Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2021 19:49:38 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mayfield Titans  Chapter 41

Greetings and welcome back. It's Seamount Middle School League championship
game time as Mayfield Middle School plays the rival Kentburg Royals for the
title. Grab some popcorn and a coke and follow the exploits of the mighty
Titans.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive to keep the flow of stories coming.

Emails are always appreciated. thehakaanen@hotmail.com
Douglas

CHAPTER 41
LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27

<Larry and Aiden>

"It sucks that Marty and Rich could never make it for lasagna dinner before
leaving," Aiden grumped while eating breakfast with Larry.

"And a nice good morning to you too," Larry said.

"I said good morning to you. Now I'm just saying I wish Marty could have
had dinner here before he left. I mean it was going to be Marty and Rich
and me and Nolan and you dad dudes."

"He had a lot more going on than he had planned on and now he's taking in
the Arizona sun while we wonder if we're going to get snow again. And, to
his credit, he's apologized more than once for skipping out."

"I know," Aiden said. "It's just that I miss him."

"You have Skyped with him, so it's not like he's fallen into a black hole."

Aiden finished his cereal and took his dishes to the kitchen. As he rinsed
them and loaded them into the dishwasher, Larry came in with his own. He
set them down, wrapped his arms around Aiden, and gave him a hug from
behind.

"What's this about?" Aiden asked in surprise.

"It's about how much I love you and how I often think I don't hug you as
much as I should."

Aiden wasn't sure he wanted a lot of hugs or even needed them, but the warm
feeling that rushed through him said he did appreciate this surprise
hug. "Thanks Pop, and I love you, too."

"Now hurry up and take care of your teeth so you don't miss your bus. I'll
see you after school."

Aiden went upstairs to brush his teeth, make an attempt to get his hair to
look like it was combed, and put his pants and shoes on. Because girls'
basketball turnouts had started and they had the gym scheduled for after
school, the boys' turnouts for the week would be in the evening. Because
this was technically the girls' season, they had the afternoon slot. Aiden
would be taking the school bus home after school and either Larry or Phil
would drive him to practice and back.

Larry made sure Aiden was early for practice—not that he could forget
with the way Aiden was nagging him to get going so they wouldn't be
late. "My basketball gear is in my locker, so I need to have time to
change," Aiden reminded his Pop.

"No worries, son. Everything is under control," Larry said.

"Tomorrow's game is huge, and I really should be at practice extra early."

"It's all good. You'll be there plenty early."

"Yeah, but dad..." and so it went until Larry finally dropped Aiden off
outside the middle school's gym. Larry made sure not to get into the fact
that the boys couldn't take the floor until the girls had finished
practicing. If Aiden wanted to wait around then he could wait around. He
will probably have plenty of company, Larry thought as he watched Gordy
race past him to catch up with Aiden.

Once again practice was more about being ready to play sound basketball
than being a grueling, be-in-shape-to-play type practice. Having had a game
on Friday, then a game on Monday, and now a game coming up the next day,
all the players needed was touching a basketball in an organized practice
and being reminded what to watch out for from the Coyotes.

Coach Randall mentioned that with Roland Barker off the team the big gun
for Meadow Park was Nolan Moyer. Aiden felt a surge of pride at hearing his
boyfriend's name mentioned. "Moyer is a seventh grader, but he's a strong,
athletic kid. He shoots and passes well, plus he's a smart player," Coach
Randall told his team. "Trent, I'm going to have you check him to start. He
very much favors his right hand and doesn't go left much, but if you give
him an opening to his left, he knows what do to with it." Coach Fitz had
scouted Meadow Park on Friday when Nolan scored 17 points.

While the practice wasn't intense, it was peppy and full of energy. Coach
Randall felt his team was ready to play.

After getting home, Aiden did some reading and then prepared for bed. He
said his gratitude prayers, crawled under his covers, and clung tightly to
Horace while counting consecutive made free throws in his mind until he
fell into a deep, restful sleep.

<Nolan>

Nolan wasn't as dedicated to getting into a mental zone as Aiden was, but
he understood the importance of being mentally ready. He had learned that
not only from Aiden but from his dad as well. Paul Moyer had been a
three-sport athlete at Olympia High School and a varsity baseball player at
the University of Washington and understood what it took to play sports at
a high level. He had worked hard as a parent to instruct his son on all the
aspects of participating on a team and had a lot in common with Larry and
Phil in that regard. All three fathers felt they had been as successful as
possible installing the importance of the mental aspect of sports in their
pubescent sons.

Nolan couldn't believe that he and Aiden would be playing each other in a
league tournament game that would send the winner to the championship game
and end the season for the loser. But that's the way the season was
wrapping up.

"Mayfield is going to be keying on you after your game on Monday," Paul
told his son.

"I know. But the cool thing about Roland being gone is that there's three
of us who can be the top scorer any game and Victor could be too if
everything went right for him. We have a way better team now even if our
record doesn't show it.

"And I'll tell you this, dad. There is NO way they beat us by 29 points
this time out, if they beat us at all. We were total crap that game."

"I'm happy it's a night game. Your mother and I are looking forward to
watching it."

"Are you going to sit with Aiden's dads?" Nolan asked.

"I'm sure we'll be chatting before and after the game, but during the game
we will be all about the Meadow Park Coyotes and sit on their side, just
like they will be staying on the Mayfield Titan side of the gym."

Nolan had a restless night's sleep. No matter who won, he wanted the game
to be a good one for both teams and he had to work to keep the 41-12 loss
out of his head.


WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28

<Aiden>

"You guys were so ready to run into the gym when our practice ended last
night," Kalie said as Aiden sat beside her on the bus.

"We have a big game today. Of course, we were ready," Aiden reminded her.

"Are getting into your zone?"

"I worked on it when I got home from practice. I'll do what I can at
school, but it's hard to do it there. Our bus doesn't leave for the game
until five-thirty. Dad made some stuff for me to warm up for dinner and
then I'll have some time to think."

"I thought thinking gave you headaches."

"It's a different kind of thinking."

"Ohhhkay, whatever you say."

The two playoff games were scheduled at Centralia High School. The Titans'
game was the second one and was slated to start at seven-thirty. Kentburg
and Monte would be playing the first game, which had a six o'clock tip-off
time. The bus ride from Mayfield to Centralia High would take around
forty-five minutes. Aiden was hoping they would be able to watch some of
the first game before they had to go to the locker room to change.

The players were as quiet on the bus trip to Centralia as they had been
noisy in practice the night before. They had their game faces on and were a
focused group of players. Coach Randall considered that to be a good
sign. It indicated that his players were keyed in mentally.

When the Titans arrived at the high school their bus was met by
Mr. Butcher, a member of the tournament committee and the freshman football
coach at the high school. After the bus emptied, he led the team into the
gym. The entire JV team traveled on the bus with the varsity. Even though
they wouldn't be playing, they knew to keep their mouths shut on the bus
ride to Centralia.  Only two regular JV players would be suiting up for the
game: Lenny and Tanner. Both were sixth graders. Aiden and Gordy, two
sometime JV players, also suited up varsity as they usually did. The rest
of the JV players would be sitting in the bleachers where they planned to
scream their lungs out.

When they entered the gym, they saw that Kentburg was leading Monte 25-14
with two minutes left in the half. "It looks like Kentburg is a little
pissed off about getting beat by Monte during the season," Everett
remarked.

"That's cool," Max said. "Since they beat us in our game, they won't be
pissed at us and that makes it easier for us."

"That works for me," Barry grinned. "We can be pissed at them instead,"

Mr. Butcher had the Titans sit in the area of the bleachers that was roped
off for them. As soon as the half ended, they would be able to use the
boys' locker room. Meadow Park was assigned to the girls' locker room.

The teams went into the dressing room at the half with Kentburg leading
29-15. There was little doubt about which team would be playing Saturday
afternoon.

Nolan and the Coyotes had watched the entire second quarter from their
bleacher seats. They agreed that the Royals were playing with a lot more
intensity than they had when they lost to the Coyotes in overtime.

"Whoever plays them on Saturday is gonna have to be on top of their game if
Kentburg keeps playing like that," Tim Carpenter, a tall, handsome eighth
grader and a regular center for Meadow Park, said.

"It's going to be us. Mayfield is going to be way overconfident after
beating us so bad in league," Victor said. "All we gotta do is take
advantage of it."

As soon as the Monte Bulldogs came out of the boys' locker room for the
second half, the Titan players picked up their gym bags and followed
Mr. Butcher into the locker room. The Centralia coach was impressed by the
focus being shown by the group of middle schoolers. If only I could get my
freshmen this ready for a game, he thought.

The Titan starters were Trent and Barry at forward, Blake at center, and
Scott and Everett at guard. Everyone except Blake was an eighth grader.

Meadow Park showed they were as ready as Mayfield to play the game. Even
though he gave up a couple of inches to Blake, Tim won the opening tip and
the Coyotes converted it into a quick basket by Nolan. Before the Titans
could get settled in, they found themselves down 8-2 two minutes into the
game. Nolan had six of Meadow Park's first eight points. This group of
Coyotes was not the same team the Titans had slaughtered two weeks earlier.

The early burst by the Coyotes didn't faze the Titans, however. They had
been in tough spots before during the season. They knew it was still early
in the game and felt that Meadow Park had simply had an early hot streak,
in particular Nolan. Trent, who was an outstanding defender, stepped up his
game a notch and received excellent defensive help from his
teammates. Nolan knew the game wasn't going to be as easy as the first two
minutes had been and started looking for open teammates to feed the ball
to.

The Titans came back to take an 11-10 lead at the end of the quarter and
went into the locker room at the half leading 19-16. Trent had held Nolan
to two points after his early burst.

The third quarter belonged to the Titans who showed the Coyotes that they
were the better team. Their stifling man-to-man held the Coyotes to five
points in the quarter and the Titans had a 29-21 lead when the buzzer ended
the period.

The Coyotes made a small run to start the fourth quarter thanks to two
12-footers by Nolan off screens, cutting the lead to 29-25. After that the
game belonged to the Titans who ran off six straight points on their way to
a 40-32 win. The Titans would be facing the Kentburg Royals for the
Seamount League Middle School championship on Saturday.

Nolan led the Coyotes with 15 points and in rebounds with seven. Aiden had
four points, five assists, three steals, and a turnover. Aiden and Nolan
had agreed ahead of time they wouldn't wait for each other after the game
since they each had to catch a bus. They also agreed to wait until the next
evening to have a Skype chat.

Aiden was pleased to get a text from Nolan, however. He read as he took his
seat next to Gordy on the bus. "congrats. great game Sweets and kick some
Kentburg ass."

Gordy and Aiden weren't surprised when a masturbation session broke out in
the back seats. The eighth graders had started a tradition after a winning
game—it was beat your meat time.

Part of the new tradition was that Everett would be the one to start the
jerk off session. That suited his teammates, who seemed more eager to be
followers than instigators. The bus had barely pulled out of the parking
lot when Everett opened his Dockers and dropped them to his ankles. He
pointed to the bulge in his boxers and grinned. "Everybody ready for
action?"

Trent, who was seated in the window seat to Everett's left, yanked his
pants and boxer shorts to his ankles and then pulled them off. "Too bad
nobody in the eighth grade except for me is okay with sucking cock," Trent
said, "because a blow job sounds real good right about now."

"You could always suck your own cock," Max said. Max was sitting in the
middle of the bus-width backseat.

"Yeah, like anyone can do that," Everett sneered.

"It would be easy to find out." Max had unzipped and pulled down his pants
as he talked.

"How?" Trent asked.

"Try it yourself. Either you can or you can't."

"We could make it a contest," Everett said. "We take a video of ourselves
to prove we did it. The first person to show it to me...no, not me since I
want to try it. Well, yeah, the first person to show it to me will get a
hand job from me and if I'm first I'll show it to..."

"...me," Aiden volunteered.

"Yeah, to the cute little seventh grader." Aiden cringed at being called
cute. "And if I'm first you're going to give me a hand job?"

"That was the prize," Aiden pointed out.

"Not a blow job? I mean, we all know you give them."

"If you want a blow job, then have Mason do it."

"Okay, it's cool. And I promise if somebody comes to me before I come to
you saying they did it, then they'll win if they have it on their phone,"
Everett said.

"All Aiden has to do is look at the time stamp, Everett," Trent told him.

"Oh, yeah, I'm such a dork. In fact, how about we use the time stamp to
determine the winner. That way it doesn't get all goofy trying to figure
out whose video to look at first."

"How about saying we have until Monday to do it so everybody can be sure to
get it done," Aiden suggested.

"That sounds fair. And anybody on the team, varsity or JV can do it,"
Everett said. "So spread the word, you have to show me the video by the end
of the day on Monday. And you have to suck it all the way, not just lick
it. You've gotta stick it in your mouth for a second."

"Are you going to try it, Aiden?" Trent asked.

"Nope. I've tried it, and I can get close, but I can't quite touch it. But
I bet by the time I'm thirteen the next year's eighth graders might want to
have a new contest."

All the talk of the self-fellatio contest had made the eighth graders rock
hard, not to mention the two seventh graders sitting in front of
them. Barry left Scott's side and slid into the back seat with Everett,
Trent, Max, and Tucker. Tucker had been quiet, but his pants and briefs
were down at his ankles. He had been playing with his five-inch teen cock
and was ready for some serious action.

"Aren't you joining them?" Gordy asked Aiden.

"Not this time," Aiden replied,

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

"That's a pretty good reason," Gordy grinned.

Trent was the first to shoot, followed by Everett, Barry, Tucker, and
Max. A few rows toward the front, Mason squirted a couple of clear drops
for Muddy to see. Mason was proud that he had crossed another milepost on
the road of puberty and that his big boy boyfriend had a chance to witness
it. He soon witnessed Muddy shoot a good sized load of thick teen cum.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29

<Aiden>

"Great game you guys played last night," Kalie told Aiden after he took his
aisle seat next to her.

"I saw that you were there. Did you go with your dad?" Aiden asked.

"Yep. We should have rooter buses for big games, like the high school
does."

"My Pop says that the big shots think middle school kids aren't old enough
to have a rooter bus without lots of extra supervision, which is
expensive. I think the big shots are full of kaka and that we're old enough
to be trusted to go to a game without our parents or somebody taking us."

"Maybe that will change when the school becomes a junior high."

"Maybe. Who knows what they're gonna do then," Aiden said.

"Still, it's not right."

Aiden couldn't find a good reason to disagree with her other than his Pop
saying a rooter bus wasn't a good idea, so he let the subject drop.

The only talk Aiden heard about the self-blowjob challenge was something he
brought up with Muddy. He asked Muddy at lunch if he had heard about the
challenge. Muddy said he hadn't, but he sucked himself off a lot.

"Mason has seen me do it," Muddy said. "Is there something for winning?"

"Everett says he will give the winner a hand job. But you have to show him
a video on your phone."

"Muddy does not do porn. Maybe you and Mason tell Everett you saw me do it,
but he has to let me fuck his ass. Hand jobs are for little kids."

"But I haven't seen you do it, so I can't be a witness."

"Then you will have to watch me do it soon even if I don't win
anything. Then you can say, `I saw Muddy suck himself'."

Aiden thought it over for few seconds and said, "How about you show me
after basketball is over. Just a friend showing a friend. We haven't done
anything together in a long time."

Muddy held out his fist for Aiden to bump. "It is a deal. You and me
together."

Mason had been close enough to hear the conversation. "Watching Muddy do
that is pretty awesome. I wonder if anybody else on the basketball team can
do it, or if he's the only one."

"I guess so far nobody has shown up with a video."

"I think nobody ever will," Mason said. "Muddy has a big dick and he's in
really good shape. Besides, who wants to show something like that in
school?"

"I dunno. Everett and Max are kind of wild that way."

"Me too, but I sure don't want a video of me like that in school. I'd take
it to Everett's house and show him there."

"Probably a good idea," Aiden said. "But if somebody did that, they might
as well just suck themselves in front of him."

After Aiden finished his lunch, he noticed Alex Guerrero sitting by himself
in a far corner of the lunchroom. Aiden started over to him to say
something friendly to him. Before Aiden could open his mouth, Alex glared
at him and said, "Go fuck yourself, Miller. I don't wanna talk to you and I
don't want nobody's help."

"I'll talk to you anytime you want somebody to talk to."

"Get fucked," Alex snarled. Aiden shrugged and walked away, figuring there
was only so much he could do.

Aiden rode the bus home after school. He would return to school later for
an evening practice. The practice that evening was much more intense than
the last two practices. With two practices between playoff games, Coach
Randall wanted to keep his team at a high pitch for Saturday's game.

After Aiden got home, he met with Nolan on Skype. He had finished his
homework right after school, so he had time to chat. Since that challenge
about self-sucking had come up, Aiden wondered if Nolan could suck
himself. While his cock wasn't as big as Muddy's, Aiden thought that Nolan
might be more flexible than Muddy. He compared Nolan's build to Trent as
they both could stretch themselves out; Muddy was a lot tighter and
couldn't stretch well.

When Aiden brought up the subject Nolan gave it some thought. "You know,
I've never tried, but I bet I can do it."

"Do you want to try it now?"

"Nope. I want to save it for Saturday night when you spend the night. That
way, if I can't reach my dick to suck it, you'll be right there to finish
me off."

"I like how you think, Sugar Butt," Aiden giggled.

"Sugar Butt?"

"Yep, because you've got such a sweet ass. Night, night."

"Good night Sweety Crack."

"Sweety Crack?" Aiden questioned too late—Nolan had already
disconnected.

Aiden had logged off Skype and was ready to disconnect when his phone
vibrated. He checked and saw he had a text from Marty requesting that he
log into Skype. "I'll wait for fifteen minutes—otherwise I'll email you
the news," Marty's text read.

News? What kind of news? Aiden wondered as he hastily logged back in to to
Skype. He saw the visage of his big bro wearing a wide grin, so he knew the
news was good.

Aiden and Marty exchanged greetings before Marty went into his news. "I'm
flying into Portland tomorrow. Rich will pick me up at the airport."

"Wow, this is huge news. I thought you were training and stuff."

"I am, but it's all voluntary, so I'm taking the weekend off to watch a
certain little bro play in a league championship basketball game. And also,
to enjoy a certain ex-coach's famous lasagna, so see if your sweetheart is
available to join us for the meal."

"I just got done talking to him. I'll call him back after we're done. This
is amazing. You're really coming all the way up here to watch our game on
Saturday?"

"Well, seeing my husband, not to mention my little brother and my mom and
dad is an added bonus," Marty grinned. "Until Spring Training starts I am
free to come and go as I please.

They chatted for another ten minutes before Marty ended the chat. Aiden
called Nolan about Monday dinner. Nolan asked his mom, who approved since
Marty was going to provide before and after dinner transportation.

When Aiden said his evening gratitude prayer, he was amazed by how much he
had to be grateful for. He was also amazed that he found himself wondering
if Marty could suck himself.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30

<Aiden>

Aiden's day at school was a blur. His mind was focused on Saturday
afternoon's game and he had difficulty focusing on classwork or even on
what his friends were saying. Practice was like the two previous
day-before-the-game practices—more about concentration than
intensity. Thursday's practice had been the intense one.

At the end of practice, Coach Randall told the team he would be going with
his regular lineup of Scott and Everett at guard, Trent and Barry at
forward, and Blake at center. Aiden and Max knew they would be the first
players to come off the bench. Lance and Muddy would be the two JV players
getting the opportunity to suit up for a league tournament game this time.

Aiden had chats with Marty, Nolan, Blake, and Gordy, either on Skype or on
the phone, before heading to bed. As soon as he pulled the covers over
himself, Aiden realized he was too keyed up to sleep.

He rose from his bed, pulled on his briefs, grabbed Horace, and went to his
dads' room. He no longer had to wear underpants when he slept with them,
but it seemed like the right thing to do that night. It was the first time
in almost two months he had gone to their bed to sleep. Larry and Phil were
thankful they always kept spare boxers close by, just in case.

Aiden snuggled between the two men whom he loved so much and felt a
relaxing glow come over him. He was asleep before he knew it.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31

Breakfast was pancakes, which Aiden thought was the perfect breakfast for
the early afternoon game. Lunch was another mound of carbs, this time in
the guise of linguine. It was an early and moderately portioned lunch since
the team bus was scheduled to leave the school at 12:15.

As the bus pulled away from the school, Aiden detected a restlessness that
he hadn't felt on Wednesday. The same stirring wasn't lost on Coach Randall
or Coach Meeker. The air of quiet confidence the team had against Meadow
Park wasn't quite there for Kentburg. Even though Mayfield had won the
regular season and was the top seed in the tournament, it wasn't lost on
the Titan players that their lone loss had been to Kentburg and that many
saw them as the underdogs. Coach Randall hadn't sensed that uneasiness in
practice the day before, but he could sense it now. He had to decide
whether to let it ride or rattle some cages in his pregame talk.

When they arrived at the school, they were again met by Coach Butcher, who
guided them to the boys' locker room. After changing into their uniforms,
the boys sat on the benches by the chalkboard and listened as Coach Randall
let them know emphatically that they were as good as or better than
Kentburg if they played with intensity, concentrated every second, and
executed on the floor. "Do what you know," was how Coach Randall put
it. Aiden often heard that same directive from his Pop.

The game was worthy of a league championship game. Kentburg used their
physical advantage to intimidate the Titans some and held a 12-6 lead at
the end of the first quarter. One of the adjustments Coach Randall made was
to run the number 2 zone offense, which used the crosscourt pass as a key
weapon. The coach also implored the team to step up the intensity on the
defensive end and to do a better job of boxing out on the boards.

A quick result on offense was Scott and Aiden getting open off the
crosscourt pass and hitting some outside shots. Two baskets for Scott and
one for Aiden along with a put back for Blake, plus the Titan's intensity
on defense, allowed them to run off seven straight points to take a 13-12
lead. They went into the locker room at the half leading 17-16.

The second half was nip and tuck with no team opening a lead bigger than
four points. The Titans led 26-24 at the end of the third quarter. The game
had drawn a large crowd of students, faculty, and fans from each of the two
rival towns. The gym was over half full, which was a good-sized crowd in
the large high school gym, and the crowd was extremely noisy. It was bedlam
throughout the fourth quarter.

With a minute to go in the game, the score was tied at 36-36. With thirty
seconds to go, Alvin Barnes of Kentburg was fouled on a shot. He missed
both of his free throws and Trent cleared the rebound of the second
miss. Mayfield took a time out to set up a play.

The instructions to the team were for them to run their number four
offense, which was geared to running down the clock and to call another
timeout with ten seconds left. The timeout would be their last one, but
they never got a chance to take it. Everett, who should have held the ball
and asked for a time-out, made an ill-advised pass to Trent that was a
little off target. However, the Kentburg defender fouled Trent when he
tried to intercept it. With ten seconds left, Trent would be going to the
line shooting a one-and-one.

Trent hit the first shot of the one-and-one, giving the Titans a 37-36
lead, but missed the second. The Kentburg center cleared the rebound and
shot an outlet pass to Keith Barnett who was near the half-court line. He
immediately asked for a timeout, which was granted with seven seconds left.

The Titans came out with a man harassing the inbounds passer, eighth grader
Parker Stevens, and the other four defenders denying the ball to their
opponent. The Royals were running a set side out of bounds play which they
had practiced a lot. That practice paid off when a screen freed the pass
receiver. Parker raced toward the basket, made a quick V cut back and
received the ball, turned, and fired as the buzzer sounded.

Aiden knew he saw daylight between the shooter and the ball before the
buzzer sounded and could only hope the shot missed. It didn't. And in an
instant the Seamount Middle School Boys Basketball Championship belonged to
the Kentburg Royals by a final of 38-37. Parker was mobbed by his teammates
as the Royals celebrated their victory.

The Mayfield boys gave the Royals sincere, if not heartfelt, handshakes and
fist bumps and then retired to the locker room where the tears flowed. They
had been a tick of the clock away from the championship.

Coach Randall gave the team a talk telling them how great their season had
been, how great they had been to coach, and reminded them that they were
still the regular season champions. Randall did his best to sound upbeat
and sincere and the boys understood that, but they also understood that the
"real" champion was the team that won the tournament.

Nobody bothered to shower. Everyone just wanted to get on the bus and go
home. When Aiden walked into the gym he met with his dads, Nolan, and
Nolan's father. Marty and Rich were waiting there as well.

"Thanks for coming, Marty," Aiden said as his big brother gave him a hug.

"Tough loss bro. You guys played well."

"We needed to be a little better. I guess it's time to start thinking
baseball."

"Rich and I are going to see our families now. I know your dads and your
boyfriend will take good care of you."

"Thanks. I love you bro."

"I love you, too, sport."

Aiden walked over to Nolan, who read Aiden's tear stained face
instantly. "You haven't said a word about it, but I know you want to be
with your teammates on that bus, because if it was me, that's what I'd want
do to."

Aiden nodded, relieved that Nolan wouldn't think badly of him doing just
that. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Nothing to be sorry for, dude. I've been thinking about this all day and
thought that win or lose you'd want to finish on that bus with your
teammates." He gave Aiden a quick peck on this right cheek. "Now get your
ass on that bus and we'll make up for this soon."

"Mayfield schools have Wednesday off because it's a teacher workday," Larry
piped up. "And since it's a statewide workshop day, I'm willing to bet you
..."

"Yes, we do!" Nolan grinned as he anticipated Aiden's question.

"See ya then," Aiden called out as he raced for the bus. Since his pop had
brought up the subject, Aiden was positive that the overnight visit had
already been approved by both sets of parents.

The bus was just starting to load when Aiden got in line behind Barry. "I
thought you were spending the night with your boyfriend," Barry said as
Aiden came up behind him.

"Nolan and I agreed that the best place for me to be tonight was on the bus
with my teammates," Aiden responded.

"Well, I apologize for the things I was thinking about you, then."

"I don't blame you for thinking them. Even if we won, it would have been
wrong for me to not ride the bus."

"Everybody on the team thinks the same way, even the JV players." Barry
started to step up into the bus; instead, he turned around and gave Aiden a
tight hug. "I used to think you were a prick and I was starting to think
that tonight. But you're one fucking awesome dude." He let go of Aiden and
stepped up into the bus.

Mrs. Emerson was their driver, which the boys learned was something
special. Having her sitting in her seat giving you a smile and an
encouraging comment was almost like going home to grandmother after falling
down and skinning your knee—you knew that everything was going to be
okay.

The bus ride on the way home wasn't silent, but it had a quietness to it
that everyone understood. Aiden sat next to Barry. Barry leaned against him
and Aiden put his arm around his shoulder.

"That was it for me," Barry said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "The
end of middle school hoops. Funny, I didn't want to play this year, but my
dad talked me into it and I was ready to hate it. It ended up being one of
the most awesome things I ever did."

"Well, you did have a pretty awesome year."

"You mean WE had a pretty awesome year." The two said little until the bus
reached Mayfield town line. The chatter on the bus had been minimal, but
Aiden and Barry weren't the only players holding each other. The Mayfield
Titans were a team filled with love for each other that night. Aiden was
grateful that Nolan had read his mind and sent him off on the bus. He was
sad the team lost but gratified that he was handling it with his teammates.

"I wish I didn't have to let you go for the rest of the night," Barry said
as the bus approached the school.

"Do you want to spend the night?" Aiden asked. He had no idea where that
idea came from, but he knew it was the right thing to ask.

"My mom would never let me. And what will your dads say?"

"Ask your mom and I know my dads will say yes."

After exiting the bus, Aiden saw Larry and asked. He received the answer he
expected. Yes. Larry understood the need for companionship on a night like
this one, especially for Aiden who had given up a night of being hugged and
loved by his boyfriend to be on a what had to have been a gloomy bus
ride. Knowing the shaky history between Aiden and Barry, Larry was
surprised that Barry was the teammate Aiden asked to spend the night. Or
could it have been the other way around? They were both headstrong boys.

Larry knew that Barry's parents, especially his mother, kept him on a tight
rein. He accompanied Barry to where his parents were waiting to drive him
home. Before Barry could ask about spending the night with Aiden, Larry
took Barry's parents aside.

"The boys need the comfort of a teammate tonight," Larry told them. "I
think it's special that Barry and Aiden want to comfort each other
considering they have never been close."

"I understand," Barry's father said. "I can remember some rough losses back
in my high school days." He looked at his wife, who nodded. As a result,
Barry got into the backseat of the Accord with Aiden.

"Anybody for a before bed snack?" Larry asked.

"Pie at the Mayfield Café?" Aiden grinned.

"Barry?"

"Yes, thank you. It sounds good," Barry answered.

"Call your dad and tell him where we're going so he can meet us," Larry
told Aiden.

The pie was good, the ice cream was good, learning from Larry and Phil that
they weren't the first ones to suffer the kind of crushing loss they had
suffered that evening—all of that made them feel more human.

"That was the end of Titan basketball for me," Barry said, more to himself
that to Aiden and his dads. "It's funny...I wasn't going to turn out but my
dad kind of kicked my ass and told me to do it. Um...sorry about saying
ass," Barry told Larry and Phil.

"We've heard the word before," Phil said. "Believe it or not, Aiden has
been known to say it."

"Yeah, but only when I talk about Horace being a stuffed ass," Aiden
grinned.

"Anyway, I'm really glad I did it," Barry went on. "It was the best time of
my life."

"You had a great year," Aiden told him. The conversation was almost a
duplicate of the one he and Barry had on the bus.

"WE had a great year. You guys are going to have a good team next year. I
mean, the JV only lost two games. There's going to be you and Blake, who
played a lot of varsity coming back. Muddy, Gordy, the twins, Tanner, who's
going to be tall like Blake, and Emmett who's quicker than snot. You'll be
really good."

"That's a long way off. Right now, it's time to start thinking baseball,"
Aiden said. Aiden liked playing basketball and was surprised he had become
a good player. But baseball was the sport he loved, and he was already
counting down the days to the first turnout in March.

"That's never really been my sport," Barry lamented.

"You played when you were a kid, though."

"I wasn't very good."

"Well, remember you didn't want to play basketball this year and look what
happened."

"I'm better at basketball."

"Well, think about this, Barry. In school ball and summer ball and rec ball
we keep coming close to championships but never seem to win one. Maybe
baseball will be our breakout season and you could be part of it."

"I'll think about it. I promise."

Larry and Phil stayed silent but followed the conversation with
interest. What intrigued them most was how Aiden took charge of the
conversation between Barry and himself. Anybody who didn't know the two
boys would probably not have thought that Aiden was a year younger and a
grade lower than Barry. They wondered if Barry would show up for practice
when turnouts started.

After arriving at Aiden's home, Aiden and Barry chatted some more with Phil
and Larry before retiring to Aiden's bedroom. Once again Phil and Larry
were impressed with Barry. He had matured quite a bit from when he was an
elementary school bully running around with the wrong crowd, as well as
becoming a follower of Peter Astor in Peter's bad old days.

They knew Barry's parents had clamped down hard on him, and as much as he
may have resented it at the time he followed the path they had laid out for
him. His being appointed temporary captain of the basketball team when
Scott was hurt showed how much he had progressed.

And on what was a rough night for Barry and Aiden, Barry had sat with Larry
and Phil not as a young teen punk but rather as a poised young man who was
comfortable talking with adults and who had become comfortable with who he
was.

"I think our poised young boys are a bit unsettled tonight, though," Larry
said and told Phil why.

"I can take care of that," Phil grinned. "My pickup is poised and ready to
go, but I'll call first."

Upstairs in Aiden's bedroom, Aiden and Barry sat on the bed and talked some
more. Barry was surprised how open he was being with a boy he had once
despised. Aiden's phone rang with Nolan's ringtone. "Do you mind if I talk
to Nolan for a couple of minutes?" he asked Barry. "I promise I'll be
quick."

"I don't mind; go ahead."

Aiden was quick. He told Nolan about Barry being with him in his
room. "We're both dressed," Barry heard Aiden say, "but I doubt we'll go to
bed wearing our school clothes."

Nolan told Aiden he had managed to lick the head of his cock. "I think with
a little work I can get it into my mouth."

"Awesome. I can't wait to see you do it. Can I tell Barry?" Nolan said he
was okay with it.

"Good night, Nolan. I love you." Nolan expressed his love and they broke
the connection.

"It must be awesome having a friend like that," Barry said. "When you told
Nolan you loved him I could tell for the first time what having a special
friend is like."

"You're not looking for a boyfriend, are you?" Aiden asked.

"No, but Vanessa Sherman and I have been kinda going out together. I want a
special friend like you have, but I just want it to be a girl."

"Good luck. You're a good guy and deserve to have a special friend."

"This is so awesome, being in your room like this to spend the night. It
takes away some of the hurt of losing that game like we did. And just
think, we used to hate each other. Hell, I was pretty pissed at you
tonight, even."

"But you didn't hate me, right?"

"I didn't hate you. I was just pissed. Now I'm not pissed." Barry scooted
over close to Aiden and put his right arm around his shoulder. "We probably
should get out of our school clothes. I was so shook when we got off the
bus, I kinda didn't think. I didn't bring clean underwear and a clean
shirt, or sleep pants, or even a toothbrush."

"I don't think anything I wear is going to fit you, but there are spare
toothbrushes here."

Before Barry could respond, they heard Phil's voice calling out. The boys
headed downstairs and found Phil with Barry's backpack, holding clothes,
toiletries, and school supplies.

"Wow, you went all the way to my house to get these?" Barry asked in
surprise.

"This was all pretty last minute, so why not? You boys earned some extra
service tonight." Barry couldn't believe how amazing the night had turned
out.

"Okay dad and thanks for everything." The boys headed back up the stairs.

"What was it Nolan told you that you could tell me?" Barry asked as he and
Aiden started undressing.

"That he was able to lick his cock."

"Wow, that's pretty awesome. I might have to try it sometime."

After they were stripped to their underpants (dark blue boxers with white
trim for Barry, yellow briefs with blue trim for Aiden) they headed to the
bathroom together, silently agreeing they had nothing to hide from each
other.

"Is it okay if we just sleep together in our underpants?" Barry asked.

"It's fine with me."

They tucked themselves under the covers and scooted together so they
touched. "That last shot was just a total bummer," Barry uttered for what
seemed like the one hundredth time. Aiden turned and wrapped his arm around
Barry's torso. Barry squeezed Aiden tight. "I never knew I cared this much
about playing sports until I played with this team of Titans. You're all
awesome players and friends."

Aiden rubbed Barry's back and enjoyed the feel of his warm skin. Aiden and
Barry had snuggled together as two friends and teammates just wanting to
comfort each other. Neither one had made sex a priority, and yet Aiden
couldn't help but notice the bulge in Barry's boxers and his own forming
erection as Barry lay against him.

Barry rubbed his cloth covered cock lightly along Aiden's thigh. Barry was
almost five feet ten inches tall compared to Aiden's five feet four
inches. Because of the almost six-inch difference in their height, it was
hard for their bodies to line up. The adolescent boys had somehow gone from
comforting each other to being horny. As Aiden felt Barry's hardness slowly
humping his leg, he shifted so it was rubbing along his own erection.

As Barry humped the front of Aiden's briefs, his five inches worked its way
out of his boxers, and he was now humping through one layer of cloth
instead of two. Aiden wiggled his briefs below his balls and there were now
no layers of cloth. Barry placed his lips on Aiden's and Aiden's tongue
sought Barry's mouth. The kiss became passionate, almost a wrestling match,
and the boys grunted and moaned until Barry shot his thick cream over
Aiden's crotch and belly. That sent Aiden over the top and he shot out his
own light cum.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," Barry rasped.

"Me either."

"Were you okay with it? I mean I never asked and it, like, just happened."

"I guess we needed it," Aiden said.

"Yeah, more than we thought. And damn, you kiss good. Vanessa could take
lessons from you. The whole thing was, like, great—the kiss, the cum,
and hell, all of you. Almost makes me wish I was gay."

"I don't care about you being gay or not," Aiden responded. "I'm just glad
you're my friend, cumming or not."

The fourteen-year-old and the twelve-year-old never lost contact with each
other. They pulled off their underpants, cuddled again, and fell asleep in
each other's arms happy that they had found a special way to ease the pain
of their loss.

Next: Responsibilities