Summerabbacat

I thought it might appeal. Perhaps they can explore sensual pleasure using dark chocolate as an aphrodisiac.

This well may be what cums next @weinerdog, after some "oral care": Evan and Nathan are so adorable. Naive, but not afraid to explore.

Gigi behaved like a spoiled petulant child at dinner. Nate is better off without her. And he should not feel bad if he is feeling negatively towards her as it is perfectly normal to do so; it is part of the grieving process.

Oh Patsy, very apropos. LOL. It is uncannily coincidental Evan and Nathan find themselves without a girlfriend almost at the same time. I wonder if Noelle and Gigi talked prior to the weekend away and planned to break it off with Evan and Nathan simultaneously. Maybe they think there is something going on between the two guys, or maybe there is something going on between the two of them. Maybe it was Noelle Gigi was talking to, planning a weekend of sapphic delights together. Whatever their motivations, I think Evan and Nathan will ultimately be better off without the girls, even if they do not get it on together. I am not a Phil Collins fan, but this song on which his drumming is very prominent, was my second favourite song from the 1980's.

“Hey… when was the last time you… you know, touched yourself?” Nate asked, his cheeks pink. “Uh… last week, I think. No—maybe almost two weeks ago.” Two weeks @drsawzall. Jeez, imagine the DSB. It's a wonder Evan did not hit the wall behind him or at least poke an eye out. A tsunami of semen, an eruption measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. For two hitherto heterosexual males, particularly sporty males, I am very impressed with the emotional closeness Evan and Nathan have developed without becoming uptight it is threatening to their masculinity. I daresay the fact both have gay friends and seem to have no issue with them, is an indication both are not the stereotypical himbo homophobe.

Evan and Nathan engaged in quite a bit of playful flirting in this chapter, with each repeatedly stating he was just joking. Methinks the boys do protest just a little too much, with each reiteration it was just a joke sounding progressively less convincing. Unlike Noelle, Gigi appears to be very reasonable and not at all demanding. Nathan is very fortunate in that respect, but not so much in his family life, which has been fractured by the death of his mother and of his sister, the latter for which his father rightfully blames himself.

How about Tinthan, with a silent h @Paladin? This portmanteau is almost a singular much loved Tim Tam.

Five missed calls from Noelle before 2.00pm and when Evan rings her she is bitching and moaning about him sleeping in. Evan is way nicer than me; she has to go sooner rather than later. One might describe it as A Fine Bromance @drsawzall, it is certainly better than the one Evan has with the Frigidaire.

I bet you never look at a barbed wire fence again without some degree of cringing @Gary L. I got kicked hard in the balls once by one of my younger brothers, not deliberately, and it took my breath away. I cannot begin to imagine the pain of a "penile peel". I remember once as a teenager peeling vegetables with a vegetable peeler and it slipped and somehow got embedded into the end of one of my fingers. I remember going out to the front lawn where my stepfather was and as I was showing and explaining to him what had happened I fainted. That was merely a finger.

Evan has way too much on his plate, and he certainly does not need a snarky sourpuss like Noelle bitching and moaning. With a girlfriend like Noelle, why would any man be straight. Talk about a first-class bitch. I would dump her arse quicker than she could say "no sweet talk" a second time. Nate is a way better option than Noelle. And what about the senior, Kayla, in charge of the kings and queens. Another horror with an attitude plus. At least Nina was pleasant and had a genuine talent.

I did too @Cane23, and re-reading it again now we could be right. Ray's girlfriend really could be a "beard".

An overrated species for sure @drsawzall. Apart from sex, give me a cat (especially) or a dog (lesser so) any day for companionship rather than the majority of humans. This of course says something about me too - unrealistic expectations of myself and others, selfish and moody, MUST have my own bathroom, nearly always right, very grumpy in the mornings, loathe organised religion, will not live in a home where meat is cooked indoors (prefer it not to be cooked or eaten at all), and the list goes on.

I look forward to learning more about Ray and Charlie, especially the former. The only song performed by 'Ol' Blue Eyes' which I like is Somethin' Stupid, his duet with Nancy (whom I think was marvellous), although there is something "creepy" this song being sung by a father and daughter. If it had been Nancy singing it with Lee Hazelwood it would have been a completely different story. As for 'Ol' Blue Eyes' the person, much of what I have read paints him in an unfavourable light. Best thing I can say about him is he liked Doris Day and Ella Fitzgerald, and when he allegedly got free with his fists with Ava Gardner when married to her she gave it back to him, double. The esteemed @drsawzall referred to him, if I remember correctly, as a third-rate lounge singer when I made less than positive comments about him recently in one of my posts for another story.

It may be purely coincidental @Paladin, but is the Nathan of this story the same Nathan, the psychologist Joshua and Daniel engaged the services of in What Brings Us Together (Part 2), obviously some time in the future? The interview with Charlie proceeded as anticipated, although I must say I was surprised at the level of his concern for Ray's continued employment at the restaurant. Conversely, the interview with Ray was bizarre from the get-go. The appearance of his girlfriend as his "support person" immediately made me suspicious of him. I wondered if he might be a self-hating closet case who brought his girlfriend (beard) along to prove his heterosexuality, but this was not the case. He admitted harassing Charlie for being gay, his reasoning "he could not understand how anyone could enjoy being gay, and Charlie was very happy being gay". WTF?. This comment annoyed me somewhat, but I thought to myself, cool your heels bitch, and see what else he has to say, which was not much at all. He did not seem at all antagonistic towards Charlie, but his question "Thank you, but what about Charlie? I don't want him to be in trouble?" had me seriously questioning his cognitive thinking. Like WTF would Charlie be in trouble for? His eagerness to get therapy appeared genuine; it would be interesting to know what he is treated for and how. Nathan's story of his near self-castration had me cringing. I guess at his age I likely thought I was invincible too and could not contemplate an accident of this nature occurring. It is interesting both he and Martin are divorced, although in their age group it would be very commonplace to have been married and divorced at least once if heterosexual. And what of those blue eyes each possesses. Blue eyes have long been the topic of pop songs, from Elton John's Blue Eyes to Al Martino's blue Spanish Eyes to Willie Nelson's Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, and I am sure there are likely others.

This chapter needed a tissue warning @Mark Ponyboy Peters, or at least a "pollen warning". The knight whom the now Sir Jamal of Xant saw before entering the forest was the spirit of his deceased father, Lucius of Jeebath. I was very impressed with Prince Raemande once again when he insisted Deven and Whip not kneel before him just because he is a Prince. He has none of the arrogance one might expect a Prince to possess. You did well in not naming him Andrew @Mark Ponyboy Peters. The knights and other assorted personnel are set to leave the valley of Highshaw under the cover of darkness, leaving their tents behind and fires burning. It is just as well the land is barren, as to leave the fires burning would likely have been disastrous for any fauna and flora in the valley. Chandar has devised this plan; I just hope all those leaving the valley do so via the southern trails, the only trails the traitorous Judayah of Enkarra's men will not be covering. I suspect, or at least hope, this may be a fatal mistake for Judayah of Enkarra; he may lose his head over this.

OMG you must be a fast reader. I am only at the start of the chapter and you have finished it already. I am distracted too as I am listening to Gracias Por La Musica by ABBA (select tracks sung in Spanish and released in 1980) as I read, and Frida (my cat, not the Frida) is almost lying on top of my laptop.

Don't you mean purrfection, which is superior to perfection @chris191070?

You well may be right @weinerdog, as you so often are with your speculations. It must be in your genes.

I think that is your full-time job @drsawzall; that and watching if Killian is obeying the speed limit AND not taking any unnecessary risks. And you thought you were busy when you were still in the workforce.

A story of discovery, devastation, significant personal growth and ultimately triumph against what could easily have been insurmountable odds. As noted by @weinerdog, the pace was plodding at times, but I thought it suited the situation and the emotions experienced by the two main characters, teenage boys no longer children but not yet adults, both uncertain in their own skin, even without the pressure of circumstances over which they had limited or no control.

I think A To Z was one of the first stories I read on this site @weinerdog, back in the day when you could read a story without having to login. I don't think I even knew how to comment on stories back then. It was a harrowing read, the abuse of Andy far more violent and his father beyond redemption, but there were certainly some common themes. Like that story, reading this one was an enriching story to read, even when the subject matter was emotionally "challenging" and some of the characters hateful and/or infuriating.

"Art, I never asked, and if you don't want to answer, I'll understand." "What is it, Scott?" "You have the same last name as one of your dads and he talks Italian to you. Is he like, gee, this sounds stupid, but your real dad?" and "So, sorry if this comes out wrong, you never knew your mother?" "Nope. Never met her. Dads figured since she wasn't planning to be part of my life, why complicate things by forcing her into my life. It's all I've ever known, so it's cool." I was very impressed with the sensitivity Scott displayed when asking Art these questions. The questions themselves were not intrusive, merely questions to form the bigger picture of who Art is. They were questions which could have upset Art though if they were asked in a crude or insensitive manner, and Scott seemed acutely aware of this, hence his hesitation. Scott's character growth in this story has surpassed that of any of the other characters. I think he was always inherently a kind and fair person, he was merely ignorant about gay boys/men because he had never met any and his beliefs were informed by anti-gay rhetoric he likely heard in the school playground or saw on TV. I am really enjoying this story @Lee Wilson, even moreso the second time around. The first time I read it was on Nifty, just before you started publishing on GA or maybe before I had started reading anything you had published on GA.

Methinks Shane Novak is a shrewd businessman too @weinerdog.

Maybe Evan is a changed man. Maybe. James certainly likes order and structure, right down to prepping his meals for the week. Although understandable, it leaves no room for spontaneity.

Wow! Just wow! What a beautifully written and very moving chapter @Josh Aterovis. This might just be my favourite chapter of this story thus far; the highlight of the chapter the visit to the zoo. The mother and son connection strengthened with the free-spirited conversation between Killian and his mother, but the truly moving part was the inclusion of Tad in the conversation and his positive response to having a "mother" figure for once in his young life. I recall making a comment on a prior chapter that a "mother" figure might be what was missing from his life, but I think I may have made this with reference to Judy. Clearly Killian's mother is a "natural fit" for this role and made a huge impact on Tad, such that it has already affected his relationship with Killian and likely will with Kane and Adam too. The reminiscing by Killian's mother brought to mind this beautiful song from an artist I "discovered" on 12/05/24, the day before my beloved Zelda passed away from lymphoma of the liver and spleen, a Welsh-born male singer from New York who is also a cat and disco lover, as well as being rather easy on the eye. A wonderfully compassionate man from all I have read, and did a mention a cat lover too.