I woke up at five o'clock. Tim and I set the alarm clock every night for 6:30 in the morning, but I was wired that day. I looked at my baby lying next to me in the dim half light, and I wanted him so bad. That wasn't fair, though, and I could wait till that night. I was holding him, and I was spooned right up against him, too. "Wha . . ." he said, when I turned him loose. "Nothing. Go back to sleep," I said. "Okay," he said, and he was back to sleep before I got out of bed. I took care of my needs in the bathroom, and put on the bikini briefs I had worn the day before. I went downstairs. Rick was there, getting ready for his run with the dogs. "Hey, Kyle. Why are you up so early?" he asked. "I don't know. I just couldn't sleep. I need some thinking time, I guess," I said. "It's Sean, isn't it?" he said. "Yeah, I guess," I said. "He needs to stay here, Rick." "I know," Rick said. "Maybe his parents will let him." "You're going to meet with Mister Tyrone today, aren't you?" I asked "Yeah, we're supposed to," Rick said. "Can I be there? To support Sean?" I asked. "Let's see what Kevin says," Rick said. He went out to run, and he took the two dogs with him. I went into the den and lay down on a sofa. I went back to sleep. "There you are," Tim said, waking me up. "I was wondering where you were." "I woke up really early, and I came downstairs," I said. "You're worried about Sean, aren't you?" Tim said. "Yeah," I said. "Babe, he's going to be okay," Tim said. "I hope so, Tim, but he needs us, I think," I said. "I know," Tim said. "Get on here with me," I said. "Kyle, I don't have time for that," he said. "Five minutes. That's all," I said. "It feels so good to be here with you," Tim said. I nuzzled up close to him. I was totally hard, and I knew he was, too. We didn't have sex out there in the den, but it was a very sensual experience for both of us. We both dozed off, too. "Tim. Wake up. We're going to be late," Brian was saying. "Okay. I'm sorry," Tim said. "I've got to go to school, Babe. I need to get dressed. I've already had my shower." "Okay. But Tim, I want you in me bad right now," I said. "I know. I want you, too," Tim said. "You guys! Cut it out. You're making me hard," Brian said. "Let's go, Tim." Timmy blushed, and so did I. Thank God it was Brian, and not Kevin or Rick, I thought. I kissed Tim and he got up. I got up in a minute, too, and went into the kitchen. Sean and Ken were the only ones at the table. I still had me a full-blown stiffy, and they were both staring at it. "Morning," I said, pouring myself some coffee. "Good morning," they both said. "I guess you guys met, huh?" I said. "Yeah. I was a little surprised to find Sean here," Ken said. "What time did you get home last night?" I asked Ken. "It was after one," he said. "Did you have a date?" Sean asked. "No. I wish. I was working. We had a server go down in the Goodson Building, and that is an A-Number-One top priority. We don't leave until the problem is fixed," Ken said. "Do you get overtime pay for that?" I asked. "No. I'm on salary, not hourly. They make it up to you in what they call comp time," Ken said. "What does that mean?" I asked. "Compensatory time. Time off, in other words," he said. "I've got quite a bit of it, actually." "Have y'all seen Kevin and Rick this morning?" I asked. "Not yet. They haven't woken up yet, I guess," Sean said. "Oh, yeah. They're awake, and I know what they're doing, too," I said. "What?" Sean asked. That kid had a lot to learn. "What does a married couple do?" I asked. "Sex?" he asked, sort of blushing. "Yeah. Only we call it making love. Have you ever had a boyfriend?" "I dated a guy for a while, so, yeah, I guess you could say I had a boyfriend," he said. "Any sex?" Ken asked. "That's kind of private, don't you think?" Sean said. "Yeah, it is. Ken, I know you didn't mean anything bad when you asked him that, but I guess nobody told you the house rules. What we do in private, stays in private. No public shows of affection, except maybe a hug or a quick 'hello' or 'goodbye' kiss. I probably shouldn't have said what I did about Kevin and Rick," I said. "I wish I had known those rules before I asked him," Ken said. "Thanks for telling me. I could have really embarrassed myself." "Any other rules?" Sean asked. "The only other one is that nobody does anything unless both guys really want it. And I mean really want it," I said. "Absolutely no forced sex." "Can I ask a question?" Sean said. "Sure," I said. "Is everybody in the house sexually active?" he asked. "Everybody here is gay. Kevin and Rick, Justin and Brian, and me and Tim are couples, and we're all sexually active. I don't know about the rest," I said. "Do you and Tim have group sex with Justin and Brian?" Sean asked. "See, that's the kind of question you're not supposed to ask. But I'll tell you anyway. Basically, no," I said. "And that's as far as I'm going." "Are you mad at me?" Sean asked. "No, I'm not mad at you. That's a natural thing to be curious about, especially since the two couples are so close. You're just learning the rules," I said. "Sean, if you stick around here, you're going to have your eyes opened big time about the life of a group of gay men," Ken said. "What do you mean?" Sean asked. "They just live like ordinary people. Have you ever seen the show Queer as Folk?" he asked. "Yeah. I bought all the videos, in fact. DVD's, actually," Sean said. "What you see on that show isn't the kind of life these guys live," Ken said. "Not by a long sight." "I know you guys have parties because of what Jeff said in his blog," Sean said. "Yeah, we party all the time," I said. "That's why we have the clubhouse and all that stuff. We have a lot of friends. We don't have sex parties, though." "Would you go to a sex party?" Sean asked. "I'm not planning to ever have sex with anybody but Tim," I said. "I need to get a shower and get dressed. I'm going with y'all to the meeting with Mr. Williams." "Good. I was hoping you would," Sean said. I took my shower and shaved. I put on some nice clothes. Not dress clothes, but nice sport clothes. I put on a pair of long khaki pants, and that felt strange as hell. I couldn't even remember the last time I had had on long pants. "Well, don't you look nice," Kevin said. He and Rick and Sean were in the den. "I'm going with you, aren't I?" I said. "Yeah. Rick said you wanted to go, and I think that might help ole Sean, here, stay a little calmer," Kevin said. "Are you nervous?" I asked Sean. "God, yes. Would it be okay if I smoked?" Sean asked. "Yeah, you can smoke in the house," Rick said. "Everybody else does." "Not everybody," I said. "Who doesn't?" Rick said. "Well, you don't, for one, dummy," I said. "Tim and Brian don't. Denny doesn't." "You seldom do," Rick said. "I smoke all I want to," I said. "You just don't want to," Rick said. "That's right. These guys used to call me The Smoker before they knew my name because back then I was smoking some," I told Sean. "That's all they knew about me. I was Tim's friend, and I was The Smoker." Sean sort of smiled. I think that cheered him up a little bit. I hoped it did, anyway. "Did you smoke that cigar that Craig gave you when Rob was born?" Rick asked. "Hell, no. That thing's as big as a dick," I said. "And that fact causes you problems?" Rick asked. "Shut up," I said. But he and I were both laughing. "Let's go on and go," Kevin said. "Kyle, you can show Sean around the Goodson Building until it's time for our meeting." "Wow! You have your own building?" Sean said. He was teasing me. "I wish it was mine. They'd be two empty offices on the fifth floor, if it was," I said. "Yeah, right," Rick said. He went to tousle my hair, but I dodged him. "What are you doing? I worked hard on this hair," I said. The fact of the matter was I hadn't done shit to it except put gel in it and run my fingers through. "I forgot about what a talented hairdresser you are, Kyle," Rick said. "Yeah? I'll dress your hair by putting a paper sack over your head. That would be the first step in the Emerald Beach beautification project," I said. Sean giggled a little bit when I said that. That was good, 'cause you can't laugh and feel bad at the same time. Maybe he was feeling a little better. "Let's start the tour in the coffee shop," I said when we got to the building. "Okay. I need to go upstairs and let Mary Ann know what's going on. She'll need to get some refreshments ready," Kevin said. "I need to go up, too," Rick said. "Watch the time, Kyle. This meeting starts at nine, so y'all be up there at least five minutes before nine." "Okay," I said, and they left. "You want something to eat? They have really good pastries here," I said. "My stomach's too nervous to eat," Sean said. "Maybe a bottle of juice would be nice." I got me four bear claws and a cup of coffee, and I got him a bottle of that Sobe mixed fruit juice. "Let's sit on the deck so we can smoke," I said. We didn't say much while I was eating. I didn't know where they got those bear claws, but I loved them. I think I could eat a dozen. "Will it bother you if I smoke?" Sean asked. "Naw. Go ahead. Justin smokes a lot when he gets nervous, too," I said. "You and Justin are funny. And so are you and Rick," Sean said. "Justin and Rick are funny, too," I said. There was a pause in the conversation, and I kept eating. "Kyle, do you believe in God?" Sean asked me. Where did that come from? I wondered. "Yeah, I believe in God," I said, with a big mouthful of food. "Don't you?" "Not really," he said. "I mean I don't doubt that there could be a God, but I just never think about it." "There's a name for that," I said. "Yeah. It's 'agnostic,'" he said. For some reason, I could never remember that word. "Why did you ask me that just now?" I asked. "Because at times like this, I wish I believed in God so I could say a prayer," he said. "I said a prayer for you last night," I said. "I don't do that very often, but I did it last night." "You did?" "I sure did. I asked God to let you stay here with us," I said. "That really makes me feel good," he said. "Thank you." "You're welcome. I hope it works," I said. Most of the first floor of that building, and all of the second floor, was a gift shop. They closed down most of the gift shops when it wasn't tourist season, but they kept that one, and three or four other big ones, open year round. I didn't know the people who worked there, but we spent a few minutes looking at the stuff they had for sale. I didn't know how he was fixed for smokes, but I knew nobody was going to sell them to him without ID. "Put these in your pocket," I said, handing him a pack I had bought. He got this big surprised look on his face, and then he smiled. "Thanks," he said. "Don't mention it. I'll probably bum 'em back from you," I said. "Any time you want one," he said, smiling. "Okay," I said. "We better go up." "Jesus," he mumbled. "I'm so scared." That boy was hurting bad, and I hated to see that. I did something I probably was going to regret, but I just said "fuck it," and I took his hand. It was a hot day, but his hand was ice cold. The elevator came, and we got on, still holding hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw there was somebody in there, but I didn't pay attention to who it was. "Isn't that cute? Look at the sweet little fags holding hands on the elevator," a voice said. I saw red. I spun around as fast as I could, and it was fucking Chuck standing there grinning at me. "What the hell are you doing?" I demanded. "You didn't know it, but you were fixing to get it good, Bubba." He was laughing, and, of course, I started laughing, too. "This joker is one of our brothers from the townhouse. Sean, this is Chuck Jackson. Chuck, this is Sean Kelly," I said. "Nice to meet you, Sean. I certainly know who you are," Chuck said. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Sales meeting. You do remember I work for this company, don't you?" he said. "I didn't know that," I said. "Yeah, right," he said. "Are y'all meeting with Kevin and Rick?" "Yeah, and the social worker, Tyrone Williams," I said. "Good luck, Sean. Anybody who wants to be here enough to do what you did ought to get to stay," Chuck said. "Thanks," Sean mumbled. We got off on the fifth floor, but Chuck stayed on. "That's a good guy right there," I said. "His boyfriend is Tony Miller, and he works here, too. We can go meet him when we're finished." "I know," he said. Damn, I need to read Jeff's blog and find out what all this boy knows about me, I thought. "Hi, Kyle. Hi, Sean," Miss Mary Ann said when we walked into her office. "Go right in. They're waiting for you." I looked at my watch, and it was exactly five minutes to nine. We weren't late.
The traffic leading up to the bridge, and on the bridge itself, was bad, as usual. I looked over at the first span of the new bridge, and I noticed they had gotten the last piece in place. It wouldn't be long now before they'd open that thing. "Hi, Tyrone," Kevin and Rick said in unison when Kevin's secretary showed me in. "Hi, fellows," I said. There was a tray of pastries on the table, and there was a bucket of ice with water and juice. The coffee smelled fresh, too. I fixed myself a cup of coffee at their invitation, but I passed on the pastries. They looked awfully good, but I had promised my doctor I would lose weight because of my blood pressure. In a minute, Sean came in with another boy that I recognized as being one of the kids at the home. It turned out to be Kyle Goodson, and I felt like a dummy for not remembering his name. I meet so many kids, though. I had spoken with Kevin earlier that morning from my car on the way over, so I had the basics. "Sean, are you still troubled by thoughts of suicide?" I asked. He blushed to the roots of his hair. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, son. We're just happy it didn't have the desired effect. Exactly how did you do it, anyhow?" I asked. "I didn't. I lied," Sean said. Kevin, Rick, and Kyle looked at one another with shock on their faces. "You didn't attempt suicide?" I asked. "No. I'm sorry I lied about that, but I thought it would make them want to take me in if I said that," he said. "I'm really not usually a liar. Does that make you change your mind about my staying here?" "I don't think so," Kevin said, and Rick agreed. I could see the relief on the boy's face. "Tell us about the situation at home," I said. He told his story, and it was one I had heard countless times before from runaways. He was from an affluent, well-educated family that basically considered him a bother. He had all the material goods he needed, but there was evidently little or no love in his home. I knew from years of experience that fifteen-year-olds were perfectly capable of knowing if they were gay or not, and I thought his parents should know that, too. I explained the legalities to him. The only way he could stay there was if his parents gave their permission for him to stay, no matter how badly he wanted to. "Do you think they might give their consent?" I asked him. "I don't know. They might. They've talked a bunch of times about sending me to boarding school. I don't see how this would be much different," he said. "Well, let's see if we can get them on the phone. I'd like to talk with them," I said. Sean dialed the number, and his fingers were trembling as he did so. That was one scared little boy, even if he did look like he was twenty years old. "Hello, Mrs. Kelly, this is Tyrone Williams with the Florida Department of Children and Families," I said. "Hello, Mr. Williams. I was expecting your call," she said, rather cool I thought. "Is Mr. Kelly there? If he is, he might want to get on an extension," I said. "Dean Kelly isn't here. He had a meeting of the Faculty Senate this morning," she said. "Oh, I see," I said. I could certainly see how a teachers' meeting would be more important than his son's welfare, I thought, sarcastically. "I'll relay to him everything we discuss," she said. "Okay. Well, it's like this," I said, and I explained the situation. "We've considered boarding school for Sean, but we'd have to be convinced those people in Florida were worthy to raise our son," she said. She was starting to piss me off. I started to tell her about the miracles I had seen with my own eyes, but I held my tongue. "I understand your concern. I can certainly vouch for Mr. Foley and Mr. Mashburn. You do understand they're a firmly committed gay couple, don't you?" "Yes. That, in itself, isn't a problem for either my husband or me," she said. "My son isn't gay, but we certainly have numerous gay friends, colleagues, and associates." "But your son says he's gay," I said. "Mr. Williams, I really don't want to discuss my son's sexuality with you," Mrs. Kelly said. "All right," I said. "What will it take to convince you that Mr. Foley and Mr. Mashburn are worthy of your son?" The boy cringed when he heard me use the word "worthy," and I winked at him. "We'd like to meet them, talk to them, inspect their home," she said. "We've both got horrendous schedules for the next two weeks, but, after that, we'd like to visit and make our decision then." "Two weeks?" I asked, somewhat aghast it would take them that long. "Yes. Can that be arranged?" she asked. "I'm sure it can be. In the meantime, I'm going to get a temporary custody order in place so Kevin and Rick can act as Sean's parents. For school and such," I said. "I'll fax you his birth certificate and a power of attorney. We don't want this to go through the courts," she said. "What's the fax number there?" "What's your fax number, Kevin?" I asked. He told me, and I repeated it into the phone. "Do you have telephone numbers so you can make arrangements for your visit?" I asked. "No, but I'd like to have them," she said. "Let me give you to Kevin so he can tell you their numbers," I said. "Very well," she said. Kevin introduced himself and gave her several telephone numbers to reach them. When that was done, they concluded their conversation and hung up. "So what's the deal?" Rick asked. "Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are willing to consider letting him stay," I said. "She likes to be called Dr. Kelly, and he likes to be called Dean Kelly," Sean said. I nodded to acknowledge what he had said. "What do we have to do? Pass inspection?" Kevin asked. "Basically, yes. You really can't blame them for that, Kevin," I said. "Oh, I don't. Do you think we'll pass, Sean?" he asked. "I know you will. When are they coming?" Sean asked. "Not for two weeks," I said. "Horrendous schedules." "They always have horrendous schedules," Sean said. "Two weeks. That seems like a long time," Rick said. "It does to me, too, but what can I say?" I said. "What did you need the fax number for?" Kevin asked. "She's going to fax his birth certificate and power of attorney. With the power of attorney, we won't have to go to court to get temporary custody papers," I said. There was a tap on the door just then, and Kevin's secretary opened it when Kevin told her to. "I'm sorry to disturb, but this fax just came. I thought it might be important," she said. "That's fine, Mary Ann. It is important. Thank you," Kevin said. "This is what we need. That was fast." I examined the power of attorney, and everything about it was in order. I noticed the notary stamp was dated with yesterday's date. That made me a little suspicious. "When did you get here?" I asked Sean. "Yesterday afternoon," he said. "And you all talked to them after he got here, of course," I said. "Yeah," Rick said. "I was the one on the phone, and it was just Mrs. Kelly. Dr. Kelly, I mean. Why do you ask?" "Well, I'm a little curious. This is a professionally-prepared power of attorney. They must have called their lawyer immediately," I said. "Their best friend is a lawyer," Sean said. "He probably did it." "Thomas Mallory signed it," I said. "Yeah, that's him," Sean said. "Well, Sean, you're going to be here for at least two weeks, anyway," I said. "This is all the business we have, so . . . " "Okay, Tyrone. Thanks a bunch, man," Rick said. "Welcome to the family, Bubba." Sean was grinning enough to split his cheeks. He was a happy boy, and that's what I liked to see. "Let's go get some lunch," Kyle said. "It's only ten o'clock," Kevin said. "Eat some of those pastries, if you're hungry." That Kyle was one of the best looking boys I had ever seen, and one of the most manly, too. He had been eyeing those pastries all during the meeting. His family had a lot of money, and more than once workers in my office had hit his old man up for a donation when a kid needed something the agency couldn't pay for. I promised myself I would never again forget his name. He got a napkin and stacked up two bear claws on it. I fondly remembered when I could eat like that and not have to worry about gaining weight. Sean got himself a couple, too. "Well, I feel like we're on the right track," I said, shaking hands with Kevin and Rick. "Don't give away all your beds. You never know when I'm going to need one." They chuckled a bit. I wished I could put a show about those guys and their home on national television. That would destroy stereotypes and homophobes alike, if I could do that. Driving back to the office, I said a silent prayer for Sean and his new family. My gut feeling was Sean would be there the rest of his life.
The meeting with Mr. Williams went so much better than I thought it would. I had been worried to death about telling them I had lied about my suicide. I just knew they were going to send me packing, but they didn't. I wasn't out of the woods yet, but I was pretty sure my parents were going to let me stay there. "Kyle, I hope you don't think I'm a liar, because I'm not," I said. We were in his car driving out of the parking lot. "Well, you lied about the suicide," he said. "I know, but I was desperate," I said. He thought for a few moments. "I can understand that," he said. "I try not to lie, but I know that sometimes you have to, especially if you're desperate. I won't hold it against you, and I won't tell the others, either. And I know Kevin and Rick won't." That was a load off my mind, and that was the next thing I was going to ask him. Not to tell. "What do you feel like doing?" he asked. "I don't know. Do you have class or anything?" I asked. "I had a nine o'clock class this morning, but I cut it to go to the meeting. I usually have an eleven o'clock, too, on Friday, but it was called off today. Do you want to see what the place looks like?" "Yeah, that would be good," I said. "Oh, I almost forgot. Before we do anything, let's go back inside so you can meet Tony," he said. "Okay," I said. From what Jeff had written, I knew Tony was the head of Information Services for Goodson Enterprises. He and Chuck were boyfriends, and Tony had recently gotten out of the Coast Guard. We went into the IS section of the building, and we came to a reception desk. "Hi, I'm Kyle Goodson, and I'd like to see Tony Miller," he said. "Do you have an appointment?" The receptionist was a guy. "No, I was just in the building, and I wanted to say hello," Kyle said. "Mr. Miller never sees salesmen without an appointment," the guy said. "I'm not a salesman. I'm his brother," Kyle said. "Oh. Let me see if he's free. What did you say your name was?" "Kyle Goodson," he said. "Goodson? As in . . . " "Yeah," Kyle said. The guy called somebody and asked if Tony could see us. "She says he's in with somebody," the guy said, holding his hand over the mouthpiece. "Who is it?" Kyle asked. "I know she won't tell me, but I know who it is. It's his roommate," the guy said. Then I remembered we had met Chuck in the elevator. That was probably who it was. "Tell her to tell him I'm here and I've got somebody he has to meet. We saw Chuck in the elevator, but we need to see Tony," Kyle said. "I'll try. Sheila, the person here is Kyle Goodson, and he says Tony is his brother." He really emphasized Kyle's last name. There was a pause. "Thanks, Sheila. Go on back," the guy said. "By the way, my name is Dan Rutland. I'm a technician, and I'm only filling in here at the desk. The girl's out today." "Nice to meet you, Dan," Kyle said, shaking hands. He introduced me as his brother, too, and I shook hands with Dan. Damn, it felt good when Kyle said I was his brother. The secretary's office was really nice, but it didn't have a window in it. She stood up. "Hi, I'm Kyle Goodson, and this is Sean Kelly. Can we please see Tony?" Kyle asked. "Hi, Mr. Goodson. I'm Sheila Wilcox. Mr. Miller said for you to go right in." His office was really, really nice. It was big, and he had four computers with huge monitors. Kyle introduced me to Tony, and I shook his hand. "Jeff told us he met you yesterday," Tony said to me. "Welcome to Emerald Beach, Bubba. We all call one another Bubba. Jeff says it's because we're all too stupid to remember one another’s names." I laughed. What a nice guy, I thought. He had on a dress shirt and tie, and I saw his suit coat on a rack. These guys were all big shots, it seemed. Chuck had on a business suit, too. "Did we give y'all enough time to get your dicks back in your pants?" Kyle asked. "You really are a little shithead, Kyle," Tony said, but he was laughing. "I might be a little shithead, but I'm a cute one," Kyle said. "You're cute all right, but do you know what that word really means?" Tony asked. "What?" Kyle asked. "It means bowlegged," Tony said. "Nuh unh," Kyle said. "Look it up," Chuck said. "For real?" Kyle asked. "That's what it used to mean," Tony said. "But it don't mean that now," Kyle said. I loved his accent, and some times it seemed to be thicker than other times. "No, it doesn't," Tony said. "So, Sean, I guess you're the newest member of the family." I explained about the two-weeks thing. We visited with them for a little while, and then Chuck said he had to leave. He kissed Tony goodbye right on the lips in front of Kyle and me, and I thought that was great. It just seemed so natural to me. "We better go, too, so this man can get back to work. Are y'all coming over tonight?" Kyle asked. "Probably. Are we invited?" Tony asked. "Since when do y'all need an invitation?" Kyle asked. "Or get one?" Chuck said. "You got me last on that one, Bubba," Kyle said. "Y'all's asses better be in that pool tonight, that's all I got to say. That's your invitation. Be there." "You're such a gracious host, Kyle," Chuck said. "Kiss my ass," Kyle said, and everybody laughed. That's when we left. "Kyle, everybody I've met in the family is cool," I said. "I know. I love all my brothers. There are some others, too, who don't live here anymore," he said. "We got one brother who lives in Montana. Well, two, really. Chris and his brother David." "Chris is the one with cerebral palsy, right?" I said. "Right. I forget just how much you know about us," he said. "I need to read that damn blog so I'll know what you know." I was quiet for a few minutes, just thinking about how lucky I was to be there. I had a bunch of questions, too. "Can I ask you a question?" I said. "Sure, but it's six and five-eighths inches," he said. "Huh?" He chuckled a little bit. "What's your question?" he asked. "What's six and five-eighths inches?" He laughed some more. "I'm just playing with you. My dick is, but what's your question?" God! I thought. That's huge. Mine was barely five and a half. "About the language. I notice you and Justin cuss in front of the others. I mean, I know guys do that with people their own age, and all, but what about with Kevin and Rick?" "They told me when I first got to know them that we're all guys and that guys talk like guys. Nobody cares. Now you take Brian. That boy never cusses. Last night he said something about a fucking snake biting Krewe, and that was the first time I ever heard him use that word. Fuck not snake," he said. I knew what he meant. "So I won't get in trouble if I say shit or fuck or something like that?" I asked. "Hell, no. We don't say stuff like that around my mama or other ladies, or with older guys who are strangers. But if it's just us, or with our friends, we don't hold back. Even in front of our priest, we don't. He's a friend of ours, too," he said. "Please don't use that kind of language when my mom's here, if she comes," I said. "Oh, we know better. You don't think she's going to come?" "She might, but my dad won't," I said. "I'd bet money on it. I'm just a huge inconvenience to him. He wasn't even home for the phone call this morning. That embarrassed me, but it didn't surprise me." "I thought that was a little bit strange," he said. "The Kellys are a family in name only," I said. "Well, we aren't, and now you're one of us," he said. I processed what he just said, and all of a sudden I was overwhelmed. Tears of joy started trickling down my face. Kyle noticed that I was crying, and he said, "We call those happy tears." "I'm sorry," I said. I was sort of half laughing and half crying. "Don't be, Bubba. Nothing feels better than happy tears," he said. Then, "Well, almost nothing." I knew what he was referring to, and I laughed. * * * Later that afternoon, I was introduced to the gym and to working out. Kyle and Justin were showing me how to use the machines and the free weights. They were both in just their underwear, which were snow white bikini briefs that had a little pouch in front that they both filled up nicely. I had seen them naked the night before, but they looked even sexier in those briefs than they had bare-assed. I was having trouble concentrating on what they were telling me. I had on a borrowed jockstrap and gym shorts, and it was a good thing, too. I was hard. "Hi, guys," Kevin and Rick said when they came into the gym. They were still dressed up from work. "Hey, Bubbas," Justin and Kyle said. I told them "hi," too. "Can y'all take a break? We want to talk to you," Rick said. "Yes, sir," Kyle said for all of us. "Get towels, and let's sit down in the clubhouse," Kevin said. We followed them in there, wiping sweat from our bodies. "I talked to your mother again after you all left," Kevin said. "They won't be coming in two weeks." I felt my stomach hit the floor. "When are they coming?" I asked. "They aren't coming at all," Kevin said. "Your mom said she talked it over with your dad, and they're satisfied you're in a good place and want you to stay here with us." When he said that, I got so excited I couldn't stand it. I jumped up, and they all stood up, too. I hugged Kevin and Rick. I knew I was still sweaty and would be getting them dirty, but I couldn't control myself because I was so happy. Then I hugged Kyle, and then Justin. "This fucker's got a hard-on," Justin said. "Oh, no, Justin! You mean to tell me a boy in this family has an erection?!" Rick said. He was being dramatic for fun. "Shut up, asshole," Justin said to Rick. "No, Justin. This is big stuff. Let's call the TV stations. Maybe they'll come out and do a live story for the Six O'clock News." Kevin, Kyle, and I were laughing so hard we could barely breathe. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to throw your ass in that fucking pool," Justin said, also laughing. "Do it, Justin. Maybe feeling your studly hands on me will give me an erection," Rick said. "Shit. I didn't think you could get one," Justin said. "Ask Brian," Kyle said. We were all laughing so hard by then I was afraid we'd all pee our pants. "Oh, Kyle, you are the devil," Justin said. "Sean, these two would never lay a hand on any of us, or anybody but each other, for that matter," Kyle said. "I was just teasing him." "I know," I said. "It feels so good to be here. I love you all so much." "We love you, too, Bubba," Rick said. "Hell, we even love Justin, so you know we're going to love you." "I'm going to my room to cry," Justin said. "No, you ain't. You're going to take a shower with us, and then you and me are going to cook a 'Welcome to the Family' dinner for Sean. I already took out the steaks. Somebody call the Townhouse Boys and tell them to get their asses over here to eat," Kyle said. Kyle, Justin, and I took a shower together in the shower room in the clubhouse. Needless to say, being in there with them, as close as we were, gave me an erection. Kyle and Justin were playing around, trying to grab each other, and that's all it took. They both noticed, of course. "Bubba, there's no shame in a hard-on around here, unless you start playing with it. Yours or somebody else's. They're natural. Everybody gets 'em, especially young boys. Just leave it alone and ignore it. That's what we do in public," Justin said. He was being serious, and I appreciated that. It was still embarrassing, though. "What about the young girls? Don't they get 'em, too?" Kyle asked. "Jesus Christ! I'm surrounded by fucking fools," Justin said. "Yeah, but you love us, don't you?" Kyle asked playfully. "Yeah, I do, and I reckon that makes me one, too," Justin said. "Come on, Davis. Come on, Kelly. Finish your shower so we can cook," Kyle said. |