Summerabbacat

Well said @pvtguy. Given Father Costas' profession, I think he has in effect, given Levi "permission" to challenge what he has previously been taught by biblical literalists. If a non-priest had challenged Levi's beliefs based on his prior teachings, I doubt he would have given them as much, if any, credence. He respects Father Costas' advice like no other, particularly as it relates to his Dads. I also think the fact that Luke and more surprisingly Matt, have regard for Father Costas, has encouraged Levi to seek his counsel. You may be surprised @weinerdog, but I regard Father Costas very highly. I think he is a great confidant for Levi to have, as well as a valuable friend. His encouragement of Levi was instrumental in Levi telling the truth about the accident.

Sizzler Boy may have to join the queue if Carrie finds out Dickoless was kissing him. If true to form, Dickoless will likely lie, indicate Stu' attacked him and he was trying to fend him off. If he does this, hopefully Richard will publicly support Stu's version of the events rather than Dickoless' lies.

And some of us are facing a hair “shortage” in the one place where we would like not to. Dickoless’ indifference to Richard’s feelings is an example of his overall selfishness. He is completely self-centred; on each occasion he has shown concern of late for Richard or apologised for his behaviour, it was to butter Richard up so he could use him once again e.g. he only apologised to Richard for his behaviour at the ball so he could convince him to go the party to ward off Carrie’s unwanted attention.

Mrs Hansen will be ecstatic. Sadly, I doubt anyone else will even notice, unless Richard becomes more verbal and expresses his feelings for a change. Vicky may notice in between shovelling food into her mouth and his mother may notice when topping up her wine glass, but as for anyone else, I think it unlikely.

Hopefully Richard converts his fury into action @Charles26. Whilst I would be more than happy for him to take to Nicholas with a baseball bat, it would only result in Richard getting into trouble. I hope he erases Nicholas from his life totally, blocks him on his phone, ignores him at school and never speaks of him again.

Do we have a breakthrough? Has Richard finally burst out of his cocoon of peace, love and understanding? Is the screaming boy filled with murderous rage? Will Richard finally tell Nicholas to go fuck himself and anyone else who is stupid enough to show some interest in him? "He’s kissing someone. My first thought is that it’s Carrie again – but it can’t be Carrie this time. I just saw her inside. Then I see the glint of an earring. It’s Stu. Nicholas and Stu. I take a step back, my shoe scraping loudly, and they spring apart. “Shit – oh, wait, it’s okay,” Nicholas says. “It’s just Richard.” They laugh, their eyes shining in the dark." This has to be the cruelest thing yet Nicholas has said to Richard, and coming the same evening Nicholas asked Richard if he had kissed any one at the ball. He, Nicholas, remembered kissing Carrie, which he claimed he hated, but did not remember kissing Richard, which at the time he claimed he enjoyed. He is such a fucking liar. I feel a little sorry for Stu'. He has no idea what he has just stepped into with Nicholas. Will he become Nicholas' new plaything? I strongly doubt it as he has smarts and won't put up with any of Nicholas' bullshit. I hope Stu' asks Richard why he took off, and I hope Richard tells him the truth. And I hope, Harriet, the turnip, punches Nicholas in the face and outs him at school.

Clues to Jake's identity were present from the get-go in this chapter, but did muggins recognise them? No. It was not until Jake's comment: "Judy Cassara was one of a kind. She was a straight-shooter with a wicked sense of humor that tended toward sarcasm and a seemingly endless supply of patience, which was good because I'd required a lot of it over the last three years." that I finally "woke up" and realised who Jake was. Duh! Given Killian's brief appearance and the fact this story is not part of the Killian Kendall series, I think it reasonably safe to assume there will not be a murder, or if there is, it will be incidental to the story. A terrific start to this new story @Josh Aterovis, co-written with Dabeagle. After all he has been through, I think Jake deserves a story of his own, or at least one in which he is one of the main protagonists. In reading the story précis I suspect my "hay fever" will be troublesome, and today is the first day of spring in Australia. Warning @drsawzall, tissues are almost certainly a prerequisite for reading this latest Aterovisian offering.

J Lo?

Perhaps not @VBlew, but Levi will likely learn more of Matt and Luke’s past from the viewpoint of third parties. It will likely make him even more comfortable with gay men, and provide him with more to discuss with Father Costas. I suspect the latter enjoys his discussions and friendship with Levi as much as Levi does with him.

I did not “get” this comment at first. She is 61 years of age now and to her credit looks to have aged quite naturally. I remember seeing Blue Lagoon at the cinema, but only vaguely recall the film, primarily for Christopher Atkins’ swimming nude. In recent years the only news I recall of her was the criticism of her by Tom Cruise. As for Brooke from Thompsonville, enough said.

I had forgotten about the yowie, but don’t think I had ever heard of drop bears before @Mark Ponyboy Peters, apart from the ones who had a top 20 hit in the 1980’s with Shall We Go. As for the yowie, I see many large hairy ape like creatures regularly in Sydney and not all of them are male. I had also forgotten the Hills hoist was an Aussie invention @drsawzall. I don’t think they even exist anymore, which is a shame as they were far more environmentally friendly than a clothes dryer.

To quote Thin Lizzy, The Boys Are Back In Town. I had completely forgotten the existence of DJ and Dwayne, and Phil and Hoss. DJ and Dwayne appear to have fared well in the intervening years, apparently still happy together, whilst Phil and Hoss have had their ups and downs, a mix of hot and cold in their on again/off again relationship. Somewhat surprisingly, Levi did not appear to experience any disquiet in meeting yet more gay men who were part of the formative years of his Dads' lives. I think Father Costas' advice is beginning to have a permanent effect on Levi, his rigid opposition to gay men based on Old Testament script, decreasing based on rational thought and exposure to a variety of such men. Matt, the "fag" certainly gave Casey, "Doreen" and "Geraldine", food for thought. All three cowered under the weight of an honest "fag", their big boy pants soiled by false bravado, closet case cowardice and suppressed lust lurking beneath a veneer of hyper-heterosexual posturing. What a tiresome trio of tulips. Matt's warning may have had the desired effect on "Doreen" and "Geraldine", but I am sceptical if Casey will let it go just yet. He is a menace, and potentially still a danger to Matt and/or Luke and/or Levi. Brooke has worn out her welcome. Why doesn't she just bugger off and go play with some other females her own age.

He is. It is very effective.

"These Year 11 and 12 social events have been part of Crampton Collegiate tradition for more than a century. It’s not a question of discriminating against anyone, it’s a simple question of gender balance that has always been part of these events. We want to maintain the male-female gender ratio, because we use these functions to create a structured social setting where students are encouraged to practise social etiquette between the sexes." What does this gibberish mean? It sounds as if it was written by someone on the school board. I call bullshit. "It’s still weird how casually Harriet says Dads. But then I think, maybe one day Nicholas and I will have a daughter who calls us Dads too." I simply cannot believe Richard believes what he is saying. Surely he is not that obtuse @drsawzall; he just has a very unhealthy belief that all humans are essentially decent, honest and caring. FFS Richard they are not, some are complete rotters. Methinks Vicky is doing some research to help mount a legal challenge to the school administration on its ban on same sex couples at any future balls. She and Stu' maybe working on it together. Darren Park and Marcus Cruickshank are besotted with Stu' and his possible cocksucking skills. Is there something they want to say, to get off their chests? Richard's coming out to his father was not under ideal circumstances, but proved to be a non-event for his father, much to my surprise, as well as Richard and Vicky's. As commented by Vicky "our family is so weird at the moment".

There was much to celebrate in this chapter @Laura S. Fox, and the impending sex will be 🎇. The highlight of this chapter for me though was initially a sad moment, with the "underdog" despairing and facing a life of loneliness: "He shouted in disbelief when he saw Theo all over poor Skarg, now thrown to the ground and having to support a full-grown alpha on his chest. “Theo, no!” Jack hurried to Skarg’s aid, followed by Vince. He grabbed tufts of Theo’s white fur and pulled hard to remove him from his puny victim. “Theodore, Skarg helped us find you and free you,” Vince said, always the voice of reason. “He’s with them,” Theo accused. “Just look at him.” “You’re hurting him. He’s just a poor boy. He needs a pack. Come on, Theo, don’t be like that.” Jack wrapped both arms around Theodore’s neck and pulled him back. “Oh,” he exclaimed, once he realized what he was doing. “It looks like I turned back into my human shape! How did that happen?” Vince was a lot more efficient in getting Theo off Skarg’s chest. The skeleton boy stood with difficulty, making pathetic wheezing sounds. “It’s all right, Jack. I knew I was asking for too much when I asked to join your pack. I will just… go.” Much like your beloved Otis and Jack, Skarg is an outcast who faced an uncertain future. Now he may have a place to feel included and loved. The old "softie" in me was very much moved by this scene. I too hope Skarg can be reinvigorated/reincarnated/re-whatevered, as a young male wolf, a member of the Whiteflame pack.

"I was on the way out to the shops when Maudie buttonholed me. I was pretty sure she’d been lying in wait." Another word misread resulting in some serious chuckling and a rather frightful image. "I was on the way out to the shops when Maudie buttholed me". I had an image of a naked Maudie doing unspeakable things with Alex's butthole @Robert Hugill. I noticed in this chapter, and vaguely recalled noticing before but never questioned it, the telephone conversation between Alex and Mother was written with all Mother's comments prefaced with a <. I looked back to a prior chapter and noticed a telephone conversation between Alex and Neil where Neil's comments were prefaced with a <. Have you always done this @Robert Hugill, and if so, have you only used it for telephone conversations? It appears to me it is restricted to telephone conversations in this chapter at least. I must say I like it; it is a very obvious separation of the different characters comments, very easy on older eyes, it works very well. I had to revisit chapter 2 to reacquaint myself with Uncle Edwin's introduction. I had mistakenly believed he was Alex's father's brother, when in fact he is Alex's father's uncle (I had forgotten this). Given this, he is likely to be significantly older than I thought too, at least 70+ I imagine, making him just that much creepier. If he is going to offer Neil the recently vacated flat in Alex's building, I think Lila's suggestion for co-habitation in one apartment with a working space in the other is an excellent idea.

I am glad she was sent home. It is very inconsiderate when someone douses themselves in perfume or aftershave like that as it can have a detrimental effect on others.

Perhaps 'Poison' by Dior. If so, it is still manufactured.

Your comment in bold had me pondering if perhaps Shayna has a scent of her own, one which allows her to manipulate certain men. For sure and certain she is not going to "rope 'em in" with her natural charm, sparkling wit or subtly applied make up. And whilst on the topic of Shayna's cosmetic catastrophes, I have to wonder, and it may have already been stated, if she applies perfume with the same degree of subtlety. I suspect she does not, preferring to "swim" in perfume to the extent she affects the eyes and noses of those who come near her.

It seems a couple of other readers have also speculated it may have been/was Dickoless who let it slip, either accidentally or deliberately, Richard is a faggot. I thought this myself, but could not see how Dickoless could have alerted the yobbos in the car to this. If Dickoless was the source of their information, I imagine he did it deliberately.

Frank and Rhett are amusing to observe, prancing around each other like a stallion showing his interest in a mare. If either starts whinnying, the other may be in "trouble". As an aside, I did a little research on Google and found that it is not uncommon for stallions to mount each other. There you go Frank and Rhett, get a mounting. By process of elimination, methinks the dust-covered young man in tattered clothing was either Cletus or Jedediah. I assume the “red-skinned motherfucking nit” he referred to in his final yell is Jake, whose presence at the ranch only someone with knowledge of the ranch would know; Jake, the one who saved Little Man and the one who he likely blames for Uncle Buford being in jail. We know it cannot be Uncle Buford, and I think it more than likely it was one of the three who were involved in the assault on Little Man. I also reviewed recent chapters and noted in chapter 20 when Shayna had her dummy spit and was rude to Bass, Kidd and Jo, she rang and spoke to Cletus on her cellphone, remarking “Hey Cletus, this is Shayna... Yeah. Listen, I just saw something you and my cousin might want to know about...”. Clearly Shayna now has Little Man, Bass, Kidd and Shir on her “hate list”, and would more than likely be happy for something bad to happen to Jo too. I think with either encouragement or a direction from Shayna, Cletus or Jedediah, but more likely Jedediah given he is Shayna’s cousin, has paid Two Spirits another visit, casing the property for an easy entry point so that he and Cletus can return to finish what they started, possibly upping the ante to include Bass and Kidd. Furthermore, Midnight sensed a dangerous and unwelcome presence. I have to wonder if the visitor had the same rank odour as he had when he was involved in the assault on Little Man. If so, Midnight more than likely detected this odour again and naturally associated it with evil.

Given the story is set in Shelby, Montana, I think he must be a Mosshole @drsawzall, green, slippery and smelling like damp earth. Given it is green, I would prefer to not take the man's hole anywhere or anyway.

Damn. I was so hoping Vicky had punched Dickoless in the face; Darren Park was a good second choice though. I suspect he got a little "handsy" with Vicky, which resulted in the punch. Perhaps next time she can wallop Dickoless and give him a shiner. I think you were right with your comment on the prior chapter @drsawzall. Richard's mother and Vicky are acting like the teenagers of the household, whereas Richard is the responsible adult. He appears to have more in common with his father, the father who was appalled by the advice Maggie was giving his daughter about avoiding a hangover.

Given the number of positive comments per chapter thus far, this story appears to have struck a chord with the troops @Lee Wilson. Hopefully its popularity will stir the "Wilsonian" juices to extend it beyond what you originally envisaged.

Maybe some of those toys we’ve learned about of late in that other story we are both reading @drsawzall.