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by
Erastes
Copyright 2017 by Erastes
Chapter
31
- Ups and Downs.
Reid spent most of the weekend reading the graphic novel I'd scanned into computer files for him, and then he would discuss his observations with me. I'd provided him with a digital copy because I didn't want anything to happen to the original, but he was fine with that. The only thing he wasn't happy about was that I'd only managed to scan the first of the graphic novels on Friday, but I promised him I'd do the same thing with the others during the week.
Overall, Brad, Pam, and the kids kept me distracted for most of the weekend, so the time seemed to fly by. At one point, Pam got me alone so we could talk about Brad's upcoming birthday party. She advised me I wouldn't have to fix dinner that evening, because we'd be going out to eat instead. She also wanted to make sure I remembered to pick up the cake she'd ordered from the bakery, and I assured her I would.
I talked to her about other things as well, because Pam wanted to know how I was going to deal with the kids and still be able to work on my new book over spring break, in April. She also asked if I'd be working on another book over summer vacation, and I told her that I honestly didn't know yet, but I'd keep her informed. After I'd covered those topics with her, Brad and I sat down so we could discuss my upcoming meeting at the studio.
"So, do you think you're ready for this?"
"Yes, I've gone over the information you gave me multiple times. I even wrote down a bunch of questions I thought I might be asked and practiced how I would answer them. The people I'm meeting with may not ask those exact queries, but I've prepared several diverse responses so I should be ready to answer any question they ask."
"How about the asking price for the rights to your story?"
"I'm going to start high and leave myself room to negotiate downward, because I'm sure they'll want to dicker. I'll start with an amount that's about 90% of the highest contract negotiated, but I've also calculated the average of all the offers you gave me, and I'll come down as low as that figure if need be."
"It sounds like a pretty good plan, so good luck tomorrow."
"Thanks, and I feel better about it now, since you've given me so much to think about."
"I'm glad I was able to help, because it will affect me too."
Before I turned in with Reid on Sunday night, I laid out my suit and other clothing so I could get dressed quickly, because I didn't want to hold Brad and Pam up and make them late for work. As I cuddled with Reid, my mind was busy going over a wide range of scenarios that might happen the following day, until I eventually drifted off to sleep.
When the alarm went off in the morning, I sent Reid up to his room to get ready for school, while I hurried to the bathroom. After I emptied my bladder, I washed my hands, splashed some water on my face, brushed my teeth, and went back to the bedroom to get dressed. By the time I got to the kitchen, Pam had breakfast waiting, so we ate quickly. I didn't eat very much, though, because I was so nervous, and after we said goodbye to the kids, I rode in with Brad and Pam as they headed to work.
I knew L.A. traffic was bad, but I guess I'd never considered what they had to put up with on a daily basis as we made our way to the studio. When we got there, I went with Brad first, since my meeting was scheduled for 10:00. I think Brad could tell I was nervous, because he did whatever he could to distract me. First, he took me to meet the guy who'd made the storyboards, and then he introduced me to everyone he worked with, before giving me a tour of the office and adjoining areas. Before I realized, it was time for him to show me to the executive suite where I was going to meet with those in charge.
Brad had to return to his office after I was led inside, but the secretary stated that she'd call him just before the meeting ended so he could come back to get me. I then took a seat in the reception area with the secretary, as I waited to be called into the other room.
When the secretary was notified that they were ready for me, I was shown into a conference room. There were three studio big wigs seated on one side of the long table, and I was instructed to take a seat across from them. I hoped they wouldn't see how nervous I was, because I was doing my best to exude an outward air of confidence.
"Why don't you begin by telling us about your background and education," the apparent leader of the group instructed.
I did as he asked and told them the information he wanted to know. It included the honors I'd won at the various competitions while I was still in high school, and that I'd been accepted into the Creative Writing Track at the University of Iowa, where I'd graduated with honors. Once I told them about my educational background, I also informed them about the two books that were already in print, before telling them about the one I was currently working on. They seemed impressed, and before long we got down to business.
"We liked your story and the screenplay Brad had written for it, so now we'd like to find out how much you want for the rights to your story."
As I'd told Brad the day before, I started off by telling them the 90% figure. After hemming, hawing, and telling me that was quite high for a first contract, they made a counteroffer. Then we went back and forth with additional counteroffers until we finally reached an agreement. Their final offer was close to 75% of the highest contract Brad had told me about, which was considerably more than the average amount for all the contracts, so I felt I'd done fairly well. Now that the negotiating process had concluded, they advised me they'd have the contract drawn up, and then they would send it with Brad for me to sign. I was walking on air as I returned to the reception area.
Before long, Brad showed up to take me back to his office, and he asked me about how the meeting went as we walked there. I told him everything that had happened, including the amount we'd eventually agreed to, and he seemed quite surprised.
"That's more than I thought you'd get. I was fairly certain they weren't going to offer you more than the average figure you told me about. You must have really impressed them."
"What can I say? I just charmed them into giving me more than they'd planned." We both laughed, and then I told Brad they were going to send the contract with him, once it was drawn up.
"They're usually pretty standard, except for the amount, but I can give you the names of a couple of lawyers who deal with those types of things, if you want someone to look the contract over before you sign it."
"Let me read it first, and then I'll let you know. I won't bother with the additional expense of hiring a lawyer unless I have questions or see things I don't like. After all, I've signed contracts on my books too, so I have some idea what should or shouldn't be there."
"Ok, just let me know then."
A short time later we went to meet Pam for lunch, and after we finished eating I stayed with her for the rest of the day. She introduced me to her coworkers too, as well as showing me around the area, and then I asked her for a pen and pad so I could jot down some ideas I'd come up with about the new story. They had suddenly popped into my head after I'd told the execs about the three books during the meeting. From that point on, my mind raced from one thought to the next during the rest of the meeting and even afterward, so I wanted to write it all down before I forgot anything.
One of the ideas stemmed from the conversation we'd had with the kids at dinner one evening about the coyote that was seen at school. Another came from something I'd forgotten that was in one of my old graphic novels, but I suddenly remembered when scanning the pages. I guess while I was recounting my life to answer the first question I'd been asked, it had caused me to think about things I hadn't dealt with in a long time. In this case it was a good thing, because the ideas it had spurred would fit in nicely with the plot of my third book.
I was still busy scribbling down a few afterthoughts when Pam announced it was time to go home. It had been a long day, but I'd accomplished a lot, so it had been well worth it. I would soon not only be signing my first movie deal, but I'd also come up with more than enough ideas to finish my third manuscript, so it had been a very productive day.
When we got to the house, Pam went to get the kids, because Amanda had agreed to watch them after school since none of us would be home. Reid was there to greet us, though, because we felt he was old enough to stay at the house alone until we got there. As soon as we walked through the door, he began to question me about how things had gone.
"Are they going to use Dad's screenplay to turn your book into a movie?"
"Yes, I was able to negotiate a contract so they'll do that now."
"Are they paying you a lot of money for it?"
"I think I made a good deal, but I'm not going to tell you how much they are giving me."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not something you need to know."
"When will the movie come out then?"
"I'm sure it will be quite a while before that happens, although I'm not exactly sure how long it will take. Your dad would probably have a better idea about that than I do."
"So how about it, Dad. How long before the movie comes out?"
"Quinn's right, it won't be soon. First of all, casting calls will have to be made and then those in charge will have to decide who will fill the various roles. A production crew will also have to be formed, and there will probably be some minor alterations made to my screenplay, depending on how difficult some of the scenes will be to shoot. The actual filming will take a while too, so my guess is that it will be a year and a half to two years before it's in final production."
"Wow! That long!"
"Yes. Making a movie doesn't happen overnight, or even in a few weeks."
"I guess not, but two years?"
"Yes, but that depends on how many problems they encounter along the way."
"I hope it doesn't take so long, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it."
"No, there isn't," I agreed, "so don't dwell on it and just continue doing things like you normally would."
"K."
After dinner, Reid went to his room to do his homework, so I began working on my story again. The ideas were flowing and everything was coming to me as fast as my fingers could type the words, so I continued even after Reid returned later. I merely told him I didn't want to stop while everything was going this well, so he sat on the sofa and watched TV while he waited for me to finish. By the time that happened, he had already fallen asleep, so I woke him up to take a quick shower first, before we went to bed. He was quite content as I cuddled with him until morning.
Once the kids left for school on Tuesday morning, I started working again, but this time it wasn't coming to me quite as easily as the night before. I still had a vague idea about what I wanted to do and where the story was going, but before I could write it down I had to outline the steps the characters would need to take in order to reach that point. This process was considerably more time consuming, but I kept working at it just the same, as I included the ideas I'd written down on the legal pad in Pam's office.
I continued doing this while I was at home throughout the week, but I would stop each evening to have dinner with the family. I'd also spend some more time with them before Reid and I went to shower and hop into bed, and each night he reminded me that he'd be staying at Paul's house on the weekend. He'd also say that he would miss me, and he'd miss doing the things we did on the weekend, so I promised to do something with him when he got back.
When the kids arrived home from school on Friday afternoon, I had each of them pack a bag before they left. Evan and Ashley were going to spend the weekend with Eric and Rylee, so I walked them to the Van Patten's house, while Reid walked to Paul's house by himself. I had offered to drive him there when I returned, but he said he would do it on his own, so I just told him to be careful and gave him a hug before he left.
I spent a quiet evening with Brad and Pam after they got home from work, and we had Chinese delivered to the house so Pam wouldn't have to cook. While we ate, they told me about their plans for the following evening, because they were going to take advantage of the fact that all of the kids were with friends. They said they were going out to eat first, and then they were going to decide if they wanted to go to a club or a movie next. I merely told them it sounded like fun and I wanted them to have an great time, because they needed to enjoy an evening alone every once in a while.
Once Pam and Brad went upstairs to their bedroom, I went to my apartment. It seemed quite strange showering and sleeping alone, but as I'd told Reid earlier in the week, I done it before and I'd be fine, however it was a little more complicated than that. It took me forever to fall asleep, since I didn't have Reid to cuddle with, and then I woke up several times when I didn't feel him next to me. Still slightly drowsy, I'd wonder where he was and if something was wrong, only to return to my senses and realize he wasn't at home.
After having breakfast with Brad and Pam in the morning, I went back to my apartment to work on my story again. Unfortunately, it was like pulling teeth getting anything accomplished, because I was constantly thinking about Reid and wondering if he was having a good time. I was surprised when he called me that afternoon, but it was only to let me know he was going to spend a second night there. I assured him that was fine and told him to have fun, and then I heard him whisper 'I love you' before he hung up.
As soon as Pam and Brad left for their night out that evening, I took a break from writing and went to get something to eat. When I returned later, I went back to work on my story, although I wasn't getting very much done. There were just too many mental distractions for me to concentrate! Well, maybe there was only one distraction, and that was Reid, but I couldn't get the thoughts of him out of my mind.
After I'd showered, I crawled into bed and had nearly as much trouble falling asleep as the night before. I didn't wake up quite as often, but I can't really say I slept better, because I was still exhausted when I finally got up. Brad and Pam commented even on my appearance when I went out to have breakfast with them.
"Damn, you look like you tied one on last night." Brad stated as he stared at me across the table.
"No, nothing that exciting. I just didn't sleep very well."
"I take it you were missing your boy-toy," Pam teased, which caused me to look at her totally shocked.
"I hope you don't think that's all he is to me. I care for him deeply and have gotten used to him sleeping with me, so I missed not having him there last night."
"I didn't mean anything negative by my remark," she apologized, "and I'm sure he missed you just as much as you missed him. We've both noticed how much he loves you."
"I hope he made out better than I did, otherwise his friends might get suspicious."
"I never considered that, but you might be right," Brad stated.
We continued talking as we ate, and I was sure they could tell I loved Reid as much as he loved me. I think that's what made it easier for them to let us continue being together, seeing they knew I wasn't just using him. It also made me admire how difficult it was for them to know they were allowing their teenage son to be involved in a sexual relationship.
I was surprised when Reid arrived home a little after 10:00, and he looked the worse for wear too, so he'd obviously had a rough night as well. However, instead of going up to his room, he asked if he could speak with me in my apartment. I told him that would be fine, and Brad and Pam merely smiled as we walked away. I think they thought he had just missed me, but I was about to find out it was more involved than that.
"I messed up big time," he began.
"Why? What happened?"
"I think Chad's suspicious about me and you now, and I'm not sure if he'll tell the others too."
"Tell me what happened!"
"Ok, but I hope you don't get mad at me."
"Don't worry. I won't."
"After we had pizza on Friday, we went down to the rec room, which is in the basement of the house. There's a pool table and air hockey table there, along with a huge flat screen TV. After we played air hockey and pool for a while, we decided to watch the Big Bang Theory next. In the episode that was on, Sheldon and Amy were fighting and Jeremy said, 'He should dump that ugly skank.' That's when Simon said, 'Parsons is gay, so he doesn't really care what female they pair his character with.' After the discussion continued for a while, I decided to ask my own question. 'Does anyone care that Jim Parsons is gay?' That's when I found out a lot about my friends.
"They all responded with comments like, 'Hey, if that's what floats his boat', or 'I don't care who he gets it on with', along with 'Why should I care if he's gay? It's his life.' That's when I got brave and told them I was pretty sure I was gay too. At first, they all laughed because they thought I was joking, but when they realized I wasn't, they said they didn't have a problem with it, and that made me feel really good."
"So then how did you mess up?"
"It didn't happen until later, but I'll get to that. When we were ready to go to sleep, Paul had us follow him to a storage area and gave each of us a sleeping bag to use. They were ones his family used when they went camping, so we all took one and spread them out on the floor. He also gave each of us a throw pillow to use, because we were going to sleep in the rec room.
"The next morning when we were getting ready to go upstairs to have breakfast, Chad pulled me aside. 'That was really brave of you to admit you were gay last night. I don't think I could have ever done that.' I just told him he didn't have to worry about it, since he wasn't gay, but he just smiled at me before going upstairs too."
"So Chad's gay too?"
"He didn't admit it, but I was definitely thinking he was."
"So when did you mess up?"
"Hang on and I'll get to that. Anyway, when we went to sleep on Saturday night, Chad moved his sleeping bag next to mine, after suggesting we move away from the others. That's when he told me he might be bi, but it was more likely that he was gay too. We talked for a while longer before we fell asleep.
"The next morning, I felt an arm over my side and someone was kissing me on the cheek. When the kissing stopped, I guess I must have said, 'Don't stop, Uncle Quinn. It felt good.' Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then I heard Chad whisper in my ear. 'So you've been getting it on with your uncle?' When I realized what I'd done, I rolled over and tried to explain why I said that."
"I've always been worried that something like that might happen, and I guess there's nothing we can do about it now."
"No, I explained to Chad that I must have been dreaming about you, because I think you're hot. I told him that when I felt him doing those things I just thought it was part of my dream and it was you holding and kissing me."
"And did he buy your explanation?"
"I'm not sure, but I think so. I told him I'd always been attracted to you since you moved here, but we've never done anything. I said I wished you would, but I was too afraid to ask, and then he asked if I thought he was hot."
"What did you tell him?"
"I said I thought he was cute, and he said he thought I was too, but that was all that happened, because everyone else started getting up. After we had breakfast, we help Paul put everything away and then the rest of us left. I think Chad wanted to hang with me so we could talk, but Jeremy dragged him away so they could walk home together, cuz they live near each other."
"I knew that, because Paul had mentioned it at Halloween. So do you think Chad will say anything to the others?"
"I don't think so, because I don't think he wants them to know about him yet, but it could have ended a lot worse. He could have freaked out and told everyone else that he thought we were messin' around with each other."
"That wouldn't have been good, but now we've got to be careful when we're around him, or even when we're just out in public, because you never know who else might be around. I'm sure he'll be watching for any signs to see if you were being honest with him, or if his first hunch was correct."
"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry for bringing you into this."
"You didn't do it intentionally, so I just hope Chad believed your explanation."
"Yeah, me too. So what did you do while I was gone."
"I worked more on my story and I'm getting closer to finishing it."
"Can I read what you wrote?"
"Not yet. I've still got to proof read and polish it up, but I'll probably have it ready for you by next weekend."
"Ok, and I'm sorry if I messed up."
"Don't worry about it, and we'll do our best to make him forget about what you said."
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E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: ErastesTouch@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.
My other stories:
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-guardian/
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Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.