2. CHAPTER 2 #2
Normally, I got frustrated when somebody intentionally antagonized me.
I didn’t think Easton meant any malice by it, though, and I already felt like his only goal was the same as mine.
It didn’t actually matter to him if he was at second or at short—he just wanted to play and help us win come spring.
“You know what you’ll go to school for?” Easton asked. We had just finished the first race, with me finishing first and Easton placing third.
“I think I might try to take bird-calling classes.”
Easton looked at me. “What?”
“Yeah, didn’t Zach tell you? I go to bird-calling competitions and stuff when it’s not baseball season.”
“No way that’s true.”
“Sure is. I can do almost any bird.”
“Do a cardinal.”
I cleared my throat dramatically. “Hey, cardinal, come here!” I yelled. Trying to keep a straight face, I turned to Easton. “Good, right? Still can’t figure out why I never win.”
Easton’s look of shock turned to a grin, and he started laughing. He lightly punched me on the shoulder a couple of times and said, “I absolutely hate you. That was awful.”
“It’s my only joke. I have to use it when I can.”
“You're ridiculous. But seriously, what do you want to do in school?”
“Maybe business. I’ve always wanted to open a baseball facility. We would have indoor fields, batting cages, vitamin and apparel shops. A place for travel teams to train. Like a second home.”
“That’s a badass plan.”
“Want to work for me someday?” I asked.
“I’ll be too busy playing in the majors,” Easton said. He swore out loud when my next shell hit him as I zipped by. “I’ll come back in the winter and be a guest coach.”
“You’ve got an open invite anytime you want,” I said. “What about you? You start thinking about what you’ll do if the major league baseball player thing doesn’t work out?”
“If I don’t make it to the majors, I’ll probably go play in Japan for a couple of years.”
I laughed, trying to imagine Easton playing in front of thirty thousand Japanese fans. “Seriously, though. What if baseball doesn’t work?”
“I might join the military or something. I’m not gonna be able to pay for school otherwise.”
“Can your parents help you at all?”
“Fat chance of that happening.”
Twice now, he had dodged questions on his parents. Was it privacy? Or was it armor? Maybe Zach knew.
I sat there thinking as the second race finished. Here I was in a house that cost way too much, and Easton was talking about how he wasn’t going to be able to afford college. I felt bad. He seemed like a smart guy, but it felt like he’d already written himself off if baseball didn’t work.
“You’ll find a way, I’m sure,” I said.
“I hope so.”
We finished the third and fourth races, with me winning three of the four. The N64 had been my biggest time-wasting vice over the last five years, and I rarely lost to anybody but Gavin.
“Probably time to crash,” Easton said, stretching his legs. “Early day tomorrow. Some hard-ass senior wants to run the entire team into the ground during summer vacation.”
“I heard that guy was a douche,” I said, returning his wink from earlier in the day. As much as I didn’t want the night to end, I knew he was right.
“Biggest I’ve ever met,” Easton said. He walked toward the couch. “Do you have a blanket I can borrow?” he asked.
“Come sleep in my room,” I said before catching myself.
Shit.
“I mean, I have a futon that’s more comfortable than this thing.”
“You sure? I don’t want to bother you.”
“Not at all,” I said.
Easton and I brushed our teeth side by side. When our elbows touched at the sink, my body tensed as I tried not to make a reaction that would give myself away.
I led Easton to my room, grabbed a blanket and pillow from my closet, and held them out to him. He finished putting his stuff in his bag and stood straight.
“Thanks,” he said.
He reached for the waistband of his shorts and shoved them down.
He stepped out of them and folded the shorts over the edge of the futon.
His boxers clung to him in a way that made my gaze last longer than it should have.
I forced my eyes to the window, my heart ticking a little too fast for 12:30 at night.
I took off my own shorts and hopped under my covers.
“Tighty-whities, huh, big guy?”
Embarrassed, I said, “They’re comfortable. You should try them sometime.”
“Not a chance,” he said.
I looked at my ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark stars I’d stuck up there when we’d moved in still held strong.
Childish? Maybe. But they reminded me of a time when I didn’t have to worry.
When I didn’t feel the need to be on alert all the time, terrified of who was watching my actions. When I didn’t know I was gay.
Easton’s words snapped me back to the present. “Good night, bro. Thanks for letting me crash in your room.”
No, thank you for staying in my room. “No problem,” I said. “I had fun today.”
“So did I.” His voice was as soft as mine. He pulled the blanket up to his chest and settled in, facing the wall.
Eyes shut, I tried to convince myself my happiness came from just having a new teammate. It was easier to believe that than to risk the truth.
I turned onto my side, watching his shape in the glow of the streetlight leaking through the window. It was a faint outline, breathing in a steady rhythm.
It felt like the moment would disappear if I did anything to mess it up.
So, I didn’t move.