When You Know, You Know

"I know!" She cheered, "I think me and him were the only two that knew it was gone. You guys just sat there silently."

"I had no doubts, but the anticipation makes it hard to celebrate early," I chuckled.

"That's number five Son," my dad laughed as he stuck out his hand. When I said everyone came to the game, I meant the ENTIRE town. "Congratulations."

"Thanks Dad," I said, shaking his hand as Tegan went off to go find her brother to congratulate him.

"You love baseball more than anything don't ya?" He chuckled as my mom hugged me.

"Not anymore," I said staring off after Tegan as she bounced away.

**

The celebration wound down after only a few minutes, everyone excited to head back to town and make their way to The Bar to celebrate. The Bar had a big outdoor area around back that served as a great spot for a celebratory cookout, and a few of the local guys volunteered to bring out some grills, and with the donations from everyone, were able to get enough burgers and dogs for everyone to celebrate.

Tegan was riding back with her parents and we're going to meet us at The Bar once the bus arrived back at the school, and since it was only a mile down the road, I offered the bed of my truck for any of the players who didn't have a vehicle at the school or didn't want to walk. Nobody wanted to walk, so there was obviously a handful of takers.

"You were right Coach," James chuckled from my passenger seat as kids hopped into the bed of my truck.

"Right about what?" I asked.

"That it's the same game," he answered. "That and what you said about my homer in practice. I hadn't forgot I can do that. The memory of it is way more important than trying to stay in the moment."

"Especially cuz that was a lousy practice homer and not a states winning walkoff moonshot," I laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "We couldn't have done it without your bat kid. Keep working, and I don't see why you can't play at the next level after you graduate."

**

The after party was great. Everyone had an amazing time, still riding the high of bringing the state title back to town. I knew I'd see them around again, and we still had awards and such before the season was truly over, but I did my best to make my way around to each senior and personally congratulate them on such a wonderful season and wish them nothing but the best moving forward in life.

They truly were a great group of kids. One for the ages. They'd all do just fine in life, whether that had anything to do with baseball or not, that was up to them. They were all good enough to at least play some level of college ball, as we'd had three kids going to play division one, and Bryce was looking like he was going to get drafted in the upcoming MLB draft, albeit probably in a late round, but drafted nonetheless. I'd even called up my old skipper from the Phillies and let them know that I personally thought he had what it took to be a good prospect. I really hope it worked out for the kid.

**

"Hey Ma," I said nervously into the phone as I drove.

"Hey Jack, what's up," she asked.

"Just running a few errands and figured I'd give you a call," I said.

It was the end of August now, and Tegan was out of town for the weekend for some nurses convention in Detroit. July and August so far had flown by, leaving me to wonder where the summer had gone. Bryce had surprised everyone and got drafted in the fourth round, way higher than we all thought he'd go. If he'd have gotten drafted much later he had a full ride to LSU to fall back on as a backup plan. He'd gotten drafted by none other than the Phillies, so I made sure to give him my red and blue catchers mitt as a congratulations present. He was just happy he didn't have to break in a new mitt already.

James and I were working for a few hours a day a few times a week, really trying to hone in his skills. If I had any luck he'd be a round five or before draft pick as well, definitely had the natural talent for it.

Tegan and I were doing great, like unbelievably great. She was all but living with me, spending all of our free time together. She still got on great with all my friends and family, as I with hers. My aunt was still disappointed there wasn't a ring on her finger yet.

"How's Tegan doing? She with you?" Mom asked.

"Nah she's at a nurses convention down in Detroit for the weekend," I allowed. "That's actually why I called you."

"Oh no. Please dear god don't tell me there's something going on between you two. I'll kill you Jack!" She said, clearly getting worked up.

"No no no, not that. Relax Mom we're perfectly fine," I laughed.

"Oh thank god..." she breathed. "You had me nervous there."

"No but I did want to talk to you about her."

"What is it?" She asked, clearly getting impatient.

"Things have been going so good with us," I began. "Like unbelievably good."

"That's great!" She enthused. "So why is that a problem?"

"Not a problem," I laughed. "I just need your advice on something."

"Hit me," she said.

"Do you think it's too soon, or that I'd be crazy if I asked her to marry me?" I asked like it was no big deal.

The line went absolutely silent. I didn't hear anything for a solid minute.

"Mom?" I asked, nervous once again.

"I'm gonna have a daughter in law?" She asked, tears of joy evident in her voice.

"So you don't think it's too soon?"

"When you know you know," she said, still sounding overwhelmed. "Jack you have no idea how happy you just made me. I love that girl to death! No it's not too soon. Lock her up and never let her go!"

"Her dad still has to say yes," I laughed. "And so does she for that matter so don't get all excited just yet."

"Oh they'll both say yes don't you worry Jackie," she reassured me. "When are you going to ask her dad?"

"Uhhhhh," I hedged. "That's the errand I'm running right now."

"Now?!" She exclaimed. "Are you ready for that?"

"If I want to marry her I need to be," I laughed.

"Call me and tell me how it goes," she said.

"I will Ma, wish me luck," I said as I hung up the phone to run over what I was going to say again.

I was definitely a little nervous. Hell, I was a lot nervous. Tegan had asked me to run over to her house and grab a few things for her, so that was my pretense for heading over there. I was only about half a mile out by now, so I downshifted into fourth and steeled myself. I knew for a fact I had to ask. That wasn't negotiable. I wanted to marry her, and if I wanted that, I had to ask for her hand.

"Hey Jack, what brings you around?" I heard David ask as I shut down the truck. He was outside working in the yard so he'd obviously seen me pull in.

"Tegan wanted me to run over and grab a few things, so here I am," I shrugged as if I wasn't shutting bricks on the inside.

"Miss is inside cooking up dinner if you're hungry," he offered. "Other than that go right ahead and grab what you need."

"You got a second Sir?" I asked tentatively.

"Yea sure, what's up?" He asked, putting down his shovel.

"I know it might seem like it's still pretty early on," I began, deciding to dive right into it.

"Let me stop you right there Son," he said cutting me off. Shit... Not good. "The answer is yes."

"Sir?" I asked in confusion.

"You were about to ask me for Tegan's hand were you not?" He said with a grin.

"Uhhhhh," I stammered. "How'd you know?"

"I've been you before remember?" He said, gesturing towards his wedding band. "You had all the signs."

"Oh, uhhh, yea that's what I was gonna ask," I fumbled before laughing. "You kinda twisted my head around, I forgot my speech."

"Figured I'd save you the fumbling," he chuckled. "But Jack, we love you, and you clearly love her. The answer was always going to be yes."

"Thank you so much Sir," I said shaking his hand. "I just hope she says yes."

"She will Son, she will. Have no doubt about that."

**

"FUCK ME JACK!" She howled into the woods as I plowed her from behind.

We'd decided to go have a picnic in that same clearing we went to on our first date. We'd since started calling it "our clearing" as, well, it was special to us and rarely used by anyone else.

One thing led to another, and I predictably had her bent over the tailgate of my truck, our pants around our ankles, and I roughly rutted in and out of her, using her big tits as leverage holds.

"FUCK. HARDER. HARDER!" She screamed as I relentlessly fucked her.

"Oh fuck Baby you feel so fucking good," I groaned as I smacked her ass on a whim.

"YES!" She screamed as my hand made contact.

She was driving me absolutely crazy. She'd already came within a minute of us first starting, so it was my turn now. I needed her, and she was only too happy to give herself to me.

"YES BABY, USE ME! USE MY BODY AS YOUR LITTLE FUCK TOY! FUCK ME! CUM FOR ME JACK!" She screamed.

I did just that. My left hand pulling her hair back while my right hand furiously strummed her clit, making her scream even more.

"I'm gonna cum Teegs," I groaned.

"Yessssss, fill me baby!" She moaned as I sped up.

"Ungh, fuck, I'm CUMMING!" I bellowed as I emptied myself into here.

"EEEEEEEEEEYYYEESSSSSSSSS!" She screamed as she came as well, her sweet nectar flowing freely around my still spasming cock.

We slumped over the tailgate for a few minutes with me leaving gentle kisses along her back and neck before we finally separated and stood up right to correct our clothes.

We'd planned on spending the afternoon into the evening here, so we already had a fire going with a cooler of beer and snacks, as well as a little speaker playing some good country music. The little pleasure break wasn't planned, thought it wasn't surprising either.

After we caught our breath we made our way back over to the fire to just relax and enjoy the day. I also planned on doing some fishing, but for the moment I was more than just contend to sit there and hold her.

We sat and talked, sang along to the radio, and gently kissed each other whispering I love you's back and forth. I didn't ever want to move, but apparently she had other ideas.

"Wanna fish?" She asked with a gleam in her eye. She did love to fish, that was for sure.

"You ain't gotta ask me twice," I chuckled as she hopped up and made her way down to the river, expecting me to grab the poles and tackle box and follow her.

I did, and when I made it down there she was already studying the sky and picking what color soft plastic she'd think would work the best with the light conditions. She really was a smart woman.

I went with a purple senko on a Texas rig, and she went with a pumpkin craw, also on a Texas rig. I just happened to have a feeling she'd outfish me as usual.

It didn't take more than five minutes for her to prove me right when she pulled in a nice five pound largemouth, so she obviously had to take a selfie of us with it to rub it in. I just laughed and went back to fishing, intent on beating her this time, as she'd had the biggest fish the last six times we'd gone out. If I was being honest with myself though, I liked it when she beat me. Her earth shattering smile and consolation kisses made it all worth it.

We fished hard for about two hours, and the fishing couldn't have been better. I guess they were moving pretty good tonight, because it seemed that every other cast one of us pulled something in, none of them bigger than her five pounder though.

"Looks like I'm gonna win again Babe," she teased.

"Why am I not surprised," I laughed as I sent out another cast towards a fallen log off to my left.

"When are we calling it?" She asked. Every time we fished, we said when there was five casts left, so we could really try to get that last big one before the 'competition' ended and the winner was declared.

"Five more?" I asked.

"After these ones?"

"Yea next one."

"I think I'll take my victory payment in the form of a back rub," she joked.

"Babe I do that anyways," I laughed.

"I know, but this time I won't let you stick it in me half way through," she smiled deviously.

"Yes you will," I chuckled. "Hell you're the one who tells me to Babe."

"Oops, not sorry," she said with a wink.

We each sent out our first cast, hoping to land the big one, but both of us came up empty, though she did have a bite at least. Our second cast was more of the same, but I was the one with the hit this time. For the third cast I sent it right back in where I did, and luck was on my side. I felt the hit and the pole bent, so I set the hook and went about fighting the fish back to the bank.

I knew it was big, but I couldn't quite tell how big, but I knew that if I was able to land it I might have a shot at beating her big fish. She had her third cast reeled back in and walked over to watch me fight the fish.

"If you lose the fish I'll make it worth your while," she purred into my ear.

"Nuh uh Babe," I chuckled, turning my head to quickly kiss her. "I'm winning this time."

"I'll withhold sex if you win," she teased.

"No you won't," I laughed.

"I hate that you're right. I can't get enough of you Babe," she giggled as she kissed my cheek before throwing out her fourth cast.

In the meantime I'd gotten the fish all the way to the bank, so I knelt down to grab it by the lip and hoist my catch up to show her. Unless her last two casts were magic, I was winning this one. I'd pulled in a monster. I had to guess it was nine or ten pounds.

She hadn't seen it yet, so when I cleared my throat to get her attention she turned her head and promptly cursed.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed. "I ain't beating that!"

"I don't think you are Hun," I laughed.

She didn't. Her last two casts came up empty, and I didn't even bother throwing my last two, though I did hold it up for a selfie, just for a little fun. Knowing she was beat, she pulled her craw off the hook and put it back in the box, as well as grabbing mine and doing the same. Loser always had to put the polls and tackle box away.

Before we headed back up to the truck we both knelt down and rinsed our hands as best we could in the river, hoping to get rid of some of the fish smell. Giving me a fake pout and a juicy kiss, she picked up the poles and tackle box and started walking towards the truck.

"Know what you're gonna make me do as payment?" She asked as she put the gear back in the truck with her back to me.

"I do," I laughed, trying to hide my nerves. There was a reason I needed to win tonight.

"What is it?" She asked, still not looking at me.

"Marry me." I said simply.

She literally dropped the tackle box into the bed of the truck and wheeled around to look at me in surprise. When she turned she saw me, five feet away, down on one knee with a ring in my hand, the sunset and the fire glow behind me.

She didn't move. She didn't do anything. She was frozen right where she was. I didn't necessarily think it was a bad sign, more shock than anything, but the longer she stood there, well, it did make me a little more nervous.

"Will you marry me?" I asked with a big smile, trying to keep my body from shaking.

She still didn't say anything, but it seemed that she finally got her brain back and she all but tackled me, smothering me with kiss after kiss. I'd seen her happy. I'd seen her very happy, but never as happy as I saw her right then.

"YES! YES! OH MY GOD! YES! OF COURSE ITS A YES DUMBASS!" She cried in between kisses and happy sobs.

"I love you so much Tegan," I said trying to fight back my own tears of joy.

"I love you so much more Jack," she cried. "The answer was always going to be yes. Ever since we first met the answer was yes!"

"I knew I wanted to ask since the moment I met you Teegs," I said as I kissed her.

"I bet your aunt will be happy," she laughed as she wiped a tear away.

"I think my entire family will be happy," I chuckled.

We spent the next eternity kissing, holding each other, basking in the glow of our new engagement.

"I love you so much Tegan. You're my world. My everything. I feel like I can't breathe when you aren't with me, and I feel complete when you are. You're the sun to my day, the stars to my night. You're my other half Baby, and I can't imagine life without you by my side." I said as sincerely as I could while I looked into her eyes that were filled with nothing but pure, unbridled love.

"Jack, you're my person. My man. I promise that every day, for the rest of our lives, I will love you with everything I have. I'm yours. Everything I have, everything I am, is yours Baby. You so completely complete me, and I don't want to live another day without you by my side. You love me like nobody else ever could. You cherish me like I'm sacred. You treat me like a queen, you're queen, and you're my king Baby. From now until we're in the ground, and every day in between, I'm yours, completely, undeniably, entirely yours, and I will show you that every single day." She said with fresh tears in her eyes.

We kissed like our lives depended on it. We became one under the moonlight. Only the sounds of the crickets, the fire, the music, and our loving kisses could be heard. It was just us. Nothing else seemed to matter. That woman was my world. My everything. I knew right then and there that I was the luckiest man alive.

I loved her, she loved me, and that's all that mattered in the world. No matter what else happened, we'd have each other, and that's all that mattered.

"I love you so much Tegan," I said as I kissed her once more.

"I love you so much more Jack."

The end.

********************************************

Thank you all so much if you stuck around through all of this. Like I said at the beginning, I may have gotten a little carried away, as the original story was only supposed to be about half of the length of this, but, as you saw, there was just so much to tell.

I hope you all truly enjoyed it!