impunity

Almost caught up.

Will chapter! Yay! Most of this chapter showed Will's supporting Zach, but we got a glimpse of how Zach continues to do the same for Will after he had the grief attack. I also liked that Colby didn't try to counsel Will through it. In response to mmike1969: I can't imagine any of those men being willing to admit publicly to having paid a 14-year old boy for sex. I'd think they'd have just as much to lose as Zach, once you factor in the prospect of jail time. Mark, thanks for another great chapter!

Poor Dave has a long way to go. Hopefully he will start accepting his friends' offers of help, or at least stop pushing them away. I would have liked to have seen some of his interaction with his mother, but it was interesting to get his perspective after the fact. I also hope Neil gets over his self-loathing. Although, it's a little odd that he beats himself up for finding straight guys attractive, but is perfectly comfortable with the idea of stalking Jim and trying to break up his relationship with Tony. Ollie and Helena are adorable, as are Charlie and Stacey (as albeit as polar opposites ).

A positive chapter all round...and we continue to climb the CAP rollercoaster with Thanksgiving a little over a week away. Thank you for another great chapter! And happy New Year! (Of all the holidays, I love this one the best.)

I started re-reading this today. (What else does one do on a Federal holiday?) I'm finding it very interesting in light of later revelations in 'The Box'. I'm now wondering how much of your saga you had planned out from the very beginning. The continuity is incredibly impressive.

I'm tempted to do a great big DITTO to ColumbusGuy's review, but I will try to throw in some original(ish) thoughts. I found it interesting that Frank didn't tell Zach the plan until they were en route to the airport; presumably he knew Zach wouldn't show up if forewarned. I, too, wondered about the bathroom sex on the plane. Is it Brad's that has the bedroom? So many private jets...how does one keep track of them? Haha! Regardless, Stef should be ashamed of himself for making his in-flight guests wait in line to have their assignations in the bathroom like common coach travelers. And what if Claire had needed to pee? Finally, in response to your response to Ddk, below, fireworks may not be appropriate for Christmas, but they are a longstanding New Year tradition. *hint hint* Merry Christmas! And thanks!

The calm after the proverbial storm....I, too, am hoping for Eastwyck's recovery. Looking forward to an interesting sojourn in Palermo. Thank you for another excellent chapter! Happy Christmas to you and your team.

I guess Will hasn't yet learned that one doesn't invite a family member's (let alone two family members') ex-lover to dinner without prior warning. Or maybe he does know and he's just being Will.

So, Thomas Hartford...who is he? And just how exciting is this dinner going to be?

I can't say that I approve of Zach's intervention with David, but it was very funny. I can't help but think that it will somehow come back to hurt Brad, though. Presumably, that's who David thought he was talking to. On the other hand, I think Zach has a pretty good case that Wally and Clara are not acting in his best interests; that withdrawal of permission was pretty capricious and has the potential to damage Zach's career prospects. I too have no recollection of Thomas Hartford, but I am wiling to predict that Tuesday's dinner will be a very interesting one.

Wow! That was hard to read and I imagine even harder to write. You did a great job with it, though; the horror of Dave's memories was very real. I thought it was especially effective that you placed the scene after a series of calm, fairly mundane character interactions (teen crushes, training videos, birthday parties, etc) that lull the reader into a sense that all is well...until all of a sudden it very definitely is not. As an aside, because it amused me, I love that Liam is still mooning after Neil. I'm really looking forward to more of that story line.

For pure entertainment value, it doesn't get much better than a good old fashioned bible thumping.

I love the direction this is going. Looking forward to learning more about Marc. And Will is, as always, awesome! Two Will chapters in a row are a delightful treat! Now, bring on the drama!

I have actually had "top shelf" moonshine: home-distilled in West Virginia and barrel-aged to the color and complexity of a really good whiskey. All that was missing was the shelf.

It's a good thing Wade is just as much a stickler for protocol as JP is.

Are we anticipating two Thanksgiving dinners this year: one at Escorial and one at Goodwell? Twice the Thanksgiving...twice the drama! :yes:

I didn't have time to review this chapter when you posted it, but I have been meaning to let you know that at one point (towards the end of his beautifully manipulative speech) Zach refers to Robbie as Will's stepfather. You might want to correct. Unless it was intentional in which case apologies for being pedantic.

This story started out well, and I can see what you're aiming for with the study in contrasts, but it just strayed a little too far into the land of stereotypes. And I really hate the name. I am hoping you manage to balance it out and keep your characters believable.

I loved this chapter. There was some really great character development, especially for Neil who is getting less creepy/stalkery by the minute. I love Helena's sense of humor; she and Ollie are among my favorite characters. And Liam's revelation at the end was priceless. Can't wait for next week!

I just noticed this story is on hold. This makes me sad. I hope you decide to continue it at some point.

Cia, thank you for a delightful ending! Although, like others, I hope it's not a true ending and we get to hear more about these guys.

As long as we're having Author Review Appreciation Day, I really liked this one: He's getting bitchier as he gets older, kind of like his author. ;-)

I really hope this one works out for Brad. As much as I like Cam, he really is too young. CAP seems to ignore the "half-your-age-plus-seven" rule which works for Marc (just barely) but is not even close for Cam. It's not just an age thing, either. Cam is still in school and hasn't really done anything. He needs time to grow as a person before getting involved with someone like Brad whose personally and presence are pretty overwhelming. Marc, on the other hand, has established himself, and in a field where Brad has no public presence. Btw, we're still waiting to hear what's going on with Cam. Whatever it is has the potential to derail whatever plans we (readers) have for Brad. I do agree with others that Marc seems too good to be true. It would be the perfect set up for a very elaborate scam if not for two things: he had no way to engineer JJ's buying his painting (although it could be a case of taking advantage of opportunity), and a couple commissions by Stef are probably more valuable in the long term than becoming Brad's boyfriend.

Wow! I don't think I've ever seen Timothy upset enough to start swearing. There was so much going on in this chapter. And quite the cliffhanger! I really hope Dave will be ok (and suspect he will be to resolve his story line.) I think what I love most about your stories is how intricate they are, while still being about ordinary people with ordinary problems. I know the football players are, to some extent, celebrities, but they still feel like people you could hang out with and get to know better. I find myself wanting to hang out with them quite a lot. :

My quiet session of bread baking just got a whole lot more exciting. That was a brilliant battle scene! The pirate hordes were truly terrifying. I had a few tense moments, myself, just reading it. Thank you! And happy Thanksgiving.