Wednesday March 12
TODAY WE HAD COACH Herndon join us and played a simulated game. He had Bert warm up by throwing thirty pitches. Then he brought us up in our batting order. Whoever was batting, Coach Hope would take their place in the field. Bert would get thirty pitches during his turn as pitcher. As a batter, you either got on base or you went back into the field. While Bert was pitching, Justin was taking his warm-ups.
Coach Haskins played second so that Mike could catch for warm-ups. Coach Herndon was being the umpire so he could see where the pitches were going.
Bert got rocked as everyone hit off of him, but everyone was supportive of his effort. We all knew that pitching takes the longest to get ready. Honestly, we expected high-scoring games at the start of the season. When Bert was done, he went and caught Mike to help him warm up.
Justin was our only left-hander. He could throw three pitches effectively: the four-seam fastball, a changeup and the curveball. Coach Herndon wanted to limit the curveball today to save Justin’s arm. He was much tougher to hit than Bert. He admitted that he’d been practicing all winter, and it showed.
Next up was Mike, while I went to warm up. Mike did okay. He was a nibbler on the edges. When he was doing his thing, he was hard to hit. He made a few mistakes. Wolf took him to the park with a towering shot. While Mike was pitching, Justin showed me the grip for a changeup as he warmed me up.
Eve was up to bat when I got my turn. She was jawing about taking Cap to the park. Tim indicated he wanted a high-and-inside fastball, so I put her in the dirt. She wasn’t jawing so much after that. She dug in, and I threw my first changeup right down the middle. She saw the location and her eyes got big and she swung the bat with good speed. If it had been my fastball, I would be watching her cute butt trot around the bases. She missed by a mile.
The third pitch, Tim called fastball right down the center. She held back just a second and got a piece of it. My teammates were rooting for her.
“That’s the way, Eve. Way to get a piece of it.”
She had a little more spring in her step. Tim called the same pitch. I knew it when I threw it: she was zeroed in. She hit one into the gap that would have been a stand-up double. Eve pushed it and made us make a play at third. She was out, but Coach Haskins was fired up.
“Great at bat. That’s what I’m talking about. If he doesn’t hit the cutoff man, she’s safe.”
She swatted my butt as she went to get her glove. I was glad to see her so happy. I ended up doing about as well as Mike. Justin was by far our best pitcher. Mike’s dad and Justin helped me with throwing the changeup better.
Cassidy showed up with my dance class. She talked them into doing the thirty minutes of hell with us. The guys seemed to like the black leotards they were wearing. Mike and I noticed Eve always worked out behind us. We put two and two together and decided she was checking out our butts.
I HAD AGREED TO LISTEN to Eve’s new song tonight. Mike’s dad gave us a ride to my house. Beth, Cindy and Suzanne were all over for dinner and they didn’t look too happy to see Eve there. I had a bad feeling I had messed up a fun surprise. Angie just gave me a sad look like I was a typical boy. Eve picked up on the vibe and offered to go home after dinner. The three of them assured her that everything was cool.
Tonight was my turn to cook. I had been learning how to use the Crock-Pot and bread maker. I’d made a tomato-based stew and honey wheat bread. I threw together a salad, and we were eating within fifteen minutes. I was happy to see Mom was able to eat the bread. It was still warm from the bread maker and she ate two full pieces. Just keeping food down was a major victory.
After dinner, I took Eve up to my apartment so we could have some privacy, and I could see she was nervous.
“Now you promised that you’d be honest with me.”
She plugged her phone into my stereo.
“Take One. Hometown Hero,” came the sound of her voice over the speakers.
She was playing her acoustic guitar and I liked the tune. Then her rich, strong voice started. The song was beautiful and heart-wrenching at the same time. It was about unrequited love. How her Hometown Hero was needed by everyone to lead and save their football season. But he never recognized the one thing missing in his life, the girl next door.
When it was over, Eve had bared her soul to her Hometown Hero. It was one of the bravest acts I have ever seen. She seemed so vulnerable sitting there, waiting for a reaction from me. I got up from my chair and realized that she was right. I was missing something in my life and at that moment, it dawned on me that Eve was what was missing. I opened my arms and she rushed into them.
I hadn’t realized the four girls had snuck upstairs until they started clapping. They all had planned this. When I finally finished kissing Eve, they were all crying and hugging her. I went back and hit replay. I had to hear it one more time.
When the song ended, the girls sat me down to explain what was going to happen. Eve was going to be my girlfriend. I still had ‘friends with benefits’ to whom I had obligations, though. Missy could also come, visit, and spend time with me. They had talked to Tami to fix that up. The real reason Missy wasn’t coming down this weekend was because Eve asked for the weekend.
They also told me that they would all neuter me if I so much as touched Lisa Felton. There had to be some reason they all reacted that way. I would have to put Tami on it.
They’d also decided that I’d been lax long enough in not holding up my part of the bargain. They grabbed my tablet and updated my calendar with who got what night. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that they’d just updated everyone in the Entertainment Division, plus Lily and Tracy, as to the schedule of my sexual encounters.
Tonight’s winner was Beth. The girls all gave me a kiss, and Angie kissed my cheek.
I heard my tablet ding. I opened it up to see Lily had added her name. I was sure that by morning Tracy would be scrounging for open dates as well.
BETH WAS FRISKY AS soon as the door closed. She didn’t think I was getting undressed fast enough.
“Hurry up. I have to be home before eleven.”
I was taking my shoes off when she tackled me.
“What the hell?” I complained.
“You’re like an old man. Get naked, already.”
“I would if you’d get off of me.”
She giggled and ran to the bedroom. I soon followed and she tossed me a condom. I guess we were going right to the main event. I put it on and then she turned out the light. There was an unnatural glow coming from my crotch. I looked down and it was one of the glow-in-the-dark condoms. I started chuckling and swinging my dick around while making Star Wars lightsaber noises.
“Turn me to the dark side, David,” Beth teased me.
I jumped onto the bed and she grabbed my manhood. She led me via knee-walking to the Promised Land. She was so horny she was soaked. I guess I wasn’t doing it right because she rolled me over and did all the work. We didn’t last very long, but it was nice. She gave me a quick kiss and then she jumped out of bed. She was dressed and gone before I made it out of the bathroom to dispose of the condom.
Chapter 21 – Got Some ’Splainin’ to Do
Friday March 14
AT LUNCH, I GOT A TEXT that Sunny Skye had made it to town. She wanted to do an interview. I talked her into doing it with Eve and me. Angel had worked through Stone Mountain Records to release Hometown Hero as a single. It would be on iTunes by Tuesday. After our game on Saturday, she was flying to Nashville where they would record it with a band. I was amazed they could turn it around that fast. You always heard of bands taking months to get a record out.