It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble.

The author retains all rights to this original story. Please do not publish without explicit authorization from me.

Disclaimer:
This story is completely fictional. Most of the places mentioned, and none of the characters exist in real life. Some may possess physical or personality characteristics of people I know or have known. But if you see yourself in this story, your imagination is better than mine!

All best, Jon

If you like my story, drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you: seperatepiece@hotmail.com

Matt and Jon

Chapter 29

Todd had emailed Ryan and LittleTom about inviting Joel to go house hunting with them and Ryan thought it was an excellent idea. He decided he would ask Eric as well. Tom told them that there were three possibilities in the area. The timing was good, as Tom had accepted an offer on the house in Maryland, so it looked like the down payment wasn’t going to be a problem. Jane’s landlord already had a waiting list for her apartment, so she was very gracious about letting her out of her lease early.

On Friday night, Eric, Todd and Joel planned to spend the night over at the Kent’s so they could get an early start the next morning. Jon wanted to make it official, and quickly invited Matt to join the festivities.

After school on Friday, everyone pretty much went their own way. They all wanted to get their homework and chores out of the way before they all got together in the evening. Jane had the day off from work, so she picked Todd up at school. He’d promised to help her clean the apartment before he went to the Kent’s house. She made them a snack when they got home. While they ate, she planned their strategy.

Todd was only half “listening” while daydreaming about Joel. All of the sudden, something his mother said caught his eye. His jaw dropped open.

“What did you say mom?”

“Todd, I just asked you to vacuum the living room, what’s the big deal?” Jane looked at him with a perplexed frown.

Todd laughed. “Okay, no problem.”

“What’s so funny?” Jane asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just a lip reading thing.” Todd answered.

He’d never mentioned to his mother that the word “vacuum” looks the same as “fuck you” to a lip reader. There were a few little problems like that, but usually he could figure it out from the rest of the conversation. He highly doubted that his mother would ask him to fuck something, let alone the living room.

He set about his task. He didn’t mind vacuuming. The noise of the machine didn’t bother him as it did his mother, so he was glad to take it on. When he’d done a thorough job, he put the vacuum cleaner away and asked Jane what else she wanted him to do.

“Well, if you do the hall bathroom and straighten up your room a little, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. I know you’re anxious to get over there. I want to freshen up a little before we go though. Shelley invited me for dinner.”

Todd smiled. “Cool.”

When he’d cleaned the toilet and bathtub and shined all the fixtures, he gave the floor a quick few strokes with the mop, and headed for his room. Todd was a fairly neat kid, so it wouldn’t take him any time at all to make it ship shape. As he was tidying his desk, he saw a note in Jane’s handwriting along with a book. He read the title: Men Like Us : The GMHC Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Well-Being. Todd felt his face flush as he read the note.

Dear Todd,

I know this isn’t an easy topic to discuss with your mother, but I want you to be safe and happy. Please come to me anytime if you ever want to talk.

Love, Mom

Todd slipped the note inside the cover and put the book in his overnight bag. While he was finishing his cleaning, he kept wondering how she knew that Joel and he had taken the next step. Was it motherly intuition? Had they been careless? He went over it in his mind. He had changed the sheets on his bed before she came home. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He figured that she must have assumed that they’d be intimate sooner or later.

Jane came to the door of his room. “Come on Todd. I’m ready, let’s get going.”

Todd walked past her with his eyes to the floor. He got his jacket and headed out to the car with her. He was quiet during the ride, and mostly looked out the window. It was hard for Jane to talk so Todd could see her while she was driving anyway. She waited until they were a block from the Kent’s house and pulled the car over to the side of the street. She reached across and rested a hand on Todd’s shoulder.

When she had his attention, she spoke soothingly to him. “It’s okay honey. You don’t have to be embarrassed. I know it’s not easy to talk about, but I had to be sure that you knew…certain facts.”

“Mom, what gave you the idea that we’re…uh…doing anything?”

Jane smiled. “Todd, I can tell that you and Joel are very much in love. It was inevitable that you two would want to express your feelings sooner of later, and as I recall, at your age it doesn’t take much to get the old heart pounding.”

Todd’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. One downside of lip reading is that you can’t really hide your face if you want to know what the other person is saying, and Todd definitely felt like hiding his face just then, especially with Jane’s next remark.

“Take all that together with the fact that you NEVER change your sheets unless I ask you to...”

Todd wanted to sink through the seat. “Mom, I love you, and thanks for understanding, and for the book, and…well everything. I promise I’ll read it, and I know I can come to you if we ever have any problems…but could we PLEASE change the subject.”

Jane messed up his hair as she laughed. “Okay Todd, I guess our little talk is over.”

She put the car in gear and drove the remaining block. Todd thought to himself that as parental sex talks go, his had not really been that bad. In fact, he kind of felt good about it, like it was another rite of passage into adulthood that he’d survived.

Jon saw the car pull up and he raced to the door to greet them. After he hung up their jackets, he took Todd by the arm and started leading him to the stairs.

“Mom’s in the kitchen.” He called over his shoulder.

Jane smiled and shook her head. “I guess I’m really one of the family, huh.”

Jon realized that he had been rude. “I’m sorry,” he said as he walked back to her and hugged her. “I guess I was in a hurry to tell Todd something.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “That’s okay Jon. I love you anyway. You boys run along, I’ll go see if I can help Shelley with anything.”

The two boys scrambled up the stairs to Jon’s room and closed the door. Todd and Jane were the first to arrive, and Tom had taken Ryan and LittleTom with him to pick up the pizza. Jon was anxious to hear about Todd’s time alone with Joel before the others got there. The two of them flopped down on either side of the bed.

Todd laughed as he fell on the bed. “So what do you want to tell me that’s so urgent?”

Jon laughed. “I just said that to your mom. I believe YOU have something to tell ME.”

Todd broke out in a grin. “You were right. He said exactly what you said he would.”

Jon giggled. “I should write one of those advice columns.”

“Oh yeah, I can see it now: ‘Dear Jon, If I send you a picture of my dick, can you tell me what my boyfriend will think of it? Signed, Pee Wee.’”

They rolled around on the bed laughing. When he’d finally caught his breath, Jon looked back at Todd.

“Seriously though, how was it?” He asked.

Todd got a dreamy look on his face. “It was so beautiful. He was so gentle and caring. He made me feel so good.”

Jon smiled at him. “So, uh…you don’t have to tell me of course, but how far did you go?”

Todd stifled a giggle. “Well, without going into details, we both agree that we like the way each other tastes.” Todd licked his lips for emphasis.

Jon giggled. “Oooo, you dirty boys!” He said with an affectionate punch on Todd’s arm.

“Oh, yeah, like you and Matt never did it.” Todd protested. “Besides, it didn’t feel dirty…it just felt right.”

“I’m sorry Todd. I was just teasing. I know how special it can be. Oh, was it is as big as you thought it was?” He grinned at his friend.

“Well,” Todd answered, “actually it looks a lot bigger close up.”

They were laughing and punching the bed when Matt walked into the room and flung himself on the bed next to Jon.

“Anyone want to let me in on the joke?”

Jon looked at Todd, and the two of them started laughing again. Finally, Todd explained what they had been talking about.

“Don’t tell everyone though. I don’t want Joel to be embarrassed.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t.” Jon assured him.

Matt got an evil grin on his face. “I also won’t tell anyone that you flashed my boyfriend in the practice room.”

“Jon! You told him?” Todd looked horrified.

Jon shrugged. “Unless someone tells me not to, I guess I tell Matt everything eventually.”

Todd gave Matt a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I guess I got carried away.”

It was Matt’s turn to laugh. “It’s okay Todd…you went to the right person, by the way. Jon happens to have access to the standard by which all others are judged.” He said, gesturing toward his crotch.

“Yeah,” Jon retorted, “all I have to do is pull down my zipper.”

Matt hit him with a pillow, which set off a three way wrestling match which ended in a pile up with the three of them laughing so hard they were gasping for air.

Ryan and LittleTom barged in on the scene.

“Hey! You started without us!” LittleTom shrieked as two more bodies were added to the pile.

Jon’s bed was a mess when they were finished horsing around, and they all pitched in to straighten it out. They heard the door bell ring, and Ryan bolted down the stairs. Todd looked quizzically at the others. “Doorbell.” Jon informed him. Todd lunged for the door and followed Ryan down the stairs. They knew it had to one of their boyfriends. Joel was overwhelmed when he was practically knocked down by his welcoming committee, as was Eric, who came up the walk a short while after him.

“Wow!” Joel said, once Todd let him have his lips back. “I’ve never had a greeting like that.”

Todd giggled. “Get used to it.”

The others came downstairs, and they went to the den to watch TV for awhile until Dan got home. The three pizzas were being kept warm in the oven while Shelley and Jane collaborated on a salad.

“Anyone else coming?” Matt asked, casually slipping his arm around Jon’s shoulder.

Jon smiled when Matt gave him a little squeeze. “Nope. It’s just us tonight. Jamie went to the city to have dinner at Alan’s apartment. He was a little nervous about meeting Bennet, but I’m sure it’ll be okay. Trev and Andy took the girls to a movie, so this is it for tonight.”

Soon, they heard Dan’s car in the driveway. Jon clicked the TV off, and they made there way to the dining room. Not much setup was required for a pizza dinner, but the boys helped with what little there was, casually distributing plates and salad forks around the table.

When they were all seated and happily munching on their dinners, Tom told a little bit about the houses they were going to look at the following day. He concluded by saying he was sure that Shelley and Dan would be happy to have their household back to normal.

Shelley smiled wistfully. “Well, having you and the boys here has kind of taken my mind off of missing Sam so much. It’s going to pretty lonely and quiet around here I guess.”

Jon reached across the table and took his mother’s hand. “I promise I’ll try and make more noise from now on.”

Dan laughed as he gestured around the table. “Somehow I don’t think this house will ever be very quiet for long.”

After dinner, the boys played cards for awhile, but they knew they had to turn in early. As they were putting the cards away, Todd grabbed his overnight bag. “Oh, guys, I almost forgot. Look what my mom gave me.”

He pulled the book out of his bag and showed it around the circle.

Matt pulled it across and inspected it. “Any pictures?” He said with a grin.

Todd laughed. “It’s a resource book, not porn. I haven’t really had a chance to look at it yet.”

When it was Ryan’s turn, he flipped the pages aimlessly. “I guess we should all read it. There’s some good advice in here. How did she give it to you? It must have been a little weird. I mean, it’s not every day that your mom comes up and hands you a book about being gay.”

Todd shrugged and pulled the note that Jane had written out of the cover of the book. “She left it on my desk with this note. I was really embarrassed, but then we had a talk in the car on the way over.”

Joel looked up from the pages of the book sheepishly. “Uh, did she mention me?”

Todd smiled at his boyfriend. “She said she could tell we were very much in love.”

A smile spread across Joel’s flushed face. “Smart lady, your mom.”

Eventually, the three couples snuggled together for the night with LittleTom securely in the middle.

Jon awoke first. He carefully extracted himself from the pile and put on his robe. He tiptoed to the kitchen where Shelley was already starting breakfast.

“’Morning Jonny. Did you sleep well?” She said as she kissed his cheek.

“Yeah mom. Really well.” He said as he picked up an egg and cracked it into the bowl along side his mother.

“The coffee smells really good, mom. Do you think I should try some?”

“Well, I guess you’re old enough…just don’t take too much.”

Jon poured a half a cup and took his first sip. He made a face and added some milk and sweetener. He took another sip and decided he liked it.

The others began to trickle in to the kitchen. There were three bathrooms in the house, so they devised a showering strategy. After breakfast they all cleaned up and dressed for the day. When Tom had finished eating, Jane’s car was just pulling up in the driveway. Tom met her at the door and offered her a cup of coffee.

She peered over his shoulder at the boys. She could tell they were eager to get going. “No thanks, I’ve already had mine. Let’s get going. I can’t wait to see the houses.”

She was amused when she glanced around at the grins on the boys faces. They all managed to squeeze into Tom’s van.

Tom leaned out the window. “There’s still room if you guys want to come along.” He offered to Jon and Matt.

“Nah, thanks anyway. We thought we’d go for a run and work out a little with Sam’s weights. We’ll catch up with you later.” Jon answered as he waved at them.

As the van pulled out of the driveway, Matt and Jon got their bikes out of the garage and headed for the reservoir. Fall was slowly giving way to winter, but the boys were still comfortable in their warm-up suits as they pedaled through the crisp morning air.

The minute they pulled into the parking lot they saw Chet’s car. He and Dave were stretching at the head of the path. They waved when they saw them coming down the hill toward them.

“Hey guys, wanna run with us?” Chet offered.

“Well, we haven’t stretched yet and we’d probably slow you guys down.” Jon answered for both of them.

“Don’t worry about it.” Chet replied. “We agreed to take it slow today anyway, you see the old man here hasn’t run in a while, and he’s a little out of shape.” He grinned as he poked his lover in the belly.

Like lightening, Dave had Chet on his back in a headlock. He laughed. “I’m still in good enough shape to take you down, honey.”

Chet giggled. “No fair using all your fancy police academy moves on me. I’m just a helpless little kid.”

Matt and Jon exchanged a look that confirmed that they both suspected that the “tough cop” and the “high school boy” game had made it in to their friends’ lovemaking repertoire. Both of them had to look away from the other before they lost it.

When the boys had done their stretching exercises, they set off down the path at a leisurely pace. After a few minutes, they settled in to a nice rhythm. They rested for a few minutes at the end of the track, and decided they were going to pick up the pace on the way back. They started off at a run, and pretty soon the distance between them started to grow. The predictable order at the imaginary finish line was Dave, Chet, Matt and Jon. They threw themselves down on the grass, laughing and trying to catch their breath.

Finally Dave rolled over on his side and propped himself up on his shoulder, chewing on a blade of grass. “Not bad for an old man.”

“Wow.” Chet exclaimed. “Where did that burst of speed come from?”

Dave grinned. “I just imagine that I’m chasing a suspect, and it just kicks in.”

“I picture myself running for a touch down to win the game in the fourth quarter.” Chet smiled as he gazed up at the clouds.

“Yeah, I do the same thing, but for me it’s soccer.” Matt added.

“I know what you mean, I have an image that helps me too.” Jon said, the beginnings of a sly grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The others knew he wasn’t in to sports, so they all wondered what he was going to say. When he knew he had there attention, he sighed longingly. “I just imagine that there’s a guy at the end of the track shouting ‘free pizza!’”

They all laughed at him and each one pulled up a handful of grass and threw it at him. “Here’s some oregano!” Matt squealed as he rolled over onto Jon and gave him a raspberry on the neck.

Dave glanced at his watch. “My shift starts in an hour, we’d better go.”

As they headed up the hill to their various forms of transportation, Jon asked Chet if he wanted to come by and work out with them.

Dave gave Chet a squeeze. “All my stuff is in the car, honey. Just drop me off and I can shower and change at the station.”

Chet furrowed his brow. “But then you won’t have your car…”

“I won’t need it, I can get a ride from Mac…unless of course you want to pick me up.” Dave said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe we can have a beer at my place…you know how I love to contribute to the delinquency of a certain minor.”

Behind their backs, the two boys grinned at each other and rolled their eyes. It was in a good natured way though. They both knew that they had the capacity to be equally sickening.

It was agreed that Chet would stop by after he dropped Dave off, and they headed in their different directions. About a block from Jon’s house, Jamie fell in beside them. He was excited and began babbling to them, not even pausing to catch his breath.

“Guys. I can’t wait to tell you about last night. Alan’s apartment is HUGE. I couldn’t believe it. It’s got a sunken living room, a fireplace and three bedrooms. He used to live in a smaller one on the floor below, but when Bennet moved in, they moved up stairs to this one. Bennet said they could afford it because they’re dinks. That stands for ‘double-income-no-kids.’ And Bennet is really cool. He even let me help cook. Alan says he won’t even let him in ‘his kitchen.’ He’s a really good cook too. We had chicken…tetra…something. It was awesome.”

Jon chuckled. “Hey, slow down. You can tell us all about it while we work out.”

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little excited.”

“Yeah, we could kinda tell.” Matt said wryly.

When they’d settled in Jon’s kitchen with bottles of Gatorade, Jamie told them everything from the train trip, to every detail of the evening. He described every painting on the walls, and the vacation photos they’d shown him from their Mexico trip.

“Then Bennet gave me the grand tour of his doctor’s office downstairs. He even listened to my heart and took my blood pressure. Then he let me listen to it myself. It was cool. Then we walked around the neighborhood for awhile and had dessert in this little café. I had a tartuffo. It’s some kind of Italian ice cream thing with chocolate.”

Matt looked across the table. “I’m glad you had such a good time. When are you going to see them again?”

Jamie’s smile vanished as he sighed. “They’re coming out here next week sometime to talk to mom.”

“You don’t seem too thrilled about it.” Matt ventured.

“I know mom will be happy to see him, it’s just that if dad finds out he probably won’t let me see them anymore. I couldn’t stand that.”

“Do you think your mom would tell him?” Jon asked.

Jamie shrugged. “I don’t know. She probably wouldn’t on purpose, but she’s not good at keeping secrets…especially from dad. He can always tell when she’s hiding something from him.”

“Does Alan know you’re worried?” Jon asked gently.

“Yeah. He says not to worry. Everything will be alright. I hope he knows what he’s doing. I mean…I feel a little selfish. It would mean so much to mom to know he’s alright. He misses her too. I just don’t want to lose him again.”

Matt could see the anxiety etched in Jamie’s handsome young face. “My dad always says that you shouldn’t worry until there’s something to worry about. Alan’s really smart Jamie, you have to trust him. C’mon, let’s go work out.”

As they went out to the garage, they saw Chet’s car pull up to the curb. Some of Jamie’s light mood returned as he launched into telling him about his evening with his brother and Bennet.

“…and they have the biggest TV I’ve ever seen. It’s like they have their own movie theater…”

No one begrudged Jamie the chance to brag. They knew he wasn’t trying to show off, it’s more like he couldn’t believe it himself. They took turns with the weights. Chet naturally fell into the role of trainer, and he gave the boys some good pointers. Between school, football and Dave, he hadn’t been able to spend much time with the boys lately, and it felt really good to hang around with them again.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Chet regretfully said his goodbyes. He planned to swing by the grocery store, then let himself into Dave’s apartment with his key and fix them a romantic dinner. Just as the boys were following him to his car, a squad car turned on to the block.

Chet smiled. He remembered the time a few days ago that Dave had pulled him over on Main Street. He hadn’t seen him in a few days because of their different schedules. Dave had walked up to the window with a stern face and handed him a slip of paper. On it was written: Violation: ignoring your boyfriend. All fines to be paid in person. My apartment. 7:30 sharp. Chet had tucked the note into the glove compartment and had happily paid his debt to society later that evening.

The car came to a stop behind his own, and Mac got out of the driver’s side. Chet knew instantly by the look on Mac’s face that something was wrong.

“Where’s Dave?”

Mac took hold of Chet’s shoulders. “Chet, don’t panic. He’s going to be alright.”

Chet’s face twisted in anguish. “Mac. Tell me what happened! Where is he?”

Matt and Jon were instantly on either side of him with Jamie next to Jon. Mac looked into Chet’s eyes.

“He’s in good hands. He’s at the hospital. It’s not as bad as it could have been. He’s going to be okay.”

Chet just stared at him numbly, waiting for him to continue.

“We responded to a convenience store robbery. We got there just as three men with guns came out. Chet, Dave’s been shot. He’s in surgery now and the doctor said the bullet missed hitting any vital organs. He should make a full recovery, it’ll just take some time.”

“Thank God.” Chet said through un-spilled tears as Mac took him into an embrace.

Chet broke the embrace. “I have to be there when he wakes up.” He said as he fumbled with his keys.

“You’re in no shape to drive, Chet. Get in the cruiser and I’ll take you there myself.”

Chet mindlessly obeyed. He opened the window. “Uh, could you guys call my parents and let them know I’ll be late? Make something up…anything.”

Jon was unsure. “Chet, we’re no good at lying. They’d know something was up. Can’t we just say you’re visiting a friend in the hospital?”

Chet thought about it. “Yeah, okay…tell them I know him from the gas station. It’s the truth.”

Each of them leaned through the window and gave Chet a hug and murmured their assurances and love.

As they drove to the hospital, Chet’s mind was racing a mile a minute. Mac broke the silence.

“Chet, there’s something else you should know. Dave returned fire. He killed a man. He had no choice.”

Chet buried his head in his arms as the enormity of what Mac had said sunk in. Dave was a kind, sweet man who’d never hurt anyone. Chet couldn’t imagine how he would live with it.

Mac parked in the emergency vehicle lot and accompanied Chet into the lobby. He knew the security guard on duty and arranged to have him show Chet to the surgical waiting room and extend him every courtesy that he would to the department.

“Chet, I hate to leave you alone here, but I have to get back to the station and file the report and talk to the detectives. Will you be okay?”

Chet hugged him. “Yeah…will you?”

Mac held him at arms length and managed a weak smile. “He’ll be fine Chet. Try not to worry.”

“You too Mac.”

Chet sat in the waiting room for what seemed like days. Several cops had come and gone, but Chet was the one who maintained the lonely vigil for the whole period that Dave was in surgery. Mac returned after his shift and sat with him until a doctor came in.

Chet was afraid to ask. The surgeon came straight to Mac because of his uniform.

“He’s going to be fine. It took longer than we thought because the bullet lodged near his spine. One inch in either direction…well…he’s one lucky guy.”

Chet crumpled against Mac’s chest and let out all his pent up anxiety of the last few hours. Mac held Chet and looked up at the doctor.

“Aye, that he is.”

Well, a bit of a cliff hanger, but less of one than originally planned. I know there are many loose ends, and I promise to tie them all up at some point. All the best, Jon