Knuckleball (closed)

(closed for CarnivalBarker)

“Now Pitching for your Centerville Anglers, Number 30, Ken Cooper … Cooper.”

Through the smattering of applause and whistles, Kenny couldn’t help to notice how cool his name sounded as it rumbled around the stadium. There couldn’t have been more than a few hundred people here, and while most the seats were empty a full house wouldn’t be that impressive either. Still, just to hear his name called out over a stadium loudspeaker reminded him how close he was to “making it”.

After the last of his warm-ups, he stepped behind the mound and the catcher came out to talk to him. He was in his late 30s, almost old enough to be Kenny’s dad, and God knows how long he’d been stuck down here playing A-Ball. “Alright, kid,” the catcher said handing him the ball. “This ain’t the world series, but its still no high school. Don’t try to blow out your arm out. All you need to do is throw strikes, you got that?”

His 5’ 11” frame towered over the old, short catcher when he stood on the mound. He kept his sandy hair cut just short enough that the hat’s tan lines didn’t show from all the days he spent out on a baseball field. Kenny, for his height, was well built - not muscle bound but surely not skinny.

Kenny nodded, smiling big. This was what he was born for, what he lived for. Since the day his grandpa taught him how to throw a knuckleball his whole life built up to this point. Back in high school in Hickory, he was captain of the team, won a state championship, and was a three time All-Conference pitcher. Since he had to stick it out at home, his College ball was a walk in the park. He was 22, fully grown, and no longer a kid. Unlike the fat catcher, A-Ball was just a stepping stone. He’ll do his time, work on his game, and in a couple years would be in the bigs.

Staring down his first batter, he couldn’t help to grin. The batter was not much older than he was, and probably never seen a good knuckleball in his life. That’s what makes it so special. The first pitch of the rest of his life was now. He stood up, went through the wind, and threw.

…

Kenny slumped his way out of the park ready to make the long walk back to his little rental. Skipping the showers, he slipped out after the game was over to keep from having to talk to his new teammates. That will come surely, but not tonight, he didn’t want to talk to anyone who was in the park tonight.

Four batters. He lasted a measly four batters. Two walks, a double, and a home run. Skip yanked him without even a thought. Told him to not get down about this. But what is he supposed to do. It would be a couple days before he get another shot. Not get down about this, how can he avoid it?

With just the streetlights keeping him company on the cool summer evening, he just wandered. All he had right now was his mind, and all he could do was get lost in there.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Marnie Brent stood with her hands along the railing as she watched the team warm up. In three months, she would enroll in the local community college and hopefully complete enough credits to transfer after her freshman year to Carolina A&M. Many of her friends had already left to whatever college town they would be going to. Some had taken jobs, and only a few hung around, leaving her without much of a place in the world, for the time being, yet with a great deal of time on her hands. Her friend Angela had worked for the Anglers the year before, and raved about the benefits. Marnie signed up early and, as an inning barker in her first year with the club, it was her job, along with a few other guys and girls their age, to toss t-shirts to the crowd, announce games for kids in the audience, encourage everyone to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and generally maintain an energy level that would not otherwise be seen in such a low level league. For $13 an hour, the gig paid pretty well three or four times a week throughout the summer and supplemented her income from her job at the local country club, where she had been a lifeguard the last three years.

She had been to many games as a kid and even last year, probably made it to twenty or thirty. There wasn't much to do in this barstool, church pew sort of town, and it was a place her parents, and those of other kids at Centerville High, would let her go on her own. Often the year before, she would simply stand and talk to Angela until the middle of each inning, when Angela would jump on a dugout, dance a little bit with the other barkers, throw out some prizes to the crowd, and then sit back down. Now, as she waited for her friend to show up herself, she noticed Ricky Lavendar shagging flies in deep centerfield.

Lavendar was beautiful. A minor league god who never learned to hit a curve ball, he had made it to the show nearly twelve years ago, with the Oakland A's. A late season call up, he played 22 games, batting .277 with a single home run and a ridiculous amount of strikeouts and errors. The following year he was without a contract, a victim of moneyball in a world where metrics mattered and his had not proven very good. Marnie shivered, thinking she had been six those many years ago when the center fielder was standing before Roger Clemens at home plate in Yankee Stadium. Four years ago, after bouncing around in AAA and AA, it became clear Ricky Lavendar's career was over when the Houston Astros designated him for assignment and he found himself only able to link on with Centerville on a contract to be a player coach, teaching rookies the ins and outs of the game and how to play centerfield. Now at 34, he had no chance of seeing the bigger cities again, but Marnie had watched him since she was fourteen or fifteen and his handsome beauty and easy manner as a local pseudo-celebrity made him her favorite player.

"Checkin' out Lavendar?" Angela's voice chirped.

"Shut up," Marnie blushed, adjusting the baseball cap on her head, hiding the fact that she was indeed checking him out.

"Probably his last year, you know?"

"Who told you that?" Marnie asked.

"My uncle is the team VP. Who do you think?" Angela smiled. "And besides, he's married or something." Marnie smirked, then sighed.

"What's on tap today?" She asked.

"The usual. T-shirts in the second, YMCA in the third, kids' clothing race in the fourth, more t-shirts until the seventh, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, then last call for beer in the eighth." Angela gave her the rundown. As she finished the spiel, the team jogged in from the field. Marnie and Angela both made eyes with several of the players, but Marnie paid particular attention to Number 6, the center fielder. "Hey Ricky," Angela said, as he jogged to the dugout and smiled a toothy smile.

"Hey Angie," is all the baseball player said before ducking inside the dugout. Angela smirked again and looked at Marnie, who gave her a snarky smile.

"I said YOU didn't have a chance," Angela replied. "Didn't say anything about me." Marnie rolled her eyes and saw the young looking pitcher still warming up.

"Who's the new guy?" she asked.

"Ken Cooper," Angela said. "Supposed to be some hot shot kid who throws a lot of junk and is unhittable. At least he was in high school."

"Well he's cute," Marnie said.

"He throws a knuckleball." Marnie looked at Angela without a clue. "It moves all over and drops out of its path in any direction. But it only hits about 75 on the gun. You know what they say about guys without velocity?" Again Marnie gave a perplexed look. Angela broke into a grin. "He can't play if he can't get it up." Angela excused herself to go gather up the box of t-shirts that they would pass out to the crowd as Marnie scanned the field. As she did, Ricky Lavendar stepped back out of the dugout, killing time until time to hit the field.

"You're Angie's friend, right?" He said.

"Yes," Marnie said, her heart rising into her throat. She had come to a good number of games the previous year and her hopes soared that Ricky Lavendar had noticed her.

"You came to some games last year, right?" She nodded eagerly, unable to believe her luck. "Ah yes," he said, as if to himself more than her. "The jailbait brigade. Just say no," He turned, shaking his head with a grin, staring over the field.

Fuck you, she thought to herself, her hopes dashed amidst his dismissiveness, just as he turned around again.

"You girls do look cute though," he said, smiling again, stepping back beneath the dugout roof before grabbing his glove and sprinting back to center field. And like that, he had relegated her back to feeling as if she were in junior high. Her feelings toward him were tarnished as well.

Hours later, Marnie found herself clapping and stomping on the dugout, her tan legs glistening in the evening sun beneath her khaki shorts as she jumped to the sound of Jump Around by House of Pain. The crowd had largely dispersed and the game was lost. The new kid had given the fans a dumpster fire in their laps, giving up four runs before they collected their beer and made it to their seats. As he traipsed off the field, head down, Marnie watched him, a bit annoyed herself. Bad games made her job harder.

Well he's cute, she thought again, reaching for a t-shirt to lob to a kid in the second deck. Maybe I'll meet him at one of the team parties later this year. Later, as the game came to an end, she and Angela went to the ticket office and collected their earnings for the night.

"Party after Thursday's game," Angela said. "It's at my uncle's place, if you want to go." Marnie nodded and thought about it. Perhaps she would. Nothing better to do in this tiny town.

“Cooper,” the pitching coach partly grumbled as Kenny was settling into his spot on the bench, “don’t get too comfortable. If Ibanez doesn’t pitch his balls off, we’re putting you in for 25 pitches.”

Kenny sat up a little higher, but looked confused. “You think that’s a good idea, sir? I mean, I just pitched tuesday. And that ..”

“Yeah, and you looked like a fucked-up wack-a-mole game out there, I know.” The sixty year old man who looked like a cartoon character with his white hair, bristling mustache, and sagging gut bursting open his pinstripes was never one to be boring in his pep talks, nor that positive either. But at least he kept it short. Beyond being the pitching coach, he was also the third base coach, and occasional trainer when the local doc didn’t get a free ticket to the game. “But before you grow a set of bitch tits, the plan still is to get you 25 pitches tonight. That okay? Or you gonna need a hug from you mammy before you tighten up your britches?”

“No sir,” Kenny coughed. “I mean, yes I will be ready sir.” He sat back quite stunned as the coach went on down the bench to find someone else to yell at. Already back at it, so soon.

“You really didn’t think you were gonna ride the pine, Rookie, did ya?” One of the starters shook his head with a smirk. Kingsley, just a couple years older the Kenny but acted like he was the shit.

“I don’t know, I thought he’d make me simulate a few …”

“Dude, you’re in for development,” Kingsley interrupted, “simulated starts is like simulated farts in development.”

“There’s nothing simulated about your farts, Kings, so shut your ass,” Lavender said as he wiped down his bat with pine tar. Of all the mix of old & young guys on the Anglers, Lavender was the only one to make it up to the bigs. He was also the manager … and center field … and the only guy it seems these days that can get guys home from scoring position. Needless to say Kenny listened to Lavender. “But he’s right Cooper, there’s a plan for you. Shouldn’t be a surprise. There’s folks that want to see what you can do, and they won’t look at the bullpen to see it. Besides, don’t ya want to get back out there and get another shot?”

Kenny shrugged a little and smiled, “Geeze coach, if I wouldn’t know any better I think you were being inspirational.”

Lavender raised an eyebrow. He then shouted down the bench. “Look at this boys, the Knuckleballer thinks he’s a smart ass.”

Then the guys between laughing yelled out the return.
“Knuckleballer, Knuckledragger maybe.”
“Tell him to put his smart ass back into that diaper of his.”
“You gonna take that from him Coach? Or do we have to throw him in the showers.”
“Way he pitched the only thing good his knuckles are for is showing him what side of his hand to jerk off with.”
And that was the clean stuff.

Kenny laughed, all of sudden feeling a lot better about this. Feeling like this won’t be so bad after all.

…..

It was the sixth batter when Lavendar first came out to the mound, and Kenny was sure that this was the last appearance as an Angler. A triple led to to a run scored on his first two batters, and while he got out of the inning with a double play, this one wasn’t looking good either with the first batter getting a ball into his ankle on his third pitch. Kenny was swearing a bit when Lavendar arrived.

“Just relax kid, I’m the one that fucked up,” the coach said as he arrived. The old catcher meeting up the two at the mound.

“Huh?” Kenny asked.

“Twenty five pitches, remember? You got four pitches, one batter left. But I forgot to get Mosley up, so we are just killing time.”

“Usually,” the catcher Lopez spoke up, “this the time when coach talks about breakfast, and I check out the jailbait..”

Kenny was just confused by the whole situation. Was this a baseball game or an ice cream social. “Should we get back to ..”

“Be serious Lopez, we got to drag this out,” Lavender said.

“You see the little blonde thing up there with Angie this year?” Lopez said, pulling his glove over his mouth to make it look like they were strategizing without the other team seeing.

“What where?” Kenny had to ask.

“The girls shooting t-shirts, that’s them.”

“Hey,” Lavendar spoke up, “they call them the Jailbait Brigade for a reason, Cooper. Just Say No!”

Like on command, after four more pitches Kenny was done. It was just enough too, one ball, three strikes. His first strikeout as a pro, and it gave him a bit of confidence. Heading off the field he looked up to the brigade, wanting to see what this ‘blonde’ one looked like. As he did, a bit of a confident smile came across his face.

Marnie boxed up the remaining shirts beneath the stadium, before going back out to the stands for the fourth inning. Having fired off about fifty, the t-shirt promotion ended until next game and it was her job to put the extras away and lug assorted items from beneath the stands to the field for what amounted to a three minute obstacle course. She rolled the heavy cart up the ramp toward the stands, then down the aisle before opening the little gate next to the dugout. As she pushed the cart from the stands onto the field, it tipped, spilling an assortment of baseball equipment, novelty items, several hula hoops, and a number of basketballs, crates, and pre-inflated balloons. Moments later, Angela raced down from the stands to help her pick them up before the start of the next inning, making sure there was no delay in the game. The two stood there until, three outs later, it was time to roll.

Marnie laid out several items on the third base side, while one of the boys also working the summer job for the team laid them out on the first base side. Once done, she adjusted her little team shirt from where it had ridden up slightly, revealing just enough of her stomach and waist above her fitted khaki shorts to make her feel self-conscious, before running toward the end of the obstacle course to await the finishing contestant, one of two guys that Angela had picked out of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Angela's voice came over the loud speaker. "Turn your attention to the field where we have David and Kyle. David and Kyle are going to put on a uniform over their clothes, then they have to put a balloon between their knees and run down the baseline. As they go, they will jump over the small hurdles, crawl through the tubes you see lying on the ground. Then, they will spin eight times around a bat, then sprint to the finish line where Marnie and Brad are waiting. The first one to finish wins a month of free tacos at Taco La Grande, and ready.....go!" Carnival music filled the stadium as the ridiculous scene unfolded before maybe three thousand fans and two bewildered minor league teams. Marnie stood with an extra bat in her hand, leaning on it such that her hip jutted out just a bit, relaxed, thinking only of watching the two silly guys racing down the field. As a very dizzy David stumbled past her, she threw her hands up, letting the bat fall beside her, then pointed at him and clapped as Angie declared him the winner. She rolled her eyes, though still smiled, before escorting the boy to help she and Brad clean up the field and race the items in the bin back behind the end of the third base dugout. As she did, the umpire shouted to play ball and she found herself, along with David and Brad in a precarious spot, stuck on the field of play.

"In here, guys," Brad said, familiar with the grounds from having also worked the year before, waving them into the dugout. The three of them stepped into the lower level where the dugout was carved and quickly jogged past the entire team, then out the other side where they were able to escape through the gate back into the stadium seats.

"Excuse us!" Marnie said as she jogged past, following Brad and the contest winner. She didn't register, or seek, any response, though she always appreciated the cute players nearby and would hope they noticed her. She felt a tiny, imperceptible blush come over her, realizing how close she had been to the team as she stepped into the seats once more, then went to find Angie.

"Did you guys just run through the dugout?" Angie asked as she approached.

"Yeah," Marnie said. "We were on the field when play started." Angie grinned.

"Bet the boys appreciated that," she told Marnie.

"Oh shut up." The two laughed.

"No, I mean it. They like getting up close to the jailbait brigade," Angie said, making Marnie's eyes narrow a bit, realizing it was the second time she'd heard the term.

"Is that, like....a thing?" She asked. Angie shrugged.

"I don't know. The guys have always called the girls in the stand that. But, if you're legal, they don't seem to worry about the term so much," Angie winked.

"How would you know that?" Marnie asked.

"Oh....no reason," Angie said cryptically.

"You're a slut!" Marnie said, her mouth open in mock astonishment, playing with her friend.

"What?" Angie asked. "I turned 18 before the all star game last season!" She put her hands up as she defended herself. "And that's when the college players reported."

"You didn't!" Marnie said. Angie bit her lower lip and nodded.

"Yeah. And you can too," she said.

"Slut!" The girls laughed again. In the back of her mind, however, Marnie wondered what it would be like to date one of the guys she had, moments ago, sprinted past.

Lopez tapped Kenny’s arm. “Pay attention Cooper, pay attention.”

Just as he got done saying it, into the dugout ran three people clearly not a part of the team. Kenny might not know what they were doing, but he wasn’t going to immediately admit he knew who they were. Most the guys try not to act like they watch the between inning games, but most do to a certain extent. Things can get boring in the dugout between innings, especially if you are done for the day.

For Kenny, however, his attention was grabbed pretty quickly. The blonde girl Lopez mentioned, first appeared to Kenny right after they got done batting when she practically tossed over an entire cart of souvenirs. Leaning up against the rail of the dugout, he stood transfixed as every time she bent over or reached for something, the soft young curves of her body registered in mind. There was something about khaki shorts under strain that really brought out a woman’s body, and it seemed like she could have been in a bikini and not be any more erotic than she was now. Of course, the loose jersey helped a lot to, and it he got peeks of what else could be there under it’s fabric.

While his team was on the field, Kenny sat back on the bench. She, however, was still there on the field, stuck waiting for the end of the inning with her friend by her side. The jailbait brigade, sure they were young, but that blonde one was hard for Kenny to look away from.

So when the two men and the blonde came into the dugout, Lopez had to do little more to get Kenny’s attention. She seemed to walk by him in slow motion. Kenny drank up the way he body shifted under the clothing, the way whatever form presented itself locked into his brain. She was young, cute, fit, and worth losing focus as she wandered by.

“What did I tell ya?” Lopez whispered. “The blonde, right?”

“Right,” Kenny replied without even thinking. “I mean, yeah. She’s … she’s alright. What do they do, they work for the team or something?”

“Yeah, you’re a bright one, Cooper, because they let random fans in with those t-shirt guns” Lopez responded. “But before you think about it, you get caught with them underage girls that will get ya tossed from the team. If you get caught. Because that shit’s illegal.” After a long pause he said. “If you get caught.” Lopez leaned back and crossed his arms. “But if you want to know what they do, they work down there at that caged area under the bleachers near the visitor clubhouse. Angie’s the older one, she’s legal if you know what I mean. You can get caught with her.”

Kenny sighed a little. It’s not what he wanted to hear. He didn’t want to know she was just some kid. Didn’t want to know that she could be just some piece you try not to get caught with. Or for that matter, didn’t like how he made it sound that these girls get passed around a bit.

Still, the blonde one, she didn’t exactly break from his memory that easy, that alone made him wonder.

The eighth inning opened up with the home team down 5-2, and the only remaining responsibilities were to announce last call to the fans that liked beer and arrange the entertainment locker so that it was ready for the Saturday double-header. Marnie had loaded most of the shirts, rolled up and ready for launch, into several large boxes, and stuffed them into the locker beneath the stands when Angie dragged a bin of supplies downstairs and readied the room to be locked until the next game.

"I need three guys for meet and greet," Angie said. Marnie looked at her confused.
"Meet and greet. Upstairs in the breezeway. Fans can stay and get autographs for like, an hour, and we give away souvenir hats."

"What do you need me to do?" Marnie asked, as Angie closed and sealed the locker with a large master lock.

"Go to the dugout and just tell them you need three of them to stick around after the game for some autographs. Tell them the team will buy them a beer for their time." Angie replied.

"Really? I just go ask them?"

Angie simply nodded, then broke into a slight grin. "You're cute. They're not going to say no. Try to get some of them to the party tonight."

"You're trouble," Marnie said, thinking little of her friend's suggestions before jogging up the ramp to the stadium, then skipping down the steps toward the dugout. Marnie waited patiently until there was a foul ball, then slipped onto the field and down the few, short steps into the dugout. "Hey guys," she said in her best field entertainer voice, though feeling very out of place and uncomfortable on only her second day at her summer job. "We.....ah.....we need three guys to hang out upstairs after the game and sign some autographs," she stammered a bit. "If you have some time." She waited and there appeared to be no immediate reaction. "Come on," she continued. "Please!" She flipped her hair a bit, not unwilling to exhibit some charm if it would help her cause. She saw Ricky Lavendar, arms crossed, previously watching the game attentively, turn his head in her direction. Clearly annoyed because the game was still going on, he simply gave the order then returned his attention to the game.

"Taylor, Nicely, and Cooper. You three are upstairs after the game." He turned his head once more, casting Marnie a look as if to ask if she was satisfied and if she could leave his team alone. She simply nodded, brushed her hair behind her ear, slowly turned and headed out of the dugout and back into the stands.

Well, okay.... she thought to herself, a bit upset at the manager's reaction. I'm just doing my job. She walked up the steps to the concession area, where she again found Angie.

"Did you find some players?" She asked Marnie.

"Yeah," she said, sounding defeated.

"Who?"

"Nice, Taylor, and um.....Cooper?" Marnie said.

"NICELY, Taylor and Cooper," Angie corrected, then put her hands on her hips, grinning as if she was about to laugh.

"What?" Marnie asked her friend.

"Rick sent you three rookies."

"Yeah, so?"

"Nobody knows the rookies," Angie said. "You got played." Angie continued setting up the table where the players would be signing after the game.

"Sorry," Marnie said, grabbing some pens and posters from the nearby box, setting them on the table.

"Don't worry about it," Angie said. "I'll run talk to Baxter and get him to come up here too." Marnie knew that name. Brent Baxter was the third baseman, a third year guy who showed promise, but seemed to be unable to get out of his own way, too often partying and getting in trouble to move to AA or AAA ball. Marnie put two and two together.

"Brent Baxter?" She asked Angie, in an accusatory tone. Angie's face lit up with a slightly, very slightly, embarrassed grin, then bit her lower lip as she realized her friend knew her secret.

"Uh huh," was the only response Angie gave, before traipsing off. Marnie shook her head in amazement, watching her friend's unquestionably firm, cute ass while she scurried away to catch up to Baxter at the dugout, knowing just how her friend would convince him. "I'll get him to bring some guys to the party later too," she said, over her shoulder, leaving Marnie to just shake her head once again.

“Hey Baxy,” Ritchie Taylor jibed, “which one is she?”

“What are you talking about,” Baxter asked in between scribbling his name on the balls, bats, and hats passed to him by the line of kids. After his name was signed, the kids would move down the table, first to Taylor, then Nicely, then finally Cooper. In theory at least. About half of the kids moved out of line once Baxter signed his name. Some stuck around for Nicely since he hit a walk off a month back, meaning some people know his name. Cooper signed his name three times.

“You know,” Taylor pushed, “the one. You know, from that party you went to? The one that … you know.”

A father-daughter duo stood dutifully in front of Baxter. The girl, not quite a teenager with her long red head in ponytails spouting out from under her Anglers hat, presenting a clean baseball for the player to sign. The father, holding a plastic ball protector ready to lock away the signature for history, looking sternly at the players ready to react if they head down a path that they clearly seem to be going with this conversation.

“Thanks for coming to the game,” Bax says to the girl, and she moves down to Taylor.

Cooper is trying to pay attention to the conversation, or at least look like he is. Past Baxter was the girl, the one in the Jailbait Brigade, the one that came through the dugout earlier and then found a place in his head. She was in the group helping to support the autograph line, which didn’t seem all that difficult to do. There was maybe ten or fifteen people left to get though, so it wasn’t like they were into major crowd control.

“Come on just a hint,” Taylor whined as he scribbled his name on the ball for the girl.

The little girl shifted quickly down to Nicely, her eyes beaming as the rookie shortstop took the ball. “I liked your home run, Mr. Nicely,” she spoke in a cute sing-song.

As another kid walked up to Baxter, he seemed to fumble his pen. He down the table he made a quick “psst” and then straightened up. “Angie?” he called turning away from the boys. “Can you grab my sharpie there behind you?”

Angie smiled, turned away from them, and bent over to grab the pen. To a man each one of the boys, not to mention the father of the little girl, watched as her shorts strained against the firmness of her young bottom. The shape suggesting she was every bit a woman regardless of what her age may be. All too quickly, she stood back up and returned the pen to Baxter with a smile.

“Let’s go daddy,” the girl whimpered bringing him and Cooper back to reality.

Angie slinked over to the table and gripped the pen in her hand while Baxter tried to take it back. “So, thought much more about the party tonight? You can bring your rookies with you.”

Shaking his head back to awareness, the father coughed up, “ummm .. you got one more there, sweetheart.”

The little girl’s face soured, then she whispered back to her dad so loud everyone could hear it. “But that’s Cooper, daddy, he sucks.”

“What,” Cooper laughed trying to hide the fact that it actually bothered him a little. “Come on, I don’t suck.”

“Is that just a Baxter and Angie party? Or will you at least have some snacks there this time?” Nicely equipped up the table clearly not interested in the girl’s suggestion.

The little girl turned to Cooper with a look of ‘as if’ all over it. “Please, your ERA is 64.”

“I’ve only been in three innings,” Cooper came back quick.

The little girl’s face started turning red, pounced by freckles that made her look younger. “Officially, you have only one inning, unless they count innings pitched differently in Hickory.”

Cooper blinked a couple of times in shock, “You know here I am from?”

“Watch it Cooper, Agnes is Angler’s Number One Fan” Angie spoke up from the end of the table. Like an afterthought, she added. “You coming to the party, Coop?.”

Agnes, the little girl standing there still pulling on her dad’s shirt grumpily, only could say “let’s go daddy. I wanna go.”

The father sighing, looked to Cooper and apologized with a shrug, “what you should have said was asked if she knew how to hit a Knuckleball.”

No doubt it hurt a bit, actually it hurt more than a bit. The other guys were snickering. Bad enough Kenny couldn’t get guys out at this level. Worse that he gets lambasted by a kid for doing just that. Gritting his teeth he looked down the table to Angie and forced a smile, “yeah I’m coming. There’s gonna be beer, right?”

Angie turned away from the signing table and nodded to Marnie to gather up the box of programs nearby to be put away. She raised an eyebrow in reference to her prior discussion and grinned at Marnie.

"Done," she said. The boys would be at the party. Marnie rolled her eyes and grabbed the box.

**************

The doorbell rang and Marnie skipped to the door to let Angie in.

"I'm about ready," she said, racing to the bedroom to finish ironing her hair before tugging it into a cute, loose ponytail, letting it just brush her upper back above the spaghetti strap tank top she was wearing over khaki shorts a bit shorter and a bit more form fitting than the kind she wore to the games. Her cute blue bikini sat beneath her clothes, in case they decided to swim in the still-warm evening air. "Do we need to get anything for the party?" She shouted to the front where Angie waited.

"No," Angie replied. "Team party. It won't be your usual crowd."

"What do you mean?" Marnie asked.

"It's my uncle's thing. There will be some of the junior execs, their kids who are our age, and then some players. It won't just be typical drunk college boys," she paused in brief thought. "But don't put that past the players." She giggled at the thought. "They can be pretty rough." Though Angie didn't mean it the way Marnie heard, Marnie couldn't let the comment slide.

"Oh? Baxter likes it rough?" She smirked as she grabbed the small purse she slung over her shoulder and stepped from her room where Angie was. Her friend grinned at her comment.

"Maybe," she paused again, this time for effect. "Bitch." The girls laughed as they left and headed to the party. Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the large estate near the coast, where Angie's uncle lived. The home looked like a California transplant, picked up and placed squarely in the secure cove along the sandy coast of the Carolinas, with no finish undone. A large infinity pool ran along the back of the house, which sat only yards away from the ocean and the beautiful view of the Eastern seaboard, and the second story balcony provided a sight line as far as anyone could see. Angie opened the gate near the side of the house and the two stepped along the back patio where people had already gathered.



"Hey!" Angie said to her uncle, just before introducing him again to Marnie, who she had brought around him a time or two in years past. "She's with us now, you know?" Her uncle smiled and nodded.

"Yes," he said. "That's right. You're working the crowd entertainment crew this year, aren't you."

"I am," Marnie said.



"Any of the players give you any trouble, you let me know," he said.

"They've been pretty good so far," she replied. "But I will." Angie's uncle excused himself to head to the bar, where some of his fellow "important people," were mingling.

"It was good to see you," he said, before leaving the girls' presence. "Make yourself at home." The girls thanked him as Angie's phone warbled. She pulled it from her shorts pocket and muttered to herself as she texted a response that Marnie could not see.

"Son of.....a.....bitch," Angie said, grinning.

"What is it?" Marnie said.

"Nothing," Angie replied. "Baxter is asking if there are any cute girls here and said they are on their way. He's being a dick." She smiled.

"What did you tell him?" Marnie questioned.

"I said only the two hottest girls in the league, but they were off limits." Angie's phone warbled again.

Well you and your friend will be there at least, right? Angie showed Marnie Baxter's response with a disbelieving grin before sending her response.

Fucker. Better get here quick or we're leaving. ;-) She put her phone away.

"So," Angie began, before directing Marnie to the patio bar, manned by a paid waitstaff member ready to provide any sort of drink without requesting any sort of ID. "There are some cute guys here," she nodded around the patio where various children of her uncle's friends stood mingling in small groups. Marnie noticed something else as well.

"And some hot girls," she said. Angie shook her head.

"Marnie, shut up," she smiled, then ordered two crown and cokes, one for each of them. "I saw the way the players look at you. You're hot. Don't forget it." She handed Marnie a drink. "And some of those players are going to be here later." Angie clinked her glass against Marnie's as Marnie blushed a bit, thinking the players were pretty cute, but none of those she had dealt with seemed her type. "Come on," Angie said, grabbing her hand. "I'm going to introduce you to some of these people."

"But what about the players?" Marnie asked. "Won't they be here soon?" Angie smiled at her friend.

"You're not married to any of them yet," she replied. "We can window shop," she giggled as she drug Marnie toward a group of several guys and girls, ready to introduce her friend to others she already knew. As they approached, Marnie took a drink, knocking away the small bit of anxiety she had, and wondered if anyone besides Baxter and the rookies would be showing up. She was not in desperate need of a date, or even any sort of relationship. But the glowing summer nights and the prospect of a long summer had her curiosity up, and her defenses down, and she was not opposed to finding out what might happen.

Taylor kept shifting around in the back seat of the ride share, elbowing Nicely & Kenny equally and annoyingly. “Jesus Christ, Bax, you think with your contract you can afford a limo.”

“You would think what his contract, he would offer to pay for the damn thing rather than make us split it,” Nicely quipped. “Where is this thing, anyways?”

The driver went along silently following the GPS devices spouting out directions. Baxter sat in the front passenger’s seat banging away on his phone. All while the car started passing out of the cramped quarters of downtown towards where houses had yards and driveways.

“Don’t worry about where it is,” Bax replied. He banged another text out just as it seemed two or three were coming in. Then he remembered. “No wait … yeah, worry about where it is, because it’s pretty important you know somethings about this party.”

Kenny spoke up, trying to sounds as much of an ass as the rest of them, “What’s there to know? We show up, drink a little, chat up a girl,and pair off. Except for Nicely, he can have our seconds.”

Laugher aside, Baxter spoke up again. “No man, this is serious. This isn’t some co-ed frat party. You’ll figure that out the moment you see the house.” Then another text arrived and he turned showing it back to the boys. It was a mostly pink screen, except for what looked like a hint of brown feeding into a corner. “Does this look like a nipple to you?”

Taylor grabbed the phone and laughed, before Baxter grabbed it back. “Nah man, that looks like she missed.”

“Who is that? Is that Angie,” Kenny asked almost a little too quick.

“Nah, it’s a girl I met when we were in Neeham. I’ve got like three of them texting me at once.” He was banging out a response with a smirk. “Here’s the thing. This is the house of the team bigwigs. Many of the guys putting the money in to make decisions. Any other place you go, you guys can be jerkoffs all you want, but if you cross those old men in anyway … say goodbye to your contract, your future, your everything. They’re the ones in the white hair, just remember, white hair. Understood?”

Taylor spoke up then. “So who invited the old men?”

“It's their fucking house, dumbass. At least one of them, whichever, just one of them owns the place. “

Kenny thought for a bit, and piped up, “Does that mean, hands off the jailbait?”

Baxter looked over his shoulder at Kenny with a smirk that told half the story. “Which one, Knuckleball? Angie or her friend?”

“What?”

“If it’s Angie, you should at least ask permission to mack on tail your teammate had, that’s unwritten minor league law. The other one just make sure she’s not someone’s baby girl amongst the white hairs.”

“Well,” Kenny started the stopped looking at the other guys in the car. “The other one. If that’s okay … I mean … with you guys.”

Nicely made a voice like a dumbass, “If thats okay with you guys”. Causing the others to laugh at Kenny’s expense.

Kenny was starting to feel sick to his stomach. Since when was it like this? He used to not give a rat’s ass if someone was macking on a girl he liked. He used to not think that permission was needed for anything regarding a hot girl. Now, not only does he care, he actually felt bothered enough to ask permission from guys not even in the decision.

Baxter checked his phone and smiled “well, either that little jailbait is there, or Angie’s hanging with some other hottie tongiht.” He looked up at the windshield and smiled, “Put your game face on Cooper, we’re here”. From out the window a vast mansion came into view. Big enough to widen the eyes of all three rookies. Yeah, they’d know who the white hairs would be, definately.


……



Kenny was tempted to take off his jacket, but the white shirt and pants he wore may just be too bright without that little extra color. Besides, it seemed this party was more about impressions than actual talk - which made him squirm even more. He really wished he would have shaved, or maybe backed off on the hair gel, or put a little more deodorant on. In it’s own way, this has become the Centerville Kenny - the one that questioned everything he did, and finding that it didn’t matter how much he questioned it still wouldn’t be good enough.

There was charm, though, in his voice when the first of the white hairs met him. Luckily they had no idea who he was, probably to them he wasn’t anything more than another piece of a puzzle they don’t quite understand. He stuck close to Baxter who seemed to be the center of the white haired attention. Bax also had this way of becoming someone else around them, like the Eddie Haskel of Centerville - charming to those who matter, a douchebag to those who don’t. After just a couple minutes and barely more than that since they first arrived, Baxter out of the blue said he had to excuse himself for something important - doing so he dragged Kenny with him,

“Alright, you horny bastard,” Baxter said as soon as they got out of White Haired earshot. “We’ll go we’ll go.”

“What?”

“Yeah, like you haven’t been my lap dog all night just because you are interested in what I have to say. Let’s go find those girls, Knuckleball.”

“Dude, don’t call me that around her,” Kenny complained as they wandered around the spacious house in search of the girls.

“Why’s that Knuckles?”

“Fuck off.”

“Knuckly Knuck Knuck.”

“Fuck Off!!” Kenny said it just a little too loud, and just as they arrived at a small group of people their own age … including Angie and her friend.

Baxter gave a quick roll of his eyes. “Excuse my friend, here,” Bax said to the group.

Angie laughed, “Of course he’s your friend Bax, we all told you to fuck off at some point.”

Cooper was red, somewhere between embarrassment and anger. He kept looking to the girl, now more pretty in evening wear than those well fitting shorts, but no less as appealing to him. This was not starting right.

Bax, though, was a well trained wingman. With the calm of all he could give he said to the small group. “Well, let me introduce myself then to all your friends. I am Brent Baxter, Third Baseman for Your Centerville Anglers, and an all around one hell of a man. This is my teammate for all of two weeks, none other than …”

He let the name hang out there for Kenny to respond.

Which he didn’t. He just stood there looking at the girl, Angie’s friend, the cute girl he wanted to meet.

Then an elbow from Baxter woke him up and he answer. “Oh … I’m Knuckles.” Then it hit him what he said. “I mean. I am Kenny. Kenny Knuckleball. … COOPER … Kenny Cooper.”

Bax looked like he was about crack up and patted Ken’s shoulder, “Excuse the boy, he is used to have more strikes than balls.”

The girls stood near some trust fund kids and shared drinks over stories of various parties they had been to with Kardashians or trips to the South of France. Marnie wondered exactly who these people were and wondered why, of all places, they chose to summer here, apart from their families having estates and/or perhaps ownership in the team here. She enjoyed flirting a bit with a nice guy who was in medical school, enjoying both his looks and company, until he revealed he had a girlfriend back in Texas, where he spent the better part of the school year.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she told Angie, more of an effort to leave the group and find another than any actual need. Angie picked up the hint, finding the crowd dull herself.

"I'll show you where it is and we can find Baxter," she said, standing up from the lounge chair where she was currently sitting with a drink of her own. The two excused themselves and went inside where they turned a corner down the main hall and passed near a vestibule by the entrance toward what sounded like a bit of a brewing battle. Two couples headed toward the kitchen stepped nearby and walked with them, just before hearing the words echo through the corridor.

"Fuck off!" The girls passed the open archway to the sitting room in the front of the house where they saw Baxter and Ken Cooper.

"Excuse my friend here," Baxter smirked, proud of the situation he had put his friend into.

Angie laughed, “Of course he’s your friend Bax, we all told you to fuck off at some point.” Baxter took it in stride and promptly introduced himself to the group. His eyes danced as she shook Marnie's hand, though they had informally met earlier at the game, though without official introduction. She could tell he was dangerous and every bit the lothario he wanted to be. He continued, introducing the player to his left and a step behind.

“This is my teammate for all of two weeks, none other than …” The ballplayer took it from there, though without anywhere close to the smooth manner of the more veteran third baseman.

“Oh … I’m Knuckles.” Angie crossed her arms and grinned at the boy's stammer. Marnie found it endearing, grinning herself, no doubt looking like she was laughing at him when really she had no such intention. “I mean. I am Kenny. Kenny Knuckleball. … COOPER … Kenny Cooper.”

Baxter patted Ken’s shoulder, “Excuse the boy, he is used to have more strikes than balls." The girls and guys who had been nearby laughed, then quickly dispersed back toward the kitchen where they had been headed, clearly unimpressed.

"Glad you could make it, rookie," Angie said to Cooper before anyone else could respond. "I'm Angela. This is Marnie."

"Hey Marnie," Baxter said, one eyebrow raised as if sizing her up.

"Bax, no," Angie said, playfully, making him return his eyes to hers and not her friend's.

"Is anyone else coming from the team?" Marnie asked, unsure of what else to say. Though she had not intended to offend Baxter or Cooper, she wondered if she sounded disappointed that only these two were present. She corrected course quickly. "I mean....I'm glad you guys are here," she blushed, frustrated with her stammering high school girl act. "We were just heading to the bathroom," she said, excusing herself from the situation. "We'll be back." She tugged Angie's arm and the two snuck off quickly. "Oh my god, I sound like a complete idiot," she whispered to Angie, who laughed.

"I think Coop likes you," Angie replied. Marnie rolled her eyes.

"He's a boy," she replied.

"He's older than you, picky girl," Angie said as they stepped into the restroom. "And the doctor is married." Marnie gave her a terse look.

"He's got a girlfriend is all. He's not married." Angie knew her friend was bluffing and would not play home wrecker to a wife or girlfriend, regardless.

"Well Coop is neither," Angie grinned. "Or maybe Bax might like you?" Marnie shot her another look. Angie laughed.

"What?!" She said. "I saw how he looked at you." Marnie thought Angie was being stupid.

"I'm not into threesomes," she said, causing Angie to laugh.

"Yet," Angie said, slapping her friend's ass as she joked, just before Marnie walked outside ahead of her as they both returned to the party. The two headed toward the back patio and Marnie thought Ken Cooper was cute, if a bit....awkward. She shook her head clear. She didn't need a boyfriend or even a date.

I just need a drink and to have a good time tonight, then go home and get ready for the weekend, she thought to herself. Boys are stupid. She heard music coming from the patio and pulled Angie to grab a drink at the bar.

"Let's go dance," she said, once their glasses were handed to them. Angie agreed and the two found themselves heading to do just that, both silently wondering where the boys had gone, not seeing them immediately nearby.

Kenny shook a couple of the bottles on the table next to his deck chair until he found one that still had beer in it. About a half hour ago, he picked up four beers at the bar to split up amongst a small group he ran into, but they disappeared on their own. All the more reason for him to work through the bottles himself at this point. They poured like water down into his gullet, and seemed to have little effect other than tweaking the growing frustrations that lay beneath for most the night.

That blond girl that was on the jailbait brigade brushed him off faster than a spec of dust on a lense. She completely ignored any chance he took to try to talk to her, and ignored the fact that he himself was interested.

Yeah, it didn’t help he made an ass of himself.

But he t least expected a better reaction from some girl from some small market bush league stadium.

Swigging on the last bottle with anything in it, Kenny saw Nicely come his way., Of the other players that came to this party, nicely was the one that didn’t make real sense. He was just this guy who kept to himself, Like Kenny, Nicely was a rookie pitcher, but is more of the conventional ‘fastball curveball’ type. Unlike the rest of them, Kenny kinda knew Nicely. The tall lanky pitcher started at a college that was in the same conference Kenny’s was, and they had pitched against one another once. But that’s about it. He was a nice guy, and when he wanted to he could hang one on the other guys without a blink. But to say they were close was wrong by a long way. So when he found a seat next to Kenny and presented a bottle of bourbon, Kenny took it and waited for things to stay unspoken between the two.

But Kenny wasn’t in an unspoken mood tonight.

“I don’t get it Nicely,” he began, “it used to be I had no problems getting what I want. I just had to step up and take it.”

Nicely grabbed the bottle back and took a long swig.

“It was easy back in high school. It was easy in college. Now this place, it ain’t working.”

Nicely let out a long breath before he started in. Then it just came out in Nicely’s slow, careful words. “Knuckleball is just a pitch like anything else. Sure the release is different, but it is still a pitch. You have to know the target, and expect it to end up there. To anyone else it may be random, but you know as well as any knuckleballer that it is still backed by power, precision, and accuracy. You’re problem isn’t that everything else is different. You’re problem is that you forgot you are in control.”

Something about the words pissed off Kenny. He stood up from the chair and started to walk away.

“I wasn’t talking about my pitching, Nicely,” he spat over his shoulder.

Nicely responded with the words that dug into Kenny like any he had heard in years: “Neither was I.”

Marnie danced with Angie for several songs before the two stopped when a slow song brought the party down. The two wandered into the house and then in the kitchen to pour another drink, this time wine in a solo cup, before standing and mingling with some of the others they had met earlier before. As the crowd seemed to thin, Marnie noticed the older people, and most of the team execs, had disappeared and called it a night. She watched Angie capably fend off the advances of a junior marketing account manager who thought way too highly of himself, unknowing the girl he was chatting up was helping adjust Brent Baxter's jock when he didn't do it himself. Marnie herself talked to a rather dull guy who claimed his aunt had once owned the team herself, though nobody nearby seemed to know who he was or find him very captivating. And no sooner had she taken another sip of wine, than Angie was by her side.

"Have you met Marnie?" She asked the marketing manager before dropping the other foot. "She's single." Marnie's eyes grew wide in a look of irritation. Before she could say anything, Angie leaned in and began whispering. "I'm going to find Bax," she chirped almost silently. Marnie pulled back, annoyed.

"You bitch," she said almost as quietly, while looking over Angie's shoulder at the hopeless puppy dog that stood waiting to make her acquaintance and, no doubt in his mind, try to get in her pants. At the same time, the party had not been exactly what she had anticipated and the players that came did not seem to be interested. She supposed she had a thing for hopeless puppy dogs. "You'd better come back here," she said, just before Angie bailed. Marnie endured nearly ten torturous minutes of small talk with the account manager and decided quickly he was far to needy, and a bit creepy, for her even slight consideration. After a particularly strange comment about a pet tarantula by the guy, Marnie finished her drink and excused herself to the bathroom with no plans of going there. She began looking around the house for Angie and Baxter, or anyone she felt somewhat safe with. She found nobody on the back patio, or in the pool areas, and then, walking through a main hallway, she saw a couple of guys on lounge chairs on a patio deck overlooking the coast in a quiet enclave of the house. She recognized them immediately, and opened the door to the patio herself.

"Nicely and Kenny Knuckleball," she grinned. No sooner had she stepped outside than the door opened behind her to reveal Angie, who had apparently seen her sneak outside from wherever she had been. "Oh, THERE you are," Marnie said. "Thanks for stranding me with that clown in the kitchen." Angie just gave a wicked grin as Baxter appeared over her shoulder, his shirt a bit disheveled and out of sorts. He said nothing as Angie peered around the door onto the patio where Nicely and Cooper still were.

"This party needs a pick me up," Angie said. "But we can't stay here."

"What are you talking about?" Marnie asked her friend.

"We're going to Baxter's place."

"What? Why?" Marnie questioned. Angie leaned in and whispered to her friend once more.

"Bax has weed." Marnie pulled back and gave her friend an incredulous look. Drugs weren't her thing so much, though she wasn't opposed to them and was not without sin in the area.

"Seriously, Angie?" She said.

"Yeah, let's go. Bax is taking me - I need you to drive my car."

"What? Really?" Marnie couldn't believe it. It sounded increasingly like she would be crashing on someone's couch tonight, which annoyed her. She sighed. "Give me your keys then." Angie pulled them out and handed them to her friend before taking Baxter's hand and heading off. "Wait," Marnie said. "I don't know where Baxter lives." Before Angie could answer, Baxter offered a solution.

"Have one of those clowns show you," he said, following Angie toward the front of the house and the driveway. Marnie looked at Nicely and Cooper, both now without the ride they came in.

"I guess you guys are riding with me," she said with a disbelieving look at her misfortune at being abandoned. "Anytime you're ready, let's go."

Kenny’s head was beginning to wash as the bourbon began reaching all corners of his system. The point Nicely just made was like a smack across the back of his head; yet there was something that still pushed him to get away from this place and just go home.

That’s when the voice came from the door that stopped him from trying to get away. "Nicely and Kenny Knuckleball,"


Kenny's brain was just starting to wash through the bourbon when she appeared at the patio. Kenny was attempting to get away from this place but Then Angie and Bax made an appearance, and then it was nothing but a discussion of what they were going to do, and then it seemed like it didn’t matter what he wanted he was going to be stuck going along with whatever plan that was going to happen.

At least that is what it seemed like in the front of his conscious.

Out back, Marnie’s presence churned up some other reactions. His eyes fixated the way her curves fit inside the tight shorts, The way the pony tail rolled down her shoulders and back. Her smile, her annoyance, her voice. They were pretty attractive in her own way .. but also, not any different than those girls he used to date. No different than those girls he used to get back when he used to get them all the time. Back when he was in control, just like Nicely said.

"I guess you guys are riding with me. Anytime you're ready, let's go."

Before Kenny could speak, Nicely did it before him. “It will have to be Cooper. I’m gonna stick around here for a bit.”

“What’s that Nicely,” Baxter called as his hands started pawing at Angie. “This place is pretty dead.”

“For you maybe,” the teammate replied. “Some of us still have fish on the line.”

Kenny chuckled a little. He caught out of his eye Nicely giving him a wink. So it was probably a lie, just a good wingman knowing when to step out of the way.

Kenny turned to Marnie, a smile a wandering between amusement and a wicked snear, “I guess it’s just you and me, kid,” he said to her. “Why don’t we grab some bottles for the road, Nicely’s been getting me hooked on the whisky; so I might as well get you hooked up it too.” Without even waiting for an answer he started to head to the bar, “I’ll be five minutes tops. Have the car out by the front door so I know which one it is.”

There was something different he felt as he left the group. Maybe it was small, maybe the others didn’t notice it, but he did. It was the old him. Not the guy who asked for help, asked for opinions, or even cared what the other thought. It wasn’t a huge difference, but he felt it -- the control, it was coming back.

Marnie stood silent as Baxter and Nicely chatted about Nicely's decision to stay at the party, no doubt an odd one since he would be left with no ride. She slid her hands each down her back and into her back pockets, arching her back slightly while shifting her weight back and forth from her heels to her toes, idly waiting to leave, if they were all going to. Suddenly Ken Cooper turned back toward the group, nearly squared up with her directly and began dictating terms.

"I guess it's just you and me, kid," he said. Kid? she thought to herself. Who is this guy? it didn't bother her as much as it intrigued her. It was a marked shift from the somewhat meek rookie she had mostly encountered thus far. He told her of his plans to raid the bar and his instructions to pull the car to get him. You can't walk there? She thought, again silently while, at the same time happy to take instruction from someone with what seemed like a clear plan. She again had no real issue, nodded, and waited for him to pass by where she was before following him inside. She trailed him closely, no more than a step or two behind down the stairs, down the interior hallway, and into the main foyer. A casual observer might have seen them as a couple, along with Angie and Baxter, though the thought had not entered her mind. When he went to the kitchen, Marnie split off from him, heading outside with the other duo toward the parking lot.

"Does Cooper know how to get there?" Marnie asked.

"Knuckleball?" Baxter said, grinning. "Yeah. He'll take a roundabaout way, and it won't be very fast. But he can get you there." She could see Baxter's teeth as he smiled all the way across the driveway.

"Oh my god," she rolled her eyes while Angie laughed.

"Like you ever get there at all," Angie said.

"I get home every night just fine," Bax said, straightening up. "What are you hoes talking about? Sickos." The girls just shook their heads at each other, as Marnie stepped first one long, tanned leg into Angie's car, followed by the other. She raised her hips slightly, pulling the legs of her shorts down a bit, from where they had ridden up slightly, then got comfortable adjusting the seat, before pulling out and then up the long driveway and into the circle area in front of the house, where she waithe for her passenger. She looked into the rearview mirror, without consciously thinking why and perhaps there was no reason. She retooled her ponytail and attached her hair tie, then checked her makeup. She reached into her front pocket and pulled a small tube out and applied a tiny bit of nude colored lipstick, enough to look natural, yet still define her lips. She didn't know why or think there was any reason, but she felt prettier and less vulnerable, she told herself. As she waited, she watched Cooper emerge from the finally opened door.

I'd better not be the third wheel at Baxter's, she thought just as she noticed Cooper walking her way. Her next thought she did not connect to her first, though together they would, in hindsight, be the first omen of how her summer would go. Ken's a cute guy, she thought for the first time, thinking nothing more than that.

In the short time he left Marnie behind, Kenny got a lot done. Popped a mint. Wrestled two bottles of whisky from the bartender, took a quick piss, popped another mint, stepped outside the front door, panicked when he did didn’t notice the car right away when he stepped outside the door, then regain every bit of composure back as he strode with his long legs to the car. Tucking two rather big bottles of whiskey on the floor under the seat, Kenny jumped into the passenger side of the car and patted Marnie’s thigh. “Head’em up, move’em out.”

He pointed her out onto the main highway back into town. As he was buckling up the seatbelt his eyes made a quick run across the driver, and something caught his eye. Her hair seemed a little different than just before. Subtle, but … kept. Like she prettied herself up a little.

At first it made him smirk and turn away a little sheepishly. Then he remember, he was in control.

With a long, deep breath, he stretched his back and then slouched towards the corner of the seat next to the door. It left him more turned to her than not, and making it pretty clear he was watching her drive, looking right at her. Watch her he did. He sat there and analyzed every part of her body, from softness of her painted lips to the curve along her torso. He didn’t even hide that he was looking at her.

“You know,” he started. “I’ve watched you work at the games. You really look like you know what you’re doing out there. Been with the Jailbait Brigade long, have you?”

Marnie watched Cooper as he got in the car and tumbled two bottles of whiskey into the floorboard. Her entire body jolted a bit when he patted her on the leg, light enough to not sting, but firm enough to catch her by surprise. She figured he was drunk. Turning the car down the driveway, she glanced at him once, noting the awkward way he was sitting, then returning her eyes to the road. She tugged her shorts down one more time, then noticed she was biting her lip and hesitant to look at him again, merely instead following his directions. She wondered how much older than her he was. As they drove, the silence was broken when he finally spoke again.

“You know,” he said. “I’ve watched you work at the games."

"You have?" she said, feeling herself flush a bit and not truly expecting an answer. While it was her job and she had never considered it, she felt odd being stared at and a bit more odd hearing about it. She felt a tingle along her shoulders and legs, the goosebumps forming along her skin. She let him continue.

"You really look like you know what you’re doing out there. Been with the Jailbait Brigade long, have you?” She grinned and rolled her eyes.

"The jailbait brigade?" She asked as if she had never heard the unofficial nickname of the girls who entertained between innings. She sighed, acting annoyed without being annoyed. "The execs call us the Angler Angels," she said, correcting him with a different, unofficial title. "And this is my first year." She looked at him again, finally, and noticed he was fit and certainly attractive up close. He seemed far more direct in his tone and questions and that had impacted his basic appeal. As she drove, she continued to follow his directions as she told him of how she had known Angie and been hired for the year before college to earn extra money for living expenses, as she had no such contract or possible major league deal waiting in the wings.

"How about you?" She asked, determined to question him as she finally pulled into a nice, though not overly ornate home where she saw Baxter's truck. "You've been here a few games so far," she paused. "Think this league is for you?" She smiled as she stepped from the car and walked ahead of him toward the house.

Stepping out of the car, Kenny was quick to respond. “I tell you what, they help us get into places to stay. You can see Baxter’s right here,” he mentioned as he started to walk behind the girl as his eyes drifted down to the way those shorts cupped her bottom nicely. “He can call his contract whereever, so they want him to get all cozy.

“When I get you home to my place sometime, you’ll see how much of a dump it is,” he said with a slight tone of smugness. “I may move up, I may move out, but either way they don’t want me to get too comfortable here.”

As they reached the door and waited for someone to open it, Ken stood right next to Marnie like they were some couple coming over for dinner with friends. If it weren’t for the two bottles of whiskey in his hand he would have thrown one around her shoulder, or better yet based on the temptation of watching that ass walk up to the door to slide his fingers around her firm rump.

Kenny took a quick look at his ‘date’ and smiled, “For what it’s worth, I like those Angels outfits, but you look far prettier tonight in what you have on.”

No sooner did he get the words out but the door open, and shirtless Baxter was standing there. “Jesus, you found the place,” he said through a half lit burn joint in his lips. There was little doubting a tone of disappointment in his words.

Kenny sighed heavily. “Driver is under orders, and my mom is half-GPS,” Kenny responded quickly. “Shit dude, don’t stand by the door and do that. In or out?” Kenny gave a wink to Bax, trying to, imploring him to realize the complexity of the situation. Ken knew it was a shit move to show up just when Bax & Angie got some alone time, but he also knew that getting Marnie in that door is probably the only chance he had himself. Things started turning better since the party, but walking her into a sexually & weed infused environment is what he needed to close the deal. “Well, what is?”

“When I get you home to my place sometime...." Marnie noticed his comment, filled with assumption, but let it go, giving no reaction more than a raised eyebrow that he could not see trailing behind her. She felt a tingle in her core below at the thought. Surely she wouldn't be so into little Kenny Cooper the shy, neophyte who barely seemed to know his way to the diamond, much less around the league or a woman's world. Perhaps everyone had misjudged him, and perhaps that was to her benefit. She committed to seeing what would happen or maybe present itself later in the season. There were other, more established veteran players who seemed more confident, more assured, though she did like what she was seeing since running into the rookie on the patio not more than a half our ago. She had barely thanked him for the compliment, which she thought was sweet of him, when the door pulled open and Bax stood there in little more than some gym shorts and his tousled hair.

“Jesus, you found the place.” His tone didn't sound like he was thrilled. She suspected she knew why and didn't dare ask where Angie was, although she doubted seriously they had begun anything too X-rated, as they could not possibly have been here very long. She looked at Kenny as he spoke to Bax, who dangled a joint in his lips, looking down at each of them skeptically. Finally, Kenny pushed the issue and Marnie felt another tingle of excitement as he took control.

“Shit dude, don’t stand by the door and do that. In or out?” He paused, waiting. “Well, what is it?” Baxter shrugged and stepped aside, and Marnie promptly followed Kenny inside.

"Hey girl!" Came Angie's voice from the living room couch, where she laid, still thankfully fully clothed, if not a bit wrinkled and messed up, and perhaps a bit high. "Heyyyyyyyy Knuckles," she said, sing-song-ing a greeting to Marnie's companion. "Did he show you his high hard one?" Angie asked Marnie, whose eyes widened a bit before the conversation was thankfully cut off by Ken's teammate.

"Knucky doesn't HAVE a high hard one," he said, sitting on a love seat nearby, leaning forward and tapping the joint against the edge of an ashtray on the coffee table. "That's his goddamn problem." He took another puff, before passing it to Angie. Looking up and releasing the smoke from his throat and lungs, he eyed the rookie and the girl still standing next to him. "But once he gets it, the kid's gonna be winning Cy Youngs." Angie took the joint from Bax and puffed it herself before offering it upward to the other two. Marnie had smoked pot a couple times before, though not habitually or very much. Drugs weren't her thing, but in small groups, with intimate of knowledge with one another, she paid no mind. She knew she was among friends and sat next to Angie, taking the joint and a tiny puff with it, coughing instantly as amateurs are wont to do. She raised it toward Kenny.

"Here Coop," she said. "Can't you guys get in trouble for smoking?" She looked at Baxter, certainly appreciating in him what Angie must have, his body sleek and hard, tapered at the waist with pretty, though not overdone abs beneath hard pecs and wide shoulders.

"We can get in trouble for a lot of things, can't we Coop?" Before getting any answer, he reached for Angie's hand and pulled her from the couch into the love seat with him, sitting her on his lap, her legs sprawled across him as he held her across her lap at her thigh. "Come join us," he said, nodding at the now open seat on the couch next to Marnie. "I don't think Marnie's gonna bite you," he concluded. Marnie stifled a tiny grin.

I might, she thought silently. If he wanted me to. In the swirl of the smoke and the tiny buzz she was feeling from the little hit she had taken, she could not believe where her mind had gone.

"We can get in trouble for a lot of things, can't we Coop?"

Sucking in the smoke from the joint, he held in briefly before exhaling, “No one gets kicked out of A ball for pissing THC.” He didn’t take much in though. He can ruin his career if he pisses some massive number, but at this point it’s just recreational.

After Bax pulled Angie onto his lap, Ken chuckled and handed the joint back to the squirming Angie. “There is nothing else illegal in here that will get us in trouble, is there?” He gave a wink to Angie, before turning back to the couch and taking Bax’s suggestion finally. He bounced down to sit on the couch. It was a long enough couch that you could fit another person with the two of them, but when he sat he was close enough to Marnie that he put his arm around her. “That is, I never asked if ‘Jailbait’ was just a nickname.”

Angie finished her toke and handed it back to Bax behind her. “Would that stop you Knuckles?” She grabbed Bax’s arm and wrapped it around her chest so that it pressed up under her breasts. Meanwhile she was wriggling on the ball player’s lap. Bax had a funny look on his face, somewhere between stoned and strained. Best Kenny could tell, Angie had worked Bax up enough that her little ass was working him directly. “What if I told you how hot Marnie looked in her girl scout uniform?” she teased.

Bax groaned from behind Angie, “Hit the lights, Ken, it’s too bright in here.”

Confused, Kenny looked over his shoulder and saw the switch was nearby. He hit it and the room got dark quick. There were some old christmas lights along the wall that reminded Ken of someone’s dorm room in college. But it was dark enough in the room that that the only way he could see Bax was the cherry from the last bit of the joint in his lips. What was clear was there was more movement on the loveseat then there was before the lights went out.

Shrugging, Ken went with it. With the guise of maintaining chitchat, he turned slightly towards Marnie. “So you are a girl scout too? Sell a lot of cookies?” He took her hand nearest to his and set it on the pants covering his upper thigh, In return he placed his own hand onto her bare knee. “Betcha sold a lot of cookies.” As he talked his hand started to move between her thighs.

Marnie listened to Cooper and Angie banter about their relative ages. Both girls had been eighteen the better part of the school year prior, and as Angie noted, had they been seventeen, it likely would not have stopped the players. By Angie's telling, it probably had not stopped Baxter the year before. She said nothing when Cooper suddenly put his arm around her neck. She had little doubt of where his mind was, or what he was angling for. And yet she was amenable. The other boys from the party were gone and it was just the four of them in the room. And while the discussion was sophomoric at best, Marnie only joined it at Angie's embarrassing hint at her junior high past.

“What if I told you how hot Marnie looked in her girl scout uniform?” Angie said.

"What?! Oh my god, Angie!" Marnie squealed, feeling her face flush a bright red. "I can't believe you just said that!" No sooner did she respond, and before Angie said anything, Baxter called for the lights to be put out, which Cooper quickly did, leaving the low glow of christmas lights along the far wall and the red tip of the joint the only lights in the room. It wasn't half a moment more that the shadows in the opposite chair shuffled a bit and Marnie could tell Angie was now straddling her summertime boyfriend, who had moved the joint to a free hand as he began kissing the girl in his lap.

“So you are a girl scout too?" Marnie heard Cooper ask, prompting her to remove her attention from the other couple in the room. "Sell a lot of cookies?” He asked, adjusting so that they sat even closer, her bare leg now pressed against him. She felt good against him, her eyes beginning to close only a tiny bit amidst the haze from the pot and the feeling she had brushing against the athlete next to her. He noticeably moved her hand to his thigh and this time she didn't jump when his hand ran along her own. She curled a bit into him, pulling her legs up under her, not quite on her knees now, just next to him, as he began running his hand between them. "Betcha sold a lot of cookies," he said, his voice lower, soothing her even more.

"MmmHmm," she moaned, equally confirming his suspicions and inviting his advance. She tilted her head, now resting it on his shoulder, blinking through the dark, trying to see his eyes better. She left her lips slightly apart as she looked up at Cooper.

Kiss me, she thought silently, even as she wondered how far she would go, and how far he might try. She had worn some cute black, sporty panties, with pink letters around the waistband that repeated over and over the words "You Win" all the way around. A matching black bra with pink piping along the straps and across the breasts sat beneath her shirt, and she was glad she had worn something pretty and fun tonight. Without intent, her hand began to run slightly back and forth on his leg, no more than a couple inches both ways, anxious and scared all at once. She wondered if she would or could get fired. She wondered if he were into her or if he just wanted to hook up with any girl he could. She wondered just when he was going to kiss her already.

If she was waiting for him to kiss her, she didn’t have to wait very long. With her head tilted back, her eyes up to hers, and her lips nearly asking for it - he couldn’t keep himself from closing the gap between them. His lips found hers, slightly pressing into her at first. Shortly he began opening his mouth, sucking her lip between his, his hot breath flowing from his mouth against her skin. Her lips were soft & welcoming. This close to her, the sweetness of her smell was in everything he inhaled. He played with her ponytail in his hand, holding her head softly into the kiss.

Of course, he was acutely aware of where her small hand was. The way she played along his pant leg, just over his boxers underneath, meant to him that she was at least curious. He shifted his hips, turning them more towards her hand.

She didn’t resist. She didn’t push him away. She wasn’t giving the smart ass comments she did back at the part. This blonde little beauty that Kenny watched during the games was now letting him kiss her, touch her, All that wondering of what he would do if he could get her, and how he had her. It was not time to press the issue.

“Go on,” he breathed through kisses, “touch it.”

Meanwhile, he took his own advice. His hand on her leg walked up Marnie’s thigh and brushed over the fabric of her shorts, and wasted no time. Once his fingers reached the juncture of her legs, he turned his hand to press his palm into her pelvis. While there were still what he suspected to be two layers of clothing between him and her sex, his hand was now pressing directly over it.

Sure, they weren’t alone in this room, but Kenny just didn’t care. He only was focused on her, only focused on having her.

Marnie gave a small moan, more of a silent gasp, as his lips pressed into hers, prompting her to nuzzle into him a bit more as she eagerly received and met his kiss. She felt his hand roam along the back of her neck, then his light grip run over her ponytail. She became instantly wet at the idea of things at which it might hint. She enjoyed his lips on hers for what seemed like a long time, and she was happy to allow it to last as much as it could. Since she was very young, kissing had been among her favorite things and it was always a nice prize of its own and something she looked forward to in each new relationship, no matter how early it was. And it was very early with Ken Cooper, such that relationship was probably not a correct word. The taste of his lips and the feel of his tongue against hers lingered when he pulled away an instant, and she pressed her lips together, as if reluctant to let the taste and feel get away from her. She looked up quickly at his eyes again, then to his lips once more, in the dim, ornate light, only vaguely aware of the couple just a few feet away.

"Go ahead.....touch it," she heard Coop whisper and she instantly felt herself blush a deep red. She liked that he had found something within himself....something more. And at the same time, she thought herself a good girl. As much as she had liked the idea of dating one of the players this summer, she always had reservations with new guys. She wasn't a huge slut, but she wasn't a prude, and she wondered at times if being one or the other wasn't a more simple way. Nevertheless, she simply leaned in to kiss him again, her hand only rubbing his thigh, then conveniently around the it he wanted to touch, and over his abs, still covered by his t-shirt. He was hard to the touch, lean, and oh so appealing to her sensibilities. As she kissed him once more, she felt his hand slide over her thigh, higher and inside, the very pitch he would otherwise have trouble with. As he touched her, slowly and directly moving toward his spot, she felt goosebumps erupt along her back and stomach, then over her arms and legs. Just then his arm rotated and she felt him press firmly, not violently, right against where her lips came together in a moist, hot, promise of things to come.

"Unnnhhh," she gasped, her hand jerking to grip his wrist, which she did not to push him away, but more to regain some small idea that she was in control. She kissed him deeper, long enough for a moan to escape low, nearly silently, into his mouth, a sound both erotic in its desire and mournful in its regret. Her hips wiggled into him, her back arched, and still, she pulled back, kissed Cooper on his neck, then bit his ear lightly, as much out of frustration and simple arousal as any sort of lust.

"Cooper, we can't," she whispered so low that there was no chance anyone else would hear it. She arched into him again, pressing into his hand, her actions not matching her words. She ran one hand along his neck, behind his ear and into his hair, playing ever so slightly, her eyes closing a moment to feel him pressed into her, her firm stomach contracting beneath her shirt, her body wanting more that she would not so easily grant him no matter how much she wanted to. She felt her will fighting with her want, just before pulling him to kiss her once more, an attempt to muffle another moan she could not keep down.

He had to jump to a conclusion, but he didn’t have to jump far. Marnie’s shorts were tight, form fitting, but cloth and seems wouldn’t be mistaken for the true topography of her labia. Yet, he couldn’t at the least miss the heat growing from her like an oven ready for its product. Even more telling was the reaction he received. An aggressive touch and it was as if she was already ready to explode. They way she arched, the way she gripped his hand, the way she shifted under him. He continued to flex his fingers against her, only guessing at where the direct pressure lied. He would move his touch slightly, watch the reaction, then return back to a place to see if he could get the same again. Even if her mind was resisting, the conclusion was he body wanted this.

Her lips moved to his neck, and he bent it to give her access. He still was aching to get her to put his hand on is growing cock. He needed her touch there, there was no doubt in his mind that need was enveloping him, but was running the risk of triggering if she did. Making out with Marnie seemed to have him on the edge, not for anything she was doing to him, but for how easy it was to get her on edge. Like getting her crazy under his hand was the hottest thing he had ever done.

Biting his ear caused him to regain some of his senses. Not that it was overly painful, it just made the blood equalize to his thinking parts. He was acutely aware now of her breathing, her body pressed into his. Yet he was now also aware of the noises behind him. Bax was moaning nearly continuously, Angie was silent mostly except for what was the occasional smack of the lips. Likely she was going down on him right there one loveseat away.

Then he was back. Marnie pulling him to her again, kissing him deeper and pressing her young firm and still covered breasts into his chest. Regardless of what was behind him now, he wanted more. Marie though breathed:

“Cooper, we can’t.”

Then she ignored her own plea by pushing once more into his body. He, in turn, rubbed his fingers harder there at the junction, her palm pressing into the top of her sex. Again if it weren’t for those shorts he could feel her, he could be pressing those fingers into her fiery furnace, he could have her cumming until the whole of the couch was soaked. If only ...

He stopped, leaned back, and threw his T-Shirt off in a flash. His warm skin, moist with sweat from their actions glimmered in the soft light of the room.

His hands reached for the top of her shorts. They gripped the snap holding it closed on him, and he released it to begin freeing her hips from the shorts, from whatever will stand in his way.

But before he did, he looked Marnie directly in the eye and uttered, “Stop Me.”

It was said with the confidence, but not in a way he expected her to follow his request. His words weren’t a request.

It was a dare.

Marnie arched into Coper a bit more, then squirmed with a tiny jolt from her core as he pressed harder between her thighs, making her grind a bit into him, finding the pressure right on her clit.

"Unnnnh..." She moaned one again, her voice trailing off when she bit her own bottom lip to fight off her own sounds. Her breathing got heavier until, a moment later he pulled away. Her eyes got wide when he shuffled off his shirt in a swift motion, then turned back toward her, his lean, warm body pressed into hers. She grinned a bit in the darkness as she again felt his abs and pecs, as much an effort to push him away and yet also explore the man against her. She watched the shadow of his arm move toward her, then gasped when she felt the button of her shorts pop open swiftly and forcefully. Her hands immeiately came to ber waist to put her shorts back in place.

"Cooper!" She giggled anxiously as she tried to close them still.

"Stop me," she heard him say, forceful, determined. She felt a gush of excitement down below, only enough to entice her further. She withdrew her hands from her shorts, the flaps from each side falling open, the rise of her panties now visible just beneathe the several inches of her firm stomach now revealed. She pressed closer to him and kissed him again, taking his lips in her teeth.

"Stooooop," she whispered in a tiny, playful whine, not sure how serious she was, before kissing him quickly again. "Please?"

The kisses, they were the real answer. More passionate, more needful than what she squeeked from her lips in words. She released the shorts, allowing him to pull them down with only a little wiggle to get it past her hips. When he spotted the writing on her panties, he couldn’t help but to laugh. Looking up at her he teased, “no, I win!”

With the comment he pushed her panties downward. It wasn’t much of a successful attempt, as they hung up on her hips, but even in the low light he could see the split of her sex to what he exposed. His hand dove into her panties, his finger leading the way. The pad of this finger divided her slit and found her needful nub that rose up in expectation.

His lips turned back to her hers, and kissed her fully. His bare chest pressed into her clothed breasts. His tongue sprang out to search her mouth. His crotch ground into her hips, the ripe erection in his pants begging to touch something.. He needfully pressed into her body, letting his own actions speak louder than his words.

But more than anything, he focused on the touch of her wetness on his hand. He rolled that little clit against his finger. He toyed with the lips that brushed in crevices of his knuckles. His palm pushed into her pelvis, as if he could hold her down with just that pressure. All in all, he was centered on what it was to make her feel good. As if nothing would make him feel better than getting her to climax.