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Disclaimer
– If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is
a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it
is in realistic balance in the characters’ lives. The story
contains sexual encounters between high school age minors, and has
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resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is
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Trails
and Tribulations
Chapter
8
Keeping the Faith
I
felt the sun on my face the next morning, as it came through my
window. It’s warmth on my body didn’t compare to the
warmth I felt in my soul, from Joey. The sun’s rays highlighted
Joey’s golden hair, almost making it look, as if he was wearing
a crown of gold, or better yet, had a halo encircling his head like
an angel. I knew there were many obstacles we would have to overcome
in life, but I was certain that as long as we were together, there
was nothing we couldn’t do. As I lay there, looking at my
boyfriend, the beginning of a poem ran through my mind.
I
never knew what joy words could bring.
Boyfriend was a word that
made bells ring.
In times past, words had little meaning.
With
one word, love was what I was feeling.
As
I looked upon this beautiful angel, my very own boyfriend, I wasn’t
sure how I was going to handle a certain growing problem. I turned my
head, and found Roger up close to me, but that wasn’t my
problem. No sir, it couldn’t have been as simple as being the
meat in a boy sandwich. That had happened often enough before, when
Timmy and Roger had spent nights sleeping over at my place. I was
starting to panic, because I could feel that Little Mikey had risen
with the sun, and was now comfortably nestled between Joey’s
butt cheeks. I didn’t want to wake him, and I couldn’t
move backwards because Roger was up against me too. Shit! Shit! Shit!
Now what do I do?
As if I wasn’t worried enough, the
next thing I knew, Roger turned over, and threw his arm over Joey and
me. Oh my God! He pushed up against me, and his boner was pushing
into MY butt cheeks! I rose up real fast, rolled over Roger, jumped
off the bed, and ran to the bathroom without saying a word. On the
way, I heard, “What the fuck?”
There was no way I
was going to explain what really happened. I decided while taking a
leak that I would tell just them I was about to bust from all the
drinks last night.
I walked back into my bedroom, and both of
them were sitting on the bed grinning at me like possums.
“What?”
I asked as I raised my arms out to the side and shrugged. “I
was about to burst.”
Roger just looked me and rolled his
eyes just before he threw his pillow at me, which I quickly
sidestepped. I ran over and jumped on him, pushing him back on his
back, and started tickling his sides. Joey swiftly got up off the
bed, and stood, watching. Roger and I were rolling around on the bed
trying to get control of the other, as I continued to tickle his
sides, but Roger was laughing so hard, he just gave up, his face as
red as a stop sign. Once he gave up, I stopped, and just laid my head
down on his chest as I tried to catch my breath. That’s when I
noticed his boner pushing into my thigh.
I rolled over off
Roger hurriedly, and looked at Joey’s smiling face. I returned
his smile. “I didn’t hurt your back did I?”
“No,
but I think I peed a little.” Joey said softly. He immediately
took off towards the bathroom, leaving me with a smile. I was fairly
confident he wasn’t mad at me for waking up with my boner
trying to take his virginity.
Chuckling, Roger got off the
bed, walked over, and picked up the pillow off the floor. He slung it
back towards me hitting me in the face, while mumbling, “Butthole,
I owe you,” before he followed Joey into the bathroom.
I
kept the pillow over my face breathing a deep sigh of relief. I felt
someone sit down on the bed beside me, and gently move the pillow off
my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw Joey’s beautiful eyes
looking down at me, a smile dancing across his face.
Joey
leaned down until our noses were touching, and he kept his eyes on
mine the whole time. “I know why you freaked out this morning,”
he whispered huskily. I could feel my whole body go into full blush
mode. He leaned back, and I could see the smile on his face, as he
spoke again. “I felt you knocking on my back door.”
“Yeah,
I am sorry about that,” I whispered back, trying to keep from
blushing any harder. “I swear it wasn’t on purpose. I
guess Little Mikey has a mind of his own, but that wasn’t what
totally freaked me out,” my voice rose slightly as I continued,
“I was in the same position as you with Little Roger trying to
find a home.”
“Oh my God, no wonder,” Joey
laughed, setting my mind at ease. “And it’s okay about
us; if your hand had been any lower you would have found I was hard
too.”
I turned my head, and kissed him on the cheek. He
always found a way to make me feel better about anything. He turned
until our lips met, and gave me a soft, loving kiss. It was the sort
of kiss that let me know the world was ours.
“Okay you
love birds, what’s the plan for today?” Roger asked,
coming back into the room.
“I have to let Aunt Alice
apply my bandages in a few minutes, but after that I’m up for
anything that doesn’t cause me to sweat a lot.” Joey
looked back at me, mischievously.
“Well,” Roger
began, “we could walk down to the church, and shoot some hoops,
maybe a game of horse.”
“That reminds me,”
Joey began before I could respond. “I wanted to ask you two a
favor. Would you come with me to church tomorrow? I don’t care
where we go, but I have a lot to be thankful for,” He looked at
both of us, “and I want to thank God, in His house.”
“You
can count on us,” Roger said, as he walked over, sat down
beside Joey, put his arm around his shoulders, and leaned his head
against Joey’s. Watching that single interaction between the
two, proved to me that Roger is the best friend anyone could have.
I
took Joey’s hands in mine, and I stared into his eyes hoping he
could see all I was feeling at that moment. “You know I’ll
go anywhere with you. We can go to the service at the church we’re
going to shoot hoops. I’ll show you around if anyone is there.
Maybe the Pastor will be there, and I can introduce you to
him.”
Joey’s face broke into a smile. “That
sounds awesome.”
“Okay guys, I reckon we better
get started then,” Roger said as he started looking around for
his clothes from the night before. “Joey, you better take your
shower first, and while mom is putting fresh bandages on you, I can
take mine.” Roger paused, “Andy, we’re just going
to leave our stuff here we packed last night. I don’t know
about Joey, but I didn’t bring anything to wear to shoot ball
in.”
“No problem guys.” I answered.
“I’ll
take mine back with me.” Joey responded.
They both got
up and dressed. Roger headed downstairs, but before Joey left, he
walked over and pulled me off the bed.
“I love you,
Andy,” Joey said softly, studying my face.
“I love
you too, Joey,” I barely got out as our lips met. He wrapped
his arms around my neck, and I slipped my hands down to his lower
back, pulling him closer to me. His tongue slide across my lower lip,
as I slightly opened my mouth, and sucked his tongue inside, pulling
us into a deeper kiss. My hands slid down and cupped his beautiful
twin mounds. I could feel the moan from deep in his throat, as I
gently squeezed his cute bubble butt. We broke the kiss as we heard
Roger running back up the stairs.
“I’ll be right
over after I take my shower.” He nodded while leaning in to
give me a butterfly kiss, and left before Roger could make it to the
door.
I could hear Roger giving him a hard time, asking what
was keeping him so long. I listened as the sounds of Roger and Joey
faded as they headed home. I grabbed my stuff, and went into my
bathroom to shower.
I knew why Roger wanted to go down to the
church to play basketball and not in my driveway. He was hoping some
others would be there so we could play some two-on-two, or
four-on-four games. I didn’t think Joey was able to play yet,
but I also didn’t think he would mind watching for a little bit
either.
The more I thought about it, this was a great
opportunity to show Joey around the church. I knew I wouldn’t
play much if Joey couldn’t, and that would give us time to look
around. I knew how important church was to Joey, and this might be
just what he needed. We might even meet Pastor Irvin, who was a new
pastor here, having transferred in about six months ago. He was also
kind of young for a pastor, I thought. Well, he wasn’t real
old, anyway; I’d guess he was maybe in his late twenties or
early thirties. The pastor before him had been in his seventies when
he retired. The three or four times I had been to church since Pastor
Irvin had moved here, his sermons had all been positive, and not
focused on sin and Hell.
When I got over to their house, Aunt
Alice was just finishing up with Joey’s bandages.
“Good
morning Andy.” She ruffled my hair on the way past me to put
away the medical supplies. Why does every adult I know love to mess
with my hair? But she was my second mom; she could get away with
nearly anything.
“Good morning, Aunt Alice. You’re
looking very pretty this morning,” I smiled happily.
“Aren’t
you the charmer this morning?” She laughed, and turned to face
us. For a moment, a concerned look crossed her face, but she kept her
“mom” voice as she talked to us. “So, I understand
you boys want to go to the Presbyterian Church to play ball
today?”
“Yes, ma’am. Joey wants to go to
church tomorrow, and I thought it would also be a good time to show
him around the church. Do you think Pastor Irvin will be there
today?”
“It’s possible. He works on his
sermons on Saturday mornings before he goes to visit members at the
hospitals, or at their homes.” She patted Joey’s arm.
“We’re all done sweetie. You better get dressed for the
basketball court.”
Aunt Alice finished cleaning up, as
Joey got up and went to his room. A moment later, Roger entered into
the room, and he immediately went to his mother.
“Mom,
will it be okay if we go? You said to let you think about it.”
Roger looked at Aunt Alice, doing his best puppy dog eyes. There were
times Roger really could make anyone laugh.
Aunt Alice shook
her head, and laughed at him. “Yes, you can go. But take your
phones and have them on. Okay?”
“Yes ma’am,”
Roger grinned, throwing his arm around my shoulders. I nodded,
fishing my phone out of my pocket to show her I had it.
Joey
came back in looking awesome. He was wearing a new blue pull-over tee
with the University of Kentucky logo on it. He also had on UK gym
trunks along with the new Nikes I had bought him. His outfit totally
brought out his amazing eyes. I watched as his blond hair slipped
forward and into his eyes. God, he looked so dang sexy to me.
Roger
lightly punched me in the stomach, and I looked over to him to see
what he wanted. I noticed that he was looking at me, before shooting
glances at his mom. I took a quick glimpse at Aunt Alice, only to
find she was giving me a knowing smile. My mind froze, as the voice
in my head screamed, ‘Oh
God! She knows.’
Roger
spoke up quickly. “Let go guys! Daylight is
burning.”
Blushing, I nodded, and hurried back outside
with Joey and Roger right behind me. Roger grabbed a basketball from
the garage, before we headed towards the church. As we walked and
talked, we dribbled the ball back and forth.
When we got to
the basketball court behind the church, the Brown brothers, Jerry and
Terry, were playing one-on-one. They asked if we wanted to play, but
I told them that we would just start on the other end of the court,
and warm up some first. I wanted Joey to be able to play some horse
so he wouldn’t feel left out when we began an actual game.
As
we were walking down to the other end, Joey looked at me. “It
would have been okay if you and Roger wanted to play with them, I
could have shot some baskets down on this end by myself for a while,
and watched you guys play when I got tired.”
“I
know, babe,” Joey’s eyes grew wide when I said that, “But
I like doing stuff with you, you know?”
“You
called me babe.” Joey’s eyes sparkled as a huge smile
danced across his face.
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”
I could feel the heat on my cheeks. “I’m hope that
doesn’t bother you.”
“No, not in the
slightest, you can call me that anytime.”
We played
horse for about fifteen or twenty minutes, with both Joey and Roger
winning a game. Joey proved to be a pretty good shot; once we
explained the basics, he seemed to be a natural. I wondered if he
would be as good at baseball, as he was at basketball. I decided that
I would try and find out, and soon! If he was, then maybe I could
talk him into coming out for baseball with me in the spring.
Roger
and I took on the Browns in two-on-two to twenty-one. Jerry was older
than us, being a senior, and Terry was a freshman and a year younger
than us. The first game was close and we only won by two. Roger made
most of the outside shots for us, and I handled rebounding, since I
could box out well. I made a bunch of layups and mid-range shots.
After we had beaten them more resoundingly the second time,
twenty-one to nine, more people had shown up at the court. I figured
it was a good time for Joey and me to have a look around.
We
went to the front of the church, and found the door unlocked. I led
Joey down the hallway towards the office. The door was open, and I
knocked.
“Hello?” Someone called out. “Come
on in, I’m just polishing up my sermon for tomorrow.”
Joey
and I walked in; I noticed the sermon on the desk, as Pastor Irvin
set down his pen, and smiled at us. Pastor Irvin looked younger than
I remembered, but this was the first time I had seen him up close.
Actually, he didn’t look much older than Roger’s cousin
Drew, who was still in college. He had short brown hair, grey
penetrating eyes, an athletic build as far as I could tell with him
sitting behind his desk, and smile that seemed to be permanently in
place - a smile that would make anyone feel welcomed and be put at
ease. He motioned for us to take a seat.
As we sat, Joey
looked at me, and I figured I should make the introductions. “Pastor
Irvin, I’m…”
“You’re Michael
Andrew Collins, who everyone calls Andy, the son of Judge Samuel A.
Collins.” Pastor Irvin smiled at me, before turning to look at
Joey. “And this young man must be Joseph Matthew Adams, who his
friends call Joey, and is new to our community,” he said,
reaching out to shake our hands. I sat there a little stunned he that
remembered me from the handful of times I had been to church since he
took over, but more stunned that he knew who Joey was. I realized he
was still waiting on me to shake his hand, which I did, a little
embarrassed.
“What can I do for you boys on this
beautiful day?” Pastor Irvin smiled. I noticed he smiled a
lot.
“How did you know who I was?” Joey stared at
Pastor Irvin curiously.
Pastor Irvin leaned back in his seat,
his ever present grin returning as he spoke. “Mrs. Banks
called, and said you boys may drop by this morning.”
“Oh.”
I sat there, not knowing what else to say.
Pastor Irvin got up
and moved his chair around the desk so he could sit closer to the two
of us. Wow, he did have a nice athletic body. Oh jeez, now I’m
perving on the pastor! I need to get my hormones in check. He sat
back down, and glanced from Joey to me and back. I knew I was
blushing from my earlier thoughts. “So what can I do for you
two boys?” Pastor Irvin asked with a smile.
Joey focused
on Pastor Irvin, as he leaned forward in his chair, and said, “Sir,
I’m looking for a new church to attend and since my, …uh…,
friend Andy and his father attend here, I thought I would check to
see if this is a church I would feel comfortable at.”
“Well,
Joey, the Presbyterian Church, is one of the more liberal churches in
America, more so in the south.” Pastor Irvin seemed to pause,
and look Joey over before speaking again. “Which church did you
attend before?”
“It was a Pentecostal Church, Sir,
called The Holy Word of the Lamb. It’s located out past
Wal-Mart.” I could see Joey frowning. I was afraid he was
remembering the things his father and mother had done to him at
church.
“Joey, while both denominations hold many of the
same beliefs, Presbyterians believe,” Pastor Irvin looked a bit
uncomfortable, but he continued on explaining to us, “Pentecostals
are mistaken at least in how they approach some things. I’m not
referring to anyone’s beliefs, but rather the actual practices
of the denominations themselves. I’m just stating the position
of my Church’s beliefs. I want you to keep in mind that no one
holds a monopoly on the truth. Very few people in the world hold
exactly the same impression of God and His will.” I watched as
Joey seemed to absorb what the pastor was saying. I listened
carefully as Pastor Irvin continued, “That’s true even
within the Churches. Not everyone here in this church holds exactly
the same beliefs that I do, but, as a group, we have found common
ground so we can worship God together in His house.” Pastor
Irvin paused to gather his thoughts. You could tell he felt this was
important to Joey, and he was treating it as such. “Joey, I
believe churches are hospitals for the soul. I believe that all
churches that follow Jesus’ teachings are all good places to
worship God. Just as it is with some hospitals being better at
treating some conditions than others, it’s the same with
churches. We, Presbyterians, are a more formal church in our worship
of God. Yet we are also more liberal in things like dancing and
music. Some churches do not allow youth to dance, and some churches
do not allow music. I, myself, am even more liberal on some subjects
than my church is, perhaps it’s due to my youth.”
Even
without a sermon, the Pastor could speak passionately. There was
silence in the room for a moment, but Joey surprised me with his next
question.
“Are you liberal enough to accept a gay boy
into your church?”
“Yes,” Pastor Irvin said,
without batting an eye.
That gave me a little courage. I
glanced over at Joey, then back at the pastor, and before I could
lose my nerve, I asked a question of my own, even if it was barely
auditable.
“What about accepting two gay boys?”
They
both turned to look at me. Joey’s face was filled with
disbelief, and the pastor was smiling.
“Yes.” The
pastor leaned forward in his chair with both elbows resting on the
arms of his chair, and his hands clasped in front of him. “God
didn’t make a mistake when he made any of us, and if you two
are gay, you were born that way. So if God made you gay, who am I to
say God made a mistake? God loves you as you are. He always has, and
He always will. Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.”
He said as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. After a
few moments, he opened his eyes, looking at both of us. “You
can always come to me with any problems you may have, and it will
stay between us unless someone’s life is in danger. You have my
support, and I will defend you to the congregation, if needed;
however, with this congregation, I doubt that will ever be necessary.
I would love for both of you to attend regularly, and become a part
of our youth group.”
Listening to Pastor Irvin, I
smiled, as I thought that maybe Mr. Horn was right. There just might
be more support in this community than I thought.
Joey stood,
and I followed his lead. He reached out and shook the Pastor’s
hand, and told him, “We will attend tomorrow, and I look
forward to talking with you some more. I have a lot of questions, but
I think another time would be better.”
“I look
forward to our future chats.” Pastor Irvin seemed happy to have
made us both comfortable. “Andy, it was good to see you
again.”
“Same here, Sir,” I nodded, as I
shook his hand, “I look forward to tomorrow’s sermon. May
I ask what it’s about?”
“Matthew, chapter
22, verses 36 through 40.” He said, smiling yet again. I
wondered if he was always so cheerful when dealing with his
congregation, but now I was more curious as to what his sermon was
about. It seemed if I wanted to know more, I was going to have to
look it up myself. “Now, you two need to head out, enjoy the
rest of this beautiful day the Lord has made, and allow this poor
pastor some time to finish his homework.” He winked at us, as
he showed us out. I realized he was someone I was already growing to
like. Who would have thought that after meeting Joey’s father
that I might be able to like a pastor?
As we were walking back
to the court, Joey stopped me.
“You didn’t have to
do that for me.”
“I know, but I did it for us. I
feel we can trust Pastor Irvin. He was so quick to accept you; I just
knew we were in good hands. Mr. Horn said something last night that
has stuck with me; he said there was more support…, hang on…,
I wanna get this right…” I paused, trying to recall
exactly what Mr. Horn had said. “He said, ‘There’s
a lot more support here in Pine Hills than it may seem; just remember
to always be true to yourself.’ I think Pastor Irvin is proof
of what Mr. Horn was telling me.”
“I don’t
know Andy.” Joey didn’t look convinced. I watched as he
nervously bit his lower lip.
“Let me put it a different
way, you had the right to tell Pastor Irvin that you are gay, but, so
did I. Can we at least agree on that?” I cautiously asked Joey
with a grin, hoping he would understand.
“Yes.” He
returned my smile.
“I’m not saying I plan on
telling anyone else. I’m just saying I felt good about telling
Pastor Irvin. As we agreed, we won’t tell anyone about US
unless we both agree.”
“Okay, I’m fine with
that, Andy.” He paused, and his voice grew stronger as he
looked at me. “I just don’t want you to take chances that
could hurt you, just to make me feel better.”
“Joey,
either we are in this together, or we aren’t. I’m not
going to leave you out on a limb all by yourself. I could never live
with myself if I did that to a family member or a friend, let along
you. It’s just not who I am. Family is important to me, Joey.
You are family now. We’re a team, Joey and Andy forever.”
“Okay, I get you,” Joey sighed, and shook his
head. “You being you is one of the reasons why I’m
falling in love with you. What I don’t get is what you see in
me. I mean, I don’t have anything to offer you. I’m not
popular like you. I don’t have the confidence you have.”
He frowned, and almost whispered out his final question. “Why
do you like me?”
“Oh my God, Joey, You have to be
kidding me, right? You are the sweetest, most beautiful boy I’ve
ever met. Not once have you said anything bad about your father, who
nearly beat you to death. Not once have you said anything bad about
your mother, who never lifted a finger to stop him. Not once have you
said anything bad about your coach, who took advantage of you. Not
once have you blamed God for any of this that happened to you. But
what do you do? You’re out here today with me looking for a new
church to go to so you can thank God for the things in your life. You
are amazing, Joseph Matthew Adams. You make me smile just by walking
into the room. I get butterflies just thinking about being alone with
you.” I leaned in, and whispered. “I get hard every time
you touch me, and my soul goes into orbit every time we kiss. Joey,
what’s NOT to like about you? Who else has such a beautiful
boyfriend?”
With tears running down his cheeks, he
stepped into me, wrapped his arms around, and hugged me tightly. I
wrapped my arms around him lightly so I wouldn’t hurt his
back.
“God, I love you, Andy.” I could hear his
voice catch, as he tried to stop crying.
“I love you
too, babe.”
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out
my handkerchief. I stepped back enough so I could look at Joey’s
face, and started wiping away his tears.
“You probably
think I’m a big baby.”
“Nope, I think you
are a beautiful boy with a huge, loving, and sensitive heart. But you
ARE my babe.” I continued to wipe his face, and gave him a wink
to let him know everything was alright.
He laughed, and pulled
me around the church back towards the basketball court. When we got
there Roger’s team seemed to be winning. He always was good at
basketball, and I was sure he would start this year on the varsity
team. It was still several months before they started their season,
but he’d start getting into shape soon. Unfortunately, that
meant he would soon start bugging me to run with him so he wouldn’t
have to do it alone. Maybe I would join him this year, if for no
other reason that it would get me in shape for baseball. I wanted to
pitch this year, and knew I needed to work on my stamina.
After
Roger finished his game, we decided to get something to eat and
drink. Roger called home, and asked his dad if we could stop and eat
at the Courthouse Café. Uncle Steve told us we could as long
as we called when we were leaving to come home.
While we ate,
we talked about plans for the rest of the afternoon. Eventually, we
got around to the elephant that we had tried to ignore since the
night before: how our parents had reacted concerning JT and his
father.
“Andy,” Roger began, “it just seems
so weird how they are acting. As far as I can remember, JT has only
been in a few fights… nothing over the top, you know?”
“Yeah,
I know, but it won’t hurt to stay in contact with our parents,
and let them know where we are. It’s always been like that
anyway.” I shrugged. “I mean, when was the last time you
went anywhere without telling them where you were going?”
“Okay, you have a point, but your dad and my mom looked
really shook up to me. And I don’t like that something is
bothering them this much. I mean, you can’t tell me you didn’t
feel what I felt last night,” Roger said, before stuffing a
French-fry in his mouth. “They were really freaked
out.”
“You’re right. Dad was spooked by
something. Maybe I can get him alone tonight, and find out more,”
I said conceding to Roger’s point. There was more than they
were telling us. I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, or
not.
Roger called to let his parents know we were on the way
home. As we were crossing the bridge over the Kentucky River on Main
Street, an old blue ford pick-up drove by, and stopped about twenty
yards in front of us. I was already reaching for my phone when JT
leaned out the passenger side window.
“Hey faggots,”
He yelled, laughing at us, “wanna suck my dick?!”
I
pushed the speed dial number for home, and as I brought the phone to
my ear, the truck sped off with JT shooting us the finger.
“Hello.”
I heard the deep voice of my dad.
“Hey Dad, I just
wanted to let you know I’m heading home with Joey and Roger. We
plan on stopping at their house to play some Risk, before coming to
our house to watch some movies. Is that okay?”
“Sure,
son. Just give me a call when you get to Steve’s and
Alice’s.”
“Okay, Dad. I call you back in a
few.” I hung up, and took a deep breath.
“Wow, you
didn’t tell him about JT.” I couldn’t tell if Roger
was making a statement, or asking a question; so, I just shook my
head no, and started walking home with them following me.
We
walked in silence, and Roger didn’t even bounce the ball. The
three of us each lost in our own thoughts. After about a quarter mile
down the old rail road tracks, Roger broke the silence.
“Why?”
“Why
what?” I look over at him a little annoyed about the whole
thing, mostly at JT for being an ass.
“Why didn’t
you tell your dad?” Roger kept walking, watching where he was
stepping, but not looking at me.
“Because by the time
dad answered the phone, JT was gone. I didn’t see the point of
it by then.”
“Okay, but we need to be careful
Monday, and watch our backs. You know this won’t be the end of
it.”
Joey just looked up at me, and then over at Roger.
He nudged Roger, then me, and said with a smile, “We’re
the three musketeers.” He raised his fist out in front of him,
Roger and I did the same.
“All for one, and one for
all,” We all shouted together with grins, our troubles with JT
forgotten, if only for the moment. With those few words, we had
declared our vow to fight for one another, and stand up to those that
meant us harm. Perhaps Mr. Horn was right; we had support here in
Pine Hills, in people like my Dad, Uncle Steve, Aunt Alice, Mr. Horn,
and Pastor Irvin. However, if we didn’t have their full
support, we had each other.
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
OK,
so that's it for Chapter 8. Now that was some boy-sandwich at the
beginning of the chapter. Thats an awesome feeling to have when you
feel you can do anything as long as your love is there with you. It
also looks like their secret relationship isn't so secret from the
adults. And what about Pastor Irving? I wish all pastors and
preachers felt and acted the same way, don't you? Not only does Andy
have Joey, but it seems that Roger, Joey, and Andy make a team (the
three musketeers)that can meet any challenge and conquer any foe, or
can they?
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I
would love to hear your feedback and comments. I respond to every
e-mail. You can email me at: billybratii@gmail.com
Depending
on my editors and beta readers, I'll probably publish a chapter every
week or two, at least for the foreseeable future,.
I want to
thank Eric, James C., Jon, Wagner, Tom, James F., Mick, Bobby, JT,
Robert, Bradley, Matt, Bryan, Brad, Kenneth, Peter, Steve, Paul,
John, Mark, Chris, and Ian for their kind e-mails with words of
encouragement and advice. It really helps to know that someone is
reading and liking your work. I hope my writing will bring
entertainment, but also cause you to pause and reflect.
There's
a number of organizations out there that offers help in a multitude
of ways. They include, but not limited to -The
Trevor Project
,
PFLAG,
Teen
Line,
and The
Mail Crew.
Also did you know that the most common type of cancer affecting men
between the ages of 15 and 35 is testicular cancer? Here's a link for
more information on the subject. The
Testicular Cancer Primer
Never
feel like there's no help, whatever the problem may be.
And
don't forget to DONATEto
help keep Nifty going!
Thank you.
Billy Martin