Geron Kees

Chapter Seven -- When Brian awoke the next morning, it was to find himself alone in his bed. For a moment he was startled, feeling still the warm sense of special ones near. The night had been a parade of short movies within the dark theater house of his sleeping mind - amorous vignettes, in which he had starred with Jeff, or Annabelle - or both. It had not prepared him to wake in a new void, alone and without the comfort of those bodies and hearts close to his. It had all been so real. He

If you are offering to buy the film rights...? Thank you for the moral support. Always nice to get a good review from a writer whose work I enjoy and respect. Most people are concerned with the story itself, so it's nice to also get feedback on the mechanics of its presentation. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself. Now...about those film rights...

Man, you sure know how to make a reader invest in your people. I just patted my pockets and they're all empty - wallet included! I am looking for the other shoe to drop. Usually, it's when everything is going along wonderfully that a sudden blow is felt most keenly. The calm before the storm makes the winds seem harsher, and all that. Warren dancing on air sure is nice to see, anyway. I have to admit to feeling just a bit of a smile at what the future holds for him. It's really going to be like someone stuck a flashlight up his butt and illuminated his entire inner world! And I think it's Adelin who has her finger on the switch. Thanks for the great journey this far. Back for more soon!

Great chapter. I'm happy Warren came with little excess baggage in the way of his old life. I figured even before I read this chapter that the strength of his bond with Adelin, once he met her, would probably keep him in line; but now, seeing that he has an honest desire for something new, I feel confident he will fit in and become a valuable addition to the pack. Adelin is going to become the center of a new world for him, I think. Toby's cute, being jealous of the waitress. I laughed when Kellar said. "Don't let my boyfriend hear you say that," and it only slightly diminished her interest. Dane and Mace. So there was another pair right there in the pack all along. This will be interesting. It is good that the relationship that Kellar and Toby have will help them be accepting of what is coming. I actually suspected, by the evident fondness they shared for each other, that you might have something like that up your sleeve. Not gaydar, but...shifterdar. Haha. Thanks for another great chapter, buddy.

Denny's therapy continues, and very nicely! Nothing like a game of strip-poker to get the juices flowing. And did they flow, or what? Favorite line: “…as long as it comes from your squeeze-bottle.” Somewhere there is an ad agency that needs you. Glad to see that the radio was installed in the truck, even if the guys slept through the whole process. Liked that water battle. Wet is always very sexy. Another great chapter, and looking forward to the next one!

Thanks for the warm thoughts!

Sorry to see you go.

I didn't really mean to paint Carrie as witch-like so much as point out how teenagers sometimes view older folk as mysterious and a little uncanny. That is something all teens have felt at one time or another. But Brian's feeling that the people running the party had been around a bit was likely valid. The children of the sixties were a different breed than the ones of the eighties. As a kid myself, I thought the older longhairs (both male and female) an exotic breed. The thing about love is that the weirdest things can strengthen it, or tear it down. Contrasts are something teenagers see a lot more clearly than a lot of adults, and sometimes they are drawn to things they would normally view with antipathy, because that very strangeness needs to be explored in order to better understand something inside themselves. I never got laid out on the sidewalk, but I had my car searched once as a teen, just because I was going fast, and was relieved that no one had left any surprises under the seat! I know some people have a very strong

You are spoiling me, Gary. Go right ahead! Yep, I think every teen that has ever driven has at least one of those memories of cops eyeballing them in the night. Even if you are totally innocent, there is something slightly predatory about that act that raises the hair on our necks. Not something you forget easily, and not something you should, either. As always, your review means a lot to me. Thank you!

Thank you for the kind words. I have a particular love of night and the moon, and I guess it shows. I think the only thing that is more beautiful than the world we see with our eyes is the fact that nature has seen fit to create eyes and minds that can appreciate that beauty.

The Road of Dreams by Geron Kees © 2016 by Geron Kees. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and situations are imaginary. No real people were harmed in the creation of this presentation. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter Six -- They decided that it was time to leave the party. It had been fun, but the evening was wearing on, and no one but Ed was interested in getting high again. They checked the garret b

I love a hopeless romantic! The thing about that extra person is that they can either be used in the plot as a divisive element, or one that serves to focus attention on the primary relationship. But if I am becoming predictable (or, more so than normal) I will need to look at that and see what is to be done about it. Thanks for the input.

Oops. I am not religious by nature or upbringing, and I tend to agree with you on terminology. I already know much of how you feel about a lot of things from having read your wonderful story, Jay and Miles. I would also think that you have a fair idea of how I feel about things from having read my other stories. I don't write with the intention of disappointing people. But at the same time, I do not feel I am writing for only one audience. Sexuality, be it gay or straight, is extremely nuanced. One can simply read the varying opinions for just this one chapter and see how much difference there exists in the way that readers see the world. Ultimately, I have to admit that my main concern here was Brian and Jeff, and their happiness. But I was also interested in letting them step out and explore a little, to see what the world was like. And what other people are like. If teenagers never did that, there likely would be no adults at all.

Um...where were you a few reviews ago? I just have to say that I was aware I would step on some toes with this chapter. But really, anyone that didn't see something coming to a head with Brian and Annie wasn't paying attention. I do agree with what you said about teens. I was one once, and I remember. That's why I wrote this story this way. It isn't just a story about love. Or, maybe it would be better to say, it isn't just a story about a single kind of love. 'Nuff said, I think.

I see now that this chapter upset some people. I cannot say I didn't expect it. I did. So I won't repeat myself in defense again, as I have already done so in the previous reviews. I will say that point of view is very much individual, and that everyone will not be able to share my own. But I do not believe that what happened negatively impacts the love that Brian and Jeff have for each other, nor their loyalty.

Thank you, for letting the story go on. I've already written how I feel about this in the previous two reviews, so I won't repeat myself here. You have hit the nail exactly on the head - Brian and Jeff and Annie are teenagers. I think that says it all right there.

I agree with your attitude on this. This is the first story I have ever written where the characters stepped out of what is considered the 'norm' for gay stories. I do not consider such an exploratory venture to be wrong or even to be out of line with the thinking here. Brian and Jeff walked into that scene together. I think that takes the idea of cheating and leaves it out of the mix completely. At the same time...I do understand the idea of being faithful to one and only one partner. That is very much how I view the world myself. But I am 49 years old now. When I was 16, I was a little more prone to pushing the horizons on things. And that is exactly how I came to be the person I am today - by exploring, and then settling on the things I later deemed to matter the most. Brian and Jeff - and Annie - are still learning about the world. I feel that, at that age, it is their right.

I'm afraid this story is already written, and cannot be changed. I hate to say this, but the number of gay guys who have experimented with the opposite sex is quite large. If for no other reason than for them to really define what they like and need in life. There is also a friendship here that is playing out. Friendships can be complex, and sometimes what drives them not so clear. Love is also complex, and when involved with friendship, can lead in directions not always planned. I was aware in writing this story that it might upset or even offend die-hard believers; but the tendency to experiment, or to even entertain new ways of looking at things, is just a part of growing up. In the case of Brian and Annie, affection and friendship can and did reach a certain tipping over point. But if you believe this is somehow cheating on Jeff, when he was right there and a willing participant - I cannot go with that. And definitely do not count Jeff out of the game. I'm sorry this upset you, I really am. But no one here is cheating.

Chapter Five -- They left the barn and headed back to the house. Brian was aware of a change inside himself, a new awareness. They were somehow four now instead of two. It was weird to think that the secret he had carried so long was now known by so many others. And that they were others that accepted him for who he was. It wasn't the same as being out, but it was a hell of a lot less of a strain than going it alone. And, in some ways, it was exciting, too. There's nothing harder than think

Thanks for the kind words, Gary. I really appreciate them, coming from you. I don't know what else to say other than that I very much enjoyed writing this story, and I guess some of that pleasure shows through in how it's presented. Thanks for the nice reception.

For every guy that had it tough growing up gay, there must be a balance out there. I know quite a few guys that came up that way - hard. But I also know a few who came up with grace, where they had accepting families and friends. It is more rare, but it does happen. Hard to label the forces that work in the molding of a life, but sometimes those forces do combine to pave the way instead of roughening it. As a writer, I have complete control over the lives of my characters. I could just as easily have made life bleak for these guys. But it's not my natural bent to do that. My own life has not been bleak, and they always say, write about what you know. So Brian and Jeff are enjoying a little bit of grace. And, in a way, making it themselves.

Some strong points made in this chapter about mates. The way they empathize with each other would seem to place a great deal of hope in the idea that Warren and Adelin will form a workable relationship. I recall how quickly (immediately) Toby's mom and Denver realized they were one soul in two bodies. Kellar and Toby knew pretty quickly, too, but Toby was slow to admit it to himself. I am frankly excited to see how the first meeting of Adelin and her mate turns out. She's a little firebrand, too. No one is going to make up her mind for her, that's for sure. I just hope that Kellar doesn't decide it's a no-go while Adelin decides it is. It really is her choice, but it will be harder if Kellar feels it's wrong. Great story, buddy. Are you sure you don't make a living at this in secret? Somehow that seems unlikely. Barring unknown circumstances, Warren is going to feel the same strong urge to be with Adelin that every other mate-pair has thus far felt. That kind of bond will make him stepping off the path difficult - unless it is somehow different with humans.

Nice chapter. Always loved the mountains. These guys are bonding very nicely. I like that there is equality here, respect, and friendship. And lust! Tobyn is the kind of guy that makes you stamp your foot now and then, but that you just love. He is always second-guessing himself and events. Nicely complex and fun. Kellar, of course, is a big sweetheart. His mind is very orderly, and he sometimes has to just smile at the way his new mate twists and turns inside his head. This was a nice pause before the storm. Can see that coming from the mountain.

Rocky was an experience. I first saw it on video, and later at the university during one of their midnight showings. It is really only a movie to be seen with close friends. So I enjoyed that the guys saw it in that manner. I remember shopping for clothes with friends, too. Quite an experience, because it was surprisingly hard ti get everyone to settle on what was 'cool'. Jeans were sometimes the hardest thing to fly past everyone, because everybody had their own brand they swore by. Probability of a nice weekend coming up for two of our guys. I thought it was Denny and Greg, but maybe I read that wrong. Sometimes the way you switch perspectives catches me off guard. Another fun chapter. Thanks!

It's a pretty startling thing to meet people that you realize are just like you. Especially when you feel that you are outside the 'norm'. I have an abundance of agreeable people in my life. It's just pure luck, I guess. I just decided to loan a few of them to Brian and Jeff for the duration. Thanks for adding the warm and fuzzies of your own!