Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2006 23:09:41 -0500
From: jaden.scott@adelphia.net
Subject: Lover's Lane Chapter 21

This story is a work of fiction.  It depicts a romance between two
consenting adult males and may contain some descriptions of sexual acts,
again between two consenting adult males.  If you are not of legal age to
read this kind of story, please leave now.  If you reside in an area where
reading stories that include sexual situations between two consenting adult
males is illegal, please leave now.  This story is for entertainment
purposes only.  Any similarity to any person(s) living or dead is simply a
coincidence.  The author retains all rights to this story.  It cannot be
reproduced in any form without expressed written permission from the author
(me).  Please contact the author for any requests. Copyright 2006.

Feedback (and criticism) is ALWAYS appreciated and welcome.  Please respond
to this story at:  jaden.scott@adelphia.net

I look forward to hearing from all of you and I will respond if you write
to me.  Thanks to all of you who have written so far with your encouraging
words.  I have appreciated every one of them.  Jaden


**This chapter of 'Lover's Lane' is dedicated to a newer friend of mine,
Katie.  Katie, I know I've told you this before, but I have to say it
again...I don't know how I lived my life without you in it.  Moving back to
Cleveland was the best decision I've ever made in my life, mostly because
I've gotten to meet and become friends with people like you and Vicki.
Thanks for making me laugh.  The story you told me the other night about
your crazy night out ranks as one of my all time favorites.  It was so good
that I just had to 'steal' it and use it in my story.  I hope I've done it
justice.  I love you, sweetie!!  T.J.

**Please watch for changes in POINT-OF-VIEW**


LOVER'S LANE

by Jaden

>From the end of Chapter Twenty:

**JADEN'S POINT OF VIEW**

And that's how the Christmas Eve party began for me.  I kissed Lane, got
caught and harassed by Connor, and was called 'hot' by Sarah.  What did the
rest of the night have in store for me??



CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE CHRISTMAS EVE PARTY, PART TWO

**JADEN'S POINT OF VIEW**

After Lane had introduced me to everyone in his family, we migrated into
the kitchen to check out the food.  On the kitchen table was a vast
assortment of different things to eat...and those were just the
appetizers!!  One massive platter had five different kinds of cheeses cut
up into bite-sized cubes on it.  The platter also contained slice
pepperoni, a bowl of black olives, and a bowl of pitted green olives.
Another serving tray had stuffed mushrooms on it.  There were also a number
of bowls that contained various types of chips or crackers in them.
Surrounding them were more bowls that had a variety of dipping sauces in
them.  Not only did Lane's parents go all out on the Christmas decorations,
they went all out with the food too.  I had never been a huge eater and I
was always careful about what types of foods I put into my body.
Everything looked so delicious, however, that I wanted to dive right in and
eat it all.  I decided that after tonight I was going to need to work out
extra hard for the next few days!!

Along the wall opposite from the sink was another table that had all of the
desserts on it.  There were three gigantic trays each containing an
assortment of Christmas cookies.  There were also two homemade pies and one
huge chocolate cake, which was topped with strawberries.  On the corner of
the table sat a large bowl filled with red and green M&M's.  While I tended
to avoid sweets most of the time, the chocolate cake looked so delectable
that I made a mental note to save room so I could have a piece later on.

Lane and I started to nibble on a few of the appetizers.  No matter where I
moved, he stayed glued to my side, not that I wasn't complaining!!
Eventually Lane's uncles, aunts, and parents came into the kitchen and
joined us.  Thus began the portion of the evening where I was grilled on
almost every aspect of my life...save one.  Over the next hour, as I spoke
with each of Lane's relatives, I found myself answering the same questions
over and over again, most of them pertaining to where I grew up, what I was
majoring in at school, and my plans for after graduation.  A few times I
felt like I was at the Spanish Inquisition.  The one line of questioning
that no one asked me about was my love life.  I realized that everyone knew
I was more than just Lane's friend, but no one would broach the subject
with either Lane or me.  I was thankful about that...I wasn't sure what I
would say if someone did ask me that type of question.  I knew that Lane
and I had strong feelings for each other, but we hadn't discussed what we
were to each other yet.  In other words, we hadn't officially made the
decision that we were dating.  Of course, before we could do that, we
needed to go on an ACTUAL DATE.  I made a mental note to rectify that
situation as soon as possible.

After answering questions for awhile, I actually started to feel physically
drained.  I wasn't use to talking about myself so much.  I didn't know it
could be so tiring!!  Finally, I was able to escape and I made my way into
the family room and collapsed on one of the couches.  My 'shadow' was right
behind me and he sat down extremely close to me.  In fact, he was
practically on top of me.  While I enjoyed the closeness, I began to get
nervous once I noticed that his grandmother was sitting in an easy chair
directly across from us.  Lane had mentioned earlier that his grandmother
didn't know he was gay and he also didn't want her to find out.  So, either
Lane felt comfortable sitting so close to me because he didn't realize his
grandmother was across from us, or he decided that she was too far gone to
understand what it really meant.

I looked closely at her eyes and didn't notice very many signs of life.  I
felt so bad for her as I sat there and studied her.  She was just sitting
in that chair...existing.  Alzheimer's was such a horrible disease and it
saddened me that she had to suffer through it.  Her state of being seemed
like a horrible fate.  Suddenly, I realized something.  I had basically
been living the same way for the last eleven years of my life.  I hadn't
been sitting in a chair staring at nothing, but I might as well have been.
I didn't have Alzheimer's, but after the 'infection' of my ordeal with
Leon, the resulting 'symptoms' were remarkably similar.  I was filled with
regret as I thought of those wasted eleven years.  I resolved once again to
start living my life to the fullest.

Since the scene in the hallway, Lane and I hadn't gotten a chance to talk
about what had happened between us.  There had been many times over the
last hour when he would look over and start smiling at me.  I knew why he
was smiling, and it warmed my heart each and every time he did it.  Other
times, we exchanged what I can only describe as "meaningful stares".
Despite all of the distractions of the food, the family, and the music, I
think the foremost thought in both of our minds was the amazing kiss we
shared.  I didn't know exactly what Lane was thinking, but if he was
anything like me, thoughts of it were constantly lurking in his mind.  I
found that I had a hard time concentrating on the conversations going on
around me, even when I was directly involved!!

I felt Lane's hand drift over and come to a rest on my thigh.  He started
to slowly caress my leg with his fingers.  The world faded from view and
the only thing that existed was Lane and his hand on my leg.  I started to
get really hot and I could feel sweat starting to break out on my forehead.
I also started to get AROUSED which, instead of embarrassing me, actually
made me quite happy, mostly because I had been plagued with so many
problems in that area when I was growing up because of 'IT'.  I was
relieved to know my body was functioning normally and I was happy that it
was Lane who was eliciting this kind of response from me.

Suddenly, I remembered where we were.  I couldn't believe he was doing this
right in front of his family...especially his grandmother.  I slowly looked
around and realized that I had nothing to be paranoid about.  Lane's
grandma was lost in her own little world, and the rest of his family wasn't
paying any attention to us at the moment.  Thank God, too, because I didn't
want to hear any more crap from Connor and Sarah tonight.  I looked over at
Lane and he had this look of...of...LUST on his face.  Damn!!  His lips
looked so tasty...I wanted them almost as much as I wanted a piece of that
chocolate cake!!  :) Thank god I kept my wits about me or else I'm positive
I would have reached over and kissed him.

"TIME TO EAT!!" Mrs. McNeil announced loudly from the kitchen.  Saved by
the bell, I thought.

Hunter and Preston got up from where they were playing with George and ran
towards the kitchen.  This was the first time they had left George alone
since they had met him, not that George was complaining.  He was having a
lot of fun with them too.  After the boys left, George walked over to us.
He came up to Lane first because, of course, Lane was his favorite.  Hey,
Lane was MY favorite too!!  Suddenly, I thought about that old phrase 'like
mother, like daughter'.  I modified it to 'like master, like pet' to fit
our current situation.  I had to stifle a laugh at my own cleverness.

"Are you having a good time, George??" Lane asked him while scratching
behind his ears.  George twisted his head around and started to lick Lane
on one of his hands.

"George!!  What am I??  Chopped liver??" I asked my dog.

George moved closer to me and I petted him for a few seconds.  I also got a
tongue bath on one of my hands.  YUCK!!  I'll definitely have to wash my
hands before I eat!!  Lane and I finally got up and made our way into the
kitchen for dinner.  We both washed our hands at the kitchen sink, then
went to go stand in line to fill up our plates with food.  The whole time
we were doing these tasks, Lane kept 'accidentally' bumping into me and
touching me.  By responding to his kiss and making that comment to Connor,
I had demonstrated to Lane that I was ready for something more to develop
between the two of us.  Once Lane understood that, the floodgates holding
in his feelings for me had opened.  Forget opened, I think they were
demolished.  I mean...how else could I explain the smiles, the stares, the
bumping, and the touching??  He wasn't holding back his feelings for me
anymore.  He had kept himself in check these last few months waiting for me
to give him the thumbs up.  Rather than slowly rev the engine once he got
the green light, I guess he decided to push the accelerator to the floor.
The idea that Lane wasn't going to hold back anymore thrilled me, but also
scared me at the same time.  Ahhh...my contradictory thinking.  Where have
you been??  This time, however, I wasn't scared because I was terrified of
what we might do together.  Instead, I felt that I was waiting to ride a
huge roller coaster.  I was scared and exhilarated all at the same time.
The best part about all of this was I could admit finally admit to myself
what my feelings were for Lane and not feel weird anymore.

The dinner was excellent...and it was all ITALIAN.  During the evening, I
found out that Lane's father was a mixture of a few European nationalities.
His mom, however, was one hundred percent Italian.  According to Lane, his
mom's Italian nature only became apparent at Christmas Eve dinner.  Her
parents had thrown lavish Christmas Eve dinners, and Mrs. McNeil decided to
continue that tradition with her family.  And...it was a truly amazing
dinner.  There was Italian sausage smothered with grilled onions and
peppers, pasta, meatballs, eggplant parmesan, lasagna, and a mixed salad
with an awesome red wine vinaigrette dressing.

While all of that food was great, my absolute favorite of the evening was
the white cavatels.  This particular pasta, which was served dry, was
covered in a mixture of parmesan cheese, various herbs, and tons of garlic.
It was the best tasting food I had ever had in my life!!  I tried to
control myself, but I ended up going back to get more THREE TIMES!!  By the
time dinner was over, I was stuffed.

Dinner was a very casual affair.  There wasn't a set place to eat at.
Basically, everyone had to find somewhere to sit in the kitchen or family
room.  Lane and I were keeping our distance from Connor, Veronica, Brad,
and Sarah, so we ended up sitting on the far side of the family room with
Lane's cousins, Eric and Julia.  Julia was a firecracker and, during
dinner, she regaled us with tales of her adventures over the past few
years.  One such tale had me in stitches...at first.

"So, anyway, about two months ago a few of my friends came home from
college for the weekend and we went out drinking." Julia began.  "We ended
up down on Coventry Road.  Do you know where that is, Jaden??"

"I've never been there before, but I've heard of it." I replied.

"Right.  So, at this one bar, I met this guy named Steve.  We discovered
that he was a friend of a friend of a friend of mine.  He was cute, but I
wasn't planning on hooking up with him.  Anyway, at some point during the
night, Steve and I got separated from both his friends and my friends.  It
was close to closing time at the bars, and I was wasted.  I tried to call
my friends, but I couldn't reach any of them.  I didn't know what to do
because my one friend had driven us down to the bars so I didn't have a car
and I didn't have any money for a cab ride home.  I couldn't have driven
anyway because I was so drunk.  So, I was stuck.  Eventually, Steve invited
me to go home with him...just to sleep.  He said he would take me home in
the morning, when he was sober.  We pooled our money and paid for a cab to
take us back to his house.  He stayed true to his word and let me sleep in
his bed, while he slept on the couch.  In the morning, I heard a knock on
the bedroom door.  Thinking it was Steve, I said 'come in'.  I looked up
and saw this strange older man standing in the room.  It turned out to be
Steve's DAD!!  HE LIVED WITH HIS PARENTS!!  I drew the covers up to my
neck, completely mortified by this turn of events.  Steve's dad was
embarrassed too.  He finally managed to ask me where his son was and I
directed him to the couch.  After Steve's dad left, I thought to myself
'OK...get dressed and get home'!!  I found Steve and, when I told him I was
ready to go, he told me that he couldn't drive me because...are you ready
for this??...he didn't have a DRIVER'S LICENSE!!  He wouldn't tell me why
he didn't have a driver's license, just that he had some kind of
'condition' that prevented him from getting one.  I was so pissed!!  I
didn't understand why Steve offered to drive me home when he knew that he
wouldn't be able to.  Steve tried to call a few of his friends, but
couldn't find anyone that could take me home.  Steve's dad found out what
was going on and he offered to give me a ride.  I really didn't want to
accept a ride from him, but I didn't have any other choice.  I was out of
money, so a cab ride was impossible.  I tried but still wasn't able to get
a hold of any of my friends.  So, frustrated beyond belief, I agreed to his
offer.  After we were in the car and already driving, Steve's father
dropped a bombshell on me.  Before he could take me home, he had to go
coach a girl's basketball game!!  I was in shock.  Before I had time to
digest what was going on, I found myself sitting in a gymnasium watching a
group of seventh and eighth grade girls play basketball.  All I wanted to
do was go home, but I was trapped.  After the game was over, Steve's father
had me wait in his office while he finished up with the girls.  So, there I
was, sitting in a strange office at some junior high school.  I was tired,
hung over, and wearing the same clothes from the previous night.  In short,
I was miserable.  I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse but, of
course, I was wrong.  I few of the girls from the team saw me in the office
and came in to ask me who I was.  I explained that I was a friend of the
coach's son.  Apparently, all of these girls knew who Steve was, and they
started asking me if I was his girlfriend.  I told them 'no', but that
didn't stop them from suddenly starting to chant 'Steve has a girlfriend,
Steve has a girlfriend'.  I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.  Finally,
Steve's father came and rescued me and we got in the car.  I was so
relieved to finally be going home.  As we were driving, Steve's father
announced that we were going to go pick up Steve's mother from work because
they had to go someplace after dropping me off.  The next thing I knew, I
was in the car with Steve's mother too!!  Talk about uncomfortable.  They
tried to make small talk with me, but none of us really knew what to say.
I especially felt strange because, while I knew that Steve's father knew
that Steve slept on the couch, I wasn't sure if his mother knew that.  Did
she think that I slept with her son last night??  Did she think I was some
kind of slut that had a one-night stand??  I was the most relieved I've
ever been in my life when we finally got to my apartment.  I hightailed it
out of the car as fast as I could.  Now...that was a crazy night!!"

Lane, Eric, and I were in tears from laughing so hard at Julia's story.
The best part was that it was a true story.  No one could make up a
something like that.  Unfortunately, my good mood changed really quickly
when Julia made her next comment.

"To be honest, I'm just glad that I didn't get assaulted or anything.  It
was really stupid of me to go home with a guy I had just met."

As soon as I digested what she said, the funniness of her story left me
instantly.  I knew all too well the consequences of getting into a
stranger's car.  She's right...she was really lucky.  I was getting upset
even though I was trying really hard to calm myself down.  I couldn't get
mad at Julia...she didn't know about my past.  I was sure if she did, she
wouldn't have told that story.  Lane noticed my sudden shift in mood and
looked at me sympathetically.  I think he understood what was going on in
my head.  Thankfully, neither Julia nor Eric recognized my mood swing.  I
really didn't want to explain why I was getting upset.  The topic changed
and the conversation continued.  I felt the anger melting away slowly.
This was one of the areas I was really improving in.  Certain things were
always going to remind me of 'IT' and I would most likely get upset.  The
trick was not letting the anger keep control of me.  In the past, the
feelings I had when reminded about 'IT' would stick with me for a long
time, sometimes for days or weeks.  As I worked with Dr. Swatt, I began to
learn how to stop holding onto those feelings.  Instead, I recognized the
feelings, gave them validation, and then let them go as quickly as I could.
Dr. Swatt had been very impressed with how far I had come in this area.
All of that work was paying off now.  Within five minutes, I was feeling
exactly how I felt before the comment was made.

"You haven't been up to visit me at school yet this year.  Are you planning
on coming up anytime soon??" Lane asked Eric.

"Well, after the last time I visited you, I was scarred for life.  I'm not
sure I want to come back!!" Eric replied jokingly.  Eric's response piqued
my curiosity.

"What happened, Eric??  Why aren't you sure you want to visit??" I asked
him.

"You've known Lane for a while now, haven't you Jaden??" he asked me.  I
nodded in response.  "And...you've met all of his friends, right??"

"Sure, I know them."

The first thought that came into my mind was Kaylie.  I was positive Eric
was going to say that she had traumatized him in some way.  So, I wasn't
expecting his next question and it shocked me.

"Have you ever experienced...PORN night??" he asked, lowering his voice.

Had I ever experienced porn night??  The unfortunate answer was...YES!!
Eric must seen the disgusted look on my face.

"Ah...I see you know what I'm talking about!!"

"I sure do.  It was horrible.  About two months ago, when I came over to
Lane's house and walked into the living room, I heard this female voice
shout out, 'Please punish my dirty little pussy!!'  I thought I was in the
wrong house at first.  I didn't know what was going on."

"Hey, porn night was created by Nick and Stu.  I had nothing to do with
it." Lane said, trying to defend himself.

"You were sitting there WATCHING it, Lane!!" I exclaimed, teasing him.

"What were they watching that night??" Eric asked me.

"Some kind of Japanese anime.  It was all about sadomasochism.  It was very
disturbing and I felt completely dirty after seeing it...and I only watched
for about two minutes."

"Dude!!  I know which one you're talking about.  They made me watch that
one too!!"  Eric laughed.

"Little brother!!  You've never told me this before." Julia exclaimed.

"This isn't something you run home to tell your sister, Jules." Eric
replied.  "Jaden...did you see the one with Sylvester Stallone in it??"

"Sylvester Stallone made a porno??" I asked.

"Well, kind of.  It's this weird movie from the seventies.  Basically, it's
soft-core porn.  He made it a number of years before 'Rocky'."

"Really.  Wow...I've never heard of it before." I said.

"Yeah, it's an underground movie.  I'm not sure how Nick and Stu got a copy
of it.  I bet that Sylvester Stallone wishes he could destroy every copy on
Earth.  It was really horrible.  The only line of dialogue that I remember
is from a scene where a girl is about to give him a blowjob.  She kneels
down, then looks up at him and says 'I'm going to wrap my velvet mouth
around your shank of love!!'"

All four of us starting laughing.  I hated to admit it, but the Sylvester
Stallone movie sounded hilarious.

"That's better than 'I'm a dirty little bitch that needs to be punished!!'
That's the only other quote I remember from the Japanese anime."  I said.
We all shared another laugh.

"Alright, alright.  Enough talk about porn night." Lane commanded.

"Anyway, after seeing all of that porn, I had to call my friend Vicki and
go over to cuddle with her!!" Eric continued, ignoring Lane.

I glanced over at Lane as I laughed at Eric's comment.  Lane was...WAIT A
MINUTE!!  Something Eric just said triggered one of my memories.  I thought
to myself, 'Vicki...Eric...cuddling'.  Hmmm...I was starting to connect
some dots in my mind.

"Eric, does your friend Vicki go to our college??" I asked while pointing
back and forth between me and Lane.

"Yeah." Eric replied.

"Does she...does she have a boyfriend named Ryan??"

"Yeah.  Hold on a second!!  Do you know my friend Vicki??" Eric asked.

"I think I do!!  Ryan is in my study group along with Stu's girlfriend.  I
met Vicki a few months ago at a party at Lane's house."  I replied.

"Holy shit!!  What a small world!!  Vicki's been one of my best friends
since junior high school." Eric said.  "How did you figure out that the
Vicki you know is the same as my friend??"

"When we were talking at the party, she mentioned that she had a friend
named Eric.  I wouldn't have remembered that part by itself, but what made
me put two and two together was when you mentioned that you needed to
cuddle with her.  The word 'cuddle' jumped out and me and I remembered that
she described her friend Eric as her 'cuddle-buddy'."

I remembered something else that Vicki had said about Eric, but I didn't
say anything because I was afraid I might embarrass him.  Besides, I needed
to ask Lane about what I suspected first.  I got my chance a few minutes
later when Julia and Eric went to the kitchen to get more food.  I didn't
want anyone hearing what I was about to say, so I leaned over and whispered
to Lane.

"I've got a question to ask you."

"No Jaden.  I will not take my clothes off right now!!  For god's sake, my
mother is sitting right over there!!"  Lane responded mischievously.

"Shut up you goofball!!"  I was trying to be serious, but I couldn't help
myself and I laughed at what he said.  "Seriously, I need to ask you
something."

"Jaden, I've already told you...I will not go be alone with you in my
bedroom until AFTER we've opened presents!!  By the way, you better have
gotten me something good!!"

I laughed again.  Lane was being so cute, I wanted to eat him up.  My
Grandma Scott used to always say to me, 'Jaden...you are so cute I could
eat you up!!'.  I never really understood what she meant until right now.
Lane was simply too adorable for his own good.

"Ha, ha.  Very funny, Lane."  I paused for a second and looked at him.
"Are you done??  Can I ask you my question now??"

"You're no fun." He pouted.  "OK, fine...how can my superior intellect help
you??"

"Well, first of all, you are only five one-hundredths of a grade point
ahead of me, so don't let your head get too big." I retorted.  He smiled at
my comment....gosh, I loved his smile.  Okay Jaden, get back on track!!
"Actually I was wondering something.  Is...is Eric gay??"  Lane looked
surprised by my question.

"What makes you think that??" he asked me.

"Well, it's something that Vicki said to me the night of 'the' party."  I
didn't need to explain which party I meant.  Whenever I empathized the word
'the' before the word 'party', Lane understood I was talking about the
party when I had my meltdown.  "When she spoke about Eric, she described
him as her 'gay' friend.  I pretty sure she didn't mean her 'happy'
friend."

Lane paused to think about what I had just told him.  After a few seconds,
he responded to me.

"If Eric's gay, he's never said anything to me.  My parents have never
mentioned anything either.  If it's true, maybe he's keeping it a secret
from our family."

"Assuming Vicki is right, I wonder why he hasn't told your family.  I
mean...everyone besides your grandmother has accepted you with no problems.
Wouldn't that make Eric believe that everyone would be okay with him too??"

"I don't know, Jaden.  Maybe he feels embarrassed about it, or maybe he
doesn't know how to tell his parents.  Coming out to your parents isn't an
easy thing to do, even if you're relatively sure they won't do something
like throw you out of the house.  Eric might be having a hard time figuring
out how to tell them.  Don't forget what I went through right before I came
out."

I hadn't forgotten what Lane went through.  Soon after I told Lane about
'IT', he shared with me the story of his coming out experience.  I was
thankful that his mother and sister had caught him before he had a chance
to do something stupid.  I was so happy that he was alive and here with me,
especially after the events of this evening.  Even though I had only known
Lane for four months, I couldn't imagine life without him anymore.  In
fact, I wanted him in my life forever.  A 'Lane-less' world seemed like an
very empty prospect.

"I'm not going to say anything to him.  I want to respect his privacy.
When he's ready, he'll come tell us."  I smiled inside when I said the word
'us'.  It was becoming much more natural to think of me and Lane as an
'us'.  It felt right.

Once dinner was over, Lane and I helped clean up some of the mess.  The
party was still going strong, but Mrs. McNeil wanted to get the main dinner
dishes taken care of.  So, while Mrs. McNeil washed the dishes, I dried
them, and Lane put them away.  Every time I handed him something, Lane made
it a point to touch or caress my hand in some way.  He wasn't letting me
forget for one second what had transpired between us earlier in the
evening.  At one point, while I was waiting for Mrs. McNeil to finish
washing a pan that was caked with food, I glanced over at Lane and found
him staring back at me.  He was leaning against the counter and he was
giving me this look that so sexually charged, I forgot to breathe for a few
seconds.  If no one else was around, I'm positive he would have tackled me
to the floor and had his way with me.  I surprised myself when, despite all
of my insecurities about sex, I found myself wishing he could and wishing
he WOULD.

I was starting to get in touch the sexual part of me.  One of the main
reasons I was letting myself explore these new feelings and emotions was
because it was Lane creating them in me.  As the night progressed, it
dawned on me that the question wasn't 'if' Lane and I would become intimate
with each other, but rather 'when' that would happen.  I didn't want to
rush into the sexual part of our relationship too quickly.  I knew that I
would be very nervous when it happened, but I was happy that my first time
would be with Lane.  I trusted him implicitly.  I knew he would never do
anything to hurt me and he would let me set the pace.  He had proven how
much he cared about me over the last few months by giving me the time and
space I needed to go through the recovery process.  Based on how he was
acting tonight, he must have had to exert an incredible amount of control
over himself while he waited for me.  Now that he knew I was receptive to
something more developing between us, he couldn't keep his hands off of me.
The gray mist of worry (formerly the black cloud of doom) made me wonder
why he liked me so much and why he had waited so patiently for me.
Thankfully, I was able to banish those doubts from my mind rather quickly.

After we had cleaned up the majority of the dishes, Lane took me to the far
side of the kitchen.  He grabbed my arms with his hands and stood me
against the wall.  He leaned in close to my face and I realized that he was
going to kiss me.  His face started to move closer to me and even though I
didn't want to create a scene by kissing him right there in full view of
his family, I knew that I couldn't and wouldn't deny him.  Hey...I wanted
to kiss him too!!  I closed my eyes and waited anxiously to feel his soft
lips touch mine.  And...I waited.  And...nothing.  Finally, I opened my
eyes.  He was staring at me, a triumphant grin on his face.  BASTARD!!  He
knew that I thought he was going to kiss me and now he was proud of himself
because I showed him how ready and willing I was.  Note to self: I've got
to learn how NOT to be so easy!!

Suddenly, his head moved until his lips were near my ear and he whispered
to me.

"Stay here, hot stuff.  Nature's calling.  I'll be right back, OK??"

He pulled back and once I established eye contact with him, I nodded my
head.  He stood there and continued to look in my eyes for another few
seconds.  Then, he started to take a few backward steps away from me, never
breaking eye contact.  Finally he reached the point where he had to turn to
go down the hallway towards the bathroom.  Right before he disappeared down
the hallway he turned his head and looked at me again.  I hadn't taken my
eyes off of him the entire time.

As soon as he was out of sight, I closed my eyes, leaned my head back
against the wall, and sighed.  Before I had a chance to think anything
else, I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder.  I thought it was Lane, but
when I opened my eyes I found Connor and Sarah standing there.  It was
Connor's hand on my shoulder.

"Jaden, would you mind joining us in the study for a second??" Sarah asked
me.

Connor let go of me.  Sarah started walking towards the study.  Connor
motioned for me to go next and I followed.  Connor was right behind me and
once we had all entered the room, Connor shut the door.  We were alone, and
I began to get butterflies in my stomach.  Connor stood next to Sarah.
They both folded their arms and stared at me for a few seconds.  Finally,
Connor spoke.

"We need to have a talk, Jaden" he said roughly.  This wasn't a request.
This was a demand!!

GULP!!


TO BE CONTINUED

Be on the lookout for Chapter 22, 'The Christmas Eve Party...Part 3',
coming soon!!

FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK---This is lifeblood for us writers, so please
drop me a quick line.

My e-mail address is: jaden.scott@adelphia.net