A Stepbrothers Desire

This is a work of fiction - names and places are elements of fiction.

Please donate to Nifty.org at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html. Your donation will allow stories such as this to be published.

Other stories: Nifty/Beginnings/Cards in the Deck - Adam and Ben

A Stepbrother's Desire - Josh and Tyson 17

I woke up on the couch around 3 am. Ty was asleep in the second bedroom. We thought it would look better if we were apart in case mom got up. I slipped off the couch and went to her room and she was soundly asleep. I felt some exhaustion in my body. If you think yesterday was a batshit crazy day, imagine how I felt. It was exciting, though.

I slipped into Ty's room and he was snoring lightly. I thought about grabbing my phone for a quick recording but decided against it. He would set me on fire in my sleep if I did that to him. I crawled into the bed and slid in behind him. He nestled against me and groaned with pleasure.

"Hey babe," he muttered. "You feel good."

"So do you. I was missing you," I whispered.

"You were horny," he said and I could tell he was grinning. He rolled over and faced me. I kissed him, well, because that's the logical thing to do. His face in the moonlight.... I wrapped my arms around him. His skin was so soft even though the sheets were a bit "crispy" for me.

"Hey Ty, we fuck a lot, don't we? I mean, we've kind of done it all at a young age. Do you think?" I asked, in a pondering mood.

"Well, yeah, I guess we have. What's wrong?" he asked and he lifted his head up to look at me. "I know where you're going and you're wrong!" he said.

"Huh? I didn't.." and he interrupted me. "You think that once we have nowhere to go, it will be over for us. That mentality you sports guys have,if it's not getting better, it's game over," he whimpered.

"Hold on Eunice!" I snapped back. "You are way outside the line. I was just going to say that even though we have done a lot, and practically perfected it, I was going to tell you that this is still my favorite part," giving him a squeeze and placing my hand on his side. "I mean, I love that I can just touch you like this and not have to ask. I love that no matter where I put my hands, you act like it was exactly where you wanted me to put them," and I stopped and he was looking at me, thoughtfully. "My point is, Ty, is that no matter what crazy adventures we chase after, it always comes back to this. Just me and you, snuggled in the dark. I just wanted to be sure that was enough for you. That's all," I said quietly.

"God I love you when you get like this, Josh. Sometimes I worry a lot about your scheming and plotting and I don't fuss even though I have no idea what you're going to come up with next. I think the day I start fussing about it will be the end of things," and he plugged my nose with his knuckles. "But Josh, I can say something similarly to you. It seems that every time I rest my head on your shoulder and fall asleep, you act like that's what I was supposed to do. We're on the same page and yes, this is home plate, so to speak.. As long as we come back to this spot after all the craziness, then I'm happy. Really happy. And I hope this thing with Micah cures you of your crush on Tristan once and for all," he said with a smirk.

"Oh my God," I thought. That was a terrifying second. "Poker face but give it to him straight" was the idea that came to mind.

"Ty," I whispered, with all the sexiness I could muster, "I may always have a crush on Tristan, it's not like he's not totally fabulous and very cool or anything," and just before he flipped out, I added, "But he's not the one I fell in love with the first second I saw him, either, is he?" He gave me a questioning, almost doubtful look, then he beamed. His face lit up. "You know I can't say something that serious as a ploy, right? I mean, that's as honest as I can get," I said, hoping he understood the truth.

Ty grinned, and then looked me close in the eye and kissed the end of my nose and he rolled onto his back and looked at me from the side. My arm was draped across his chest. I leaned forward and kissed him again. He kicked the covers off and I could see his almost nude body in the glow of the night. He pulled his undies off and spread his legs. He pulled me forward to kiss him some more. This was sexy kissing. It was hot and wet. He spread his legs in a really sexy way and uttered, "touch me, Josh, right here," using his hand to indicate between his legs. I reached down and did what he asked. His hole was hot and moist. He groaned and threw his head back. I pressed my thumb into him and felt the hot, moist cavity.

"Fuck, Josh, I am so horny. I was most of the day but that thing with Mican, holy fuck did that turn me on."

"Me too, babe, and thank you for hanging in there with me on that. I know it was a surprise but I think he needed one experience before Tristan, you know?'

"Yeah, it's all good babe. Just keep feeling my hole, babe, it's driving me crazy," and he was basically hissing.

"I'll do better than a finger, babe," and I lifted myself up and went down between his legs and licked his hole with my tongue. He was sweaty and salty and he tasted good. I lifted his legs higher for better access. He was groaning and panting as quietly as he could but he wasn't long for a cumshot. His cock was rock hard.

I laid down beside him again as he caught his breath. I rolled him away from me while I applied just a dab of lube to his hole. I entered him from behind. My arms were wrapped tightly around him and this felt so good. I usually prefer being on top of him but this was tight, our bodies were close.

"You are fucking amazing, babe. You ok?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, Josh, this is incredible," he replied. I reached down and took his hard cock in my hand and as I stroked him in rhythm to my fucking, he pushed back on me to where I almost laying on my back and he was on top of me. I gave him a few tight strokes and he pressed against my shoulder. He shot a good load across his torso. He remained silent but he was breathing heavily. He turned his head and stuck his tongue in my mouth. I came too, quietly, without any big announcements. It was intense and subtle at the same time. It was awesome how connected we could be while being so discreet. Soon, I was back on the couch asleep and was awakened by mom who came into the living room and turned on the tv to see some morning news.

We each jumped into the shower to get ready to head back to the city, and I liked how Ty took such a long shower, that the hot water ran out on me. There would have to be payback for this. We loaded up the back of the car with our bags and were soon on the road. I eased the wagon down the quiet streets of our town, getting a glimpse once again of a life gone by. Mom enjoyed our playback of yesterday and she said she was really glad we had such a good time, especially after that emotional reunion with my dad. She said that Diesel Gray did have some things on his mind about community college and funds and she said she would be talking to him further to help him get applied for school. He wanted to get the introductory courses completed locally so that he could apply for the Diesel Mechanics School to become an accredited diesel mechanic. It was a great move for his future but he didn't say anything to me about it. Funny, what we tell and don't tell. I know he thinks because I'm heading to traditional college I might say his plan was redneck but he is so wrong. That guy is smart enough, that with the necessary credentials, he might own a string of truck mechanic shops and have trucks too. I would support him no matter what. I would find a way to tell him this soon.

Mom also recognized how Ty had blended himself in with my friends and told him it was amazing how he knew no boundaries when it came to people. I wasn't sure how, but it seemed the drive hom went a lot faster than the drive out. Ty was texting like crazy while I had only gotten one test - Bryce inviting me to hang out with some guys and watch the football game this afternoon. It was one of my favorite teams so that would be very fun. As I drove slowly down Park Avenue and approached our house, mom and I both noticed something of a sign in the front yard. We were too far away to see it and mom exclaimed, "Lord have mercy, Bill has put the house on the market!" I saw Ty jump up from his phone and as we pulled across the front of the house, we saw the sign which read: "Malcolm Buxtehude for Mayor - The Man for the Job!" Ty laughed and I was afraid to say anything. Mom just stared at it for a moment and said through gritted teeth, "Goddamn her!" and Ty screamed with laughter this time. In case you weren't aware, Ty had the most innocent and beautiful laugh. He sounded like a kid when he laughed. I loved it when something struck him funny.

Mom looked at me and said, "I am sanctioning you to make that sign disappear. I would say throw it in the river but it would be wrong to litter a beautiful river with a piece of crap like that," she said. "Just make it go away, Josh, and not a word of this to anyone, got it Ty?"

"Yes ma'am," he said.

The football game party was great. Everyone was feeling some relief that our own football season was about to wind down. While playing the games is awesome fun and a big high, football practice and weight lifting every afternoon was not. They chided me for "having it easy" to which I responded, "you can all kiss my ass!" while limping across the floor with a pretend crutch.

Ty had worked with Tristan on his newest store items and this week they would be listing their items online. While the business was pretty much Ty's, Tristan got a cut from each sale because of his artwork assistance and the fact he did the photography. They used a real camera for the best images. It was pretty well run. I considered how I could get in on the action but no, this was Ty's brain child.

Later that night, under the cover of darkness, Ty and I pulled that sign out of the front yard without drawing attention from the neighbors, especially that nosy lady across the street who had nothing to do all day but stare out her front windows. We slipped the sign into the trunk of my car and drove out toward Old Main Street. We located a Hobby Lobby with a big dumpster around back and dropped the sign off in the dumpster. And there was that, our secret covert mission for mom was completed. She could handle the explanations of the "stolen" sign and the fact she was not going to work on the campaign.

The week was just as busy as the previous. Ty was at Ricky's Tuesday afternoon while I had football practice Monday through Wednesday. I informed the coach I was bailing on Thursday's practice because I had a date. He grinned and chugged me in the arm. It was the last game of the season and whatever happened would be just that. The quarterback was in good form as was the rest of the team. Given all that happened, it was not a terrible year and the boy quarterback would have a good year next year since he was a junior.

My appointment with Dr. Perrow was Tuesday afternoon. They had taken an xray of my hand and I sat in the exam room for rather a long time then Dr. Perrow came in.

"Josh, how are you doing?" he asked in his slow southern drawl.

"Good, Dr. Perrow. Doing ok, except for this hand," I told him, showing I could not make a complete fist. He explained what was happening and that physical therapy would be the next course of action. Would only require a couple of appointments and the rest of the work would be done by me at home. He asked how I was doing personally.

"I've had some ups and downs, you know. My temper has gotten away from me on occasion. Everyone has given me a little grace, I guess, so I try not to push it harder." I told him about blowing up at my stepfather as well as my real father. He told me the push from my real father was not his call, those questions are best left to people who know what they're doing.

"My son, Jason, has shown me some videos of your games and I was rather shocked, but pleased, to see you out there in a "support" capacity. Did you volunteer?" he asked.

"Oh no," I laughed. "I was voluntold. Coach needed all the help he could get and I was happy to be involved," I told him.

"I'm sure you were, and in fact, that kind of "get back in there" mentality might have carried you a lot further than you realize."

"I think that talk you had with me before I left the hospital carried me right far, Dr. Perrow. I have been consciously aware of the "rabbit hole" ever since you mentioned it. That's why I wanted to come back to see you before going to a new doctor. I wanted you to know, it made a big difference," I said sincerely.

"I'm glad you did Josh. I told you before that saving a leg or a hand is great. Saving the day is what propels doctors through the next disaster. Thank you," he said.

"And Dr. Perrow, you mentioned that your son might want to hang out sometime. Well things are pretty good right now so I would like to get that going. Thoughts?"

"Absolutely, hold on," and he pulled out his phone and tapped an app. After a moment, a voice came on saying, "Hey dad, what's up?"

"Jason," said Dr. Perrow, "You won't guess who I have in front of me," and before Jason could respond Dr. Perrow turned the phone to face me.

"Oh wow!" said Jason Perrow. "You're Josh Warner! This is so cool," and some other faces tried to get in the picture. I waved and smiled.

"Hey Jason, your dad says you and some guys might like a meet up sometime. I'm interested in following up on that," I said, being ultra cool.

"Can you meet us now?" he asked excitedly.

"No, I'm in the doctor's office," and they all laughed.

"How about in fifteen minutes?"

"No, sorry. Will have to be a weekend. My days are really busy right now. But get me on a Saturday or Sunday and I'm all in. It will be interesting to hear how you guys in the "little school" manage a team," I said sarcastically.

"Oh shit! Sorry dad. Did you hear that guys? Did you call us "little schoolers?" he asked, breaking up with laughter.

"Well, you know."

"Oh it's on man. It is ON! Hey dad, give him my number and tell him to text me when he gets home. Hope you're doing better, man. See ya, real soon!" and I waved goodbye as they clicked off.

"Well, I won't hear the end of that for a while," said Dr. Perrow with a chuckle.

"He looks like a nice guy, very upstanding," I said. In fact, he was kind of hot in an Bryce-like, all-american way.

"He is Josh. Not unlike yourself, he's clean cut and we get no attitude out of him, despite the fact I'm here more than I am there," he said with regret on his face.

"You have an important job, I'm sure he understands," I said. Then, he ushered me out into the waiting room where a nurse had a package for me about the physical therapy office. Mom would have to make that appointment as well. The doctor shook my hand loosely and patted me on the shoulder.

"Josh, you're through the worst of it. Keep it moving forward and thank you for coming in to see me. Was the better part of my day." I nodded in agreement and headed out of the waiting room.

The next major event in our lives was Halloween which was a Wednesday night this year. I was not doing anything for it as I had a lot of homework, football practice, and just wasn't into it. You can bet my little drama studs were though. Oh they spent half the afternoon upstairs in Ty's room getting ready with some outfit's they had found at the thrift store. Apparently Halloween shopping starts around July and is always on the radar until the outfit's are complete. When Ty and Tristan chucked down the stairs in their cowboy outfit's, you could have knocked me and my mom over with a feather duster, whatever that is. Just sounded good since my dad said it to me:)

So Ty, who is slightly bigger than Tristan, was wearing a white western shirt, with light blue faded jeans that had a little sag going in the butt which looked really good, dark grey cowboy boots with a light blue bandana around his neck and a cream colored cowboy hat on his head. Tristan was in a light blue chambray shirt and black vest, tucked into perfectly fitting dark blue wranglers that fit his butt so well, it made me speechless. He had cowboy boots, a black cowboy hat hanging from his neck onto his back, and his curly hair was pulled back straight so all the curls gathered in the back and my first instinct would to be to fuck them both, there in the kitchen, perhaps propped up on the barstools. They looked so amazing, I was stuttering.

"Wow, you guys are something," said mom. She took out her phone and snapped a few pictures. Tristan handed me his phone and asked me to take some pictures for his parents as well. Since his parents were always busy, they never got to see him at moments like this unless it was for school. I walked them to the door as they were headed out to Midtown where all the halloweeners would be hanging out in the street showing off and partying. Mom had said Ty could do this as long as homework was caught up and he assured her it was. At the door, I kissed Ty and pointed to my phone, "if you need me for anything you ping me, got it?" he smiled like I was being a pest. I was serious though. I looked at Tristan who was just standing there and pointed to my cheek. "Trick or treat," I said. He kissed me on my cheek which just really fucking sweet..

"So bad," Ty said, shaking his head at the two of us and then, they were gone and I could see the hordes of trick or treaters making their way down Park Avenue. Ugh. Outside of handing out more candy than I have ever seen, as we had much fewer halloweeners where I used to live, the night seemed to progress without incident. Fortunately, Bill had warned mom that we get a lot because of the neighborhood and everyone comes here because it's safe and nice. Mom wasn't completely prepared and didn't have a costume like many of the other ladies. She said she would correct that for next year. Ty came home at 10:30 and looked pretty tired.

Thursday, I came home from school and knocked out the little bit of homework that I had. Ty came into my room and stretched out on my bed.

"So you ready for tonight? What are y'all gonna do?" he asked, referring to my date with Ginny.

"Just going to dinner. Nothing too fancy for a Thursday night. But, she has been so good to me and I have been all but negligent in return. She can be a tremendous ally, if you know what I mean," I said to Ty.

"What if she wants to, you know, get it on or something?" Ty asked nervously. I laughed.

"You know Ginny is not like that. She's a proper gal," I said and he said he agreed. Not like Lisa Buxtehude who can't keep her hands off any guy she is with at the moment. I put on my black sweater, yes the famous black sweater, that had been properly dry cleaned along with Bill's dress shirts at the cleaners and a pair of jeans. Just as I got ready to leave my room, I stopped and looked at Ty who looked rather sad.

"Listen Ty, you have Tristan and other friends as well. I'm feeling very limited right now with just you and Tristan and Bryce. I don't get to see my friends at home very often. Building a bridge with someone like Ginny Tatum will be worth it. You understand?" I asked with some patience. He nodded that he did. He came off the bed and gave me a kiss. He took out his phone and said, "if you need anything, anything at all. Just ping me. Got it?" I laughed so loud, knowing he had been waiting to turn that around on me. .

I drove out to the West End to Ginny's neighborhood. Her streets were subdivision-like, all ending with cul-de-sacs. I pulled up the house and her dad opened the door.

"Hello, Mr. Tatum," I called out to him walking up the sidewalk.

"Good evening, Mr. Warner," he said happily as I approached. He extended his hand for me to shake and I did the best I could with my grip. I looked wryly at him and he shook his head, as if understanding my plight.

"Not up to speed yet, I guess," he said. I told him that was correct. He invited me in. The house was as exceptional as I had guessed. The rooms were modest, not overdone but were bright. Ginny came down the stairs wearing a sweater, jacket and pants and shoes, with big square heals.

"Hey Josh," she beamed. "You met my dad?" she asked. He took a place beside her in the foyer.

"I think he was ready for me," I said. He laughed.

"Well, you are rather well known," she said with a dramatic flair.

"Nice shoes," I said pointing down. "And sensible for city sidewalks," I added. She beamed. I'm telling you, notice a pair of shoes and you are marriage material.

"Josh, it's a bit of an exception for us to let Ginny go out on a weeknight so we would like to have her home at a reasonable time, say 10 or 10:30 at the latest?" he said, hoping I would understand.

"Absolutely, Mr. Tatum, and thanks. I haven't had Friday nights free in a while with football and the weekend tends to get a little busy. I appreciate you letting her come out with me," I responded.

"Totally understand Josh. I'm happy that she has befriended you. It goes without saying how we all felt, after your demise, so to speak," and he coughed lightly into his hand. I figured that was coming.

"I'm the one that's lucky Mr. Tatum. Ginny is a great gal, one of the best. She's a great friend to have on your side," I added and she smiled. So did he. He said farewell and we were off. I was taking her to a little Brazilian restaurant back in Midtown, that my mom said would be nice and casual for young people.

Over dinner, I had chicken and pasta and artichoke hearts, she had grilled lamb, which I wish I had ordered, and we talked about things. Her mother had been home three nights this week which was a good week but wanted to be there to meet me tonight. Her mom is a powerhouse, a senior executive for a large advertising firm and she has been responsible for several large scale advertising campaigns, stuff you see on TV. Her work requires long hours. Ginny rolled her eyes when she said her mom had gotten Malcolm Buxtehude's account for the mayor race. Fortunately, she was not responsible for the advertising content, she was only managing production and distribution. She said they didn't like him either which made me laugh. Her father had his doctorate degree in English Literature and taught at the University. He had been more or less a stay at home dad most of her years growing up. Her older brother was already away at school.

Ginny said that while she felt compelled to do something like her father in teaching and academia, she felt she had some drive like her mother to go out and do something big. She was undecided what her career would include and I told her it didn't matter as long as she was happy. She would be successful no matter what she did. I told her to run for mayor and she cracked up.

After dinner, we walked around the busy neighborhood seeing all the twenty and thirty somethings dropping in and out of local bars and doing their meet and greets. I was looking forward to the day when I could do this. We stopped in a local coffee shop and got coffees, as it was cold outside and Ginny said she was chilly. My mom always used that word which I always thought sounded weird. What is "chilly" anyway? You're hot or you're cold, in my opinion.

As we sat on the sofa by the little fireplace, and feeling very comfortable, I launched into my plan, which I had prayed, and was still praying, that would not backfire on me.

"Ginny, I feel like I can trust you with just about anything. I'm afraid, though, perhaps I haven't been attentive enough to you to ask for that. I kind of need to feel you out on this because I don't want to do anything awkward, know what I'm saying?"

"Oh Josh, being attentive is not an issue. Senior year has been busy enough, but damn, all that you have been through, it's not like you have had a lot of time. I'm just so glad to see you up and about and happy. It could have been so much worse, Josh. Thank God it wasn't!" she said.

"Well I appreciate that, but what I want to tell you is so serious, so extreme, it's so fricking heavy, that it might be more than you want to handle. But handling it means you are locked in as a friend going forward. It's signing your soul to the devil. Do you get how serious I am being right now?" She looked at me with wide eyes and appeared almost frozen.

"Josh, whatever this is, you need to tell me now. If there is one person in the world you need to support you with something so dire, it has to be me. I wouldn't know anyone else to refer you to!" she said, almost humorous but serious too.

"Let me work backwards, so you will understand all the way through. Ginny, the trust..." and she put her hand on mine which was very warm from holding her coffee mug, "spit it out, Warner."

"Ginny, Ty, my stepbrother, and I are together. Do you know what I mean when I say that?" She nodded oddly. "We have been together since the incident. As far as I know, we may always be together," and I let that hang out there to sink in. She didn't move or say anything and this went on for several minutes. I know because I see my watch on my arm as it rested on the arm of the chair. "Several minutes" during something like this was a really long time and so I nudged her.

"Ginny, are you with me? You're in shock, right?" I asked.

"I am shocked, Josh. I had no idea, no hint, not even a suspicion. I just always thought you were simply too busy for girls. You and Ty? I, uh, um, well, continue the story backwards, please," she said.

"Ginny, we have had to keep this as far on the down low as possible because, well, our damn parents are so frickin' happy, we don't want to create a rift, you know?" and she nodded in agreement. "When I moved in with the Breck's, and after having met Tyson the first time, I was terrified because the lifestyle I was willing to brush aside for the sake of quarterbacking football came first. And while I was doing a half decent job at it, that prick attacked Ty and it caused me so much rage, it's why I came down on him so hard. The feelings between Ty and me just blew up after that, especially when I got hit by the car. We couldn't deny each other anymore," I said, and as I was looking down at my feet while speaking, she lifted my chin and told me to talk to her, rather than to the floor. She had such a soft look on her face.

"So you and Ty are like boyfriends, and no one knows? You can't tell anyone," she confirmed.

"No one, except for Tristan Lane, Ty's best friend," I said.

"Oh yes, of course, I would have expected that. Those two have been joined at the hip since we were in elementary school."

"Ginny, outside of some football players, my exposure to people here is really limited. I had hoped, back when I first "figured things out" that I could keep this buried until I got out of high school and if I had stayed back at home, it wouldn't have been a problem. Moving here, however, well it changed things in a huge way. I mean, Ty, living in the house with him, being exposed to him day in and day out, I mean, I'm only human. It became "unburied", you understand what I'm saying?"

"So Josh, you don't have to over justify this to me. I can easily see how a guy like you and a guy like him would have the attraction that you do. Living in the same house, I guess, is the sticky part. It's a slippery hole, isn't it?" and after thinking for a moment, she said, "you know Josh, I don't think you're doing anything wrong but I'm also finding it hard playing best girlfriend and cheering you on. Some folks might not understand but I'm not going to get caught up in the right and wrong of it. But outside of being the person you trusted with this, I want to know what I can do. What do you need for me?" and she stood with her almost completed coffee in hand and took my elbow, suggesting I stand as well, she said, "let's walk."

We left the coffee shop and continued walking along the street, with Ginny's arm wrapped with mine. To anyone in the world, we would have looked like teen boyfriend and girlfriend. I hadn't said anything in response to her question but she figured it out.

"So let me think, you need some cover dont you? You want me to play "girl on your arm" to deter suspicion or accusation. Am I right?" she asked.

"Is it wrong to do that to you, Ginny? Am I taking advantage of you by thinking like that? I mean, I like you so much, I would never want to hurt you, not at all. I just thought it would encourage our friendship and present a pretty picture at the same time."

"Well, if you had done that to me without telling me, I would have been very unhappy. Your strategy for making me part of the play, an actress on the stage? Well that is very brilliant. I rather love it, Josh. At this point in my high school career, I'm not holding any hope of finding an amazing boyfriend and falling in love and getting sappy like that," she said, laughing at the thought of it. "So no, you're not asking me to do anything I can't do. This is a prominent role, Josh. I'll take it very seriously. If you and Ty had gone public, I would have been the first to stand in your defense anyway. I knew someone like you couldn't go on unattached forever. I just couldn't put my finger on it but now it all makes sense!" and she seemed really pleased with herself, with her new understanding.

"What about Bryce?" she asked.

"Well, I think he and I have a tight bond and he probably wouldn't fall apart about it but I'm just not there yet. This has to be the greatest "controlled" leak of our age, Ginny. It's big."

"Yep," she said. "Big isn't the word for it," she confirmed. I stopped her on the street and looked her in the eyes.

"Ginny, the relief I feel having talked about this is also big. To say thank you just doesn't cut it. I have hoped for a long time for a friend like you. Ty has Tristan you know and I, well, I didn't have anyone to trust."

"Trust is the big word and it's hard to know when you can trust someone. How will you ever repay me is the only question I can think of?" she asked.

"You are your mother's daughter, aren't you?" and she cracked up. "How about being my date to the Christmas Cotillion at Forest Hills? My mom is getting the tickets next week," I told her.

"Snap! That will be amazing. They put on a really nice party for the teens out there. It's a really big deal and I would love it," she said emphasizing the word "love."

"Great," I told her. I will see if I can get a picture of my mom's face when I tell her I've asked you and you said yes. This might also require a dinner here and there," I said, warning her of what's to come.

"You might be on the same hook with my parents," Ginny said. "But look Josh, I know what all is involved here. I'm not going to drum up a bunch of obligations for you to add to the complexities you are already dealing with. You just need to tell me when to enter stage left," and she waved her hand like a producer, "and when to exit stage right," and she laughed again.

"It won't be that mechanical. Let's just be friends and enjoy the time together. One day when you're running some big company like Amazon, I will get to say "she was part of my play!"

"Haha, you're so clever, aren't you?" and we headed back to the car so I could get her home at a respectful time. We talked more on the drive about my 12 year old days and my first boy crush, and what it was like the day I met Ty. She hung onto every word like it was the modern day fairy tale. She said she couldn't imagine what it was to love someone so intensely as I appeared to do. She also said this would be a much different situation if it were a stepbrother and sister, which I did agree with. She told me about Ty coming out. Some made a big deal about it but many weren't surprised. She said he said on his social media that if anyone had anything to say to say it to his face or face being smited! I cracked up because that sounded just like him. She said what an amazing picture it would have been of us as two little boys, with my thick dark hair and blue eyes compared to his silky blonde hair and green eyes. She said we would have been the cutest two brothers alive, calendar babies! I was really laughing now but don't think it didn't strike my imagination. I thought about that image silently and knew I would revisit that concept later.

The drive home from Ginny's gave me the chance to consider a couple of things. How lucky was I to have someone like her, ready to be my "wingman" so to speak. How many other people would react to my news as she did and what would I do with those folks who did not? What would the parents say? I had not formulated a plan for that eventuality and hoped one would not be needed anytime soon. Ginny's "role on the stage" as she described it could postpone such a necessity. She is a good girl and the thought of hurting her or causing her any grief made me shudder. No one would deserve bad reviews for this little drama except for Ty and myself.

The next morning at breakfast I asked mom, "Hey mom, where are our pictures and things?"

"In storage, why? Do you need something?"

"Well one cannot help but notice that all the pictures in the grand living room are of boy wonder here and there is nothing of me. I just thought maybe one or two pictures of me "strown around" might be nice. Just one or two, you know," I said, not taking my eyes off Ty, "for when people stop by. You know?"

"Boy wonder? Is that what you called me?" he said.

"Would you prefer Butch Cassidy, after your halloween get up the other night?"

"Oh you want to go there this early in the morning?" Mom and Bill were chuckling. They loved these little dramas I stirred up.

"Just one or two," I said to Mom. "See if we have anything befitting the calendar baby in the living room!" I quipped. Ty rolled his eyes up into his head.

With an exasperated sigh, he barked "I'm through with you today, Josh Warner. Any trouble comes your way, I'm going to be standing right behind it!"

"He has a point," said Bill looking at Ty. "He has no representation in this house. I think it's a fair request," said Bill thoughtfully. Mom was sipping her coffee trying to stay out of it.

"I don't mind if he gets representation," said Ty. I just don't like his implication that I have a photo gallery or something. Maybe he would like to have a wing built onto the house for his display? Perhaps a `gallery?"" He looked at mom, "there is a photoshop down the street that can blow up your pictures for a reasonable cost," he said. My mom cracked up. Ty got up from the table and uttered something like the only thing left for me to do today was mess up his "presentation" meaning his hair before school and he stormed up the stairs.

Bill laughed so hard. "I love it when he gives Ty a run for the money," he said. "Not many can," he concluded.

"And you encourage him," snapped my mom.

"He needs no encouragement," replied Bill. "You think Ty walks away from the encounters unhappy? He's loving every minute of it, you know he does," implied Bill. My mom smiled acknowledging that she knew the truth. Another plan hatched - get to storage and find those pictures. Tonight was the last football game, and tomorrow was the end of season football dinner. Mom was not going due to a project she was helping with and Bill had agreed to go as "my dad." Honestly, it was something he had always hoped to do, just like Ty's tennis engagements.

"Mom," I said, "Ginny is going to be my date for the Christmas party so be sure to add her to the ticket list," and I was about to head up to get my things for school when she flashed me that grin, and the motherly wink.

"Lovely," said Bill. "I know the Tatum's. Glad you're branching out" he said.