Andy's Little League Coach

I drove Andy to the baseball field almost two hours before the start of his game. He was adorable in his white and blue uniform. We were the first ones there, but it didn’t take long for a few of the others on the team to show up. Several overzealous parents soon arrived with their coolers and padded seats. I remained clear of everyone.

Coach Cromwell walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. “I see you made it, handsome.” He smiled, and I melted.

“I think you knew I’d be here come Hell or high water.” I smiled back.

He locked eyes with me. “I’ve got to concentrate on the game. You are coming with us to the after-game celebration, right?”

“Will that be at your place?” I smiled even broader.

“If you’re lucky, there might be a post-after-game celebration there.” Then he laughed before he turned and walked toward the guys huddled around the dugout.

While I didn’t know it was Chandler at the time, I did notice a kid in a Badgers uniform walking across the field toward the dugout. The way his arms hung by his side, he didn’t seem that excited. Once he got closer, Andy came over to introduce me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Chandler. Andy’s told me about you.” I shook his hand.

“What’d he say?” I sensed a tone that meant that Chandler was unsure that Andy had said anything positive.

“He said you don’t get to play as much as he thinks you should.” I sized him up. I’d say he was about five-three and solid, fit, no flab on this kid. His voice was still young even though he was a little taller than most of the kids. If I were forced to guess, I’d say he weighed a little under a hundred pounds.

“Yeah. I hardly ever drop the ball, but Sanjay Miller’s been on the team longer.”

“You should come over to our house and practice with Andy. I know he’d like it.”

“Really?” His face seemed to brighten. “You think so?” He glanced over at Andy. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”

“Why not? When Andy talks about the team, you’re the only one he mentions by name.” I stretched that one. Andy had never really talked about the team except for mentioning that he liked Chandler, and that was just yesterday. Still… “And if you need a ride, I can give you one. You and Andy can head to our house after school. You stay for dinner, and I’ll take you home after. I’ll let Andy know that I’ve talked to you, and you guys can pick a day.”

Chandler went to the dugout and came back with a baseball. He was tossing it up in the air, and I called over to him. “Throw it here.” He did; I caught it and pitched it back to him. He was spot on with his catches even though I wasn’t that good with my pitches. The stands were filling with people for our team. I noticed that no one from the other team had arrived. “How come no one from the other team is here yet?”

“They like to show up all at once; they think it’s intimate or something,” Chandler called back.

“Intimidating, Chandler,” said a man standing at the fence.

“Dad! You came.” Chandler ran up to him.

I walked closer, the ball still in my hand. I handed it to Chandler.

“I told you I would come if I could, and I could, so I came.”

“Dad!” Chandler’s cheeks turned red. “This is Andy’s brother Ben.”

“Andy?” said Chandler’s father.

“Andy Hastings.”

“Oh, yes, the boy you… told me about. The one who pitches.” He turned to me. “Joseph Matthews. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Matthews.”

We were interrupted by one of the coaches. “Chandler, Sanjay isn’t coming to the game, so you’re catching.”

“Good luck,” I told him as he ran off.

“Come sit with us,” said Mr. Matthews. “Please.”

I went around the fence and joined Mr. Matthews and his wife in the stands. They were sitting apart from the rest of the crowd. He patted the seat next to him, and like a dog, I obeyed and sat next to him. “Ben, I need to talk to you about Chandler. You see, I don’t want him taking up with older boys.”

“Did you want me to keep an eye out for you?” I asked.

“Oh, dear,” giggled Mrs. Matthews.

“I’m talking about you, Ben,” he said rather curtly.

I’ve never thought that I had a short fuse, but I was royally pissed off by this comment. I felt my face get red. I clenched my teeth.

“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Matthews again. “You’ve made him angry. You see, Ben, our Chandler is very special; he’s not like the other boys.”

Now I was biting my lower lip.

“I’d just prefer that Chandler get involved with a boy his own age if you understand what I mean.” Mr. Matthews was nodding his head.

“You don’t want Chandler to have friends who are not his age.” I looked out at the field. The other team had arrived, and I wanted to watch my brother play not be told by some twelve-year-old’s parents that they didn’t want me fucking their son.

“He doesn’t understand.” Mrs. Matthews stressed the last syllable with some added nasal annoyance. “We just don’t want you to invite Chandler to his first dance. Understand now?”

“How about I spell something out before we have a misunderstanding.” I’m now sure why I was doing ‘jazz hands’ as I spoke, but that’s exactly what I did. “Your boy is a homosexual, right.” I stressed the word ‘homosexual.’ “Guess what? My brother Andy is also gay, and he likes Chandler. He’s hoping that Chandler will like him, too, and not in the best buds kind of way that most guys have. I am not interested in your son. I offered to give him a ride home if he came to our house so the two of them could spend time together--you know, doing what two young gay men who are just discovering themselves will do.” Mrs. Matthews turned away. “Are we on the same page now?”

“So, when I overheard you invite Chandler to your home, it was so he could spend time with your brother.”

“Exactly,” I said with a nod.

“I’m… I apologize… I…”

“Don’t worry about it.” I took a deep breath. They were being protective. I guess I would have been as well. “It’s fine. We understand one another now.”

“I should probably have a talk with Chandler,” his father mumbled, “and send some supplies with him.”

“I was thinking that as well. I know what I would have done if I’d found a boyfriend at that age.”

“You?”

“Yep, me. It’s an epidemic, you know.”

“It didn’t use to be. My brother was so alone. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been supportive. I loved him, and I didn’t care.”

“Chandler’s lucky.” I decided to leave it at that.

The game started, and the first pitch was a strike. Andy threw it fast and Chandler caught it without a hitch. As the first batter was struck out, I hoped that they would make a great team, both on and off the field. When the third boy up to bat was struck out, I texted my parents. Andy had never pitched nine strikes in a row, and all of them were no-hits. I wanted to go down and hug him or something, but I didn’t want to make him nervous, so I stayed up next to Chandler’s parents.

Ethan came out of the dugout and stood in the sunlight near first base. I dismissed the urge to call out his name, and I patiently waited for our team to do well at bat. The Badgers got five runs before the third strike, and the second inning was a repeat of the first. I was a wreck when the other team conceded with the 10-run rule, and Andy had pitched a no-hit game, albeit, a two-inning game. I felt a little confused, as I thought the other team couldn’t concede until after the third inning, but I was no expert.

I helped Mrs. Matthews to the field as her husband ran ahead to find his son. Andy and Chandler were getting high-fives from their teammates. I walked up to Ethan. “I think it was the coaching pointers.”

He turned and came at me. I thought he might pick me up to swing me around, but I think he changed his mind at the last moment. He put his arm around my shoulder that way I’ve seen buddies do, and in a lower voice, he said, “I’d like to give you a few pointers.” He laughed.

I bet he could, too. I smiled and wondered how it would feel to have him between my legs, his crotch pushing into mine while I fucked his lips with my tongue. My horniness was in overdrive just from his touch.

One of the coaches made an announcement. “We’re going to Grandmother’s Pizza for lunch. Just a reminder, the budget is for the kids to have pizza and a drink. Adults joining us will need to purchase their pizzas.”

I stepped over to Andy.

“Can I go with Andy, Dad?” Chandler was asking his father.

“I have to get back to work, so you’ll need to come home with us.”

“Ben can bring me home. Just ask him.”

“It’s not polite to demand that he bring you home,” added Chandler’s mother.

“I offered earlier,” I told her. “He’s not being impolite. I told him if he ever needed a ride home that I’d be happy to take him. After all, he’s a friend of my little brother, right. That’s what brothers and friends do.”

Mr. Matthews didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know,” she muttered.

Ethan joined us. “Andy and Chandler did a great job today. I think they should both be able to celebrate if it’s possible. If not, we’ll do it another day, right boys?”

They continued their hopeful looks with their eyes on Mrs. Matthews.

“Well, all right.”

Mr. Matthews nodded. “Will you bring him right home after the pizza party?”

“If you need him back that soon. I thought they could go back to my house and play video games if you were open to it.” I smiled as innocent a smile as I could muster.

“Your parents will be home?”

“They will be later this evening; they’re visiting my uncle. I’ll be there, of course,” I added.

“I’ll tell you what,” said Coach Ethan. “I’ll go with them and stay until Chandler goes home. What time do you boys think that will be?”

“Well, Mom left me money to order Chinese, so can it be after dinner?” asked Andy.

I saw Chandler’s father nod a yes, and my heart began to beat louder and faster. Was this really going to happen? Was I going to get my first date with a guy? Or would he want to play video games with my little brother?