Caleb's Choice

Chapter 1 A light breeze blew past him, carrying a mixture of scents that were practically imprinted on his brain by this point. He was surrounded by the smell of just-mowed sweet grass, new earth, and fresh hot dogs, and he breathed in deeply through his nose, relishing the moment. It was that time of year again. His favorite. Caleb’s heartbeat sped up and he smiled. There was nothing in the world like Opening Day. He was torn between his desire to enjoy the moment a little longer or taking the field and starting the game. Caleb’s gaze scanned the dugout and he grinned, knowing his teammates were sharing the same excitement. The same last-minute jitters. It was normal for a ball player to have varying emotions on Opening Day, but today was a big day for the team in more ways than one. They were not only getting ready to play their first game of the season, but were also in their newly built stadium. So new, in fact, that Caleb was willing to bet money there were a few spots where the paint was still wet. Add their hideous new uniforms to that, and they all had a right to be nervous. Caleb gazed from teammate to teammate, trying to scrutinize the new uniforms with an objective eye, but it was useless. He bit back the laugh bubbling up in his chest and shook his head. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to plaster a large, cartoonish rabbit across the front of their jerseys? So what if their team name was the Rain Valley Rabbits? There had been nothing wrong with the small embroidered bunny on the upper left side of their old uniforms. At least it had been tasteful. But this new bunny covered almost the entire front of their jerseys and looked a little like that animated rabbit from those cereal commercials. Thank God they were white jerseys. The team had complained loud enough about the first prototype until the owner had finally nixed the purple jerseys. His wife’s favorite color, apparently. He groaned inwardly as he glanced across home plate and saw the other team lining up. Their uniforms were classic—white with a red-scripted L in the middle of their shirt. Great, the Lions were going to go apeshit over the Rabbits’ new uniforms. They were a pretty tough team, and the Rabbits generally lost more games than not against them each year already. The uniforms would only be another jab added to the Lions’ repartee. Caleb shook his head and tried not to psyche himself out as he joined his team, lining up in their own dugout. He needed to get past the disastrous uniforms and put his head in the game. “All right, everybody,” the announcer’s voice boomed over the field, “thanks for coming out to the Rain Valley Rabbits inaugural game in their new stadium!” Loud cheers passed through the crowd. The stadium wasn’t full, but there were definitely more attendees than in the past two years he had called Rain Valley his home. “I’ve got your starting line-ups here, beginning with our visitors, the Belton Lions.” Curious, Caleb flicked his gaze to the press box. The announcer was definitely not Al, but nobody had mentioned Al leaving the job. This guy’s voice was definitely several steps up, though. Al’s sounded like he had been chain-smoking for more than half a century, which, given that Al was probably in his late seventies, was entirely possible. He craned his head, but he couldn’t see into the press box. “Now the lineup for the Rabbits,” the smooth voice sailed across the field as if melting into the air. A shiver ran down Caleb’s spine. Weird. He shook it off as he and his teammates filed out on the field. Both teams lined up, shoulder to shoulder, and faced the large flag. “Please give a warm welcome to the Rain Valley High School Choir!” Applause sounded as teenagers in red choir robes paraded onto the center of the infield. “Everyone please stand for the National Anthem.” Caleb removed his hat and, holding it in his right hand, placed it over his heart. The choir began to sing and he smiled. They’re pretty good. Better than that awful women’s group that came out last year. He shuddered at the memory. His ears had rung for hours after that blistering rendition of the National Anthem. The moment the song finished, that polished voice floated through the speaker again. “Play ball!” He jogged to third base and nodded to Sean Newberry, the third base coach for the last several years. Caleb liked him. He was good at his job and he had played in the majors for a few years. “Ready, Caleb?” Coach Newberry called. “Oh, yeah,” he answered, a grin spreading across his face. And he was. God, he loved baseball. Had lived and breathed it most of his life, starting with T-ball when he was young. The moment he’d put a glove on his hand, he had been hooked. Caleb squinted against the sun and glanced at the stands. He couldn’t wait to hear the roar of the crowd when the team scored their first run. It was thrilling. He and Coach chatted for a minute while players took their positions, and he took a second to glance at the press box again. No luck, though; he wasn’t close enough to see anything. “Jason Brick takes the mound, folks. At bat for the Lions is number two, Juan Mavis.” That little shiver ran down his spine again. Damn, had a voice ever caused a reaction like this? Mavis? Caleb took his position and eyed the batter. f**k. He knew he recognized that name. Flashes of heated skin and roving hands exploded into his memory, and he felt the blood drain from his face. Last year, Caleb had hooked up with Mavis after meeting him in a bar. Not just hooked up, they’d actually f****d in the damn bar. They’d disappeared into the back, dimly lit hall, found a dark corner, and made out like high schoolers until they couldn’t wait any longer. He’d flipped Juan around, pressing him flat against the wall, and as soon as they had both unzipped, and Caleb had rolled on the condom, he’d buried himself balls-deep in that man. It had been hot. And dirty. And fast. But it had been exactly what he’d needed that night. Now, his d**k twitched at the memory and he berated himself. Not now! His gaze darted around the field as his heartbeat picked up. Would Juan out him? Was he even out himself? s**t. The night of their hook-up, Caleb had known Mavis played baseball, too, but he’d thought Juan was on a farm team. When had he been sent to the Lions? This could go bad with both of them playing in the Triple-A leagues. The crack of the bat blasted into the air and Caleb jerked back to the present. “It’s up and it’s going…going…and the Rabbits’ Brandon Hawk in the outfield is making a run for it.” Caleb turned toward Brandon and prayed the man would catch it. The ball spun through the air, arcing toward his teammate’s outstretched glove. Caleb held his breath as the ball hit the tip of Brandon’s glove and bounced off. Brandon struggled to reach and dived toward it, but it was too late. The ball hit the ground, rolling in the opposite direction. Another teammate, Howe, scooped it up and threw it to the first baseman. Juan dove head first toward the base, sliding on his side, dirt rising in clouds around him, and touching the base about a half-second before the ball reached the player’s glove. “And Juan Mavis has made the season’s first base hit, ladies and gentlemen!” Caleb glanced at Brandon and nodded when their eyes met. Brandon frowned and Caleb shook his head, trying to signal to him to shake it off. Unfortunately for the Rabbits, Juan’s base hit set the tone for the rest of the inning. Soon, bases were loaded and Juan was on third. Close enough to touch. Caleb kept an eye on him, his heart thundering in his ears the whole time, but so far he hadn’t noticed even a flicker of recognition in Juan’s eyes. Caleb hated that his mind kept going to that night at the bar as he watched Juan’s muscles flex under his tight uniform. He needed to keep his mind on the game, not Juan’s ass. The next at-bat hit a grand slam, giving the Lions four runs. Juan raced off without ever looking him in the eye, and Caleb breathed a deep sigh of relief. The inning crawled along. Just as it seemed it would never end, Caleb caught a fly ball, giving the Lions their third out. The Rabbits were finally up to bat. Caleb ran to the dugout and grabbed some water before settling on the bench beside a frowning Brandon. “Hey, don’t sweat it, man. The game has just started. We have plenty of time to overtake them,” Caleb assured as he clapped him on the shoulder. “Yeah, dude,” another player added, “just shake it off and go forward.” They watched as their first hitter went up to bat and Caleb smiled when it turned into a base hit. That’s right…we got this. With the dugout full of sweaty men, Caleb fought the urge to inhale deeply. God, he loved the scent of a hot man—musk and testosterone and heat all rolled into one was like an aphrodisiac he had to fight. None of his teammates knew he was gay, and if he had any hope of ever going to the Show, he had to keep that secret to himself. “Ass!” Caleb turned his head. Had he missed something? “What an ass!” Frank repeated. He was a young guy, maybe all of twenty, with a quick temper. He was an amazing shortstop, though, so they sometimes let the temper slide. “Who’s an ass?” Caleb shot back. “That announcer! Who the hell is he?” “Not sure.” Caleb glanced around the dugout. No one else seemed pissed. “Why? What did he say?” Frank spat at the ground and frowned. “Fucker said we made a lot of errors.” Caleb pressed his lips together. He considered pointing out that the announcer was right, but didn’t think Frank would like that too much and wisely kept his thoughts to himself. Sometimes it was better to let Frank just blow off the mad before trying to reason with him. “Anyone know what happened to Al?” Brandon interjected. “Quit,” Coach Middleton announced. “Yesterday.” “f**k! Why?” Frank looked shocked. He had really liked the old guy. Even went fishing with him a few times. Coach Middleton shrugged and turned back to watch the game. Frank threw his hands in the air and stalked to the other end of the dugout. Caleb didn’t blame him for getting frustrated. Jay Middleton was a decent pitching coach, but his communication skills were terrible. Frankly, Caleb was surprised he had even spoken up about Al. “Dodson, up on deck!” Caleb grabbed his bat and helmet and stepped onto the dirt. He settled the helmet on his head and moved to the on-deck circle and began swinging. By the time he stepped up to bat, his team had one on first and another on third. He needed to get a base hit. He took his spot in the batter’s box, digging his cleat into the dirt as he concentrated on the pitcher. “Damn,” someone whispered behind him. “I would know that ass anywhere.” Caleb lurched back and missed the pitch. He glared at the catcher. “What the hell, man?” The catcher lifted his mask a little and winked. It was Juan. Caleb’s stomach fell, and he felt the blood drain from his face. He’d been so relieved that Juan hadn’t recognized him earlier, he hadn’t paid attention to him since. “Shut up,” he hissed. “Hmm, you didn’t want me to be quiet last year,” he answered and grinned. “In fact, I seem to remember you telling me you liked how loud I moaned.” “f**k!” Caleb glanced around. All eyes were on them, but he was pretty sure no one was close enough to hear. “Yeah, we did do that,” Juan said with a quiet chuckle. “Everything okay, Dodson?” His head swiveled toward the pitching coach. “Yeah, sorry,” he hollered as he glared at Juan again. Juan flipped his mask down and crouched into position. Flustered, Caleb tried to get his head back into the game. Concentrate! “Caleb Dodson, number thirteen, ready to try again,” the announcer said. When the pitch came, he was ready, but he ended up swinging and missing. Two strikes. He groaned. Not a great way to start the season. When that third pitch arrived, his bat made contact and he ended up grounding the ball directly to the Lions’ third baseman. Caleb made a mad dash for first base anyway, and heard the crowd begin to cheer. The Lions’ third baseman had fumbled the ball and was scrambling for it, allowing their man on third to make it home and the man on first to get to second. Caleb arrived safely at first and braced his hands on his knees. Juan had shaken him and he was pissed that he had allowed it to happen. Blood pumped in his ears as he scanned the infield and settled on Juan, standing at home plate, grinning from ear to ear, the catcher’s mask resting on top of his jet black curls. Caleb didn’t care how hot Juan looked, but he would make sure he’d talk to him tonight before they left the stadium. He needed to make sure Juan didn’t go any further with this. He ended up scoring a run before the next inning began, but the rest of their game was pretty bad. Soon, it became clear the fans were growing bored, until their mascot got into character, dressed in a large white rabbit suit and a jersey that matched the team’s. The guy was only a year or so out of high school and this was his first game, too. Caleb was impressed with how well he engaged the crowd. He kept them so entertained, the guests didn’t even seem upset their home team was being crushed. The mascot also didn’t seem to mind wearing the dreadful costume. The kid looked like the f*****g Easter Bunny. God, you couldn’t pay Caleb enough to put on that damn suit and dance around. Those bunny feet were huge. Caleb was surprised the guy didn’t trip over them. He sighed. At this point, he just wanted to put this game out of its misery.