Fortunately, the uproar in Harley’s family was relatively short-lived. I’m not sure that his dad was happy about knowing all the new information about Sam, but at least he started talking again. Unfortunately, Harley was edgy whenever he thought about eventually sharing our news with his family.

About two weeks before the end of the season, I sat down with Mo in the locker room. He asked me what I planned to do in the off-season. I didn’t have specific plans other than I knew that I wanted to spend as much time with Harley as possible. I looked into Mo’s big, expressive eyes, and I wanted to tell him that, but I bit my lip and knew that the time wasn’t right yet.

Mo said, “I hope Jack and I get to spend a lot of time at my place by the ocean on the Outer Banks. You’re welcome to visit. In fact, it would be great for you to come out there. Do you like the beach? I don’t think it’s one of the most beautiful spots to see the ocean.”

I loved the beach. I wasn’t much of a swimmer, but I enjoyed hanging out by the ocean. I remembered the end of spring training earlier in the year. I rode with Chase from Florida up to Charlotte, and we stopped to see the beach near Savannah, Georgia. My family frequently took long weekend trips to the Georgia Sea Islands when I was a kid. It felt like the road trip with Chase happened ten years ago instead of barely over six months earlier. So many big things happened since then.

I said, “I love hanging out at the beach.” I tried thinking quickly to figure out a way to get Harley into the invitation. I said, “I’m helping Harley settle into Charlotte a little better once the season ends. He’s still living in a hotel room. Do you think I could bring him out to your place, too?”

Mo nodded. “Oh, yeah, definitely. My house has plenty of space. I have three guest rooms. Bring him along. If anybody else you know wants to come, bring them, too. I trust your taste in guests. My house is on a quiet stretch of beach. You can swim, and we can cook out on the deck. If you want to feel like more of a celebrity, we can head to Kitty Hawk to one of the bars.”

I shook my head. I said, “I think there’s been enough of the celebrity stuff to go around for everybody so far this season. I’m amazed at how many journalists from around the country descended on our home games here in Charlotte. Are you winning this year’s most saves in a season title, Mo?”

Mo grinned. “It looks that way, doesn’t it?”

“You know what it means if you do.”

“What’s that?”

I said, “You’ll have to come back next season and defend your title. You can’t retire yet.”

Mo sighed and shook his head. “You know, I haven’t made the final official announcement, but I think I owe it to Jack to wrap it all up after this season. I hate the days I’m out of town and can’t be with him. Every time I get on the plane, it gnaws at my gut. Unless something strange happens, I think I’ll hang up the glove for good in a couple of weeks.”

When the last day of the season arrived, Harley was almost giddy with excitement over breakfast. He said, “Think of all the great stuff we can do now! No more baseball until February! It’s like a summer vacation from school in the winter.”

“Do you think it’s that easy? What gives, Harley? You’ve been in the minors for six seasons. Baseball didn’t suddenly end when the season was over, did it?”

He stared into my eyes. “Yeah, it did. I had to work three jobs in the offseason to keep myself afloat. Other than about three hours of workouts a week, I didn’t have time to think about the game. I hung drywall, played bartender, and did seasonal shipping work. I’m looking forward to freedom from all of that at last.”

I said, “I’d say last season I got about a month off in the supposed off-season. That was most of October, and I spent a lot of it trying to figure out my workout plan so I could be ready for February in Florida. The team likes to show us off around the city, too. Unless you’re rude about it, they’ll ask you to appear in public.”

“Wow, is it that bad?”

I shrugged. “It won’t be when I can spend every night in bed with you.” I leaned across the breakfast table and kissed him.

The Yellowjackets couldn’t have had a better last game of the season. Mo left the door open a crack for considering one more season. He didn’t make a definitive statement about retirement, but Chase came down to the field before the game and read a tribute to Mo’s career. The crowd rose to their feet and applauded while photos and video clips ran on the huge scoreboard in the outfield.

I smiled seeing images of Mo in his early 20s. He was skinny, and he didn’t have any facial hair. He grew more handsome as he aged. I wondered if it was possible for Harley to be more handsome in ten or fifteen years. I didn’t know if I could handle that.

Harley launched a ball into the right-center-field stands the first time he came up to bat. It got us off to a one-run lead. I high-fived him as he crossed home plate. I thought I was motivated to cork a major hit of my own, but unfortunately, I was called out on strikes watching a pitch go by that looked far outside to me.

I had to wait until the eighth inning for my moment to arrive. We were down by one run, and Harley reached first base ahead of me on a walk. Fortunately, there was only one out, so I knew our cleanup hitter would have a chance if I couldn’t get the job done.

I shouldn’t have thought that way. On the second pitch, I got a big jump on the ball and hit a searing line drive into the left-field seats just inside the foul pole. I didn’t settle for a high-five as Harley waited at home plate for me. I hugged him. It was difficult to resist kissing him, too, but he pulled away at the last moment before I had a chance.

The one-run lead set the game up for Mo to enter the contest as our relief pitcher, take us through the ninth inning, and end the season with the most saves in the league. He made it all look effortless.

For the last two batters, the fans were on their feet throughout the stadium. The third strike of the third out was a blistering fastball down the center of home plate. The batter swung at it, but it was hopeless. Despite failing to reach the post-season, the Yellowjackets won the last game of the season and set a hopeful tone for the next year.

The press room was full of smiles. Chase invited Mo, Harley and me to talk to radio and TV reporters as heroes of the game. I pulled Chase aside and asked, “Aren’t you a little upset that you aren’t up here with us as one of the players?”

Chase shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. I love announcing. I feel like I’m a kid every day when I show up at the stadium. You all have the pressure on you. All that I have to do is talk about baseball for a few hours. I don’t know what could be easier for me. I love every minute of it.”

Chase threw his arms around me for a hug, and he whispered a question to me. “Is everything going well with Harley?”

I grinned from ear to ear. “I couldn’t be happier.”

Once the post-game commotion began to die down, I tugged on Harley’s shoulder and pulled him aside. I said, “It’s the end of one amazing season. So much happened that I started to think it was never going to end.”

Harley said, “I’m having a hard time believing that I’m here. This time last year, I thought my baseball career would end with one or two more seasons in the minors. Now, if I can continue what I’ve done so far here in Charlotte, I might have ten more years to come. Maybe even more.”

“It’s amazing isn’t it?” I leaned in close and said, “I have something to ask you.”

“Oh man, what now?”

I laughed. “That’s not a great beginning for the conversation. Should I keep it to myself?”

“I don’t know what it is. If it’s bad news, yeah.”

I pushed my nose close to his ear and said, “I want you to move in with me. We can either live in my apartment or find somewhere new, but I want it to be official.”

Harley reached up and wiped at his eye. “Oh, shit, you had to ask something like that here, didn’t you? There’s already so much emotion. I might lose it. And damn, I don’t mean to sound like it’s a bad thing, but you know these guys, they’ll want to know why I’m crying. They’ll needle me over it.”

I smirked and said, “Give me an answer, and then I’ll tell them Rudy had to go to the vet today, and you’re relieved that it’s only a cold.”

“Well, of course, yeah. We’re already pretty much doing it already. I don’t know what I think about your apartment or somewhere else. Can we talk about that later?”

“Yeah, and that’s a good idea because we need to go out and celebrate with our buddies tonight. It’s good to be out among the fans, too. That’s great PR for the team. I told Javier and Mo that we would be out there. I don’t think Aaron can keep Chase away either. It will be a late night of celebration.”

Javier stole the spotlight for the after-season party at the bar. He arrived with a gorgeous woman on his arm. She had long, straight, black hair that trailed down to the middle of her back. Her smile lit up the room as Javier raised his hand like he was signaling an announcement.

Mo held up his hand to relay the message. Soon, a hush fell over the bar, and we all turned to watch Javier. He said he hoped to ask the question among baseball fans, but he wanted to make sure the answer was yes. The woman at his side laughed.

Javier announced that he was engaged to be married. They were planning the wedding for a year in the future. He didn’t want it to interfere with the baseball season, so they decided to wait until the next season was over.

Mo said, “That’s awesome!” He hugged Jack, and I saw him whisper something in Jack’s ear that made his boyfriend smile.

I whispered in Harley’s ear, “Someday that will be us.”

By the time we exited the elevator for the short walk to my apartment, Harley and I were dragging. He said, “I’d ask you to help me down the hall if you didn’t look more tired than me.”

I laughed softly. “I hope we can make it to the bedroom. I don’t want to wake up with a backache from trying to squeeze both of our bodies onto the couch.”

We had enough energy to strip down out of our clothes and climb between the sheets. I said, “Damn, the light’s on in the living room.”

Harley said, “Yeah, it is.”

I whispered, “So…”

“Oh, you want me to turn it off?”

I said, “We could leave it. That glow won’t bother me.”

Harley groaned and pulled himself out of bed. He knew that I could sleep with almost any light on, but he would wake up with the slightest sunbeam entering the bedroom in the morning.

When Harley re-entered the bedroom, I looked up at him, and I was stunned all over again by the fact that we were a couple. He was not only handsome but also a great man deep inside.

Harley collapsed onto the bed laying flat on his back. I scooted up close, put an arm across his broad chest, and kissed his cheek. I whispered, “I love you, Harley.”

He didn’t answer, and a few short seconds later, I heard a barely audible snore. I laid my head on his shoulder, and soon I was fast asleep, too.