Ambush

The following fictional story deals with sex among males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or reside in an area where it is not allowed, depart. Though not observed in this story, care enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex.

The author retains all rights. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the author's consent.

EBradley33@Excite.com

Chapter 19 Afternoon Love

Susan had contacted me Monday afternoon to tell me that she and LaRonda had recruited a "Thursday after-school" crew eager to help spiff up the house for Jeremy's party. Because they were supposed to arrive momentarily, I was idling in the sunroom, musing over the past few days' events.

Along with my spirits, the last four days had dragged by. Tim must have learned that news about the blond boy had reached me because he hadn't tried to contact me or drop in. But how did he learn it? He obviously didn't think he had anything to lose. He had his blond fella. I wasn't worth the effort of a contact.

Did he owe me an explanation? Apparently not. Did it really make any difference anyway? Not to him. That just about made me a zero.

After Jeremy and Kenny had joined me in bed in the wee hours of Monday, I had awakened alone that morning. Without my being aware of it, Jeremy and Kenny had arisen, breakfasted, showered, and left for school. Their bodies touching mine all night long had reassured me on a subconscious level so that I had slept like a log. The rest of the day was slow and sobering.

I couldn't seem to point myself to any positive activity. Not even reading a mystery or listening to music. However, I did push myself to call a caterer, ordering a couple of cold cut and cheese trays with home-baked mini buns, three kinds of chips and dips, raw vegetables with dip, cocktail fruit kabobs, cocktail pizzas made on the spot (well, in the kitchen by the caterer), and soft drinks. The caterer would come Friday afternoon to set up serving tables and the like. She promised to do everything, including bringing tablecloths and decorations for the tables. I explained that the decorations needed to be "low key" since this was a very informal event. She assured me that she understood. We would have to do nothing except graze with the guests. It was a bargain.

Jeremy had burst into the house Monday afternoon, excited about his extending an invitation to Kate Williams to be a chaperone at his party. Apparently, she pretended grudging acceptance. She stated that someone of mental capacity should be there since I had apparently lost mine, having a party when I was supposed to be recuperating. Then she wondered if this was a Halsey scam to party on school time. Jeremy said she was laughing all the time she was accepting. She also asked Jeremy to keep her acceptance mum so that she could see the looks on the kids' faces when she showed up. Jeremy opined that she was touched to have been asked. John and Kathleen Burge had also accepted. Jeremy thought Kathleen was excited by the prospect. Because Kate was attending? For Jeremy's sake? A night out with hubby? Jeremy wasn't certain; he was just happy they were coming.

It suddenly hit me that this was probably the first party in his honor that Jeremy had ever had. I was humbled by his excitement. It was going to be fun watching him handle himself with his guests. I thought he'd be a natural. By Tuesday afternoon, he had invited his friends. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Kenny never mentioned anything about his return to school after Robert's break- up with him. I wondered if he had caught a glimpse of Robert or vice-versa, but he said nothing. I thought it best to leave the matter alone, especially since he and Jeremy were obviously drawing closer.

Tuesday, my morning appointment with Dr. Sorenson hadn't turned out as I'd wanted. He said I wasn't ready to return to teaching, spelling out in detail the kinds of difficulties I could experience if I returned to school now. After checking my ribs and leg, he noted that I was healing nicely, so he told me I could take the splint off my leg, warning that I was absolutely not to put weight on my leg by standing on it. I still had to use crutches. He observed that my spirits weren't as high as he had expected. I just smiled his implicit inquiry away. He wondered if "all those great kids" were still taking care of me. To save a long tale, I assured him they were providing excellent care, thanking him for his assistance to them. I decided that losing the splint in favor of pants that actually fit my legs, and maybe being able to take a shower, kept the check-up from being a total loss.

Because I was quiet and withdrawn Tuesday evening, Jeremy and Kenny kept teasing me and joking with me, trying to pick up my spirits. I tried to act upbeat, appreciating their care and concern. It was Kenny's last night with us, since his parents would return from their trip the next day. I didn't want him leaving on a down note.

Jeremy wanted all the details about the check-up, but I glossed over them. The discussion left him upset with himself. I went over and hugged him, telling him what a treat it was to have him living there. He hugged me back tightly, kissing me on the cheek. Kenny sat watching us. I didn't know how he was feeling about others interacting with Jeremy. I went over and hugged him too, telling him how pleased I was that he was staying with us. I smiled, telling him that "Long and Tall" over there had, by my count, expressed his own feelings on the matter a couple of times, quite graphically and convincingly. He and I both snickered.

Jeremy glowered - unconvincingly.

Jeremy and Kenny fixed a simple dinner, cleaned up afterwards, then retreated to various parts of the house to do homework. I retired early. Sometime in the night, they came to my bedroom, nude again, smelling of sex. When I jerked awake with a little panic, asking what was wrong, Jeremy pushed me back down on the bed, telling me to go back to sleep. They each crawled in bed, one on either side of me, each again throwing an arm and a leg over me, making a sandwich. "Thanks, guys." They mumbled a reply.

• * * With Kenny's return to his home on Wednesday, my spirits felt flat. I hoped Jeremy would not be similarly affected, but he was a creature with a heart! He couldn't help but be affected as I was. It made me feel that an important feature had departed from our lives.

I had decided to go for a walk Wednesday afternoon, telling myself that it would hasten my return to school. After ranging far afield, I was returning home when a car pulled up to the curb. I looked back over my shoulder. Susan rolled down her window and invited me to accompany her someplace for a cup of coffee. I hesitated, for I didn't feel like talking about anything, and I didn't think I wanted Susan reading any of my feelings at the moment - especially those about Tim, which had a rather dark cast. She might turn off on me.

"It'll be fine, Evan, I'll go easy on you," she smiled in that endearing way of hers.

I loved her! I shrugged, crutching carefully over to and down the curb and over to the passenger side of the car.

She drove us to a little mom-and-pop diner in the area. After we had ordered, she asked about my check-up. I told her I wouldn't be returning to school as soon as I'd hoped, that I no longer had the splint. After listening quietly, she asked how I was feeling about that. "Down" was my reply. "I need to be busy; I need to think about my classes."

"And not about Tim and you," she observed astutely.

"I try not to think about him, but the next thing I know, I have been thinking about him for long minutes. It isn't any worthwhile thought. Just memories and . . . other stuff."

"Memories and beating yourself up because he went elsewhere," Susan stated, studying me carefully. I didn't reply.

"What will you do now?"

I just stared at her. "What do you mean 'do now'? There's nothing to do now.

He's got someone else."

"Any possibility he'll return to you?"

"Why do you think I'd have him back?"

"I'm not thinking you're so desperate, Evan, that you'd take him back," Susan reassured me. "But there is a missionary side to you." I felt my head jerk back in that "what in the world are talking about?" manner. "Valerie told me how you set Jarod straight. Look at how you made up with Troy, took Jeremy in, then Kenny," she said quietly.

I decided to change the course of the conversation. I remembered, weeks earlier in my classroom, wondering about Susan's mother and whether Susan had any weaknesses. "Do you have any failings Susan?"

She wasn't prepared for the question, so she paused. Looking at me steadily, she answered, "I'm vain, proud, controlling, overly inquisitive, opinionated . . . how much more must I confess for you to feel that we occupy even ground again?"

I blushed. Damn! This woman is SO perceptive. She CAN read my mind.

"We're friends, deep friends, Evan. You've not lost standing with me. You've suffered some losses, but I am not among them."

I smiled. "I apologize. I'm just not feeling good about myself now, so it's easy to assume the feeling is shared with others who have had a look into my life recently."

"You seem to be returning to that old line of thought - that people who really see into you won't like you because of what they will discover."

"Ouch," I said softly. "You know me well."

"So you are thinking no one will come along for you. Tim did."

"Tim was already involved with the blond boy when he took up with me. So he really didn't come along, did he? Besides, our becoming . . . whatever we were . . . was just a fluke. Circumstances like that don't commonly happen."

"Tell me how it happened."

This question was so unlike Susan that I knew she had a reason for asking. So I related the altercation between Tim and me in the school foyer, Tim's visit to the hospital, and a general recounting of what followed, including his barging in and claiming me in front of Jeremy.

"You can't deny that you were attractive to Tim, that the times you two were together were fulfilling."

"It really makes no difference. Something like that won't ever happen again.

Because of that fact, I have been wondering if it's time to move on in my career.

Maybe somewhere else I'll have a better chance."

She studied me for a bit. "You aren't the kind of person one reminds to 'look before you leap' [telling me she thought a warning WAS is order, for I was likely to make a mistake if I acted on that impulse to pull up stakes]. Perhaps it is best to make certain all major issues here are resolved before you move on. Otherwise, you may be running from some issues that will follow in your wake to someplace else."

"Like what issues?"

"Restoring the self you developed before the accident. Restoring the self that blossomed when you and Tim were together. Really putting away the old, narrow, suspicious Evan. I think your presence in Jeremy's and Kenny's individual lives and - unless I miss my guess - their life together will remain crucial for a while. They both are coming off such upheavals that they are in a fragile state. By their choice, and your own, you are integral in their establishing new foundations for their lives. You surely know that Jeremy will need many reassurances over the next year relating to his part in the accident. He is facing major questions about the next stage in his life, and you promised to help him answer those questions. It is better for him to have those issues with the accident resolved before he moves to college. Selfishly, I am not prepared to have you move out of our lives yet, Evan."

I was grinning from ear to ear. She cocked her head in the charming mannerism of hers that I saw too seldom, for it meant one had made a turn she was not expecting. "What?"

"First, you blow me away with your wisdom. I have GOT to meet your mother and father someday to figure out if any of it comes from them."

Laughter bubbled up from within her: "Why not allow it to be a mysterious gift?".

I smiled. "Second, you are implying that I am in a fragile state now. You are even intimating that Jeremy's, Kenny's, and my fragile circumstances are interwoven, that resolving one will go a long way toward resolving the others."

I paused for a moment, my mind filling with impressions. "You may even be telling me that I am meant to be here now as a factor in their lives."

Now she smiled, reaching over to hold my hand. "Someday I have GOT to meet your mother and father to figure out where your perceptiveness comes from." We laughed together.

"Besides," she continued, "we all have other classes we need to take from you before we graduate. We all need to grow together, Evan. Jeremy still needs you to help him catch up."

The smile slid from my face. "You are thinking," she said, "that you will be helping others to their fulfillment, but there will be nothing left for you. That you will have to sublimate your needs in helping them fulfill theirs. Then we shall all go off to college somewhere else, leaving you alone."

She continued, "I am running a risk in suggesting to you that remaining here is in your best interest. Once we are gone, you could feel that I talked you out of seizing an opportunity for something better. We shall be off to a wonderful adventure while you are stuck here alone."

I looked away. If I allowed it, I knew what my reaction would be, leaving me embarrassed. She squeezed my hand. "Tell me what you are thinking now, Evan."

"Not thinking, feeling. The old Evan may be back there in the past, but his loneliness is right here now."

"You have many friends who care for you, but that isn't the loneliness you are talking about, is it?"

I shook my head no. "You have your Troy, Susan. You know I am happy for both of you. I was with Tim at least long enough to know I don't just want a Troy. I NEED a Troy."

We continued to look into each other's eyes. She removed her hand, looking at her wristwatch. "Evan, may I drop you home? I told Troy I'd meet him after basketball practice, so I have to be going. But I'm glad we've had a talk; it's been a while."

"It wasn't a talk," I said, grabbing my crutches and arising. "It was all about me; nothing about you."

She just smiled. "Think about it," she said cryptically. Our eyes held for several beats. So how was our discussion about her?

We were quiet as she drove me home. As I got out of the car, she reminded me that she would see me Thursday afternoon.

• * * Thursday morning dragged by. I did some picking up and putting away before the cleaning crew arrived. As the time neared, I sat in the sunroom musing about the past week's events. I was wrenched from my reverie by the sound of a car in the drive and another parking against the curb. I heard young voices laughing, car doors slamming. I opened the door for LaRonda, Rosalie, LaKeisha, and Valerie Cunningham! I had thought only my students might be coming, so I was flattered that Jarod Paine's girlfriend would help out. And Rosalie! They were followed by Susan, Troy, Beth Walker, and Angela Walker. All were carrying cleaning implements and supplies.

LaRonda made her usual entrance: "E-e-e-e-e-e-vun, Honey! Lookin' good. How you feelin'?" she asked as she hugged me, followed by the others. Troy placed his big hand on the back of my neck, gently squeezing or massaging the muscles, I couldn't quite tell which. They wanted to know on the spot what Dr. Sorenson had said.

"Well, you received a reprieve. I can't go back to school yet."

"Ummm-humm," LaKeisha voiced, "I knew you were rushing it. But I thought it would take an anchor to hold you back."

"Now, Honey," LaRonda addressed me, "my women and I are going to clean a little house. Troy is going to take you off somewhere so you don't get in the way.

If he doesn't behave himself, you tell me." She fixed him with a glare: "I hear he likes to mimic me. He and I are still going to have a little talk about that. I don't allow my men to be sassy." Troy backed off, crouching down, holding his hands and arms in front of his face, whimpering and feigning fear. "That's never protected any man of my acquaintance," LaRonda observed tartly. The rest of us laughed.

"Come on, Evan. Get me out of here before I get in more trouble," Troy said, still looking at LaRonda.

Troy watched protectively as I got in his car. When we were strapped in, he took off, asking, "Where are the guys?"

"Jeremy's at work and Kenny's parents returned home yesterday, so he did too.

Do you know, Troy, if he and Robert have run into each other?"

"Jeremy, Kenny and I were in the school lobby during lunch today when Robert walked by us but way across the lobby. Kenny just looked at him and he at Kenny. Hasn't Jeremy taken Robert's place?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The three of us have spent a lot of time together at school lately. We have gotten to know each other. Maybe a little like you and Susan. Well, that's true for Jeremy and me anyway. We're best buds now, so I pick up on vibes between Kenny and him."

"I'm glad," I said. "I hope there is a place for Kenny in your group." He looked from the road at me for a second, smiling, those killer dimples flashing forth. He reached over and squeezed my neck gently.

"Of course. Kenny's a great guy. I can see why Jeremy's turned on by him. You know, it's kind of odd. I would swear that they share something that I don't know about. Not just that they are romantically involved. Something else."

Troy must be picking up on what Jeremy and Kenny know about the Pride. It never occurred to me that Jeremy and Kenny had discussed the Pride and what Jeremy saw in the exercise room, but surely they had. Jeremy wasn't the sort to rest until he knew what brought the three of us together. I also realized that Jeremy might be a little bothered tonight because Kenny wouldn't be here with him. I needed to be certain to help him out. And Troy was obviously more sensitive to nuances. Good!

I didn't recognize the area through which we were driving. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"To my place."

"Oh. Why?"

"It's quiet there. My folks are gone and my brothers won't be home for a couple of hours."

"Okay." I guess he wanted to talk.

We were driving through an area of huge homes. Troy's parents must be wealthy.

We drove up a long circular drive, turning over toward a garage with three bays and extra parking. Once Troy stopped the car, I grabbed for my crutches, opening the door. Like a shot Troy was at my side, lifting me up in his arms like a baby.

"Troy, I can walk."

"I know. I want to carry you."

"Why?"

He just smiled enigmatically.

When we stopped at the front door, he told me to reach in his right pocket for his keys. I did so gingerly with the hand not holding my crutches, not wanting to obviously feel him up. But I couldn't feel any keys. Instead I felt his steel flank.

"They aren't here, Troy."

"Yeah, they are. You just have to dig around for them."

So I dug around, feeling my fingers touch his big ball sac and then feeling a semi- erect dick. I was becoming suspicious. "Troy, there are no keys in this pocket," I said, withdrawing my hand. He burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's right. They are in the other side. Did you find anything while you were rooting around in that pocket?"

"You dog! You know what I found." He laughed. I located the keys. He told me which key to put in the door. As the door swung open, I thought he would have put me down, but he just stepped into a big foyer, pushing the door shut with his foot. He walked over to a curving staircase, carrying me up the stairs and down a long hall, telling me to open the door where he stopped.

We entered a big room, with a double bed and a big desk full of computer equipment. I saw a walk-in closet and a bathroom off to the right. The room also featured a big-screen TV, a couch and a few comfortable chairs around the TV.

But Troy walked over to the bed, flashing those dimples.

"Troy, what's going on?"

"You told Susan you wanted a Troy; like you didn't have one. If you keep on thinking like that, you are going to hurt my feelings. I told you I wanted another go-round with you. Why did you doubt me? Didn't you like our night together at your place?"

I could hear that he was a little upset with me. "Troy, when I said that I wanted another Troy, I didn't think you and I would ever be together again. I thought the first time that you were just mollifying Susan and then taking pity on me. I would hope you would be flattered by my saying that."

He laid me gently on the bed. As he began taking off his jacket, he spoke. "I liked our night together." He started unbuttoning his shirt, pulling the tails out of his chinos, slipping it off. "It was great sex, Evan." He pulled his undershirt over his head, mussing his blond hair a bit. "Better than I ever imagined." He toed off his loafers, reaching down to pull off his socks. He wasn't folding his clothes as he went, just dropping them. "You probably think Susan ordered me to have sex with you. She didn't. We discussed it. I'm the one who made the decision." He unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and slid them down those breathtakingly beautiful legs. My dick jumped as I watched the interplay of muscles in his long, blond-haired legs. I looked up and saw a huge bulge in his jockeys.

"I wouldn't go out looking for men, but I meant it when I said I wanted another go at you." He slipped his thumbs under the elastic and slid his jockeys down his legs. His long, hard cock sprang up. His ball sac dropped. He stood up, smiling, letting me take all of him in. "This isn't just Susan's; it's yours too, Evan."

Then he bent over and started pulling my jacket off. It joined his pile of clothes.

"You had better get used to the fact that you are mine too." I could feel my eyes widening. He unfastened my belt, unbuttoned my jeans and unzipped them. He grabbed the side loops. "Raise up." I did, as he slid them down my legs. He knelt down, running his hand over the leg with the fracture. "Does it still hurt?"

"Not if I mind what I'm doing," I replied. He gently massaged the muscles in both my legs with his big hands. "Does this hurt?"

"No. It feels good. Imagine those talented jock hands massaging my muscles.

What a turn-on." He snickered, continuing to massage my legs for a while, deliberately bumping the mound of balls and dick in my briefs. He watched me every time he bumped them, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He leaned down, biting my cock through the cotton of my briefs. Without my being able to control it, I sucked in air audibly. My back involuntarily arched.

He stood and started pulling the sleeves of my sweatshirt off my arms. "And it wasn't just sex, Evan. I have real feelings for you." He pulled the sweatshirt over my head, gently smoothing down my mussed hair. "I was making love to you.

You won't look at it like that because you don't think I could love you. Kinda hurts my feelings." He slipped his thumbs under the elastic of my briefs, pulling them slowly down my legs, watching my cock and balls as they came into view.

"You know how you have helped me." He moved up and kissed my lips gently, slipping his tongue in my mouth, seeking mine out, bumping it, then sliding over it. Then pushing his arms under me, hugging me tightly while he kissed me passionately. When he broke the kiss, he looked deeply into my eyes. "Does that say I'm just playing around?"

I shook my head in a wide-eyed no. "Susan and I might be together without your help, but not as solidly as we are now. Why? Because we both love you. You are important to us." He leaned down, licking my nipples, then sucking on them, eliciting a moan from me, which made his mouth move into a grin. Then he bit them. He pulled them way up from my pecs, deepening my moan. I reached over and tweaked one of his nipples, feeling it harden under my ministrations. I moved to the other nipple. "Then you set me up to perform in class in a way that nobody expected, but you knew I could do it. You knew that others would see me as a leader. You knew it would cement Susan and me. You gave her a reason to admire me in the way I wanted."

He started licking down my chest, then my stomach. I reached down into his crotch, grasping his hard cock gently. He raised his head and moved down to my balls, pushing his nose into them. "I'd still be a homophobe if Susan and you hadn't rejected me, which challenged me to decide what was important in my life. Susan came to my defense, which she had never done before. She did that because she saw special worth in me. Then you accepted me when I apologized, made a place for me." I had smeared the plentiful precum his cock was oozing over the head, making him close his eyes and moan. He started licking my balls, dipping his tongue back behind them.

"Then you allowed me to make love to you. I felt so special, holding you all night long. I never expected that, but it filled me with warmth all that day. All I have to do is think about it and the warm feeling returns." I had quite a lot of precum on the palm of my hand, so I brought it up, licking some off, then moving my hand to his mouth while he licked the rest off. Then he moved forward, kissing me passionately again, both of us savoring the taste of his juice. I moved my hand lower, caressing his balls, tugging on the hairs there. He began licking my cock, leaving it slick.

"Then you started putting me in leadership positions, first with Jeremy, then with Kenny. You showed me how to be a protector of others. To help them as you had helped me. I never imagined such a role for myself." He put his finger in my mouth, indicating that I was to lube it up. Then I parted my legs as he moved his finger into my crack, seeking my pucker. "And you didn't hold it against me when Tim turned away from you. I don't think he's entirely happy about having done that, Evan, even if he does have the blond." He slid his finger gently and slowly into my chute, nibbling on my lips as he did so. I gently jacked his cock, continuing to smear the precum around.

"Susan and I have talked a lot about it. What would I be if you two hadn't cared enough to help me? What else do I have to tell you to convince you that I love you?" He leaned down and kissed me passionately again. He pulled back, looking deeply into my eyes. "I'm going to fuck you now. Claim your ass again.

Let you know the depth of my feelings for you. You know now that Susan approves. She loves both of us."

He rose, putting a hand under my back and another under my ass, lifting me over to the center of the bed. He went to the bathroom, returning with towels and lube.

He handed me the lube. I squirted some out in my hand. "I'm not just proud to know you, Troy, I'm proud to be your friend. The idea that you love me surpasses belief. I must be worth something to elicit such feelings from you." As I slowly smoothed the lube over his long cock and down over his balls, his breath hissed out of his mouth. "I'm so proud that a person like you loves me - see, I said it: 'loves me' - that I am rather at a loss for words. I hope it doesn't ruin it for you that I am proud that a jock like you would love me." I reached back in his crack, feeling the hair there, finding his pucker and running my lubed finger around his hole. This time he sucked in his breath.

"Pull your legs back," he ordered. I did so. He kneed his way up until his big cock was touching my pucker. He slowly began to push against the muscle there.

I made myself relax, trusting him. He popped inside. I felt some burning because he was so big, but we both just held, waiting for my chute to accommodate him. Slowly he sank in me and I reached down and caressed his balls. When he reached bottom, he leaned up, kissing me again. "Oh Evan, you don't know how much I have remembered this. Don't ever doubt again that this means something special to me."

Troy began slowly pushing deep in and pulling almost out of me. It was a stretch, but I reached around him to caress his hole. The smallest hint of a whimper escaped him when I first touched him there. I began pushing against him when he plunged in, then clasped him tight with my ass muscles when he withdrew. A definite whimper escaped him now as sweat beaded his brow. He began to adjust his thrusting, giving three quick plunges and then four slow ones. I began to gyrate my ass a little to increase the friction of my chute walls on his dick. A cross between a whimper and a gulp escaped him. Not to be outdone, he began to gyrate his dick in me, making me whimper. We were both speeding up. I was now plunging my finger in and out of his ass. We were burying ourselves in the other's eyes. I was hitting his prostate as he was hitting mine. We were both whimpering, sweating. Our eyes closed simultaneously as we began shooting.

He fell upon me, seeking out my lips. We kissed deeply as our orgasms rippled on and on through us. Gradually, we stopped, lying there. I loved his jock weight pressing down on me. I loved my hands moving caressingly over his hard, curved ass.

"Oh, Troy, this was good. It makes some of my fears retreat. I can't really feel totally alone if you feel this way about me." His head was resting beside mine.

He ran his tongue around and in my ear. "Now you let that be a lesson to you teach' not to take me for granted." We both giggled.

As we were cleaning up and dressing, Troy said, "Just so you know, I told Tim that he was treating you badly. He wanted to know if you knew about Alan - he's the blond interest for Tim. I told him you did. He said he didn't know what he needed to say to you then. I just looked at him; I couldn't believe he said that. I said, 'You're disappointing me. Evan deserves better.' Then I left."

I was sitting on the bed, finishing my dressing. I reached for him with my open arms. He came over, placing his hands in my armpits and raising me up. I hugged him. "That wasn't just great sex; I believe you now, Troy. I know you love me, know you were making love to me. And I know your last comment to Tim was that of a protector. Thank you for valuing me. This is the strangest situation. It has me quite off balance. But I'm not complaining."

• * * We arrived as the cleaning crew was ready to leave. They insisted on giving me a tour of the cleaned house, proud of their work. I was profuse in my thanks.

LaRonda was so cute: "Honey, you don't need to keep thanking us. We know how much help men need. It's just a fact of life. That's why God put us here with you." The other women giggled.

"Have you told Clifton that?" I asked, grinning.

"First thing," was her reply. She was always going to get the last word.

When Jeremy came home after work, he asked about the crew. I shared all the details. "Did Kenny make it home yesterday? Is all well?"

"I think so." He seemed quiet.

"How about you, Jeremy? How are you feeling with Kenny gone?"

"Okay." But it had the sound of a quick, standard reply.

"Jeremy, have you replaced Robert for Kenny?"

"I don't know. Kenny and I love each other, have made love."

"Have you talked about your roles vis-a-vis each other?"

"Not directly."

"I'm just worried about either one of you being hurt again. If he thinks you are Robert's replacement but you aren't thinking that way, it could send him off the deep end."

"I guess we need to talk about it then, see where we stand with each other."

"That would be a great idea."

(To be continued)

Hi Readers! Because I am entering a three-month period of heavy on-the-job travel, a good friend, Scott Howard (you know him - Big Pond territory) has done exemplary work editing this chapter and preparing it for publication so that it might sooner find its way to you. I know those of you who request "write faster" are too. Thank you, Scott. Your talent and sensitivity to both reader and author are much appreciated.

Evan