Danners

You can take the walker out of the street but you can’t take the street out of the walker. Wait, something classier: you can take Bitter Betty off the boulevard but you can’t take Bitter Boulevard off Betty. Kidding aside, a wake up call is precisely what he needs. If Hank and John are any indication, he goes for men who are incapable of loving him completely. The sense I get is he feels unworthy of fidelity and/or it’s an addiction to being the victim, both equally damaging to oneself and one’s relationships. Friendships too. If he finds someone, great. Everyone deserves someone who loves them with their entire being. Just let it be someone who takes him away from Chase and Hank. Far, far away. Tasmania away. Uranus away.

You’re exactly right: it’s the betrayal of his friendship with both men that stings the worst. I do blame him more for what happened with Hank though. He knew full well the fragile state Hank was in emotionally and what he needed was a friend to lean on, not a hole to lean in to. Hank was drunk with grief and anger and for whatever reasons, Cave-In took advantage of that. Hank isn’t blameless but he’s more of a victim in this, especially after we learned of Cave-In attempt to bad mouth him to Ray. Lead him on? Played him? Really? Really?

Whoops, credit goes to the typo. “Erotic dreams” was what it was supposed to say.

What? One good pun deserves another. Smell of defeat? Socks? Eh? Eh?

I’ll take all I can get, not unlike Cave-In’s gaping rear entrance.

Exactly! He may not have cheated on Chase but he did cheat him — and himself — out of the opportunity to work things out. Maybe forever, though hopefully not.

Hey! No fair waffling. Just a chapter or two ago you were agreeing with us about how bad a person he is. His “poor judgement” cost Chase the last shred of hope he had. Yes, Hank had a hand in it as well, but his fragile emotional state taken advantage of in order to make that happen. Why does he have to be a villain? Because he acted like one.

By evening it socks.

Fine, fine. Given who was with previously and how poorly he covers up the scent of his own bullshit, he isn’t a weasel; he’s a urinal cake.

Could there be that? A bonus chapter maybe? Chase has got to be having erotic drama by now; it’s been months!

Which is what all of Cave-In’s johns say about his cum encrusted butt cheeks.

Bet he sees this as another betrayal and so will play up being the victim. Saying that Hank played him makes that more possible and casts doubt on anything Hank claims about the nature of their relationship. Now, even if Hank says Cave-In made the first move, it looks like he’s only trying to justify his own actions. The more we learn about his behavior, the more I loathe Cave-In. What a goddamn weasel.

Jealousy is irrational, a subconscious reaction to unexpressed feelings. You don’t choose to be jealous. Yes, if Hank loves Chase, he should rationally want him to be happy. A part of him still feels like Chase is his, or he is Chase’s, but he refuses to face that. It’s just as likely he’s envious of Dawson instead of being jealous of him. The part of him that still longs for his ex-boyfriend and what they had together sees Chase getting that from someone else, and he wants what they have. Is it healthy? Nope. Is it necessary negative? Not in my book. To me it’s a sign that Hank, despite trying to convince himself otherwise, isn’t over Chase and wants him back. You're right that Hank has a lot of work to do before he can make that happen. He also needs the right motivation. He needs to do it for himself but wanting to rekindle things with Chase is a good place to start. It’s where Chase started and look at how well he’s doing in the face of yet another ending.

I dunno, it could’ve been a steamy one-off. Imagine what a good, hard hate fuck could do for Hank and Chase, not to mention the problems their pillow talk could resolve afterwards.

Only with love.

Bah, I knew the part about Stacy came out wrong. Her place in the group has nothing to do with her being the only woman. What I meant was that being the only woman in the group gives her more flexibility in what she can do. Where we’d crucify another gay man for doing the same, our female bestie can get away with it.

You’re right. Stacy didn’t know the two of them slept together, just that Cave-In was upset with Hank, information which could’ve come from Hank himself.

Allow me. I’m a Libra. In Ogham my name means “fate.” In Hebrew it’s essentially “judge of god” or “god is my [only] judge.” I was born to judge. Haha. Try as I might, I can’t help it. Like right now I’m trying not to judge someone from adding an ‘e’ to Stacy’s name in the comments when it’s missing from the story. 😜

We tend to rally behind the victim. I don’t think John had a choice in the matter. A line was drawn in the sand, either by what he did or by Cave-In, and the group of friends iced him out. We don’t know if any of them still talk to John individually, just that he was never again invited to group outings. We also know Cave-In drifted away because it was awkward being the odd man out. With Chase and Hank, they’re in a difficult position. They wanted to show their support for Hank but they also were aware that Hank overreacted. Most of them decided to stay out of it because it should’ve been a minor setback. Over time, Chase didn’t reach out anymore and appeared to have moved on Dawson and Hank with Cave-In. At that point keeping in touch would’ve been awkward. You’re right that they’re wrong for excluding Chase and their individual reasons for doing so are somewhat suspect. Gary made a good point though: it’s a two-way street. Chase made no effort to communicate after the breakup. In the ball/court scenario, both sides were so sure the ball was in the other’s court that they never checked. Both sides were wrong here. Stacy, being what I consider the group’s token straight girl (fag hag, firefly, flame dame, whatever), can act on her own without catching any flak for it. She’s essentially Switzerland and that gives her the freedom to openly keep in touch. I’m happy she did. She’s a foothold into the group that won’t go away any time soon. As for the barbecue, I suspect they included Hank to cheer him up. If he’s been half as miserable as Stacy said he was, they’d have noticed. Some of them probably assumed it was over his breakup with Cave-In, though I bet not a few of them see that he clearly still has feelings for Chase. I don’t know where I was going with this anymore. They all should’ve and could’ve made more of an effort to stay in touch, Chase included. We won’t know why they didn’t until they’re talking again, and it will be an awkward conversation I’d love to be a fly on the wall for.

Careful, Wes. Don’t let your distaste for Cave-In put you in the urinal’s camp. John cheated and he claimed it was a mistake, but he did cheat. He made that decision and gave up all designs on how his boyfriend would react after doing so. Something tells me he isn’t a bad person; however, let’s not rally behind him just because Cave-In’s issues ate him alive. John did that to him. I mean, there’s a Kleenex box worth of issues behind Cave-In’s behavior with Hank and all of them don’t stem from the urinal. Some of them probably drove him to John to cheat like you said. But . . . had John not cheated, Cave-In most likely wouldn’t have bent over backwards to comfort Hank and that whole debacle wouldn’t have snapped Chase’s already strained sense of hope. The urinal and Cave-In deserve each other if you ask me, and they can both fuck off.

I know, Wes. I was just kidding.

After reading Wes’s comment and your reply, Gary, I had to go back and check something that was bothering me. Hank was invited to the barbecue, not Hank and Cave-In, and that was a couple weeks ago. Invitations for such events don’t go out last minute, which hints at the two of them having been broken up for at least three weeks, maybe a month at that point. Interesting. I think they went to the cottage, after all, and after they did the deed, Hank knew for a fact he wasn’t over Chase. He felt guilty. Just like Chase felt guilty when he kissed Dawson, I can hear him thinking. That did it, and the relationship ended. Hank broke it off. I can see how Cave-In could feel led on and maybe even used but, in my opinion, he has only himself to blame. He wasn’t even a rebound, he was a failed rebound. A placeholder. He took advantage of Hank’s issues and hurt feelings and he got exactly what he deserved. Actually, no. Petty as it may be, what he deserves is to see Hank and Chase happily together again and know that he couldn’t come between them. But hey, it gives me hope. It, along the bike rides, shows that Hank is taking time to himself and using it to evaluate his situation. Solo rides can be quite meditative and we know he reflected on what Chase said about his mother, or he wouldn’t have agreed that he let those unresolved issues put Chase in the wrong light. If he came to terms with that, what else has he been ruminating over?

(Would’ve been first to comment but some of us like to enjoy our reading, Wes.) Looks like it’s Chase’s turn to take a dip in denial. That’s three people now who’ve pointed out Hank’s jealousy coming from a place of love — Charles, Dawson, and now Stacy. Hank’s behavior at the barbecue was telling enough, what with everyone assuming Chase and Dawson were an item, but what really made me believe was the bike riding. Hank, I think, found an indirect way or connecting with Chase that felt safe and that also lessened the blow of Chase riding with Dawson. It’s almost like Hank was putting himself there with them. Or, perhaps, now that he’s crawled his way free of Cave-In, Hank is planning ahead for something he and Chase can do together down the road. I can’t blame Chase for shielding himself from believing Hank still has feelings for him — genuine feelings — because he doesn’t want to start hoping for something that isn’t there and end up being devastated again, but when three people whose judgement you trust are telling you the same thing, maybe it’s time to give it a second thought. The spark of hope is still there, buried deep and waiting, or Chase wouldn’t be so interested in Hank’s reactions. Semiconscious as it may be, he’s thinking about Hank thinking of him, and he likes it. Charles hit the nail on the head when he said they both [Hank and Chase] saw what they wanted to see. Time will well, but I’m confident their views will align at some point in the near future. Chase also had it right when he decided he was tired of his life being about endings and that wallowing was a trap. He isn’t that guy anymore, and I’m proud of him for acknowledging that to himself. After all, it’s one thing to convince another but you’re your own worst critic. Bon voyage, Dawson. May Brent welcome you with open arms. We’ll see you again when Gary publishes your side story. Until then, don’t be a stranger. Even in the Yukon, you can offer Chase an ear and put his to good use in return.

Carina definitely seems a match for Jett but the only one who’s been able to take him is Theo April. He’s insecure as always, even though he has nothing to worry about. Jett loves him. While it’s different than how he felt about Carina, it’s deeper and fully accepted. Carina touched on it without knowing when she talked about Jett’s feelings for Theo. I just hope that the fib about being Jay’s babysitter and not Jett’s boyfriend doesn’t bite him in the ass. Jett’s bound to be hurt by that, which leads to Jett being angry, and angry Jett is irrational and impulsive at the best of times. At least Zane is there to rein him in. Quite the pickle, Laura. I don’t see how Jett and April can come clean with Carina there, but Carina won’t leave without Jay and the loss of his son is not in the cards for Jett. This gon’ be goooooood.

Plus, with the boys gone, it gives Aaron a reason to check on the house and maybe make use of the recently vacated guest bed with Brian. Sorry (not sorry), I had to.