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It was Noah’s turn to stay with Jason on Friday, so Jason would have to wait a little longer before he got to ride in the SUV. It didn’t seem to bother him too badly, though, since he and his father had a big weekend planned with Noah. The first baseball game was going to be on Tuesday, so Jason and his dad were planning to work with Noah on various aspects of his game to make sure he was ready. It made me wonder what Noah would tell me they’d done when he returned home the following afternoon.
Cheryl and I had a quiet dinner that evening, and then she watched TV with me for a little while before she returned to her side and got ready to work at 7-Eleven in the morning. Shortly after she left, I decided to turn in early as well, since it had been an unusual and fairly exhausting week.
The house seemed unusually quiet when I awoke the next morning, since neither Cheryl nor Noah was there. I don’t know why it seemed to affect me more this time, because it was the same as every other Saturday when Noah stayed with Jason the night before, but it did. After I made my way out to the kitchen, not yet fully awake, I started a pot of coffee and waited for it to brew. As soon as I had my first cup, I began to feel a little better and decided to fix myself something to eat.
After downing a nice leisurely breakfast, I grabbed my laptop and went over a couple of the spreadsheets I’d loaded into it before leaving the office the previous afternoon. After studying each one at great length, I knew what I needed to do when I returned to work on Monday. Since that was now taken care of, I closed the files and put the laptop away, and then I started on my weekend chores.
I was still doing that when I heard a car pull into the driveway and realized Noah was being dropped off. I glanced at the clock and noticed he was returning home much later than usual, so I figured the coach must have had a lot planned for him to do that morning. When Noah came bursting through my door a few seconds later, he was grinning from ear-to-ear.
“Coach Rich said I’m gonna start at second base on Tuesday,” he squealed as he hopped around excitedly. “He says I’m gonna be the leadoff batter too.”
“Congratulations. I’m impressed that you’re going to be a starter, seeing you’ve never played on a team before, and I’m totally blown away that you’re going to be batting leadoff as well.”
“Yeah, it’s really great, isn’t it? Coach Rich took me and Jason to the batting cages after we ate last night, and then he worked even more with me this morning. He hit ground balls so I could work on tossing the ball to Jason at second, and he also had Jason move over to first so I could throw to him there. Then, he hit grounders to Jason and had him throw it to me to make the out at second base. After that the coach stood near first base and threw grounders to Jason, and after Jason tossed the ball to me at second, I had to turn and throw the ball to Coach Rich at first.”
“That’s very interesting. So he had you field grounders and make an out at second or first, and then he also had you turn the double play. It seems you must have done fairly well then, if you’re going to start now.”
“Yeah, and that’s not all we did. The coach pitched to me and had me practice bunting down the third and first baselines, and after we did that for a while, he worked with me on getting a good lead off first so I could steal second.”
“Wow! It sounds like he worked on just about everything with you.”
“Yep, he did, and then before we left he told me that I was gonna start at second and be the leadoff batter.”
“I’m impressed and very proud of you. Are you hungry?”
“No, cuz Coach Rich took me and Jason out to eat after we were done. He said his wife was running errands and doing the grocery shopping, and he didn’t feel like fixing anything.”
“Ok, then I’ll just fix myself a sandwich.”
Noah continued chatting with me while I made my lunch, and ate it. He was super excited about everything, but he was also a little worried. “Do you think the other guys on the team are gonna think the coach is starting me cuz me and Jason are good friends?”
“They might, but if you do well then they’ll know that wasn’t the case.”
“But what if I don’t do well? They know I never played on a team before, so they’ll probably be mad.”
“You’d never played on a soccer or basketball team before either, but you got to be a starter on those teams as well.”
“Yeah, but Coach Rich coached those teams too.”
“I think anyone who saw you play realized that you earned the spot and weren’t given it because you were Jason’s friend. I think they’ll feel the same way about this as well, once they see you in action.”
“Man, I hope so. Will you work with me some more tomorrow?”
“Sure, we can do just like we did last week. I’ll take you to the batting cages first, and then we’ll go to the school so I can hit grounders and fly balls to you.”
“Do you have a stopwatch?”
“No, but my watch has that function. Why?”
“Cuz I want you to time me running to first, and I also want you to time me when I’m practicing stealing second. After that, I want you to time me while I run around all the bases.”
“Ok, I can do that.”
“Good. And I want you to write the times down so I’ll remember everything. I also want to show them to Coach Rich.”
“No problem. I’ll even put it in a spreadsheet for you, so we can see if you get faster over time.”
“What’s a spreadsheet?”
“It’s a kind of a chart where all the information is entered side-by-side so you can see how you’re doing over time.”
“Ok, let’s do that then.”
Noah then went off to do his homework, so I returned to my chores. I was just about done when Cheryl pulled into the driveway, but she caught me by surprise when she walked through the door leading to my side.
“Hi. What’s up?” I asked, since she didn’t normally do this.
“I just wanted to tell you that everyone loves my new car. A few of them even asked who I was sleeping with to be able to make such an enormous upgrade.” She giggled.
“And what did you tell them?”
“I said I wasn’t sleeping with anyone, but I had a great friend who was getting rid of it and offered me a great deal.”
“Ok, that works.”
“But I also want you to know how great it is having such a lovely car, especially after driving that other piece of crap around for so long. I almost feel like royalty driving down the street, instead of wondering if I’m going to be able to make it to my destination.”
“I’m glad I could help you with that and you don’t mind my hand-me-downs.”
“Mind? I love it. You are something else, Brian, and I’m glad Noah found you.”
“So am I.”
Cheryl then went over to her side and began fixing dinner, and I followed to see if I could give her a hand. While we were working in the kitchen, Noah came out of his bedroom and told his mom the same things he’d told me earlier. After that, he filled her in about what I had agreed to do for him the next day. She merely looked over at me and smiled.
“He seems to be doing an awful lot for both of us,” she mused with a grin.
After dinner, Noah and I helped her clean up the mess, and then we all went over to my side to see if there was a movie on that we could watch. We found The Green Mile and agreed to watch it, and Noah took his place between Cheryl and me and alternated leaning against us.
When the movie ended, Cheryl kissed Noah goodnight before going back to her side, and Noah and I prepared for bed. I was mildly surprised that he was willing to do this so early, but he said it was so we could get up earlier in the morning and have even more time to spend working on baseball. He was also eager for us to suck each other off first, so it was obvious where his priorities were.
After downing a light breakfast the next morning, Noah was eager for me to take him to the batting cages. Since the place wasn’t open yet, I talked him into going to the school first, so I could hit grounders and fly balls to him. After we spent an hour doing that, he asked me to pitch to him so he could practice bunting next. I agreed and was impressed by how often he was able to lay down the bunt on the grassy portion of the infield, close to the baseline and about halfway between home plate and either first or third base. The grass helped to slow the ball down and the placement made it difficult for the fielder to throw him out as he raced to first base.
We spent about another half hour working on that before we returned to the house. “Hey, I thought we was going to the batting cage next,” he complained when he realized where we were heading.
“I’m afraid they still aren’t open yet, since it is Sunday. You can work with your batting machine for now, and then I’ll take you to the batting cages after lunch.”
“Oh, ok,” he relented.
While he was doing that, I went inside and finished doing my chores, and then I fixed lunch. After I called Noah in to eat, I set our plates on the table and waited for him to join me.
“Man, I’m doing way better hitting now than when I first started doing this,” he announced as he walked through the door. “What’s for lunch?”
“I made each of us a BLT, along with some macaroni and cheese.”
“Sounds good.”
After we finished eating, we cleaned off our dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, and then I had him get his bat before we loaded into the SUV again. I could see how excited he was as I drove there, and before we got out he had something to tell me.
“I want you to start the pitching machine at the same speed as before, but when I tell you I’m ready I want you to make it faster.”
“Ok, but why do you want to do this?”
“Cuz I’m afraid some of the pitchers on the other teams will throw harder than I’m used to, so I want to be ready.”
I agreed to do what he wanted, and he had me increase the speed several times. It took him a few swings to get his timing down after I did this, but then he did fairly well making contact with the pitches. I was impressed, and he seemed pleased, so when our time was up we headed home satisfied that he was ready.
Once we got to the house, Noah took the RC car outside to play with first, and after doing that for a while, he switched to the RC drone. He did that until his mom arrived home, and then he came inside to chat with her while she was making dinner. After telling her about everything that we’d done, Cheryl asked him a question.
“I know you have a game on Tuesday, but is it home or away?”
Noah told her it was an away game and which school they were playing. It wasn’t too far away, so she told him she’d drive there after work to watch him play. That caused Noah to turn to me next.
“You’re gonna come too, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’ll be there, but I won’t be able to see all of the game. I get out of work later than your mother, and then I’ll have to drive there, but I’ll get there just as soon as I can.”
“Ok, as long as you’re there.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely be there.”
When we finished eating dinner, Cheryl and Noah followed me over to my side to watch TV for a while, and then they returned to their side to get ready for the next day. As soon as they left, I went to bed as well.
Monday seemed to fly by, and before I knew it was time to go pick Noah up after his practice. I had to wait a few minutes longer than usual before he came out of the school to join me, so I decided to ask him about it when he finally got in the SUV.
“What’s up? Did you spend more time in the shower this time?”
“Nah, Coach Rich just went over a lot of stuff to make sure we’re ready for tomorrow, so we were late hitting the shower.”
“Ok, I see. So was it a good practice?”
“Yeah, I think we all did really good.”
“Then I can’t wait to watch you play tomorrow.”
We went home and had dinner with Cheryl, and then Noah went to his bedroom to do his homework. It took him longer than normal to finish this time, so Cheryl told him to go to bed as soon as he was done, but not before he came over to say goodnight to me first.
“Goodnight, Uncle Brian. I’ll see you in the morning and then at the game later.”
“You sure will, champ. I know you’ll do really well.”
I worked hard all morning, but after lunch my mind kept wandering to Noah. I wondered how he was doing and if he was getting nervous, seeing this would be his first game and the first time he’d ever worn a uniform. He practiced in jeans and a tee-shirt, and I wasn’t sure if the uniform might create a problem. Would he feel funny wearing it, or would he be proud and it would give him an additional boost so he’d have a good game? I hoped it would be a positive thing, rather than a negative one.
As soon as I was able to leave, I raced out of the office and headed out to my SUV. I drove a few miles-per-hour over the speed limit so I could get to the game as quickly as possible. After grabbing the lawn chair out of the back, I followed the noise to the ball field and looked around for Cheryl. Once I spotted her, I set my chair up next to hers.
“How much have I missed?”
“It’s the bottom of the second inning and Noah has been doing great.”
“I knew he would, so what has he done so far?”
“He bunted to start the game and beat it out. Then, he stole second on the third pitch to the next batter, and he scored when the third batter got a hit. The team scored another run after that, so they’re ahead 2-0.”
“Wow! I missed a lot then.”
Cheryl and I watched the rest of the game and Noah got another hit, a single, in his third time at bat. This meant he went 2 for 4 in his very first game, which was pretty good. He also played well in the field, throwing out a couple of runners at first and another runner at second, and he also ran down a little blooper that was going over his head for another out. In the end, his team won 3-1.
Shortly after the game ended and the two teams had shaken hands, Cheryl headed home, while I followed the bus back to the school to pick up Noah. “Great game,” I told him as he was getting off the bus.
“Thanks. I’m glad you got to see me play.”
“Me too,” I replied as Coach Rich walked up to us.
“This kid is unbelievable,” he began as he tousled Noah’s hair. He then reached out to shake my hand. “The other coach thought I was pulling his leg when I told him it was the first time Noah had ever played on a team.”
“I’m not surprised, because I can hardly believe how well he did either.”
“I guess Jason is right. Next year IS going to be really special with those two playing on the same teams.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
“Me neither.”
As soon as we got in the SUV, Noah wanted to tell me about his bunt and stealing second base. After that he told me about how he scored from second when the third batter knocked a single between first and second base. “I had to slide so I didn’t get thrown out, and the coach said it was a good thing I was really fast.”
“Yes, I’m sure that made a big difference.”
When we got to the house, Noah went to shower first, since he hadn’t done it at the school before we left. Cheryl had dinner ready by the time he was done, so we sat down to eat.
“I guess no one will question why you’re a starter after what you did today,” I stated after downing a couple of mouthfuls.
“I think a couple of the guys were still mad that I started and they didn’t, but they were happy that we won the game.”
“Yes, I’m sure winning made a difference, but you definitely proved that you deserved to start today.”
“Thanks. I just hope I continue playing that good.”
“So did you know the coach was going to have you bunt and then steal second base before the game started?”
“Yeah, he told me on the bus that he was gonna do those things. He said it would rattle the other team if I beat out the bunt, and then it would rattle them even more if I stole second.”
“I can see how that would happen, so it was probably a smart move on his part.”
“And after I scored, the coach told me that the bunt should give me enough confidence to hit away the next time I was up, but I hit a grounder to the shortstop. I hit a single up the middle after that, and then I flew out my last time up.”
“I think most guys would be happy with two hits, and you played very well on defense too.”
“Yeah, I guess all the infield practice that you, Jason, and the coach hit to me helped out.”
“It sure seems that way.”
Noah was on cloud nine for the rest of the night, even while he was doing his homework. I hoped that having had a good game hadn’t distracted him while he was doing it and he did everything correctly, but it was nice to see him strutting proudly when he came over to see me once it was done.
“Did you have any trouble with your homework, and do you want me to check it over?”
“Nah, it wasn’t that hard.”
“Ok, if you say so. By the way, I looked at the schedule and you don’t have another game until Saturday.”
“Yeah, I know, and that one will be here.”
“Yes, I noticed that too.”
“And Jason will be staying over on Friday night.”
“Yes, it’s his turn to be here this time, but you’ll have to get to bed early, so you aren’t too tired for the game.”
“Yeah, I know, but we’ll still have time to do the other stuff first.”
“Yes, as long as we start early enough.” At least now I knew what I had to look forward to this weekend.
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E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: ErastesTouch@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.
My other stories:
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-guardian/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/chance-of-a-lifetime/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/all-the-worlds-a-stage/
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Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.