Timothy M.

I agree with centex and impunity - Brad and Will are so similar in their ploys to control each other. Maybe you should let Brad win once in a while. I mean 'win' as in being more clever and right and considerate and morally upright than Will. But I guess that's rather difficult to achieve. I used to like Brad a lot, and it's sad to see him being selfish so much - or rather focused on the person who makes him happy right now (Mark). Even if I understand why he does so after losing Robbie. Brad needs to see the broader picture the way Will does, because it makes everybody happy (as impunity pointed out). The examples in this chapter were obvious. Brad had made plans for himself and Mark and ignored his family except to hope their plans 'coincided'. When they didn't, he was forced to see that it freaked Mark out, and by then he had already pissed off Will and earned the disapproval of JP and Stef. I noticed no one contested Will's claim Brad was supposed to put his family first on the 24th as well as Christmas Day. Will made plans for himself and Zach which included making Brent and Zach's parents happy, and Zach appreciated this, once he realized. Everybody wins. Will thought about Rosa (perhaps JJ inspired him!), he wants Kevin and Cody and Brad to make up, mostly because they felt / feel like shit about the situation and Will wants his dad to be happy. I recall he made a real effort to get to know Mark - and Brad did the same with Zach earlier, which was cool. Brad needs to shape up or accept that Will calls him on his unacceptable behavior at times. Perhaps he should consult Mark more, since he seems to have good sense.

I agree. No Scandinavians

I'm speechless ! THEY KISSED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I so wanted to hear Liam rip everyone's heads off for ruining the moment. Well, Neil is never going to forget his 18th birthday, that's for sure.

Yep, I agree. As to your wish So glad you liked the email conversation, it was something of a challenge. I better warn you that ch 4 shocked some readers.

You have great instinct, sir. Yes, Russell's self-image (body and mind) is warped by several things; his illness being one, being in his twin's shadow is another, but his father is another factor.I'm glad you saw the benefit of the scene at the beach, it struck me as particularly Danish, so I worried if US and UK readers would find it unacceptable. But perhaps honesty and good intentions can be universally appreciated.

Sorry about not replying before now, I wanted to give you a good answer to a great review, but I've been too busy. I'm glad you're intrigued by the story and that you saw Jacob's best qualities and how he can be good for Russell. I can't say all your questions about the parents have been answered yet, but some of them have.

I'm wondering if Granger could use his charms on Lady Hamilton and persuade her to take the precautions which Nelson refuses to do. Surely if she loves Nelson the argument his career and maybe even his life could be in danger might have an impact. This goes for her meddling in the Hardy situation as well as the lack of discretion. If Granger tells her he worries for Nelson's safety with an incompetent captain and is appalled to see Hardy being sent home (without revealing he knows the story behind), she might understand. But perhaps she resents the close (even though quite professional) relationship between Hardy and Nelson ?

Interesting how one of those bad consequences of Nelson's infatuation with Lady Hamilton came to light, showing that the fears of the Admiralty and George are in fact not simply meddlesome and out of place. Nelson should put Lady Hamilton in her place and teach her not to interfere with the running of his ship. But because he is unable to put duty above love he now has an inefficient captain and this could well make a difference in the war. But of course Nelson would be outraged if George pointed it out.

Ohhh, protective, clever and mean older sister, I like it ! I wonder if Zane forced himself on his cousin, since revealing her abortion seems to be worse for him than for her from his reaction (which wouldn't normally be the case). Bobby is a fool when he cannot see he is not helping Zane by staying his friend. If he told him they were done, it might shake him enough to wake him up. And of course Zane want to break Linda and Bobby up, he is probably jealous and dislikes the influence Linda has on Bobby. The saddest thing is Bobby will be pulled down by his 'socalled' friend. But perhaps Benny will benefit, He seems a great guy, who has a soft spot for Linda and might want a second chance at dating. Poor Dennis (why did he introduce himself as Denny to Linda), he needs good friends, and defending Jay has earned him the goodwill of the influential Lady Linda. I think he may come to bless the gym incidence, since it got him to meet Jay and his family.

I'm glad somebody appreciates Jasper's good qualities. He is a great friend and boyfriend.LOL, I wish I'd thought of telling Rob to try on the purple shirt - I bet he would have done it too. Bad boys in the fitting room - sounds like porn to me

Thanks Brian, I'm glad you like it. There's not so much about before in the rest of the story but plenty of after, lol. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy getting your reviews and compliments.

aaww Caz, I thought I was the reason you got so much better... JK - but it's true I have a lot less editing to do on your chapters now.

I hadn't thought about it either, but I think you're right. Trevor probably liked Nelson quite a bit, but soon realized it wasn't returned. It is ironic how Nelson completely missed the signs - but maybe not surprising, since he was also clueless about Eric's interest until Rob did his goofy act in ch 1. I think Rob probably means he appreciates watching a nice ass in a more general way - and so far he's been forced to be content with watching and touching since his girlfriend refused any 'dirty stuff'. But this may change now Rob's a free man. Anyway, I'm sure Rob would not be at all shy about publicly praising his brother's looks, including various body parts.

What an interesting chapter, Graeme. And lots of positive development. Neil managed to acknowledge Liam for his birthday present and they even shook hands. I bet Liam wanted to kiss Neil, but he was bright enough to know this would be too much. His mom's idea of cup cakes was clever, my first thought was also that Liam could suggest Neil share them with the girls. I also noted Clarissa is making an impact on Neil concerning Alf, and in addition Neil admitted to himself he feels safer when Liam is around. They both still have a long way to go, but it's not hopeless. The same can be said about Neil's parents. They are doing a good job too at walking the fine line between supportive and stalking. It's quite symmetrical with the Liam case, is this on purpose? In any case, it's working great, storywise, and also in relation to the effect on Neil. He took Tony's (brilliant) advice and called his parents and the reward was a nice talk and perhaps an improved impression of his father in particular. I hvae to say even I am beginning to warm a bit to Phil, but like Liam he has a long way to go to make up for his 'huge fucking mistake.' But you've managed to make me think it may be possible. Who would have thought that ! The whole Ty thing was awesome. Him getting the chance to play and doing well, the Brat keeping his temper for most of the time, in spite of severe provocation, the fact he got a taste of what Jim faces (can makes Dad's decision to be in the closet a lot more understandable), the way Ty reacted in the changing room which was perfectly understandable, but most of all the consequence: once again recruiters get the wrong impression of Ty, which keeps his improvement a secret. This is perfect for the story line, and I'm in awe of you pulling it off, because while I was reading the talk of the two guys observing the players I was thinking, 'Shit, the secret is about to get out.' But now we'll still get to see Ty going with Jim to the Carlton training all unsuspecting. I can't wait. Thanks, Graeme, this may be the best chapter so far.

Ditto

Thanks, makes sense. No, I'm not, and IDK took me a while to work out too.

Thanks for doing the possessive vs plural challenge. Although I did when I first read it and noticed the mix-up. I'm with Lisa on this, Cia. And will somebody kindly explain the meaning of J/K or JK ? I got JK in a story review once, and I have no clue what it means.

Game of chance - such an apt name for a chapter where nothing is certain and you must rely on the luck of the draw - plus the skills of two great doctors, of course. But even they cannot win against the worst scenario. Is it too much to suggest some power took a look at Carson's reformed self and decided he should have the chance to show his son and his wife it isn't a temporary change, but will persist after he gets well? And amongst all the tenseness and sadness I couldn't help laughing at the joke about Carson keeping a functional physical asshole, now he is getting rid of the mental asshole he was. Never 'underestimate the importance of being able to take a good crap.'

Thank you, I'm glad my romantic readers approve. I like to think Nelson and Eric are in tune with each other and provide the support needed. Eric by being proud to be seen as Nelson's boyfriend and Nelson by openly expressing his feelings. I'm glad I'm not the only one to find porn rather stupid at times, no matter how gratifying it can seem at first sight.

Thank you my romantic friend. You pointed out one of my main intentions with this chapter (apart from more Rob fun, lol) and that was to show Nelson and Eric both have issues to fight. Nothing major, after all this a romance not drama, but still. And I think they are perfectly aligned to help each other out: Eric's confidence is boosted by Nelson's all-out love and Nelson will be carried along by Eric's enthusiasm with no time to worry about how and when.

Thank you my Swedish friend. I'm glad others can relate to the insecure feeling. Perhaps I shall let them have a small drama during the Prom, just for you. Accompanied by ABBA of course. But we definitely need some mutual exploring It will probably happen around ch 50 or so, at the rate I'm going. I'm waiting for Jaro to rant at me again, lol.

You're not fooling me, lol. This is before Colt meets Tony, right? (2013) Loved the way you managed to get the rain coat and the statue worked in.

Quite right, just see how Rob has taken over this story, lol. Eric needs all the support he can get.Maria cares about Eric and just like Rob she was concerned about him being alone. If Nelson makes Eric happy, she will approve and like him. Some girls have the right attitude. We did see Carolyn with them at the end of the baseball game. I think she will do fine, after all she gets along with Jasper.

Thank you, dughlas, I love that you have the same ambivalent feeling towards Rob as I do. I have fun making up Rob-style things for him to say and do and at the same time I'm all afterwards, lol.I was worried it would be confusing to have a 1st person POV at times, so I'm relieved you like this. Is does give a better possibility of showing those personal thought and worries, which surely have plagued all of us from time to time.

You're welcome, CG, I'm so glad you liked it. I hope you can see I'm using your Mall help augmented by suggestions from AC.I think Nelson and Eric are boosting each other's confidence with love, and to me this is one of the major advantages of falling in love and being in a relationship. I know we had very little to go on concerning sex and love when we were teens. Supposedly, it's so much better now, with internet etc, but I think teens now can get confused on a more advanced level.