Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:28:17 -0500 (EST)
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Next Generation, chapter 25

The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - by BW
Copyright 2011 by billwstories
Chapter 25 -- Saying Farewell To a Difficult Year.

Monday night, I got a phone call from Ricky.  I was kind of
surprised by this, since he'd just been here for a couple of
days.  I was hoping nothing was wrong.

"Dad, I'm sorry for being such a jerk before I left," Ricky
admitted.  "The truth is, it wasn't the pranks that upset
me.  I'd sort of been in a bad mood for most of the time I
was there.  To be honest, whoever pulled those pranks was
pretty clever.  I know I never thought up shit as good as
that."  He laughed.

"Yes, they were well planned and carried out," I agreed.
"Now tell me why you were in such a foul mood."

"It had to do with work," Ricky confessed.  "Just before I
left to drive home, I learned a big deal I had worked on
had fallen through, but that wasn't the worst of it.  Since
it didn't go through I missed qualifying for my bonus, and
I was sort of counting on it.  I had it in the bag until that
deal flopped."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I commiserated.

"Yeah, but I kind of mislead you too," he continued.  "I
told you I'd been out partying the night before, but that
wasn't true.  I went out with another guy from my office
that wasn't getting his bonus either and we tried to drown
our disappointment.  There was no party or fun involved."

"Ricky, I'm sorry to hear that," I responded, "but I
thought you knew that booze doesn't solve problems."

"I know, but it made me numb, so it didn't hurt so badly,"
he confessed.  "Don't worry, I'm okay now, but I really
would like to know who pulled those pranks on me.  I
don't want to wail on him or retaliate, but I would like to
apologize for the things I'd said and congratulate him for
his ingenuity.  You know, one prankster to another."  He
laughed again.

"I see and I'm sure he'd appreciate it," I confirmed.

"So you know who did those things?" Ricky pressed.

"I do now, but I didn't find out who it was until after you'd
left," I confessed.

"So tell me who it was," Ricky urged.

"You know I can't do that," I explained.  "I never told on
you or Andrew when either of you pulled your stunts, and
I won't do that now."

"So it was Andrew?" Ricky surmised, incorrectly.

"I didn't say that and it wasn't," I admitted.  "Although I
suspected him at first, he wasn't the one."

"Damn, then I have no idea who it could have been,"
Ricky admitted, perplexed.  I knew this would bug him
until he figured it out.

I was glad he'd called and now I understood why he had
reacted so strongly.  It was out of character for him, but
up until now I had no clue as to why he was so upset.
Now, I finally understood it was not the pranks, but the
loss of his bonus that made him so grumpy.  I'll have to
explain that to Elliot, so he won't think so badly of Ricky
either.

When I took Elliot aside later and explained the situation
to him, I also told him Ricky had basically called to
apologize.  Elliot's primary reaction was to ask if I'd told
Ricky he was the culprit, and I assured him I hadn't.  I
explained to him that I hadn't done it when the others
pulled pranks either and Elliot thanked me.  He also told
me he'd have to find a way to talk this over with Ricky,
which made me begin to wonder what he might have in
mind.  I hoped this didn't mean another round of pranks
was just around the corner.

That same day, I took Elliot down to meet Danny at work.
Danny had arranged for the orthopedist to examine Elliot,
to see if the cast could be removed.  After an x-ray was
taken, the orthopedist announced that the wrist had
completely healed and appeared to be fine, so he cut the
cast off Elliot's wrist.  He also examined the wrist after
the cast had been removed, and then sent Elliot on his
way.

As soon as the cast came off, Elliot flexed his fingers and
then scratched his arm, like a jackrabbit using it's rear
foot to scratch its ear.  He scratched so hard I was worried
he'd rip his arm open, but he stopped and sighed in relief.

"Ah, I've been waiting to do that for weeks!" he exclaimed.

Elliot was thrilled about finally being free of the restrictive
device.  It meant he could now do many of the things he
had been kept from doing since he first came to live with
us.  Most importantly, it meant he could eventually start
swimming and resume diving again.  He was excited about
these prospects and eager to return to school, so he could
get back into those activities.

The rest of the week between Christmas and New Year's
was very interesting.  This wasn't merely because I'd
noticed how closed Jesse, Elliot, Jordan and Nicky had
become, but also because Elliot was getting to know a few
of his uncles a little better.  Elliot had been spending quite
a bit of time with Andrew, Sammy, Graham, Dion, Trey
and Vinnie too, since they were all home on vacation.
Although Vinnie was no longer living here, he drove back
to visit a few times, seeing Kevin worked during the day.
However, Elliot also got to know Kevin better as well,
because Vinnie and he came to visit us on the weekend.

During this time, the older boys not only volunteered to
take the younger ones wherever they wanted to go, but
they also tried to involve them in other activities, which
they thought they might enjoy.  This helped them all to
get to know one another better and allowed my older
grandsons to form new and stronger bonds with their
uncles.

One of my favorite times during these sessions was when
someone would talk Elliot into playing the piano, so Dion
could sing along.  They were both extremely talented and
complimented each other very well, and the other boys
enjoyed listening to them just as much as I did.  After a
couple of numbers, they'd get everyone else to sing along
too, and all I could think of was that they were having an
old fashioned hootenanny.  It's funny, but I hadn't
thought about anything like that for years.

The boys also talked me into going with them to the high
school pool, so they could swim.  I had a strong suspicion
they were doing this because they knew Elliot was
chomping at the bit to get back in the water.  Even though
they realized the high school pool would be locked up,
they also knew the high school principal would loan me
his key and let me serve as lifeguard for my clan.  That
was something else we could all enjoy doing together and
would give Elliot another chance to shine.

At first I only let Elliot swim and play chicken, as he and
some of the others rode on the older boys' shoulders.
During this time, he also kept bugging me to let him show
the others how well he could dive.  Since they knew Elliot
dove on his old swim team, the rest of the boys were eager
to have him demonstrate what he could do for them.  I
wasn't sure he should be involved in anything like that, so
I called Danny and talked it over with him.

"Dad, when I took Elliot to the orthopedist," Danny
advised me, "he said Elliot's wrist had not only healed, but
the muscles hadn't atrophied too badly either.  He
attributed this fact to Elliot's playing the piano and said it
helped to keep the muscles in the right arm toned.  Since
these muscles are stronger than we'd anticipated, I think
it will be all right for you to let him do a few very simple
dives, but nothing too difficult or elaborate."

Since Danny had given me the okay, I relayed the new
restrictions to Elliot and let him go.  Eagerly, he raced
over to the diving board and did a few dives for the others.
He was very graceful and his entry into the water was very
smooth.  Needless to say that the others were quite
impressed by what he had done.  He tried to talk me into
letting him dive from the high platform, but I reminded
him about the rules and he went back to join the others
without complaint.  It now seemed the time we spent at
the pool was turning out to be beneficial on a couple of
different levels and possibly Elliot could get back to diving
sooner than we first thought.

During the time between the two holidays, we also took in
a couple of matinees and the boys had one huge snowball
fight.  No!  I'll correct that.  They had a huge snowball war.
They divided up in two teams and pelted each other with
snowballs until someone called 'uncle.'  That wasn't any
specific uncle, only that someone signaled it was time to
call a halt to hostilities.  They were all a little sore and
bruised when it was over, but each of them was eager to
claim he'd had a great time and his team had been
victorious.

When the high school boys came in, they decided to strip
out of their wet pants and sweaters, so they could toss
them in the dryer.  They then made their way to the
family room, in just their tee shirts and underpants, and
camped out in front of the fire to watch a movie.  A few
hours later, I went to call them to dinner and found them
sound asleep on the family room floor, amidst a tangle of
pillows and blankets.

Jesse lay in the middle of this heap, with Jordan snuggled
under one arm and Elliot under the other.  Nicky was
spooned up next to Elliot, with Elliot holding him in his
arms and resting his head on Nicky's shoulder.  They
reminded me of a litter of newborn puppies, and after
looking at their angelic faces I decided this scene was so
cute that it should be preserved for posterity.  I raced off
and grabbed my camera and snapped a few frames, before I
woke them up.

They looked a little sheepish at having been discovered
like this, but once they overcame this initial
embarrassment, they quickly ran off to put warm clothes
on.  They joined us at the table a few minutes later, once
they heard dinner was ready.

Although everything else was going fine, I was still having
a difficult time trying to think of ideas for our New Year's
celebration.  Mildly frustrated, I sat down with the boys
one evening and asked for their help.  At first, someone
suggested we should go out to eat and then possibly find
someplace that had music and dancing afterward, but then
someone else suggested we could probably have more fun
at home, with just the family and extended family.

Even though not all of the family would be returning for
this particular holiday, coupled with our extended family
we would still have a fairly large group.  After taking into
consideration who would be here, the boys started working
out some rough plans.  Once we had an idea about what we
might do, we contacted those who would be joining us, to
get their input on what we'd come up with.  After
tweaking some of our ideas slightly, they seemed satisfied
with what we'd decided and said they looked forward to
seeing us on New Year's Eve.

Since we had a lot to do to prepare for the big night, the
boys helped me get things ready.  First, we cleaned up the
house and moved some of the furniture and other items
around, so there would be plenty of room to do the things
they had suggested.  This involved a lot of hard work,
which included cleaning up Kevin and Vinnie's old room.
We were doing this so we could use it to store many of the
items that were currently in the rec room, to free up some
floor space.  We would need this area to accommodate one
of our ideas, but that wasn't all.  Kevin and Vinnie's old
room also had its own bathroom, which would give us a
second facility that could be used by those in attendance.
Therefore, we left a pathway leading to it, even though the
rest of the room looked slightly cluttered.

After working with me for most of the day to get things
ready, the boys were more than anxious to spend their
evening with each other.  Elliot, Jesse, Jordan and Nicky
were making the most of being together and being able to
experiment with boy-boy sex.  They had been sticking to
blowjobs and jacking each other off, which I didn't have
any problems with.  I was just glad to see they weren't
getting too carried away with things.

Although Jordan and Nicky still considered themselves bi,
I was beginning to have my doubts about Elliot.  From the
things I'd been told, he was totally into the male anatomy
and hadn't expressed any interest in the female form.
Unlike Jordan and Nicky, who enjoyed getting into their
fathers' Playboys and Hustler magazines, as well as finding
pics of nude females online, Elliot seemed totally
disinterested in doing anything of this nature.  I think we
were all beginning to suspect which way he was going to
go.

On Thursday evening, after the boys had enjoyed a little
fun and showered, they were planning to come back
downstairs and join the rest of us.  Except, this time
Jordan and Nicky were planning to come down naked.  It
seems that this pair hadn't yet been advised that Elliot
wasn't comfortable doing this, but they quickly discovered
this fact.

"So you don't want to go downstairs without your clothes
on, like the rest of us?" Nicky asked Elliot.

"Hell, no!" Elliot exclaimed.  "I'm not going to run around
naked in front of everyone else."

"It's not a big deal," Jordan stated.  "It's only guys here
and we're all family."

"That may be, but it's not something I'm comfortable
doing," Elliot snarled.  "Besides, it's not exactly hot
enough to be running around like that either."

"But Papa keeps the house pretty warm," Nicky told him.
"It's not that bad."

"So you guys really do this?" Elliot wondered aloud.  "You
run around here naked whenever you come here?"

"We didn't at first, but Jordan and I do now," Nicky
confessed.  "The first time we did it was to show Papa that
he was right in agreeing that we were mature enough to
experiment with Jesse and Andrew."

"Wait!  Papa knows what you've done with Jesse?" Elliot
asked, totally flabbergasted.

"Of course he does," Jordan replied.  "The older guys
always ask him first, before they do anything with us
younger guys."

"What?" Elliot shouted.  "Why on earth would they do
that?"

"So Papa can make sure that no one is getting forced to do
anything they don't want to do," Jordan answered.  "He
does it to keep everyone safe."

"So you think Papa knows about me too?" Elliot
wondered.

"I'm pretty sure he does," Nicky replied.  "I don't think
Jesse would have done anything with you otherwise.  He
wouldn't do anything with us either, until Papa told him it
was all right."

Elliot didn't say a word.  He was in total disbelief and
raced off to ask Jesse if this was true.  Since Jesse had
gone to talk to Andrew for a while, Elliot ran to the room
Andrew was using.  After knocking on the door, he asked
to speak with Jesse alone and the two went into an empty
room and shut the door, so they could speak privately.
Once they were by themselves, Elliot asked his question,
because he wanted to know for sure.

"Jordan and Nicky told me something and I need to know
if it's true," Elliot began.  "Did you ask Papa, before we
messed around together?  Jordan and Nicky told me you
probably did, since you did it before you did anything with
them too."

"Yeah, I asked him first," Jesse answered, "but he told me
I'd needed to ask Danny and Brandon instead, since
they're the ones responsible for you."

"Wait!  So Papa AND my dads know what we've been
doing!" Elliot exclaimed.  He was totally shocked and
embarrassed by this revelation.

"Of course they do and they gave me their approval, as
long as it was your idea to do it," Jesse confirmed.

"How could you do that Jesse?" Elliot asked, with a hurt
expression on his face.

"What's the big deal?" Jesse countered.  "I heard Danny
and Brandon used to mess around with the other guys
when they were younger too.  It's just that now they
choose to stay with each other.  They weren't upset or
anything."

"That's not the point!  If I had known you were going to
out me to the whole house I wouldn't have asked about
experimenting with you!  I trusted you, Jesse, and you
told everyone about my biggest secret.  That was private.
I wasn't ready for that," Elliot yelled, before storming out
of the room.

Jesse was very upset.  He didn't think he'd done anything
wrong.  This is just how things had always been done in
our family, but once he thought about it, he began to feel
terrible.  He'd never told Elliot he'd talked to me or his
dads to get permission to fool around with him.  By what
Elliot had said about 'outing' him, Jesse assumed that
Elliot must be gay and believed he had told us that too.

Elliot's head was spinning.  Here he thought he'd been
careful about what he'd been doing, but it hadn't mattered
at all.  Everyone else already knew what he was up to.  He
went back to his room, where Jordan and Nicky were still
waiting.

"Are you all right?' Nicky asked, as Elliot walked through
the door.

"I don't know," Elliot admitted.  "I'm not sure how I feel
about Papa and my dads knowing what I've been doing.
Do you think Papa Jake knows too?"

"Probably," Jordan replied.  "Papa tells Papa Jake almost
everything, so he's prepared in case something happens.
It's just to keep everyone safe."

Elliot didn't respond at first and merely hung his head.
After he few seconds, he finally spoke.

"Damn, I'm not sure how I feel about all of this," Elliot
announced.

"It's not a big deal," Jordan told him.  "They're cool about
it, the same way they are with us.  They're also cool when
they see us walking around the house naked or when we
go skinny-dipping.  It's actually pretty neat that they are
willing to treat us like adults."

"I guess," Elliot mumbled, "but it's not what I'm used to.
I guess it will take a while before I'm comfortable with any
of this.  Just give me some time."

Since Elliot wasn't ready to come downstairs in the buff,
the boys got dressed and then brought Elliot downstairs.
Once they'd joined us, it was hard not to notice that Elliot
wasn't willing to look any of the rest of us in the eye and
that he wasn't sitting next to Jesse, which was pretty
unusual.  Jesse had a sad expression on his face and
noticing this led me to suspect they might have had a
fight.  I didn't push for an answer right away, because I
felt I'd find out soon enough if they couldn't resolve this
issue on their own.

I also noticed that Elliot was dressed kind of funny.  I
normally keep the house fairly warm, so he normally wears
a pair of gym shorts and a tee shirt after he's had his
shower.  Tonight, however, he was dressed more like
Nanook of the North.  He had on two tee shirts, a hooded
sweatshirt, his pajama bottoms and a pair of socks.
Something strange was definitely going on.

After the others went to bed, Jordan and Nicky came back
downstairs, so they could speak with me alone.  They
wanted to tell me about Elliot's reaction to finding out
that his fathers and I knew he had been sexually
experimenting with Jesse and them.  They also wanted to
tell me about how Elliot had reacted when they were
preparing to come downstairs without their clothes on,
but they didn't know something else had happened
between Jesse and him.

"He was really upset," Nicky confided.

"Yeah, he looked like he was going to puke, before we
came down here," Jordan added.

After listening to what they had to say, I thanked them for
bringing this to my attention.  I also told them I, or one of
his fathers, would discuss this with Elliot further and,
hopefully, be able to resolve this issue.

Once they went back to their room, I went to find Danny
and Brandon, so I could explain this to them.  When I
finished, I had a final question.

"Do you want to handle this with Elliot or do you want me
to?" I asked.

Danny and Brandon looked at each other, before they
answered.

"I think we can handle this one," Danny stated, "but can
we come get you if things start to go wrong?"

I agreed that would be fine, so the pair felt they'd pull
Elliot aside tomorrow.  They would do it some time after
they got home from work and before we started our New
Year's Eve celebration.

The next day, I saw Elliot continually glancing at me out
of the corner of his eye as I was working on the things
we'd need for that evening.  I was preparing snacks and
desserts that everyone could munch on, once we got back
from the restaurant.  It would be a long night, and I was
sure the boys would eventually get hungry again, even
though we were eating out first.  Therefore, I wanted to
make sure I had enough to keep them satisfied, so I
wouldn't have to hear them complain about being hungry
and needing something to eat.  I also loaded up the
refrigerator in the rec room with sodas and bottled water
for the boys, so there would be plenty for them to drink
too.

When Danny and Brandon arrived home from work later,
they still had quite a bit of time before we'd be leaving for
the restaurant, so they went to find Elliot.  When they
located him, they asked if they could speak with him
privately and then took him to their bedroom, once he
agreed.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked, once they were alone.

"Nothing's wrong," Danny began, "but we felt we needed to
clear the air about something.  We've noticed you've been
looking uncomfortable and discovered it was because
you've learned that we know you've been messing around
with Jesse, Jordan and Nicky."

Elliot's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"Damn, do these guys tell you everything?" he wondered,
while looking totally upset.

"Yeah, they pretty much do," Brandon answered, "because
they know that being honest and getting permission first
is the best way to keep from getting into trouble."

Elliot didn't look convinced.

"But no parent knows everything their kids are doing,"
Elliot protested, "especially when it comes to their sex
life.  This is more than a little weird."

"You may think so, but we also allow you boys to do more
than most parents would too," Danny answered.  "It is
something we did when we were younger and something
we hope you'll be willing to do, because it helps us know
that you're safe and we can trust you.  A lot of those other
parents have problems with their kids later on, because
they don't have the same sense of trust.  We want you to
know you can always come to us with anything."

"So you both told Papa everything you were doing when
you had sex with each other?" Elliot wondered.

"Not every detail, but he knew the types of things we were
doing," Brandon confirmed.  "In fact, it was your Papa who
instructed both Danny and I how to keep from hurting
each other, the first time we made love."

"No way!" Elliot shouted.  "You even let Papa know that
you were fucking each other?"

Elliot immediately regretted his choice of words.  He
hadn't meant to demean his dad's relationship like that.
Fortunately, they didn't say anything about his language.
Instead, they merely continued their conversation.

"Yes, we did," Danny agreed.  "He taught us how to do it
slowly and safely.  He even provided us with the things
we'd need, like lube and condoms."

"Oh, wow," Elliot huffed.  "I can't believe you let him
know what you were going to do, but I also can't believe
that he helped you."

"He taught all of us, and we were all better for it," Danny
assured him.

"You mean Papa actually touched you... you know...
sexually?" Elliot wondered, incredulously.

"Oh, no.  He taught us by telling us and demonstrating
using other things," Brandon replied, "but he didn't have
sex with us.  Sometimes it was just that he made sure we
were with another boy he felt could help us."

Elliot breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

"We're willing to do the same for you, if you want us to,"
Danny confirmed, "but we're also willing to let you learn
with others who already know these things -- like Jesse.
We were willing to allow you to do things with him, since
he said you were the one who brought it up first, because
we knew he wouldn't hurt you and would stick to our
limitations."

"Limitations?  What do you mean?" Elliot pressed.

"In your case, it means that we've told him we didn't
think you were ready for anything anal yet," Brandon
explained.  "Jesse agreed he wouldn't get into that and we
knew he'd stick to the agreement."

"So you don't mind that we do the other stuff?" Elliot
asked next.

"No, we are pretty sure all guys fool around and
experiment," Danny told him, "so we're just happy
knowing that you're doing it in a safe environment and
with people who won't hurt you."

Suddenly, Elliot began to calm down.

"I guess that makes sense," he admitted.  "I was just
totally shocked that you and Papa knew what I was doing."

"Are you okay with that now?" Brandon followed.

"I guess, but I think this is still going to take some time
for me to get used to," Elliot agreed.  "I'm still mad that
Jesse just told you I wanted to have sex with him."

"He didn't tell us that," Brandon offered.

"What?" Elliot snapped, in reply.

"He didn't tell us you wanted to have sex with him,"
Brandon clarified.  "He merely asked if it would be okay if
he did anything sexual with you."

"Oh, no," Elliot sighed.

His shoulders drooped and he hid his face in his hands.

"What's the matter?" Danny inquired.

Suddenly, Elliot's head shot up.

"I'm such an asshole!" he exclaimed.

"Why would you ever say that?" Brandon asked.

"I sort of got the wrong idea about how Jesse approached
you guy about this," he admitted.  "I said some really
mean and hurtful things to him, so now I feel terrible
about doing that."

"So go talk to him," Brandon suggested.  "I've never
known Jesse to be one to hold a grudge.  I'm sure if you
apologize, he'll forgive you."

"I hope so," Elliot stated.  "I really regret what I said.  Can
I go now?"

"In a moment," Danny replied.  "Is that everything or is
there something else bothering you?"

Elliot thought for a second.

"Yeah, I guess there is," he confessed.  "Do you guys really
go around the house naked?"

Danny and Brandon smiled and even began to chuckle.

"We do, along with all of our brothers," Danny confirmed.
"We've all done that since we were really young and have
even gone to what you'd call nudist camps."

"You mean you went naked in front of strangers?" Elliot
responded.  "Both guys and girls?"

Danny and Brandon each nodded his head.

"I'm pretty sure I could never do that," Elliot confessed.
"I can't even do it in the house with the rest of you.  I'm
not comfortable with having Papa or you guys seeing me
naked."

Danny and Brandon giggled after hearing Elliot admit this.

"I guess you really don't remember your first weeks here,
do you?" Brandon pondered.

"Why?  What do you mean?" Elliot wondered.

"When you first came here, you weren't exactly able to do
much for yourself," Brandon answered.  "That meant we
ended up giving you baths and had to make sure that you
went to the toilet, so we've all seen everything you have."

They tried to give him a reassuring smile after telling him
this bit of news.

"Oh, crap.  No, I don't remember that," Elliot confessed.
"Still, just because everyone's seen it doesn't mean they
need to memorize it."

Danny and Brandon both got a laugh out of Elliot's
comment.

"Then I guess skinny dipping is out of the question too,"
Danny joked.

Elliot just gave him a strange look.

"Yeah, I'm not ready for that either," he told them.

"Maybe when it gets warmer," Brandon teased.

However, Elliot began shaking his head.

"Don't count on it," he responded.

"Look, you don't have to do it if you don't want," Danny
assured him, "I just hope you won't stop the others from
doing it, if that's what they want."

"I don't want to be the odd man out, but I won't make
everyone else adjust just for me," Elliot whined.

"If it makes thing easier for you, then Danny and I will
keep our clothes on too, no matter how uncomfortable it
gets," Brandon assured him.

"Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Elliot
stated, sarcastically, showing his exasperation.  "I'll feel
great, knowing I'm helping to make you miserable."

"We won't be miserable, just not as comfortable as we
might feel otherwise," Brandon explained.  "However,
Danny and I are both willing to do that for our son, if it
makes you feel better."

Brandon's last comment elicited a grin from Elliot, once
he heard that his fathers were willing to make sacrifices,
as long as it would help him.  Now that this had been
settled, Danny and Brandon told him it was time to get
ready, because they were going out to eat with the rest of
the family.

Elliot knew everyone would be waiting for him to get
dressed, but he felt he had to clear the air with Jesse
before they'd be able to enjoy the evening.  He went
upstairs and knocked on Jesse's door, and then went in.

"Oh, hey," Jesse mumbled, when he raised his head and
saw Elliot.  "Look, I'm sorry I..."

"Stop!" Elliot interrupted.  "I need you to listen to me for
a moment!"

He said this much more forcefully than he'd intended and
Jesse didn't say a word.  He just looked down at his feet.

"Jesse, I'm so sorry for the things I said to you last night,"
Elliot offered.  "I was upset and got the wrong idea about
what you had done.  I should have let you explain."

"I'm probably gay, but it's hard for me to admit that to
myself," Elliot continued, pouring his heart out.  "I know
there's nothing wrong with it, but it's still hard knowing
there's something not quite right about me.  I'm not a
hundred percent sure, but I haven't thought about a girl at
all since I've been here with you and the guys.  When you
told me you'd talked to Papa and my dads, I thought you'd
given away my secret, but from what they told me, it
didn't exactly go down like that."

"I love you Jesse.  I'm not IN love with you or anything
like that, but since the day I came here, you've been my
friend," Elliot confessed.  "You helped me when my dad
died and you've taught me more about sex than I would
have ever found out on my own.  You've been like the big
brother I've never had and always wanted, so I'm grateful
to have you.  I should have let you explain the situation
and not acted like such a douche bag.  Can you ever
forgive me?"  Elliot was actually pleading for forgiveness.

Jesse didn't answer him.  Instead, he walked over to Elliot
and wrapped his arms around him in a tremendous bear
hug.

"Of course I forgive you," Jesse confirmed, "and it's
partially my fault too.  I should have told you I was going
to ask before doing anything with you.  I love you too and
I love having you here.  If you do decide you're gay, you
can tell me and it won't make any difference.  I promise I
won't tell a soul."

"Friends again?" Elliot asked.

"You know it!" Jesse grinned.

He then gave Elliot another energetic squeeze, but their
embrace was interrupted when I called upstairs for them.

"Hey, slowpokes.  We're ready to go," I shouted.  "Do you
think you might get a move on?"

The boys dressed for dinner and I was pleased to see big,
bright smiles on both of their faces as they raced down the
stairs.  I guess they'd patched things up and looked to be
as thick as thieves again.

When I noticed Elliot slipping into his coat, I couldn't help
but make a comment.

"Is the expedition canceled to Antarctica, Admiral?" I
asked, jokingly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, bewildered.

"Last night when you came downstairs, you were bundled
up like you were going to explore the Arctic.  Now, you're
only wearing a light coat," I explained.

I just had to give Elliot a hard time about his peculiar
wardrobe from the night before.

"Oh, yeah.  Last night.  Um, I think I hear my dads
calling," he said, as he ducked out the door.

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, as I locked the front
door.