Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2016 23:17:10 +0000 (UTC)
From: doncornelius69 (at) yahoo.com
Subject: We Will Remember Them 9

This story is a work of fiction. None of the characters are real and any
similarities between this story and/or any characters in it and real life
is purely coincidental.

THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF CONSENSUAL SEXUAL ACTS BETWEEN
TEENAGE MALES. IT IS INTENDED FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY! IF YOU FIND THIS
TYPE OF MATERIAL OFFENSIVE, OR IF YOU ARE UNDER 18, OR UNDER THE LEGAL AGE
TO VIEW SUCH MATERIAL THEN PLEASE READ NO FURTHER.

The author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original
story.  You may not publish it or any part of it without explicit
authorization from me.

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While Christopher and I made a cute couple, by early October it was clear
to me that our relationship was pretty well doomed to failure. I wasn't a
romantic which became a point of frustration for him about a month in. It
manifested itself, for him, through insecurity which was completely
justified given how my brain worked and the actions it drove. It was
something I tried working on, but even something as simple as sending
flowers (yellow roses) didn't work out (yellow roses). It didn't occur to
me that flowers might have a deeper meaning, I just liked the color yellow
and knew he did as well. To be honest, I thought I would get a blowjob out
of it for being so thoughtful and considerate. Never, in a million years,
would I have thought that it would cause him even greater insecurity.

Sex was another issue for us. We waited for a couple of weeks and tried a
variety of things. He tried topping me which he wasn't very good at (it was
like being stabbed with a dick) and, while he liked me fucking him, I got
the distinct impression that I wasn't... oh, how to put this... satisfying
enough. He liked it, but I could tell he wanted more.

In the end, we figured out a sixty nine was most pleasing to us both. And
that just created more frustration. While we both considered ourselves
versatile at that point, it was clear he was more bottom than anything and
just getting head all the time wasn't going to be enough. To make matters
worse, his reaction to my topping him magnified my insecurities and had the
effect of making me less interested in topping him and that was pretty much
the end of things.

The move had been another issue. In the week leading up to it and the one
after, I was pretty out of it. Josh and Cat would try to dig me out of the
funk, but it just wasn't working. The move itself was seamless. We were,
after all, quite experienced thanks to my fathers predilection for building
a house, moving us into it, and then selling it. Over and over again.

While I thought I'd dealt with my attachment issues to the damn house, I
was still melancholy as hell which made Christopher even more insecure
because he assumed, despite reassurances from Josh and me, it must have
something to do with him. The week after the move, when he was on about it,
I blew up at him and told him, "Not everything is about you. Quit being
such a damn narcissist!"

Glenn got in my face because of that the very next day and I lost it.

"What the hell are you thinking calling Christopher a narcissist?" he
asked, confronting me in the hallway.

"HE IS. Everything I've been dealing with has nothing to do with him but he
can't be persuaded of that. Oh no, he thinks it's all about him, no matter
how many times I tell him it's not. It's frustrating as hell!"

And silence. Both he and Willy just stood there. I knew people in the hall
heard, but they were at least wise enough to ignore it and move on. There
were a few people I noticed looking at me and I just returned their stare
with one of my own, basically daring them to say something.

Willy started to interject and I shut him off.

"Look, Glenn, I'm going through some pretty big changes at home and Willy,
Josh, Brent, and just about everyone else who knows me will tell you it's
sometimes hard for me to process change. I've tried to get that through to
Christopher but it's not working. I don't know what the fuck to do."

Glenn just stared at me for a bit, I think trying to figure out what to
say.

"OK, let me talk to him. Maybe I can get help him understand." he
responded.

I just rolled my eyes as I started to walk away, "Fine. Whatever. Maybe
he'll listen to you because he sure as hell isn't listening to me."

Willy had to rush to catch up to me before I walked into English and
grabbed my arm to stop me.

"What?" I asked roughly.

"Just calm down, dude." he said.

I had to give myself a second to breathe as the warning bell went off. I
was so frustrated I realized I was blinking back tears.

All I could think to say to Willy was a softly uttered, "Sorry."

"It's OK man. I know nothing seems to be working right now and I know
Christopher is kind of making it worse. Just know I'm here for you, even if
it's just to get away for the weekend."

I hugged him as tightly as I could, "Thanks for that, Willy."

When I saw Christopher later that day, I told him again what I was going
through and he finally seemed to get it. Slowly I broke through my funk and
got acclimated to living at a house I still didn't consider my home. I know
it had to be annoying for Josh and Neil since I kept asking if I could use
something or have something. Neil and mother finally sat me down that
Thursday night and calmly re-explained this was MY house, too, and that I
didn't need permission to use something or eat something.

By the second week in October, I was better and Christopher seemed to rally
a bit. My father, however, was a much different story and was still unhappy
about the move. The weekend after my first really good week, he decided Cat
and I needed to stay with him for the weekend. I told him I was good, but
reminded him it was homecoming and that I would be going to the game with
Christopher on Friday and that Saturday we were going to out. When didn't
flinch or grumble, I assumed he was going to be OK.

My father picked us up from school on Friday and drove us out to the
house. It was an ordinary Friday afternoon, nothing terribly special about
it. When we got there, I grabbed something to eat and then went to get
started on homework. About 530, I took a shower and got dressed. When I
came downstairs I had the boutonniere Christopher had given me for
homecoming and asked my father to help me put it on. As he put it on I
could tell there was some tension.

"Daddy, what's wrong," I asked.

He cleared his throat, "It's just that I didn't think I'd be doing this
with something another boy gave you. It's just strange."

"You knew this was going to happen. You knew this weekend was homecoming,
so why did you make such a big deal about having us this weekend?"

He sighed, blinking back some water in his eyes. "Because I love you and I
wanted to spend time with you." he paused, for just a second or two, "I'm
trying my best, son."

I put my hand over his and met his eyes. "I know. And I appreciate it. I
love you, too."

He smiled, weakly, and said, "All done."

I went to look at myself in the mirror and thought I looked good. It was
still warm in Texas, but comfortable and I was wearing a pair of chinos, a
plaid button down shirt and a black coat. The boutonniere was on my lapel.

I turned back to him and said, "Thank you."

We stood there in kind of an awkward silence for a minute or two before
Christopher rang the bell and my father went to open the door.

"Mr. Hallstrom? I'm Christopher Davis and I'm here to pick up..." and that
was all he got out as my father turned and walked away from the door.

"Dad?" I called after him.

"Just go and have fun."

And that was it.

We both stood there, watching him walk away, and finally our eyes settled
on one another.

Christopher was the first to speak, "Did I do something wrong?"

I flatly responded, "No." and then paused for a second, willing a smile to
my face, "You look fantastic."

He smiled back and kinda shifted to one leg. It really was adorable when he
did it and it always drew me in for a kiss.

The game was good, no injuries, and we won. It was the first game I
actually got to watch because Christopher was off almost the entire time
chatting with friends while he left 'his man' to watch the game. Brent
actually rolled his eyes at that one and I didn't even bother to give him
shit about it. During halftime, they did the homecoming court. Willy and
Susie were the freshman members, Josh and some chick I didn't know were for
the sophomores (and that was a REALLY sore subject for Josh who was pissed
as hell he couldn't be out there with Lane). The ceremony was cheesy, but
it was nice.

Afterward, we stopped at Mitchells for a burger then went out to Dave
Morrisons. Most of the varsity, including Josh and Willy, were about 20
minutes behind us and we all clapped as they started to arrive. Josh and
Lane came over to us and we all chatted for a bit. It was a little after 10
and I was still nursing my first beer. Christopher was on his third. That
was really just the start. He was having a great time and it was clear he
wasn't interested in stopping.

Another hour passed and I was really worried about Christopher driving me
home. Scratch that, I DIDN'T want him driving me home. I had, at one point,
pulled him aside to ask him to please stop drinking so he could drive and
his response was a clenched teeth tirade about how I didn't need to worry,
that he'd get me home OK EVEN THOUGH I'd had to temerity (not his word,
mine) to watch the game rather than go with him to gossip about bullshit.

That grabbed Glenn's attention and he pulled him aside. I just stood there,
like an idiot, realizing my life was in the hands of a jackass. At that
point, I knew it was over. He was arguing with Glenn and I watched for
about a minute before I felt Lane's arm around my waist.

"Josh is getting a ride for you. Don't worry."

"I'm not, I'm too angry right now."

Lane sighed, "Come on, let Glenn handle this."

We turned and walked over to where Josh was talking to Ben. Apparently, he
had to be up early tomorrow anyway and since he lived fairly close to the
ranch, he agreed to give me a ride home. I didn't even speak, the whole
thing just had me wrapped up and a little overwhelmed, so I just meekly
followed him to his truck, got in, and we left.

We got about five minutes down the road before he finally spoke.

"Man, I know this all hurts, but sleep on it before you start thinking
about doing anything you can't take back."

I just glanced over at him and smiled, "I know. I really just want to put
this behind me. It's been a long day and a long couple of weeks."

The rest of the drive we were both silent. I gave him the code for the gate
and he drove me up to the house. As I got out I thanked him for the ride
and told him I'd see him later.

"We still on for Sunday?" he asked, referring to helping me practice for
baseball. I just smiled back and said, "Absolutely. Thanks again." and I
closed the door and walked to the house.

My father's house needed an actual key which was kind of a pain in the ass,
but he'd wanted it that way. I used mine and walked inside, heading for the
stairs before I heard my father's voice from the living room.

"Rob?"

"Yes sir?" I replied.

He appeared briefly and looked at me. "What happened?"

I just smiled, "Nothing dad, I'm just home a little early." I replied, I
thought holding it together pretty well.

"Bullshit... what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Christopher had too much to drink so Ben Mitchell gave me a ride
home."

He looked at me, eyes narrowed, intently as if trying to discern whether or
not I was telling the truth. Not whether or not I was upset or if I needed
some support, just trying to ascertain my truthfulness. It was the icing on
the cake of the entire shitastic day.

"Ok, kiddo, just glad you're home OK. Good night, son," he said.

"Good night, dad." And with that I turned and walked upstairs.

I wasn't about to lose it in front of him. To be honest, I didn't want to
lose it at all. Christopher had me raging but I knew damn well, it was
something I could deal with tomorrow.

When I got to my room, I stripped off what I was wearing, took a quick
shower, and climbed in bed desperate for a decent night's sleep.

The next morning I got up and went to drive around on the four wheeler
early. The mornings were a little cooler now and it was nice getting out
and breathing some fresh air. I got back to the house around 830 and had
breakfast with my father. He asked me some questions about what happened
the previous night, so I gave him some more detail making special note of
the fact that when Christopher started to melt down, Josh was the one who
stepped up and made sure I got back to the ranch in one piece.

Christopher started calling about 11. I basically ignored him until around
1 when I realized there was only one way forward.

When I finally picked up the phone, there was silence for about five
seconds after I said hello, almost as though he couldn't believe he wasn't
going to leave another voicemail.

"Hello?" he asked.

"What do you need?" I responded.

"Babe, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or cause you any pain." he
said.

"Christopher, I don't think you did it intentionally, but I also don't
think this was something we would have avoided."

"What do you mean?" he asked, hurriedly.

"I mean last night was about frustration. You're frustrated with me because
I'm not what you want. I get it. Instead of focusing on what we DO have,
which is the possibility of being friends, we're both trying to make a
relationship happen that just isn't going to work."

He sighed, "So that's it?"

I responded, "You see something else?"

Another deep sigh, damn near a sob, "No. You're right. I really don't want
to lose you but I know it's not working for either of us."

"Well, then think of it this way. You're losing a boyfriend and gaining a
friend." I paused for a second, "Look, this isn't easy for either of us,
but we both know at this point it's what has to happen."

I heard him sniffle a bit on the other end, "Yeah, I know." he said,
softly. "Do you still trust me enough to go to the dance with me tonight?"

I smiled, "Of course. I'll even dance with you if you think we can get away
with it."

"Deal."

My father had a date and Cat was spending the night with a friend (slumber
party! YAY!) so they were gone by 6. Christopher picked me up at 7 and we
went to grab something to eat and talk. The conversation was good, more
along the lines of what we'd talked about earlier, and I knew things were
going to work out. He was a really good person, but he would make a lousy
boyfriend because he wasn't adaptable or particularly tolerant. He knew
exactly what he wanted, the problem was he didn't realize yet that the
perfect guy wasn't something you could manipulate into existence.

We got to the dance a little around 830 and had a good time. For me it was
really cool, for him and everyone else, a little less than cool. There were
still times when I felt like the eighth grader who'd snuck into something,
so I felt like 'YAY! High School Dance!' while everyone else thought, 'When
can we get out of here and go party?'.

The answer to that question turned out to be a little after 10 when the
kids who were old enough to drive or had rides left en masse to head to
GOB's. Christopher and I had pretty well covered ourselves so there weren't
too many people at the party who asked how things were going.

As we were pulling up to the house, I asked, "Are you taking me home
tonight?"

Christopher, not missing a beat, said, "Well, unless you get lucky. Or I
do." with a wicked grin.

"Way too soon, Christopher," I replied.

"Oh, shit Rob! I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be flippant. I thought it was
kind of..." he stopped as he looked over at me, and saw me smiling. "You
shithead! You were just fucking with me?"

I just kept the smile on my face. "Yeah, I was. Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Very funny, and of course I'm taking you home. Don't worry, this isn't
going to be a repeat of last night and the last thing I want to do is screw
up again."

I was actually the one who had a little too much to drink, ironically. GOB,
as soon as we walked through the door, handed me a Solo cup filled to the
brim with what tasted like fruit punch with a little booze in it. As it
turned out, after that first glass, there was a lot more than a little
booze in it. I was extremely chatty, the belle of the ball, until the glass
was empty and then I desperately needed more. I ran into Lane as I was
getting in line.

"Dude, did you try the punch? It's AAAAAMAZING!" I said, not slurring too
badly.

Lane said, "Oh my God, how much of that did you drink?"

I replied, "Not much, GOB gave me a Solo cup filled with it and it was
really good."

Lane kinda laughed, "Yeah, I bet it was. Come on, let's go get you some
water to sip on and find Josh and Christopher."

"But I don't really want water,"I replied in my whiniest voice, "I want
more punch!"

"Yeah, you have another one of those and Josh will kill me and then you."

We walked to the kitchen where he filled my cup with water and then out the
patio to find Josh which didn't take long since he was talking to Alan and
his new girlfriend whose name I honestly don't remember (let's just say
Alan had a lot of girlfriends over the years and I lost track).

As we walked up to them, Lane had his arm around my shoulders and he said,
"Look who I found in the line for punch." Which prompted a big smile from
Alan and a stern look from Josh.

"Did you drink any of that?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, GOB gave me a glass. It was really good."

"Oh my God, are you drinking more of it..." he asked, with an excited tone,
but was quickly interrupted by Lane who said, "No, I pulled him away and
got him some water. Relax."

Josh just looked at me, "Seriously, that stuff has a ton of grain alcohol
in it. You shouldn't drink it because it will fuck you up badly."

I'd had about enough. While I really didn't mind (and, honestly, sometimes
loved) Josh as protective older brother, talking to ME about drinking was
just too far. "Oh? Like it would get me drunk enough to start telling
private things about others?" Which made Alan, who was taking a drink from
a beer as I said it, cough and sputter.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Josh asked.

I just smiled back at him, sipping my water, "Nothing. Or, maybe, Alan can
tell you. I'm going to look for Christopher." And with that I walked away
to find Christopher talking to Ben about 20 feet from us.

When I walked up they both looked at me with big grins on their faces and I
stopped short a bit and asked, "What?"

Ben just smiled, "How was the punch?"

I just smiled back and said, "Damn good!"

They both told me not to drink any more of it and we talked for a
while. Ben and Christopher were actually really good friends and had been
talking about schools they were thinking about. Ben was hoping for a
scholarship to play ball, which wasn't all that unlikely. Christopher was
trying for Julliard

About 20 minutes later, around 1115, Josh came over looking like he'd just
killed my dog. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Can I talk to you
for a minute?"

I just looked back at him with this giant smile on my face. Ben had already
taken off after agreeing to pick me up tomorrow around 2 and Christopher
just stood there.

"Josh, it was just me giving you some shit. PLEASE don't worry about it."

Christopher, taking a keen interest in this, asked, "Alright, what's up?"

Josh just looked like he was going to be physically ill. He'd betrayed me
and no matter how innocent it was, or the fact that he'd done it to someone
we both should have trusted with the information, he was obviously feeling
bad.

I just smiled at him and touched his arm, saying "It's OK." I looked over
at Christopher and filled him in on the story from the New Years party
where Josh got drunk and asked Alan to look after me because I was gay.

Christopher actually teared up a bit, "Oh my God, that's so damn sweet. And
neither of them ever said anything to you about it?"

Josh just shook his head no with a completely beaten look on his face. All
I could think to do, right at that minute, was give him a hug.

"Thanks, but I don't feel like I deserve it," he said.

"I know, but you do. I wasn't ever upset... well, until you got on my ass
about the punch." I finished, smiling.

By this point it was after 1130 so Christopher and I said our goodbyes and
he drove me home to what looked like an empty house. I went to the kitchen,
grabbed something to eat, then went upstairs to shower and climb in bed.

I really felt good the next day. Daddy was already up by the time I rolled
downstairs and had made some sort of egg casserole thing that was pretty
decent. Cat was having none of it (since there were ONIONS in it), so she
got toast and cereal while we made fun of her.

About 145 I packed up a few things and told my father bye as Ben pulled up
in front of the house. My father, gave me a hug and told me to have fun. He
was still pretty awkward at hugs, but at least I knew he was trying. I know
now that weekend was tough for him in a way he hadn't anticipated.

Ben and I practiced for 90 minutes and it was some of the best instruction
I'd ever received. Ben was just a natural at baseball. He was good at
fielding, pitching, and batting. He knew the game inside and out. It took
him five minutes to read me and what I needed help with. By the end, I was
exhausted as we sat on the ground drinking Gatorade. I looked over at him
at one point and he caught me.

"What?" he asked.

I took a drink from the bottle, "Ben, I can't thank you enough for doing
this with me. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate it."

He reached over and ruffled my hair, then disgustedly looked at his sweat
covered hand before shaking it out which cause us both to laugh.

"Dude, you don't need to thank me. Coach told me out of all the kids coming
up, you were the one he really liked because you were pretty good at it and
really loved the game. I sort of saw that when you asked me to help you and
when we got out here today, it didn't take me long to realize he was
right."

We talked a little more and he was honest with me about what he thought my
chances were for varsity (good, but not great). About four he took me out
to what was now my house. Mother was the only one there and very happy to
see me. Josh and Neil had gone into Dallas to look at cars since Josh was
turning 16 in a few days. So, it gave us a chance to talk.

My mother wasn't a nervous person, but that afternoon I could tell she had
something she needed to get out.

"Neil asked me if it would be OK to have you standing with him and Josh at
the wedding." she started. "I told him no."

I just sat there for a second, not really knowing how to
respond. Thankfully, she continued.

"I didn't want you standing with him because I want you to walk me down the
aisle with your grandfather. Are you up for that?"

I cleared my throat, "You want me to join granddaddy in giving you away?"

She smiled, eyes filling with water, and nodded. I jumped up and hugged
her.

"Of course, mom! I'll be happy to do whatever you want."

She kind of laughed and said, "Well, thank you. I know none of this has
been easy, but I love you and I want you to be part of this."

"Of course. I'm honored."

She wiped away a tear, "Good. Now, go get cleaned up because you really
need a shower."

The rest of October was pretty much a blur. Football was good and the
varsity, especially, was kicking some serious ass. School had pretty much
ground down to the routine and Christopher and I continued to do things as
friends, which meant we cut off our sexual activity. To be honest, it was
fun now talking to him since neither of us had to worry about roles we were
playing and we could really be ourselves.

All of that paled in comparison to The Wedding. Mother wasn't bridezilla or
anything, but there was some definite stress regarding how things should
go, what would be worn, every single detail was thoughtfully analyzed and a
decision was made. Then it was revisited about twenty thousand times and a
final decision was made.

Take the pants on the suit she had made for me. The legs were
cuffed. CUFFFFEEEDDD! I didn't mind and said as much when I was being
fitted and my mother said, through clenched teeth, "But you'll be the only
one with cuffed pants!"

So, they fixed that. Or ran up some new pants. I never really got a
straight answer as to the solution.

Josh turned 16 on the 20th and passed his drivers test. That night, we had
a little party at the house and Neil presented him the keys to his Range
Rover. Josh was appreciative but clearly pretty crestfallen. He'd made no
attempt to hide the fact that he desperately wanted a Mercedes coup. Neil,
for his part, had made no attempt to hide the fact that he thought it was
absolutely ridiculous for a sixteen year old, no matter the financial
situation of their parents, to drive a $90,000 car. A three year old
$90,000 SUV was, apparently, just fine since it gave Neil an excuse to buy
a new car.

That Friday we'd all gone out with Josh driving and it was nice not to have
to depend on Jay, GOB, Ben, Christopher or someone else for a ride. On the
way home, after dropping off Lane, I made the comment that while it may not
have been what he wanted, it was a really sweet ride.

Josh, just looked at me and laughed. "You know, I didn't really want that
Mercedes, right?"

"Like hell, it's all you've been talking about for over a month."

"I did that because I needed my dad to think that was really what I
wanted. I think sometimes he needs to feel like the responsible adult
that's teaching his kid a much deserved lesson. So, if I play the part on
this, he lets something else slide. Besides, if I hadn't done that, I'd
have probably ended up with a 10 year old Suburban like Jay." he finished,
laughing.

"Alright, so there's some method to your madness."

"Damn right," he finished with a smile.

After that night, everything just got hectic. Halloween wasn't even fun and
by the time the rehearsal dinner rolled around, on Wednesday November 3rd,
we were all ready to cut loose. At least a little since I had school and a
game the next day and Josh had a game on Friday. My mother, at one point,
pulled us both aside and told us "No injuries".

The rest of the week went really well. We won our game on Thursday and
varsity won theirs on Friday. Of course, after the game there was nothing
but going home since we had to be functional the next day. The tent was
already up at the house and the weather was cooperating. My grandparents
and Neil's mother were both staying with us. I'd met Neil's mother once
before and she was a really nice lady. Mother had said she had some tough
questions for her, but that in the end they were good. I think she thought,
on some level, my mother was after Neil's money. Meeting my grandparents
set her straight on that. My grandparents, for their part, absolutely loved
her, mostly because she drank and they loved drinking. I guess it's what
you do when you're retired and have all this time on your hands.

I got out of bed kind of early the day of the wedding to find the house a
nightmare of activity. I really just wanted something to eat since I was
starving and the kitchen was taken over by caterers. I was standing there
trying to figure out what to do ( I mean, I could make some eggs for
myself. I may have been 15, but I wasn't one of those freak 15 year old
boys who needed mommy to make all his meals) to get them out of the damn
way when I felt Josh's hands on my shoulders.

"We need to get the hell out of here. Come on." he whispered in my ear. I
just nodded my head in response.

We both went out to his car and sped off.

"OK, we have, at best, two hours before Cat wakes up and she will be hungry
so we gotta get her something too."

He just snorted, "Like I don't know that." and looked over at me with this
dumb look on his face which made me laugh.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I don't know, I want to be out of there for a while. What about Denny's?"

Excitedly, I said, "What about Waffle House?"

"Damn, bro! I likes the way you think!"

It took about 20 minutes to get there but it was totally worth it. Waffles
swimming in butter and that fake maple syrup, bacon, sausage and eggs with
American cheese. Waffle House still makes me happy.

After the shoveling enough to staunch the pain in our stomachs (I don't
know about Josh but I was literally feeling my stomach spasming), we
relaxed a bit.

He looked over at me at one point with this big smile. "I love you, man. I
know I say it all the time, but I really do. I am so happy for all of us."

I smiled back, "I am, too. I'm not looking forward to today, but I'm
definitely looking forward to the days after it."

We kept eating and chatting, then realized we needed to head back. On our
way we stopped at the doughnut place and bought a dozen chocolate
doughtnuts for Cat. When we got back to the house, we marched straight to
her room and knocked on the door. She finally opened it, looking a little
sleepy, and immediately turned back to her bed.

"Cat, Josh and I got you something for breakfast."

She turned back, quickly, with a wary eye. "What did you get me?"

Josh had been holding the box behind him and has he brought to his front,
he opened it. Cat literally gasped. She grabbed the box, threw it on her
bed and hugged both of us.

Josh said, "So, I guess you like it?"

"Of course I do!" and she turned, back toward her bed, then immediately
whipped back around. Before she could open her mouth I spoke up.

"We didn't do anything to them. And they're not to make up for
something. We left to go to Waffle House and decided to grab them on the
way back for you. There's no motive other than that we love you."

She just smiled and said, "OK. Y'all leave, I need to eat and get ready."

And with that, we were dismissed. Josh left to go to his room and I went
down to Neil and my mother's room to check on her. Neil had stayed in the
cabana house last night. At least, that's what he told us. I'm pretty sure
he actually spent the night at the Marriott where he'd been drinking with
some old friends in town for the wedding.

I knocked at the door and waited until she told me to come in.

I opened the door and walked down the little hallway before coming into the
main part of the bedroom which was BIG. There was a California king bed and
in another part of the room, a seating area with a TV. There was also
another TV in front of the bed. It was a nice place for them to come to,
mostly to get away from us.

"Hey honey!" she said. She was lying in bed, drinking coffee watching
something that looked liked Lifetime.

"Hey mom,"I said as I sat down on the bed. She reached over to brush some
hair off my forehead. "I know, I need a haircut!"

"That's not what I was going to say! I was actually going to say that it
looks good a little longer. Now that football is over, you want to wear it
a little longer?"

"I don't know. With everything going on, I haven't even thought about it. I
guess?"

She just smiled at me, "I promise, it'll get a lot less hectic tomorrow."

I left her room and walked back to mine after she reminded me I needed to
be ready by 4 for pictures.  I heard my phone chime and noticed a text from
Bruce.

"We're here. See you tonight. Any chance I can crash with you? :)?"

I smiled, replying, "Sure. Can't wait to see you :)"

The thought of spending the night with Bruce had me a little anxious and
being 15, that meant rubbing one out. Or two. It provided the relief I
needed and I laid down to sleep for a few hours and woke up to Josh sitting
on my bed, staring at me.

I didn't jump, I wasn't scared. It was Josh sitting there smiling after
all, I just tried to blink away the sleep, then realized that really wasn't
going to do the trick and had to rub my eyes out.

"What's up, everything OK?"

"Yeah, was just watching you sleep for a bit. You're just so damn cute when
you're asleep it's really something, like you're just totally at peace with
the world."

I just yawned and stretched a bit, "I am. It's also just hilarious my
brother thinks I'm cutest when I'm asleep, which means he's really my
brother!" That earned me a pile on. I had to wiggle out from underneath him
and I ran over to my dresser.

"I got something for you," I said as I opened the top drawer and dug the
box out.

"Oh, man, you didn't have to do that!"

I smiled back, sheepishly, "Well, TECHNICALLY, I didn't. Cat and I did and
to be really honest, mother had to help us pay for it." I finished as I
handed him the box.

His eyes lit up when he realized what it was. He'd been wanting a TAG Heuer
watch for a year. It wasn't the exact model he wanted, but it was close. As
he opened the box, I could tell he was pretty excited. He pulled the watch
out and held it in his hand, then he looked up at me.

"Thank you so much for this."

"Turn it over and look at the inscription,"I told him, excitedly.

He looked at it for a minute or two, completely silent. When he looked back
up at me, he had tears running down his cheeks. The inscription was
carefully put around the outer edge of the back of the watch.

Family Forever 11/6/10 Love, Cat and Rob

I said, "So you like it?"

He jumped up and hugged me tight, thankfully remembering that I had ribs
and lungs.

"I love it! I can't tell you what it means to me."

I just smiled up at him, "I know, bro. We wanted to do something special
for you."

"Damn," he said, wiping his eyes with his hands, "I didn't get anything for
you guys."

"Oh, stop. We did it because we wanted you to know we're family. We already
know how you feel, but we wanted to make sure you knew how WE felt."

That earned me another hug. As he broke it, he looked at me and I realized
I had the coolest older brother on the planet. Middle kids often bitch and
whine about being the middle kid, but I love Josh and my sister. There is
no way in hell, even to this day, I would give up either of them or my spot
between them.

He wiped away some more tears, then quietly said, "I'm going to go thank
Cat" as he walked out my door. I glanced over at the clock which read 310
and realized I needed to get my ass in gear. Thankfully, mother and Neil
had agreed on simple clothing for the wedding. Black suits and black ties
for the guys which meant it didn't take me long to get ready.

When I was done I checked myself in the mirror. Though I was still stuck
5'8" and 155 pounds, I actually looked pretty damn good. I wish like hell I
was taller, but the folks who made my suit did an excellent job and the cut
of it made me look really nice. As I walked out of my room, I felt like a
million bucks until I ran into Josh who at 6'1" and 230 pounds looked like
a fucking stud.

"DAMN Bro... you look fucking hot!" I told him, which prompted giggles from
some of the female staff who were working the wedding. He came over and
hugged me.

"You think Lane will think so?" he asked.

I just answered back, flatly, "Yeah, unless he's suddenly gone blind."

About 415 we took some pictures with the groom and groomsmen. My
grandfather and I also joined in. By 5, Lane showed up and they made their
way to Josh's room for a little reunion. I was talking to my grandfather
who was drinking a bourbon. I looked at the glass and asked if I could have
a sip and he said, "Of course, but take it easy."

I did. And I actually liked it... it was a little like the scotch my father
drank, but not as harsh. Everyone my age thinks it's pretty gross unless
it's mixed with something sweet, like Coke. He finally took the glass away
from me.

"Well, obviously you didn't think it was too bad. You nervous or did you
really like it?" he asked.

I just blurted out, "I liked it." which brought a huge smile to his face as
he started yelling to my grandmother who was taking pictures with the women
to come over.

"What has you so agitated, David?" she asked.

"Robin (it was always Robin with these two, never Rob... it drove me a
little crazy), tell your grandmother what you just told me."

"I like bourbon?" I said, kind of unsure where this was going. He just
looked at me, beaming, then up at my grandmother with the massive smile on
his face.

My grandmother just looked at me with a little smile, then back at my
grandfather and said, "DO NOT let him drink too much. If you ruin this, I
will kill you."

Which just made my grandfather laugh and tell her, "Oh, OK. I'll make sure
he's fine."

As she walked away he said, "Come on, let's go get you one and I train you
how to drink without being obnoxious."

We got up from the patio, then walked into the house toward one of the bars
that had been set up for guests. My mother had planned for drinks and hors
d'oeuvres from 6 to 7, then the ceremony, then dinner after.

My grandfather's advice was pretty solid. "Sip, don't gulp and make sure
every other one to drink some water until you feel like you can handle
it. No more than one an hour." We also talked, mostly about my mother and
us.

"Boy-o, I really like Neil and Josh but I'm worried about you and Cat. How
is she handling all this?"

I took another sip of the drink he'd given me, "She's doing fine. I don't
think there's a way to ever throw Cat off her game."

"Alright, what about you?" he asked, as he looked at me intently. It didn't
really feel like the third degree, but I also knew my mother talked to them
frequently and probably shared her concerns.

"I love Neil and Josh. I'm happy for mother. It's a lot of change and I
really liked the old house. I'm pretty much past it at this point, but for
a while I know I was out of it, especially around the move. It took a lot
more out of me than I'd have ever thought possible."

He just nodded, with the smile on his face, as if he was proud of me. "You
just remember, you're mother loves you, and so do your grandmother and I,
unconditionally. You don't ever have to beat yourself up about what you're
feeling and I want you to know I'm always a phone call away."

I gave him a hug with that one and held it until I felt a tap on my
shoulder and turned to see Bruce. At that moment, you could have knocked me
over with the tap of a finger. He looked, well, just fucking amazing. Like
Josh, but so much more and he had this smile on his face that was at once
reassuring and also full of desire. It was strange how it affected me.

I stood there, just staring at him for a good thirty seconds before my
grandfather cleared his throat.

"Oh, grandaddy, this is Bruce Martinez, Josh's best friend from
Laguna. Bruce, this is my grandfather, David Connolly."

My grandfather immediately put on his best smile and stuck out his hand to
shake Bruce's. "Great to meet you, son."

Bruce, not missing a beat, said, "Very nice meeting you as well, sir."

My grandfather glanced at me, then at Bruce then leaned in to my ear and
whispered, "This one's got it pretty bad. Be careful with him. Oh, and be
careful yourself." and he pulled back, gave me a wink, and said "Well, I'm
going to go see what the ladies are up to," and he looked at his watch,
"Need you in there at 645, sound good?"

"Yes sir."

"Alrighty." and he walked away. I always loved my grandfather but at that
moment, if I'd had to choose between him and anyone else in the world, it
would have been him.

Bruce still had that damn smile on his face. I asked him, "So, did you
bring your bag?"

"Yeah," and he moved his shoulder to indicate his backpack.

"Great, let's go back to my room so you don't have to carry it around all
night." Subtle, right? Of course not... it was SMOOOOOTH.

We barely made it through the door before his hands were on my ass and he
was lifting me so that my face was level with his. I put my arms around his
neck and we kissed for what seemed like forever. It was exactly like the
kiss he'd given me the last time I'd seen him and it was amazing. I finally
had to break it.

He looked at me with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, except that in about 30 minutes I have to walk my mother down the
aisle to marry some dude and I don't want to do it with an erection or a
giant dogwater stain."

He just smiled, gave me a little peck and then lowered me back to the
ground. At 6'3" and 270 pounds he seemed massive compared to me. I was
absolutely certain he could lift me with one arm.

I took another sip from my glass which made him snort, "You better slow
down there, champ, or you're going to be stumbling you're mother down the
aisle."

So, I told him the story about my grandfather and the bourbon as we walked
back down to my mother's room. I gave him a quick kiss, up on my toes, and
went on inside while he went back to the party. I walked right into the
main part of the room right at 6:45 and saw my mother looking more
beautiful than I had ever seen her before. She was talking to Mrs. Yannis,
one of her friends from college with whom she kept in near constant
communication. I just stood there until Mrs. Yannis nodded toward me and my
mother turned and smiled at me.

"Hey sweety, how do I look?" she asked.

I kinda stammered a bit and finally blurted out, "Gorgeous" which prompted
a cheer from the room and a "Mission Accomplished" from my mother.

THEN she noticed the glass in my hand and she immediately made her way to
me.

"What is that?" she asked in just that tone that let me know she was really
angry. Thankfully, my grandfather stepped in at just that moment.

"I got the boy a drink. He's been sipping the same one for almost an
hour. He's fine Bethany."

She looked at him, clearly not happy, but not about to jump on him. She
looked back at me, "Are you OK?"

I put the glass down on a small table near where I was standing and looked
back at her, "Yes, ma'am. I promise, I wouldn't mess this up for you."

She reached out to hug me and I felt how much she loved me. I mean, I
always did when she hugged me but today it was really nice, knowing the
kind of stress she was under. She pulled back and looked me up and down.

"You look really handsome," was all she said, a tear running down her
cheek. "Thank you for doing this."

About two minutes later, the processional started and the bridesmaids and
groomsmen made their way down the aisle. Not long after, my grandfather to
her right and me on her left, we made our way down the aisle. When we
approached the music stopped and the minister (Rev. Dillon from our church)
asked "Who presents this woman to be married to this man?"

My grandfather cleared his throat and said loudly, "Her mother and I do",
then Rev. Dillon turned his eyes to me and I said, probably a little to
quickly, "My sister and I do, and with joy in our hearts we accept Neil and
his son, Josh, as family."

My grandfather stepped away and I led my mother up to Neil. He hugged me
and then I went to sit next to my grandmother who had this giant smile on
her face. As I sat down she whispered, "You did so well, sugar!" and I just
smiled back at her while mouthing 'thank you'.

The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch and the reception was a
lot of fun. At 10, the car came to pick up my newly minted parents and
whisked them away to the airport for a trip to Turks and Caicos.

Around and an hour later the last of the guests were leaving and Bruce and
I made our way to my room. I was actually really tired but as soon as the
door closed, I geared back up quickly. He'd been extremely honest about how
horny he was, but I had no idea what I was in for. At first we just went at
each other, trying to touch, feel, and lick everything but we eventually
calmed down and relaxed enough to really enjoying being together. The
actual sex didn't last too long because by that point we were both pretty
keyed up. Neither of us had the energy after for anything other than
curling up together and falling into a deep sleep. I felt so comfortable in
his arms that I really didn't know if I wanted to wake up.

The next morning, I opened my eyes and rubbed out the sleep as I looked up
to find him staring back at me.

"Good morning" he said, in a breathless way.

I stretched out, loving the feeling of being this close to him and replied,
"Yes, it is."

We ended up having sex again before we cleaned up and got ready for his
parents to pick him up. He was ready and out the door before me, which gave
me time to think about what had happened and realize that despite all my
best efforts, I had feelings for someone who lived more than thousand miles
away.

After I was dressed, I was walking down to the kitchen when I heard Bruce
and Josh talking.

"... it fucking tears me up. I know I should be happy with whatever time we
have together, but damn it hurts when it ends." Bruce said.

Josh just sighed, "I know. I think it hurts him just as much. I was afraid
this would happen..."

"Stop it, dude. I don't need the 'I told you so' bullshit. I will never
regret any of this, I'm just telling you how I feel."

"OK, but think about it from his perspective for a fucking minute. He just
came out and had his first date with a guy, then we moved him in here and
threw his world off balance, then he breaks up with his first boyfriend,
and now his mother just got remarried. I know it's hard for you, but don't
do anything to fuck with him. He doesn't deserve it."

"Damnit, Josh! I fucking know that..."

Josh cut him off, his voice raised, "Then act like it instead of being a
self indulgent kid. Be the man he needs you to be, not some child who goes
on endlessly about how unfair it all is."

Then silence until Bruce finally said, "I will. I promise."

I had backed up a little in the hallway and started walking forward into
the kitchen, right past them, to the refrigerator to get some juice. The
two of the just sat there looking at one another until Bruce got up to use
the bathroom.

Josh just looked over at me as I made my way to the table and sat.

"Is there anything to eat? I'm starved," I asked him.

"Sure, there's a ton of food left from last night. Want me to make you a
tenderloin sandwich?" he asked.

Before I could answer Bruce ambled back in and leaned in for a kiss. "Make
that two, please!"

We sat and ate in relative silence, just looking at each other. I could
tell he was still upset, the redness around his eyes left no room for doubt
there. But, he'd taken Josh's advice and I was grateful for that. Josh, as
usual, had completely nailed my emotional state and just how much further I
could go. Waking up with Bruce and realizing I honestly had feelings for
him was about as close as I could get to the edge.

Not long after, Bruce's parents texted that they were in the front and I
got up to walk him to the door. Before he walked out he turned and gave me
a hug that actually popped my back and made me groan. He kissed me once
more and then he was walking down from the house, getting in the car, and
driving off.

The rest of the day I was pretty melancholy. Josh got me out of it by
forcing me to get on a four wheeler with him. We went down to the lake that
sat below the house and talked. It was good to let it out because, even if
there weren't tears, I still missed him. I really wish things had been
different and sometimes even now, 19 months later, I wonder what might have
been if we'd moved to California or if Bruce had moved here. Would I have
ever met Toby? Would I still have fallen in love with him if I did?

Later that night I couldn't sleep and made my way to Josh's room. I didn't
want to wake him up, but I ended up doing just that.

"What's wrong," he asked in a groggy voice.

"I can't sleep. Can I get in bed with you?" I asked in a voice so small I
barely recognized it as coming from me. Josh just smiled and lifted up the
covers, letting me get in with him. As his arm curled around me and he
pulled me back to him, I fell into a deep sleep. I look back now and
realize that night was me getting comfortable with the fact that sometimes
I just needed to be around others, that I couldn't do it all
myself. Sometimes, life would just demand more of me than I could give and
I would have to lean on someone, no matter how weak I thought it made me
look.

Neil and my mother would be gone until the 17th, but we had Mrs. Trautman
and Josh who could both drive. My father, of course, had been a dick about
the whole thing but finally relented given that it would be best for us to
maintain our schedules during the week. Plus, Cat threw a total fit at one
point about spending 10 days at his house. It was truly epic, even the
Academy would have given her at least a nomination if not the Oscar.

See, she didn't really care but she knew I did. Of course, we'd be there
the following weekend, and we were both fine with that, but she knew that I
was really just getting settled where we were and didn't need yet another
disruption. Mother tried explaining it to him but he was having none of
it. Cat, being very perceptive, took a different approach.

He can say no to me and mother, but it's quite a different story when it's
his little girl.

The rest of November was pretty good. Varsity made it two games into the
playoffs before being beaten by a damn field goal, school was, well,
school, and Neil and my mother got back in one piece after an amazing time
together. My father appeared to calm down and Thanksgiving was pretty much
a replay of last year, except in a different house and with a new
grandmother (Cat and I had decided to call Neil's mother Thirdmother. It
made sense to us and she seemed to actually like it because, as she
confided to us, she never really cared for 'Gramma' which is what Josh
called her).

We ended up having Thanksgiving part two the next day with my father's
family at the ranch. It was a lot of fun. Even though my father wasn't
terribly close to his siblings (he was 8 years older than one and 10 years
older than the other), they got along well and could be pretty funny,
usually at MoMos expense which she either didn't get or took lightly. She
may not have been overly affectionate, but she was a good sport in most
situations and very clever, when she felt slighted, about paying someone
back.

The rest of the year went pretty well. Richard and his family came to Texas
for Christmas. He finally got to meet Josh and the two of them got on well,
mostly at my expense with Cat chiming in when she was around. Richard
always liked Texas and was thinking about transferring to a school here the
next year. He was less than thrilled to be going to Yale since he really
hated Connecticut. He'd told me if he couldn't go to school in the City,
then he might as well go someplace in ANY city since it would be preferable
to New Haven.

It was the 27th when the shit hit the proverbial fan. Neither Cat nor I
were aware of what was going on, we were out with Josh that afternoon doing
some post-Christmas sale shopping when mother was served.

My father had decided to declare war.


Thanks for reading! Any comments can be sent to doncornelius69 at yahoo dot
com.

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