Come Christmas Steve

Come Christmas Steve Chapter 36 The Trial Continues

Steve looked at me instead of the clerk swearing him in. I was struggling to keep my courtroom face on.

"Mr. Fahrenheit," the prosecutor began after Steve was sworn in, "you were roommates with Mr. Steele at MSU, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"You became friends and then gay lovers, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Is it safe to presume that you have had sexual relations together?"

"It is."

"Are you in love with him?"

"I am."

My heart thrilled and I lost control of my courtroom demeanor. I was smiling and probably glowing.

"When did you first have sexual relations with Shane?"

"Over Christmas break. In a bunkhouse that we shared."

"Whose idea was it?"

"Mine."

"Did Shane show signs of interest or express a fascination in young boys while you were together?"

"No, of course not."

"But you had an interest, correct? Did you discuss with Shane your interest in them?"

"No. I have no interest in young boys. I am disgusted by it. I was forced into it and hated it."

"But you have had multiple sexual encounters with young boys at the boys home and even participated in pornographic videos and pictures have you not?"

"Against my will. Yes."

"So you are well acquainted with people who do have this inclination, correct?"

"I guess that's true. Yes."

"But you didn't have any concerns about Shane's behavior around young boys?" the prosecutor probed.

"No. I told you. He never expressed any interest in young boys."

"You went to visit the Steele family ranch for Christmas break, is that right?"

"Yes."

"And you traveled back on the bus?"

"Yes."

"You stopped at a diner for lunch along the way and you sat with a single mother and two young boys at their table, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Why did you choose to sit with them?"

"They were sitting near us on the bus. Shane had been teasing with the youngest boy on the bus, just to help entertain him a little. So the boy wanted to sit with us at lunch."

"How was he teasing with him?"

"Just like playing peek-a-boo and he let him play some games on his phone."

"Shane had a child's game on his phone?"

"I'm not sure what games they were. I didn't pay much attention."

"But the boy played them on his own?"

"Mostly. Shane occasionally showed him something to do to play, but yeah, mostly the kid did it."

"Did it seem odd to you that a college freshman would have children's games on his phone simple enough for a boy that young to play?" the prosecutor had set the bait and jerked the line to set the hook.

"No. I didn't really think about it. Like I said, I wasn't paying that much attention to it."

"Well, does it strike you odd now?"

"I don't know. No."

"Given your experience, does it sound like something a predator might use to groom a child?"

"I don't know. I'm not a predator and neither is Shane."

"Of course. After your lunch with the mother and two young boys, the boys needed to use the bathroom, is that right?"

"Yes."

"The boys objected to going to the ladies room with their mother, is that right?"

"Yes."

"But Shane promptly offered to take them to the men's room, is that right?"

"He offered, yes."

"But you declined to go with. Why?"

"Because I was under probation and was not allowed to be in situations like that with young children."

"Did you lecture Shane about it, afterwards?"

"I didn't lecture him. I more or less warned him that it wasn't a good idea. I'd had a bad experience with people getting the wrong idea about interactions like that."

"Did it trouble you that Shane was willing to go alone into a public bathroom with two young boys."

"If you're asking if I was worried that he might molest them in there, the answer is no. He was just being nice. He's a very considerate person."

"Well. It's good to be nice. Especially to young boys," the prosecutor commented smugly.

Adam stood but before he could say it, the judge barked out, "Sustained." The prosecutor immediately apologized. I thought about what Adam had said to me in one of our meetings that he sometimes said things he knew he shouldn't and even knew would be objected to because a judge or a jury can't un- hear something. A thought planted in the mind is there to stay.

The prosecutor continued, "Mr. Fahrenheit, when you were in Yellowstone with Shane and your other two friends, did you notice the young boy who was staying in the room next to yours?"

"Yes."

"Did Shane befriend the young boy when you went out on the wagon ride to feed the elk while on your trip?"

"I don't think befriend is the right term. He interacted with him a little bit."

"He sat next to him, correct?" the prosecutor asked.

"We both did."

"And Shane started the group singing carols, and he involved the boy, did he not?"

"He did. He involved everyone. He mostly did that caroling thing for me, because I only knew one Christmas song."

"Did the boy interact with Shane?"

"Yes."

"Does Shane have a way of attracting the attention of young boys?"

"He has a way of attracting everyone. People naturally like him. All ages."

Steve was annoyed by the questioning and didn't want to give the prosecutor what he was fishing for. He'd been through it enough times to know how to respond.

"We've heard testimony that Shane allowed David Whittaker to watch you and Shane make love on New Year's Eve. Has Shane expressed to you that he gains sexual gratification from being watched?"

"No. Shane has never expressed any interest in being watched. It was my idea to let Whittaker stay in our room because his roommate had a girl in their room. Shane was opposed to it, but I convinced him."

"But he did allow it to happen?"

"Grudgingly."

"So on New Year's Day morning, did Shane tell you about the incident with the young boy on the prior evening?"

"Yes."

"Did it upset you?"

"Yes."

"Did Shane think it was funny?"

"No. He just didn't understand the potential problem it could have been. He was being naive about it."

"Why is that?" the prosecutor queried.

"Because he knew nothing had happened so he didn't seem to understand that people like to assume the worst about that kind of thing. I showed him the hallway cameras and explained to him that it wasn't just his word against a child's."

"Did Shane tell you he wasn't worried about it because he could just deny it and there was no evidence other than a child's word against his?"

"No. He was taking it too lightly is all. I don't remember him saying anything like that."

"But you just testified that you had to clarify to him that there was evidence. So he must have expressed some sort of belief that he was at no risk of consequences for his inappropriate behavior with the boy."

"Objection."

"Sustained. Ask a question, Mr. Thompson, do not simply make a statement," Judge Stern said.

"I'm sorry, your honor." Then turning back to Shane, he asked, "What was it that Shane said to you that would cause you to clarify to him that it was more than just his word against that of a child?"

"I don't remember. I may have just volunteered that." The prosecutor grinned and just stared at Steve for a solid minute.

"So you felt a need to warn him about this because you love him, I suppose. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"And you felt the need to warn him about the boys on the bus and in the diner because you love him, I suppose. Is that true as well?"

"Yes."

"Did you feel the need to warn him against working at the after school tutoring program where he was surrounded with elementary school children as well?"

"No."

"Did that concern you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"There wasn't one on one time there. I didn't worry about Shane being around children. I just don't think it's good policy to ever be in one on one situations with children." Steve scored some points with that and I was proud of him.

"Would you have felt the need to warn him if you knew that he had arranged to attend a baseball game of one of the boys he tutored?" Steve paused, caught off guard and looked at me. I struggled to avoid shaking my head. I kept the courtroom face on. I could feel Adam's eyes on me as well as the judge's.

"No."

"All right. Did you and Shane ever share stories from your growing up years?" the prosecutor asked.

"Not much. I wasn't too fond of mine."

"So you did share some things with each other. Would it be fair to say that Shane shared more with you than you shared with him?"

"Yes. Definitely."

"The first time one learns to masturbate is a fairly significant event in a young man's life. Did Shane ever share with you how he learned to masturbate?"

"Objection. Your honor how much of this irrelevant titillation are we going to have to endure?" Adam asked.

"Mr. Thompson, Mr. Christopherson, approach please."

"Catherine," the judge addressed the court reporter after a short conference with both attorneys.

"Please read back the last question." Catherine complied.

Whittaker then answered, "Yes."

"Will you share it with us please."

"His cousin, Nicolas, showed him how to do it in their hayloft on a Christmas Eve while they were visiting for the holiday," Steve answered truthfully, assuming that there was evidence to back it up and lying would only look bad. At least I supposed that was why he told on me.

"Did he mention how much older he was than Shane?"

"He said he was two or three years older, I believe. I don't think Shane was sure," Steve responded.

"Did he say whether he liked it?"

"Yes. Of course. Stupid question." That caused a couple of stifled chuckles.

"I suppose it was. Did he say whether he engaged in that activity with Nicolas any other times?"

"Yes. I think he said that he did a few other times."

"Okay. Did Shane ever talk about showing any other boy cousins how to masturbate. Spreading the good news, so to speak?" the prosecutor asked.

"He said Nicolas' little brother joined in with them a couple times."

"How much younger?" The prosecutor asked.

"I don't know. I never asked."

"Did he ever talk about any experiences at school of a sexual nature?"

"Not that I recall."

"Did he ever mention the name of a schoolmate, Nate Adams to you?"

"Not that I recall."

"All right. Two last questions. I assume you have witnessed Shane reach an orgasm on multiple occasions. Does Shane have a particular quirk that he does or says when he experiences an orgasm?"

"Yes."

"What is that?"

"He sometimes likes to say 'Cum, Shaney, Cum.'" Steve said.

"Sometimes? Or all the time?"

"Sometimes."

"More often than not? Eighty or ninety percent?"

"I don't know. Usually, yes." Steve was annoyed.

"Last question. Does Shane have a preference for engaging in sexual intercourse? Does he prefer to be the top or the bottom, for instance?"

"Bottom. He prefers that."

"And has he ever requested having objects inserted into his anus while having sex? Is that something he likes? Say a hair brush handle or a vibrator perhaps?"

"No. Just my penis. That's all he's ever asked for."

"Okay. Thanks. Your witness," the prosecutor said as he sat down. My mother stifled a gasp. Adam stood up.

"Mr. Fahrenheit, when you were sharing a room with Wesley Jensen back at MSU, did you share with him details of Shane's experience with the young boy in the Yellowstone hotel room?"

"I told him something about it one night. Yes."

"Did you tell Mr. Jensen that Shane told you about getting an erection in front of the young boy and that the young boy then touched Shane's erection?"

"Hell no. Wesley Jensen is a damn liar. He likes to exaggerate things to look important. He's a joke."

"Did Shane indicate in any way that he was sexually aroused from being naked in front of the young boy or by seeing the boy urinating?"

"No. Just the opposite. He was anxious for the kid to finish and find a way to get some clothes to wear to get down to the front desk for a replacement key to our room."

Turning to the judge, Adam said, "No more questions at this time, your honor, but I would like to reserve the right to recall."

I swallowed. I was aghast. How could he have no questions for the most important person in my life? I wondered if Adam really was just conceding. Steve was my biggest advocate. I couldn't comprehend why Adam wouldn't ask him a million questions about my character if nothing else. I held it together, though, and kept my courtroom face on. Concerned looking, but not appearing guilty. I was plenty concerned, but I was worried about how guilty I was being made out to look.

"Mr. Thompson," the judge asked. "Any more for today? If you have some shorter witnesses, we could hear from, fine. Otherwise, let's adjourn and return tomorrow," the judge questioned while glancing at his clock.

"If you will indulge me, I do have a handful of very brief witnesses that would be good to clear off if we can do it."

"Fine. Proceed."

"I'd like to call Landon Barnes."

A young man about 11 years old came in and took the oath. He was visibly nervous. His parents accompanied him into the court and sat behind my parents. They probably didn't know they were on the defense side and it didn't really matter.

"Are you nervous, Landon?" the prosecutor asked.

"A little," the young boy answered.

"Landon, did you have an after school tutor earlier this year named Shane Steele?"

"Umm-humm." Landon nodded affirmatively.

"Landon, please answer with a yes or a no rather than umm-humm. Is Shane in the courtroom today?"

"Umm-humm. I mean, yes."

"Will you point him out for us?" Landon pointed over at me. I continued to look concerned and guiltless.

"Did you and your friend, Curtis, sit at Shane's table almost every day?"

"Yes."

"Why did you do that?"

"We liked him. He was nice and he was really good at explaining math. Me and Curtis hate math."

"Did Shane ever sit with any girls and help tutor them?"

"No. Mostly just us but sometimes some other guys came to our table too," Landon said.

"Was Shane friendly with you. Did he talk to you guys about things besides math ever?"

"Sure. He was real nice. He asked me about my baseball games."

"He did? He asked about your baseball games? Did he ever ask about coming to see you play?"

"Yes."

"Did he ask you where you played your games at?"

"Yes. And he said he'd like to come watch me play sometime."

"Did he ever come?"

"No. Lots of people just say that to be nice but don't really mean it."

"Really? Have you had other adults say they were going to come to your games, but then not come?" the prosecutor asked. I supposed he was hoping to show that it was not a regular behavior.

"Well, besides my dad, you mean?" All four women in the room let out a sympathetic sigh at the sadness in Landon's voice as he said that.

"Yes. Besides your dad. Have many other adults offered to come to your games?"

"No. I guess not." He gave a little shrug.

"When Shane was tutoring you, did he ever accompany you to the bathroom?" the prosecutor asked.

"Yes."

"He did? Did he ever go into the bathroom?"

"Yes."

"He did? Did he ever say things that made you uncomfortable? For instance, did he ever ask personal questions or tell you dirty jokes?"

"No."

"Did he ever touch you?"

"Umm, well he gave us high fives when we'd get our math right."

"Any other touching? On your legs or arms or any hugs?"

"No."

"After your tutoring was done, did Shane play with you boys?"

"No. We liked to go in and play the video games mostly. Shane stayed out and usually played with Mitch, Dylan and Tanner. They were like third graders, I think."

"What did he play with them?" the prosecutor probed. I don't think anyone knew about those three boys until Agent Caprino mentioned them. I'd even forgotten about them.

"Four square. They loved it and they needed a fourth person for the game so they were always anxious for us to finish our math so Shane could play with them."

"Did you ever see Shane touch those boys?"

"No. Not really."

"Thanks, Landon."

"Your welcome. Can I go now?" Landon prepared to stand up from the witness chair.

"Not quite. Mr. Christopherson over there may have some questions for you."

Then Adam stood.

"Just a couple," Adam said.

"Landon, you told us that Shane went with you to the bathroom when you needed to use it. Were you allowed to go to the bathroom on your own?"

"No. A tutor or a teacher had to always go with and make sure that the bathroom was empty and clean before we could go in."

"Okay. Did boys and girls share the same bathroom?"

"Umm-humm. I mean, yes."

"And did the other teachers do the same thing with other students that Shane did for you?"

"Yes."

"Did Shane ever go into the bathroom when you were in there also?"

"No."

"Did he wait outside?"

"Yes."

"Did he ever talk about what you did in there?" Landon snickered, "NOOOO!" He said it like that was so silly and embarrassing.

"Okay. Thanks."

The prosecutor stood, "Your honor, I had another boy from the school but I think it would be redundant and given our time, I'll pass on him and I will call Margaret Newell."

The aged, office secretary from my middle school made her way up to the stand with a cane. She swore in and the bailiff helped her into the witness box.

"Mrs. Newell, are you acquainted with the defendant, Shane Steele?"

"I certainly am. I am acquainted with his parents and grandparents as well, God rest their souls."

"What do you do for an occupation?"

"I am a secretary to the principal at West Valley Middle School."

"The school that Shane Steele attended?"

"Yes indeed."

"I have a file with some school disciplinary records in there that we subpoenaed. Are you familiar with those?"

"I certainly am."

"Can you tell us about the first one?"

"Oh my, the Nate Adams complaint, yes. Nate Adams was cute as a button. Nate and Shane were both seventh graders at the time. Nate complained to his parents that Shane was bothering him."

"Bothering? In what way?"

"Nate claimed that nearly every day Shane would follow him into the bathroom and try to get a peek at him doing his business. Usually just before lunch when Nate would usually go."

"Were Nate's parents disturbed by this?"

"Oh my yes. Very much so."

"Did Shane admit to this behavior?"

"No. Certainly not. He said it was just coincidence."

"Were Shane's parents involved?"

"Yes. Certainly. They came in and had a pow-wow with the principal. They supported their boy of course."

"How was it resolved?"

"Everyone agreed that Shane could not go into the same bathroom as Nate at the same time."

"And did that resolve the problem or did Shane persist?"

"Oh yes, that took care of things nicely. Shane never bothered Nate at all after that, as far as I know, and if it had happened, I would know. I know everything that goes on at West Valley."

"Okay. How about the next report?"

"This was very troubling. Gordon Matthews was such a bully. Such a terrible bully. We had so many troubles with him. His file fills half a drawer. We were thrilled to move him on to high school. He never graduated, you know. "

"What about the incident that involved Shane?"

"Yes, certainly, certainly. Well, our investigation showed that Gordon had interrupted a conversation in the hall between Shane and Candice, Candice. Oh, what was her last name?"

"It's all right. Candice is sufficient." The prosecutor wanted to move it along.

"Certainly. It'll come to me. Candice and some of her friends were talking in the hall with Shane when Gordon interrupted them quite rudely and called Shane some terrible names."

"What sort of names?"

"The usual nasty stuff. Homosexual slurs mostly. Then as Shane attempted to defend his honor, Gordon tripped Shane and pulled his pants and underwear down exposing his bare privates right there in the hall. Just shameful! Despicable, really. He was such a nasty boy, that Gordon. Poor Shane was so humiliated and when he couldn't manage to pull his pants back up, he simply pulled them completely off and ran off to the bathroom, crying. Naturally, a crowd gathered and scorned the poor child."

"That must have been very humiliating for Shane. Was it over with after that?."

"Certainly not. Gordon and his minions took every opportunity to tease and harass the poor boy. He was never quite the same boy after that. When I would see him in the hallways, he nearly always kept his head down and looked quite miserable. I felt very sorry for the poor child."

"Can you quickly mention the last report in there, please?"

"Certainly. Miss Julie Mangelsohn complained that Shane was bothering her, much like Nate Adams had. One day, he was caught by a passing teacher coming out of the girls bathroom. Julie was discovered to be in the bathroom hiding from Shane in a stall. Shane was suspended for a time over it."

"Finally, can you read some of the teacher evaluations from Shane's teachers that were in his file?"

Mrs. Newell read four different teacher reports that all painted me as a cypher. Words like quiet, introverted, unresponsive, pensive and showing signs of depression were abundant. I had no idea that my middle school and high school misery was so apparent to everyone. Apparent to everyone except my parents, who seemed oblivious.

"Thank you. I'm finished."

Adam stood. "Mrs. Newell, how were Shane's grades?"

"Average to slightly above average from what I see here on his transcript."

"Other than the incidents you cited, was Shane any kind of a trouble maker?"

"No. Certainly not. He was quiet, almost invisible."

"In the Julie Mangelsohn incident, did Shane have a defense?"

"Yes. He claimed that a group of boys were teasing him and pushed him into the bathroom after Julie went in there."

"Based on your observations, is that a reasonable defense?"

"Certainly reasonable. The poor boy was teased relentlessly, especially after the naked bottom half incident."

"Thank you. I'm done."

"Your honor," the prosecutor said. "If you will allow it, I have three more very short witnesses to call and we can be done for today. That will complete my witnesses for the first phase and tomorrow we can move into the Colt Withers phase of the trial."

"Proceed."

"I call Nicolas Steele."

My cousin strode in. He looked stormy and glared at me as he walked past. He was sworn in and sat on the edge of the witness chair. He looked unhappy to be there.

"Can you state your relationship to the defendant, please?"

"I'm Shane's cousin."

"Mr. Steele, or can I call you Nicolas to avoid confusion?"

"Whatever."

"All right, Nicolas. Did you visit your uncle's ranch in Kalispell at Christmastime on a regular basis?"

"Yup."

"And when you visited there at the time you were fourteen and Shane was eleven, did the two of you sleep out in the hay loft of their barn on that particular Christmas Eve?"

"Yup."

"And did you on that occasion, teach Shane how to masturbate?"

Nicolas glared at me and shook his head slightly from side to side. "What the hell, Shane. Why'd you tell people that?"

"Nicolas, please just answer my question. Did you teach Shane to masturbate?"

"Yup. I did. He wanted to do it. I didn't force nothin' on him. He liked it."

"No doubt. No one is accusing you of anything criminal here. Just continue to tell us the truth. After that initial time, did you ever engage in that activity together again?" the prosecutor probed.

"Yup. A few times. Shane wanted to do it with me. He'd ask me to do it."

"Did you ever involve others? Shane's brother, Billy, perhaps?"

"Nope. Only Shane. I felt kinda guilty after I done it with Shane so I never thought about doing it with anybody else."

"Did you do it together on subsequent visits or only on that first visit."

"More times. We did it for a couple other years I think. Until I was sixteen and had a girlfriend and told him no more."

"I see."

"Could Shane ejaculate semen when you first showed him how to masturbate?"

"Nope. He got a dry cum is all. But he liked it."

"I'm sure he did. Did you ejaculate in front of him?"

"Yup. I was fourteen. I told you that."

"Okay. Was Shane fascinated by your ability to emit semen?"

"Emit semen? You mean shoot cum?" Nicolas clarified.

"Yes. That's what I mean."

"Yup. He was pumped when he could finally shoot some the last time we did it together. I wasn't planning to do it anymore, but he really wanted to show me his cum, so I agreed to do it one more time."

"Did he ever tell you that he was gay?"

"Nope. He never told me that."

"He claims he is," said the prosecutor.

"Yeah, I heard talk about it. But he never told me that."

"Did he ever tell you about masturbating with other boys. Maybe younger cousins?"

"Umm, no. Did he do that?"

"Supposedly, with your younger brother, Daniel."

Nicolas scowled at me. Shook his head like I was an idiot. "Maybe."

"Did you ever include your younger brother in masturbation sessions with Shane?"

"Maybe." Nicolas wasn't about to admit it.

"How much younger is your brother, Daniel?"

"Only a year and a half. He's between me and Shane."

"Did he ever ask you to use an object like a brush handle or something similar up inside your anus as part of your sex play?" the prosecutor inquired.

"NO! Hell no. I wouldn't have done that for sure. Does he do that?" Nicolas glared at me again with a disgusted look on his face.

"That's all I have. Thank you, Nicolas."

Adam had one question. "Whose idea was it to masturbate the first time when Shane was only eleven?"

"Mine."

"Did Shane resist the idea?"

"Only a little maybe. But he agreed to it. I didn't force it on him. I didn't."

"When you did it together after the first time, was it always Shane's idea or did you ask him to do it with you sometimes as well. Honestly, now."

"Well, I did some. But he liked doing it and wanted to do it with me when I was there."

"That's all," Adam said flatly.

"Two last witnesses, your honor."

"Get on with it."

"I call Samuel Canterbury."

"Oh no," I whispered. Softly enough that even Adam couldn't hear me. Samuel looked very nervous as the prosecutor addressed him. "Sam, can I call you Sam?"

"Everyone does."

"Good. Sam, tell us how you are related to the defendant, please?"

"We're cousins. My mom and his mom are sisters."

"How old are you now?"

"Fifteen, almost sixteen."

"A little less than two years younger than Shane then?"

"Yes sir."

"When you were twelve years old did you visit their ranch?"

"Yes sir."

"On one of those visits did Shane teach you to masturbate?"

"Yes sir."

Adam's veins in his neck bulged as his muscles constricted.

"Describe the events that led up to that."

"Well, we were out playing in the yard. We'd done some plowing so we were sweaty. We went up to the hay loft. They have a great rope swing up there. We were swinging on it and it was kind of hot so we got real sweaty and we took off our shirts. I saw that Shane had some hairs under his arms and I laughed about it. Then he asked me if I had any down below, by my privates yet and I said I did have some, but only a few. He asked if he could see them and said he'd show me his."

"Interesting. So did you?"

"Yes sir. He said it was so hot, it would feel good to get our pants and boots off anyway. So we pulled off our boots and socks and our pants and just pulled down our underwear and showed each other our privates and I let him see my few hairs I had. He showed me his and he had a bunch. His penis was a lot bigger than mine back then."

"And what happened next?"

"Well, we just swung on the rope some more in just our underwear. He had boxers and I had my whities on. His penis started sticking out of the flap on his boxers and we laughed about it. It got kind of hard and he asked if mine ever did. I said it did sometimes and he asked if I ever jerked it. I didn't know what he meant and he said our other cousin, Nicolas had taught him and asked if I'd like him to teach me."

"Did you want him to?"

"Yes sir. I suppose I did."

"And what happened next."

"We sat ourselves on a bale and pulled down our underwear. He was sticking all the way up and I wasn't yet, so he rubbed it for me until I did get to sticking up and then I got the good feeling, you know. Well after I had my turn at it, he said it was only fair for me to do his and said he could shoot stuff out of his and it would be cool to see it. So I did what he'd done and sure as shittin', he squirted out his stuff. He told me about what it was for and how he'd sometimes put bull semen in the cows to make them pregnant. I knew about it kind of, but not really. I wasn't from a farm like him."

"That must have made quite an impression on you."

"Yes sir," Sam answered with certainty.

"Did you do it together any other times after that?"

"No sir."

"Did he ask you to?"

"A few times."

"But you didn't want to?" asked the prosecutor.

"No sir. Didn't feel right to me."

"I understand. Did he try to pressure you into it?"

"No sir. He just said okay and that was that."

"Thanks."

Adam stood and said, "No questions." Then he sat, tapping his pencil to his pad. I was really, really regretting having passed on the eight year deal.

"Final witness for today, I call Logan Steele."

I was expecting this one.

"Can I call you Logan?"

"Sure can."

"Logan, how are you related to Shane Steele, the defendant?"

"I'm his cousin."

"And do you know Nicolas Steele also? And his little brother, Daniel?"

"Sure do. They're my cousins too."

"Did you have a sexual experience with Shane Steele while visiting overnight at the ranch?"

"Sure did."

"How old were you then and how old are you now?"

"I was thirteen then and I guess Shane was fifteen, cause I'm sixteen now and he must be eighteen."

"Tell us briefly what transpired between you two."

"Which time? The first one?"

"Yes. Start there."

"I was visiting, like you said, and Shane and me were all done with chores and waiting on Auntie's great dinner so we got started to wrestling around. He got me pinned down and sat on me, holding my arms. He wiggled his butt on me and I bucked trying to get him off me. He said something like 'keep it up' or something like that. We were laughing. I broke a hand free and reached up and grabbed his boxers waistband and gave him a wedgie. Then he said something like 'Oh yeah, two can play that game,' and he rolled me over and gave me a monster wedgie, like to about rip my boxers clean off. Then he let me up and we was laughing and he undid his pants and pulled down his boxers to straighten them out and so I did the same thing. Only, he didn't pull his up right away. He just kind of watched me while I pulled mine down."

"I see. So that is how it started?"

"Shane told me how big mine was for a kid my age and how he wasn't near that big. I thanked him and I think I said his was pretty good sized - to be nice, you know. But then he walked up close while I was about to pull my boxers back on and just reached out and took hold of my junk. He started to play with it in his hand and said I could feel his up too if I wanted. And I kind of did, because I hadn't ever felt another guy's junk or nothing like that. Well before you know it, we both went and popped boners and were rubbing each other off like crazy until we both jizzed."

"You both ejaculated?"

"Sure did."

"Then what happened?"

"Damned if Auntie didn't call us right that moment to come on down to dinner."

"So you quickly dressed and went to eat?"

"Well we cleaned up our spills first, but yeah, we did that. We got to giggling so hard at dinner when Auntie said she made a special white cream sauce to go on the chicken that everyone got mad at us. We had to apologize to Auntie for being so rude and tell her we wasn't laughing at her cooking."

"And did you engage in that kind of sex play after that? Together, I mean?"

"Sure did. Every chance we could get. But that wasn't a lot. We did it maybe four more times at his place and a couple at my house."

"Both of you liked it?"

"Sure did."

"Who usually suggested doing it?"

"Both of us. Me mostly, I guess."

"Did Shane ever suggest doing something extra, like using something up inside your anus?"

"Well, he did ask if I'd ever heard of doing that one time. I told him not really and that it sounded kind of gross."

"I see. Did he ever bring it up again after that?"

"Not that I recall."

"Okay, thanks."

Adam stood.

"Logan, you testified that you both mutually enjoyed the experience of masturbating each other. Did you ever feel pressured by Shane to participate?"

"No. Never. I liked it as much as he did - more probably."

"Thanks. That's all."

"Any more?" the judge asked.

"No sir. That's it for today."

"Well, we seem to have covered significantly more ground than I had anticipated. We are adjourned until nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Dismissed." He banged his gavel, stood and exited. The bailiff approached. I avoided looking back at my parents. I was utterly embarrassed.

"Take my client to conference room three, please. I have it reserved," Adam said. I followed the bailiff out the side door and forced myself to look back towards my parents. I couldn't read their expressions. Mostly fear, I thought. That was what I saw. Anxiety and fear.

I was feeling my own dose of fear after day one of my trial. I was wringing my hands and I loosened my tie while I waited for Adam to show up in the conference room. I was wondering how upset he was going to be at me over the surprise testimony of my cousins. I had no idea how the prosecutor came up with them. The only people I ever told any of that to was Steve and Billy, and that was just about Nicolas and Daniel. I know they wouldn't have shared it with the prosecutor. It made no sense to me. I was left to wonder how that came about.

Adam came in and sat at the table across from me. He set his briefcase on the table and leaned back in his chair. "You are wondering why I didn't spend more time questioning the witnesses today, I suppose." I hadn't expected him to start that way. I was expecting an angry lecture from him.

"Yeah. I kind of was wondering that," I said.

"These are the prosecution's witnesses. Any lengthy cross examination of them would only further implant their negative testimony in the mind of the judge. I only ask questions when I want to shed doubt on a witness's testimony or if I want to set something up for later in our case."

"Okay. I understand. About my cousins, I have no idea how ..." Adam cut me off.

"I know how he got them. Steve apparently shared with Wesley Jensen the story you'd told him about your cousin, Nicolas, teaching you how to masturbate while they were sharing a dorm room together. Armed with that information from his interview with Wesley, the prosecutor went after your other cousins and pressured those other two into testifying. I presumed it was all true and I didn't think it mattered all that much. It was boys being boys. The prosecutor will use it to try and show you as a risk to younger boys by having already engaged in sex play with boys who were younger than you. The law pretty clearly recognizes, however, that consensual sexual activity between minors who are not more than three years apart is simply normal youthful behavior. If the judge were a woman, it might be more of a problem, but every guy gets the youthful curiosity thing."

"It looked pretty bad for me today, didn't it?"

"It did. It should, since it was the prosecutor calling all the witnesses. We'll still get our turn. Don't give up hope just yet. The worst piece of evidence was that Nate Adams report in your school file. It's not something that you would have thought to warn me about, I'm sure, but it was definitely a negative," Adam said. "By the way, you did a very good job in court. You held your composure very well, especially in light of the surprise witnesses."

"Thanks. I guess. It was hard sometimes."

"Did you actually stalk that Nate kid at your school?" Adam asked.

"Yes. He was so cute," I admitted.

Adam chuckled and shook his head a little bit. "At least you had the good sense to stop after he reported you. The problem with all of this is that there is a common theme developing. All of your 'questionable' behavior is revolving around a bathroom. And that's not on accident. The prosecutor is emphasizing that for a reason. The reason is Colt. Where did you first have contact with Colt? In a bathroom. Doesn't play well. At least it's just a judge and not an impressionable jury."

"Interesting. I never made that link," I said. Then I asked, "Is there any hope for me?"

"Always hope, Shane. It's too late to worry about the plea offer. Stop beating yourself up over rejecting it, if you're doing that. We're fighting this to the end. Do you have any questions for me?" Adam offered.

"Not really," I replied.

"All right, tomorrow then," Adam said. He stood up and took my hand. Instead of just shaking it like usual, he pulled me into a hug. "That's from your mom and dad, who want you to know that they love you and still very much believe in you. I teared up with gratitude over that.

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Next Chapter presents all but Colt's testimony and then Adam will get his turn to present a defense. Hope you will keep reading as the anticipation builds towards the final verdict. There are clues to the outcome spread throughout.