Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:35:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Jeff N <jwnuwm@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Geek and the Jock Ch 6

The Geek and the Jock
By: Jeff N
(Copyright 2009 by the author)
Editor: Madison Cole

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From Chapter 5

"You heard, I take it?" Daniel asked. The tears were not only on his face,
but in his voice as well.

"Yeah."

"He really is a great guy ... he just gets so mean sometimes."

"I know, Daniel. It will be ok."

Over the next two weeks things went about in the same fashion. I kept on
healing and getting stronger with the help of everyone. Jeremy and I
continued our relationship, but something just seemed off-kilter somehow. I
didn't know if it was on my side or his. The one thing that truly bothered
me was that there were times when Jeremy was gone for an hour or even
longer. He would never answer me when I asked where he was. Daniel
continued to live with us. Erik and he continued their strange
relationship. I began to believe Erik was an abuser and he was taking
advantage of Daniel, but time would tell on that assumption.

The day came when Rachel called from work and said we had to have a "family
meeting" about my case that night when she got home.

Chapter 6


After school, Rachel phoned everyone to confirm that she was calling a
family meeting for that night. She ordered pizza from a local pizzeria to
be delivered at 6 p.m., so no one had to worry about cooking.  I had
progressed to the point that I could stay home alone during the day as
everything was at last healing nicely. In fact, I was scheduled to head
back to school the following Monday. I admit the thought of returning to
school and facing people didn't seem that appealing to me but I also knew
it was a necessary evil. Daniel and Jeremy told me that many people were
asking about me and had wished me well, so that made me feel better about
my return.

Daniel got home shortly after school let out for the day. I asked him if he
new about the plans for the evening, which he did. We decided to get things
set up as best we could for the family gathering. Between the two of us we
set up the dining room for the supper hour. We also moved a couple of the
chairs around in the living room for better seating. After we were done in
there, we moved to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of cokes, and relaxed on
the sofa in the living room. We sat next to each other with our feet up on
the coffee table.

"How you doing, Daniel?" I asked.

"Good, I guess ... I can't complain too much. School is good," he said,
although he didn't really sound enthused.

"How are the football team and practices going?"

"Ehhh ... I guess okay, but it sure is different since, since ... well, you
know."

"Yeah, I sure do know," I said, reaching over and patting the mid part of
his thigh with my hand. Daniel placed his hand gently on top of mine and
tentatively gripped it before giving it a firm squeeze. He released it
after holding it just a little longer than he perhaps should have.

I looked down at my watch and saw that it was already 5:30. I said, "I
wonder where Jeremy is? He has been running so late these days."

"I have noticed that, too," Daniel said, just shrugging his shoulders.

The door from the garage opened. Rachel and Joe had arrived home at the
same time. They greeted us as they walked through and said they were going
to change clothes. They asked us to please let my dad in when he
arrived. We were also to sign for the pizza, which was all paid for by
credit card including the tip. Ten minutes or so later the door bell
rang. Daniel jumped up, grabbed the knob and opened the door, revealing my
father.

Daniel stepped aside and allowed him to enter. As they greeted each other,
it fully surprised me when my father took Daniel in a hug, one which Daniel
enthusiastically returned. My dad walked over to the sofa as I was getting
to my feet. He gave me a big hug also and asked how I was doing. We made
small talk between the three of us for the next few minutes. Soon Rachel
and Joe returned from upstairs, dressed in their usual casual clothes. The
doorbell again rang. This time it was Joe's turn to answer. It was the
pizza man. Joe told him to just walk in and put the pizza and breadsticks
on the dining room table.

After the delivery guy unpacked the pizza, he began walking back to the
front door. I was now on my feet and met him. "Jess, is that you? What are
you doing here? How are you, man?" he asked me.

I looked and recognized the delivery guy as someone who went to my
school. I knew he was a senior. Thinking to myself, I should know him, I
finally said, "Matt ... Matt Parks, right?"

"Yup, that'd be me."

"Well, I am doing a lot better now. I have been staying here since
... well, you know. They all have been helping me to get back in shape."

"Well, very cool, man. I've got to get going, but I am sorry about what
happened to you. I will see you when you get back to school." Matt moved
toward me and gave me sort of a half hug, which I returned. With that, he
headed out the door.

As we headed to the table to eat, I thought to myself, What was that all
about with Matt? Yeah, I knew who he was—barely—but what was that hug
all about, and why was he so friendly?

Rachel and Joe got the sodas out of the frig as we all took our seats.

"Where is Jeremy?" Rachel asked in an irritated tone.

Both Daniel and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. I
reached for my cell phone and hit Jeremy's speed dial. It rang four times,
with the voicemail picking up. I left a message, "Jeremy, you're late for
the dinner meeting ... where are you?"

"We might as well go ahead and eat before it gets cold," Rachel said,
souding even more upset.

Most of us had finished eating when the door opened and Jeremy walked
in. We all were heading to the living room, as Jeremy started to sit down
at eat. "Ahhh ... I don't think so, mister. In the living room with
everyone else ... you were late, so you can just wait to eat until later,"
his mother said, this time almost irate.

Jeremy gave her a dirty look as he pulled his jacket off, but headed into
the living room. Daniel and I sat on the sofa, with him on one end and in
the middle. My dad was in the chair, and Joe and Rachel headed for the
loveseat. Jeremy plunked himself down next to me on the sofa. My dad and
Joe were chatting between themselves. I leaned over and was going to give
Jeremy a kiss, but he pulled back. I felt somewhat hurt, but I guessed he
didn't want to kiss in front of the parents.

Still leaning towards him I asked. "Why were you so late?"

He gave me a stern look that was very distant. "Don't worry about it!" he
snapped in response to my question.

Before I could even react, Rachel spoke up. "Well, I have had a lot of
discussions with both the police department and the District Attorney. The
new investigator is much better and has done his job well. Based on the
evidence that has been brought forward they have decided on the following
charges. Mark and Randy will both be charged with kidnapping, false
imprisonment, and battery. Chad will also have the same charges filed
against him, with the additional charge of attempted second-degree
murder. Now, Mark and Randy have both agreed to take a plea bargain which
the DA wants our input on—or, more specifically, your input, Jess."

Rachel looked over at me. I must have had a look of fear on my face. Rachel
continued, "Mark and Rancy have both agreed to testify against Chad, who
was the ring leader in all this. In exchange for their testimony, they will
be given reduced sentences. What is being proposed for punishment will be
probation until they turn twenty one. They will also cover all of our court
costs, Jess's medical bills, and will be sentenced to serve 250 hours
community service to be done at the center for gay rights and the AIDS
center. In addition to that, their insurance companies have put out an
offer of $250,000 from each to be paid to you, Jess, for your pain and
suffering."

I sat there on the couch, stunned into silence. I looked around the room,
and everyone else appeared to be in the same condition. Rachel continued,
"Now, Chad is another story. He has vowed to fight the charges until the
end and says he wants his day in court. The DA feels the second-degree
murder charge will be the hardest to prove. However, he feels that all the
rest can be easily proven, and when that is coupled with our state's hate
crime statute, Chad will go to prison for a long time. The punishment for
the first three charges listed is a minimum of seven years in prison with a
maximum of 25. His insurance company has also agreed to settle with Jess
just to wash their hands of the matter, and that is not a good sign for his
criminal case. The settlement that they are offering you is $800,000. The
issue of Chad's jail time is separate from the insurance settlements."

"Rachel, I have no idea what to say about any of this," I replied.

"Well, let's start with the insurance settlements. These were not the first
offers. I have pushed them up a fair amount already. We could go to court
and try to get more out of them, but it would take time and cost money. I
think these amounts are pretty fair, actually. They will give you a nice
start on life, even though I know it is nowhere near enough to even begin
to compensate you for what you have gone through. As your attorney, it
would be my recommendation that you take these offers and walk away from
any further suits on the civil side," Rachel said.

My dad spoke up. "I agree with Rachel. Let's take the offers, put this all
behind us, and move on. You can finish your last year of high school, Jess,
and then go to the college of your choice now and start your adult life. I
am just so sorry that you had to go through this to get it. I am not so
much talking about the physical pain—that was awful, I know—but also
I'm talking about the mental anguish you went through. There is no amount
of money that could ever make amends for that."

I looked at Daniel, who said, "I agree with your dad. Let's get all this
crap behind you, or us, and forget it. The money doesn't make it right but
it will help you a little."

When Daniel was done, Jeremy spoke up and said, "Take the money, babe. It
will give us a great start on our life together."

I again sat there without words. Jeremy is planning to be with me long
term. I had never really thought too much about the future, but he must
have, judging from his words, and he wanted me to be part of it. A small
tear came to my eye as I held Jeremy's hand and began to speak. "Where do I
have to sign, or what do I have to do to take these offers? I never even
gave getting money for this a thought. To say the least, I am overwhelmed."

Rachel took out three sets of legal documents and laid them on the coffee
table. "You are eighteen, Jess, so you can sign for yourself. You don't
need your father to sign with you. These are the agreements and
releases. Once these are signed and filed with the proper insurance
companies, you will be issued payments. All that you need to do is sign
where the red Xs are, and I will take care of the rest."

I took the pen from Rachel, signed the papers where indicated, and handed
them all back to her. She then said. "I have contacted a close friend,
Richard Harvey. He is the Vice President of investments at the Rock
National Bank. I have set up an appointment for you for Monday night at
five o'clock."

I nodded my head. "I will be there," I promised.

My mind slowly began to wonder about what the hell I was going to do with a
million dollars. I figured my college would be paid for now with no
problem. I needed a car, and that should be a no-brainer, but nothing too
fancy. I thought about trying to pay Jeremy and his parents back, but I
knew they would never take it. I looked over at my dad. I knew he still
owed about $30,000 on his mortgage. I would pay that off, for sure. As I
was thinking, I was suddenly taken out of my thoughts by Rachel speaking to
me.

"Now, Jess, we need to deal with the criminal charges. As for the plea
bargain that Randy and Mark are being offered, I suggest that you advise
the DA to go with the plea. It is my belief that all the evidence shows
that Chad was the mastermind and brought these two into it, kind of like
sheep following the leader."

I thought for a minute. "I agree with you, Rachel, they were just brought
along to do the dirty work. It's Chad who is the truly evil asshole in all
this. Randy and Mark don't deserve to have their lives ruined. I just have
one question—do you think it would be possible to have one thing added
to their punishment? I want meet with them face to face. I want them to say
they are sorry and explain to me to my face why they did it. I want them to
know I am a person with feelings."

"If you want that, I am sure the DA will add that. I think its an excellent
idea," Rachel said.  "Now, as far as Chad is concerned, we will just have
to wait for the trial date to be set. I would like to tell the DA to
recommend the maximum penalty for Chad."

"I totally agree, but even the maximum sentence is not longenough for the
son of a bitch," I said as my tears started to flow.

As I said this, Jeremy pulled his hand away from mine, stood up, and began
pacing. "I have to say that this just seems wrong to me. This is going to
ruin his life. Chad is my best friend. He doesn't deserve to go to jail for
twenty five years."

Everyone in the room sat there with their mouths hanging open. We stared at
Jeremy as he continued to pace. Daniel was the first to come out of his
stouper. "Jeremy, what are you saying? How can you still be friends with
that filth? He deserves to go to jail for a hundred years for what he put
Jess and the rest of us through. He took Jess off the street, tied him to a
board, beat him unconscious, and left him to die!"

"I know, but it's just hard for me to go along with this. I was friends
with him since we were four years old. I know what he did was wrong. But he
is 18 years old. If he gets 25 years, he won't be out until he is 45. It
just seems so unfair ... but I guess it is in the hand of the courts, since
he appartently wants to fight it."

Rachel spoke up and said firmly, "Jeremy, this was a crime planned out
carefully ... not something that he did on just a whim. Chad has to be
punished, and he will be."

After that, the meeting broke up. My dad and Jeremy's parents sat in the
living room to talk between themselves. Daniel and I began to head
upstairs. Jeremy came up behind us and told me that he had to go out for a
little bit. The football offense was having a meeting to discuss this
week's game. He quickly left. Daniel got a phone call from Erik shortly
after we went upstairs, and he asked if he could come over for a while.

Fifteen minutes later Rachel sent Erik up to our room. Knowing that they
would want some time alone, I excused myself and went into the spare
bedroom to watch some television. That was the bedroom that shared the
bathroom that was attached to the room that we used. Apparently, both of
the bathroom doors were open a crack. I had not noticed that until voices
became raised in the other room, so much so that I could hear them over the
television. I could not make out words exacty, but I could tell it was not
happy times in that room.

The argument went on for five or six minutes and finally ended with the
slamming door of Erik's leaving. Once he was gone, I got off the bed, wnt
down the hall, and slowly opened the door. As I stuck my head inside, I
asked Daniel "Is it safe to come in?"

"Yeah ... I take it you heard."

"So what's up with all this?" I asked.

"Jess, to tell you the truth, I am not sure. Erik seems to have changed
from the time I first started going out with him. He gets so upset with me
at times. I just don't know what it is that I am doing wrong."

"Well, Daniel, I know I am new to this whole relationship thing, but I know
Erik doesn't like the two of us being friends. He gave me a warning a while
ago to stay the hell away from you. I tried to tell him that I am with
Jeremy and that you and I are just good friends, but he didn't seem to
accept that."

A tear started to form in the corner of Daniel's eye. "Do you mind if we
don't talk about this right now, Jess? I just want to relax a bit."

"Sure. You want to play some video game or watch a movie?"

We settled on a movie that Daniel picked out. About an hour after that,
Jeremy arrived home. He again appeared to be quiet and distant, but
finished watching the movie with us. All of us agreed that we were tired
and got ready for bed at the same. We took our usual spots in the bed and
laid there in the dark. Daniel gave both of us a kiss and hug
goodnight. Then he rolled over onto his side. I had assumed he was lost in
his own thoughts about whatever was going on with Erik. I rolled over to
face Jeremy, put my head on his chest, and laid my arm across his
belly. Since my beating Jeremy and I had done almost nothing physically. I,
of course, had no experience in this area at all being a virgin when I met
Jeremy. All that I had for reference was what little I had seen on the
internet.

As I laid beside him, Jeremy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. It was
obvious to me that he had some huge weight on his shoulders, and I wished
that he would share it with me. I was not falling into sleep as easily as I
thought I might. I could tell that Jeremy was in the same situation.

My mind began to wonder what it would be like to have sex with
Jeremy. Slowly, I found my hand wandering down his belly. It soon came in
contact with Jeremy's pubic hair. It was thick and soft to the touch. My
fingers found their way through that sexy forest, arriving at the prize in
short order. I gently ran my fingers across the head of his completely
flaccid cock. I heard a small audiable gasp from Jeremy, but nothing
more. I wrapped my hand around him. Jeremy soon began to have a
reaction. It took several seconds for it to grow and expand. The blood was
rushing in from all over his body, filling the tower to maximum
capacity. There was a very similar reaction happening within my own body.

As I began to stroke his cock, he began to react. I could feel his body
slowly moving in motion with my hand, and his cock began to produce its
natural lube. That made it much easier for me. My head was still laying on
his chest. I extended my tongue and began to kiss, lick and nibble on
Jeremy's right nipple. This must have driven him crazy. I felt his hand on
my head as he ran his fingers through my hair, massaging my head. Jeremy
moaned in pleasure as his cock became as hard as a rock. I had been at this
about eight or nine minutes, when things quickly became more
intense. Jeremy removed his hand from my head. I was not sure what was
happening, but it was possible be was about to cum.

Not knowing for sure what I wanted to do—just let it fly or stop? What
should I do? I thought to myself. Before I could even kick my mind into
gear, my body instinctively took over. I bent down, and of course I felt a
couple of painful twinges from my ribs, but I kept going nevertheless. I
soon had my lips wrapped around the head of Jeremy's cock. I got no
further, because I felt his nuts constrict, his body began to arch, and his
hand tried to force me off of him. I would have none of that. I wanted to
taste him and taste him now.

His eruption began. The first volley hit the back of my mouth, followed in
quick succession by five or six more powerful shots. I somehow managed to
swallow all of it without spilling a single drop. When it was over, I
looked up at Jermz for the first time since this game started. He looked
down at me with a tear in his eye, but he still had a huge smile and look
of contentment plastered on his face.

Jeremy pulled me up to him, and kissed me deeply and passionately on the
lips. I felt so content and so full of love at that moment. He told me that
he loved me more than anything. Soon after that we both drifted off to
sleep. We awoke the following morning, the three of us began going through
our normal pre-school routine.

As we finished up, Jeremy came up behind me and whispered in my ear, "I
know you have that meeting with the banker after school, but how about we
go out to dinner about seven tonight?"

"Sure, that sounds great! Any special reason?"

"Yeah ... kinda, but I will tell you tonight."

Late Monday afternoon I made my way to the Rock National Bank as Rachel had
arranged for me to do. Once inside, I asked for Richard Harvey. I was soon
ushered into his office in the front corner of the bank. After the
introductions were concluded, Mr. Harvey explained that the checks had all
arrived earlier in the day. The total amount was actually more than had
been expected. Apparently Rachel had asked for more in a couple of the
cases, and had won. The total that was being held for me was $1,900,000
dollars. I fell totally into shock.

"Mr. Harvey," I said, "I have no idea what to do with all of this money. I
am hoping you will have some suggestions that will help me. However, I do
have a small laundry list that I need to take care of before we go
forward." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the paper I had written
everything on.

"That's very good, Jess. Let's go over your list and see what I can help
you with."

"Well, first I would like to pay off the mortgage on my father's house, and
then put ten thousand in his checking account."

"I thought you might do something along that line. I have already looked up
your fathers mortgage since it happens to be here at this bank. He
currently owes $26,575.89," Mr. Harvey said, looking at his screen. He then
set to work, pushed a few buttons, and in about five minutes a woman walked
in carrying some papers. Mr. Harvey looked at them, announced that the
mortgage was paid off in full, and that he had transferred the money I
requested into my father's account. He handed me a copy of the mortgage
that was stamped `paid,' plus a receipt for the deposit.

The next item on my list was to set up a college fund for myself. I
explained that I wanted this in a separate investment. I had no savings for
that now. I told Mr. Harvey that I wanted to allot $100,000 for that
account. He thought that would be an excellent idea. He made some notes and
said he would take care of setting that up for me.

Next, I wanted to help Daniel out. He really had nothing in the world and
he had quickly become my best friend. Like me—before today, anyway—he
also had no savings for college, and I knew if he was not helped out
somehow, he would not get to go. I explained this to Mr. Harvey, providing
him all of Daniel's details as I went along. He told me that I was being
very generous and a true friend. He said he would set up another account
similar to mine. Again, he started clicking away on his keyboard.

"How much would you like to start Daniel out with?"

"I was thinking $50,000, or do you think that is being cheap?"

Mr. Harvey smiled and replied, "No, Jess, I think that is a great amount."

When he finished typing, as if on cue the same woman came back in with a
stack of papers for me to sign. I was again handed a copy with the amounts
on them. I explained to Mr. Harvey that I was going to buy myself a
car—nothing too fancy, but the one I wanted was about $30,000. I wanted
to upgrade Daniel's car as well, since his was mostly junk. The one I
wanted for him was a good used one that cost about $17,000.

Mr. Harvey asked me if that was all the major purchases I intended to
make. Looking down at my list, I explained that I had just a couple of
other things in mind. I wanted to buy a trip for Jeremy's parents to thank
them for all they had done for me. I wanted to spend about $10,000 on
that. Then there was Jeremy. I wanted to get him something special that
would run about $2,000. Other than that, there was nothing more I wanted to
do.

Mr. Harvey again returned to typing on his keyboard. He asked how much I
thought I would spend on a weekly basis. I explained that I would not spend
that much, just enough for gas and meals. His typing continued. As before,
when he finished the same woman walked in and handed him a sheaf of papers
and envelopes. Mr. Harvey explained to me that he had set up a checking
account for me which of course included a debit card. He had deposited
$70,000 in it to cover everything I had given him, plus an extra $9,000 for
spending money. The rest of the settlement money would be held in savings
until he had worked out a personalized plan for its investment. Mr. Harvey
handed me some counter checks and the debit card, and he told me the
account and cards were both active and ready to go. If I bought either of
the cars, Mr. Harvey said to just use the debit card, and if there any
problems arose just to have the dealership call him personally.

I thanked him, and was out the door. I caught the bus over to the
dealership near the mall, where I had looked at cars a couple of days
earlier. I went in and found my salesman. His name was Jerry. I told him I
was ready to deal on the 2010 Black Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, and also the
2007 Red Eclipse with 35,000 miles on it. We went into his office.

He got out some papers along with his calculator. Jerry began writing some
figures on a paper. When he was done, he slid a paper in front of me. I
looked at it, and the bottom line total was $40,500.

"Jerry, you're going to have to do a lot better than that," I said as I
slid the paper back across the desk to him.

"That's our best deal here. Besides what kind of joke is this, an 18
year-old kid trying to buy two cars? How would you even begin to pay for
them?"

Without hesitation, I reached down, picked up my backpack, threw it over my
shoulder, and headed for the door. I heard him say behind me, "What a
joke."

I had almost arrived at the end of the lot headed for the bus stop, when I
heard someone behind me yelling, "Sir!" I turned to see an older man waving
and running toward me. "Can I talk to you and ask what happened?" he said
earnestly.

I explained to him that I had been in a couple days ago, looked at the two
cars, and even taken them both for test drives. I also explained that Jerry
and I were apart on the price and then relayed what Jerry had said to me.

"Well," the older man said. "I am sorry for my salesman's actions, and I
will deal with him appropriately. I am Frank Lancaster, the owner of
Lancaster Automotive. Would you be willing to come back to my office and
see if we can make a deal together?"

I nodded in the affirmative.

He did the same thing that Jerry had with his computer and a piece of
paper. He wrote down two prices. The total of the two was $39,005.

"If you will be wiling to take $4,000 off the price, I think we can deal,
Frank."

He looked a little puzzled, "Well, which car are you talking about—the
2010 or the 2007? Which one are you talking about taking that $4,000 off
of?"

"I don't really care which one, so long as you take it off the total."

"Oh, you want both of them? Well, if you want both of them, I am willing to
do it for $36,000."

"Then we have a deal, Frank, on one condition. "Can have them both
delivered to my house in two hours?"

"Son, listen. We have to talk about financing these, and I am not sure you
would even pass the test without a parent."

I reached into my pocket, pulled out my new debit card. I slid it across
Mr. Lancaster's desk. "You can put the total on there, sir. There's no need
to involve my dad."

He picked up the card with a funny smirk on his face. "You will understand
if I call the bank and ask them first?"

"By all means, be my guest! Please ask for Mr. Richard Harvey. He handles
my account."  I sat back, smiling.

Mr. Lancaster proceeded to dial. As he was talking to Mr. Harvey, he got a
funny look on his face and sat up quite a bit straighter in his chair. He
soon hung up the phone, immediately dialing another number.

"Well then, sir, we have a deal. We can get them delivered to your specs as
soon as we get this paperwork done."

We spent about twenty minutes doing the paperwork. I walked out with the
keys to two cars in my pocket. I had arranged that they be delivered to
Jeremy's house before seven, and left on the street close to the driveway
of the Lang's house. I headed over to the mall to make my last two
stops. First, I went to American Travel. I talked to one of the agents and
told them that I wanted to buy a gift certificate for a couple so they
could come in and plan their own trip.

When I told the agent the $10,000 amount I wanted to spend, her eyes got
somewhat bigger, but she proceeded handling my request without a
comment. She then took my card and ran it. When the transaction cleared,
she printed out some paperwork along with a nice fancy certificate and
placed it all in a heavy envelope. She thanked me for the business as I
headed out the door. My last stop was K-1 Jewelry. I went in and looked
first at the watches and next at some neck chains. The counter person, a
young man dressed in a nice suit, came to assist me. He told me his name
was Scot. I told Scot I was looking for a nice watch for my boyfriend. He
smiled at me and asked what price range I was looking at.

"I want to spend between two and three thousand."

"I will get my manager to help you with this."

"No, you can help me, we don't need a manager."

He said he was not allowed to wait on someone who wanted to spend as much
money as I did. I frowned.

"I want you to wait on me, now show me what you have."

He walked over to the register and took out a set of keys. Scot came back
and unlocked the door to the watch cabinet. He took out a tray of watches
which were in my price range. I saw the one I wanted right away. It was a
beautiful gold watch with a black dial and diamond at the `12.' He was
explaining the features when an older man came over.

"I will take over here, now. You know this is not allowed."

"Excuse me, sir, you can leave us now. Scot is doing a fine job, I have
decided what I want."

"Very well then, I will finalize the sale for you," the older man said.

I bent over, picked up my backpack, and headed for the door. The older man
called after me. I turned my head back toward him and said, "I said, either
Scot waits on me and gets the full commission on the sale, or I am leaving
right now."

"Of course, sir."

Scot gave me a price of $2,200 which included the engraving I wanted. I
asked Scot when it would be done. He told me that the engraving was his
usual job here, and if I could wait just fifteen minutes, he could have it
done for me and I could take the watch with me. I thanked him, and asked if
I could watch him do his engraving work. Scot agreed to that, which I found
interesting. We talked as he worked. It came out that he was gay also, but
he had not yet found his "Mr. Right." He was 19 and had taken a year off
before going to college. I put all this information in the back of my head.

Sure enough, Scot was done in fifteen minutes, I thanked him and headed out
the door. I told the manager I would be checking to see if Scot in fact
received the commission due him on my sale.

It was about six o'clock. I pulled out my cell phone and called my
father. I asked him to meet me at Jeremy's. I then called Daniel. He was
already home, as was Jeremy and both his parents. I told him to keep
everyone there, and that I would be there shortly. He sounded puzzled but
said he would do as I asked.

When I arrived home, I saw the cars sitting out in the street just as they
were supposed to be. My father arrived at the same time I did and followed
me into the house. I asked if they could all join me in the living room.

Once there, I stood at the head of the room. "I am sorry for the short
notice on this little meeting, but I could not wait. I met with Mr. Harvey
this afternoon, and found out `mom' did better than we thought she might. I
had 1.9 million dollars waiting for me at the bank. We got some of the
items settled this afternoon, and Mr. Harvey will be working on more for
me. My reason for calling you all here is mostly to thank you for all your
help and support in what has happened. So, today ,I went on a little
shopping spree, all with the approval and counsel of Mr. Harvey, of
course."

They all looked somewhat like they were upset, but I didn't care. "So, Dad,
I am going to start with you. First, you have worked so hard all your life
to support me. I know you have some bills or whatever. I had $10,000
transferred into your checking account to help you out a bit."  I then
handed him the receipt.

"Jess, I am grateful, but this is your money—you take it back, son. I am
fine."

"First, stop arguing. I am not taking anything back. You will just have to
accept it or I will get really upset. There is one more thing, Dad. Here."
I handed him the envelope. He looked at me, puzzled, but began to open it.

He looked inside, began to cry, and said, "This is way too much, Jess. You
can't do this."

Rachel asked softly, "What did he do?"

My father still could not speak. He just handed the envelope to Rachel. Her
eyes got wide, and she looked up saying, "You paid off your father
mortgage!"

My father got up and pulled me into a hug. We stood like that for a while
before he returned to his seat.

"Next, `mom and dad,' you guys have been so great to me. I could never
begin to repay you for all you have done for me. You gave me your home,
your friendship, and Rachel, you were also the best lawyer I could have! I
know this barely touches what you have done, but I want you to have this as
a token of my love for you." I handed them the envelope.

Rachel opened it, while Joe looked over her shoulder. Joe spoke up, "I know
it will do no good to argue with you, so I won't—but Jess, this is too
much."

Rachel explained to the others watching that I had given them a gift
certificate for travel in the amount of $10,000 so they could plan a trip
they would both enjoy. Rachel and Joe then stood and hugged me.

Once they settled back down, I turned to Jeremy. "This is small, I
know. It's only a part of my present to you, though. You will get the rest
later tonight."

Jeremy smiled at me as he opened the box. "Jess, it's beautiful! I love the
engraving, and I love you, too."

"Now, I didn't leave myself out of this. First, I had Mr. Harvey put
$100,000 into a college fund for me, so that is separate from everything
else. Then I decided I needed something for myself. I bought myself a 2010
Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. It's here and it;s all mine," Ilaughed and held
up the keys for the rest to see.

Everyone congratulated me on my first car purchase and for saving for
school. When they were done, I sort of paused. I think they thought we were
done at that point. Daniel had already stood up and was preparing to head
up to our room to do his homework.

"Wait a minute, guys! We have one more family member I need to take care of
yet," I announced, smiling at Daniel.

"Jess, you better not have gotten anything for me or I am going to be so
upset with you. I am not part of the family, and I didn't do that much of
anything."

Getting a little frustrted at what he had said, I told him, "Daniel, sit
down! First of all, you are a part of this family just like I am. Next, the
same rules go for you that went for everybody else—you can't argue or
complain, and you can't give it back!"

Everyone spoke up in agreement. Daniel finally sat back down and looked up
at me.

"I know you don't have any money for college any more, and without it, you
won't go. I know this isn't enough to pay for four years, but this will
give you a start."  I handed him the envelope.

He opened it, pulled out the paper, and read it. "Damn it, Jess you can't
do this! It's your money ... you can not be doing this." With that, he
threw the paper back at me.

"You have nothing to do except take it, so get used to it." Jeremy picked
up the paper, and read it.

"Daniel, if I were you, I would shut up and take it. You know he isn't
going to change his mind and you can go damned far on $50,000." Jeremy
said.

Everyone looked at me except Jermz. "I guess I have no choice." Daniel
said. "I don't know how to thank you, Jess ... Are we done here now?"
Daniel asked.

"Nope, one more thing." I reached into my pocket and threw him the keys to
his new car. "It's the red one behind mine parked out front."

"You'd better not have gotten me a car, Jess, or you're in trouble."

"Then I am in trouble."

We all made our way to the street to look at the two new cars. Daniel
pulled me aside to protest. He knew it would do no good but instead just
gave me a hug and kiss, thanking me profusely.

Jeremy then announced that we were late for our dinner reservation, and he
wondered if I wanted to drive. As the rest headed into the house, Jermz and
I headed off for our night out together.

To be continued...