Lisa

Wow. So Cody's been preparing a speech or something for when they met again? Since Trick had been thinking all day about their brief encounter, I think he's going to change his mind about talking to Cody. Especially after reading the letter (I'm assuming it's from Cody).

Obi! I've been meaning to read this story ever since you started posting it. I finally had some time, so I'm trying to binge read it. And damn, I haven't even finished Strictly Business! I just realized that. I like these new characters, Trick (very cute nickname---I actually thought the story had to do with Halloween because of the word trick and because you posted it a few days before the holiday), Zoe, and Brad. I'm starting to warm up to Cody also. He started to redeem himself when he stopped picking on Trick. It looks like he's going to be miserable in the foreseeable future.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DODGER !!! I hope you're having a great b-day!

Me thinks Klaus is getting in deeper with Jake than he has with any of the guys he's been with. At least emotionally. I found it comical when Jake was wondering how gay it was because he didn't have a gay meter to figure it out.

Awesome chapter, Laura! Jake is really getting under Klaus' skin. That's a first for Klaus! I like Hans. I actually feel sorry for him. It sounds like he must have been in love with Klaus at one point. Maybe he still is.

I was actually really impressed that Jake had the insight to move the building away from the playground and put more grass around to better accentuate the model town Klaus & Co. constructed. He may have an eye for things like this. Hopefully, he can help on the construction site also.

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, ADDY!!!! I hope you have a wonderful b-day!!!!!

I think I might agree with @Scotrik1; I assumed the first responders opened the windows because of the gas smell. Of course, if he's right about the bucket, that would mean Jake had gone off the wagon, right? And obviously he was blacking out if he didn't remember putting the bucket there in the first place. I feel so badly for Twyla. She's so afraid for her husband, and now she lost Jake. Jake seemed like he always helped her, at least emotionally. This whole thing with Jake and Steve is so hard for Twyla to handle; she has to be really strong, for Steve and for their kids. This was another excellent chapter, Cole! The mystery behind Jake's death has me so intrigued!!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, NORTHIE!!! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Boy, Klaus can be MY sugar daddy! I really like the way Klaus seems so amused by Jake's defensiveness and denial. With all those butterflies fluttering in his stomach every time Klaus stares at him or makes suggestive comments, I can tell Jake is starting to like Klaus more than he wants to. He doesn't want to like him at all.

This chapter had me crying like a little baby. I was so proud of Joey when he went up there and said his speech. The fact his mother was there and actually gave him money started my waterworks. Then, of course when Allen died, the tears just didn't stop. I'm so glad his stepfather was there for him at the end. I'm just sad it took him all those years --- all those years they could have spent getting to know each other better. I'm sad for Gene. Not being able to be yourself, who you really are, has to be difficult. Why would he spend his whole life in a lie like that? Obviously, his father made peace with Allen, so I'm assuming his views have changed and Gene doesn't have to fear being true to himself. Of course now he has a wife and kids, so that makes things more difficult. I look forward to reading his story next. This was such a great story, Ron, and I'm actually glad I never read it on your site!

I ditto everyone else; this was a great chapter, Ron! I LOVED the birthday party. Joey certainly deserved to have a happy birthday for once in his life. It was wonderful he was able to experience all the love from his friends and new family. I also really liked his smart thinking about growing up gay and growing up straight. It's like, why don't straight people have to come out? Why do gay people have to come out? Why can't everybody just be who they are and not worry about announcing to the world who they are?

Awesome chapter, Laura! It was interesting how at first Jake was jealous of Hans and then Hans was jealous of Jake. They both want Klaus. I will admit, I liked when Klaus was talking to Hans and defending the way Jake behaves. He at least had a little insight into Jake's situation. I'm sure Klaus was surprised to hear Hans would have settled down with him if Klaus wanted that. I have a feeling Hans is going to try and find Jake. He knows where the room is, obviously. I wonder if Klaus will catch him. Or maybe he'll be good and go find Agnes.

I'm so relieved Joey's test came out negative. He definitely needs protection from now on. What's really unconscionable to me is the fact there are people out there who know they're positive and they don't tell their prospective partners, plus they don't use condoms. The scene with Joey and Gene up in the loft of the barn was very tender and honest. I think Joey was the only one who could have gotten through to Gene. And he did. After he got shot. Just a minor inconvenience. I'm glad Gene is getting help. I think the hospital is the safest place for him right now. And Barry really needs a real hard kick in the ass. What a d-bag.

'Editors'. Sorry, Kitt, I couldn't resist! This was a great post, Jay. I definitely agree with you on the homophones. In fact, it drives me absolutely CRAZY when people misuse these words. The community where I live has a NextDoor site where residents can ask questions, sell things, etc. Ninety percent of the people who post on there can't spell for s***t. They're always getting there and their confused and you're and your. The school my kid goes to has a site for parents, and you would be amazed at how badly these parents write! I hope to hell they never helped their kids with English! I must confess, though, I've been using nauseous and nauseating completely wrong my entire life!!!!! Seriously! I would say: "I feel nauseous." when I think I'm going to throw up. "That smell is nauseating!" or "That smell is making me nauseous." would be things I would say. Wow, and no one's ever corrected me! I absolutely LOVE blogs like this, so keep 'em coming! Hint, hint, poke, poke @Cia for your Grammar Rodeo. Boy, I really miss that blog!!

Oh man, I was totally confused at the end of this chapter! When I read your author's note, I thought the two people who were texting were 'Boy River' and 'Morton's Fork'! Of course I've heard of BWH (and meant to read it, dammit!), but I never heard of the other two. I'm glad I don't need to binge-read the others! One day I hope. So, ok, I have no clue whatsoever who those texting people are. First I thought one of them could be Eddie since one of them mentioned he (or she?) loved Jake at one time. But then whoever it was said Jake deserved it for what he had done. That didn't sound like Eddie, unless Eddie getting together with Jake to try to start fresh with their relationship was just a ruse to get closer to Jake before he offed him. Idk...And at one point, I wasn't sure if one of them texted twice in a row because it didn't sound like the other person. So yeah, this is totally intriguing, Cole! I do love mysteries! I keep forgetting to bring this up: When the obit ran in the Ham Lake paper (that was the name of the town, right?), it mentioned the family Jake left behind. I know Twyla's his sister, but next to her name was (Steve), and then next to one of the brother's names was (Elizabeth(maybe that's the wrong name, but it was a female name)). Does this mean Twyla used to be Steve when she was a he? And the same for their brother? I hope you're having a great time in Key West, Cole! Enjoy the warm weather while you can---winter is coming soon!

As I said in my Prologue comment, this chapter made me feel like I was in The Twilight Zone. I read it thinking Jake was having some sort of nightmare and he'd wake up and really think he had been on a bender! Like Gary, I was totally invested in Jake. I liked him; I liked the fact he always helped his mother even though he knew he was enabling her. I liked the relationship he had with Nats (when she wasn't being a pissy bitch ). And...was she being a pissy bitch because Jake didn't remember what he had said or done to her? Either way, I'm sorry to his life cut short.

Well, last night I finally caught up with all the chapters. I did read the last section of this part of the story before I read this. I will tell you---since I haven't commented on that chapter yet---I kept reading the first half of the chapter over and over and over again. My mind was like, "Wait, what just happened? What do you mean Jake's dead????? What's going on here? I thought this story was about him?" I continued to feel as if I were in an episode of The Twilight Zone. I will go back after this and comment on that very sad chapter. So, I have a question for you, Cole: Since you're a paralegal, and you mentioned 'slimming down the file', I'm assuming this story is based on true events? Well, it doesn't sound much like a question, but just read it like a question.

I totally agree with @Graeme about Allen and Joey. Joey just wanted to 'fix' everything with sex. Allen was the smart one who knew it would be a mistake. Also, I think Joey may have wanted to be with Allen so badly to sort of erase the feelings he may have for Gene. If that makes sense. Gene is a mess, that's for sure. I hope his brother and their group of friends can help him.

I feel really badly for Gene now. Honestly, I never thought he was truly horrible. I thought Barry was truly horrible, always pushing Gene to fight Joey. I could tell Gene didn't want any part of it. I can definitely see why Gene hid how he felt. His father was on top of him for every little thing, his brother got kicked out of the house because of who he was. His best friend is a freakin' homophobe...poor Gene had to hide everything. Excellent chapter, Ron!

Thanks, Drought! I started by writing he/she, but that got old fast. Plus, there's more than he/she now anyway, right? I wanted to be PC. I'll stick to 'they'.

It doesn't bother me so much if an author doesn't reply to my specific comment, however, I would like for the author to just acknowledge they read my comment. The author doesn't have to 'like' the comment; there are other options they can choose. If the author hated my comment, they can certainly click on the 'angry' option. (Plus, I really need to get my rep points up, and this always helps! ) And please, can someone tell me what gender-neutral word we're using nowadays, so I don't have to keep writing 'they' for an individual person. Thank you!!

@Cia, thank you for these! I'm going to go back and read the writing posts above. Well, I've read everyone's posts, and there are many I agree with. The first of course, would be what @Valkyriesaid in her first post: if there are spelling or grammar mistakes in the story description, I won't even bother clicking on the first chapter. If the author doesn't care enough to make sure the description is grammatically correct, I'm sure he/she doesn't care about the content either. That being said, though, there have been stories I've read/am reading where there are spelling, grammar, etc., mistakes. I'm only sticking with these stories because I like the plot, characters, etc. If the plot is really good, I try not to cringe whenever there's an error. Like @Timothy M., if a scene is extremely violent, I'll skip over it. I do tend to skip over paragraphs and paragraphs describing one thing---a building, an area, etc.. I want to get to the heart of the story and learn about the characters, not the architecture. If a sex scene is boring and I feel the characters aren't connecting in it, I'll skip over it. But my favorite 'love scenes' (I'll call them), are when the characters have that connection, and I can feel the connection, if that makes sense. Then it's not a sex scene per se, but a love scene or at least an I-like-you-very-much scene. There's a story on here where the two characters are in a movie, and while reading their love scene, it was apparent---at least to me---that the characters loved each other. That's what I like. Not the wham-bam-thank-you,-man kind of scene. Another thing that annoys me (I think Gary mentioned it), is using the same word throughout the paragraph. Stop repeating the same word over and over again. Someone else pointed out characters and their physical descriptions. I don't want to read the character is 5'11" with blonde hair and green eyes and having a swimmer's body. I'd much rather the author show me this. And...I don't give a (fill in the blank) how big the size of his penis is! I know the last paragraph really isn't what you were asking about, Cia, because I don't necessarily skip over these parts, but I included it anyway. Awesome topic, btw!

I absolutely LOVED this story, Sui!!!!!!! I could relate to Reed so much and all the emotions he was experiencing when Kris walked out on him. You were definitely spot-on with that, Sui. But it was the ending that really had me crying. When he finally explained his reasoning of not introducing his parents to Reed, it was obvious it was to protect Reed from them. His father sounds like a horrible person. I feel badly for his mother; there are many women who change after they get divorced. And not for the better either. I know someone like that. As soon as her ex-husband left her, she became bitter, angry, and so toxic. You can't even be in the same room with her now; she's just so...toxic. That's the only word that comes to mind. She's toxic. This was an awesome story, Sui. Maybe one day you'll write about their trip to visit Kris' folks! (Hint, hint! ).

I really liked this chapter, Ron. Along with your other commenters, I'm glad the boys are at least talking about their feelings for one another. I also found the chapter very sad. Allen told Joey he didn't want to rob him of his youth. Allen was robbed of his youth. He's ONLY twenty-four. That saddened me. Then when Joey laughed and said he was robbed of his youth at eleven, that made me even sadder. As always, Ron, I'm anxiously looking forward to the next chapter.