Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 18:59:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kirk Landers <ilj4ever44@yahoo.com>
Subject: Dating and the Single Life- part 20

Copyright and Disclaimer:
1. This is a fictional story with fictional
characters.
2. No one is to steal this story under any
circumstances.
3. This story deals with relationships and not sex, so
if you're looking for a story with a lot of sex in it,
this isn't the story for you.

   Well, here's part 20.  Thanks again to all of those
who have been reading and giving me feedback.  I
really appreciate it!

"A Past Mistake"

Jake and Tyler were getting ready for work.  Tyler had
already made arrangements the night before and today
was Jake's first day working at the restaurant with
him.  Tyler was a little uneasy at first because Jake
realized that he's working there because Tyler doesn't
fully trust him yet, but at the same time he didn't
feel guilty over feeling that way.  He has a right to
not fully trust him yet and Jake realized that too.

"Do I look alright?" Jake asked as he finished
buttoning up his shirt.

"Yea, you look great," Tyler replied giving him a kiss
on the cheek. "You all set?"

"I'm ready," Jake answered.

The two then headed out and headed to go get breakfast
with the guys before work.

"So, are you excited?" Tyler asked.

"I guess," Jake shrugged.

"You know, if you don't want to work there you don't
have to," Tyler re-assured.

"No, I have to," Jake said, "I have to prove to you
that you can trust me."

"I don't want you to feel you have to," Tyler said.

"I want to," Jake replied. "Believe me, when I lost
your trust, I lost everything.  What we once had is so
important to me and I want to get that back.  So
believe me, I want to work there with you."

Tyler smiled at Jake for his determination. "All
right."

When Tyler and Jake arrived at the diner Randal,
Stanley, Kyle and David were sitting at a table
already looking at the menu.

"Morning," Tyler greeted as him and Jake sat down.

"Hey," Kyle replied. "Wow, you're really dressed up
Jake."

"Today's my first day of work," Jake answered.

"Where are you working?" Randal asked.

"Tyler's restaurant," Jake replied.

"That's awesome," Stanley said. "Now you two can be
together all the time."

"Yea," Jake smiled.

"This isn't any sort of way to keep an eye on Jake is
it?" David asked Tyler.

"David!" Randal snapped slapping David on the arm.

"Stupidity check," Kyle sighed rolling his eyes.

"What?" David asked innocently, "All I'm saying is
that if that's what this is then it won't work out
because you'll be looking for the mistakes rather then
looking for the good stuff you two have between each
other."

Tyler and Jake both shifted in their seats
uncomfortably.

"Hey, I wonder where Marcus is," Stanley said changing
the subject.

"Yea, he's ten minutes late," Randal said. "That's not
like him."

David tried putting his arm around Kyle, but Kyle
shrugged it off, turned to him and whispered, "That
was a really dumb subject to bring up."

Wounded, David turned back to his menu quietly.

"What are you going to be doing at the restaurant?"
Stanley asked.

"I'm going to be a waiter," Jake replied. "Normally
I'd have to start as a host, but I got connections."

Jake smiled at Tyler who in return gave a laugh.

"Well, since it's such a nice restaurant you should
get lots of good tips," Randal brought up.

"Yea, so at least I'll be making better money then my
old job," Jake answered.

"Morning guys," Marcus said as he approached the
table.

"Where've you been?" Kyle asked.

"I got up a little late this morning," Marcus replied.

"Long night?" Stanley asked.

"You could say that," Marcus replied with a little
smile.

"Oh my God," Tyler said with a realization.

"You had sex," Randal finished.

"Yea," Marcus replied smiling still.

"You had sex with Trevor?" Jake asked.

"Yup," Marcus answered proudly.

"Nice," Kyle said.

"How was it?" Randal asked.

"It was good...well, it was amazing," Marcus
confessed.

"Was he fully equipped?" Kyle asked.

"And then some," Marcus replied.

"Excuse me," David said getting up, "I have to get to
work."

"Bye," everyone said.

"I'll see you later," Kyle said as David got up to
leave.  David looked down at Kyle as he stood up.
"Want to walk me to work?"

"I'll catch up with you in a second," Kyle said then
turned back to Marcus. "So when are you seeing him
again?"

"Never mind, I'll just see you later," David said
bitterly and walked off.

"What's wrong with him?" Marcus asked.

"I better go find out," Kyle said getting up. "I want
to hear more about this though so I'll call you
later."

Kyle headed out as the rest of the guys continued
drilling Marcus for information.

"So, is it safe to say that you two are an official
couple?" Stanley asked.

"Yes, we are," Marcus replied. "In fact tonight I want
you guys to come over for dinner to meet him and he's
going to bring some of his friends."

"Wow, you two already want to bring your friends
together huh?" Jake asked.

"Yea, so will you guys come?" Marcus asked.

"Of course," Tyler replied.

"Wouldn't miss it," Randal added.

"Great," Marcus smiled.

Outside Kyle ran to catch up with David.

"David," Kyle said grabbing David's arm. "What's
wrong?"

"Nothing," David shrugged and continued walking.

"David, I'm not going to put up with that type of
attitude," Kyle lectured.

David still didn't say anything.

"Fine, whatever," Kyle said and turned and walked back
towards the diner.

When Kyle walked back into the diner the guys had just
ordered their food.

"Would you like anything?" the waitress asked.

"I'll just have a blueberry muffin and some juice
please," Kyle replied as he sat down.

"All right," the waitress replied as she walked away.

"So what's wrong with David?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know, he's being immature right now," Kyle
replied. "But let's not put a damper on this morning.
I'm really happy for you Mar."

"Thanks, I was just telling the guys that tonight
Trevor and I want you guys to come over so his friends
can meet my friends," Marcus said.

"Sounds awesome," Kyle replied.

"Great," Marcus said. "He has three best friends that
he's bringing over."

"Want us to bring anything?" Kyle asked.

"If you can bring some dessert that would be great,"
Marcus answered.

"No problem," Kyle said.

Then Stanley's cell phone then rang. "Hello?"  As
Stanley was on the phone the other guys continued to
talk.

"How's the apartment?" Tyler asked.

"Perfect," Randal replied as he looked fondly at
Stanley. "I can't get over how perfect everything is
in my life right now.  I've never been this happy
before."

"I'm glad," Marcus said patting Randal on the back.

"For the first time all of us are in relationships at
the same time," Jake said. "You and Stanley, Marcus
and Trevor, Kyle and David, Tyler and me."

"That's pretty amazing," Marcus commented.

"Too bad my other half is being so weird right now,"
Kyle said.

"Has he been acting like this for a while?" Randal
asked.

"No," Kyle replied. "He was fine last night.  Him and
I talked about how he felt a little insecure with the
fact that Marcus was dating Trevor."

"Why would that make him insecure?" Marcus asked.

"Because we used to drool over that billboard of
Trevor when he was a model," Kyle answered. "David
thought I'd lose interest in him or something, but I
talked to him and we were fine after that."

"David was insecure?" Jake asked. "That's something I
never thought I'd see from him."

"That's what I said," Kyle replied with a laugh.

"David's so arrogant," Randal said jokingly.

"Today though, he just got all weird," Kyle said.

"Do you think it's because we got mad at him for what
he said to Jake and Tyler?" Randal asked.

"I don't know," Kyle replied. "It better not be,
because that was a dumb thing to bring up on his part.
 But yea, let's change the subject.  I'm sorry, I
don't want anything to bring down Marcus' day."

"Don't worry about it," Marcus said.

"No, I'm really happy for you Mar. It's been a while
since you've been able to be happy like this with
someone and I think it's great." Kyle said.

"Yea, we are really happy for you," Stanley said as he
hung up his phone.

"Thank you," Marcus replied smiling. "He's such a
great guy."

"Aw, he's gushing!" Randal joked.

After the guys finished eating they walked out
together still talking about Marcus and Trevor.

"So, what time should we be there tonight?" Jake asked
as he put his jacket on.

"Around seven," Marcus replied.

"All right, well I'll see you guys tonight," Kyle said
as he walked off to work.

"Bye," Jake and Tyler said as they headed off in
another direction.

"I'll see you back home," Randal said giving Stanley a
hug and kiss goodbye.

"Bye babe," Stanley said as him and Marcus headed off
to work together.

Stanley and Marcus had been walking for a block,
Stanley turned around to make sure he was out of ear
shot from Randal.

"I have to tell you something," Stanley said to Marcus
as they walked together.

"What's up?" Marcus asked.

"When I got that phone call in the diner, it was an
old friend of mine from Washington," Stanley replied.
"Well, her name is Nicole, she was more than a friend,
she was used to be my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Marcus asked confused.

"It was in high school, before I accepted being gay,"
Stanley answered. "Anyway, her and I have a really
complicated history."

"What happened?" Marcus asked.

"Well, the night of our senior prom, her and I had
sex," Stanley began. "Her and I broke up a few weeks
later because then I left to come down here."

"Okay," Marcus said not fully seeing where Stanley was
going with this.

"Anyway, she got my number through my parents and she
told me that apparently she got pregnant from that
prom night," Stanley said still not fully believing it
himself.

"Oh my God," Marcus said in disbelief. "You have a
kid."

"Yea," Stanley replied.  "She's down here now with my
son and she wants to see me."

"What are you going to do?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know," Stanley answered. "And I have no idea
what to tell Randal."

"Just tell him the truth," Marcus said. "He'll be okay
with it."

"You think?" Stanley asked.

"Yea," Marcus replied. "He loves you so much and will
be able to help you through this."

"You're right," Stanley nodded. "I guess I'm just
worried because I'm still in shock about it myself."

"So your son is like five now right?" Marcus asked.

"Yea, he'd be five right now," Stanley answered. "It's
so weird.  To think, these past five years there's
been a piece of me out there, living, growing. It's a
lot to take."

"Well, you have Randal and you have all of us to help
you out anyway we can," Marcus said putting an arm
around Stanley.

"Thanks," Stanley replied.

Over at the restaurant, Tyler was training Jake.

"If their meal isn't out in fifteen minutes just go up
to the guests and tell them that their meal will be up
shortly," Tyler explained. "It's important to do that
so they know that you didn't forget about them."

"All right," Jake replied.

"So, do you have any questions?" Tyler asked.

"No, I think I got it," Jake replied.

"Great," Tyler said. "Well, we're going to open in ten
minutes so just take some time to review and then I'll
have you work section one."

"Okay, Thanks," Jake said nervously.

"Are you all right?" Tyler asked.

"Just a little nervous I guess," Jake replied.

"Don't worry," Tyler said giving Jake a reassuring
hug. "You'll do great."

"I hope so," Jake answered.

"I'll be here the whole time if you have any questions
okay?" Tyler asked.

"Okay," Jake replied still a little uneasy.

"Well, I have to go check on the cooks so I'll be in
the kitchen, but just take some time to breath," Tyler
said. "You'll be great."

Tyler left and went to the kitchen as Jake reviewed in
his head all the information Tyler told him.  As he
was thinking a waitress, Kim came up to him.

"Hi, are you new?" she asked.

"Yea, it's my first day," Jake replied.

"I'm Kim," she extended her hand.

"I'm Jake," he replied shaking her hand.

"I've been here for about two years, so if you need
any help, don't be afraid to ask," Kim said kindly.

"Thanks," Jake replied.

"And don't worry, now we won't be too busy so you'll
have a few hours to get adjusted and get the hang of
things," Kim assured.

"That's good," Jake said. "Because with all this
information Tyler told me I wasn't so sure if I'd be
able to handle it all."

"Well, it's not as hard as he makes it seem," Kim
said. "Between you and me, Tyler is an ass."

"Whoa," Jake caught off guard by that statement, "What
do you mean?"

"He's just a jerk," Kim said. "He's so bossy and
watches us all like a hawk."

"He doesn't seem that bad," Jake said.

"Believe me," Kim warned. "He is."

"Thanks for the warning," Jake said slightly amused by
another person's view of his boyfriend.

Over at the law firm, Stanley was making copies of
some files for Marcus when his cell rang.

"Hello?" Stanley answered.

"It's Nicole," she replied.

"Hi," Stanley answered a little off guard.

"Have you had a bit of time to soak in what I told
you?" Nicole asked.

"As much as possible considering the heavy load you
just dropped on me," Stanley replied a bit defensive.

"I know and I'm sorry," Nicole said sincerely, "I
wasn't going to tell you at all."

"Why?" Stanley asked.

"Because you have a life," Nicole answered. "When you
left and we broke up you were coming here to search
for a life to search for yourself.  I didn't want to
stand in the way of that."

"This isn't just something you keep hidden from
someone," Stanley countered.

"I'm sorry, but I thought I was doing you a favor,"
Nicole reasoned.

"So, why did you decide to tell me now?" Stanley
asked.

"I met someone," Nicole replied. "He's a great guy and
he's been a great father figure for Doug-"

"Doug?" Stanley interrupted. "My son's name is Doug?"

"Yea," Nicole replied.

"That's a great name," Stanley said quietly.

"Yea, well anyway, Steve, the man I'm seeing, him and
I are engaged and well I wanted you to sign some
papers," Nicole said.

"What kind of papers?" Stanley asked.

"They have you give up your legal rights to Doug so
Steve could adopt him," Nicole answered.

"Excuse me?" Stanley asked insulted. "You come back in
my life five years after we break up; you tell me I
have a son and then the next minute you want me to
give up all my legal rights to him?"

"I know it's a lot to ask and it's unfair-" Nicole
said.

"You're damn right it's unfair," Stanley shot back. "I
have to go, I can't handle this right now."

Stanley then hung up his phone gave a huge sigh, not
knowing what to do.

Over at the toy store Kyle was busy putting some toys
on shelves when David came up to him.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle cooly asked, still
pissed at him.

"I came to apologize," David replied.

"Do you want to tell me what that was this morning?"
Kyle asked. "You just blew me off."

"Because today was the first time you got mad at me,"
David replied.

"David, we've gotten in much bigger fights then that,"
Kyle reasoned. "Remember all the drama with you and me
not talking to each other?"

"I'm not talking about that," David said. "This was
the firs time as a couple."

"David I hardly got mad at you," Kyle said. "I just
told you that you were being out of line with that
question to Tyler and Jake."

"And then when you said you'd catch up in a second
when I asked you to walk me to work," David began,
"That was the first time you'd ever not come with me
right away."

"Because Marcus had some really good news to tell us,"
Kyle defended. "It's taken him so long to open up to
someone and I wanted to be there when he shared that
with us."

"It's just that, it seems like the bliss period we had
when we first got together is starting to end," David
explained. "When two people first get together they
have that period of time where you want to be with
them all the time and you can't get enough of them and
you never argue.  I mean, I guess I knew it had to end
sooner or later, but a part of me was hoping it
wouldn't."

"David, I'm still as in love with you now as I was
when we first got together," Kyle said. "In fact, I
love you even more than I did when we first got
together.  Just because we don't live in sheer bliss
doesn't mean I'm still not head over heels in love
with you.  So don't worry about it.  We'll be fine.
I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, I didn't mean to make
you feel like you didn't mean as much to me."

"No, I'm sorry," David replied. "I was just being
insecure again."

"All right," Kyle said. "As much as I want to spend
time with you I should get back to work."

"Yea, I need to get back to the store," David said.
"I'll see you tonight?"

"Oh yea, after you left Marcus invited us to his place
for dinner," Kyle said. "He wants us to meet Trevor
and his friends."

"Sounds good," David answered. "I'll talk to you
later."

"Bye," Kyle said and got back to work as David left.

At the restaurant Jake has gotten the hang of things
and was doing really well with his section of the
restaurant.

"You're doing great," Tyler said as Jake headed to the
kitchen to place an order.

"Really?" Jake asked.

"Yea," Tyler replied smiling.  "You're great."

"Thank you," Jake said

"Have the other waiters been nice?" Tyler asked.

"Yea, actually Kim's been really cool," Jake replied.

"Good," Tyler said. "I'm glad.  She's been here a
while so if I'm not available just ask her, she'll
help you out."

"Will do," Jake answered not wanting to tell Tyler
that Kim doesn't like him.

"So I think this will be good," Tyler said
confidently. "You and me working together."

"Yea," Jake replied. "I think so too."

Kim then came into the kitchen.

"There's a complaint on table 4," Kim told Tyler.

"What's the complaint?" Tyler asked.

"They said that their food order is wrong," Kim
replied.

"Who has that section?" Tyler asked.

"Oh, I think that's mine," Jake said sheepishly.

Tyler gave a little sigh, "Don't worry, that's okay.
It's your first day, so don't worry about it.  Why
don't you go out there and get them their correct
orders?"

"Okay, sorry Tyler," Jake said.

"It's fine," Tyler replied. "These things happen to
everyone.  Really, it's okay."

"All right," Jake said as he headed out.  Kim
followed.

"Jake, I am so sorry," Kim said catching up to Jake.
"If I realized that was your section I wouldn't have
mentioned it to Tyler."

"It's okay," Jake replied. "It's not your fault."

"But now Tyler is going to be keeping an extra eye on
you," Kim said feeling bad.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked. "He said it was all
right."

"Yea, but that's what he always says," Kim explained.
"He expects perfection out of us, if we make one
mistake he makes note of it and if it happens again
then we get fired."

"He's not that strict," Jake said, not believing Kim.

"I swear to God," Kim replied.

"Well, thanks, I'll watch my back," Jake said.

"Yea, you should," Kim warned. "Trust me on this, he's
not a good guy."

Kim then went over to her section as Jake glanced back
at Tyler.  This is the first time he'd ever heard
anyone say anything negative about him and he was
really curious if what she said was true.

That evening Marcus was cooking in the kitchen with
Trevor.

"You know something?" Trevor asked.

"What's that?" Marcus replied.

"I am incredibly happy," Trevor said as he and Marcus
wrapped their arms around each other.

"I am too," Marcus replied giving Trevor a kiss. "In
fact, I don't think I've ever been this happy with
someone before."

"Me neither," Trevor said.  The two then began
kissing, they kissed for a few minutes before Marcus
broke it up.

"All right, we have to get back to cooking if we want
everything all done by the time everyone gets here,"
Marcus said, but right after he finished his sentence
the doorbell rang.

"Too late," Trevor said with a smile.

"I'll get it," Marcus said. "Can you finish making the
salad?"

"No problem," Trevor replied.

Marcus went and opened the front door to Kyle and
David.

"Hi," David said with a smile. "I know we're early,
but Kyle needed some time to do the dessert."

"Yea, I made the cake and everything, but I just need
to put the frosting on it and I didn't want to be late
so I thought I would just finish it here," Kyle said.

"Oh no problem," Marcus said. "Trevor's in the
kitchen."

They all walked into the kitchen and got to meet
Trevor.

"Hey I'm David," David said friendly, shaking Trevor's
hand. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Yea, I've heard a lot about you too," Trevor said.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Kyle said forgetting any
formalities and gave Trevor a hug. "And I want to talk
and get to know you more Trevor, but I have to finish
this dessert.  Can you help me David?"

"Of course," David replied.  The two of them got
started on the dessert while Trevor and Marcus put the
finishing touches on dinner.  About fifteen minutes
later the rest of the guys came and got to meet Trevor
all giving him a warm and friendly welcome.  A few
minutes after that two of Trevor's friends came.

"All right everyone this is Luis and this is Zack,"
Trevor said introducing his two friends.

"Hi," Luis said, Luis was 5'10, black hair, green
eyes, nice strong build. "Nice to meet you guys."

"Hey good to meet you all," Zack said afterwards.
"Good seeing you again Marcus."

"You too," Marcus replied. "Zack is a really good
cook.  He made Trevor and I this great tiramisu the
last night."

"Where's Miles?" Trevor asked.

"He's going to be a little late, he had to do some
stuff at the store," Luis replied.

"Well, let's have a drink while we wait for him,"
Trevor suggested.

They all went and got a beer and went to the living
room and hung out.  The time went by nicely, they all
got a good chance to talk and meet.  The guys found
out that Luis is a kickboxing instructor at the gym
that Trevor works at.   Zack has a great ambition to
be a chef and is soon going hoping to go to a culinary
school and wants to open up his own restaurant.
Trevor, Luis and Zack found out a lot of things about
the guys and what they all do.  After another five
minutes of them talking the doorbell rang.

"That must be Miles," Trevor said.

Marcus went and answered the door and sure enough was
greeting Miles.

"Hi, you're Miles right?" Marcus asked.

"Yup, that's me," Miles replied.

"Hi, I'm Marcus," Marcus said as they shook hands.
"We're all just having a beer in the living room."

"Sorry I'm late," Miles said. "Busy day at work."

"It's no problem," Marcus said as the two of them
entered the living room. "Kyle, David, Jake, Tyler,
Randal and Stanley this is-"

"Miles," Jake said cutting Marcus off.

"You two know each other?" Marcus asked.

"Yea," Miles replied. "Good seeing you again Jake."

"How do you two know each other?" Stanley asked.

"We worked at Star Clothing together," Jake replied
nervously.

"Oh wow, small world," Trevor said.

"Wait," Tyler said, "Jake, is he the guy?"

Jake looked down ashamed and slowly nodded.

"Oh my God," Tyler sighed.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"I think Jake and Miles have a little history," David
said quietly to Kyle.

"Oh my God," Kyle said understanding now who Miles is.

"He's the one that you kissed?" Tyler asked Jake.

Again Jake just slowly nodded.

"Oh," Randal said not sure what to say.

Everyone in the room grew silent, none of them knew
what to do to break the silence.  Marcus, not wanting
the evening to be ruined tried getting everyone to
eat.

"Dinner's ready," Marcus suggested.

"Sounds good," Randal encouraged. "Come on guys."

Everyone quietly went to the dinner table and sat down
to eat.  As they all got their food none of them said
a word.  Tyler kept glancing over and looking at
Miles, Jake kept his head down in shame.  The rest of
the guys all looked at each other trying to find
something to talk about.

"You know, funny thing happened today," Randal said
breaking the silence. "I was working out today and I
was getting up from the bench press and I hit my head
against the bar of the weight."

A few of the guys laughed politely, but the
awkwardness still stayed.

"I guess you kinda had to be there for it to be
funny," Randal said.

The room went back to being silent.

"So, Trevor did Marcus tell you how we all used to
love that billboard of yours in town?" Kyle asked.

"Yea, he did," Trevor replied with a slight laugh,
"Thanks for looking at it."

"Gladly," Kyle joked.

Then the room went quiet again.

"So, Marcus," Luis began, "Trevor told us you're a
lawyer."

"Yea," Marcus replied.

"That's pretty impressive," Luis said. "I thought
about going into law for a bit."

"Oh really?" Marcus asked.

"Yea," Luis replied.

Once again the room went quiet and that's how it
remained the rest of dinner.  After dinner was over
Luis, Zack and Miles headed to one area of the living
room.  Jake, Tyler, Kyle, David, Stanley and Randal
went to another area.  Marcus and Trevor stayed in the
middle.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked Tyler gently.

"I'm fine," Tyler replied quickly.

"Do you want to leave?" Jake asked.

"No, I don't want to give him the satisfaction," Tyler
replied.

"We'll leave you two alone to talk," Randal said.

"Actually, there is something I want to talk to you
about," Stanley said getting up and him and Randal
went to another area of the living room to talk
privately.  Kyle and David got up and went to the
kitchen to get the cake.

"What's up?" Randal asked as he and Stanley got to the
corner of the living room.

"I got a call today from this girl I used to date in
high school," Stanley began. "her and I had sex on
prom night and then I left Seattle after high school.
Well, that night we had sex, she got pregnant."

"Whoa," Randal said in shock. "So, that means..."

"I have a son," Stanley finished. "A son I didn't know
about for all these years."

"Oh my God," Randal whispered still in shock by all of
this.

"Yea, and now she met someone and wants me to sign
some papers giving up all my rights to my son,"
Stanley said.

"Are you serious?" Randal asked.

"Yea, and I don't know what to do," Stanley replied.

Randal stayed quiet for a minute.

"Are you okay?" Stanley asked. "I know this is a lot
to take in and I hope you'll be okay with all this."

"Oh, don't worry about me," Randal said giving Stanley
a hug. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Stanley said. "I find out I have a son
and the next second I find out that she wants me to
give up all my rights to him."

"It's a tough decision," Randal said. "What is your
heart telling you?"

"Well, I just found out about him and I can't imagine
not having him in my life now," Stanley said. "I mean
when she told me about him I just filled up with all
this love and paternal feelings towards him, and I
haven't even seen him yet.  Is that weird?"

"No, it's perfectly understandable," Randal said.
"He's a part of you."

"I think that he can have an easier life if he didn't
know about me and had Nicole and her fiancee as his
parents," Stanley debated. "But on the other hand, I
want to know him, I want him to know me and I want to
love him."

"You should talk to Kyle," Randal suggested.

"Why?" Stanley asked.

"Kyle has a little baby brother, but his mom and dad
had told him that he's not allowed to see him," Randal
said. "And it kills Kyle.  So, if you're thinking of
giving up your rights and possibly never getting a
chance to see him then you should talk to Kyle and let
him tell you what it's like not being able to see or
be in contact with your own blood."

Over on the other side of the room Luis and Zack were
talking to Miles.

"Jake was the guy you liked at work?" Luis asked.

"Yea," Miles replied. "That's him."

"This is going to make things so complicated," Zack
sighed.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it now,"
Miles said. "It's not like we can really avoid seeing
each other now."

"Maybe you can," Luis suggested.

"No, we can't.  Trevor and Marcus are together," Miles
said. "I'm friends with Trevor and Jake is friends
with Marcus.  We're going to see each other from time
to time now."

"Do you still have feelings for him?" Zack asked.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't," Miles said quietly.

"You just have to find a way to get over him," Luis
said. "He's with Tyler."

"I know, and I know he won't leave Tyler," Miles
explained. "But it's not easy to get over someone.  I
can't just flip a switch and not be attracted to him
anymore."

"I know," Luis said patting Miles on the back.

"This turned into a real interesting night," Zack
quipped.

In the middle of the living room Trevor and Marcus
were sitting together observing the two separate
groups.

"This did not turn out the way we hoped it would,"
Trevor said.

"I know," Marcus replied. "We wanted our friends to
meet and become friends, but I don't see that
happening anytime soon."

"What are the odds of two of our best friends having a
history together?" Trevor asked.

"Maybe we should end this thing before it gets any
worse," Marcus suggested.

"I think you're right," Trevor replied.

The two then got up and went to their perspective
groups to tell them that the night's over.

"Hey guys," Trevor said going up to his friends.
"How's it going?"

"I'm freaking out Trev," Miles said quietly.

"I know and I'm sorry," Trevor replied. "I had no idea
that Marcus was friends with the guy you used to
like."

"I don't think I can stay much longer," Miles said.

"Yea, well, Marcus and I decided to end the night
early since it's kinda weird for everyone," Trevor
said.

"Good idea," Luis added.

Over on the other side of the room Marcus was talking
with Tyler, Jake and Randal and Stanley who re-joined
them.

"We're going to call it a night," Marcus told them.

"Why?" Tyler asked. "There's no need to."

"Tyler, we both know that this isn't going to turn
into a pleasant evening," Marcus said.

"No, I do not want this night to end on account of a
mistake that happened between Jake and him," Tyler
said refusing to use Miles' name.

"Tyler, please.  I really want to leave.  Don't make
me stay here," Jake pleaded.

Tyler looked in Jake's eyes and saw how desperate he
was to leave and get out.  Tyler sighed, "All right,
fine.  We'll leave."

The group looked over and saw Trevor's friends heading
for the door.

"It was nice to meet everyone," Zack said politely.

"Wait, where's everyone going?" Kyle asked as he and
David walked into the room.  David was carrying the
cake Kyle made.

"We're calling it a night," Marcus informed the two.

"But we have dessert," David said holding up the cake.

"Another time guys," Randal said patting them on the
back as they headed for the door as well.

"Hey Kyle, do you think tomorrow we can meet up?"
Stanley asked.

"Of course," Kyle replied. "Something wrong?"

"I just need your advice about something," Stanley
answered.

"All right," Kyle said. "I have the day off so we'll
grab lunch okay?"

"Sounds good, thanks," Stanley said as he and Randal
headed out.

"Thanks for dinner," Luis said as he and Zack headed
out.

"Sorry for the evening," Miles said to Marcus as he
left.

"I'll see you guys later," Tyler said and hurried up
to catch up to Miles.

"Tyler, wait," Jake said as he quickly tried to stop
Tyler.

Outside of Marcus' place Tyler went up and tapped
Miles on the shoulder.

"So why'd you do it?" Tyler asked pissed off.

"Excuse me?" Miles asked.

"Why did you kiss Jake when you knew he was with
someone," Tyler replied.

"Look, I'm sorry," Miles said. "I don't know what else
to tell you.  I fell for Jake and I just needed to do
it to see if he fell for me, but he didn't.  He loves
you."

"So you think it's all right to just kiss other
people's boyfriends?" Tyler asked.

"Tyler, stop please," Jake said grabbing Tyler's arm.

"Let's break this up," Randal said stepping between
Tyler and Miles.

"To tell you the truth, I'm sorry I hurt you, but I'm
not sorry I kissed him," Miles said.

"Son of a bitch," Tyler said and tried to hit Miles,
but Randal held him back.

"Miles, let's just go," Luis said grabbing Miles.

"Come on, we'll hang out at my house," Zack said.

The three of them walked off, leaving Randal, Stanley,
and Jake holding onto Tyler.

"Tyler, I know you're pissed, but just try and calm
down," Randal said.

"Let's go home," Jake said taking Tyler's hand.

"Fine," Tyler replied as he and Jake walked to their
car.

"Some night," Randal said wrapping his arms around
Stanley.

"Yea," Stanley replied.

Back in Marcus' house Kyle and David were still
standing in the kitchen holding the cake, not quite
sure what just happened.

"So, I guess we're not doing dessert tonight," Kyle
said a little surprised at how quickly everyone left.

"Yea, sorry guys," Trevor said.

"It's okay," David replied.

"Since the four of us are here why don't we just eat
the cake?" Marcus suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kyle replied.

"More cake for us," David said.

"It'll give us a chance to get to know you better,"
Kyle said to Trevor as the four of them went to the
table to eat the cake.

In the car ride home Tyler was very quiet.  Jake
looked over at him from time to time, not sure what to
do or say.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked.

"I'm fine," Tyler said quickly.

"Are you mad at me?" Jake asked.

Tyler sighed, "No, but I do need to ask you a
question."

"What?" Jake asked.

"Is there any part of you that still has feelings for
him?" Tyler asked.

"No," Jake answered with out hesitation. "There is not
one part of me that still wants him.  I love you, I
want you.  I don't ever want to lose you again."

"Promise?" Tyler asked.

"I promise," Jake replied leaning over and kissing
Tyler on the cheek.

"Okay," Tyler said giving a little smile. "Let's go
home."

Over at Zack's apartment, Zack, Luis and Miles were
hanging out.

"Well, tonight was interesting," Luis said.

"There's a big understatement," Zack replied.

"You okay Miles?" Luis asked.

"Actually, yea," Miles replied. "I'm great."

Zack and Luis both exchanged a confused look.

"You're great?" Zack asked.

"You think you might be exaggerating a bit?" Luis
asked.

"No," Miles replied. "Really, I'm great."

"Why?" Zack asked.

"Because," Miles began, "Jake's back in my life."

"But he's with someone," Luis retorted.

"Before, I didn't know where he went or how to reach
him," Miles explained. "But now I have contact with
him again.  I can fight for him."

"Miles," Zack warned. "You can't."

"Why?" Miles asked.

"Because, like I said earlier, he's with someone,"
Luis said.

"And like I said before," Miles countered. "I'm going
to fight for him."

**************************************************************************
To Be Continued....


Hope everyone enjoyed.  Any comments, questions or
feedback of any kind please e-mail me at
ilj4ever44@yahoo.com.  Thanks!