kik; zach mitchell

24 - baseball booties

zach's pov

As soon as I smelled the scent of pancakes and bacon, Kiley was in my arms and we were down the stairs faster than you could say,"up my ass." We joined the rest of my family at the table, where heaps of breakfast foods sat.

Kiley immediately loaded her plate and I followed her actions, munching on a strip of bacon when Clayton and Cameron walked in. My dad looked up and smiled at Cam, though there seemed to be something off about the way his grin faltered. Cam was like a son to him; Surely he was surprised to find out Cam was a bit more flexible now.

As soon as Cameron sat down, my dad engaged in conversation with the worst possible subject. "So, Cameron — Karen's told me you've started swinging from a different vine? Turned over a new leaf, might I say?" My mother, who was sipping on some orange juice, choked on the liquid and immediately began coughing.

The whole table had gone silent. Cameron's face was a new shade of white as he nibbled on his pancake, trying his best to filter out the awkwardness in the air. He took a deep breath before looking towards my dad again. "You're right. I'm trying new things, I guess."

My father looked in the least bit surprised. Suddenly, he turned to Clayton. "Well, Clayton, welcome to the family. Any friend of Cameron's is a friend of mine."

Clayton looked incredulous as he accepted my father's gesture and shook his hand grandly. "Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. Very much, sir."

As soon as my dad left with his plate and headed into the living room, all of us breathed an involuntary sigh of relief. My mother glanced at all of us, a curious look on her face.

"Why don't you kids go on a double date?" She asked slyly.

Kiley raised an unamused eyebrow. "A double date?"

"Yes," my mother answered, being the hopeless romantic she is,"a double date. It would be cute. And, Zach? Do this poor girl a favor and ask her out already?"

My cheeks instantly heated up as I spun away from the group. Feeling their eyes all on me, I called out,"Don't look at me."

Kiley began to follow me. "We're all looking at you."

"Karen!" My dad's voice boomed from the living room. Karen rolled her eyes.

"What, Frank?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Don't you think Zach should, I don't know, play at tonight's game? Cameron, too? It's the second to last of the season." Baseball was probably the last thing on all of our minds; except, of course, Frank's.

Cameron and I exchanged a glance, which we thought was quite opaque. We were wrong.

"You play baseball?" Kiley and Clayton asked in sync.

I pointed to Kiley. "I told you this when I first met you."

Kiley nodded, smirking. However, Clayton seemed to have lost his cool — literally, he was burning up.

"If you guys play baseball, does that mean—," Clayton began, his cheeks still a bright pink.

"Baseball pants?" Cameron finished at the same time Kiley nodded and said,"Oh yeah."

My mother looked annoyed. "Franklin, the kids don't have much time together, and after all they've been through..."

"...They've gotten stronger. Boys, don't you agree that playing tonight's game would be good for you?" My dad had already won, and he knew. There was no arguing with him.