Wayne Gray

Thanks for commenting, Danners. Grant is so screwed. Hahahaha! When I wrote this chapter I was sort of just giggling in evil mirth at the predicament I put him in. It felt far more delicious than it should have. I'm sure that reflects negatively on my character! You're right ... he's not got many choices, does he? Georgette is who and what she is. She apologizes when she gets things wrong, or hurts people, because she doesn't want to. It just happens sometimes. Brian is a good guy. He tries to be honest, and is a tremendous ally once you're in his sphere. Aaron and Brian have a good relationship. They're touchy with one another, because they're comfortable. Brian is known for his "far too friendly" hugs when it concerns Aaron. Even straight guys like physical contact if they can get over the societal BS associated with it, and these guys have. That bit with the eyes ... I spent a long time thinking about it. How to best explain it. That's the best I can do, so thanks. Use how you see fit! 🙂 Oh man. Mrs. Sandra Sexton is something else! You notice, Grant never once called her "mom?" Nope. It's all formal with her. Just wait. I can't say too much about her without giving stuff away, but we'll see her again! I'm glad you cackled. 😄 More to come!

Hehe, thank you, Etotsira. The longer he goes the harder it gets and the more perilous it becomes to finally reveal the journal. Will he? Will he decide it's too risky? Ahhhh ... we're watching someone struggle with a problem of his own creation. We see how he got there ... can understand how it happened, but we can still be a little disappointed in him. Oh, Grant!

01 December 2018, Saturday 9:04 a.m. Grant set his jaw. "I don't want to talk right now, Brian." He reeled from his secret getting out to Troy's friends. "I'm sorry; I just don't want to talk." Brian sighed. "Dude, I'm the one who's sorry. Look, Troy's upset. I hate to lay this on you, but that worries me. Can I come in, just for a little?" Grant made a quiet, anguished sound. Taking a breath, he turned to unlock the door, then he walked down the hallway into the living room. Bri

Thanks for reading and commenting, Bft. Yes, that's a tough time in life. Lots of questions and internally searching for answers. Let's hope the friends empathize a bit with him, even if they can't "really" get it they can still be kind to him.

Thanks for the comment, and for reading our story. We really like Gail ... Terrence too! Keep reading if you want to know the whole story - where Ike and Devin end up, as well as Frank and Ben. And ... of course, I'm sure you just have to know what happens next on As the Houseboat Floats!

If I get there, fine. There will be pics. 😛

Thanks. I know the type. 😄 There are many paths to health and fitness. I don't believe CrossFit is the only way. Frankly, I consider it extreme as hell. But, I have tried a lot of other things, and nothing has really "stuck" for me. We'll see if this does or not. Regardless, if I commit to something for three months, and I pay for it ... then I'm doing it.

Thanks, Parker. I'll offer those descriptions to my doctor instead of stubborn! Seriously though, it's great to be encouraged, and I do appreciate it. I know what I need to do, I have the time and the means to do it ... there is nothing preventing me from at least making the attempt.

Perhaps. A little bit. 😄

Thanks, Thorn. My doc did reiterate that he would rather have me want to try than to not want to make any changes at all. He said something Mike has spoken of before - that all the work I'm doing has tremendous value. That even if I can't do it completely on my own, my efforts will mean the doses I take will be a lot lower than they would have been otherwise. Plus, wearing those 32" jeans will be awesome.

I got the results of my blood work back a week and a half ago. I will go see my doctor to officially discuss them in a couple of weeks, but he messaged through our electronic health record. He applauded the twenty point drop on my cholesterol, but ... said that he'd still like me to consider statins. That the drop alone isn't enough to push me into the "normal" range for heart-attack risk. Well, I need one more data point to decide. If what I'm doing is working, even if it's slow ... then my cholesterol should be even lower the next time we check it. I replied with this, and reaffirmed that I'm still committed to this path. I also said I'd agree to take the meds if what I'm doing at the end of the next ninety-day period isn't enough to get me out of the red zone. Then after replying to his message, I walked over to his clinic a few blocks from my office. He agreed, with a bit of a headshake. The word "stubborn" may have been bandied about. So, at the end of May or the beginning of June I'll have another test. Coincidentally, I joined a CrossFit gym this week and I'll be making myself suffer for an hour a day, four days a week. If I can't get there with all that I'm doing now, then it's just not going to happen. And ... that's okay. But I need to know for sure before I start the meds.

Beautiful picture. Looks like something I'd find on Pexels.

Thank you, chris. It was a great time writing, and then seeing the reactions to this weird story. 😄

Hehehe. And where, exactly is that line? The wild thing really is that everyone sees it differently. Though, I will agree that the friends likely crossed into meddlesome! Thanks for the comment, KayDeeMac!

Thanks, KayDeeMac! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Grant's just IN it now, right? He's 27-28, so yeah ... he's right there where you were. It's hard getting past this bit ... and I remember it so vividly.

Again, not sure how I missed this comment! Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeffrey!

How'd I miss this? Thanks for the comment, Tom. By now you've read the next couple of chapters so I'll just say thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate that greatly.

Actually, I wrote a story that had no dialogue at all for almost a full chapter. Readers don't notice, because there are thoughts of characters shown ... but there's no dialogue for a significant chunk of the first chapter.

I look forward to your upcoming story, droughtquake!

Thanks, Jeffrey! tim and I worked hard to write in one voice. That got easier as we began to trust one another, and gave one another permission to just write, tinker, and put our own mark on what the other did. Important too is knowing when to leave something alone, and that just takes communication. And the HEA. 😄 I like it too!

Thanks so much, Thorn! I loved reading your comments from your editing ... some of those made me laugh, just seeing your reactions to some of the lines we wrote. Thanks for taking this ride with us!

Thanks, rick! It's so awesome that you enjoyed it. I know it's a weird, different sort of story, but it was our goal to make it fun, silly, dramatic, and then serious too. I think we achieved those things, and did so in a way that really challenged us both. It was a lot of fun to write this with tim. 🙂

Thanks, chris! Good news all around for our couples, and the soap continues to gather steam. At this point it has a cult-like following among a big demographic. Think Rocky Horror Picture Show, but happening weekly. 😄

Thanks, Butcher! Yeah, the story ended happily for those folks we were following. And it probably didn't look like that was going to happen for some time. Then we've got good news for Ike and Devin, and the pending marriage of Frank and Ben. Lots of happiness in the end. I know ... very unlike a soap. 😛

He's felt inadequate for a long time. It wasn't that Devin gave him a hard time over it, but a man can sense when he's not what his partner needs. He's had a lot to get over.