Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2012 21:50:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jake Austin <crazyturtule90@yahoo.com>
Subject: Life As I Knew It chapter 4

Disclaimers: Yeah, these aren't fun, but I guess they're necessary. If
you're under 18, or if gay love offends you, or if it's illegal to be
reading this where you are, you probably shouldn't be reading this. I
guess. Or you can, you know, you don't have to listen to me, lol.

This is fiction, so yeah, people and the events that occur are all fake. I
may use the names of real places, but other than that, this story is
completely made up.

And also, I'd appreciate it of you DIDN'T take this story and post it
somewhere else without my permission. That's called stealing, and it's not
cool.

Note to readers: Uh, hey guys. Late chapter.... again. Lol, uh yeah,
sorry. I'm actually on legit summer vacation now, so, yeah, back to writing
(kind-of) consistently!

Anyways, comments or questions are welcomed at crazyturtule90@yahoo.com I
love hearing from you guys. Your e-mails definitely keep me going!

----------------------------------------------------

Life As I Knew It

Chapter 4: Home

----------------------------------------------------

"Seduce my mind and you can have my body, find my soul and I'm yours forever."

----------------------------------------------------

	I don't know how long I cried for. It's kind of hard to tell when
your eyes are closed and all you can hear are the sounds of your sniffling
being echoed off the bathroom walls. But it must not've been for long
because already there was an urgent knocking on the door.

	"Riley?" I heard Aaron's voice call out. "Hey, you okay?"

	I tried to tell him to go away and that I was too embarrassed after
what happened to even think about facing him right now, but all I could let
out were a few hiccups and some more choked sobs.

	He knocked again. "Please don't cry. It's okay. It's not a big
deal, so please open the door."

	"N-no." I was shocked that my voice decided to start working again.

	"Why not?" he asked softly.

	"T-too embarrassed."

	"About what?"

	I did my best to suppress the hiccups when I spoke, but it didn't
work. At all. "B-because you saw m-me fall, b-but even worse you s-saw
my... my..." And I couldn't continue because just remembering made me want
to sob all over again, so I just shut my mouth and willed myself not to
cry. God, I was such a mess.

	"Can you open the door, please? I just want to talk without, you
know, a big slab of wood in front of my face." He tried chuckling, probably
to ease the tension, but I still refused to get up.

	"Please?" He asked again.

	"No, go away."

	"PRETTY please?"

	"No."

	"Hmm," he said aloud, "Well, you do know that your wet underwear is
still lying on the ground in your bedroom. If there was no one to stop me,
I guess I wouldn't mind taking a closer look at it--"

	In a flash, I'd jumped up from the toilet seat, sprinted the two
steps it took to reach the bathroom door, and yanked it open. Before I
could blink, and before I realized I was standing in just my
tighty-whities, he'd slipped inside the bathroom and locked it behind
him. I tried pushing past him to reach the door, but he placed himself
right in front of it.

	"Gotcha," he grinned.

	I faced the ground and used my hands to cover my front side. Aaron
stood there leaning against the door with a playful smirk on his face which
quickly changed into a look of concern when he saw the state I was in.

	"Fine, are you happy now?" I asked, tears threatening to fall to
the ground.

	"Of course I'm not happy!" Aaron said, "I just-- I don't want you
feeling so sad over something so stupid!"

	I turned my head up to look at him. "What do you mean by 'stupid'?"

	He sighed and scratched the back of his head, a blush clearly
beginning to form on his tanned cheeks. "I mean, if anything, I should be
the one crying! You know, from happiness. Because, uh, you look
good. Really good. And I'm lucky to have gotten to see you... like that."

	I felt my cheeks beginning to burn. "Oh, well... Um, I guess that's
nice to hear." I really had no idea how to respond to what he just
said. Here I was worrying about what he would think about seeing me naked,
when in reality he actually kind of... enjoyed it.

	"Yes, so please, stop worrying about it. I liked what I saw, okay?"
He gave me a bashful smile and then reached over to comfortingly rub my
shoulder. His touch immediately relieved the tension in my muscles that I
didn't even know I had. I felt myself relax, and I breathed out a sigh of
relief.

	"Okay. I'm sorry, I was just worried that you would be, you know,
turned off at seeing my skinny body since you have all that muscle." To
emphasize my point, I reached over and poked his bicep with a finger.

	"Jeez, you make me feel like the Hulk. I'm not even that built. But
anyways," He leaned in so close that I could feel his warm breath against
my ear, "Your butt isn't so skinny, you know."

	I could literally feel the heat rushing to my cheeks all at once. I
countered his sly grin with a firm shove. "Pervert," I said.

	He chuckled, "Only for you. Now let's get out of here, I feel weird
talking to you in the bathroom."

	I nodded and grabbed his wrist, leading us both quickly and quietly
back to my room (since I was, in fact, still in just my underwear). When we
got to my room, the first thing I did was jump into my clothes. Aaron just
stood there with a cheeky grin on his face, which I tried my best to
ignore. Afterward, we both went into the laundry room and tossed our wet
clothes in the drier. As we were just settling into the couch to watch some
TV next to a very grumpy Carter, I heard the front door open.

	"Riley? Carter? Can you boys help with the groceries?" Mom called
out to us.

	"Sure thing, Mom," we both shouted back. Aaron was quick to get up
to help as well. When we all met Mom at the doorway and took the plastic
bags off her hands, Mom gave Aaron a slightly confused look at first and
then smiled warmly at him.

	"Hello there, you must be a friend of Carter's!" Mom reached a hand
out and they shook hands. I saw Carter gagging in the background.

	"Actually, I'm a friend of Riley's, ma'am. He and Carter graciously
offered me a ride, but I was locked out of the house and my parents always
work late, so Riley invited me to stay at your beautiful home until they
get back. I hope it's okay with you." Aaron spoke with such politeness and
a warm smile on his face which I could tell hooked Mom in right away.

	She jokingly fanned her face with a hand. "Whew, Riley, your friend
sure has a way with his words. And of course it's okay with me, and I'm
sure my husband won't mind as well. I trust you'll be staying for dinner?"

	He gave her a bashful smile. "If you wouldn't mind having me,
ma'am."

	"Of course I don't mind. You just make yourself at home." She
looked at me. "Riley, you and your friend just drop those off in the
kitchen and I'll take care of the rest. You guys can just hang out in your
room; I'll call you guys down when dinner's ready!" As we turned to leave,
I heard my mom yell, "Carter, not you! You're helping. No, no buts, chop
chop! Your father's gonna be here any minute now!"

	We went to the kitchen to drop off the groceries. While we were on
the staircase, Aaron made sure to wave back at my mom. "It was a pleasure
meeting you, Mrs. Monroe!" he called out cheerfully. She waved in return,
smiling. He obviously made a big impression, to me as well.

	When we arrived at my room and plopped down on my bed, I turned to
face him. "Wow. Who was that downstairs?" I asked.

	He gave me a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

	"That extremely polite mama's boy," I said teasingly.

	He blushed and then bumped my shoulder softly with his. "I wasn't
trying to suck up on purpose, you know--" I scoffed at him. "Okay, maybe I
was, but only because it was your mom. I wanted to, like, make a good first
impression on her...." He glanced down and fiddled with his thumbs,
obviously embarrassed.

	I, however, was completely enamored with how adorable he was
being. And the fact that he went out of his way just to impress my mom
because of me made my heart beat unbelievably fast. Overcome with emotion,
I quickly leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

	He gave me a startled look and his face heated up even more. He
brought a hand up to feel the spot I just kissed. "What was that for?" he
asked.

	I smiled at him. "For being so sweet. And I'm sorry for making fun
of you. I thought you were actually very charming back there."

	He grinned, "You think so?"

	"I was enthralled completely."

	"Does that mean I get another kiss?" he asked with a playful smile
on his face.

	I laughed, thinking he was joking, but I was surprised when I was
met with a very hopeful expression. "Um, well, I guess..." I said, already
feeling nervous even though I'd kissed him just seconds ago.

	"We don't have to if you don't want to...." he trailed off.

	"No, no!" I quickly interjected, "I'm sorry, I'm... still a little
nervous about all of this. I know how I feel about you, it's just that it's
still a little hard for me to believe that I get to be here... with
you... like this... you know?"

	He nodded, "Of course. Don't feel like I'm trying to rush you into
anything. I love you and I want you to be completely comfortable with
whatever we do, okay?"

	I smiled at him, but beneath the surface, my mind was racing with
thoughts. Love love love love love. Aaron said he loved me. But... we'd
just met after years of not seeing each other, and even our meeting itself
was a brief encounter. And yet, despite how unlikely the whole thing
seemed, he really did seem to have genuine feelings for me, and it wouldn't
be a lie to say that I was slowly falling deeper and deeper in love with
him myself. That realization was what pushed me to do what I did next.

	"Hold on," I told him. I jumped up from the bed, dodged the stacks
of books scattered throughout the room (which I definitely still needed to
relocate), and then finally reached the door.

	"Wait, where are you going?" he asked me, sounding worried that
maybe I was leaving. Quite the opposite, really.

	I locked the door, turned around, and gave him a smile. "Nowhere,"
I said.

	He looked up at me open-mouthed as I walked back towards him. As I
sat next to him on my bed, although I knew it was way too soon to even
consider doing any of 'that' stuff, I did want to express what I really
felt for him. And for the first time in my life, I truly believed that this
was not the time for words, but for action.

	I leaned in slowly, looking back and forth between his eyes wide
open in shock and his lips that were just barely parted. I stopped once my
lips were just millimeters apart from his, and I whispered, "I love you,
too." I went the rest of the way and soon my lips were pressed up against
his.

	It wasn't necessarily the same kiss that we'd shared in the rain
just a few hours ago. It was actually kind of awkward, mostly on my
part. Both of our lips were pretty dry so when my lips touched his, all I
felt was this warm, flaky feeling. I quickly licked my lips with my tongue
and tried again. This time, I felt that soft, luscious exchange that I'd
been looking for. My moist lips pushed against his, bringing out a soft
groan from Aaron's throat.

	I moved up closer until our thighs were touching. My hands seemed
to have a life of their own as they slowly wrapped around his back. In
return, he brought his hands to the back of my head where he softly gripped
my brown locks.

	His groan got a little louder when I started to shower his face
with little kisses: his eyes, cheeks, ears (he especially liked that),
chin, and finally his forehead. As I pulled back, I was met with the lovely
shade of brown that only he seemed to possess.

	"I've always liked your eyes," I said quietly.

	"I've always liked yours, too. They're so green they seem to
shine. It's a shame about those glasses though," he said, bringing his hand
to the side of my face and removing my thick-rimmed glasses. "Much better."
I blushed from his compliment and hid my face in the palm of his hand.

	I was surprised with how soft his hand felt on my face. "Your hands
are very soft." I nuzzled my cheek closer against his palm. As I moved to
get more comfortable, my hand slipped and accidentally fell on his lap,
where I felt a very hard and very throbbing bulge in his pants.

	He groaned a soft "Oh," and then immediately turned a light shade
of red. "I'm sorry, that just felt... really good."

	"It's okay," I said, blushing immensely over what I felt. I tried
staying strong in my resolve to not do any of 'that' so early on, but my
walls were breaking down more and more. I mean, what constitutes as 'that'
if it's with two guys? Because contrary to the popular (and seriously
misguided) trend among the rest of my peers, I wanted to try and keep
myself from doing 'that' as long as I can manage; at least until I found
someone I could trust giving myself to completely. Not that I didn't trust
Aaron or anything, but I just wanted to wait and see how this goes first
before-- And suddenly, I couldn't think anymore because Aaron slowly pushed
me onto my back until I was staring straight up into those eyes of his, and
then his lips as they came straight toward mine.

	His lips opened and I could feel his tongue worm its way through my
own lips until finally both of our tongues were struggling against each
other. I felt his hand travel up my thigh and then stopped when they
reached the button of my jeans, in which I immediately broke from the kiss
and scooted backwards. "Wait, wait! I-- Just, I think it's a little too
early on to be doing... you know." I said, looking down at my hands which
were folded on top of my lap. I was afraid to look up at him, afraid that
maybe he thought I didn't trust him, or worse, that I didn't even want to:
because I did, of course I did, I just wanted it to feel perfect when that
time came. "I'm sorry," I squeaked out, my voice was starting to shut down
on me again.

	I instantly felt his hands on my shoulders, and suddenly he was
pulling me up into a hug. "No no no no no no no," he kept repeating into my
ear while gently caressing the back of my head. "I'm sorry. I wasn't
thinking, dude. I just got carried away, that's all. I'm sorry, of course
we can wait! Okay?" He rotated between rubbing my head reassuringly and
squeezing my shoulders.

	I pulled away a little to look at him. "So it doesn't bother you
that I'm... you know, a little hesitant to perform any coital activity for
the time being?"

	He laughed at me. "What the fu-- fudge does 'coital' mean?"

	I giggled back at him. "It's any form of sexual union or copulation
between a man and a woman, well, maybe not in this case, but still. And you
don't need to censor yourself in front of me, you know. I'm not a little
kid."

	He sighed with this soft, reminiscent smile on his face. "I know, I
know. Hey, remember when we met in the locker room for the first time? I
was running late and I was afraid Coach Short-And-Stout (I couldn't help
chuckling at the nickname) was going to make me run laps. So there I am
running into the locker room saying 'oh, shit' over and over again, when
all of a sudden I see the cutest boy I've ever seen in my LIFE just staring
at me. And you were looking at me with the most adorable 'I can't believe
he just said that' look. So yeah, I just... want to keep that memory alive
in some way."

	I couldn't stop myself from grinning because I actually did
remember that time as well, but I never thought Aaron would remember it,
too. I rushed forward and planted a loving kiss on his cheek. "Cussing
isn't that bad to me, you know. I just reserve it for the times I really
need it. You can say whatever you want to around me. And wow, I honestly
can't believe you still remember that."

	"How could I possibly forget it?" He was looking down at me with
such a loving gaze. He then leaned into me and kissed the tip of my nose. I
scrunched it up in response. We both chuckled softly under our breaths, not
wanting to ruin the moment with words. I was just about to give him another
kiss when I heard the door handle turn.

	"Lee? Hey, Lee, dinner's ready! Dude, why's the door locked?" He
tried opening the door, which was locked, so he kept shaking it more and
more violently.

	I sighed, "Crap." I got up, straightened out my hair and clothing,
and put my glasses back on my face. Aaron looked a little disappointed as
well but he got up anyways. He had a bit of dried saliva (probably mine) on
the side of his face, so I reached over and gently rubbed it away.

	He smirked at me. "All done, mommy?"

	I laughed, "Shut up. Just getting rid of the evidence, that's
all. C'mon, let's go eat." I pulled him by the arm, once again dodging the
piles of books, and ran to the door. I opened it and was surprised to see
Carter still standing there. I immediately let go of Aaron's hand.

	He was looking at Aaron with a suspicious gaze. He turned to
me. "So, what were you guys doing in there?"

	I had a mild panic attack, but after closer inspection at his face,
I realized that he really didn't know what really happened inside. His
eyebrows were furrowed in a mildly irritated fashion but his lips weren't
tightly pursed, which was a huge indication that he either knew something
was up or that he was really mad about something. I let out an internal
sigh of relief and then put on a happy smile on my face.

	"Oh, nothing," I said cheerfully, "I was just showing Aaron my
books."

	He nodded, seeming to accept that excuse. Suddenly, his eyes
narrowed in on Aaron. "Wait a minute. Are those... are those MY clothes?"
He looked a little closer and shouted, "It is! Why is he wearing my
clothes?"

	I looked up at Carter angrily. "Well, what else was he supposed to
wear? All of his clothes are soaking wet! Besides, you never even wear them
anymore, so I figured it would be alright."

	He still looked mad. "You should've asked my permission first."

	I sighed. I was really tired with how immature Carter was being
lately. This wasn't like him at all. "I'm sorry, okay? Jeez. C'mon Aaron."
I grabbed his wrist and led him down the stairs and into the dining room,
Carter's angry footsteps right behind us.

	To my surprise, Dad was already sitting there, a slightly impatient
look on his face. His eyebrows went up a little when he saw Aaron.

	"Hello there. Are you a friend of Carter's?" he asked. I was a
little peeved that both of them didn't even consider that he was a friend
of MINE. I mean, I had friends, right? Okay, nevermind.

	Aaron chuckled, "Oh, no sir. I'm a friend of Riley's, actually."

	His face looked both astonished at me having another friend besides
Isabella and Ethan-- well, maybe not Ethan anymore, and he also seemed
enthralled with Aaron saying 'sir' to him. He turned to look at me. "Well,
finally, someone with some manners around here. You know, Riley, your
little friend, uh, what's her name... the weird white-haired girl, she
could learn a thing or two from this fine young man." I just kept my mouth
shut and nodded, despite how badly I wanted to tell him to stay out of my
business.

	He was obviously expecting a response but I wasn't planning on
giving him one any time soon. Thankfully, Aaron decided to jump in and save
me. "Oh, well, um, Mrs. Monroe, the meal smells amazing."

	She smiled, obviously pleased with the praise. "Well, thank
you. Have a seat!"

	Mom and Dad were sitting on opposite ends of the table and Carter
was in his usual spot. He was probably expecting me to sit right next to
him like I always did, because he looked a little disappointed when I chose
to sit on the other side of the table next to Aaron. I mean, it wasn't like
I was going to leave Aaron to sit by himself.

	The whole dinner was actually kind of awkward at first, with Carter
discreetly giving Aaron dirty looks, my mom trying to start up polite
dinner conversation, and my dad trying to learn more about Aaron.

	"So, Aaron," Dad said, his tone alone already made me nervous. "Do
you play any football?" And, once again, the talk of football begins.

	"Um, no sir, I don't. But I do like to watch games on TV with my
dad sometimes."

	"Have you ever considered playing?" He placed his hands underneath
his chin and gave Aaron a completely serious look, as if they were talking
about the war on Iraq.

	"No sir, I don't think it's really my thing. But I am part of the
community boxing team." And the moment those words came out of his mouth,
Dad's eyes lit up like a firecracker. He asked question upon question about
how boxing worked, what it was like, etc. I looked at Mom and rolled my
eyes and she gave me an empathetic look. I tried making eye contact with
Carter but he was too busy listening in on Dad and Aaron's conversation. My
ears immediately perked up when I heard my name.

	"You see, Riley? A sport of any kind makes for a fine young
man. You could learn something from your friend over here." Dad switched
between giving Aaron a pleased look, and me a disappointed one.

	Mom, once again, swooped in to defend me. "Richard, it's not your
place to tell Riley whether or not to play sports. If he doesn't want to,
then for god's sake, he doesn't want to! We've been through this."

	Dad scoffed, " Look, Irene. I'm his father, I'm just doing my
job. And look at him! All he does is stay holed up in his room with those
books. He needs to man up and do something besides filling his head with
that, that nonsense!"

	Mom's eyes let me know that she was about to blow up on Dad
again. But suddenly Aaron interjected before things got too
messy. "Actually, Mr. Monroe, Riley's books kind of do come in handy. Today
in English, he was the only one in the class who knew and could use the
world 'ubiquitous' correctly in a sentence. Plus, his take on George
Orwell's "1984" almost left Ms. Higgins in tears of joy, and let me tell
you, she's one hard lady to please." Mom was chuckling lightly, and Dad
actually seemed to look at me in a different light for a second. But his
facial expression eventually reverted back to his seemingly always
disappointed one.

	"Hmph," was all Dad had to say, and we continued back to our meal
in silence.

	After making sure no one was looking, I reached out and squeezed
Aaron's thigh and whispered a quiet "thank you" under my breath. He placed
his hand over mine and rubbed it reassuringly. I don't think I'll ever be
able to be touched by him without sweating and having my heart race a
million miles a second.

	Dinner carried on as usual. Mom and Dad started talking about their
day. I don't know what Carter was doing; I was too busy having a foot war
with Aaron underneath the table while trying to retain a straight
face. Just as we were finishing our meal, Aaron's phone started to ring. I
gave him a questioning look when I heard Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" play
as his ringtone.

	Aaron turned a light shade of red and gave me an embarrassed
smile. "What? It's a good song!" I just laughed and shook my head. He
answered it and he immediately looked crestfallen. He kept saying 'mhm' and
he ended with an 'Okay. Love you, too. Bye.'

	"Parents?" I asked.

	He rolled his eyes, which I took to be a 'yes'. He got up from the
table and turned to my parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, thank you very much
for letting me stay here and for letting me join your family for the
delicious meal. It was a pleasure to meet you both." He reached out and
shook both of their hands. They both looked as sad to see him go as I did.

	"It was a pleasure meeting you, young man." Dad said. Aaron
definitely made a big impression on him. Aaron smiled and nodded.

	"Oh, hey, Riley" Aaron added, "I think I forgot where the laundry
room is. You know, for my clothes. Can you come with me to get them for a
second?"

	"Sure thing." I got up and thanked mom for dinner before following
Aaron down the stairs. We went into the laundry room and gave him his
now-dry clothes.

	"Actually, I think I forgot something else, too."

	"What?"

	"This," he said. I turned around and suddenly our lips were
together once again. I didn't realize it till now, but my lips actually
felt a little empty without his pressed against them. I let my mouth fall
open and he took it as a chance to slip his warm tongue inside. He slid his
hands down my back as he kissed me. His tongue slid against the insides of
my cheeks, against my teeth, and the roof of my mouth. As our tongues
wrestled against each other, I felt his hands dip lower and lower until his
hands were gripping my butt. I didn't protest because I knew he'd been
resisting to touch it for a while. Besides, it was actually starting to
feel pretty good.

	I didn't know where to place my hands, so I just wrapped them
around his neck as he continued to kiss and feel me up. I could tell Aaron
was getting more and more into it. He started trailing his kisses down my
face until he reached my neck. I couldn't hold in a moan as I felt the
strange new feeling of someone kissing and licking my exposed neck. His
hands spread my butt cheeks around as well, and all of the new sensations
were making it harder and harder to keep quiet. The moans coming from both
of our mouths were starting to get too loud, and I had no choice but to
pull back.

	I leaned against the drier to catch my breath while Aaron did the
same. It was a while before either of us could speak. "I'm sorry," I
panted, "We were getting... a little too loud."

	His face was really red, I don't know if it was from the make-out
session or if he was blushing. "You are so hot. Sorry if I got a little
rough, it just felt too good."

	I laughed, "No, it was... it felt really good--
great. Seriously. Thank you."

	He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "I am quite skilled, aren't I?" He
slowly took his clothes off, performing a mock strip show. I rolled my eyes
and told him to get dressed. We both shared a laugh; he finally got his
clothes back on and tossed me back Carter's old ones. He smiled and was
about to speak when his phone started ringing again. He sighed, "Yeah, Mom?
Yes, I know, I'll be right out. Yes, I'll make sure to thank
them. Yeah. Yes. Mhm. Okay. See you soon."

	"Leaving already?" I smirked.

	He let out a long breath. "I wish I didn't have to. I can't wait to
see you tomorrow. I'll be thinking about you all night. ALL night."

	The image of Aaron lying in bed looking up at the ceiling and
thinking of me was enough to turn my cheeks red. I waved him off, "Yeah,
yeah, whatever you say Casanova. You should go now, mommy's waiting!" He
laughed and then nodded his head. He headed for the door until I remembered
that I didn't even have his phone number yet. "Oh, wait! Hey, can you, um,
give me your number?" He brightened up at the request and we ended up
exchanging numbers.

	"I'll text you tonight," he promised. I nodded and waved him off.

	"Okay, okay, you should go now before your parents storm the
house," I chuckled.

	He nodded, "Alright. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Riley." He made
no move to leave.

	"Alriiiight, bye!"

	"I'll miss you."

	"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." I said, trying to conceal my blush.

	He pouted and looked at me with those large brown eyes. "Will you
miss me?"

	I sighed, "Yes, yes, now hurry. I don't want you to get in trouble
by your parents!"

	He still didn't make any move to leave. I rolled my eyes, walked up
to him, and kissed him on the lips. He made a show of almost fainting,
which I couldn't help but giggle at. "That's what I was looking for!" he
yelled and pumped a fist in the air. He spun around once more to wave at me
and then finally walked through the door, an obvious jump in his step. Even
after minutes of him being gone, I was still rooted in the same spot, a
huge smile plastered on my face that just wouldn't go away. Even when I
finally realized that I had homework to do, I was still thinking of him.

	Brushing my teeth: thinking of him. Getting ready for bed: thinking
of him. Reading my book: thinking of him. Lying in bed: thinking of him. I
checked my phone and was elated to find a text from him. I opened it up and
grinned as I read these three words:

	I love you.

----------------------------------------------------

Again, so sorry for the (very) late chapter. I appreciate every one of you
who still keep up with this story (and who still put up with me).