---

Except for the rain, spring had come unnoticed. Even though the normally golden brown hills were turning green and a few weird trees were blooming as if they were in the tropics, it was still colder than the winter had been. Karl said that was one of the weird things about California's weather.

Once we all got settled in the huge old house, I started getting up early and going for a run. Karl and Clay preferred to run in the evening. They liked that extra time in bed of a morning.

Running on a level was no big effort for me, running down the hill was needless to say a breeze, but it was going to take some time and effort to be able to run back up the hill without breaking stride.

I was huffing and puffing slowly up the hill one morning when Mr. Dorsett came running up behind me. He wasn't even breathing hard when he slowed and greeted me. I couldn't keep going and talk too, so I stopped. "Damn... huff puff... how do you do it... huff puff... Mr. Dorsett?"

"Call me John, or I'll roll you down the hill," he clapped me on the shoulder and laughed, "and then you'll have to jog back up all over again. I've been doing this everyday for years, Ralph. Keep up the effort and soon you'll be keeping up with me."

"I'll do it or be damned," I growled.

We started jogging again. John was actually facing me and running backwards. He may not have meant to, but he was really shaming me. He was twenty something years older than me, running up the hill backwards and not even breathing hard.

"What time are you heading out tomorrow morning?" He asked.

"Six sharp." The sky was turning light by then with the Daylight Savings time change.

"I'll meet you in front of the house tomorrow. I've got to get going, I have an early appointment this morning," he said, turned and sprinted up the rest of the hill.

I admired his backside as he gained distance and then disappeared at the top. He was one fine specimen in his running shorts and shoes, lean and slender like his son and just as muscular.

Karl had one of the guest rooms on the second floor set up as a gym. When Clay and I started working out with him we had to add some heavier weights to his collection. The Bowflex was great, but free weights were what we were accustomed to. Karl invited his dad to join us in weight training. I'd started calling him John instead of Mr. Dorsett at that point. I tell you my head spun every time - getting to ogle those three men. It was hard to believe that John was in his mid fifties. His body appeared to be about thirty and he looked young enough to be his son's older brother. I found myself wishing he was gay. If he were, I'd certainly have made a play for him.

One evening when John had joined us for dinner (he did this regularly every week), we were quietly eating and conversing when Kacy looked at me and said in his gruff little boy voice, " Raff, remember I promised I would find you a boyfriend?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. I'm sure I turned red. "Yeah, I remember."

"I've found him," he sang out, grinning smugly.

God, I love the kid. He's just so damned cute. "So are you going to tell me who he is?" I asked, playing along with him.

"It's Grandaddy John," he yelled out, jabbing a finger in John's direction.

I glanced at John in shock. I have admired the man from the moment I met him. Like I've said, he was as handsome as his son and has the body of a thirty year old. Easily he could have passed as Karl's older brother. Sure I've lusted after him, but I hadn't let it go beyond a little secret yearning. Sheesh, the man is straight.

I was fearful of looking at John, who sat at the head of the table. I sat on his left with Kacy next to me. Karl sat on his dad's right with Clay sitting next to him across from Kacy. I glanced at Clay. He was grinning at his son's precociousness. I knew I was a bright scarlet, but this was my little buddy Kacy. I wasn't about to tell him to shut up, so I asked in as normal a voice as I could muster, "So, why do you think Granddaddy John would make me a perfect boyfriend?"

With his hands cupped around his mouth, Kacy conspiratorially whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "He's always looking at you. I think he likes you, Raff." He looked at John with a big grin, "Don't you, Grandaddy?"

I looked at John. He laughed and said, "I think this young one has got my number, Ralph."

I stared at him open mouthed. He winked at me with a knowing smile. Was John saying he was interested in me?

Karl abruptly stood up and said, "Excuse me," as he moved his chair back into place. We watched him walk stiff backed into the living room. Clay started to get up and follow him, but John was already up and stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Let me go talk to him."

Kacy glanced from me to his dad, looking like he knew he'd said something that maybe he shouldn't have. He slid off his chair and climbed onto his daddy's lap. Clay ruffled his hair and smiled lovingly at him. Kacy looked at me and I winked at him, making him smile.

Clay glanced at me, but turned his attention to the opened double doors to the living room when he heard John ask, "Karl, are you upset?"

"I can't believe that you, of all people, are putting the make on Ralph."

"You're over reacting, Son. I haven't made any overtures to Ralph."

"Well, whatever you're doing is obvious to a little five year old boy."

"Which only says that Kacy is very observant. But why shouldn't I be able to approach Ralph? We're both mature adults."

"You're old enough to be his father."

"True, but have you stopped to think that your grandfather was eleven years older than me, yet I chose him to be my lover when I was twenty-one. Ralph is what… twenty-eight? Don't you think he's old enough to make a choice?"

There was a moment of silence as we listened. Finally Karl said, "I guess I'm acting childish. I've just discovered that you're my dad, and now you want to be my friend's lover."

"I'm not yet decrepit, Karl, and I really do find Ralph attractive."

Clay looked at me. I must have looked dazed. I still hadn't gotten over John's admission; I hadn't known that he and Karl's grandfather had been lovers. He grinned at me. Kacy was getting restless. Clay whispered in his son's ear, "Why don't you go upstairs and play."

"I guess I can accept you being both," Karl said.

Kacy scurried off just as we heard John reply, "I appreciate that, Karl."

Then a moment later, from the foyer, we heard John call out, "I love you, Son."

Karl's voice came from upstairs when he replied, "I love you, too, Dad."

I glanced at Clay, wondering how this was affecting him. He looked nonplussed as he glanced back at me and shrugged, then got up and went seeking Karl.

I thought that John would return to the table, but after a few minutes when I he didn't, I went in to find that he'd left.

I headed upstairs and found the nursery door open and Kacy building something with Leggos. The door to Clay and Karl's suite was closed, so I went back downstairs, cleared the dining table and cleaned up the kitchen, wondering why I hadn't heard the front door open and close.

As I worked, my mind was busy making order of all I'd learned in the last hour. I sighed as I dried my hands thinking that Karl had kind of put the kibosh on John pursuing his interest in me. Since I was left to myself for the evening, I decided to go check on John.

I rang John's door bell. He seemed surprised to see that it was me. "Well, hi, Ralph."

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"You heard the conversation with my son?"

I nodded.

He realized that we were standing in the open door and stepped back. "Come in."

I stepped through the door and he closed it.

"Would you care for a drink?" He asked, leading me into what appeared to be his den. It was wood paneled with a fireplace on one wall. Another wall was a floor to ceiling bookcase filled with books. The furniture was heavy wood and dark leather. A large oak desk sat in front of the tall narrow window - definitely a man's room.

"Thank you, John, but I don't drink."

He raised a surprised eyebrow, but didn't comment as I followed him to the bar on one side of the fireplace, where he poured himself a stiff one. He took a big swallow and set it on a side table next to a big comfortable looking club chair in front of the unlit fireplace.

"Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable. May I get you a soft drink or maybe some water?"

I sat in the matching chair and said, "I'm fine, thank you."

He studied me with a little smile. Apparently he liked what he saw. "You were surprised at the dinner table. Little children can be amazingly observant. What is the saying? Oh yes… from the mouths of babes…"

"John, I have deduced from bits and pieces that you are a widower, and that Karl isn't your wife's child."

"True. It's kind of a complicated story. As you've probably heard, Karl's grandfather was my lover. His adopted daughter Marcia is Karl's mother, and I am his father. I'll tell you the whole story sometime if you really want to hear it, but not now." He turned away from me to stare into the cold fireplace, as he said, "So, you're now aware of my somewhat sordid history. Since you're still here, it must not have turned you off."

I smiled. "Maybe it's a bit colorful for a staid banker, but hardly sordid, John."

"Thank you, but---"

Wanting to get him past his embarrassment I interrupted him. "One way to look at it, John, is that Karl wouldn't be here if you hadn't done whatever you did. Hence, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."

He thought for a moment. "Good point."

The conversation kind of ground to a halt. John was looking at me like he was imagining me naked. His hot sultry stare had me tongue tied. Anything I thought of saying sounded idiotic.

I felt at a disadvantage. I knew John had seen the damned photos. Karl had admitted that he'd shown them to him. So he knew how well I was hung and what it looks like hard. The nearest I'd seen John naked was in the workout room and then he was wearing loose gym shorts and a strap.

The way John studied me had me hard, and the angle of things down below was uncomfortable. After a couple of minutes I couldn't take it anymore, so I stood up, as I said, "Well, I've got to go," and rushed towards the door.

"Ralph."

I ground to a halt, not even halfway across the room.

"Don't go," he entreated softly. His voice was soothing. I felt like a kid. Was it the age difference? Hell, I didn't think so; he looks like he's only a year or two older than me. I turned around and looked at him. Damn, his slacks were tented. He was as excited as I was. He wiped his hand across it. "Don't you want to find out if Kacy is right?" He asked, sauntering towards me.

I nodded, as he wrapped his arms around my chest and pressed his hardness against mine. "Yeah, I'd definitely like to know," I said, and sought his lips.

God, I love to kiss. That was one thing I never got to do with Clay when we were making that film. He refused to kiss me. I could tell John liked to kiss as he tried to devour my mouth. Maybe he was just as starved for physical closeness as I was. But I wanted more than just physical closeness. I wanted an emotional closeness as well. God knows if I just wanted sex, I could find more than enough on campus.

When we broke the kiss, I dropped my forehead onto his shoulder, holding him tightly, enjoying the closeness. He held me snuggly and rubbed his hand up and down my back. I could tell he was enjoying the feel of the hard muscles the way his hand moved over them.

He raised my head with a hand under my chin and stared into my eyes. "You're something else, Kid." He kissed my lips, softly brushing across them.

I sighed. "I'm twenty-nine years old, John, hardly a kid."

He kind of chuckled deep in his chest. "Yeah, but I'm still old enough to be your dad."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, as he started kissing my neck. I groaned from the intense sensation of his lips against my skin.

"Come on, Kid, let's go find a bed. I want to make love to you."

My heart skipped several beats when he said that. I eagerly followed him up the curved staircase to his bedroom, admiring the way his expensive slacks molded over his hard butt muscles. I wondered if he was going to allow me access to their hidden treasure.

When we entered the bedroom I was aware of its rich Victorian appointments, but I had eyes only for the man who turned around and held his arms out to me. I walked into them and again sought his lips.

When he pulled away, he said, "Strip for me, Kid. I want to see all of your body."

I frowned at his calling me Kid again. He winked and grinned. I realized then that he was going to call me Kid from now on in our private moments.

I sometimes feel like there are two different people that live in my body. There's the quiet gentle caring guy that few people see, then there's this macho football jock that most people expect.

Standing before John, the two were warring for dominance. 'Quiet guy' won for the moment. I unbuttoned my shirt slipped it off and let it fall to the floor. John massaged my pecs and ran his finger through the wedge of hair between them before leaning in to tongue my hardened nipples.

"I've wanted to do that from the first time I saw you jogging without a shirt."

He stepped back and I toed off my shoes, dropped my pants and stepped out of them. I glanced at him as I hooked my fingers in my shorts. His mouth was slightly open as he stared at my crotch, waiting. I could feel my cock pulse out another shot of lube.

"Take them off," he whispered.

I pushed them down, bending forward to get them past my knees. Seeing his hungry expression when I straighten up, I paused feeling very vulnerable standing there in my socks with my shorts around my calves.

"You are so beautiful, Kid," he whispered, then knelt before me, fondling my balls and running his fingers through the hair around my cock before taking it in his hands and kissing off the pearl of liquid on its tip.

There's lots of argument over who is the dominant in situations like this. I was naked while John was still fully clothed. Yet it was him that was on his knees. I felt the urge to force my cock down his throat, but I caressed his head instead, letting him do what he wanted. He licked around the corona and then sank my shaft to the back of his mouth and into his throat. I gasped and grasped his head with both hands to keep from collapsing.

He pulled off and glanced up at me with a big satisfied grin. I pulled him to his feet and kissed him again. "Someone's got on too many clothes," I said, as I started unbuttoning his shirt. He smiled and watched me. I pulled the tails out of his pants and exposed his chest. There were a few white hairs mixed in with all the darker hair that covered his muscular chest, hiding his quarter-sized aureoles. His nipples, like tiny hard penises, pushed through the swirl of hair. I took the right one between my teeth and worried it for a moment before running my tongue over it. John grasped my head and held it snuggly against his chest until I moved to the other one.

I pulled away and reached for his belt buckle. As I undid his slacks he leaned forward and kissed me again. I wrapped him in a hug as they slid down his legs. He toed off his shoes and stepped out of his slacks, all the while running one hand over my head and the other over the muscles of my back.

I slid my hand inside his briefs and grasped his hard pulsing cock. He groaned into my mouth as I squeezed it before I pulled away and slipped his shorts off along with his socks. I stepped out of mine and slipped off my socks.

I'd wanted for months to see John completely naked… to see his cock and balls. He stood still and let me get my fill of looking at him. I tentatively raised my hand to touch his throbbing hardness again, then wrapped my fingers around it and slid the foreskin back exposing his ruby head. A pearl appeared on the tip and I dropped to my knees to catch it on my tongue.

I looked up at him and he smiled, causing my heart to do a double flip. I looked back at his magnificent phallus and opened my mouth as I leaned into him. He moaned as I swallowed, allowing the head to enter my throat. John grasped my head with both hands holding me still. "Don't move," he commanded. After a moment, he regained control and sighed as he ran his fingers through my buzzed hair, then caressed the side of my face with a certain tenderness in his expression that said more than words. He pulled me to my feet and into a hug. "I want to be inside you, Kid. I want to feel your heat and your tightness around my cock. Will you let me fuck you?"

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I'd fucked around quite a bit in high school, and sex was even more available once I got drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. But I was always the top except for when Clay fucked me for that stupid film fiasco. I nodded.

I was feeling really vulnerable as we moved in unison to the bed. John could see that I was uptight and set about to relax me by kissing and touching every part of my body starting with my face and slowly, lovingly moving down my neck to pay a lot of attention to my nipples. I discovered that my navel was connected directly to my cock when he stuck his tongue in it and I squirted out a shot of lube.

He took his time playing my whole body like a finely tuned instrument, ignoring my cock until I was writhing and begging for release. When he sensed that I was ready to climax, he sat back and looked into my pleading eyes. "Don't you dare cum until I say you can. Do you understand me?"

His dominance turned me on - I whimpered and nodded. He grinned maliciously and bent to swallow my throbbing shaft. I fought the sensations until I thought I'd surely lose it. He pulled off and squeezed my nuts hard enough to hurt, I lost the need to shoot. "Now we're going to get what we both want and need."

I thought that he'd simply grease me up and stick it to me. I was ready for the pain and eager for the thrill I knew would follow. But John still had other ideas. He started licking my scrotum, took each testicle in his mouth and washed them well with his tongue. And then he descended to my perineum and tickled it with the tip of his tongue until I was gasping. Suddenly, I felt his oh so talented tongue touch my anus. I momentarily froze, then pulled my legs back against my chest to give him easier access to my ass. I swear there are more nerve endings around my ass hole then there are in the head of my penis,

John dove in - face first. In moments, I was relaxed and open to him, begging him to fuck me. I was hoping for his cock, but he started with his fingers, stretching me and relaxing the muscles. When he decided that I was ready, he scooped up the puddle of precum that had filled my navel and smeared it on and into my hole.

I watched as he rose up and pulled back his foreskin, exposing his glistening, well lubed cockhead. He leaned forward and kissed me, then rose up and stared into my eyes as though looking for... maybe for permission to enter. I stared back and nodded. He then smiled as he aimed his shaft into my eager ass. We both gasped as he pushed past my grasping muscle, then when I relaxed, he slid in to the hilt. It wasn't long before we were on the edge again. This time when he tried to stop, I didn't let him. I repeatedly flexed my ass around his cock, forcing him to climax. As he gripped my shoulders and thrust one last time, I lost my load between us. He collapsed on top of me with his face against my neck.

When he regained his equilibrium, he kissed me just under my ear and whispered, "That was more than I'd dared to dream, Kid. Are you up to returning the favor?"

I… my thoughts were spinning so fast I couldn't form the words. From the first time I'd seen John jogging up the hill in his split-sided jogging shorts I'd wanted to get into his tight muscular ass.

John rolled off me, went in the bath to wash himself and returned with a warm wet cloth to clean my rear. I thought it unusual that he didn't touch our cum covered torsos, but didn't say anything. He lay on his back and I knelt between his legs. Neither of us was hard, but I knew that if he felt like I did, that wasn't a problem.

Planting my hands on each side of his chest, I lowered my body onto his and sought his mouth. I did my best to stick my tongue down his throat. His tongue wrestled mine for dominance and soon we were again rampant.

I moved off his mouth and stuck my tongue in his ear, making him almost squeal. I tongued his neck until he was squirming, then moved down to kiss his right nipple. He moaned. Smiling, I moved to kiss the left one, eliciting another moan, then down his belly covered in my cum. I'd never been fond of the taste, but licking it off his skin was ambrosial. I moved past his leaking rod and suckled his testicles one at a time. They were just too big to take into my mouth simultaneously.

When I eventually raised his legs to gain access to his most private place, I glanced at him and he was watching me intently. I smiled at him and bowed my head to kiss his throbbing shaft, then glanced at him again. His eyes were closed as he waited for me.

I tongued his 'taint' forcing little guttural noises out of him before attacking his pulsing rosebud. John's hands were on the back of my head, caressing and lovingly running his fingers through my hair as I pushed my tongue into his hole and simultaneously sucked on it. I had John where I wanted him, delirious with the sensations I was administering.

Then opening him and stretching him as he had done me, I had him begging and demanding more. I placed my rod against his opening and teased it. He thrust up with a grunt and impaled himself on the tip and commanded, "Stop playing around and fuck me, Kid."

So I did. Long slow slides in and out, driving him into a maddened frenzy while he begged like a two bit whore for me to fuck him faster/harder. When neither of us could any longer stand the wait, I made a few quick jabs at his hard nut, bringing him to a long hard climax. I pulled out and with five jerks of my fist my cum joined his, puddling on his taut belly.

I remember collapsing and rolling to the side with John's arm around me, but it was a long time before I again became conscious of my surroundings. John was wiping my chest and belly with a warm wet cloth. When my eyes fluttered open, he leaned down and lightly kissed me. He resisted when I tried for more kissing and finished wiping me off. "That was fantastic, Kid. It's been a long time since I last did that."

I realized as he walked back out of the bathroom wearing a robe that I wasn't going to be sleeping with him. Disappointment welled up and punched me in the belly. 'Well,' I thought, 'it was wonderful while it lasted.'

He offered me a hand and I rose up and off the bed. I embraced him and he again avoided kissing me, but kissed my nose and patted my butt. "It's late, Kid. I have to work tomorrow."

* * *

I dressed and he let me out his front door. Depressed, I meandered across the street and entered the house through the front door. There was a lamp on in the parlor. I tiptoed in to turn it off.

"So, how was he?"

Karl's voice stopped me. I knew what he was asking; it froze me in my tracks. I slowly pivoted and found him sitting in near darkness in a tall wing-backed chair.

"I would swear you told him you were okay with us," I answered.

"It's funny how I can love Clay so deeply and still wonder… I wouldn't even admit it to myself until I was secure with Clay that I find John attractive. You do know, don't you, that I never knew he was my dad before Clay came back into my life?"

I nodded, not knowing how to progress. His openness bowled me over.

"It's crazy of me to be jealous of my father taking you as his lover."

"He hasn't done that. He hasn't taken me as his lover."

"He fucked you - you fucked him, right?"

"Yes," I answered and wished that what we'd done was a whole hell of a lot more than just fucking, but I wasn't going to admit that to anyone, especially not to Karl.

"Well?"

I licked my lips, and savored the lingering taste of John's last kiss. I looked Karl in the eyes. "He hasn't committed himself to me."

"He will. I've seen it in his eyes."

"Look Karl, I'll be out of here tomorrow. I'm sorry this happened. I didn't look for it."

He stood up. "Don't be an ass. I saw that John was interested in you when you first met. Why do you think I gave you my grandfather's suite?"

"I don't understand why, however, I'm still amazed that you did."

He just laughed, and headed for the stairs.

I turned off the lamp and stopped at the base of the stairs and watched him. "Sweet dreams, Ralph," he softly called out from the top step, then he turned to his right and headed into his suite.

I ascended to my suite, where I stopped inside the door and studied the room, wondering what he was hinting at by his question. I shrugged, dropped my clothes and collapsed on the bed.

The emotional upheaval of the last few hours had left me innervated, yet sleep evaded me. I lay in that big canopied bed reliving the whole evening and night, while staring at my dim reflection in the mirror above me until the black sky started to lighten; I then closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep.

After that night at John's, I saw him every night. He'd have dinner with us two or three times a week, and after coffee in the Parlor we would ascend the stairs, lock the bedroom door and enjoy each other, but he refused to stay the night. On the evenings that he didn't dine with us, he would come late to my bedroom door after Karl and Clay had retired for the evening, and quietly knock. I'd let him in and when we were sated and ready to sleep, he would dress and leave. There were a couple of times that we fell asleep in each other's arms. But when I'd awaken later, he would be gone. It frustrated me. I wanted more. I wanted a full relationship, not just a nightly fuck.

One evening when I'd had my fill of it, I left the house as soon as Clay and Karl retired. I had thought I'd run into John before I got to his front door. But when I didn't, I rang his doorbell. There was no answer. I stood on the sidewalk and looked up at his windows. There were lights on upstairs and in the foyer downstairs. I knocked again, rang the doorbell and knocked some more.

Disheartened, I sat on the top step of the porch resting my chin on my hands, staring at our house across the street wondering why John hadn't told me he would be away tonight. I was startled to see our front door open and John step out. I stood up and watched him stride across the street.

I could see that he was angry, and I wondered why. He climbed the steps, took my arm and forcefully turned me around, unlocked the door and literally thrust me inside. That got my ire up and I turned on him.

"What in hell is your problem?"

He simply stood there glaring at me. Finally, in a deadly quiet voice he asked, "What are you doing, Ralph?"

"I came over to surprise you and found you weren't home. How did you get into Karl's without me seeing you, anyway?"

"I obviously got there before you left."

"You didn't use the front door."

"No, my son was kind enough to give me a key to the side door." He held up a key. "Well, since you're here shall we proceed to my bedroom?" he asked.

"No… we need to talk."

He studied me a moment and then motioned for me to precede him into his den.

I strode to the cold fireplace and turned to face him.

"So... what do you want to talk about?" He asked, as he made himself comfortable in his usual chair.

I followed his lead and sat in the matching chair. "I want more out of this relationship. As it is, I feel like I'm just an easy accessible piece of ass to you."

"You know better than that."

"Then let's start doing more than fucking each other. Let's go out once in a while, maybe even live together."

"You can't live with me."

I stood and strode across the room, swiveled and said, "You mean you won't let me."

"Alright, I won't let you. I have a position in this town to uphold. I can't let the people down."

"The people," I sneered, walking towards him. "These strangers who have nothing to do with our lives----"

John interrupted me by standing and saying, "They aren't strangers. I personally know everyone of them."

I flopped back in the big club chair in front of the fireplace in a pout. It was just unfair that I've loved only two men in my twenty-nine years and with neither of them could I have what I wanted in a relationship. I really wanted to believe that John loved me like I love him.

He strode over to stand in front of me, looking down at me like a stern father. "You must understand that even in today's society... leaving out the liberal university element... this is a small town. I'd be ruined if it got out that I'm a homosexual and have a lover. These good people would flee from my bank."

I basically knew all of that, but had chosen to ignore it. He'd made me feel like a spoiled brat, but I still felt he was being a self-serving, selfish ass.

This confrontation with John was only the second time I'd been in his home. After our first wild night in John's bed, our meetings only took place in Karl's mansion (I guess I should call it home, because that is where I live). I glanced up at him as he hovered over me. There must have been a change in my expression. He looked at me curiously. "What?"

"I just realized in all the months of living across the street from you and seeing you almost every night for the last four, this is only the second time I've been in your home."

A shadow of some emotion, fear, guilt, I'm not sure what, passed through his eyes. He returned to his chair. "It's more convenient for me to come to you," he said, as if that totally explained it.

"No, there's something going on here that doesn't quite fit comfortably in my mind. Twice I've been in the parlor with the guys when you appeared saying that you just let yourself in. The front door is right next to that room and I don't recall ever hearing it open and close. The latch on that door makes a loud distinctive noise." John was now definitely looking guilty. "And that side door that opens into the side garden - I'd swear it's painted closed."

"Are you calling me a liar, Ralph?"

"I don't know. Am I?"

"Alright, I admit it's the back door. I just feel like a sneak thief using it."

"So why don't you use the front door like us gentry-fied folk?" I was trying to lighten the mood, but it was a serious question. It didn't work.

"One of the neighbors might see me. You know that."

That didn't wash. There were only two houses on top of the hill. The nearest neighbors were a few hundred feet below them. The chances of anyone seeing one of us at the front door were nil. But I didn't argue.

I stared at him a moment and wondered if it was worth it; all the sneaking and hiding. I know… I'm a damned fool. Hell, I've spent nearly eight years of my life living vicariously with Clay, and now this. I let out a big sigh, got to my feet and walked to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow night. Just knock as usual."

He followed me into the foyer. "Don't I even get a good-night kiss?" he asked.

I looked at his pleading expression and grimaced. "No. We'd end up in bed. I'm too uptight for that. I'll just let myself out." I turned on a heel and left John staring after me.