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None of
the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living
or dead people.
This
story contains some adult language as well as sex, or some hints of sex. I
cannot promise that there will be sex in each chapter, but if you find my
writing to be offensive or distasteful in any way, you're visiting
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Copyright © 2013-2019
Love Me
Chapter 19
New Home, New
Neighbors
Jared,
Caden, and Riley are all home, and when all of a sudden,
Smoke starts showing signs that he needs to use the bathroom. Both Jared and Caden are busy, so Caden
suggests that Riley take Smoke for a walk. Riley is a bit unsure of taking
Smoke out by himself. He's worried about
falling down during the walk. He can't help but worry what might happen if
Smoke takes off running. He puts his
trust in the dog. Opening the door, he
walks out along with the dog. He closes
the door behind him and walks to the end of the sidewalk. Once they are clear of their path, Riley and
Smoke head north along the sidewalk. As
they pass the house next door, someone in the house is watching them. Her name is Gwen Miller, and she is
seventy-six. She lives there with her
husband, Douglas, who is seventy-seven.
The couple have three kids, but they only get to see one of them
regularly because the others live a few states away. There aren't a lot of teens on her street, so
she is excited to see a new face on the road.
She is also kind of worried that perhaps, this new face could
potentially cause a problem. Still, this
kid seems nice, and the dog seems to be well behaved. She has to meet this
kid and his parents. All too soon, Riley
and Smoke pass Gwen's house on their walk.
Riley is actually feeling really confident
now. In a few minutes, Riley and Smoke
turn around and head back home.
***
A few
minutes later, after coming back inside the house, there is a knock on the
door. Riley is in the kitchen getting a
drink while Jared answers the door. Jared
directs Ryan to the kitchen. When Riley
sees Ryan walking into the kitchen, he smiles and walks over to him after
setting down his glass. Riley wraps his
arms around Ryan in a big hug.
"Hi
handsome, how are you?"
Ryan says as
he looks at Riley.
"I...I...I am
not the...the handsome one."
Riley says
as he breaks the hug with Ryan. They
just laugh. Caden and Jared can't hear
what is going on in the kitchen.
"Want to
just hang out today?"
Ryan gives
his boyfriend a few seconds to respond.
"Sure."
Ryan knew that
Riley would want to hang out. He knows
because apart from the guys at school, Riley rarely gets company, and is always
looking for friends to come over to visit.
The guys walk out to the living room to play some games.
***
Jared sets
about making lunch for everyone. In no
time, Jared, with some help from Caden gets lunch finished. Jared walks into the living room and tells
Riley and Ryan to come eat. Lunch today
is tuna burgers. Jared's mom use to make these for her kids, and it's quickly become a
favorite in this household as well. The
burgers are easy to make so, it's not really that bad. There is also peas
and lime-ade.
The lime-ade is another household
favorite. Jared likes to eat out, but he
prefers to cook and eat at home. After
lunch, Riley takes Ryan upstairs to see his den and office.
"Do...do...you...like
it?"
Ryan has
already seen the office, but Riley doesn't remember any of it. A month after meeting Riley, Ryan grew
accustomed to Riley's memory, and he doesn't get upset when he forgets things. It wouldn't do any good to get upset. Ryan looks around the room, and he loves what
he sees, and just like he did the first time he saw it.
"It looks
really nice, Riley. I love it. You do your homework, spend time on your
hobbies, and do your therapy all in one room.
Pretty cool man."
Ryan loves
checking out the room all over again.
After checking out the room a little bit more, the guys head out to the
backyard.
***
Ryan and
Riley are out in the backyard playing catch and unknown to them, they are being
watched. Gwen is watching the guys as
they toss the ball back and forth. This
might give her a chance to meet the guys and find out when the kids' parents
would be home. Being a little older, it
takes her a little longer to get outside.
Ryan and Riley are sitting on the deck just talking quietly when Gwen
stepped out on the back porch, where she watched the boys for a little bit
before walking down the stops and moving towards her fence.
"Excuse me,
excuse me."
Gwen calls
out to the boys as they are talking amongst themselves."
"I wonder
what she wants?"
Ryan says to
Riley before they get up to find out.
"I...I...don't...know."
Riley says
in response to his boyfriend. Ryan helps
his boyfriend up from where they are sitting.
The guys reach the fence and wait to see what she wants.
"Hi, I am
Gwen Miller, and I just wanted to say hello.
Are you living here now?"
She seems to
be speaking only to Ryan, but she doesn't know that Riley lives here.
"Actually, I
don't live here. I'm visiting with my
boyfriend, Riley."
When Ryan
says Riley's name, Ryan makes sure to point to his boyfriend.
"Sorry I
didn't know. So you live here?"
Riley hears
what the elderly lady had to say, but it takes him time to process what exactly
was said.
"I'm sorry,
did you hear me?"
Gwen asks,
unsure if Riley heard her.
"Yes,
I...I...heard you. Yes, I live here. My...my...name...Riley."
Riley's best
friend and boyfriend smiles and takes his hand.
"I hope your
enjoying living here. Are your parents
at home?"
Gwen says to
Riley. Knowing how Riley feels about his
mom and dad, Ryan quietly whispers to his boyfriend, "Squeeze my hand if you
want me to answer her?" and sure enough, Riley silently responds.
"This is a
little sensitive for Riley, his mom and dad are in jail. He lives here with his older brother and the
older brother's boyfriend."
She seems
shocked by the revelation given by Ryan.
"Oh my, I am
sorry. I hope I didn't offend you,
Riley. Is your brother or his boyfriend
home?"
Riley
doesn't want Gwen to think that she hurt his feelings, so he smiles and reaches
out his arm to her.
"You...are
okay. I...just don't like...talking
about...them. My dad...my dad, he..did this...to me. My...brother...is home. Did you want...want to see him?"
She shakes
his hand and then releases his grip.
"I'll come
over later when my husband comes home.
Thanks for talking to me. Have
fun with the rest of your day."
Gwen says to
Riley.
"I hope...your
day...is good. Bye!"
She smiles
and heads back towards the house. The
guys also go into their house.
***
Ryan looks
at his phone and realizes that he has to go home, so
he says goodbye to Riley. Riley won't
let him walk away without getting a kiss. Jared sees the kiss and smiles. Riley is bored, so he goes upstairs to grab
his sketchpad and his pencil. He knows that
his drawings aren't as lovely as they were before the attack but, he doesn't
want to give up the hobby, so he heads outdoors to sketch the backyard. Instead of drawing the entire backyard, he
focuses on one of the trees and draws it.
Once it's drawn, he heads into the house so he can show it to Caden and
Jared. Caden looks at it and
smiles. It seems that this drawing is
more like Riley's old drawings, there are still signs that his hands are
affected by the brain injury, so maybe there is hope for Riley at some future
date.
"Riley, it
looks really nice. I can actually see
the tree."
Riley knows
it looks better, but hearing it from Caden makes him feel good about it. Riley finds Jared up in his den, making some
adjustments to a piece of furniture. He
proudly walks up to his brother's boyfriend and showed off his drawing of the
tree. Jared looks at the picture and
smiles as he's looking it over, and he too sees the improvements.
"Awesome
dude, I love it. Do you want me to frame
it?"
Riley slowly
processes what is said.
"No, this
one...this one is for Ryan."
Riley
replies to his brother's boyfriend.
"I can still
frame it for him if you want me too."
Jared again
offers his services to Caden's little brother.
"Okay, I...I...I
would like it."
Jared disappears
for a little while with Riley's sketchbook, and when he reappears there is a
perfectly framed picture in his hands.
Jared carefully sets it on Riley's desk and then leaves the room.
***
It's now
dinner time, and Jared and Caden have prepared Lamb Stew, and Riley is
practically drooling. As they are
eating, the guys are talking about the day when Caden looks over at his
brother.
"What do you
think about the house, Riley?"
Riley takes
a few seconds to gather his thoughts.
"I love it,
the...the yard is big. Room for Smoke to
run around. I love my room and my
den. Thanks, Jared, thanks, Caden."
"You're
welcome, Riley, but I think we need to thank Lisa too."
Caden says
to his brother.
"Should...we...call
her?"
Jared knows
that it's 8:00 pm and his mom is already winding down her day.
"If you're
going to call my mom, you should do it tomorrow. She might already be in bed."
Riley nods
his head in an agreement. After dinner,
Riley and Caden start the bedtime routine, and when it's done, it's time for
Jared and Caden to get ready for bed too.
Neither one knowing that tomorrow would sort of change the way that they
look at Riley and Ryan.
***
With
breakfast done and out of the way, Jared and Caden find some time to go outside
and get some work done in the yard.
While outside, they are seen by Gwen from next door, and she walks out
to meet them. Caden and Jared watch as
the elderly lady makes her way across the sidewalk and up through the lawn.
"Can we help
you?"
Caden says
as he reaches out his hand to greet his neighbor. She gladly accepts his hand and then welcomes
Jared in precisely the same way.
"My name is
Gwen Miller, and I wanted to say hi. I actually met your brother and his boyfriend. I was going to come over yesterday to meet
you, but my husband didn't come home right away. I am sorry about your brother's handicap."
She says as
she looks at Jared. Jared kindly
corrects her to which she replies.
"I'm
sorry. My memory is a little faulty
lately. I don't know what's wrong with
me."
Caden smiles,
letting her know that it's okay.
"It's good
to have nice people living next door.
There aren't very many nice people living in the neighborhood. It was nice to see your brothers being so
nice to each other yesterday."
The guys
could have corrected her, but there was no need, too, because they knew what
she meant.
"I hope they
were behaving themselves?"
Caden says
with a chuckle knowing that the boys wouldn't do anything to upset anyone on
purpose.
"They were
absolute angels."
Gwen tells
the guys as she reflects on yesterday.
By tomorrow, chances are excellent that these memories will be gone. She knows too but what can she do about it.
"I need to
get home before my nurse misses me. She
likes to snitch on me to my husband."
Gwen
chuckles a little bit just loud enough for them to hear her.
"Thanks for
coming over Gwen, it was nice to meet you."
Gwen
suddenly seems a little troubled.
"Would one
of you walk me home? I am not steady on
my feet as I use to be."
Caden steps
up to the challenge and walks with Gwen and stays by her side till she is in
her house. When he gets home, the guys
finish their tasks outside, and right on cue Ryan shows up.
***
Ryan and
Riley are in the house sitting on the couch and talking when Smoke comes up and
seems to be pleading for attention.
"Smoke,
out-out-side?"
Riley asks
the pup as he looks at the leash hanging from the opposite wall. The dog barks and seems to dance at their
feet, so Riley gets up and grabs the leash. With some help from Ryan, Riley is able to get the strap on the collar. With the leash in place, Ryan and Riley head
for the front door. As Ryan opens the
front door, he looks at Riley and gets ready to speak.
"You want me
to take Smoke until we get to the sidewalk?"
Riley shakes
his head, holding that leash is something that he can do, and he doesn't want
to give that up. Ryan understands and
lets Riley and Smoke get passed him so that he can close the door behind
them. Ryan loves to take these little
adventures with his boyfriend.
"Come on,
Smoke, Ry...an want-s to walk."
Ryan
chuckles a bit as he listens to Riley talking to Smoke.
"I thought
it was Smoke that wanted to walk."
Now it's
Riley's turn to chuckle a little as the dog turns and looks up at Riley and
Ryan as if asking the guys to keep walking. They are happy to continue the walk.
"Ryan, do...do
think I'm handsome?"
Ryan is a
little stunned, but he still manages to smile at his boyfriend.
"Now that is
a silly question, you know that I think you're handsome."
Smoke was
having none of this and ran to some kid who seemed to want to play with
him. It was almost too much for Riley,
and Ryan immediately called Smoke back to Riley's side, and the little dog did
just that. Still, there as some fear
that the dog might send Riley to the ground.
When the puppy came to a stop at Riley's feet, Ryan looked down at Smoke
and frowned.
"You almost
hurt Riley, dude."
Smoke looks
up at Riley and seems to be seeking forgiveness, forgiveness that Riley is all
too happy to give.
"He...he
didn't...mean it, did you?"
Riley scruffed up some of Smoke's fur on the top of his
head. Smoke wants so much more love from
his best friend. Ryan and Riley continue
their walk. They are laughing and
carrying on as they walk the dog. After
a few more minutes, the guys and the dog start moving back home.
***
Riley and
Ryan are in the backyard hanging out, and Smoke is still with them fully
engaged in play. Smoke is running around
the yard chasing after a ball that Ryan and Riley are taking turns
throwing. When it's Riley's turn to
throw the ball, Ryan puts an arm around Riley's waist. This action catches the attention of Jared as
he looks out the kitchen window. Riley gets up and grabs the tug of war rope
that they use to play with the dog. In
the meantime, Ryan is watching Riley with the deepest of interest., and Jared
isn't sure that he likes some of the glances that Riley is getting from his
boyfriend. Some of his glances are
questionable, and it's giving Jared a headache.
He knows that Ryan finds Riley attractive, and he knows that Riley likes
Ryan just the same, so maybe the looks are to be expected, but it still seems
wrong. Now does he tell Caden, or does he let it go
and let things fall where they will? No,
he decides to talk with Ryan first.
Jared slides open the patio door and sits next to Ryan. He doesn't want to scare Ryan away, so he has to do this gently and with tact.
***
Jared sits
down and taps Ryan on the shoulder. Ryan
turns and looks at Jared, and it's not a happy face that greets him. Concern is stamped on the adult's face.
"Ryan, I
couldn't help but notice that you were giving Riley some pretty intense looks. Is there something Caden and I should know
about?"
Ryan's face
is beet red, and Jared knows that he caught Riley's boyfriend with his mind in
the gutter.
"I...I'm sorry,
Jared. I can't help it. I don't want to claim the "I'm a guy" card,
but I do sometimes get these feelings downstairs for my boyfriend and, what am
I supposed to do? Don't answer that."
Jared gets
it he does, but he's still worried that there might be areas where Riley might
be able to understand what's going on where the more physical parts of a
relationship are concerned. Ryan doesn't
want to hurt his guy, and Jared has witnessed what he can only describe as love
in the young man's eyes.
"Are you
going to stop me from seeing Riley?"
Instantly,
Jared's stomach drops to his knees.
"No way,
Riley would kick me out of the house, if I did that, I was just concerned is
all."
Ryan will
have to deal with the fact that Jared knows that there are sexual thoughts
running through the teen's mind and that Riley is the source material for those
thoughts.
"I know that
we can trust you, so that isn't a problem at all."
"As long as
Riley isn't hurt along the way, then we don't have a problem. Course, I am not Caden, so I don't know how
he will react. Still, I wouldn't waste
any time worrying about it."
Ryan is
feeling pretty calm until Jared mentioned Caden, and then everything fell
apart.
"It's all
good."
Jared says
as he gets up and walks back into the house to look for Caden. He wants to talk with his boyfriend, but he
also wants to snuggle too.
***
Caden is
sitting in the family room watching television on the couch. Caden is quick to put his arms around Jared.
"I love when
we get moments like this."
Caden says
as they sit back on the couch.
"I do, too,
Babe."
They
exchange a kiss before Jared talks about what's on his mind. There is some hope burning in Jared's heart
that Caden won't get too upset with the boys.
"I hate to
potentially ruin this moment, but I caught Ryan giving your brother some pretty
crazy glances. I mean seriously intense
stares."
Caden heard
what Jared said, and yet he is still processing what was said.
"Was he
flirting with Riley?"
Caden asks,
trying to figure out what was going on outside.
"No, he
wasn't flirting, but he was checking out Riley's assets, and I am pretty sure
his thoughts were sexual in nature."
Caden
figured out what Ryan was doing, and to a certain degree, it's expected but,
it's still a bit crazy to think of some guy having dirty thoughts about Riley.
"I can't be
angry at Ryan, he's been a saint as far as I am
concerned. I think we both saw this day
coming, am I right?"
Jared nods
his head and watches as Caden smiles.
Still, regardless of the guys liking Ryan, Caden is slightly concerned
with his brother's boyfriend. He knows
Ryan wouldn't hurt Riley on purpose, but he still worries that Ryan could put
pressure on Riley to get what he wants, and it wouldn't take too much
pressure. Caden can't help the way he
feels. What would he do if something did
happen between Ryan and Riley? Caden
needs to know how to help Riley and Ryan, so he calls a friend, Chuck, at work.
***
The friend,
he works at the pediatrician who is familiar with Riley's case.
"Hey, Caden,
what's up?"
Chuck asks
Caden to see what's new.
"Well, I
have a problem, and I need some advice involving my brother. He's in a relationship with a really, great
kid around his age. Jared and I really
like this kid. I don't know if I'm being
overprotective older brother or not."
Chuck is a
bit confused because it sounds like Caden is going around in circles.
"Caden, what
exactly is the problem?"
Caden pauses
to make sure all his thoughts are lined up before he opens his mouth.
"Jared
caught the boyfriend staring at Riley.
We are kind of under the impression that the boyfriend was having sexual
thoughts about my brother. It just
brings up a bunch of questions and concerns up in my head. Like are they having sex? Has the boyfriend seen my brother naked? Is this unhealthy? Do I need to worry about them? Should I put my foot down on this whole
relationship?"
Chuck
listened to Caden as he talked, and then immediately he replied to the
questions.
"Well, those
are certainly some worrisome questions, but I think that I can put you at
ease. Since I know the guy that your
brother is dating, I don't think you guys need to worry about them. Is it unhealthy that Ryan is having sexual
thoughts about his boyfriend? Nope, I
think it is perfectly healthy. As far as
normal, I would say yes. I mean, don't
you have thoughts about Jared from time to time that are sexual in nature? You do not have to answer that question. I would say the part about seeing Riley naked
is a question you'll have to ask either Ryan or Riley. No, I think you should leave them alone. You can go ape if Ryan does something to hurt
your kiddo? Does that help Caden?"
It was precisely
what he needed to hear. Chuck is another
one of those guys who tells it like it is.
"Thanks,
Chuck, I'm going to see if I can drop this and just relax."
Caden says
as he looks out the window at his brother and Ryan. When they hang up, Caden again goes to his
boyfriend's side to tell him what was shared with him. They sit next to each other while Caden
shares what was said to him. Jared gives
him a kiss, and then they move on from the whole experience. The decision is made to simply see where
things go and to be there if either Ryan or Riley need to talk.
***
An hour
later, we find the teens enjoying the swimming pool. As a precaution, Caden and Jared insist that Riley
wear a floatation device. They also
require him to be in the pool with a strong swimmer. Ryan and Riley deserve to have time for
themselves. He cannot be left out in the
pool. It really does Riley good, to be
in the pool moving around and working on swimming. Gwen worries about Riley being out in the
pool. She relaxes a little bit when she
sees Ryan come up out of the water. She
doesn't mean to be in their business, but she finds herself worrying as much
about them as she does her own grandchildren.
A couple minutes later, she has moved on from worrying about the teens.
***
Gwen and her
husband are on their way over to the house to meet with the new neighbors. Caden and Jared are excited to have Gwen and
Douglas next door. The couple knocks on
Caden and Jared's entry, and it doesn't take them long to answer the door. It's Caden that actually
answers the door.
"Hi, do you
want to come inside?"
Caden asks
the couple.
"We can't
stay long. My wife just wanted me to
meet you guys."
Douglas says
as they stand on the doorstep. Caden
calls for his boyfriend to come to the door.
A few minutes later, Jared enters the room and walks up to the door.
"This is my
boyfriend, Jared."
Jared shakes
hands with the Douglas. The teens are up
in the bedroom while Riley works on a drawing.
"Are the
kids busy?"
Gwen says,
hoping that Riley and Ryan would show up and meet her husband.
"Riley and
Ryan are upstairs. Riley is working on his artwork."
Gwen is a
little disappointed that they won't be meeting the boys today, but it's okay. It doesn't have to be today. Douglas wants to get Gwen home so he can fix
dinner, so they say goodbye.
***
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