Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2021 23:38:53 +0000 From: Douglas DD Subject: Emerald City Boys Chapter 10 Greetings and welcome back. The young boys are moving up from coach pitch baseball to "real" baseball and loving every inning of it. Please donate to the Nifty Archive so they can keep pitching stories to you. I enjoy your emails thehakaanen@hotmail.com Douglas CHAPTER 10 REAL BASEBALL Mike was awake and reading the Sunday paper in the living room when the boys came out of Justin's bedroom, proudly dressed in their birthday suits. Mike knew the Dawg liked to sleep in and decided he needed to be awake before the boys to keep them somewhat calm. "Good morning, Daddy Donkey," Justin said. "Good morning, Donkey Dawg," Mike grinned. "And good morning, Marco, Joey, and Karl. What happened, did you guys lose your underwear?" Karl was still trying to get used to all the Donkey and Dawg stuff. "Justin said it was okay to be naked for breakfast," Karl said. "But, if it's not I think I'll find my underwear on Justin's floor right next to everybody else's." "It sounds like things got wild last night," Mike said. "Oh, no," Justin said. "We just wanted to sleep naked together is all." "Yeah, so we could show Karl what it's like," Joey added. "And what was it like, Karl?" Mike asked. "It was wicked," Karl replied. "I didn't know it felt so good to touch somebody's skin and have somebody touch your skin." "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Before Mike could say anything else, Ryan came into the living room. "Good morning, Dawg. You're up early." "Good morning. It's nine-fifteen so it's not so early. Looks like we have hungry company that needs to have breakfast." "They are a hungry bunch," Mike agreed. "They're so hungry their clothes kept falling off so they need a Dawg breakfast to put some meat on their bones, so their pants don't fall down." "My dad said you were a funny dude in your classroom," Karl grinned. "I guess he was right." "How does scrambled eggs, sausage patties, toast, and hash browns sound for breakfast?" Ryan asked. "Sounds yummy," Justin said. "Then how about you guys go set the table while Ryan cooks up breakfast," Mike told the boys. "I'll show you guys where everything is and where it's supposed to go," Justin told his friends. The boys were soon scarfing down breakfast and gulping down orange juice and milk. Mike and Ryan wondered how many millions they would have to win in the lottery to be to afford to feed a gaggle of boys once they hit puberty and became bottomless pits. After breakfast and clean up, the boys were sent to shower and get dressed. "It's good weather outside so we'll go out and throw a baseball around," Mike told them. "And hit off the tee?" Justin asked. "It sounds good to me." The boys hustled to Justin's room and decided that Karl would shower with Joey and Justin would shower with Marco. The only touching between Karl and Joey was their washing each other's backs, although Karl had to fight off a strange urge to wash Joey's dick and balls and ass. Joey was hit by the same urge but fought it off as well. Justin and Marco didn't have to fight off their urges. They gave each other a total wash job. They had been doing this long enough that they were no longer surprised that their total wash jobs gave their friend a quick hardon. "Now we can show off our boners to Karl," Justin told Marco. "That will be fun. When are we going to suck each other?" Marco asked quickly changing subjects in mid shower, so to speak. "I've been saying that I like snuggling and rubbing on you better than I liked doing blow jobs with Skip." "But I want to do it with you so bad." "Blow jobs are for big kids like Skip and Tony and Logan. We're just nine and that makes us little kids and little kids aren't supposed to suck dicks." "Says who?" Marco was starting to grow frustrated with his friend's stubbornness. "Says me." "But me and Tony suck each other a lot and he even shoots his stuff in my mouth. Can't we do it just once?" Justin turned off the water, opened the shower door, and grabbed the two towels they had hung on the towel rack. He handed one to Marco. Justin was starting to grow frustrated with Marco's harping about sucking each other's dicks. "Just remember Rule 1," Justin said. "No means no," Marco said dejectedly. "That's it." But Justin didn't like making his best friend sad and thought about what he could do to help solve the problem. He really did like naked hugging and making out with Marco better than the big boy sex he'd had with Skip. Then he thought of one way he could start solving his dilemma. "Okay, how about this, Marco," he said as he stepped out of the shower and finished drying. "I'll try talking to Aiden, my big brother, about it. He's almost thirteen and knows a lot. I bet he can help us." Marco thought the best solution would be for him and Justin to trade blowjobs, but at least Justin was going to try something. "Okay, I won't ask again, at least not until you talked with him. But you gotta tell me what he said, no matter what." "I promise." By the time they returned to the bedroom, their little erections had softened, but it didn't matter since Joey and Karl had dressed and gone out to the living room. The boys enjoyed a little more than an hour in the back yard throwing a baseball around, hitting off a tee and running to where first base had been placed, and finishing with a wild game of Whiffle Ball. They finished when Karl's dad arrived, and Joey said he had to go home. Justin and Marco enjoyed hot dogs for lunch and then they hopped into Mike's car to take Marco home. "I like staying the night with Justin because then I don't have to go to church on Sunday. Mom says when I get older, I'm going to have to go Sunday night to make up for it." "I guess your mom thinks it's okay if you miss it now because you won't go to hell if you're just a boy," Justin remarked wisely. Mike had to fight so hard to keep from laughing that he almost drove the car off the road. Justin and his dads spent Sunday afternoon watching the Mariners on television. They played the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. The Mariners entered the game in second place in the American League West with a 20-15 record, two games behind Oakland. When Marty came up in the top of the second, Justin chatted excitedly, reminding Mike and Ryan that Marty had called him on his birthday. "I hope he hits the ball clear out of the stadium," Justin bubbled. "That would be a difficult task since they have the roof closed today," Ryan pointed out. "Cool. Then he can hit it all the way through the roof. It would go, `Whack, whooooooooooosssssshhhhh, crash' and be the most famous home run ever." Marty didn't hit a home run, but he did belt a 2-2 pitch to left field that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. Justin did a little dance around the room and rooted for Marty to score, which he did when Wade Whalen singled him in to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. That led to another dance by Justin. "We're still going to the Mariners' game on Sunday, right?" Justin asked eagerly. "I bought the tickets, so we might as well use them," Ryan said patiently. The double was Marty's only hit of the game, but the Mariners won the game 6-2, which made Justin a happy baseball fan. The pork roast dinner that Ryan prepared as the game unfolded made him even happier. "Papa Dawg is the world's best cook," Justin told Ryan during dinner. "Even better than me?" Mike asked. "Papa Dawg told me I shouldn't trust you to boil water," Justin said. "Hey, as long as I remember to put water in the kettle, my water boils as good as anybody's," Mike laughed, remembering when the three of them had had that conversation. "And the microwave makes good water, too." MONDAY, MAY 11 Monday was the day Madison Baker had been invited to dinner at the Millers. His mother insisted he carry one of his good button-down shirts to change into after practice. "You will look much more like you appreciated the special invitation than you would in your school uniform shirt," Madison's mother told him using logic only a mother would understand. Madison thought about telling her that if he were going to wear a dressy shirt then he would need to take a shower after practice, which was something nobody did. He knew she wouldn't listen to him, so it was senseless to say anything. He would do what he always did which was to spray on some deodorant. When he thought more about it, he decided he would wear his school uniform shirt. He was certain Logan and his brothers wouldn't be getting specially dressed up. Madison walked off the field with Logan and Curt after practice. Eddie was practicing with the varsity, who would be staying on the field for another fifteen minutes. They changed from their practice gear to their school garb in the locker room, picked up their equipment bags, left the locker room, and started walking to the Miller residence. "Is there, like, some kind of law against taking a shower after practice?" Madison asked. "Not that I know of," Logan replied. "All I know is that the coaches don't want to wait around for us to shower. They say that we all live close to the school so we can shower at home. And I noticed you took a spray shower, Madison." "Huh?" "Spraying on your deodorant. You don't usually do that." "You, like, pay attention to guys doing that kind of shit?" "Only if they're cute and have bright red hair," Curt laughed. "Do you do it too?" Madison asked. "I take the Fifth Amendment, which means I can't testify against myself." "There was a guy at school today that told me that if I was going to wear my hair red that I should paint my fingernails red, too." "What did you tell him?" Curt asked. Madison shook his head. "I told him that was a little too whacked out even for me. I'll just stay with colored hair." "I've seen dudes at the mall with black fingernails," Logan said. "Yeah, me too," Curt said. "But my friends would all give me shit if I did something like that." Curt was admitting to himself that he had a bit of a wild side that would approve of him having black nails but, like most tween boys, his concern over his friends' reactions overrode any wild side. "You guys are, like, totally bonkers. I think going to your house for dinner is going kick some serious ass," Madison laughed. "You could always shower at our house if you feel like you need one," Curt said. "Yeah, mom only charges twenty-five cents a minute to pay for the water and the gas used to heat it," Logan said. "Like I said, you guys are totally whacked," Madison said. "You said bonkers, not whacked." "In your case, they both fit." "I was serious about the shower," Curt said. " I know I was going to take a quickie, so if you want to go after me, I'm cool with it." "And I'll tell mom that Curt is just taking a long shower, so she won't charge you," Logan told Madison. "I'll take you up on it as long as I don't have to, like, carry buckets of water for you to use," Madison chuckled. "Not a problem. We have a pulley system with a motor to lift the buckets upstairs." "Whacked! What else can I say—you guys are totally whacked." Laughing and talking constantly, the three boys arrived at the Miller house to the smell of lasagna. Susan decided that cooking a meal a houseful of hungry men could dig into was the way to go. She was using the lasagna recipe she had received from her brother-in-law, Phil. Susan had no problem getting recipes from men, especially men who were top-notch cooks like Phil. "We're going to go shower, mom," Logan said after he and Curt gave her a hug and then watched Madison turn red with embarrassment when Susan gave him a motherly hug in greeting. "Mad Dog's face is as red as his hair," Curt giggled. "I wasn't expecting a hug," Madison said. "Get used to it. Around this house anybody can get a hug from anybody at any time for any reason." "Thanks, for the hug, Mrs. Miller. It was a wicked good hug," Madison told Susan before following Logan and Curt upstairs to their bedrooms. He followed Curt into his bedroom and set his equipment bag on the floor. "Logan has his own bathroom he shares with Chase and I have one that's out in the hall that Eddie and I share." "What about your parents?" Madison asked. "Their bedroom is downstairs." "So, if you and Logan want to, like, take a shower at the same time, can you, like, do it?" "Nope—not enough water pressure if two go at once. I guess since you came to my room, you're going to use my shower," Curt surmised. "I know you and Logan are friends, and if you want to use his shower, I'm cool with it." "Since you and me are, like, gonna be partners at the big party, we might as well get to know each other. I've seen Logan's junk before, so I might as well see what yours looks like." "I'm cool with it. Let me go tell Logan we're going first." "But there's only, like, one of him and he won't have to wait a long time for us if he goes first." "You're our guest and shouldn't have to wait at all. Besides, Logan knows what do to with himself when he's lying naked on his bed," Curt smirked. "I know," Madison grinned knowingly. Curt was gone for just a few seconds. "Logan says he figured we were going first. And yes, he was naked and boned up." "Okay, so now which one of us goes first?" "Nothing says we can't shower together. Saves time and water and gas and whatever else. With all the guys who are going to be hanging around here Memorial Day weekend we already figured partners would be doubling up on showers. One important thing—you don't have to do it if you don't want to, and everybody will be cool about it." Madison's reply was to pull off his Blaine Middle School polo shirt, revealing his smooth torso. "Does this tell you that I, like, really want to do it?" Madison asked. "It sure does," Curt responded as he pulled off his polo shirt. Both boys were quickly naked since neither one suffered from body bashfulness. While Curt was shy about sex, he had no issue with nudity under the right conditions. He considered being naked with a boy in his bedroom or in his shower to be a proper condition for nudity. He wasn't even concerned about Madison having an erection providing he didn't want to become sexual because of it. Madison wasn't concerned about his boner since he and a few of his friends were used to seeing each other hard and doing something about it. It was a group that Logan had now become a part of. The boys scurried from Curt's bedroom to the bathroom next door. Curt set the shower, Madison approved, and the boys stepped in. Madison admired Curt's sprouting pubic hairs sprinkled across the base of his cock, while Curt admired Madison's hairless pubic area as well as his smooth, well-toned body. The shower was quick and efficient as the boys washed themselves and were finished in less than four minutes. "I think your mom would have made a profit if she charged for that shower," Madison chuckled as he and Curt dried themselves. Eddie had just come up the stairs when Curt and Madison stepped out of the bathroom. "Hey, Madison," Eddie said. Madison had his towel draped around his shoulders and was unembarrassed about displaying his erection. "Hey, Eddie." "You guys were saving water, I see," he smirked. "Get that shit eating grin off your face," Curt chided his brother. "That was all we did was save water." "I believe you, otherwise Madison would have lost that big spike between his legs." Madison grabbed hold of his boner and jiggled it. "I guess I have something I'll need to do when I get home after dinner," he said. Eddie was pleased that Madison was not shy about mentioning something sexual. He and Curt were both certain that Madison was going to fit right in with the boys at the Big Blowout. "Are you sure you're just a sixth grader?" Eddie asked. Madison nodded with a grin. Madison and Curt dressed quickly. Madison put on the shirt his mother had told him to wear for dinner pleased how things worked out. He knew his mother and Mrs. Miller had become phone chat freaks and was certain his mother would bring up the subject of his shirt; he was going to be safe as far as that subject was concerned. Eddie and Logan were showered along with Curt and Madison when Chase arrived home from his practice at the high school. Chase greeted Madison and went upstairs to shower while the rest of the boys helped Susan set the table. Susan had timed dinner perfectly to Troy's arrival from work and it was ready to be served by the time he had changed out of his suit to something informal. Madison loved the dinner and loved the Miller family. He could tell he would have a lot of fun when the Cousin Dozen Blowout started in less than two weeks. It was going to be a great four-day weekend from beginning to end. When he had the chance, he thanked Logan for thinking about him and thanked Curt for being okay with having him as his partner. They agreed Madison was a good choice because he was a lot of fun on top of being a great kid to know. Even though Madison didn't live far off, Troy gave him a ride home later that evening because it was starting to get dark and he didn't feel a twelve-year-old should be walking alone at dusk. Granted, they lived in a good neighborhood, but the big city was the big city and he felt responsible for the boy they had invited to their home. "Well, what did you guys think?" Logan asked his brothers after Madison left. "I think he's going to be a great partner," Curt said. "He isn't shy about being naked and even mentioned jerking off tonight because he popped wood in the shower." "I told you he's not shy about that. It didn't take us long to jerk off together at his house." "Like Mom said, Madison is a free spirit," Chase said. "I think he's going to fit into the Cousin Dozen Blowout perfectly." "Who knows, he might even be ready for a Cousin Dozen Blow Job when the time comes," Eddie chuckled, eliciting laughter from his three brothers. TUESDAY, MAY 12 From the time he started practice the day before until his mother's rapping on his door awoke him that morning, Tony had been more excited than usual about his baseball game. He would be playing against his boyfriend, Logan, for the first time since they were boyfriends. He wondered if they had to quit being boyfriends during the time the game lasted and then decided that wasn't necessary—he would be so busy playing that Logan would be just one more player on the Blaine Middle School Stingers. For his part, Logan was able to control his excitement better than Tony only because he had played more baseball during his brief life than his boyfriend had. Also, he had texted his cousin, Aiden, asking him how he handled playing against his boyfriend, Nolan. "during the game it's like he's just another player," Aiden texted back. Logan decided he would concentrate on thinking the same way; Tony would be just another player during the game. Logan had to ride the team bus to the game. At first, he was annoyed when Madison sat next to him because he knew his new friend would talk non-stop. But once Madison started babbling Logan was happy to have him since it took his mind off playing against Tony. Besides, Madison's chatter was all about baseball and the upcoming game. He asked what it would be like playing against one of his best friends and did Logan and Tony make a bet on the game and so on. Tony started the game at first base and would be batting fifth for the Addams Tigers. Logan was starting at shortstop for the Stingers and would be batting third. Logan was the best pitcher for the Blaine JV but Mitch Sullivan, a thirteen-year-old seventh grader, would be starting. Logan was slated to start the next game against Madison Middle School. The Stingers jumped to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, helped by an RBI double by Logan and led the entire game, finishing with a 9-4 win over the Tigers. Logan went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and three runs scored. Tony went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored. Logan had clearly won bragging rights between the two boyfriends. When they met in the handshake line, they traded fist bumps along with their secret handshakes, mouthing the usual, "Good game, dude," line. Madison sat next to Logan on the bus again. "Your game was epic," Madison told him as if he didn't know. Madison, who played third base, had two singles, two stolen bases, and scored two runs. "You even had two more hits than me." "I'm sure you'll survive the disappointment," Logan told him. "Disappointment? You're my teammate and my friend and I was, like, really happy for you. I was happy for Curt knocking me in on that tater, too." Curt's two-run homer in the sixth scored the final two runs for the Stingers. Logan thought it was cool that four players in the game would be going to the Cousin Dozen Blowout, and a fifth was playing for the Stingers against the Tigers in the varsity game. The varsity won their game 3-1, but Eddie went hitless in three at bats. Justin did everything he could to follow the instructions his Daddy Donkey and Papa Dawg had given him. "Remember, even though you're going to be excited all day, your number one job for the day is to pay attention in class and not be a problem for Miss Gordon. You be the best Donkey Dawg you can be," Mike had told him the night before. Mike was certain that without a specific reminder as to what his expectations in school were, Justin was capable of bouncing off the walls of his classroom. While he respected the job Miss Gordon, Justin's teacher, was doing, she didn't need to deal with an extra-hyper student. Since Mike left for school before Justin woke up, he decided to have a chat with his son at tuck in time. "But Daddy, tomorrow is my first real baseball game," Justin pointed out. "That is no excuse for being irresponsible. If you do what you're supposed to do in school, it will be easier for you to do what you're supposed to do in the baseball game." "What does that mean?" "What do you think it means?" Justin looked up at the ceiling and gave his Dad's question some thought. "It means if you always do your best in anything you do then you end up always doing your best no matter what you do. It means if I'm not bad in Miss Gordon's class then I won't be bad in my first game of real baseball." "Close enough," Mike nodded. "You mean my answer is not perfect?" "That was an excellent answer," Mike assured him. "It's easier to work on doing your best than on not being bad. Like, sometimes in baseball you can have a bad game no matter how hard you try. But if your game wasn't good and you know you did your best, that's all you can do. In school it's a little different—if you work at doing the right thing, you probably will, but sometimes you can do your best but can end up getting an answer wrong when your teacher calls on you or you miss some questions on a test then..." "...then, it's not bad when you mess up, it just isn't good, but it's okay because you did your best." "I think you've got it down." Then Mike got quietly serious. "I'm sorry I can't make all of your first game, my sweet Donkey Dawg, but I shouldn't miss more than the first couple of innings. If the game wasn't on that fucking island, I'd be there for probably all of it." Mike's baseball team had a game Tuesday afternoon. It was only because it was a home game that he could make any of Justin's game at all, but Madison Middle School wasn't far from the Fauntleroy ferry dock. "You have to put a quarter in the jar," Justin told his Dad. "Sometimes saying the word is worth paying for," Mike replied. He gave Justin a long hug and Justin returned it with a kiss on his Daddy's cheek. "I love you my sweet little Donkey Dawg," Mike said fighting back a few tears. He loved being a baseball coach, but he loved being a daddy even more. But, as his son would also learn along the way, sometimes you have to make the tough decisions. "I love you, too, Daddy Donkey." Mike turned out the light and left the room. The next morning at breakfast, Ryan asked Justin what he was going to think about in school during the day. "I'm going to think about Math and English and Social Studies and being good, but not baseball. Except when I go to the bathroom, and at recess, and at lunch, and walking in the hall with my friends like Joey, then I can think about baseball because today I will be playing in my first real baseball game and I will be pitching today." Ryan figured Justin's reply was the best he could hope for and left it at that. Justin thought he behaved pretty well during the day. Even though he tried his best, there were a couple of times that Miss Gordon had to remind him not to talk in class during study time. Justin nodded and worked hard to be better. Considering the emotions building up in him, Justin had done a remarkable job for a nine-year-old boy teetering on the edge of hyperactivity. As soon as school was out, Justin, Joey, and Marco left the building trading non-stop banter. Even Neal joined them briefly. While Justin, Joey, and Marco considered Neal to be a friend, their interests were different. Other than recess, they no longer hung out together much. But Neal was attracted by the excitement coming from his friends. He wished his mother had let him play baseball, but she was afraid of his getting hurt. The players went to the Lake City baseball park where Coach Wood was waiting for them along with some of their teammates and a group of parents. Justin was happy to see that his Papa Dawg was one of them. They would form the carpool to take them to the ball field on Vashon Island. Coach Dansby arrived just after Justin and his friends. The caravan was soon on its way to Fauntleroy in West Seattle to catch the 5:15 ferry which would arrive in Vashon at 5:35. The players were disappointed to learn they would have to stay in their cars for the twenty-minute trip. "What if we have to take a pee?" Justin asked. "Coach Dansby will escort you to the men's room, and don't worry, he will not go in with you to watch. We just want to be on the safe side getting you there and back. If you ride back home with your parents, then the rules for leaving your cars will be up to them." The ride on the Washington State Ferry "Issaquah" went smoothly. The boys had fun even if their views of the water were blocked by other cars. The game started on time at 6:30. It had an 8:15 curfew to allow everyone to catch the 8:55 ferry. The visiting Jammers scored four runs in the top of the first. Justin batted second and picked up his first official base hit as a "real" baseball player. It was all Justin could do not to jump up and down on first base. Instead, he used his pent-up energy to send him flying to second for the first stolen base of his baseball career. Since a runner could not leave his base until the pitch crossed home plate, stealing a base could still be difficult despite the inexperience of the catchers. Justin did get to jump up and down after he crossed home with the Jammers' first run of the game. Justin was the starting pitcher for the Jammers. Coach Wood scheduled him to pitch three innings. He did what he had learned to do from his dads and from his coaches and that was throw strikes. In his three innings of pitching, he gave up two hits and no runs, while striking out six and walking one. The Jammers had a 5-0 lead after his three-inning stint. Karl pitched the last three innings and also gave up no runs as the teams managed to play all six innings before the curfew had to be invoked. Justin was credited with the win and enjoyed a 2-for-3 day with a stolen base and two runs scored in the Jammers' 8-0 win. The happy boy rode home with his Donkey Daddy, who showed up just as Justin crossed home plate with his first run. "You missed me getting my first hit and my first stolen base and my first run, but you saw my first win," Justin said. "Oh, I saw the first run," Mike grinned. "You did? You got there in time for it?" "I got lucky, and they unloaded my row of cars first and I made it just in time. I also know that a certain Papa Dawg has some good video of the hit and the steal and the run and we'll be able to enjoy it all until we're old and gray." "I'm not going to get gray," Justin said. "By the time I grow up they'll have a cure for gray hair." "A cure for baldness would be better yet," "Or a cure for both. No more fragiflaxing gray hair and bald heads." Mike laughed as they waited to board the ferry. Since all ferry tickets were round trip and paid for on the mainland, there were no ticket sales on the island. As he eased into the line he was directed to take, he reminded Justin of the good news. "Just remember, I have one more conflict left and that's next Tuesday. Your other game next week conflicts with some of my practice, but I have no problem ending practice early to see my Donkey Dawg play. And then, my middle school season is over, and I will be haunting all of your games." "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh...are you going to be a ghost donkey?" "If you can see me there, I can't be a ghost donkey, but I can still haunt your Donkey Dawg ass if you don't listen and do good in school." "Can we go out on the deck?" Justin asked. "That's why they have decks, to go out on, so, yeah, I guess we're capable of it," Mike answered. "Then let's do it!" Justin and Mike left their car and went upstairs to the passenger section. Justin saw the snack bar and blurted out, "I'm hungry." "There is a good burger place near the ferry terminal," Mike said. "And we plan on stopping there to eat," came a voice from behind Justin. Justin grinned when he saw Ryan, who had boarded the ferry a half-dozen cars ahead of Mike and Justin. "Papa Dawg!" Justin gave his papa a surprise hug. Ryan turned to see who had seen his son's show of emotion. A mother with two boys a little younger than Justin had seen it. She looked at Ryan and nodded her approval. Ryan felt better after that. "I thought we tried not to eat late," Justin said. "We do, except when we're hungry," Ryan replied. "And that would be just after we return to dry land," Mike said. "Let's go outside." Justin leaned on the railing watching as the Fauntleroy Terminal and the shore of West Seattle kept coming nearer. He stayed amazingly silent during his time on deck as he took in the water, the mountains, the sunset, the houses and buildings, and the green of Fauntleroy Park. He stood still except for his constantly shifting head until Mike tapped him on the shoulder and signaled it was time to head back to the car deck. After Justin buckled himself into the backseat, Mike commented on how quiet Justin had been. "Maybe I should set you out on a ferry deck more often," he chuckled. "Daddy, there's so much to see I had to look and think about all the cool stuff. And who knows, maybe a pod of orcas or something come swimming next to us, or an eagle might fly over us. I've seen an eagle from a ferry, and you know that because you were with me, but I really want to see some whales and I can't see any of it if I don't shut up and look, right?" "Exactly. It's just like being in a classroom, only this time it's Mother Nature's classroom." "Yep, and Mother Nature is the teacher and wowsers is she strict." After driving off the ferry, Mike drove to the hamburger restaurant that was close to his school. It was then that Justin went off about his first "real baseball" game and his hits and pitching and the good play Marco made at shortstop and the running catch Lewis made in center field. Later that night Ryan agreed with Mike that maybe they should build a ferry deck for Justin to live on when they wanted him to quiet down. "Did Coach Wood say who was pitching in Saturday's game?" Mike asked Justin as they finished up their burgers. "He only said that me and Karl...I mean Karl and me...I mean Karl and I, right, Karl and I?" Justin rambled. "What about you and Karl?" "Coach Wood said we wouldn't be pitching on Saturday." "Then Karl and I is correct." Justin grinned and stuffed the last of his hamburger into his mouth. That night at tuck in time, Ryan did the honors. "Your Daddy and I are both proud of how you played in your first game today." "Thank you, Papa. I had wicked fun." "Wicked fun?" "Yep, wicked fun." Ryan tucked Justin's blanket under his chin. "Then wicked fun it is. Good night, son, I love you." "I love you too Papa. See you at breakfast tomorrow." Ryan turned, shut off the light, and left the room. He knew that Mike was much better at the lovey-dovey stuff, but he also understood it was important to show their son how much he loved him. WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 Marco learned from Coach Wood after the Jammers' practice that he wouldn't be pitching on Saturday. He was disappointed but knew Coach Wood was right. "What did Coach Wood tell you when he said you wouldn't pitch?" Justin asked as he and Marco tossed their gear into the trunk of Marne's car. "He said I throw really hard and have really good stuff, whatever that is, but I need to throw more strikes," Marco said as he and Justin buckled themselves into the back seat. "That's what Daddy Donkey says when he's been helping us with pitching. Do you do the things he told you to do when you pitch?" "I try but I keep forgetting how to do it and so I throw as hard as I can, and it doesn't work." Marco looked across the seat at Justin. "I know, he says not to throw as hard as I can, but I want to get people up. Coach DK says the same thing as your daddy, but I just keep forgetting. I want to pitch bad." Justin almost told Marco that if he wanted to pitch so bad, he would do what his coaches told him to do, but he knew that would be mean, so he shut his mouth before anything could come up. Instead, he said, "Let me ask my Daddy if it's okay for you to come over after our game on Saturday and we can both work on our pitching with him." "But you pitched really good yesterday, so you don't need to work on anything." "That's not what my dads say. They say even the pros gotta work all the time to get better." Justin took the conversation away from Marco when he asked Marne if Marco could come to his house on Saturday if his dads said it was okay. "And maybe he could spend the night, too," Justin added. "I think it would be okay for the afternoon and for spending the night—if your dads say so, of course." Marco and Justin exchanged smiles and low fives. Now it was up to Justin's dads. The Jammers' game on Saturday was a morning game because the West Seattle field was scheduled to have four games starting at ten. The last game would be played under the lights. The youngest teams were always scheduled for the morning and the oldest teams in the evening when the scheduled field had lights. The Jammers game against the West Seattle Orcas would be a ten o'clock game. The boys surprised Marne by putting on their underpants and school t-shirts after stripping off their practice gear instead of stripping naked. What she didn't know was that both boys were tired and decided to sit on the couch and watch the end of the Mariner game. The Mariners were playing an afternoon game against the White Sox at Chicago. The boys felt comfortable moving about the house naked in front of Marne but sitting naked on the couch where they could be looked at for a long time made them feel uncomfortable. Underwear was okay, because it hid their bits, but naked was not, at least not while the boys felt they were on display. Justin talked to Marco about his spending the night as they watched the game. "You can spend the night if you want, but I'm going to the Mariners game with my dads, so you'll have to go home after breakfast." He could see Marco's disappointment. "But they said next time we go to a Sunday game they'll buy an extra ticket and you can come with us." Marco's frown turned to a wide grin. When Marne heard that Marco would be coming home early on Sunday, she was pleased because it meant Marco would be able go to church. She felt that at their age her sons' social life was as important as their spiritual life and as long as they made it to church once a month or so she was satisfied. The boys did get a little daring, however. Justin started it by rubbing Marco's smooth, thin thigh. His hand moved between the hem of Marco's white briefs and the top of his knee. The second time Justin's hand touched the hem, Marco grabbed it and placed it on his crotch. Justin looked at Marco and grinned when he felt his friend's hard cocklet. Marco purred. Since meeting Justin, the nine-year-old had gained a great appreciation for the sensations he received from his cock, even more so than Justin did. Added to that, he had become even more sexual with his older brother, Tony. Marco wanted to get just as involved with his best friend, but for whatever reason, Justin was reluctant to go beyond kissing and touching. Marco had gained an appreciation for the "no means no" edict, but he desperately wanted to hear Justin say yes so he could give his best friend a blow job. Marco responded to Justin's touches by softly stroking Justin's hard spike through his red briefs. Justin hummed his own sounds of satisfaction. As they stroked each other, the also glanced at the game and kept their ears attuned to the kitchen where Marne was preparing dinner. Their attention to Marne paid off when they heard her step out of the kitchen. They quickly pulled their hands from their friend's crotches. "I'd like for Marco help set the table," she told them. The boys popped up off the sofa to help. They were somewhat self-conscious about the bulges their hard spikes were making in their briefs. They hoped the fact they weren't big enough to be noticeable would save them from embarrassment. The boys quickly lost their hardons and Marne never noticed their predicament. "Thank you for helping Marco, Justin. You didn't need to help since you won't be eating with us," Marne said. "Marco is my best friend. I would be a bad friend if I didn't help him set the table. And you give me a place to stay after practice. Papa Dawg says that helping people is one way to say thank you," Justin responded. "You're a good boy, Justin. Now go watch your ballgame." The game was in the top of the ninth when the boys sat back on the couch and their hands quickly found each other's crotches. Only this time Justin's hand slid inside the waist band of Marco's Hanes briefs and quickly brought his two-inch nail back to life. While Justin rubbed Marco's cocklet skin on skin and Marco rubbed Justin through his shorts the boys paid enough attention to the game to watch catcher Ben Jeffers hit a three-run home run to give the Mariners a 6-3 lead. Justin noted that Marty was one of the players who scored on the homer. To celebrate the home run, Marco slid his hand inside of Justin's briefs. He barely got started with his ministrations when Tony came home from baseball practice. They yanked their hands out of their briefs. They weren't concerned about Tony catching them fondling each other, they were worried about Marne coming into the living room with him. Only Tony came into the room, however. He saw the hands fly out of the briefs. "You two are a couple of nasty little third graders," he smirked. "You know all about being nasty, Tony," Marco scowled. "Yeah, but I'm a sixth grader and we're supposed to be nasty." "The only way we can be really nasty sixth graders is to learn ahead of time." "Good point. Who's winning?" Tony asked. He couldn't see the score because the top of the ninth was over and a commercial was on the screen. "Mariners are up 6-3 in the ninth," Justin replied. The doorbell rang, signaling Ryan had arrived. Justin and Marco went to Marco's room and Justin dressed quickly, grabbed his backpack, and met his Pop. Ryan had the game playing on the car radio and they heard the final out of the Mariner's 6-3 win over the White Sox. Justin's evening was spent doing homework, talking baseball with his dads, and losing at pool to his Papa Dawg. THURSDAY, MAY 14 While Logan had met Mike the Donkey, he didn't know him very well. He did understand the connection between Mike, Aiden, and Aiden's dads. Mike had played high school baseball for Logan's Uncle Larry, which Logan felt was a solid connection. But he would not be seeing Mike since Mike was the varsity coach and would be coaching the Bearcats against the Blaine Stingers at Madison. Eddie and Curt would be playing in the varsity game. Logan was eager to find out what kind of coach Mike was during a game. Both the Madison varsity and JV teams were good. The Bearcat JVs had a 6-2 record as did the Blaine Stingers. The game promised to be a tight one. Logan was the starting pitcher for the Stingers and Evan Ford, a seventh grader, started for the Bearcats. The game was scoreless through four-and-a-half innings. The Stingers scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Logan singled to get on base and scored on a two-run double by Madison. Logan pitched through the sixth inning. Since he had thrown 76 pitches and was close to his 80-pitch limit, Coach Harkness decided to have Pedro Rodriguez start the seventh inning. Pedro was a seventh grader whom the coaches thought had the ability to be a varsity player but tended to be inconsistent. The coaches agreed he needed more seasoning at the JV level. His inconsistency showed instantly when he walked the bases loaded on just sixteen pitches. That meant he threw 12 balls against only four strikes. Coach Harkness was prepared, however. He had pulled Madison out of the game after the sixth inning and had him warm up just in case Rodriguez was on one of his bad streaks. He re-entered Madison into the game. Madison was only a sixth grader, but he was an immensely talented one. This would be his first pitching assignment in crunch time and what a crunch it was. The Bearcats had the bases loaded and nobody out. One thing about Madison that Coach Harkness had observed was that while he gave the impression of being a total scatterbrain, he was, in fact, all business when he stepped between the foul lines. It was like he could turn the serious part of his brain on and off. The coach understood that Madison behaved the same way in the classroom. He was talented, bright, and focused when required and lovingly ditzy otherwise. "We'll give up a run for an out," Coach Harkness reminded the team as he walked off the mound after changing pitchers. Madison struck out the first batter on what he liked to call the "the league's most wicked sixth grade change up." Logan thought otherwise. He thought that he had the best sixth grade change up, but he let Madison have his fun. The second out was a ground ball to Logan at shortstop. Heeding the instructions from the coach to give up a run for an out, he threw the ball to Pedro Rodriguez, who was now playing second base, for the force. Pedro pivoted to try for the double play, but the ball had been hit too softly to complete a double play and Pedro smartly held the ball. The runner on third scored, making the score 3-1 with two outs. The third out came on a fly ball to center. Every Stinger player, especially Pedro, breathed a sigh of relief. After the postgame hand shaking ritual, Madison made sure everyone realized that it was a player named Madison who got the big hit and got the tough save. "And he got it against a school named Madison and what could be better than that?" "I can tell you that it's not likely they'll be changing the name of the school from James Madison school to Madison Baker school," Coach Harkness chuckled. "Oh, I thought that was, like, who it was named for," Madison grinned as he headed for the locker room with Logan. SATURDAY, MAY 16 Normally Justin didn't like getting up early on a Saturday, but when it meant getting up early for baseball, he was more than ready to hop out of bed. The Jammers game was scheduled to start at ten, and Coach Wood wanted the players to be at the field by 9:15. Since Mike commuted to West Seattle every school day, he knew how long the trip could be. Even though he knew it would be quicker on a Saturday than on a weekday, he gave himself the same amount of time to get there—Seattle traffic could be unpredictable on any day of the week. The Jammers players all arrived early and were dressed smartly in their uniforms. They went through warmups and infield practice and then waited for the West Seattle Orcas to take their infield. Mike knew some of the parents. He had taught or coached one of more of their sons and some he was currently teaching and coaching. In a couple of cases, he did both. Some parents were surprised to see him at a ten and under game. "Are you busy recruiting for your West Seattle powerhouse?" one of the Jammer dads asked snootily. He had a son who played for Blaine Middle School. "Number three is my son," Mike answered with a smile, doing everything he could not to break out laughing. "I told you so, George," the woman behind him said as the dad turned and started walking away. "I told you he had a reason for being here, but you wouldn't listen to me." Mike looked over to Ryan and was pleased to see he had his right hand over his mouth as he tried to stifle a laugh. None of the players who saw Mike were surprised. He had asked at the Wednesday practice if any of the players had a younger brother playing for the Orcas. Five players raised six hands. "Why are your raising both of your hands, Bernie?" he asked. "Because my twin brothers play for them," he grinned. "I will be at the game because my son Justin plays for the Jammers." "And I'll be there watching David and Grayson play, so I'll be seeing you there," Bernie said. Bernie made sure to say hello to his coach when he saw him at the field on Saturday. For his part, Mike had no problem figuring out who Bernie's brothers were since they were identical twins. Mike liked the fact the two didn't have close to matching names. One thing that Mike had learned from DK Dansby was that the Orcas had an experienced team. "Over half of them played for the team last year as nine-year olds. They're a talented, experienced, and well-coached group." "I think the Jammers are talented and well-coached too," Mike countered. "I have no doubt about that. What we're not is experienced. A lot of our most talented boys like Justin, Marco, Rick, Sonny and Casey are playing what they like to call `real' baseball for the first time. If you go down our list nine of the fifteen boys played coach pitch last year. That difference in experience showed quickly after the Jammers went down in order in the top of the first and the Orcas scored four in the bottom of the inning. The Jammer players were getting a lesson in "real baseball" from a more experienced group of boys. The Jammers managed to score a run off two hits, a walk, and an error to make the score 4-1. Felix Novak, the Jammer pitcher, settled down in the second inning and didn't allow a run. While the Jammers managed to keep from being clobbered, they were never really in the game and finished with a 10-4 loss. Coach Wood told them after the game that they played hard but got beat by a better team. "By a better team, I mean they were a better team today. You guys keep working hard and playing hard and I guarantee we will play them much tougher when we see them next time." Marco and Joey rode with Justin in Ryan's car. The boys chatted about their disappointment in getting beat badly by the Orcas. "You guys did some good things," Mike reminded them. "Justin had a triple in the third inning, Marco caught that bases loaded line drive to shortstop in the fourth, Justin nailed that runner at first with a great throw from third." "Yeah, and Felix quit walking everybody like he did in the first inning," Justin said. "Coach Wood says they were better today, but we'll be better and next time we will have a close game and maybe beat them." "That's why you practice hard—to get better," Mike said, They stopped off to get burgers and fries at Dick's Drive-In and ate a filling lunch at Justin's house. After lunch Mike worked with Justin and Marco on their pitching while Ryan hit grounders and flies to Joey to help him improve his fielding. Joey had no interest in being a pitcher, but he knew he needed to improve his glovework. What he was interested in was becoming a catcher, which was something Coach Dansby said he would help him with in practice. Mike reminded Marco that he didn't have to throw his hardest to home on every pitch and would improve his pitching by easing off a little. He worked with Justin on changing speeds. He saw a lot of improvement in Marco when they stopped after an hour. The problem was Marco had shown similar improvement before and then went braindead when he engaged the pitching rubber. Joey went home after the workout. His family was invited to his grandparents' house for dinner. They were his mother's parents. They lived north of Seattle in Mukilteo in a view house along the Sound. Joey liked that it was close to the tracks and he would watch trains go by and he could watch the ferry that ran from Mukilteo to Clinton, the terminal on Whidbey Island. Marco spent the night at Justin's. Their dinner wear was t-shirt, underpants, and socks. Everything came off after dinner and the two best friends strutted around naked the rest of the evening. They showered together before bed. Justin pulled the covers over their naked bodies and hollered for a tuck in. Mike came into the bedroom and did the honors. Justin had been thinking about asking his Donkey Dad if he and Marco were too young to give each other blowjobs, but decided he would rather have Aiden, his big bro, answer that question. At least for now. "You guys sleep tight," Mike said as he gave each boy a kiss on the forehead. He knew the boys were naked and he was certain they would play around with each other before falling asleep. He did not know exactly what they would be doing and wished he did so he could counsel Justin on the ins and outs of sexual play with friends. As much as Ryan hated to admit it, the two of them were the same age when they started sexual experimentation as Justin and Marco were now. He wished there was a way he could get Justin to open up about his experiences but knew that unless there was a chance someone was getting hurt in some way, the best thing he could do was wait for his son to be ready to share. Justin and Marco fondled each other and kissed. They finished with mutual masturbation that led to dry cums for Marco and Justin, after which the boys lost interest and fell asleep. "Damn, dude, I still can't believe you hit a walk-off home run over the fence just like some big-league player," Drake told Pierce as they took Lincoln and Fido for a walk in the park. Pierce was pushing the baby carriage and Drake handled the dog's leash. Pierce had hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to give his Whittier Middle School team a 6-5 win the day before. "Just because we're a middle school doesn't mean we don't play real baseball," Pierce said. "I got a fat pitch and hit it with the sweet part of my bat and it was good-bye baseball. And to make it even better my dad was at the game. I thought he was gonna have a cow he was so worked up after the game." "Did he give you anything good for it?" "How about a steak dinner at Daniel's Broiler? Medium rare with a loaded baked potato, of course." "Wicked. That would sure work for me. I wonder if I can talk dad into a steak dinner for winning a race." Drake thought about it for a moment and then said, "Wouldn't happen. Natalie would say a big dinner like that would slow me down—all that red meat plus the stuff they load the potato with. Moms." Drake could tell that Fido was ready to do his business and followed him onto the grass where he finished that business. Drake got out the doggie doo bag and cleaned off the ground. He had made sure a garbage can was close by so he wouldn't have to carry it far. He loved walking the dog but hated having to deal with the byproduct. The teens reversed direction and walked back to Drake's house where Natalie took charge of Lincoln. She thanked the boys for taking care of Lincoln and Fido. That night Drake asked Pierce if he wanted to be top or bottom. "Nice of you to just give me a choice like that," Pierce grinned. "Hey, dad gives the hero a steak dinner and I give the hero a fucking. You can decide which is better." Pierce chose bottom and Drake made sure to plow him hard, fast, and deep. "I love you so much," Pierce whispered as they finished. "Have you gotten a little bigger lately?" Drake giggled. "I don't know. It's not like I wake up every morning and measure my cock." "All I know is it seems to me you're touching places you've never touched before." Drake gave Pierce a long tender kiss, "All I know is that I want to make you feel good and make you feel happy." "I've never felt better, and I've never been happier. That's the best fuck I've had since the last time you fucked me." "I aim to please," Drake replied. "It's more like you aim for my asshole." "Well, there is that." "Hey, I thought of something the other day that I'm surprised nobody'd ever mentioned," Pierce said. "And that would be what?" "It would be that Lincoln and I are related." "I don't see how since you're not brothers-in-law. At least not yet." "No, silly, our first names are both the last names of Presidents of the United States of America." "You just figured that out?" Drake asked. "You mean you knew?" "Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln the 16th president." "And you never said anything?" "Well, I did tell Lincoln about it, but I don't think he understood. As for you, I decided you'd figure it out someday." "You know what, dude, you're really mean," Pierce said to his boyfriend. "You sure didn't think that when my cock was massaging your prostate." "Okay, you do have your good points, I guess." "That's why I love you, Pooka. You're just so fucking sweet." Pierce smiled and leaned into his boyfriend. "And I sure as fuck love you, Duck." The boys kissed after which Drake opened his anus for Pierce. Round two followed for the horny, virile, teens. Next: Facing the Past