Hairy Ever After

This story is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to person's Living or dead, or to events that may have occurred, is purely Coincidental.

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Mark Stevens

Chapter Seventy-Six

Bren woke up and looked around the cabin. He was alone. The sun was shining brightly through the window as he looked at his cell phone. The time on the screen let him know it was almost two o'clock. He laid back down and rubbed his forehead as memories from the graduation party slowly danced across his brain. "Why the hell did I drink so much?" He asked the question even though there was no one there to answer him. "Shit."

Tom was suddenly standing in the doorway. "Good morning." He grinned. "Rather, good afternoon."

Bren groaned and sat up. He rolled his eyes and said, "I must have been out of my fucking mind."

Tom crawled into Bren's bed, and the two rolled over to face each other. He kissed Bren and said, "I heard it was a great party."

Bren took a quick breath. "What did you hear?"

"Just that there was quite a bit of beer consumed."

"Yeah, too much. I'm suddenly reminded of what the last year of college life was like for me."

Tom smiled and ran a finger along one of Bren's cheeks. "Tell me about it."

Bren swung his feet over the side of his bed. "Let me go pee first." He stood to his feet and went to relieve his bladder. The memory of Cole and what the two of them had done in the early morning hours was weighing heavily on his conscience. He finished his bathroom business and returned to Tom.

"Why the long face?" Tom asked.

"Too much drinking I guess." Bren crawled back into bed.

"You guess?"

"Tom, something happened last night at the party."

Tom smiled. "I would hope so. It was, after all, a graduation party."

Bren looked directly into his partner's eyes. "Cole was his usual persistent self."

"Of course he was. He's Cole. Tell me, did his perseverance pay off?"

"Sort of."

"I'm listening, Babe. What happened?"

"We didn't fuck. Still, I feel like I've screwed up."

"Bren, just tell me. Please."

Bren began by telling about the misunderstanding that had taken place between Cole and Darren concerning Cole's roommate, Ben. He told Tom how upset Cole had become, and from there, went on describing the rest of the events that had taken place, ending with what had happened behind the well house.

"Oh, my God," Tom said when Bren was finished.

Tears formed in Bren's eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Babe, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know how much that Cole loves to flirt."

"That's just it. All of the fault doesn't fall on Cole. I could have stopped it, but I didn't. You have every right to be upset with me."

Tom put his hands on Bren's shoulders. "Listen to me, Brenden Wells! I. Am. Not. Upset with you." He pulled Bren to him. "If I'm anything, I'm turned on by the thought of what you and Cole did." He rubbed against Bren and asked, "Does my cock seem upset to you?"

"Two things bother me, Tom. I'm not in love with Cole. However, I think I do love him as a friend. I allowed my friendship to blind my sense of reasoning."

"You said two things," Tom reminded when Bren became silent.

"Chad. What the hell is he going to think?"

Tom could see the hurt and confusion on his partner's face, and he wanted to make it go away. "Look, first of all, you and Cole did nothing wrong. It's true, he's still a student, but he's over eighteen."

"Cole did remind me that he would be nineteen in a couple of months."

"And so he will be. Will he keep quiet about the two of you?"

Bren nodded. "He gave me his word. I believe him, Tom. Cole loves to flirt and push boundaries, but I trust him. He will keep his promise."

"Then I think it starts and stops here. I've been thinking about something. Do you think Chad expects us to tell him about every time we have sex with any of the other guys? You know he doesn't."

"But Cole –"

"Is old enough to make his own decisions. He decided to jack off with you. I don't think that's serious enough to go running to Chad."

"Are you forgetting that I sucked his cock?"

"No, I'm not. Tom grinned. "Honestly, thinking about your mouth buried in Cole's thick pubes makes me even harder."

"Everything makes your dick hard."

Tom was happy to see a smile form on his partner's lips. "Should I say anything to Cole?"

Bren thought about it. "That might be a good idea. I want him to know that I've kept nothing from you."

"I'll also remind him of the need to keep what happened between you to himself."

Bren reached between them and wrapped his fingers around Tom's dick. "Cole would probably love to play with you. I know that you would like to play with him."

"Well, Cole does have a hot hairy body, and I would never object to watching him stroking his cock."

"Or him jacking you?"

"Yeah, that, too. "God, you've got me so fucking horny. I wish you weren't hung over."

"My head is better. I need to take a shower." He sat up in bed.

"I'll join you. For some reason my crotch is sticky."

Bren stood up. "You do remember that we are in a cabin with other students? We might not need to tell Chad about Cole and me jacking together if a student came in here and found the two of us fucking."

Tom shook his head. "No one is going to walk in on us. I told Cole I was going to wake you up and to head off anybody that tried coming into the cabin." Tom followed Bren into the bathroom. "Now that I know what the two of you did at the party, I can understand why Cole was so all fired up and willing to stand guard outside."

Bren stopped beside the large shower stall and turned around. He grinned. "He told me last night that he thought you'd fuck my brains out if I told you what happened between him and me."

Tom pulled his lover close and kissed him. He pushed his tongue inside Bren's mouth, and two tongues met each other. As the kiss continued, Tom slowly ran his hands along Bren's furry back. When they reached Bren's firm ass cheeks, he pinched them playfully and broke their kiss. "Cole was right. The thought of you two playing together is really messing with my dick."

Bren reached between them and squeezed Tom's hard shaft. The action forced pre cum to push out of the pee slit. "Hence the sticky crotch."

Bren stepped into the large stall and turned one of the shower heads on. "Care to join me?"

"Thought you would never ask." Tom joined him under the hot steamy spray.

Bren picked up a bar of soap and began washing Tom's hairy chest. He made sure that each curl was clean as his hand slowly traveled through the thick furry mat. His action left a white sudsy trail behind. When he reached Tom's belly button, Bren played and teased it, using a finger to slide through the wide circle of hair that grew heavily around it. When he came to Tom's thick wiry pubes, Bren lowered his body, supporting his weight on his legs. He looked up at Tom and grinned. "There is something very sticky here. I think it's going to take some extra cleaning to get rid of it."

Tom placed his hands on Bren's head. "Do what you think is best. I've heard that you are very good when it comes to cleaning things up."

Bren covered his lover's furry crotch behind high peaks of soap suds. He played close attention to each and every brown curl that covered the area. Then he stroked one layer of soap on the man's cock and made a sudsy trail down to Tom's heavy nut sac. He spent a few moments cleaning the area as he rolled each ball in the palm of his soap covered hand. He returned to Tom's dick and spent a long time making sure each inch of the hard hairy shaft was clean, ridding it of all pre cum. He scrubbed and rescrubbed it, but instead of getting it clean, his attention brought more pre cum out into his hand.

"I don't think I can get your dick clean," Bren said standing up. "Something is causing it to drip. You just may have to live with a leaky cock."

"I think your back needs washing. Hand me the soap and turn around."

Bren relinquished the bar of soap and turned around so that his back was facing Tom. He felt his lover's hands washing his body. He shivered and pushed against Tom's hands and felt them continue working downward. Suddenly he felt his ass cheeks pulled apart and fingers gliding along his ass crack. A finger gently massaged the area, and Bren felt his asshole quiver with excitement. When a soapy finger pushed inside, he groaned.

"Get me ready for your cock." The words came out of Bren in a loud moan.

Tom worked a second finger inside, pushing two fingers as far as they could go up Bren's ass. He reached around his lover with his other hand and ran his fingers through Bren's sudsy pubes. He continued finger fucking Bren's ass, finally adding a third digit. It wasn't long before he felt the walls of his partner's ass relax against his fingers. He removed his digits and said, "I think you're ready for my cock."

Bren positioned himself so that the running water could wash the soap from his ass. There was a bottle of hair conditioner in one of the wall racks, and Tom reached for it. He squeezed some out into his hand and worked the conditioner up Bren's hairy ass. He watched the black hairs around the man's hole wave back and forth each time he worked more slippery goo inside. Bren's ass hair always excited him, and he loved playing in it. He loved pushing his dick through the hair and fucking Bren even more. He squeezed some more conditioner out into his hand and covered his dick heavily with the creamy substitute lube. He returned the bottle to the rack and placed his slippery cockhead against Bren's asshole. He pushed inside and felt his lover's ass slowly suck his dick all the way in. His furry balls and hairy pubes were suddenly pressed tightly against Bren's wet body.

"Fuck!" Bren moaned.

Tom slowly pulled his dick back until only his cockhead was left inside. He sighed happily and pushed back, not stopping until he felt the tip of his cock kissing Bren's love nut. He groaned and pulled back once again. He repeated the same movements for a time, as he placed his hands first on Bren's shoulders and then moved them down to his lover's hips. He pulled Bren closer and shoved his cock hard into his lover's prostate.

"Damn." Bren forced the muscles in his ass to clamp down hard on Tom's dick. "Fuck me, Babe. Fuck me hard!"

Tom pulled back once more and drilled Bren's wet ass hard. His thrust became more intense with each fucking motion his cock made. His fucking became brutal. His dick went in and out, back and forth until he felt his balls tingle. "Close," he warned.

Bren pushed back and felt Tom's thick wet pubes rubbing his ass cheeks. He felt the dick inside him thicken up. "Jesus, Tom! Fill me with your hot cum. Spray my ass walls with your spunk." He made a fist around his cock and jacked hard. He felt the intense wave of pleasure quickly approaching, and he stroked himself faster.

Tom's cock shuddered and fired its first jet of cum between the walls of Bren's slippery ass. "Fuck!" he cried.

"God! I'm cumming!" Bren's toes tingled as he shot the first rope of cum out onto the shower wall. More spurts followed, Bren's hitting the shower wall and Tom's firing deep into lover's ass.

When Bren's balls were empty of cum, he leaned weakly against the wall. He felt Tom's hairy body against him. "I love you, Babe," he said softly.

Tom was still buried in his lover's cum-filled hole. "Ditto."

Bren forced his ass walls to clamp hard on his partner's hard dick.

"Alright, already, I. Love. You. There, are you satisfied?"

Bren reached around and pulled Tom to him. "More than, Love. You satisfy me in every way possible."

"Good to know." Tom kissed Bren's back and allowed his dick to slide out of his lover's ass. He watched as some of his cum came with it and fell to the shower floor.

Bren turned around and kissed the man. "I mean it, Tom. You satisfy me in every way. I hope that you know that."

Tom smiled and kissed his lover lightly on the lips. "I know that Babe. And -"he paused and then added, "If Cole asks to jack with you again, do it. You definitely wouldn't be forcing anything on him. Hell, I'd even be willing to join you. Cole does have a hot hairy body."

Bren turned the water off. "How well I know. When are you going to speak with him about last night?"

Tom reached for two towels and handed one to Bren. "I'm not sure," he said as he began toweling his body dry. "When the opportunity rises, rest assured, I will."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. Thank you for not being upset."

Tom hung his towel on the rack to dry. "Don't get me thinking about you two again. If you do, I'll get hard and have to fuck your ass - again."

"Then wipe all of those thoughts from your mind. I'm sure that Cole is ready to desert his guard post."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Bren and Cole were in the kitchen helping Chance prepare the noon day meal a few days later, and when Chance walked out into the utility room to get something out of the freezer, Cole quickly stepped up beside Bren. "Tom and I had a talk," he whispered in Bren's ear. "I gave him my word, same as I did you." He returned to his work station just as Chance stepped back into the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" Chance asked looking at each one of his helpers.

Cole grinned. "You know me, Chance. "I'm always okay. Well, most of the time."

Bren smiled. "Yeah, most of the time." He gave Cole an appreciative look and went back to making sandwiches.

"How's it going, guys?"

Bren turned around and discovered Chad standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dining area, followed by Evan Randall. Bren smiled at the professor and said, "Welcome, Evan!"

Evan Randall stepped around the Founder and greeted Bren with a hug. "How are you, Bren? I'm sure you're glad to be through with school. I know that I am."

Bren returned the hug and purposely kept his eyes on the professor's face. If he looked elsewhere, he was pretty sure his dick would react. Evan Randall definitely had a hot body, and Bren knew he was going to enjoy having the man living in the Community. He stepped back and said, "It was a good year, but yes, I'm glad for a break."

Chad spoke up, saying, "Evan, I would like for you to meet our cafeteria manager. His name is Chance Wells. He and Bren are brothers."

A flicker of surprise appeared on Evan's face, and then he smiled and said, "Hello, Chance. I'm pleased to meet you."

Bren watched as the newest staff member hesitated for a brief second before pulling his brother into a hug. When the two parted, Bren saw a look on both men that left him puzzled. Was it possible they had met before?

Chad said, "And last, but definitely not least, Evan, this young man over here is Cole. Cole is one of this year's graduates, and he will be one of your students this fall."

Evan went over to Cole and smiled. "Hello, Cole. I'm looking forward to knowing you."

Cole pulled the professor close and gave him a tight hug. "The pleasure will be all mine," Cole said. "Do you prefer Mr. Randall, Professor Randall, or what?"

Evan grinned. Chad had warned him about this student's flirty ways. "It doesn't matter as long as you call me to dinner."

Cole shook his head. "That joke's even older than the Founder."

Chad pretended to cough. "I can hear you, Cole. I may be old, but I'm not deaf."

Cole walked around the island and pulled the Founder to him. "You're not old either. He kissed Chad on the cheek. "Well, not that old."

Chad laughed and said, "Evan, you have now met Cole. Now, beware. You never know what he's going to do or say next."

"Hey," Cole protested, "I'm the good guy here. Just ask Bren."

Bren smiled. "He is good most of the time."

The dining room suddenly became noisy as students entered the building, and Bren asked what was going on.

"Our new students are here." Chad said. "I asked Tom to round everyone up so they can meet the new guys. However, first, I want to ask a favor of Cole."

Cole shrugged his shoulders. "You know me, Founder, I'm always willing to offer a hand." He grinned.

Chad said, "Everything is going to be strange for our new students. Cole, I know we tease and mess with you a lot, but I think you have a great personality. Would you be willing to act like a sort of a mentor and help these students adapt to our way of life?"

Surprised, Cole said, "Me? A mentor?"

Chad smiled. "Cole, I've watched you with the other students. You are a natural born leader. I think you would be an awesome influence on them."

"Don't be so surprised, Cole," Bren said standing next to the boy. "Chad's right, you are a leader. I've seen the way you interact with others."

"Alright, I'll do it." He looked at Bren and asked, "If I need a hand, will you help me?"

"Of course."

"Great." Chad put a hand on one of Evan's shoulders. "Let's go in and introduce the new residents."

Evan smiled at Chance and said, "I'd like to come back and visit with you after I meet the students. Would that be alright?"

Chance was in the process of putting apple pies in the oven to bake. "Of course. I may put you to work."

"Not a problem. I'll be back." Evan grinned and followed the others into the dining room.

Bren was puzzled. Something had plainly exchanged between Evan and Chance, but for the life of him, he couldn't think what might be going on.

Bren walked over and stood next to Tom. He placed an arm around his partner's back and smiled.

"Hey, you," Tom greeted. "Why the look?"

Chad was beginning to speak. "I'll tell you later," he whispered.

Chad first introduced Evan Randall as the newest staff member and the professor of the soon to be taught college courses. "Please make Evan feel welcome."

Bren and Tom began clapping, and everyone else followed suit. The clapping came to a stop when Evan walked over and stood next to Chad. He held up his hands, and the room became silent.

"I'm very happy to be here," Evan began. He looked around the room. "Please be patient with me, and I promise, I'll come to know each of you by your name. If you see me walking around with a puzzled look on my face, come over and visit with me. I really do want to get to know each one of you."

Evan said a few more words and then turned the room back over to Chad.

Chad smiled and said, "Marc, Jackson, and Mason, would you guys please join me?"

Bren watched as the three newest students slowly walked up and stood next to Chad. He couldn't help but notice that one of them didn't look very happy to be there. Judging by the boy's size, Bren decided he must be Mason.

Chad greeted each one of the boys with a warm smile. He introduced Marc first. When he introduced Jackson, the Founder said, "Jackson prefers `Jack'." Chad smiled at Jackson and said, "So, from now on, Jack it is. Now, I'm very happy to introduce you to Mason. Mason will be joining our next year's senior class this fall."

Bren and Tom, along with Cole, walked up and introduced themselves.

Chad smiled at the three new students and said, "Tom will be teaching our eleventh graders. Bren will be teaching the seniors this fall. Mason, Bren will be your teacher. Cole will be in our college class. He, along with Bren and Tom, will be here to assist you in any way they can. Feel free to ask them for anything you might need."

Cole smiled at Mason and said, "Welcome to the Community."

"Fuck off," Mason muttered and disappeared out the door.

"What's going on?" Barry asked joining the group.

"I'll go have a talk with him," Cole offered and left the building.

Bren introduced Barry to the two remaining new students. "Barry's a year behind Cole, but if you need anything or have any questions, feel free to ask him."

"Glad to meet you." Barry gave Marc and Jack each a quick hug.

Bren smiled and asked, "Barry, would you like to go with me to the cabin so we can show Marc and Jack where they'll be sleeping?"

"Of course. You guys will be sleeping in the same cabin as me."

Bren and Barry took the two new students to their cabin and showed them the three unclaimed beds. "Decide between you which one you want. Mason will have to take which ever one that's left," Barry told them.

"That will suck," Jack said.

Bren looked at the student. "I'm sorry."

"Mason will probably be pissed," Jack said.

"That's not your worry, Jack," Bren replied. "For now, I'll be sleeping in here with you guys. If Mason has a problem, I'll deal with it."

"I suppose now that we're here, we'll have to shed our clothes." Marc looked at Bren as he spoke.

"It's nice free balling," Barry said with a grin. "I know it might seem strange to you at first, but it really is nice. It's a rule of the Community, and if not at first, I think you will eventually realize that it's a good rule. It puts everyone here on an equal balance."

"If either of you are uncomfortable, you can discuss it with the Founder. He's a fair man," Bren assured both students. "We've had some students that continued wearing clothes at first, but it wasn't long before they were comfortable going without them."

Jack looked at Marc and shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well go with the flow." He pulled his tee shirt up over his shoulders and off his head.

Bren couldn't help but admire the boy's chest. Jack's chest had a fair dusting of light red hair with a delightful looking treasure trail beginning just below his navel and trailing down into a thick carpet of bright red pubes. For a sixteen year old, Jack was well on his way to becoming a very good looking young man.

"What do I do with these?" Jack asked holding his shorts and shirt up.

Bren looked around the room. "Put them under the mattress on your bed for now."

As Marc began tugging at his shirt, he said, "I've met the counselor already. I understand he's a preacher."

Barry nodded and said, "He is, but he's a really cool guy."

Marc pulled his shirt off and asked, "Is he going to fucking push religion down my throat?"

Bren could hear the anger in the boy's voice. "Rob is a minister, Marc, but I can assure you, he will never force anything on you. Rob may be a minister, but he is definitely not like most preachers."

"That's good, because the ones that I know are nothing but huge hypocrites." Marc slid his shorts down and stepped out of them.

Bren did a quick appraisal of Marc's body. For sixteen, Marc had a fair amount of black chest hair. Little black hairs circled the boy's belly button and formed a nice looking treasure trail below it. The trail formed into a thin line and led the way to a really thick and even blacker curly bush. Bren looked away before his cock could chub up. "Barry, why don't you show these guys the bathroom?"

Bren remained where he was and watched Barry lead the two new guys to the end of the cabin.

"The necessary room is in here," Barry said and grinned. He stepped into the room and added, "It's pretty simple. Sinks on this wall, commodes over against that wall. There's one large shower stall with several showerheads. As you can see, several guys can shower at the same time."

Marc's face turned red. "That stinks."

Barry smiled. "Personally, I think it's nice. I've had some really great discussions while taking a shower."

"I bet you have," Marc said with a hint of sarcasm.

Barry walked out of the bathroom. "You can shower alone if that makes you more comfortable."

"It's a damned big shower," Jack commented.

"Probably not big enough," Marc muttered.

When the three came back into the large room, Bren saw Marc fall down on his recently claimed bed. Jack stood next to Barry as if he wasn't sure where he should go next.

Barry gave Bren a hug. "I'm sure that you have things to do, Bren. I can stay here and answer any questions these guys may have."

Bren returned the student's hug and sighed. Barry could hug just as well as Cole, and Bren always enjoyed rubbing against both students' bodies. He stepped back and wasn't surprised to see his cock chubbing up. He couldn't miss the startled look that appeared on both new students' faces. He smiled. "I'll leave you two in good hands and see you later." As he was leaving the cabin, he heard Barry suggesting they get sheets from the big linen closet by the front door and make their beds.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Cole left the mess hall just in time to see Mason run around the side of the building, and he took off in quick pursuit after the boy. He rounded the building and saw Mason heading across the grounds in the direction of the tennis court. Cole slowed his jogging to a fast walk and continued making his way to Mason. There were two large shade trees at one end of the court, and Mason stopped under one of them. Cole noticed that David and Cliff were in the middle of a tennis game.

"Do you play?" Cole asked.

Mason kept his eyes on the tennis players and didn't answer.

"Well, do you?"

Mason turned around. "Aren't they afraid of getting a fucking sunburn?"

Cole grinned. "We may not wear clothes, but we do cover ourselves with sunscreen."

Mason muttered, "Fucking perverts."

Cole looked at Mason. "Excuse me?"

Mason turned around and looked at Cole's naked body. "Fucking perverts. Every damned one of you." He began walking away.

"Wait just a goddamned minute! I'm fucking talking to you!" Mason continued walking away from him.

"I said look at me, goddamn it!"

Mason turned around with a smirk on his face. "I'm looking at you, faggot."

Cole found himself walking toward the guy. He stopped when he heard the words that came out of Mason's mouth.

"If you think you're going to fuck my ass," Mason continued, "bring it on. I'll have your ass on the ground so fast you won't fucking know what happened."

David called from the tennis court, "Everything alright, Cole?"

"Everything's fine, David." Cole felt his hands turning into tight fists. He took a couple of deep breaths and mentally counted to ten. Then, "Mason, I'm sorry that you are so unhappy. I can understand that."

Mason glared at him and said, "You don't know a fucking thing about me."

Cole unclenched his fists. "You're right, I don't know. What I do know is this: the guys living here are my friends, and I won't have you or anyone else badmouthing them. If you choose to be miserable, then that's your choice." He took a moment to watch as David and Cliff returned to their tennis match. "The ball's in your court, Mason. You're the one in charge of the play."

Cole walked around the boy and made his way toward the mess hall. He could feel Mason's eyes glaring at him, but he focused on the building in front of him and continued walking.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Bren left Barry in the cabin with the new students and returned to the kitchen. He entered by the back door and discovered Evan at the sink filling a large container of water for a canister of tea.

"I see my brother's already putting you to work." Bren couldn't keep from admiring Evan's body. His chest and stomach was covered in thick blond hair. A wide treasure trail led from the professor's belly button down to a wide spread bush of darker blond hair. He felt his dick beginning to chub and looked away.

"I don't mind," Evan said and smiled. "I'm willing to help anywhere I'm needed."

"He appears to be more dependable than you," Chance told his brother. He grinned to show that he was only teasing.

"What should I do next?" Bren asked.

Chance pointed to the two trays of brownies on the side counter. "You can take those out and put on the line."

Bren took the dessert out and placed at the end of the long serving table. When he returned, he saw Cole entering through the back door. He could tell right away that something was wrong.

"What's going on, Cole?" Bren walked over and put both hands on the boy's shoulders.

When Cole tried to walk away, Bren said, "Hey. What is it, Cole?"

"It's been a long time since I've been called a fucking faggot." Cole saw Evan standing beside the sink, and his face turned red. "Sorry, Professor. I shouldn't have dropped the F bomb in front of you."

Evan gave the boy a smile. "You don't need to apologize to me, Cole."

Cole looked at Bren. "I'm gay, and I'm fucking proud of it, but I find the word `fagot' degrading. Again, sorry," Cole added looking at Evan.

Evan came over and pulled Cole into a hug. When he stepped back, he had a big grin on his face. "Cole, you can drop the F bomb any fucking time you like, and I will never be offended. You have my word."

Bren smiled at Evan and said, "I believe you've just won my friend Cole over to your side permanently." Looking at Cole, he asked, "How did you handle the situation? When Mason called you that – word."

"Honestly, I was mad as hell," Cole answered. "I could have punched his lights out.

"Did the two of you have a fight?" Bren asked.

"God, I wanted to," Cole admitted. "I think he wanted me to fight him. Instead, I told him I was sorry that he was so miserable. I told him the ball was in his court and how he made the play was up to him."

Bren suddenly felt very proud of Cole. The boy was turning into a very smart young man.

"I told Mason one other thing."

Bren looked the student directly in the eyes. "What was that?"

Cole looked for a moment in Evan's direction and then turned his eyes back on Bren. "I told him that everyone here was my friend, and I'd be damned if I was going to let him or anyone else badmouth you guys."

Bren gave Cole a second hug, one that ended with a light kiss on the student's lips. "I'm so proud of you, Cole."

Evan praised Cole. "You were very wise to handle things the way you did. Your refusal to meet his challenge left him confused, I feel certain. Hopefully your actions will give him something to think about."

Cole shrugged his shoulders. "Well, he can think for as long and as hard as he wants, but he had better not fucking badmouth my friends." Cole looked at Evan and then across the room to Chance and grinned. "That's right, you guys are my friends, too, especially you, chief cook and bottle washer."

Chance laughed. "Then friend, get your ass over here and help me carry these sandwiches. It's time to eat."

Bren walked over and gave Evan a hug. Stepping back, he grinned and said, "Welcome to our world, Evan!"