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

I’m starting to wonder if anticipation can actually kill something. The week before the break, Tommy texts that the property won’t close due to title problems, so it’s out for our holiday. This comes on top of him getting benched twice in a row as the rookie is hitting over three hundred while Tommy’s slump has him down to two-fifty.


“Well, shit,” I say out loud when I read Tommy’s text about the cabin. Where the hell now? I try to come up with an idea, but strike out. It has to be somewhere remote, some place where we won’t be recognized. But where in the country is baseball not present?


Isn’t there somewhere else in the woods?I text Tommy.


Two days before the break, Tommy calls. I’m at home, he’s in Arizona.


“On those five acres we’re buying. We don’t have access to the cabin, so let’s pitch a tent in the woods. Screw amenities. Shit in the woods, wash in the lake. Really rough it.”


Chapter 15