Dodger

At last I managed to fool you with this chapter @Israfil which is not an easy thing to do my friend. "You'll be sorry!" would have me worried too. Nathan may not be physically intimidating but he's smart and emotionally tougher than Robbie. As you point out he knows all of Robbie's weak points and there are quite a few of them. Enough to make him vulnerable to someone as wily as Nathan. Lets hope it doesn't come to that.

Thanks @Scary I had some experience to draw upon when writing this particular chapter, although I suppose most people have been through something similar. It's not nice but it is only a high school romance and they rarely last that long. The problem for Robbie however is in small retirement towns like Cobourg there isn't plenty more fish in the sea. Time is on his side but at that age and having tasted the forbidden fruit, he will probably be eager to find someone else. He knows his options will be limited in that respect, so it all seems to be falling into place for Alex. Providing that's what Alex wants!

Robbie probably should have sat down and talked to Nathan very early on if he wasn't happy with the way he was dressing. If nothing is said then Nathan can't really be blamed. Robbie has always lavished praise on his boyfriend so it would have come as a bit of a shock. There were many reasons for Robbie to walk away that night and you've pointed out most of them in your excellent comments @Shadow086 Whatever happens, it seems that Alex will be involved one way or another. After all the upheaval in his life, Robbie needs some stability, routine and probably some kind of professional counseling. He's still dealing with issues which should have been put behind him. Thanks for your comments.

Thank you @wenmale64 More good points here, especially about the family. Robbie knows now that he's getting the better of Sue and breaking up with his boyfriend may encourage him to go even further. Nathan had a lot of good points. He may have been extravagant in some ways but he was also a calming influence on Robbie and a voice of reason. This is a dangerous time for Robbie, who could easily go off the rails if he fails to control his temper.

A very good point about the family. He will miss Nathan's support and also the support of Nathan's family. In the end they didn't live up to their initial promise and champion his cause but Nathan's parents were still very supportive of Robbie and encouraged him to stick up for himself. It will be interesting to see how they react to this news and also Nathan's sister Karen, who has shown in the past that she has a soft spot for Robbie.

Poor Daniel. Just when he was getting used to his new brother dating his best friend now he has to handle their break up. Whatever happens he will feel torn between friend and family and it's difficult to be neutral. He needs to avoid being used as a go between, passing messages between the boys.

Nathan would make a difficult boyfriend. He's cute but self-centered and can be quite vindictive. Robbie was blinded by his physical attraction but gradually saw his faults. There's no reason for Nathan to want to hurt Robbie at the moment but that could all change if he gets it in his head that he was cheating on him with Alex. Thanks for commenting @heifel35

Thanks @JayT I thought you might be happy with this chapter. Nathan isn't going to disappear though and like the wily poker player he is, he's holding a few choice cards. Robbie will do well not to show his hand too soon.

The writing was on the wall and as you rightly point out, Robbie was acting a little different throughout the date. He seemed distant, like he no longer cared and this shows in his climb down over Nathan's three-way sex initiative. He seems to have accepted the fact that Nathan was pulling away and maybe by preempting this he will be doing himself a favour by sparing himself the agony of being dumped. I know it's never that easy. A level head is required at this stage, which means resisting the temptation to jump into bed with the first available closeted gay guy, who he has always had a thing for, and who just happens to be lodging in his basement. Not many of those around, is there?

Sorry @Wesley8890 but nothing is set in stone. 🌈

Yes, it does seem to be over now. Who dumps who doesn't really matter, I think both boys have been accepting for a while that it's over. They haven't been dating for very long but it was probably more intense than most high school romances. How this will affect them, and how quickly they move on, remains to be seen. Discounting Tom, Robbie's only previous experience of breaking up was with Fran, a relationship which was doomed to fail, so he may find this a little more difficult than he expects. Thanks @Edward

I could smell Amy even before I heard her creep up behind me to cover my eyes with her sticky hands. I was sitting on the hallway floor removing my shoes when I was hit by the distinctive sweet aroma of grape flavoured candy. “Guess who?” “Err, I don’t know, Amy. Who is it?” “You just said my name, silly.” “Your name is silly?” “No, stupid. You're silly. I’m Amy.” “Who am I then?” “You're Robbie, and you're late.” I peeled her fingers away off my eyelids and was c

Thanks for posting this link Dave. Senator McCain was obviously a very brave man and a patriot. His detractors aren't qualified to pass judgement on him so their views mean little.

Interesting comment Sweet. Of course, we only see things through Robbie's eyes and he has been known to get it wrong in the past. He's not always the best judge of character, seeing what he wants to see and ignoring the rest.

Canada is a very liberal country known for promoting LGBT rights. Gay marriage has been around for a long time and you're reasonably safe wherever you go. However, there are plenty of places where public displays of affection between two guys still attract an audience, and I happen to live in one of them. A small, sleepy, and very conservative, town not that far from Toronto but miles apart in some ways. I know it's easy to get carried away, but not that easy. Common sense should prevail. Most people know their boundaries and they are usually defined by our environment. In a restaurant or a place where there are young children then some things are inappropriate, crossing this line attracts the wrong kind of attention. This goes for straight couples too. I believe in equality and the same rules should apply to everyone. They don't need to be written down though. Everyone should be able to work it out for themselves depending on where they are, why they are there, and the time of day.

Yes the infamous four-oh-one. The sixteen lane monster that snakes through Toronto is now, I believe, the world's busiest highway with half a million cars a day using it. Thanks @Rndmrunner

Robbie seems to have settled into accepting that he will never be treated in the same way as he was before he came out. He doesn't need to do this, he has every right to be treated the same as Daniel and Nicola. Maybe he sees it as a battle he cannot win and he can't win on his own. they've already proved that.

I think Robbie knew even before he talked to Nathan that this was a big mistake. He can sense Nathan moving away and in a way he's almost holding the door open for him rather than persuading him to stay. He won't get to the bottom of the Nathan/Alex thing until he gets some answers from Alex too but surely Nathan wouldn't have left himself so vulnerable, knowing that Alex is Robbie's friend and his living in his house. It looks as if Nathan may have forgotten to mention certain things, a bit like Robbie.

Nathan almost sounded as if he was forewarning Robbie when he told him he wouldn't end the relationship without telling him. It was a little too clinical for a boy with such intense emotions but entirely in line with his character. I don't see Nathan as a cheat and I doubt if he would ever deliberately hurt Robbie but he is also somewhat selfish and single minded. He won't waste time in a relationship which he feels is stagnant or holding him back. He has options and he's confident enough to know it. He won't want to hold on to Robbie for sentimental value, if he's no longer right for him then he will go but Nathan will do it properly, not behind his back. Thanks for another in-depth comment @NimirRaj

There is likely to be a few twists and at least one surprise before the end. Robbie's crime, if you can call it that, will definitely be made to look much worse by his subsequent attempts to cover it up. Very Nixon-esque, as you point out. He has no option now other than to try to keep Nathan in the dark over this but it's difficult to see how he can with Alex seemingly there for the long term.

Yes, these are two very big problems which he will probably need some kind of help with in the near future. Counseling seems to be the way forward but Robbie won't ask for it. Sue, as a healthcare professional, should be the person best place to recognize these problems and suggest getting help. We'll see.

I agree, Robbie does need counseling and guidance. Don and Sue have ignored the signs and focused entirely on his sexuality, which of course, they see as a problem. Robbie will have to address a lot of issues that really are problems before he can live a normal life and start making the right decisions. Thanks @pvtguy

This is a very valid point. As we know @JayT there are always two sides to a story. Maybe Robbie should start pressing Alex for his version of events before jumping to conclusions.

His temper has been a problem from the beginning and he tends to act on impulse and say things before thinking them through. It's difficult but he needs to be careful about what he says here.

Not the best of days for Robbie. Maybe he should have asked Tom for more details. He should also question Alex. There's always two sides to a story.