Disclaimer: This is a work of complete fiction. It does not and will not exist outside the fantasy world.
© Matt Caper
www.facebook.com/mattcaper (FB Page)
www.facebook.com/bassareus (Personal Account)
Chapter 13
So I was back to being on my own, after Ryan and Corey became exclusive. I didn't mind it so much. I still looked forward to finding true love someday, and I had already known Ryan wasn't it. Besides, I was happy with my life, now. I didn't let myself become depressed for what I'd lost or never had. I did what I'd always done: spent more time with the kids. Landon was working more, so I made it a point to grab him and take him somewhere every couple of weeks to hang out, just the two of us, doing whatever caught our fancy. I had never had much opportunity to do that with him before, like I had the other brothers. It really brought us closer, and I was glad for it. He was maturing quickly, making me a very proud dad/brother.
With Landon often taking responsibility for Noah, I was feeling that I had neglected Noah a bit. He had done so well in his anger management, having only minor episodes every now and then, that I hadn't been paying as much attention to him. I purposed to change that by prying him away from following Landon's every move and taking him out on occasion.
The first time I did that, he was quite concerned. I loaded us into the car and sped away from the house. "Am I in trouble?" he asked, fidgeting in the passenger seat.
"No, of course not. Unless you should be and I don't know it?"
He giggled. "If I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"Yeah, that figures."
"So where are we going?" He was curious, now that he knew he wasn't in trouble.
"Into the country. I thought I'd leave you out there and see how long it takes for you to get home."
Noah scowled. "Whatever. Where are we really going?"
"We're really going into the country."
"Why?"
"You'll see."
"Oh shit," he mumbled.
I laughed, but provided no more clues. In a few minutes, we were on a dirt road just outside of town. There was a cemetery right next to us, and I stopped the car there on the side of the road, put it in park, and turned it off.
"Oh god. You're going to rape and kill me, aren't you?" he deadpanned.
"Yes. Get out." I climbed out as well and shut the door. When I met him on the other side of the car, he lifted a brow.
"Okay, the rape part is cool. Not so keen on the killing. What the hell are we doing?" he demanded.
I shook my head and sighed. "I've rubbed off on you way too much. Here." I handed him the keys. "If you don't mind, I'd rather teach you how to drive than kill you. You may end up killing us both anyway."
Noah squealed and ran to the driver's seat. I took over the passenger's seat and breathed deeply. "Damn," I muttered. "I should've written my will first."
"Shut up and tell me what to do," Noah said excitedly.
"First, put on your seat belt. Thank you. Now start the car. Check your mirrors and glance over your shoulder to see if anyone is coming up behind you. Then put it in drive, do a quick check again, and push the gas very easily. Go slow at first."
I could tell Noah was very nervous, even if excited. His hands shook a little, and his breathing was sporadic. But to his credit, he did very well from the beginning. His only real problem was not driving in a relatively straight line. "Keep it steady," I instructed. "Try to sort of keep it on the right side in general, even though there's no lanes. Just keep an eye on the road to make sure no one is coming. And be mindful of intersections, too. No one has signs out here."
"There's so much to remember!" he cried.
"I know! Don't panic," I soothed. "Just drive at a comfortable speed. You'll get used to everything, don't worry. We'll have plenty more of these lessons." Thankfully we didn't encounter any other cars that day. I was also thankful my car was not a stick shift.
After a while, I had him drive back to our starting point, where I took over. "Wow, that was cool," he beamed as we headed home. "Thanks."
"You did really well, buddy. We'll keep at it. Besides, I wanted to spend some time alone with you. I'm gonna start making time to go on dates with each of you."
"Ooh la la! Well, that was an exciting date. I need a cigarette now."
I laughed. "Yeah, I've definitely rubbed off on you way too fucking much."
As for Nicholas, I didn't really need to make special plans to spend alone time with him. I already had plenty of that. However, I'd figured out how to keep him occupied for the summer, and a by-product of that gave me more special time with him, which we both enjoyed. And unlike Noah, I didn't have to drag him out of the house and away from anybody. I'd decided to teach him everything I knew about swimming, first aid and CPR. He wasn't strong enough yet to be a lifeguard, but someday he would be. I wanted to prepare him now, especially since he liked being the caretaker of people. We spent a lot of days in the pool as soon as I got off work, and Ryan gave me access to the dummy he used when he taught his CPR classes.
As I'd suspected, Nicholas was a natural. He took to the strokes and all the information like he was born to know it. "Dude, you're practically a fish," I told him as we came out of the water one day.
"I'm actually a mer-boy, I just never told you," he quipped.
"Awesome. You should show me your tail sometime."
He promptly mooned me. "My tail, just like you wanted," he said, and disappeared into the locker room. I paused and shook my head, having no retort.
A teenage boy stopped beside me, a shocked look on his face. "Do you know him?" he asked.
I giggled. "That's my brother."
"Oh, okay. 'Cause he just showed his butt," he pointed out.
"Yeah, you never know what he's going to do. He's crazy like that."
"I wish I could be like that," he said wistfully. I glanced at his body; he was soaking wet like us, but wearing large, baggy swim trunks and a dark-colored t-shirt.
Nicholas poked his head out the door at that moment. "Aren't you coming?" He noticed the boy next to me and smiled. "Hi."
"Hi," said the boy bashfully.
"After you," I told the boys, ushering them into the locker room. It was interesting to watch how unreserved Nicholas was and how decidedly unconscious he was about his body, compared to the other boy, who was entirely self-conscious and shy. It made me realize just how influential Nicholas would be as he got older. I was quite confident people would easily follow him, no matter what he did.
As our lessons continued, Summer seemed to be flying by. It was already nearly August, and I still hadn't determined a school major. When I finally signed up for online classes, I just picked the first thing that popped into my mind: Sociology. I figured I could always change it later, if I wanted to. My mom, however, seemed very pleased with my choice. Dad was just pleased I had decided on something.
♂
"Grey," began my boss, Gloria. "I need people interviewed and hired for the Fall. Most of the staff is leaving at the end of the Summer, even those who ain't college students. So guess what? You're in charge of it. I've done put an ad in the paper. Now hire us some good people."
I was quite surprised. "You don't even want the final say in who gets hired?"
"Nope," she said definitively. "It's both our asses if you screw it up. So don't screw it up."
I snorted. "Don't worry. You know how picky I am."
"Yep. I like that about you. But I also know how pretty boys is your weakness." She was never one to mince her words.
I laughed nervously and stuttered with shock. "Ha! Uh, um, well, th-that's not... Shit."
"Ain't no big deal to me. Live and let live, I say. But don't let 'em charm ya if they're deadbeats."
I chuckled and wiped my brow; I was feeling rather clammy. "I won't. They have Corey to measure up to, in my mind. He'll be hard to match. Do I get to use your office for interviews?"
"Hell no," she answered. "But we ain't using the classroom down the hall no more for Jazzercise. Why don't you clean it out and make it your office? You can have the desk that's in the storage room."
"No shit? Really? Can I have a computer, too?"
She sighed, like I was really taxing her. But I knew it was just for dramatic effect. "Yeah," she conceded. "If you'll go buy it and bring me the receipt, I'll reimburse you."
"Hot damn! Thanks!"
"I ain't wanting to lose you, too. Gotta keep you happy, don't I?"
"You know it," I winked.
"I'll buzz ya when interviewees come in."
"Awesome."
I went straight to work emptying the small room. Finally! My own office! And it had windows! I was very excited about this, because not only did it give me my own, private place to work when I needed to be stationary, but it would also provide me a break room, lunch room, and a reprieve from scores of screaming kids.
No sooner had I moved the old desk from storage into my new office, Corey came running down the hall yelling my name. I stepped out into the hall, quite alarmed.
"Come to the pool! Quick!" he panted, then turned and ran back the way he came. I followed in a panic. All the boys but Sam and TJ were swimming there at the time. I had horrible visions of one of them being tragically hurt.
The first thing I saw in the pool area was a swarm of people all gathered in one corner. I made a beeline for the center of their circle, pushing my way in. I was taken by surprise at what I found. A boy - he looked like a young teen - was sitting up and being fussed over.
"Paramedics are on their way," someone said. Gloria. I stared at the boy; I had no idea who he was. So why the hell had Corey frightened me like that? But as I took in more of the scene, I soon discovered Nicholas sitting near the center of the circle, partially hidden by those fussing over this one boy.
I squeezed through the rest of the way until I reached Nicholas, kneeling down and making a fuss over him. "What happened?" I asked, smoothing his damp hair and searching him over for broken parts, bloody parts, or even missing parts. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay, Grey. Promise. David's the one who got hurt. He fell in the pool and hit his head."
I nodded to the other boy. "This is David? Is he a friend of yours?"
"That's him," Nicholas said. "We're not friends, though. I mean, I don't even know him."
I was kind of confused at this point. I knew Nicholas liked to care for others, but here he was in the middle of this whole mess, apparently in the way of the adults. "Nicholas, I'm not following. The way Corey rushed me in here, I thought something had happened to one of you. Maybe we should get out of their way."
I began to stand and pull Nicholas along with me, until the other boy leaned forward to see what was happening. "No!" he cried, making everyone turn to look at us. "Don't leave! He's the one who saved me!"
As I looked in shock at Nicholas to see what he had to say about it, a woman who'd been fussing over David turned to Nicholas and dramatically embraced him, crying out her gratitude.
"It wasn't just me!" Nicholas tried to tell her, but she lavished all her thanks on him anyway.
"Tell 'em what you did!" David urged.
Nicholas sighed. He obviously didn't like all the attention being on him. "David fell in the water. I don't know how, I didn't see that part."
"Someone pushed me," David interjected. "Emily Matthews did it when I tried to talk to her." That bit of news obviously upset several people. "I slipped on the floor and fell the wrong way."
"Anyway," Nicholas continued. "I looked just in time and saw him hit his head on the edge when he tried to catch himself. He fell in the water and was knocked out! I was way over there when it happened." He pointed halfway down the length of the pool. "I ran all the way here. Ryan didn't even blow his whistle at me. I guess he didn't see David fall."
Ryan, also obviously upset, was scowling. "I was breaking up a fight at the exact time this happened. Remind me to give you their names. I've banned them from the pool permanently."
"Yeah, so I jumped in and brought David to the surface, just like you taught me, Grey," Nicholas said proudly. "I screamed at Landon. Him and Will helped me get David out of the water. He wasn't breathing, so I did the mouth-to-mouth and stuff that you taught me. He finally started breathing by the time Ryan got over here."
I was practically beside myself. And full of pride for my boy! "Wow, Nicholas!" I hugged him to myself and kissed his little wet head. "I am so proud of you!" The paramedics arrived just then, and the crowd parted to let them through.
"Nicholas, will you come with me?" David asked eagerly. "Please?"
"Tell you what, David," I said. "I'll bring Nicholas up there myself so the ambulance won't be crowded. Nicky, why don't you go shower and change."
"See you there, David!" Nicholas called and did a fast walk toward the locker room, barely able to keep from running.
Once the people had dispersed, I located the rest of my boys. I made it a point to praise Will and Landon for their part. "Thanks for having your brother's back, guys. What you did is just as important as what Nicholas did."
They, of course, soaked up the words of praise. "Ha, you called Nicholas my brother," Will laughed.
"Well, he is!" I said adamantly. "I claim all of y'all as my family. Don't you feel closer than just friends?" They all had to agree I was right. "You guys go shower and change. I'm taking Nicholas to see David at the hospital. I'd like for y'all to come, too."
On the way there, I went on and on about how cool Nicholas was for saving David's life. I was as proud as I could be. But for the first time since I'd known him, he interrupted my praise and told me to stop.
"Please don't make a big deal out of this anymore," he said.
I was aghast. "Are you kidding me? Why not? You usually love it when I do."
He sighed with exasperation. "Well, not this time! I don't want everybody doing that all the time, not about this. If they do, then David might think I did it just for the attention. People are supposed to be giving him all the attention, not me! He's the one who nearly died!"
I was utterly floored by Nicholas' response. Could this kid be any cooler? "Okay, fine. When people are around, I won't mention it. But dammit, you can't stop me from singing your praises when we're alone! I think you're the coolest, awesomest, most bad ass kid ever."
He sighed again and growled. "Who taught me how to do all that stuff? You, stupid! So go praise yourself!"
I gasped dramatically, but couldn't help laughing, too. "Okay, you're right. So how about this? We make an awesome team."
He grinned. "I like that."
At the hospital, I patiently waited with five boys until David was treated and released. How he didn't have a concussion, I don't know. He was told to keep taking pain meds and keep ice on the knot on his head. His mother tried to keep him still and calm as they came into the waiting room, but he was too excited.
"Nicholas! Mom, it's Nicholas and the rest!" He offered Nicholas a brief, but tight hug. "Thanks for coming to see me! Thanks for saving my life! And thanks to you and you for helping! Um, I don't remember your names."
Nicholas spoke for the older boys. "That's Landon, and that's Will. Also, this is Noah, and this is Dane. Me and Noah and Landon all live with Grey. He's the one who taught me the CPR and stuff."
"Oh my gosh, how cool! You guys wanna come over and play? Or... Hey Mom, can they come for dinner?"
David's mother looked frazzled enough without adding six boys to dinner. "Hey David," I chuckled. "Maybe your mom needs a break from all the stress of today. And you probably need to rest."
"Yes!" she said firmly. "You need to rest! Thank you... Grey, is it? I'm Abigail Denton. We'd love to have you boys for dinner. How about this weekend?"
"You sure you want to host all of us? That's a lot of boys at your table!"
She laughed, though she was still tense from the day. "I think we can manage."
"I tell you what. Nicholas and I both are good at cooking. Why don't we collaborate, have kind of like a potluck deal? I'm supposed to be keeping all the kids this weekend, and there's two more besides these. I'd have to bring them, too, of course."
"Good lord!" she said. "Okay, a potluck it is," she laughed. "Let's say Saturday around five-thirty? We're at twenty-four hundred Holly. Right on the corner, can't miss it."
"Great! We'll see you then. And David, please take it easy."
"I will! Bye! Bye, Nicholas!"
All the boys were looking forward to it, being that it was something new to do. Nicholas included, but he made everyone promise not to talk about his good deed. Like me, they thought that was crazy, but they agreed nonetheless.
Even after being warned, it must have been a little daunting for Abigail to see eight boys at her door. She was very welcoming, however. Her husband, Gary, was the same. They were just as friendly as the Shilohs, though my first impression was the Dentons were much more conservative than the hippie couple. We also got a surprise after we arrived; two, in fact, named Amelia and Jake. These were David's older siblings that were unknown to us until then.
We met Amelia first. She was quiet, well-mannered and very pretty. "This is Amelia," her father introduced her, while she ducked her head shyly. "Our only daughter. She's sixteen and will be a Junior this year." Her cheeks, rosy and accented with dimples, darkened from the attention she was receiving. She seemed quite the opposite of excitable David.
We didn't even know there was a third sibling until he walked in the front door. He was certainly not a quiet mouse like his sister. "They're here!" he said to no one in particular when he entered the room. "Which one is Nicholas?" Nicholas meekly raised his hand. Jake went to him, took the boy's right hand in both of his and shook it rapidly. "I owe you a very big thank you. I'm Jake, and David is my brother. I'm very honored to meet the guy who saved my bro's life!"
This was the first mention of the incident since we'd been there. Nicholas smiled warmly and nodded. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you."
I stood to meet Jake. My, was he attractive! It was his smile and warm personality that most attracted me. Of course, I could tell almost immediately, with at least ninety-nine percent certainty, he did not play on my team. But he was still damn good-looking.
"Hi, I'm Grey. I'm Nicholas' brother." We shook hands, and he beamed at me.
"Good to meet ya, man! Your brother is my hero!"
I chuckled. "Yeah, he's my hero, too." Nicholas glared at me, but I couldn't help it. It just came out!
"Grey taught me the lifeguard skills and CPR," Nicholas noted dryly.
"Well then!" boomed Jake. "From one brother to another, I'm grateful!" He was so much like David, and they were so much like their father, I had to grin. "What is it? he asked, grinning, too.
"Oh nothing," I said. "It's just funny how you and David are so much alike, and I can already tell you're younger versions of your dad."
The whole family laughed. "Yeah, we get told that all the time," said Jake. "I consider it a compliment."
Jake introduced himself to all the boys individually and tried to put to memory their names, which he seemed to do very well. Then Abigail admitted her curiosity about our situation.
"Now... I'm not sure I have this straight," she began, directing her words at me. "How many of you are actually related?"
I smiled, knowing these questions would eventually come. "These two, Noah and Nicholas, are the only ones who are blood related. Brothers. And they're technically my godsons, but we claim each other as brothers generally. Landon here is my legally adopted son. And the rest are our friends, all from individual families."
The whole Denton family were simply beside themselves. "Landon is your adopted son, or your adopted brother?" Abigail asked.
"No, you heard right. He's my son. And yes, he's seventeen, and I'm twenty."
Jake whistled. "Dang! I'm nearly twenty-three, and I can't even fathom having a baby, let alone a teenager! You mean you don't live with your parents?"
"My parents have a guest house behind their house, and they're letting me live there rent-free until I'm through with school."
I really thought these people were going to have a conniption trying to process all this unbelievable information. They reacted with even greater surprise and awe. "So let me get this straight," Jake continued. "You work full time, support a teenage boy, and go to school?"
I laughed. "Actually, I support three teenage boys. My godsons live with me full time. Their legal guardian is their grandmother, and she's getting up there in age. So the four of us live there, and yes, I work and go to school full time. I also homeschool most of these boys here, with the help of Dane's parents."
"Heavens to Betsy!" said Abigail.
"None of us do school in the Summer, though, so it's not too busy right now," I added.
"Three teenage boys?" Jake queried. "How old is Nicholas?"
"He's thirteen," I answered.
"Wow, you're my age!" yelled David. I could see how that would be surprising. David was somewhat tall for his age and filling out even more than Noah, while Nicholas was the complete opposite.
Jake snickered. "I thought he was, like, ten."
"Son, make friends with Grey and let some of that character rub off on you!" Gary said to Jake. I didn't want them to compare Jake to me and hoped Jake didn't get upset over it, but he seemed to agree.
"I know, right? I just finished college in May, but I still live with my parents. I think you're about to get me kicked out, Grey," he laughed.
I glanced at Nicholas, and he was obviously enjoying this scene. We hadn't anticipated me getting all the attention. "Seriously, I wasn't always like this. My grades sucked in high school, compared to what they are now. I didn't care too much back then. But anyway, if you knew these boys, you'd understand why I do it."
Just what I needed to get the attention off of me. "Yeah!" David piped up. "Nicholas probably goes around saving lives all the time!"
"I do not!" he protested. He glared at me for directing the conversation toward him, and Abigail seemed surprised at his outburst. I thought I'd better explain.
"Nicholas doesn't want all the attention and accolades that came with his action. He wants to be friends with David, but doesn't want David to feel like he owes him anything." Abigail nodded with understanding.
"I think that's very admirable, young man," said Gary.
"Hey, you guys wanna come play X-box with me?" David asked excitedly, speaking mostly to Nicholas and TJ.
"Yeah!" they chorused.
"Wait!" Gary stopped them before they had a chance to run off. "Eat first. Then play."
So we all enjoyed a hodgepodge meal together. The older boys gravitated toward Jake, while Nicholas, TJ, Dane, and even Sam got to know David. I kept getting caught between Jake and his parents, for all three seemed most interested in getting to know me. They learned about my parents, heard the story of our move my senior year of high school, and I told them how knowing Nicholas and Noah came to be. By the end of the meal, they knew where I worked, what my major was, and the fact that I was single. Thankfully sexual orientation hadn't come up yet.
But I also learned a great deal about them. They had moved into town when the kids were real young. Gary was a real estate broker, Abigail owned a small craft store, and Jake was a real estate agent in his dad's agency and had a BS in Business Administration, specializing in real estate. Amelia worked in one of the local grocery stores. Jake was also single.
After dinner, every one of the boys disappeared into David's room to play the X-box. Gary disappeared to make some phone calls, which he apparently did often. He received several calls during the short span of time we were eating. Abigail and Amelia insisted on cleaning up after everyone and left Jake and me to have one-on-one time.
We refilled our glasses with iced tea, and he gave me a tour of the rest of the house. Theirs was a large, expensive house, and admittedly I was rather impressed. Especially when we ended with Jake's room upstairs and he took me onto his own, personal balcony to relax. It was small, but the fact that there even was a balcony there wowed me. Two padded chairs sat next to each other, as if prepared specifically for us. I was even more delighted to find they were gliders, rocking me gently back and forth.
"This is incredible," I gushed. "So peaceful."
His smile was somewhat tight. "Yeah, it's nice. But I envy you. I'm saving up to buy my first home. Until then, I'm stuck here."
"I thought you seemed to like it here."
"Yeah, I guess," he sighed. "It's just not very private, you know? I love my family. I mean, I really do love them. We have great times together. I think I would just enjoy time with them more if I didn't see them twenty-four seven. Know what I mean? Especially since I work for my dad."
"Man, I totally get that. Remember last Spring when the tornado hit town? Well, at the time, there was a garage apartment behind my parents' house that the boys and I lived in. The tornado absolutely demolished it, but didn't touch the house. We lived with my parents while the guest house was being built. I don't ever wanna go back to living with them, no matter how much I love them."
"Crazy! Yeah, so you know how I feel. And it's not like I can bring a girl home any time I want. If I did, my parents would want to get to know her; ask her tons of questions, as you well know. I don't want them to know her. So far I haven't seen one more than once or twice." He paused, looking at me fearfully. "Sorry if I'm offending you. Sometimes I speak without thinking. You probably have good values and such, since you're raising three boys, who are very well-mannered I might add."
I nearly spit out the tea in my mouth, but instead choked on it as I dissolved into unexpected fits of laughter. It took me a few minutes before I could properly breathe again.
"Do I need to go get Nicholas for CPR?" he joked.
"I don't think he would forgive you for killing me," I chuckled. "Okay, got a funny story to share."
"Terrific," he grinned. "Tell me."
"When Noah was...let's see...fifteen maybe? No, he was still fourteen. Anyway, I had forgotten to clear my internet history, right? And one night, I got up and caught him jerking off at the computer, and he was watching a video I had previously watched."
"Oh my god!" Jake cackled.
"So yeah, you're not offending me," I grinned.
"How horribly embarrassing! How did you react?"
"You're exactly right, I was completely embarrassed. But I took that opportunity to teach both Noah and Nicholas about sex, the next day. They had tons of questions, so it really turned out to be beneficial."
"That is super. I wish I'd thought to do that with David. He walked in on me the other day while I was on my bed with my laptop. I was angry and yelled at him for failing to knock. That happened a few weeks ago, I guess. We haven't talked about it since."
"But your dad probably gave him 'the talk', right?"
"It's doubtful," he said sadly. "He never communicated with me about sex, so it's safe to assume David only knows what he learns at school and online."
"Do it," I urged him. "Talk to David. He obviously adores you. Even if it's embarrassing, he'll benefit from hearing about your personal experiences."
Jake nodded while thinking it over. "I wish I hadn't yelled at him."
"You can make it up to him. Teach him how to approach girls properly. Then maybe he won't be pushed into the pool anymore."
He laughed lightly and sighed. "What do I know about approaching girls? I meet mine online. Why don't you talk to him? You're obviously much wiser than I."
I snorted. "Hardly. My boys learn more from my mistakes than anything else, I think. Besides, I don't know a thing about talking to girls."
"Do you hook up online? Or can you even hook up at all? I'm guessing you don't have much time to yourself, do you?"
"I... Well, to be honest, I haven't hooked up online since I moved here nearly three years ago. Not to say I haven't hooked up at all, though. But it can be tricky. Lately I've limited myself to porn, because Nicholas and TJ walked in on me and my last hook-up." I was trying to be careful to avoid giving myself away. I hated being dishonest in this way, but I found myself desperately wanting him to like me, even if it was a false me.
"Oh crap! While you were...doing it?"
I nodded. "I was actually performing oral sex at the time. I could not have been more horrified."
"Oh dear lord," he breathed. "I can't even fathom that. How did she react?"
"Who?" I asked without thinking.
"The girl whose pussy you were licking, who else?" he said, laughing. "Sorry, that was crass."
I couldn't help but laugh, too. "Oh. Uhh. Honestly, I think I was the only one who cared. Well, Nicholas was embarrassed, too. But TJ actually wanted to stay and watch."
Jake heartily laughed aloud. "Now that sounds like a typical teenage boy. I would have been the same way. To be honest, I wouldn't care if I were being watched. Unless it was my brother. That would just be too weird."
"Yeah, it was weird for me, too. Especially because Nicholas is still a virgin. Thank God! TJ is not, but I hope to keep Nicholas innocent for as long as possible. What about David? Do you know if he's active or not?"
"Heck, I don't know. I was seventeen before I lost my virginity. My parents probably think I'm still a virgin. I don't plan on telling them otherwise. How old were you?"
"When I lost mine? Fifteen. Well, that's not strictly true. I started out just fooling around for a while. I think I was sixteen when I started fucking." I gasped lightly. "Sorry, I tend to use foul language too often. I'm actually a bad influence on the kids with that, too."
Jake dismissed my apology with a snort. "I'm not offended. We don't use curse words because we're in the professional world, and it's just a habit now. But the more you get to know me, you'll see it takes a heck of a lot to offend me. We used to go to this Baptist church just down the road. But they are so incredibly holier-than-thou, we lost interest quickly. We're spiritual in our own way, but not religious or anything."
"I guess that's right, given that we're talking about hooking up online and watching porn."
He laughed. "Exactly." We were quiet for a few moments, and he finally smiled at me.
"Why are you smiling?" I asked.
"I'm glad I made a new friend today. Most of my buddies are business associates, and business is all we ever talk about. And I don't know anybody - at least not here in town - that I can be myself with. I always have this professional personality I have to wear, you know what I mean? I feel like I can be myself with you. That's really cool."
My heart sank. Here he was laying himself out for me to see, trusting me with himself. And here I was being a fraud and hiding important parts of myself from him, merely out of fear. "I have to tell you something," I began shakily. "And I hope you'll want to be my friend after this, because that would mean a lot to me."
Jake frowned. "What's up, buddy? You can tell me anything. No judgment, I promise."
"Well, I haven't been real honest with you about myself. I'm..." I sighed, took a deep breath, and plunged through. "I'm gay."
"Whoa. Wasn't expecting that," he admitted. "Hey, gay people are people, too." He paused. "Have you ever been with a girl?"
"Nope."
"So the boys actually saw you..." He seemed not to know how to word his thoughts.
"Sucking off another guy," I finished.
He whistled. "Man. Did they...know already?"
I laughed lightly, but only from nervousness. "Okay, you might as well have it all. Nicholas is a virgin, like I said. But TJ and Sam are a couple, Landon and Noah are a couple, and Will and Dane are a couple."
If anything was going to unhinge a person, that would be it. Jake actually stood and went to the corner of the balcony, facing away from me, completely silent. After a minute, he turned around again, trying to speak, but faltering.
"You're not cool with this, are you?" I asked sadly.
"No! It's not that. Honestly and truly. It's just...a bit of a shock, that's all."
"I really want to be your friend, which requires you knowing the truth. It's not like I'm going to lust after you or anything."
He laughed, and it sounded like a genuine, easy laugh. "Hey, I'm not worried about that. Like I indicated, I'm a bit of an exhibitionist anyway. To be honest, I've never had any gay friends before. But man, I am behind you one hundred percent. Well. Figuratively, that is."
I spontaneously erupted with guffaws . "Now that was funny. I have to admit, you're awfully attractive. But I'd never dream of hitting on you or anything."
"Do you think I could ever convince you to try sex with a chick, just to see if you like it?" he grinned slyly.
"Do you think I could ever convince you to fuck another dude, just to see if you like it?" I retorted.
"Ha! Okay, point taken." He returned to his seat and gave me a single nod. "We're gonna be good friends, I can tell."
"I'm glad," I smiled.
Just then, David burst onto the balcony. Jake drew a deep breath like he was about to yell. Which he did. "David!" The boy automatically cowered.
"Sorry! Sorry, Jake."
Jake glanced at me and took a brief moment to calm himself.
"Okay. No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."
David squinted at his brother skeptically. "Do you really mean that?"
"Yes. I'm really sorry," repeated Jake. "You should still knock, but I overreacted. Just like I did when you came in before."
David was quiet and blushing. He quickly glanced at me shyly, but Jake continued.
"I already told Grey what happened." David's eyes went wide, but he still didn't speak. "He said I should talk to you about sex and masturbation and anything else you want to talk about. If you want to. Grey is a very wise, very old teacher. Like the Dalai Lama."
"You're so crazy," I laughed.
David transferred his weight repeatedly between legs, rocking back and forth. He was obviously a little embarrassed. "Are you being serious? Or are you making fun of me? I can't tell which it is."
"He's being serious," I vouched for him.
"I really am!" Jake added. "I never had anybody to talk to about that stuff, and I don't want you to have to figure it out on your own like I did. We can talk about anything you want; girls, sex, acne, body hair, whatever."
"Cool," David relaxed and smiled. "Um, hey, Grey?"
"Hey what?"
"Can Nicholas and TJ and Sam spend the night tonight? I already asked my mom, and she said it's okay with her if it's okay with you."
"It's okay with me. But will you tell those three to come here so I can talk to them real quick?"
David didn't say another word but disappeared as quickly as he'd come. Less than a minute later, his place on the balcony was replaced by the other three.
"I need to know something," I said. "Sam and TJ, does David know you're a couple?" They both shook their heads in the negative. I turned to Jake. "It's your turn for sage wisdom. How should we handle this? Because they're not exactly secretive with their affection."
"Nicholas," said Jake. "Go get David." Nicholas ran out the same as David had and returned with his friend. The small balcony was quite crowded.
"Do they get to stay over?" David asked.
"David, I need to ask you something first," said his brother.
"Okay."
"Do you know what a gay person is?"
"Duh," retorted David.
"Seriously, Davey. Tell me what it means."
"It's when a boy is sexually attracted to other boys, and girls are sexually attracted to other girls," he responded intelligently.
"Wow, very well put," I commented.
"But I'm not gay," David added.
Jake chuckled. "I know, bro. But TJ and Sam are gay. Do you have a problem being friends with gay boys?"
"No!" David said emphatically. "I pretty much thought you were gay, TJ. Is Sam your boyfriend?"
"Yep," TJ stated proudly.
"Cool. Are you gay, Nicholas?"
Nicholas shrugged. "I don't know. I've never had sex before."
"Me neither," said David, and Jake and I exchanged smiles. "But I know I like girls."
"I'm just not sure," Nicholas said bashfully.
"That's cool." David turned to me again. "So can they spend the night?"
"Absolutely," I smiled. "If you want, you can go with us when we leave so they can get their clothes and stuff, and I'll bring you back here."
"Yay!" said all of them at once.
Before leaving, but after thanking the Dentons for hosting a wonderful evening, I spoke to Jake one last time in private. "There's always a place to sleep at my place, if you need to get away," I told him. "There's an extra room and plenty of beds, or a couch if nothing else. We're probably too old for sleepovers, but if you need a place to crash..."
"Thanks, Grey. You rock the kasbah."
"I what?" I giggled.
"It's just one of those sayings. You rock the kasbah."
"Okay then."