Wayne Gray

Natalie is perceptive. She does indeed see what the men missed - that there is a mutual interest between Grant and Troy. Grant is really confounded by how he feels, while Troy is struggling to bury his own desire - even using guilt to try and do so. It's not in Grant to hate anybody for their sexuality. He might be confused, but he's not angry about how he's reacting to Troy. Thanks for the comments, droughtquake. 🙂

I have a character spreadsheet. In them is usually a column for who the character is based from (if any) in real life. It's not that they're carbon copies ... but I often start with a real person and tweak them to create characters. You're right. Grant was based largely on me, and who I was when I wrote the story. There are things he does better, and then other things he does worse. As for Troy and Brian, yeah. There are bits I have in common with both of them as well. But, I hope they feel like three very different people.

17 November 2018, Saturday 6:12 a.m. Grant's phone buzzed on the nightstand. He picked it up with a grunt. "Facebook?" He frowned, then his eyes widened. He lay on his back and unlocked the phone to read the message. Brian Hicks: Hi, Grant. Are you saying Troy Beckford is at 41 Winter Meadow? Right now? The message had been sent just moments ago. Grant smiled. Success! Contact with Troy's friend! He happily tapped out a response. Grant Sexton: Yes. We're both here. He w

Where did you read anything condoning violence against women here? If you're trying to say that the conversation between Max and the guys is promoting that ... well, that's actually a slippery slope argument. You can read up on the fallacy here.

Thanks! It was grand fun. A lot of work, but wonderful fun.

Thanks, Tony. But, @Mikiesboy was just as much a part of this Trainwreck as I was. And you nailed it ... more to come later. 😛

Hehehe. I love when I can create situations where there's no one right answer. Where the path isn't obvious, where it's not black or white. What would Troy do if Grant came totally clean? Would he attempt to drive his messed up van away to the auto repair shop, just to be away from Grant? Would he just shut down and refuse further interaction? Could they recover from such a thing? And, if knowing those things are potential outcomes ... is that what we want? Is that what is "right?" Right now, Troy is safe, fed, clean and comfortable. Though, we can see he doesn't know the whole story. And it's because he doesn't know the entire story that it was possible to maneuver Troy into his current situation. Does that absolve Grant? Nope. Not at all. But ... Grant has done more good for Troy in the last few days than anyone has done in the last sixteen months. That has got to count for something. Thanks for the comments! And there's more to come. 🙂

Troy spent the better part of a year making decisions that he felt were sacrifices. Bland, cheap, filling food, avoiding his old friends, working outdoor jobs during the winter months. He is at the end of his tolerance. He can't do the "sensible" thing at this moment. He just can't. I've been there too. Not exactly his situation, but I've been in a place where I know the "right" thing to do, and I just can't make myself do it.

Yeah, poor little Devin. He's not having a good day at all. And that's the thing ... he didn't think things had cooled off, so Ike is sending a strange, hurtful message. Ben and Frank seem to be doing well, for the most part. Though, Frank is struggling a bit with his relationship to Ike really ending. The next installment is only a week away! See you there, chris!

Oh, so needy! Gail is one for making, and then delivering on threats. Terrence is about the only one who consistently annoys her and gets away with it. Why was that book important? Huh ... I suppose we'll just have to wait to see, eh? Maybe Stella really enjoyed touching Jason (the actor playing Weatherby). 😄 Or, she's just that good of an actress! "That's right - some actors/actresses can cry on command, well ... I can make my nipples harden on command! And my Drama coach said that would never get me anywhere! Hah!" Though as the soap gains in popularity, their budget has increased too! 🙂

Thanks, Parker! Ike does have something going on, doesn't he? He and Devin were hitting it off, or seemed to be - why throw a wrench into things? Frank and Ben circle one another in a slowly tightening spiral, and the soap is blowing up into a phenomenon. There's a lot going on. I'm glad it hooked your attention! 🙂

It was Saturday morning and Ike had big plans. His lycra was all cleaned, Devin was due over at nine a.m., and they were going to spend a wild day together. Yet, it didn't start as he had imagined it would. Ike slept long past his typical wake-up of six a.m. and instead groggily came around a bit after eight. "Fuck." Ike sat up, his head swimming. He stood and flinched at his aching legs. "God damn it. I don't need this." Ike shuffled into the bathroom of his new apartment. It was a

Tricky, yes. But ... Grant has a cheat manual when it comes to Troy. 😉

Thanks for the comments, Philippe. This is really an interesting take on things. A sort of ... trust in Grant to steer for Troy while he's suffering from this fugue state that he's in. At least, that's how I'm interpreting the overall vibe of your comments. It's true, that people do things in the moment they later regret. Who hasn't? Troy's "moment" has gone on for sixteen months ... and he's just reaching the end of this particular trial. He's slowly emerging again. You may be right. We'll see.

Thanks, KayDeeMac. There are some really insightful, intelligent, and thoughtful people reading. I have to say, that's tremendously flattering to a guy like me. You're right, of course. What's that phrase? A people shall be judged based on how those with the least are treated. I'm paraphrasing ... as I know it's not quite right. But that's close. There's more ahead of you to read. I hope you enjoy it. 🙂

Thanks! I'm happy to hear you found the chapter interesting. There's a lot more to go! 🙂

drought! You are an instigator! *shakes finger*

Thanks for the comment, Parker. Troy has had to be careful, closed off, and guarded for a long time. He was ready to be helped, though, and Grant was willing. But there's a lot of damage possible. If Troy finds out everything Grant has done, he may never see our green-eyed carpenter again. Or, perhaps Troy is capable of forgiving Grant. Though ... that's very unlikely, if Grant isn't the one to initiate the conversation. So, he'd best find the time. Let's hope he does the right thing, eh?

Those bastard writers! Who do they think they are, toying with emotions like that? They should all be ashamed! Or proud. I'm proud, is that weird? 😛 It's hard to watch someone suffer. More, it's infuriating to watch someone who is suffering through no real fault of their own. So, I get why the first three or four chapters were a bit annoying and emotional. But, here we are now. Troy has food, a roof, income, and a strangely intimate (thanks to that damn book) friend in Grant. We'll see how Troy reacts to all of the steps Grant has taken so far ... if he finds out! Thanks for reading, Canuk. 🙂

Thank you for taking the time to comment, Lamps! 🙂 Well, this story updates twice a week (usually Sunday and Thursday). We'll get that out of the way first, so you know when to expect chapters. It's also a completed work, so there's no danger of it not going to a finish. I'm really glad the story could touch you. That's the goal when I write, to cause emotion in the reader. We've got a few days until the next chapter drops. I'll see you then!

Thanks, Jeffrey! You and @Hawgdad are both of this opinion, it seems (Tom, if I'm wrong feel free to correct me!). What he's doing is from a good place, mostly. Though, @Danners brought up some excellent points about the confusion of undefined attraction messing with Grant's judgment as well. There's going to be conflict in this story. From what quarter? How severe? Well, you'll have to keep reading for that!

Thanks, Tom. Hrm. So it sounds like you're not necessarily in the "Grant messed everything up" camp. Maybe you're more in the "Grant took a chance, and good for him" camp. You're right ... if left up to Troy, it may be some time before he willingly contacted anybody from his past. It's unlikely that he'd be able to avoid the neighbors (Aaron and Georgette), whenever they return, but he was relieved that they weren't about when he had first arrived. Maybe Grant did do him a favor? Maybe ... We'll see!

This is, unfortunately, a place many of us have known and yet never deserved. I'm hopeful the fog will clear, Mac.

Very apt analogy there. You're so right. If he tries reeling back connecting to Troy that could cause hurt feelings on both sides. If he continues along his path, he might blunder into awkwardness and perhaps painful self-reflection that he may not be ready to deal with. Troy and how he handles Grant's meddling really will determine how things go. Let's find out. Thanks for the comments, and for reading, tim. 🙂

Great comments, Danners. He's leaning hard on the journal, that's true. I think most people now believe Grant crossed a line. Importantly, it was one that he didn't have to cross ... yet, he's sort of stuck in an echo-chamber. He doesn't really have anybody to bounce things off of, to ask what they think of how he feels or what he has planned. He's too new at his work to trust people there, and his family ... well, we'll get to that. Would time have made things better for Troy? Certainly. Grant seems to be trying to accelerate things beyond the natural course of recovery. He really is trying to help, but as you mentioned, his emotions are playing havoc with him, and he's not thinking through what he could do to Troy. Hell, maybe Brian is someone Troy is glad to be rid of? We just don't know yet, and neither does Grant. Grant is certainly flawed. We can sorta see why he did it ... but, we're not falling for Troy either. We have emotional distance, while that is getting harder and harder for Grant to find. Troy's doing well. If Grant can slow his roll a bit, there's no reason he can't continue to improve. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. There's more to come ... on Thursday.