“I say no,” Bill told us.
“I say yes. Will you have a problem if we do it?” Tim asked Bill.
“You both know my concerns, but we voted and I’ll go to the party and make sure nothing gets too out of hand,” Bill said.
“Fair enough. Who should the other two be?” I asked.
“Why don’t we let Bill decide? That way he’ll make sure they’re okay with going and know to keep their damn mouths shut afterwards,” Tim said, giving me a hard look.
I mentally added a talk with Jeff on my ‘to do’ list if he were picked. Pam handed me back my phone and we told her we would attend the party. She called her sister who was very excited, if what we heard through the speaker was any indication.
AFTER PRACTICE, WE had a players-only team meeting. Tim and I let Bill run it.
“Tomorrow’s a big day for the future of Lincoln baseball. We’ll be laying the foundation for the rest of the year. I want to remind everyone that we need to show class and sportsmanship. If there are any problems, let the coaches or your captains handle it.”
“Like David handled Wolf getting beaned last year,” Mike chirped.
Everyone chuckled. I had rushed the mound and knocked the pitcher out.
“I’m serious. If we need to take care of something, we will. If one of us is suspended for a few games, it’s just us and not the whole team. If you’re hit by a pitch, suck it up, be a man, and take first base. Let David kill them,” Bill said with a grin.
I shook my head.
“I need to talk to you about one more thing. Your captains will be picking the MVPs for the tournament. If you’re selected, you’ll have to be free Saturday evening for your reward. It’ll be like Vegas, where what happens Saturday night is never spoken of,” Bill said as the room went dead silent.
“There’s no way any of us are going cow-tipping, right?” Jim asked.
“No cow-tipping. David arranged the outing,” Tim blurted.
I gave him a dirty look. They didn’t need to know that.
“Oh, never mind,” Jim said, as if my arranging it explained everything.
I sat back and smiled as Tim and Bill fielded questions about what the MVPs could expect. When Tim and Bill were done building the mystery, it sounded like a fun evening. Bill convinced the guys to make a pact. I think it had the same effect as when someone had you sign a waiver which said if you died doing something you couldn’t hold them responsible: it just made everyone want to do it more. I let it slip that Tim and Bill were responsible for picking the MVPs. They suddenly had twenty new best friends. For some reason, they both flipped me off.
WHEN I GOT HOME, I found Harper helping my mom and dad get dinner ready. We’d started having dinner with them on Friday nights so my mom could get to know Harper better. Mom was still trying to wrap her mind around Harper possibly replacing Tami for my affections.
“David, what are you up to?” my mom asked me.
I gave Harper a dirty look.
“Don’t blame me; your mom asked. Remember when you said we couldn’t lie to parents?” she asked and gave me a cheeky smile.
“I think we also agreed we weren’t going to share things with the other’s parents,” I shot back.
“Leave her alone and tell me about the party you’re going to,” my mom ordered.
“If it’s a sex party, like Harper told us, I have some serious concerns if you’re inviting teammates,” Dad warned me.
“Riddle me this, Dad: if you were my age, and there was a sorority party where you could get laid by college girls, wouldn’t you want your friends to invite you?” I asked.
“I’m out,” my dad said, conceding he’d want to go.
“I think we may have a talk later,” my mom said menacingly.
Dad just shrugged. Mom turned her glare on me.
“Harper agreed to go,” I said, throwing her under the bus.
“David!” Harper complained.
“Don’t even start. You got me into this mess,” I warned her.
“Do I need to ground you two? Better yet, do I need to call Harper’s parents?” Mom threatened.
“I love you, Mom,” I said as I hugged her.
She pushed me away. I had to give it a shot because sometimes it worked. Okay, let’s be honest: it worked once. But it was sort of a ritual now, so I kept trying. I knew it wouldn’t work this time because Mom was loving making Harper and me squirm. I understood why she didn’t make nice when Greg and his family came in the back door: she wanted to let Angie have some fun at our expense. I was ordered to catch them up with what I’d planned for tomorrow night.
“Oh, you are such a bad boy,” Angie said and shook her head.
It didn’t help when Greg high-fived me. He was sent to help Dad finish dinner.
“So how should we punish him?” Angie offered.
Harper gave me a weak smile. It was then I realized she, Angie, and Mom were in on this tormenting game together.
“Just put me out of my misery. What do you all want?” I said in surrender.
I wasn’t surprised when they each had a list to hand me. Mom wanted me to get the garden ready and several other outdoor tasks, now that it was spring. Angie had a few very inappropriate suggestions. I handed her list to Greg and he smiled when he read it. He agreed to satisfy her needs. Harper wanted me to be her sex slave at some point in time. I went to hand her list to Greg, and she smacked me.
Chapter 14 – Fresh Meat
Saturday April 11
We had one of the first games today, so Harper got up early to help me get ready. Dad had reserved a pavilion next to the fields. Harper was making five gallons of Gatorade while I cut up oranges and apples for my teammates. Greg and Angie were busy making breakfast.
When Harper was done, Greg helped me carry the Gatorade container to the Jeep. We were meeting at the high school to warm up and get our batting practice in before we took a bus to the park for our game.
“Did you work your way through the list Angie gave me?” I teased him.
“I think you might have to help me with some of it. She’s wearing me out.”
I knew he wasn’t serious. He had confided in me when she was pregnant the last time that her libido had gone up during a certain portion of her pregnancy. I just couldn’t remember at what point. If it was now, she really was wearing him out. I did remember him telling me right before Kyle was born it all slowed down. It took a few months after his birth before they were back to normal.
“You know I’m there for you if you need me.”
“If you ever did, Angie would be a happy girl. Nancy gave her a full report,” he told me, and I groaned.
I put him in a headlock and messed up his hair. We went back in to our women with smiles on our faces.
“This can’t be good,” Angie warned Harper.
I kissed Angie’s cheek and then planted a serious kiss on Harper.
“What are you waiting for, dumbass?” I asked my brother.
Angie was tapping her foot until Greg figured out he needed to follow my lead. We had breakfast and then I left to get ready for the game. Harper was going to come with my parents. As I walked out I saw her sneaking Duke pieces of bacon. She was worse than Kyle and Mac.
OUR FIRST GAME WAS against Lang Academy. I wasn’t surprised they were the bottom seed. I was surprised when Harper’s ex-boyfriend Ray was there. I’d forgotten she’d told me he was sent there after he’d been kicked out of his second boarding school. I knew Harper would be happy to see him. He saw me walking over to their dugout and came out to talk to me.
We were catching up when Harper and my parents showed up. I pointed her out to Ray and he went into the stands to catch up with his best friend. His teammates were blatantly checking her out.
“Careful boys, she’s my girlfriend,” I said just loud enough they could hear me.
We didn’t need a repeat of what happened when they visited us during our first game. I would gladly kick their butts if they hit on Harper.