Stranded at Third (GAME TIME SERIES)

by Blue Stour

  “It’s not that,” the transplanted Virginian replied. “I love the people I work with. There’s just not much to making a sale. It seems I’ve about done everything. I want something else; that’s all it is.”

  After a few attempts to convince Kade to reconsider, Jim finally relented and wished him the best. As a friend, he even offered a push in a new direction.

  “Hey, my sister is the principal at Boyd High School,” the rejuvenated manager pointed out. “I know they’re always looking for good subs. You have your degree, right?”

  “No, all I have to do is student teach, then I’ll be certified to teach,” he awkwardly noted. “I know I should go back to school and finish, but I just don’t want to go back to college, for anything.”

  After a few failed job leads, Kade walked into a classroom for the first time a couple of weeks later. With no commitment or collegiate return, he planned to substitute teach. Kade just showed up, taught for about seven hours, then went home and never took work with him. Outside of baseball, he had found his dream gig.

  “What’s your name?” a freckle-faced fourth grader at Sumey Elementary asked on his first day when she walked into the classroom to hang up her coat. “Where’s Mrs. Wilson?”

  “I’m Mr. Toney. I’ll be your teacher for today as Mrs. Wilson is out. All I ask is that you do what I ask you to do, treat me with respect and I’ll do the same to you. If we have a good day, maybe we’ll have an extra recess at the end of the day . . . if y’all want.”

  The class erupted for two seconds, then immediately tried hushing one another. In typical elementary-aged fashion; they were in the process of feeling out this Mr. Toney.

  This wasn’t so bad, Kade thought. As the day went on, he had the kids eating out of his hand; they all loved the new teacher.

  After about a month of subbing 3-4 days per week, Kade was becoming a fixture at Sumey.

  “Why don’t you get your degree,” Mr. Roberts, the assistant principal suggested at lunchtime on day. “The kids just love you.

  “Well, I’m only short of earning my degree by student teaching,” Kade reported to the delight of everyone at the table. “I played baseball and nearly completed my degree requirements from Southeastern Arizona. Then, I got drafted and played some minor-league baseball before I got hurt and ended my career.”

  Within a few months, Kade was subbing all five days of the week. Most teachers requested the newbie when they were going to be out of work. Teachers appreciated the fact that he followed their lesson plans, the kids behaved, and—most importantly--they didn’t lose a day in their yearly plan by having a substitute take over for a day or two.

  “Have you ever thought about coaching baseball, Kade?” Coach Thomas asked the Virginia native in the middle of the winter. “I need a junior varsity coach. With your playing experience and classroom behavior, I think you’d be a great fit, here. The students love you and you know the game.”

  Kade accepted the position. With no previous coaching experience, it was a challenge. However, just being around the game made his life better. And, as usual, he was good, too.

  In his second year of coaching, he befriended an umpire, Jorge Wasson, a man he had competed against while he was playing for the Flint Autos.

  “Dude, you’re putting in, what, 4-5 hours per-day, at least, coaching!” Jorge told him as the two had met for a beer one evening. “I coached for years after I stopped playing. Then, I realized how much more money I could make umpiring. Hell, once a game’s over, it’s over; you’re paid and go home. A coach has to be the first to arrive, last to leave, monitor classroom behavior, discipline his team, worry about uniform care, equipment care . . . headaches! By the time the season’s over, you’ve made about minimum wage; it’s not worth it.”

  Kade did some serious soul searching; he did need more money. Needless to say, that second year was his last season as Coach Toney.

  He had been accustomed to subbing and then heading to baseball practice after school in the spring, he made the change, and he couldn’t have been happier. Well, he could’ve been happier but he knew he’d be living with the repercussions from his single-minded decisions for the rest of his life.

  Throughout the fall and winter, Kade would substitute teach four or five days of the week. Then, during the spring, he would substitute for five days, seven hours per-day before heading to umpire a high school baseball game after work.

  Normally unemployed during the summer, that first summer marked a drastic improvement in the 32-year olds life. The one-time phenom was earning as much from April-July as he earned substituting in the other eight months.

  “Happy birthday, honey,” his mother called him on his thirty-fourth birthday. “What do you have planned?”

  “Mom, I’ve reached a big decision, something you’ve been pushing me to for ages,” Kade said. “I love substitute teaching, and I love umpiring. With few expenses, I’m doing pretty well. However, it’s time to get more, Mom. I’m going back to school in January to student teach and earn my degree.”

  “That’s wonderful, Kade,” she said as he could feel her smile through the phone as she then sounded as if her voice were cracking into tears. “Your father would be so proud of you. God, son, he wanted you to finish school.”

  He knew she was right; that played a large part in his decision. A car accident had taken his father too early. If there’s one thing that Kade wished, it was that he would have listened to his father’s advice and allowed him to see his son complete his degree. Though too late for that; there was no way he would let his mother pass without her seeing him earn his degree.

  Despite the new career focus, Kade returned to the playboy ways of his college days. With plenty of money, weekends off, and summers—mostly—to himself, he was living the ultimate bachelor life, the lifestyle he had convinced himself he wanted.

  Chapter 10

  Like a batter being frozen by a 0-2 fastball, Kade hoped to escape past Cindy before she realized he had left the bed. Sneaking away from the stranger sleeping next to him was going to be quite a chore.

  With his pounding head pulsating to the beating of his heart, he slowly sat up. In unfamiliar surroundings, he painfully wished his sunglasses were shielding the incoming daylight.

  Sitting up with his head spinning, he rotated his hips, removing his legs from under the sheet. Then, he gritted his teeth as he lowered his feet to the floor, being as quiet as possible. Kade pressed both hands into the bed as he stood, trying to ease the depression of the mattress.

  Meanwhile, he held the sheet firmly against the bed with each movement, preventing a slight draft from disturbing her.

  The last thing that he could afford was to wake her and have her wanting him back in the dreaded cuddle-zone. As far as she knew, he was still spooning with her. Hopefully, he could keep it that way, at least until he was out the door. Kade had a lunch date in a couple of hours; he had to go to.

  Groggy, dehydrated, and hung-over, he felt like road-kill looked. Aside from his head pounding, he had alcohol’s morning-after cotton mouth; his lips were sticking together, and his tongue felt like raw leather against the roof of his mouth.

  Kade made it to his feet as Cindy lay under the sheet. He had successfully gotten off of the bed. More importantly, he had strategically not disturbed her in the least.

  After a momentary pause, he inched toward the foot of the bed to find his jeans and shirt.

  After locating them at the end of the bed, he cautiously began buttoning his shirt. Even though her eyes were definitely closed, Cindy appeared to never take her eyes off of him. Eerily, he felt as if she were staring directly at the foot of the bed through her eyelids. With every movement, he anticipated her waking up and luring him back bed.

  With his jeans on and shirt buttoned, the hung-over and wobbly visitor began backing to the door with h
is eyes locked on her eyelids. Then, as he felt for the doorknob behind his back, his mind let out a blood-curdling scream once he finally reached the door.

  NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

  It was locked.

  Think Kade Think!

  Regaining his composure, Kade knew he had to turn around without making a peep. With his toes pointed directly at the bed and his heels at the door behind him, he lifted his left knee. By pivoting on his right foot in a circular motion, his left leg had moved to the opposite side of his right.

  Following a glance over his shoulder, he reached both hands toward the locked door handle. After his hands were strategically in place, he firmly clasped the doorknob with one hand. The other quietly prepared to turn the lock from its mockingly vertical stance to a horizontally-free position.

  It was hard for him to imagine the door handle could be unlocked without making a sound and waking her. However, he squeezed the knob hard enough to make sure it wouldn’t move or squeak; if it did, he would stop his minuscule turns, immediately. Praying to God he didn’t disturb her in the slightest, he began adjusting the knob.

  At first, the turn was painfully slow millimeters. Then, Kade sped up the process by turning the knob in dangerous-centimeter increments. Finally, smiling like the winner of a NASCAR race who passes the checkered flag, he reached the end. Following a relieved exhale, Kade was ready to turn the knob. With it safely unlocked, he turned the door handle just as slowly until it also reached its end.

  Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, he slowly opened the door. Before long, it was ajar, open enough for him to squeeze his 6’1”, 220-pound frame; he was almost free.

  Finally, he was near his final obstacle as he began to release the knob and step to the other side of the door. He couldn’t just let it go, like normal, fearing it would roll back into its at-rest position with a waking “click.” Therefore, both hands delicately guided the handle back into its usual position with the lock being horizontal.

  Excited, his freedom was just around the door. With her still sound asleep, he began the grueling twenty-four-inch journey back to the Land of the Living. Kade knew he was about to get out without a trace.

  She couldn’t call him; she didn’t know his number.

  She couldn’t see him; she didn’t know where he lived.

  Life was good as he slid around the door. His uncontrollable smile through his liquored-up pain hinted at his bachelor cockiness even though his head was ready to explode. Not once had she budged: he was home free.

  I umpired her kid’s game last night! He suddenly remembered.

  That’s who she was! The details suddenly flooded his brain. Cindy had approached him as he was leaving the field and gave him her number. After calling an hour later, they hooked up at a bar. Mucho tequila and vodka later, they wound up at her place.

  But, where was her little man?

  Instantly, visions of her son made him afraid to turn around as he inched the bedroom door closed.

  The umpire had a feeling her son was probably behind him, sitting on the couch. Undoubtedly, Kade figured he would bust his balls about being with his mother.

  Then, as if the boy were waiting for Kade’s dramatic exit, he sat there, lurking. He didn’t make a sound until Kade had quietly closed the door. Then the all-American heard him speak some shocking words.

  “Did you just fuck my mom?” The boy asked.

  Immediately, turning around and shaking his head rapidly as if he were trying to wake himself up, Kade looked around. He fearfully realized that he was, in fact, alone. Of course nobody was there but his own racing thoughts, pulsing heart and throbbing head.

  As much as the shaking hurt his aching head, he knew he had to get out before he puked all over. He walked quickly while holding himself up along the wall.

  After putting on his shoes while bracing against the door for balance, he stepped outside, locked the door, and raced down the driveway. As Kade was in the road shifting from park to drive, he saw Cindy open the front door in her bath robe. She was flailing her arms, trying to stop him.

  Nonchalantly, he acted as if he didn’t see her. Instead, he simply sped down the road, escaping another “clingy one.”

  The well-executed escape strategy wasn’t his first evacuate-and-never-have-to-see-her-again plan, obviously; he had perfected it as a semi-celebrity during his college- and minor-league playing days. Kade had found himself in the exact predicament several times before. He always managed to get out, then, too.

  As was becoming a part of his lifestyle, Cindy was just the latest of his MILF conquests from his “extra-income profession.” She was simply another random stranger that he met at a baseball game he umpired the night before, just another meaningless fuck.

  Following that summer, which was typical and included a dozen or so “Cindy’s,” Kade buckled down and tried to find somewhere to student teach. With his choice of districts, he settled on the place he substituted most, BHS.

  Then, after successfully student teaching, the 35-year old was back in demand. In fact, of the nine schools to which he applied, seven offered him an interview. However, Kade only accepted and interviewed with the first three school districts that corresponded with him.

  He was offered teaching positions at all three school districts. The athletic, fit, role-model-type guy was the perfect figure that any district would have loved to have.

  Meanwhile, as he sped away from Cindy’s house, he breathed another sigh of relief. Simultaneously, Kade had his cell phone in his hand before he was fifty feet away. After all, the shameless player had a lunch date in a couple of hours that he had to confirm.

  Immediately washing the memory of the stranger from his mind and taking a swig of his day-old fountain drink from the console, he waited for the phone to be answered; time for his next challenge.

  “Hello, Jane. I may be a teensy-bit late, beautiful.”

  Chapter 11

  “Hi, Jane. How are you?” Kade greeted her with a hug as she stood from her chair. “It’s great to see you, especially after that hot conversation last night. Sorry I’m running late; I had to run over to West Virginia to talk with a scout. That’s where I called you from before I left his office. Anyhow, you look great; what’s up?”

  The lunch went well. They ate, flirted, and talked about their relationship and baseball. She was yet another MILF he met at a game, the week before, during the game, actually.

  Kade had looked over his shoulder from behind the plate to find Jane sitting on the third-base side of the backstop. She just happened to be in his eye’s line of sight. Hiding behind his mask, hat, and chest protector, his eyes locked onto hers.

  Instantly his eyes met Jane’s and they stared at each other for a few seconds. She was innocently watching her son play in a 14-U game. After a couple of seconds of staring at each other, Jane took initiative.

  “CALL ME,” she mouthed so he could clearly understand.

  “Richie, Richie,” Kade called for the bat boy between the next innings. “There’s a woman behind the backstop. When the game begins again, go find out her name for me; I know I know her, but can’t place it.

  Richie did just as instructed. He even returned with a phone number for the umpire.

  Kade called her later that evening. On the phone, they introduced themselves and quickly jumped to the unavoidable attraction.

  “I gotta say, I was happily surprised you gave Richie your number for me,” Kade told her.

  His voice dropped lower. It affected her in ways she hoped he didn’t know. No such luck.

  “I’m happy you called,” she shyly countered.

  No time like the present, Kade.

  “Yeah?” He rhetorically questioned. Well, I thought by the way you were looking at me that maybe you’d be interested.”

  He le
aned back against the pillows on his bed. Comfortably, he waited for her response.

  “Oh come on you know you›re gorgeous,” she piped.

  Hearing her slightly-nervous, barely-audible laughter on the line was a major turn on. So, he continued.

  “I don’t know about that, but I do know you are.”

  He knew he wasn’t hard on the eyes. However, he was still honestly surprised the single mom said it out loud.

  “Yeah?” She modestly asked.

  “Oh yeah, just your voice is sexy, too,” Kade expressed.

  Just the timbre of his voice had her warming up. The man could read the phonebook and she’d get excited.

  “You ever have phone sex, gorgeous?” He asked before waiting for her to answer.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” he joked.

  Jane swallowed and felt her heart pounding; she knew she’d been busted. Damn, she couldn’t help but want to do this and with a man she’d never even talked to in person.

  “You in bed, already?” He continued.

  She nodded. Then, she immediately realized he couldn’t see her.

  “Yeah,” her breathless voice agreed.

  He hadn’t even really begun. Oh she was going to be a quick one, and that was just fine for him; he had a busy day tomorrow.

  “You’ve got a toy or do you use your fingers?” he asked in a panting breath of his own.

  “Fingers,” she lied.

  Of course she had a vibrator. However, she barely knew this guy and no way was she confessing up that much.

  “Good. I like that thought,” he said as he played. “If I was there I’d be using my fingers on you-in you. You like the thought of me playing with your pussy?”

  Kade lifted his bottom half off the bed to lower his boxers. Just thinking of her across town with her delicate fingers working her clit got him harder than concrete.

  Jane slipped off her bathrobe; she was thankful her son was at his father’s house for the weekend. She was all alone.