Chapter one #2
After school, he went home. Everything felt normal. His parents weren’t home, so he occupied himself. He ate leftovers for dinner, did some homework, and went to bed. Yep. Life was going on.
The next day passed in a blur. He had a lot going on in his classes, and between them? He worked pretty hard at avoiding Mary Beth. No time for much else, and then when the final bell rang, he headed to the ball field. They had practice for the game on Saturday.
They ran laps around the field to get warmed up, and after the first lap, Chester noticed he was right behind Hunter Adams. He’d only gone out for the team this year.
Chester had no idea what he’d done during Freshman and Sophomore years, but he was a decent player.
He didn’t have a super athletic build. His shoulders were broad, but his waist was slim.
He had long legs and a decent ass. He thought Hunter was good looking with his sandy, blondish hair.
Was that what Mary Beth liked about him?
Their coach assigned positions with Chester at shortstop, where he usually played.
He switched around a few of the other guys.
He started Hunter at first, but his reach really wasn’t long enough, so coach moved him to center field, but he didn’t throw fast and hard enough to get the ball back to the infield quickly.
He ended up at third base. He’d have to be able to throw to first, and Chester wondered if he’d be able to do it.
But, with the shorter distance, he seemed okay.
Coach gave him some pointers and by the end of practice, it seemed he’d earned the spot.
Right there beside Chester. His stomach flipped over funny at the thought.
After practice, coach called them together and announced the starting line up.
Chester was at shortstop and batting fourth.
No surprise there. He could hit well against the Gators starting pitcher.
He gave Hunter third base and he would be batting right after Chester.
Hunter hit well, consistent. That’s probably what secured his place on the team.
He was an average fielder, but he could get base hits.
“Okay. Listen up. Mrs. Myers has printed out maps to the field for anyone that doesn’t know how to get there. My phone number is on the map if you need a ride. Be there by nine in the morning. If you’re late, you’ll be taking the bench. Get out of here.”
Mrs. Myers passed out the maps and Chester took one, although he’d been there before, and he had his truck, so he didn’t need a ride, but it seemed rude not to take one since their team-mom had gone to the trouble of printing them out. Map in hand, he headed toward the parking lot.
“Hey, Chester! Wait up!”
Chester turned to see Hunter calling for him. “What’s up?”
“Can I get a ride? My mom is running late.” He held up a flip phone that looked to be more than a few years old.
“Sure. No problem.”
Hunter talked into the phone a minute, then flipped it shut and tucked it in his duffle bag.
The ride back started out quiet. What did Chester have to say to him anyway?
He was kind of dazed that he’d asked for a ride.
Maybe Hunter liked Mary Beth too. The tension in the cab of his truck certainly felt awkward.
Hunter was a popular kid, of course he’d like Mary Beth.
He’d never been good friends with Hunter, though, so what the hell did he know about him and who he might like?
Maybe he just knew Chester had a truck and he needed a ride.
When they pulled up at Hunter’s house, he hesitated before he got out of the truck. “Hey Chester? Can I get your number and call you if I need a ride on Saturday?”
“Uh, yeah...” He gave his home number. “I don’t have a cell, so you better call me early.”
“Okay. Sure.” He waved as he walked to his front door.
They had a nice two story house, but it was the huge barn in the back where he threw parties.
His parents were cool enough to let him have them, and that’s one of the reasons he was so popular.
Everyone knew Hunter Adams and his parties.
Chester didn’t know though. He rarely went to them.
Maybe that’s why Mary Beth was mad at him.
Resigned to take her to the party and maybe save their relationship, he headed home.
The next day he continued to avoid Mary Beth, despite the previous night’s resolution.
He still didn’t really know what to say to her.
He didn’t really want to go to the stupid party or hang out with her.
After school, he headed over to Tate’s house.
He wanted to talk to Tate more than anything.
About the kiss, about what it meant, about their friendship, and about why he’d liked it so much.
Maybe then he’d know what to do about Mary Beth.
This thing with Tate just felt so different, and he wasn’t sure about anything anymore, like he had missed something very important.
He pulled his truck into the driveway. He could have rode his dirt bike over, but he didn’t want to ride, he wanted to talk.
He’d grown up with Tate. They’d been friends since elementary school.
He’d gone to a lot of Tate’s races and they rode together a lot, even though Tate rode like a million times better than Chester did.
That didn’t matter. They were friends. Even after Tate stopped going to the public school, they stayed friends.
Their families had been friends a long time, too.
He got out of his truck and made his way to the modest, single story ranch-style house. He opened the screen and knocked on the solid wood door. He could hear movement inside a moment before the door opened. Tate’s mom stood there looking at him with wide eyes.
“Hi, Mrs. Jordan. Is, uh, Tate around? I didn’t hear his bike...” He wasn’t riding at the track behind their house.
“No. He’s gone.”
“Gone? Where? When will he be back?”
“No. He’s gone. For good. He left. He’s...” She waved her hand in the air. “He’s on his own now.”
“Gone to the pros? I thought he’d still live here?”
She shook her head and stepped back in the house. “No. He’s gone. Now go. Don’t come back.”
Her reception was cold and strange. He didn’t know why she was acting like that. Maybe she was angry that Tate had left.
He left.
He didn’t even call to say goodbye.
Something inside him shifted, felt hollow and empty. Tate had left and Chester stood there staring at the closed front door like a lost puppy looking for someone to love.