"What's going on? Are you gay?" The words tumbled from my mouth. Once we recovered from our impromptu lovemaking bout, or at least I hoped it was lovemaking, we settled back into my bed, our backs against the headboard. Orrin kept his eyes downcast and appeared to be looking for a response to my questions. "Well?" I prompted.
Orrin cleared his throat, "No."
"No? Then what going on? Why me? Why now?" My chest was beginning to hurt. Was I some sort of experiment to him?
"I've noticed how you looked at me these past five years, Ryan. I've known for a very long time that you wanted me. It never bothered me. I was flattered. I figured it was partly infatuation that you would grow out of as you excelled at the game. By the time it became apparent to me that you weren't growing out of it, I realized that I had a mounting attraction to you as well. No pun intended." Orrin flashed a toothy grin at me.
"Besides", he continued, "Once you became a star, I knew that I couldn't risk you losing everything for a quick romp in the hay."
"So what changed" I had to know if this was a one-time thing or not.
"It was for selfish reasons really. I haven't told anyone yet, but I plan to retire at the end of season. If we lose tomorrow, it will be my last game. I didn't want to leave without you knowing how I felt."
I was stunned to say the least, "But why? You're still a Hall of Fame catcher. Why are you quitting." Of everything I expected to hear, retirement was not one of them. The thought of going out there without Orrin behind the plate pained me greatly.
"I'm no longer passionate about the game. I've spent 12 years crouched behind the plate, 12 years sharing a shower with other men, 12 years watching all the on field and off field antics of my teammates. I'm tired and I want to do something else with my life while I am still young and can walk."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This couldn't be happening. "What will you do? Where will you go?"
Orrin eyes lit up and one of his heart stopping smiles spread across his face. "Promise me you won't laugh." I nodded my consent. "Well, I want to go to carpentry school and learn how to build furniture. Once I become good at it, I want to open a small furniture store that only sales handmade furniture, most handmade by me.
Orrin glared at me at the corner of mouth twitched. "You promised!" he bellowed.
I kept quiet, taking deep breaths. At last I was able to speak without so much as a chuckle. "A carpenter, really? Really? He nodded his head in affirmation. I could see in his eyes that he was serious about his decision and he needed my understanding. "Well, I can't say I truly understand why you want to give up a lucrative professional baseball career to become a carpenter, but it looks like this is something you have given a lot of though to and is very important to you. Where will you go to school?"
I could see nervousness in his eyes as he turned and sat on the edge of the bed. "That depends on you."
"Me? I don't understand."