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 55

I wished I had gotten the call on Wednesday afternoon. Fuck! I wish I had gotten that call. Having a job outside of school can be a complete holdback to everything you need to do in life. I thought this as I drove to Bryce's house. Fuck the job! Fuck those rich people's Mercedes'! If I had gotten this call...the voicemail was from Tristan.

"Josh! Josh! Please help me! I'm stranded in the mall parking lot and I don't know where to go! He might be looking for me. Ple-e-e-a-s-e Josh come and get me!" My nerves were raw as I listened to the voicemail in terror. Fortunately, I got a call from Bryce just as I was leaving work.

"Bryce, where are you? Something's happened!" I blurted out.

"No, it's ok, dude. I got him. I got Tristan. He's safe here at my house," and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I aimed my car down the main drag and into our part of town. I pulled into Bryce's circular drive and parked at the front door. Just as I was about to ring the bell, Mrs. Chatley opened the door.

"Come on in , Josh. The boys are upstairs. Go on up," she said, giving me a faint smile.

"Thanks Mrs. Chatley," I said, as I bounded up the stairs. I stopped in Bryce's doorway. He and Tristan were lying on the bed and were laughing about something.

"Ok, you scared the shit out of me!" I barked. His face turned serious.

"I'm sorry, Josh. I was, um, it was trouble. I didn't know what to do. Ty wasn't answering and you were at work."

"He called me and I dashed over to the mall and picked him up in the food court. Dude, he was shaking and carrying on."

"What happened?" I asked, easing into the room and taking a seat on the side of the bed.

"I did what you all told me not to do but it was all good up until today."

"Athlete?" I asked.

"Roman!" barked Bryce.

"That motherfucker!" I yelled more loudly that I should've.

"We've hooked up a couple of times, nothing serious but I was starting to see the trend. He wanted his dick sucked once or twice a week. I really didn't have the time for anything that regular and so I decided to do it one more time and then tell him I had to quit. Getting back with my boyfriend or something. Well, we did it, well, I mean, I did it." He paused. I sat quietly. "But then he turned me in the seat and tried to yank down my shorts. He told me he wanted some ass this time. I shouldn't mind since I had such a fine ass. I tried to pull away but he was so strong. I lost my shit, Josh. I went off on him and he had a hard time fighting back because he didn't have any room in the driver's seat. I got the door open and ran through the parking lot of the mall. He tried to catch up with me but a car backed out," and he started to speak faster and faster. "I couldn't tell what part of the parking lot I was in because I was so confused and I started calling. Then I saw him coming up the other lane and I bolted and when I saw the entrance to Macy's I ran straight in and didn't stop until I was in the food court. It was really crowded in there." He stopped and I grabbed his ankle and put a squeeze on it. His breathing was slowing down. I crawled over Bryce and put my arms around him.

"I am so sorry baby. I'm glad you're safe. I'm glad you thought to call Bryce. I wish I could have been there," I said as I continued to hug him. I felt his breath on my neck and it was warm. I could smell the sweat on him. Any other occasion and it would have been a turn on. This was not the time for that, however.

"It's ok, Josh. I'm ok. Bryce came quick!"

"I heard he does that!" I snapped, causing Tristan to burst out laughing. I felt an elbow in my back.

"Low blow, brother!" I said.

"And I heard that about you too!" said Bryce, and this time Tristan threw his head back and hit the headboard from laughing. We all cracked at this point.

"So what's the plan?" I asked. "We're not going to let this go, surely!" I said, getting excited.

"It's been handled," Bryce said.

"How?"

"He texted Tristan to say he regretted how things got out of hand. He didn't mean for that to happen and he felt bad," said Bryce. "I took Tristan's phone and texted for him. I said that it had been fun but things need to stop here. I told him that he was a bit more intense than I could handle and I didn't want to get hurt. He said he understood, maybe trying to keep from calling the police on him or something. He wasn't argumentative, of course, he thought he was texting with Tristan."

"He should have called not texted, the coward!" I quipped. "I mean, what was he thinking putting Tristan in a spot like that. He may have gotten the message that we don't pick on gay guys but he missed the message that you don't fuck with them either! You made peace with him? Seriously? He needs to get his ass kicked!" I barked.

"You and I can't watch Tristan 24 hours a day and he needs to be able to get around without looking over his shoulder Josh!" Bryce replied in a methodical tone. "The last thing any of us need is retaliation war. You know those guys don't back down when they've been challenged. As long as he thinks Tristan is the only one who knows, he might let it die down."

"That's a good point," I said. "The last thing we need the last week of school is a war. You ok?" I asked Tristan.

"Yeah, I really appreciate you two," he said quietly. "I feel stupid because you all warned me to watch out for him, well, them."

"What did Roman say to your message?" I asked.

"He said he understood. He really felt bad and that he was glad I fought back," Tristan said, handing me the phone. It did say that. He had at least not denied anything. It was in writing.

"Keep that text, Tristan. Remember the phone call you all recorded? Evidence is crucial sometimes," I said.

"Joshua Warner for the defendant!" barked Bryce and we all laughed again.

"I"m gonna take him home, Bryce said.

"I'm happy to do it," I said.

"No, please let me," Bryce said. "`I'm feeling hero-ish and my mom wants me to check on his mom when I drop him off," and he gave me a dry look. I understood.

I kissed Tristan on the cheek and he gripped my hand.

"Thank you, Josh. I know you were working. I'm sorry if I scared you," Tristan said.

"I'm always that call," I said. "I just wish that fucking job hadn't got in the way," I said, heading back down the stairs.

"Tell Ty I'll call him later," Tristan said.

"Between choir and tennis, he may be asleep before he gets up the stairs!" I yelled back up, forgetting I was in the Chatleys' house.

"Rudeness!" shouted Julia from the upstairs balcony. I laughed.

"Sorry sweetie!" I yelled back up to her and she laughed at me.

Thursday was a good day. It was quiet. Several big homework projects were turned in. I checked in with Tristan who said he had not had any contact with Roman. Hopefully, that sleeping dog was in deep sleep! We went to Ty's chorus concert since this would be his last. He had agreed with the chorus director that he would not be able to play for the chorus next year as the time demands were going to be too much. The concert was really good. He played top notch like he does. I'm not even sure he even practices that much because he rarely plays the piano at home. It was a relaxing evening.

With the parents asleep, Ty and I stretched out on his bed. He told me of the news that Ashton Becker would be back on the team and while Bill had given "positive feedback" to the club director about Ashton's apology to the family, the club director said Ty's opinion would count. If he trusted Ashton to come back and not pursue resentments about being challenged and, or beaten, then he would reinstate him. Ty said he felt Ashton's response seemed a one time occurrence as he had never mistreated anyone on the team before. The team was very happy that Ty took the "high road" but it was nothing more than I expected.

"Well, just another bit of drama behind us," Ty said.

"It's always something, isn't it?" I said. He nestled into me. His soft hair brushed against my face. He looked up at me, with a need in his eyes.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I want you," he hissed.

"You got me. I'm right here. I figured we were gonna..."

"Not just an "any ol' time fuck", Josh. I mean I want you," he repeated, emphasizing the "want." He kissed me and of course I was hard. I had been hard through most of our cuddling. He climbed on top of me. I knew what was coming so I "manned up." I lubed my finger and ran it between his legs and into his hole. He gasped. I wiggled it around making sure he was wet and that his nerves were on alert. He leaned forward and kissed me and began pressing himself down onto me. He was tight tonight, probably since we hadn't done it much lately. I felt the warm walls of his ass surround me. I was feeling a lot of things at that moment and he sank down fully.

"OOOh, Ty, that's good," I whispered.

"I know," he said and he began to fuck me. I mean, he totally ran it. He bobbed up and down, giving me an extra squeeze from time to time. He leaned forward and put his face to mine. Oh my God I wish I could have seen what his ass looked like impaling itself on my hardon! We had never filmed and I was wondering if there wasn't something we could do, a "special" recording. No time to worry about it now. Ty was in rare form! His own hardon bounced up and down, slapping my torso. His balls were tight. I loved his cock. I would have loved any cock that was his but he had a really sexy cock, hard, almost unbending. I stroked him and he began to get close. I wasn't sure I was getting close until he put more squeeze on me.

"Oh Josh!" he mouthed, not making a sound. He closed his eyes and slowed down. I just let go of his cock when he dropped himself onto me, full weight. His cock fired a shot into the air that landed on my face. A second really big shot fired and landed on my neck. He stroked the rest of his cum out leaving a puddle on my chest. I put my hands on my hips as my cum flooded his insides. We panted and we kissed. He rested on top of me for some time before he climbed off.

"OH fuck, its leaking," he said, stumbling to the bathroom to clean himself off.

"What about me?" I whispered loud enough that he could hear me. He laughed.

"Lick it up, baby!" he said, with his head sticking out of the doorway.

"I only drink from the tap, remember!" I barked back. He came in with a hand towel and wiped me clean. The towel went into his hamper and he climbed back into the bed with me.

"It was quick," he said. "I was really turned on."

"Sometimes quick is for the best. The intensity...I don't know how to describe it."

"You're right." He paused. "Josh I'm not gonna harp on what's ahead for us. I just need you to know that I love you. That's all you need to remember. Right?"

"I will remember and I love you too, baby. It's just so fucking amazing that everything, all the bullshit we've gotten into, we still come home to each other. Sometimes, I just, well, Ty, you really are...um, I don't know what to say," I whispered as he looked into my face and studied my eyes.

"Just let me lay like this," he said, putting his head on my shoulder.

"Let me set the clock," I said and I turned my 5:45 alarm to On.

What we didn't see coming was a bunch of high-shit drama on Friday, and this time not by us, but by the parents! I was home alone after school, still working on homework and projects due the next week as the next week was the last full week of school. The three days following would be dedicated to exams and then graduation that Friday night. A little before 5, I heard the kitchen door slam downstairs. It slammed hard enough to change the air pressure in my room. I was startled. Before I could head downstairs, my mom stomped up the stairs.

"Hey mom, whats..."

"Not now, Josh!" she snapped, passing me and going into her room and slamming the door again. I was frozen in place. Ty came out of his room and asked me what was going on. I pointed to his room and I followed him back into his room and closed the door, gently.

"Mom is pissed. Something has gone down," I said.

"The way she's slamming doors!" he said. "What have you done now?" he asked.

"What makes you think it's me? I haven't done anything!" I retorted, causing him to laugh.

"Well, it wasn't me. I have been cherubic all week," he said, placing his hand on his hip. We crept back to her room and to see if we could hear anything, perhaps she was on her phone or something. There was nothing until we heard the water come on in the bathroom. She was going to take a shower.

"Is that a clue?" asked Ty.

"You are so stupid sometimes!" I belted as I laughed. We snuck back into his room.

"Hey Ty, I've been wanting to do this all day," I said, and I pulled him close and we started kissing. His body relaxed in my arms and he felt so good. He pushed his tongue into my mouth and played around in there. It was really sexy. We broke away.

"How's Tristan today?" I asked.

"He said he has had some bad dreams but hasn't had any trouble with Roman. I wished I could have taken that call. I would've been over there in a second!" said Ty.

"I know, me too. Bryce to the rescue, though!"

"Yes, he's good about that. I'm glad Tristan thought to call him," Ty said.

"You said just recently that Bryce and the gang are mostly my friends, not yours. I think it's safe to say that Bryce would be there in a moment for either of you. Any of them would."

"You're right and I agree. How's Ginny?" Ty asked.

"She is so busy with those Honors projects she barely has 5 minutes. She had two dates with Kyle and she said she has barely spoken to him."

"How's Kyle?" Ty asked.

"I only see him at the dealership on Mondays and he's good. He's invited me, well us to the lake next Saturday after the last day of school. Bryce and a few others might be there too," I said. Ty looked so happy.

"OK! That will be great!" he said. So then came the drama part-2. Dad came in and I heard mom clomp down the stairs. Ty and I came out and went down the front stairs and appeared in the kitchen behind mom.

"Honey, are we going somewhere?" Dad asked, observing mom in a black cocktail dress.

"WE are not going anywhere!" she snapped.

"Oh, it's that. I see," he said quietly. "Listen, honey, I didn't..."

"I don't care what you knew or didn't know. I don't care what your merry band of partners told you or didn't tell you! What happened today was a fuckinig shame and you all should be ashamed!" she yelled. She picked up a wine bottle and poured a glass of wine. We were all quiet.

"Karen," Bill said quietly. "I know it was upsetting. I'm not happy about it either. I'm not always in the litigation committee meetings. I didn't know," he said, trying to put her arm around her. She pulled away.

"After twelve good and hard years in that firm, for that lousy bunch to announce my replacement before I have even given notice to my team? Really? That's the best I get?" she asked. Her phone went off.

"They're here!" she said. She handed me the glass of wine. I shuttered. She pushed past me and Ty and walked down the front hall. The front door opened and then snapped shut. Ty and I ran to the front and saw Mrs. Chatleys Lexus parked out front and she and Mrs. Lane were sitting in the car. Tristan came bounding up the sidewalk.

"Hey Mrs. Breck," she said. She gave him a smile and walked down the walk and climbed into the car.

"They're going for a ladies night," Tristan said. "I'm staying here if you don't mind," he said, coming on into the house.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"I'm not staying alone in that house, not after this week!" he said.

"I have tennis tonight. Will you two, um, be ok til I get back?" Ty asked.

"We will be fine, Ty. Don't worry. Make tonight a good night."

We walked back into the kitchen. Dad was standing there.

"Well, sorry you two had to see that. How are you, Tristan?" he asked.

"I'm good, Mr. Breck. Sorry but you looked, well, you look not so happy," said Tristan.

"Boys, what you saw earlier was not undeserved. Your mother is very insulted and she has reason to be. It was an HR mixup and bad timing. Someone jumped the gun and forwarded a memo announcing that a replacement had been found for Karen and she had only planned to tell her team next week. It was a big shake up at the firm today. Her whole team was upset."

"Ah," I said. "I haven't seen her that upset for a long time," I said.

"We will need to give her time. I presume she has embarked on a ladies night. Maybe that's for the best. It will take her mind off it," Dad said.

"Or they plan how to burn you at the stake!" said Ty. Tristan's eyes shot wide open and I gave him a "what the fuck!" look. Bill laughed.

"It's ok, boys. I was not in on that decision but tonight, your mother sees me as part of the "institution, part of the good ol' boys club. This is the very reason why they don't like couples engaged in firm business. Once lines are drawn, there's room for lots of disagreement."

"Dad, you can hang out with us but if there's something else you want to do, we won't mind. Whatever you need, we'll help you with," said Ty.

"That's kind of you, son. Why don't I ride out the club with you. I might play some cards with the guys while you practice. You ok with that, Josh?" he asked.

"Oh yes. Tristan will keep me out of trouble tonight," I said.

"He better," said Ty. "Not the other way around!"

Ty and his dad left for the club. Tristan and I ordered a pizza and it couldn't get there fast enough.

"You want to talk about what happened?" I asked. "Are you afraid to stay alone?"

"Nah, not really. But I have never felt fear like that before. I mean, I admit that I like a little fun and those big dick guys are fun but I'm not about to let them fuck me. I thought he was going to, well, take it too far. I was really scared. I don't ever want to feel that way again," Tristan admitted.

"I completely understand. I'm not just speaking for me but for Ty, Bryce, Jack, everyone. If that happened to you we would all be bat-shit crazy, Tristan."

"That was the first time anyone got rough. He had been so cool before. Just a little oral action and that was it. He said the amount of effort it took for me to blow him could be measured on a fingernail compared to the chicks. They aren't happy with "blow and go", so to speak," Tristan said with a laugh.

"What about Jack?" I asked.

"We're just taking a break til summer. I would like to pick things back up but he can't come at me with so much possessiveness. He's thinking about it."

"He hasn't responded to my texts," I said.

"He's afraid of you," Tristan said with a chuckle.

"He's what? I'm not gonna get on him as long as you two are in agreement."

"I know but he thinks that if things aren't good between me and him, they won't be between you and him. You know, side taking and all."

"I'll text him later and tell him not to be worried. I'm not taking sides. It's between you and him as long as no one is mistreating the other," I said. The pizza guy knocked on the door and we literally ran to the door and took the pizza. The guy was a guy from our school and he was pretty hot. Tristan said, "Hey Andy," with a flirty smile.

"Hey Tristan. What y'all doing?" he asked.

"Hanging," Tristan said. "Hope you don't have a crazy night," Tristan said.

"Friday delivery is always crazy dude. Y'all have fun. Josh," and he nodded at me.

"He's a stud," I said. "Why don't I know him?" I asked.

"Chess club, Latin Club, and Debate. Where are your paths gonna cross?" Tristan said with a giggle. I thought for a moment how I had not been involved in anything my senior year. After football, it was like I disengaged or something. Hadn't thought of it til just now. That guys was super cute.

"Better keep him away from me," I said, acting like I could get all the guys. Tristan laughed and yanked the pizza box out of my hand and ran off to the kitchen. We devoured the thin slices of pepperoni, sausage, and onion as Elite played on Netflix.

"This new season sucks," said Tristan. "It's practically soft porn!" he said.

"I agree. There's no plot anymore. It should have ended with who killed the girl," gulping down a glass of wine we poured from mom's bottle that she didn't finish. I hope she didn't go looking for it because Tristan and I polished it down.

As we watched the episode, Tristan had stretched out on the sofa and put his feet in my lap. I thought nothing of it except that it was a tender gesture.

"You wanna fuck me?" he asked, in blatant surprise.

"Ha, yeah!" I responded. "But I'm not going to," I said with a chuckle.

"Thank you for that."

"Were you testing me?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I know this is not the time because I just can't handle anything more, but Josh, whatever happens between you and Ty, I would want it before you leave. I mean, I wouldn't turn it down. I don't know what happens after we all scatter to the wind, but I don't trust who I'll meet and I may never have friends like you again. I don't know..." and he trailed off.

"I'm feeling a lot of that these days and I think Ty is too. The thing with Ty is delicate right now. Everyone heading out is settling on him and well, I love him so much. I can't bear for there to be another day of hurt for him. I'm going to give him everything he needs from me until I go."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. I don't feel people in our future will be so generous."

"Don't fret that stuff," I told him. "We need to make the best decisions we can and choose the best. The difference is that we will have choices while in high school, we were crammed into a sardine can together. You'll see," I said.

"So wise," Tristan said in a mock voice. I punched his leg, causing him to jerk it up and laugh.

It was after 9 pm when Bill and Ty blew through the door. Ty and I were surprised. Ty looked in a state.

"Upstairs, both of you!" Ty quipped. We followed in his wake as he launched up the stairs, not stopping til we got to his bedroom.

"What's wrong, Ty? Did something happen with Bill?"

"Well no. We were notified that Ashton won't actually be playing tennis with the team. It seems...well they said...no, they told us that he had been in an altercation with some guys at the mall this afternoon and he was pushed and fell down those spiral stairs. He has a sprained wrist and a broken finger" Ty snapped.

"Oh God!" I said. "Who was he fighting with?" I asked.

"No indication he was actually fighting. It seems someone smarted off at him and he gave them the middle finger and they gave him a push. Just pushed him!" Ty exclaimed.

"Fuck, what has gotten in to everyone? Is everyone just angry or what!" said Tristan. Ty looked at me, wild eyed, motionless. Something settled into the pit of my stomach, a dark feeling, something I couldn't describe.

"Hey Ty," I asked in a subtle, quiet voice. "Where's Jordan this weekend?"

"He's at Georgetown for a recruitment ceremony. His mom and Rick and everyone is there," Ty said. "Josh?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Never speak of it, Ty. Don't go asking questions or sticking your nose in it. Do you hear me?" He and Tristan looked at me very oddly then Ty's eyes sprang wide again. I nodded my head to not say a word. "Not a word, Ty. Promise me?" I said.

"Ok, I promise, but, we don't..."

"What we don't know won't hurt us, Ty. You promise?" I snapped.

"Yes," I promise, he said, with trepidation.

"Me too," said Tristan, which was funny because he didn't have the slightest idea what was in my head.

We were just about to head into the den when we heard Mom come through the front door. We looked over the balcony as she came up the stairs. She didn't appear drunk which was good. Dad came out of his room and went downstairs to meet her at the door. He took her hand and led her out back. We all looked at each other for a minute and the kitchen door closed. We ran into the parent's room and looked out the rear windows. They sat by the water fountain and he put his around my mom. She let him this time. We guessed they were making peace, or he was making peace with her.

"Aww," said Tristan. "That's so romantic! We need a water fountain in our backyard," he quipped.

"Dad said she was mad as fuck when she left the office," Ty said. "He fears she will never forgive the firm for doing that to her>'

"Wow, that's sad," said Tristan. I knew my mother better than either of them. It's one thing to make her mad with just aggravation or laziness. It's another thing to hurt her. We would definitely be going soft on her for a while. "Fuck them," I said. "When we lived out in the country, she busted her ass to be there every morning, every day. She worked like a crazy woman for them. I don't blame her for being angry."

"Well, she starts her new gig in a month. She'll be running the mayor's office," Ty said.

"Yeah, maybe it was time for a change."

"Dudes, your mom is probably the most awesome of all our moms. She does everything and is fucking perfect at everything and she puts up with your fucking nonsense on top of it all!" said Tristan. Ty gave him the evil eye. "We need to have a Mrs. Breck Recognition Day or something!" he said.

"Not a bad idea," Tristan. "We should do something to help her with her transition. Let's give that some thought," I said to Ty, who nodded in agreement.

We eased back into our little den and turned on the tv. It was almost 11 pm and no one wanted to go to sleep. I thought Ty would be exhausted but he wasn't. The parents came up and told us good night.

"Tristan, you mom was in good shape tonight. Seems she's feeling more engaged. It was lovely to have her with us," Mom said.

"I'm glad she went out. I think my dad was happy too."

"You comfortable here, sweetie?" Mom asked.

"Oh yes ma'am, thank you. The pizza was delicious!" Tristan chirped.

"I'm glad. See you boys in the morning," she said gently.

"Well how nice! Don't mind Josh and me. Just roll out the red carpet for Tristan!" barked Ty. I had to chuckle.

"I'm sorry son," mom said. She came over and pinched Ty's cheek, "lemme gib you some lubbin too," she said in a baby voice. Ty turned red as the rest of us laughed. Seemed mom was more in her usual form. I would talk to her about it all tomorrow.

"Holy Fuck!" I thought, when I woke up. I was asleep in Ty's bed with Ty laying one side of me and Tristan laying on the other. I looked at my phone and it was almost 8 am. "Holy God I hope mom hadn't looked in on us this morning when she got up. She didn't usually but there is always the first time. I slithered out from between my beautiful boys and my right arm was sore. Tristan's weight must have laid on most of the night. He was so beautiful the way he slept with his head tilted to one side. I know everyone would be asking what we did and the answer was nothing out of the ordinary. We did get a little affectionate and we did some kissing. Nobody had a cumshot and no one was penetrated. Well, that's a lie. Let me rephrase. Other than Ty sticking his middle finger in my ass, nobody got fucked. All I thought Ty and I did was make sure that Tristan's ordeal on Wednesday didn't result in some sexual frustration or trauma. He was in good form. No apparent issues. Haha - the little stud!

I went downstairs.

"Morning Josh. You want some breakfast?" she asked. "I fried an egg for myself. What would you like?"

"Just some bacon and toast is good," I said, pouring a glass of orange juice. I took the last of the bottle. Mom raised her eyebrows knowing that would send Ty off.

"You didn't sleep in your bed last night," she uttered, sipping her coffee.

"You looked in on us," I said defeatedly.

"No, I looked in on you. I wasn't sure I should..."

"Don't worry mom. We just huddled in Ty's bed."

"You sure? Seems a bit odd that you three..."

"I said nothing went on! We just stayed together. Tristan seemed really comforted!" I barked at her. He glanced at me as she took a bite of her runny egg. "He was very comfortable with us last night. Ty and I were both glad he came over and didn't stay home alone," I said. "How was your night?" I asked.

"The girls did a good job of talking me off the ledge but I'm still angry, Josh. I don't mind saying that I'm in a frightful mood. Bill tried his best as well but I can't help attach some of it on him. He's part of that "men's club" now and well..."

"Guilt by association," I said.

"Exactly!" she said, pursing her lips.

"After all the bullshit Ty and I have been through," and mom's eyebrows shot up her forehead. No need for her to say anything because I would have said it that way no matter what, "is that after the fact, it's usually over. The worst is out. Your response is all that matters," I said, biting down on a piece of buttered toast and looking down on my plate.

"Listen to you, Mr. Grown-up, giving mom advice. You're right though. I'm about to step into a role where I could take a lot of things personally and now is not the time for that. I should just give them a "thanks for such a wonderful twelve years!" speech then shoot `em the bird!" and we laughed. I laughed harder than her but she laughed. "Listen, I'm going to make sure Bill feels my pain over the weekend but I'll let him off the hook Monday. Don't worry if I seem snappy," she said, giving me an evil grin.

"Got it, mom. I have to work all afternoon and tomorrow I'm going to Ty's tennis match."

"Speaking of, what happened to Ashton?" she asked.

"That's unclear."

"Julie said his parents feel it was a bit of a "targeted" sort of thing. He wouldn't usually have an encounter with a couple of black guys," and she pursed her lips again. Bill said he hadn't won the match and I doubt he understood what that meant. He thought getting Ashton's apology sold to the club director would be the hard part. And, although mom had just made my stomach wrench, I focused on her pursed lips and hoped the people in the Mayor's office came to a quick understanding that when she did that, it usually meant she was figuring things out and those things, well, usually have consequences. I finished breakfast and went back upstairs. I didn't mention a single thing about that conversation to Ty or Tristan. The shower felt amazing.

It was a hot day cleaning cars. Sunday was a hot day to play tennis. Ty won one set but lost the match. The guy was razor sharp and had a very defined swing. Ty said he was going to take up the 1st seat player on his offer for a tennis lesson since it appeared Ty was in the second seat for the unforeseeable future.

Monday I walked into Keith Burch's classroom which is where I was basically having lunch three times a week.

"What did you bring?" he asked.

"Pizza slices from the kitchen," I said.

"How do you eat like that and never put on a pound?"

"I burn, baby. Burn!" I quipped. He laughed.

"I'm sure you do," re remarked. "What's the drama today?" he asked.

"Who said there was any?" I asked.

"Usually!"

"So, remember the thing that happened to Ty a week ago?" He nodded. "Then remember how the guy came and apologized to us last week?" He nodded again, this time more slowly. "Well he as about to rejoin the team and suddenly had an altercation with some guys at the mall and took a fall down the steps. He now has a sprained wrist and a broken finger."

"Oh God, Josh. How did all that happen?" I didn't respond. "You don't know?" I still didn't respond. He sat his canned coca-cola on the desk and said, "and that's where you leave it Josh. I don't like the implication and I don't want it discussed any further." I nodded my head in agreement.

"On a side note, my mother's law firm announced her replacement before she gave her notice! You want to talk about mad! She was "out the frame furious" Friday night," I said.

"I bet she was. What a shitty thing to do to your mom. That's very disappointing. She's a big boy. She'll move on from it. How's Tristan?" he asked.

"He's fine. It was a scare but he's not traumatized or anything."

"Did you perform a mental physical assessment to come that to that conclusion?" he asked, in a stately tone. I laughed.

"No but the way he was climbing on my lap Friday night told me he was doing just fine," I said with a sly voice. Keith gasped.

"Josh! Does your depravity know no end!" he quipped.

"Absolute not!" I said. "It was, after all, part of the examination!" and Keith shook his head again.

"Fuck how I'm going to miss these meetings," Keith said. "I'm not supposed to show favoritism Josh but you are my favorite student I have ever had," and he laughed again. "May ever have!"

"There will be many in my life who will share a similar sentiment," I replied. "But in all seriousness, Keith, you haven't been anything like a teacher this semester. You have been my sentinel and it means a lot to me," and all of a sudden my mouth was dry and I felt so sad.

"Most compliments are meant to derive a response, Josh. I don't have anything witty to respond with. I'm so flattered. Sentinel. That's some amazing use of language," and he looked down at one of his fingernails.

"Let's just keep one thought alive this week, Keith. I'm not going to be your student forever." I got up from my chair and took my pizza slice box in hand. I walked by behind his desk and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Remember that," I said, and I left his room, throwing the pizza slice box in the trash, heading to my fourth period class where an update on one nasty project was due.

Every afternoon of the last week was filled with meet-ups in the halls between classes and after classes. I got to sit out front with Ginny and Lisa Tuesday afternoon for a while. We were laughing about a dozen things when Caleb walked by.

"Hey Josh!" he shouted across the parking lot. "Can you come here?" Lisa said "go see what child wants!" I walked over to him.

"Hey Caleb what's up?" I asked. "How's Micah?" I asked.

"He's good. He says you've been slow about responding to texts lately." and ok, that stung. "Are you and Ty coming to graduation party out there next Sunday?" he asked.

"I plan on it. I have to visit my grandma that afternoon. And yes, I hope Ty will come with me. He said he intends to. Just haven't planned that far ahead yet."

"Good," he said.

"You're going to be there?" I asked.

"Well yes. We have some friends there now but some things are about to change and, well, we need to talk to you. Will just be better out there, ok?" he said, hoping I was getting the point.

"Ok, Caleb. I hope everything is ok. You sure Micah is ok?"

"Mican is amazing. Don't worry about that. See you next weekend."

"We have the field party on Friday night. You coming to that?" I asked, as he walked away.

"No, not my scene," and he continued on to his car. Talk about a big fat mystery. First, we don't know he and Micah are getting it on and if they are, that's great. Now there's something going down and he needs to talk to us out in the country, not here in the city. HMMM!

Next update will be a party weekend. I hope it will be super exciting. This anger that has permeated the air lately needs to resolve. We don't need any darker events. We surely do not!