Seventeen-year-old Thad Stevens loves baseball -- he’s loved it for as long as he can remember. Thad’s dream of becoming a batboy comes true when he’s chosen to be on the squad for the Buzzards, a local, semi-pro baseball team.<br><br>His duties put him in constant contact with his idol, shortstop Iggy Hernandez. Thad struggles with his growing attraction to the handsome ball player.<br><br>One day Thad accidentally discovers Iggy has a secret life. What will Thad do with this new information, and what implications does it have for the young batboy and his relationship with the man he admires?

The Batboy

Thad had sprinted up to his room, stripped, and hopped in the shower. He lathered his body  and hummed Take Me Out to the Ball Game as memories of the day  flooded his mind. It didn't take long for  thoughts of Iggy—the shortstop’s hunky frame and his leg  brushing against Thad’s—to have an effect. In no time at all Thad had broken his vow of chastity.


He lowered his fork to the table. Trying not to let the panic he was feeling show, he slightly bowed his head as he recommitted himself to a life free of sin and asked for forgiveness. 


“Thad?” his mother asked. “Are you okay?”


He nodded as his father continued his sermon on the power of prayer. 


“And it is always good in God’s eyes if we put others before ourselves and pray for their welfare rather than our own.”


And, God, please let Link and Dale make the batboy squad. It doesn’t make any difference if I do. Amen. Thad hoped that took care of the situation. 


Chapter 5