CHAPTER 24
This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual activities between males. If you are not of legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality and/or homosexual themes, leave this site now.
The author retains all rights to this story. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.
Note: Thanks to Tim for feedback on the draft chapters. I owe special thanks to Robb and Rock for doing the final proofreading and catching all those silly little errors I missed.
Send comments to: jeff_allen15@hotmail.com
Finding Family
by Jeff Allen
CHAPTER 24
IN CARTERVILLE, NC
PARKER'S PERSPECTIVE:
The house seemed awfully quiet after Trey and TJ went off to college and Rashod moved to Greensboro. I guess I should count the loss of Jonathan as well since he'd practically been living with us over the summer. Isaac and Ryan were still at home, and often Tyrone spent the night with Isaac, but it was still a lot quieter than before.
Teaching and the soccer team kept me occupied. The team was doing well thanks to the leadership of returning veterans like Isaac, Ryan, Tyrone, Caleb Stuart, Elijah Baker, Brandon Leach, Ward Furr, and Ske Takamachi. Still, I was a little worried about the next few years. I didn't think we'd be able to count on Tyrone returning to the team after basketball season. He had the potential to be a great college player, maybe even a pro like his father, but to do that he needed to concentrate on his basketball. There didn't seem to be any rising stars in the new crop of freshman players. Rick Springer, my old college soccer coach, had warned me that there would be some years like that. I hadn't experienced it up to that point. Lucky, I guess.
I was looking forward to having my college guys home for a long weekend in mid October. I talked with them on the phone almost every weekend and by email, but it would be good to see them again.
We'd just gotten back to the house after our soccer match. We'd won, but it had been close. Isaac and I were starting to cook dinner when the phone rang.
I answered. "Hello?"
"Coach, it's Donnie."
"Hi, Donnie. How's it going?"
"Not well, Coach. I need some advice. Can I come out and talk with you?"
"Sure. We're just about to start dinner. How about giving us an hour or so?"
"That'd be great. Thanks. Can I bring the boys?"
"Of course. Ryan and Isaac will be happy to see them, and Mutt will try to lick them to death."
He laughed a little. "That dog sure does like the boys. I need to feed my crew also so I'll see you in about an hour."
"Donnie, if Leigh's working and you haven't started dinner, why don't you just come on out now. There'll be plenty to go around."
"Thanks, Coach. That would be fantastic. See you in a few minutes."
We hung up. I told Isaac that we needed to make a few more meatballs to add to the spaghetti sauce.
Donnie and his boys arrived. Mutt plastered herself to their sides as soon as they came in the door. She also sat attentively through dinner waiting for the occasional piece of meatball or part of a sauce-covered spaghetti noodle to drop on the floor. With Grant and Micah at the table her patience and attention were rewarded often.
Ryan cleaned up after dinner while Isaac took the boys, and Mutt upstairs to watch some TV. Donnie and I settled down in the living room.
"You said you needed some advice. What's up?"
He took a big swallow before starting. "Okay. Here it goes. Leigh's left me."
"Donnie, I'm sorry."
"I'm not. She and I haven't gotten along very well since right after we got married. I've been sleeping on the couch since right after she got pregnant with Micah. Two days ago, I picked the boys up from day care and went home. All of Leigh's clothes were gone along with the good car. There wasn't a note or anything. She was just gone. She didn't even say good-bye to the boys. She was still asleep that morning when I took them to day care."
He wiped his hands across his face before continuing. "It's okay. She left the boys with me. I can deal with her being gone. I couldn't have dealt with it if she'd taken the boys from me.
"Actually, her being gone is the least of my worries. She cleaned out all the bank accounts before she left."
"What?"
"About a year ago she convinced me to let her handle the books for the business...payroll, everything...all our finances. It was running me ragged trying to do that and keep up the day-to-day running of the business so I agreed. She did fine with it. At least for a while.
"Right after I found out she was gone, I got a call from the bank. She hadn't paid anything on the mortgage for the business in two months. Our checking accounts, both our personal account and the business account, were empty. She also took everything out of our savings account.
"I checked around the next day. She hadn't paid any bills for the last two or three months. No power bill, no rent for the house, nothing. The bottom line is that I think I'm going to have to close the service station. I can't make payroll for tomorrow, and the bank won't lend me any money to do it. In fact, they're threatening to foreclose on the mortgage. I also found out that our landlord wants to evict us from the house.
"I thought about sending the boys down to live with my mother and sister in Charlotte for a while, but Sis doesn't have enough room for her own kids now that mama's moved in."
He put his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.
"What can I do, Coach?"
I slid next to him on the couch put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug.
"How much do you need for payroll and operating expenses for the business?"
"I asked the bank for $20,000, but they won't do it."
"What about the back payments on the mortgage, the rent, and the bills Leigh didn't pay?"
"That's another seven grand, but even if I could get the money my landlord says he wants me out of the house. He claims he can rent it for a lot more than what we've been paying."
"So $27,000 would get you cleared up with the bank and your other creditors?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Here's what we'll do. I'll meet you at the bank as soon as it opens tomorrow morning and put the $27,000 in your accounts. You've already paid back every thing I lent you to get started in the business. I think you're a safe investment, even if the bank doesn't. The next thing is that Ryan, Isaac, and I will help you move out of your house on Saturday. You and the boys are going to live out here until you get back on your feet."
He looked at me like I had just proposed going to the moon in a hot air balloon.
"I can't ask you to do that!"
"You're not asking, I'm offering. There's a big difference. Don't worry, I can afford it, and we'll call it a loan. You've worked too hard on that business to lose it because of what Leigh did. However, you need to make sure that her name comes off all your bank accounts and credit cards. That needs to happen tomorrow also."
"Coach, are you sure about this?" His eyes were filling with tears.
"I'm positive. I've got to do what I can to keep the best auto mechanic in Carterville in business."
He lost it. He hugged me and cried and laughed at the same time. "You've always been there for me, Coach. You're the best friend I've ever had."
That caused my own eyes to water up.
**********
When Donnie and the boys left. I sat down with Isaac and Ryan in the kitchen to explain the situation to them. Without hesitation, they both supported my decision to help Donnie financially and to have him and his boys move into the house. I was proud of them.
I got a sub to cover my class and met Donnie at the bank the next morning. Lawrence Pittman, the branch manager who was also Jonathan's father, wasn't happy to hear what I had to say. He did his best to dissuade me from covering Donnie's debts. Some of his comments, made in Donnie's presence, bordered on racist. Pittman and his wife always seemed to be the perfect couple out in public. If his attitude was a true reflection of his internal feelings, then I felt sorry for Jonathan growing up in their home. In the end Pittman had to relent. It was my money after all.
It took much of the day on Saturday, but we moved everything out of Donnie's old rental house. A lot of his furniture and household stuff went into storage with mostly bedroom furniture and clothes going out to my house. We gave Donnie and his boys the two bedrooms in the original upstairs of the house. Isaac moved into TJ's old room in the new upstairs above the kitchen and den. TJ would bunk in with either Ryan or Trey when they came home.
**********
AT ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY, ADAMS, NC
TJ'S PERSPECTIVE:
Our fall break was a Thursday and Friday in mid October. It was going to be my first chance to get back to Carterville and see Ryan so I was starting to get excited about it for a week before. We had a break in our soccer practice schedule so there weren't going to be any complications in the way of the trip back home. Trey, Jonathan, and I planned to leave right after soccer practice on Wednesday. We'd be home by eight or eight thirty in the evening. Jonathan was going to spend the weekend with us. I wasn't sure he'd even told his folks about fall break. He definitely wasn't planning on seeing them.
That Tuesday morning Josh Locklear showed up to our chemistry lab with his right arm in a sling. He explained that he'd nearly separated his shoulder in football practice on Monday. He was left with a bad sprain, and the head trainer wanted him to lay out of practice for a week. It also meant that he wouldn't be traveling with the team to the game scheduled for that weekend. There was a limit to the number of guys they could take for an away game, and they didn't have room for an injured freshman.
"Hey, look on the bright side, you can go home and see your mom."
He looked down at the lab bench, "No, I can't. I don't have a way to get there. I don't have a car, and I don't know anyone else from that area that's up here."
He looked so sad; I couldn't stand it. "Why don't you come home with us? We're going to leave right after our practice tomorrow. We could pick you up at your dorm between six and six thirty."
His face brightened considerably. "Are you sure? That would be great. I wasn't looking forward to four days in the dorm all by myself. But shouldn't you check with you brother and guardian first?"
"I'll call `em tonight, but I already know what they'll say. Come on, man. We'll have a great weekend."
"I'll talk to my mom tonight. I'll call you later and let you know." He put his left hand on my shoulder. "Thanks, TJ. You're a real friend."
After practice I told Trey and Jonathan about Josh's injury and him not being able to get home for fall break. Both immediately said to invite him to go with us to Carterville. I didn't tell them that I'd already invited him.
I called Ryan and told him about Josh's situation. He asked me to hold on the phone for a second so he could go talk with Coach. When he came back on the phone, he told me to invite Josh home for the weekend. I told him I already had. Ryan just laughed.
Next I called Josh to let him know that everything was set on our end. I could tell from his voice that he was more than pleased. He'd already talked with his mom, and she was all for the idea since she was working all weekend and wouldn't be able to spend time with Josh even if he had been able to get home.
So about six fifteen the following evening we pulled up outside Josh's dorm in Trey's old Volvo wagon. We took it because neither my Jeep nor Jonathan's Celica would have been able to fit all four of us plus our gear. On the other hand, the Volvo would have room to spare.
I went in to help Josh with his stuff. He had one big duffle bag plus a backpack with some textbooks and class notes for studying. I picked up the duffle bag, and he hefted the backpack over his left shoulder.
"How's the shoulder today?"
"Still pretty sore. I had to get my roommate to help me pull on my shirt this morning. It's supposed to be better in a couple of days. Man, I sure hope so."
I lifted the Volvo's tailgate and threw his gear in on top of ours.
"You and I get the back seat for this ride."
I took the left side behind Trey, and Josh slid in the right behind Jonathan who'd never met Josh. I figured that I'd better do the introductions.
"Josh, the blond god you're sitting behind is our suitemate, Jonathan Pittman. Jonathan, this is Josh Locklear."
Jonathan swiveled around to offer his hand. "Nice to meet you, Josh. TJ and Trey have told me a lot about you. I feel kind of funny that we've missed each other whenever you've been over studying."
Josh's jaw dropped open, and his eyes grew wide. He stammered for a second and then shook Jonathan's hand. "Damn, you look just like Wes Dawson!"
"Who's that?"
"He's a guy on the football team. He plays tight end. He's pretty good too. One of the few freshmen who's seeing much playing time this year. Man, I can't get over how much you look like him! This is freaky! Honest, man, you look just like him."
"They say everyone's got a double someplace."
"I know, but you could be him sitting there."
Trey pulled the Volvo away from the curb, and we started toward Carterville. Once Josh got settled back down, we started talking back and forth in the car. Trey and I already liked Josh. By the time we got to Carterville, I think Jonathan did too.
When we got to the house everyone was there. We traded hugs and back slaps all the way around, introduced Josh to everyone, and took our bags into the house. Donnie and his two little guys had the two bedrooms in the old wing so I bunked in with Ryan, Jonathan stayed in Isaac's room, and Josh joined Trey.
Coach made a bunch of nachos, and we all sat around the kitchen table eating, drinking cokes, and catching up with each other. Man, it was good to be back home!
It was also good to have Donnie out at the house. He put his little guys to bed and then came down and joined us devouring the nachos. I'd had a real crush on Donnie back before he got married. I remembered the times he and Karl and I had played around in the shower upstairs. That caused a little stirring in my pants.
Thursday morning we college guys got to sleep in while everyone else took off for school or work. After we'd straggled individually down for breakfast, we spent the day giving Josh the tour of Carterville, eating lunch at the Mountain Café, and then going to the soccer match. The team won and won handily. Elijah Baker and Isaac had a great day. They scored all the goals for our side.
The next morning after everyone left, the four of us went out for a run. Josh wasn't much of a runner. He tried to keep up with us, but not being able to swing his arm properly while running bothered him so we cut the run a little shorter than normal.
Back at the house we demonstrated the wonders of the big shower area in the bathroom to Josh. He may have preferred smaller guys, but he sure managed to "rise" to the occasion in the shower. His dick was about average size...six and a half inches or so...but because of his big, muscular body it looked smaller. It wasn't until I had his hard dick in my hand that I realized he had a normal endowment. He was also uncut like Jonathan, but his foreskin didn't completely cover the head of his dick, even when it was soft. He may have had an average sized penis, but the load that he shot that morning could have choked a bull. It was like watching one of the cum shots on a porno flick.
Friday afternoon we did a little studying and a little work on getting all the lawn care equipment cleaned and ready to store for the winter. That evening we went to the high school football game and then headed back to the house. Tyrone came out to spend the night with Isaac so Jonathan moved his gear into Trey and Josh's room. All of us, including Coach, spent some time in the hot tub. It was crowded with eight of us in there. I think we splashed about half the water out onto the deck. There was a lot of good-natured dick grabbing and ass goosing, but it was all in fun. We finally headed to bed about midnight.
I woke up about an hour or so later. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Everything that is except my stomach, which growled and told me that it needed a snack. It was a warm night for mid October so I didn't bother putting on any clothes before making my way down to the kitchen. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk. I thought that would hold me until breakfast.
I made my way back upstairs moving as quietly as possible. In the upstairs hallway I was just about to turn to go down to Ryan's and my bedroom when I caught a flash of something white on the floor of Grant and Micah's room. I turned to look.
Donnie was sitting on the floor between the two beds. The flash of white had been his briefs contrasting against his dark skin. Mutt was lying beside him. I stood and watched for a minute or two. Only Donnie's head moved as he looked from Grant to Micah. I walked in the room and sat down beside him on the floor.
"I like to watch them sleep. They're so much like angels. Watching them gives me the strength to go on."
I put my arm around his shoulders. "They're beautiful, Donnie."
"Thanks."
"Everything's going to work out."
"Yeah, I think it will thanks to Parker. If he hadn't bailed us out, I don't know what I would have done."
"He's bailed out several of us, me and Ryan included."
I gave him a hug and took my arm from around his shoulder. He reached over and took my hand. We sat in silence for a few minutes just holding hands and watching his sons sleep.
Finally he said, "I think I can go to sleep now."
He stood up pulling me up with him. "Will you stay with me tonight? I haven't held anyone at night in almost three years."
My heart thumped, and I felt a jolt in my cock. Suddenly I couldn't speak. I just nodded.
He led the way into his bedroom. He climbed into bed and motioned for me to join him. I knew my arousal was obvious. I lay down next to him.
He pulled me close spooning against my back with his arms wrapped over my arm and chest.
"Thank you."
His scent surrounded me. I could feel his breath against the hair of my head, the heat from his body against mine, and his own slightly enlarged member covered by a thin layer of cotton pressing against my ass. It all felt so right.
I went to sleep.
The next morning I woke up with a start when two little boys literally jumped into bed with us. I sat straight up in bed while trying to pull the covers around to hide my morning erection.
Donnie took one look at my messy hair and wild eyes and started to laugh. "I forgot to tell you last night that the boys usually come in and wake me up in the mornings."
He pulled back the covers revealing his own substantial morning wood tenting out the front of his white briefs. He grabbed a laughing boy under each arm. "Come on, guys. Time to go get changed."
He disappeared into the bathroom with the boys. Totally embarrassed, I hightailed it out of the room and down the hall to Ryan's room. I climbed under the covers with Ryan and tried to get my heart rate to drop back into the normal range.
Ryan rolled over and moved up against me. "Where'd you go last night?"
"It's a long story."
"Good. Tell me when I wake up." He went back to sleep.
About half an hour later Coach got us all up for the traditional Saturday morning run. Donnie and his boys were still in his bedroom when we left. When we came back from the run, Donnie had the kitchen table set for breakfast and was making pancakes. His boys were all dressed.
Donnie left for work right after breakfast. Grant and Micah stayed. We spent most of the day completing the cleaning and winterizing of the lawn care equipment and getting the snow removal equipment ready for the coming winter. Grant and Micah followed us around like little puppy dogs. Mutt followed Grant and Micah around like a little puppy dog.
I'd never spent much time around little kids. I really enjoyed the day with Donnie's boys, and I think the rest of us did too. At one point Micah was too busy playing with some of the tools we were using to clean the equipment to remember to tell us that he had to go potty. Nature took its course, and he wet his pants. Without batting an eye or saying an unkind word my brother picked the little guy up and took him into the house to change.
After lunch Isaac took the boys upstairs for their nap. He read them a story and then stayed up there with them until they fell asleep, then he left Mutt on guard, and rejoined us in the barn. When we heard Mutt barking a little later Ryan announced that the boys must be done with their naps, and he went inside to get them.
When the maintenance on the lawn and snow removal equipment was completed we took another group shower while Grant and Micah played in their room. There was a lot of body contact and guys washing someone else's back, but out of consideration for the minority heterosexual viewpoint of my brother this shower didn't have any sexual activity that was too blatant.
Donnie got home around seven that evening. He went up to take a shower while Coach started the preparations for dinner. Isaac and Josh were drafted to help. I think Josh was tickled to be treated as just another member of Coach's Cubs instead of as a guest.
After dinner Donnie took his boys upstairs to get them ready for bed. When he came back down after tucking them into bed and reading a story he joined us in the den where we were all spread out on the floor or the furniture watching ESPN.
After a while Donnie caught my eye and indicated with a head gesture for me to follow him. We went out through the kitchen and onto the front porch.
"TJ, about last night...You left so quickly this morning, I didn't get a chance to say `thanks' for spending the night with me."
"Well, I was kind of embarrassed when your boys came in. There I was naked in bed with their daddy."
He laughed. "I don't think they would have really noticed. They see me naked all the time when we take showers together, and I can tell you that after spending the last two weeks living out here they have definitely gotten used to seeing adult male genitals. Isaac and your brother run around naked up here most of the time."
"Still, it kind of freaked me out...and I wasn't sure what you'd think."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I used to have this big crush on you back when I was a freshman in high school and you and Karl were seniors. Then you got married. I understand that you're missing Leigh right now and I was available last night."
"TJ, let me be clear about something. I don't miss Leigh. I hope she never comes back. If I'd known that she would leave the boys with me, I would have given her everything two years ago. Our marriage was a mistake. We never loved one another. She was using me as a way to get out of her parents' house, and I was using her as a way to convince myself that I was something I'm not."
He moved a little closer to me. "Would you spend the night with me again knowing that we'll have a rude and noisy wake up call from the boys in the morning?"
I nodded.
He moved even closer and took my hand. "I think I'm ready for bed. Are you?"
I nodded again.
He leaned forward and we kissed. His lips were incredibly soft. He nibbled tenderly on my lower lip and then ran his tongue along the edge of my lips. He cupped my face with his hands and continued the kiss. We were just barely touching. It was absolutely electric. When he broke away, my knees were weak.
He turned and went back into the house. I followed him up the stairs and into his bedroom.
He turned and kissed me again. His hands moved under my shirt and slowly moved up my back with a gentle touch. I returned the favor. His skin was smooth, soft, and hot beneath my fingers. He moved one hand around to touch my left nipple. I'd played with my nipples before while jacking off, and I'd had other guys like Trey and Jonathan play with them a little when we were together being sexy, but I'd never felt anything like that! It was like an electric shock going through my body almost as if there was a direct nervous connection between my nipple and my cock. I think I moaned. Donnie moved his lips away from my mouth to follow the angle of my jaw and down the side of my neck to the hollow spot beneath my Adam's apple. All I could do was dig my fingers further into the muscles of his back.
He whispered, "Let's get you out of these clothes," as he began pulling my shirt over my head. He then kissed his way down my chest and stomach as his hands unbuckled my belt, snapped open my jeans, and began unzipping them. I toed off my sneakers and lifted my feet as he lowered my jeans and boxers down and completely off.
I stood there in front of him naked, except for my white socks.
"You're beautiful."
We kissed again as he walked me backwards toward the bed. I lay down on my back. He covered me with his body. Somehow I got his shirt over his head and began licking at one of his dark nipples. He rolled over. I helped him get rid of his remaining clothes.
I lowered my face to his crotch taking in his unique scent. I took him in my mouth, softly at first but then with more urgency. He moved his hips in time with my motions as his hands played with my hair.
He pulled me up into a kiss again. "It's my turn."
He made his way down my body. He kissed all around my crotch then gently moved my balls around with his tongue. He moved his tongue around the head of my dick and down the shaft. When his mouth finally enveloped my hard prick, I thought I was going to explode.
I knew I wouldn't last long. I turned around underneath him so I could take his erection into my mouth as he continued to suck mine. I felt the first indications of an orgasm. At the same time his balls began to draw up toward his body, and I knew he was close also. My dick erupted its load into his mouth, and an instant later his body stiffened as he pumped his warm, salty seed into my mouth.
Spent, we kissed and cuddled until sleep overwhelmed us.
I woke up once during the night. Donnie was lying on his back; I was on my side with my face near his shoulder. The subtle musk of his body and underarms gave me another hard on. I pressed in closer and breathed in his scent as I drifted back to sleep.
Grant and Micah climbed in bed with us the next morning. As he had the day before, Donnie carried one giggling boy under each arm into the bathroom to do their morning business. My morning erection had subsided a little by the time I heard the toilet flush so I swung my legs out of bed, realized I was still wearing my white socks, grabbed my boxers out of the pile of clothes on the floor, and went into the bathroom.
To my surprise, Donnie gave me a quick peck on the lips as he and the boys exited the bathroom.
"Come back to bed with us when you finish peeing."
I peed, found some toothpaste in the medicine cabinet, did a quick finger brush to take away some of my morning breath, and joined Donnie and the boys in the bed.
We cuddled and dozed off and on for about half an hour or so before we heard noises from downstairs indicating that someone was moving around in the kitchen.
Coach made French toast for breakfast. Ryan and I volunteered to clean up the kitchen afterwards.
We worked in silence for a while before he spoke. "So what's up with you and Donnie?"
"Well...I....we...oh, crap, Ryan, I really like him."
"Yeah, we kind of wondered where you were last night. It's not unusual for Donnie to go to bed earlier than the rest of us. I know his boys get him up early, but last night you disappeared too. I don't know about the others, but Trey noticed. He said something to me. Then when I went upstairs to go to bed, I looked in on Grant and Micah. I do that sometimes. They're so cute when they're sleeping. Anyway, I picked up a couple of their things and put them in the toy box by the bathroom door. I could see through the bathroom into Donnie's room. You guys looked very comfortable."
"It was a lot more than comfortable, bro."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. Like I said, I like him a lot, and he seems to like me. I think he and I need to talk before I go back to school."
But I didn't get the chance to talk with him that day. Donnie got called for a road service call from AAA. He wasn't back by the time we had to leave to go back to school.
Just before we all loaded into the car, I pulled Ryan aside and asked him to tell Donnie that I'd call him when I got back to the dorm.
The two hours passed quickly as the four of us talked and laughed while Trey drove. Josh thanked us over and over for inviting him to spend the weekend with us. We told him over and over that we were glad he'd come along. He'd fit right into the group, and the more I got to know him, the more I liked him as a friend. Josh told Jonathan that he'd try to introduce him to Wes Dawson, his supposed look-alike.
We dropped Josh off at his dorm then swung by our dorm to take our stuff back to the room. Trey and Jonathan left to take Trey's car back out to the remote parking lot. Freshmen like us weren't allowed to have cars on campus during the week. The lot where our cars were parked was about a mile away from campus. There was a shuttle bus that operated on a regular schedule, but still it was a pain whenever you needed your car. Trey and Jonathan had sort of waited for me to join them, but I told them I had to make a couple of phone calls. Trey winked at me as he and Jonathan left the room.
As soon as they left I dialed the number for Coach's house. Ryan answered. We talked for a few minutes before I asked him to get Donnie on the phone. Before I could talk with Donnie, however, I had to spend some time talking with Coach and Isaac. Finally everyone relinquished the phone, and I had Donnie on the line.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you good-bye this afternoon. That darn road service call took a lot longer than I thought it would. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I understand. I did really want to talk with you. I enjoyed last night and Friday. I...I'd like it to happen again."
"So would I! You said you had a crush on me back before I got married. I hope you still do because I've liked you since the first day I saw you when you joined the soccer team."
My dick went hard instantly. "Jeez, I wish I'd known."
"I wasn't ready to handle it then. I'm ready now. I know this is going to be hard with you there in Adams and me here in Carterville. When will you be home again?"
"I wasn't planning on coming home before Thanksgiving, but now I'm going to find a time to get home quicker than that. I don't want it to be a month before I see you again."
"Me too."
We continued to talk for almost an hour. When we got off the phone I heard Trey and Jonathan talking out in the living area of the suite. I had no idea when they'd come back.
(To be continued)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Many of the characters who play parts in this story were previously introduced in either "When Love Comes" (last posted in the College section on Sept. 6, 2001) or "Love of a Lifetime" (last posted in the College section on May 19, 2003). While not necessary, readers may find it useful to read the two earlier stories posted on this site. Both previous stories are also posted at www.crvboy.com.
Send comments to: jeff_allen15@hotmail.com