Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 20:12:30 -0400
From: jaden.scott@adelphia.net
Subject: Lover's Lane Chapter 11

This story is a work of fiction.  It depicts a romance between two
consenting adult males and may contain some descriptions of sexual acts,
again between two consenting adult males.  If you are not of legal age to
read this kind of story, please leave now.  If you reside in an area where
reading stories that include sexual situations between two consenting adult
males is illegal, please leave now.  This story is for entertainment
purposes only.  Any similarity to any person(s) living or dead is simply a
coincidence.  The author retains all rights to this story.  It cannot be
reproduced in any form without expressed written permission from the author
(me).  Please contact the author for any requests. Copyright 2005.

Feedback (and criticism) is ALWAYS appreciated and welcome.  Please respond
to this story at: jaden.scott@adelphia.net I look forward to hearing from
all of you and I will respond if you write to me.  Thanks to all of you who
have written so far with your encouraging words.  I have appreciated every
one of them.  Jaden

**Please watch for changes in POINT-OF-VIEW.  They will be coming more
frequently, so I want everyone to be prepared and pay attention.**

LOVER'S LANE

by Jaden

>From the end of Chapter Ten: (Jaden's POV): SHIT!!  I'm going to be
playing basketball!!  With Lane and his friends!!  I really hope I can pull
it off or at least keep myself from looking like a fool.  I guess I'll find
out tomorrow.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: BASKETBALL, PART 2

**LANE'S POINT OF VIEW.**

Jaden confirmed during our morning run that he was going to play basketball
with us in the afternoon.  I got the sesne that he was a little
apprehensive about the whole thing but, as usual, he was good at hiding his
true emotions.  I almost felt like the more time I spent around him, the
less I actually knew him.  During this past week, he always seemed friendly
when we met to work out, but he didn't joke around with me that much.
Jaden was basically all business.  He dispensed the appropriate
pleasantries when we met up, then he became serious about the work-out.
After we were done, he didn't talk that much as we walked to the point
where we split to go our separate ways.  He never mentioned the dinner that
I owed him from the bet and I was never sure if I should bring up the
subject.  He had seemed so confident that he was going to win the bet, and
he seemed excited at first about making me pay up.  There was a point when
his feelings about winning had changed.  I couldn't remember what happened
to make him freeze up all of the sudden.  The coolness I felt from him on
Saturday lasted for most of the week.  I wasn't upset by his mood; instead
it just increased my curiousity about what made him tick.

I let my friends know that I found someone to play with us on Saturday.
All week long, I had been bracing myself for the confrontation with Nick
that I was sure would happen.  But, suprisingly, he didn't say one word to
me about Jaden--even after he learned that Jaden would be playing with us.
I wasn't fooled, however.  It was just the calm before the storm.  Nick
would speak to me about Jaden sooner or later.  He was very predictable
that way.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the basketball courts on
Saturday afternoon was the audience that had arrived to watch us play.  All
of the girls--Kelly, Chrissy, Angela, Stephanie, and Kaylie--were sitting
on the metal bleachers located next to the basketball court we would be
playing on.  Apparently, word had spread amongst the girls that a new guy
would be joining the game this week.  My guess was their curiousity was
peaked by the fact that I had been the one to invite Jaden to the game.

My feeling of annoyance at seeing the girls at the basketball court was
quickly replaced by the anger I felt at seeing that Kaylie had decided to
join the girls.  I needed to keep that slut away from Jaden.  I was more
than 100% sure she would try and make a pass at him because she did that
with every new guy she met.  It was really quite sad that she felt the need
to throw herself at every guy she encountered.  Other than that one (major)
flaw, she was actually a really nice girl, which explained why the other
girls were willing to live with her and be her friend.  Kaylie knew better
than to try anything with one of their boyfriends, so I guess they didn't
feel threatened by her presence. I, on the other hand, did not want Jaden
to succumb to her feminine wiles.  I still wasn't sure about Jaden's
sexuality.  If he was straight, I could handle that as long as Kaylie
didn't get her grubby little hands all over him.

"Hi ladies.", I shouted over to the girls as I approached them.

"Hey Lane.", I heard them all respond.

"So, where's your new friend at??", Kaylie asked.

Grrrr--she wasn't wasting anytime bringing up the subject of Jaden.  Kaylie
wasn't very subtle--she spoke her mind, sometimes to her own detriment.

"Kaylie, can you please do me a favor by keeping your hands off of him??
He's a really nice guy, but he's kind of shy and quiet.  I think you'd be
way too much for him to handle."

"Lane, I'm offended that you don't think I'm good enough for your friend.
Or--is it something else??  Are you asking me to back off because you want
him for yourself??"

I noticed that all of my friends were looking at me after Kaylie asked that
last question.  If I didn't think so before, I knew now that all of them
had spectulated about my relationship with Jaden.  I knew that Nick was
suspicious, and I figured he talked about it with Kelly.  I realized by
their collective reaction just how wrong I had been.  Everyone in our group
was dating someone with the exception of me and Kaylie.  Nobody cared
anymore about who Kaylie was after, mostly because all a guy had to be able
to do was breathe on his own to be good enough for her.  I was the mystery
to all of them.  I hadn't dated anyone for almost an entire year now.  I
think that all of them were genuinely concerned about my well-being, but I
also suspected that they were ready for some juicy new gossip to talk
about.

"I just want him to feel comfortable around all of us, alright??  He
doesn't know any of you yet.  I don't want anyone to do something that
might scare him off.  Can all of you do that for me, please??", I replied,
addressing my words to the entire group.

"OK, Lane--Fine.  But don't think that I don't know what's really going on
here.  We ALL get it.", Kaylie said while pointing at everyone.

I looked around at all of my friends again, but none of them were looking
at me.  It seemed that all of them suddenly found the dirt on the ground
much more interesting than the conversation Kaylie and I were having.
Before I had a chance to reflect on what Kaylie had said, I heard her say,

"By the way, what's his name??  None of the guys could remember it and
I....Hey Lane.  Is that your friend over by the entrance to the courts??"

I turned and looked.  Sure enough, there he was.  He was dressed in a pair
of basketball shorts, a tank top, and a pair of tennis shoes.  It wasn't a
fancy outfit, but he looked good no matter what he was wearing.  He had a
bandanna around his head and he wore a pair of sunglasses.  He looked
so...sexy.  I felt "little lane" start to stir and I had to physically will
myself to stop getting aroused!!

"Yeah, that's him."  I heard myself speak but I doubt anyone else could
hear me as I was almost whispering.

"Holy shit, he's totally hot!", Kaylie exclaimed.

The sound of Kaylie's voice broke me out of the trance I was in.  I
realized I was standing there staring at him and I didn't anyone to notice,
especially Jaden!!

As I turned back toward my group of friends, I caught Nick giving me
another one of his looks.  I'll have to deal with him after the game, I
thought.

"Kaylie!!  PLEASE don't embarass him."  I was pratically begging her at
this point.

Kaylie nodded her head in my direction, but her gaze was affixed to Jaden.
All of the girls were staring at him--in fact, most of my GUY friends were
too!!

I decided to run over and walk the rest of the way with Jaden.

"Jaden, hey.  I'm glad you could make it.", I said after I reached him.

"Hi Lane.  So, are those your friends I saw you standing with??"

'Yeah.  Come on, I'll introduce you to all of them."

As we approached the benches where my friends were sitting, Jaden suddenly
stopped walking and I heard Stephanie make a suprised noise.  Both things
happened nearly simultaneously.

"Jaden??  Is that you??", Stephanie said, a suprised tone in her voice.

"Stephanie??  Yeah, it me.  Um, hi.", Jaden replied.

Wait a minute!! What's going on here??  Jaden and Stephanie...KNEW each
other??  I was in shock.

"You know him??", Stu asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah!!  Jaden is one of the people in my study group, along with Ryan and
Marissa.  I know I've mentioned all of them to you before.". Stephanie
replied, directing her comments at Stu.

"THAT'S Jaden??", Stu asked in suprise.

"Yeah."  Stephanie said.  She took a long look at Stu's facial expression.
"Is there something wrong, baby??"

"Uh..n-no.", Stu said.

Stu was definitely flustered.  My guess was he reacted that way because
Jaden was so hot.  Stu was known for being a bit jealous, especially when
it came to Stephanie.

I looked over at Jaden.  He also seemed flustered, probably by this turn of
events.

"Um...well...I...I guess you know Stephanie.", I said to Jaden inanely.

A strange vibe had taken control over the group.  I, for one, wasn't sure
what to say or do next, mostly because I wasn't prepared for any of my
friends to know Jaden.  It really shouldn't have shaken me so much, but I
was already on edge because of the game, so I think this new surprise
rattled me more than it should have.  My best friend came through for me,
just like he always does.  Nick got up from the bleachers and walked over
to Jaden.

"Hey man.  I'm Nick.  It's nice to meet you.", Nick said while extending
his hand.

"Nice to meet you too.", Jaden said.  They shook hands.

That little exchange snapped me back to reality and I got on with the
introductions.

"Everyone, this is my friend Jaden.  Jaden, that's Clint, Tim, Stu, Kelly,
Chrissy, Angela, and Kaylie.", I said.  I pointed to each person as I said
their name.

All of friends said 'Hey' or 'Hi as I introduced them, the exception being
Tim, who said 'What's up?'.

"It's nice to meet everyone.", Jaden said.

Stephanie got up and walked over to where Jaden, Nick, and I were standing.

"Jaden!!  This is so weird.  I had no idea that you knew Lane."

"I haven't known him for very long, actually.  We met on the second day of
school this year."

SHIT!!  I forgot about that little lie.  I told everyone last Saturday that
I met Jaden while I was running THAT morning.  I glanced over at Nick, who
was giving me the LOOK again.  I think he was the only one who caught onto
the fact that I had lied.  I was going to have some explaining to do.

"Really??  That's cool.  Lane's a really great guy--and a good friend."
Stephanie said to Jaden.

I looked over at Jaden after Stephanie had heaped her praise on me.  It
appeared that he didn't know what to say next, so I jumped in and tried to
lighten the mood.

"OK, OK, that's more than enough about how great of a guy I am.  So,
Steph--what do I owe you??  Is it five for the really great guy comment and
ten for the good friend bit??", I said.

My attempt at a joke earned me a smile from Jaden.  I really liked to see
him smile!!

"Alright people, enough chit-chat.  Let's get this game started!!", Stu
shouted, taking control of things as usual.

Jaden followed me as I walked over to the bleachers.  I leaned over and
whispered to him,

"I need to explain one thing to you.  Nick and Stu are ALWAYS the team
captains.  The reason why is a long story, so I'll have to explain it to
you later.  They will alternate picking players for their team.  We'll
perform a coin toss to determine which one of them gets to pick first.  Got
all of that??"

"Got it". he said.

Nick won the coin toss.  He scanned over the rest of us as he got ready to
make his pick, acting like he was trying to decide who he was going to
take.  I figured he was just playing around for Jaden's benefit before he
picked me.  Nick's next action suprised me, something he hasn't been able
to do for awhile because I knew him so well.

"I pick......Jaden."

I literally took about three steps toward Nick before I realized he didn't
say my name.  'What kind of game was Nick up to??' I thought as I watched
Jaden walk over to stand with Nick.

"WHAT??  Are you sure, Garvey??", Stu asked Nick.  He was just as suprised
as I was.  Nick nodded his head at Stu.  "OK, then.  I picK LANE.", Stu
practically shouted in triumph.

As I walked over to join Stu, I noticed that Jaden had a puzzled look on
his face.  I would have to explain, in detail, the dynamics of our little
basketball game to him later.

Nick rounded out his team by picking Clint, which left Tim on my team.

"We're shirts and you guys are skins!!", Stu yelled over to Nick's team.

This was another ongoing drama at our little game every week.  Nick and Stu
would fight over who would be shirts and who would be skins.  We finally
decided that neither of them could declare shirts and skins until AFTER the
teams were picked.  Nick won that battle most of the time.  I looked over
at him after Stu had called out the ruling.  He looked both suprised and
shocked that Stu had beat him.  I think he was distracted--was it because
of Jaden??

HOLD ON ONE MINUTE---JADEN IS ON THE SHIRTLESS TEAM!!!!!!!!  YES!!!!!  I
had been dying to see him without his shirt on and now I was about to get
my big chance.

I told myself NOT stare at Jaden.  I decided to try and steal a few glances
at him, but I didn't want any one look to be too long.  I didn't want
anyone, especially Jaden, to see me staring at him.

I tried.  I really, really tried, but I couldn't stop myself.  The moment I
saw Jaden start to lift up his shirt, I could NOT look away.  I was
mesmerized.  He pulled up the bottom of his tank top and then, using a left
to right motion, pulled the shirt over his head while simultaneously
removing his arms.  Watching him take off that tank top was the sexiest
thing I had ever seen in my life.  That image quickly moved to second place
once I got a chance to see Jaden without his shirt on.

His body was, quite simply, perfection.  He was muscular without being too
bulky.  His entire entire upper body was in perfect symmetry.  His stomach
was completely flat, and I could see his six pack--and he wasn't even
flexing those muscles!!  His shoulders, his pecs, his arms--they were all
in perfect proportion.  And--he was ripped.  The sight left me spellbound,
enchanted, enraptured, and captivated.  I was completely overwhelmed.  I
heard a couple of wolf-whistles coming from where the ladies were sitting,
but I couldn't react to them.

After my experiences in high school, I vowed I would never be as shallow as
some of the girls who would not date me simply because I had an association
to the "nerds".  I believed in the old cliche that 'beauty is only skin
deep'.  I did not want to like someone simply for their EXTERIOR beauty.  I
wanted to be deeper than that, but I couldn't help myself.  Jaden
was....beautiful.  In the art world, the example of male beauty most
referred to is the statue of David by Michaelangelo.  In my (humble)
opinion, Jaden made that statue look like a fat slob.  There was NO
comparison.

In all honesty, I was really starting to like Jaden the person, even though
I realized that I still didn't know him very well.  While I was convinced
that I wanted to get to know him better simply because of his personality,
I had to admit that his physical beauty augmented that desire.  I wasn't
particular proud of how I felt, especially because it went against my
thoughts on how I SHOULD act.  There was no stopping my feelings, however.
In that moment of time, all of my doubts and all of my fears about wanting
to start a relationship with Jaden simply vanished into thin air.  I knew I
wasn't IN LOVE with him (yet), but the beginning of my deeper feelings for
him started that day on the basketball court.

"LANE!!", I suddenly heard Nick shout at me.  I snapped out of my reverie
and looked over at him.  He gave me another of THOSE looks.

"I asked if you are ready to start playing!!"

I could only nod my head at Nick.  I was incapable of making any physical
sounds at the moment.  Nick just shook his head and walked over to the
center of the court.  The game was on!!

We ended up playing four games.  Four grueling games and my team lost every
single one of them.  I admit I was distracted by Jaden so I wasn't playing
my best, but that was not the reason for our losses.  Jaden was absolutely
brilliant on the court.  He was an excellent, excellent player.  Everytime
my team would get some momentum going, he would kill us by draining a
couple of threes.  Although I was mildly upset at losing, my overwhelming
emotion was pride--I was extremely proud of how well Jaden had played--he
was MY friend, after all!!

After we were finished playing, we headed over and sat down on the
bleachers next to the girls.  Unfortunately, Jaden put his shirt back on
when we were done playing. :( Oh well--it was great while it lasted.  Stu
was so angry with losing four straight games to Nick's team that he looked
like he was ready to kill someone.  Nick, on the other hand, was on cloud
nine.

"Jaden--you were great, man, just great!!", Nick exclaimed.  He slap Jaden
on the back.

"I hate to admit it, but you played some great games today, Jaden." Stu
grumbled.

"Thanks guys.  I..I, well, thanks.", Jaden said.  He didn't sound
convinced.

Jaden had just finished playing some spectacular ball, but now he sounded
so unsure of himself, so unaware of his talent.

"Dude!!  You were on fire!!  Seriously, I think you might be a better
player than me!!", I exclaimed.

"You think??  Lane, you just got your ASS kicked.  One thing I know for
sure is that I'll be picking Jaden first at next week's game.", Nick
retorted.

"'YOU'LL' be picking Jaden first??", Stu asked incredulously.  "Try again,
Garvey.  I think I'LL be picking him first, seeing as I'm sure I'll win the
coin toss."

"You're sooooo sure of yourself, is that it, Stu??  I'm sure you're hoping
you win that coin toss--the only way you have a chance of winning is to
have Jaden on your team."

"Well, you certainly needed him today.", Stu shot back.

"OK, BOYS, let's break it up.  The game is over.  All macho posturing is
officially on hold until next week, got it??", Kelly told them.

"Yes dear.", Nick whined.  He scooted over and tried to give Kelly a kiss
on the cheek.

"EWWWW!!  STOP IT, NICK!!  You're all sweaty.  No kissing for you until
AFTER you've had a shower."

"The same goes for you stud.", Stephanie said as Stu started to move closer
to her.

"So, Jaden.  You were really good out there today.  You must have played
some ball in high school.  What position did you play?", Clint asked.

"Um...I, um, I didn't play any basketball in high school.", Jaden replied.

wHAT??  He didn't play basketball in high school??  Quite frankly, I didn't
understand why not.  He was really good.

"Where are you from, Jaden??", Chrissy asked him.

"A small town in Massachusetts called Hudson Valley.  It's about 30 miles
from Boston.", he replied.

HOLY SHIT!!  Did he just say 'Hudson Valley'??

"Dude--you're from HUDSON VALLEY??  I grew up in Delaware!!", I shouted in
excitement.

"You're...you're kidding me, right??", Jaden asked me.  He looked really
surprised.

"I'm not kidding, dude!!  Oh, man!! What a coincidence!!", I shouted again.

I was sooooo happy about this turn of events.  Jaden's hometown was the one
right next to mine.  Maybe fate was trying to tell me something.

HOLD ON!!  Hold on a minute.  Jaden is from Hudson Valley.  My high
school's biggest rival was Hudson Valley.  We played them two or three
times a year in every sport.  I don't ever remember seeing Jaden on any of
Hudson Valley's teams that I played against.  I'm absolutely sure he didn't
play--if he had played, I would have seen him and I know I could not and
would not forget him.  He already admitted he didn't play basketball.  Did
he play ANY sports while he was in high school??  I was truly puzzled.
Jaden was so athletic.  He proved that today during our basketball game.
Why didn't he play any sports in high school??  The mystery of Jaden Scott
keeps growing and growing.

I thought back on some of the conversations that we had.  It seemed...it
seemed like he had--what??  I wasn't sure.  Did he have self-esteem
problems??  Let's look at the evidence.  He was an awesome writer--I had
read his work and it was great.  But when we talked about it, he truly
didn't know that his writing was any good.  He was extremely athletic and
he played some great basketball today.  But when Nick, Stu, and I
complemented him, he acted like he didn't realize that he had played so
well.  He seemed...embarassed, or something like that.  I had already
suspected that he didn't realize how good-looking he was.  He was awkward
during some of the conversations and interactions that we had, almost like
he wasn't used to having friends in his life.  Come to think of it, I had
never heard him talk about any other friends that he had.  Jaden truly
didn't know how talented and gifted he was.  I could not figure him out.  I
was officially baffled.  I was brought back out of my thoughts when I heard
Angela start speaking.

"Are you a senior this year??"

"Yeah, this is my senior year."

"What are you majoring in??", Angela asked him.

"Creative Writing and English, same as Stephanie."

"How long have the two of you known each other??", Angela asked Stephanie.

"Since the first day of our freshman English class, right Jaden??",
Stephanie replied.  Jaden nodded his head.

"Jaden and I, along with Ryan and Marissa. got grouped together to do some
type of writing exercise.  You've met Ryan and Marissa before, right
Angela??"  Angela nooded.  "Anyway, we all got along and, once we
discovered we all had the same major, we decided to form a study group.
We've been studying together ever since.", Stephanie explained.

"So, Jaden.", Kaylie began speaking.  SHIT!!  I did NOT want her speaking
to him!!  "Do you have a girlfriend??"

As much as I hated the fact that Kaylie was saying anything to Jaden, I
have to admit that I was extremely interested in his response to her
question.

"No, I don't.", Jaden replied while stealing a quick glance at me.  He
looked at me when he said that--did that mean something??

"Cool.", Kaylie said.  I shot her a look.  "What I mean is, I don't either.
All of these guys are paired up, though."

"All of you are couples??", Jaden asked to no one in particular.

"Yep.", Chrissy responded.  "Tim is my boyfriend, Angela dates Clint, and
Nick and Kelly are joined at the hip."

Jaden looked over at Kelly after Chrissy had finished speaking.  It
appeared to me that he had a look of shock and confusion on his face.

"NICK and Kelly??", Jaden asked, stressing Nick's name.

"That's right.  We've been dating for quite awhile now.", Kelly responded.

"Oh, cool.", Jaden said.  He still had a confused look on his face.

"That leaves me and Lane, but we're not dating each other.  I don't think
I'm his type.", Kaylie said mischievously.

I felt like telling her to shut up.  I wasn't sure if I was ready to be
outed to Jaden.  I looked over at Kaylie and tried to give her a look that
said--'Stop'!!.  Unfortunately, I only added some fuel to her fire.

"Yep, I'm definitely not his type.  He goes for the blonds, I know that
much.  In fact, Lane's not dating anyone right now, although I think he has
his eye on someone.", Kaylie said while looking at me.

I wanted to ring her scrawny little neck.  I realized she was trying to
provoke me--and I had to admit, it was working.  I needed to take control
of this situation.  I didn't like the fact that my friends seemed to be
grilling Jaden with questions.  To be honest, I was interested in his
answers, but I didn't want him to get uncomfortable.  Once again, my best
friend came to the rescue.

"Well, guys, I'm ready to get going.", Nick said.  Everyone agreed and
started gathering up their things.  Soon, we were all headed out of the
park.

We all walked in silence for a few moments.  Suddenly, Nick turned and
looked at Jaden.

"Jaden, do you have any plans tonight??", Nick asked him.  "We're having a
party over at our house.  You should come by, if you're not busy."

We were having a PARTY--TONIGHT??  When did we decide to do this??  I don't
remember hearing anything about us having a party tonight.

"Yeah, man, you should stop by.", Clint chimed in.

"Yeah.", Angela, Kaylie, and Chrissy all said at the same time.

What was going on??  Did they all decide to have a party and not tell me??
I smelled something fishy going on.

Jaden looked like he wasn't sure what to say.  I think Kelly noticed too,
because she said,

"It's just going to be us, plus a few other people.  You should stop by.  I
promise it will be fun."

"You should come, Jaden.  I think Ryan and Marissa are coming too."
Stephanie added.

Jaden hesitated for another long second, then replied,

"OK, that sounds...fun.  I'll be there.  Um...what time should I come
over??"

I wasn't sure what was going on.  It seemed as if everyone knew about this
party except for me, but at the moment I didn't care.  Jaden's coming over
to our house--tonight!!

"Whenever, man. Anytime after 8 o'clock is cool.", Nick stated.

"OK.  Um...one last question.  Where do you guys live at??"

"Do you know where Riverview Drive is??", Kelly asked him.

"Yeah, I do.  Riverview is only two streets away from where I live.", Jaden
replied.

"What street do you live on??", Kelly asked.

"Walvern."

"You're kidding!!  We live on Walvern too!!"

"Who does?", Jaden asked.

"The girls.  We share a house together.  Our address is 156.

"I live at 124!!  Your house is only like 7 or 8 houses down from mine!!"

I was standing there trying to act just as suprised as everyone else.  I
didn't want to let on that I already knew where Jaden lived.  I think it
would creep him out to learn that I had followed him a few times during the
last school year.

"Once again, what a small world!!  First we find out that you've known
Stephanie all of these years, then we find out that you're practically our
neighbor!!  Wait--do you have a black dog by any chance??", Kelly asked
Jaden.

"Yeah.  His name is George."

"I've seen you before--out in the front yard.  You live in that beautiful
old brick house.  I've also seen an old lady around to.  Do you rent from
her??"

"Yeah, she owns the house and lives there.  I rent the basement apartment
from her."

"That sounds awesome.  I was wondering who you were.  Your dog looks so
cute!!", Kelly told Jaden.

"Thanks.  I was going to bring George today, but I wasn't sure if this park
allowed dogs.  I ended up leaving him at home."

"YOu can bring your dog over to our house tonight, if you want to.", Nick
said.  "OK, people, you guys can talk more at the party tonight.  We need
to get going because I want to get home and shower.  By the way, Jaden, our
address is 135, ok??"

"Thanks, Nick."

I had been watching this whole conversation take place.  I was really
excited that Jaden was going to be coming over to our house tonight.  We
had reached the point where Jaden had to split off from us to continue
walking to his house on Walvern.  Angela and Kaylie said they would join
him as they were going to their house anyway.  I didn't like the fact that
Jaden was going to be with Kaylie, but at least Angela was going to be
there. Hopefully, that would keep Kaylie in check.  Stu and Stephanie were
also splitting off to walk over to Stu's frat house.

Everyone not going to Walvern said goodbye to Jaden, all of them adding
that they would see him at the party tonight and that he had played an
awesome game today.  Soon it was my turn to say goodbye.

"Once again I just have to say you played some incredible games today.  I
was serious when I said that I think you are better than I am!!

"Of course I was.  I mean, I beat you in our running contest last week.  I
figured I'd be better than you at basketball!!  Oh--and don't think I've
forgotten about our little wager either.  You still owe me!!"

"Ouch--try to pay a guy a compliment and end up getting shit on.  Harsh,
man, harsh.", I said while smiling to let Jaden know I was just playing
with him.

Jaden just laughed.  I really liked this side of Jaden, when he was loose
and fun.  I hadn't gotten a chance to see this side of him during our
work-out sessions this past week.  It seemed he was letting his guard down
a little bit.

"I'll see you later at the party.  Take it easy.", I said.  I bumped fists
with him.

"See you later.", Jaden replied.

The rest of us continued walking home.  My friends were suspiciously quiet
during the entire walk.  When we had reached the front porch of our house,
Tim and Clint immediately went inside to take a shower.  So now it was just
Nick, Kelly, Chrissy, and I standing there.  Still, no one was talking.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, what's going on??  Everyone is being just a little bit too
quiet."

"Don't you want to take a shower first before...??", Nick started to ask me

"No, I want to find out what is going on.", I interrupted him.  "What's
wrong?? Did you guys not like Jaden??"

"We all liked Jaden alot.  Not only is he a really good at basketball, he
seems like a great guy too!!"

"Then WHAT is the problem??", I asked to no one in particular.

I was instigating the conversation that I had been dreading.  I saw Nick
look over at Kelly and Chrissy.

"If this is what you want, fine.  Where exactly did you meet Jaden??  And
don't tell me while running at the track, because I've already figured out
that is a lie.  What is going on between you two??"

"There's NOTHING going on between us, I swear!!", I shouted.

"Well, it didn't look that way today.  For god's sake Lane, you couldn't
take your eyes off of him!!"

"What's with all of the questions??  I feel like I'm being interrogated
here.  I met the guy and invited him to play basketball with us.  That's
it.  Why are you all treating me like I'm some sort of criminal.""  I
sighed heavily sat down on one of the chairs on the porch.  I covered my
face with my hands.

I could feel tears coming to my eyes.  Dammit!!  Why couldn't they let me
deal with Jaden on my own??  To be honest, I don't know why I was fighting
against Nick and the others so much.  I was outright lying to my best
friends in the world!!  Why was I so protective of this secret that I had
been keeping??  Was it because if I told my friends about Jaden and my
feelings for him, the situation became real, and not the fantasy I had been
keeping in my head??  My 'relationship' with Zach had hurt me so much and I
had held onto that pain for so long.  Was I ready to let go of that pain
and put myself back out there again??  Was I ready to risk my vunerable
heart to possible dissappointment??

Kelly and Chrissy went over and sat down on the couch, which was facing
toward me.  Nick came over and squatted down in front of me.

"Dude....Lane--look at me."  Nick pulled my hands away from my face and I
looked at him.  "We're not trying to accuse you of anything.  I'm sorry if
it came off that way.  We're all sorry.  It's just...well, all of us are
worried about you.  Ever since you broke up with Zach, you haven't been the
same.  He hurt you and a certain spark in your personality seemed to die
when that happened.  And then, suddenly, that spark was back.  Everyone has
noticed it.  Even Kaylie said something to Kelly about how you seem to be
so much happier this year.  I've been waiting for you to tell me, or at
least one of us, if something has changed in your life, but you haven't
said anything.  I'm your best friend, Lane.  I know that I, along with
Kelly, Chrissy, and the rest of our friends, love you so much.  All we want
is for you to be happy, no matter how it happens or who it is with.  All of
us want to help you achieve that happiness, but you've been shutting us out
of your life.  Now we meet Jaden, and you can't take your eyes off of him.
You were beaming at anything he said and I thought you were going to start
drooling when he took off his shirt today.  I may not be the sharpest knife
in the drawer, but I can tell that SOMETHING is going on between you two.
If it's none of our business, I guess we'll have to live with that.  But--
we've always been open and honest with each other.  Our whole group has
been that way.  We'd like to know what is going on in here." Nick pointed
at my head. "And in here."  Nick pointed at my heart.  "We want to help you
if we can."

I think that was the most I had ever heard Nick speak at one time in the
entire time that I knew him.  His words really affected me and I realized
that I needed my friends right now.  I had been trying to dealing with my
feelings for Jaden all by myself and I wasn't coming up with any answers.
I needed a fresh perspective on the whole situation.

So, I told them everything.  Everything that had happened with Jaden and
all of my feelings concerning him since the first day I laid eyes on him
all of those months ago.  I didn't hold anything back.

"And now, I'm not sure what to do.  I really like him, but I guess that was
obvious to everyone today.  I'm still so unsure of my feelings,
specifically in regards to starting another relationship.  I want to be
sure that the person I'm seeing likes me as much as I like him, if that is
even possible.  Either way, I'm getting to far ahead of myself.  I'm
talking about Jaden like he will be my boyfriend, eventually.  I still
don't know if he's gay.  If he is gay, I'm sure that he is taken already.
And--if he is actually gay AND single, how do I know that he even likes
me??"

Before I started talking, I had moved over and sat down on the couch in
between Kelly and Chrissy.  Nick was sitting on a chair facing us.  Kelly
reached over and used her hands to turn my head so I was looking at her.

"Lane, in the past, I wouldn't have considered myself an expert on gay
people.  I never would have guessed you were gay until you told me.  I like
to think, however, that I've learned a few things as I've gotten to know
you.  After meeting Jaden today, I suspect two things.  One, I'm think that
he is gay.  Two, he likes you--alot.  I was watching him during the whole
game and he couldn't take his eyes off of you just like you couldn't stop
staring at him."

"REALLY??", I shouted out too excitedly.  I tried to tone down my
enthusiasm.  "I mean, are you sure about that??"

"I saw the same thing, Lane.  I have to agree with Kelly.  I think he's
really into you.", Chrissy said to me.

I sat there in stunned silence.  Why hadn't I been able to pick up on those
vibes from Jaden??  I thought back to the game today.  I couldn't remember
if he was looking at me or not.  I know what the girls had just said, but I
wasn't ready to believe that Jaden was gay AND liked me.  I needed to hear
him say the words, at least the part about being gay.

"I want to thank all of you for listening to me.  I'm really sorry about
not saying anything before now.  I guess I wanted to be sure of my feelings
before I mentioned Jaden.  I see--now at least--that I need all of you to
help me work through this issue."

"We only want what's best for you, Lane.  We want to see you happy and
settled.  If Jaden is the one that can do that for you, you have to take a
chance.  I think it's worth the risk.", Nick said.

I wanted to hug all of them, but I was still sweaty and grimy from the
game.  I got up and headed upstairs to my room.  I needed to shower and get
ready for the party!!  Jaden would be coming tonight!!  I was both excited
and scared at the thought of seeing him.  What would happen at the party??
I guess I'll find out soon enough.

TO BE CONTINUED

Another cliffhanger, but just a minor one!!  The evil Jaden has returned to
torture you.  Everyone better be really nice to me or I'll write 3 or 4
more chapters of background information before I write about the party.
Don't test me people, I will do it!! :)

On a serious note, I wasn't prepared for all of the responses that I
received concerning the pacing of the story.  The overwhelming feeling by
the readers is that the story's pace is exactly where it needs to be.
Thanks to all of you who wrote with your opinions--even those of you who
felt the pacing was too slow.  My hope is that everyone, regardless of
their opinion, continues to enjoy the story.  Jaden

Be on the lookout for Chapter 12 coming soon!!!

FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK---This is lifeblood for us writers, so please
drop me a quick line.

Remember, I have a new e-mail address.  Use: jaden.scott@adelphia.net
Thanks, Jaden.xx