Damien sat at his desk and sighed, as he ran his hands over his face, Shayne and Ian sat across from him. No one spoke for a few seconds after his announcement, Shayne and Ian looked at each other, before they looked back at Damien; who remained quiet, as he looked at his desk. Neither could believe what they had just heard.
"What?" Shayne asked.
"I said...you're going to play without me." Damien answered, as he finally looked at them.
"No way, Damien, we're a team; we're in this together or not at all." Ian said as Shayne agreed, Damien sighed sadly and spoke as he stood.
"Guys, you guys keep losing because of me. If I don't play then you'll win the championship, and finally, shut those two assholes up for good." Damien said.
"You're not quitting. You just need more practice; today after work you and I are hitting the park for some." Shayne said smiling.
"Shayne, it would be easier to just let me..."
"We're a team, sorry, Dames. See you after work, dude." Shayne said, cutting him off, as he stood and began to leave.
"Shayne, I..." Damien tried again.
"Not listening! See you after work!" Shayne said smiling, as he walked away, before Damien could argue anymore.
After their run-in with Thomas and Billy, they had gotten a customer, so Damien didn't have time to think about being alone with Shayne. In fact, he had completely forgotten about it by the end of the day. He stood by his desk after work putting on his jacket, when the guys joined him. He turned smiling to see Shayne was already in his practice clothes; which included a pair of baseball pants. Damien couldn't take his eyes off of him and knew he was in big trouble when he felt his body begin to react. He forced himself to focus on something else, as Shayne spoke.
"Why aren't you changed?" Shayne asked. "You thought I forgot didn't you?"
"Um...no, I did actually." Damien answered looking away quickly, as he blushed.
"Go get changed, I'll meet you at my car in 10." Shayne said smiling, as Damien got his clothes and went to change, trying to keep his mind off of Shayne's pants.
Once changed, Damien got his things and left the building locking up; since they were the last to leave. He met the guys at their cars and after putting his bag in Shayne's trunk they said their goodbyes and he got into the car with him. The whole ride to the park Damien felt like he'd explode, and he wondered if someone could go legally insane from love? They arrived at the park and got out before they headed to the diamond, once there Shayne tossed Damien a glove.
"We'll warm up with a little catch." Shayne said smiling.
"Sounds good, I'm ready whenever you are, dude." Damien said smiling.
They practiced for a while; Damien forced himself to concentrate on the game, not Shayne, and was surprised and relieved when Ian joined them at the park dressed for practice. He smiled to himself, he really did have two of the greatest friends anyone could ever want.
**Days Later**:
Shayne and Damien practiced every day after work. When their last game before the semi-finals happened Damien was no better than before and they just barely won the game. He wanted to give up and quit, but the guys refused to let him and so Shayne continued practicing alone with him. Soon, Damien improved a little, but not enough to make a difference and he was so frustrated with himself. Making things worse for him, was the fact that he could hardly concentrate on practice when all he thought about was Shayne. When Shayne would stand close to show him how to hold the bat, or move Damien's hips with his hands to put him in the proper standing position, or he'd touch Damien's hands to show him how to throw the ball, Damien could barely breathe; let alone concentrate on what Shayne was telling him. One afternoon, unable to take it any longer, as Shayne stood behind him; his hands on Damien's hips, he spoke.
"Um, Shayne, you can let go of me now." Damien said, feeling like he was about to explode.
"But, I like it here." Shayne said in his ear sending shivers through his body, Shayne spoke again in his ear. "Do you want me to let go?"
"No." Damien said, as he turned his head to look at Shayne, neither said a word or moved, until Shayne kissed him, Damien pulled away after a few seconds. "Crap! I'm sorry, Damien, I shouldn't have done that!" Shayne said upset, as he turned to leave.
"Shayne, don't go, please." Damien said, grabbing his arm stopping him.
"It's okay, Damien, you don't need..."
"Shayne, you don't understand...there's something I've been keeping from you and Ian. Something I've kept secret from everyone for a long time now." Damien said nervously.
"Damien, you can tell me anything, you know that." Shayne assured him.
"It's not that simple, Shayne." He said sighing.
"Come on, let's sit down, huh?" Shayne said taking Damien's hand, as they went and sat on a bench facing each other, Shayne could see how nervous he was. "Okay, am I really that scary that you can't tell me?" Shayne asked, Damien stood and began to pace, as he took a deep breath, and looking at Shayne he knew it was time to tell him about his love; unsure what his reaction would be.
"No, I'm that just that chicken! Shayne, before I tell you I need you to promise me you'll let me get everything out before you say or do anything?" Damien said.
"I promise." Shayne answered.
"Okay, here goes. For the last two years, I've been...wow, this is harder than I thought! Alright...for the last two years, I've been in love with one of my best friends! The kind of love that drives you crazy, head over heels, all I think about is them, kind of love! I never meant for it to happen, but it did and the last couple of months my mind and body have been taken over completely by them; just being near them, causes my body to react. I have never felt like this with anyone else in my life, and they have no clue I feel this way. I've wanted to tell them for so long, but I'm afraid I'll lose them forever if they don't feel the same way." Damien said, as he continued pacing.
"I'm such a freaking idiot! I should have talked to you before I kissed you. I'm so sorry, Damien, I...I had no idea." Shayne said gently, thinking he meant Ian. "You...you should tell them, Dames, they might feel the same." He said as he stood and turned to leave.
"I...I just did! Shayne, I'm talking about you." Damien said, as Shayne froze.
"Me?" Shayne asked turning to face him shocked.
"I...I knew this was a mistake! Shayne, I'm..." Damien began, but Shayne cut him off.
"Dames, calm down!" Shayne said, as he took Damien's arm and they sat down. "Okay, it's my turn now. You were honest with me, now I'll be honest with you...I'm in love with one of my best friends too." Shayne saw Damien look away and he spoke quickly. "Damien, it's you...I'm in love with you."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Damien asked in shock.
"I guess, I just thought you saw me as only a friend, so I made myself believe that was good enough for me." Shayne said sighing.
"I...I had no idea." Damien said still in shock.
"Really? Even with my not-so-subtle hints?" Shayne asked smiling.
"Hints?"
"My flirting, my constantly touching you, my always being close to you? Come on, Dames, either I'm really bad at flirting? Or, you're really bad at realizing when someone's flirting with you, dude." Shayne said smiling, as he nudged Damien gently with his shoulder.
"How...how long?" Damien asked, still unsure if this was a dream.
"Two years." Shayne answered.
"So...um, where do we go from here?" Damien asked.
"Well...do you want to give us a try?" Shayne asked seriously.
"Are you kidding? I've only been waiting for you to say that for two damn years!" Damien said happily, as he kissed Shayne, when they finally pulled apart Shayne spoke smiling.
"So is that a yes?"
"Does this answer your question?" Damien asked, as he kissed him again.
"Dames, I need you to do something for me, please?" Shayne asked when they pulled apart.
"Okay, what?" Damien asked.
"I'm not ready to let anyone know about us...not even Ian. I'm just not ready, so can we keep it between us for a while? Can you promise me you will, until I'm ready?"
"Shayne, he's our best friend, he'll understand."
"Damien, please? This is all so new to me, we'll tell him I promise just not right away."
"Okay, Shayne, I won't tell anyone if it means that much to you."
"Thank you, Dames." Shayne said smiling, as he kissed him. "Now, let's get back to practicing, huh? We have our semi-finals game coming up."
"Shayne, how do you expect me to concentrate on practice when you look so good in those damn pants?" Damien asked smiling, as they headed for the ball diamond; Shayne picked up the bat and turned to him smiling, as he played with the bat. "Well, how do you expect me to concentrate, huh?"
"Okay...well, how about if you practice and you keep your mind on the game, I'll cook dinner tonight at my place and we can spend the rest of the night alone just the two of us?"
"Alone? Just you and me?" Damien asked putting his glove on.
"Yep, just you and me, alone."
"Deal!" Damien said smiling, before he kissed him and they began practicing again.
TBC...