don't think I mind you kissing me, here is something for you." Eric turned his body and gave Scott a long kiss on his cheek, his hand rubbing Scott's side. "How's that?" "It's good. I liked it. Damn, the water is starting to cool off. I think we're pretty clean. I mean we've been here long enough. Guess he better get out of the shower." Eric got off of the floor and turned off the water. The boys grabbed their towels. Instead of drying himself Scott started drying Eric. The two of them dried each other thoroughly then walked across the hall. "I don't want to get dressed. I want to be naked with you all day," Eric said. "Me, too. But I want food almost as much and we have to get dressed to get breakfast." They both put gym shorts and a t-shirt on and headed downstairs where Scott's mother was cooking breakfast. The smell of the sizzling bacon shifted their attention from each other to their stomachs, as growing boys will do. "You boys let the shower run a long time," Scott's mom said. "Takes awhile for two of us to shower," Scott said. "Think about leaving some hot water for your sister next time." "It will heat up again." "Scott, just think about it, okay?" Scott sulked a little but nodded his head yes. He then focused his attention on the incoming breakfast. They all sat at the table and were soon joined by Lindy. "Thanks for leaving me hot water, Scott." Scott decided to ignore her this time. He didn't want to create a big to do with Eric watching. Instead he attacked his breakfast. "You still haven't taken up the invitation to have dinner at Eric's after practice," Scott's mom said. "I know. Things keep happening. Hey," he said to Eric, "maybe your mom can treat us on Tuesday after we both find out we made the team." "Sure," Eric said. "It can be a victory dinner or a funeral." "You're going to make it. Trust me. I know better than you what the competition is like. I played with a lot of these guys and you are way better. Just your pitching alone would be good enough, but you're a really great fielder, and you hit the crap out of the ball." "My pitching sucked. The extra eight feet from last year made everything slow." The sixth graders were moving from a 46 foot rubber to a 54 foot rubber. "You remember what the coaches said. They want people to throw strikes. And you were throwing strikes and I bet they saw that." "Whatever. I was throwing meat balls compared to you." Eric quit talking and tackled his breakfast, bringing an end to that line of conversation. Tomorrow would be the last practice before the second and last cut. He just wished it would all be over and he knew exactly what he would be doing this spring. He was happy Scott had so much confidence in him and he wished he could mirror it. He couldn't remember ever being so worried. The boys finished eating and helped clear the table and load the dishwasher. They went up to Scott's room where they spent their time playing games, talking about baseball, and doing homework until Eric headed for home. What they didn't do was talk about what had happened in Scott's bed the night before or the intense scene in the shower that morning. Both boys had things to think about and as much as they were learning to trust each other there were things that they weren't ready say just yet. Scott came by Eric's house at the usual time the next morning. They boys talked about baseball and the fact that the second and last cut would be made after practice. "I kind of wish the coaches would wait and give us more of a chance to show what we can do. I mean there's still a lot of time until the first game," Eric said. "But I guess I'm glad they're doing it now, because I want to know what's going to happen and I can't wait any longer." "I guess they know what they're doing," Scott said. "Might as well do it now." Scott was totally confident he would make the JV squad. Eric would have normally had the same level of confidence, but his being so new lent an air of uncertainty he wasn't sure how to handle. In his heart he knew he was as good as anybody on the field except Scott and Danny. What he wasn't sure about was whether the coaches had seen enough of him to know how good he was. The school morning dragged on. The lunch break seemed even more welcome that usual. Eric sat with Scott, Danny, and the twins, and was surprised, but pleased to see that Bobby had invited Noah to sit with them. "No use in Noah always sitting by himself. He's cool and he's my friend." Nobody at the table objected to Noah's presence. They had nothing against Noah and had never done anything to bother him. It was just that outside of Bobby and Eric none of them had really bothered to be friendly or have anything to do with the young boy. And now that he thought about it, Eric realized that he should have been more open to being a friend to Noah since Eric was new in town and knew what it was like trying to make new friends. They had gained a level of respect for him in the few days they had been on the practice field together. They had seen the small boy work his ass off and had seen that he had a high level of talent. He did nothing on the field halfway and he made a few boys, Danny and the twins included, step up their own pace to keep up with him. They knew he played summer ball, but summer ball was by age level and none of them had seen Noah play. Everybody at the table, including Noah, was pretty sure this would be Noah's final day of practice. "You've been looking pretty good out on the field, Noah" Scott said. "Thanks," Noah replied shyly. "If the coaches were smart they'd keep you over a couple of the dorks out there who think they got the team made just by showing up," Bobby said. Noah said nothing. Like Eric, who was across the table from him, he desperately wanted to make the team, but was sure that boys who were bigger and who were better would beat him out for a spot. The boys talked baseball and other stuff until they had all finished eating. Eric and Scott headed for the ping pong tables while Bobby and Noah walked out into the courtyard. It was chilly, with a feel of rain in the air, but it was also private and the two boys were able to share some of their fears about making the team. Bobby felt so good around Noah that even if either one of them didn't make the team he knew something good had come from turning out for baseball. The good thing was having Noah as a friend. He wondered why he hadn't seen what Noah was like long ago. After they finished eating Scott, Eric, Danny, and the twins went to the game area of the foyer to play ping pong. Bobby and Noah took advantage of the sun breaking out by going out into the courtyard to talk and get to know each other better. The bell rang, classes started, and the afternoon dragged by, but like all school afternoons have a way of doing, this one finally ending with the final bell. The boys were soon out on the JV field doing their best to impress the coaches. It was during pitching practice that Eric learned what could happen from trying too hard. It was his turn to take the bullpen mound behind the third base bench area. Carl was doing the catching. Carl was an overweight sixth grader who always caught on his summer teams because he of his size and because he was woefully slow. He was not a very good catcher. Eric figured he was well warmed up and knew this was his last chance to impress the coaches with his pitching skills. He figured the way to do that was to throw as hard as he could. His problems started right away as his fastballs sailed up and outside as he consistently overthrew. The harder he threw the worse it got and he could feel the frustration well up inside of him. Plus, Carl was having a hard time even catching the pitches that were close, making him look worse. "Don't throw so hard," came the voice of Coach Adam, who was supervising and observing from behind the mound. Coach Adam was a volunteer coach. He had graduated from high school last year. He was a pitcher and outfielder for the baseball team and had played varsity ball for two years. He was now attending junior college in Centralia, but was unable to play baseball this spring because he had to undergo knee surgery in January. "I'm not throwing hard," Eric said. "Yes you are. Just throw strikes." Adam had made the classic mistake of disputing a statement by a pre-adolescent. This made Eric want to throw even harder, and so he did. "Look," Adam said, "if you don't want to do it right then go to another part of practice." "I am doing it right!" Eric knew he was blowing it, but he couldn't help himself. In his mind his fastball was too slow getting to the plate so there could be no way he was throwing too hard. Coach Sanders, who was on the other side of the bench area running a drill, overheard the exchange. He turned around and said, "Coach Adam, how about switching places with me for a few minutes." "Sure, coach." Adam could sense he was losing control of the situation with Eric and was happy to get a change, not realizing that Coach Sanders was making the switch before his inexperienced assistant let things get out totally of hand. To Eric the switch of coaches meant he was in big trouble. He knew he was blowing all of his chances of making the team. For the most part he was an easy going boy, but like all competitive boys his sense of competitiveness sometimes took over to the point that he found it difficult to control his emotions. This was one of those rare times. He figured he had better defend himself. "I wasn't throwing too hard, coach," he said, trying to keep the whine out of voice that seemed to come out anyway. "I understand, son," Coach Sanders said calmly. "There's something I'd like for you to do for me." Eric, who was prepared to get chewed out, was a bit taken aback by the coach's quiet demeanor. "Sure, coach. What is it?" "Think about how you threw the other day---easy motion, ball in the strike zone, throwing with confidence. Carl, give Eric a nice steady target to hit." Giving a steady target was not one of Carl's strengths. In fact, he really had no strengths as all when it came to baseball except for his enthusiasm for the game and his ability to hit. "Sure, Coach," Carl said. He held up his glove and Eric threw to it, hard. "Nice and easy, Eric. Stay within yourself." He turned to the field. "Hey, Scott, grab a bat and come over here a minute," he yelled. Scott grabbed his bat and came over. Coach Sanders told him to take his batting stance at the plate. Scott did as he was told and Eric went back to throwing. Having Scott standing there gave him a better idea of where he wanted to throw, and Carl actually gave him a decent target on occasion. Soon he was throwing with easy motion he had learned from his summer coaches and, compensating a little for the greater distance, he started focusing on the target, forgetting Scott was there. The ball started to consistently find the strike zone. "Much better job, Eric. Remember, throwing strikes is what a good pitcher does. Home plate doesn't move. Stay within yourself, hit your target, and you will do just fine." Coach Sanders watched as Eric threw a dozen more pitches, then sent him over to the drill work. He told Scott to get warmed up and called over Kevin, one of the twins, and probably the best catcher on the JV field. "Carl, get Scott warmed up while Kevin puts on his gear. Nice job back there." He switched back with Adam, making a mental note to remind Adam that once he contradicted a player of this age, or perhaps any age, he stood a good chance of igniting an argument he had no chance of winning. When practice ended the boys on the field knew this would be the last practice for many of them. The afternoon had been sunny and warm, the nicest one since turnouts had begun, and there was a sense of sadness in all of them that with the first day of spring weather some of them had had their last practice. Coach Ecklund came down from the varsity field. He thanked everybody who turned out for their hard work. He told them that this was the hardest part of his job, but the rules (not to mention the school district budget) stated that only so many players could be kept on the two squads. He told them that he and Coach Sanders would make the final picks tonight, but would not post them in the morning. He said they would be at the school by seven and would meet with them personally to deliver the news. They were not required to come in to talk, and those who did not wish to could learn of their fate after school when the list of players would be posted on the main bulletin board in the locker room. They boys headed for the gym. The varsity was already clearing out except for a couple of stragglers still in the shower. Most of the JV boys weren't in the mood to shower; they just wanted to clear out. Kevin, Kraig, Marty, and a couple of seventh graders headed for the shower. The rest of the boys changed and headed for home. "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight," Eric said. "I'm going to be too nervous." "Too bad it's a school night or we could not sleep together," Scott said. It took Eric a moment to figure out what Scott was talking about, then he blushed and smiled when he figured it out. Scott chuckled, happy that he could make his friend smile. "Are you coming over for homework?" Scott asked. "Yeah. But nothing else. Not tonight." "Whatever you want, bro." Scott was a little disappointed, but in a way he understood. He had every bit of confidence he was going to make the team, and he knew in his heart Eric would, too. For one thing, he figured Coach Sanders wouldn't have gone over to the bullpen area for just anybody. He saw that as a good sign; that and the fact that Eric was flat out a good ballplayer. The boys showered and ate at their own houses. After dinner Eric trotted over to Scott's house. Neither of them had much homework. When they finished they lost themselves in video games until it was time for Eric to go home. Eric was just leaving Scott's room when Scott grabbed his arm. "Wait a second. I have something for you." "What?" "This," Scott said as he planted a quick kiss on Eric's right cheek. Eric found himself blushing again. "What was that for?" he asked. "For good luck." Scott was afraid for a moment that he had done the wrong thing. "Cool. Thanks. Um...I like that kind of luck." The boys looked at each other knowing that somehow another magic moment had passed between them. As Eric took off for home he reminded Scott that dinner was at his house after practice tomorrow. Coach Sanders, and Coach Ecklund headed for the Mayfield café where they took a corner booth. It was time to compare notes and to make the decisions they always dreaded making, but had to make every year. Coach Ecklund was a veteran of 25 years of teaching and coaching, all in Mayfield. He had been the head coach at the middle school from his first year of teaching. After 15 years of coaching very successful middle school teams he was asked to coach the high school JV team which he did for three years. His second team went undefeated and had the core of one of the varsity's league championship teams. However, he realized that his heart was in coaching middle school kids. He loved the age group and felt he could contribute more to the baseball program by doing what he did best, which was coach middle school. His successor left the district after three years, heading for a large city school. It was a great time for him to go back to middle school. Coach Sanders was hired out of college a couple of years later. He had played four years of college ball and was eager to get into coaching. He proved to be an excellent hire and was now in this fifth year of coaching the middle school JV. Coach Ecklund knew that his assistant was going to seriously apply for high school jobs around the state and he was going to do his best to help him out. He was too good a coach to spend any more time being a middle school JV coach. It was time for him to move up. The coaches looked at the menu and ordered dinner. They then laid out their notes. Coach Ecklund had a legal pad and a pen ready to take more notes. "We probably kept too many eighth graders on the varsity," Coach Ecklund said. "But for some of them it could be their last chance, and I've always felt an eighth grader with any potential should get that chance. It will cost a couple of sixth graders spots on the JV, but they'll be back next year. The ones who really want to play always come back out. The seventh grade class is pretty decent, but those sixth graders have some serious talent." "Eight eighth graders is the fewest you've kept since I've been here." "They are not a very good class as far as talent goes, and even worse as far as attitude. Steve and Cameron might be the only ones who will ever see serious varsity time in high school. But you know, that's why I kept more than those two. Because you never know who's going to come around surprise us and themselves." "I know." Their salads arrived and they started talking about which fifteen kids they were going to keep on the JV. They started with the seventh graders, both agreeing right away that Marty was a keeper, based on talent if nothing else. Both coaches hoped that Marty could find a way to get his head on straight. By the time their steaks arrived they had pared the list of seventh graders to ten, with six of those definite keepers. They then started talking about the sixth graders. Scott was the first to make the definite yes list along with Danny. The twins, Kevin and Kraig made the list. Eric was the next player to come up. "It's nice to have a kid with that kind of talent move in. He still has a lot of growing to do, but he's quick, fields cleanly, hits the ball solidly, and throws strikes as a pitcher. He's had good coaching and is a fundamentally sound player." Coach Sanders talked about the incident during Eric's pitching practice. Coach Ecklund agreed that part of the issue was Adam's inexperience in working with kids and both were pleased that Eric came around and did what he was asked to do with proper prompting. "He's a keeper," Coach Sanders said. "I like him a lot." "Agreed." They whittled the list down to eight sixth graders they liked, five of those keepers. That made eighteen on the list, eleven of them definite. "There are some sixth graders who for flat out attitude I would love to keep over some of the spoiled seventh grade brats on the maybe list," Coach Sanders said. "Tell me about them." "Bobby, the red head. I know his home life is not the greatest and there isn't much money in the family. But he comes to school every day with his head on straight, works hard in class, and has been busting his butt every day in practice. He's hungry and he has decent talent to go with that hunger." "Okay. Who else?" "Noah." "You mean the little munchkin who skipped fifth grade? I haven't seen a lot of him, but what I from what saw in the first couple of practices he could easily be overwhelmed by the bigger, older kids." "It hasn't happened so far. He backs down to nobody, handles himself well at second base, makes solid contact, and just outworks everybody. He pushes those around him. He's not afraid to be vocal. In fact he has blossomed out there on the field. I'd take him over Carl, who can't be bothered to lose weight, and a couple of others who can't be bothered to run hard if they think nobody is watching them." "Carl's dad is on the school board." "Since when has something like that influenced one of your decisions.?" "Never. I just wanted you to be aware that by cutting him there will be some backlash." "Bring it on." "Don't forget you're going to be looking for a position in another school district. I don't have to tell you what kind of influence a school board member bad mouthing you can have." Coach Sanders took a bite of steak and chewed on it. After finishing he said, "One of the many things I've learned from you the last five years is that our first obligation is to do what's best for the kids. Noah wants to play and shows it every day. He deserves the chance and I think will thrive on the team and will help the team. Carl doesn't want to play and shows that every day. He's fat and out of shape. He loves baseball, but not enough to work at hard enough to play at this level. Maybe being cut will be a wakeup call to get his ass off the couch, quit eating crap, and start getting in shape. Choosing between him and Noah is not a tough decision." "You're a good coach and teacher, Vince. You show it every day. Noah it will be, and I will be right there with you if you get called on the carpet." The coaches settled on eight seventh graders and seven sixth graders. Just like they'd kept fewer eight graders than usual, they'd also kept a couple more sixth graders than usual. The varsity was young, but with mediocre talent. The JV team was young and very talented. The coaches were sure it would be an interesting spring. To be continued.