Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 16:54:49 -0500
From: Jayson Vascardi <jaycolin25@gmail.com>
Subject: Tale of Three 2

A Tale of Three
By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional, as are the characters featured
herein, which are solely the product of the author's imagination. Any
resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely
coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by male/male
material, or if such material cannot be legally viewed where you live, then
you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.

Character Profiles: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/a-tale-of-three/profiles/index.htm
Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson
Writing Journal: http://jaycolin.livejournal.com

This story is ©2004-2010, 2011 by J.C. Vascardi. This story is the sole
property of its author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, posted
on any other website, or included in any form of book or media, without the
explicit written permission of the author.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Two, Part One
Kyle's Perspective
Monday, January 3, 2005

-o-0-o-

After breakfast, Chris and Taylor excused themselves, as they both had to
get to work. Jake, Jordan, Matt, and I stayed at the restaurant for another
fifteen or twenty minutes sipping coffee and exchanging small talk. Since
Jake and Chris had come in Chris' car, we had to drive Jake back to his
house, but he asked to come over to our apartment first because he needed
to email one of his students and didn't have access to his email until he
got back to work the next day. So we took Jake with us back to our
apartment and I then took him into the guest bedroom, where we keep our
computer, and logged into my UNC-Wilmington email account so that Jake
could email his student, a Nick Jensen, from what I could see reading over
his shoulder as he typed. I suppose some people would consider that to be
invasion of privacy, but I figured I had every right to read Jake's email
to Nick, considering that he was using my email address. After sending his
email to Nick, Jake followed me back into the living room, where we found
Matt and Jordan sitting on the sofa, making out.

"Don't you get jealous seeing them make out like that?" Jake asked.

"No, I don't," I answered, "They both love each other just as much they
love me, so why should I be jealous?"

"Bro, I swear I don't know how you do it."

"You mean the threesome?" I asked, "Well, Jake, to be honest I don't
understand your relationship with Chris."

"What's so hard to understand about it?"

"How it works," I said, "I mean I just can't fathom how a relationship
between only two people can work. I mean it's probably because I've never
experienced it, but then again I don't want to."

"Well, I suppose I can see your point," Jake said. "Just as your
relationship looks strange to me, I guess it'd only be natural that mine
would look strange to you."

"Well, I'll drive you back to your place, Jake," I said. "Though you're
welcome to stay here and hang out for awhile, if you like."

"Well, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you guys," Jake said, "But, I
should get back to the house, because I need to finish up my lesson plans
for tomorrow."

"Okay," I said, "Just give me a second to say goodbye to my guys."

As Jake grabbed his jacket and put it on, I went over to the sofa and sat
down on Matt and Jordan's laps and joined in on their kiss. Jordan quickly
put his arm around my back and Matt started running his hand through my
hair, as our tongues eagerly darted around in each other's mouths,
exploring every inch. After about three minutes, I could hear Jake clearing
his throat, so as much as I didn't want to, I pulled back from my kiss with
Matt and Jordan and said, "Okay, well, I have to drive Jake home. I'll be
back soon."

"Okay, Kyle, I love you," said Jordan, with a smile.

"Love you too, Ky," Matt said, as I got up and he pinched my ass, which
made me jump a bit.

As a bit of payback, I then reached over and messed up Matt's hair, which I
know he hates, because he pulled his head away almost as soon as my hand
touched it.

"Later guys," I said as I grabbed Jordan's keys from the table near the
door, "Come on Jake."

I was halfway out the door when Jordan put his hand on my shoulder and
pulled me back into the apartment.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm driving my brother home."

"Not with my car you aren't," admonished Jordan, as he held out his hand,
"Give me my keys."

"Jordan, in case you forgot, the keys for your car aren't the only car keys
on your ring."

"Yes, I know that," Jordan said, "Matt's car keys are on my ring too, but
you can drive your own, so hand them over."

"Oh fine," I said, as I handed Jordan his key ring and he gave me mine in
return.

"Okay, now you can leave," Jordan said with a grin, "I love you, honey."

Not being able to resist, I said, "Love you too, Danny-boy," as Jake
laughed at my using the nickname he always uses on Jordan.

"Oh not you too!"

I just gave Jordan a quick kiss on the cheek to apologize, and then headed
over to the elevator with Jake. As we rode down to the parking garage, I
asked, "So, did Ryan say when he'd be arriving?"

"Tomorrow," replied Jake, "I kinda wish he could have come today so I
wouldn't end up having to deal with him moving back in on my first day back
to work though."

"Well, if you need any help getting him moved in," I offered, "Let me
know. Matt, Jordan, and I will gladly help."

"Thanks, bro," Jake said, "When we get back to the house, I'll give you the
spare key so that in case Chris and I are at work when Ryan arrives, you
can get him moved back in."

"Okay, sounds good."

As we arrived into the parking garage, Jake asked, "So, what exactly was up
with Jordan not wanting you to drive his car?"

"It's because of insurance reasons," I replied, "I'm not listed on Jordan's
car insurance, because while the company does recognize domestic partners,
they will not recognize more than one, so Matt and Jordan are on Jordan's
insurance, but I'm not. So, Jordan is really just being careful, because
should I get in an accident driving his car and it ended up being my fault,
his insurance would refuse to pay the bills, because I'm not on his
policy. And while the fact we all have partial scholarships does help us in
terms of college tuition, it still doesn't leave us with a ton of extra
income to pay unnecessary bills."

"Well, Kyle, if you ever need anything," Jake said, "Please feel free to
come to Chris and me. I may not make much as a high school teacher with
only one and a half years of seniority, but Chris does make a very good
living as a real estate agent. And, of course, if your various bills got to
be too much, you'd always be welcome to move in with Chris and me. In fact,
Jordan, Matt, and you could even have your old room back."

"Well, thanks for the offer, bro," I replied, "I don't think I'll be taking
you up on it, but it's nice to know that it's there, should something bad
happen."

"Hey, no problem, what are brothers for?"

"Other than being annoying?" I said and grinned at Jake, "I'm just
kidding. Seriously though, thank you Jake, and I know I don't say it often,
but I do love you."

"I love you to, Kyle," Jake said, as I pressed the button to unlock the
doors of my blue 2001 Buick Century. Okay, it wasn't the sportiest of cars
and perhaps not what some people would have expected a twenty-one year old
college student to be driving, but it ran well and looked nice, and being
on a fixed income, I couldn't afford a more expensive vehicle. After all, a
car, when reduced to its most basic level, is really nothing more than a
means to get from point A to point B, so I figured it wasn't worth putting
myself into more debt to get a fancy sports car, as the college loans to
pay for what wasn't covered by my partial scholarship had already created
more debt than I was truly comfortable with. What need did I really have of
a sports car anyway? The main reason most people get one anyway is to
impress people and score dates, which I certainly didn't need, considering
that I was, and still am, very happily committed to Matt and Jordan.

After about twenty minutes, we pulled onto the street that Jake and Chris'
house was on. The house they live in was formerly my parent's house,
although we never really spent a ton of time there, because the property
was a secondary home which we rarely used. My mother had inherited the
house from her parents and couldn't bear to sell it, despite us living in
Jacksonville, Florida, at the time. When my dad passed away and mom went
catatonic with grief, the house ended up in Jake and Chris' ownership, and
the house in Jacksonville was sold to raise money for both Jake's and my
own college educations at UNC-Wilmington. As we got closer to the house,
and in turn pulled into the driveway, we couldn't help but notice the
taxicab parked in front of the house.

As we got out of the car, the rear passenger door of the cab opened and out
got Jake's and my older brother, Ryan.

"Ryan!" exclaimed Jake, a bit taken aback, "I wasn't expecting you until
tomorrow."

"I managed to get an earlier flight," revealed Ryan, "Now, could we save
the greetings for a moment? Get my luggage out of the cab and pay the
driver? I would've just sat out on the porch, but it's a bit too cold for
that, so I've been sitting here in the cab for the last hour and a half,
with the meter running."

"I'll handle the cab, Ryan," Jake said, "Kyle can help you with your
luggage."

As Jake went over to the driver's window to pay the cab fee, Ryan and I
quickly got his luggage from the trunk of the cab. As we were walking up to
the house, Ryan asked, "I hate to ask, but have we heard from Sean?"

"Nope," I replied, "Must not need money."

"Well, I hope he shows up here."

"Why?"

"Well, Jake," Ryan responded, "Because then it'll be time for me, as the
eldest, to kick his butt into rehab before he kills himself."

"I'd be all for that," I said, "I mean I shared a room with him for sixteen
years so I don't want to have to plan his funeral."

"None of us do, Ky," agreed Ryan, "So, if Sean does show up here, I for one
am going to do everything in my power to get him into rehab. Even if that
means going to court and having him declared incompetent to make his own
decisions, because I refuse to have to plan my younger brother's
funeral. As the eldest, I'm supposed to die first and I damn well intend
to."

"Ry, please don't talk like that."

"Well, Jake," Ryan said, as we entered the house, "I didn't mean today or
tomorrow. I meant several decades from now, but you get my point, I'm
sure."

"Yeah, we get it," I said. "And I suppose I can see where you're coming
from, Ry. As the oldest, you helped mom and dad raise Jake, Sean and I, so
in a way, seeing him die before you would be like seeing your own child
predecease you, which is something no parent should ever have to
experience."

"Exactly, Ky," Ryan agreed, "When did you get so smart, little brother?"

"I'll ignore that," I said, with a grin, as Jake and I helped Ryan carry
his luggage up to his old bedroom, "At any rate, welcome home, bro."

"Thanks, Kyle," Ryan said. "It's good to be home."

-o-0-o-

Chapter Two, Part Two
Nick's Perspective
Monday, January 3, 2005

-o-0-o-

Later that night the initial shock of finding out that I was going to be
spending an extra hour everyday with Jake had worn off, however that
doesn't mean that I was dreading tomorrow any less. I don't know why I was
dreading spending all that extra time with Jake, I mean, he's just another
human being right? Of course at the time my mind kept saying, 'Yeah, he's
just another human being, but he's also the hottest human being you've ever
met!' Eventually, I came to the conclusion that sitting there alone in my
bedroom with nothing else to occupy my thoughts is what was fueling the
increasing dread of tomorrow that I was feeling, so I decided to go spend
some time with my Uncle Erik before I ended up going totally insane.

I found him sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed watching a movie, so
as I'd done so many times before, I went over and sat down next to him,
putting my right leg in his lap and my left leg on top of his legs. As I
cuddled up to him, he simply wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close,
as I rested my head against his shoulder and started watching the movie he
was watching, which I soon recognized as 'Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of
the Clones'. It was up to the part where the Senate grants Chancellor
Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the growing threat to the Republic.

I suppose that to some people, my cuddling up to my Uncle Erik like I often
do probably seems strange and not something that an uncle and nephew would
do, but I've always been very close to my uncle and we share a very deep
bond with one another. A bond which only got stronger when my parents
passed away and my uncle took custody of me. We're the only family that the
other has, so over the years we've grown very close. Whenever I need
anything, big or small, my uncle is always there for me. That's why it hurt
me so much when I saw how upset my uncle was about me failing Jake's class
last year.

My uncle and I just sat there watching the movie in silence, until finally,
it came to an end and my uncle turned off the TV.

Wrapping his other arm around me and resting his chin on top of my head, my
uncle asked, "So, Nick, are you looking forward to tomorrow?"

"I was," I replied, "Until this afternoon."

"What changed?"

"I got an email from my geography teacher," I answered, "I know about his
plans to tutor me and how persistent you were about it."

"Well, Nick, I'm just doing what any other responsible and caring parent
would do if they saw their child barely passing a class which he should
have no problem with."

"Well, if you promise not to get mad at me, I'll tell you the reason for my
doing so poorly in the class."

"I promise not to get mad," my uncle said, after a moment, "Now, what's the
reason?"

"Well, last year, I intentionally failed the class."

"What? Why?"

"You're mad, I can tell."

"Nick, I'm not mad," my uncle reassured, as he hugged me, "But, just tell
me why would you intentionally fail geography?"

"Because I have a crush on the teacher," I replied, "A very bad one and I
wanted another year in his class."

"So you intentionally failed the class so that you could be in his class a
second year? A bit risky don't ya think?"

"In retrospect, yes, it was risky, but it seemed like a good idea at the
time. You're not mad?"

"No, Nick, I'm not," my uncle answered, "I suppose some parents would be,
but it wasn't all that long ago that I was in school myself, and I'd be
lying if I said that I had never had a crush on one of my teachers or that
the thought of being in their class for a second time would be great. If
anything, I'm kinda jealous of you that you had the guts to actually do
something that I had considered doing once myself but decided not to."

"You mean you considered failing a class intentionally too?"

"Yes, I did. It was during my junior year in high school and we had this
new gym teacher which I just couldn't stop fantasizing about."

"He must have been really cute."

"Why do you just assume it was a guy?" My uncle asked with a lopsided
grin. "I am bisexual, you know, it could have been a girl."

"I can read you like a book, Uncle Erik," I said with a grin. "I can tell
by the look on your face that it was a guy. So, was he cute?"

"Yes, he was," replied my uncle, "He was actually in his thirties I guess,
but I swear he didn't look a day older than twenty. I was so entranced by
him that I seriously considered failing his class, but in the end I didn't
because I thought it would make me the laughing stock of the school if I
failed gym class, especially considering that I was the star quarterback
and captain of the school's varsity football team."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That certainly wouldn't have made you look good."

I don't know how long my uncle and I stayed in the living room talking, but
I can only assume that I must have fallen asleep and he in turn carried me
into my bedroom, because that's where I later woke up. The noise that woke
me was that of thunder, which terrified me more then I can even put into
words. I know some people would probably find it strange for a person my
age to be afraid of thunder, but I am because it reminds me of an event
from my past which I wish I could forget. My other greatest fear is of the
dark, which is why my uncle Erik put nightlights in every room of the
house, so that it would never be completely dark in the house, should I
wake up in the middle of the night.

As the room was lit up even more as a bolt of lightning streaked across the
sky, there was a light knock on my door, after which it opened to reveal my
uncle Erik, wearing nothing more than a pair of black boxer-briefs and
black athletic t-shirt. Without saying a word, he closed my bedroom door
and came over to my bed and got in next to me, wrapping his strong arms
around my quivering body. I should probably interject at this point that my
uncle and I were not then, nor will we ever be, lovers or anything, but he
knew how frightened I was, and rather than leaving me there alone in my
bedroom too afraid to sleep, he came in and cuddled with me so that I would
feel safe and could fall asleep. As I said, whenever I needed anything, no
matter how big or small, I could always count on my uncle Erik to be there
to give it to me.

Despite the raging thunder outside, my uncle's strong arms wrapped around
me soon calmed me enough to fall asleep. My last memory before falling
asleep, my head lying on my uncle's chest, was of my uncle gently running a
hand through my hair and humming softly in my ear.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.