Carlos Hazday

I have plans for a nice little trip for Ritchie. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the next book for it. Just my way of ensuring readers stick around!

Are you speaking on behalf of a certain blonde, bodybuilder? Wanna spend a weekend in NY with me and Brett? Sucks neither you nor I get snow in winter!

Ouch! Tony, do you realize the story's running two years behind the real date? Were I to keep this up and wait for CJ to be 99 I'd be 149! There's a history of longevity in my family but I think that might be pushing it. But thank you for the kind words. Your comment encapsulates what I've tried to convey perfectly!

Thanks, Chris. I've tried to make each trip to New York (or to South Florida for that matter) distinct. Some touristy things are repeated when they have first timers to manhattan but even then I've tried to not repeat myself too much.

Mio italiano non e buono, ma grazie.

Thank you! And thank you for making me smile over the past week each time you liked one of these older chapters.

CJ was glad his brother had been slightly drunk the previous night. He suspected the dads had allowed Ritchie to drink more than the usual half-a-glass of wine and eat as many of the Champagne Jello-O shots as he did on purpose. He’d have to ask them later. But the result was the kid had a good time—even if the following morning he had a headache—and was so busy enjoying himself he did not dwell on his parents death the previous year. He smiled thinking of his own experience. The alcohol an

@Dark Thanks again for a wonderfult feature.

If Deadpool can have a stuffed unicorn so can I! Unfortunately, the only plush animal in my house is a monkey. A mascot from my days with the Flying Monkeys Riding Club. I'll skip the glitter Doc Martens. Instead how about a pair of rugby boots and a couple of hours in the locker room after leaving the pitch. Now, THAT is my idea of romance. Spoiler: A couple more ruggers and references to clubs and matches coming soon to a chapter near you.

Thanks bud! In the future you may want to keep the pussy away from your lap while reading. I've tried to incorporate humor and give the story an up-beat vibe from the start. Life can be daunting at times and I like to get lost in a good adventure or comedy when I need escape. Hopefully I've made readers chuckle along the way.

Thank you! And thanks for liking the chapters as you read them. CJ's part imagination part people. Some of his personally traits and antics are based on nieces and nephews. It's gratifying when I receive feedback on an older story, but particularly on Summer. It wasn't the first thing I posted on GA, but it was my first story written. It holds a place of honor for me. I think you'll notice my writing has improved a little since this was written. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series.

Or he goes back to Wisconsin to visit Bessie! Funny you should mention Harley's motorcycle. I just finished writing a motorcycle trip for the next book. And that's as much of a spoiler as I'm sharing!

Thanks, bud! Glad you enjoyed it.

I based the trip on some I've taken with friends over the years. A particular one my senior year in high school had a few of the guys bring back cans of Coors in our suitcases. At the time it wasn't sold east of the Mississippi and to a bunch of 18 year olds flying back to Miami with loaded suitcases was the ultimate. Harley did have a date but it'll be some time before we find out with whom! You're just gonna have to keep reading.

No broken legs but we had a few hard spills. Amazing how much it can hurt to fall on that soft, white, powdery stuff. As for Harley, remember he spends his summers on a dairy farm. I heard he's pretty close to Bessie, one of his grandparents cows!

Thanks, AR! I figured it was time to move the relationship along. Now we sit and wait. Who knows when the next step will be taken.

Stop encouraging the children, 1810!

Watch it, buster! you keep trying to lump me in with the M/M romance crowd and I'll have the unicorn fart all over you! Ritchie was the right choice for the job. It would be in CJ's character to blurt out the word without tring to make a big deal about it. He's not devious enough yet to plan it out. It'll take some more time with politicians for him to get there!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Ummm, it could just be the effect of the pot and booze, you know? Maybe it's just lust?

Thank you, Dave! The trip idea came about because I knew what I wanted to do for CJ's 21st and realizing the 18th was also significant I wanted something special. I had set Brett firmly as a Californian and his parents as jet-setters so it seemed right for them to own a place in Colorado and for it to be big so the parents could entertain. I first dropped a hint when I had CJ discover the dads owned the place. Not much of an Easter Egg but it established the existance of the lodge early enough it didn't seem like something I pulled out of the air at the last minute. Like there won't be another long lost child for Cesar making an apperance any time soon. I hate when that happens in movies, shows, or stories. The wealth helps. I did ask Mann about the idea and he thought it would be in CJ's character to spend money on his friends more than he would on himself. It's the first really extravagant thing he does but I guarantee it won't be the last.

@tesao One of my brother's a lawyer. I have plenty of jokes! Feel free to send me anything you thing Ritchie could use. Travis is the type of guy I wouldn't mind having a holiday fling with. His bad luck he looks at CJ & Owen and at the dads and they're all monogamous (at least for now :D). Randy and Ty have been known to play but I didn't think this trip was the right time for it.

Dude, you were soooo on my mind when I ws working on this chapter. See my note to Dugh. I don't do cliffies or sappy stuff. You're right, each time I write group scenes I try to give as many characters as possible the 15 minutes of fame, and sometimes it's hard. I know of at least one future scene where all the Elite and Squad members will be together and I'm dreading it. It'll probably turn into a free for all. But I do like them. The one on one conversations are okay but writing a bunch of lines and having readers guess who the speaker might be is fun. Sometimes I have a character in mind sometimes any of them could have said it. Even Mann's letting me get away with it now, he guessed one of the comments belonged to Brett and he was right. He also gave me crap about almost breaking the 4th wall in the last chapter he sent back. I'm soooo tempted. I kind of plagiarized twice in this chapter. The school comments from Chipper are almost verbatim from an message @apjordan sent me when I asked a question about music schools. The final comment by CJ is paraphrased from a song by Eric Himan. He's a friend and I quoted from one of his songs before. During the bullying seminar with Ben Cohen back in Autumn! When I originally asked him for permission, he was shocked but quickly gave allowed me to use any of his songs. I smile everytime I play one of his CDs. Thanks, Eric. And thanks Spikey!

@chris191070 Did I drag it out long enough? I said before I didn't want it to be a love-at-first-sight relationship and it kind of wasn't. But now it's all out there and he said it in public for the first time. Now we have to wait and see if they make it in the long run.

@tor200534 Thanks, bud!