Kitt

Gary brings up an interesting point, and I feel it applies to ALL couples, not just gay couples. Back in the 80's when my husband proposed to me we had been dating - exclusively - for more than a year. We hadn't SAID to each other that we were exclusive, it just sort of happened. I asked him why he never asked me to "go steady" as they said back when i was in high school. He seemed to think it was sort of useless since neither of us had any desire to wander. When we set a wedding date more than a year out from our engagement date, everyone asked "Why so long?" LOL ANYONE that has ever tried to pull a wedding suitable to make the mother of the bride happy in less than a year will understand. My stock answer became "Whats a year when we plan the rest of our lives together?"

I have to agree with every word Joann said!

Hmmm - work for me at the barn? I can arrange free time when ideas strike to make notes!

While it did take several LTR's each and the better part of 30 years, JP and Stef have settled down to a basically monogamous relationship. They do once in a while play with someone new - but for the most part it is each other they prefer. Stef may have been flirting outrageously with people around him, but how many has he actually had physical relations with lately?

As I recall, yes he did offer to stop sleeping around but it was obvious during the conversation it would not be from a desire to only be with Wade, it was because that is what he thought Wade wanted. Wade turned it down because he knew it would not have worked back then, and most certainly would have caused many more problems in the relationship than the extra curricular activities did. Things have changed in all the characters since then. Perhaps now Matt is ready for a one on one committed relationship. Unfortunately just now Wade does not seem to be.

Sure there is! Try watching a horseback riding lesson where the rider still hasn't caught on to posting on the correct diagonal after more than a year of lessons!

One author I follow right here on GA writes about the guys in a wedding band and their personal interactions. He frequently names songs and how they are affecting the characters moods, and their gigs. I usually find myself pulling them up on Youtube to see what they are talking about. I've enjoyed many that I would not have even run across otherwise. I love Aditus' idea about including a link if the song is particularly important to the story!

Not being a home at 5 and play on the lawn sort of dad doesn't necessarily mean he is a poor parent either. I don't recall JP ever playing on the lawn at Escorial with Brad, Clair, Billy or Ace, and he was still a pretty awesome dad.

I had forgotten that Matt had tested positive back when his kidneys were being a major issue. You must have one hell of a set of plot notes! Nice to see Wade coming back to earth. Planet Alex was a nice place to visit for him but he has way too much to lose to try living there. Thank you for a fantastic way to occupy my mind on an insomnia night.

Mark has a point! Sometimes it is hard to appreciate walking through the forest when you are beating your way through the undergrowth!

Now how did I know Mir would try mopping the floor and Andy would be the one to stop her? Well done sir, and you found the perfect jumping off place to end this one with the possibility ( I hope probability ) of more. And if the guys give in and call the poor kid peanut, I will personally go on a Grandma Sandy hunt!

Careful there Gary - you wouldn't want to end up like the Garth Brooks song and come back in the next life as a saddle! At the rate Sasha already writes my boss at the barn ( Yes I run the office of a 50 horse boarding and lesson facility) is upset that I cant give him more hours a day than I already do! Like 10 hrs a day isn't enough for anyone!

There is a fine line point here that no one has looked at. Yes, it probably is a good thing that both Wade and Matt will have to forgive each other before moving on, no matter whether that is to friendship or a more meaningful relationship. But there is a big difference between forgiving, forgetting, and trusting. My gram used to take great pleasure in taking my dates aside and telling them to be very careful when considering actions that might hurt me. Her exact words, and I know this because each and every one of them came back with the same thing, "Kitt will probably forgive you a stupid hurtful action, she may even trust you again after, but she will never, ever forget it."

As I pointed out in a review a chapter or so back - the believed progression of potential infection was Cody > Brad > Wade > Matt. But somehow at least one link in that chain has been broken, possibly two pending Wade's results, so we are right back to the big question. Who could have infected Matt if this is not a false positive?

Wouldn't that depend on who infected whom and when? Brads last time with Cody was right after 9-11 so was about 9 months back.

I think the key is the point on logical progression. Soap opera's seem to have the characters get smacked in the face with something out of deep left field as a new plot element rather than have the new twist be lead in from previous events. That is not to say that things don't hit from deep left field in life, but when that becomes the norm it looses its impact.

Gary! Sasha gets quite enough ideas of his very own! If you go putting more ideas in his head I will never be able to keep up with him!

I cannot speak to the rest of your readers, but I was not really surprised by what we saw as you let us peek inside Wade's head. One thing did surprise me however. " I’m such an organized person, and so deliberate with my plans, that I usually didn’t believe in love at first sight, but that’s what had happened with Alex. From the minute I’d met him here in London, I’d felt an overwhelming attraction to him." This doesn't strike me as love at first sight, more like lust at first sight, in spite of the less than satisfying state of affairs for Wade and Alex. While most people associate the word lust most closely with intense, unbridled sexual desire, it is also defined (Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary) as having an enthusiasm or eagerness for something, to crave. This can be applied to almost any area of a persons life. In Wade's case it is fitting in, having similar socio-economic backgrounds, et al. What surprised me was not Wade's lust for the relationship with Alex, but that he did not recognize it as such, and would mistake it for something deeper. While it might evolve to love eventually, something I find doubtful due to the lack of sexual compatibility, there is a long way to go to get there. Thank you for a great start to my Saturday morning!

Do they? Never owned a house cat let alone a larger one!

Maybe because the idea of barbed demon bits is wholly fictional and knots are a totally true function of canine anatomy?

Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to keep my mouth shut when I am 3 chapters ahead of you all?

Greedy!

OK - I think I may be missing something. I thought the suspected progression of possible infection was Cody to Brad to Wade to Matt. If Brad is negative, that ends the potential infections there does it not? So either Matt was infected by a source yet to be revealed, Wade was and passed it to Matt, or this is a case similar to JP back when Rodger and Mouse were found positive and he was miss diagnosed? As usual you have written a chapter that gets us all feeling and thinking. Well done sir!

lol I think Timothy is seeing Mak andSuda and crew and Vuka and Suk as similar names.

I can't for the life of me see how you can top this one, even if there is a wedding on tap for chapter 20! Write faster mister!