I lay in Chase’s bed at his apartment watching him dress. It was a shame to cover up his sculpted body. He was grumbling as he buttoned up a plaid dress shirt. “This sucks. I wish I could spend the whole day with you. We’ve got a day off from baseball, and what do I have to do? I have to go and talk about the game instead of getting away from it. That sucks.”

I teased him by saying, “I guess it’s all your fault, too. If you weren’t so good at what you do, the media wouldn’t be clamoring to talk to you.”

Chase rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his sneakers. “Like you’re a big help. What are you going to do today? Are you going to be lazy and lounge in bed all day long? You’ll just look sexy while you watch people try and bake cupcakes.”

“Why would I want to do that if you’re not here?”

Chase stood up and leaned over to share a kiss. He said, “You’re so sweet. Will you stay here tonight, too?”

“Yeah, I will, but then I think we need to be social with others for a couple of days.”

Chase stood up, smoothed his shirt and gave his jeans a light tug. “How do I look?”

“Like the man that I’ll miss every minute of the day. You look great, Chase. There’s nothing to worry about.”

He gave me another quick peck before heading for the door to exit the bedroom. Turning back for a moment, he said, “I’ve got a good idea. Why don’t we see if we can have dinner with Eric and Javier? It’s been almost a week since the four of us last got together.”

I pushed myself up to a sitting position. “Yeah, I’d be up for that. I’ll contact them and see if I can set it up while you impress the reporters.”

Chase grumbled once more. “Don’t remind me about the reporters. They’d better have donuts.”

After I heard the front door to the apartment open and close, I picked my cell phone up off the nightstand. I typed out a text message:

I only had about a minute to wait for the reply. It said:

Eric and I arranged to meet at a downtown coffee shop. It was only four blocks from the stadium. It was about a five-minute drive from Chase’s apartment.

During the last few days in May after the Memorial Day holiday, it was hot in Charlotte. The air was thick, humid, and sticky. The crowds downtown looked like they were responding to the heat by moving in slow motion when I arrived.

Eric was already in line when I entered the coffee shop. He raised a hand and gestured for me to join him. I gave him a quick hug and said, “Thank you for being willing to meet up on your day off.”

He said, “I care a lot about my friends.”

After we purchased our cups of coffee, I said, “I know it’s hot outside, but that’s probably a better choice than talking about things in here.”

Eric shrugged. “I think baseball players adapt to the heat. It’s a hot weather game unless you grew up in Minnesota. The summers in Atlanta were beastly when I was little.”

I laughed. “Michigan is close to the same as Minnesota. This weather is beyond my experience. I’m hoping I eventually get used to it.”

We only had to walk for about five minutes before we found a bench at a downtown park. Eric sipped his coffee and asked, “Are you okay, Aaron?” He lowered his head and asked, “Is it okay if I call you Aaron away from the stadium. I know Chase likes to call you Coach, but that’s his term of endearment sort of like saying, ‘Baby.’”

I laughed softly. “Yeah, calling me Aaron is fine, and yes, I’m okay. Chase told me a couple of weeks ago that you know about our relationship. I’m hoping that’s the limit, but since the two of you are close, I knew that you would find out soon.”

Eric said, “If it bothers you, then I’m the one to blame. I asked him point blank about your relationship. I was nosy. He would have needed to tell a lie if he wanted to keep it secret.”

“Oh, it’s not a big deal, and since you know, I thought you might help me with a little insight. I’m not asking for any secrets. I’m just looking for observations. Chase is so laidback about everything that sometimes I wonder if he’s taking our relationship seriously.”

“Like having one of the best rookie seasons ever and brushing it off as the way things are?” asked Eric.

I thought about Chase meeting the reporters and telling them about his inborn talent. They were going to be disappointed if they were looking for him to share a silver bullet for his success as a player. Chase took the field every day and played. There was no special effort involved. I said, “Yeah, exactly like that.”

Eric sipped his coffee. He said, “Chase takes it all seriously. I can reassure you about that. Whenever we’re alone together, it’s like he’s dying to tell me something about you. It makes me laugh.”

“Laugh? Why does it make you laugh?”

“Because he isn’t sharing anything in particular. It’s mundane stuff like, ‘Aaron sent me the cutest text today,’ or, ‘Did you know Aaron got to wear his Grandpa’s World Series ring when he was seven years old?’ He squealed the day he told me that you sent him a bouquet of flowers. He said he brought roses to your hotel room, and then you sent the flowers.”

I grinned. “Chase likes his flowers.”

“Chase likes anything that shows how you feel about him.”

“So he wants us to be together for the long term?”

Eric said, “Surely you aren’t as clueless as that makes you sound. Chase loves you. Have you told him you love him?”

I shook my head. “Neither of us has said that to each other.”

“Why not?”

“It’s scary.”

“Of course it’s scary, but it is how you feel, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah, I love Chase. I’m sure of that, but it scares me. We’re not supposed to be in this relationship. Can you imagine the scandal if it got out? I’m worried something like that would tear us apart.”

Eric sipped his coffee again. Then he said, “Can you imagine how you’d feel if you let baseball or anything else get in the way?”

I sighed and looked at the ground. “I’m not sure I would ever trust in a relationship again.”

Eric asked me another question. “Do you trust Chase?”

“I think so.”

Eric pulled his cup of coffee down from his face, and a serious expression took over. “There’s your problem.”

“Where?”

“You have to trust him, Aaron. He trusts you.”

“How do you know that?”

Eric said, “I hear it in everything he says about you. He would follow you anywhere. He wants this to be forever, and he would do anything to make sure it’s permanent. You have his heart. Please be careful with it.”

“Does he want to get married?”

Eric laughed. “I’m happy to keep answering questions, but I think we’re getting into the territory where you really should be asking him and not me. Those are important questions, and you should both hear the answers.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I guess I needed a little boost. Sometimes I worry that I won’t be enough for Chase. If he doesn’t get hurt, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame someday. I know everyone thinks my goal of managing in the majors when I’m young is lofty, but Chase’s career will be bigger than mine. I know that.”

Eric placed his hand on my thigh. “You know what, Aaron? Someday this will all come out in public. It has to, and it needs to. I predict that everyone will see what an incredible couple you are, and that will take care of any controversy. It’s a brand new ballgame these days. You and Chase are making it new. The rest of the game will have to adjust. When all of the dust settles, you’ll be living legends.”

I bit my lip. “I don’t know about that. At heart, I’m just an ordinary guy. I think Chase is, too.”

He slapped my thigh. “Sometimes ordinary people do truly extraordinary things. I’m done now. That’s the most profound thing you’ll get out of me today.”

I smiled and said, “Okay, go ahead and enjoy the rest of your day off. Thank you so much for talking. I needed it. Let me know if there’s something I can do for you.”

Eric smirked. “There is something.”

“Yeah?”

“Keep Eckert far away from me. Or at least keep him quiet. Your suggestions make sense, but he just barks out orders. That’s never worked for me.”

I rose from my seat and said, “I’ll do my best. It can be difficult sometimes when Eckert pulls out a comment about Huggins like a trump card. Dinner at seven?”

“I’ll be there. Is Javier coming, too?”

“Oh, crap. Thanks for reminding me. I need to give Javier a call.”

Eric waved his hand. “Why don’t you leave that up to me. I’ll make sure he’s there. Sometimes it’s hard to get Javier out of the bedroom on days off. It’s not what you think either. I’ve never met an adult that can sleep so many hours.”

I laughed. “Okay, I’ll trust you on that one.”

Everyone was all smiles around the table at dinner. Chase said, “They were perplexed, I tell you. One woman from BB Daily kept insisting there must be some secret to my success. She asked, ‘Is it meditation, Chase? Do you have the perfect method for visualization? Have you targeted specific muscles?’ I wonder if they asked Albert Pujols questions like this.”

Eric said, “I think you need to send them a DVD of the movie The Natural. I think there are freaks of nature in the world like Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods.”

Chase screwed his face up into a frown.

“Oh, come on, Chase. You know I’m not saying you’re a freak,” said Eric. “I just think when they were sending the fertilized eggs down to earth in the stork’s beak, they said, ‘This one will play baseball!’”

We all laughed in unison. After the server arrived and took our order, I said to Javier, “I guess I should have mentioned that you could bring a date if there’s a special woman.”

Javier sighed and shook his head. “No woman now.”

“But there was one?”

Chase said, “Javier was hot and heavy with a raven-haired beauty for a couple of weeks.”

Javier lowered his hand into his hands and mumbled, “Married.”

“What the fuck? A married woman came onto you?”

Javier nodded and said, “Next thing. No talk about this.”

I nodded in agreement and asked, “So Eric, how’s your love life?”

He muttered, “I won’t talk about yours if I don’t have to answer that question.”

Chase interjected, “Deal! Now, who’s getting the surf and turf along with me? They bring the entire lobster to the table here, and I’m feeling like a carnivore after all day with the media vultures.”

I said, “I think I’ll stick with chicken.” I patted my belly. “It’s going to go there if I overeat.”

Chase smiled at me. He asked, “Javier, lobster?”

Javier held his fingers to his eyebrows waving them like a lobster’s antennae. Then he shook his head, “No, I eat meat from the grocery store.”

Eric laughed. “Count me out, too. I’m going for the steak, but for me, it’s steak alone. Seafood gives me hives. I think you’re out there on your own, buddy.”

Chase grinned. “I can handle that. I’m freaking starving. They gave me a box lunch, and it was a wimpy half sandwich with a tiny salad. I’m ready to eat!”