Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:25:25 -0700 From: fritz@nehalemtel.net Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Sixty-one Here we go again. Sorry but the hated warning and disclaimer follows. You may skip it but only at your own risk. Any prudent person will not take such risks. Moving right along. Those of you, who are less than eighteen years of age, twenty-one in some areas, leave. You may hit the back button or even hit close. I don't care how you do it, only that you do. That way you won't be exposed to this story which might corrupt you. There are already enough corrupted people in the world and adding you to their ranks will not help much. Instead go and read Grimm's Fairy Tales. That way you will keep your little minds pure. Unless you are really looking for some descriptions of gay sex you'd better leave. I promise to put some of those descriptions in this chapter. Of course if those descriptions offend you, you should also leave. But then if such descriptions offend you, what are you doing at this site in the first place? Don't bother to try to explain. I won't believe you. Why would anyone live in an area that prohibits the reading of stories such as the ones posted on this site? It sounds to me like you think yourself too stupid to make your own choices. If you think Big Brother can do a better job of looking out for you than you can do for yourself, go ahead and live there but you had better leave this site before they catch you. If you don't I won't be responsible for the results. I submitted this story so that those few of you who might enjoy it can read and enjoy it. Just don't post it on another site without seeking my permission and receiving it. Also please properly credit me for any quotes you may use from it. As long as you don't use it in a commercial way you are free to do about anything else you want to with it. For those of you who care about such things, there were no animals injured or killed in the writing of this story. However the story is fiction and the character exist only in my mind. They are not based on any person known to me. Also the actions taken by the characters are not based on any real events within my knowledge. Any resemblance you may think you see, to persons or actions known to you, was not intended. Ernie is still under the weather so you get this chapter with my mistakes still in it. Sorry about that. If he doesn't start to feel better I will have to do something else I suppose. Then again I might just make you suffer through such mistakes. If you see something in the story that you like or dislike, feel free to email and tell me. You can even ask questions or offer suggestions. Just send it to fritz@nehalemtel.net Put I love Corey in the subject line so I don't delete you. I normally answer such emails. You can even request to be placed on the chapter notification list. With all that said, I hope you enjoy the following chapter. Fritz ******************************************************************************* I Love Corey, Chapter Sixty-one I really couldn't figure out how the boys could eat popcorn after such a big meal but I must admit a few bites of it did taste good. I was also having a hard time understanding why they had rented such a poor movie. As action flicks went, it was way down the list. Then I happened to notice one of the villains. The outfit he was wearing did nothing to distract from his package. The boys were all peering intently at the screen every time he was on it. The level of chatter also went down. Still, I don't think he was nearly as good looking as the waiter in the Castro district. When he was finally killed off they quit paying much attention to the screen. Dog ate more than his share of the popcorn. He was pretty good at catching it on the fly and the boys seemed to enjoy throwing him kernels. As I sat there watching Dog catch popcorn and the boys ogle the villain, my mind was still kicking around what Judy had told me. I still wasn't completely comfortable with staying out of some issues but after kicking it around some more I could see that she was right. There are always trade-offs in any course of action. When my course had taken on the boys, I had to factor them in and was no longer free to do whatever I wanted to do. They were now dependent on me. That meant that I needed to exercise some judgment so that I didn't do anything that would stop me from being there for them. There were also a lot of things I needed to do to help them grow and learn. I was now attending church somewhat more frequently because I thought it would be good for them. I was spending a lot less time surfing the net because I now spent that time working with and talking to them. I'd never been real big on television but was watching even less than I used to. In many ways they had changed my life and when I thought about it, I liked those changes. When one of them thanked me for something or complimented me on a meal, I felt good all over. The movie was over and the popcorn gone so it was time to head for bed. Dog seemed to know what was happing because he made his trip outside to do his nightly duties while we picked up the bowls from the popcorn and got everything put away or in the dishwasher. The boys headed for the bedrooms while I started the dishwasher and then I followed their example. Corey had the shower temperature just perfect by the time I got there. I really like having my back scrubbed. Corey could get that at place that I could never reach and really scrub. A washcloth in his hands was so much better than the brush I had used for years. Of course he washed other places and that didn't hurt anything either. I also liked scrubbing him. I could always tell when I hit the right spot on his back. His head would cock slightly to the left and his shoulders would rise and move forward. It was almost like he was trying to stretch his backbone so there would be more of it to scratch. I could have probably spent the night scrubbing that place as far as he was concerned but eventually I moved on. After all, I wanted all of him clean. We didn't do as much groping as we sometimes did but instead just enjoyed scrubbing each other. Then it was time for the towels. I know either of us could have dried ourselves much more quickly without the other's help. However, we weren't in any rush and just took our time rubbing and patting the other dry. Then it was time for bed. A goodnight kiss soon turned into much more. The first few kisses were just soft and gentle but soon both of us wanted more. Tongues became insistent and we enjoyed dueling with them for a while. For some reason though, that's as far as it went. We exchanged kisses and nibbles for a while and then Corey curled up in his favorite position and relaxed. Instead we talked. We talked about a lot of things. Mrs. Babcock occupied some of the conversation but neither of us could come to any conclusions about her. It was just a rehash of the same things that had been said before. I tried to ease his worries about her and he worried if she was okay. Since there had been no word about her since she checked herself out of the clinic, there was nothing new to add. The conversation turned towards Cody. Corey said that he was starting to make friends and seemed a lot happier. They shared one class and Corey told me that Cody had even volunteered some answers in that class during the past week. Hearing that made me feel good. Kyle came up. So far he hadn't said much to me and not a lot more to Corey but Corey seemed to think he liked living with us. We would just have to wait until Kyle was comfortable enough to open up. Kyle had told Corey a couple of things about his home life and hearing them almost made me sick. No child should be verbally abused that way. It seems as if nothing Kyle could do was right. Even when he managed to get a good grade or do something that most parents would be proud of, it was never good enough. Corey also said he thought there was a lot more physical abuse than anyone knew about. He fell asleep while talking about how happy he was that we had found each other. Some of the things he said I hadn't realized before. In fact, to listen to him tell about some of the things he had worried about made me understand how close he had been to despair. He told me that it seemed like no matter how hard he tried, things just kept getting worse. His mother would be gone for longer periods and the periods became more frequent. While I knew most of what he told me, I had never heard how much it scared him. When he told me how much my love had meant to him, all I could do was hold him. That and give thanks that I had been there for him. He fell asleep before I had a chance to tell him how much he meant to me. When he did that, I just relaxed and joined him. It had been a pretty good day. Something was bothering me. It took a little while before I figured out I could hear some strange noises. The clock said three sixteen. I managed to pull myself out of bed and shuffle towards the noise. It was coming from Kyle's room. Kyle was clearly having a nightmare. He was thrashing around in bed, mumbling and making strange sounds. I couldn't make any sense of what he was saying but he was definitely upset over something. When I placed my hand on his shoulder and softly called his name, he curled up and started whimpering. A gentle shaking of his shoulder changed nothing. I started rubbing his back and talking softly to him. After a couple minutes of that his eyes suddenly flew open but he wasn't seeing. His arms started swinging wildly but with no coordination or direction. Another minute or so and he finally appeared to take notice of what was happening. He sat up, saw who was with him and wrapped his arms around me and started crying on my shoulder. After a little while I finally got him talking. He started telling me about his dream. In it his father had been beating him for being gay. He was finally remembering what had happened when his father caught him doing fellatio with his friend. As he cried and told me about what had happened to him, I was almost sick. Up till now his mind had refused to remember what had happened. All I could do was hold him and try to comfort him. As more and more of the story came out his crying slowly stopped. When he was finally calmed down he brought up something that had slipped my mind. He wanted to know what had happened to his brother. I remembered him being mentioned but that was all. Suddenly I wanted to know. However it was the middle of the night. I told Kyle we would call Judy and find out in the morning. For right now he needed to go back to sleep and rest. About then Corey came padding in to see what was happening. Apparently the lights and noise had disturbed him. When Kyle's brother was mentioned, Corey wanted us to do something immediately. I finally convinced them that we needed to wait until Judy would be up before we called. We finally all went back to bed and back to sleep. However I didn't sleep all that well. I made them wait until almost eight before I called Judy. When I asked her, she was about like me. Kyle's brother had somehow slipped her mind. She said she would check it out and call us back. We had just finished breakfast when Judy called back. Mark was in a group home. That led to a bunch of conversation. Since Mark wasn't gay, apparently the social worker hadn't been as worried about him. Somehow that didn't seem like a good answer to me. As we talked I could tell Judy was having second thoughts about the situation. Then the subject came up of could I take him. Why I hadn't thought of that subject coming up is beyond me. It should have been one of those things that was the first thing to come to mind but it wasn't. Judy said she would be right over and we could talk about it. At least I had a couple of minutes to talk with the boys. Kyle told us his brother was twelve. That wasn't much to go on but the boys thought Mark belonged with his brother. While I didn't need another child, I had to agree with them. This whole thing was getting out of hand. Judy showed up and we kicked it around for a few minutes. Then she gave Kyle a phone number and told him to call it. Watching the tears run down his face as he talked with his brother pretty well quelled any doubts that I might have had about having his brother join us. One thing that surprised me was what Kyle told his brother about living with us. He might not have said anything to us but with his brother he was more than willing to talk about it. At least he didn't have any objections to any of us and thought we were all radical. I took that to mean he liked us. When he said I was an awesome cook, his stock went up in my eyes. However I was almost shocked when after just a few minutes he said good-by and hung up. A little prodding and he finally told us he was afraid to stay and the phone very long because his father had beaten him if he tied the phone up. I handed him back the phone and told him to go into the computer room and talk for a while. When he wanted to know how long a while was, I told him at least a half hour. His mouth dropped open but he grabbed the phone and left. For the first time since I'd met him he was showing some real emotion. His eyes no longer had that tired look to them. While he'd been pretty happy with the bike, it didn't begin to compare with the way he was acting right now. I looked at Judy. She just looked back at me. "Do you really want another boy to raise?" she asked. I sighed. "No, but did you see the expression on his face when he was talking to Mark?" It was Judy's turn to sigh. "I see what you mean. Shall we do something about it?" When I nodded she started calling people on her cell phone. She was still talking to various people when Kyle brought the cordless phone back. He had talked for almost exactly one half hour. When he handed it to me he asked if he might be allowed to phone his brother again sometime. I probably shouldn't have done it but I told him no. His shoulders slumped and he started to turn away when I reached out and pulled him to me. "How would you like to have your brother live here?" At first there was no reaction. I was beginning to think he hadn't heard me when he suddenly pulled back and almost stared at me. He had a shocked expression. "You mean it?" "Judy's on the phone setting it up. I don't know how soon but as soon as she can make it happen." I got the first true smile I had ever seen on his face. I only got to see it for a split second because he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. I was surprised at that strength of that hug because I knew his ribs were still sore but that didn't seem to bother him. He finally let go and stepped back just as Judy ended her call. "Well Sam, do you want to go pick him up or shall I do it tomorrow?" "Give me a minute while I make a call." With that I grabbed the phone and called Rob. It only took a couple of minutes to fill Rob in on the situation and explain that we would have to do dinner another time. Rob said he understood so that was under control. Then it took a couple of minutes to figure out how long it would take to get ready and drive there. Judy said she had to fill out some paperwork before we could leave. When the planning was all done, Judy headed for her office to prepare the paperwork and I had the boys changing clothes and getting ready. Kyle was about ready to kill Judy. She was doing paperwork and he wanted to leave. She finally finished up and handed me some papers, telling me I needed to give them to the supervisor of the group home. Then there was another pile for Mark's social worker. Finally there was a third pile for me. With that done she closed her office back up and headed home while we took off for Eureka. It was a beautiful day and the drive through the Coast Range was pretty. I would have probably enjoyed it more except Kyle wasn't willing to let us stop and look at anything. While I had been over the highway several times, Corey never had. Of course JJ and LT had traveled it quite a few times because they had grown up in the area and so had Kyle. Still, even if I had wanted to stop and look things over I really couldn't. I was supposed to be in Eureka by one. I only had about fifteen minutes to spare. This was the first time we had ever really used the pickup just for a trip. It actually was very comfortable and cruised along real nice. I had decided to use it because I didn't know just what Mark might have for possessions and how much space it would take to haul them. While Kyle hadn't brought many possessions with him, that didn't mean Mark wouldn't have any. The pickup had more room to haul things. I had it figured pretty close as to time. We arrived at the group home at ten minutes before one. When LT knocked on the door, a spitting image of Kyle opened the door. Granted he was three years younger but no one could miss the family resemblance. Mark's face broke into a grin when he saw Kyle and Kyle's did the same. The only problem was they didn't quite know what to do. I think they wanted to hug each other but were uncomfortable doing so. It took a couple of minutes before Kyle finally got around to introducing us. By the time he did that, a lady had joined us and introduced herself as Lisa Abrams, Mark's social worker. Mrs. Abrams led me to a room that served as an office and started looking over the papers Judy had sent. She quickly skimmed them and handed me another bunch, explaining what they were. I didn't get much information I didn't already have but she seemed to feel that she needed to make sure I understood what I was getting into. When she was going over the reimbursement I would receive from the state, I smiled and told her I already had three other boys under the state's supervision. She seemed startled but moved on to other things. She spent about a half hour going over things, all of which Judy and I had discussed before. Still, she was trying to do her job so I didn't complain. When I finished telling her I understood all the rules we went back out and found the boys. There were some other boys there but they seemed to be ignoring my bunch and Mark. Mrs. Abrams then took Mark aside and talked with him for a few minutes. After that she told us we were free to go. Two plastic garbage bags, only partly full, were all Mark had. Still, it was a little more than Kyle had brought with him. We packed them out to the pickup and I asked Mark what all he had in them. A quick check showed me he wasn't any better off than Kyle had been. We needed to make another shopping trip. We also needed to find something for lunch. The boys were starting to complain quite loudly about being hungry. Since Kyle and Mark were familiar with the area I asked them where we should go. That didn't help much but they finally told me there was a mall called the Bayshore Mall that had some restaurants and we could also do some shopping for Mark. Since I didn't have any better ideas I let them give me directions to the mall. The mall was bigger than I expected. We grabbed a sandwich from the Arby's there and then started shopping. There was a Gap store there and that is where we started. While The Gap isn't where I normally shop, it would have to do until we had time to go elsewhere. Mark was worse than Kyle had been. I think he was just overwhelmed by the whole thing. It didn't help that Corey, JJ, and LT were busy picking out things for him to look at. Even with Kyle's help it appeared that he was having a hard time coping with the boys. He almost seemed afraid to admit he liked something. I finally shooed the boys off and told Mark that he could have whatever he wanted. It took a few minutes to convince him I wasn't kidding but after that he did better. He picked out a few pairs of cargo pants and some tee shirts. The colors selection wasn't as good as I would have liked but he found a couple of shirts he would wear over the tees. Of course there were the usual briefs and socks to buy but that didn't take long. The rest of the boys didn't seem to find much they liked and I can't say I was surprised. It was not that The Gap wasn't a good enough store, it was only that they were used to shopping in a somewhat more upscale store. Well Kyle wasn't but the other boys were. We found a shoe store and Mark picked out a couple of pairs of shoes. Well, Kyle picked them out and glared at the other boys as if daring them to challenge him. He wasted his effort because the boys were busy looking at other things. It was almost like they figured Mark was Kyle's brother, therefore Kyle got to pick things out. After that we wandered around, looking for anything else we could find. Mark did find a jacket but that was about all. By five thirty I figured Mark had enough clothes to get him by for a while and suggested we head for home. We still needed to get him settled in. I don't think Kyle had stopped grinning since Mark had opened the door. On the way out of town I spied a KFC. A quick stop to pick up what must have been a whole flock of chickens prepared the Colonel's special way and we were off for home. The way the boys all went through the chicken I should have bought a bigger flock. In a short while all that was left were some buckets full of bones and a bunch of dirty napkins. At least they didn't whine about being hungry on the way home. Once the chicken was gone, I started talking about getting Mark settled in his room. That's when I found out that Kyle and Mark had always shared a bedroom and they planned on continuing that practice. Pointing out that there was a bedroom that was unused seemed to fall on deaf ears. Then there came the problem of the bed. Kyle's room had a queen sized bed and I offered to exchange it for bunk beds or twins. Once again I met with no success. When I suggested that they might want to move to what had been the sex room because it was slightly bigger and had its own bath right across the hall, that was also declined. When I suggested that there would be a shortage of room when Mark got his own desk, Kyle said one desk was enough and they could share it. I was striking out right and left. I was also surprised because Kyle was acting much differently than he had acted before. Now he was not only talking, he was making decisions for both he and Mark. It suddenly occurred to me that Kyle was attempting to protect Mark. I wondered how long he had been doing that. I also wondered if it was good for Mark. After all, Mark was entitled to grow up and make his own decisions. I could see that I was going to have to talk with them about the situation. I decided to let Mark get settled in a little before I brought it up. So far he was saying little and letting Kyle talk for him. He was just sitting between Corey and me and listening to the conversation going on around him. Even when I said something that would give him a chance to say something, Kyle would answer for him. The boys kept chattering, filling Mark in about the school he would be attending. Kyle couldn't yet add much to that conversation but he did manage to agree with some of the things they told Mark. The conversation started to slow down and it was probably just as well. As we turned a gentle right hand corner Mark slumped against me. His head had been nodding for the last mile or so and he had finally dozed off. I just grinned at Corey over the top of Mark's head and we continued up the road. I did start slowing down a little more on the corners because I didn't want Mark to flop around. Dog immediately checked Mark out. It was almost like Dog thought I had brought him another boy. In one sense I had but I was a little surprised that Dog felt that way. When we first got him, Dog acted like he belonged to LT, but anymore I got the impression that Dog thought the boys all belonged to him. He was just as apt to demand his belly rub from Corey or JJ as he was from LT. It had only taken a couple of days before Dog included Kyle in the group he would demand belly rubs from. Yet Dog seemed to look to me for certain things. I was beginning to wonder if Dog thought the boys belonged to him and me and we had to share them. Anyhow after a couple of sniffs of Mark, Dog started his routine. He backed into Mark and looked back over his shoulder. Kyle noticed and explained to Mark that he was now supposed to scratch and rub Dog's belly. Once Mark got started scratching, Dog started groaning and Mark started giggling. Judy had left a message on the answering machine telling me she would be over after school so she could interview Mark. I had his new clothes in the washer and it was now time to talk things over. I fixed a couple of packages of popcorn and the boys each got a can of pop and it was time to start. Before I could even say anything Kyle asked JJ to show Mark his scars. Then Kyle went into a long story about how JJ and disobeyed me and I had punished him. Poor Mark was starting to cast me somewhat furtive glances and I could see the rest of the boys were about to explode with laughter. Even Kyle was having a hard time keeping his face straight. Still the whole thing was going quite well until JJ started to giggle. Of course the rest of the boys joined in. When they had managed to catch their breath I just told Kyle he was next on my list. Well I was pretty dramatic about how he had worked his way up the list in only a week and perhaps I laid it on a little strong about how I had ordered a new whip just in his honor, but the boys were soon laughing so hard that even Dog felt he had to contribute and he woofed a couple of times before going back to begging for popcorn. Mark just looked at us like we were a bunch of raving lunatics. The boys got back to telling Mark what to expect at school and I told him I would meet him when the bus dropped them off. I could do most of the work on signing him up without his help but the last little bit he would be required to select what classes he wanted. While most of the classes were required, there were a couple of electives. So far I hadn't even taken time to look over his records to see how good a student he was. It was getting late and I was about to send the boys to bed when Kyle plunged right in to the subject of Corey and me. He didn't give me any warning, he just told Mark. I'll admit I had been wondering how and when to bring the subject up but I was unprepared to have it thrown out so soon. In fact I had been thinking of letting Mark get somewhat used to us and also of asking Judy how to go about it. After all she had told Kyle and I thought maybe she would have some good ideas on how to broach the subject. Needless to say we didn't get to bed when I had planned. At first it was just about Corey and me but soon the conversation turned and was about homosexuals in general and the religious bigotry given them. Since Kyle had not heard a lot of what was covered, he asked more questions than did Mark. In fact this was the first time I'd had a chance to try to convince Kyle that he need not be ashamed of himself and that he was just as good as anyone else. I ended up explaining that a lot of scientists were now thinking that homosexuality was controlled by genes. We were soon in the computer room and I was pulling up some of the web sites I had found that explained it. Then we covered how some religious groups felt about the subject. Kyle was probably paying more attention to what was being said than his brother was. This was the first time he had been willing to talk about it and he was really listening. Of course the rest of the boys and I had gone over the subject several times and they had also heard a lot of what I had told Cody and his parents. Finally the subject of keeping some things a secret was breeched. Kyle handled that one by telling Mark he had to keep his mouth shut on the subject or he would probably end up back in a group home. He then finished up by reminding Mark that JJ, LT and he had been beaten by parents for being gay and, that if the word got about Corey and me, he (meaning Kyle) might be sent to a place where he would be beaten again. I finally told the boys we needed to get to bed and we could talk about this some more on another evening. I did ask Mark if he would wait a few days before he formed any opinions. Once again it seemed like things were getting away from me. Now another person knew and I was scared that eventually word would get back to someone and the results could be bad, very bad. Still about all I could do was keep trying. Life had been so much simpler before I met Corey but I now knew that it had been empty. For all the worries I now had I wouldn't willingly go back to that time before Corey entered my life. I loved him too much. For that matter I loved all the boys. Well maybe Kyle and Mark needed a little more time to be included but so far they seemed nice and I hoped they would fit in. Based on what little Kyle had said, they needed to be encouraged and respected. At least Kyle had shown a little more of himself during the conversation this evening. I still didn't have much of a feel for Mark. I guess that will just take a little time. I swear Corey was asleep while his head was still in the air above my chest. It just dropped and I could hear his sigh, followed by some soft snores. However it took me longer to fall asleep. I was still worried about the number of people that were learning about my relationship with Corey. One slip and the whole thing could come tumbling down. Yet I couldn't very well refuse to take Mark. Kyle needed some stability in his life and from what I had seen, Mark might just help with that. Kyle had talked more this evening than he had the whole time he had lived with me. He'd been quite and sort of wary about all of us but tonight he had finally started to ask a few questions and tell us a few things about himself. It was clear he was thrilled to have Mark with him. When I'd called Judy it had only been with the idea of letting Kyle talk with his brother so he could see he was safe and in good hands. Then when I found out he was in a group home, there didn't seem to be any option except to offer to take him in. While I didn't have any brothers or sisters, I could imagine how I would have felt if I had been separated from one. I fell asleep hoping that it would all work out. Mark was like Corey. He was bright eyed in the morning. However Kyle was even worse than normal, I suppose from the late hour we had gotten to bed. I thought I was going to have to take him outside and turn the sprinklers on him. Mark giggled a couple of times as I tried to get Kyle out of bed and moving. Finally he went to the fridge and got out an ice cube. As he headed for the bedroom he and Kyle were sharing I could see he had a mischievous look on his face. I soon heard some shrieks and shortly thereafter Kyle came stumbling out. Kyle was muttering and mumbling vile threats against his brother and Mark was trying to keep me between him and Kyle, giggling like crazy. I was forced to point out that I required the wearing of more clothes than just briefs at the breakfast table and Kyle finally gave up and headed back towards the bedroom. It was easier to finish breakfast without Mark hiding behind me. However I now had another thing to worry about. I wasn't sure anyone would be safe with both JJ and Mark in the house. At least that worry didn't scare me. Terrified might be a better word. So far I was reduced to taking a small sip of my juice and coffee in the morning because of the Tabasco thing and I was still waiting to see what JJ came up with after the last time I managed to get to him. I found myself getting nervous every time I saw his little smirk appear. Still I'd a lot rather have that than the somber attitude he had presented when he first started living with me. He livened life up. I had my mailbox emptied and most things taken care of by the time other teachers started showing up. Of course I had to tell about Mark and then Mrs. Larson of the office staff showed up and I started enrolling Mark. There wasn't much at the morning meeting and we finished up early so I just stood around the entrance, waiting to the busses to show up. When they did it was off to the office with Mark were he got to choose any sports he wanted to play and he decided to take chorus. I didn't know whether he could sing but figured that was something Mrs. Kline would find out. When all that was settled I took him around and showed him the various rooms he would need to use. I had managed to look at his records and saw his grades were about like his brothers so I now had two boys that needed some help in raising their grades. JJ and LT continued to get good grades and Corey was catching up with some of the things he's missed. In fact Corey was turning into a pretty good student. He was performing at a level that was one and a half grade points better than last year. He still wasn't getting any A grades but I figured he might get some before the year was out. If not, he should start picking up a few next year. Morning classes went pretty well and I was grading some of the work during my free period when all of a sudden it dawned on me that Mark had used me as a shield from his brother. I was stunned. I couldn't understand why I hadn't picked up on that when it happened. Maybe this was going to work out better than I had realized. If he felt comfortable enough around me to do something like that I could hope he would open up and accept us. As I sat there grading papers I had a grin on my face. Kyle hadn't opened up yet but Mark might just drag his brother into a better relationship with us. I wished it was evening so I could see if I was right about this. Mark did stop by during the lunch period but there were a bunch of other kids there talking with me so I really didn't get a chance to talk with him. He didn't look unhappy so I figured he was getting along with the other kids. The bell rang before the rest of the kids cleared out enough so that he could say anything and after that he had to go to his class and I had to go teach mine. When school was over we all climbed into the Gator and headed home. The rest of the boys were chattering so much I didn't get a chance to talk with either Mark or Kyle. We hadn't even gotten Dog properly greeted when Judy arrived. Judy snared Kyle and Mark and headed for the computer room to talk with them as soon as they managed to get a couple of sandwiches made. She would have probably dragged them off sooner but wasn't sure she could. After all, she would have had to compete with food. No one in their right mind tries to separate a teenager from food and while Mark wasn't yet a teenager, he was getting close. As for Kyle, he just kept his head down and kept making his sandwiches. I don't think a bomb would have distracted him the way he was concentrating on his snack. After the rest of the boys had gulped down their snack, they headed out to play basketball. It wasn't long before I could hear other voices join them. It sounded like the usual gang was showing up for their nightly game. Kyle and Mark were with Judy for quite a while. I had my grading and lesson plans done and was thinking about dinner before the boys came out. Even then they didn't say anything and just headed out to where the rest of the bunch was playing basketball. A couple of minutes later Judy came out. "What went on yesterday?" Her question didn't really make sense to me. `What do you mean? I picked him up; we bought a few clothes, grabbed some chicken, and headed home." "Sorry Sam, what I wanted to know is what you talked about." "Well, the boys filled Mark in on living with us. Then Kyle told him about Corey and me before I know what was happening. After that I was forced to spend some time trying to see if I could repair the damage. I think we need to talk some more about it but it got late." "Don't bother. He seems to have things pretty well figured out. In the meantime I've got to get home and fix dinner. Debbie's going over to a friend's house to work on an assignment after dinner and I've got to get her fed." With that Judy left. I was left standing there wondering what to do next. About then the boys all burst in to get something to drink. While he might be younger than Kyle, Mark looked like he was fitting in better than his brother. He wormed his way right into the bunch looking at the pop in the fridge. He emerged from the pack and handed Kyle a can of Coke. I gave up and took the easy way out. I still had the steaks so I threw some potatoes in the oven to bake and went out on the patio and started the barbeque. It should have a nice bed of coals by the time the potatoes were about done. A green salad and some beets would just have to do it for the rest of the meal. The potatoes were partially cooked when the game broke up. It was getting dark and the other kids had to go home to eat their dinners. The boys washed up and then started helping with dinner. Corey picked out a wine while JJ and LT set the table. Kyle hadn't really figured out where he fit in when it came to chores and I hadn't even started with Mark yet. I called the two boys over and started them helping me with the salad. Kyle was somewhat hesitant when I handed him the knife and some mushrooms and I told him to slice them. I put Mark to work cutting and washing the lettuce. Then I had to show both boys how to hold the knife and the food, keeping their fingers slightly curled so they didn't cut themselves. The cherry tomatoes needed to be cut in two and Kyle was done with the mushrooms first so he drew that task. That meant that Mark had to peel and then finely slice part of a red onion. Some of his slices weren't as thin as I would have liked but for his first attempt it wasn't bad. Kyle managed to split and dice the two ribs of celery without many problems and then it was Mark's turn. I showed Mark how to take a couple of thick slices of salami and then cut them into little cubes and Kyle got to do the same thing with some cheese. It was now time to cook the steaks. The first problem came when Corey poured the wine. Marks mouth fell open over the glass he was handed. The second problem came Mark cut into his steak. I'd cooked them medium rare and he froze when he saw that. He looked around and could see the others were happily eating their steaks. He finally took a bite but didn't look like he was very happy. I offered to cook his a little more if he would like and I got a big smile and a nod. A couple more minutes over the coals and most of the pink was gone. However he got a bunch of flack from JJ, LT, and Corey over wanting his steak `cremated,' as they put it. Still he managed to hold his own against them. It was only when Kyle weighed in with the statement that the steaks were more tender and juicy when cooked rare that he seemed to be taken aback. None of them ate many beets but I figured I'd just pickle the leftover ones so that wasn't a problem. While the boys picked up the dishes, I put some vinegar and a little water from the pan I'd cooked the beets in and started it heating. I added some sugar, a little allspice, part of a stick of cinnamon, and a few cloves. When it started to boil I added the beets and let it cook for a few minutes. After that I set them aside to cool. Since I'd fixed at least twice as many beets as I thought we could eat, it looked like there would be plenty of pickled beets for a few weeks. Mark was proving to be a mystery to me. One minute he was open and full of fun and the next guarded and withdrawn. As the evening went along I finally figured out he was naturally bubbly but was afraid to show it. When he forgot to be afraid, his natural exuberance surfaced. Kyle was busy trying to shield Mark. Every time Mark said something Kyle almost cringed. That meant that Kyle was continually cringing because Mark couldn't seem to stop responding to the other three boys. By now JJ and LT were more than happy to exchange barbs with Corey and me. It had taken quite a while and a lot of effort to get them to this stage but was well worth that effort. To see them all interact without fear of reprisals for being gay gave me a sense of satisfaction. I finally told Kyle to relax, no one was going to beat him for joking around. However I warned him that didn't mean he was safe from practical jokes. He would learn about JJ's sense of humor. So far we had all been somewhat cautious around him, trying to give him a chance to get used to us. I had a hunch that Mark was going to speed that whole process up. When the homework was all done it was finally time for bed. Corey and I took a shower and got into bed. We then spent some time talking about Kyle and Mark. Corey had managed to get more out of them than I had. I was right about Kyle trying to protect Mark. Kyle had asked Corey for help in keeping me from beating Mark. Corey said they didn't believe him when he told them they didn't need his help because I didn't beat people. Something told me it would take a while before they finally believed they were safe from such punishments and abuse. The conversation drifted on to Corey's mother and wondering where she was and what she was doing. Of course there were no answers, only questions and speculation. I figured we were about to the point where Corey would fall asleep when he turned to me and kissed me. Well one kiss led to another and soon they were more than just gentle loving pecks. When his tongue started probing, trying to get past my lips, I was pretty sure things were going to get interesting. I wasn't wrong. The only remaining question was who would be the aggressor. However that wasn't settled right away. For a while we just exchanged kisses. Sometimes his tongue was in my mouth and sometimes my tongue was in his mouth. It didn't make much difference because I liked it either way. In a short while he was on top of me and I could feel `Little Corey' jabbing my abdomen. While that was nice, the feel of him in my arms was even better. While he kissed me I could run my hands up and down his back and even reach and massage his butt. I'd start by letting my fingers trail down his backbone and when they reached that place where his crack started my hands would flatten out and start to grasp those two globes and squeeze. Every time I did that, he would kind of thrust against me. Sometimes he would even stop kissing for a moment and sigh. Then it was back to more tongue sharing. After a while the sighs were accompanied by some mild panting. Not only that, his body felt warmer. Suddenly he turned and I knew it was one of those times when we would be equal. There would be no one person taking charge. We would just both share. I rolled onto my side and just like I expected, Corey did the same. Things were about perfect. `Little Corey' was in just the right place. I could smell the faint musky order and see the little glob on the tip. My mouth started to water and I knew we wouldn't last much longer. His mouth was hot. Not hot enough to burn but hot enough to make my heart start to pound. He started with just the head and his tongue kept swirling around it, sending shivers up and down me. It was just raspy enough to really excite me. While he was doing that I was trying to get all the flavor of `Little Corey' I could. I let my hand start to fondle his testicles and as I did that, he sucked with more vigor. Soon his fingers were doing the same. It was one of those times that the more I did, the more he did. Finally I was tired of just playing with the head. I wanted all of him and I moved my head forward and claimed him. When I did that his leg moved giving me better access. It was my turn to move my top leg. A little saliva and my finger slipped in. A little probing and I could feel him jump. I could also feel his finger searching for the spot. Of course both of us knew just about where to find that spot and after that it was off to the races. I was really enjoying it when suddenly I no longer had any control. My body was rigid and I was swallowing so I wouldn't choke. I could feel my body strain again and again and again. I really needed a breath but I couldn't take one. I was way to busy with other things. Corey's body went limp. I could feel a few last twitches in my mouth and knew it was over for the night. My head fell back on the bed and I just lay there panting. I felt drained but exhilarated. Finally I managed to lick up that last little drop of nectar that formed on the tip. If anything it tasted better. Corey sighed and turned around on the bed. His head sought its usual place on my chest and his leg flopped over mine. I kissed the top of his head and soon his breathing slowed. I soon drifted off to join him in sleep. Tomorrow I could worry about Kyle and Mark. For tonight I had all I needed. Corey was in my arms. To be continued... I happen to like pickled beets and not the ones you buy in a can. When you pickle them yourself they have a much brighter flavor. However you can buy just plain canned beets and pickle them yourself. The following recipe works with either fresh beets or canned beets. If using fresh beets drop the beets in boiling water for at least ten minutes and then plunge in cold water and when cool enough, slip the skin off and trim the root and the top from the beet. You can then slice the beets and finish cooking them. They can be served with a little butter. For pickling take your cooked, sliced beets or several cans of baby beets. I use a mixture of one cup water from the cooking of the beets, three cups vinegar, about two and one half cups of sugar, a couple of teaspoons of whole allspice, a teaspoon or so of salt, three or four whole cloves, and a piece of cinnamon stick about two inches long. Put the liquid in a pan and start heating. Add the sugar and spices and bring to a boil. When starting to boil, add the beets and let cook for five minutes or so at a slow boil. A little longer won't hurt but isn't really necessary. Turn the heat off and let cool. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for a week or so and they are ready to eat. I sometime eat them sooner, like after a couple of days but they are better when allowed to stand longer. If you don't wish to keep them in the fridge, you can put them in jars and can them. The only reason for using either the juice from the can or the water the beets were cooked in is to retain color. When serving be sure to remove the spices. Nobody likes to bite into a clove or allspice or even the cinnamon stick although the cinnamon stick is hard to bite mistakenly. One last thing. Corey is not considered a foster child so that makes the number of foster children four. On another subject. As it now stands Ernie is taking treatment and doesn't really feel up to editing. Add to that the fact that I am not as far ahead with the chapters as I would like to be. For those two reasons the chapters will probably be posted farther apart for a while. Hopefully Ernie will soon feel well enough to return to editing. Also I hope to get caught up with my writing and if that happens before Ernie feels better I will try to make other arrangements. Thank you for your patience. Fritz