Lisa

I'm glad Jimmy didn't take advantage of Lee. Lee seems like a nice kid. Funny that they're both from the same area.

That was a powerful poem, Skinny. Each time I read it it gave me chills. And how true that only one word can destroy everything: trust, hope, confidence...a future...

It was wonderful to see Zac's teammates showing their support for him. That kind of choked me up too. I'm proud of Zac for wearing the rainbow pendant, and I hope that he and Irene stay in contact. As for the sexy kiosk guy, keep him on the back-burner, Zac! Now, Billy and Lonnie - uh-oh!!! They don't even realize when they get so touchy-feely with each other, or as I should say, when Lonnie gets all touchy-feely with Billy (or anyone for that matter! ) I really hope they don't get into trouble. You know, Ron, even though I read this story years ago, I still look forward to rereading each chapter! This is one of my Mustard Jar favorites! Can't wait, though, until you start posting Down a Darkened Path. Or It's Not Easy Being a Tree. Another favorite of mine. Oh! And the Madonna story! Ah, forget it -- you just need to post them all!!!

Not fair to tease us like this, Renee!!!! Tomorrow's my day off, and I actually have time to read!! When will they go live?

The scene with Preston not realizing Cory's roommates were in was just hysterical! I couldn't stop laughing! I also liked how Efrain let Cory know that he knew about him. That was funny to read. I also liked how Efrain took care of Cory; he was so sweet. He treated Cory like someone he really cared about, not just a one-night stand.

Ok, now that I wiped my tears away, I can review. =) Gary's ulterior motive for the dinner--his proposal, had me in tears. Happy tears, not to be confused with the sad tears learning about Naomi's passing. I'm thrilled Toph finally found happiness with his new family and friends, while getting closer to his siblings and nieces and nephews. This was a wonderful story, Skinny, and I will miss Toph, Gary, and Co. I can't help but ask: did Kory go on to own Kory's?

I like the beginning of your new story, James. I just hope Jimmy didn't take advantage of the kid. =)

Like your readers, I think the predator's 'getting back at his parents' is such a lame excuse for what he's doing. How the hell does he think by breaking young kids, he's getting back at his folks for kicking him out? True, his folks are horrible people, but...the onus is on him--it's HIS fault these kids were broken and HIS fault he tried to set up Ted, and if not for Ted, he'd sure to be breaking some other guys. Of course Ted is a horrible person also. I actually thought Ted might have been a little older since they met at a bar. I didn't even think he could be a college student also. I'm glad I had a glimpse of the predator's backstory, but I don't feel any pity for him. He brought this whole thing on himself by being such a horrible person. IMO, I don't even know if he could do anything that would redeem himself in my eyes.

Although I had a feeling Corey was going to catch Jason doing something he shouldn't be doing, I never thought that asswipe Luc was going to be the culprit! Not only is Corey devastated on what he just witnessed, he probably thinks Jason shut his phone off just so Corey wouldn't call him! At least that's what I would think if I had walked in on that kiss. Now, if I were Jason, before any of this even started, I would have asked one of my friends if I could borrow his phone to call Corey (assuming I would actually KNOW Corey's number since I wouldn't have my 'recent calls' list handy! lol). I don't know how Jason's going to fix this, but he should get a sworn statement by douchebag Luc that it was all Luc's doing and Jason had nothing to do with it. Good luck getting our boys back together, Lit!!

Seth is definitely Adam/Matt's big fan; he can even repeat word for word some of Adam's sayings. I'm glad that Adam felt comfortable enough with Seth to tell him about his father. I'm anxious to find out what happens when they finally meet again, face to face.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LACEY!!!!! I'm glad you had a great day!

Awesome interview, Dark! Dayne, now I know where Cory gets his awesome sense of humor!!! You had me cracking up throughout this feature. I am sorry about your teaching experience. As Val said, there is such a need for good teachers who teach because they love what they do and they love the kids. I hope someday you can go back. It's obvious that you're a very loved teacher, and I'm sure they all miss you (and your hella awesome sense of humor!). This took me so long to read because I was watching the CMA awards at the same time. (A shout-out to Cory's Texas roots. ) Back to the story now...

I can't believe Cory was so bold as to come on to his TA! Too bad he mentioned the 'b' word. I had a feeling Indie (awesome name, btw) was Efrain's roommate just by the comment he made. Indie definitely should have said something to Cory about why he was leaving, instead of leaving Cory thinking he did something wrong.

Way to go, Zac!! Yes, be true to yourself and f anyone who doesn't like it. I don't blame Zac for being angry and frustrated with Adrian. Eventually though, there would have been some other guy that would open Zac's eyes to the real Zac. It could have happened in college, but it happened in high school. And only two months before graduation. I just hope his teammates don't give him any shit. It would be devastating for him to lose focus and screw up the state championship. Now Zac just needs to apologize to Valerie. When I read Karl's comments, I was like, "What?! This was the last chapter????" lol Whew! Thank God there's more. There's gotta be more! lol

This was another humorous chapter, Dayne! Cory has such a sense of humor! It's funny how Garza is coming to all these wrong conclusions about him. I loved the dancing scenes - the ones with Preston and then the ones with the girls. It's awesome watching a guy who can really dance.

This chapter had me cracking up! Cory is so funny. BAM! NO GAY SEX! lol I love his character and Preston's so far. I really like Romero also. It sounds like he and Cory are going to be good friends. I'm so glad I started reading this!

Sounds awesome so far, Dayne! This is great; I really needed a story I could sink my teeth into.

I have GOT TO read this series! I think what was stopping me was the title. As Cia said in the interview, I thought the story had to do with wolves. My bad. I should have read the story summary. I'm going to start reading it right now! Oh, and I had to Google every celebrity you mentioned! Well, except for Channing. Oh, and I TOTALLY thought you were a dude! Really my bad!!!!

What a wonderful way to get sick! lol Now all I can think about is how the poor pup is gonna get outside!

Amen to Rocky! I totally agree that there should be parenting classes, and no one can have a child unless they pass. It's heartbreaking the way Dustin's sperm donor speaks to and about him. It's disgusting. I'm glad his mother at least tried to defend him. But shit, to have to listen to your parents fight like that and get physical with each other is just horrible. No child should have to listen to that or watch their parents go at it. His sperm donor is just transferring his own inadequacies onto his wife. She is far from lazy if she's holding down two jobs and going to school at night to try to improve her situation. He's a lazy, nasty sack of shit, IMO. I'm glad Billy was there for Dustin. Dustin's jealousy over Brett is now at least understandable. If he loses Billy to Brett, he'll have no one. This was a hard chapter to read, Jeff, but it does give us lots of insight into Dustin's home life. I hope that was the only time we had to read about Dustin's sperm donor. You're right -- my hate for him continues to grow.

My heart sorta just fell to my stomach. It is ominous indeed. I'm praying Corey doesn't walk in on something that should not be happening. Certainly Jason wouldn't succumb to some guy flirting with him, or vice-versa; he wouldn't just try to pick someone up knowing Corey would never find out about it. I can't see Jason doing that. He's matured too much to go back to his 20-year-old self. Anxiously waiting on pins and needles until Wednesday!!

Thank God they're talking and Toni is being pretty nice toward Marc! I think the trip is an awesome idea. I just hope Toni doesn't bag out on Marc. As Lux mentioned, at the beginning of the chapter it was sort of in Marc's pov, but you put Toni's name in instead. This continues a little further down the page also. Ok, so...a little more crit, Lilly? I'm really enjoying the story, but there are quite a few things that detract from the story and distract the reader. When you're talking to a person and you use his name, you need a comma before and after the name. "Hi, Marc, how are you?" Also, dialogue tags: he said, she asked, etc. Any word that you can speak is a dialogue tag. Actions such as blushing, rolling eyes, laughing, smirking, smiling, snarling, etc., are not dialogue tags, so they would take a period before the dialogue, not a comma. Here's a thread I found in the Writer's Corner in the forums. There are many good grammar threads in the forum sections. Cia also does Grammar Rodeo blogs every once in a while (wish she did them every day!), that are extremely helpful. Anyway, here's that thread: http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/37092-dialogue-punctuation/ Again, Lilly, I hope you don't mind me pointing these things out.

"I didn't do nothing! I didn't do nothing!" What a moron! Thank God his father at told him to shut up a few times. Zac is something else. Showing empathy and compassion for someone who was so cavalier about throwing away their years of friendship is something I don't think a lot of us could do. I don't think I could. Maybe Kenny will actually think about what Zac did for him and realize how wrong he was to treat Zac the way he's been treating him. Maybe, but I doubt it. Kenny's too much of an ass. I'm glad to see the apple fell out of the ballpark (get it, a Kenny-baseball joke. Lame, I know! ) with Kenny's dad. He seems like a good person who had no idea what a jackass his son was. Why is Kenny so filled with hate for anyone who is different? Is he so insecure about himself that he has to go hating on people who think or act differently than he does? Hopefully the diversity course will do him good.

I agree with everyone who said Zac's dad had the funniest line in the chapter! I do have to say, Ron, his dad's speech about holding baby Zac in his arms and promising to love and protect him no matter what really had me choked up. And it's so true. That's why I can't wrap my mind around the fact that there are "parents" (and I use that term loosely here) who can just kick their child out on the street without a second thought. How can their feelings for their child change so drastically over something the child can't even control? I don't understand that. This was such an excellent chapter because now we know Zac's going to be ok, and his parents aren't going to abandon him.

Kenny is such an arrogant bastard. He provoked Zac, and he got what he wanted. BUT...how the HELL does he think he was acting in 'self-defense' when HE WAS ON TOP OF ZAC PUMMELING HIM TO ALMOST UNCONSCIOUSNESS?????? WTF is Kenny talking about? He's such a slimebag. His coach is no better; he didn't give a shit what Zac said--he just went by what Kenny told him. He's another ass. And as Jay pointed out, why didn't Adrian step in? Yes, Kenny would have called him lots of wonderful names also, but hey, Zac only punched Kenny because Kenny said the 'N' word about Adrian. Zac was defending Adrian, and Adrian just left him to get beat on.