Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2018 18:01:41 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Aiden II Chapter 33

Welcome back. This chapter is about baseball and best friends. Enjoy.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive to maintain the flow of stories.

Douglas. thehakaaen@hotmail.com

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write. That is my payment
for writing.

CHAPTER 33
LEAPING INTO SPRING

SUNDAY, MAY 6

Aiden rode with Phil as they went to pick up Lenny and Lance after
lunch. The twins hopped into the back seat of Phil's pickup and they headed
back home. Phil said little, letting the three chatterboxes ramble on about
baseball. He had called the twins' mother that morning, telling her that he
and Larry had the time and willingness to help Lenny with his catching
skills.

"You do too much for those boys already," Leslie Hazen protested.

"That is impossible," Phil told her. "Nobody can do too much for good kids
like your sons." Leslie protested limply and finally gave in. The twins
were flying high when she gave them the news. Lenny quickly called Aiden
which had everybody excited.

The afternoon was spent with Phil, Larry, and Lance throwing to Lenny. He
had to block a lot of pitches purposely thrown in the dirt from the coaches
as well as working on other skills behind the plate. Aiden didn't throw
because he had pitched in the game the day before.

When they finished, Phil complimented Lenny on his improvement and told him
to get whatever college or high school student who was helping at practice
to throw to him. He said he would talk to Scott and Connor to help make
that happen.

After the twins were taken home, Aiden got into his favorite outfit for
wearing around the house, which was nothing. He made an exception at dinner
because he knew he HAD to make an exception at dinner. Since it was Sunday
dinner, he dressed up in a Mariners polo shirt, soccer shorts, and blue and
green knee socks. But, once the table was cleared and the kitchen was
clean, he was back to being in the nude.

Aiden sat at his desk at the appointed time for his scheduled chat with
Marty. He had already checked the Nuts' website and saw that Marty had a
2-for-3 day with a double, two walks, and two runs scored.

"You had a kickass weekend," Aiden said after he and his idol exchanged
greetings.

"Our hitting coach found some problems with my swing and we finally had
some time to work on them," Marty told Aiden.

"Isn't he supposed to always have time to help you?"

 Marty had hoped that Aiden wouldn't be quite so perceptive. He debated
lying and saying that it was his fault that he and the coach hadn't gotten
together, but decided that lying to his little bro was not a good
policy. However, he saw no problem with being a little bit
deceptive. "Sometimes things get in the way of what people want to do,"
Marty said, "but we finally managed to get things accomplished."

"I hope you never have a bad slump again and I hope things don't get in
your way if you do." Aiden was now curious about what had gotten in Marty's
way. It sounded to Aiden like it wasn't anything good, but he decided to
mind his own business, at least for now. Instead, he asked the question
that had been bugging him for the past couple of days.

"How do you get in your zone if things don't go the way you want them to?"
Aiden asked his big bro and mentor.

"Sometimes it can be very hard," Marty told him. "The best thing to do is
get into a routine and make your mental preparation an important part of
getting ready for a game, not something you try to turn on because it's
your turn to bat."

"Was it hard for you during your slump?"

"Yes, it was. Rich was a huge help for me, but in the end getting into my
zone is my responsibility. Now, how about telling me how this question fits
into the game you had yesterday. All I know is that the Yard Goats lost,
but I don't know how you did."

Aiden told him how the team's game went and how his game went.

"Not starting can be hard, bro, but it's not the last time that will happen
to you. The big thing to learn is how to be mentally prepared for the game
as a whole—for how you will help your team and your teammates. Let
things like starting or not starting, pitching or not pitching, your place
in the batting order and all that other stuff you can't control take care
of itself. Your job is to prepare Aiden Miller to play."

"That doesn't sound so hard."

"Believe me, bro, it is hard—it is very hard. And the farther you
advance in sports and in life, the harder you will sometimes find it to
be. That's why you need to put that work in now, so that when things don't
go well or don't go the way you want them to, they won't be as hard to deal
with. Preparation and work will get you what you need more than anything
else."

"I'll work hard at it," Aiden promised.

"I know you will, sport. And remember, no matter what happens, don't let
the bastards get you down."

Aiden wondered if Marty's comment was referring to Eddie and Russell. He
decided that it probably didn't since he hadn't told Marty about Eddie and
Russell and how they'd acted over the last couple of weeks. Just to be
sure, he asked if his own teammates could affect how he got ready for
games.

"Yes, it can happen if you let them," Marty replied.

"Okay, thanks Marty. I hope you go 4-for-4 tomorrow."

"Thanks bro, and so do I."

After he and Marty ended their connection, Aiden stared at the computer
screen wondering if Marty ever had somebody like Eddie or Russell in his
life. He decided that probably wouldn't be the case since Marty was strong
and tough and would never let any asswaffle keep him from getting into his
zone. Aiden decided that Marty's slump was a slump and not something caused
by pricks like Eddie and Russell.

In Modesto, Marty packed his travel bag for the morning bus ride to
Stockton and the first game of the Nuts' three-game series. He thought
about Aiden's statement regarding teammates affecting mental preparation
and readiness. Once again, he knew he had been a bit deceptive in answering
one of Aiden's questions and it gnawed at him a little. He thought it
ironic that he and Aiden had the problem of bullying teammates in common,
especially considering he played on a professional baseball team and Aiden
on an 11-and-under boys' baseball team. He couldn't help but wonder if
maybe he should have been more forthcoming with his little bro.

The chime of his phone pulled Marty out of his little thought process. The
text was from his husband: "Best of luck today I love you". Marty smiled as
he was reminded again of how much Rich meant to him. He sent his reply:
"Thanks I love you too".

MONDAY, MAY 7

Aiden hopped on his bus after school as soon as he saw Mrs. Emerson's
signal. "You gonna sit with your sweetheart?" she asked with a mischievous
grin.

"You're mean, Mrs. Emerson. She's my friend, not my girlfriend. Having a
girlfriend would be yucky," Aiden shot back, not sure how much of that he
believed.

Mrs. Emerson smiled inwardly at Aiden. "Whatever you say, sweetie."

When Aiden sat next to Kalie he was fuming. She didn't help his mood much
when she grabbed his hand after he took his seat. "What are you doing?" he
snapped.

"I don't know, I just wanted to hold your hand."

Aiden yanked it away, "I could go sit someplace else you know." He felt
badly when he saw the hurt look on her face, but he didn't say anything.

"You're sure in bad mood."

"I can't help it, I just am."

"Whatever you say." Kalie's saying the same words Mrs. Emerson had used
didn't help Aiden's mood at all. "How come you don't like kissing girls?"

"I dunno, I just don't."

"Did you like kissing me that time we did it?"

"You keep asking me that. Yes, I liked it, now don't ask me any more,
okay?"

Kalie kept persisting "Would you kiss me again sometime?"

"You're sounding just like Autumn."

Kalie stared out the window for a couple of minutes collecting her
thoughts—she was oblivious to the fact that she was making Aiden's bad
mood worse. Finally, she turned to him and said, "All you guys don't like
kissing girls. All you do is kiss each other."

"So? You kiss girls sometimes. Who cares?"

"The only reason I kiss girls is because the only boys who will kiss girls
are boys like Eddie and Carter Jackson and I hate them." Carter Jackson
wasn't in Aiden's class, but everybody knew he was a troublemaker. He
mostly acted up in class and earned a lot of detentions. Aiden and his
group didn't have any dealings with him, especially since he didn't play
sports, including lunchtime intramurals. "I'd rather kiss somebody like you
or Gordy."

"So why don't you ask Gordy to kiss you?"

"I think I will," Kalie said. The bus arrived at Aiden's stop and he
climbed off - again leaving Kalie frustrated that she just couldn't seem to
get him to feel the feelings she wanted him to feel.

Aiden went into the garage, took the mailbox key off its hook, and went out
to the street to retrieve the mail. Bringing in the mail was now Aiden's
permanent chore if he was the first one home. One piece of mail caught his
attention immediately—it also brought about an instant change in Aiden's
mood.

It was an expensive looking envelope with a Palo Alto return address. It
was addressed to "The Miller and Sanders Family". Aiden was certain about
what was in the envelope. As soon as he got upstairs he set the mail down
on the living room coffee table except for the envelope. Since he was a
member of the Miller family, Aiden saw no reason why he couldn't open the
envelope and he did so.

"Yippee!" he screamed aloud as he read the contents. It was an invitation
for him and his dads to the wedding of Eric Simmons and Noah McCall on
Saturday, June 23, at 2 pm at the United Methodist Church in Mayfield. He
put that mail on top of the rest and waited with anticipation for his dads
to come home.

Larry came home first. He was obviously pleased to receive the
invitation. He did question Aiden about opening the mail. Aiden pointed out
that it was addressed to the family so he felt he could open it. Larry
mussed Aiden's hair, which almost brought back his bad mood, and said Aiden
had made the proper choice.

Phil said he was already looking forward to a great day. "I'll have to call
the league commissioner tomorrow and give him that day as a
conflict. Fortunately, I didn't enter us into a tournament that weekend or
things would have become really complicated." Phil was referring to his
summer league 16-and-under baseball team.

Aiden opened up his phone to enter the wedding date into his phone
calendar. Phil and Larry thought Aiden must have been excited about the
news since he still had his school clothes on. They suddenly saw his face
drop.

"I have a game that day," he said.

"Then it looks like you may have to make a big decision, son," Larry told
him.

"Me? Can't you make it for me or get the game changed or something?"

"Your dad and I can be sounding boards for you and give you some advice,
son, but the decision will have to be yours in the end."

"Well, shit fuck," Aiden grumbled as he slouched up the stairs.

<Thursday, May 10>

Eddie hadn't shown up for Tuesday's Goats practice, but he hadn't been in
school on Monday or Tuesday, either. Scott and Connor didn't seem surprised
that he wasn't there. As far as Aiden was concerned, practice had been
better without him. On Tuesday Eddie had his hearing for shoplifting. He
was put on probation and ordered to meet with a counselor once a week for
three months. When he got home, he wasn't in the mood for baseball.

Thursday was different. Eddie was in school on Wednesday and Thursday. He
strutted around the lunchroom on Wednesday, making sure everyone noticed
him and being sure to let the Goats know he would be at Thursday practice.

"How did you guys do without me in practice?" he asked the boys (and one
girl) at Aiden's table, all of whom played for the Goats.

"Oh, were you gone?" Aiden asked snidely. "I didn't even notice."

Eddie glared at him and then turned his attention to Kalie. "Want to come
to my house after school today?" he asked her.

"I have to take care of the horses after school," Kalie replied.

"We can mess around like we talked about." Kalie looked upset after hearing
Eddie's comment.

"Eddie, shut up and go away," Muddy growled without looking up from his
bowl of pudding. Surprisingly, Eddie did what he was told and walked away
without a word of protest. Aiden, Gordy, and Miles exchanged glances. They
had been speculating over what kind of hold Muddy had over Eddie.

Kalie looked around at her friends, her face beet red. "He talked about it,
I didn't," she told them. "I hate him and I wish the coaches would kick him
off the team."

Thursday practice went surprisingly well. Muddy, Aiden, Gordy, Miles, and
Trent became helicopter teammates—one of them was always hovering around
Eddie and Russell to keep them away from Mason, Kalie, and the twins.  Even
Russell was getting tired of Eddie's shenanigans.

Eddie didn't mind being watched by Muddy and Trent. He respected Muddy for
his size and thought of him as a friend, although he wasn't always sure if
that was true. Eddie knew better than to mess with the sixth graders on the
team, especially Trent, who was a no bullshit kind of guy; as a result, he
tolerated Trent's presence.  He thought of Gordy and Miles as being wusses
at heart, ready to run to a teammate or to a coach at any sign of trouble.

As for Aiden, Eddie hated Aiden. He hated Aiden because Peter and Roger
hated Aiden, calling him a faggot. Mostly, though, he hated Aiden because
he couldn't figure Aiden out. He was a little shit who wouldn't be
intimidated. Sometimes Aiden scared him, and he hated Aiden because a
faggot shouldn't frighten him. Eddie considered Aiden to be a mean fucker.
Of all the teammates who hovered around him, Aiden was the only one who he
was afraid of, which increased his hatred of the little goody-goody who was
obviously the coaches' pet.

The Yard Goats had their second game Saturday afternoon. They would be
going down to Kelso to play the Dodgers. Aiden learned that he would be the
starting pitcher. Yonder Sanchez, Eddie, and Kenny Gray were slated to get
in possible innings.

Because of middle school ball, most of the sixth graders were not available
to pitch, Yonder being an exception because he wasn't on the middle school
team. Scott and Connor were upset that the 11-and-under season started
early. They liked the later start of the 12-and-under league season. They
had been given no time for practice games and couldn't make use of sixth
graders who pitched on middle school JV teams. The 12-and-under team didn't
have to deal with those problems as much.

After getting home from practice, the Millers had a late dinner of macaroni
and cheese with ham mixed in along with a fresh garden salad. Aiden saved
his oatmeal raisin cookie to eat while he worked on his homework. Larry and
Phil noted that Aiden had dressed in a t-shirt and soccer shorts since he
came home. The fact that he wasn't naked or near naked indicated something
about their son's mood. Seeing that Aiden couldn't keep his hands away from
his crotch indicated to the dads that that their son was dealing with a
touch of puberty.

After finishing his homework, Aiden went up to his room to surf on his
computer. His first destination was the Modesto Nuts' website to check up
on how Marty had done the day before. He could check up in the morning, but
that would mean getting up earlier. Aiden loved his big bro, but there were
limits as to how far he would go to check up on how he did. He couldn't
check up on his phone in the morning because the data plan did not extend
to his phone. His friends had the same restrictions. Besides, phone use
during school time was against the rules.

Aiden smiled when he saw that Marty had gone 2-for-5 with a three-run homer
as the Nuts won 6-3. He emailed his idol congratulating him on his good
game. He also told Marty how happy he was that his bat was finally heating
up.

He then got naked, grabbed his bottle of lotion, and lubed up his rock hard
little cock. He'd sprouted a boner after taking off his practice gear and
admiring his smooth, slender body in his full-length mirror. He was
surprised at how quickly he'd gotten hard while looking at himself. He took
a quick shower and dressed in his usual long t-shirt. Instead of wearing
nothing underneath the shirt, however, he pulled on a pair of soccer
shorts. He didn't want his dads to know that he had a boner, so he did what
he could to stay comfortable while safely covering himself.

After being horny throughout dinner, after dinner cleanup, and while doing
his homework in the homework room, he needed to do something about the
issue before going to bed. He lay back on his bed and imagined Marty's big
cock getting erect while he sucked it until his big brother shot gallons of
cum into his mouth. Aiden squawked and squealed as his body shook with his
dry orgasm.

What the fuck was up with that? he thought. I never think about Marty when
I'm jerking off. Disturbed by his thoughts, he went downstairs to join his
dads in the TV room. Now that his boner was gone, he had no problem being
naked in front of them.

Later, after being tucked in by Phil, Aiden set Horace next to his
pillow. He closed his eyes, creating what he called his sleeping
fantasy. He thought about Gordy coming to his house after Saturday's game
for a sleepover. Once again, he lost control of his fantasy as Gordy
morphed into Nolan. But things like that often happened and didn't bother
him the way his jerk off fantasy about Marty had.

FRIDAY, MAY 11

At lunch, Miles talked to Aiden, Mason, and Gordy about spending Friday
night at his house. Aiden declined, saying he wanted to be ready to play at
his best on Saturday.

"I probably won't be staying over on the night before a game anymore,"
Aiden said.

"Dang, Aiden, what are you gonna do, sit on the floor all night praying
with your legs crossed?" Miles asked.

"I don't know yet. All I know is I wasn't ready to play in our last game."

"You're really weird sometimes, you know that Aiden?" Mason commented.

Aiden thought that was funny since in his opinion Mason was the weirdest of
his friends, but his only outward reaction was a shrug.

"What about Saturday night?" Miles asked. "Or do you have to sit and think
about every pitch or something after a game?"

"Miles, that was really stupid," Gordy scolded. "You're talking like Eddie
talks."

Miles blushed bright red and quickly apologized. He then asked again about
an overnight on Saturday.

"Gordy was gonna come over to my house after the game," Aiden said. He
looked at his friend who nodded, knowing what Aiden was about to ask. As
much as he wanted to have a night alone with Aiden, he had no problem with
having a group overnight. "I'll text my daddy and see if it's okay for you
guys to stay the night, too." Aiden was referring to Miles, Mason, and
Muddy. Students were allowed to use their phones at lunch, although that
was not true at the middle school and high school. The twins were eating
with their fourth grade friends and as much as everybody liked Kalie, who
was at their table, it was understood that she wasn't part of their
overnights.

Aiden received a text sometime after lunch recess. The answer from Larry
was not this weekend or the weekend after, but Memorial Day weekend would
be okay, unless the Mustangs made it to the State Tournament. Aiden told
his friends after school, and they were all okay with that. They agreed on
Friday night since the Goats weren't playing that weekend. They all liked
Aiden's suggestion that Lenny and Lance be invited, too, and Aiden said he
would ask them. Miles asked if Trent could come. Everyone liked that idea,
too, and Miles said he would invite him.

Aiden made sure everybody understood that if the Mustangs made it all the
way to the State Finals the party would be postponed for a week. He was
actually rooting for the party to be postponed and was certain his friends
were, too.

One big factor everyone thought of was that the swimming pool would be
available and they could turn it into a swimming party on Saturday. At that
point Gordy said he thought Kalie should be invited to the swimming
party. Aiden said he was okay with that, but she couldn't spend the night.

Gordy's mother had a casserole waiting for the Gordy, Aiden, and Miles when
they arrived after school. They were eating when Gordy's dad arrived. He
quickly chomped down a plate of the casserole and soon the three boys and
Gordy's parents were heading for Centralia to watch the District Playoff
game between the Mayfield Mustangs and the Beachwood Ospreys.

The Mustangs shut out the Ospreys 5-0 behind the two-hit pitching of Nick
McCall. That meant the Mustangs would have a Saturday afternoon game. As a
result, Larry would once again miss Aiden's game. As much as Aiden wished
his daddy could watch him play every game, he still rooted for the Mustangs
to win every game. He was a Mayfield Mustang at heart and dreamed of
playing for them when he was in high school.

SATURDAY, MAY 12

<Yard Goats>

After breakfast, Aiden got naked and lay back on his bed, a baseball in his
hand. Eric had once told him about how he would toss a baseball into the
air while lying on his bed on the days he was slated to pitch. He said it
relaxed him and helped him to focus. Aiden decided to try the suggestion of
his other big brother.

He tossed the ball up and caught it in his bare hands and then repeated the
motion. At first, he felt the exercise was a waste of time, but after a
while he found that as he concentrated on the action of the ball his
thoughts began to focus better. But, after fifteen minutes his
concentration lagged as he became bored and his arm got tired. He dropped
the ball into his glove, which was on his desk, and placed Horace on his
perch.

He looked at his stuffed Donkey who was looking content as always. "Do you
miss Megrez?" he asked.

Horace looked back through his black eyes, but said nothing. Aiden turned
and padded out of his room and into the bathroom, deciding he had to give
Horace more attention. As he showered, Aiden thought about the ball tossing
exercise. He wasn't sure if Eric had the right idea, but he was willing to
try ball tossing again.

The Yard Goats were scheduled to play the Kelso Dodgers at two
o'clock. Kelso was a little over an hour-and-a-half drive from
Mayfield. Phil pulled out of the driveway a little before 11:30 in the
Honda Odyssey. They stopped to pick up Muddy and Mason before leaving
town. They arrived at the middle school field where the game would be
played just after one o'clock. Every player except Eddie and Russell was at
the field by the required 1:30 arrival time. Eddie and Russell still hadn't
arrived by game time.

The Goats got off to a good start, scoring two runs in the top of the
first. Aiden was the starting pitcher and threw a one-two-three first
inning. As he made his way to the dugout he noticed Eddie and Russell
standing up the third base line from the Goats' dugout.  Scott was standing
in front of them in out-of-play territory and he was obviously reading the
two tardy players the riot act. Aiden went down into the dugout and, along
with most of his teammates, tried to overhear what was being said.

Muddy, who was going to lead off the inning, was quickly taking off his
catcher's gear so he could get a couple of swings in from the on-deck
circle. Connor moved the rest of the players away from the end of the
dugout and reminded them to keep their heads in the game.

Scott noticed his old summer baseball coach, Phil, lurking nearby as he
resumed his tirade. "Not only did you miss the designated time to be here,
you missed the start of the game," Scott reminded them. "How was it you are
this late?"

"I told you already, we ran into lots of traffic," Eddie said for the
second time.

"I was giving you a chance to tell the truth this time. Nobody else ran
into traffic because there was no traffic. Let me talk to your parents."

"My uncle brought me here."

"Fine, then let me talk to your uncle."

"He went home."

Scott glared at Eddie who didn't flinch. Russell, who was standing beside
him, looked like he was trying to find a hole to crawl into. He wished he
had never agreed to ride to the game with Eddie. As soon as Eddie's father
took off and left the boys to wait for Eddie's uncle, Russell knew they
were going to be in trouble. He wished he'd been wrong.

Connor, who usually coached first base, was in the third base coach's box,
while Gordy manned the first base coach's box, at least until Scott was
finished dealing with Eddie and Russell. Connor felt that Gordy had the
most baseball smarts of anybody not in the starting lineup.

"He went home?" Scott said incredulously. "What do you mean he went home?
Who do you plan on riding back with?"

"I dunno," Eddie said sheepishly as his bravado began to quickly wane. "He
said somebody would take us."

"Okay, we'll find you two rides home after the game. For the rest of the
game I want you both to sit up in the bleachers with," Scott noted the nod
from Phil, "Coach Miller. If either one of you leaves his side without his
permission, you're off the team. Got it?"

Russell looked like he was going to be sick. "Yes, sir," he said meekly.

"Yeah, whatever," Eddie said as he tried to regain his control. "Our gear
is in the dugout."

"Where it will stay until the end of the game," Scott told him. Scott
pointed at the gate from the field to the bleachers. "Now get your butts up
into the bleachers."

Phil led the boys up to the top of the third-base side bleachers and sat in
between them. Scott headed for the dugout knowing his old coach would not
put up with any bullshit from the two suspended players. He sat down on the
bench as Kalie grounded to second base for the third out of the inning. The
Yard Goats had gone down in order.

Aiden gave up a leadoff single and a two-out walk, but held the Dodgers
scoreless again. The Goats scored another run in the third and the Kelso
team countered with one of their own in the bottom of the inning to make
the score 3-1. Since Eddie wasn't going to pitch, Scott and Connor decided
to stretch Aiden out for another inning, but they had Lenny warming up
Yonder in the bullpen. When Aiden issued a pair of two out walks in the
bottom of the fourth it was obvious he had run out of gas. Scott had Yonder
come in to pitch for Aiden, moved Aiden to second, and took Kalie out of
the game. Yonder immediately gave up a two-run double which tied the score
at 3-3.

The game remained tied going into the bottom of the sixth. Kenny Gray came
in to pitch, replacing Aiden in the lineup, and Yonder moved to
second. Kenny walked the first two batters, struck out the next one
swinging, and then gave up a hit that knocked in the winning run. The Goats
lost 4-3 and had started the season 0-2.

As soon as the game ended the ritual of the handshake line commenced
although there were many more high fives and fist bumps than actual
handshakes. One of the Dodger players passing Kalie refused her fist bump.

"No wonder you guys lost, you've got a stupid girl playing for you," he
sneered.

Aiden, who was behind Kalie in line, got right into the boy's face. "Give
Kalie a high five and say you're sorry or I'll punch you right here," he
commanded. The boy was about to keep going, but when he saw Muddy and Trent
also glaring at him, he turned around.

"Sorry," he said, "I was just joking." He gave Kalie a half-hearted high
five, side-stepped the three boys, and moved on down the line. Scott
noticed the ripple in the lines and wondered what had happened. He knew
he'd find out soon enough.

After the team's and players' gear was out of the dugout Scott and Connor
commenced the postgame meeting. Phil released Eddie and Russell to attend
the meeting. The meeting started with the two tardy boys apologizing to
their teammates as they'd been instructed by Phil.

Scott, who was as surprised as everybody else by the apology, went into
what they needed to improve on and what they did well. "We have two games
next week on Wednesday and Saturday," Scott reminded them. "Trent can't
pitch next week because he will be pitching for the Titans," he said,
referring to the middle school team. "So, Yonder will start Wednesday
against the Lacy Lions and Aiden will start Saturday against the East
Olympia Owls. We will have only one practice and it will be on Monday."

Before releasing the boys to their parents, Scott asked what the
disturbance in the handshake line had been about. Aiden told him what had
happened. "Thanks for standing up for your teammate," Scott said. He gave
Aiden a serious glare and asked, "Would you really have punched him?"

"No, because you would have kicked me off the team," Aiden replied. "But
that asswaffle didn't know it." With that, Scott and Connor laughed and
dismissed the boys.

The first thing Aiden wanted to know after the meeting broke up was how the
Mustangs were doing against the Harborview Tugs. "Did you get a score?"
Aiden asked excitedly as soon as he saw Phil.

<Mayfield Mustangs>

The score Phil gave to Aiden was not one he wanted to hear. Aiden knew that
senior Terry Morgan, who was slated to start the Mustangs' afternoon game,
had jammed a finger in practice a couple of days earlier and would probably
not be able to pitch. He also knew that Larry wanted to save his number two
pitcher for a possible elimination game in the evening if the Mustangs lost
the afternoon game. Even though he was only a junior, the number two
pitcher for the Mustangs was Hurricane Jeffrey. What Aiden didn't know was
that Jeffrey was picked by Larry to be the starting pitcher of the evening
game.

The pitcher for the afternoon game was Mark Elder, a talented sophomore who
had pitched mostly for the junior varsity. He had only two games of varsity
pitching experience. Mark was one of only two African American boys in the
Mayfield baseball program and was one of only four African American
students in the high school. His father was an electrical engineer and was
second in charge to Dennis Simmons at the Mayfield Dam.

After nerves caused a rough start when he walked the first batter, went 3-0
on the second batter and gave up a run-scoring double, Mark settled down,
but not for long. The Mustangs were the home team. They led 3-1 going into
the top of the of the third inning. Larry was looking to get three innings
out of the inexperienced sophomore and then go to his more experienced
bullpen.

But, Mark never made it out of the third. He gave up four straight hits to
the Tugs to start the inning. He was relieved by senior Jeremy Anderson
with no outs, the score tied at 3-3, and runners on second and third. The
reason why Larry had gone with the inexperienced sophomore was because
pitching depth was not a strength of the Mustangs that year. Anderson got
the first batter he faced to pop out to short, but his first pitch to the
next hitter went over the left field fence for a three-run homer to give
the Tugs a 6-3 lead. By the time the inning was over, Larry had gone
through another pitcher and the Mustangs were down 10-3 in what eventually
became a 12-4 loss.

<Aiden>

After Phil gave him the final score Aiden scowled. "That totally sucks," he
snarled. "They got their asses kicked."

"Like your daddy said when Terry got hurt, the one thing the team couldn't
afford to have happen, happened. One of their top three pitchers got
hurt. But, they still have a chance to play for a State Regional berth if
they win tonight."

"Are we going to the game?"

"You bet your sweet ass we are." Phil's answer elicited a big grin from the
ten-year-old.

Russell ended up riding back to Mayfield in the Odyssey. He sulked most of
the way, but Aiden, Gordy, and Mason were able to draw him out some. Muddy
had gone home with his own parents.

"You'll have a great game next time," Aiden said with a cheerfulness he
didn't really feel.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm just glad it's a home game. I'm not going nowhere with
Eddie," Russell groused. "His dad is whacked."

Mason and Russell were dropped off and then Phil drove Aiden and Gordy
home—Gordy was going to stay the night.  After the boys changed and
showered, they all headed to the Mayfield Diner for dinner, with a stop at
Gordy's house so he could put on his Mayfield Mustangs hoodie.

"Why can't we just go to the Bear for pizza?" Aiden asked.

"Because man does not live by pizza alone," Phil replied.

"Says who?"

"Says me."

Aiden disagreed but was too hungry to argue.

Phil, Gordy, and Aiden arrived at the Centralia High School baseball field
just as the umpires were ending the pregame meeting at home. Gordy and
Aiden were dressed in their Mustang hoodies. They saw Trent sitting with
his dad and soon the three boys were sitting on their own, cheering like
crazy for their favorite high school team. Sammy joined them in the top of
the second, and added to the noise as he cheered extra-hard for his
brother, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey pitched well, but the pitcher for the Millers Glenn Bears pitched a
better game. Both pitchers threw complete games as the Bears won 3-2,
ending the season for the Mustangs. Jeffrey and his teammates, as well as
the Mustang fans, were disappointed in the outcome. But Jeffrey, and the
other underclassmen on the team, knew they'd have another chance to go
farther next season. Still, the Mustangs had a great season, winning the
Seamount League championship and finishing with an 18-6 record.

"When's your cousin gonna fuck you?" Sammy asked Aiden while they waited
for the adults to finish talking about the game.

Aiden and Gordy looked at each other with shocked looks on their
faces. "You're weird, Sammy." Aiden still hadn't totally forgiven Sammy for
cumming on his face at poolside when they met a year-and-a-half ago.

"I was just saying," Sammy said with a shrug. "I mean, I know he wants to."

"Well, nobody is going to do that to me ever, so butt out of my business."

"Yeah, so you say." Sammy was not offended by Aiden's bluntness. "I'm
willing to bet that somebody is going to take your ass by the time you
finish seventh grade and that it probably will be Chase."

Aiden tugged on Gordy's arm. "Come on, Gordy, let's go find somebody we
like." Gordy happily followed his friend. Sammy watched the two young boys
and chuckled, thinking how cool it was that he could still think nasty
thoughts even though he was no longer drinking or using drugs. He felt his
teenage cock begin to stiffen. He might be a sober boy, but that didn't
stop him from wanting to go to bed with Aiden, who he thought was one the
sexiest boys in all of Mayfield.

That night, after all the nighttime rituals were finished, Aiden and Gordy
got cozy together in Aiden's bed. The two preteens snuggled up together,
enjoying the warm, smooth feel of each other's naked bodies.

"Sammy can be really nice most of the time, but then he becomes an
asswaffle," Aiden said quietly.

"I know," Gordy replied. "I think he wants to mess around with you."

"Well, I don't want to mess around with him."

"Do you want to mess around with me?"

"You know it. What do you want to do?" Aiden asked.

"Kiss and do that humping stuff."

"You don't want to suck?"

"Maybe after we do that if I'm not too tired."

"Okay, humping is fun." Then Aiden came up with one of his topic
changes. "Kalie keeps wanting me to kiss her again."

"Do you want to?"

"Not really."

"I'll kiss her."

"She wants to kiss you," Aiden assured his friend.

"For real?"

"Totally for real. She told me."

"I'm scared to ask her."

"Just do it."

Gordy gave Aiden as lustful a look as a ten-year-old can come up with and
planted a kiss on his best friend's lips. "Well tonight, I'm not scared to
ask you."

The boys put their lips together again, but didn't do any open mouth
kissing, as they rubbed their hard little hairless dicks together. Aiden
was soon on top of Gordy, his cock rubbing along Gordy's cock and smooth,
sweaty torso as his cute bubble butt bounced up and down. The bed shook,
the two boys moaned, groaned, and squeaked as Aiden drove himself to a
wonderful dry cum.

Gordy grabbed his cock and started masturbating as Aiden rolled back on the
bed. As soon as Aiden was on his back, Gordy was on top of him and he
ground his cock into the firm, smooth belly of his best friend.

That night, the two best friends had made love. The young boys made love
with a sense of innocence. They made love because it felt good. They made
love because they loved each other with the kind of passion young boys can
have for their best friend. They had a feeling that as they grew older
their lovemaking would change—that the kind of sex they enjoyed and the
way they enjoyed it would change. But, that night they didn't care because
the guilt-free love they had for each other as best friends was all that
was important.

Next: Switching