Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 19:45:03 -0500
From: jaden.scott@adelphia.net
Subject: Lover's Lane Chapter 23

This story is a work of fiction.  It depicts a romance between two
consenting adult males and may contain some descriptions of sexual acts.
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 the story.  It cannot be reproduced in any form without expressed
written permission from the author.  Please contact the author for any
requests.  Copyright 2006.

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


LOVER'S LANE

by Jaden Scott



CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:  THE CHRISTMAS EVE PARTY, PART FOUR

**JADEN'S POINT OF VIEW**

As soon as they noticed us enter the kitchen, Hunter and Preston came
running over to us.

"Uncle Lane!!  Uncle Lane!!" Preston yelled.  "Where have you been??  It's
time to open PRESENTS!!"

"Presents!!" Hunter said, mimicking his older brother.

They each grabbed one of Lane's hands and started dragging him into the
family room.  I got a kick out of their enthusiasm.  Christmas is the
absolute best holiday when you're a kid.  Everything is so magical,
especially Santa Claus and his mission to leave presents for all the good
boys and girls in the world.  It's exciting to imagine him flying in his
sleigh, being pulled by his eight trusty reindeer.  It's fun to leave out
milk and cookies for the big man, hoping he'll eat the snack because that
means you're one of those good children he's got a present for.  Besides
all of that, there were Christmas trees, the lights and decorations, going
caroling, and-if you were lucky to live in an area where it snows-making
snowmen and having snowball fights.  The list of things to look forward to
goes on and on and on.

Everyone standing in the kitchen made his or her way into the family room.
Before I knew it, Preston and Hunter were attacking their presents with a
lot of vim and vigor.  It was so much fun to watch them.  Certain items,
such as clothes and savings bonds, were tossed aside with barely an
acknowledgement of the gift.  Toys, however, received a HUGE response.  I
sent out a silent word of thanks to my mother for understanding how the
kids would react to their presents.  I was glad she helped me choose a toy
to buy for each of them.  It was important to me that they liked the gifts
I got for them.

Lane, who had donned a Santa Claus hat, was sorting and handing out the
presents to the boys.  I thought it was curious that only the boys were
opening their gifts at first.  Since Julia was sitting on the couch next to
me, so I decided to ask her about this.

"Why are only the boys opening presents right now??" I asked her.

"We started doing this last year.  Before that, everyone...the adults and
the kids...opened presents at the same time.  Two years ago was the first
time both Preston and Hunter were old enough to really get excited about
opening their gifts.  Everyone found that his or her attention was focused
mostly on those two, which made it hard for the adults to enjoy opening
their presents and getting to see what everyone else received.  Last year,
we decided to let the boys open their presents first, which kills two birds
with one stone.  The kids have toys to play with while the adults open
their presents, and the adults aren't distracted by all of the kids' antics
when they are opening their presents." She explained.  I thought that made
a lot of sense.

"Hey guys.  Here's a present for each of you...from Jaden." I heard Lane
say to the boys as he handed them the gifts I had gotten for them.

"Who's Jaden??" Preston asked his uncle.  Lane started to laugh, and I
couldn't help but smile too.

"He's my friend from college." Lane said.  The boys didn't show any signs
of recognition.  "He's sitting right over there." Lane said and pointed to
me.  The boys looked at me, but still didn't respond.  They both looked
completely uninterested.  "George is his dog!!" Lane continued, trying to
think of something that would trigger a response from them.

"Oh!!" Preston and Hunter said simultaneously.  I could see the light bulb
go off in both of their heads and I had to laugh.  George was clearly more
popular with those two than I was.

Like all of their other presents, Preston and Hunter viciously attacked the
wrapping paper covering the gifts I had gotten them.  In a matter of
seconds, each of their presents was revealed.

"A fire truck!!" Hunter exclaimed while looking at his toy.

"Cool!!  A water gun!!" Preston yelled.

I had bought a big red fire engine for Hunter.  Preston was now the proud
owner of a super soaker water gun.

"Mommy!!  Daddy!!  Look!!"  Preston shouted, holding up his present for
them to see.  Once again, Hunter copied his brother and held up his present
too.  They were so cute.  I was really looking forward to watching them
grow up!!

"That's nice, honey." Sarah replied to Preston.

I glanced over Sarah and Brad.  They were both giving me the evil eye.

"Gee...THANKS, Jaden.  A water gun...that's JUST what Preston needs." Sarah
said sarcastically.

"Remind me...where do you live??" Brad asked menacingly.  Everyone,
including me, knew he was just joking and we all chuckled at his comment.

The boys really seemed to like the presents I had gotten for them.  Lane
was beaming at me.  Hunter and Preston were very important to him, and I
realized he was happy I had recognized that fact by getting something for
each of them.

"Guys!!" Lane said loudly, trying to get the boys' attention.  They both
looked at him.  "What do you say to Jaden??"

"Thank you!!" Two voices shouted out.  Neither of them bothered to look at
me when they spoke.  Kids!! :)

The boys opened the rest of their presents.  When they were finished, Lane
went into the kitchen and got a garbage bag.  He quickly picked up and
threw away all of the torn up wrapping paper generated by the boys'
presents.  After he was finished, I thought he would start handing out the
gifts for the adults; instead, he walked over to the side of the couch
where Julia and I were sitting and kneeled on the floor in front of us.

"Jules, would you like to hand out the rest of the presents??" Lane asked
her.  I glanced over at Julia.  She had a shocked look on her face.

"WHAT??" She said loudly.  After she got over her initial shock, she
continued.  "Lane, what's going on??  I mean...you ALWAYS hand out the
gifts.  I've actually CRIED a few times over the years because you wouldn't
even let me help you."  She paused again.  "I don't get it.  Suddenly,
after all these years, you're...what??  You're willing to give up that
job??"

"Jullleeesss!!" Lane whined.  "Stop giving me a hard time!!  I was just
trying to be nice.  Besides, I thought you'd want to do it."  Lane paused
for a second.  "You've certainly complained enough over the years." Lane
muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for both Julia and me to
hear.  She shot him a dirty look.  "Come on!!  I was sure you'd be
excited...and happy!!"

As I was sat there and listened to this exchange, I started to wonder the
same thing Julia did.  Why was Lane willing to give up a job that he
clearly loved to do??  I watched Julia as she studied Lane intensely.
Something must have clicked in her brain because, suddenly, she got this
look of understanding on her face.

"Ohhhh...I get it." She said to Lane before glancing over at me.  As soon
as she said and did that, I got it too.  Julia was sitting next to
me...right where Lane wanted to be.  Awww!!  'He's so cute!!' I thought.
'And HOT!!'  Lane's face started to turn bright red when he realized that
Julia had figured him out.

"Good for you."  Lane practically sneered.  "So, are you going to hand out
the presents or not??" He asked impatiently.

"Settle down, Lane.  Don't go getting your panties in a twist!!" Julia
said, teasing him.

For Lane's sake, I tried not to laugh, but I failed miserably.  I cut
myself some slack because...come on!!  That was funny!!

"Go ahead and sit with your BOYFRIEND." Julia said as she stood up.

SHIT!!  To my ears, it sounded like Julia shouted the word 'boyfriend'.
Even if she didn't shout, she was still way too loud.  Lane and I looked at
each other.  His eyes were wide with shock and fear, and I imagined that my
eyes looked exactly the same to him.  I knew what he was thinking...his
GRANDMOTHER!!  His grandmother might have heard that!!  After a second, we
simultaneously turned our heads and looked at her.  She had her eyes closed
and it appeared that she was sleeping.  We turned back to look at each
other, but we didn't speak.  No words were needed.  I could see a look of
relief wash over his face.  'Whew!!  We just dodged a bullet!!' I thought.

While Lane and I were freaking out, Julia had walked over to the Christmas
tree and started sorting through the presents.  She was completely
oblivious to the crisis she almost started.  Lane got up from his kneeling
position, sat down on the couch, and let out a sigh.  Unlike earlier this
evening, he didn't sit so we were in direct contact with each other;
instead, he left some room between us.  I understood why he did it, but
that didn't stop me from missing the connection I felt when he was close to
me.

Julia started handing out presents to the adults.  My present for Mr. and
Mrs. McNeil was the first one they opened.  They really seemed to like the
bottle of wine and wine glasses I gave them.  Once again, I sent out a
silent word of thanks to my mom for helping me choose these presents.
After they both finished saying 'thank you', Lane leaned over and whispered
to me.

"That was really nice of you, Jaden.  You didn't have to get them
anything."

"I know, but I wanted too.  I really appreciate the invitation for
tonight." I replied.

"By the way, thanks for getting something for Preston and Hunter too."

"I'm just glad they liked what I got them.  I was nervous because I'd never
bought a present for a little kid before."

"So, while we're on the topic of presents, I want to know something."  He
said.  I noticed a smirk was starting to form on his face.

"Sure...what??" I asked cautiously.

"What did you get for me??" He asked.  The smirk was fully developed now.

"What makes you think I got you anything??  Better yet, what makes you
think you even deserve something more than a lump of coal??"  I shot back
at him.  Lane studied me for a second.

"You got me something." He said simply and confidently.  He turned his
attention away from me as Julia handed him another present.

'WHAT A BASTARD!!' I thought. Despite that, I couldn't help but smile at
him.  'He's right, but he's still a bastard!!'

"And...here's one for you, Jaden."  Julia said as she held out a package
for me to take.  At first, I thought it had to be from Lane but, when I
looked at the tag, I saw that it was from Lane's parents.  I wasn't
expecting them to get me a present, and I was taken aback.

"Who's that from, Jaden??" Lane asked.

"Your mom and dad." I replied, still a bit dumbfounded.

I looked over at Mr. and Mrs. McNeil, who were sitting on the same loveseat
that they were when I first saw them tonight.  Mrs. McNeil was staring at
me.  Apparently, she noticed that I received the gift they had gotten for
me.  I'm not sure why, but I was still really surprised.  Slowly, I tore
off the wrapping paper and found myself holding a rectangular cardboard
box.  I opened the box and pulled back white tissue paper to reveal...a
long-sleeved sweatshirt, which I quickly removed from the box for further
examination.  The sweatshirt was dark green, one of my school colors, and
it had my college's name printed on it.  It was awesome...and expensive, I
realized.  I had seen similar sweatshirts in one of the campus bookstores,
and they normally cost about fifty bucks.

"Wow!!  Thank you so much!!  This is really great!!" I said to Mr. and
Mrs. McNeil.

"You're welcome, Jaden." Mrs. McNeil replied.  "Lane mentioned that you
might like it."

She was right...I did like it.  I didn't own many articles of clothing that
were in my school's colors and had its name or logo printed on them.  I
folded the sweatshirt up, closed the box, and set it down on the floor next
to me.

"Here's another one for Lane." Julia said as she handed a gift to him.  I
perked up instantly.  It was the bag containing my presents for him.  I had
wrapped all of Lane's presents separately and, because each individual gift
was small in size, I put them into one of those fancy Christmas-themed
bags.  Lane grabbed the bag by the handles and immediately looked for the
tag.  When he found it, he read what was written on it out loud, but
quietly enough so his grandmother, who was awake now, couldn't hear him.

"To Lane.  From Jaden.  XXX, OOO."  WHAT??  I didn't write 'XXX, OOO' on
the tag!!  He turned and looked at me.  I noticed that the smirk was back.
"Doesn't 'XXX-OOO' mean hugs and kisses??" He asked as innocently as he
could.  Time to fight fire with fire!!

"Actually, Lane, that's secret military code for 'you're a jackass!!'" I
replied, trying to imitate his innocent tone of voice.  Conner and
Veronica, who were sitting close by, heard this exchange.  They both
laughed out loud.

"Good one, Jaden!!"  Connor exclaimed.

"Thanks!!" I replied.  I began to laugh along with them, unable to hold
back any longer.  Lane tried to act offended, but he couldn't pull it off.
Soon enough, he started laughing too.  This night, which had started out a
bit roughly, was turning out to be very magical and special.

Lane opened up the gift bag and pulled out all three presents.  Based on
shape and size, it was pretty easy for Lane to figure out what the two CD's
were.  He opened those first so he could see exactly which musical artists
I had gotten for him.  He was very happy with both of my choices, as they
were CD's he really wanted.  After putting the CD's aside, he opened the
last package.

"Jaden, wow!!  A watch!!" he exclaimed after the gift was revealed.

"It's an athletic watch, complete with a built-in timer!!" I told him.  He
was reacting very positively to the watch, and I was happy...and relieved!!

"Awesome!!  I've been meaning to get one of these to use during our
workouts.  Thanks, babe."

Um...WHOA!!  He...he just called me 'babe'.  I looked at him in shock, but
he was examining the watch and didn't see my expression.  I wasn't sure if
he meant to call me that, or if it was a slip of the tongue.  He didn't
react in any way to the term he had just called me, so I wasn't sure what
to think.  I glanced around to see if anyone else had heard him.  Most
everyone was preoccupied, except for Sarah, who made eye contact with me.
She gave me a smile, indicating she knew exactly what I was thinking.  I
looked back at Lane, but his attention was still on the watch.

"Jaden, this is a really nice watch.  It must have been expensive." He
said.  "You...you didn't have to spend so much money on me." He seemed to
be embarrassed.

"Don't worry.  I got it on sale!!" I said jokingly, trying to make him
smile.  Lane laughed and whatever embarrassment he felt disappeared.

Soon enough, the last present had been removed from underneath the
Christmas tree, handed out, and opened.  As I watched Julia hand out the
last present, which was for Eric, I began to feel very disappointed because
I didn't receive a gift from Lane.  The logical part of my brain knew that
I shouldn't have expected Lane to get me a present, but the emotional part
of my brain didn't care about that.  I couldn't help myself...my feelings
were hurt!!  Lane wasn't acting like anything was wrong, which didn't make
me feel any better.  In fact, the more I thought about it, the more upset I
got.  He's ALMOST my boyfriend!!  Isn't he, like, required to get me
something??  My logical side tried to point out that I didn't need more
'things'.  My parents had money, and I was never denied if I needed or
wanted something.  Those thoughts, however, did nothing to ease the pain I
was feeling.  I wasn't sure what to think, and doubts started to creep into
my mind.  I started to wonder if he liked me as much as I thought he did.
I was confused and I wasn't sure if I should say something to him.
Luckily, before I had a chance to embarrass myself, Lane's mom walked up to
us.

"Sweetie," she said, addressing Lane, "could you help me with something in
the kitchen??"

"Sure." Lane replied.  He turned and looked at me.  "I'll be right back,
okay??"

I nodded in reply.  I was afraid to say anything because I knew that I
wouldn't be able to keep the disappointment out of my voice.  As soon as
Lane got up and went into the kitchen with his mom, Connor came over and
sat down next to me.

"Jaden, my man." He said as he slapped my knee.  "I didn't get to see the
present that little Laney-boy got you."

"Me either." Sarah yelled from where she was sitting.

"It must be something really good.  So, where is it??" Connor asked.

Damn!!  I didn't know how to answer his question.  Even though I was upset
with Lane, I still cared for him.  I didn't want to embarrass him in front
of his brother and sister by revealing that he didn't get me anything.
SHIT!!  How am I going to get myself out of this situation??

"Oh...um...well..."  DAMMIT!!  I've got to learn to stop sputtering like
that when I get nervous!!

"What's wrong, Jaden??  Didn't...didn't Lane get you anything??" Connor
asked me.  I shook my head, unable to speak.  My cheeks were on fire.

"What a jerk!!" Connor yelled.  He seemed to be getting angry.  I needed to
take control of this situation...fast!!

"It's...it's cool." I managed to utter.  'Great' I thought sarcastically.
I'm sure those words will really calm Connor down.

"No, it isn't!!" Connor retorted.  He turned his head toward the kitchen.
"LANE!!  GET YOU BUTT IN HERE...NOW!!"

"Connor...please don't make a scene.  It's fine.  I'M FINE!!  I swear!!" I
pleaded with him.

"It's NOT fine, Jaden." Connor replied.  "LANE!!  Where are you??" He
called out again.

In the few seconds it took for Lane to appear in the doorway, a thought
suddenly occurred to me.  Well, it was more of a suspicion.  My suspicion
didn't start because Connor was acting concerned about my feelings, it was
the way he was acting so OVERLY concerned that caught my attention.  I
couldn't quite put my finger on what was happening, but something smelled
fishy to me.

"What do you want??" Lane asked impatiently.

"Get your ass over here!!" Connor demanded.  Lane walked up to us.

"What??" Lane asked again, clearly annoyed by his brother.  "Hurry up.  I
need to get back to the kitchen."

I couldn't look at Lane.  I sat there, cringing inside.  I was completely
and utterly embarrassed.

"Do you honestly not know what I want??" Connor asked, his voice tinged
with disbelief.

"No.  Get to the point, Connor."  Lane was upset.

"Where's Jaden's Christmas gift??  You know, the one FROM YOU??  I wanted
to see the present you got for him, but he doesn't have anything to show
me." Connor said, lowering his voice so everyone didn't overhear us.  I
didn't understand why he felt the need to do that.  He'd been shouting
everything else he'd said up until now.

"Quite frankly, that's NONE of your business." Lane replied.

I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.  Wasn't I just thinking that this
night was special and magical??  Well, I wasn't feeling that way anymore.
When Lane came back into the family room, Sarah had walked over and stood
next to Lane, but she remained quiet.  She finally spoke up now.

"Lane, I'm shocked...and I'm disappointed.  When you invite someone over
for Christmas, the polite thing to do is get that person a present, even if
it's a little one.  Plus...we're talking about Jaden!!  How could you not
get him anything??  Especially considering everything that's going on
between you two."

Why are Connor and Sarah saying all of this crap to Lane...especially right
in front of me??  This situation...this conversation...was way past the
point of simply being uncomfortable.  I wanted to tell all of them to shut
up.  Actually, I really wanted to tell them to shut 'the fuck' up!!

"Oh...I didn't realize...I didn't think...DAMN!!"  Sarah's words appeared
to affect Lane deeply, because he was very calm and contrite all of the
sudden.  There was silence for a few seconds, then Lane spoke again.

"Jaden." He said.  I knew he wanted me to look at him, but I couldn't.
"JADEN!!" He said, raising his voice because he didn't think he had my
attention.  "Look at me, please." He pleaded.  I forced myself to comply
with his request.

"I'm SO sorry.  I've been extremely busy lately, what with school ending
and getting ready for the Christmas party.  I didn't think to...I
didn't..." His voice trailed off.  I was still disappointed that he didn't
remember me, but my anger was gone now.  I truly believed he was sorry.  "I
know!!" He suddenly exclaimed.  "Give me a minute and I'll go scrounge
something up for you!!  Stay here and I'll be right back!!"

WHAT??  He's going to...to...SCROUNGE something up for me??  I wasn't a big
fan of this idea, mostly because it seemed so disingenuous.  Besides, I
didn't want him to feel like he HAD to get me a present.  I wanted him to
WANT to do that.

"Lane...please...don't!!" I yelled out, but he left the room so quickly, I
don't think he heard me.

I hated all of this.  I felt like everyone's attention was focused on me.
Well, everyone besides Lane's grandmother, who had fallen back to sleep.
Maybe someone should check to make sure she's still breathing!!  I happened
to catch Connor giving Sarah this...look, and he was smiling at her.  There
was just something about the WAY he smiled at Sarah that re-ignited my
earlier suspicions.  Is...is something going on here??  Am I caught up in
some kind of elaborate joke to make me think that Lane didn't get me a
Christmas present??  A part of me didn't think it was possible,
but...SOMETHING was up.

I reviewed the facts of the case.  First, there was no Christmas present
for me from Lane under the Christmas tree.  Before I had time to react to
that, Mrs. McNeil whisked Lane into the kitchen under the pretense of
'needing help with something', which was very vague.  Immediately following
that, Connor started his ridiculously 'over the top' questioning of me and
Lane regarding the fact that Lane DIDN'T get me a gift.  I think, however,
the biggest clue I had to the possibility of a scam was Lane's supposed
ignorance regarding the gift issue.  I let go of my doubts regarding how
Lane felt about me.  I KNEW that he liked me, especially after everything
that had happened between us tonight.  On top of all of that, Lane was a
kind, caring, THOUGHTFUL person.  I started to become convinced that Lane
and his family were trying to pull a fast one on me.  I wasn't sure when or
where they had planned all of this...it couldn't have been tonight, because
Lane had been glued to my side the entire time I had been here, minus that
brief period when he went to the bathroom.  He couldn't have plotted with
Connor and Sarah then because...they had me cornered in the study!!

Despite what I suspected was going on, I still sat there in an
uncomfortable silence while we waited for Lane to return.  I tried not to
look at Connor or Sarah because, every time I made eye contact with them,
they kept looking at me with pity in their eyes.  Finally, after what
seemed like an eternity, Lane reappeared in the family room.  He walked up
to the couch and he had a rather sheepish look on this face.

"I'm really, really sorry Jaden.  I feel like a complete ass about all of
this." He said.  As soon as he uttered those words, I was one hundred and
ten percent sure that this whole thing had been a huge joke designed to get
me.  Lane wasn't a very good actor and, even though he was trying really
hard to sound apologetic, he wasn't able to completely pull it off.  Plus,
now that I knew what to look for, I was able to see right through his
subterfuge.

"YOU SHOULD!!" Connor exclaimed, still completely committed to this ruse.

"Lane, seriously, it's fine.  I think everyone is making a big deal out of
nothing."  I wasn't embarrassed or disappointed anymore.  In fact, I was
impressed.  They had gotten me...they had gotten me good.  I wasn't mad at
all...in fact, I felt honored and privileged that they went to such great
lengths to fool me.  I knew that Lane's family loved to pull these kinds of
pranks on unsuspecting individuals.  The fact that they designed such an
elaborate hoax with me in mind made me feel like a part of the family.

"Can you...uh...can you come into the kitchen with me??" Lane asked.

"Sure." He extended his hand towards me, and I used it to help pull myself
up from the couch.  We started walking towards the kitchen.  I didn't let
on that I had figured them out because I wanted them to have their fun.
Besides, it was a great joke, even if the joke was on me.  I wanted to keep
it going for as long as possible.  Now that I knew what was going on, I was
able to fully appreciate the whole scenario and how hard it must have been
to execute this whole thing.

"Lane...really...you don't have to feel obliged to..."  My words trailed
off as my eyes caught sight of something sitting in the middle of the
kitchen.  It was...a brand new MOUNTAIN BIKE!!  It had a big red bow on it.

I stopped walking and just stared at it.  I think my jaw literally dropped.
OH MY GOD!!  If I hadn't figured out their scheme, the sight of this bike
would have made me forget about all the doubts and feelings of
disappointment that I had.  I couldn't believe it.  Lane didn't...he
couldn't have...OH MY GOD!!  Lane noticed I stopped.  He turned around and
walked back up to me.  I tore my gaze away from the bike and looked at him.

"SURPRISE!!  Merry Christmas, babe." He said, a huge smile on his face.

This was the second time he called me 'babe'.  The first time, I thought he
had a slip of the tongue, or didn't realize what he was saying.  Now, I
knew he called me that on purpose.  It's funny, but I'd never been a huge
fan of using words like 'babe', 'baby', 'sweetie', 'sugar', 'angel', or any
of the other hundreds of names that people use to address their significant
other.  Lane and I weren't officially a couple yet, but I couldn't help but
smile.  Somehow, hearing Lane call me that was not only acceptable, it was
AWESOME!!  I loved it...I loved him.

I returned my attention to the bike, then to Lane, then to the bike.  I was
speechless and didn't react for a few seconds.  I think that my lack of
response worried Lane because his smile started to diminish and he started
to look concerned.

"Do you...do you like it??" he asked apprehensively.

"Lane!!  Oh my god!!  Wow!!  I...LOVE...IT!!" I shouted.

Without thinking, I reached over and gave him a hug.  I didn't give him one
of those macho hugs that straight guys give to each other, the ones where
the guys bump chests, then let go of each other as quickly as possible,
lest they appear gay.  Well...I WAS gay and I hugged Lane tightly and
buried my face in his neck.  After a rather long time, I pulled back but
didn't remove my arms from around him.

"Lane...you didn't have to me buy me a bike.  It's...it's too expensive!!"
I said.

"Don't worry.  I got it on sale." He said, repeating the comment I made to
him when he opened the watch.

I wanted to kiss him so badly, and I almost did.  But, I noticed some
movement out of the corner of my eye.  I followed the movement and saw
Mrs. McNeil standing there.  She was watching us, and she had a neutral
expression on her face.  'What does that mean??' I thought.  But, I really
didn't have time to analyze her expression because Lane let go of me and
started pulling me over to the bike.

"It's a 2005 Frontier.  It's made by Schwinn."  I looked more closely at
the bike.  It was beautiful.  The entire bike was painted silver, with a
black seat and handlebars.  "It's got full Hi-Ten comfort, the tires are
twenty-six inch Schwinn Frontier ATB's, and the shifter is a SRAM MRX-7."

I had to smile at Lane's enthusiasm.  I had no idea what any of that meant,
but that didn't matter.  His excitement was infectious.

"I was thinking that when the weather gets warmer, we could go biking
together!!"

Lane loved to go mountain biking.  There were some nice trails at a park
about fifteen minutes from campus.  He would go sometimes, but I couldn't
join him because I didn't have a bike.  Apparently, he really wanted me to
go with him.  I mean...he BOUGHT ME A BIKE!!

"You know what would be fun??  We could take a camping trip this summer
down to the Blue Ridge Parkway and bring the bikes with us.  There's this
place called Sliding Rock that's TONS of fun.  It's this piece of rock that
has a completely smooth surface because of the millions of years of erosion
from the water that cascades down it.  It's nature's water slide.  The
water is really cold, but that doesn't matter because it's so much fun!!"

Lane was pumped up!!  I was happy to see him excited, and I liked the fact
that he was thinking long-term about us.  He was planning for the future,
and I was a major part of his plans.  I felt really good about that.

"So...did we get you??" He asked.  I knew what he was referring to.  I just
smiled at him.

"Did you figure it out??  How??  When??  What gave us away??" He continued
to ask me.

"I only figured it out at the very end.  Before that, you had me completely
going."

"You're...you're not mad about our joke, are you??" He asked.  He voice was
tinged with worry.

"No, I'm not mad.  I admit that I was a little disappointed at first, when
I thought you forgot to buy a present for me.  But once I put all of the
pieces together and figured out what you were up to, I thought it was
funny.  I couldn't believe that you guys got me.  I'm amazed that all of
you were able to pull that off."

"We've all had TONS of experience.  Trust me." Lane said.

We futzed around with the bike for a while.  Everyone except Lane's
grandmother came into the kitchen to see it.  Connor deemed the bike
'tight'.  The grin of happiness that had appeared on Lane's face when we
first entered the kitchen did not leave his face for a single second.  With
dinner finished and the presents opened, everyone settled down and the
evening got much quieter.  Lane wanted to build a fire in the fireplace
that was located in the living room, so he and I carried in some wood from
outside and, before long, we had a blaze going.

Lane and I ended up sitting on a couch in the living room in front of the
fireplace, watching the fire crackle and burn.  We didn't speak to each
other; instead, we enjoyed the music...and each other.  The lights were all
turned out, so the only thing illuminating the room was the fire.  I laid
my head on Lane's shoulder, completely peaceful, and we enjoyed a very
comfortable silence.  Unfortunately, our moment didn't last very long
because Hunter and Preston came into the room, with George tagging along
behind them.  The boys dragged Lane off of the couch to play with them.  I
remained sitting and watched as they wrestled around with each other.
George was having so much fun.  He really had taken to the boys and I was
going to feel bad when we had to leave.  Finally, the boys had used up the
last of their remaining energy.  I realized it was getting pretty late.
Lane sat down on the floor and leaned his back against a lazy boy located
directly across from the couch.  Preston sat down to Lane's left and Hunter
to his right.  Lane put his arms around the boys and they cuddled with him.
Once they were in that position, they drifted off to sleep fairly quickly,
Lane included.  George was lying down at Lane's feet, also fast asleep.

As I sat there in the darkened room with only the light of the fireplace to
see by, I stared at Lane.  The orange light from the fire danced over his
face, creating an endless stream of interesting and unique shadows to
appear.  The boys were content and safe in his strong arms.  I felt tears
form in my eyes.  Right in front of me was the most beautiful sight I had
ever witnessed in my life, and I couldn't believe my good fortune.  After
everything I had been through...the sleepless nights, the painful injuries,
the agonizing surgeries, the horrific memories, the terrifying nightmares,
and the feelings of complete and utter loneliness I had to endure for the
past eleven years of my life, all the while wondering if I would ever be
able to move past my ordeal...I deserved the happiness that had come into
my life.  I deserved Lane.  I had finally woken up from my living nightmare
and, like a dream, the horror of everything I had to go through was
(finally) fading from my memory.  I knew that it would always be with me,
but it would NEVER control me again.

Like I had done a thousand times before, I tried to imagine what my life
would be like if I had never gotten into the car with Leon.  For the first
time EVER, I couldn't think of another place or another situation I wanted
to be in.  I was here in this house, with Lane, and I was HAPPY.  I was
done living in the past.  Nothing in life is free, and if the price I had
to pay in order to be with Lane was 'IT', then so be it.  I was finally
able to make peace with my past.  As I sat in the living room, absorbing
the beautiful scene in front of me, I shed the last of my demons.  The
black cloud of doom, which had transformed recently into a gray mist of
worry, evaporated.  It COMPLETELY evaporated and I could actually feel my
whole being...my soul...get lighter as I let go of my most deeply buried
feelings surrounding 'IT'.  I felt free and that was an amazing feeling.  I
was ready...truly, completely, and finally ready...to move forward with my
life.

Mrs. McNeil popped her head into the living room.  When I noticed her, I
wiped the tears from my eyes as discreetly as I could.  I saw her smiling
at the sweet scene that was Lane, the boys, and George.  She walked over
and sat down on the edge of the couch.  We sat there for a few minutes,
neither of us speaking.

"Lane's my baby, Jaden." Mrs. McNeil whispered to me suddenly.  I looked
over at her and she was staring at the fire.  Slowly, she turned and looked
at me.

"He's yours now.  Treat him with respect and give him all the love he needs
and deserves."

This wasn't Sarah or Connor teasing me about Lane and our relationship.  I
realized that this was a mother letting go of her child, her last child,
her baby.  It was one of the most beautiful...and heartbreaking...moments I
had ever experienced.

This wasn't a time for pretense.  I didn't need to feel embarrassed about
my feelings for Lane.  Mrs. McNeil knew...like only a mother can...that how
Lane felt about me and I felt about him was the real thing.  I didn't try
to patronize her; she didn't deserve that.

"I will, Mrs. McNeil.  I promise."  I said simply.

"I know, sweetie.  Oh...call me Kathy from now on, and Lane's dad is Mike.
Okay??"

"Okay, Kathy." I replied, blushing slightly.  She reached over and patted
my arm.  "I want you to come over for dinner tomorrow, alright??"  She
phrased it as a question, but it was really more of a command.  I nodded my
head.

She got up quietly and left the room.  I had experienced different kinds of
intense moments and emotions tonight, and my conversation with Kathy was no
exception.  She gave me her blessing and I was honored to accept it.

I reflected on last year's Christmas and how radically my life had changed
in just one short year.  I think the biggest difference, besides the
obvious changes I had made, was in my overall feelings about the holidays.
Last year, I was miserable and depressed.  Another Christmas had come,
another year was almost over, and I was still stuck...trapped...in the same
spot.  This year, my feelings were completely opposite.  I had hope and
optimism in my life!!

The next few days were going to be very busy for me.  Tomorrow, I would be
having Christmas dinner with Lane's family, which made me happy because
that meant I got to spend more time with Lane.  Then, my parents were
coming home from their trip and I would get to celebrate Christmas with
them.  I had a ton of stuff to tell them!!  After that was...Wednesday.
The day I was looking forward to the most of all.  THE DATE!!  MY FIRST
DATE!!  I could hardly wait.


TO BE CONTINUED...