A Brand New Ballgame

by Declan Rhodes

  I leaned over the counter and spoke in a low voice. “The flowers are for a he. I haven’t talked to him about his favorites, but I know that he loves purple.”

  The man smiled at me. He didn’t blink an eye about my revelation and said, “We have many purple flowers. There are irises, delphiniums, and lavender. Would you like me to show you some of them?”

  I asked, “What about roses? Isn’t that sort of classic?”

  “Oh, yes. You can never go wrong with roses, but they don’t come in purple.”

  I was indecisive for a few more minutes, but I ultimately left the shop with a large box filled with two dozen red roses. I considered buying a vase, but I thought it would be more charming if we ended up having to stick the roses in the hotel ice bucket for lack of a better choice.

  I held the whole bunch of roses up in front of my face when I knocked on Aaron’s door. He was expecting me, but he wasn’t expecting the flowers. When he opened the door, I pulled a few of the flowers apart and peeked through the gaps. I grinned and said, “They’re for you.”

  Aaron tugged at my elbow and pulled me into the room. I heard the words strangled in his throat as he said, “You’re gonna make me cry. Oh, my God.”

  I found the ice bucket by the coffee maker on top of the mini fridge and set the roses inside. Then I turned toward Aaron and asked, “Are those happy tears? I really hope those are happy tears.”

  Aaron nearly knocked me down with the force of his hug. He smothered me with a huge kiss while I wrapped my arms so tight around his torso that I lifted his toes off the floor. I half carried my man to the bed, and we tumbled onto the mattress together.

  Aaron muttered, “We don’t have time for this…”

  “We don’t have time for that, but we have time for this.”

  I kissed him hard and rolled him over until his full weight rested on my body. I gripped his ass cheeks in my hands while I slipped my tongue between Aaron’s lips tasting the combination of toothpaste, breakfast coffee, and passion.

  Aaron whispered, “Some days when I see you here in my room, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Seriously, it’s like that, Chase. I wouldn’t lie about it.”

  I stared up into his eyes. “It’s like that? Did I tell you I’ve been hiding my angel wings? They sent me here for you.”

  “Well, some of the guys say you are such a natural at baseball that you must be some supernatural creature.”

  I laughed out loud. I asked, “Do you know what your true natural talent is?”

  Aaron said, “I don’t have a clue. It’s definitely not coaching. I have to work far too hard at that. I think I’m pretty good at it, but I wasn’t born with the skill.”

  “You’re a natural at being my lover, Aaron Beck. You were born with those skills. I’m convinced.”

  He kissed me hard again, and I rolled him over to his side. I touched his chest and spelled out the word “Charlotte” across his pecs imagining that he was wearing his jersey. I asked, “Can we get married in our uniforms?”

  “We’re getting married?” asked Aaron.

  “Oops, did I say that out loud? Well, I hope we get married someday. Don’t you?”

  Aaron laughed. “Yeah, I think so, and we can get married in our uniforms if you want that. I don’t see what would stop us. The newspapers would love it. We’d probably land on the front page.”

  I said, “That would be so freaking hot.” I buried my face in Aaron’s chest and reached down to grope his package.

  He said, “I hate to be the buzzkill, but we need to head to the stadium. If we don’t get going, we’re going to be late.”

  “You love rules don’t you?”

  “Rules have gotten me this far. I’ve never consciously tried to break them.”

  I chuckled. “It only happens by accident?” I opened two of the buttons of Aaron’s shirt and kissed his bare chest. “Just like you taste so fucking excellent by chance.”

  Aaron tugged on my hair pulling my face off his chest. I stared into his eyes and asked, “What?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to see your face. Are you going to have a good day at the game today?”

  I shrugged. “I suppose so. I usually do.”

  “It’s going to be scary when you finally have to work at it. You’ll probably hit for the cycle every day. You’ll lead the league in both batting average and home runs. It will be the dawn of a new Ted Williams.”

  “When I have to work at it is when I get to start whining and complaining like some of the other guys when they’re having a slump. You better enjoy me now before the time comes. You might not like me anymore when I start whining.”

  Aaron shook his head before sliding to the side of the bed. “I can’t imagine that ever happening. I’m addicted. It’s horrible. You’re like a drug.”

  I climbed onto my hands and knees and crawled to the edge of the king-sized bed. I wrapped my arms around Aaron and whispered in his ear. “My plan worked. I’ve been trying to turn you into an addict all along. There’s no known antidote. It’s too late.”

  He shook his head again. “I don’t want a cure for this disease.”

  We pummeled the New York Mets in the game. I did my part. I was moved up to the leadoff position in the batting lineup for the first time, and I hit a triple in the first inning. I stole home base on a squeeze play. My slide kicked up a cloud of dust, and I grinned in the umpire’s face as he spread his arms wide calling me safe.

  The first inning was exciting enough for me to call the game a personal success. I didn’t have a clue what was coming later. In the third inning, I warmed up on deck and heard Eric’s voice shout, “Over the fence, Chase!” just before I strode to home plate.

  I’m not primarily a home run hitter, but I do have occasional power. I don’t spend all the hours lifting weights solely for my looks. We had men on second and third base with two outs. I thought the Mets might choose to walk me, but Javier was on deck, and he was in the middle of a hot streak.

  I got my perfect pitch on the third ball the pitcher threw. It came across home plate just below my waist, and I corked the ball into the right-field bleachers. When I found Eric in the crowd of teammates congratulating me in the dugout, I said, “That one was for you, buddy.”

  Eric beamed at me. “Thanks, Chase. I’ll keep a record of it.”

  Then I hit one for Javier. In the eighth inning, I hit a third home run. It was for Aaron and our future. After the celebration, I sat on the bench in the dugout and overheard Aaron ask Eckert, “Do you believe in the rookie yet? I think the evidence is overwhelming now.”

  I didn’t hear Eckert’s answer. I only heard a grumbling tone.

  It was a late night at the stadium. It was not only the first three-home-run game for a Yellowjackets rookie, but it was also the first three-home-run game in the young franchise’s history. I was the headline news on the sports pages of all of the newspapers in the state of North Carolina.

  Eric asked if I wanted to go out to celebrate, but I knew that I was going to be held up at the stadium by the media for at least another hour. I suggested that we go out the following night.

  By the time I made it back to my apartment, I was exhausted. As I climbed into bed, my cell phone rang. I looked at the screen and saw that my sister Celia was calling.

  After we exchanged greetings, she said, “Congratulations little brother! I’ll be fielding questions about you all day tomorrow.”

  “Oh man, I’m sorry about that.”

  I heard a giggle in her voice. She said, “Don’t be. I love it. I feel like a celebrity. I say, ‘Yes, my brother Chase did eat Froot Loops for breakfast as a child.’ For one day, I can stand out from the rest of the horde of cubicle dwellers. Have you talked to mom and dad yet?”

  “I will call them tomorrow.”

  “Did you know I try to watch as many of your games as I can?”

  “You watch them? I thought you just read the scores.”

  “No, I watch them. I subscri
bed to some big league baseball service, and I see you hitting the ball and running the bases. It makes me think about how I used to complain about having to go watch you when you were in Little League.”

  “Like the ballet recitals I had to suffer through? All the little girls in tutus.”

  “Aw, come on, they weren’t that bad.”

  I said, “Hey, while I have you on the phone, I have to tell you about my love life.”

  “You have a love life, too? Damn, I’m so green with envy, little brother. You should share some of your good fortune.”

  I knew she wasn’t going to be as envious when I told her the details. I said, “It’s not as perfect as you’re thinking. I’m sleeping with my coach.”

  There was a long silence on the other end of the call. Finally, Celia spoke again. “You’re playing with fire, little brother.”

  “I know, and I bought roses for him.”

  “Seriously? Guys buy each other roses?”

  I said, “Gay guys do. It was great. It almost made him cry.”

  Celia giggled. “Yeah, I bawled like a baby the first time a guy gave me roses. Then we broke up less than a week later.”

  “Wow, that sounds horrible. I just wondered if you had any advice for me.” I paused for a moment and added, “Honestly, I just want somebody else to know how amazing it is. I can’t tell anyone around here.”

  “You’re keeping it all a secret?” asked Celia.

  “Yeah, I think at least one of us would be likely to lose our job if it was out in the open. It would be a scandal, and…”

  Celia interrupted me. She said, “Don’t keep it a secret for too long.”

  I reached up and scratched my head. “Why are you saying that?”

  “If you keep it a secret for a long time, you’ll get used to that. You might never let it out in the open. I’m assuming you don’t want that because you might want to get married someday.”

  I sighed and said, “I want to marry him. Celia, I’m head over heels in love with Aaron. I dream about us in our baseball uniforms on top of a wedding cake.”

  “Well, if you marry him without me there, I’ll haunt you forever, little brother. You can take that to the bank. I’m on the invitation list.”

  A few minutes later, Celia said that she needed to go. It was late on a weeknight, and she had an early meeting at work the next morning. I thanked her for the advice and told her that Aaron and I would figure things out. For the first time, I realized I said that over and over because I still didn’t entirely believe it.

  After I turned out the light on the nightstand, I lay flat on my back in the center of my bed and stared upward into the darkness. I closed my eyes, and I pictured Aaron and me. We wore baseball uniforms and exchanged rings at the altar. We kissed, and Eric shouted over the top of the general hubbub, “You hit it out of the park, Chase!”

  10

  Aaron

  I lay in Chase’s bed at his apartment watching him dress. It was a shame to cover up his sculpted body. He was grumbling as he buttoned up a plaid dress shirt. “This sucks. I wish I could spend the whole day with you. We’ve got a day off from baseball, and what do I have to do? I have to go and talk about the game instead of getting away from it. That sucks.”

  I teased him by saying, “I guess it’s all your fault, too. If you weren’t so good at what you do, the media wouldn’t be clamoring to talk to you.”

  Chase rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his sneakers. “Like you’re a big help. What are you going to do today? Are you going to be lazy and lounge in bed all day long? You’ll just look sexy while you watch people try and bake cupcakes.”

  “Why would I want to do that if you’re not here?”

  Chase stood up and leaned over to share a kiss. He said, “You’re so sweet. Will you stay here tonight, too?”

  “Yeah, I will, but then I think we need to be social with others for a couple of days.”

  Chase stood up, smoothed his shirt and gave his jeans a light tug. “How do I look?”

  “Like the man that I’ll miss every minute of the day. You look great, Chase. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  He gave me another quick peck before heading for the door to exit the bedroom. Turning back for a moment, he said, “I’ve got a good idea. Why don’t we see if we can have dinner with Eric and Javier? It’s been almost a week since the four of us last got together.”

  I pushed myself up to a sitting position. “Yeah, I’d be up for that. I’ll contact them and see if I can set it up while you impress the reporters.”

  Chase grumbled once more. “Don’t remind me about the reporters. They’d better have donuts.”

  After I heard the front door to the apartment open and close, I picked my cell phone up off the nightstand. I typed out a text message:

  “Are you up yet?”

  I only had about a minute to wait for the reply. It said:

  “I would be now even if I was still asleep when you sent the message. Yeah, I’m up. Is Chase gone?”

  Eric and I arranged to meet at a downtown coffee shop. It was only four blocks from the stadium. It was about a five-minute drive from Chase’s apartment.

  During the last few days in May after the Memorial Day holiday, it was hot in Charlotte. The air was thick, humid, and sticky. The crowds downtown looked like they were responding to the heat by moving in slow motion when I arrived.

  Eric was already in line when I entered the coffee shop. He raised a hand and gestured for me to join him. I gave him a quick hug and said, “Thank you for being willing to meet up on your day off.”

  He said, “I care a lot about my friends.”

  After we purchased our cups of coffee, I said, “I know it’s hot outside, but that’s probably a better choice than talking about things in here.”

  Eric shrugged. “I think baseball players adapt to the heat. It’s a hot weather game unless you grew up in Minnesota. The summers in Atlanta were beastly when I was little.”

  I laughed. “Michigan is close to the same as Minnesota. This weather is beyond my experience. I’m hoping I eventually get used to it.”

  We only had to walk for about five minutes before we found a bench at a downtown park. Eric sipped his coffee and asked, “Are you okay, Aaron?” He lowered his head and asked, “Is it okay if I call you Aaron away from the stadium. I know Chase likes to call you Coach, but that’s his term of endearment sort of like saying, ‘Baby.’”

  I laughed softly. “Yeah, calling me Aaron is fine, and yes, I’m okay. Chase told me a couple of weeks ago that you know about our relationship. I’m hoping that’s the limit, but since the two of you are close, I knew that you would find out soon.”

  Eric said, “If it bothers you, then I’m the one to blame. I asked him point blank about your relationship. I was nosy. He would have needed to tell a lie if he wanted to keep it secret.”

  “Oh, it’s not a big deal, and since you know, I thought you might help me with a little insight. I’m not asking for any secrets. I’m just looking for observations. Chase is so laidback about everything that sometimes I wonder if he’s taking our relationship seriously.”

  “Like having one of the best rookie seasons ever and brushing it off as the way things are?” asked Eric.

  I thought about Chase meeting the reporters and telling them about his inborn talent. They were going to be disappointed if they were looking for him to share a silver bullet for his success as a player. Chase took the field every day and played. There was no special effort involved. I said, “Yeah, exactly like that.”

  Eric sipped his coffee. He said, “Chase takes it all seriously. I can reassure you about that. Whenever we’re alone together, it’s like he’s dying to tell me something about you. It makes me laugh.”

  “Laugh? Why does it make you laugh?”

  “Because he isn’t sharing anything in particular. It’s mundane stuff like, ‘Aaron sent me the cutest text today,’ or, ‘Did you know Aaron got to
wear his Grandpa’s World Series ring when he was seven years old?’ He squealed the day he told me that you sent him a bouquet of flowers. He said he brought roses to your hotel room, and then you sent the flowers.”

  I grinned. “Chase likes his flowers.”

  “Chase likes anything that shows how you feel about him.”

  “So he wants us to be together for the long term?”

  Eric said, “Surely you aren’t as clueless as that makes you sound. Chase loves you. Have you told him you love him?”

  I shook my head. “Neither of us has said that to each other.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s scary.”

  “Of course it’s scary, but it is how you feel, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, yeah, I love Chase. I’m sure of that, but it scares me. We’re not supposed to be in this relationship. Can you imagine the scandal if it got out? I’m worried something like that would tear us apart.”

  Eric sipped his coffee again. Then he said, “Can you imagine how you’d feel if you let baseball or anything else get in the way?”

  I sighed and looked at the ground. “I’m not sure I would ever trust in a relationship again.”

  Eric asked me another question. “Do you trust Chase?”

  “I think so.”

  Eric pulled his cup of coffee down from his face, and a serious expression took over. “There’s your problem.”

  “Where?”

  “You have to trust him, Aaron. He trusts you.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Eric said, “I hear it in everything he says about you. He would follow you anywhere. He wants this to be forever, and he would do anything to make sure it’s permanent. You have his heart. Please be careful with it.”