Outfielder Tommy Knox is said to "own" pitcher Wayne Kerley because he always hits well when Wayne is on the mound. What the public doesn't know is that the two men have long been involved in a committed, loving relationship. They met and fell in love while playing in the minor leagues, but were called up to the majors and now play for opposing teams.<br><br>Tommy and Wayne have managed to stay together through twelve closeted years. Being on different teams means they have to spend most of the baseball season apart.<br><br>In the final year of his contract, Wayne considers retirement as his career begins to wind down. The thought of life without baseball seems nearly impossible, but he keeps his fears and dread to himself. Tommy still has two years left of his contract, and all the successes, defeats, and injuries that entails. Can the two reconcile their love of each other and the game?

Ownage

Next morning, we indulge in “the wallow,” and it’s while lying sticky and spent that I almost say something about this maybe being my final year in baseball. It rises up and I want to let it out, but I stay quiet.


Tommy, so intuitive toward me that he usually knows what I’m thinking, says, “What?”


I have to throw something out quickly. “Just thinking ahead to you beating me up again.”


I poke him in the side. “Yes, on the field. You gonna own me again?”


“No, the other knock-it-over-the-fence way.”


“Hey,” he says, rolling onto his side and petting my chest, “you lay a juicy fastball up there, it’s history.”


I kiss his cheek. “There was a time I could get it past you,” I note. “Strike your butt out.”


“No, the other kind. I’d have to hurry to the bathroom and jerk off because you striking me out lit me up.”


Chapter 8