Jacob Finding His Way

By: J.P.G.
(© 2009-2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 61

When Jacob and the guys drove up to pick Ethan, Chase’s eye balls almost popped out of his head. At first all the guys did a double-take at Ethan because how different he looks in jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. There is no doubt that this guy has worked on a farm by the way the clothes reveal his awesome body.

It took everything in Chase not to not jump over the guys and sit next to Ethan as they drove to school. Still he stole as many glances of Ethan as possible. At one point Ethan leaned forward to say something to Jacob, his legs opened, giving Chase a view he never thought he would be looking at. Either Ethan has a hard on or he really big below, but what ever the reason is, the jeans are showing Ethan’s package off!

As Ethan sat back, he looked over at Chase, he could have sworn as he looked over; he caught Chase looking at him. The more that Ethan is around Chase, the more Ethan is confused about him. First he thought Chase was the one that Jacob was talking about, but he saw Chase asking a girl out. And now he thinks he caught Chase looking at him again. Ethan can’t help but think that there is something going on here and he might have a chance with Chase.

Ethan decided to drop it and let Chase come to him if Chase is like him. As they got their breakfast and sat down, a couple of girls came walking up to Chase and Chase left with them. Once again causing Ethan to think that he is wrong about Chase. He looked down at his tray thinking that he will never get an answer to this unless Chase and he talk. At the same time, Ethan knows there is no way he can ask the guys if he is right or wrong without giving himself away.

Chase returned fifteen minutes later as if he never left. He rejoined the conversation and finished eating his breakfast. When they headed outside, Ethan noticed the same girls Chase walked out with in the hall looking at Chase and Chase winking back at them. That did it for Ethan, he is going to move on and stop thinking he has a chance with Chase who is straight without a doubt.

Jacob walked into the ROTC building getting ready to work on the next edition of The Eye of The Tiger when Colonel Pigeon called him into the office. Unlike Major Moore, Colonel Pigeon told Jacob when he is called into his office; he doesn’t have to wait to be invited in. Just come in and take a seat.

After trading ‘good mornings’ and ‘how-are-you’s, Colonel Pigeon got down to business. The main concern Colonel Pigeon has with Jacob is that he micro manages everything. This isn’t his fault at all because that’s how Major Moore does it and trains his cadets to do it. Colonel Pigeon trains his high ranking cadets to lead by delegating to the lower ranking cadets under them to get the jobs done.

“As you know Jacob I respect Major Moore, but I have known the guy for a very long time. He and I came into this program almost at the same time. Through the years of our friendship I have noticed the way Major Moore runs his program. He trained you the same way he does things and that is micro managing everything. You are the battalion commander and it is time to lessen your load by delegating the work.

With that said; you got the program newsletter up and going. In fact you did that for all of the battalions in the brigade. It is time for you to sit back, choose a new editor in chief. Turn over the newsletter to a captain to deal with. Once they put the newsletter together and before sending it off to the print shop, you approve it.”

“Sir, have I done something wrong that you are taking the newsletter away from me? I know have missed a lot of school recently, but I promise I will be here for now on my attendance you don’t have to worry about Sir.” Jacob felt as if he just went from one instructor that didn’t believe in him to another.

Major Pigeon laughed in a friendly way, throwing Jacob a wink; “Jacob you have not done a thing wrong! You are the highest ranking officer of this battalion. At the same time you have so much on your plate, you won’t make out of high school without suffering from a breakdown of some kind if you keep going in this mode. I am going to teach you a different way of running things from the micro managing style that Major Moore taught you.”

Colonel Pigeon got up from his seat and walked over to the board. “You are part owner of what is becoming the largest corporation in this state. When you leave the program, you won’t only take the leadership we teach, but how to run that huge company with the leadership skills and the ability to delegate responsibilities to others.

When you take the helm of that company you can’t have your hand in every single thing the company does. There is just not enough time in the day for you to do that. So what you and I are going to work to put into play here, you’ll use when you leave this high school. Delegation is the key that will make you a better leader here and a highly successful business owner in the private sector.”

Colonel Pigeon started to write on the board everything Jacob does for the battalion. On the other side of the board he wrote down what his other battalion commanders do. The big difference between the two sides of the board is that on Jacob’s side it was a long list of things. On the other side has the battalion commander on top and other officers under the battalion commander with the duties equally spread out between them.

Jacob started to get the picture. Nothing is being taken away from him, he just has to delegate the responsibilities to others and they report back to him. If it doesn’t meet his standards, he tells the cadet to do it again and provide the guidance that will lead to the goal.

They talked straight up to the bell. When Jacob walked out he felt more comfortable with how Colonel Pigeon wants the things to run. Now all he needs to do is choose who does what from his battalion staff and company commanders. The first order of business they agreed on is assigning another cadet to run is the newsletter.

When Jacob reached his locker, he found Ethan standing there waiting for him. He looked around to see if any of the other guys are somewhere near, but Jacob didn’t see any of them. So Jacob walked up to his locker figuring if Ethan is there to talk with him, he will start talking the minute he reaches the locker.

At first Ethan didn’t say anything to Jacob; he just stood there looking down at the floor. When Jacob started to close his locker, Ethan cleared his throat and started to talk with Jacob in a whisper. A whisper so low Jacob couldn’t hear. Jacob placed his hand under Ethan’s chin and gently pushed his head up until they made eye contact. Ethan looked at Jacob like a lost puppy, which made Jacob feel badly for him.

“There is something bothering you and I think you need someone to talk to. But if you are going to talk to the floor in a very low whisper, I can’t hear you. I know you are away from everything you know, and the friends you have grown up with. You have to trust someone so you can talk about things that are bothering you.”

“Um, when you and I, um were um talking you told me that there was someone asking about me. I am wondering if you have talked to that person yet. Does he still like me and want to get to know me or has he moved on and I better move on as well?”

“I am sorry Ethan I haven’t talked with him yet. It is kind of a weird situation with this guy and I shouldn’t have said anything until I had a chance to talk with him. Since I did put the cart before the horse, I will talk with the guy tonight. No matter what the answer is, I promise you that I will tell you. It’s better that you know if he wants to be with you or not. That way if he has moved on, you can as well.”

Ethan forced a smile that Jacob saw right through. He feels really bad that he spoke about someone else before making sure he is right with what he is thinking. Now he has to not only talk with Chase, but the talk might push Chase into more denial of what he is feeling about Ethan. In return he will have to deliver bad news to a guy that is always having a hard time adjusting to a new school and city.

Al set up a follow-up meeting with Ethan’s father first thing in the morning. He barely had enough time to grab his morning coffee before heading to his office to meet with Ethan’s father. As he passed the elevators, Al heard Dewayne calling out for him. He turned around walked over to see what Dewayne needs from him.

Dewayne explained to Al what had happened the evening before. As they talked, Al drank he entire cup of coffee and was about to head back to the break room to refill his cup when Dewayne asked him sit in on the meeting. Al asked about Major Moore, and Dewayne explained that he will be there, but doesn’t know that much about the law. So in return he wants someone there that can ensure that he won’t break any laws.

Al agreed to sit in on the meeting after he refills up on his coffee. Dewayne waited for him at the elevators. As soon as Al came back, they headed down to Dewayne’s office. When they walked in, Al found Joe sitting there and the employee in question.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, but I needed to take care of a few things. This gentleman is Alfred Serna, the owner of our parent company. He wants to sit in on this meeting if you have no objection to it.” The manager shook his head in the negative. “Good let’s get down to business then.”

Dewayne went over the circumstances of what brought them to this meeting. Every now and then Joe jumped in with a comment, but Dewayne ran the meeting. Al just sat there and listened and made sure that Dewayne was not saying or doing anything that could give the employee a leg to stand for a law suit. To Al’s surprise and pleasure, Dewayne handled the meeting as if he has had hundreds of these meetings already.

“Sir with all due respect I had no idea you two were the owners of the company now. I truly thought you were two teenage kids that wanted to steal gas and then rob my store. If anything I should be here getting a pat on the back. Too many gas stations and c-stores get robbed and the employees killed when the employees believe a customer claiming to be the owners of the store or any lie that gets them access to the back room.”

“I have no problem with you thinking that way to a point, but why didn’t you go and check the memo like I told you to do?” The manager just shrugged his shoulders up and down. “There is no way a person that is planning to rob a store would have known about the memo that was sent out.”

“Additionally, no criminal would come back to a store that they just got away with stealing gas from. Even if they were dumb enough to do that, they won’t admit to be the ones that did the gas run. You are the store manager; you are supposed have and use common sense.”

A look went across Joe’s face that Jacob is used to seeing, but not Al or Dewayne. Still no matter what Dewayne or Joe asked or said, the manager kept going back to believing he was in the right. He contended he shouldn’t be here getting the third degree, instead he should be getting a pat on the back instead.

While Dewayne and Joe tried to get a straight, fact based answer from the employee, Al read his file. There was enough in the file indicating he should have been terminated a long time ago. He didn’t understand why the old owners didn’t terminate him until he got to the last page of the file. Al closed the file and looked up at the manager and interjected;

“You have to know by now you won’t get away with the things that you got away with under the old ownership.” The manager looked at Al with a confused look on his face. “Right here in your file is written that you are the husband of the daughter of one of the old owners. That is the only reason you have kept your job in spite of all your screw ups that would have gotten other managers fired.”

Dewayne picked up the file and started reading it. At first he didn’t find what Al found until he got to the last page. He handed the file to Joe and pointed out the information that Al just spoke of. While Joe read it, Al wrote a couple sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to Dewayne. After reading it, he nodded his head in acknowledgement before speaking again to the manager.

“We tried to give you a chance to give us one logical explanation why you felt you were right with your actions yesterday evening. Instead you kept coming back with we should be patting you on the back for trying to get me and the other owner arrested. I know that I am speaking for Joe and Al when I say we don’t agree with you.

So here is what we are going to do with you. You are demoted to assistant manager and will be moved out of the store you managed to another. If you mess up in any way that you have been written up for in the past, you will be terminated immediately. Now, if you feel you can’t take the demotion or you know you will make the same mistakes again, you better just resign your position here and now.”

“I know I won’t make the same mistakes again, but I won’t take a demotion when I was doing my job! To the demotion I say stick it up your ass; I quit! I don’t need teenage punks that don’t have hair number one between their legs telling me what to do! No sir I don’t; so you can take this job and stick it up your asses!”

The manager got up to walk out of the office when Joe stopped him. He told the manager that he could go after he gives him the store keys. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and handed over all the keys to the store and walked past Joe. Joe turned around and looked at Al and Dewayne.

Al started laughing as he grabbed a hold of his mid section. “I need to ask Jacob if you have more than hair number one between your legs.”  Everyone started laughing when Al said that. “Look I have a meeting with someone upstairs right now and I think he would be a fine manager for that store. Why don’t you guys come up with me and I will explain everything about the guy.”

On their way up to Al’s office, Al told Dewayne and Joe about Ethan’s father. He explained that he was about to tell him that he doesn’t have a position for him, but if they agree to hire him for the open management position, the guy could walk out of here with a job. By the time they reached Al’s office, Joe and Dewayne knew everything they needed to know about Ethan’s father and agreed to hire him for that store.

After introducing Dewayne and Joe, Al went straight to business. “I have looked over everything you put on your application. Before leaving last night I got answers back from your bank and fellow farm owners. You didn’t lose your farm because of mismanagement; you lost it because the bigger companies are running the smaller farm owners out of business. They swallowed you up along with ten other farms this past year.

Now I don’t have anything for you with your kind of experience, but Dewayne here and his vice president of operations does. My two sons’ own a separate company that owns all the Seven-Elevens here in El Paso. Dewayne and Joe here have a job offer for you. So go with them and let me know what you decide.”

Ethan’s father got up, shook Al’s hand as he thanked him. He walked out of the office with Dewayne and Joe. Once they left, Al got on the phone with his secretary to ask her to send in his next appointment. He sat back waiting for the next person to come in, he started thinking that he has another long day ahead of him.

All morning long Jacob couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation he had with Ethan. He opened a can of worms that he might not be able to close. If he is wrong about Chase or he pushes Chase to stand his ground that he is straight, the one that will come out of this a loser would be Ethan. If Chase later on realizes that he does like Ethan and Ethan has already moved on, Chase will be a loser too.

So Jacob decided to sit down with Chase and go into the subject little by little. If he sees that Chase is getting uncomfortable with the subject, he will pull away from it. That way he doesn’t push Chase into a corner and damage their friendship.

On his way to lunch, Jacob caught up to Chase. At first they talked small talk, but little by little Jacob moved the conversation over to dating and who Chase is interested in. He started out with what he heard from the guys about him asking out that girl yesterday and then moved on to who those girls were this morning. Chase had an explanation for both, but neither of the explanations got even to close to Chase getting a girl.

“You know I consider you more than my best friend Chase and because of that I worry about you a lot. Ever since Linda, you have locked yourself away from the dating world. I know I keep promising you that I am going to help you get a girlfriend, and I haven’t followed through on my promise successfully. But now I am serious when I say that we need to get you someone so you can get laid! You need to get rid of all those juices inside of you.”

“There is no need to tell me that I need to get laid! Jeeze, I know that! It just seems I’ve been running into the bad luck where I have waited too long to ask out the girls that have shown interest in me. Now I am standing on the outside looking in on people having loving relationships.”

“Okay you got shot down by the girl yesterday and the girls today. Who else are you interested in? Maybe I can help you get the next one on your list to go out with you.  Two heads are a lot better than one. Just point me the right direction and I will go right to work on getting whoever that person is for you.”

Chase looked at Jacob trying to figure out what his game is. His wording is different this time as he talks with him about getting him a girlfriend. Chase thought back over the last couple days to see if he had given himself away to Jacob. Looking at everything they have done together Chase ran it through his mind and didn’t see anything he did that Jacob could have caught on to. So now Chase is wondering what the meaning of this conversation is.

“Right now I am working through a couple of things Jake. Once I get a grip on what I am working on, I will get back with you.” Chase turned and pointed out to the cook what he wanted for lunch. “Thank you for being in my corner. I know that whenever I need a friend I can count on you to be there for me.”

“You know it my friend. Just do me favor, whatever you are working through, try and get through as fast as you can. If you need someone to talk with, I’m here for you. You don’t want to wait too long and miss out again. You have lost already three girls in just two days because as you said you waited too long. People lose interest when they don’t think they are going to get anywhere.”

At that point Jacob dropped the subject. He can see that he is making Chase uneasy with the conversation. If he pursues this conversation anymore than he has already, he is going to push Chase right into the closet. Chase will deny what he is feeling because he doesn’t want to be looked at as a person that doesn’t know his butt from his face.

Between fifth and sixth period Jacob ran into Ethan again. He tried to dodge the guy, but the poor guy stuck to Jacob like glue. It seemed to Jacob that Ethan can read him that Jacob has already gotten the answer he asked Jacob to get for him.

As they walked to their final classes for the day, Jacob tried to figure out a way to tell Ethan the news. After going over every way to break the news, Jacob realized there is really no easy way to let Ethan know what he had found out. He could simply tell Ethan that he hasn’t talked with the guy in question, but that isn’t fair to Ethan either.

When they reached the halfway point between their two classes, Jacob broke the news to Ethan. He didn’t sugar coat it, Jacob just put out there for Ethan. As he talked, Jacob felt like he was slugging Ethan over and over again. Just the expression on his face tore Jacob apart. He has seen that in others and he has had the same look himself, Ethan is hurting.

To Jacob’s surprise Ethan thanked him and walked off to his class. Ethan didn’t get mad with him; he just said two words, ‘thank you’ and walked off. Jacob felt he rather have gotten yelled at or punched than what Ethan did. Since Ethan didn’t react on the way Jacob thought he would, he felt even worse. Jacob swore to himself right then and there that now on he is not going to play matchmaker even if he knows they like each other.

Following his grandfathers instructions, Jacob went home right after work. When he walked in and found his father in the kitchen getting something to drink. Trying not to disturb his father, Jacob turned around as quietly as possible. Just as he started to walk off, Andy saw him and called him in to talk.

They sat talking about how things are going in both of their lives. Andy wanted to know how Jacob is feeling now after the surgery. Besides the pain where he got cut open, Jacob explained to his dad that he is feeling pretty good. After talking for a while, Andy got up and asked Jacob to help him with a couple of things.

As they reached the part of the house that belongs to Jacob’s mom and dad, Jacob couldn’t believe his eyes. Although he hasn’t been in this part of the house for several days, he didn’t know that his parents moved anything in until now. There are several boxes in each room marked in big black letters the room names.

“Your sister wanted to move as fast as we could now that the house is done. I agree with her so I came down with a load of boxes today to get the moving going. Hopefully I can borrow you and several of your friends over the weekend to move the big stuff. If everything works out, we should be moved in by Sunday night.”

“I will check with the guys this evening. You know I’m not able to lend my back right now since the surgery. I know that Tom has a football game on Saturday morning that all of us are going to down to support him in. After that I am sure all the guys will have no problem helping out. After all we are the ones that moved mom and Fran into the house they are living in now.”

Andy was surprised to hear that it was Jacob and his friends that moved his mother into the house from her apartment. His understanding was at the time that Jacob wasn’t talking with Gloria. Now he finds out that Jacob was not only was talking to his mother, he helped her move into a house that he had given her.

Jacob tried to explain what was going on at the time. He did confirm that he and his mom were on rocky ground at the time, but they have been on rocky ground for the last couple years. The bigger fight at the time was happening between him and his ex. Jacob explained about everything that was going on and that he and Joey barely got back together when they bought this house together.

“I never met your ex, but I am glad I didn’t. No matter if you dated women or guys, no one treats my kids the way he did. Come on Jacob, you are lot smarter than to hang around with a guy that treated the way he did. By what I have been told about him, he cheated on you so many times and you kept taking him back. It took him to literally toss you to aside in order for you to realize that he wasn’t the guy you thought he was.”

“Dad, he helped me get comfortable in my own skin. I don’t think I would be where I am now if I hadn’t met him. I know that we went through a lot together, but I loved him and I still do. Don’t get me wrong, I will never get back together with him. If anything we will be just friends. He is a good guy and I wish you had met him. That way you could see what I saw in him and know why I stuck with him.”

Jacob kept talking as his father took the boxes to the right room. To make his point hit home for his father, Jacob used his and Gloria’s relationship as an example. Jacob put it simply to Andy that a lot of people don’t understand why both of them are giving each other another chance after what they did to each other.

Andy sees what Jacob is saying. Only those in the relationship truly know the truth. Everyone else is looking in at the relationship with half truths and assumptions. Those don’t paint the complete picture. Unless you are one of the two in that relationship, you will never really see why each of the two in the relationship stays in the relationship.

After they finished up with what Andy brought down, Jacob asked him to stay for dinner, but he declined. They said their goodbyes and Jacob watch his father drive off before walking back in and locking up the house.

Jacob ran into Lorenzo, Ismail and Jeremy running down to the game room, so he decided to follow. He doesn’t want Alex’s brothers to get hurt because they do something that Jeremy takes as a threat and hurts them. They are too young to understand about Jeremy. All they know is that Jeremy is different and he is fun to play with.

The evening went by fast once the house filled up with the guys. There wasn’t a dull moment while they ate and when they ended up throwing each other in the pool. The only two that didn’t end up soaked is Jacob and Alex. If they were not recovering from their surgeries, they would have landed up in the pool with the rest.

Although they couldn’t get in the pool, they helped the others get their revenge on those that pushed them into the pool. Once everyone landed in the pool, Jacob and Alex ran around shoving those that tried to climb out back in the pool. After tiring themselves out, Jacob and Alex sat down and started throwing the beach balls at the guys’ heads.

Since they were having so much fun, they lost track of time. It took Franseca and Virginia to come out yelling at them to get out and get ready for bed. When Jacob and Dewayne walked into their room, they couldn’t believe the time; eleven fourteen. They ran to the bathroom, stripped naked and jumped into the shower together.

Both of them wanted to do more than shower, but Dewayne is afraid to hurt Jacob. So they ended up going to bed with their dicks hard. Jacob felt Dewayne’s dick as he pressed his chest against his back. His dick actually slid between Jacob’s butt cheeks. Jacob turned his head to whisper to Dewayne.

“If you go slow and gentle, I don’t think you can hurt me. I really want to be with you Dewayne and I can feel you want to be with me.” Jacob grabbed a hold of Dewayne’s hard muscle. “Just go slow and we can be with each other.”

Dewayne thought about it for a few minutes. “We better not do anything until Dr. Whitmore says we can. There is no way I could live with myself if I hurt you in any way. I really do want to be with my handsome boyfriend, but we better wait. Just think when you do get cleared to have sex, the incredible kind of sex we are going to have with each other that very day. Trust me when I say neither of us will leave this room for days!”

They kissed for a while before settling in for the night. Jacob moved as close as he could to Dewayne before pulling the covers over them. Before falling to sleep, Dewayne wrapped his arms around Jacob, something he hasn’t done since Jacob came home from the hospital. Dewayne feared that he might move down to the stitches and pull them out.

The rest of the week, Jacob steered clear from Ethan and Chase. It has been hard since Chase lives in the same house with Jacob and Jacob picks up Ethan every morning for school. Still Jacob had got his routine down at school and home to get the job done.

It made it a little harder for Jacob to get the job done since he started giving other battalion staff members and officers more reasonability’s in ROTC. Tasks that were his that Major Moore wanted him to do he handed off to subordinates; the newsletter, training for the pass and review, setting up the officers meetings and several others duties as well. Although he is not in the day to day operations of these things anymore, the duties he passed to other officer still have to be monitored and get his approval before the officer’s execute their plans.

Jacob doesn’t want to be at fault to cause Ethan anymore harm than he has already caused. The expression on Ethan’s face when Jacob told him that the person he was talking about is not interested in him, still haunts him. Jacob decided there is no way he will be part of or be the one to cause that pain for anyone else again.

Although Dewayne could see that there is something going on with Jacob, he has his hands full. He wants to help Jacob, but by the time he got home in the evening, they barely had time to say hi to each other, let alone talk. Neither Dewayne nor Tony had any idea how hard and how much there is to running a company until they started dealing with theirs.

When the guys headed to school, Dewayne would head to the office and not get home until late in the evening. Everything Joe shows him during the day Dewayne takes the time to show Tony in the evening since that is the only time Tony has a chance to work. Because of that, it puts a double load on Dewayne’s back, but he isn’t complaining.

When Friday finally came, everyone breathed in a side of relief. The guys went through their normal routines in the morning from picking up Ethan to eating two breakfasts to hanging out until the bell rang for first period. Just like the days before, Jacob kept the conversations light and away from Chase and Ethan.

Both Chase and Ethan have noticed the change in Jacob and they both are trying to figure out why. When Jacob left to go to the ROTC building, Chase had enough and planned to confront Jacob. Ethan also had enough, but he decided to stay quiet about his frustration since he is the new guy that doesn’t want to rock the boat.

Jacob heard Chase call out for him, so he slowed down in order for Chase to catch up. As he waited another student passed him, stopped, looked at him and walked back up to him and just smiled. At first Jacob didn’t recognize the guy, but after looking at him for a few minutes he placed him.

“Oh wow, you are, man I am bad with names, but I met you over a year ago with Josh. You and Josh were going out when I met you.” Jacob kept snapping his fingers together trying to remember the guy’s name. “Man if my life depended on me remembering your name, I would drop dead!”

“Don’t worry I didn’t recognize you at first when I passed you. I had to stop and look you over several times before placing you. My name is Chris and yes Josh and I were going out when I met you and your ex, Joey.” Jacob looked at him surprised. “Yeah I heard that you and Joey broke up. I thought if any relationship would have lasted would have been you and Joey. You guys seemed to be in so much love every time we saw you two.”

“We were, but there was so much in the background a lot of people didn’t know was happening that finally pulled us apart. The good thing is that he and I are still talking. I still see you with Josh and the others even after you guys broke up. For a while there I saw you with another guy, what happened there?”

“Yeah, his name is Rusty and we didn’t make it. I tried to tell myself he wasn’t a rebound from Josh, but I kept making the mistake comparing him to Josh. One day he told me he had enough and called it quits and I don’t blame him.

After that I dated, but nothing serious. I didn’t want to settle down into anything serious again; at least until I got completely over Josh. Now that I have gotten there and I’m ready to date seriously moving toward a relationship, I can’t find anyone! If there are any more gay guys in this school, they are hiding from me. Maybe you can throw me a bone and point me the right direction.”

Chris slapped Jacob on the shoulder as he started to laugh. Jacob started thinking maybe, and then he stopped himself. There is no way he is going to make the same mistake twice. He won’t open his mouth to Chris or Ethan. Plus Chris is younger than Ethan and that might be a problem for Ethan.

“My friends that are gay are in serious relationships. The others that aren’t are straight as an arrow.” Jacob looked over at Chase and quickly back to Chris. “Listen why don’t you come down to my house tomorrow afternoon and hang with us at the pool. I don’t know anyone because I am not looking, but who knows, perhaps David and Tom might know someone that you might like. They aren’t looking, but they might know someone.”

“I will take you up on that Jacob, thank you very much for the invite. How about I come down around four or so in the afternoon?”

“That sounds good to me Chris! If you show up any earlier, my parents might put you to work since they are moving. In the morning Dewayne, Tony and I are going to go to the Jr. Sun Bowl and in the afternoon we are helping my parents move. We should be done by three or so. That gives us plenty of time to get things ready for a cookout.”

Chris pulled out a sheet of paper from his notebook for Jacob to write down directions to his house and his phone number. As Chris left, he thanked Jacob once again for the invite to the pool party. Jacob turned to Chase to see what he needed since he was calling for him to stop in the first place, before running into Chris.

“Whatever it is that you need to talk with me about, you better get out soon. Running into Chris and talking with him as pretty much taken up the time I have to work on the things I want done in ROTC. So if you can’t get whatever you want out by the time we reach the ROTC building, you will have to wait until later.”

“What is going on with you Jacob? What’s with the way you have been talking with me, when you aren’t ignoring me? What did I do that has upset you to be like this to me? For the life of me I can’t figure out what I have done to get you so angry.”

“Because you haven’t gotten me angry Chase and that is why you can’t figure it out. Whatever you are feeling or believe you are seeing, you are wrong. I just have so much on my mind right now; I really don’t have the time I would like to spend with my friends, more so my best friend. Let me get through the weekend and I hope things will get back to normal, at least normal for us.”

Jacob looked down at his watch and decided to spend the time that is left before first period with Chase. He followed Chase to the main building and over to the lockers. They leaned against the wall and talked until the girl Chase likes walked up to her locker with a couple of her friends. Chase pointed the girl out to Jacob to see if Jacob had any ideas on how he could go about asking her out.

With a big grin on his face, Jacob walked over to the group of girls. He stood there until they turned and asked him what he needed. Ignoring the other girls around the girls Chase likes, Jacob introduced himself to her. She in return introduced herself to Jacob; her name is Patricia. Once they got the introductions over, Jacob tried to help his friend.

First he found out that she isn’t going out with anyone right now. Then Jacob found out what she likes in guys. As they talked Jacob realized being an open gay guy has it perks. Girls open up to gay guys because they consider them not to be a threat. A normal guy, straight, normally only wants one thing when they talk to a girl; sex!

Just before the bell rang, Jacob pointed Chase out to her. Right away she told Jacob she thought he is hot and she liked him, but she didn’t know if he likes her. Not putting his foot in his mouth this time, Jacob invited her and her friends over to his house tomorrow to swim and hang out. The girls giggled like girls do as they nodded their heads.

After writing instructions to his house and his phone number down for the second time, Jacob thanked the girls. Before rejoining Chase, Jacob asked Patricia if she is for sure coming down tomorrow and she made it clear that she is. With a smile, he thanked her and headed back to Chase. As he walked away, Patricia looked at Chase and couldn’t believe that she might get the guy she likes.

When Jacob told Chase what he found out and that he invited Patricia over tomorrow, Chase couldn’t stop thanking Jacob. He walked to his locker with a huge smile on his face that could be seen a mile away. Unable to help himself, Chase thought for the first time this week he actually didn’t get shot down. Now he knows that there isn’t anything wrong with him since the girl he has wanted to date, even way before he dated Linda, actually not only likes him, but wants to date him.

By lunch, everyone at the table heard about Chase and Patricia. So when Chase sat down, they ragged on him until he finally told them what they heard is correct. Even Ethan got into the teasing, but for different reasons. When Chase did confirm what they heard, Ethan once and for all knew that he has been wrong about Chase.

Before lunch ended, Jacob told the guys that he is going in to the office today. So if they want, they could catch a ride with him. They immediately agreed and made plans to meet at the truck after school before returning teasing Chase.

Just as they planned they met at the truck and headed into work. The gang went into the side entrance to get to the print shop, while Jacob went up to his office to see if his grandfather needed anything. After checking in with Al, Jacob went down to Dewayne’s office to see how he is doing after completing his first week as owner.

When he walked in, the secretary refused to let him go to Dewayne’s office. That angered Jacob, but he sat down in the lobby while she let Dewayne know that he is there. After thirty minutes had passed, Jacob went back to the secretary to see if she let Dewayne know that he is waiting for him. She looked up, said no, and that was it for Jacob. He walked past her and since she couldn’t stop him, she called for security.

Dewayne was surprised when he saw Jacob walk past his office. He ran out and caught up to Jacob as he turned the corner. They kissed each other before Jacob told him how long he has been waiting for him in the lobby. Dewayne noticed that Jacob isn’t happy, but before he could ask anything, the building security walked up with the secretary.

“This is the guy that ran past me and doesn’t have an appointment.” The security looked at Jacob and back at the secretary. “What are you guys just going to stand there and do nothing? Arrest this guy and remove him from the building.”

“Ma’am there is no way we are going to remove the owner of the building from his own building.” The secretary fell back against the wall being hit with that information. “Mr. Hernandez we are sorry for this. If we knew it was you, we would not have come up here like this. Its just we got a panic call that there is someone making trouble on this floor.”

“Don’t worry about that, you are just doing your job. I will let Mr. Jackson know how you guys did with this situation.” Jacob shook the guard’s hands before they left. “Now for you ma’am, I leave it up to your bosses what to do. I told you who I was and yet you still ignored me. Still as far as what to do about what you did is all up to Dewayne, Tony and Joe.”

Jacob turned to Dewayne and told him that he will see him at home and walked off. Because he drove the guys to work, Jacob can’t leave without them. Al didn’t want Jacob to work until he is one hundred percent. That put Jacob in the corner because he doesn’t have anything to pass the time until the guys get off. 

So Jacob decided to pass the time window shopping. He walked out and started going from store to store near his building. One thing Jacob noticed is that all the stores in this area of town are owned by Hispanics and the products are from Mexico. Nothing wrong with that, Jacob thought, but he knows that he can get the same thing in Juarez, but at a cheaper price. All he has to do is go to Juarez.

Just when Jacob was about to call it quits, his saw something that Dewayne has been looking for ever since it went up for auction. The window didn’t have what caught Jacob’s eye, it was a picture. That picture Jacob has gotten know really well ever since he started going out with Dewayne. Now that he might have found it, there is no way he is going to walk away without checking if the picture is real.

Dewayne likes to play guitar and has a couple already, but he has been looking for a certain guitar ever since he heard it was being sold. The store Jacob walked into is a store of collectable’s and rare musical instruments that have been played by famous musical artists. This certain store had a ditto of a white guitar made famous by no other than Prince. It is a beautiful guitar and Jacob can see why Dewayne wants it.

When he walked in, Jacob acted as if he knew a thing or two about famous instruments, but the store owner saw right through him. Then Jacob started asking the right questions that got the store owner thinking twice about cheating Jacob. The store owner took Jacob to the back, after locking the store, and pulled the guitar out of the safe. Jacob didn’t touch the guitar, he just looked at it while the store owner pulled out of his files the certificate that proves the guitar is original and it is the one that Prince owned and played.

“I need to pick it up and look at it to make sure it is the real thing.” Jacob gently picked it up and looked at like a diamond buyer looks at diamonds. “You know that I have to put insurance on this guitar. I won’t have a problem with the insurance agent when he or she comes down to appraise this and that it will be found to be the real thing.”

“No young man you won’t. When the insurance company comes down and looks at it, they will see that is the real thing. I know anyone could make one of these guitars and a fake certificate, but I am not one of those people. This store has been here for over two decades, selling the same thing I sell today and I plan for it to be here for my son to run it. There is no way I will ever sell anyone a fake anything.”

After haggling over the price for about ten minutes, they finally settled on a price that they both could live with. Jacob knew he is paying more than what the store owner paid for the guitar, but he also knows that the store owner needs to make a profit. That is why Jacob didn’t feel bad paying what he paid for the guitar.

Once the transaction was completed, the store owner gave Jacob his receipt and proof of purchase when he bought the guitar. Although the owner didn’t have to so that, Jacob was thankful he did. That put Jacob’s mind at ease that he did get the real thing. Now he needs to figure out how to get it to the house and surprise Dewayne with it.

After sticking the guitar in the truck, Jacob walked back to the building just as the guys were walking out. When the guys saw Jacob walking up to them, they relaxed. They thought that they might have to take the bus because they thought Jacob had gone home.

All the way back to the house they talked about the pool party tomorrow. When they drove up to Ethan’s house, Jacob made sure that Ethan and his brothers are coming to their party tomorrow. Ethan said yes, but his brothers said they will try. Jacob is fine that the brothers don’t make it, but Ethan is a friend and Jacob wants him there.

When they got home, Jacob went in with the guys to see where Dewayne is. The minute he walked into the doors, Dewayne walked out of the TV room. As they kissed, Jacob thought to himself that he was thankful that he didn’t bring in the guitar. He wants to give Dewayne the guitar with the family all there, because he has a big speech that he has put together in his mind for Dewayne.

It was hard for Jacob not to jump out of his seat during dinner and go out to the truck to get what he had bought Dewayne, but he stayed in his seat. When they walked to the TV room, Jacob waited for everyone to make their way in. He didn’t want to go and get everyone because it would give him away.

Finally when Tom and David walked in, Jacob put his plan in motion. He got up telling Dewayne he wanted to make sure he locked the truck. Of course Dewayne didn’t question Jacob and Jacob knew Dewayne wouldn’t. After grabbing the guitar from the truck, he walked in and leaned it against the wall right outside of the TV room.

Clearing his throat, everyone looked up to Jacob. “You know it is very hard to find someone that you know that you will spend the rest of your life with. All you know where I am coming from when I say that. A couple of us have found the ones they want to spend the rest of their lives with and others are still looking. They will find that special person when the time is right; I know that for a certainty.

The reason I know that is because I found the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with when I wasn’t looking. When I thought I had lost the one that I thought I was going to spend my life with, I was proven wrong. I walked into the McDonald’s and a light shined on a guy that I just fell in love with that very moment. Boy am I glad he felt the same way about me, because I would be still there looking at this very hot guy.”

Jacob walked in a little more so Dewayne could see him. “I know I can be a handful sometimes, well most of the time. From me refusing to let you in all the way to my short temper on certain things, you have put up with me. You have stuck by me when you really didn’t have to. I have said this before and I will say this again; I know you didn’t sign onto having a sick boyfriend, but I am glad you stuck around. I love you so much, Dewayne. Just to say thank you for all of what you have done for me and for staying at my side, I have a little something for you.”

Everyone watched as Jacob walked out into the hall and came back in with a guitar case; a weird guitar case that no one has ever seen before! Jacob walked over to Dewayne and handed him the guitar case. Dewayne just looked at it and knew what was in side of it. It’s the very guitar he has been trying to find ever since he found out it was being sold.

Although Dewayne knows what is in the case, the others don’t. They surrounded him and waited for him to open the case. When he did, Tom and Chase went to touch the guitar, but Dewayne slapped their hands away explaining to them why he did that. Jacob handed him the certificate and both receipts.

“I really don’t know what to say Jacob, I really don’t. When I talked about this guitar, I thought that you were ignoring me. Now I see you actually do listen to what I say to you.” Dewayne kissed Jacob on the lips. “You didn’t have to give me anything; I know how much you love me, as much as I love you. There is nothing you can do, say or go through that will make me leave you. Like it or not Jacob, I am here for the long haul, no matter what.”

Dewayne carefully pulled the guitar out of the case and showed the guys. None of them could believe that it’s the real thing. They have heard of people that buy things like that, but they have never known people that do, until now. As they looked at the guitar, Tom, Chase and David teased Jacob where is their gift since they put up with his stuff as well? Jacob simply replied that his friendship should be enough.

After everyone had a chance to look at the guitar, Dewayne put it back in the case and took it up to their room. Jacob followed Dewayne, which pretty started the clearing of the TV room. One by one everyone headed to their rooms to turn in for the night. They all have to wake up early either to go to work or the game.

The only one that took the day off from work besides Tom is David. Everyone got up at the same time, but the guys that had to go to work left first. After they left, Tom and David left to get to the Sun Bowl. Shortly after those two left, Jacob and Dewayne followed with the rest of the clan.

When they arrived at the Sun Bowl, Al was invited to sit with the Governor and his family. Because he didn’t come alone, Al declined and went with Jacob and his family to their seats. A few minutes later, members of the Governor’s security detail came up and informed Al that the Governor would love it that he and his family would join him and his family to watch the game together. This time Al accepted since the entire family got invited to sit with the Governor’s family.

The security detail pointed where the seats are to Jacob as he left to join his school down on the field. Jacob thanked them as he went down and joined the cadets he chose to march in the pass and review. The minute he joined the others on the side of the field, Jacob went through one last time what commands will be given on the pass and review.

Just as Colonel Pigeon walked up, Colonel May called him over. After they talked, they walked up to check to see if the battalion is ready for the pass and review. Jacob said yes and they took their spot on the right side of the field. The announcer got everyone’s attention, welcomed them to the first annual Jr. Sun Bowl, let the audience know about the special guest in the house and then brought their attention to the middle of the field.

Governor Lopez, members of the military and other people that hold political office from the state of Texas stood up. Fierro gave the command to the brigade staff, which started the pass and review. Once the brigade staff reached a certain point on the field, Jacob gave the same command to his staff. The same command was given by each battalion commander until all the battalions were marching behind each other.

As they reached the Governor’s stand, Jacob gave the order ‘eyes right’ and all officers saluted and the non officers just turned their heads to the right as they marched past the Governor. The military generals saluted as they passed. Once the entire battalion passed the Governor, Jacob gave the order ‘ready, front’. They continued marching until they returned to the point they started from.

Governor Lopez said a few words before sitting down. Fierro turned around and gave the order to the battalion commanders to fall out. One at a time, the battalion’s commanders called their units back to attention and gave the order fallout. Since Jacob commands the first battalion, they got off the field first.

Jacob made his way back to his seat to watch Tom show his stuff on the field. When he sat down, Dewayne grabbed a hold of Jacob’s hand and held it tight the entire game. No one said or looked at Jacob and Dewayne in a negative way.

Several times through the game, the lead switched back and forth, but as the final seconds wore down, it looked like the west side schools are going to take the game. Instead of just kneeling, the coach of the west side school called in a play that didn’t make sense. With ten seconds on the clock, the coach called a “Hail Mary” when it wasn’t needed. In return the ball was picked off and ran right in for a touch down. The east side won the first Jr. Sun Bowl by one point from a touchdown that wouldn’t have happened if the coach would have just kneeled the last possession of the game.

Tony took off with Jacob and David as they went to get Tom. Al the rest stayed behind with the Governor and his family. Due to time constraints, the Governor declined to go and enjoy a relaxing afternoon at Al’s house. Governor Lopez needs to get back to Austin because of pending bills that his own party is against.

After seeing the Governor off, Al rejoined the others in the parking lot. Instead of fighting with everyone else trying to get out, Jacob and Al decided to just wait until the traffic thinned. Jacob pulled the tail gate down to let the ladies sit while the others threw the football around until Al called for them to leave.

Once they got home and changed and Jacob and the guys headed down to Gloria’s house, now Joey’s house once again. Andy Sr. already had pretty much everything ready to go. It didn’t take long to load Jacob’s truck up and take the first load. Where it took time is in the new house because Gloria stood there directing where everything is going. That really wasn’t the problem; the problem was Gloria wanting everything perfect.

By the time they brought the final load from the old house, most of the guests had arrived for the party. Ethan helped Jacob unload the truck with his father since the others disappeared. Jacob figured that they just were tired and just wanted to get ready to swim. Since he still can’t swim, Jacob doesn’t mind being left to unload the final load but he has to limit his lifting. Ethan took up the slack very naturally.

“Hey my friend, thanks a lot for helping me out here, but don’t you want to be with the others swimming? I invited you down to have fun, not put you to work. My father and I can handle what is left on the truck.”

“No that is cool; I would like to help you if that is okay?” Jacob shrugged his shoulders. As he and Ethan pulled down the couch. “Besides you are the one that invited me and I can’t sit over there while you are hard at work over here. Where did Dewayne go? I thought he was helping you as well.”

“He was, but he got a call about something at one of his stores. I had to force him to take the call because he didn’t want to leave me alone. The others had already left and he felt bad that only my father and I would be left if he left.”

“Sounds like he is a really nice guy, is he your first?” Jacob looked at Ethan with a look like where have you been. “Please forgive me if I over stepped the line. Its just you guys seem to know each other very well. Like you been together for years.”

Jacob explained to Ethan what his past has been like. Not getting into great detail, Jacob told Ethan about Joey, how they met, what they went through and how it ended. Then he told him how he met Dewayne and he never looked back. Ethan listened the whole time as if he was going to be tested over what Jacob is telling him.

Ethan didn’t understand how a guy would do what Joey did after being together as long as he and Jacob were. But he listened to Jacob when he said not to judge the guy until he meets him. Get to know Joey and he will see that Joey isn’t a bad guy at all. What happened between them was life and nothing more than that.

It took Ethan, Andy Sr. and Jacob to finish unloading the truck a little over an hour with Gloria directing them. Once the final furniture was moved in, Jacob and Ethan started their way over to the pool. Gloria tried to talk the boys on staying to help her unpack the boxes, but Andy told her that it could wait until tomorrow. For now they all should go out to the pool and have fun for the rest of the day to which Jacob agreed.

When Jacob walked out, he found everyone that invited already in the pool having fun, including Patricia and her friends as well as Chris. Before Jacob could make it to the door, Chase stopped him to introduce him to Patricia. Jacob agreed with a smile and walked back over to where Patricia and her friends are sitting.

“Hello there ladies, thank you for coming over. I hope you are enjoying yourself. If you need anything, please fill free to get it. Treat my house as your own; just don’t do what I wouldn’t do.” The girls laughed looking at each other. “Patricia I would like you to meet my best friend, the greatest guy I have every known. I am sad that he loves the women, but it is good for you ladies. Patricia this is my best friend Chase, Chase this is Patricia.”

Patricia’s friends giggled like school girls, while Patricia and Chase shook hands and started talking. Jacob could see that Chase likes this girl. That means it won’t be long before the old Chase returns. The Chase that is fun to be around and likes to be the life of the party! Jacob can’t wait to have his old friend back.

As Jacob made his way in, Chris walked up to him. Jacob promised Chris that he will be right back as soon as he changes out of the sweaty clothes he is wearing. Chris nodded and started to walk off when Jacob called him over. They walked upstairs talking about school and how different it is being who they are in this school.

While Jacob showered, Chris sat on his bed answering Jacob’s question about why he didn’t see him at the game with Josh. He was invited to go, but his foster parents needed him at home to help out with things in the morning. Jacob understood that since he just finished helping his parents move in.

After showering and getting dressed, Jacob and Chris walked back to the backyard. When they walked out, Jacob saw Ethan sitting alone. So he excused himself and walked over to Ethan to see what is going on. He wants to see if Ethan wants to go out with someone or stay in closet and not let anyone know about him.

“Hey Ethan, I am sorry for leaving you alone like this. I just had to shower and get out of those sweaty clothes.” Ethan just looked so out place, Jacob didn’t know what to do to help him fit in. “Hey, I have a question and you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. I was wondering if you want to keep it on the QT about being who you are. I might have someone for you, but he is out and a year younger than you.”

Ethan mood changed when Jacob said he might have someone for him. “Well I don’t want anyone to know that I am gay, at least not yet. If this guy you are talking about doesn’t mind to keep it discrete, I don’t mind meeting him. If he wants me to be open like him, I can’t do it. As you know my parents don’t know and I would like to be the one to tell them when I am ready.”

“That isn’t a problem my friend. Give me a few minutes to find out if he would be willing to keep it on the discrete side without giving anything away. Because if he isn’t, I don’t want him to know that I have someone that is willing to meet him.”

As Jacob got up to leave, Ethan asked him to point out the guy. Trying not to give him or Ethan away, Jacob directed Ethan’s attention toward Chris’ location. Ethan smiled when he saw the young Chris sitting there in his swim shorts looking hot. Ethan couldn’t help thinking that Chris looks like a swimmer.

Jacob walked over to his grandfather to make sure he is doing alright. Al asked Jacob to get him more meat from the kitchen that should be ready to put on the grill. As Jacob walked back to the house, he pulled Chris in to help him get the meat. Chris had no idea the real reason that Jacob wanted to have him away from the others.

“Hey Chris, you told me yesterday that you don’t have a boyfriend and haven’t had any luck finding one. I know you are open at school, but will you be willing to get to know a guy that is not open and doesn’t want to be open yet?”

“You have me wrong when you say I am open Jacob. If I am asked if I am gay, I answer the person either yes or no if I trust them. Really very few people outside my circle of friends know I am gay. They have been told by others, but I never confirmed it to them. I don’t act it and I don’t plan to change who I am. As far as getting to know a guy that is completely in the closet I have no problem with that. I have been where this guy is and won’t let anyone know or push him to be open. I’d respect his wishes.”

“Good, I might have a guy that you might like. I need to check with him if he is willing to meet you since some people do know that you are gay. Let me make this clear Chris, both of you are my friends, but he doesn’t want anyone to know that he is gay. If you hurt him, you and I are going to have a problem. I don’t want to lose either of your friendships, so I really hope you can keep it to yourself until he is ready to tell people.”

“I promise Jacob I won’t tell anyone. You are a true friend and a friend I don’t want to lose either. I am honored that you asked me and trust me to meet this guy if he wants to meet me. I won’t take this chance for granted.”

That is all Jacob needed to see, not hear. He sees in Chris’s face that he is sincere and means what he is saying. Words to Jacob mean a little, but facial expressions and body language tell Jacob everything that people try to hide in their words. People don’t know that Jacob really doesn’t listen to a person as much as he reads their facial expressions and body demeanor while they talk with him. It’s not that Jacob doesn’t believe them, he has just been burnt in the past by believing what people promise or say they will do.

Just as Jacob and Chris grabbed the meat that Franseca and Virginia prepared, Dewayne walked in. Quietly he walked up and wrapped his arms around Jacob, kissing him up and down his neck. Jacob turned his head just as Dewayne leaned forward and their lips connected. All those in the kitchen watched as these two showed one another how much they love each other.

Dewayne explained to Jacob what was going on, but it didn’t require him to go in. The store manager of a certain store is the one that needs to give up her Saturday to go and fix the problem at the store; not the owner. That is one of the fist things he learned from Joe is to let those that are in management take care of the day to day operations.

Trying to give equal time to all those people he invited to the pool party, Jacob finally gave up. Since they are having fun, there is no need for him to worry. Chase and Patricia look like they are hitting it off. Ethan joined David, Tom and Tony in the pool and started fooling around. Shortly after they started playing volleyball, Alex Matt, Lorenzo, Ismail and Chris joined in to make two even teams. Dewayne didn’t leave Jacob’s side the rest of the time. No matter how many times Jacob asked him to join the others, Dewayne remained at Jacob’s side.

This time when Al called out that the food is ready. They all went up with their paper plates and cups to get what they wanted to eat and drink and ate outside on the lawn chairs. Al felt it isn’t fair to Franseca to make a mess out of the inside of the house on top of the mess that is being made here on the outside of the house.

They all gathered around in a huge circle and talked as they ate. Not realizing that he stepped in shit, Dewayne commented that this is pretty cool first party here at the house. Those that have been their since they moved in, just looked at each other and started laughing remembering the first party that was held at this house.

“What in the world is so funny? I don’t think what I said was funny.” Dewayne looked at everyone trying to figure out why some of them are laughing.

“It isn’t what you said, well maybe it is.” Jacob started laughing again. “This isn’t the first party that has been held here at the house. When we first moved in, the football team had a party here. It was broken up by the police and I wound up getting arrested because of the beer. And adding insult to injury, I wasn’t even invited to the very party that was being held at my own house!”

Everyone started laughing as they imagined the football players taking off and Jacob being pulled out of the house in handcuffs. What made it funny is the fact Jacob got arrested for a party he wasn’t even invited to attend.

Franseca walked out and announced a new arrival. Everyone turned, but froze where they were at. Jacob dropped his plate to the ground and ran up to the new visitor. Al, Gloria, Andy Sr. and Marie just stood there stunned at the person standing before them.

To be continued...

WRITER’S CORNER:

{A lot happened in this chapter. Where should I even begin to sum it up? Just as you thought you knew what was going to happen, here I go again switching things up on you. I have said it so many times, don’t assume a plot is going to go one direction, because I will surprise you and change the plot to go another direction.

In the last several chapters I have been dangling a carrot in front of you about Chase, and then I go and take that carrot away, or did I? In this chapter, towards the middle and at the end, it looks like Chase got a girlfriend. Does that mean his was just lonely? What he was feeling for Ethan was nothing but his mind playing tricks? Or will he realize those feelings are real and try to go and get what he wants? If that happens, will Ethan be free for him to take?

Ethan we all know is gay and doesn’t really want anyone to know. Jacob of course knows that he is, but Jacob isn’t going to tell a soul. He doesn’t want to hurt Ethan and he was where Ethan is right now. So that means he understand and will walk Ethan down that bumpy road. When they reached the fork of the road that Ethan has to make his mind up to tell his parents, how do you think his parents are going to react? Then how do you think the guys will react when Ethan opens up? Forget the guys, how about Ethan’s brothers, how will they react to the news on having a gay brother?

Let’s talk a little bit about ROTC and how Colonel Pigeon wants Jacob to run things. Jacob is used to running things by doing everything himself, because that is what he was shown. Colonel Pigeon wants Jacob to delegate a lot of his responsibilities like the newsletter, running the meetings and etc. Do you think Jacob will be able to hand over things? Do you also think Jacob could change from one style of leadership to another?

Al is keeping his foot down on not letting Jacob work. When Jacob went in to work, Al didn’t allow him to lift a finger. He wound up walking around downtown instead. But maybe Al did Jacob a favor because of him not letting Jacob work; he found the guitar that Dewayne has been looking for.

These two love each other without question. I am glad that Jacob sees that he does run Dewayne ragged at times. I am also pretty sure Jacob knows that he didn’t have to buy Dewayne anything, but he did so anyway to show how much he is thankful. Still Dewayne made it clear that he knows that Jacob loves him and there is nothing in this world that will run him off. This relationship will last the test of time, I am sure of that.

A couple others things that happened in this chapter is Gloria finally moving into her part of the house. What do you guys think will happen with her now living in the same house as Jacob? We also saw Dewayne in action at work once again. I think he has gotten pointers from Jacob on how to deal with things. Remember that Jacob went through similar things and he can give pointers to Dewayne when needed.

Finally at the end of the chapter, who walked in? It could be many people that could have stopped by from the Governor, to Joey and all the way to Andy Jr. In order for you guys to get the answer to that questions, tune in for the next chapter. Oh yeah, the cliffhanger is back. Sorry about that, NOT! I am trying to put more juice back into my stories and one way to see if I get returning readers is by putting cliffhangers back in here and there.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. There are so many plots that can take a turn at anytime. You might think it is going to go one way, but is lands up going another. Don’t miss out on anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it.

I keep saying over and over again don’t forget about Chase. He will be spending time between two of my stories. I am giving that away, but look for him in “Beneath the Mask”. He is going to come back full and what is happening in his life will stun you.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jpg@tickiestories.us, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

Yeah, I caught that nasty cliffhanger!  I really think I have a solid idea who it is. Who do YOU think it is ?

Chase is an enigma wrapped in a riddle!  He is to us because he’s conflicted within himself!  My guess is that Ethan and Chris are going to click and Chase is going to be left with “those feelings” to deal with all by himself.  Chase needs to be more thoughtful about what he asks for. He gets what he asks for and it might be the wrong thing!

The thing about Chase being conflicted is that it affects others feelings. He’s toyed with Ethan’s emotions, and now he’s going to be affecting Patricia. This sort of thing is just totally unfair to the innocent and forthright people he gets involved with. At some point, Chase is going to have to resolve his conflicted feelings and it may come in the form of his being hurt deeply emotionally. If that happens, it will be his own fault for not having enough brass in his Fruit-of-the-Looms to deal with his realities. He will have earned the hurt he’ll feel.

Dewayne was masterful in his handling of the disciplinary meeting with the manager. I suspect he learned some of those skills from his former manager, Anna. Speaking of her, I wonder what she’s up to these days?

I agree with <author> Jacob about the depth of love between Jacob and Dewayne. They have what it takes to make it a lifetime. I also feel that they both have enough maturity to deal with negative outside influences should those land on their doorstep. Jacob and Joey weren’t well enough equipped in maturity to deal with outside negative influences when they confronted them.

I’m really watching Gloria. Zebras just don’t change their stripes. Andy Sr. is doing an excellent job of channeling her, but I still am waiting for her usual behaviors to surface. My question is whether it will be Jacob or Andy Sr. that will be the one to put a foot on her neck should she make a bad move. Jacob is maturing and has learned to not take BS from anyone. Gloria might get a total shock if she messes up with Jacob!

It’s interesting that Lorenzo and Ismail are interacting well with Jeremy. Having the companionship of the younger boys could really make a difference in Jeremy allowing him to grow more outward towards others. It would be awesome to see Jeremy become a bit more socially mainstreamed.

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Until next time,

“Daddy” Rick

Posted: 01/28/11