Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 20:00:20 -0600
From: "Mathis B. Rogers" <mathis@mathisbrogers.com>
Subject: "Hallween Night: Uncle Troy's Magical Touch"

This is a Gay Adult story.  It was written by me in November of 1998.
This is pure fiction and none of the characters are real.  Any resemblance of
such is purely coincidental.  You must be of age in your country to read 
this story legally.

Any comments or constructive criticism is welcome.  Send them via
email to Mathis B. Rogers <mathis@mathisbrogers.com>

This is the conclusion of "Halloween Night".  You need to visit my website at:
http://mathisbrogers.com/index.html
and get it before reading this one.


Halloween Night: Uncle Troy's Magical Touch
			By
		Mathis B. Rogers
	 Copyright November 20, 1998

    
    A gentle breeze rustled the tall grass
that lined the outside edge of the broken
down fence surrounding the old abandoned
house that stood on the hill over looking
Hayden, Vermont.  With a snap of my fingers,
the fence was mended and the grass looked as
though it had just been cut.  However, I did
not change it from burnt yellow to a
flourishing green.  After all, it was fall
and most of the grass around had already
turned yellow as it prepared for its long
winter's nap.
    Fall was upon us.  Most of the trees in
Vermont had already started turning different
colors.  I enjoyed flying over the trees this
time of year.  However, I wasn't in the mood
to fly now.  I had just returned from tea
with my Mother's side of the family in
London.  My father hadn't been able to join
us because he had to stay in town and open
the boutique he and Mom owned.
    Although I had explained to the family
what had happened the previous night -
Halloween night - at the old house, I hadn't
told them I had turned time back once and was
seriously considering doing it again.  
    The second time around there hadn't been
any major problems until I was almost caught
in the bathroom closet by James, one of the
fraternity brothers from the university.  Had
I not gone invisible, he would have found me. 
Since Gavin was supposed to spend the night
alone in the house, they could have caused
trouble for him had I been caught.
    My only concern was not what I was going
to tell Gavin when he asked where I had
been - I had decided to tell him I was in the
shower stall.  Neither he nor James had even
looked at the shower door when they
discovered I wasn't in the closet.  No, what
I was concerned with was what would happen if
Gavin and I did become lovers?  I had never
had a mortal boyfriend before and I didn't
know any witches or warlocks who had, either. 
Of course, I'd never had a boyfriend before. 
How could Gavin trust me if I didn't tell him
I was a warlock?  What would happen if I did?
    Brandon had teased me that if I did tell
Gavin and he didn't freak out, that, if we
ever did break up, I'd have to turn Gavin
into an inanimate object.  I knew that he had
been teasing about that.  But, aside from
turning time back and not telling Gavin, what
would I do if Gavin did freak out?
    And, to make matters worse, I hadn't
told anyone in my family except for Brandon,
that I was gay.  If I were to start dating
Gavin, how would I keep my secret from my
family?
    I hadn't actually told Brandon I was
gay.  I met a guy, Clint, in high school that
I spent a lot of time with.  I had started to
really fall in love with him, but I had never
had sex before, so I wasn't sure what I was
feeling was really love.  One day after
school, Clint invited me home with him to
study.  He wound up teaching me how to
masturbate, then he sucked my cock and I
sucked his.  Afterwards, he fucked me.  Right
as he came, Brandon popped in, looking for
me.  At first Brandon was mad at me, but
after we had talked and he explained that I
was gay if I let guys do that to me, we
seemed to get closer.  Unfortunately, after
that time, school let out for the summer and
Clint's dad found a job in another city and
they moved away.  That had been the only time
Clint and I had had sex.
    At tea in London, Gramps, as we called
my great-great grandfather, had given me
permission to do whatever I wanted to with
the old house.  He and Grams had wanted to
sell it when they found the chateau on the
French Riviera.  Not that they needed the
money, they just wanted to get rid of the
responsibility for the house.  They had owned
the mansion for almost a century, so I had
talked them out of selling, for sentimental
reasons.  Now, as I stood in the front yard
and looked at it, I wondered if I really
wanted to make it a boarding house.
    Gavin had told me that he'd move into
it, but that I'd have to move in, too.  I
knew that I had to have the remodeling done
before November fifteenth, in order to get
the students who were going to be homeless by
the fifteenth because of the dorms closing
for the holidays.  That was only two weeks
away.  Not that I couldn't have remodeled
right then and let them move in that evening,
but now that Gavin had been in the house the
night before, he knew what it looked like. 
It would take a lot of explaining if I did
remodel with the wave of my hand.
    "Damn," I sighed.  "I wish I hadn't even
thought about doing this."
    All of a sudden the old house that I had
loved so dearly took on a new look.  It
appeared to be nothing but an eye-sore.  How
could I be so stupid to expect anyone to live
in it?  Everyone in town thought it was
haunted.  Even Gavin had said he'd only live
there with me.  Was that because he really
loved me or because he knew that I could keep
the spooks away?
    A rumble of thunder echoed across the
clear blue sky and the ground shook as the
house crumbled in a pile of dust.  The wind
that followed blew so hard that the old oak
tree in the front yard actually uprooted and
fell to the ground with a resounding thud. 
With tears streaming down my cheeks, I sped
as fast as I could toward Jupiter.  Molecular
transfer wasn't what I needed.  I needed to
feel the wind in my face.  Unfortunately, if
you don't go invisible when flying, you can
really get hurt by debris - especially when
flying through space.  I was running - flying
actually - from reality.  I wanted to get as
far from Earth as I could.  I was tired of
hiding.  Tired of not being able to tell the
ones I loved that I was a warlock.  Tired of
not being able to tell the ones I loved, I
was gay.
    There weren't very many people in the
Moonbeam Lounge on Jupiter, but I still
managed to almost bump into Uncle Troy when I
skidded to a halt as I became visible and
landed.  
    "Shane," he said, moving his drink so it
wouldn't spill,  "what's going on?  How fast
were you going?"
    I glanced at my watch.  "I made it from
Gramps' old house in two minutes," I replied.
    Uncle Troy grinned at me.  "I haven't
flown that fast since the time I was upset
because Dad wouldn't let me turn my sister
into a puppy.  If you were just in a hurry to
get here, you would have used molecular
transfer, so what's wrong?"
    Uncle Troy and Aunt Christine, Mom's
sister, had been married for almost thirty
years, but they hadn't had any children yet. 
    I sighed.  I really shouldn't have left
the house in a shambles that way.  "I can't
really talk about it," I admitted.
    He smiled tenderly.  "Come on, Shane. 
Let's go sit over here and talk."
    Uncle Troy had a beautiful smile.  He
really was a hunk.  I could see why Aunt
Christine was happy with him.  I had always
had a crush on him.  Sometimes I thought he
knew.  He led me over to a table in the
corner and made a bottle of root beer
materialize in front of me.  Everyone in the
family knew that I didn't drink.  I sometimes
wondered if I was the only person in the
universe who didn't drink.
    "Now fess up.  You can tell me
anything," he said.  "Whatever you say will
stay here between us.  I won't even tell
Christine."
    I sighed and melted into those warm blue
eyes.  I looked away before he had a chance
to scan my mind.  I knew that it was
possible, but had never done it myself.  Mom
and Dad used telepathy to communicate all the
time, but I had never tried it.  They had
never used it on Brandon and me, either.  No
one had ever read my mind, that I knew of.
    "As you know, Gramps said that I could
do whatever I wanted to with the house," I
began and took a sip of root beer.
    "Yes.  And I think that's good, someone
needs to do something with it."
    "Well, I just tore it down," I admitted.
    He frowned at me.  "What for?"
    "What would happen if I fell in love
with a mortal and told her that I was a
warlock?" I asked instead of answering his
question.
    He took a deep breath and sipped his
drink before replying.  "Shane, if you have
found someone who loves you, then they should
accept you as you are.  But I've got a cousin
who told his girlfriend and she freaked.  He
had to turn time back to before he told her
and then he didn't tell her.  He was
heartbroken and so was she when he broke up
with her.  After that, he made a vow to stay
away from mortals.  Which is the best option. 
Luckily he found a witch a couple of months
later and they've since gotten married and
are happy now.  They've been married about
ten years."
    "But what if you don't care for any of
the witches that are available?" I wanted to
know.
    He chuckled.  "You don't know them all,
Shane.  The right one might be out there on
the ski slopes just waiting for you."
    I scanned the slopes.  There were
several witches who weren't married or dating
anyone and there were several warlocks who
were available, but they were all straight.
    Uncle Troy frowned.  "You just scanned
the slopes, didn't you?"
    "Yeah," I admitted.  "No one there for
me."
    He looked at me thoughtfully for a
moment.  He made his empty glass disappear as
he stood up.  "Come with me, Shane.  I have
something to show you."
    I stood up, making my soda vanish. 
Taking me by the arm, he snapped his fingers. 
    I had no idea where we were.  We were
outside, I could tell we were no longer on
Jupiter.  The ground was kind of grayish like
it was covered in hardened lava.  A black
cloud hung heavily over everything.  It was
very hot. "Where are we?" I asked.  The
planet had no visible life, yet I knew it
wasn't the moon because I'd been there
before.  Had we not been warlocks, it would
have been impossible to breathe.
    "Venus," he replied.  "The planet of
love."
    "What for?" I asked.
    "You'll see," he replied with a grin.
    He led me toward a large boulder and I
was surprised to see a wooden gate behind it. 
Uncle Troy held it open for me and I stepped
in; he followed.
    I felt like I had stepped into the
Garden of Eden.  It was beautiful.  There
were trees and flowers everywhere and the sun
was shining brightly.  We were in an oasis. 
Right in the center of the area was a red and
yellow stripped tent.  A nice cool breeze
rustled the tree tops.
    Uncle Troy held the flap open for me and
I stepped in.  Now I felt like I had stepped
into an old movie from Egypt where there were
harems and at any moment belly dancers would
come out, hiding behind their veils.
    "Where are the camels?" I asked.
    He chuckled.  An elderly woman came out
of the back room.  To my surprise, she was
absolutely beautiful.  She wasn't dressed as
I had expected her to be.  She wore a pink
business dress and her white hair was done up
neatly in a bun at the top of the back of her
head.
    "Good morning, Troy," she said, smiling
at him.   
    "Ms. Marble.  How are you?" he asked.
    "It's a lovely day," she replied.  "I am
doing great."
    "Good."
    She looked at me and smiled warmly.  "Is
this your son?" she asked.
    "No," he replied.  "My nephew, Shane. 
His mother is my wife's sister.  Shane, this
is Ms. Marble."
    "It's nice to meet you," I replied,
politely.
    "I'm honored to meet you," she replied. 
I was dying to know what was going to happen. 
I hoped she wasn't a madam and Uncle Troy was
going to set me up with a prostitute.  Not
that I knew any witch prostitutes, but there
was a lot I didn't know.
    Ms. Marble turned to a table setting in
the corner.  To my surprise, it was covered
in red and there was obviously a crystal ball
under the black felt cloth on top.
    "I thought crystal balls were just
fantasy stuff," I admitted as she removed the
cloth.
    She smiled.  "If you don't believe, then
it is," she replied.  "And how many people do
you know who think warlocks are just fantasy
stuff?"
    "Everyone."
    "Have a seat, Shane," she said,
motioning to the chair.
    Uncle Troy stood beside me as she looked
into the crystal ball.  I noticed her smile
fade, but all I could see in the ball were
gray clouds.
    She glanced up at me and then looked
nervously at Uncle Troy before she spoke. 
"Troy, may I ask you to return to Jupiter? 
This reading is going to have to be private."
    He frowned at me then nodded.  "Very
well.  Shane, join me at the lounge when
you're done."
    "Okay.  Thanks for bringing me here."
    He snapped his fingers and he was gone. 
Ms. Marble adjusted her chair and looked up
at me.  
    "Gavin Sanders is a very special
mortal," she told me; I could still only see
clouds in the ball.  "He will not betray you
if you tell him you are a warlock.  However,
there are other mortals who might find out in
the not too distant future.  I cannot tell
you who they are.  You will also have a
problem with your family if you decide to
become lovers with this mortal."
    "Are the problems with my family because
he's mortal, or because he's a man?  As you
seem to know, I haven't told them I'm gay."
    "I know," she replied.  "That's why I
sent Troy away.  The answer is both."
    "Should I rebuild the house and make it
a boarding house?" I asked.
    She smiled and shrugged.  "I only deal
with love relationships.  This is Venus, the
planet of love.  If you want to know that,
you'll have to go back to Earth and find a
gypsy."
    I chuckled.  "Thank you, Ms. Marble.  I
appreciate your time.  How much do I owe
you?"
    She laughed.  "I am witch, Shane.  What
would I do with money?"
    "Thank you again," I said.
    She nodded and I was standing at the bar
at the Moonbeam Lounge.  She had sent me back
to Uncle Troy.
    He smiled at me and said, "Well, I hope
it was good news, at least.  However, I have
discovered that anything private from Ms.
Marble is usually bad news."
    "At least she hasn't broken her record,"
I replied, materializing a fresh root beer
for myself as I sat down next to him.
    He smiled tenderly and rubbed my arm. 
"If you ever need to talk about it, Shane,
I'm here for you.  Well, not here, but you
can find me.  Just holler."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy," I replied.  "But
there's only one person in this family I can
talk to about this one and that's Brandon."
    "Okay.  Why don't we go skiing?" he
asked.  "Maybe you can get your mind off of
everything as we speed down the slopes.  I
don't have to be back to Earth until about
two-thirty, eastern time, so we have a couple
of hours."
    I really didn't care for skiing, but I
didn't want to return to Earth either. 
"Okay," I conceded."
    A snap of his fingers and we were
dressed in warm ski clothes and standing on
top of the hill with our skis and poles,
ready to start downward.

    A couple of hours later, I was
exhausted.  Reaching the bottom of the hill
again, Uncle Troy skied to a stop in front of
me.
    "It's one o'clock," I told him, glancing
at my watch.  "I think I've had enough."
    "Okay.  Come on, let's go back in and
get something to drink."
    "Good idea," I agreed.
    Snapping his fingers, we were back in
the lounge and were wearing what we had been
previously and we both had a bottle of
something cold to drink in front of us.  Me a
root beer, he a beer.
    "Now wasn't that fun?" he asked.
    I had enjoyed it, but only because I had
been with him.  "Yes," I admitted.
    We rested for a while and sipped our
drinks.  Some other people had arrived and
were on the dance floor.
    "I hope Mom and Aunt Christine find some
good stuff," I said.  They had gone shopping
for new things that Mom and Dad could sell at
the boutique.
    "So do I," he agreed.  "But Christine
drug me to this neat little place out in the
middle of no where in Wyoming the other day
that had some cool things.  She said she was
going to take Cathy there, so I'm sure they
will come back with a truck load of ideas to
zap up."
    "That'll be nice," I said.
    He glanced out at the dance floor.  "So,
this girl you're wanting to tell you're a
warlock, is it Robin?" he asked.
    Robin Porter was a friend of mine.  My
parents thought we were more than just
friends.  Dad had told me that if I decided
to marry her, to remember that telling
mortals we were warlocks could be tricky.  I
told him he didn't have to worry.  I was not
planning to marry her.
    "No," I replied.  "But it would be fun
if she knew.  No, this is someone I met in
college a couple of years ago."
    "You've known Robin forever, haven't
you?"
    "Just about.  We met in junior high.  I
get the feeling that she wouldn't mind if she
knew, but I still can't muster up the courage
to tell her."
    "Just remember that if you do tell her,
you could ruin a twelve year friendship if
she does freak.  Because, if you turn time
back to not tell her, you'll still remember
what happened when you did and that will
effect your relationship."
    "I know," I replied, sadly.
    "But, no, it's not her," I added.  "I
guess it's best that I don't get serious with
anyone, anyway.  Every time I get lucky,
Brandon pops in right at the wrong time.  And
just the other morning I was jerking off
before getting up and Dad popped in.  How do
you and Christine keep the family from
barging in on you while you're doing it?"
    I blushed.  I couldn't believe that I
had just asked him that, even if he had told
me I could talk to him about anything.
    "Your Dad did tell us that you never
really liked studying, Shane.  He said you
passed high school and college by the skin of
your teeth.  Now I see that you haven't been
studying your spell book, either.  If you
were, you would have found the spell that
keeps people not only from popping into
certain places you want private, but also
keeps them from scanning those places."
    "Oh, really?" I asked.  Now I was really
embarrassed.
    "Come on," he said, standing up.  "I've
got an idea.  We've still got a good forty-
five minutes before I have to be on the Seven
Seas, so we can go relax in the hot spring
steam baths for a while."
    "Hot spring steam baths?" I asked.
    "Yes.  You mean you haven't been to them
before?"
    "No, never heard of them."
    "Well, you are still pretty young, I
guess no one ever introduced you to them."
    "No, they haven't."  Getting to my feet,
I made my empty bottle disappear.
    Snapping his fingers, Uncle Troy took us
into a workout gym.  I could see there were
several people working out on the equipment
in the room.
    A counter stood in front of the wall,
there was an attendant working.  He was very
muscular, had short blond hair and a great
tan.  He was a hunk.  He smiled at me and
then looked at Uncle Troy.
    "Hello, Mr. Reid," he said.  "How are
you this afternoon?"
    "Just great, Tony," Uncle Troy replied. 
"This is my nephew, Shane Jordan.  You know
his parents, Cathy and Dean Jordan."
    "Yes, you and Mrs. Reid come in with
them frequently."
    "We'd like to get a room.  He hasn't
been here before."
    "I'm sorry, sir," Tony replied.  "You
have to be at least twenty-one to get in
here."
    "He's twenty-five," he responded.
    "Oh, I'm sorry.  He just doesn't look
it."
    "I've got my driver's license," I said,
pulling my wallet out of my back pocket.
    Tony grinned.  "And I have a dozen that
says I range anywhere from twenty-one to two-
thousand and I'm able to legally drive in
every state and continent on Earth," he said,
materializing a fold out packet that had
driver's licenses in them.  "And I've never
even been near a Department of Motor
Vehicles."
    I hadn't realized how difficult it was
going to be to prove to a warlock how old I
was.  I had never needed to before, so I
hadn't even thought about it.
    He made the packet disappear and said,
"Let me see your hand, Mr. Jordan."
    I glanced at Uncle Troy and he shrugged. 
Tony took my hand in his.  It was a strong
warm grip that sent tingles through my entire
body.  He smiled and let go of my hand. 
"Very well, you were born July 24, 1973 at
six oh three p.m.  You were right, he is
twenty-five.  You'll be in room A.  If you
need anything, just call."
    "Thanks," Uncle Troy said, grinning as
he lead me through the back door to a long
row of rooms.
    He opened the door marked "A" and we
walked in.  "How'd he do that?" I asked.
    "Honestly, I don't know.  Maybe you
should look in your spell book," he replied,
closing the door behind me.
    "Good idea," I agreed.  I was beginning
to get the hint that if I wanted to use my
powers to their full extent, I was going to
have to start studying.
    The room that we were in was fairly
small.  On the left side there was a bench
with two lockers on the wall behind it and on
the right was a shower stall that was large
enough for two people.  There were two shower
heads.  At the back of the room was a doorway
that led into a larger room.  There was
nothing covering this door, so I could
clearly see a large body of water that was
bubbling.  I could tell it wasn't a hot tub,
just a hole in the ground with hot, bubbling
water in it.
    "It comes from an underground spring,"
Uncle Troy replied to my unspoken question.
    "Oh," I said.  "I didn't think there was
any water on Jupiter except for the lake."
    "Who knows.  The Witches' Council came
up with this place a long time before I was
born and your dad is the one who introduced
it to me when I started dating Christine.  So
I have no idea."
    "I thought they didn't do this until a
couple of years ago when that comet hit
Jupiter," I said.
    "Oh, no.  The place was here, but not
for skiing.  Just for partying.  The comet
put the slopes in and that's when they moved
down here and started the skiing.  It used to
be up where the equator is.  We're close to
the bottom of the planet, now."
    "I see," I replied.
    "So, are you ready to sit in the hot
water?"
    "Sure."
    "Now, to keep others from bothering us,"
he continued, "use this spell:  With this
door closed, no matter the time, privacy is
ours, Shane's and mine."  He drew a couple of
loops in the air with his index finger and
added, "There.  Now if anyone tries to pop
in, they'll wind up outside the door.  They
can't walk through the door, either, even if
they go invisible.  And, they can't scan in
here to see what we're doing or who's in
here."
    "But what if I'm at home and I don't
want anyone to come in?" I asked.  "That
incantation won't work for me."
    "Sure it will.  Just adjust it.  You'd
say, 'With this door closed, no matter the
time, inside this apartment, privacy is
mine.'"
    "Oh, that makes sense."
    "Or, if you just want it to be one or
two rooms, specify the rooms you want
private.  But since your front door opens out
on the top floor and the steps go down and no
one else uses those stairs, except the people
on the second floor, I'd suggest just making
your entire apartment private.  No one will
notice people popping onto your front
balcony, since that tree is right there."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy, I think I will."
    He placed his hand on my upper arm and
said, "Now we can relax in the hot spring for
a while before we have to go back to Earth."
    "Okay," I replied.
    To my surprise, he snapped his fingers
and we were both only wearing a towel.  I
presumed that he had put our clothes in the
lockers.
    He led me into the room with the spring
and slipped his towel off.  He had an all-
over tan.  He didn't have any hair on his
upper torso, but there was a small trail that
ran from his navel down into the soft black
hair of his public region.  I couldn't
believe this was happening.  I had fantasied
about seeing him nude for as long as I could
remember.  Now I was actually seeing him.
    Quickly diverting my eyes, I slipped my
towel off and let it fall on the ground
beside the spring.  I glanced at him and he
grinned.  He was already in the water, but he
took me by the hand and said, "Watch that
first step, it's tricky sometimes."
    I stepped in and he put his arm around
me and guided me down into the water.  "It's
going to be kind of hot at first," he said
and he was right.  I was tempted to turn on
the cold water.
    "Now, sit back and relax," he
instructed.
    I sank into the water and it came up to
my chin.  It did feel good after a few
minutes.
    Uncle Troy sat next to me and stretched,
letting his leg brush against mine.  "You
never did tell me who the girl is you were
wanting to tell you're a warlock," he said,
softly.  "Or is it a guy?" he added with a
sly grin.
    Again, I quickly diverted my eyes.  He
sat up and said, "Don't worry, Shane.  I know
you're gay.  You're secret is safe with me. 
I haven't mentioned it to anyone in the
family.  I get the feeling that they all
think that you and Robin are getting
serious."
    "That's a relief," I said.  "You know,
Ms. Marble said that I could trust Gavin, but
I couldn't be lovers with him because of my
family.  They wouldn't be happy because one,
he's a guy, and two, he's mortal."
    "You know, Shane, now that you know
about the privacy spell, you can arrange it
so that they won't know about the two of
you."
    "I guess that's true," I agreed.
    I sighed as he sunk down a little.  He
wasn't touching me, but I remembered the feel
of his leg against mine.  Closing my eyes, I
couldn't get the image of him out of my mind.
    "Uncle Troy?" I asked softly.
    "Yes?"
    "When you and Aunt Christine and Mom and
Dad come here, do you share a room?"
    "When we come together," he replied. 
"Why?"
    "Do you all sit in here nude?"  I was
really beginning to wonder what kind of
relationship they had.  After all, they did
spend a lot of time together.
    He grinned.  "No, Shane.  We wear swim
trunks and the girls wear bikinis.  You're
not a product of a kinky family, if that's
what you're worried about.  However, when
your Dad and I come by ourselves, we do sit
in here nude, but that doesn't happen very
often.
    "If it bothers you to be nude with me,
we can get swim trunks," he offered.
    "No, that's fine.  I was just curious."
    "I really do love you, Shane," he said. 
"But I want you to know that your Aunt
Christine is the only person for me.  I am
straight and I have never been with a guy
before.  I want to really stress to you that
I do love you, but I'm not doing this to lead
you on.  It's just what we do; sit in the hot
tub nude if there are no women present.  If
Christine and I are here alone, then we sit
in the buff.  Of course, we do more than just
sit," he added with a grin.
    I smiled.  "Thanks for telling me, Uncle
Troy.  And thanks for letting me sit here
with you this way.  I don't think Dad would."
    "Sure he would.  Sometimes Brandon joins
us when we're here without the wives.  Of
course, since you've gotten yourself a boner,
we'd be better off not asking him to let you
join us.  He might find out that you're gay."
    I blushed.  I didn't realize he had
scanned under the water.
    "Now, what about the house?" he asked,
changing the subject.  "I swung by there on
the way back from Jupiter and you did a great
job of demolishing it.  Are you going to
leave it like that?"
    "Part of me wants to make it a boarding
house, but another part knows that no one
will move into it.  The entire town thinks
it's haunted."
    He pushed himself up out of the water. 
"Come on, let's go look at it.  Maybe we can
think of something else to do with it."
    "Okay," I replied, standing also.  I was
still boned but he just grinned and didn't
say anything.
    I let him do the honors and we were
instantly dried, dressed and standing before
the pile of rubble.  "What happened to the
tree?" he wanted to know.
    "I let the wind kind of give me a boost
as I left, right before I went invisible," I
explained.
    "Yes, a tail-wind does help," he agreed. 
A wave of his hand and the tree was back
where it belonged.
    "Now for the house," he said.  "Pile of
rubble, restore yourself to your original
state, on the double."  He raised his hand
and the house rebuilt itself from the ground
up.  
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said, softly.
    "I think what you ought to do is sell
this house to the historical society.  Your
grandmother mentioned that they had wanted to
buy it once.  I put it back together like it
was originally, without the bathroom that she
installed.  I even repainted it and replaced
the broken boards.  It's exactly like it was
when your Gramps bought it.  Complete without
the dust and cobwebs, too."
    That was the best idea that I had heard
so far.  It belonged to Gramps and that would
be what he probably wanted, too.  It would
make a nice museum, I had to agree.
    "Okay.  I'll go talk to them," I
promised.
    He glanced at his watch.  "Christine and
I have been invited to sail the Seven Seas
this afternoon with my parents," he reminded
me, "so I'd better go.  But I meant it,
Shane, when I said that if you ever need to
talk to me about anything - even boyfriends -
just call.  I'll use molecular transfer and
be with you a second later."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy."
    "If you don't want to go back to the
spring, I'll swing by there and let Tony know
that we're out."
    "Okay.  I think I'd better get this
taken care of," I said.
    "You can go anytime you want to, Shane,"
he said.  "Just make sure you check in with
Tony or whoever is on duty.  Having that rule
makes it so everyone can enjoy it without
having to worry about it always being full. 
If there are more people than rooms, the
attendant can make more rooms."
    "That's a good idea," I agreed.
    He hugged me and stepped back, smiled
and vanished.
    I sighed.  The house was immaculate but
I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right
then.  I knew I should have gone to the
historical society, but instead, I popped
home.  The light on the answering machine was
blinking.  I hadn't checked for messages
since I had left for Paris the morning
before.
    Pressing the button, I climbed up on a
stool next to the breakfast bar.  "Shane,
this is Robin.  I got this really cool
costume for tonight.  Mom wants me to take
the kids trick-or-treating.  I'd love for you
to come with me.  Call me."
    "Shane, where are you?" it was Robin
again.  "Sorry you couldn't join us.  We had
a pretty good time.  I noticed the light on
in the parlor of the Windham Mansion tonight,
but it started raining so we couldn't go up
there.  I guess you must be going to spend
the night up there.  Call me when you get
home tomorrow."
    "Wow, Shane," Gavin's voice came after
the next beep, "you really hid good.  I guess
you're not back from London yet.  I still
haven't figured out that one.  But anyway,
call me when you get in.  I can't wait to see
you again.  I really had a good time last
night until those goons barged in."
    I let the machine rewind.  I wasn't in
the mood to talk to anyone, so I decided to
go soak in a hot bath.  A wave of my hand I
was in a hot tub of water in my own bathroom. 
I knew I could have gone back to Jupiter, but
I wasn't in the mood to do that, either.
    
    I must have fallen asleep because the
water was cold when I awakened to the sound
of someone pounding on my door.
    I didn't feel like having company, so I
looked through the door.  It was Gavin.  He
had a worried look on his handsome face, so I
knew that I couldn't let him leave without
talking to him.   Using molecular transfer,
I was dressed and standing in front of the
door.  "Hi, Gavin," I said, softly as I
opened it.
    "Thank, God you're here, Shane," he
said, pulling me into his arms as he stepped
into the room.
    "I just got in," I replied, leading him
in and closing the door.  "I was just going
to call you."
    "Well, I stopped by the old house about
noon and it had been demolished.  I was
afraid that you might have been in it.  The
police had already came up and couldn't find
anything, though.  The gas company said there
are no lines running in, so they don't know
what could have caused it, either.  I had a
class to go to, but afterwards, I decided to
come over and see if you were back yet."
    He sat down on the couch and I sighed. 
I had been in London for two hours, then on
Jupiter for three and a half hours.  It
didn't surprise me that the police and
everyone had been there and gone by the time
Uncle Troy and I got back at two-fifteen.
    Glancing at my watch, I was surprised
that it was almost six o'clock.  I had slept
longer than I thought.
    "What do you mean, it was demolished?" I
asked, bewildered as he turned on the
television.
    "Just a pile of rubble," he replied as
the six o'clock news came on.
    I sat down next to him.  He was thinking
I was worried about the house being torn
down, in reality, I was worried about the
house having been restored to its original
state.
    "This is Francis Hughes," the reporter
said.  It was obvious that she was standing
in the front yard of the old house, but they
were keeping the camera off the house.  "It's
a little past noon, Friday.  I'm up on
Windham Hill at the Windham Mansion - what's
left of it."
    The camera pulled back a little and
spanned the rubble.  "As you can see, the old
house crumbled to the ground this morning. 
It was reported about eleven-fifteen. 
Witnesses in town said that they heard a
rumble of thunder in this direction, then
heard the house fall."
    How stupid could I have been?  It wasn't
even Gavin who had reported it.  
    The light in the background changed to
dusk and "Live" appeared on the screen above
Francis.  "I'm reporting live from Windham
Hill now," she said.  "I haven't lived here
in Hayden very long, but I have been told
that Windham Mansion is haunted.  I don't
believe in ghosts and witches, folks," she
said, "but now I am not too sure.  A few
minutes before sunset, some townspeople
called the station.  Here's the interview I
had with one lady."
    The scene switched to an elderly lady,
Mrs. Thomas - she had been my English teacher
in high school but had retired before I
graduated.  "I was sitting out on my front
porch this evening," she explained.  "I knew
about the house falling down this morning. 
Heard it on the live report you did at noon.
That's why it was really eerie when the
shadow that falls over Hayden this time of
day fell over Hayden.  It actually sent
chills up my spine and I got goose pimples. 
That house had fallen down, but its shadow
was still here.
    "I got up and called Harold, my husband,
to come out and see," she continued.  "Sure
enough, the shadow was still there.  I wasn't
seeing things.  Harold got the car out and we
went up the hill and the house was there
again.  Standing tall and proud just like it
always had been."
    The scene switched back to Francis on
the hill.  I shook my head.  I had no choice
but to turn time back again.  "As we just
showed you," she said, "I was up here at
noon.  Now it's a little past six o'clock
and, as you can see, the house is here."  The
camera spanned back and there stood the
house.
    "So, before you say there are no
witches, then how do you explain how the
Windham Mansion fell and restored itself?
    "We have tried to contact Mr. and Mrs.
Windham, but they moved to Paris a few years
ago and are on vacation in London for the
next few days.  We will let you know as soon
as we do, what happened here."
    I sighed again as Gavin turned the TV
off.
    "So you did go to London this morning,
didn't you?" he asked softly.
    There was no point in lying to him.  I
was going to have to turn back time anyway. 
Ms. Marble had said it was okay for me to
tell him.  Uncle Troy said I could date him
with the privacy spell, but I wasn't really
sure that would be enough.
    Taking his hand in mine, I looked into
Gavin's blue eyes.  "I really like you a lot,
Gavin," I said, softly.  "I won't lie to you. 
I am a warlock.  The house belongs to my
great-great grandparents.  Mom said that
Gramps turned two-hundred at his last
birthday back in March.
    "I had tea with the family this
morning - it was this afternoon in London,
though - and when I came back, about eleven
this morning, I got kind of upset and tore
the place down.  Then I flew to Jupiter and
had a good talk with Uncle Troy.  I was only
gone for three and a half hours, so that must
have been when you and everyone discovered
that it had been demolished.
    "Uncle Troy restored it and then went to
sail the Seven Seas with his parents.  I came
back here and took a bath and fell asleep in
the tub.  You woke me up when you banged on
the door."
    He sat there staring at me without
saying anything while I spoke.  I was
thankful that he didn't let go of my hand.
    When I finished, I noticed a twinkle in
his eye as he grinned and shook his head. 
"You really had me going there for a second,"
he said.  "You should be a writer, Shane. 
You've got a great imagination."
    He didn't believe me, but at least he
hadn't freaked out.  Getting to my feet, I
pulled him to his.  "Have you ever flown
before, Gavin?" I asked.
    "All the time.  My parents live in
Chicago and I go visit them every chance I
get.  You know that."
    "Mm hum," I replied.  "But have you ever
flown without an airplane?"
    "No," he replied.
    His warm body felt good as I pulled him
against me.  "Have you ever seen the fall
colors from the sky, Gavin?"
    "No."
    I smiled and kissed him gently on the
lips.  He returned the kiss.  We kissed for a
few minutes.  "I wish I could be your
boyfriend, Gavin," I whispered.
    "You can," he replied.  "I'm available
and I like you, too."  "But my family
doesn't know I'm gay," I replied.  "They
won't like it when they find out, either. 
And you're mortal.  If you were a warlock, it
might be different, but you have two strikes
against you.  One, you're a guy, and two,
you're mortal."
    "Shane," he said, "I think you're taking
this warlock thing a little too far.  Just
drop it, okay?  I understand the part about
your family not approving, mine wouldn't
approve if they knew I was bi, but let's get
off the hocus-pocus, okay?"
    I kissed him again.  He pulled back;
surprised.  "Holy, shit, Shane!" he cried as
the wind blew our hair out of our faces.  I
hadn't turned us invisible, but we were
flying slowly over the area.  It was still
light enough that he could see the trees
below.
    "Aren't they pretty from up here?" I
asked.
    He clung to me tighter.  I could tell he
was scared.  "Don't worry, darling, I won't
let you fall.  Even if I let go with my arms,
I've got you magically.  You won't fall."
    He didn't speak.  He looked out below us
as we swept up toward the old house.  The
news crew was still there.  It was a great
feeling to be several hundred feet above the
four-story structure. 
    "I must be dreaming," he finally said.
    "No.  You're really flying over Vermont. 
We can go to Jupiter if you like, but we
can't be boyfriends while we're there.  We
can only be just friends."
    He looked at me skeptically for a
moment.  "It's a long way to Jupiter, Shane. 
It takes the space center months to get
there.  How could you have gone there and
back in three hours?"
    "Actually it's a three minute flight one
way," I replied.  "But we have to go
invisible or we'll get hit by flying debris,
as fast as we'll be going and it really
hurts.  I found that out the hard way when I
was ten."
    I was tempted to use molecular transfer,
but then I figured if he didn't see us go to
Jupiter, he'd never believe that we were
actually on Jupiter when we got there.  After
all, the Witch's Council had modernized it so
well that it looked more like a ski resort
that you'd find in Colorado than a vacant
planet.
    Gavin shook his head at me.  I could
tell he still wasn't believing this, but we
were flying over Vermont.  "Okay," he
conceded.  "Let's go."
    "Hang on," I replied.  
    "Where'd the wind go?" he asked as we
went invisible.
    "You don't feel anything that is visible
when you're invisible," I explained.  "That's
why you can still feel me, because we're both
invisible now."
    "Oh."
    "Are you sure you want to do this?" I
asked.
    "Sure," he replied.  "But what happens
when we break the sound barrier?"
    "Since we're invisible, we won't."
    I had never flown this way with anyone
before.  I had been to Jupiter several times,
but I didn't remember ever seeing a mortal
there.  I hoped that I wouldn't get in
trouble for taking Gavin.
    "Wow!  We're really trucking!" Gavin
exclaimed as we left the Earth behind.  
    "Was that the moon we just passed?" he
asked as we sped by.
    "Yes, it was," I replied.  Until earlier
that day I had never flown to Jupiter, or any
of the planets, before.  Doing so now with
Gavin did make it an interesting experience,
since he had never really flown before.
    "This is cool," he said as we passed
Mars.  "It really is red."
    "Whoa, look out for that planet!"  He
tried to duck but it was too late, we passed
through it.
    "Don't worry, Gavin," I said.  "It's all
visible; we're not.  Nothing will hit us;
nothing will hurt us.  That was one of
Jupiter's moons.
    "I made it in two minutes this
afternoon," I admitted.  "I almost didn't
stop in time.  I'll make sure that we don't
have any accidents when we land."
    We landed gently out on the front
sidewalk of the Moonbeam Lounge.  It was
snowing gently.  Everything was covered in
white.
    "This is neat," he replied.  "Looks like
at home during the winter."
    There was a frozen lake a little ways
down the sidewalk.  Not turning us visible, I
continued to hold him as we walked over to
it.  There were several people ice skating on
the lake.
    "This is really nice," he said as we
walked.  "I've never been out in the snow and
not been cold, before."
    "That's a fringe benefit of being able
to go invisible," I replied.
    "So none of these people on the lake can
see or hear us?" he asked.
    I glanced around.  They were all
visible.  "Nope.  No one."
    "Cool," he replied.  "Then I can do
this."  He leaned down and kissed me on the
lips.
    Reluctantly, I pushed him away.  "I'm
sorry, Gavin, you can't.  The problem is that
if any witches or warlocks decide to fly in,
they'll be invisible and they'll see us.  I'm
sure it'd be alright, but we can't take any
chances.  They might tell my folks.
    "Come on, let's go in the lounge.  I
think you'll like it."
    I led him up to the front door then
stopped and grinned at him.  "Did you like
going through that moon?" I asked.
    "Yeah, it was cool."
    "Good, we'll step through this door,
then."  Holding his hand, we stepped into the
lounge without opening the door.
    "That was neat."
    I had known that if I had let him know I
was a warlock the night before, that we could
have had more fun.  Now I was finally able to
share this side of my life with someone I
really cared about.
    "Remember that TV/boom-box last night?"
    "Yeah?"
    "It wasn't a gift.  I zapped it up."
    "Neat.  Then I could possibly sweet-talk
you into making one for me if we can't find
one for me to buy?"
    I couldn't believe that he had asked me
that.  I had expected him to just ask me to
give him one.  Instead, he was actually
telling me that he didn't want anything from
me except a relationship.  Unfortunately, I
had the power to give him the world on a
golden platter, but I couldn't give him my
love and be his boyfriend, no matter how much
I wanted to.
    He looked around the lounge.  "Where are
the staff?" he asked.
    There was a long bar against the back
wall, but no one was behind it.  Several
tables were placed around the room and there
was a large dance floor in the corner. 
Although there were several people sitting,
drinking and talking while others danced, no
one seemed to work there.
    I grinned.  "We're magic," I replied,
materializing a bottle of his favorite beer
into his hand.  "We don't need staff."
    "Thanks, Shane," he said.  I noticed the
startled look he gave the bottle.  It was the
first magic thing I had done besides flying,
going invisible and walking through a closed
door.  These three things could have been
done with holographics in my living room, but
the materialization of the cold beer,
couldn't have been done as a holograph.  It
was the proof that he needed to know for sure
that I was a warlock.
    Thankfully, he took a swig of beer as I
materialized a Dr. Pepper for myself.  I
kissed him gently on the cheek.  "Okay, we're
going to become visible now.  Make sure you
do nothing to show that we are anything more
than just friends or I'll get in big
trouble."
    "Don't worry, Shane, I know how to do
that.  I have to act the straight-arrow when
I go home to my parents', also."
    Stepping away from him, I snapped my
fingers.  We materialized.  To my horror, he
immediately turned to stone.
    I glanced around.  No one seemed to
notice that I was standing next to a statue. 
I snapped my fingers.  He remained stone.
    "Oh, come on, don't tell me I have to
use an incantation.  I don't know any of
those.
    "Uncle Troy, help!" I cried above the
music.
    He appeared next to me with a worried
look on his handsome face.  "What's wrong,
Shane?" he asked.
    "I brought a friend of mine to Jupiter
and look what happened to him."
    He smiled tenderly and shook his head. 
"Shane, you can't bring mortals to Jupiter. 
I thought you knew that."
    "No," I admitted.  "But he didn't turn
to stone until we became visible."
    "Well, duh," he replied.  "You know
nothing can happen to you until you're
visible."
    "So if I turn him invisible, he'll turn
back to human?"
    "Unfortunately, it's not that simple,"
he replied.  "You have to take him before the
Witches' Council and beg for mercy."
    "What if I turn time back and don't
bring him?" I asked.  I knew the Council was
on Jupiter for the rest of the week, skiing
and there was no going before them until the
following Monday; if I could get an
appointment.  They'd taken the entire
Halloween week off and I was sure there'd be
a back-log of appointments Monday.  I also
knew that Gavin didn't have any classes until
Monday, so it would have been okay to leave
him a statue until then, but I wanted to
spend the weekend with him.
    However, I had screwed up yet again and
it didn't appear that we were going to get to
spend the weekend together.
    "Yes, that would do the trick," Uncle
Troy replied.  "It'd probably be the best
option, too, since you are the only one who
will know that you turned time back and you
can correct your mistake."
    "It also turns out that the media found
out about me demolishing the house before you
put it back together," I admitted.  "They
showed on the news at six that it was back. 
Everyone is convinced that there are witches
living there, now."
    "You'd better turn time back to before
you did that, then," he suggested.  "But
remember, you are still able to call on me
anytime you need help.  We won't be having
that conversation again, so I want to make
sure that you know that, now."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy," I replied.
    "And also remember what Ms. Marble told
you.  You won't be going to see her again,
either."
    He glanced at the statue of Gavin.  "Is
this him?" he asked.
    "Yes," I admitted.
    He shook his head.  "You should go for
him," he said.  "Remember, you study your
spell book and you can have more than you
think."
    I hugged him and he added, "Figure out
the best time for you to go back to, Shane. 
It'll be easier on you that way."
    "I will.  Thanks again."
    He vanished and I sighed as a couple of
warlocks came over to see who the statue was. 
One shook his head and said, "You can't bring
mortals up here."
    "I know that, now," I replied.
    I snapped my fingers and the statue of
Gavin and I were in my apartment.
    Now I had a choice to make.  If I were
to go back to just before I demolished the
house, the questions that Gavin would ask
about me going to London, were still pending. 
If I went back to just before I disappeared
at the house that morning, then I still had
to worry about getting caught, especially if
I did really hide in the shower stall.
    However, if I were to go all the way
back and re-do Halloween night, I could
prevent a lot of problems that I had had in
the past twenty-four hours.  
    It had been seven-forty-five when I had
arrived at the house the night before.  I
knew that I had been at Gramps' chateau at
five, our time.
    Making the spell book materialize on the
table in front of me, open to the spell I
needed, I knew what I had to do.
    "Time turn back, now take to flight,
make it five o'clock p.m. yesterday, so I can
make things right," I read from the spell
book and snapped my fingers.   Standing on
the veranda of the chateau in Paris, I looked
at my watch.  It had worked.
    "Gramps," I said, "I think I'm going to
go spend the night at the mansion.  I don't
care for skiing and last year some kids
broken in.  I figure if I go now, I can get
some trick-or-treaters before it gets dark."
    "Good idea, Shane," he agreed.
    After saying goodnight to everyone, I
snapped my fingers and was standing in the
foyer of the old house.  Because I had turned
time back, Uncle Troy's remodeling hadn't
happened.
    I scanned the house, just to make sure
that I was alone.  This time I was.  I really
wasn't sure when James and Carl had been
there last, but I was pretty sure that they
had dropped Gavin off about six o'clock. 
That would give me an hour to do what I had
to do, although it wouldn't take more than
the snap of my fingers to get it done.
    So, snapping my fingers, I remodeled the
entire house back to the way Uncle Troy had. 
I had decided I would sell it the next day to
the historical society so they could use it
as a museum.  However, since I would be
spending the night there and I did want
trick-or-treaters to visit, I added back the
bathroom in the guest room and placed a
generator in the basement and made every room
in the house have electric lights, which I
turned on.  If the entire house was lit up,
they would surely come.
    "Now, one more thing," I said, stepping
up to the front door in the foyer.  "Sorry,
Brandon, but I need my privacy tonight.  At
ten thirty, you'll just have to knock on the
front door like everyone else.  
    "With this door closed, no matter the
time, in this whole house, privacy is mine,"
I said and snapped my fingers.
    Remembering that Robin was going to
call, I materialized my cordless phone from
home, making sure that it would work all the
way up on the hill in the old house.  I also
held the storm at bay until after midnight so
the trick-or-treaters could have a dry
evening.
    I had just checked the front yard to see
how the jack-o-lanterns looked out on the
sidewalk when the phone rang.  Caller- id
told me that it was Robin.  Right on
schedule.
    "Hi, Robin," I said, answering the
phone.  She was used to me having caller-id,
however, the phone company didn't know I had
caller-id.
    "Hi, Shane.  I found the perfect costume
for tonight.  Mom wants me to take Mark and
Randy trick-or-treating.  She and Dad are
going to a party.  Would you like to come
with us?"
    "I'd love to, Robin, but I'm going to be
staying at the old house tonight.  I'm
actually there right now.  Last year we had
some kids break in and I want to make sure
they don't this year.  I've got lots of
goodies for the trick-or-treaters and I
turned the lights on, so they'll know I'm
here."
    "Oh, okay.  Well, I'll be sure to bring
Mark and Randy up, then."
    "Why don't you gather up the
neighborhood kids and bring them, too?" I
asked.
    "Gee thanks, Shane.  I'm going to have
my hands full with these two."  Mark and
Randy were only five.  Robin's Dad had re-
married after Robin's Mom had died of cancer
while we were in high school.  Mark was Ted's
son.  Ted was Robin's older brother.  Sherry,
Ted's daughter, wasn't old enough to go
trick-or-treating yet.  I was impressed that
Robin and Ted cared enough for Brenda to call
her Mom even though she was only ten years
older than the twenty-seven year-old Ted. 
Robin was my age.
    "Okay, okay," I conceded.  "But let
their parent's know to bring them up later,
then."
    "Now that I'll do," she agreed.
    "What time will you be here?"
    "Probably about seven," she replied.
    "Okay.  I'll see you then.  I have
something special for you, too."
    "As long as it's chocolate, I don't care
what it is," she replied.
    Robin was a choco-holic and was the
first to admit it, but never did anything to
stop it.
    "What is your costume?" I asked.  
    "You'll just have to wait and see," she
replied.
    "But I haven't figured out what I'm
going to wear yet.  I don't want to be the
same thing you are."
    "Shane, it's already after five.  You're
not going to have time to get to the costume
store before they close at five-thirty, so I
know you won't be what I am.  Besides, I got
the last one of what I am."
    I scanned her apartment.  She was
stretched out on the sofa wearing an over-
sized jump suit.  How she managed to stay
thin and eat so much chocolate was beyond me. 
Sometimes I really wished that I could tell
her I was a warlock, but I knew that wouldn't
be a good idea.  There was a box lying on her
dining room table, it was open and I could
see that she had placed the costume on a
hanger and hung it on the back of a dining
chair.  
    "Well, Gramps and Grams left a trunk up
in the attic," I said; I really hated lying
to her.  "I might find something in it.  I
did see a Peter Pan costume in there once. 
Maybe I can squeeze into it."
    She sat up quickly.  "Don't you dare,"
she retorted.
    "Oh, you're wanting to be Peter Pan,
huh?" I teased.
    "Yes.  If you must know, that's what I
got."
    "Okay.  Too bad I'm not going with you,"
I said, softly.  "I could be Tinker Bell."
    "That would be fun," she agreed with a
chuckle.  At least she knew I was gay, that
was some comfort.
    "Well, I'll figure out something to
wear," I replied.  "I think there's a nice
tux upstairs that Gramps wore once.  It's got
a cape with red lining.  If it's still there,
I'll wear it and be a warlock."
    She laughed.  "Shane, I've met your
grandfather, remember?  He's about six inches
taller than you and a lot more muscular. 
There's no way you could wear anything that
he used to wear.  It'd swallow you whole."
    "That's true.  Maybe I'll just be a
modern warlock and wear the sweater and jeans
I have on."
    "What's Brandon doing?  Maybe he could
bring you something."
    "No.  He went with the others to Paris. 
I'm here all alone."
    "Sorry, hon.  I wish I could help you,
but...Oh, there's Ted now," she said as I
heard the doorbell in the background.  "I've
gotta run."
    "Okay.  I'll see you about seven," I
promised.
    I sighed and hung up.  Now the only
thing I could be was me since she knew I had
nothing to wear.  However, I still liked the
idea of the tux with the red lining on the
cape, so I snapped my fingers and had it on. 
I could change clothes when she knocked on
the door.
    Snapping my fingers again, a foil-
covered jack-o-lantern appeared next to a
plastic jack-o-lantern full of candy, on the
hall table beside the front door.  The foil
was orange with black eyes, nose and mouth
and looked just like the plastic one. 
However, when she pulled the foil open, Robin
would be surprised to find that the shell was
pure milk-chocolate and it was filled with
individually wrapped assorted chocolate
candies and fudge bars.  After she ate the
insides, she could eat the outer shell.  If
that didn't hold her at least until
Thanksgiving, she was more of a choco-holic
than I thought.
    Making sure to zap up the TV/boom-box, I
placed it on the table beside the fireplace
where Gavin and I had previously watched it. 
This time I knew what I was going to tell
Gavin when he asked about it and I would be
able to give it to him.  I also added a
cordless stereo headset to it so that when he
was in the dorm he could watch TV or listen
to music without bothering his roommate.
    Lighting a fire in the hearth in the
bedroom and the parlor, I materialized myself
a cup of hot spiced cider and sat down on the
couch and waited for my guests.
    A few minutes before six, I heard a car
in the driveway.  I glanced through the
wall - I had the curtains in the parlor
closed - it was James, Carl and Gavin.
    "I know, I was just here this afternoon
about three-thirty," James said as they got
out of the car.  "No one was here then.  I
have never seen any electric lights in this
house before, either."
    I watched James timidly step up onto the
front porch.  How I longed to turn into a
ghost and fly through the door like I had
before, but I couldn't.  This time Gavin was
with them.
    At the urging of Gavin, James finally
lifted the knocker and let it fall.
    The thud echoed through the house.  I
got up and dashed into the hallway and picked
up the pumpkin that held the candy for the
trick-or-treaters and opened the door.
    "Good evening," I said.  "My, what are
you supposed to be?  Those are the scariest
outfits I've seen all day."
    Of course, they were all three just
wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts.  It
wouldn't be cool enough outside to wear
sweaters until after it grew dark.
    I smiled at Gavin and the worried look
on his handsome face melted into a broad
smile.  "Hi, Shane," he said.  "What are you
doing here?"
    "My grandparents own this house.  Last
year some kids broke in and did some damage,
so I'm staying the night to make sure they
don't do it again," I replied.
    "Wow," Carl spoke up.  "Aren't you
scared to be here by yourself?"
    "No," I replied.  "All the ghosts here
are friendly."
    Gavin laughed but Carl shuffled
nervously from foot to foot.  I wondered why. 
He hadn't acted like that the second time
around.
    "Well, we saw the lights on," James
said, quickly, "and we wondered what was
going on.  No one has lived here in two
years."
    "Yes.  My grandparents moved to Paris,"
I replied.
    "Yeah, I guess you knew that, huh?" he
asked, blushing.
    "I've got some fresh hot spiced cider if
you'd like to come in for a while," I
offered.
    "Oh, no," James said.  "We've got a
party to go to, we'd better get going."
    "Okay."  I glanced at Gavin and he
smiled.  "Call me sometime, Gavin.  I'm in
the book.  My phone is forwarded up here
tonight, too."
    "Will do," he promised.  "See you
later."
    As they returned to the car, he told
them, "Shane and I went to HCC together. 
Even though we're pretty good friends, we
haven't seen each other since graduation last
year."
    Watching them drive down the hill, I
wondered if Gavin would come back that night. 
Although I wanted to, I couldn't put it in
his mind to come back.  He had to do that on
his own.
    I had a few trick-or-treaters come up,
brought by their parents, before seven.  I
was thankful that I had chosen to hold the
storm at bay and to wear the tux.
    When I heard Robin's car, I quickly
changed back into my jeans, shirt and sweater
and greeted them at the door before she could
knock.
    "You make a great Peter Pan, Robin," I
said as the boys climbed up the steps.
    "Oh, I like that scarecrow," she
replied, hugging me.
    Mark was a ninja turtle and Randy had
dressed as a pirate.   "Trick-or-treat,
Uncle Shane," Mark said.  Even though I
wasn't related to them, they both called me
Uncle Shane.
    "I've got just the treat for you, Mark,"
I replied.  
    I placed a big handful of assorted
candies in his bag and another in Randy's.
    "Wow!  Thanks, Uncle Shane!" Randy
exclaimed.
    Of course, I knew that I had given them
more than they would get anywhere else that
evening.
    Robin grinned and said, "Say thank you,
Mark."
    "Thanks a bunch, Uncle Shane," Mark
said, hugging me.
    "You're more than welcome," I replied.
    "And, as promised," I said, stepping
back into the foyer, "here's something
special for Peter Pan."
    I handed her the foiled jack-o-lantern
and her eyes bulged out.
    "Don't open it until you get home," I
instructed, knowing full well she'd have at
least five pieces of candy eaten by the time
she got to the bottom of the hill.  "It's all
chocolate."
    "Thank you so much, Shane," she said,
hugging me.
    "I've got some hot spiced cider," I
said, "would you like to come in for a
while?"
    "No, we have to go trick-or-treating,"
Randy replied.  "Daddy said the weatherman's
going to make it rain soon."
    "But not before midnight," I replied.
    "Actually, he said a storm would be here
before eight," Robin informed me.
    "Trust me," I replied, grinning at her,
"not before midnight."
    She looked at me skeptically.  "Hey, I'm
a warlock, remember?  I can control the
weather."
    She laughed.  "If you were a warlock,
you would have zapped up some costume to wear
tonight, Shane."
    Now was my chance to tell her I really
was a warlock, but the kids couldn't keep a
secret to save their lives, so I wasn't about
to say or do anything in front of them.
    "Yeah, I guess you're right," I
reluctantly agreed.  "But it's not going to
rain before midnight," I stated as I watched
them return to her car.
    "Thanks again for the goodies, Shane,"
she called.  "I'll call you later."
    "Okay.  Be careful."
    
    After a few more trick-or-treaters, it
started to grow really dark and I knew that
there probably wouldn't be any other visitors
that night since it was close to eight and
the weather man on TV was still predicting
that storm to arrive about eight.  Walking
out onto the front porch, I looked out over
the town.  It was really pretty with the
lights.  I hated selling the house because I
knew that this would be the last time I saw
Hayden from this view.
    I was surprised when the next car drove
in, but I realized it was Gavin when he got
out.  He was alone this time.
    "Hey, Shane," he called.
    "Hi, Gavin.  Are you lost?"
    "No," he replied.  "I thought you might
like some company for the night, since you're
going to be here all night.  If you don't
mind, that is?"
    "No, not at all."
    "I brought an ice chest.  Will you help
me bring it in?"
    "Sure."  I walked out to his car and
helped him carry it into the house.  "Damn,
Gavin, what's in here, the refrigerator?"
    He chuckled.  "No, just some beer and
sodas and ice, of course.  I stopped by a
convenience store and put in a few
sandwiches, just in case we get hungry."
    "Thanks, I appreciate that.  I stocked
the refrigerator, too.  I can make breakfast
for us in the morning.  I will warn you
though, I have to go see my grandparents in
the morning at nine."
    "That's okay," he replied.  "I have a
class at ten, so that will give me time to
get home and get ready for it."
    We set the ice chest on the floor in the
parlor and he got out a soda and a beer. 
Handing me the soda he said, "Wow, this place
looks great considering your grandparents
moved to Paris two years ago."
    "I did some major cleaning up when I got
here," I admitted.
    "You must have really trucked it,
Shane," he said, popping the top off the
bottle and sitting down on the couch.  "The
yard looks great and James said it was all
over-grown in weeds and tall grass when he
was here at three-thirty.  What time did you
get here?"
    "Five," I replied.
    He grinned.  "One of you is pulling my
chain," he said and took a swig of beer.
    "Not me," I said as he noticed the
TV/boom-box.  
    "Wow, this is cool!" he exclaimed,
jumping up and crossing to it.  "Where'd you
get it?"
    "I zapped it up," I said, nonchalantly.
    "Come on, Shane, get serious.  I'd
really like to have one.  Where'd you get
it?"
    "I really am a warlock, Gavin," I
replied, stepping over next to him.  "You can
have this one if you want it, or that one," I
replied as another one appeared on the floor
next to the table, "or that one," as another
appeared next to it.  "How many do you want?"
    He straightened up and looked at me
wide-eyed.  "You're... You're really a
warlock?" he asked.
    "Yeah," I nodded.  "I really need to
stay here tonight, Gavin, and I'd love for
you to spend the night with me, but tomorrow
after your second class, we can go flying if
you want.  I think you'd really enjoy seeing
the fall colors from the air."
    "Wow," he whistled and slumped down on
the couch.  
    I sat down next to him and rubbed his
leg.  He glanced at my hand and then up at
me, but didn't stop me.  "I've also had a
crush on you ever since we met back in
college," I admitted.  I couldn't believe I
was baring my soul to him this way.  Had Ms.
Marble not told me it was okay, I wouldn't
have.  I knew that I couldn't do anything
magically to make him want me, but there was
nothing in the rules that said I couldn't
come onto him like one mortal would do to
another.
    I had already made the entire house my
private domain and no witch or warlock could
see what I was doing, but the look Gavin gave
me, instantly told me that I had nothing to
worry about.
    He placed his arm around me and said,
"Well, I've never heard of a gay warlock
before, but this is going to be kind of cool.
    "But one thing you must know, Shane," he
continued, looking into my eyes, "I have a
straight, homophobic roommate.  If he finds
out I'm bi, he might beat the shit outta me
and he's a big football player.  I may be
pretty muscular, but no match for him.  So,
if he finds out, he might kill me.  Do you
think you can handle pretending to be just
friends when anyone from school is around?  I
don't want him finding out."
    "I have the same problem, except it's my
family.  Uncle Troy and my brother, Brandon,
are the only ones who can find out we're
lovers.  My best friend Robin can know, she's
cool.  But no one, and I mean no one, not
even Robin, can find out that I'm a warlock. 
We've got enough stories about this house as
it is, if anyone finds out they're partially
true, I'd be in big trouble."
    He chuckled.  "Yeah, James is pretty
freaked out about the way you cleaned it up
in just a few hours.  I was, too, until you
showed me that you are a warlock."
    "Okay, it's a deal then.  We'll both
keep each other's secrets."
    He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss
on my lips.  "Mm," he said, softly, "I should
have been doing this a long time ago."
    I rubbed his strong back through his
loose fitting shirt and, as we continued to
kiss, I remembered how good it had felt to
not only lie with my head on his warm hairy
chest, but to fly with him to Jupiter,
although neither of those had really
happened, since I had turned time back.
    I jumped as I heard thunder rattle the
windows and the wind began to blow hard.
    "Wow, looks like that storm the
weatherman's been predicting finally got
here," Gavin said.
    "It couldn't," I replied, jumping up and
heading for the hallway.  "I have it held off
until midnight."
    "Oh really?" he was right behind me. 
"You can do that?"
    "I thought I could," I replied, opening
the door.
    The lady who stood on the porch wore a
black flying suit and a tall pointed hat.  I
was thankful that she didn't have a broom. 
"Aunt Margie," I said, surprised, "what are
you doing here?"
    She glanced coldly at Gavin, who stood
behind me, wide-eyed.  "Uh, Gavin Sanders,
this is my Dad's sister, Aunt Margie."
    "Hello, ma'am," he said, nervously.
    "Won't you come in?" I asked her.
    She nodded and stepped into the foyer. 
I closed the door behind her.
    "What's up?" I asked again, realizing
that she hadn't spoken since I had opened the
door.
    "You just told a mortal that you are a
warlock, Shane," she said.  "Do you realize
the consequences of doing that?"
    "Yes, ma'am," I replied.  "But how did
you know?"
    She smiled at me.  "Shane, you have the
privacy spell around the house, that is why I
arrived on the front porch instead of in
here, but that doesn't stop the Witches'
Council from being notified when you do
things that could endanger our secrecy. 
Although we're on Jupiter this week, I am on
call for emergencies."
    I glanced at the bewildered Gavin.  "I
forgot to mention that Aunt Margie is on the
Witches' Council, didn't I?"
    "Uh, huh," he replied.
    Ms. Marble had told me that my family
wouldn't approve of this.  Now, the worst
person on Dad's side of the family to find
out was standing in front of me.  She would
not only tell Dad, but everyone on the
Council.  I was doomed.  "What's the deal
with the pointed hat?" I asked, changing the
subject.
    "When I realized I was on the front
porch," she replied, "I figured I'd dress the
part in case any trick-or-treaters showed up
before you answered the door."
    "Oh," I said.  
    "Now, why on Earth would you tell this
mortal you are a warlock, Shane?" she asked,
getting back to the subject at hand.
    "He's my best friend," I replied.  "I am
so tired of not being able to tell anyone
that I'm one.  I know that I can trust him. 
Uncle Troy took me to see Ms. Marble and she
said it'd be okay."  I realized too late that
I shouldn't have said that, especially since
it had never happened.
    Aunt Margie frowned at me and glanced at
Gavin.  "Why would she tell you anything
about him?" she asked.  "She only deals in
love relationships, not friends'
relationships."
    Taking a deep breath, I glanced from
Gavin to her.  I placed my arm around him and
replied.  "Aunt Margie, please do not tell
the Council or Dad or anyone, but I am gay
and I want to have Gavin as my lover.  He has
vowed not to tell anyone that I am a warlock. 
He is interested in having me as a lover,
too.  I used no supernatural help to win him
over.  It's real.  Will you please keep my
secret for me?"
    She sighed and looked from Gavin to me
and back.  She reached out and took Gavin's
hand.  Without saying a word she nodded, then
let go of his hand.  
    He wiped his hands on his jeans and she
said, "Very well, Shane, you have my
blessing.  Your secret is safe with me.  Have
a good night," and she was gone.
    "Wow," he breathed.  "That was freaky."
    "Why, what'd she do?" I asked, following
him back into the parlor.  I was terrified
that he was going to want to take his ice
chest and go home.
    "I don't know.  All of a sudden I felt
real tingly all over while she was holding my
hand."
    That was the same thing that Tony had
done to me.  I had to find that spell, it
could obviously be used for more than just
finding out someone's birth date.  "She must
have been checking to see what your
intentions were," I said.
    "Well, I'll tell you one thing, Shane,"
he said, sitting down on the couch, "if
that's what she did, I want you to do it to
me, too, so that you will know for sure that
I would never betray you."
    I breathed a sigh of relief.  Of course,
if I did it, then I would be telling him that
I really didn't trust him.
    "Well, first of all, I do trust you,
Gavin," I said, sitting down next to him. 
"And secondly, I don't know the spell to do
that.  But, I wouldn't do it if I did, cause
I trust you."
    He grinned and leaned over and said,
"Now, where were we before we were so rudely
interrupted?"
    I kissed him on the lips and he pulled
me into his arms and pushed me back onto the
couch, pressing his warm strong body against
mine as he laid down on top of me.
    We kissed for a few minutes then he
pushed himself up a little and looked down at
me and frowned.  "Did your aunt say that she
was on Jupiter this week?"
    "Now, darling, I can understand that you
are bi, but please don't be thinking about my
aunt while we're kissing.  I mean, that
really hurts to think that you're dreaming of
kissing someone else instead of me."
    "I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said,
tenderly.  "No, I wasn't thinking about
kissing her, not that she's not pretty, she
is. But no, I just remembered that I thought
she said she was on Jupiter."
    "Okay, just making sure," I replied.  
"Yes, she's on Jupiter.  She's back there
now.  All the witches and warlocks go to
Jupiter this time of year.  We don't like the
image the mortals portray of the female
witches.  That's why it surprised me that
Aunt Margie was wearing that outfit.  I know
she didn't fly here, she got here too fast
after I told you.  It's a three minute
flight, one way."
    He shook his head.  "Come on, Shane, it
takes the space center months to get to
there.  How can you get there in three
minutes?"
    "I'll tell you what," I said, "I'll take
you there tomorrow.  We'll have to stay
invisible, or you'll turn into stone.  If we
use molecular transfer, we can be there
instantly, but we'll fly since you've never
really flown before.  I think you'll enjoy
the flight."
    "Okay, you have yourself a deal," he
replied and leaned down and kissed me again.
    I pressed my hard rod up against his. 
He was erect also and I could feel him
through our jeans.  I was tempted to take him
to bed, but I wasn't too sure that we
wouldn't have any more trick-or-treaters.  
    Luckily, I wasn't surprised when the
phone rang a moment later.  I had left it on
the hall table beside the door.  I made it
materialize in my hand, since Gavin was still
lying on top of me.
    "Hello, Robin," I said, answering it.
    "Hi, Shane.  Any ghost and goblins
running around there, yet?" she teased.
    Gavin sat up and grabbed his bottle off
the coffee table and took a swig of beer. 
"Several, actually," I replied.  "I had about
twenty total, including you and the kids."
    "That's not bad, considering," she said.
    "No.  My friend, Gavin, that I met when
we were in Hayden Community College, came by. 
He's going to keep me company the rest of the
night."
    "Oh really?" she asked, I knew her green
eyes were twinkling at the thought.
    "Yeah," I replied.
    "Great, congratulations.  I'll let you
go.  Call me tomorrow sometime."
    "Okay, I will.  Thanks again for coming
up."
    "Thank you for the pumpkin.  I can't
believe you did that.  It's marvelous.  I've
already had ten pieces of the inside candy
and have been fighting the urge to eat the
shell."
    "Keep fighting," I replied.  "You need
something to hold the insides together with."
    "That's true.  See you tomorrow."
    "Good night, Robin," I said and hung up.
    Gavin was flipping through the channels
on the TV/Boom-box that was setting on the
table.  I hadn't gotten rid of the other two,
yet.
    "Anything interesting on?" I asked,
sitting up and rubbing his back.
    He wrapped his arm around me and leaned
back, pulling me down to rest my head against
his shoulder.  "Not really.  Some halloween
cartoons, but that's about it."
    "I don't mind watching them if you want
to."
    "Okay," he replied.
    "Shane?" he asked after a commercial
came on.
    "Yes?" 
    "Since you're a warlock, do you know if
there really are any ghosts and goblins?"
    I had forgotten to ask Gramps about
that.  "I don't know of any, personally," I
replied.  "I'll ask Gramps when I see him in
the morning.  We're supposed to meet at three
o'clock p.m. in London, which is nine o'clock
a.m. here.  I'll be sure to fix us breakfast
before you leave."
    "Okay.  If you have to be in London in
the morning at nine, our time, what time do
you have to leave here to get there?"
    "It's a five-second flight to Paris,
France," I explained.  "I haven't timed to
London, but I think it's a second closer. 
But I won't fly, I'll use molecular transfer
and will be there instantly.  Therefore, I
can leave right at nine and be there at
nine."
    "Wow, this is really going to take some
getting used to, Shane," he said, softly and
took another sip of beer.
    "Yeah, but it's a big relief to be able
to share it with you, Gavin," I replied.
    He rubbed my arm and said, "Thanks for
sharing it with me, Shane."
    I sat up and kissed him on the lips. 
"I've got a neat-o tub in the bathroom, would
you like to take a bath before we go to bed?"
    His blue eyes twinkled.  "Are you saying
I stink?"
    "No, I just thought you might enjoy
soaking in the tub for a while."
    "Sure," he replied.
    I had finished my soda and he finished
off his beer and followed me into the
bathroom.  "In the morning when I leave," I
said, turning on the water in the tub, "I'm
going to restore this house to the way it was
when Gramps and Grams bought it.  Grandmother
put this bathroom in, so I'll be removing it
and the generator in the basement.  There
won't be any electricity in here.  After I
get back from London, I'll go sell it to the
historical society.  They've been wanting to
make it a museum for some time now."
    I noticed a disappointed look on Gavin's
handsome face as he unbuttoned his shirt. 
"Too bad, I'm going to need a place to stay
after the fifteenth of November," he said. 
"The dorm closes for the holidays and we have
to leave until January.  If you kept this
house, I could stay here until then.  I was
going to go home, but since you and I are
getting together, I'd rather stay here."
    "Oh," I said.  "Well, you could move in
with me.  I can make another bedroom at my
place, so no one will know."
    "Okay, that probably would be best," he
agreed.  Removing his shirt, he tossed it on
the toilet seat, which was closed.
    "You don't have a job, do you?" I asked.
    "No.  I guess I'll need to get one if
I'm going to stay in town."
    "What for?" I asked.  "Everything you'll
need, I can zap up for you.  I don't work. 
We can spend more time travelling the world
if you're staying with me.  You can even go
home for weekends, if you want.  Just have
your parents pick you up and drop you off at
the airport.  You don't even have to tell
them what flight you're on."
    "That wouldn't work," he said,
unbuttoning his jeans.  "They always pay for
my tickets."
    "We can work something out, I'm sure," I
replied.  
    "Is it kind of chilly in here?" I asked,
changing the subject.
    "A little," he replied, taking off his
tennis shoes.
    I hadn't realized there wasn't a
fireplace in the bathroom until just then.  
There really wasn't room for one.  However,
there was a small place on the wall between
the shower stall and the closet where there
was nothing.  I waved my hand and there was
an electric wall heater there, turned on. 
Closing the door, I said, "It'll warm up in
here pretty fast, now."
    "Especially if you join me in the tub,"
he said with a grin as he removed his socks.
    "Is that an invitation?" I asked.
    "Yep," he replied and bent over to kiss
me on the lips.
    "It's only eight-thirty," I said, "what
if we get some more trick-or-treaters?"
    "You're a warlock, surely if you can fly
to Jupiter in three minutes, you can get
dressed, pop out there and greet them and be
back in here naked in the tub with me, in a
second, can't you?"
    "It might take two or three seconds,
depending on how many kids there are," I
replied, "but, yes, I can do that."
    He removed his pants and said, "Good,
get naked, then."
    I smiled and snapped my fingers.  I
stood before him, nude.  "What's taking you
so long?" I asked.  "You've still got your
underwear on."
    Stepping closer to me, he grinned and
kissed me.  "Maybe you need to remove them,
the treasure they hold is for you."
    Wrapping my arms around him, I rubbed
his strong back while we continued to kiss. 
He didn't move when I magically transported
his white cotton briefs off him onto the
toilet seat with his other clothes.
    "I think the tub is full," I whispered,
breaking the kiss.
    "Okay," he replied.  He had a surprised
look on his face when he noticed I had
removed his underwear.
    "Yeah," he said, stepping into the tub
and turning off the water, "this is really
going to take some getting used to.  I didn't
even know you removed my underwear."
    "I'm surprised you weren't hard," I
said, stepping in with him - I was.  
    He sunk into the water and placed his
hands on my bottom.  "Let me suck that dick,"
he said softly and pulled me closer to him,
taking my erect organ as far into his mouth
as it would go, pressing his nose into my
blond bush.
    He flicked his hot tongue across the
ridge at the base of the head of it and I
gasped.  I was so ready for him that I
actually blasted my load down his throat.
    Gavin sucked me dry, then looked up at
me and grinned.  "Do you always come that
fast?"
    "No," I admitted as he pulled me down
into the water.  
    "You were just horny for me, huh?" he
asked.
    "Yeah."  He spread my legs and placed
them across his thighs before pulling me
closer to him.  Our crotches were touching,
he had an erection.
    Reaching down between us, I wrapped my
hand around his hard organ.  As I had
figured, he was about eight inches long and
pretty thick.  I couldn't wait to get him
inside me.
    Gavin kissed me for a moment while I
stroked his rod.  "Mm, that feels good," he
moaned.
    "Your dick is so big," I whispered, "I
want it in me."
    "Shit," he said, "I forgot my bag.  It's
in the back seat of the car.  I have condoms
in it."  He started to push himself up, but
my legs where holding him down.  "Would you
mind letting me up so I can go get it?"
    "Oh, really?" I asked.  "So you thought
you were going to get lucky tonight?"
    He blushed and shrugged.  "One can
always hope," he said, sheepishly.
    I pointed to the floor beside the tub
and his green sports bag appeared.  "There's
your bag," I said, "but you don't need a
condom from it, I have one here."  A condom
materialized in my hand.  It was already out
of the package and ready for me to slip over
his hard cock.
    I rolled it down over him as he grabbed
the bar of soap and reached behind me and
began applying soap to my ass hole.  
    "Mm, that feels good," I moaned as he
stuck his finger up my hole.
    "Your ass is pretty tight," he said. 
"We might not be able to do this in here."
    Raising up a little, I kissed him on the
lips.  We kissed for a moment, then I lay
back onto a pillow on the bed.  He was lying
on top of me, my legs were spread wide and
his hard rod was right at the entrance of my
ass, ready for him to push it in.  We were
both dry.  He looked around the room and
shook his head and smiled.  "Wow," he said,
softly.
    "That's molecular transfer," I
whispered, pressing up against him as he
pushed his cock into me.
    The fire crackled in the fireplace, the
guest room was warm, but I still pulled the
sheet and blanket up over Gavin so his back
wouldn't get cold.
    He pulled out a little, then pressed
back in and we continued to kiss.  "Your ass
is so tight, Shane," he whispered against my
lips.
    "And your dick is so big.  I love the
feel of it in me."
    "We really should have been doing this
ever since we met," he said.
    "I wanted to," I admitted, "but I
thought you were straight, since you were
dating Gina."
    "Well, don't worry, I'm not dating
anyone right now.  Except you, that is."
    After Clint had moved out of town, I had
had sex with a couple of guys during high
school, but that was all it was, just sex. 
They had even wanted to do it doggy-style. 
Since I had really fallen in love with Gavin
during college, I had basically saved myself
for him and hadn't had sex with anyone, so my
sexual experiences had only been with Clint
and the two guys in high school.  Therefore,
it surprised me that Gavin didn't try to turn
me over and was even willing to keep kissing
me on the lips as he slowly pressed in and
out of me.  I knew that he was actually
making love to me and not just wanting to
have sex.
    I loved the feel of his warm hairy chest
against me as we kissed and he continued to
pump slowing in and out.  Rubbing his strong
back down to his firm buttocks, I began to
realize what it was like to really be loved.
    He was in no hurry.  At one point, I
began to push up against him harder to get
his dick deeper in me and help him come, but
he whispered, "Easy, baby, we're in no rush. 
We've got until eight in the morning to do
this."
    Not that I actually expected him to last
a full eleven and a half hours, but the way
it felt to have him lying on top of me this
way, I wouldn't have minded.
    "You feel so good," I said, softly.
    "So do you, Shane," he replied and began
to speed up a little.  "I'm gonna cum in
your ass, baby," he gasped.
    "I want you to."
    His strong body trembled.  I felt his
hard rod expand inside me.  I pressed up
against him and felt his soft bush against my
bottom as he plunged in as deep as his eight-
inch rod would go.  He pressed his lips
against mine and let out a small grunt as he
blasted his wad into the condom inside me.
    After he was spent, he collapsed on top
of me, but we didn't stop kissing.  A few
minutes later, he nuzzled my neck and
whispered, "Yeah, Shane, we should have been
doing this all along."
    He raised up and I moved a strand of
hair out of his eyes.  "You can do it anytime
you want to, now," I replied, tenderly.
    He grinned and kissed me.  "I'll take
you up on that," he promised.
    "You'd better."
    Pushing himself up, he gently pulled out
and rolled the soiled condom off.  "Wow,
you're a great fuck, Shane," he said.
    "So are you."
    He got up and crossed to the bathroom
door.  I had left it closed.  Opening it, he
said, "Wow, it's really hot in here now."
    I had forgotten to turn off the heater.
    "Leave the door open for a while and
it'll cool off," I said, getting up.
    He was urinating when I reached the
bathroom.  The tub was still full of water
and the heater still on.  I turned the heater
down a little, it would be cold by morning,
so it would be best to leave it on overnight.
    Letting the water out of the tub, I
stepped into the shower.
    I had just wet my hair when the door
opened and Gavin stepped in.  "Mind if I join
you?" he asked.  The stall wasn't really big
enough for two people, when Brandon had come
in the first time around, he had stood
partially in the wall, since we were both
invisible while we talked. 
    "I didn't realize I was falling apart,"
I replied with a grin.
    "Well, if you're over there and I'm over
here, we're apart, which means I have."
    Taking him by the arm, I pulled him in
with me and closed the door behind him.  His
warm body pressed against me as I said, "We
can't have that, now can we?"
    "Nope," he replied.
    I wrapped my arms around him and we
kissed for a few moments while the warm water
cascaded down upon us.  "Damn, Shane," he
said, moving the shower head out of the way, 
"whoever made this thing didn't plan on
having a lover, did they?  There's no room
for two people to actually take a shower in
here.  If someone were really fat they
wouldn't fit, either."
    "My grandmother made it," I reminded
him.  "She wasn't married back then and all
my family are slender.  Maybe this will
help."  There was nothing but the side yard
on the other side of the back wall so I
placed my hand on the wall and it moved out
about two feet, giving Gavin and me enough
room to have a good shower together without
getting too far apart.
    Although we did kiss a lot, we managed
to actually get a good shower, then Gavin
turned off the water and opened the door.  He
had gotten a towel out of his bag and it was
hanging on the towel rack, but there wasn't
one for me.  "Sorry I only had one towel," he
said, handing it to me.
    "That's okay," I replied.  "We really
don't need one unless you just want to dry me
off."
    He grinned.  "Well, I can do that," he
replied.  "But don't you need one to dry me
off with?"
    I smiled and kissed him.  "No."  A snap
of my fingers and we were both dry and lying
in bed.  My head was resting on his shoulder
and his arm was around me.
    "Mm," he said.  "I think I'm going to
like this molecular transfer thing."
    "Me, too," I agreed.
    Remembering that Brandon was going to
arrive at ten-thirty, I materialized a
digital clock on the table by the bed and set
the alarm for seven the next morning.  "We
can wake up at seven," I said, "make out, get
a shower and get breakfast before you have to
go back to the dorm and I have to go to
London."
    "Seven?" he replied.  "Well, since you
did say make out, I guess I can get up that
early for you."
    "If you don't want breakfast we can wait
until eight," I replied.  "But I thought it
would be fun to have a good breakfast first. 
When we go to tea we just have scones and
tea.  That's not a good breakfast."
    "Okay, I guess that's a good idea.  What
time will you get back?"
    "About eleven.  If you want, I can pick
you up at your dorm and we get lunch then fly
to Jupiter."
    "I have another class at eleven," he
said.  "I don't get free until noon, then I
have another class at one.  Why don't you
pick me up at the dorm at noon?  We can do
lunch and, if you're sure you can get me to
Jupiter and back in an hour, we can do that."
    Now that I had transported him from the
bathroom to bed twice, he wasn't as skeptical
about going to Jupiter, I noticed.
    "Yes, we can actually have lunch on
Jupiter if you like," I said.
    Glancing at the clock, I noticed that it
was nine-thirty-eight.  Gavin would arrive in
about forty-five minutes.  I wondered if he'd
actually knock on the door or just go on home
if he couldn't get in.  
    "Do you mind if I go get one of those
boom boxes?" Gavin asked.  "I'd like to see
the news at ten."
    "I can bring it in for you," I offered.
    "Honey," he said, pushing me over and
sitting up, "you don't have to do everything
for me.  If you keep popping us around and
doing everything for me, I'll get fat and
lazy and you won't want me anymore."
    "I'll always want you, Gavin," I replied
as he stood up.  "And there is a workout room
on Jupiter, I won't let you get fat."
    He smiled and trotted into the hallway. 
A few minutes went by and he hadn't returned,
so I called, "Gavin?  Are you okay?"
    "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied stepping
into the door.  His muscles were bulging as
he lugged the "portable" entertainment center
into the room.  He almost didn't have the
strength to lift it up onto the table beside
the fireplace.  "Shit, Shane," he said,
gasping for breath, "that thing's heavy.  I
thought it was supposed to be portable.  My
nineteen-inch color TV isn't that heavy."
    "It's not?" I asked.
    "No."
    "Sorry, I didn't know."  I waved my hand
and said, "Try picking it up now."
    He lifted it with one hand.  "That's
more like it."
    It hadn't dawned on me that I had made
it heavier that time than I had the first
time around.  However, now it was much
lighter than the first time.
    "I was going to get us something to
drink," he said, heading back out into the
hall, "but it was too heavy to carry it and
the drinks, so I'll be right back."
    "Thank you," I said.
    He returned a moment later and set his
beer on the night stand and removed the top
off the bottle of Dr. Pepper he had brought
for me and handed me the bottle.
    "Thanks," I said.  
    He crawled back into bed and said,
"You're welcome.  Are you going to leave all
these lights on all night?"
    "No," I replied.  Waving my hand, I
turned out all the lights in the house except
for the one in the guest room.  I also left
the front porch lights and the jack-o-
lanterns burning.  I would turn them off
later.
    Gavin adjusted the pillows so he could
sit up and watch TV, and, using the remote,
turned it on.  "I really like this thing," he
said.  "Thanks for letting me have one.  I've
never seen them, so I don't know if they
really make them or not."
    "I haven't either," I admitted.  "But I
have a feeling that all your friends are
going to want one when they see it."
    "Probably.  Maybe I shouldn't take one
after all."
    "If they want them, I'll get Mom and Dad
to sell them at the boutique and they can buy
them there."
    "But they don't sell things like that
there," he said.
    "They might if the public wants it," I
replied.  "I will ask Mom in the morning if
she'll put one on a shelf and see how many
people want it.  And, if all your friends
want one, you can send them to the boutique
to get one."
    "Sounds like a good idea to me," he
said.  "Thanks."
    "Well, it's just that if you say a
friend picked it up for you in Japan, they'll
start looking for one and, if they don't find
it, it might get tricky.  Especially since
there's no 'made in' label on it, nor is
there a name of who made it."
    "That's true," he agreed.
    We sipped our drinks and watched the
ending of the cartoon that was showing.  I
slid over next to him and turned my back to
him and he put his arms around me and held me
with my head leaning back on his shoulder
while we watched.
    "You know something, Shane?" he
whispered against my cheek when the news came
on.
    "No, what?"
    "I could get used to doing this."
    "So could I," I admitted.  "Since
school's going to be out on the fifteenth,
why don't you move in with me?"
    "Mm, I'd really like that, Shane," he
said.  "Actually, I've already promised Mom
and Dad that I'd come home when school's out. 
But since you did offer to make another
bedroom in your apartment, I guess I can stay
here."
    "Are you going to come back for next
semester if you go home?"
    "Yeah."
    "Well, there's a closet in the hall next
to the bathroom that I don't need," I
reminded him.  "I can widen the doorway and
turn it into a nice bedroom for you.  Of
course, you won't be sleeping in it, but if
any of your friends come over, they'll see
that it is your room and I have mine.  And
you don't really want to load up and take
everything home with you, just to have to
bring it all back next year, so you could
move in with me and only take what you'll
need while you're there.  Then next semester,
you could just stay with me in my apartment
and not have to worry about getting Chuck as
your roommate again."
    "That's true," Gavin agreed.  "But I
like living on campus.  I don't have to get
up as early to get to class and they supply
meals.  It's a lot more convenient.  When we
were at HCC, I had an apartment and it was
always a mess because I was always studying. 
I was always late to my first class, too. 
I'm surprised I actually passed it."
    "But if you live with me, you'll have a
lot more room than you do now and I can make
sure that you're never late to class because
you can get up in the morning, make love to
me, then I can snap my fingers and you can be
showered, shaved, dressed and at school."
    He smiled and took another swig of beer. 
"Well, I like the idea of making love to you
in the mornings," he said.
    "You'll always have clean clothes, too,"
I replied.
    "I'll tell you what," he said, placing
his empty bottle on the night stand, I nodded
and the bottle vanished, "I'll move in with
you on the fifteenth, but I have to go home
for a while.  I've got to be in Chicago for
Thanksgiving and Christmas, too.  Since I'm
driving, I won't be able to come back until
after the first."
    "I'll think of something," I promised,
glancing at the clock.  It was a little past
ten, but it would be nine in Chicago. 
Materializing my cordless, I said, "Here,
call your parents and tell them that a friend
of yours will bring you home this year."
    "But they'll ask questions, Shane," he
protested.
    "Since you don't want to lie to them,
just tell them that I'll be going to visit my
brother and I'll drop you off and bring you
back.  I can have Brandon be there by the
time we get there.  Just don't tell them that
he lives there.  Besides, it might be fun to
do a road trip.  I'll supply the car, don't
worry about that.  You can leave yours at my
apartment.  It'll be okay."
    He took a deep breath and said, "Okay,
if you're sure."
    "I'm sure.  Call them."
    "But it's long distance," he protested.
    "No it's not," I replied.  "I have an
intergalactic long distance company, all long
distance calls are free."
    "I've never heard of that before, how
much does it cost to be a customer?"
    "It's called magic, Gavin, you're
automatically connected to the phone you're
calling without using any phone lines.  Just
dial the area code and number.  Don't dial
one.  Stop stalling and call them."
    "Okay, okay," he replied, dialing the
number.
    I kissed him on the cheek and said, "I'm
going out on the front porch.  Brandon should
be here about ten-thirty.  I'll be back
shortly.  Talk as long as you like."
    "Thanks, Shane," he said.  "Hi, Mom."
    I crawled out of bed and, snapping my
fingers, was dressing in my jeans, shirt and
sweater.  I also had on my tennis shoes and
was standing out on the front porch.  I
figured it would be easier for him to talk to
his parents if I weren't in the room.
    It was a beautiful night.  The stars
were twinkling, the lights of Hayden
stretched out below.  Again I was reluctant
to sell the old house, but I knew that it
would be for the best.
    Placing my hands on the rail and leaning
on it, I smiled as I looked up at the stars. 
I had really wanted to see the storm that
would be there at midnight, but I knew that
Gavin and I would be asleep by then.  I
materialized another soda for myself and
wondered if I should go back to Jupiter at
eleven the next morning and have Uncle Troy
take me to see Ms. Marble.  Would anything in
her prediction change since I turned time
back and hadn't really gone to see her the
first time?  I would have an hour from the
time I got back from London to time to get
Gavin for lunch.  I had decided to take Gavin
to Jupiter, but not turn us visible so that
he wouldn't turn to stone and we could enjoy
ourselves.  I had also figured out that if I
turned a hot spring invisible, we could both
enjoy it, too.
]
    "Excuse me, sir?" I heard an unfamiliar
voice behind me as someone tapped my
shoulder.  I jumped and turned around.  The
headless scarecrow that I had sprawled across
the porch swing stood before me.  "I seemed
to have lost me head, can ye help me find
it?"
    I laughed and picked up a jack-o-lantern
off the railing.  "Here it is," I said.  "But
be sure you don't turn wrong or you'll catch
yourself on fire."
    I sat the pumpkin on top of the
scarecrow's neck and Brandon appeared beside
me. "Ah, much better," the scarecrow said. 
"Now Ay can dance a jig."
    The scarecrow danced his way back over
to the swing and stretched out like he had
been before, but he had a head now.  I put
out the candle and said, "Hi, Brandon, what
are you doing here?  I thought you were going
to spend the night on Jupiter."
    "Nah.  It's really kicking there, but I
got tired and decided to go home.  I figured
I'd swing by and see how you're doing. 
That's a cool scarecrow.  I was hoping to
scare you with it more than I did."
    I decided not to tell him that I was
expecting him.  
    "What are you doing out here?  I tried
to scan the house but nothing.  You didn't
lock yourself out, did you?"
    "No," I replied.  "Did you ever meet
Gavin Sanders when I was at Hayden Community
College?"
    "No," he replied, "but you talked about
him quite a bit."
    "He came up this evening and he's in the
house.  I came out here so that he could call
his folks.  He's going to move in with me. 
I'm going to turn the hall closet into a
bedroom for him."
    "You told him you're a warlock?" he
asked, worriedly.
    "Yeah.  It's great.  We've had a blast
this evening."
    "You're not going to start dating him,
are you?" 
    "I think so.  I talked it over with
Uncle Troy and he said that I should go for
him."
    Brandon's handsome face fell in
astonishment.  "Uncle Troy?" he asked,
surprised.  "I didn't think you'd tell anyone
in the family you're gay."
    "Actually, I didn't tell him.  He
already knew.  He said he could just tell."
    "Well, I do want you to be happy,
Shane," he said, putting his arm around me,
"but I don't think letting a mortal move in
with you is a good idea."
    "It's okay," I promised.  "Uncle Troy
gave me the privacy spell and I'm going to
keep it on the entire apartment."
    "Okay.  Good luck," he said.  "You're
just lucky the Witches' Council is out; they
would have sent someone to straighten you out
for that."
    "Actually, Aunt Margie popped in about a
minute after I told him," I admitted.  "She
did something, I'm not sure what, but I've
got to find out what it was.  She took his
hand and he said he got all tingly and then
she said that my secret is safe with her and
she gave us our blessings."
    "Ah, 'The Information' spell," he said. 
"Yes, it's the way that you can actually find
out whatever you want to know about a person
and they can't lie to you.  However, it
always sends the tingly feeling, so they know
something is happening, but they don't know
what information you're getting."
    "Hm.  Uncle Troy took me to the hot
spring steam baths and Tony did that to me,
but Uncle Troy didn't know what it was.  I'm
surprised you know but he doesn't."
    "Because when Dad first took me to the
springs, Phil was working and when he did it
to me, I asked him what it was.  Shane,
you're going to have to learn to start
studying your spell book and asking questions
when someone does a spell that you don't
know.  It's the only way you're ever going to
learn."
    "I know," I replied as the front door
opened and Gavin stepped out.  I was thankful
that he had put his jeans and shirt back on,
but he was still bare-footed.
    "Hi," he said, glancing nervously from
Brandon to me and back.
    "Hi.  Gavin Sanders," I said, wrapping
my arm around him, "this is my brother,
Brandon.  He came back from Jupiter early."
    "Oh.  It's nice meeting you," he said,
offering Brandon his hand.
    "Nice to meet you finally," Brandon
replied as they shook hands.  "Shane talked a
lot about you during college," he explained.
    "So what'd you're parents say?" I asked,
quickly changing the subject.
    "No problem.  Dad said that if you need
gas money to let him know."
    "We won't," I replied.  "But thank him
for the offer.  Brandon, after school is out,
Gavin and I are going to take a road trip to
Chicago.  I told him to tell his parents that
I'll be going to visit you, so would you mind
finding a room at a hotel or something, there
for us?"
    He smiled.  "Sure.  How about a
penthouse on the top of the Sears building?"
    "Get real," I said.  "I need something
they'd believe."
    "Okay.  I'll get a houseboat on that
river that runs through downtown."
    "It's going to be cold and snowing by
then," Gavin said.  "While you can, I
wouldn't advise it."
    "We'll think of something," I said.  
    "Well, it's getting late, Brandon,"  I
continued, "I think we'd better get to bed,
Gavin.  Thanks for stopping by, Brandon. 
I'll see you tomorrow."
    "Okay.  What do you have planned for
tomorrow?"
    "I've got classes from ten to noon, then
from one to five," Gavin said, "but Shane's
taking me to Jupiter for lunch."
    "You can't do that, Shane," Brandon
said, worriedly.  "He'll turn to stone."
    "Not if we stay invisible," I replied.
    "Oh, well, that's true," he agreed.
    "I forgot to tell you, though, Gramps
wants us to meet them at The Porcelain Tea
Pot in London for tea at nine our time in the
morning."
    He frowned.  "How'd you know that?" he
asked.  "He just told me right before I
left."
    "And you weren't going to tell me?" I
asked, instead of answering him.
    "Well, I forgot.  But I would have
remembered by in the morning."
    "Okay, but don't be late," I said. 
"I'll see you there in the morning.  Good
night."
    I kissed him on the cheek and led Gavin
back in the house and closed the door.
    "I understand you're a warlock, Shane,"
Gavin said as I crawled into bed with him and
laid my head on his shoulder, "but I just
can't get used to everyone saying they've
just left Jupiter when they come visit you."
    I chuckled.  "We could go now if you
don't want to wait until noon tomorrow."
    He took a deep breath.  "No, I think I'd
better wait.  If we go now, I might not get
any sleep and I've got a test in the
morning."
    Sitting up quickly, I looked down at him
and said, "You have a test and you haven't
even studied for it?"
    "Calm down, Shane," he replied, grinning
at me as he pulled me back down.  "I've
studied so much my brain hurts.  Actually, I
think that it'd even be better if we waited
until five to go.  I'll be totally done with
everything until Monday and we can party all
weekend on Jupiter if you want to."
    "Well, if that's what you want to do," I
replied.  "But you still need to eat. 
There's a great little French restaurant
right on the East Bank I can take you to. 
It'll be dinner time there at noon and we can
watch the sun set while we eat."
    "So when my roommate asks what I did for
lunch, I'll tell him I went to France and
watched the sun set.  I don't think so.  How
about just going to a restaurant here in
town?"
    "We can do that, if you prefer," I
replied.  "Gavin, I don't care what we do,
just as long as we're together.  But I
thought it'd be fun to let you share the
supernatural life with me.  I've never gotten
to do that with someone I care for and it's
new for me, too."
    "Thanks, Shane," he said, softly.  "It's
just a lot to digest right now.  I mean, I
grew up watching the old reruns of
'Bewitched' and was always told that it was
just fantasy stuff.  I never really believed
in witches.  When you told me you were a
warlock, I didn't believe you until you
zapped up those boom-boxes and I really
wasn't positive until you transported us from
the tub to bed.  Just be patient with me,
Shane, I'll get used to it one of these
days."
    "Okay."  
    I kissed him on the cheek and, taking my
chin in his hand, he moved my face so he
could kiss me on the lips.  "Good night,
Shane."
    "Good night, Gavin."
    Resting my head on his shoulder, I
wondered if talking him into moving in with
me was the right choice.

    Sometime later, I awakened with a start
as thunder rattled the windows.  Looking at
the clock, I smiled.  It was midnight.  The
storm was right on time.
    I rolled over on my right side and Gavin
rolled with me, placing his arm around me and
resting his head on my pillow next to the
back of my head.  It felt so good to have him
hold me this way with his warm body pressing
against my back.  Mom had said that was
called 'spooning' in the olden days, but I
had never done it before.
    Rubbing his warm arm, I smiled and added
another log to the fire before drifted off to
sleep as the storm continued overhead.
    
    I had wondered if James and Carl would
try anything that night, but I didn't even
know if they knew that Gavin had returned to
the old house after they had left.  Shutting
off the alarm, I stretched, pressing my body
against Gavin.  The morning sun was just
peaking over the horizon and the room was
fairly light.  I added another log to the
fire and glanced up at Gavin's handsome face. 
He was sleeping peacefully.  I hated to wake
him, but I knew that if I waited until eight,
we wouldn't be able to make love and get
breakfast before we had to leave.  Gavin was
lying on his back and I had my head on his
chest.  Raising up, I kissed him gently on
the cheek, then moved down and kissed his
neck.  Kissing my way through the soft hair
on his hard chest, I pushed the cover back a
little and flicked my tongue across his
nipple.
    He moaned as I continued to kiss my way
downward.  Moving the cover out of the way, I
wasn't surprised to see that he was already
erect.
    I kissed the head of his organ and he
stretched, pressing it against my mouth. 
Slowly, I ran my tongue down the base of his
cock to his sack, then back up.  Flicking my
tongue across the ridge at the base of the
head got a better response, he pulled his
hips back a little and pushed against me
again.  I took his hard rod in my mouth and
sucked gently, continuing to flick my tongue
across the ridge.
    He placed his hands on my head and
pushed up with his hips, pressing his organ
deeper into my mouth.  I glanced up and our
eyes met.  He smiled and said, "Wow, what a
great way to wake up; getting a blow job from
such an excellent cock sucker."
    Smiling, I took his rod in my hand and
stroked it slowly as I said, "If you move in
with me instead of going back to Chicago, you
can have one of these anytime you want it."
    Gavin pulled me up by my chin and kissed
me on the lips.  I continued to stroke him. 
Without breaking the kiss, he ran his warm
hand down my side and, reaching between us,
took my hard organ in his hand and began to
stroke it.
    "Can I fuck your tight ass anytime I
want, too?" he asked.  
    However, he continued kissing me, so the
only way I was able to respond was by saying,
"Um, hum."
    Rolling me over onto my back, Gavin
spread my legs and pressed his cock against
mine and slowly began to grind us together as
we continued to kiss.  After a few minutes,
he looked up me and took a deep breath. 
"Yeah," he said, "I think I could really get
used to this."
    I smiled and he kissed me again.  He
nuzzled my neck, then started kissing his way
down my neck.  He stopped only to flick his
hot tongue across each of my erect nipples. 
I flinched when his tongue darted into my
navel.  "That tickles," I gasped.
    To my surprise, and disappointment, he
didn't take my organ into his mouth.  He
kissed it and moved down a little more and
took each of my balls into his mouth, one at
a time, and sucked on them gently.
    Scooting down further on the bed, he
lifted me up a little and spread my ass
cheeks.  His hot tongue flicked across my
rosebud, then, as my disappointment of not
getting a blow job evaporated, he plunged his
tongue in as far as it would go.
    After a few minutes of tongue fucking my
ass, he started chewing on my hole.  I was
going crazy, wiggling my bottom up against
his mouth.  He had obviously done this before
and he knew what he was doing.  Chewing just
hard enough to make it feel fantastic without
hurting.
    Of course, I had never had a rim job
before, but I had no idea that it would feel
this good.  Before I knew what was happening,
he raised up and kissed me on the lips,
pushing my legs back against my side. 
"Honey, you'd better zap a condom on me
'cause I gotta fuck your ass, now."  
    I could feel the head of his dick at my
rosebud.  All he had to do was shove and he'd
be deep inside me.  Materializing a condom on
him, I pushed my hips up and he plunged in. 
While eating my ass, he had lubricated me
enough that I was ready for him.  "Oh, baby,"
he gasped, "I love your ass."
    "I love your dick," I replied and rubbed
his strong back.
    His lips found mine and I realized that
neither of us had said that we loved the
other.  I knew then that I had no choice but
to go back to Jupiter after tea and have
Uncle Troy take me to see Ms. Marble.  If
Gavin didn't really love me, then I wasn't
about to tell him that I loved him.  After
all, Ms. Marble had told me that my family
wouldn't approve if we were lovers.
    Gavin looked at me tenderly as he
continued to pump his hard rod in and out of
me.  "Wow, I could do this all day," he said,
softly.  
    "Me, too," I replied and kissed him
again.
    A few minutes later, he pushed himself
up and watched his cock as he pumped in and
out of me.  He lifted my legs up so my feet
were pointing to the ceiling and continued to
pump, then he rested my feet on his shoulders
and reached down and placed one hand on my
hip, raising me up a little.  With the other
hand, he began to stroke my still hard rod.
    It didn't take much longer before I
could tell that he was getting close.  "Come
with me, baby," he gasped.  "I wanna blast up
your ass while you squirt all over your
chest."
    Letting my legs fall down to his sides,
I humped against his hand and his cock,
pressing him deeper into me and making him
pump my dick harder.  I wrapped my legs
around his bottom and squeezed my ass muscles
with all my might, tightening my grip on his
rod.
    "Oh, yeah, baby, squeeze it," he moaned. 
"Squeeze my dick with all your might."
    Placing my hands on his thighs, I
gasped, "I'm cumming, Gavin." 
    He pumped my dick even harder and began
slamming his cock into my ass with all his
might.  I felt him expand inside of me and we
both blasted our loads at the same time.  My
hot semen shot out of my piss-slit and
splattered against the headboard above me,
leaving a trail of white from my navel,
across my chest, chin, face and pillow, when
it landed.  I had never squirted so much. 
    Gavin let out a low moan and his eyes
rolled back in his head as he continued to
unload inside me.
    Collapsing on top of me, he kissed me
gently on the cheek.  "Wow," he breathed.
    "Really, huh?" I asked.
    He licked the cum off my chin, nose and
forehead, then kissed me again and nuzzled my
neck.
    After a few minutes of lying on top of
me he rolled over onto his back and yawned. 
"Wow, baby, you're a great fuck," he said,
rolling the full condom off his semi-erect
organ.
    Smiling, I leaned down and kissed him
gently on the lips and made the condom
vanish.  "So are you," I replied.
    He got up and, walking to the bathroom,
said, "I still can't get over this.  If you
hadn't transported us from the tub into bed,
I wouldn't believe that you are a witch."
    "Warlock," I corrected him as I followed
him onto the bathroom.  "Guys are warlocks,
girls are witches."
    As we urinated, he placed his warm hand
on my hip and chuckled.  "You'd better not
tell my sister that she's a witch, she'll
beat you up."
    "Well, unless she can do witchcraft,
she's not a witch."
    "When we go to Chicago, you'll get to
meet her.  I'll warn you that she's mean
enough to be a witch."
    "Now see, there you go following the
mortal's image of the old-hag witches, again. 
I know several witches and none of them are
mean.  They're very nice, actually."
    He blushed as we stepped into the shower
stall together.  "Sorry.  I'll try to be
good."
    "You'd better or I let you go to Chicago
on your own power and I won't give you any
more blow jobs."
    "Okay, okay.  You've convinced me.  I'll
be real good from now on."
    After we showered, I asked, "What do you
want for breakfast?  You can have anything
your taste buds desire."
    "Well, if you're sure you don't mind,"
he said, taking his razor and shaving gel out
of his bag, "I'd really like to have some
waffles and sausage and real, scrambled eggs. 
At the cafeteria on campus they use
artificial eggs or something.  And I think
the waffles are frozen. Whatever they are,
they just don't taste like Mom makes when I'm
home.  I know it's kind of sudden to ask if
you'll do that, but you did offer.
    "Maybe I should ask if you're a good
cook, first," he added with a twinkle in his
eye.
    I laughed.  "Actually, I do enjoy
cooking, the mortal way, but I'll zap up
whatever you want this morning."
    "Thanks."  He smiled and leaned down to
kiss me on the lips as he waited for the
basin to fill up.  
    "If you don't really want to shave," I
said, "you don't have to."  He really did
look good with his days growth of beard and
mustache.  To my delight, it was soft and not
prickly like some men's.
    "No.  Dad wears a 'stache, but I've
never cared for facial hair on me or my
boyfriends.  I'd rather shave."
    Smiling, I ran my hand down the side of
his face as he squeezed shave gel into his
hand and the whiskers disappeared.  "I didn't
mean grow anything," I said.
    He felt my hand against his bare skin
and glance in the mirror.  "Wow, thanks,
Shane," he said and kissed me again.  "But
what I am going to do with this?" he asked,
indicating the gel in his hand.
    I pointed at it and it flew back into
the tube and the cap went back on and screwed
itself down.  "Use it when I'm not around," I
replied.
    Placing his hands on my sides, he turned
me to face him and leaned down, resting his
forehead on mine with our noses touching.  He
was about five inches taller than my five
foot-seven inches.  "I don't ever want there
to be a time when you're not around, Shane,"
he said, softly.
    "Me neither, Gavin."   I tilted my head
to the right and kissed him gently on the
lips.  I loved him so much, but I wasn't
about to be the one to tell him, first.
    Breaking the kiss, he led me back into
the bedroom.  "I'll make the bed while you go
start breakfast," he offered, pulling the
blankets back on the bed so he could
straighten them out.  My sperm was still on
the pillow and headboard.
    "I have a better idea," I said. 
Pointing at the bed, the mess was cleaned up
and the bed made with clean sheets.  "I had
to change the sheets, too.  You couldn't have
done that."
    "Well, that's true," he admitted.
    "Now, what do you want to wear today?" I
asked.
    "Come on, baby, let me at least dress
myself."
    "Okay, okay," I conceded, but with a
snap of my fingers, I was dressed in a pair
of black jeans and a blue and black striped,
cotton, long-sleeved shirt.
    "Wow, you look nice," he said,
approvingly.
    "Thank you."
    He pulled some clothes that he had
brought with him out of his green sports bag
and started getting dressed.  Sitting down on
a wing backed chair next to the fireplace, I
asked, "I know what you want for breakfast,
Gavin, but what do you want to drink?"
    "A tall glass of ice-cold milk and a
large glass of grape juice," he replied. 
"Chuck always kids me because I don't like
coffee.  The cafeteria never has grape juice,
just orange or grapefruit.  I don't like
grapefruit and their orange isn't fit to
drink, so I just get milk there."
    "I don't like coffee, either," I
replied.  "I love grape juice.  I'll be glad
to keep you supplied with it."
    Grinning, he zipped up his jeans. 
"You're going to spoil me, Shane."
    "I'll try," I promised.
    Gavin finished getting dressed and
followed me into the kitchen.  I pointed at
the fireplace in the kitchen and three logs
burst into flame.  The kitchen was cold, I
had forgotten to light the fire, earlier.  
"Do you want to eat in here, or in the formal
dining room?" I asked, opening the door to
the dining room.  
    "Wow!" he exclaimed.  I thought he had
been in the house before, but apparently not
and I hadn't given him the grande tour the
night before.  
    The formal dining room was just off the
kitchen.  It was more of a banquet room than
a dining room.  Because of our extended life-
span, the family was huge.  The dining table
seated fifty, comfortably.  There was a large
buffet on the west wall.  Of course, Grams
never cooked, so the kitchen was small,
compared to the dining room.
    "I'm not really sure that it was
originally this size," I admitted, "but Grams
and Gramps loved to entertain.  They might
have enlarged it when they moved in.  I have
never asked."
    "Since it is cold in here," Gavin
replied, "I think I'd rather eat in the
kitchen.  Besides, if I sit at the head of
the table and you at the foot, I might not be
able to see you that far off."  He grinned
and added, "And I don't want you that far
from me."
    Wrapping my arms around him, I kissed
him and whispered, "Neither do I."
    We returned to the kitchen, which was
warming up quickly.  The kitchen table only
seated four.   A wave of my hand and it was
set with two plates of everything that Gavin
had requested for breakfast.  I thought
sausage, waffles and real scrambled eggs,
milk and grape juice sounded good.  I also
added a tub of real butter and real maple
syrup.
    "Wow, this looks great," he said, his
eyes bulging as he sat down.
    We ate in silence, but he did place his
hand on my leg.  "This is fantastic, Shane,"
he said and took a sip of grape juice.
    I grinned and said, "You have a purple
mustache."
    He leaned over and kissed me.  Pulling
back he asked, "Did you get it?"
    "Yeah."
    When we finished eating, he leaned back
and stretched.  "Oh, man, I'm stuffed," he
said.
    "Good," I replied.  I was too.
    A wave of my hand and the table was
cleared except we both had a fresh glass of
grape juice.
    His blue eyes twinkled as he grinned at
me.  "You are going to spoil me."
    Placing my hand on his arm, I replied,
"Someone needs to."
    He leaned across the table and kissed me
gently on the lips.  "I love you, Shane," he
whispered, running the back of his index
finger down the side of my smooth cheek. 
"Even without all the hocus-pocus."
    We continued to kiss for a few minutes. 
"I love you, too, Gavin," I admitted.
    Now I knew that I had to have Uncle Troy
take me to see Ms. Marble.  I had to know
what the family would do now that I had
turned time back and hadn't really gone to
see her.  I really shouldn't have cared what
the family would say, but our family was so
big and some of them were well over a
hundred.  Therefore, I wasn't even sure that
some of the men would even know what a gay
person was and they surely wouldn't approve
of their youngest male family member being
one.  Especially since Brandon and I were the
only two warlocks in our generation.
    Gavin broke the kiss and stood up. 
"I've gotta go potty before we leave," he
said.  "Do you want to meet me somewhere at
noon for lunch?"
    "Sure.  Better yet, I can pick you up at
the dorm and we can go to my place.  That way
you can see the apartment and decide if you
really want to live with me there."
    "Good idea," he agreed.
    
    Standing on the front porch of the old
house, I waved at Gavin as I watched him
drive down the hill toward Hayden.  I really
wasn't in the mood to go to London, but I had
no choice.  Walking down the sidewalk, I
turned and looked back at the house. I
knew that Uncle Troy and Brandon were right
about me needing to study my spell book so I
could learn to use my powers to their full
extent.  I didn't know any incantations and I
had never tried my hand at poetry.  All I
ever did was just concentrate and point or
snap my fingers, when I wanted to do
something.  That had usually been enough.  Of
course, I really didn't have to point or
snap, it was just something that added to the
effect.
    Glancing around, I noticed that the
storm had passed and the sky was clear.  "I'd
better not use any thunder," I said to
myself.
    "Dust mites dancing in the sunlight, a
gust of wind, now get this right.  Restore
this house to it's original state, hurry now,
I can't be late."
    The scarecrow and the jack-o-lanterns
that I had left out front vanished.  I
scanned the house.  Sure enough, the formal
dining room was as small as the kitchen.  I
had figured that Gramps and expanded it.  The
bathroom was also gone as was the furniture. 
Maybe I had gone back too far with it, but I
figured this would be best.  I could change
it later if I needed to.

    During tea, Gramps gave me permission to
do with the mansion anything I wanted.  I
told him that since no one in the family was
interested in it, I would see if the
historical society still wanted to make it a
museum.  He gave me a good asking price and
told me to bring him the paper work when it
was ready and he'd sign it.  And, if I needed
him to talk to anyone, just call and he'd be
there.
    Arriving in the entrance way of the
historical society's office building, I was
thankful that Dad had always stressed that
when popping around in the mortal realm,
always arrive invisible.  This would allow
you to make certain no one sees you
materialize.  As I arrived, a lady coming out
of the office walked right through me.  Had I
materialized in front of her, she would not
only have run into me, but freaked out
because she was watching where she was going
and would have seen me pop in.  A moment
later and I would have landed right on top of
her.
    "May I help you, sir?" the elderly lady
behind the reception desk asked as I walked
in.
    "Yes, ma'am," I replied.  "I'm Shane
Jordan.  My grandparents own Windham Mansion. 
A few years ago, when they moved to Paris,
Mr. Harvey was interested in purchasing it,
but I talked Gramps out of selling it.  Now
we're ready to sell if Mr. Harvey's still
interested."
    She gave me a nervous look and almost
tipped her chair over getting to her feet. 
"I certainly hope not," she said, under her
breath, but I was still able to hear her,
although she didn't realize I did.  Keeping
one's senses tuned in did have its
advantages.
    "Excuse me, I'll tell him you are here,"
she offered before I could ask why she didn't
want him to buy it.
    Without offering me a chair or waiting
for my reply, she dashed into the back room. 
    Glancing around, I confirmed that I was
alone.  I figured it would be wise to see
what she told Mr. Harvey, so I scanned the
back room. 
    It wasn't much bigger than a walk-in
closet, but a short, bald gentlemen sat at a
desk that took up more room than could be
comfortably spared.
    He looked up from some papers he was
reading when she rushed into the room,
closing the door behind her.
    "Mr. Harvey," she said, speaking so
softly and so fast that I could hardly hear
her.  "Mr. Jordan is here to speak to you. 
He is the grandson of the Windhams of Windham
hill.  I've heard rumors that he's their
great-great grandson.  He's here to offer you
the house."
    Mr. Harvey's face lit up as he jumped to
his feet.  "That's fantastic!" he exclaimed,
loud enough for me to hear through the closed
door.
    "No!  You can't buy it, Mr. Harvey," she
pleaded, still speaking softly.  "It's
haunted.  I grew up here, Mr. Harvey," she
explained.  "I know you don't believe me, but
when the Windhams lived there, there were
always lightening storms up there, even when
there were no clouds in the sky. 
    "I can see the house clearly from my
front porch," she continued.  "And when I was
serving some trick-or-treaters last night,
there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but there
was a whole lot of lightening and thunder and
the wind just blew like crazy and then all
was quiet."
    I smiled to myself.  That would have
been when Aunt Margie dropped in.  Yes, the
family did love to play with the elements,
especially thunder and lightening.  Of
course, I couldn't say anything, I did, too.
    "Now, Martha," Mr. Harvey said.  "You
know that the weather service says that
because of the altitude of the hill there are
always atmospheric conflicts up there."
    "But you have to have clouds to produce
lightening," she said, sternly.
    "I don't know, Martha," he said, heading
for the door, "I just know that's what they
said."
    "Okay, fine.  Then answer me this.  Why
is it that until last night, ever since the
Windham's moved to Paris two years ago, there
haven't been any electrical storms up there? 
And also last night, the entire house was lit
up.  There was a light in every window.  They
looked electric to me.  They couldn't have
been candles, as bright as they were.  And
you know there is no electricity up there."
    "Calm down, Martha," he said.  "I'm sure
Mr. Jordan will have a good explanation."
    Mr. Harvey opened the office door and
walked out with a broad smile on his chubby
face.  He had to be in his mid-fifties.  He
was pleasantly plump and totally bald and
wore silver wire-framed glasses that made his
round face appear even rounder.
    "Mr. Jordan," he said, eagerly, closing
both of his hands over mine as we shook
hands.  His steel-blue eyes were shining as
he grinned at me.  "I'm Mr. Harvey.  Martha
tells me you are interested in selling
Windham Mansion?"
    "Yes, sir," I replied.  "I spoke to
Gramps this morning; he gave me permission."
    Mr. Harvey shot Martha an aggravated
look as she returned to her chair.
    "I understand that you haven't seen the
house in a few years," I said, before he
could ask any questions.  "I would be happy
to take you up there now, if you'd like?  We
can go in my car."
    "Yes, that would be wonderful," he
replied.
    "Martha, please hold all of my calls
until we return.  I'll be back shortly."
    I could tell that Martha was very upset
about me taking him up there, but she quietly
nodded and he followed me out that door.
    Scanning the area, I saw no one looking,
so I materialized a Trans Am convertible into
the closest parking place available.
    Mr. Harvey was bubbling all over while
we rode up to the house.  "Why doesn't Martha
want you to buy the house?" I asked.
    "She's been here a long time," he
explained.  "She grew up here and has it in
her head that it's haunted."
    I chuckled after he explained the
electrical storms she had mentioned.  "If
there haven't been any since my grandparents
moved out, it sounds to me like Gramps and
Grams were the ones who were making the
storms."
    "Yes, it does," he agreed.
    "I spent the night up here last night,"
I admitted, steering the car into the
driveway, "and there was an electrical storm
for a minute.  It was strange. 
    "I spent a lot of time up here when I
was growing up, Mr. Harvey," I continued,
getting out of the car.  "There have been
several strange storms like that.  Martha was
right about them.  Gramps and Grams never did
understand why, either."
    "The place looks nice," he observed.
    "Thanks.  There was a lot of work to
do," I said, unlocking the front door, "but I
managed to get the house back to its original
state."
    "I do hope that you kept all the
furniture that was here last time I visited,"
he said.  "I know that they were all antique
pieces and you could have sold them for a lot
of money, but I really wanted to leave it in
it's original state."
    "No problem," I replied, replacing the
furniture with a nod of my head as I opened
the door.  Since he had seen the house
before, I decided to return it to the way it
was then, which meant putting the bathroom
back and returning the dining room to it's
larger state.  "It's just like it was when
you saw it last," I replied.
    "The place looks great," he said looking
around the parlor in awe.  "I figured since
it hadn't been lived in for two years that
it'd be all dusty and have cobwebs all over
the place."
    "Actually, there were," I replied.  "It
took a while to get it all cleaned up."
    He followed me around the house
commenting on certain things.  
    Handing him a piece of paper with the
figure that Gramps had given me to offer him,
I said,  "This total is with the furniture." 
    I thought his eyes were going to pop
out.  "Are you sure this isn't a mistake?" he
asked.
    "Is it too much?" I asked.  "That price
also includes the land."
    "No.  I think it's too little."
    Gramps had told me to sell the house to
Mr. Harvey for a dollar, but to stress that
he had to pay the taxes.
    I grinned.  "Actually, Gramps wanted to
just donate it to the society, but because of
the size of our family, he didn't want any
trouble down the road.  He did offer it to
everyone and no one was interested in it, so
we don't foresee any problem.
    "And, this keeps Gramps from being
responsible for the taxes," I added.
    "That's true," Mr. Harvey agreed.
    "He also told me that if you don't want
to buy it for that price, that he will let
you rent it for a dollar a month, but you
have to take care of the taxes and the up
keep."
    "No.  That's fine.  I don't mind paying
a dollar for it.  Are there any back taxes?"
    "No, sir," I replied, following him into
the downstairs guest room.  "Everything is
paid up until January."
    "Mr. Windham told me that his daughter
had this bathroom built," he explained.  "I
know it's not from the house originally, but
I really like it.
    "Of course I'll have to okay this with
the Board of Directors," he said, "but I see
no reason that we can't make a deal on this."
    "Great," I said, leading him back out to
the car.  "Gramps said that if you needed
him, he could come sign whatever."
    "I see no reason that our lawyers can't
handle everything," he said.  "I'm sure that
they can mail it to him and he can have his
signature notarized and return it.  We
wouldn't want him to have to come all the way
from France for this."
    "He loves to travel, Mr. Harvey," I
said.  "He wouldn't mind one bit.  He did
mention that he and Grams might come back
just to see the house one more time, before
turning it over to you, so I wouldn't be
surprised if they show up this weekend."
    "Gracious.  It must be nice to be able
to drop everything and fly over anytime they
want."
    I grinned.  "They travel all the time. 
They've been on vacation this week," I
admitted, pulling into a parking place close
to his office door.  It was not close enough
for Martha or him to see me leave, though. 
"They actually went much further from home
than they would have to travel to come here. 
But Gramps said he'd come in tomorrow if you
need him to."
    "Thank you again, Mr. Jordan," he said,
leading me into the office.  Martha had a
worried look on her face.  I could tell by
the way she looked at Mr. Harvey, that she
knew he was going to buy it.
    "I have to speak to the Board of
Directors, Martha," he said.  "But it looks
like we can afford to purchase the house.
    "If you will have a seat, Mr. Jordan,"
he continued, gesturing to a chair in front
of Martha's desk, "I'll go call them now and
will be right back."
    "Certainly," I replied, sitting down.
    He went into his closet office and
closed the door.  Martha fiddled nervously
with some papers on her desk.
    I smiled at her.  I knew what she was
thinking, even though I wasn't reading her
mind.  "Don't worry, Martha," I said, softly. 
"It really isn't haunted.  I stayed up there
last night and there wasn't one thing out of
the ordinary that happened."
    "What about the electrical storm at
eight?" she wanted to know.
    I shrugged.  "The weatherman said that
we were supposed to get a storm at eight," I
reminded her.
    "Yes, but there wasn't a cloud in the
sky.  All the stars were out.  And the actual
storm he was talking about didn't get here
until midnight."
    "Have you heard or seen anything in the
house that would support your feelings?"
    "Well, no, but the house was lit up last
night."
    "I've already explained that I was
there," I replied.  "I took my generator and
some electric lamps so it would be easier for
the townspeople to see that I was there.  I
had about twenty trick-or-treaters, which was
a good turn out, considering everyone knows
it's vacant."
    "Yes, that's true," she agreed as Mr.
Harvey came out of his office.
    "I have talked to Mr. Peabody, the head
of the Board of Directors," he explained,
"the price is right and he'll have our
lawyers draw up the paperwork as soon as
possible.  That is, unless you're going
through a realtor?"
    "No," I replied, glancing at my watch,
it was a few minutes before noon.  "Well, if
you will excuse me, I have to pop over to the
university and pick up a friend of mine for
lunch.  I'll call you if my grandparents do
come in for the weekend."
    "Fantastic, I'd love to see them again,"
he said, walking me to the door.
    Getting into my car, I scanned the area. 
Several people were coming out of their
offices on their way to lunch, making it
unwise for me to get rid of the car in the
street, so I drove down an alley and,
snapping my fingers, the car was gone and I
was standing, invisible, in front of the door
to Gavin's dorm room.  The hallway was empty
so I materialized and knocked on the door.
    It burst open and a giant of a man stood
there, staring angrily down at me.  "Yeah,
what do you want?" he boomed.
    He had to be at least six-five and
couldn't have weighed an ounce under two-
hundred and seven-five pounds of pure muscle. 
He wasn't a bad looking guy, but I wondered
if he ever dated.  No wonder Gavin was afraid
to have him find out he was bi.
    I cringed.  "Uh, is Gavin here yet?" I
asked.
    "Not yet," he replied.  "Are you Shane?"
    "Yes."
    He stepped back and said, "Come on in. 
He should be here soon."
    "Thanks," I replied.
    I was thankful that I could turn him
into an inanimate object if I needed to.
    I had not seen Gavin since we graduated
from the community college and I had never
been in the dorms before.  I was surprised
how small the room really was.
    "Do you have a problem sleeping on that
bed?" I asked, sitting down at the desk that
was obviously Gavin's.
    "Nah," he replied, sitting on the bed. 
"It's a long-boy, they call it.  I've got
about an inch to spare."
    "That's good," I said, looking around
the room.
    Gavin had set the TV/boom-box I had
given him on a table at the end of his bed. 
It would be easy for him to lie in bed and
watch TV with the cordless headphones and not
bother Chuck.
    On one wall stood Gavin's bed, which he
had made and it looked more like a couch than
a bed.  He had some pictures of his family on
the back of the bed.  It was designed to
allow the students about a foot of space for
whatever they wanted to place there.  The
desk was on one end of it, and at the other
end, a dresser, then the closet.  
    The other side of the room, where Chuck
obviously lived, was identical.  However, he
had no pictures, but there was a small boom-
box on the back of his bed.  
    There was a door that went into a
bathroom, right next to the outside door.
    "You're lucky that you have a private
bath," I said.  "I know some people who live
in dorms have a community rest room."
    "Yeah, I had that last semester.  I
hated it.  So many faggots coming in and
trying to sneak a peek.  As big as I am, they
want to see my big dick."
    Boy, this guy really has an attitude
problem, I said to myself.  "It's really odd
that they let out before Thanksgiving and
don't start up again until January," I said,
quickly changing the subject.  "Most
universities keep going up until December. 
Gavin's going to go home to Chicago.  Are you
going home or staying here?"
    Sighing, he leaned back on the bed and
stretched out his long legs.  "There is not
really a home for me to go to," he replied,
bitterly.  "I'm planning on staying here.  I
haven't found an apartment to move into,
though.  Do you know of any available?"
    "Sorry," I replied.  "My complex has a
banner on the roof all the time saying, 'now
leasing' but I think they're full because of
school being out.  I can check for you if you
like."
    "Where do you live?" he asked.
    "Forrest Cove."
    He made a face and sighed.  "Never mind. 
I checked into it for the summer.  The
manager's gay, so I don't want to live
there."
    "Hey, Shane," Gavin said, walking in. 
"Sorry I'm late."
    "That's fine," I replied, getting to my
feet.  Chuck got up, too.  "We were just
chatting."
    "Yeah, well, you should'a hurried,"
Chuck said, grabbing his jacket.  "If he
wouldn't have showed up when he did, I
would'a had to go.  I've gotta eat, too, you
know."
    "Yes, I understand that," Gavin said,
tossing his book bag on the bed as Chuck
left, closing the door behind him.  He didn't
even say goodbye.
    "What's his problem?" I asked.
    "Don't mind him, he's a jerk," Gavin
said.
    I started to kiss him, but he stepped
away.  "He might come back in," he said.
    "Oh, okay," I replied, sadly.
    "So, where are we going for lunch?" he
asked, heading for the door.  "Paris,
Jupiter, Mars?  We only have an hour."
    "I thought we agreed on my place."
    "That'll work," he agreed.  "How are we
getting there?  We can go in my car if you
want."
    I reached over and locked the door. 
"Now he won't come back in," I said. Wrapping
my arms around him, I kissed him gently on
the lips.
    After a few minutes of kissing, he broke
the kiss and smiled down at me and said, "I
wish we had time for lunch and a quickie, but
we'd better..." his voice trailed off as he
looked around my living room.  
    "Wow, this is nice," he said.  "I
presume this is your apartment?"
    "Yes, it is," I admitted.  "Thank you,
I'm glad you like it."
    The front door was to our left.  A
cream-colored sofa with three rose-colored
throw pillows on it, facing the entertainment
center, set to our right.  A solid rose-
colored rocker recliner set on either end of
the sofa.  The end tables and coffee table
were black metal with smokey gray glass tops. 
A large fireplace stood against the opposite
wall from the entrance way.  It was easy to
watch TV or a fire in the hearth from either
chair or the sofa.  A large picture window
took up the wall between the TV and the wall
the fireplace was on.  Since the apartment
was on the third floor, there wasn't really
anything to see out the window from the couch
and chairs except for the sky.
    At the back of the room, directly in
front of the front door, was the dining area. 
Next to the dining area was the door to the
small, U-shaped kitchen.  A breakfast bar
separated the kitchen from the living room. 
The kitchen was done in almond.
    A door to the hallway that lead to the
bathroom and the bedroom, stood next to the
kitchen door on the back wall of the dining
area.
    Walking into the hall, to the right,
directly behind the kitchen, was the bedroom,
across the hall from the dining room door,
was the bathroom and to the left was the hall
closet.
    "This is really nice, Shane," he said,
looking into my bedroom. 
    There was a queen-sized bed against the
inside wall.  The drapes were open on a large
window on the back wall and we could see out
into the courtyard.  Sliding mirrored doors
on the wall against the kitchen wall, were
closet doors.  There wasn't a door to the
bathroom from this room.
    Gavin crossed over to the hall closet
and opened the door.  I had stocked it with
towels, but had never used any.
    Frowning he asked, "There's nothing on
the other side of this wall, is there?"
    "No.  There is another building across
the courtyard from it.  If there were a
window there, you'd just see the brick wall
of the other building."
    "What floor are we on?"
    "Third.  There is no elevator, though,
but we don't need one.  We're on the top
floor and no one bothers me up here."
    "How can you put in a bedroom here
without making the bathroom larger, or having
to create one for the downstairs apartments? 
Wouldn't you have to extend the wall like you
did in the bathroom at the house?"
    "Not really," I replied.  "I can make it
a virtual room.  Anyone who is in it will see
it as it is, but anyone outside won't notice
anything different.  I can even put in
windows that look out over the front parking
lot, but no one will see them from the
outside."
    "Okay.  May I tell you what I want, or
am I stuck with whatever you want to make?"
    I smiled and hugged him.  "Darling, I'll
tell you what, you imagine what you want your
bedroom to look like and I'll make it work
just like that.  But, you have to hold the
image in your mind for a minute so I can
access it."
    "You're going to read my mind?" he asked
as I materialized the spell book.
    "Sure.  I just have to find the right
spell.  I haven't read anyone's mind before."
    He looked at me skeptically for a
moment, but didn't respond.
    "Okay, here it is," I said.  "You stand
here, close your eyes and concentrate on what
you want the room to look like.  I'll do the
spell."
    "Okay, I'm ready," he said.
    Reading aloud from the book, I
concentrated, also.  "A window, with curtains
closed, keeps out prying eyes.  Open up the
mind as a window without blinds.  What Gavin
thinks, I shall see and he shall share it
with me."
    It was as though Gavin's mind was a big
screen TV and I was watching it.  The bedroom
he thought about was nice.  It was larger
than my room was.  There was a large bay
window with a window seat that had a red
cushion on it, looking out over the parking
lot.  A king-sized bed stood against the
outside wall, where I had planned to put a
window looking at the brick wall across the
courtyard.  The bedspread was black with red
stripes.
The closet was like mine, on the inside wall
to the right as you walked into the room.
    "That's a nice room," I told him, using
telepathy instead of saying anything.  "It'll
be easy for me to produce."
    "Thanks," he said, aloud.
    Snapping my fingers, the virtual room
was there.  "You can open your eyes now," I
said.
    He looked through the open closet door. 
"Wow!" he exclaimed rushing into the room. 
"It's really here.  I can't believe it."
    "The only thing is," I said, stepping
into the room, "I'd recommend me changing
places with this door.
    The hall closet door opened out into the
hallway.  A snap of my fingers and the door
was the width of my bedroom door and opened
inward, as did mine.
    "Much better," he agreed.  He walked
over to the bay window and looked out.  "Do I
need curtains?" he asked.  "I forgot them."
    "Since this room doesn't exist on the
outside of the building, no one will be able
to look in," I said.  "Actually, since we're
on the third floor, it wouldn't matter
anyway.  But for the sake of anyone who comes
to visit, it would be best to have them.
    "May I suggest these?" I asked.  A wave
of my hand and the drapes that were on the
window matched the bedspread.  They were open
and basically just hung on the sides of the
window.  A matching tier hung across the top
of the window.  If the drapes were closed, no
one would be able to tell there was a window
seat there because the drapes hung from the
top of the window to the floor.
    "Wow, thanks, hon," he said, pulling me
into his warm, strong arms and kissing me on
the lips.  "I love it."
    "You're welcome," I replied.  "Does this
mean that we're not going to share bedrooms?"
    Grinning at me, he replied, "I was
hoping you wouldn't mind sharing this one
with me.  You can keep your stuff in your
room, I'll keep my stuff in here and we can
sleep in here.  Or we can trade off between
rooms, if you prefer."
    "I don't care.  As long as I'm in your
arms."
    He smiled and kissed me again.  "I love
you, Shane," he whispered.
    "I love you, too, darling," I replied. 
"What do you want for lunch?"
    "After that fabulous breakfast, I'm not
really all that hungry.  I saw an ad on TV
the other day for a chicken salad.  I don't
remember all that was in it, but it had
chicken breasts, pasta and garlic in it.  It
was in the frozen section and you didn't have
to add anything to it, just heat it up and
eat it.  I don't care for the idea of it
being frozen, but would like something like
that, I think."
    Since he wasn't sure what it was and I
hadn't seen the ad, I wasn't able to make it
for him.  However, leading him into the
dining room, I decided to do something close
to what he had seen.  Pointing at the dining
table, there were two place settings.  Both
plates had a grilled chicken breast with a
pasta salad on the side and garlic bread
sticks.  To drink, there were two glasses of
iced tea.
    "I hope this is satisfactory," I said as
we sat down.
    "It looks good," he said.  "I'm sure it
will be."
    "This isn't what I saw on TV," he
admitted, cutting up his chicken, "but it is
great.  Thanks, Shane."
    "You're welcome," I replied.
    "When do you want to move in?" I asked
as we ate.
    He shrugged and took a sip of tea.  "I
have several finals next week," he said.  "So
that's not a good time.  But Chuck seems to
be getting grouchier every day, since he
hasn't found a place yet, so I'd like to get
outta there.  He wanted me to get an
apartment with him, but since I was going to
Chicago, I couldn't."
    "I guess that means I can't just move
you over here this afternoon, then," I said.
    "No.  Although I'd like to."
    "You are going to leave some things
here, right?" I asked.
    "Yeah."
    "Why don't I go ahead and move you over
here this afternoon?  You can tell Chuck that
you are going to Chicago after school's out,
but you will be moving in with me when you
get back, so you can leave most of your stuff
here while you're gone."  
    "Yeah, and if I move now, I won't have
to worry about having to wait for the
elevators in the dorm.  When I was moving in,
I had to wait about half an hour one time."
    He leaned over and kissed me on the
cheek.  "Thanks, Shane.  I like that idea. 
But the best thing is that I won't have to
room with him next semester."
    "When will it be safe for me to get your
stuff?" I asked.
    "He's got the same class I do at one,"
he replied, pushing his empty plate out of
the way.  "I would let you get it when you
take me back, but he might be there and start
asking questions.  Why not wait until
tomorrow and we can get moved then?"
    "Okay.  That's probably best," I agreed.
"Do you want anything else to eat?"
    "No thanks," he replied.  
    Leaning over to kiss me, he added,
"Thanks again, Shane.  It was great.  You'll
have to make that again sometime."
    "I'll be glad to," I replied.
    He decided it would be best if he went
back to the dorm about fifteen minutes before
one so he could use the bathroom and get to
class on time.  Agreeing, I took us to his
room.  Chuck wasn't back, yet, so I made us
visible.
    "What are you going to do this
afternoon?" he asked, walking into the
bathroom.  
    While he relieved himself, I replied,
"I've got to go to Jupiter and talk to Uncle
Troy about something.  He's got to go sail
the Seven Seas at two-thirty with his
parents, but we can get some skiing in before
then."
    Gavin brushed his teeth, then rinsed his
mouth and dried his face before shaking his
head and saying, "I can't get used to this,
Shane.  You're going skiing with your uncle
on Jupiter?"
    "Well, darling, when you get out of
class at five, I'll take you.  There are some
hot springs there that feel so good to relax
in.  There is also a great weight room.  We
can workout for a while because you said
yourself that if I keep feeding you this way,
you're going to get fat."
    He grinned and kissed me.  "Okay.  I'll
meet you here at five."
    "I can't wait," I replied.  He hugged me
and kissed me again.  
    I stepped away from him just in the nick
of time as we heard the key in the door. 
"I'm outta here," I whispered.  "See you at
five."
    "Okay," he replied.
    I decided to stick around and see what
Chuck had to say about me, so, snapping my
fingers, I went invisible.
    "Oh, you're back already?" Chuck asked,
closing the door.
    Gavin had just picked up his book bag. 
"Yeah, just got back a few minutes ago.  How
was chow?"
    "Rotten as usual.  What'd you have?"
    "Chicken breast with pasta salad," he
replied.  "It was great."
    "Where'd you go for lunch?"
    "Shane's apartment," Gavin replied. 
"He's got a nice two-bedroom apartment.  I'm
thinking about moving in with him this
weekend and staying with him next semester. 
If I do that, then I get more space than here
in the dorm and I won't have to take all my
shit home to Chicago with me and then lugging
it back.  The bus goes right by his apartment
complex, so I won't have to worry about
finding a place to park my car and he won't
have to drive me over here, either.  And he
doesn't mind me moving in then running off to
Chicago until next semester."
    "Sounds like a good idea, then," Chuck
agreed, stepping into the bathroom.  To my
surprise, he didn't close the door to
urinate, but his back was to the door.
    "Too bad he doesn't have a three-bedroom
apartment," Chuck said.  "Maybe I could move
in with you."
    "You haven't been able to find a place,
yet?"
    "Fuck no.  The rent's too high
everywhere and no one wants to room with me."
    "Have you ever thought that if you
weren't so grouchy all the time, someone
might actually like you?" Gavin asked, to my
surprise.
    "Yeah, right.  Everyone but you is
scared to death of me.  I'm not that bad of a
guy, Gavin."
    Gavin took a deep breath and let it out
slowly as they walked to the door.  "I'll
tell you what, Chuck, Shane's grandparents
own Windham Mansion.  He was going to go sell
it to the historical society this morning.  I
forgot to ask him if he got it done.  If not,
I'll see if I can talk him into changing it
into a boarding house and you can live there. 
There are sixteen bedrooms.  Since the house
is paid for, it wouldn't cost too much for
him to remodel it and then rent it out to
students.  You're not the only one here who's
having a problem finding a place to live."
    "But he couldn't have it done by the
fifteenth," Chuck replied.
    Gavin grinned.  "You don't know Shane. 
If he puts his mind to it, he could."
    Since they were obviously going to walk
to class together, I figured I'd better tag
along.  Not that I didn't trust Gavin not to
give away my secret, but to see if Chuck said
anything about me.
    "Jason Barrett said he's found a nice
two-bedroom apartment," Gavin continued as
they walked, "but he needs a roommate.  Have
you talked to him?"
    "Don't even go there, Gavin," he
replied.  "You know he's gay.  I'm not going
to live with a fag."
    "Well, just remember that when you get
desperate, you might have to," Gavin replied
softly as they walked into the classroom
together.
    "Don't count on it," he replied.
    Gavin took a desk at the front of the
room and Chuck made his way to one at the
back.  I didn't know what Chuck's last name
was, but I was surprised that Gavin set on
the front row.  I thought they had to sit
alphabetically.
    Not needing to stick around any longer,
I hoped that Uncle Troy was still somewhere
to be found on Jupiter.  It had been eleven
when I had met him there the first time.  It
was a little after one now, there was no
telling where he might be.
    "From east to west, north to south, as I
speak these words from my mouth, Jupiter is
where my search begins.  Whisk me to Uncle
Troy, so I may know if Gavin and I can be
lovers, or just friends."  Snapping my
fingers, I stood next to Uncle Troy's
brother, Tom.
    "Hi, Shane," he said.
    "Hello, Tom," I replied.  "I didn't know
you and Uncle Troy liked to bowl."
    "I love it, myself," Tom replied.
    Uncle Troy threw his ball and watched
for the strike, which he made.
    "I like it once in a while," Uncle Troy
said as Tom picked up his next ball.  "Since
Christine and Cathy are out shopping and your
dad's at work, I didn't have much else to do. 
I did some skiing this morning, but that was
enough.  So when Tom invited me to play a
game, I took him up on it.  I have to be on
the Seven Seas with my parents and Christine
in an hour and a half."
    "I needed to talk to you about
something, Uncle Troy," I said.  "In private,
if you don't mind.  We can go to my
apartment, or to the Moonbeam Lounge."
    "Did you have fun staying on Earth last
night, Shane?" Tom asked, returning from
making his final strike.
    "Yes, I did," I replied.  "I had about
twenty trick-or-treaters."
    "Oh, you could have had a blast with
them in that old house of your
grandparents'," he said.
    "Yes, but I didn't do anything.  My
friend Gavin came up to keep me company."
    He nodded.  "Mortal's can put a damper
on things, can't they?"
    "Yeah," I agreed.
    "Well, thanks for the game, Troy," he
said.  "I'll pop off so you and Shane can
visit in private.  I saw a snow bunny winking
at me by the fireplace in the lodge when I
picked you up, earlier.  If she's still
there, I'll see if she wants to go play in
the snow."
    Uncle Troy chuckled.  Tom was still
single and didn't appear to be looking for a
wife, but he didn't spend much time alone.
    "Okay, have fun," Uncle Troy said.
    "Always.  Good seeing you again, Shane. 
Don't be a stranger."
    "Same here," I replied.  He nodded and
vanished.
    "Why don't we go to your apartment?"
Uncle Troy suggested.  "We'll have more
privacy there."
    "Okay."  A snap of my fingers and we
were sitting on the couch in my living room.
    "Would you like something to drink?" I
asked.
    "Got it," he replied, materializing us
both a Dr. Pepper.
    "Thanks."
    "Now, what's so serious that it requires
being here with a privacy spell around the
apartment?"
    I started to get cold feet, but decided
it was okay to tell him.  Taking a deep
breath, I got up and walked over to the
window between the fireplace and the TV.  "I
did something earlier that I really
regretted," I said.  "I won't tell you what
it was, but I did wind up talking to you
about it afterwards.  I turned time back, so
that's why you don't remember it."
    "Okay.  I can deal with that," he said.
    "As you know, which surprised me that
you knew, I am gay."
    "Yes?"
    "And my friend Gavin is very interested
in a relationship with me and I'm interested
in one with him."
    "And?"  I kept stopping so he was
prodding me along.
    "And you took me to see Ms. Marble and
we had a nice talk.  However, now that I
turned time back, some things have been
different this time and I'd like for you to
take me to see her again - which really would
be for the first time because I turned time
back - so I can see if it's a good idea for
Gavin and me to get together."
    Uncle Troy smiled tenderly and got up
and joined me at the window.  "Shane, you
don't need me to take you to see her, she's
available anytime anyone needs to talk to
her."
    "Oh.  Well, it'd just be better, I
think, if you introduced me to her, again."
    "Okay.  That's fine.  We can go now if
you want."
    "There's one more thing I think you need
to know, before we go," I said, reluctantly.
    "What's that?"
    "I told Gavin that I'm a warlock.  Aunt
Margie showed up a minute later.  She used
'The Information' spell on him and she's okay
with it.  She gave us her blessing and
promised not to tell anyone in the family or
on the Council."
    "Well, by all means, let's go, then," he
said.  "If Margie says okay, then it's okay
with me, too."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said, hugging
him.  "Oh, can we just land in the garden?  I
didn't like the planet."
    "Certainly," he replied with a grin.
    We appeared in the garden on Venus and
he led me to the tent.  "Now remember, she
doesn't know you were here before either. 
She only sees the future of love, nothing
else."
    "Okay."
    We stepped into the tent and Ms. Marble
came out from the back room.
    "Hello, Troy," she said.  "How are you?"
    "Doing great.  Getting ready to go sail
the Seven Seas with my parents in a while."
    "Oh, that sound's like fun," she
replied, looking at me.
    "Is this your son, Troy?" she asked.
    "No, ma'am.  My nephew.  He's my wife's
sister's son.  Shane Jordan, this is Ms.
Marble."
    "It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I said,
politely.
    "I'm honored to meet you, too," she
replied.
    "Shane needs a reading, Ms. Marble,"
Uncle Troy said.  "He's got himself mixed up
with a mortal and you, of all people, know
how tricky that can be."
    "Oh, yes," she replied with a warm
smile.  "I certainly do."
    Stepping over to the table in the
corner, she removed the black cloth.  "Please
have a seat, Shane," she said, indicating the
chair across from her.
    "Thank you," I replied.  She sat down
and so did I.
    Uncle Troy stood beside me.  She looked
into the crystal ball, I still could only see
clouds.  Smiling, she looked up at me and
said, "Gavin Sanders is a wonderful young
man, Shane.  You're going to be very happy
with him.  It is a wise decision that you
have made for him to move in with you."
    "What about my family?" I asked. 
"Except for Uncle Troy, Aunt Margie and my
brother, Brandon, no one knows I'm gay.  Is
there going to be a problem if everyone else
finds out?"
    "Yes.  They will not be happy, Shane.
However, you must be yourself in order for
you to find happiness.  If they really love
you, they will respect that.  I suggest that
you inform them before you introduce Mr.
Sanders as your lover."
    I glanced up at Uncle Troy; he shrugged. 
    "I understand that you cannot tell me
whether I should turn Gramps' house into a
boarding house or sell it to the historical
society, but if I do turn it into a boarding
house and I let students move in, what will
happen to my relationship with Gavin?"
    She looked into the ball and smiled at
me.  "I can see that you are talking about
Charles Wilson," she said.  So that was
Chuck's last name.  No wonder he had sat at
the back of the class room on the same isle
that Gavin had.  They were seated
alphabetical.  "All I can tell you is that if
he moves in with you, nothing will change
between you and Gavin."
    "Thank you for the information, Ms.
Marble," I said, getting to my feet.
    "My pleasure.  And thank you so much,
Troy, for bringing him to see me."
    "Thank you, Ms. Marble," Uncle Troy
replied.
    After we said goodbye to Ms. Marble,
Uncle Troy put his hand on my arm and we were
standing next to the bar at the Moonbeam
Lounge on Jupiter.
    "Is that what she told you the last
time?" he asked, materializing us each a
drink.
    "Not totally," I admitted.
    "Good or bad difference?"
    "More elaboration, actually.  Now I
don't know what to do.  I know that Gavin is
going to try to talk me into turning the
house into a boarding house, but I've already
told Mr. Harvey he can buy it.  But there are
several students that can benefit from having
it as a boarding house.  Some have nowhere to
go when school's out in a couple of weeks."
    "Well, Gramps did say it's up to you,
Shane," he reminded me.  "You have to make
that decision yourself.  But I'd say that if
you've already offered it to Mr. Harvey, you
shouldn't renege on your offer."
    "That's true," I agreed.  And I really
didn't know for sure that Gavin would ask me
to.
    "We've still got an hour before you have
to meet your parents, Uncle Troy," I said. 
"The last time, you took me to the hot
springs.  Would you like to do that now?"
    "I did?" he asked.  "Sure, that'd be
great."
    I let him do the honors and we were
standing at the counter.  Tony was on duty.
    "Hello, Mr. Reid," he said.  "How are
you?"
    "Great," Uncle Troy replied.  "This is
my nephew, Shane Jordan.  We'd like a room."
    "I'm sorry, sir," he said.  "You have to
be at least twenty-one to get in here."
    "He's twenty-five," Uncle Troy replied.
    "Oh, I'm sorry.  He just doesn't look
it."
    I decided not to offer my driver's
license again.
    "Let me see your hand, please," Tony
said.
    This time, after he finished and the
tingling feeling went away, I asked, "What is
that spell?  I've not found it in my book."
    "Most people call it 'The Information'
spell," he explained, "but the real title is
'The Hidden Truth' spell.  You can find it
under that title."
    "Thanks, Tony," I said.
    "You're quite welcome.  You're in room
C.  If you need anything else, let me know."
    "Thanks, Tony," Uncle Troy said.
    Again, he led me through the back door. 
Apparently since it was later now, room A was
occupied.
    "Is this the same room we were in the
first time?" he asked, closing the door
behind me.
    "No, we were in A.  But it looks the
same."
    "They're all the same," he said.  I
noticed he drew a couple of loops in the air
with his index finger.  I knew he had just
put the privacy spell on the room.
    He snapped his fingers and we were just
wearing a towel.  I let him step into the hot
spring first, then he helped me in, saying,
"Watch that first step, it's sometimes
tricky."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said.
    We sat in silence for a few minutes and
he asked, "Isn't this great?"
    "Yes.  I love it.  I didn't know it was
here until you brought me."
    "Yeah.  I guess we should have been
bringing you, but usually parents are the
ones who introduce their kids to it when they
get to be twenty-one.  Brandon comes up with
your dad and me frequently."
    "I know that Gavin will turn to stone if
I bring him up here," I said, "but if I kept
him invisible, would it be okay to turn a
spring invisible so we could enjoy it
together?"
    He smiled.  "I've got a better idea," he
replied.  
    Lifting his hands out of the water, he
said, "Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and
gold.  Create a ring that when worn by a
mortal, his true identity, no one will be
told."
    A beautiful ring appeared in Uncle
Troy's hand.  The band was gold and it had a
large emerald in the center; slivers of
diamonds circled the emerald.  I didn't see
any sapphires, though.
    "Here, give this to Gavin and he can be
visible here on Jupiter," he said, handing it
to me.
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy!" I exclaimed,
hugging him.
    "You're welcome, Shane," he said,
softly.  "But there is a catch to this ring."
    "Oh?  What's that?" I asked, worriedly.
    "You can't leave him by himself.  You
have to stick with him at all times.  And you
have to make sure that no one finds out he's
mortal.  If you leave him, someone might
start talking to him and find out that he's
mortal.  If they do, they might go to the
Council and complain that someone brought a
mortal with a ring that's not married.  It's
happened before.  The Council hasn't made
this spell illegal yet, but if they get
enough complaints, they will.  Right now it's
basically only for mortal husbands and wives,
not boyfriends and girlfriends.  But since
you can't marry Gavin in the mortal realm,
the only three choices you have are: one,
don't date him, two, do it this way, three,
create yourself a past on Earth as a woman
and marry him as a woman and bring him here
as your husband, but you'll have to be a
woman here, too.
    "I think your best bet is to do it this
way," he added.
    "I think you're right," I agreed.  
    "But won't someone recognize this ring
if he does wear it here?"
    Uncle Troy grinned.  "Actually, yes. 
But if he has a high school ring, you can
make it look like it and no one will notice."
    "Too bad," I said, sadly, turning the
ring over in my hand.  "It's really pretty."
    "Yeah, but you don't want any surprises,
Shane."
    "That's true," I agreed.
    "Well, it's getting to be time for me to
head to Earth," he said, stretching.  "If you
want to stay here for a while, be my guest. 
But be sure to tell Tony or whoever is
working, that you're leaving and take the
privacy spell off before you leave.  Since I
put it on for both of us, you can release it. 
If I had put it on for just me, you wouldn't
be able to."
    "Okay.  Thanks again for everything,
Uncle Troy," I said as he stood up.  I
watched the water run off his cock.  I was
surprised that I hadn't pulled a boner this
time.  Maybe it was because of the new
relationship I had with Gavin that kept me
from getting one.  I knew that Uncle Troy
loved Aunt Christine and I loved Gavin. 
Although Uncle Troy had a nice dick, Gavin's
was all I needed.
    "You're welcome, Shane," he said.  "And
if you ever need to talk about anything or
need anything, just yell across the
atmospheric continuum.  I'll be there for you
instantly."
    "Okay, I will," I promised.
    He bent down and kissed me on the cheek. 
"Love you, Shane.  Take care."
    "I love you, too, Uncle Troy," I replied
and he vanished.
    I still had a couple of hours before I
had to meet Gavin at his dorm room.  I knew
that I had taken a nap the first time around,
but I wasn't sleepy now.  I didn't want to
stay in the spring because I wanted to spend
time with Gavin in it later, so I decided to
go see if Mom and Dad needed any help at the
boutique and to see how the TV/boom-boxes
were selling.
    Snapping my fingers, I released the
spell on the room, was dried, dressed and
standing in front of Tony.  The ring was
safely tucked into my pants pocket.
    "How did you enjoy your first visit, Mr.
Jordan?" he asked.
    "It was great," I replied.  "We're done
now.  Uncle Troy already left."
    "You're welcome to come back anytime,"
Tony said.  "You don't have to have a
chaperon."
    "Thank you," I replied.  "You know, I
didn't know all this was set up here until
Mom and Dad brought my brother and me after
that comet hit in 1994.  I thought it was all
new, but Uncle Troy said it's been here a
long time."
    "We used the moon until the space center
landed there.  Then we used Mars for a long
time, but then they sent their probe there. 
So, we got tired of moving and settled down
here.  We started to move again when they
sent Galileo, but we just went invisible
because everyone liked it here.  The Council
started to make the comet pass right through
Jupiter, but Earth was watching it so
closely, they would have really freaked if
they had, so they figured we'd vacate until
it hit, then come back after the space center
got bored with it.  Everyone likes Jupiter so
we voted to stay here after the space center
left.  No matter where we go, it looks like
they're going to be exploring, so, the
Council has it set up so that anything the
satellites look at, all they see is what it
would look like if we weren't here.  It's
basically the same way that if you want to
make yourself visible to one person but not
another, you can.  Therefore, if the space
center does land here, they won't see
anything and we won't have to vacate again."
    "Oh, that's neat," I said.
    "Yes, it is.  Actually we were located
up on the equator, but after the comet hit,
it made these great slopes, so we moved down
here."
    "Well, I'd better get going," I said. 
"Thanks for telling me this."
    "You're welcome.  And thank you for
coming in.  I'll be seeing you more often now
that you know we're here, I hope."
    "Oh, yes.  I might even be back later
this evening.  What time do you get off?"
    He made an obvious pass at me and
replied, "I can usually last about half an
hour unless I use witchcraft to hold off
longer."
    I blushed.  He must have scanned more
than just how old I was when he used 'The
Hidden Truth' spell on me.
    "I'll remember that," I replied, "but my
boyfriend might not approve."
    He smiled and said, "Just my luck.  I
get off in about half an hour.  If you come
back later, Phil will be here."
    "Thanks, Tony.  I'll see you later," I
said.
    
    I was sitting on Gavin's bed at a little
past five when he and Chuck walked into the
room.  I had hoped that Chuck wouldn't show
up yet.  However, I was thankful that I was
invisible, so they didn't know I was there.
    "Hum, Shane was supposed to meet me here
at five," Gavin said, tossing his book bag on
the bed next to me.  "I guess he's running
late."
    Chuck laid down on his bed and
stretched.  "Are you going to start moving in
with him this weekend?" he asked.
    "Yeah.  That way I won't have to worry
about the elevators all being taken," Gavin
replied as I picked up a book that had fallen
out of his bag.  He noticed it float up and
grabbed it and stuffed it back in the bag
with a worried look on his face.  
    "That's a good idea," Chuck agreed,
sadly.  He wasn't paying attention, so he
didn't see what had happened.
    I started to materialize for only Gavin
to see, but decided I needed to find out what
Chuck's problem was, so I popped over to the
door and knocked.
    Gavin opened the door.  "Oh, there you
are.  What's the big idea with the book?" he
demanded in a hushed voice.
    "Hi, I came by a few minutes ago and you
weren't here," I said grinning at him.  "I
knew he wasn't watching," I replied softly.
    "Are you ready?" I asked.
    "Yes," Gavin replied.
    "Hi, Chuck," I said.
    "Hello, Shane," he said, sitting up. 
"Where are you going?"
    Stepping over closer to him, I pointed
at him and he froze.  "Now to find out what
this guys' problem is," I said.
    "What do you mean?" Gavin asked. 
"What'd you do to him?"
    "I froze him," I replied, pulling my
spell book out of thin air.  "Hopefully I can
get this spell to work with him frozen.  I
don't want to have to explain why he's going
to get tingly all over when I touch him."
    "Can't you just leave him frozen
forever?" Gavin asked.
    "Now, Gavin, that's not nice," I
replied.  "There's something deep inside him
that needs to come out.  I actually followed
you to class this afternoon to see if he said
anything about me and I noticed that there
seems to be a deep hurt in there somewhere. 
I'm going to see if I can find out what it
is."
    "I think he's just a jerk, myself,"
Gavin replied, "but be my guest."
    "Have you ever asked him why he doesn't
have any pictures of his family?"
    "Well, no," Gavin admitted, sheepishly. 
"And, now that you mention it, he's never
mentioned any family."
    "Okay, so don't you want to know why
that is?  He's about our age, there should be
someone important to him."
    "That's true," Gavin agreed.
    I placed my hand on Chuck's forehead and
read the spell.  "Tell me what I need to
know, tell me so he cannot lie, tell me now,
tell me why.  Tell me now, tell me true. 
This spell I cast upon you."
    I was falling into a deep dark pit. 
Dark clouds swirled around me.  The stench of
fear and hatred was so strong that it was
difficult for me to breathe.
    Never before had I cast a spell that
took me into it this way.  There was a light
at the end of the darkness, though.  I heard
a voice cry, "Daddy, help!  No!  Don't!  Make
him stop!  Daddy!  Stop!  Please, stop. It
hurts."
    The clouds cleared.  To my horror, I saw
a boy who couldn't have been more than ten,
lying face down on a dirty floor with his
face smeared in mud from the tears he cried. 
A giant of a man was pounding his huge dick
in and out of the boy's ass while a slender
man watched with tears of his own streaming
down his cheeks.  This man must have been the
boys' father.  He was gagged and bound in a
wooden straight-backed chair and there was
nothing he could do but watch his son get
raped.
    After the giant ejaculated, he tossed
the boy aside and got to his feet.  "Now it's
your turn, fucker," he snarled.
    He grabbed the gag from the man's mouth
and said, "Eat your boy's shit off my dick,"
    The man tried to keep his mouth closed,
but the giant grabbed him by the jaws,
forcing his mouth open and shoved his still
hard dick in.
    The man took a deep breath and bit down
as hard as he could.  The giant let out a
blood-curdling scream and jumped back.  
    "You're going to pay for that, shit-
head," he snarled.
    He slapped the man up side the head and
sent the chair sprawling across the room. 
The man's head hit the wall and blood
splattered everywhere.  I could tell that he
was dead.
    The giant pulled his pants on and left,
leaving the boy crying on the floor in the
corner.  The boy crawled over to his father
and sobbed, "I'll get him, Dad.  I really
will."
    The dark clouds took over the scene and
I felt Gavin's warm hand on my shoulder. 
"What's going on, Shane?" he asked, softly. 
"You're crying."
    Blinking back the tears, I looked at
Gavin.  He had a worried look on his handsome
face.  "No wonder he's homophobic, darling,"
I said, getting rid of the spell book.  I
started to tell him why, but realized that if
I did, he might change his attitude toward
Chuck too much, too fast.  Chuck hadn't told
Gavin what happened, so it would be best if
he didn't know until Chuck was ready to tell
him.
    "Well?  Aren't you going to tell me?"
Gavin asked.
    "I'd better not.  But I have an idea of
how we can get him to tell us.  I really want
to take you to Jupiter, Gavin," I said.  "Why
don't you make arrangements for us to come
back about nine and watch some TV with him?"
    He gave me an aggravated look and
sighed.  "Okay, but I had hoped to spend the
weekend with you and not worry about him."
    I brushed a strand of hair from Gavin's
forehead and said, "He said you're the only
person who isn't afraid of him, Gavin.  He
needs your friendship."
    Gavin sighed again.  "Well, he is a
jerk," he said, "but he is a nice guy when
you get to know him."
    "Believe me, sweetheart, you don't know
him at all."
    "I wish you'd tell me," he said, pulling
me into his arms.  He kissed me on the lips,
then, making a pass at me, said, "Please?"
    "If we can't drag it out of him
tonight," I said, "I'll tell you."
    "Okay.  Deal," he replied, stepping away
from me.  
    I returned to where I had been standing
when Chuck had asked where we were going and
unfroze him.
    "We're going to my parent's for dinner,"
I replied so that he wouldn't ask if he could
come with us if I just said a restaurant.
    "What do you have planned?" Gavin asked.
    He shrugged.  "Nothing.  I guess I'll
just sit here and watch TV all night."
    "Okay.  Uh, we can bring some beer and
movies back about nine if you want us to,"
Gavin offered.
    Chuck's face lit up.  "You will?" he
asked.
    "Sure.  Anything special you want to
see?"
    "Whatever you want to will be fine," he
replied, getting to his feet.
    "Great.  We'll be back about nine,"
Gavin said.
    After saying goodbye, we went to the
elevators.  "I told you that he needed your
friendship," I whispered as we waited for the
elevator.
    "I guess you're right," he agreed.
    The first doors to open were going up,
but it was empty so I stepped in.  Gavin
followed.
    The doors closed.  "Which floor?" he
asked with a grin.  
    "Jupiter," I replied.
    "It's not on here."
    I put my arms around him as the elevator
stopped at the next floor.  The next thing
Gavin knew we were flying over Hayden.  I
hadn't turned us invisible because I wanted
him to feel what it was like to really fly.
    "Wow!  This is fantastic!" he exclaimed.
    "Isn't this much better than taking a
plane?" I asked.
    "It sure is," he replied.  He wasn't
scared this time, I noticed.  He had learned
to trust that in my arms he was safe and I
was holding him tightly.
    "I love the wind on my face this way,"
he said as we flew up over the old house.
    "So do I.  But if you go very fast
without turning invisible, you can really get
hurt by debris, especially when flying
through space."
    "That makes sense."
    Although I was enjoying being with Gavin
this way, the haunting scene that I had
uncovered in the folds of Chuck's past nagged
at me.  Even if I turned time back to where I
hadn't done that, I would remember what I had
seen.  There was no way for me to escape it. 
I knew that there was no way for Chuck to
escape it either.
    "You said it'd take three minutes to get
to Jupiter," Gavin was saying.  "What happens
when we break the sound barrier?"
    "We won't.  Since we're invisible," I
said, turning us invisible, "we can't. 
Nothing that is visible can hurt us either." 
I wished that I could turn time back and make
what had happened to Chuck wouldn't have
happened, but that was several years ago.  I
had only learned how to turn time back
recently and didn't want to risk going that
far.
    "Wow!  We're really trucking!" Gavin
exclaimed as we left Earth behind.  Although
we had done this before, he didn't know it,
because it hadn't really happened.
    "Is that Mars?" he asked as we flew by.
    "Yes, it is."
    "It really is red," he said.
    "Remember, nothing can hurt us.  If
anything is coming at us, we'll pass through
it, you won't even feel it.  You can feel me
because we're both invisible."
    He grinned at me and said, "I love
feeling you."
    I kissed him and we continued toward
Jupiter.
    "What was that?" he asked, breaking the
kiss and looking back.  
    "It was just one of Jupiter's moons," I
replied.  "We went through it instead of
around it."
    Landing on Jupiter, I kept us invisible
for a while.  Since it wasn't snowing this
time, I made it start.  I wanted to share
this moment with him the way I had
previously.  
    I knew that Uncle Troy and Aunt
Christine were still on the Seven Seas.  Mom
and Dad would still be at the boutique until
six-thirty.  Brandon might pop in, but that
was okay.   If we did run into anyone in the
family, I'd just explain the situation to
them and take my chances.  Ms. Marble had
said they would have to understand if I was
going to be happy.  
    Forcing what had happened to Chuck from
my mind, we sat on the park bench watching it
snow and watching a few people ice skating.
    "Wow," Gavin said.  "This looks just
like at home, but it's not cold."
    "That's because we're invisible," I
replied, pulling the ring out of my pocket.
    "Uncle Troy gave me this to give you," I
said.  "Did you ever have a class ring?"
    "Yeah, I left it at home though.  Mom
was afraid that I'd lose it."
    "Well, you need to wear this one while
we're here.  It will keep you from turning to
stone and it will keep people from knowing
you're mortal.  We can't tell anyone you're
mortal."
    "Can I do witchcraft with it?" he asked. 
I noted a glint of hope in his eye.
    "Nope, sorry."
    He shrugged and put it on.  "Thanks,
Shane," he said and kissed me.
    I had made the ring look like his high
school ring.  
    "There is an excellent restaurant across
the lake," I said, standing up.  "We can eat
there, then we'll go to the Moonbeam Lounge
and do some dancing.  Then we can go to the
gym and workout for a while before we sit in
the hot springs.  If you want to, that is."
    "This is your world, babe," he said. 
"I'll do anything you want to."
    "Okay.  I'm going to make us visible
now, so it will be cold.  We will dress for
it, though."  A snap of my fingers and we
were dressed in warm winter clothes and
visible.  The cold air nipped at our noses.
    Holding hands, I led him across the
bridge in the center of the lake to the
Starlight Restaurant.
    The hostess greeted us at the door with
a warm smile.  "Hello, Shane," she said. 
"How are you?"
    "Fine, Victoria," I replied and kissed
her on the cheek.  "What are you doing
working here?"
    "I was bored and thought it'd be fun to
try a job for a change," she replied.  "But
wasn't about to get one on Earth."
    "I don't blame you," I said.
    "Gavin Sanders, this is my cousin,
Victoria Holt.  Aunt Margie is her mother."
    "Nice to meet you," he said.
    "He met Aunt Margie last night," I
explained as she led us to a nice table in
the corner next to a cozy fireplace.
    "Nice to meet you, too, Gavin," she
said.  "May I take your coats?"
    "Certainly," I replied.
    With a nod of her head, our coats were
gone.
    We seated ourselves and Victoria handed
us both menus.  
    "What would you like to drink?" she
asked.  "We have hot mulled cider.  Since
someone made it snow, it goes well with the
cold."
    "Mm, that sounds good," Gavin agreed.
    I smiled and nodded.  
    "Two hot mulled ciders, it is, then." 
Victoria pointed at the table and two large
steaming mugs appeared in front of us. 
"Would you like a few minutes to look over
the menu before ordering?" she asked.
    "Yes, please," I replied.
    "I'll be back shortly," she said.
    "Oh, Victoria?" I asked as she turned to
go.  
    "Yes?"
    "Since I'm the one who made it snow, may
we have a window here?"
    A surprised look crossed her face.  "Uh,
sure," she replied.  She snapped her fingers
and a nice picture window appeared.  "Thanks,
Victoria," I said.
    "You're welcome."
    "Wow, that's neat," Gavin said, looking
out at the frozen lake.  It was a great view. 
The fireplace next to us on one side and the
falling snow out on the lake on the other.  I
didn't put any candles on the table, but it
was about as romantic of a seating that I
could get in such a public place.
    "Yes, it is," I replied.  "I'm glad you
like it."
    "Do you think Victoria will be cool
about this?" he asked, softly.
    I shrugged.  "I hope so.  We'll have to
wait and see.  But the important thing is
that we're together.  Nothing can spoil
that."
    Gavin leaned over the table.  "I have to
know one thing, Shane," he said, softly.
    "What's that?"
    "What's a 'comet tail combo'?  It's
under sandwiches."
    I chuckled.  "It's a patty melt with
your choice of cheesy fries, tater tots, or
whatever flavored potato chips you want and a
drink.  It's really good, but if you're like
me and don't like rye bread, I suggest you
order a 'comet tail with dust combo'.  That
means on wheat.  Likewise, 'comet tail with
snow combo' means on white."
    "How do you know these things?" he
asked.
    "Mom had to explain it to me," I
admitted.  "Here," I pointed to his menu. 
"Now it shows what everything is.  But when
you order, use the name they have for it."
    "Okay."
    He looked over the new menu and said,
"Give me the comet tail with dust combo with
cheesy fries.  I'll drink the cider."
    "Good choice," I said and motioned for
Victoria to join us.  "But you don't have to
have just a sandwich if you don't want.  It
doesn't cost anything."
    "Yeah, I noticed there are no prices on
here," he said.  "But, this really looks good
to me."
    "Are you ready?" Victoria asked.
    "Yes," I replied and gave her Gavin's
order.  "And I would like 'The Enterprise
Special'."
    She took our menus and I quickly
returned Gavin's to normal before she noticed
I had changed it.
    "Very well," she said, pointing at the
table.  "One 'comet tail with dust' and
cheesy fries and one 'Enterprise Special'." 
Our orders appeared before us.  Mine was
country fried steak with mashed potatoes and
cream gravy and fried okra and a hot roll.
    After we thanked her, Victoria departed.
    "Why didn't we just zap this up for
ourselves?" Gavin asked.  I was happy that he
was referring to himself as a warlock in case
someone was listening.
    "Because this is a restaurant," I
replied.  "It would be rude to bring our own
food to a restaurant.  Now, in the lounge, we
can serve ourselves.  No one works there."
    "That makes sense," he agreed, but I
wasn't sure he understood.
    We enjoyed our meal as the snow
continued to fall gently outside the window
and the fire crackled next to us in the
hearth.
    "Did you get the old house sold?" he
asked.
    "Mr. Harvey had to talk it over with the
Board of Directors, but I'm sure the sale can
be finalized by Monday.  Are you wanting me
to back down and go ahead and remodel so
Chuck can live there?"
    Gavin took a deep breath and played with
a cheesy fry before answering.  "It would be
nice if he had a place to live," he admitted. 
"But I don't want to live there with him and
I'm sure that he'd find out our secret if he
moved in with us."
    "More than likely," I replied.
    "I'll tell you what," I said, "let's not
worry about him right now.  I need to talk to
Uncle Troy about something, first.  I'll see
if I can drag Chuck's problem out when we get
back to Earth, then I'll see what Uncle Troy
suggests."
    "Okay."
    After we finished eating, I motioned for
Victoria and she came over and made our
dishes disappear.  "Will there be anything
else?" she asked.
    "Gavin?" I asked.
    "No.  I'm stuffed.  Thanks.  It was
great."
    After saying goodnight to Victoria, she
returned our coats to us.  I made it stop
snowing and brought one of the sixteen moons
out and we walked slowly across the bridge. 
    Stopping, Gavin pulled me into his arms.
"I know you don't want anyone knowing you're
gay," he said.  "But this is just too
romantic for me to let pass by and not do
this."  He leaned down and kissed me on the
lips.
    "I love you, Shane," he whispered. 
"Thanks for sharing this with me."
    "I love you, too, Gavin," I replied,
hugging him.  "Thank you for letting me share
it with you."
    I was thankful that there were a couple
of gay warlocks in the lounge dancing when we
arrived.  I didn't see any of my family, so I
removed our coats and led Gavin to the bar.
    "Do you want something to drink, or do
you want to dance for a while?" I asked.
    "I think we'd better dance for a while,"
he replied.  "But are you sure it's safe?"
    "No," I admitted, "but we'll take our
chances."
    Taking my hand, Gavin led me to the
dance floor.  There were a few couples on the
floor besides us and the gay warlocks.  They
smiled at us and we started moving to the
music.
    Gavin was a great dancer.  He was much
better than me, actually.  I tried to keep up
with him, but he was just too good.  After
about half an hour, I was ready for a break. 
Even the other couples had left the floor
shortly after we arrived.
    "Oh, come on, honey," he said as I
pulled him toward the bar, "I'm just getting
warmed up."
    "That's what I was afraid you were going
to say," I replied.  "Let me get my breath
for a minute, then we'll go again."
    "Okay," he said.
    I materialized us some cold drinks and
was just taking a long swig of my root beer
when Mom and Dad appeared next to me.
    "Hello, Shane," Mom said.  "How nice to
see you here."
    "Hi, Mom," I replied and kissed her on
the cheek.  "Dad."
    "Hello, son," Dad replied, frowning at
Gavin.  "Gavin Sanders, right?" he asked.
    "Yes, sir."  They had met Gavin while we
were going to HCC and Dad never forgot a
face.  "Good seeing you again, sir," Gavin
said, shaking Dad's hand.
    Dad looked at me and a strange feeling
swept over me.  "What'd you bring him to
Jupiter for, Shane?" I heard his voice inside
my head. 
    I had never tried telepathy before, it
was a new experience for me.  There was no
point in trying to hide it, anything I
thought he would know since he was reading my
mind.  However, I had hoped to tell Mom first
and let her break it to him.  
    Taking a deep breath, I didn't say
anything, but thought, "I'm gay, Dad.  Gavin
is my lover.  Uncle Troy gave me the ring to
give to him.  Ms. Marble told me it was okay
for me to tell him."
    Dad gave me an aggravated look.  His jaw
muscle flinched, but he didn't say anything. 
I thought I heard thunder in the distance, so
I thought, "I love him, Dad, and he feels the
same way about me."
    "Have you had dinner?" Mom was asking.
    "Yes, we had a great meal at the
Starlight Restaurant," Gavin replied.
    "Victoria is working there now," I said,
aloud.  
    The strange feeling left, so I knew that
Dad had disconnected.  "How's she doing?" he
asked.
    "She's doing fine," I replied.  "She's
enjoying the job."
    "Yeah.  She said she was bored and
thought she'd try a job, but wouldn't dare
get one on Earth," Gavin said.
    "Have you eaten?" I asked as Mom
congered up a glass of sprite for herself.
    "Not yet," she replied.  "We were going
to do some dancing then pop over to the
Starlight for dinner later."
    Placing my hand on Gavin's back, I said,
"We were just getting ready to pop over to
the gym and work out for a while, then sit in
a hot spring.  We've got to be back on Earth
at nine to watch some movies with a friend of
ours."
    "Oh, well, you've got over two hours,"
Mom said, "it's only six-forty-five.  Why
don't you hang around here for a while and do
some dancing with us?  There are a couple of
pretty witches over there who would probably
be thrilled to dance with two cute guys like
you."
    I glanced over at the table she
indicated.  Sylvia and Harriet, the Sparkle
sisters, were giggling about something.  I
wasn't in the mood to even speak to them,
much less dance with them.
    Dad placed his hand on Mom's back and
she looked into his eyes.  I knew that he was
telling her about Gavin and me.
    She smiled and leaned over and kissed me
on the cheek and whispered in my ear, "It's
about time you found someone special, Shane. 
Congratulations."
    "Thanks, Mom," I said, hugging her.
    Mom looked at Gavin and asked, softly,
"Why don't we just stick together and forget
the girls?  We don't want anyone finding out
your secret."
    "Good idea," Gavin replied.
    We finished our drinks and the four of
us went back to the dance floor.  There were
a few other couples on the floor.
    Using telepathy, I told Gavin, "Don't
say anything out loud, Gavin, just think it. 
Dad cornered me.  I had to tell him we're
lovers.  He told Mom."
    "Wow," Gavin thought.  "This is freaky. 
I didn't hear anything."
    "No, we used telepathy like you and I
are now."
    "So I can tell you that I love fucking
your tight little ass and no one will hear
me?" he thought with a grin.
    "Yeah, but your dick is so big that they
might notice if you get a hard on, so you'd
better not."
    "Party pooper," he replied.
    The song that was playing ended and one
of the witches on the floor pointed to the
ceiling.  The lights dimmed and multi-colored
lights began to swirl slowly around the dance
floor.  The next song was for a slow dance. 
Dad pulled Mom into his arms and looked at
me.  I felt the weird sensation again and
heard him say, "I'm not happy that you're
gay, Shane, but I love you and want you to be
happy.  If Ms. Marble has said it's okay for
you to have this mortal, then your Mom and I
will not stand in your way.  I cannot speak
for your grandparents, though, especially
your Gramps.  He's not only old, but he's old
fashioned.  I'd be leery of telling him if I
were you."
    "Thanks, Dad," I replied.  "I love you,
too."
    Breaking the connection, he smiled at me
and twirled Mom around the floor.
    Gavin asked, "Shane?  Can you hear me?"
    I looked at him.  "Yes, darling," I
replied with telepathy.  "Dad was talking to
me."
    "Oh.  Should we sit this one out?"
    Wrapping my arms around him, asked,
"What for?"
    I placed my cheek next to his and we
swayed slowly to the music.  It was such a
good feeling to dance with the man I loved
while Mom and Dad danced with each other.
    "Oh, honey," he thought, "this is
fantastic."
    "It sure is."
    When the song ended, Gavin smiled down
at me.  "I love you, Shane," he whispered.
    Placing my hand on his cheek, I replied,
"I love you, too, Gavin."
    He bent down and kissed me on the lips. 
The next song began, it was an upbeat tempo
again.  Pulling away from him, I bumped into
Brandon as he popped in.
    "Excuse me, little brother," he said. 
"What's going on?"
    "It's getting awful crowded in here,"
Gavin thought.
    "Hi, Brandon," I said, hugging him. 
"Gavin and I are dancing and so are Mom and
Dad.  What are you doing here?"
    "I thought I'd come see if I could find
some action," he replied.
    "Good luck," I said.  "We're going to
the gym to workout now, stay here."  
    Brandon grinned.  "Okay.  Have fun."
    "We will," I promised.
    Using telepathy, I told Dad, "Gavin and
I are going to workout now.  We'll see you
later."
    "Okay, be careful.  I think Gramps said
something about going to workout tonight,
too."
    "Oh.  Okay, thanks for letting me know. 
Give Mom our love."
    "Will do," he said.
    Snapping my fingers, we were in the gym. 
"Hi, Phil," I said to the gentleman standing
behind the counter.  "I'm Shane Jordan, this
is my friend Gavin Sanders.  We'd like to
workout for a while then get a room."
    "Certainly," he said.  I noticed him
glance at a clip board lying on the counter. 
"I see you came in with your uncle earlier
today."
    "Yes, sir," I replied.  I was thankful
that Tony had left word that I had been
there, so Phil didn't have to use the "Hidden
Truth Spell" on me.
    "Enjoy yourselves on all the equipment,
Mr. Jordan," he said.  "And when you're ready
for a room, I have room A reserved for you,
just pop into it when you're ready."
    "Thank you, Phil," I replied.
    Snapping my fingers, Gavin and I were
dressed to workout.

    We had been working out for about half
an hour when I heard Gramps' loud voice echo
through the gym.  "Howdy, Phil," he said. 
"Maxwell and I would like to workout, but the
ladies would like a room.  May we have one?"
    "Certainly, Mr. Windham."
    "Great, they're here," I said to Gavin
using telepathy.
    "If there's going to be a problem, we
can leave if you want."
    "Good idea," I replied.  I was thankful
that Phil had given us permission to pop into
room A.
    "Shane, my boy," Gramps said as I raised
my hand to transport us into the hot spring. 
"How's it going?"
    "Great, Gramps," I said.
    He was dressed in a gray workout suit. 
Uncle Maxwell, Gramps' oldest son, stood
beside him wearing the same type attire. "Hi,
Shane," he said.  "You look like you've been
here for a while."
    "Yeah.  About half an hour," I admitted. 
"Gramps, Uncle Maxwell," I said, "this is my
friend, Gavin Sanders."
    "Nice to meet you, sir," Gavin said,
shaking Gramps' hand.
    "Like wise," he replied.  I was thankful
he didn't use the "Hidden Truth Spell" on
him.  
    However, frowning, Gramps added, "I
admit that I don't know everyone, but I don't
recall anyone named Sanders."
    "Gavin is from Chicago," I replied.
    "No wonder.  I don't hang out in
Chicago.  That explains that."
    Standing up, I said, "Gavin and I were
just getting ready to get a room.  We've got
to meet someone on Earth at nine, so we'd
better go if we want to soak for a while."
    "Very well," Gramps said.  "Grams and
your Aunt Heather are in room C, if you'd
like to join them, I'm sure they'd enjoy the
company until we get done here."
    "Thanks, Gramps," I said, "but we've
already reserved A and this is Gavin's first
time to use the gym, so we'd prefer to be
alone.
    "And," I added quickly, "Uncle Troy,
Brandon and Gavin have finally convinced me
that if I want to improve on my witchcraft
that I'm going to have to start studying, so
Gavin's going to help me do that while we
soak.  He has always been a grade A student
and he can help me out a lot."
    "That's great, Gavin," Gramps said.  
    "Yes, it is," Uncle Maxwell agreed. 
"Gavin, why don't you show us how you would
transport the two of you into Room A?"
    I hoped that they didn't see the worried
look that crossed Gavin's face, but, I
quickly placed a silent spell of my own, "By
the power invested in me, Gavin, I share it
now with thee."  Then, using telepathy, I
said, "Since they're wanting visual effects,
repeat after me, Gavin.  Cosmic wind,
lightening flash, thunder rumble, take Shane
and me to room A, on the double.  Then snap
your fingers."
    Gavin nodded and said, "Okay.  It was
great meeting you, Mr. Windham.
    "Cosmic wind, lightening flash, thunder
rumble, take Shane and me to room A, on the
double."  He snapped his fingers and the wind
began to blow as lightening flashed about the
room and we popped into room A.  I quickly
placed the privacy spell around the room so
Gramps and Uncle Maxwell couldn't follow us.
    Taking a deep breath, I said, "Boy, that
was close.  If I hadn't done some studying
this afternoon while waiting for you to get
out of class, we'd have been in trouble just
then."
    "You mean I did that myself?" he asked.
    "Well, sort of," I admitted.  "I found a
spell in the book that would let me share my
power with you."
    "Cool," he said.  "So then I should be
able to do this.  Us both naked," he snapped
his fingers, but nothing happened.
    "Sorry," I said.  "It only works for one
spell at a time.  But I can do it for you. 
Us both naked."  Without snapping my fingers,
we were nude.
    He pulled me against his warm sweaty
chest.  "I only want to be nude when we're
together," he said and bent down to kiss me.
    Breaking the kiss, I took his now hard
rod in my hand and guided him into the
shower.  "We need to get the sweat off before
we get in the spring," I said.
    Somehow we managed to only take a
shower, then I led him into the room with the
hot bubbling spring.
    "Wow, this is great," Gavin said,
sinking into the water.  "I've never even
been in a hot tub before.  Do you think we
could get one in our apartment?"
    "Certainly," I replied.  "Or we can just
come up here anytime you want to.  It's open
all the time."
    "Yeah, but if we wanted to invite some
friends over, it would be kind of difficult
to explain how we got to Jupiter without
telling them that you're a warlock."
    "That's true," I agreed.  "But it would
also take some explaining if I put one in my
apartment.  I'm sure that other people have
lived at Forrest Cove before and they'll know
that there isn't a workout room or hot tub
there."
    "So the best thing is to make sure we
don't mention it to anyone and hoard it to
ourselves," he said with a grin.
    "Yeah," I replied.
    He kissed me and said, "I like the idea
of sitting in our own hot tub, nude, just the
two of us."
    "So do I," I agreed and kissed him
again.
    "Turn around, babe," he whispered.
    I turned my back to him and he pulled me
against him so I could rest my head on his
shoulder while he held me.  Nuzzling my neck,
he said, "I love you, Shane.  I like sitting
this way with you."
    "So do I, darling," I replied.  Turning
my head, I kissed him on the cheek.
    "Instead of us driving all the way to
Chicago when school's out," he said, "could
you use molecular transfer to take us?  That
way we can spend some time together either at
home or here.  When I moved to Hayden to
start school, it took me about fifteen hours
driving time.  I'd rather spend that time
here with you than on the road."
    "Yes, I could transfer us into a car
there," I replied.  "I like that idea, too."
    "Of course, I think I'll tell Mom and
Dad that we'll stop somewhere halfway and
spend the night.  That way we can wait until
an afternoon to show up."
    "Good idea," I agreed, stretching. 
Standing up, I added, "I guess we'd better
get going if we're going to be back to Earth
by nine.  We might have to talk to Gramps
again since I have to stop by the counter and
let Phil know we're leaving."
    "Okay," he said, pushing himself up.
    I smiled at him and kissed him on the
lips.  "I love you, Gavin," I whispered.
    "I love you, too, babe," he replied.
    Stepping away from him for a moment, I
snapped my fingers.  We were dried and
dressed.  The spell was removed from the room
and we were standing in front of the counter. 
Phil smiled and asked, "How was it?"
    "Great, Phil," I replied.  "Thank you."
    "See you later," he said.
    With a nod of my head, Gavin and I were
standing invisible in the hallway in front of
his dorm room.
    "Wow, that didn't take long at all," he
said.
    "Just a second when you use molecular
transfer, no matter where you're going," I
replied. 
    "Now, what do you want us to arrive
with?" I asked as someone stepped out of the
room across the hall from Gavin's.
    "Shh," he whispered.
    "Don't worry, darling.  We're invisible,
they can't see or hear us."
    "Oh.  Okay."
    "How about a case of beer, a six pack of
Dr. Pepper, several sandwiches and several
bags of chips?" I asked, making them appear
in sacks on the floor between us.  They were
also invisible.
    "Sounds good to me," he agreed.  "Oh, we
forgot the movies."
    "Any suggestions?" I asked.
    "No," he admitted.
[
    "Come on."  I put my arm around his and
snapped my fingers.  We were standing in a
local video rental store.
    "Pick out what you think he'd like," I
said.  "Instead of renting it, I'll just make
a duplicate of it to take with us."
    "Great," he said with a sigh.  "All
these movies and we only have a minute to get
some and get back."
    "Don't worry about it," I said.  "I have
an idea."
    Glancing around the store, I was not
surprised to see that they were busy.  Gavin
and I were still invisible, so no one could
see us.
    Raising my hands, I said, "Wind whisper
through the willows.  Clouds soft, like big
fluffy pillows.  Bring to me two movies that
Chuck, Gavin and I would like to see."
    Two video tapes appeared in my hand and
Gavin said, "Oh, shoot."
    "What's wrong?"
    "Look," he said, pointing to a poster on
the wall.  "This is what he said he'd like to
see the other day, but it's not on video
until next month."
    "How about a sneak-peak video?" I asked,
making the video appear in my hand.  "Now,
which one of these two should we put back?"
    He looked at me for a moment and,
shaking his head, said, "Wow, this is too
cool.  Why don't we keep all three?  That way
he can make up his mind which one not to
watch until later."
    "Fine with me," I replied.  A snap of my
fingers and we were back at the dorm.
    Unfortunately, at that moment, the
elevator door opened down the hallway and
several people got off and just stood in the
hallway, talking.  We weren't able to
materialize without them seeing us.
    "Shit," Gavin said.  "Can you get rid of
them?"
    "Yeah, but it'd be hard to explain
later," I replied.
    "I have an idea," I said.  "I'll get the
beer and the videos.  See if you can get the
two sacks and soda."
    He picked up the sacks, but wasn't able
to get soda.
    "Let me rearrange you," I said.  A snap
of my fingers and he had one sack in each arm
and was holding the soda in his left hand.
    "Okay.  Thanks.  I'm ready when you
are," he said.
    A nod of my head and I was holding the
case of beer and the videos were in a plastic
bag that I held in my left hand.  Another nod
of my head and the group at the elevator were
frozen and we were visible.
    "Okay, we're here," I said.
    "Chuck! Open up!" Gavin called.
    The door flew open.  Chuck's handsome
face lit up as he took the beer from me. 
"Great.  I was afraid you wouldn't make it,"
he said as I closed the door and restarted
the group at the elevator.  Chuck hadn't seen
them.
    "There was a crowd at the video store,"
I replied as Chuck took the Dr. Pepper from
Gavin.
    "What did you get?" Chuck asked,
anxiously.
    Gavin told him the titles and he said,
"What?  That one's not supposed to come out
until next month."
    "Yeah, but I'm a friend of the
manager's," I said, "I sweet-talked her into
letting us preview it for the store.  They
always get the stuff in to preview before the
video is available to the public."
    "Oh, I didn't know that."
    I hoped that if it weren't true, he'd
never find out.
    
    Gavin and I sat on Gavin's bed and
actually spent more time watching Chuck's
face beam as he watched the movie, than we
did the movie.  I got the feeling that he
hadn't been this happy in a long time.  If
ever.
    After the first movie ended - the one
that wasn't on video, yet - I said, "Now you
have to decide which one of these you want to
watch."
    Gavin got up to go the bathroom.  I
noticed that Chuck had drunk several beers. 
Gavin, only four.
    Stretching, Chuck yawned and said, "It's
eleven-thirty.  Do you mind if we don't watch
anymore until tomorrow?"
    "No.  That's fine with me," I replied.
    "It's kind of late for you to be driving
back to your apartment," Chuck said as Gavin
came out of the bathroom, "but we really
don't have a place for you to sleep here. 
The floor's concrete, so I know you wouldn't
want to sleep on it."
    "I think he'll fit on my bed with me,"
Gavin said.  "As small as you are, Shane, I
don't see any problem with both of us
sleeping here."
    Chuck got up and stumbled toward the
bathroom.  "Okay, but don't tell anyone he
spent the night here, I don't want anyone
thinking that I'm rooming with a bunch of
fags."
    "Shit, Chuck," Gavin said, following him
to the door.  "You can sleep with a guy
without screwing him.  You really need to get
off this homophobic routine.  It's getting
really tiresome."
    Apparently, they had drank enough that
they weren't really realizing what they were
saying or doing.  Gavin was actually standing
in the bathroom door while Chuck sat on the
toilet to relieve himself.
    "You know, Chuck," Gavin said, "even if
Shane did make another bedroom in his
apartment, I wouldn't want to live with you
because you're such a jerk."
    Jumping to my feet, I rushed over to the
door just in time to see Chuck start to wipe
himself.  "Gavin," I scolded, using
telepathy.  "Don't do that.  You promised."
    "Oh, shit.  I'm sorry, hon," he replied.
    "What do you mean, make another
bedroom?" Chuck asked, pushing himself up off
the toilet.  I tried not to stare, but he was
better endowed than Gavin and he was limp.
    Chuck flushed the toilet and I replied, 
"I have a bedroom that I'm using as a den.  I
could turn it into another bedroom for you. 
I actually have a three-bedroom apartment,
but I converted one to a den.  The apartment
is furnished, so I could have maintenance
take out the den furniture and bring me a
bedroom suit."
    Pulling up his shorts, his face lit up
with look of desperate hope.  "Would you do
that for me?" he asked.
    I sighed.  "Now see what you've done?" I
asked Gavin with telepathy.  "How can I tell
him no?"
    Closing his eyes, Gavin replied, "I'm
sorry, darling.  Forgive me?"
    "Only if you get yourself out of this
one, unless you want him to move in."
    "No."
    "There's only one bathroom," Gavin said. 
"You'd have to share it with both of us.  And
you would have to stop being so homophobic."
    Chuck washed his hands and sighed as he
looked into the mirror.  I wondered what he
was thinking, but didn't have the nerve to
find out by scanning his mind.
    Chuck splashed water on his face.  After
drying off, he led us back into the bedroom. 
He removed his clothes, except for his boxer-
briefs, and laid down and covered up.  "Get
to bed, guys.  I'll explain why I'm so
homophobic."
    I couldn't believe that this was
happening.  I thought I'd have to drag it out
of him, but he was volunteering it, himself.
    Gavin removed his clothes down to his
briefs and so did I.  Gavin pulled the cover
back on his bed and laid down, motioning for
me to join him.  I laid down with my back to
him and we watched as Chuck turned off the TV
and sighed.
    "Mom had a difficult pregnancy," he
began, slowly.  "When it was time for me to
be born, I didn't want to come out, I guess. 
They had to induce labor, but that didn't
help much.  They thought they were going to
have to do a c-section, but at the last
moment, I came out.  I was a huge baby, so
Mom didn't survive the birth.  They should
have done the c-section."
    We listened quietly.  I felt Gavin tense
up but since the light was on, he didn't
touch me.
    "Dad's sister, Rene, moved in with him
to help take of the house and help raise me. 
She wasn't married and never did get married. 
Mom was an only child and her parents had
divorced and gone their separate ways.  I
don't know what ever happened to them.  Aunt
Rene never knew either.  I don't know if Dad
ever called them to tell them Mom died.
    "Dad owned a small grocery store in
Mansfield, it's a small town at the bottom of
Mount Mansfield," he continued.  "One of
those Mom and Pop kind that you hear about on
TV, only there was no Mom, just Pop.  One
night when I was seven, it was after school
and I was helping him close up.  Aunt Rene
was at home getting dinner ready for us.  She
never helped in the store.  Just stayed home. 
Right before I had a chance to put the sign
out, a huge guy came in.  He looked awful
mean.  He wound up grabbing me and pulling a
knife and making Dad give him all the money
in the register.  Luckily, Dad had always
just kept seventy dollars in the drawer and
the rest he put in the safe that had a
twenty-minute timer on it, so that in case
this happened, he would only lose seventy
dollars. 
    "Anyway," he continued, "the guy was
pissed and he took us up to the attic.  There
was some old rope and a chair up there. 
After I was born, Dad had thought about
committing suicide once because Mom was gone,
but chickened out since I wouldn't have a dad
if he did.  The rope and chair were still
there, though, so this guy made me tie Dad to
the chair and gagged him with his own
handkerchief.  Then he laughed and stripped
my clothes off and raped me.  Forcing Dad to
watch.  I still remember how much it hurt
with his dick in my ass."
    I closed my eyes and trembled as I
remembered the image I had seen previously. 
Gavin wrapped his arm around me and pulled me
against him.  I heard him sniffle and knew
that he was crying, too.
    "Then the guy got up and told Dad to
lick my shit off his dick and Dad bit him
hard.  He slapped Dad across the room and he
hit his head on the wall, which killed him. 
He left and I swore to Dad that I'd get him,
but I never did.
    "I laid there crying with my head on
Dad's chest for some time before Aunt Rene
found us."
    Gavin's voice cracked as he asked, "What
happened to Aunt Rene?"
    "She sold the grocery store after that. 
We didn't need any bad publicity and I was
too young to run it myself.  We moved to
Burlington and she got a job as a secretary
for a law firm.  I was a handful, but she
managed to raise me right somehow.  I got out
of high school and got a job, but she was
determined that I was going to college and
she had been saving money for me all this
time.  She discovered that Hayden University
was cheaper than Burlington.  I hadn't bought
a car, yet, so she brought me to Hayden
herself.  Since it's only and hour away, it'd
be easy for her to come down on weekends, or
I could take the bus home.  When I got a car,
I could drive myself. 
    "Anyway," he continued, "on the way
home, she had a blow out and the car careened
over into the other lane in front of a semi. 
They said she died instantly."
    "Damn," Gavin said.  "You poor guy."
    I was surprised to see that Chuck wasn't
crying.  He had told the whole story somber-
faced, without shedding a tear.  I knew that
he had pushed all his emotions deep down
inside because of everything that had
happened to him.
    "Wait a minute," Gavin said, sitting up,
"you're a freshman.  You started a semester
before I did.  How old are you?"
    "Nineteen," he replied.  "I know I look
older than I am.  The curse of being so big,
I guess."
    That explained why I thought he was ten
in the spell.  Now I had to talk to Uncle
Troy and see if there was anything I could do
for Chuck.  
    Gavin crawled over me and crossed the
room and sat down on the edge of Chuck's bed. 
I noticed Chuck run his eyes over Gavin's
hairy chest and back up.   
    "I'm twenty-five," Gavin said.  "So is
Shane.  But there's one thing you need to
know, Chuck," he said, softly.  "The guy that
raped you wasn't gay.  He was an ass hole,
that's all.  You have to realize that gays
don't go around raping people.  And when two
consenting adults do fuck, it doesn't hurt
like that because they use lubrication and do
it gentle enough that it feels good instead
of hurting."
    Chuck frowned up at Gavin, but didn't
ask the question that I knew was on his mind. 
Even without scanning his mind, I could tell
he wanted to ask how Gavin knew.
    "I don't want you to think that I care
more about you now just because I know this,"
Gavin said, tenderly.  "You know I've always
thought you were a nice guy, when you're not
being a jerk.  I'll talk it over with Shane
and see if he'll let you move in with us. 
I'm going to be in Chicago through the
holidays until January and Shane will be
visiting his grandparents in Paris some, too,
so maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to move in
with us so we won't have to leave the
apartment empty while we're gone."
    I really wasn't surprised that Gavin was
saying this, but I hadn't wanted Chuck to
move in with us.  If he did, then I wouldn't
be able to be myself, even if he did accept
the fact that Gavin and I were lovers.  I
couldn't tell him that I was a warlock and
neither could Gavin.
    Using telepathy, I told Gavin, "Darling,
don't forget that he can't find out I'm a
warlock.  I don't really want him to move in
with us, but if you think it'll be okay, then
he can.  But we have to make sure he doesn't
find out about me."
    "Okay, sweetheart," he replied, "I
promise.  It'll be okay."
    He looked over at me and asked, aloud,
"Would you mind turning the den into a
bedroom for him?  He really needs a place to
stay and we need someone to look after the
place while we're gone."
    "If the couch makes a bed," Chuck said,
"I could just sleep on it."
    "No, it's not big enough for you," I
replied.  "I'll have maintenance take care of
it, tomorrow."
    "Thanks, Shane," Gavin said, getting up
and coming back to bed.
    "Yeah, thanks a bunch, Shane.  You won't
regret it, I promise," Chuck said.
    
    Luckily, I awoke the next morning before
Gavin and Chuck did.  I was lying with my
head on Gavin's chest.  I slipped out of his
arms and headed to the bathroom.  I had just
zapped on my clothes when the door opened and
Chuck walked in.  "Oh, sorry, I thought you
might be in the shower," he said, although he
couldn't hear the water running.
    "It's okay," I said.  "I was just
finishing up."
    I noticed that even though Chuck was
wearing his boxer-briefs, they didn't hide
the fact that he had a raging hard on.  I was
surprised that he didn't turn his back to me
as he pulled down his briefs and urinated. 
He was still boned and he must have been at
least ten inches long and pretty thick.
    "While you and Gavin get around," I
said, glancing at my watch, "since it's
already ten, I'm going to run home and see if
I can get maintenance to get me the bedroom. 
You can go ahead and start packing and come
over when you're ready.  Gavin knows the
way."
    "Good idea," Chuck agreed.  He finished
urinating and slipped off his briefs. 
"Thanks again, Shane.  I really mean it when
I say you won't regret this."
    "You're welcome," I replied and left,
closing the door behind me.
    Gavin was still asleep, but, as the
water started in the bathroom, I leaned down
and kissed him on the lips.  "Wake up,
sleeping beauty," I whispered.
    I knew it was the kiss that woke him, he
was too heavy of a sleeper for it to have
been the whisper.
    He stretched and grinned at me, then he
looked over at Chuck's empty bed.  "Morning,
darling," he said.  He looked up at the
bathroom door.  "How about a blow job?"
    "Chuck's in the shower," I replied. 
"I'm going home to get the apartment ready
for you and him to move in.  We don't have
time."
    "You could freeze time," he reminded me.
    "But I'm not going to," I replied with a
grin.
    He pushed the cover back and pulled his
briefs down.  He was totally erect.
    "Don't tell me you want to pass up the
chance to chew on this for a few minutes."
    I kissed him and said, "No, but you got
me into this, so I have to go get prepared
for it."
    "Come on, baby," he said.  "I love you."
    "I love you, too," I replied as Chuck
turned off the water.
    "Damn, that was a quick shower," Gavin
said, "he must not have jerked off."
    "Had you ever seen him nude before last
night?"
    "No.  He keeps his briefs on and the
door closed.  I've seen him in the morning
when he gets up with a hard on, though, and
those briefs don't cover him up very well. 
He must be at least ten inches."
    "I think so, too.  He let me see him
while he pissed while ago."
    "Oh, really?" Gavin asked.  
    "Yeah.  Come on over when you get
everything packed," I said, changing the
subject.  "I'll have the apartment ready for
him by then."  I leaned down and kissed him,
then, snapping my fingers, went invisible.
    Gavin sighed and leaned back on his
pillow.  "Shit," he breathed.
    He didn't hear Chuck open the door. 
"Gav, you're not going to jerk off, are you?" 
Chuck asked as Gavin ran his hand slowly over
his chest.
    Gavin jumped.  He didn't realize he was
still exposed.  Sitting up he pulled up his
briefs.  It was the first time that Chuck had
seen him.  Chuck had wrapped his towel around
his waist.
    "Uh, no," he replied, getting to his
feet.  "Where's Shane?" he asked, heading
into the bathroom.
    "He went to get the apartment ready. 
I'm surprised he didn't wake you up before he
left."
    "I guess he wanted to let me sleep,"
Gavin replied, relieving himself.  He had his
back to the door, so Chuck couldn't see him.
    "Or did he pull your pants down and try
to wake you up that way?"  Chuck wanted to
know.  "Since you're such a heavy sleeper." 
    "If he did that then why wasn't he still
here when I woke up?"
    "Maybe he heard me turn off the water
and left before I caught him."
    "He would have covered me up," Gavin
said.
    Gavin slipped his underwear off and
turned around, letting Chuck see him.  "Then
why wasn't my dick wet when I woke up?"
    Chuck shrugged.  "I don't know, but you
should have seen the way he looked at me when
I took a piss this morning.  I get the
feeling he's gay, Gavin."
    Gavin sighed.  I did, too.
    Using telepathy, I told Gavin, "Darling,
I'm here.  Don't get into a fight with him."
    "Okay, I won't," he promised.
    "Okay, Chuck," he said.  "He is gay. 
I'm bi, we're lovers.  I tried to get him to
give me a blow job but he wouldn't since you
were in here.  When you turned off the water,
he left and I almost fell back asleep. 
That's why I was exposed when you came in. 
Do you still want to move in with us or not? 
Because I need to call him and let him know
not to worry about the bedroom if you're not. 

    "We're lovers, Chuck," he repeated. 
"We're not going to rape you.  We only fuck
each other and that's because we love each
other."
    Chuck took a deep breath and let it out
slowly.  He closed the door and, standing
with his back to it, began to cry.  I had no
idea what to do.
    "Darling, can you hear me?" Gavin was
thinking.
    "Yes, sweetheart," I replied.  "He's
crying now.  Get your shower and we'll see
what happens."
    "Okay.  I love you.  I'm sorry about
this."
    "I hope it'll work out for the best," I
replied.  "I love you, too."
    I started to break the connection, but
remembered something and asked, "When I use
telepathy on you, do you get a weird
sensation all over?"
    "Yeah, now that you mention it.  Why is
that?"
    "When Dad did it to me on Jupiter, I
did, too.  I don't know why it is, though. 
I'm glad to know that.
    "I'll talk to you later, darling," I
added.  "I'm going to go home now.  Call me
when you decide what to do."
    "Okay.  I love you."
    "I love you, too, Gavin."
    Breaking the connection, I watched Chuck
for a moment.  He finally crossed to his bed
and laid down and buried his face in his
pillow and continued to cry.  I wished there
was something I could do for him, but I had
no idea what it could be.  Deciding the best
thing to do was find out why he was crying, I
scanned his mind.  I hoped that he couldn't
feel me do that.
    "Damn," he was thinking, "I had a
feeling that Shane was gay, but I hoped I was
wrong.  Shit.  What am I going to do now? 
I've fucked up my chances at finding a place
to live until next semester, too.  And I'm
not going to go live with Jason, either. I'm
not going to tell Gavin he made a pass at me
last month, either."
    He pushed himself up and sighed.  "I
guess I'll just get a car and go home.  I
didn't want to do that since that house
brings back so many memories, but it's my
only choice, I guess.  Maybe I can get a job
in Burlington.  Or better yet, maybe I can
have a blow out and get killed in a wreck on
my way, like she did."
    I had to do something.  I didn't realize
that he hadn't sold the house he'd grown up
in.  I couldn't let him kill himself.  He
needed to stay in Hayden.  Maybe I could
offer to take him to Burlington to rent the
house out so he could make some money off it,
if he didn't want to live with Gavin and me.
    Hearing Gavin turn the water off in the
shower, he got up and got dressed.  I snapped
my fingers and was outside the apartment
complex's office.  No one was around so I
materialized and went into the office.
    "Hi, Todd," I said to the gentleman
sitting at the desk.
    "Hey, Shane, how are you today?"
    Todd was the manager.  He had worked
there since before I moved in.  We had hit it
off pretty good.  I knew that he was gay, but
he never mentioned it.  I had considered
making a play for him, but since he worked
there, I didn't want him to get into trouble.
    "Doing great.  I need a favor."
    "That's what I'm here for," he replied
with a grin.  "What's up?"
    "I met these two really cute guys," I
said, as queenie as I could, which wasn't
difficult for me to accomplish, "and I was
hoping you would let them move in with me."
    He blushed.  "Uh, you're in a one-
bedroom, aren't you?"
    "Yes.  But I wanted to see if you maybe
had either a bunk-bed and a twin bed, or even
three twins would be enough.  If not, is it
okay if you take out your queen bed and let
me go get twins  somewhere?"
    "Well, if they're really that cute, why
don't I just take your queen bed and give you
a king?" he asked, with a sly grin.
    "Because, unfortunately, one of them is
homophobic."
    "Boy, you are asking for trouble, aren't
you, Shane?" 
    "Sort'a," I admitted.
    "Well, unfortunately, I can't do that. 
We don't have any twins at all.  But if you
want to go get your own, then I can remove
the queen.  However, Mr. Donaldson, the
owner, really doesn't want three people in a
one-bedroom, but we are full so I can't move
you to another apartment.  I also happen to
know that your lease isn't up until June, so
I don't want to kick you out, either. 
Especially since all of the complexes are
full because of school letting out on the
fifteenth."
    "That's why I need them to move in with
me," I said.  "One of them can't find a place
to stay, so I'm getting him by desperation."
    "The homophobic one?" he asked.
    "Yeah," I replied.
    "Are you sure that you want to live with
him?  I don't want to get a call that he's
beaten you up one night when he gets drunk."
    "He won't, don't worry," I promised.
    "Okay, if you're sure.  What are their
names?  I'll get them on the lease and get
you keys for them."
    After I gave Todd their names, he called
a maintenance man to take the bed out of my
apartment.  I could have done it myself, but
it was their bed and I had to have Gavin and
Chuck on the lease for them to live with me.
    "I'll get a helper and we'll be up there
in about fifteen minutes," the maintenance
man promised.
    "Okay, thanks," I said.  "Thanks, Todd. 
I'll catch you later."
    "Be careful," he said and I left.
    When I got back to my apartment, I
returned it to it's normal state by getting
rid of the bedroom I had congered for Gavin.
    When the guys arrived, I had them take
the entire bedroom suit, not just the bed. 
After they left, I was trying to figure out
what to do with the empty room when there was
a knock on the front door.
    Crossing to the door, I opened it.  "Hi,
Shane," Grams said, kissing me on the cheek.
    "Hi, Grams.  Gramps," I replied.  "Come
on in.  What brings you to Hayden?"
    "We just swung by to see what you did
with the mansion," Gramps replied.  "It looks
nice."
    "Thanks.  I'm hoping to hear from Mr.
Harvey tomorrow."
    "I hope he buys it.  You made the offer
I told you to, didn't you?" Gramps asked.
    "Yes, sir," I replied.  "He said it was
a great deal and he'd take it, but he had to
clear it with the Board of Directors.  I get
the feeling that he'll take it himself if
they don't approve it."
    "He probably will," Gramps agreed.
    "What are you doing with your bedroom?"
Grams asked, changing the subject.  She must
have scanned the apartment to know that it
was empty.
    "I'm redecorating," I replied.  "My
friend, Gavin, that you met last night,
Gramps, is moving in with me.  I'm going to
add two more bedrooms, too, because his
roommate at school is moving in, too.  It's
going to be interesting since Chuck doesn't
know about us and he's mortal."
    "Has he seen the apartment before?"
Grams asked.
    "No.  That's what is going to make it
easy for me to redecorate before he gets
here.  He and Gavin are packing up at the
dorm right now."
    "Why would Gavin want to live in a
dorm?" Gramps wanted to know.
    I shrugged.  "Since he's going to
college, I guess he wanted the full
experience."
    "That's a good idea," Grams agreed.
    "So, what are you going to do?" Gramps
asked.
    I led them over to the hall door.
    "Gavin has already created his room," I
said.  "I had to get rid of it so that the
maintenance people wouldn't see it when they
came to get their furniture.  They just left
a few minutes ago.
    "Since Chuck is so tall," I continued,
"I think I'll put a king-sized bed in here."
    I made a king-sized bed appear.  The
head was at the inside wall, like my queen
bed had been.  The carpet was brown, so I
made the bedspread brown with tan trim and
gave the large window that looked out over
the court yard, matching drapes.  I also
placed a chest of drawers to the left of the
door and matching night stands with brass
lamps on each.
    "That's pretty, Shane," Grams said. 
"I'd put a little more color in, but if it's
for a guy, it is nice."
    "Yes, he's very much a guy," I replied.
    "Where's your bedroom going to be,
Shane?" Gramps asked.
    I turned to the closet door.  "Right
here," I replied, gesturing to it.  I
extended the hallway a little and placed
Gavin's room to the left of the closet door. 
Then I replaced the closet with another
virtual room that was just like my bedroom
had been before the guys came to get the
furniture.
    "I like it," Gramps said, approvingly.
    "So do I," Grams agreed.
    "Thank you.  Like I said, this one was
Gavin's doing.  I'm debating on getting a bay
window for myself."
    "Since it would look over the
courtyard," Grams said, "it would be nice."
    "Yes, it would," Gramps agreed.  A snap
of his fingers and there was a bay window
where the large window had been.  A blue
cushion covered the window seat.  "There. 
Much better."
    "If you're going to do that, though,"
Grams said with a wave of her hand, "I'd
suggest that you put one in the mortal's
room, too.  He might get jealous."  
    I knew she had just added one.  "Okay,
but I have to make sure it's not visible from
outside," I said, with a snap of my fingers. 
"We can't let anyone see it since no other
apartment has them."
    "Well, this looks very nice, Shane,"
Grams said.  "What else are you going to do
before they get here?"
    I led them into the kitchen.  The
breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the
living room.  At the far end of the kitchen
was a pantry.  I walked over to it and opened
the door.
    It was a small pantry.  No room to walk
in, but, with a wave of my hand, it turned
into a walk-in pantry.  At the back was an
open doorway that led into a utility room
that was large enough for not only a washer
and drier, but an ironing board as well. 
There would be plenty of room for Gavin or
Chuck to iron if they wanted to, which they
wouldn't, since I would be doing their
laundry, magically.
    "You've done a good job, son," Gramps
said.  "I like it."
    That meant a lot to me, he seldom said
he liked anything I did.
    "Thanks, Gramps," I said, hugging him.
    "So what are you going to do the rest of
the day?" I asked.
    "We're going to your parents for brunch. 
Brandon is supposed to meet us there, too,"
Grams replied.
    "We'd love for you and Gavin to join
us," Gramps said, "but I understand that
since you're moving in the mortal, you can't
make it."
    "Yeah.  We kind of have to do it all the
mortal way," I agreed as there was a knock on
the door.  I scanned the other side of the
door.  It was Gavin and Chuck. "That's them,
now," I said.  "Won't you stay and meet
them?"
    "Certainly," Grams replied.
    I opened the door and Gavin sighed and
shook his head.  "Hi, Shane," he said.
    "What's wrong?" I asked as they walked
in.
    "Oh, hi, Mr. Windham," Gavin said.
    "Hello, Gavin," Gramps said.  "This is
my wife.  Felicia, this is Gavin Sanders."
    "Nice meeting you, ma'am," Gavin said,
politely.  
    "Charmed," Grams replied.
    "Gramps, Grams, this is Chuck Wilson," I
said.  "Chuck, these are my grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Windham."
    "Nice meeting you," Chuck said.  "Shane
tells me you are letting him sell Windham
Mansion.  I wish you'd turn it into a
boarding house instead."
    Gramps smiled at me.  "I said he could
do anything he wanted to with it," he said. 
"It's his decision."
    "I've already promised it to Mr.
Harvey," I defended myself.  "I can't renege
now."
    "Besides," Gavin said, "everyone in town
thinks it's haunted.  No one would live there
but you, Chuck."
    Chuck sighed but didn't say anything.
    "Now, Chuck," Grams said, "this is such
a lovely apartment.  You'll really enjoy
living here with Gavin and Shane.  Shane was
just showing us the room he's prepared for
you."
    She led him into the hallway and showed
him his room.  "Neat," he said.  "It didn't
take you long at all to get it set up."
    "The guys weren't too busy," I replied.
    "Where's your room?" he asked.
    I showed him my room and Gavin's.  "And
we don't have to worry about going to the
laundromat," I added, leading them into the
kitchen and showing them the pantry and
utility room.
    Gavin touched my arm and tapped his
temple.  I knew he wanted to talk to me via
telepathy.  "What's going on?" I asked.
    "He said he wasn't going to live with
us.  He still owns the house in Burlington
and he's going home."
    "While you were in the shower, I scanned
his mind.  He's also hoping to have a blow
out and have an accident so he can die, like
his aunt did.  I think it'd be best if he
stays here because I'm afraid that if he goes
to Burlington, he's going to commit suicide."
    "Shit.  What can we do?"
    "I don't know.  I'm going to go talk to
Uncle Troy later.  Maybe he can figure out
something."
    I felt a funny feeling sweep over me and
Gramps asked, "Would you two like to join us
out here in the real world?  Chuck just asked
how much this apartment is a month."
    "Sorry, Gramps," I replied.
    Aloud, I said, "Three twenty-five,
Chuck."
    "That's all for a three-bedroom?"
    "I've had the lease for a couple of
years," I replied.  "No one else is getting
that price, here."
    "Ain't that the truth," he agreed.
    We returned to the living room and I
asked, "So, do you want to move in with us,
Chuck?"
    "Well, I was thinking about going home. 
I have a house in Burlington that I could
stay in."
    "I think you should rent that out,"
Gavin said.  "It'd give you the money to stay
here and not have to worry about some things
you've always worried about."
    "That's true," he agreed.  "I do have
plenty of money because of Aunt Rene's
insurance, but I don't want to spend it
because I'm afraid it might not last too
long.  Living here with you and renting out
the house would give me some spending money."
    "And since we're basically going to be
gone until January," I said, "you'll be by
yourself most of the time."
    "That's true," he agreed, sadly.
    "Well, Felicia," Gramps said, "I think
we'd better run and let them decide what they
want to do."
    "Good idea, Peter," she agreed.
    After saying goodbye, they walked out
the front door and I closed it as they
vanished.
    "Gavin," I said, sitting down next to
him on the sofa, "why don't you take Chuck to
Burlington and see what needs to be done to
the house to make it rentable?  I can stay
here and get you moved in.  I can get Uncle
Troy to come help me, since I need to talk
him about something, anyway."
    "I wouldn't feel right letting you move
my stuff, Shane," Chuck said.
    "I promise not to forget anything," I
said.
    "I trust him with my stuff," Gavin said. 
"I think it's very important that we go now,
too."
    "Well, okay," Chuck reluctantly agreed.
    "Good.  Then let's go."
    Remembering what Chuck had thought about
having an accident, I handed Gavin the keys
to my car and said, "Here, take my car.  It's
got a cell phone in it, so if you need me,
just call.  I'll have my phone with me, no
matter where I am."
    Gavin smiled.  He knew I didn't have a
car.  Using telepathy, I said, "It's the
silver Trans Am at the bottom of the stairs. 
It's full of gas and you won't have any
problems.  I'll probably be with you most of
the time, but I will use telepathy to talk to
you while I'm there, so you'll know."
    "Thanks, hon," he said, aloud.  He
leaned down and kissed me on the lips.  
    "Be careful," I said.  "I love you."
    "I love you, too."
    I wanted to hug Chuck, but after the
look he gave us for kissing in front of him,
I decided not to.  "Have a good trip, Chuck,"
I said.  "Good luck with the house."
    "Thanks, Shane," he said.
    "Here's the key to my car and the dorm
room," Gavin said, handing it to me.
    "Thanks."
    I decided it would be best not to
immediately go get their stuff, because Chuck
might talk Gavin into stopping by for
something on their way out of town.
    Since I needed to talk to Uncle Troy,
and I had no idea where he might be, I said,
"Willows weep, wind blow, take me to Uncle
Troy, because that's where I need to go." 
Snapping my fingers, I stood next to him.
    A warm breeze blew in off the water.  I
was standing on the deck of a large yacht.  I
knew that we were on the Seven Seas. Uncle
Troy was stretched out on a lounge chair.  He
was only wearing a pair of skimpy red bikini
briefs that hardly covered his large organ. 
Aunt Christine was lying next to him on her
own chair.  She was also dressed in a skimpy
red bikini.
    "I thought you were going to sail the
Seven Seas," I teased, squatting down next to
Uncle Troy.
    "This is the only way to sail, Shane,"
he replied, sitting up.
    "Hi, Shane," Aunt Christine said,
rolling over onto her stomach.
    "Hello, Aunt Christine.  Where is
everyone?"
    "Dad's playing captain," Uncle Troy
replied.  "Mom's co-pilot.  Tom's around here
somewhere with some bimbo he picked up on
Jupiter.  We figured we'd just sit here and
soak in the sun for a while."
    "Too bad you can't do the privacy spell
and lie out nude," I said, looking around.
    "Yeah, that'd be nice," he agreed.  "But
that only works on rooms and structures."
    Materializing a bottle of suntan lotion,
I squirted some on my hand.  He didn't stop
me as I began to apply it to his muscular
chest.  
    "I was needing to talk to you about
Chuck," I said.  I noticed the bulge in his
briefs begin to grow as I spread the ointment
on his stomach.
    "Honey, can Shane have me for a while?"
he asked.
    "Sure," she said.  "Just remember we're
having lunch in about an hour.  Don't be
late."
    I stood up and he got to his feet.  He
bent over and kissed her.  "I love you,
Christine," he whispered.
    "I love you, too, Troy," she replied.
    He turned to me and, placing his hand on
my arm, snapped his fingers.  We were
standing in front of my apartment door.  He
was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
    "Whoops," he said.  "I tried for the
couch.  You must still have the privacy spell
around the apartment."
    "Yes, I do," I admitted, opening the
door for us.
    We sat down on the couch and he
materialized some cold drinks for us.  After
I explained what had happened to Chuck, he
took a long swig of his beer and sighed.
    "You can't mess with mortal time that
way," he said.  "I know you'd love to go back
in time and fix it so Chuck'd have a father,
but you'd have to go before the Council for
that one.  There is too much that would
change between then and now if you did.  It's
not a good idea to mess with the past.  Also,
you don't know that Chuck's life wouldn't
have been worse if he did have a father. 
>From what you said, his father wasn't as big
as Chuck and Chuck might have wound up
beating his dad himself when he got older."
    "But what about the guy who did it?" I
asked.  "Is there something I can do to make
sure he got caught and paid for his crime? 
That would at least help Chuck feel somewhat
better knowing he didn't get away with it."
    "And Chuck is sure that his aunt told
the police?" he reconfirmed.
    "That's what he said."
    He sighed again and stood up.  "Okay,
let's go see what we can find out. 
Mansfield, huh?"
    "Yes, sir," I replied, standing also.
    He placed his beer on the coffee table. 
"I get the feeling it's going to be snowing
there, now," he said.  "We'll dress as we
go."
    "Okay."
    Uncle Troy put his arm around me and
pulled me against his strong chest.  "Hang
on," he said and we were invisible, standing
in front of an old grocery store.  As he had
predicted, the snow was falling gently. 
Mount Mansfield loomed over us, but the
clouds were so low, it was impossible to see
the top.
    "I feel like I'm in an old movie," I
said.
    Chuckling, Uncle Troy dressed us in warm
outfits and made us visible.  The cold nipped
at our noses.
    He opened the door for me and I stepped
in. 
    Since I hadn't seen the store in Chuck's
mind, I had no idea if anything had changed. 
The sidewalk had been cleared, so Uncle Troy
and I didn't need to wipe our feet when we
stepped in.
    Several rows of groceries stood to the
right of the room.  To the left, a row of
wall coolers.  I knew the walk-in
refrigerator was behind them.  The counter
was in the center, at the back of the room. 
It would be easy for the proprietor to see
anyone leaving with goods they didn't pay
for.
    This setup also explained why little
Chuck hadn't had a chance to put the closed
sign on the door before the guy came in.  If
he were working in the walk-in, or behind the
counter, it was pretty far from the front
door.
    "Good morning," a gray-haired gentlemen
standing behind the counter said, looking at
us over his reading glasses.
    "Good morning," Uncle Troy replied,
cheerfully.
    I glanced around the store.  We were
alone.
    "How may I help you, sir?" he asked.
    "My nephew here is in school with a guy
whose Dad used to own this place.  We were
just checking to see if it was still here,"
Uncle Troy replied.
    I noticed the man tense up a little.  I
got the feeling he knew who Uncle Troy was
talking about and what had happened.
    "Yes," he said.  "I'm still here.  I
bought the store and the house from the boy's
aunt and I've ran it ever since.  How are
Rene and he doing?  I haven't heard from them
since they moved to Burlington."
    "Chuck is doing fairly well," I replied. 
"His aunt was killed in a wreck after she
dropped him off at school in Hayden.  She was
on her way back to Burlington."
    "Oh, no.  That poor boy," the gentlemen
said, shaking his head.  "I guess he told you
his father was killed in a holdup here and
his mom died giving birth to him?"
    "Yes, sir," I replied.
    "Do you know if they ever caught the guy
who did it?" Uncle Troy asked.
    "No, they didn't," he replied.  "It was
difficult for the boy to give a good
description of him.  He was scared to death,
just about."
    I glanced at Uncle Troy.  The proprietor
wasn't going to volunteer anything about
Chuck getting raped, it appeared.
    Uncle Troy leaned his head to the left. 
The gentleman had just reached up to remove
his glasses and froze before he got them off. 
"Let's see what we can find out about this
guy," Uncle Troy said.
    "Okay."
    Uncle Troy stepped into the center of
the room and looked around.  "Step back,
Shane," he said, softly.
    I leaned against the counter and watched
in awe as he cast a spell I'd never heard
before,  "Hands of time, moving swiftly
forward, now heed my command:  Screech to a
halt.  Hands of time, standing still, fly
backwards like the wind, if you will. 
Backwards time, turn backwards at the speed
of light.  Take us back to see what really
happened here that dreadful night."
    Smoke billowed around us.  The wind blew
so hard that I was afraid that something
would get turned over and broken.  The next
thing I knew, Uncle Troy and I were standing
in a dark room.  It was obviously the attic. 
A single light in the ceiling didn't
illuminate the entire room.  The room was
hot, but we were invisible, so we couldn't
feel the heat.  The man whom I had seen
previously sat bound and gagged, tears
streaming down his face as his son got raped
by the big burly man.
    Uncle Troy wrapped his arm around me and
fought the urge to stop him.  There was
nothing we could do without the Witches'
Councils' permission.
    "I bet Chuck still has nightmares about
that," Uncle Troy said, softly.
    "I'm sure he does, too," I agreed.
    After the man had killed Mr. Wilson, he
pulled his pants up and left.  We followed
him.
    He dashed down the stairs and took the
money out of the register.  He put the
"closed" sign in the window and left the
store.  He had left a green Pinto parked in
the alley.
    Uncle Troy and I sat in the back seat
while the man drove.
He made his way up the side of the mountain
and pulled into a long driveway that lead up
to a log cabin.  Hopping out, the man dashed
into the cabin.
    We were waiting for him when he burst
into the small living room.  "It'd be a nice
place if he'd clean it up," Uncle Troy
observed.
    "Yes, it would," I agreed as the man
dumped the money on the table and stripped
off his clothes.
    "Damn brat's shit still all over my
dick," he grumbled, throwing his clothes on
the floor.  
    He went to the bathroom and took a
shower.  Uncle Troy picked up his pants and
pulled out his wallet.
    "Henry Potter is his name," he said,
reading his license.
    "Now what can we do?" I asked.
    He returned Henry's wallet and said,
"Let's go see what happened to him."
    "Okay."
    "Hands of time, I need your help again. 
Forward now, not too slow, but not too fast,
let us see what has come to pass."
    Again smoke billowed around us and the
wind blew, but not as hard this time.  We
were sitting in a truck stop.  Snow was
falling pretty hard outside the window next
to the table.  Still invisible, no one could
see us.
    A man behind me was reading the paper,
Uncle Troy scanned it.  "It's two months
later," he said looking around.  "I wonder
why we're here.  He's not."
    I didn't have time to ask if the spell
could be wrong.  The door opened and Henry
came in, trying hard to keep the door from
blowing off it's hinges as he pulled it
closed.  I hadn't realized the wind was that
strong.
    "Shit," Henry said, "that door needs to
be locked."
    The guy reading the paper and the
waitress behind the counter were the only two
people in the truck stop.  The reader got up,
paid his bill and left, making sure to leave
out the other door, so it wouldn't blow open.
    "Hi, honey," Henry said, straddling a
bar stool.  "Are you on the menu tonight?"
    "I don't think so," she replied.
    Uncle Troy grabbed my hand before I
knocked Henry off the barstool.  "Don't,
Shane," he snapped.  "Remember, we can't
change the past."
    "Sorry," I replied.
    "I know, I want to, too."
    "My husband's the cook and he's real
jealous," she continued, placing a menu in
front of Henry.  "So, what can I get you?"
    Henry glanced at the pickup window.  We
couldn't see anyone in the back room from
where we sat.  I scanned the back room.  Sure
enough, a big burly guy was sitting on a high
bar stool, smoking a cigarette and doing some
paper work.
    I knew that if Henry and he got into it,
Henry would finally meet his match.  This guy
was bigger than Henry, but not as ugly.
    "Don't make a sound, Stella," Henry
said, standing up.  He pulled a switchblade
out of his pocket and grabbed her by her
uniform collar.  "Now, real easy-like," he
whispered, "get all the money out of the
register and give it to me.  We don't want
hubby to know what's going on.  You do real
good, you'll live to see tomorrow.  Is that
clear?"
    "Yes," she croaked.
    Henry was so involved in getting the
money, he didn't notice the door open and a
police officer walk in.  Unfortunately, the
officer was tiny compared to Henry.
    The officer made a motion to Stella not
to let on that he was there and, pulling his
gun, pressed it against the back of Henry's
ear.  "Police.  Make a move and I'll blow
your head off," he said.
    Luckily for Stella, Henry had turned
loose of her so she could get the money.  She
jumped back and screamed.  Henry ducked and,
turning, took a swing at the officer.  The
officer was small, but very agile and jumped
out of the way just in the nick of time. 
Deciding it would not be wise to fight the
officer, Henry started for the door.
    The officer, being alone, didn't bother
warning Henry to stop or he'd shoot, he just
fired as Henry started out the door.  Henry
ducked against the wind.  I knew the bullet
would have hit him in the shoulder had he not
ducked, however, since he did, it hit him in
the back of head and sent him sprawling face
down into the snow.
    "What the fuck's going on?" Stella's
husband demanded as he rushed out of the
kitchen.
    Stella was still screaming hysterically. 

    "Relax, everything is under control,"
the officer said.  He rushed outside.  Uncle
Troy and I were standing beside Henry when
the officer reached him.  He checked his
pulse and pressed the button on the mic he
had on his shoulder and spoke into it.
    Henry rolled over and started to set up. 
"What the fuck?" he asked, looking at us. 
Then he noticed his body was still lying on
the ground.  "Are you angels?"
    "No," Uncle Troy replied as a man
dressed in black appeared  from no where. 
"Here's your angel, now."
    A chill swept over me.  I had never seen
the angel of darkness before and I never
wanted to, again.
    If the angel of darkness knew that we
were there, he didn't acknowledge our
presence.
    "No, wait!" Henry cried as the angel of
darkness lifted him to his feet as though he
was a mere sack of potatoes.
    Flames flickered around them and they
vanished.  Henry's screams were carried away
on the howling wind.  I stepped closer to
Uncle Troy and he wrapped his arms around me
and we held each other for a few minutes. 
"It's over, Shane," he whispered.  "Now you
can tell Chuck that Henry is in hell where he
belongs."
    "Thanks, Uncle Troy," I said.
    Uncle Troy stepped away from me and
raised his arms.  "Hands of time, do your
deed.  Take us now to our own time, at
lightening speed."
    Again smoke billowed around us and the
wind blew.  We were standing back at the
grocery store where we'd started out at. 
This time, we were visible.  
    Uncle Troy restarted the proprietor and
he finished removing his glasses as he said,
"You know, several people thought it was a
motorcycle gang, but I'd think that they'd
have killed the boy, too, if it were."
    "Is there a library here that would keep
copies of old newspapers?" I asked.
    "No," he replied.  "But the newspaper
does.  You could check the morgue there."
    The proprietor pointed us in the
direction of the newspaper office and, after
thanking him for his help, we walked down the
street to it.  
    Snow was still falling gently.  "What do
you want the newspaper for, Shane?" Uncle
Troy wanted to know.
    "If they have something about the
incident at the truck stop, I can show it to
Chuck and then he'll know for sure what
happened."
    "Good idea," he agreed, "but you could
just produce it yourself."
    "I know.  But I want it authenticated,
in case he calls the newspaper himself."
    The morgue at the newspaper office was
damp and cold.  I couldn't believe how
unorganized it was.  Mr. Horn, the elderly
gentleman that showed us the room, said, "I'm
sorry it's such a mess, but we haven't been
able to hire anyone to take care of it and I
haven't had time to."
    Uncle Troy looked at a stack of papers
that hadn't been filed.  "If you want, we'll
do it for you," he offered.
    "Oh, I couldn't pay you anything and I
wouldn't expect you to do it for nothing. 
It'd take forever to get this straightened
out.  I'm not even sure you'll be able to
find what you're looking for."
    "I'll tell you what," Uncle Troy said. 
"Give Shane and me half an hour and we'll
have this place spotless.  But, you have to
leave us down here alone.  You can't watch."
    Mr. Horn gave us a skeptical look.  "You
have a deal," he finally resigned.  "But I
don't see how you can get this done in half
an hour.  It'll take days."
    "Trust me," Uncle Troy said, pushing him
toward the door.  
    "Half an hour?" I asked after he had
left.  "It won't take that long."
    "I know, but he wouldn't believe a
second, now would he?"
    "He's not going to believe half an hour,
either," I admitted.
    "And, I'm going to let you do it
yourself," Uncle Troy said.
    "Okay," I replied.  I snapped my fingers
and the morgue was spotless.  Everything was
in its place.  The musty smell was gone and
the room was warm.
    "How's that?" I asked.
    He shook his head and snapped his
fingers.  It was back to the way it was
originally.  "Use an incantation, Shane."
    "Come on, Uncle Troy, I don't know any
incantations."
    "Then either get your spell book or make
one up," he said.
    I materialized the spell book floating
in mid-air in front of me, turned to the page
I needed.  I read the incantation for
cleaning rooms and then got rid of the book,
hoping I could remember it.
    Stepping into the middle of the room, I
raised my hands and recited the spell:  "Dust
mites float.  Candles burn.  Cauldrons
bubble.  Windmills churn.  Everything has
it's place, that's where it should be.  Where
East meets West, we'll do our best to clean
this room spotless, on the count of three. 
One, two, three."  A snap of my fingers and
the room was clean again.
    "Now are you happy?" I asked.
    Uncle Troy grinned.  "Very.  See, that
wasn't too hard.  Now find the paper you're
looking for with an incantation."
    I made the spell book reappear to the
spell I needed.  It was the finding spell. 
After reading it, I got rid of the book
again.  "Do you remember the date?" I asked.
    "December 15, 1986," Uncle Troy replied.
    "So the paper would be the sixteenth," I
said.
    "Probably."
    "Everything is in it's place, that's
where it should be, bring the paper that I
seek, to me."  The paper appeared in my hand. 

    I laid it out on the table and found the
article that I needed.  It had a mug shot of
Henry taken the previous year when he was in
jail for holding up a convenience store.
    "Of course it doesn't mention anything
about what he did to Chuck," I said, "but
he'll remember him from the picture, I'm
sure."
    "How are you going to explain how you
knew that was the guy?" Uncle Troy wanted to
know.
    "I don't think I will.  I think I'll
have him find a copy of this old newspaper
clipping in his house in Burlington.  Then
he'll think it was his aunt who found it and
forgot to tell him about it."
    "Good idea," Uncle Troy replied.
    I made a copy of just the article,
making sure that it had the newspaper and
date on the top of it, and returned the paper
to its place.
    "Shall we let Mr. Horn know we're
leaving or just go?" I asked.  We had only
been there for about five minutes.
    "Let's just go," he replied.
    I hugged him and said, "Thanks for
coming with me, Uncle Troy.  I couldn't have
done it without you."
    "You're welcome.  I think I'm going to
head for the yacht.  Should be about lunch
time by now.  Do you want to join us?"
    "No, thanks.  I told Gavin I'd be
around, so I'd better get over there.  They
should be getting close to Chuck's house and
I want to plant this before they get there."
    "See you later, then," he said.  With a
smile, he vanished.
    I went invisible.  I couldn't wait to
see Mr. Horn's face when he saw the morgue. 
However, I didn't really want to wait twenty
more minutes on him to return, and I didn't
want to go get him, either.
    Luckily, I didn't have to.  He slowly
opened the door.  I knew he was trying to see
what we were doing.  
    Glancing around the room, his mouth fell
open and he stepped in.  "How'd they do
that?" he asked in astonishment.  He gulped
and backed out the door and hurried up the
stairs.
    Chuckling, I snapped my fingers and I
was standing in the kitchen of Chuck's house. 
It was a nice house.  All the furniture was
covered with sheets.  
    I heard a car drive in out front. 
Looking through the wall, I saw it was them. 
I dashed into the living room and placed the
article between the cushions on the couch. 
Leaving orders for it to fly out when Chuck
took the sheet off.
    I heard a phone ring somewhere.  I
pulled it out of thin air.  "Hi, darling," I
said, answering it.  Caller Id said "Gavin."
    "Hi, babe," he said, getting out of the
car.  "We just got here."
    "Great.  I'm in the living room," I
admitted.  "I found out something.  Make sure
Chuck takes the sheet off the couch.  There's
something he needs to see."
    "Okay.  Will do.  We'll see you when we
get home."
    "Call me if you need anything."  
    "Okay.  Love you."
    "I love you, too, Gavin."
    I hung up and watched Chuck open the
front door.
    Gavin came in and looked around.  I knew
he was looking for me.  I materialized for
only him to see. 
    "Hi.  Don't worry," I said, hugging him. 
"No one can see or hear me but you.  We'll
use telepathy to talk."
    "Okay," he replied with his mind.
    "This is a nice house," Gavin told
Chuck.
    "Yeah.  I enjoyed growing up here," he
said, sadly.
    "Why don't we have a seat on the couch
and rest for a little bit before we start
cleaning the place up?" Gavin suggested.
    "Sure."  Chuck yanked the sheet off the
couch, the piece of paper flew to the floor,
as I had instructed it to.
    "What's that?" Gavin asked.
    "I don't know."  He picked it up.  
    A look of fear crossed his face when he
saw the photo of Henry.  He quickly wadded it
up and stuffed it in his coat pocket and
said, "Let's go ahead and get this place
cleaned up."
    "What is it?" Gavin asked, again.
    "Nothing, just some trash," he replied,
harshly.  It was obvious that he didn't want
to talk about it.
    "I'll make him read it," I said.  "Offer
to check out the kitchen and leave him here
alone."
    "I'll go see how bad the kitchen is,"
Gavin said.  "You start in here."
    "Good idea."
    It had only been ten months since his
Aunt Rene had died and he had done a good job
of covering everything.  We later discovered
that he had spent the summer there, so it
wasn't like it hadn't been lived in for the
full ten months.  His aunt had been an
immaculate housekeeper so there wouldn't be
much to do for it to be ready for renting.
    Gavin disappeared into the kitchen. 
Before I could cast a spell that would make
Chuck read the article, he glanced at the
hall door to make sure that Gavin wasn't
coming back, as he pulled it out of his coat
pocket.
    Although I could tell he tried to hold
them back, tears bubbled over his lower eye
lids as he read the article.  A warm smile
spread over his handsome face.  When he
finished, he crumbed the article tightly in
his hand and, smiling broadly, squeezed his
eyes shut and whispered, "Thank you, Jesus."

Epilogue

    While Chuck never mentioned the article
to us, I did show it to Gavin.  Chuck's
attitude toward everything changed
drastically.  He didn't even seem to mind
when Gavin hugged and kissed me in front of
him.  I had them both moved into my apartment
by the time they got back from Burlington.  
    During finals the next week, I took it
upon myself to go do some things to the house
that really needed to be done, but weren't
obvious.  I also found renters for Chuck.  It
was a cute little old couple who I knew would
take care of it like it was their own.
    While Chuck and Gavin were spending most
of their time studying for finals, Gavin and
I were delighted to discover that one evening
when Chuck was studying in the library on
campus, he met Jennifer.  She was a feisty
red-head who had big green eyes that seemed
to look right through you.  Because Chuck's
attitude had changed drastically, we weren't
surprised they started dating.  He wasn't
even ashamed to bring her to the apartment
and he was the one who volunteered that Gavin
and I were lovers.
    Gavin and I knew that she'd be keeping
him company while we were in Chicago for the
holidays.

    Gavin and I had a great time in Chicago. 
Brandon had put a penthouse on top of a
penthouse in a downtown hotel.  Gavin's
family had come to visit a few times.  His
sister, Teri, wasn't as mean as Gavin had
said she was.  She was a "biker babe".  She
wore a silver stud in the left side of her
nose.  She could have been pretty if she
learned how to wear her makeup, but the way
she wore it, she appeared to have been dead
for a few years.  Her boyfriend was kind of
scary.  He, too, had a nose stud - it was
their "bond" as they explained.  They were
into leather and rode his Harley everywhere
they went.  She sat on the back and held onto
him.  I was surprised that Gavin's parents
let him stay with her in her old room, since
they weren't married.
    Gavin's brother, Bill, wasn't in
college.  He had found a job as a reporter
for a radio station.  Unlike their sister, he
appeared to have turned out normal like
Gavin.  It was obvious that Bill was
following in their dad's footsteps.  Mr.
Sanders was the producer of the news at the
local TV station.  
    Mr. Sanders was a very good-looking guy. 
I could tell that when Gavin got older, he'd
look just like him.  Bill resembled his dad,
but not as much as Gavin did.  
    Mrs. Sanders, who was very pretty,
worked in the superintendent's office at the
high school.  While they didn't have a lot of
money, they had a nice three-bedroom home and
they worked hard to put Gavin through
college. 
    Gavin and I still go to Jupiter
frequently to workout and soak in the hot
springs.  Luckily, Gramps and Grams have
never found out that he's mortal.  He wears
the ring that Uncle Troy gave me, constantly.
    In order to keep Chuck from finding out
that I'm a warlock, I keep my senses locked
on Gavin's door while we're on Jupiter or
somewhere else, when Chuck thinks we're
spending the time making out or just being
together in Gavin's room.  If he ever does
knock on the door, with a snap of my fingers,
we're lying on Gavin's king-sized bed and
Chuck never knew we were gone.
    Chuck and Jennifer continued to date for
the next semester.  I was surprised when he
broke up with her and started dating someone
else.  I don't think that Allison is as much
fun to have around as Jennifer was, but it's
his choice.  He's finally happy and that's
all that Gavin and I care about.

--- The End