Geron Kees

Summers are like no other time. Jesse awoke in the cot, in the fort, in the woods, and felt his best friend in the world beside him. It was already warm, even though the softness of the light coming in through the big vent window in the wall above them told plainly that the sun wasn't an hour old. The first awakened birds were still finding their voices yet, while the the night's chorus of toads and crickets seemed just to be ending their songs. Jesse closed his eyes again, still not fully aw

Jesse and Marty are still moving along on their voyage of discovery - which just keeps getting bigger, and wilder, and...well, stranger. But that's okay, because they're having fun, and they're learning a lot. And they're together, which has come to mean a lot to both of them. It's about discovery, right? And, this time around, about being discovered, as well.

Very nice chapter, with all the little nuances in all the right places. I'm remarking on the writing more than the story - but that is pretty awesome, too. You've chosen a tough topic and you've been mowing it down nicely. Hard not to like your people, too, even when they have one foot on the edge sometimes, and the other on slippery ground. People are what the story is about, right? Good show.

Well...well. Man, there is nothing like that moment when you think all is lost, and then it all comes back together. Um - and these two came back together with a vengeance, too. Probably inevitable, considering the level of the emotions involved. Like pulling a rubber band all the way out, until it almost breaks, and then releasing it. That little snap you hear is the two ends coming back together - like Chet and Arron did here. And, brother, that was quite some snap! It's late, and now I can safely go off to bed and finish this tale later. And smile while doing it.

Thanks. Thanks for not dragging me through four chapters of angst before letting these two guys see how much they cared for and needed each other. This was a smart and very believable chapter. After painting both of these guys as intelligent and perceptive, it would have done the story an injustice to have either or both of them forget that and go wallowing in the mud of self-pity. Arron is believable as a shell-shocked veteran of the love wars, and Chet equally so as the strong guy who made a mistake but learned from it and was able to shut the door and move on. Both of them are acting sensibly, even though it's tough for them to do so. This is what I'd expect from guys that have so far been as well-crafted as these two.This can only get better now, providing you have no other unpleasant surprises in store. Tell me it ain't so!

I have to say that I saw this coming, when Chet began to tell Arron about Ian, but then never followed through. Just goes to show that you should always divest yourself of the important stuff when the time is ripe. I don't blame Arron for being confused and upset, especially if this all feels like something he has experienced before. Quite a shock, to get to the home of someone you're crazy about, and then have it all come crashing down like that. Arron needed time to do some sorting, but I do hope you will allow him to see he needs to go back - at some point. Of course, if he didn't, then we wouldn't have a story, would we? Chet may be a little too nice when it comes to Ian. I don't like to think of myself as a mean guy, but I would have been tempted to hurry Ian along with the sole of my shoe. Then again, Ian isn't my type, so I doubt he'd have been the problem for me that he is for Chet. Well, that you've crafted an engaging story here is obvious, because here we are talking about Chet and Arron and Ian like they're real people. Go figure. You got me. So - let's move on to the next chapter so that I can sleep tonight.

Dang, man. There is just so much people stuff going on here - Jay and Mikey, Mikey and his dad, and now Denny - er, Dennis - and the new things he is undoubtedly going to bring to the party - ah. Yep, this is cool. 'Course, Zane is a prick (tho a small one); but he is likely not done, either. Where is all this going? Will everyone find happiness? Will love win in the end (of course it will!). Join us next chapter, folks - same bat time, same bat channel!

Most of what I write these days revolves around older characters, and, I am, in fact, moving slowly forward with that. This series is kind of an homage to the days that once were - the first years where I knew I was gay. I am, in fact, not gay (bi); but I didn't know that until I was 17. So for those first few years I was immersed in my boyfriends, and whatever new things we could come up with to experiment and entertain ourselves. That was actually quite a bit. Some of this is fiction - some of it happened. I've had people write and say this is just totally unbelievable crap; while others have written and said it reminds them so much of their own early years that they suspect I was spying on them. Just goes to show that one man's crap is another's fond memories. Speaking of spying - are you peeking? Some of your reviews are so on-target or prescient that I suspect there might be an open keyhole about someplace! I am not saying which, because I don't want to give the show away on the next story. Thanks for taking the look, though. And for the great comments!

Another sweet chapter. I think the building of a relationship is one of its most beautiful parts - the setting of the stones that support the years to come. These two guys are in a meant for each other moment, obviously. And the world always needs more of that!

That's as nice a review as I could expect, and thank you. If you are interested enough to go back and read the predecessors, that means something. I generally write about older characters. But the simple fact is, our love lives and our sex lives don't wait for a set age to begin, and to ignore the earlier years is kind of a disservice to our memories of them. I don't know about you, but those first years of exploration and learning were critical to the formation of the person I became later on. It was fun to go back to those years, and fun to get them down so that others could compare them with their own first times.

The eighth day of summer vacation began with a dream. The long night had been full of them - some gentle and funny, some hard and disturbing. All of them had contained the same cast of characters, and all of them had ended with a simple shift to another, newer dream. Dreams did that, because they were written with the heart as much as the mind, with no clear administrator standing between, no dividing lines to keep the two halves from mingling. This last dream, the one that Jesse awoke with, ha

Jesse and Marty are getting to know each other, and their new world together. Neither have ever had a friend quite like the other. It's a voyage of exploration, and both of them are having fun along the way. Fun, and other stuff. Sometimes the other stuff is what it's all about.

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that not mentioning Ian to Arron may be problematic down the line. But that's just good tension-building. This was a very well-done scene between these two, and I am definitely feeling the electricity between them. Enough to light a small city, in fact. If you can find a way to bottle this magnetism, you'll have yourself a hell of a product. Of course, if you can find a way to bottle the love you're building between these two, you'd never need to work again.

“The proper term is frottage, Jay.” That kind of set the tone for this chapter. Kind, sweet, kinda funny. I do like Sam and Mikkel, too. Just the right amount of caring and just the right amount of affection. Jay doesn't know any evil people, does he? Wish everyone could have a life like that!

The next time you write a poem, you should put your heart into it. Kind of like this time.

Oh, I think having a secret life hidden from others makes you far more thoughtful, no question. Even the stereotype of gay guys depicts most of them as intelligent and artistic. That "normal" people integrate some of the characteristics of nerd-dom into their perceptions of gays is only demonstrative of the intellectual impact gays have on society. That said, an apple-picker with a vocabulary of 100 words can be gay, so gay is not really about intelligence or ability. But if you do happen to be gay and intelligent - yes, it makes for a pairing that seems to induce introspection and creative thinking. Gay teens of both sexes have a great social disadvantage - but they tend to have an intellectual advantage, too. Sometimes the positive aspects of the one can offset many of the negative aspects of the other. Thank you for taking the time to read the story, and to make the very thoughtful and positive comments.

I guess when you are that age, you don't really know if you know what love is. I mean, most people think they know it when they feel it; but when you're young, you don't have much to compare feelings to in the way of prior experience. Love for family is entirely different from that first love for another, equal partner, and is therefore no guide to what you might be feeling for this special person. So making the step to declaring love is a pretty daring move. For me - and for Brian - it was several steps. But we both got there, and we both found it worth the move. Ed is the friend that everyone should have - or someone like him. People we call friends come and go throughout our lives - but the real ones, the ones that stick no matter what - they're kind of hard to come by. That kind of friendship is another form of love - a non-sexual appreciation of another as someone so special that we will endure anything, still caring about them, no matter the cost. I still know Ed today, all these years later. That is definition enough of his friendship, don't you think?

Summer is really a special time when you're young. At least, it was for me. I guess I convey that a little in my stories, huh? And some summers are just way more special than others. It really depends on who you share them with. Guess no more needs to be said about that!

No problem. Stories don't really need analysis to be enjoyed. That a reader can finish a chapter at all is usually enough in the way of a "like" Thanks.

Wow, yourself. You'd make a fantastic publicity lead, you know that? I just don't know if I could afford you . As for the ending - I love happy endings. Life - real life - doesn't like them so much. There need to be more of them, don't you think? . Thanks for the great review.

I think the consensus here is that Ian needed a quick ride to the horizon on a very uncomfortable mule. You've established that Chet is a really nice guy, and that he has grown up a bit since Ian. And, you've done a nice job of portraying Ian as a manipulative little turd, and we all know how well turds can stink up a room. I can always tell when I am reading a good story simply because my emotions get involved, and that's happening here, just as if I was going through this with a friend I saw about to take a misstep. That Ian might toss the needed conflict into the mix seems certain; but will the results be a happy ending, or a tragedy? I hope I can take my cue from the chapter titles - if the story parts therein are anything like the songs that name them, there is some hope down the line.

This is really an engrossing tale, and it's a people tale. I like Mikey's parents, too, and see the good things you've endowed them with - things that Mikey seems surprised to suddenly see himself. But that's the way it often is with kids and parents. Sometimes you need that filter that only a friend can provide to highlight the things that are subtle or masked by parental authority. These two guys are learning a lot by being together. A nice addition to the relationship they are building.

This was a very smart, very mature, very kindly-written chapter. I like these people quite a bit. In many ways, this story reminds me of an old black and white movie, with family values, wonderful character actors, kindness and caring, and all the things that seldom make it into stories today. In a way it's very golden-age Hollywood; and in other ways I feel like this is very biographical in nature - just whose biography, I'm not sure. But a very sweet and endearing tale, certainly.

I guess, as reality is complex, you like to add an abundance of it to your stories. Conflict is your secret partner, and death not an unfamiliar gentleman. I suppose that Trevor is going to very much complicate things? I am enjoying this. Back for more later.

I do like the friendship between Daniel and Robbie. Those kind of lifelong friendships are rare, but rewarding as hell. And in this case, where one is a closet softie and the other is a sheet of sandpaper, it's even better. And you are a romantic softie yourself. The theme of outdoor picnics in a park setting is recurring in your stories. Bet you also love warm, starry summer nights, with the soft sounds of crickets in the background, and someone very special cuddled near...