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"Who's up for pizza?" Julian asked happily looking at his mother and I.

"I guess I could go for pizza, how about you Debbie?" I asked.

"Well it's not really in the budget for this week.." she said softly.

"Come on.. I'm buying," I said. Julian jumped onto the couch between us kneeling looking at his mother with his back to me. The outline of his round bottom could be made out easily through the fabric of his bath robe and I couldn't help but glance at it once. (Okay so it was more than once!)

"Pleeeaasse mom?" He asked.

"I supposed.. if Mike doesn't mind," she said. Julian then turned around to face me. His housecoat was partly opened now because of his jumping onto the couch and I could see hit chest and stomach. The garment held together just enough to hide what I imagined to be the most beautiful .. well.. you know.

"I don't mind at all," I said as I took in the work of art before me. My mind was in a battle between my physical desires, and my morals. After a few moments I forced the thoughts of what sex would be like with Julian from my mind. It wouldn't happen. It couldn't.

We ordered two large pizzas, and when we went to pick them up, we rented a couple of movies. Then when we got him we ate dinner while watching the first movie. It might sound weird, or strange, but I enjoyed watching Julian eat. He was enjoying his pizza with a big smile on his face, and didn't make the loud smacking noises that my nephew did. Julian had "table manners" even though we were eating in the living room. He noticed me watching him at one point and opened his mouth extra wide to bit a larger piece of pizza and winked at me. The way he did it was a major turn on! When we were finished our pizza, we stopped the movie and Julian and I washed the dishes while his mom took a shower.

Julian washed the dishes, I rinsed, and dried them, then stacked them at the side of the sink. Each time Julian finished washing a dish, he'd rest it in my basin of the sink and his arm would brush lightly over mine sending an electric tingle through me. Then when we got to rinsing the last dish he snaked his way in front of me to start drying the few dishes that were left in my side of the sink. We stood drying the dishes then, Julian in front of me as I worked on the last plate over his head, and he dried the last 2 glasses. Then he turned and smiled up at me. "We can leave them on the counter for now and I'll put 'em away later," he said.

He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back into the living room and sat me down on the couch. Then he sat down next to me and pulled my right arm over his shoulder and rested the back of his head on my chest. Debra had told us to start the movie again without her so we pushed play on the remote and watched the next few minutes of the movie. Debra came back downstairs and smiled at us. "Don't you two look sweet," she said winking at me.

Debra sat with us and finished watching the movie. Julian sat next to me the whole time leaning against me closer and closer. His mother saw this and smiled at me at me and mouthed "see." I nodded and we turned back to the movie. When the first movie was over Debra stood up. "I've got to go to the little girls' room."

"I suppose so," I said. Things were moving a little fast and I wasn't sure what was happening or if I was even awake, but after Debra went upstairs, all it took was one look at Julian to know that if this was a dream, it was the greatest dream of all time, and one I wouldn't want to wake up from. Julian jumped up and switched the tapes in the VCR, then came back and sat on my lap! He snuggled down against me and let out a big sigh.

"Shoot I gotta go clean my teeth," he said as he stood back up. "I'll be right back, you can just watch the previews at the start but pause it if it starts before I get back okay?"

I smiled. "Sure thing Julian." Then he was off up the stairs leaving me alone in the living room to think. I laid down on my side facing the television and resting my head on the arm of the couch. Debra came back down and sat in the chair she had sat in earlier and shot me a smile. The opening and credits were just beginning when Julian came bounding down the stairs with a pillow under his arm. I started to sit up to give him room to sit down when Julian tossed the pillow where my head had been laying and pushed me back down on it.

"You lay down," he said, "and I can lay in front of you." Julian then proceeded to lay down on his side in front of me. I brought my hand to the side of my head with my elbow pointing out towards the television and Julian rested his head on it and cuddled down. "Are you comfy?" He asked.

"I .. uhh.. yeah I'm comfortable," I stammered. The board of directors  never made me unsure, or nervous, but Julian had my head spinning. I was nervous, and completely unsure of myself as I didn't know what Julian's intentions were. I was getting close to breaking a sweat as the actual movie began when I gave myself a psychological slap and thought things through. "He's just a little hungry for closeness with a male figure you idiot!" I told myself. "Now cuddle the kid and relax. You're not having sex with him, you're watching a movie with the kid!"

I relaxed and laid there with the gorgeous boy laying in front of me. I glanced over at his mom again who looked when she saw my head move and smiled at me. "Anyone want something to drink?" she asked as she stood up again.

"I'll get it mom," Julian said.

"No that's okay you stay there and cuddle. I'll be back in a second," she said as Julian blushed slightly.

Julian was pressing back against me slightly, and I wrapped my left arm around him resting my hand against his stomach. Julian took his left arm and let me slide my arm under it then rested his arm down on mine and laid his hand over mine. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment, then sighed softly. "Mike.."

"Yeah Julian?"

Julian paused. "I like how you're holding me," he said in a near whisper.

I gave him a gentle squeeze. "That's good because I like to hold you like this too."

Debra came back a moment later and we watched the movie which was pretty entertaining for all of us. The Nutty Professor with Eddie Murphy definitely became one of my favorite movies that night since it had Julian giggling for nearly two hours straight. His sweet laughter lifted my heart which was already light with just spending time with him the last two days. Now this boy I had met on the beach the previous day was laying cuddled against me on his couch watching a movie with his mother in the kitchen not 20 feet away from us, actually approving of us snuggling together. It was an interesting string of events leading to my current circumstances.

Eventually though, the movie ended. Julian stretched laying beside me. Then he sat up looking down at me smiling sleepily. "Mom, can Mike stay over tonight?"

I chuckled lightly. "I'm a little old for slumber parties Julian."

"No you're not," he said with a slightly dejected tone. Then he turned his gaze to his mother who met the puppy-dog eyes he was giving her and looked to me tilting her head and raising her eyebrows.

"Julian, Mike's probably got to work in the morning. He can stay over another time when it's more convenient for him okay hun?" She said softly.

"Please Mike? You can sleep on the couch, or you can even sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. Then tomorrow I can make you breakfast and everything.." he trailed off looking at me with the most hopeful  

I sat up and roughed up his hair. "You want me to stay over that bad?" I asked softly. I inhaled deeply the scent of his blonde hair. He nodded and told me he did. "Okay.. where's it most convenient for me to sleep?" I asked. "I don't want to kick you out of your bed either."

"You and me can sleep on the couch!" he said enigmatically. Before I could say anything else he was running lightly and silently up the stairs. 

"Is are you okay with all of this?" I asked his mom who seemed amused to no end about the whole situation.

"It'll make his year if you spend the night, so as long as you're comfortable with it, then I'm fine," she said calmly.

"Well I just don't know about sleeping with me on the couch," I said softly

"Let him sleep in his bed, and crash on the floor in his room," she said simply.

"And you'd be fine with me spending the night in your twelve-year-old son's bedroom?" I asked quizzically.

"Well what would you do when I'm in the next room?" She asked simply. "Look Mike, I trust you to not do anything inappropriate okay? I want to sit down with you just the two of us and have a conversation about... things. But for tonight, if you want to sleep over with him it's okay with me. You're young, very attractive, successful, and I don't know that Julian will find anyone better for him than you. He's been searching for you for awhile now and I honestly believe that you two being close friends if nothing more was meant to be."

Seconds later he was coming down with blankets. "These are off my bed. I hope you don't mind them not being new freshly cleaned ones but I gotta do the laundry tomorrow."

"Julian honey, Mike's going to sleep on the floor in your room and you can keep your bed okay?"

Julian smiled his answer and gave his mom a big hug and kiss. "Night mom I love you!" he said happily. Grabbing my arm with his free hand, Julian pulled me up the stairs (half dragging me) and into his room.

I looked around his room. It was clean, tidy, and even smelled nice. There was a distinct odor that was a cross between "clean" and "boy". The carpet was sky blue, and was one of those thick carpets that your feet sink into. The walls were a light blue colour that had more of a gray tinge to them. There were the usual posters of pro athletes, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Troy Aikman, and a big Dallas Cowboys poster that adorned my own bedroom. "Do ya lik it?" he asked searchng my face for approval.

"It's great!" I whispered. "So.. You do the laundry yourself?" I asked slightly taken aback at the amount of work this young boy did.

"Yeah of course I do. I do laundry, I cook, I clean, I mow the lawn, trim the hedge out back, and do lotsa other stuff too," he chirped happily. Julian looked up at me as I stood in front of him, and flashed me his smile and I couldn't help it. I pulled him forward and kissed him gently on the forehead and ran the backs of my fingers down his cheek. "I love you Mike," he whispered.

"I love you too Julian," I whispered back. The closeness I felt with the boy at that moment blew my mind. I wanted to hold him close, stroke his beautiful face, kiss it all over, and Julian sat there and looked at me as a stray tear ran down his cheek. "Are you okay?" I asked worried.

"Don't say it unless you mean it okay?" He said as his voice cracked a little.

"What do you mean?" I asked not understanding.

"My dad used to say he loved me everynight before I went to bed and he left and hasn't talked to me since, I don't wanna have that happen again so only say it if you mean it," Julian gave me a powerful look meeting my eyes with his own and staring inside me.

"I'm sorry about your father Julian, but I'm not your father, and I'll never leave you behind," I said quietly.

"Yeah," he said with his voice cracking a little. "I've just wanted somebody to love for a long time now and something always told me I'd find someone on the beach cause it's my favorite place in the whole world. I've gone almost every day for the last year and a half and I've finally found you."

I didn't have the words to say what I felt so I didn't say anything at all. I simply smiled at him, and rested my chin on the top of his head. Julian put a blanket on the floor along with one of his pillows and told me to lay down. Then he covered me over and crept over to his own bed after turning the light off. I heard him get into his bed, and then heard his mother's footsteps as she came up the stairs. Debra knocked, then peeked in the room. The hall light streamed into the room. "Goodnight boys," she said stifling a giggle.

"Goodnight mom," I said laughing sending Julian into a fit of laughter himself.

"Night mom," Julian said between giggles.

"I have to leave early tomorrow so you're on your own for breakfast okay Julian?" His mom said softly.

"Sure thing mom," Julian said happily.

"Goodnight Michael. I guess I'll probably be seeing you tomorrow when you drop Julian off right?" Debra asked, raising an eyebrow yet again.

"I guess you will at that," I said smiling back at her.

"Okay, goodnight you too," she said and she closed the door.

We laid in silence for a few more minutes and I thought perhaps Julian had fallen asleep when I heard Julian's feet hit the floor. I kept my eyes closed pretending to be asleep as Julian drew my covers back and laid down next to me with his head on my chest. He pulled the covers back over us and wrapped his arm over my chest and pressed himself against me. He let out a big sigh and snuggled down to go to sleep. "Goodnight Julian," I whispered making him jump. Then he giggled and closed his eyes and a couple minutes later he was snoring lightly (not that loud old man who smokes kind of snoring, but the innocent noise of boyhood snoring), leaving me to my questions. Just two days ago I had met this boy on a beach. It had been the seventh day of my new life since my move. My superiors had sent me to be the head manager of Meryll & Carter Financial's west coast division, and having had my house found and bought for me, as well as my current automobile, I knew I would be comfortable and would finally be able to settle down to a more relaxed lifestyle than the rat-race of Ohio. Then Julian came into my life, and since then nothing was the way it was supposed to be. I replayed every moment I could remember from the last two days. I thought about what he had said earlier about having been looking for me. What did it all mean? So many questions ran through my head that night, and the thought that kept recurring over and over was simply "there's just something about Julian."