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            Chance of a Lifetime



by Erastes
Copyright 2017 by Erastes
Epilogue - A Look Into the Future.



Reid and I continued to grow closer over the next few years, although our lives became a lot more hectic during his four years of high school.  During that time I finished a couple more books, while Brad turned more of my stories into screenplays.  He then pitched them to the studio executives and they agreed to turn them into movies, so we're all doing extremely well financially. 

For the most part, my relationship with Reid was proceeding very nicely as well, although there were a couple of glitches along the way.  One of those happened when the studio began filming the movie in which one of the characters was based on Reid.  The director cast a very handsome young man who was a few years younger than the real Reid at the time to play the fictional Reed role.  The actor's age was appropriate to the age of the character in the story, but unbeknownst to us at the time, it turned out to be a point of contention where Reid was concerned. 

Initially, I thought Reid would be flattered that the studio chose such a cute boy to play that role, but unfortunately it wasn't the way it worked out.  Seeing I was on the set as a consultant during the filming and got to spend time with that actor, it seemed to strike a sensitive chord in Reid.  I invited him to go with me one day when the filming was taking place on the weekend, and when he saw me talking to the boy it caused the green-eyed monster of jealously to rear its ugly head. 

From that day forward, Reid became cold and aloof when we were together at home, and he would snap at me whenever I tried to ascertain what was bothering him.  I had no idea about the source of his irritation until after the filming concluded and I was no longer on the set with the cast.  That's when Reid finally admitted what had been troubling him. 

"I'm sorry that I acted like that, but I thought you were starting to like the boy playing Reed better than you liked me.  You were spending a lot of time talking to him when I went with you, and I figured you probably did more than just talk to him when I wasn't there." 

"Reid, that's not what was happening.  I was just explaining the motivation behind the character he was playing.  I wanted him to get in your head, so to speak, since I wrote that character based on you.  Did you really think I was trying to initiate a romantic or sexual relationship with him?"

"Yes, I did.  I'm getting older and will be going to college soon, so I thought you were trying to find someone younger to replace me." 

"What in the world would make you think that?" 

"Well, my dad asked you to move here because he knew you liked young boys.  He also figured you would probably like me, and he thought that would protect me.  But I've heard that some guys who like boys leave them when they get older, because they're no longer attracted to them."

"Have I ever done anything to make you believe that I no longer love you or want to be with you?"

"It's just that when I went with you to the studio and saw how you were looking at him, it reminded me of how you used to look at me when you first moved here.  I was afraid you were going to like him better than me and leave." 

"Oh, baby, I'd never do that.  Even though your father realized I was attracted to younger boys and it was the reason he invited me to move here, I've fallen in love with you while we've been together.  I don't ever plan on leaving you, and I'm definitely not looking to find someone else." 

"Then why were you looking at him like that?" 

"Because he reminded me of you at that age and I was thinking about how we first got together, became intimate, and how much I truly love you." 

"Really?  You were thinking of me when you were looking at him?" 

"Yes, he's cute, but you're still more beautiful to me and it's you that I love."

That seemed to end the problem, because he became very affectionate after our discussion.  It appeared as if things were back to normal and all was forgiven, and forgotten. 

Throughout high school, Reid concentrated on his classes, with his primary focus being on his English classes.  He'd decided that he wanted to be a writer too, but it didn't mean it was the only class he was interested in.  Coming in a close second were the science and history classes he was taking, because he saw how I wove elements of both into my stories.  He decided that doing well in those subjects would help him better appreciate my stories, and possibly aid him in writing his own stories later.  Needless to say, I was happy to encourage and tutor him in those areas whenever necessary. 

His decision to become a writer also led to a minor dilemma, and it appeared to cause him more consternation than I was aware of at the time.  I discovered later that he was torn between writing books like me, and writing screenplays like his dad.  This internal struggle started to come to a head during his junior year of high school when he started sending applications to various colleges.  His choice of a college would depend on the writing programs that were offered there, as well as what he intended to do with them afterward. 

Complicating his decision was his priority to stay close to home, so we could spend as much time together as possible.  I wasn't sure if he wanted to do this because he wasn't able to stand the thought of being away from me, or if he didn't trust that I'd be faithful.  Either way, he decided to apply to both U.C.L.A. and U.S.C., and he received acceptance letters from both during his senior year.  This meant it was now time for him to decide which type of writer he wanted to become, because the writing programs at each school had drastically different goals. 

UCLA's writing program focused on fiction writing, while USC's program was geared toward the entertainment industry.  He finally had to make up his mind about what he wanted to do and which of these institutions would best prepare him toward that end. 

Eventually, Reid chose to become a screenwriter.  His rationale was that it would allow him to turn any future books I wrote into screenplays, instead of his dad, and we'd be able to collaborate and work together.  This didn't seem to be a problem for Brad either, because he had his own ideas that he wanted to explore and turn into screenplays.   If Reid eventually took over the job of turning my books into screenplays, Brad would be able to concentrate on working on his own projects.  He would also be available to assist Reid when necessary, so this was going to work out well for all of us.  

Reid was now ready to attend the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen and Television at U.S.C., but this led us to our next situation.  Reid had chosen to apply to colleges close to home so he could commute to his classes, but Brad, Pam, and I didn't think that would be a good idea and saw a couple of major flaws in his plan.  First of all, we didn't feel Reid would be able to enjoy his college years as much or get the full benefit of the college experience if he wasn't living on campus.  In addition to that, we were worried that he'd be wasting valuable study time stuck in L.A. traffic as he traveled back and forth, and these concerns became a major point of contention between us.  In the end, the four of us finally reached a compromise. 

After much debate and many heated discussions, Reid finally agreed to stay on campus and live in a dorm during the week.  He would come home on Friday night so he could spend the weekend with me, and it would give us time to be close and I could take care of his sexual needs.  I also insisted that he would still have to spend part of the time working on his studies, and he had no problem with that, as long as we still spent time with one another.  He would return to campus on Sunday evening to avoid Monday morning traffic, and he would also be able to come home for all holidays. 

There were also occasions when Reid didn't come home on Friday night, and instead I, or the three of us, would drive to the campus to attend various functions with Reid.  One of those was Parent's Weekend, and that's when we had a chance to see how much college life had changed, or remained the same, since we'd attended.  We also got a chance to meet his roommate and a few of his new friends at that time.  Besides introducing his mom and dad, he introduced me as Uncle Quinn, and although the others thought it was a little strange that his uncle was there as well, they still accepted me.

We also attended musicals, plays, concerts, and sporting events with Reid, and occasionally Evan and Ashley would join us when we went to one of those events.  At other times they'd stay with the Van Pattens and let us go alone, but it all worked out in the end.  Whenever we did this, we would stay at a hotel and Reid would share a room with me so we could be intimate.  If Evan and Ashley were with us, Ashley would stay with her parents, while Evan stayed with Reid and me.  Since Evan was older and realized that Reid and I were lovers, he didn't interfere with our intimacy, but we always waited until he was asleep in the other bed before we did anything. 

After Reid graduated, he basically moved in with me and gave up any pretense of having his own room upstairs.  That became a guest room, which worked out well too.  Reid and I also talked about moving out and getting our own place, but we liked being close to the rest of the family, and for the most part they didn't interfere with our love life.  There were times when Evan would want to stay with us, and since he and Eric were still good friends, Eric would occasionally want to stay with us too.  For the most part, however, they preferred spending their time alone in Evan's room. 

Since he no longer had a room of his own, Reid finally admitted to some of his closest friends about our relationship.  Most of them had figured it out well before he brought it up, but we never acknowledged our true relationship prior to this due to the legal ramifications.  However, now that he was no longer a minor and I couldn't get into legal trouble for what we were doing, we were more open about our relationship. 

I proposed to Reid and asked him to marry me thirteen months after he'd graduated from college.  He was thrilled that I wanted to do this, and it finally eliminated any doubts he had that I might someday want to leave him.

It was a small, simple wedding, with only family and a few close friends in attendance, but it was very nice.  However, I splurged on the honeymoon and took Reid to Paris.  We were there for a week, and even though we spent a great deal of time in our hotel room, we got out to do some other things as well.  In addition to several lovely and very romantic dinners, we toured the Louvre and on two separate occasions we visited the Eiffel Tower.  The first was during the day so we would be able to appreciate the view, and then we went again at night to see what it looked like when it was all lit up.  It was a truly wonderful time. 

When the week came to an end, I had a surprise planned for Reid and tried to keep him from finding out about it until the last possible moment.  When we got to the airport and boarded a flight to Egypt instead of the U.S., he realized something was up.  We landed in Cairo and spent a couple of days there, including a visit to the Egyptian Museum.  Although we saw many wonderful things along the way, the experience paled in comparison to our next stop, when we reached the Giza Plateau. 

"Wow, it's so neat to finally be able to see the pyramids and the Sphinx up close," Reid gushed when we arrived there.  "I mean, I saw what they looked like in the movie, and they did a great job of making you feel like you were actually there, but it's so much more impressive seeing it in person.  You can't really appreciate how big they are until you're standing right next to them, so thanks for bringing me here." 

"You're welcome, and I'm glad we came here too."

We've now been married several years and neither of us has ever regretted our decision.  I will be forever grateful to Brad and Pam for giving Reid and me the chance to be together, and for allowing us to be intimate when he was younger.  I will always cherish the memories of those early times with one another, as well as being part of this wonderful family. 

I'm now looking forward to a long and happy life together, and Reid has also suggested that he'd like to start a family.  Evan and Ashley have both graduated from college and landed jobs in the area, so they're both still living at home as well.  Reid and I may eventually move out and get a place of our own, especially if we decide to raise a family and need the extra room, but we're in no hurry to do that just yet.  We're all very happy living together and life is good.

 

The End.



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I wish to extend my thanks to Donny and Emoe for editing these chapters for me and offering their suggestions. 

 

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.