Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:36:37 -0500
From: Evan D <panprince83@gmail.com>
Subject: The Richest Things in Life Chapter 3

This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual
activities between males. If you are not of legal age, reside in an area
where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality
and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now. The author retains all
rights to this story. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed
without the permission of the author.

Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I was having a bit trouble getting the
storyline in my head. I hope that chapter four will not take as long.  Hope
you enjoy, and as always send any feedback to: panprince83@gmail.com

Evan D

The Richest Things In Life Chapter 3

When Alex arrived at the home he grew up in, he sighed. He never understood
why five people needed such a large place to live.  It was two stories high
and approximately 9000 square feet. The entire compound sat on 210 acres
with an eight-foot tall brick wall surrounding it.  There were four
buildings: the main house, the servants' quarters, the eight-car garage,
and a guest house that Mark had moved into recently with his latest
girlfriend, Amber Lester.

"Hey, Alex, long time no see."  George, the guard in the gate house stated.

"Yeah, I know. I figured it was about time to grace you guys with my
presence," he laughed.

George smiled and opened up the gate.  The driveway took about five minutes
to get to the parking area next to the garages.  Sam's Porsche Cayman,
Ginger's BMW M5, Mark's Lamborghini Gallardo, Courtney's Jaguar XKR as well
as the family limousine sat inside. Sam also had a Cadillac Escalade ESV at
his office, and Mark's Range Rover was in the parking garage at LAX while
he was in Europe.

Alex parked his MDX and headed in through the back entrance to the
kitchen. He saw Edna cooking his favorite meal, Chicken Fettuccine
Alfredo. He slowly snuck up behind her and put his hand around her eyes.

"Alexander Logan Tigard! You're going to give an old lady a heart attack
sneaking up on her like that.

Alex sheepishly let his hand go. She turned around and smiled, then
outstretched her arms to hug him.

"Oh, Edna, you didn't have to cook my favorite meal."

"Of course I did. Maybe it will coax you into coming up here more
often. Things just aren't as bright and cheerful when you're not around."

"Oh, stop that," he stated modestly.

"Seriously, Alex, even your father is less of an asshole when you're
around."

"I'm not so sure that will be the case in the near future," he thought to
himself.

He laughed at her statement.

"I didn't know that was possible, Edna."

"Yes, it is, dear. Now let me finish up here, and we'll catch up after
dinner."

"Yes, ma'am."

Alex headed into the dining hall next. The dining table comfortably sat
about 20 people, and a 50-pound chandelier hung over the center.  There
were several display cases with dishes from around the world, many of them
made specially for Ginger.

Next, he headed to the library, where he knew he would find his sister. As
usual, she was typing away at her laptop.

"Hey, baby bro. It's good to see you again."

"Back at ya, sis. How have things been going with you?"

"Oh, not too badly; been real busy at the office."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"You would think, but I do kind of miss having a personal life."

"Well, once you get yourself more established and get more help around the
office, you'll be able to take a break. Besides, you work too hard."

"I know. But it seems all I find are gold diggers, or they're intimidated
by our family name. It messes with their manhood, thinking I'm so powerful
or something.  I'm okay with it though."

"Yeah, understandable, one of these days I hope to find somebody, too,"
Alex said carefully. "I've still got a lot of life ahead of me."

Courtney looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. "Does she
know?" Alex asked himself.

She just smiled.  "I know you'll find someone special, little brother, and
you never know--it may be sooner than you think."

"Yeah, maybe." He stated thinking of Garrett's smile. "Well, I best go say
'hi' to mother before dinner is ready."

"Okay, Alex, see you then."

He headed out of the library into the great room packed with all kinds of
collectibles and furniture purchased in foreign lands. There was a
fireplace on either side, and it continued to the back patio. The back wall
was entirely made of glass with two doors also glass in the middle between
the two doors.  There was a large fountain with a statue of his maternal
grandfather, Reginald Benson, who had built the home after his success in
the banking business.

As he had expected, Ginger Tigard, was lying next to the pool with her top
on, thankfully for Alex. The pool boy was applying more oil to her body as
Alex approached.

"That's enough, Juan, run along now." She stated dryly. The boy looked
barely 18, and Alex could tell he could understand very little
English. "You have visitor, seņora," he stated, proving Alex right."

"Oh, Alex, honey, It's so good to see you. Have you been taking care of
yourself?"

"Yes, mom, of course. I've been keeping busy with my charity work and
everything."

"Well, dear, we've all missed you and glad that you decided to come
visit. I heard Edna was making your favorite."

"Yes, I saw that when I arrived. She spoils me," he joked.

"Well, it's okay to get spoiled every now and again," she smiled.

"So, how have you been, mom?"

"Oh, I've been splendid. There hasn't been many social gatherings lately,
so I've been relaxing most of the time. I've maxed out the teacup
collection. I was thinking about taking a painting class. Your father is
never home anymore to entertain me."

"Courtney told me he's been living at the office lately."

"Yes. He's been working a lot of cases lately keeping those slutty party
girls out of jail. Besides he's hired a legal secretary who apparently is
servicing his needs."

"Mother, I don't even want to think about that. But seriously, you're okay
with that?"

"Well, it is an assumption after all. It's not like it hasn't happened
before though. Besides, Armando over there has been keeping me quite
satisfied."

Alex shook his head. He never understood why his parents stayed
together. His best guess was that the reason was monetary, and even though
his father was quite successful in his legal practice, he had agreed to a
prenuptial agreement that would not allow him to touch a cent of Ginger's
inheritance if they were to divorce. All Alex knew was that he never wanted
a marriage like that. He wanted a marriage built on trust, monogamy, and
most of all, love.  He was still a bit young to truly know what love was,
but one thing he knew was that when he looked at Garrett earlier that day,
he saw into his soul, as if there was already a bond present between
them. He really hoped that Garrett felt the same way, but he knew that time
could only tell, as far as that went.

"Well, I'm glad you're keeping yourself entertained, mom. So, is dad coming
home tonight?"

"George phoned me earlier and told me your father was planning on
entertaining his clients for dinner tonight, then returning to the office
to finish up paperwork."

Alex sighed with relief. He knew he would have to face his father sooner or
later, but he was hoping to have a look around his father's study that
evening. After all, he could get lucky and get some answers.

Dinner went without a hitch. Alex tuned out his mother's stories and just
kept to himself the whole time.  Afterward, he thanked Edna for the meal
and stated to everyone he was going to gather a few things from his old
bedroom before he headed home. Courtney hugged him and headed to the west
wing where her bedroom suite was located. He then hugged his mother, before
she headed to her liquor cabinet and turned in for the evening.

He headed back to the kitchen to talk with Edna.

"Hey, sweetie, how have you been doing?."

"Quite well, Edna. Keeping myself busy with the non-profit and catching up
on my tan. I would like to do something more, though. I will probably be
needing an income soon. The trust fund won't last forever."

"Honey, you don't have to worry about that. Your parents still give you
your monthly allowance, and you can keep using your time to help those in
need.

"Well, Edna, I have to prepare for having to fend for myself at some
point. It seems like that may be the wise thing to do."

"Oh my gosh, Alex. Do they know?"

Edna had been like a mother to Alex. She had practically raised him and
siblings while his parents were too busy being socialites. So, it was
inevitable that she would find out he liked the boys. A few years earlier
before Alex bought his own place, Edna was cleaning his room and discovered
his porn stash under the bed.  When she confronted him about it, he was
scared shitless. Edna just smiled and told him she loved him and only
confronted him about it, because she wanted him to know that she was there
for him and wouldn't tell a soul. Also, she told him he needed to hide it
better, for his mother was known to wander into his room when she was
drunk.

"No, not yet. But it's only a matter of time. I can't share too much, but
I've found myself in a situation that would not only bring my sexuality out
in the open but also will most likely cause a legal situation between dad
and me."

"Come on, you have to give me more information than that, Alexander. I
raised you better than that."

"I know, Edna, but all I can really say is I made a promise to a family
that dad wronged on behalf of one of his clients. I don't know if there's
anything I can do about it, but I'm going to try. Don't worry, I won't keep
you out of the loop for long."

"You better not. I understand what you're saying, Alex. If that's what you
have to consider, then I would suggest going back to school and looking
into social work or behavioral science. It doesn't pay much, but I know you
would love it."

"Believe or not, that's what I've actually had in mind."

"Okay, dear, well, I need to clean up. I hope to see you again soon. You
better keep me up to date on things, and visit more often, young man."

"I will, Edna."

After he headed up the stairs in the east wing, he actually did stop by his
old bedroom to gather up some of his early logs for his non-profit work he
had forgotten when he had moved out.  He then headed toward his father's
study. He knew that he would not find any of his father's case files or
client records there, as they would be kept at the office, but he was
hoping there was something that might give him some answers. He milled
around for about thirty minutes, until he found his father's financial log
books from two years earlier. He decided to take them with him, so he would
have more time to look at them. There were a few other documents that
looked suspicious which he took with him as well. The last thing he found
was a collection of his father's datebooks. He found 2007 and turned to
July. The items written in for the week in question were in some kind of
code that he could not decipher.

"Hmm, that's odd," he thought to himself. He was very curious as to what he
would find in the financial records, but he didn't want to risk hanging
around too long.  Something told him he didn't have much time, even though
he was told his father wouldn't be home that evening. He made sure nothing
looked out of place before he left the room. As he was leaving, he heard a
voice he recognized coming from downstairs. He quickly headed to his old
room and hid the things he had taken from the study. He would have to
retrieve them later. He headed down the back stairs and hoped he would
avoid whom he had heard, but he wouldn't be that lucky.

"Wow, I leave the country for a few weeks, and when I return, I see that
'boy wonder' has graced us with his presence."

"Shut up, Mark!" Alex growled. "I was just about to leave."

"Oh. come on, little brother. Don't you want to visit with Amber and me? We
haven't talked in ages."

"No, not especially. I only had enough time to eat dinner and finish some
business in my old room. Glad you're home safe, though," he tried to say it
like he cared.

"That's fine. We'll have to catch up sometime, though. I really do need to
talk to you about some things."

"Whatever," Alex stated. as he headed into the kitchen and out the back
door.

His brother pissed him off nearly as much as his parents did. He was an
arrogant prick. The twelve-year age difference never helped their
relationship either. His brother always treated him like a burden. He never
once showed positive attention to him growing up and was embarrassed to be
around Alex when his friends were over. After graduating high school, he
went straight to Harvard, even though he was only accepted because of his
dad's influence. In fact, he barely passed the bar exam. He met his first
wife at Harvard, had a kid, divorced after 2 years, and so began the serial
monogamy. He didn't have a single thing to do with his six children or
their mothers; he just sent the required money every month. Apparently, he
had been dating Amber for about three months, though this was Alex's first
time to see her. He had noticed, however, that she was not what Mark
typically dated. In fact, she looked somewhat familiar, but he figured he
had seen her at some social event in the past and left it at that.

Before he could get to his car, he heard her shouting his name.  "Alex, I
need to talk to you."

He scoffed. "Why?" Then he took a better look at her. "Shit!" he said out
loud.

"I see you recognize me now."

He nodded, as he lost most of the color from his face. He had gone to
Stanford with her. She was a masters student at the time, he knew, but her
best friend was Alex's first boyfriend, Daniel."

"You always said your last name was "Thomas," but I should have known you
were lying about it."

"Do you blame me?"

"No, I don't. Don't worry, I haven't said a word. I know enough about your
family to have figured out that they have no earthly idea.  And if they
did, the outcome could be ugly."

"I thank you for that. I know I can't keep it from them forever. You always
seemed like a nice girl, and I know you're not the gold digger type,
Amber. So I have to ask, 'why my brother?' and 'do you know what the hell
you've gotten yourself into?'"

Amber laughed. "Yes, I know about the 3 ex-wives and six kids. And you're
right, I'm not a gold digger.  I also know you two aren't exactly close,
and believe it or not, he has turned over a new leaf. I can't say much else
about it, because it's not my place to say, but I think you should give him
another chance."

"I hope you're not fooling yourself, but I'll consider it. Not tonight
though. I've got a lot of other things on my mind."

"Understandable. Well, it was good seeing you again, and don't worry, I
won't say anything to him about you. I'll leave that to you."

"Thanks, Amber. Good seeing you again, too. Have a good night."

He got into his SUV and drove off.

He arrived at his beach house off of Escondido Beach Road around nine
p.m. He was a bit disappointed that he had had to come home empty-handed
and that his stupid brother had interfered with his plans and that he would
have to make another trip up there soon.  He decided to call Garrett.

"Hello."

"Hi, Garrett."

"Alex, it's good to hear from you. Did you find anything out?"

"Possibly. I have a few leads, but I'll keep working on it."

"No rush. I appreciate anything you can do. But, anyways, it was great
meeting you today."

"Likewise."

Alex hesitated a moment, cogitating to himself, "Should I ask him out? He
makes me so nervous. I can't believe I even called him. Maybe it was too
soon. I don't even know if he's gay. I won't know unless I ask."

"Alex, are you still there?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking for a moment. Um...I was wondering if you
would...um...like to hang out tomorrow."

He couldn't bring himself to officially ask him out. He decided he couldn't
be too forward. He definitely had to see him the next day, though.

Garrett didn't hesitate to answer.  "Of course, Alex, that would be
wonderful."

"Did I just say that a little too enthusiastically?" Garrett thought to
himself. "It's not like he's asking me out on a date or anything."

"That's great then. How about I come pick you around ten, and we can just
spend some time getting to know each other?"

"Awesome. I'll see you then, Alex."

"Looking forward too it. Sleep well, Garrett."

"You, too. Bye."

"Bye."

Alex found it difficult to sleep that night. His anxiety was running quite
high. He knew that he couldn't fall in love instantly, and all these
feelings were so new to him. The only time he had feelings that were even
remotely close to this were with Daniel. The main reason that their
relationship fell apart was the distance between them, when Alex moved back
to Malibu, which was about a seven-hour drive. They tried to keep in touch,
but Daniel eventually met another guy on campus, for which Alex didn't
blame him. His feelings for Garrett were different, though.  He just
couldn't explain why, and frankly he didn't want to. Finally, after two
hours of thoughts spinning in his head, he drifted off to sleep.

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