Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2015 11:16:12 -0500
From: CJ Abello <cjabello1997@gmail.com>
Subject: CJ: Autum: Chapter 5: Countin' on a Miracle

CJ: Autumn: Chapter 5: Countin' on a Miracle

This is a work of fiction set in the real world. Certain living individuals
make appearances in the story; all other characters and the events in which
they all participate are the creation of the author. Any resemblance of the
fictional characters to actual individuals is purely coincidental.



Saturday, 31 August 2013 - continued

"What's up, dude?" Brett placed his hands on the teen's shoulders, peeking
at the phone as they walked towards the elevator.

"Hmmm, text from Trip asking me to call him. And an e-mail from Chief
Jacobs, in Arlington."

"I think we can guess what Trip wants to talk about. Wouldn't you think so,
Brett? Danno probably told him about your arrest. The damn Texan isn't
going to be happy until you agree to give him some sort of exclusive
interview. What does Jacobs want?"

"Hmmm... he wants a meeting across the river."

"He wants you to go over to the station? When?" CJ wasn't surprised by the
slight agitation in the marine's voice. He knew Brett was not likely to let
him anywhere near the place by himself.  His dad would feel the same; the
cop better not expect to intimidate him in any way.

"Nope, he says he'd like one of my dads to call him as soon as possible, to
arrange a meeting.  He gave me his mobile number." CJ's tone was calm, he
had no concerns over anything the chief might have to say. He had complete
trust in his dads keeping him safe from any tricks the cop may try to pull.

"I think you better handle this one, Cesar. You're CJ's legal guardian, you
get to make any decisions needed."

"I'll call him, but any meeting will have to include you. Legally, CJ may
be my responsibility, but you have as much say concerning him as I do."

"Hello... I'm right here, you know. What about me and what I think? Don't I
get a say in whatever goes on?"

"Of course you do, bud. But as your father, legally I have the final word
on anything concerning you while you're a minor. I'll call him once we get
home and see what he wants."

"Okay, sorry to get all excited. While I'm at it, I realize I was a pushy
ass last night, I apologize," CJ was riding shotgun and turned sideways,
looking back and forth between his dad, and Papa Brett who was in the back
seat. "I know we'd made plans to ride the bikes out to Virginia this
weekend, but if it's okay with you, I'd rather do it some other time. What
I really, really want is a hard work-out, and a little time in the steam
room or the sauna. Then I'd like lunch with just you guys. I've been
surrounded by too many damn people since those idiots arrested me. We can
go visit Adriano and Uncle Tommy again afterwards."

"You've been spending too much time with Papa, CJ. You're starting to plan
things out, and order people around, like a Marine drill sergeant would."
CJ had a shit-eating-grin on his face after his dad's comment, while Brett
tried to look indignant. He failed miserably.

"Fuck you, Cesar. He gets the anal-retentive organizing skills from his
father the bean counter, not from me! Actually, bud, your plan sounds
perfect. Dad and I will deal with chores while you're at Yates. How does
lunch around thirteen hundred sound to you?"

"Cool! I'll get in touch with Uncle Trip later and see what he wants."

X X X

On his back doing bench presses, CJ was sweating profusely. He was exerting
himself more than usual, wanting to use physical activity to help rid
himself of stress. Stress generated by the events he'd lived through in the
past day. He tried to prevent his mind from replaying details of what had
happened: Adriano's accident, the death of his wife, Uncle Tommy's
shooting, the disagreement with the detective's parents, the confrontation
with the priest, and his own arrest by the idiots in Arlington. No matter
how hard he tried, quick flashbacks intruded in his thoughts, affecting his
concentration, and at one point made his right arm falter--the barbell he
was lifting started to tilt. It could have smashed onto his chest had it
not been for a hand shooting out and holding it steady.

"Whoa there, big guy! I was watching your form, impressed with the way you
were handling the weight so well. What happened?"

"Thanks for the help, man. Just got distracted thinking about a lot of crap
that happened yesterday. You just saved me a lot of pain, and some serious
embarrassment. What's your name, man? I'm CJ."

"Hayden, bro. I've seen you around here before, CJ. You usually work out
with a tall Asian guy.  What, no partner to spot you today?"

"Nope. That's my friend Chatri, we don't usually lift on Saturdays, I came
in on my own today.  The last twenty-four hours have been crappy and I
needed the physical activity. I think I'm gonna call it quits though, maybe
sit in the sauna for a little while."

"Actually, that sounds real good. See you there in a few. I wanna finish up
with some crunches."

Some ten minutes later, as promised, Hayden walked into the sauna room. The
man wore a white towel around his neck and a smile on his face. Almost
everyone who ever used the sauna or steam rooms wore shorts, or wrapped
their towel around their waist. Not Hayden. He was on full display and CJ
couldn't say he minded. The guy's brown hair had lots of red in it, not a
flaming carrot top, more of a dark rust, and the carpet matched the
drapes. A smooth, well defined torso had a sprinkling of freckles on it,
which seemed to multiply over his shoulders.  Both of his arms had tattoos
on them, although not even close to being sleeves, they looked real
good. CJ thought the guy was fairly young, either a freshman or a sophomore
at Georgetown he guessed.

Hayden placed his towel to CJ's left, on the bench above him, and spread
his legs widely as he sat down. CJ turned his head to say something to his
new acquaintance and ended up staring right at the man's penis. He kept his
gaze on the man's crotch for a minute; it was obvious Hayden noticed.

"Go for it, CJ, have a taste."

"Dude, you nuts?" CJ's head snapped back and he looked up at Hayden staring
straight into his eyes. "I ain't giving you a blow job here where someone
could walk in any minute. I'm not even looking at you anymore." He didn't
say no; he said not here.

"Hell, if any of the guys out there on the floor walked in, they'd probably
wanna join. You could end up with more than one of us to play with. But
it's cool. Come back to my place with me, we can have some fun there."

"You live in the dorms?"  "Nah, I share a house with my brother who's a
senior here at GU and a couple of his friends. It's at the bottom of the
hill, across from Lauinger Library. Wanna come over? You can shower there
afterwards."

"Yeah, that'd be cool."

"Let's go then."

CJ threw his sweaty duds back on, grabbed his gym bag, and followed Hayden
out. Walking through campus, they kept mostly silent; both were smiling,
and constantly stealing glances at each other. Once at the house, the guy
turned around grabbed CJ in his arms and planted a furious kiss on his
lips.

"Bro, you're hot, and I love your ass. I'd enjoy tapping that!"

"Sorry, guy, but that ain't gonna happen. However, I'd love to have that
taste you mentioned before." CJ stuck his hands underneath Hayden's shirt,
running them up his hard, smooth abs and chest; in the process, lifting off
the sweaty garment.

"Works for me, studly. Strip!"

Clothes flew everywhere, in seconds, both men were naked, Hayden sank to
his knees, and CJ had to lean back against the door to maintain his
balance. The mouth which had enveloped his hardening cock was hot and wet;
the tongue running underneath his foreskin, caressing the sensitive glans,
made him moan and feel weak in the knees.

"Oh fuck! That feels incredible, please don't stop."

But stop Hayden did, as he turned the teen around and attacked his ass;
slurping up and down the cleft, separating the meaty half-globes. When he
drilled his tongue inside the pucker, the moaning increased in both
frequency and volume.

"Oh, oh, man, oh, that's insane! Fuck! Dude, you're driving me crazy. I
want a shot at you!"

"You do, eh?" said Hayden as he slowly rose, maintaining contact with the
younger one's body.  He nibbled on CJ's ear as his hard cock slid up and
down the youngster's ass crack. "You sure you don't want me to just slip it
inside you? Huh? Seems to me you're ready for something other than my
tongue."

"I'm sure, stud. I want your cock inside me, but in my mouth. Come on, you
can play with my butt if you want, but I wanna suck you."

They ended up on the floor right there by the front door, side by side,
head to toe. The aroma of the two sweaty men going at it after their
workout permeated the room, assaulting CJ's sense of smell. Apparently, it
worked to inflame not only his passion, but Hayden's also. Soon after
latching onto one another, it was all over.

While in the shower afterwards, lathering their bodies, the conversation
turned to details of their lives. CJ discovered Hayden had a girlfriend who
wasn't aware of his interest in men. This bothered CJ but he gave no
outward impression of his discomfort. When the boy disclosed he was a
junior in high school, his host got visibly nervous and began to hurry
things along, obviously trying to get the underage boy out of the house. CJ
became even more upset when he realized this. What the fuck? Why would
Hayden mind if he was young all of a sudden? Not like he was an innocent
little kid.

"Hate to rush ya, kid, but I hafta meet my girl for lunch."

CJ slipped on his new WALLS black t-shirt with the embroidered penguin logo
on the left breast, a pair of gray cargo shorts, and his flip-flops. "No
problem, I need to get home anyway, my parents are waiting for me." There
was no suggestion of getting together again from either one.

X X X

"Damn, boy! What took you so long? We were ready to send out the Marines to
try and find you." Brett greeted CJ as he walked into their home in his
usual boisterous way.

"Ha, ha, Papa. You're so funny. I met this guy and I sorta got distracted."

"Oh? And how exactly did you get distracted?" Cesar's paternal alarm
started chiming inside his head.

"You know, Dad. I got, distracted."

"Humor me, CJ. Why don't you explain how you got distracted to us? Papa and
I are old, sometimes we can't figure things out on our own."

"Sure, Dad. But old, my ass! Anyway, I was doing bench presses. I lost my
concentration, and the barbell started to slip. Hayden was there and
grabbed it before I dropped it. We chatted for a bit there and then in the
sauna. The guy was smoking hot. He must have noticed me staring 'cause he
asked me to give him a bj right there. I turned him down."

"I'm glad you showed some common sense. Hopefully you learned a lesson in
Arlington, even though you didn't do anything. Sex in public places is a
no-no. So how come it took you so long to get back home if nothing
happened?"

"What's up with all the questions? You guys haven't done this before."

"But we're generally aware of where you are and what you're doing. It's not
like you to kind of disappear, without letting us know what's going on,
when you know we're waiting for you."

"Fine, I guess I did take longer than I usually do. Sorry. Nothing happened
at the gym, but he invited me to walk with him to the house he's watching
for the summer. He wanted to fuck me, but I turned him down on that front
also. Ended up trading bjs which was fun, and then we took a shower
together. That's when I found out he had a girlfriend. It bothered me, so I
didn't even hint at getting together again. I think he was surprised I was
in high school, he thought I was a GU student."

"Cesar? He's your son." Brett wasn't smiling when he spoke. CJ's own smile
disappeared; a look of slight worry replaced his previously cheerful
expression. Cesar realized how he handled the situation could impact CJ's
openness with them in the future. He and Brett had told him from the moment
he moved in he could talk to them about anything. This was not the time to
make the boy regret he'd believed his fathers.

"Fuck you, Jarhead, you wanted a kid, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well..."

"CJ, I think Papa and I both disapprove of you going home with this
guy. Wait! I'm not going to go crazy on you or anything, we told you we
would always listen to anything you had to say. I'll stand by that
statement. I'd like you to do the same for us and listen to what I have to
say. We have no issues with you having sex. Both of us did so when we were
your age. When Landon visited, you slept together, and I'm assuming sleep
wasn't all you did. This is different. You went home with a stranger and by
doing so put yourself in danger of getting hurt."

"Dad, he may have been older, but we were close to the same size. And you
know I can take care of myself."

"Yes, we do know, CJ. But after the Memorial Day Weekend incident we
discussed overconfidence and that comes into play here. Nothing bad
happened. You had your pipes blown out--pun intended-and you came home safe
and sound."

"That's right, Dad. So what's the big deal? All I did was get blown by a
guy. And that was a cheesy pun, by the way."

"I'm going to sound like a silly helicopter father, but here goes. He could
have overpowered you with someone's help. If that person had been waiting
at the house, he could have used something as a weapon against you, before
you had a chance to react. He could have been just as skilled as you are in
martial arts, or even better. Don't laugh at this one, but he could have
even bitten off your pecker while he was blowing you!"

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, ouch. Pretty sure Brett will agree with me, we'd rather you not do
anything like that again. Particularly with someone older than you. Did you
ask him how old he was? The age of consent in Washington is sixteen. That
guy could be charged with rape."

"Ohh, I never thought of that. He lives with his brother who's a senior so
definitely younger.  Prolly a freshman or a sophomore."

"Gotta think about all of it, buddy. Look, you meet somebody and decide to
get frisky? Great!  Bring him home, let one of us meet him, and then go up
to your room, and fuck each other silly or whatever."

"Dude, your father and I love you. We understand being horny." Brett had
been standing in the kitchen, across the breakfast bar where Cesar and CJ
were sitting, listening and nodding his head frequently. "When we were
teenagers, we walked around popping wood all the time like you do. I think
being gay makes it easier to get laid. No matter what they may think, women
will never understand how we're wired. They need a reason to have sex, we
just need a place. So you have a place. Be smart and don't take unnecessary
risks when you do decide to have a little fun."

"Papa's right, CJ. We'd like you to always think about your safety. We also
want you to learn from your experiences, especially when you do something
which may not be real smart. The arrest yesterday taught you never to leave
home without identification. The blow job today should teach you not to go
home with a trick."

"Geez! Fine. I guess you're right. I need to remember I'm being treated as
a grown up by the two of you and should try to act like one. But damn could
the guy suck dick!"

"Asshole!"

X X X

"Hey, dads, did you call the Police Chief over in Arlington?" CJ and his
dads were walking along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath on their way
towards Rogo's. The twenty minute walk from their home was one all three
had made repeatedly over the past summer; one where greetings were
constantly exchanged with the multitude of strollers along the popular
pathway.  He had traded text messages with Trip. The man had suggested
meeting at the bar, and they'd agreed since the place was conveniently on
the way to the hospital.

"Dude, with all the excitement over you getting your tank emptied out, we
forgot to tell you."  Brett threw an arm around CJ's shoulders, an
affectionate move which brought smiles to a young couple walking towards
them.

"Funny, Papa. So what did he want?"

"The same thing he told you in his e-mail. He wants to meet with us. We
insisted you'd be present, even if I get to make the decisions since you're
a minor." They had reached Rogo's and Cesar held the door open for the
other two men. "He wanted to do it before the holiday weekend was over, so
we agreed on Monday morning around ten. He's talked to the two cops
involved, and wants to chat with us before he makes any decisions on how to
proceed."

"Okay. Can we get the assholes fired?"

"No idea what will happen, buddy. They're probably unionized, and those two
will get lawyered up at the first sign of trouble."  Cesar waved at
Margarita, the manager on duty, who gestured, indicating they could take
any open table. He picked one towards the back, wanting a little privacy
for their conversation with Trip.

"What time is Trip meeting us, CJ?"

"He's next door at Uncle Danno's, Papa. He told me to text him once we got
here and he'd be right over."

"Okay, text him. What do you want for lunch?"

"Bacon cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, and an iced tea."

"I think I'll have the same. What about you, Cesar?"

"I wanna try the Mango Shrimp Salad: green mango, grilled shrimp, and the
spicy lime dressing we like. I think I'll have an iced tea also."

"Hey, there's Uncle Trip."

"How are my favorite nephew and his two sexy dads doing? It's good to see
y'all."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Favorite nephew and sexy dads, my ass. Park your butt
down, cowboy. I think we all know what you want. Where were you yesterday?"

"Fuck you, Jarhead. Your son happens to really be my favorite nephew. The
fact he keeps getting into newsworthy situations is just a plus. I spent
most of the day yesterday working on stories about Potus. The Post called
me up, I'd included Tom's name amongst my list of contacts, and because of
it they asked me to work on their coverage of the shooting. I'm headed to
the hospital after lunch. No reporters are being allowed near him yet, but
he and JP have agreed to give me the first interview, a joint one at
that. The paper's going to love the human interest side. Easy to spotlight
the angle, now we know he's gonna be okay."

"Great, that's where we're headed too, we can go together. CJ wants to
visit Adriano's kids first, then we'll drop in on Tom." Cesar turned his
attention towards the server who had been standing by the table for the
last minute, and placed their order. After asking his boss's boyfriend if
he wanted anything, and adding Trip's choice to the ticket, the young man
made a bee line towards the kitchen.

"So, CJ, I hear you had a little run in with the boys in blue in
Arlington. Feel like telling Uncle Trip what happened?" Being old school,
the reporter had taken a spiral bound note pad and a pen out of his
backpack.

"Sure, I'll tell you what happened. But you can't publish a story about
it."

"Damn! You're no fun, nephew. Fine, same rules apply as before. I won't
publish anything unless I have permission from you and your dads."

"Okay. I decided to skip lifting yesterday and go for a run instead. I have
several five mile..."

X X X

CJ and his dads promised to let Trip know the outcome of the planned
meeting with Chief Jacobs on Monday. Once they heard what the man had to
say, they would make a decision on further action. If the outcome was to go
public, Trip would get an exclusive interview with the three of them.

"That's all I can ask for. But I'm still writing a story, just as I did
after the motorcycle rally incident. I'm filing them away for the
future. One day you'll be famous, then I'll get to write your biography."

"Ha! Don't hold your breath, Uncle Trip. After spending two weeks in
Senator Rubio's office, and seeing how politicians have to deal with being
in the news all the time, I think I'm going to pick a more private career."

"Does that mean Georgetown University and Georgetown Law are out of the
running as potential schools?" The thought of CJ moving away to go to
college, after he'd just fully come into his life, wasn't one Cesar wanted
to entertain.

"Pretty sure, Dad. Prolly want to pick a school far away enough from home
so I can live in the dorms.  Speaking of Georgetown, that guy I told you
ended up spotting for me at the gym had some really cool ink on his
arms. Pretty colorful stuff and a couple lines of script."

"Maybe after you turn sixteen. We need to check what the law in Washington
allows." Cesar spoke before CJ could make any further comments.

"What?"

"I'm gonna pee my pants if I start laughing now!" chuckled Brett.

"Shut up, Marine! If it's legal, you'll have our permission to get inked,
CJ.  With some restrictions. Papa and I were wondering when you were going
to ask us. We'd already agreed on our response."

"Have I told you lately that I love you guys a hell of a lot?"

The laughter of all four men attracted the attention of passersby. After
walking down Pennsylvania Avenue for the past fifteen minutes, they rounded
Washington Circle Park, nearing the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Institute
of Emergency Medicine--better known as the emergency room at GWU Hospital.

"Do you know what you want?"

"Yeah, Papa, I want a tribal design in the shape of an upside down triangle
below my neck, between my shoulder blades."

"That works. Dad and I don't want you to go crazy, and we don't want
anything that would show when you wear a t-shirt or shorts. That means the
torso, back, groin and ass are fair game. We also discussed piercings and
would prefer you hold off on those. If you decide you want one, ask and
we'll discuss it."

X X X

"Unca CJ, Unca CJ, you came to see us!"

"Of course I came to see my little monsters. Look at all those toys all
over the room. I guess you've both had a fun day." CJ and Adriano's kids
had interacted a few times over the summer; he'd even baby sat them on a
couple of occasions. The kids had taken a liking to their unca from the
minute they'd met him. "And I see daddy's awake, hopefully feeling
better. I brought markers so we can all sign his cast. Maybe you two can
also draw a little something on it to make it look better?"

"Yay!" came the shout from both children.

"Getting there, CJ, getting there. Cesar, Brett, thank you so much for
coming to see me."  Adriano extended his hand to greet his visitors,
managing a half smile for them.

"You look as well as could be expected, Adriano. And the kids seem to be
doing okay."

"Not real happy about things right now, Cesar. But I've got my two little
angels to worry about. I gotta put up a strong front." Adriano was in the
bed by the door, sitting up, with his broken leg propped up by several
pillows.

"You're family, Adriano, and family looks after each other. You need
anything at all, you ask for it. Danno's going to talk to you later. He'll
clue you in on some background about us. Pay attention to him." Cesar spoke
discretely in front of the injured man's parents; he and Brett had already
decided their resources would be made available to the bar manager and his
kids.  Danno would act as intermediary, letting Adriano know he need not
fear financial difficulties.

"That sounds like something an Italian would say. Are you sure you're
Cuban, Mr. Abello?"  Adriano's father was sitting next to his son while his
wife looked after their grandchildren.

"Mr. Abello is my father, sir. I'm just Cesar, or Emperor if you feel like
using the nickname the yahoos I call friends gave me."

"Very well, Cesar it is. But you have to stop calling me sir. I'm Angelo
and my wife is Antonia."

"Any idea when you'll get sprung?" Brett had moved closer to the bed
occupied by his friend, after greeting his mother and father.

"Not sure yet, Brett. The kids are going home with my parents today, Doc
discharged them earlier. He said I should be getting out sometime
tomorrow. After I'm out of here, we'll all head up to New Jersey for the
funeral. The kids and I will return to Falls Church sometime the week after
the services. Mama will come back with us and stay until I can get my crap
together. I may have to move back to New Jersey if I can't cope with being
a single parent."

"As Emperor said before, talk to Danno, listen to what he has to say before
you make any decisions."

X X X

"Hey, JP! What's going on, dude?" Brett wrapped his old college buddy in a
bear hug as he greeted him. Detective Kennedy was still in the intensive
care unit, so that's where Cesar, Brett, and CJ had gone after leaving
Adriano and his kids.

"Hey, mates. Caleb's in with Tom, changing the dressing on his wound, so I
came out for a cup of coffee. You'd think with all these medical types
having to be alert they'd have good stuff around here."

"You should have told us, Uncle JP. We could have stopped at Starbucks or
Dunkin and brought you some."

"That's okay, you've done plenty around here already, mate. Just wait until
my husband gets his hands on you."

"Why? What did I do?"

"Nothing bad, CJ. Trust me, it's all good. Tom's kinda emotional right now,
mates. Just wanted to warn you. He had a friendly e-mail from his ex-wife.
She mentioned Tom's parents returned to Boston early this morning, and
quickly organized a family meeting. They complained about not being allowed
to visit their son, who they thought was dying, by some snot-nosed little
fag.  She said if a teenager was able to stand up to Frank Kennedy, maybe
it was time she and her sons did the same. She asked Tom to e-mail her when
he was up to talking on the phone. He did so immediately. He's waiting for
a call from her, countin' on a miracle."

----------

Copyright 2015 CJ Abello
Edited by: Mann Ramblings

I'd enjoy hearing what you think. Please email me at:
cjabello1997@gmail.com

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