Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 00:56:47 -0800 From: fritz@nehalemtel.net Subject: I Love Corey, Chapter Seventy-seven Rap, Rap. "May I have your attention please?" Rap, Rap. "Thank you. Welcome to Professor Fritz's class on understanding the warning and disclaimer. This will be a rather short class, and I suggest you take notes as there may be a pop quiz at any time. Please save any questions until you have heard the directions on how to get them answered at the end of my lecture. "The first subject we will deal with is the age of majority, and how it affects the reading of the following chapter. The age of majority is generally meant to be that age at which you are considered an adult in the eyes of the law. It varies from country to country, and even state to state in the United States, but is frequently between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. Prior to attaining that age, there are special laws to protect little kiddies from evil stories as they are thought to be harmful to such kiddies. Of course, the following chapter is so considered, and if you have not yet attained the age of majority in your area, you must leave or face the consequences of the evil that befalls you from reading the story, plus you will be breaking the law and will be considered a delinquent. Now I find this whole thing rather silly because you can have sex before you reach the age of majority, but it is illegal to read about it. But then I don't make the laws; I'm merely forced to obey them. "The second part concerns descriptions of sexual acts between males. On occasion they appear in some of my writings and therefore be warned that you may encounter them at any time. Of course those descriptions are the reason that minors may not read this story. And no, the term minors does not refer to those who work at removing coal or gold from the earth who are "miners," only those who have not yet attained the age of their majority. So if you will be offended, please leave now. "Third, there are some areas of the world in which even those who have attained their majority are forbidden to read the following chapter. In those areas, it has been determined by a governmental body that its citizens are so fragile, so lacking of moral strength that the reading of certain types of material will be too much for them and they will succumb to the temptation of evil ways by merely reading it. Now I really feel sorry for the people that live in such areas, because it must be a living hell to be so weak that the reading of some stories will cause you to succumb to temptation and do evil things. However, those of you that do live in such an area and can't avoid that should also obey the laws of your area by leaving this site now. "Forth, the following chapter is fiction, as were all the ones preceding it, and as will be any subsequent ones. For those unfamiliar with the concept, that means that none of the characters portrayed in the story ever existed, and none of the events depicted ever happened. To think otherwise is simply ludicrous. "As the author I am accorded some rights. Those include, but are not limited to the following. One, that other people may not claim any part of this work as their own. Two, when quoting from it they need to credit me for the material quoted. Three, they should not post it on other sites without first requesting and receiving permission from me. Four, while it is posted on Nifty for reader's enjoyment, and they are free to download it and print it out for their own enjoyment, they are not permitted to use it in any manner that will profit them in a material way. "As with all stories, this one was improved with the help of editing to catch the mistakes that all writers make. That Don is gracious enough to help leaves me in his debt. His tireless work makes the story much easier to read. "Now pay attention, if you have any questions regarding the story, or my explanation of the warning, feel free to write and ask them. You are also invited to offer suggestions or criticism of the story, although I would request that you be specific in any criticism. Only if you are specific have I any way to make changes in future chapters to assuage your complaints. I attempt to reply to all such letters, and so if you don't receive a response, make sure your email client is set to enable you to receive my reply. In one instance, for example, I received a very nice letter signed "Lee" and my reply was returned as undeliverable. Such emails should be sent to fritz@nehalemtel,net and contain the words "I Love Corey" in the subject line. So it is now my hope that you have taken sufficient notes to allow you to enjoy the following chapter. Thank you for your attention." ************************************************************************ I Love Corey, Chapter Seventy-seven I was just so tired. Since the start of the school year last fall I had been living in a state of fear. I knew my world would be over, for all practical purposes, if the secret of Corey's and my relationship ever really got out. Yet I loved him so much that I couldn't let go. There were nights that I'd lain awake, Corey by my side, worrying over that very thing happening, but I could see no solution. I just couldn't bear to give him up. Then the other boys had come along; first LT, closely followed by JJ. When Kyle and Mark had followed, it just put more pressure on me. They all needed someone to help them grow up, and I was such a poor risk for that owing to the danger I was in. No matter how hard I tried, it just seemed that more and more people were learning the secret that would destroy everything. In fact, I really didn't understand why that had not yet taken place. Why was it that no one had complained to the authorities? I just didn't know. I just didn't know. I finally noticed there was an arm across my shoulders and I could hear a voice. The voice seemed to be trying to attract my attention, but I wasn't sure I wanted to answer. I felt so much safer, here in my own little world where no one bothered me. I was so scared, afraid to face the world where disgrace and loss of Corey awaited me. The funny thing was, or so the thought occurred to me, that I didn't care about going to jail itself, only that I wouldn't be able to take care of Corey and the boys if it happened. Where would they go? Who would take care of them and help them? I didn't even know any way to protect Dog, let alone the boys. Yet that voice was insistent. It kept trying to drag me out of the dark safe place I was hiding in. I knew if I ignored it long enough, I wouldn't have to worry about it any more. But was that fair to the Boys? Didn't the boys deserve better from me? Was it fair to them for me to just retreat and ignore my problems? I couldn't really decide. If I stayed here, I was safe, safe where no one could harm me. Yet I knew the boys deserved better from me. With reluctance I tried to listen. "Sam! Can you hear me?" It was Judy. I sighed and raised my head. "What?" It wasn't much, but it was the best I could do. I just felt drained and tired. "Oh God Sam, you scared me. I kept trying, but you weren't responding. I was about ready to call 911." I was puzzled. Why would she call 911 when I wasn't sick and there had been no accident? I thought for a few seconds and finally asked her why she would call 911. "Jesus Sam, you broke down crying and babbling about going to jail, and then you quit responding. I kept trying to get you to say something and you acted like you weren't here. I was afraid you'd had a breakdown or something." "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you." "Well just don't EVER do that again! You scared the crap out of me!" Judy was shouting at me, and I couldn't understand why. My mind was tired and just wasn't making much sense of what was going on. All I could think about was I was going to lose the boys. Judy took a deep breath and appeared to calm down a little. "Would you like something Sam, maybe a refill on your coffee, or a glass of water? Anything?" Now that she was no longer yelling at me I could detect some nervousness in Judy's voice. Also something that sounded like concern. My eyes strayed to my coffee cup, and noticed it was empty. Then I remembered drinking the last of the coffee in it just before Judy had told me about telling someone about Corey and me. "Maybe some coffee would be good. I'll get some." "No, you just sit right there, I'll get it." Judy told me. Then giving me another quick look she opened the door and hurried out of my office. As I was sitting there trying to get my thoughts back in order, I suddenly decided a little brandy in the coffee would be good. This was strange because I almost never drank anything except wine with my meals, that is unless I was dinning out, or hosting a party which was a rare occurrence. Still it sounded good and so I went to get the brandy. As soon as I stepped out of the office, I could hear the TV blaring from the family room and the boys giggling over something. I wondered what program they found funny. Anyhow, gathering up the brandy I headed back for the office and Judy and I almost collided at the door, her with the coffee pot in her hand, and me with the bottle of brandy. "Sorry Sam, I'm so used to a coffee maker that I kept overlooking your perk. That's what took me so long. "No problem, I just had time to get some brandy. I don't know why, but it just sounded good tonight. You want some too?" My mind was still sort of whirling around. It hadn't really settled down, but I was starting to think a little better. Still there were all kinds of strange thoughts running through it, like why do we refer to them as cups, when clearly the mugs being used for our coffee weren't actually cups. In fact I never used regular cups, always mugs. Still that meant that I could put a little more brandy in each. I poured a shot or so in each cup and Judy topped them up with coffee. I settled back and had a few sips of my now brandy-laced coffee while Judy continued to watch me. I don't know if it was the coffee, or just relaxing that helped, but suddenly I felt much better. Judy must have seen something in my face because she now asked, "Sam, can you tell me what happened, why you got so upset? You weren't making much sense for a while there." I gave that a little thought and realized she was right, that I probably hadn't been making any sense. And so I explained. I explained about my fears for the welfare of the boys; that if I was in jail I couldn't protect them and help them; that someone needed to look out for Dog; actually there was more in that I explained about all my fears that had been building up all of this school year. When I was done, she looked at me for a while before responding. "Well Sam, I guess I never realized you were under such pressure. I don't know– well– I guess I just assumed that you didn't think much about it–well–I don't know–well maybe because you never gave much sign of it. You just seemed to take everything in stride and–well–well the boys are all doing so well–well–I don't know–well–well it just never occurred to me that you were worrying about things. To be honest, I never gave it a thought that telling Kathleen that you loved Corey might upset you, because I thought you'd know if things got out, I'd be in trouble too. I mean I'm in this just a deep as you are. I've known Kath all my life, and–well–I guess I'd would trust her with my life–but you had no way of knowing that. However to set you mind at rest, all I told her what that you love him, and that you sometimes show him quite a bit of affection." With that Judy settled back and seemed to think a little more. That also gave me time to think. The funny thing was, I had never really thought about how far out on a limb Judy had put herself. If anything went wrong, we were both in trouble, big time. That brought to mind a question. "Then why'd you do it? I mean I have a reason, I fell in love. You didn't have that reason, so I just don't understand why you took such a chance?" "Well, I'm sure I told you about my uncle, but that's only part of it. Answer me a question first, what is it you always wanted to be?" That one was easy, and so I just answered right away. "A teacher, I always wanted to be a teacher as long as I can remember thinking about such things." "Why?" Judy asked. Suddenly I was floundering around, trying to explain things I'd always thought and felt, but never really tried to put into words. I knew when the idea had occurred, but never really tried to explain it all. "I don't know–I mean it just seemed so important–I mean I had some teachers that really helped me and I just wanted to be like them, well like the folks also. I guess it just seems so necessary to help kids–I mean they need good teachers and–well–I just can't explain it, but I just want to teach and help. It's–well it's kind of like maybe–well maybe I can–like–well like pay those teachers back for helping me." I didn't know what else to say. There was just no way I could truly ever make anyone understand just why it was I wanted to teach. However, I didn't have to do anymore explaining because Judy started speaking. "Sam, you're just like I am. I want to help kids. You chose teaching, I chose social work. I'll bet I understand some things about you better than you do yourself. I'm older and have had more time to think about it. "Anyhow, Corey was on my list a couple of months before you met him. I kept hearing things. Believe me, I know every old gossip in town, and most of the young ones. I kept hearing things that just weren't enough to take him from his mother, but enough to keep me looking and wondering about him. Then he met you. Those gossips started reporting that he was doing better, seemed happier, and–well they quit thinking I needed to step in. "Then one of those old gossips asked if I knew what was going on. Now up till then I'd thought you were kind of like a big brother, and hadn't worried about it. She didn't know anything for sure either, but was just kind of speculating. I sort of brushed it off, but got to thinking, and doing a little more looking into you. Now understand, I couldn't just jump in and ruin your reputation on unfounded allegations, so the checking took some time. All the time, Corey kept doing better; his grades picked up; he was happier; he was friendlier and everything in his life seemed better. "Now I'd just gotten things figured out shortly before Laurence and Jason's troubles, and had thought about it a little. Of course in the back of my mind was what my uncle had told me. Corey appeared to be doing so well, and I knew how badly the system usually fails gay kids, so I just couldn't make up my mind what to do. Frankly, I almost turned you in, and started an official investigation, but I kept wondering if that was the right thing to do. It was the legal thing to do, but was it the right thing. "The old biddy, the one that had first put the thought in my head, changed her mind because Corey just kept doing better, so she was no longer a problem, and she was the only one that ever even suggested it. Several people told me you were acting like a father to him, and that seemed to be the consensus of the community. A couple days before Jason got beat up, I decided to keep my mouth shut and see how it turned out. I buried most of the information on you, and even threw some of it away. I couldn't understand it, and frankly don't, even yet, but it seemed to be working in the case of Corey. "Then there you were, trying to help Laurence. Boy did I ever watch you. Yet no matter how I tried to see it, there was nothing in your actions, or the way you spoke or looked at him that could be in any way construed to make me think you had any sexual designs on him. It just wasn't there with either Laurence or Jason. Yet I still wasn't sure. So, I decided to take another chance and see just what kind of person you really were. So I bullied you into taking Laurence and Jason on as foster children. I was pretty sure it wouldn't take long to learn just what kind of person you really were. "Now Sam, I've been working with kids for quite a while, Debbie included, and I can read them almost like a book. I can tell when they're trying to cover something up, and when they aren't. So when I visit with Jason and Laurence, and Kyle and Mark now, I can see their reactions when I come close to suggesting that you treat or touch them in an improper way. They're horrified that I would even think so, and are quick to make sure I don't continue to believe that. They aren't lying, I could spot that. They're just truly upset that I would even think such a thing. By the way, I think Kyle sort of wishes that wasn't so. "As time has gone on I've watched you around other kids. It isn't very plain, and unless I wasn't really looking, I would never have noticed the difference in the way you occasionally look at Corey. It isn't very noticeable, more like there is some kind of understanding between you two, and he isn't good at lying, so don't ever try to deny it to me. I know what's going on." Judy paused to take another sip of her coffee, and I did the same. Then she continued. "So, I've removed even more records, and if anyone ever did an investigation, they would soon figure that out. It wouldn't take any competent investigator long to put two and two together, so I'm just about as exposed as you are. Yet unless a real investigation is done, no one will notice what I've done. I still don't understand why you fell for Corey, or he for you, but you both did. The better I've gotten to know you, the more I would trust you with my kid, or kids if I had more of them. I'm convinced that with you and Corey, it is something so far out of the ordinary, such an aberration that I don't need to worry about any kids I place here, and that I can trust you to take care of them and do your best for them. In other words, we're both in the same boat. We both just want to help kids, and we just have different ways of doing it." Now that was quite a speech, and as I sat there thinking about it, I wondered if I would have had the courage to do what Judy had done. I had no answer to that question. However I now had a lot better understanding of her, and where she was coming from. "You know, maybe I should have taken up social work?" I finally said. Judy snorted, "God no Sam, just keep doing what your doing. You reach a hell of a lot more kids than I do." Now my mind still hadn't settled completely, and thoughts were still sort of jumping around in it, but something Judy had said suddenly occurred to me. "What did you mean her son was thrilled? Who is this Kathleen's son?" "Danny, Danny Graves. He knows you and was really happy when he heard it was you I was talking about." My mouth just fell open at that piece of information. I just couldn't believe it. Here we had been talking about Danny over dinner, and now his name came up again. I just couldn't think of anything to say. "Sam, are you alright? You're not going to have any problems again are you? You don't need to worry because he wasn't present for the first part of the conversation, and doesn't know anything." Judy was right in my face, really looking at me. I finally managed to engage my mouth in gear. "No, I'm just surprised. I mean–well the boys and I were just talking about him during dinner," I sputtered out. "What?" Now Judy wasn't much more articulate than I had been. Her mouth was hanging open just like mine had been, and she had a totally surprised look on her face. Somehow that struck me as funny and I started to giggle. I just couldn't help it. My emotions had been on such a roller coaster that seeing Judy with her mouth hanging open just struck me as funny. It didn't help when she kept opening it and closing it, and I knew she was trying to say something, but it so reminded me of a fish I once caught when my Dad had taken me fishing, that my giggles just got louder. Finally even she started giggling. When we both calmed down a little, I explained about Danny and why we had been discussing him. She agreed that he was shy, but pointed out he hadn't been that way until the last year or so. That was when he had become more withdrawn and very shy. It didn't take a genius to figure out the probable cause for that change in his personality, and we both pretty well agreed on that. Then the conversation got back to Kathleen. Judy went to great pains to make sure I understood that Kathleen had promised to never reveal anything about me long before she had ever known who I was. And with Judy so convinced that such a thing would never happen, I was finally somewhat convinced that I was safe on that front. Not only that, Judy even managed to reassure me on what people were thinking, and that was that I was taking the place of a father for Corey, and a lot of my fears had not been justified. I still wasn't totally convinced of that, but it helped. Of course the fact that some of those thinking those thoughts were also busily plotting, trying to get me married off so the boys would have a mother, sort of upset me, but perhaps I now felt a little better about the situation. I'm not sure just why that was, because it looked like I was exchanging one problem for another, but at least I wouldn't be thrown into jail for not marrying, and that was a step forward against all my fears. Finally I was forced to make a decision. I still wasn't very comfortable with it, but I agreed to meet Kathleen. Suddenly it turned into a question of when. Now I was in no hurry, but I can't say the same for Judy. I suggested after the boys and I got back from Disneyland, and Judy about came unglued. I couldn't see what the hurry was, and Judy seemed unwilling to tell me. We kept kicking that back and forth, and finally Judy came clean. She wanted to help Kathleen, and of course Danny, and they needed it right away, at least according to Judy. Suddenly I was curious about just what kind of help Judy thought I was going to furnish. I mean I'd never hired a housekeeper, and had no idea of what to offer, or even what I expected from one. Now it is fine to think about a housekeeper in the abstract, but when it came right down to it, just what was it that I was getting, and did I really need it? While there might have been some confusion in my mind, there sure wasn't any such confusion in Judy's. I mean she had it all planned out to where, in her mind, it appeared to be a done deal. She rattled through it so fast I had to pause a bit when she quit talking to try to digest what she had said. Unless I missed something, it appeared that this Kathleen person would need $550 a month and housing. For that I would receive the housework done, a sitter if I needed it, what cooking I wanted her to do, a spare driver, and a lot of other little things. This Kathleen person, and her son Danny, were living in a rather rundown apartment, and the rent was $550 a month so that would bring the total package to $1,100 a month, and Judy pointed out that was only about what the state was giving me for two of the boys' foster care payments. That just didn't seem reasonable to me. I knew she couldn't live on $550 a month even with housing furnished. Not only that, I also didn't think much of the apartment building she was now living in. Judy pointed out that Kathleen also got child support, although frequently late, for Danny. The whole thing just didn't seem reasonable to me, but I hadn't given it any thought before, and so I finally agreed in principal, while reserving the right to change my mind. Then came when to meet. We had a game tomorrow, and while it would be later than I would have liked, Judy kept crowding, and I finally agreed. I wanted to have it on Friday, but Judy wanted the meeting as soon as possible. Some more prodding on my part, and I discovered that the reason for that was the landlord wanted the rent payment by Friday or else, and there was three months rent due. Actually Judy was hoping that I would advance the necessary money for the rent. I was being bulldozed, and I knew it, but the idea of a housekeeper was appealing. I really hated housework, and only did it because it was required. It would also be handy to have another person with a driver's license. I guess I was sort of warming to the idea the more I thought about it. In fact, if this Kathleen person could do ironing, well that might even seal the deal. However I still thought the compensation package was ridiculous. I just didn't see how two people could live on such a small income. Oh well, I could discuss it with this Kathleen person tomorrow evening. Now silly me, I thought that pretty well settled things, but no. Now I needed to come up with an exact time to meet. Now just how was I supposed to do that? I had no idea of how long the game would last, and if we won, I had promised burgers for the team. So we kicked that around for a time. I finally asked if Kathleen was able to attend the game, and if so, would she be willing to go out to dinner, perhaps a good dinner, or perhaps burgers after it. I swear my eyes were almost blinded by the speed of Judy and her cell phone. By the time that was all settled, it was almost bedtime, and Judy still had not interviewed the boys. However she snickered and said she "had" while saying goodnight. Oh well, those were her forms that she was filling out, and she could do that any way she wanted. I just wanted to go to bed. I was really beat. Of course bed wasn't where I got to go. I had five boys grilling me as to what Judy and I had discussed. I managed to avoid mentioning the on-going investigation on Kyle and Mark's father. However it took a while to answer most of their questions, and they all looked startled over Judy's suggestion of a housekeeper. I explained it as best I could, but they still appeared to have reservations. However they brightened up considerably when I mentioned they wouldn't have to do as much housework. Amazing is the only way I can describe the change in their opinion when they thought on that. A minute or two of boy chatter and I needed to hire a whole staff. I lost track after a cook, a gardener, and a housekeeper, but there were more suggestions. Now you might think that after all that I would finally get to bed and get to sleep. Well, Corey suddenly decided to be frisky. Somehow sleep was no longer as attractive. In fact, Corey was now what was attractive. It all started in the bathroom when his hands started roaming while we were brushing our teeth. Now let me tell you it is hard to do a good job of brushing your teeth when a hand suddenly finds its way to a certain part of your anatomy. When that hand was Corey's hand, it was impossible for me. I finally turned the toothbrush off and just gave up. I tried to rinse, but mainly I dribbled water and toothpaste all over. Of course that produced giggles. I gave up and swallowed the rest. Well, most of the rest. That little bit that remained in my mouth, well Corey and I exchanged our toothpastes. He liked a different flavored one than I did, and while I had tried his, it never tasted as good to me as it did secondhand, straight out of Corey's mouth. Sometimes I really wonder about Corey. He had such a sly smirk as he led me to bed. Well perhaps led isn't the exact word to use, because that implies certain things, but there was no way I was not going to go where he wanted me to go as long as he retained a tight grip on that certain part, which had now grown to something much easier for him to hang on to. Besides, I was perfectly happy to follow him wherever he wanted even without such a tight grip. Over time we had discussed it, and both agreed that while sixty-nines were nice, we really preferred taking turns. That meant that the one receiving didn't have to try to think about returning the favor right then, but could just enjoy the whole experience. Now Corey had been so depressed since his mother had been killed that I decided he needed a little loving, and so I went first. There wasn't any chasing each other around the bed, only that contact that two lovers enjoy. As soon as he figured out I was going to do him, his smirk changed to a smile and he just relaxed and let me have my way with him. I don't know, perhaps the strange thing now was that I enjoyed that just as much as when he had his way with me, maybe even more. There was just this level of trust that we both had, that we really loved each other, and no matter what happened, or was done, we would both enjoy it. I mean really enjoy it. At first as I kissed him, he just relaxed and enjoyed it, but soon he was pressing back, demanding more. The toothpaste flavor was now quite weak, and mostly I tasted my favorite taste, that of Corey. I got to enjoy that taste for quite a while as my tongue dueled with his and I explored his mouth and teeth. But finally he was becoming a lot more insistent, and it was now time to move on. I have to admit that I really liked it when we took our showers a little earlier in the day, like right after practice. That was because he now had more flavor, more of a Corey taste to his skin, particularly under his arms. While he didn't have a lot of hair there yet, that didn't stop me from trying to make sure I had each and every one of those hairs devoid of all flavor. My tongue really worked at getting all that great Corey taste that it could, and he squirmed and wriggled around all the time I was doing that. He also kept making lots of little Corey sounds, little gasps, sighs, and sometimes even what sounded like hisses. Those sounds let me know my efforts were appreciated, and only made me try harder. And then there was his chest. His nipples were little nubbins and quite hard when I got to them, but they got even harder, and the sounds got a little louder when I spent an appropriate amount of time nibbling there. When I'd licked all the flavor possible from his chest, I moved on down to that cute little innie. It never had much flavor, but Corey really liked it when I devoted a little time to exploring it with my tongue. Not only were there more of the soft gasps and sighs, there was always a few giggles thrown in when I did that, along with some more writhing and squirming around on the bed. Corey was no more ticklish than most people, but he seemed to be more so when I was licking all over him, and his navel appeared to become even more sensitive to my tongue. When the squirming and writhing reached a certain level, I moved on down. Now one of the really great things about the taste of Corey is it is different in different places on his body, and of course those places also have a different scent. Take for example his armpits. They have a somewhat sour and salty flavor while taste and odor of his pubic hair is somewhat musky. It's not a strong musky scent or flavor, just a mild sort of musky scent. I really think I like the musky scent the best, but that might be because it is so close to my goal. So I nosed my goal aside and proceeded to try to get all that somewhat musky scent and flavor I could. That was a little more difficult because the writhing and squirming was really picking up, and I had to make sure and not get jabbed in the eye by a certain part of him. I knew that if he would just lie still, it would be easier, but I didn't care because it was lots of fun this way. I kept nosing part of him aside so I could do a really good job on that musky hair. Every time I managed to get it nosed aside, I could feel it twitching against my cheek. It felt so warm and velvet-like just twitching there. However Corey wouldn't lie still, and that part of him just kept springing back in my way, requiring me to nose it aside again. Also, the Corey sounds were getting louder, and more urgent sounding. The soft sighs were now gone and there were even some grunting noises. I could no longer resist. My goal had been so close, for so long, it was time. Of course the little bit of precum, which had not rubbed off on my cheek, was pure essence of Corey. As I savored and enjoyed it, I wondered how I had managed to delay seeking it while I worked on other parts of him. While I liked all parts of Corey, this was really my favorite. On a scale of one to ten, this rated at least a twenty, or maybe higher. The skin seemed so soft and velvet like, and the shaft as strong as steel. I just put my head on his tummy and relaxed and slowed down. Unfortunately that wasn't what Corey wanted. He would not just lie still and enjoy what was happening. He just kept squirming, only now there were thrusts mixed in. Also his hands were no longer thrashing at his sides, but had now grabbed my head and were holding it while he tried to push it down on himself. Well, maybe he was trying to push part of himself up to his hands. Oh well, whatever it was, it was good. In fact, it was much better than good. My mouth was full, and I could feel the slicked down pubic hairs against my cheek and nose. As for Corey, well he was now jerking and thrusting and acting almost as if he'd gotten tangled up in an electric fence. His gasps were now more explosive in nature, and there was some low pitched growling sounds along with some of the others. And then it happened. He suddenly became rigid after arching his butt clear off the bed. And then I could feel it, and shortly taste it. As his body strained, he kept rewarding me for my efforts. And then he collapsed back on the bed, a little more of that reward still oozing out, his breathing coming in huge gasps, and his hands no longer forcing my head down. Now I suppose I could have quit, but I was so enjoying the essence of Corey that I just relaxed and let my head rest on his tummy, continuing to enjoy every last drop. When his breathing had finally slowed, and he no longer filled my mouth, I finally released him and looked up at his face. His eyes were closed, and he had a look of utter contentment on his face while he slept. The sort of tense and worried look he'd had for the last couple of weeks was gone. He just looked, well he looked beautiful, even though that isn't normally a word used to describe males. However he looked beautiful to me with his soft little smile, and somewhat shaggy hair. Which reminded me, most of the boys needed a haircut again. I fell asleep by his side, wondering if the boys would be able to get their haircuts Friday after school. For a day that hadn't gone all that well in places, it sure finished well. The alarm didn't seem so bad. I actually felt pretty good when I headed for the bathroom for my morning ablutions. It got even better real quick. Now normally the morning shower is quick so we can get ready for the day. Well that isn't quite what Corey had in mind. He felt real bad that he had fallen asleep and was determined to make up for it. Now I suppose there are better things than a talented tongue and a soapy finger, both belonging to a really cute boy who wants to use them in the shower, but I'm not sure what they could possibly be. When I finally managed to get out of the shower on my shaky legs, we were a little behind our normal schedule for the morning. Then of course there were JJ and LT. I just felt so good I couldn't even get angry over their snickers and jabbing each other in the ribs, all the while smirking at Corey and me. A few blushes was the best I could do. Poor Mark, he had no idea of what was going on, and Kyle wouldn't look at anyone as soon as he figured it out. He just sat there with his head down and a little smirk on his face. Kyle would start to look up, then the smirk would get a little bigger and he would just look down again. I did get a big grin from him when I gave him his morning hug. Jeez, I just didn't seem to have any privacy in my own home. At least Dog was just his usual self, and did his usual begging. I swear if he ever starts smirking at me, good-by Dog. Putting up with a bunch of wise-assed boys is bad enough, but I just couldn't stand it if Dog adopted that type of behavior. The day went really great. I was in such a good mood that classes just sailed by. Nobody could even come close to upsetting me and soon it was time to get ready for the game. The sun was even out and suddenly I was really looking forward to seeing if the team had listened to anything I'd said. They'd listened during practice, and even appeared to try to do what I said, but only in a game would I know if they truly believed me. They hadn't in the first game, but I really had hopes for this one. So it was with a smile that I got the gear out and we got everything ready. Boy, the game started a lot better than our last one. Josh Wilkins got through the top of the first without giving up a run. They did manage to load the bases, but we got the last out and they left all three runners stranded. I was feeling pretty good about that. Then in the bottom of the inning JJ got a single and drove in a runner and we were up one to zip. Each team scored a run in the second. We scored another in the third and they scored two, leaving the game tied. However the fourth inning was our real downfall. Josh started to tire, and I put Will Bentley in. He came in with two runners on and two outs and then a really bad break hurt us. Our left fielder misjudged a fly ball, and it ticked off his glove and over the fence. Well maybe misjudged the ball isn't quite right, more like he misjudged just how far he could reach. The ball was hit far to Larry's left and he took off after it as hard as he could run. It almost looked like he would get it, but his arm was about four inches too short. He had his arm up in the air and the ball just skipped off the top of his outstretched glove. It would have never come close to clearing the fence without the added boost from Larry's miscue. Will then got out of the inning, but I could see he was really down. It didn't help that we didn't score in our half of the inning. Will was still shook up from the fourth, and gave up a run in the fifth, so we were now down by four. However we got one back in our half and were down by three going into the final inning. Getting that one run back helped the mood of the team, and Will really settled down and just mowed our opponents down in the top of the sixth. Now it was our turn to see if we could score three or more runs. Well we came close. We got two of them, and if one of the balls that Jerry Hooley hit had been a foot further to the right, it would have been a home run and we would have won. However it was barely foul when it crossed the fence, and he popped up on the next swing for an easy out, and so we lost, seven to six. However the team really did a lot better. Our pitching was still pretty weak, but the team was over their jitters and played with a lot more confidence. In the locker room I made sure to point out that except for a really bad break, we would have won, and that I was really pleased with the improvement in the play. I even managed to get Larry Johansson aside and tell him it was just a bad break, which it was. He had come so close to making the play, and I will never fault a kid for trying, even if it doesn't turn out as well as one would have hoped. He was really trying for the ball, and it was just one of those things that sometimes happen. He still felt terrible but there was nothing more I could do. One of the other things that made me feel good about the whole day was Justin Laski was now really fitting in. He was there in the dugout, cheering his teammates on. His ribs still weren't healed enough to pitch, but he was doing all he could to help. Not only that, he just seemed much happier. I really hoped things worked out for him because his father had created some real problems, but Justin was now all in favor of what I kept telling the team, and had been real good at watching the pitchers and making sure there were no curveballs snuck in. As soon as I got through talking to Larry, Justin was right there trying to cheer him up. What a turnaround. As the boys were all leaving, I gave Justin a little squeeze on the shoulder and a big smile and I got a big smile in return. I swear Judy pounced on me before the locker room door was fully open when I finally was ready to leave. She grabbed my arm and started dragging me towards the little grandstand where I could see a couple of people. When I got a little closer, I recognized Daniel Graves and what had to be his mother. Then I realized I'd met his mother. She had worked at Flo's and I'd seen her there. However she now had a cast on one leg, and a pair of crutches close to her, and it was just sheer luck that I recognized her without the uniform that she wore at work. Judy had just about dragged me up to her when I could suddenly see she finally recognized me. "Hi," I said grinning. "I'll have a chicken fried steak." Mrs. Graves never missed a beat. "And what would you like to drink with that?" We both started laughing and Judy just glared at us. "I didn't know you knew each other," she almost snarled. "Well," I laughed, "Actually we don't. I've met Mrs. Graves at Flo's and that's about it." That seemed to mollify Judy somewhat. At least she went ahead and went through the formal introductions. Then pleading she had to get home and cook, Judy left. By this time the boys had joined us and were exchanging greetings with Danny and he managed to introduce them to his mother. And so we wound up at Flo's for dinner, and of course I had the chicken fried steak. Mrs. Graves, who insisted I call her Kath, giggled when I ordered it, and told the waitress I would have coffee with it before I could answer. That produced even more giggles between us. So I'm a creature of habit. I don't think I had ordered anything else at Flo's since I learned just how good their chicken fried steaks really were. And I always ordered coffee with my dinner, and apparently Kath remembered that. She did have to think a few seconds to remember I always ordered Italian dressing on my salad, at least at Flo's. Unfortunately their blue cheese dressing wasn't very good. Now I'd purposely directed all the boys to a corner booth, and Kath and me to a table far enough away from them so we could talk. At first it was just the usual light chitchat, but after the salad it turned more serious. I could see the boys trying to hear what we were talking about, but they finally gave up with a few scowls. For once I'd managed to outsmart them. At first it was pretty tentative on my part, both because I was still not completely comfortable with her knowing about Corey and me, and also because I'd never had a housekeeper and had no idea what to expect. I think Kath was really nervous because she thought she was asking for charity. That meant that we both talked all around what we really wanted to know, and got nowhere. The conversation just plain died out about the time dinner came, and so we had an excuse not to say anything while we both ate. All the time I was eating, I wasn't really enjoying it because I was trying to figure out just how to bring the conversation around to where I wanted it to go. Both of us just sort of dawdled over the last few bites, and I could see all the boys had long since finished and were eyeing us. "Look," I said, "This hasn't gone well. What say we go to my house and you can look it over? Then maybe we can have an honest conversation." I could see relief on Kath's face. I wasn't exactly sure what she had been thinking, but I suspected it had been along the lines of she was loosing any chance of a job and just wasn't sure how to go about trying to salvage the situation. At least there was no argument over the check, because I'd told the waitress I was picking up the tab for both tables. The ride home was pretty quite, with only a couple of comments on how Danny was even nicer than they had realized. I could tell the boys were really curious about what Kath and I had talked about, but I really didn't have any answers for them and so volunteered nothing. Really, about all I'd learned was the cast was coming off next week, and the reason it had been on so long was there had been some surgery involved well after the accident that couldn't be done when she was first admitted. That and the fact she would probably have real problems trying to do a full shift on her feet, at least for quite a while. That left out working as a waitress as near as I could tell. I still was having a real problem with the idea of having someone else see Corey and me together, but Judy seemed pretty certain that it wouldn't be a problem, so I just couldn't make up my mind quite what to do. As we were pulling in the driveway I told the boys to entertain Danny and not bother Kath and me for a while. It didn't take long to show Kath the upstairs, and I skipped the basement because of the crutches, but the boys took Danny down and showed it to him. So I was finally down to where I about had to get enough information to commit myself, or give the whole idea up. While I was pretty sure Judy was just trying to crowd me into something, still she had made sense, and I could see that having a woman in the house would look good to a judge. Kath appeared very nervous, and I decided to see if I could break the ice by offering her a drink. A short while later, Margaritas in hand, we sat down in my office. A couple sips and it was time to either talk or give the whole idea up and send her home. Kath must have decided that we needed to open up and be honest with each other about the same time I did, because our talk went a lot better. In fact it went so well that I got up and fixed another drink in the middle of it. Maybe the drinks helped, or maybe it was just that we became a little more comfortable with each other but I ended up telling her how I fell in love with Corey, and much to my surprise she told me about one of her brothers doing about the same, with a boy of sixteen, when her brother was about thirty, so she was at least somewhat used to the idea. She in turn told me a lot about her financial problems. They were a lot worse than Judy had let on. However she hadn't been totally honest with Judy for fear of scaring me off. Since almost the entire medical bills had been covered by her insurance, things didn't look as bad to me as they probably did to her, but then I was looking at it from a different perspective. By the time the second drink was gone, we were finally down to the nuts and bolts of the issue. I just told her flat out I didn't think she could live on what Judy had suggested, and also that I wasn't very impressed with the apartment she was living in. So then the arguments started. She insisted that what I considered an acceptable salary was way more than she needed, and that the apartment wasn't that bad. I even learned just how much the child support was and it was less than I received per boy as a foster parent. Somewhere along the way we both started assuming this was a done deal and now we were only arguing about the details. Suddenly I noticed something. It was awfully quiet, like I couldn't hear any sound of boys. Grinning and encouraging her to keep talking, I quietly got up and walked quietly to the door. Somehow I was not surprised to find a bunch of boys with their ears against the door. Well actually they were blushing boys as they scrambled to get back up. As near as I could figure, there were only three that had actually had their ears against the door, and the rest had been standing there waiting to learn what was being said. The three, Corey, Danny, and Mark, were the ones that were scrambling to their feet, and that was what made me think they had been trying to hear what was going on. However all of them were blushing and looking very sheepish. Now I suppose I could have gotten mad, but their lame excuses were amusing. It was clear they had no idea what to say, and were just saying the first things that popped into their minds. First one would say something, and then another would try to add to it while the third said something totally unrelated to the whole subject. They really needed to get their acts and stories together. I managed to keep a scowl on my face, and eventually they gave up on the lame explanations and disappeared like a frightened covey of quail, taking off in all directions. I actually thought about checking for skid marks on the carpet they left so fast. I sat back down, shaking my head. "Danny doesn't lie any better than my knot-heads, does he?" Kath started to laugh. "No, he's pretty transparent." And so we spent the next few minutes comparing notes on how kids behaved. I don't think either of us came up with anything the other had not observed or thought of. Then it was back to working out the details. Now why is it that some women are so bloody stubborn? I mean I had perfectly reasonable arguments, but they didn't appear to sway Kath's mind at all. Of course her arguments didn't sway my mind either, and I'm pretty sure she thought her arguments reasonable. However I held the trump cards, so it really didn't make any difference how she perceived my arguments, or I hers. In the end we compromised with her agreeing to more money, and different housing of my choosing. Actually a house only two houses down from me had just come on the market, owing to the death of the owner, and she finally agreed that being closer would be an advantage. Over the years I'd gotten acquainted with Mr. Bartlett and knew the house, and also knew that it was in good repair. I also talked her into moving in with me until the papers for the house went through, that is if I could come to an agreement with Mr. Bartlett's son, and I would also pay her back rent. So we would be busy tomorrow night, moving Kath and Danny to my house, and getting ready to leave for Disneyland. I suppose I should have gone and punished some boys when I heard some soft congratulations from what had to be just outside the office door, but it didn't seem worth it. Kath promised that she and Danny would have her things packed by the time we showed up after practice. Since it was a furnished apartment she was living in, that meant there would be no heavy things to move, only clothes, dishes, bedding, and personal things. The other problem was finally settled. She agreed to take $1250 per month. That was five hundred less than I thought she should take, but she kept pointing out I was paying for her housing, and she would also eat part of her meals with us. It still didn't seem like enough to me, but I finally just gave up. We could take this up later again if necessary. In the meantime, it was now well past the kid's bedtime, so Kath and Danny left, and I herded my bunch off to bed. Jeez, dealing with women is hard. I just don't understand them. When Corey and I finally snuggled up in bed, he brought up something I hadn't thought of. What was Danny going to do over the break? Of course my mind just went "Duh." All the conversation Kath and I'd had, and the subject had never once come up. However his argument was a little too polished for me to believe he had just thought of it. I had the distinct impression that perhaps the boys had tried it out on each other. So I tried to think of why they would do that. A few subtle questions and I started to get the impression that the boys were really starting to like Danny. The feelings must have been mutual, because he'd had a brighter look on his face tonight than any I'd ever seen before. He had always been so quiet and shy that it was hard to know just what he was thinking or how he felt, but tonight he appeared pretty bubbly, and much more outgoing. I just kept gently questioning and finally the truth all came out. While the boys liked Danny, that wasn't the whole reason for their concern. They had gotten Danny busy playing Mark on the Playstation, and then held a conference while that was going on. They were still worried about someone letting the word get out and they thought that if Danny was really attached to all of us, and if he felt like we were all sort of family, well then there would be less chance of that happening. Really, the idea was almost too smart to have been the product of the boys that lived in my house. Could this be the thinking of the same group of boys who sometimes had to be reminded to put their names at the top of the homework so the teacher knew who did it? Or that same group of boys to whom I'd had to point out, more than once, that the wash gets a lot cleaner if you add laundry soap to the load and not just throw things in and turn the machine on? I was just left sort of stunned, wondering what had happened to my loveable but brainless idiots. The only plotting I'd ever seen them do was when they were trying to con me out of something, or permission to do something, and that plotting was usually so clumsy that I had a hard time keeping a straight face when they sprang it on me. This actually looked like they had thought about the situation and then applied themselves in trying to come up with something they thought might be a solution. In thinking about it, it sounded like a better idea all the time. I even thought of one more reason I liked it and that was that according to Judy, and his mother, Danny hadn't really had much fun for over a year. He still had feelings of guilt that he was responsible for his parents divorce. Add in that he was probably having problems trying to learn to live with his sexuality, and well, according to everything I'd heard he just hadn't had much fun. I didn't know if his mother would allow him, or if she might want to accompany us, but I agreed to ask Kath if Danny could go. Then I got to thinking and had to ask why Corey thought Danny might want to go. His explanation sounded much more like normal, and not the result of some nefarious plotting by some boys I didn't know existed, and who were masquerading as my boys. Corey just answered me by saying that Danny had looked sort of sad when they had told him they were going to Disneyland, and had said he wished he could go. Nothing deep or subtle there, just something that almost anyone could understand. At least that dispelled my notions that the boys might be suddenly becoming perceptive. However it wasn't long until none of those thoughts really mattered as Corey was now asleep, his head on my chest, and then I fell asleep, the faint odor of his hair making my day end really well. To be continued...