Summerabbacat

"Yes,’ he eventually replied. ‘Did you ever think of me like . . . that?’ Danny studied his friend, who was now propped up on one elbow and looking back at him with an expectant expression on his face. How much should he tell him? How could he tell him that he had been in love with him for years, but had been unable to say it, because he always expected the worst? And then how could he tell him that he fell in love with somebody else? ‘Well?’ Nate demanded to know. ‘I’ve loved you from the day I met you,’ Danny replied." This chapter needed a tissue-warning @Mark Ponyboy Peters, well it did for me anyway. Danny and Nate's friendship is a joy to witness. I wonder how many people, especially men, ever experience such a close friendship, with or without there being a sexual element to the relationship. The beauty of nature was on full display. The sunshine, the waterfall, the blue waterhole, the crystal-clear sky (I could have done without the eagle though, they scare the bejesus out of me). Balmy and serene, with a languid mood. Sounds divine @Mark Ponyboy Peters; totally unlike Sydney at the moment which, although it has been warm today (about 30°C), is being blasted by strong winds AGAIN. Hay fever hell for me and both my felines. A little MPP cheer most welcome by we three.

Domestic bliss. So what the hell went wrong, or is Adam's mind so "lost" that he is unable to separate reality and fantasy? Where is Jamie now, did he ever exist, or if he did was he even aware of Adam?

Nana Bev promised so much; however, apart from the financial contribution to Jack's life, I am not sure she would be capable of contributing anything else. She was hammered by lunch time, the ever present flask making multiple appearances at the most inopportune times throughout the morning. At least she does not appear to be a nasty drunk, or even a weepy drunk, just a very drunk, drunk. If Jack's guardianship is approved I think Dr Kincaid will bear most, if not all, the day-to-day care Jack even in situations where Nana Bev's appearance is not required in person.

Exquisite @Rafy. Soooooooo much to love about this story, but for once I am going to be succinct. “You do not need to shout when you have something beautiful to say. Let the mushroom speak for itself.” Hilarious, but sadly whatever the mushroom had to say, would be far more intelligent than many of today's so-called leaders in government and business; their devolution a stark contrast to Sam's evolution as the story progressed. The other highlight for me was Rowan's realisation: "Now that the initial terror had subsided, I could see him not as a monster, but as… well, a person. A very large, non-human person." A sentiment I share with regard to many non-human animals.

@Rafy's unique humour and extraordinary talent have never been more evident than in this tasty little morsel. He is like no other author I have ever had the pleasure of reading, his works fascinating, sometimes challenging and biting, always humorous, and invariably cast with at least one drag queen. On this occasion there was not a drag queen in sight, although one of the two main characters, Sam, is "costumed" and "coiffed" in a manner not usually seen, at least not in public. To say any more would give the story away. There is a "moral" to this story, in fact, there are several. @Rafy graciously allows the reader to choose whichever one, or perhaps even more, they wish to. And a special thank you to @Rafy for the largely vegetarian food consumed in this delightful "consommé".

Calvin, Brady and Alan branched out into international relations in this chapter, attempting to forge stronger US/Czech Republic and US/Ukraine ties. I am not sure what Krusty will think of the former, but he probably won't be happy with the latter. He may even Put In a complaint to Trevor or send in the three skanks to restore order.

The waistcoats and food were delightful, but the absolute pinnacle of perfection, of joy, of entertainment value, the cats. Unfortunately, I only have two left, not a baker's dozen like @chris191070 (although I have had this many at one stage). My eldest, Frida, was 16 yesterday.

LOL @drsawzall. This comment brought to mind the Grace Jones classic Pull Up To The Bumper.

“Who was the man in the picture?” “Don't know that either, but he was with a state senator.” “Well, what did he look like?” “Distinguished.” I realized that wasn't the most vivid description. I pulled out my phone and brought up the photo, zooming in on the man's face, then slid it across the table toward her. “Here, take a look. Recognize him?” She stared at it for a long moment, then shook her head. “Never seen him before in my life. But…” “But what?” “As soon as I saw him, I got a bad feeling.” I studied her face. Her eyes had gone distant, troubled. “What kind of bad feeling?” She hesitated, then shook her head slowly. “I don’t know exactly. Just... death.” Patrick maybe? A very big coincidence if it is or six degrees of separation? Jake working as a high-end escort could account for the sudden wealth, the gifts from a wealthy "benefactor", the invitation to the Equality Ball. Speculation, speculation, speculation. We the faithful are like chess pieces in the game of Aterovis Ambiguity, written, produced and directed by the Baltimore Bamboozler. I can picture you at your desk @Josh Aterovis, fingers fiddling with your beard, a giant grin on your face and a look of mischief in your eyes, as you chuckle or guffaw at our lame attempts to catch those red herrings, separate the wheat from the chaff, identify the killer. But what fun we have, the only "real" hazard, Killian's reckless driving. Watch out @drsawzall, his mind is wandering again, foot to the pedal, traffic lights and other road safety features a menace to be dealt with, with denial and contempt. WTF did Judy see in her tea leaves? A naked Novak being flogged by Jake dressed in a leather harness, leather jockstrap and thigh high boots? A naked Judy dressed in a latex catsuit flogging Novak in a room filled with scented candles and chiffon? Rotting tea leaves? Ominous, ominous, ominous @Josh Aterovis. I channelled my inner-Madame Zelenska and the best I could come up with is Jake working as an escort. It will make Killian's head spin if it is so. A visit from Seth armed with anal beads, a giant dildo and nipple clamps may be the only way to set Killian free from his virtual chastity belt.

A most welcome return by "Mr Russ" @Robert Hugill. I have to say his brother Connor sounds like a giant pain in the arse. He is apparently the one who has always strived to compete with Russ, and yet blames Russ when he is unable to do so. His wife is seeminlgy pleasant, but his sons, a horrid pair of brats. I am similar to Russ in this regard, I cannot bear screaming, squabbling children. I would want to throttle them if they screamed; and if they laid down in public screaming and throwing a tantrum, I would leave them behind. I hope the weather improves for Russ and he is not housebound due to inclement weather. If Connor and/or his sons' annoy Russ, at least he can go for a walk. If he gets bored or frustrated, perhaps he can pop over to Enya's castle for a spot of lunch. Her cats can keep him entertained if Enya needs to hide away.

Given "Mr Russ'" fondness for France, perhaps a visit one day to @Gary L, Joan and "the pooches" in Valencia might be on the cards.

It would not surprise me @pvtguy if the 1st and 3rd placing in Stephen's two events, although exciting and affirming, may have paled in comparison to the fact no one made any comment(s) about his physical appearance, and only one "loser" made a homophobic slur. For a boy who has been ridiculed relentlessly all his life about his physical imperfections, to have said imperfections go unnoticed, particularly given he was so exposed in swimwear, must have been overwhelming.

He should be so lucky. With his attitude, he may repel many of his swimming colleagues.

So he was smart @weinerdog, but what about the "important" things. Did he have great Legs, and what about his Tush?

Madonna (whose music I cherish) adopted Veronica as her confirmation name. Just saying!

Ripped to shreds by lions like in Ancient Roman times?

Certainly the latter, but I am not so sure about the former. There is something very strange how everyone, other than River, has not challenged Veronica's continued rudeness, although Elena did give her a sharp look when Veronica referred to River as "the help". Does Veronica have "dirt" on everyone as has been suggested, or has she been challenged before and become completely unhinged. I look forward to the Krystle Jennings Carrington and Alexis Morel Carrington Colby moment (Dynasty) when Elena grabs Veronica by the hair, throws her into the swimming pool and it becomes a real catfight, one from which I hope Elena emerges victorious, and Veronica totally humiliated (and bald - her hair is a wig, which came off when Elena grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the swimming pool).

Kompromat! This word is worthy of being considered a Hugillism @Seraph28. I have never encountered this word in my 60+ years on Planet Earth. I thought at first it must have been an auto-correction gone haywire, but no it is a real word.

Luke's oft-made comment Oliver's sexuality is weird to him reared its ignorant head again in this chapter. He has really been pissing me off and continued to do so. I was hoping Oliver would retort with how weird he finds it straight guys want to stick anything in vagina, and as for cunnilingus, NOOOOOOOOO. But Oliver is far politer than I am. Luke did, however, redeem himself with the following explanation: "He gave me a small, genuine smile. "Yeah. I am. I just…I don't want to be that friend who's awkward about it forever, you know? I want to actually...get it, on some level. Or at least be truly comfortable talking about it. Sometimes I wonder if the reason I’m more uncomfortable than the other guys is because they just accepted it and moved on, but I’m trying to really understand it since I’ve known you for so long, which I think is fucking with my head.” Luke is obsessing way too much. I have never lost any sleep wondering why straight men want to go near a vagina. I just accepted the fact as a teenager they do and have never given it another thought. It has had no bearing on my life. Unless Luke is wanting to have sex with Oliver, Oliver's sex life has no bearing on Luke's life. Part of me thought when Luke stared asking Oliver questions in an attempt to understand him, that he was heading towards "I have heard gay guys give better head, and I was wondering if you would give me a demonstration". Fortunately, his questions appeared to genuine, culminating in the best possible outcome, a joke about who Oliver fancied.

He went way beyond judgmental @Seraph28. Judgmental I could have excused, being a childish rude brat I could not. It may take a stern talking to from Seth to bring him to his senses.

Killian has alarmed, frustrated, irritated, annoyed and/or pissed off a number of my fellow readers in prior chapters and prior books, but never this little black duck. UNTIL NOW. I am trying to give him a break, recognising he is only 18 and has had little life experience, but it isn't working. I wanted to smack the bejesus out of him, if for no other reason than he insisted on Micah telling him the truth about his past, but then continually interrupted him with childish and petty comments about semantics. His sense of "morality" has been shaken, so fucking what. Get over it Killian, life isn't always a bowl of cherries. Micah's explanation for his chosen profession was perfectly rational and well thought out, and frankly none of Killian's fucking business as he was not dating Micah at the time. Micah's discussion with Adam and Steve prior to the trip made perfect sense, and Killian should have felt pleased Micah had the foresight and frankly the balls, to reveal something so private about himself to ensure Killian would not be traumatised. It is time for Killian to have a reality check and stop behaving like one of those ultra-annoying, entitled, whining millennial princesses who instigate murderous thoughts when I am unfortunate enough to encounter one of them. Brilliant chapter @Josh Aterovis. Micah was factual and sincere with his revelation. Killian needs to get over himself because like it or not, he is going to be embroiled in investigating Paul's murder.

I wondered if it might be Iverson's site @CincyKris and the boys saw Brian, Gordon and Ralph, amongst others, modelling the underwear and swimwear.

Wow, what a revelatory chapter @LittleBuddhaTW. Nana laid bare the facts of Jack's horrible childhood, the ugly truth about his parents. They are even more abhorrent than Jack's portrayal of them. I wonder what happened when Jack was about 2 or 3 years of age which resulted in their rejection of him. Were they perhaps trying to have another child and learned the reason they could not have another child was because Jack's father was infertile, thereby revealing Jack was not his biological son. Jack then became a weapon to be used by each against the other, the focus of their hatred for each other. Whatever action Nana ultimately has to take to ensure Jack's safety, she should not cease until she has totally destroyed the lives of her daughter and son-in-law. Nick is in dire need of help. @Altimexis has highlighted this need on several occasions, and never has it been so apparent he is right than in this and the prior chapter. Nick will need it to help prepare him for the ordeal Jack will likely undergo in being freed from the control of his parents. Jack will need Nick's strength and support to get through what may turn nasty. Nick needs to stop dilly dallying and give Nana the photographs now of Jack's physical abuse.

He needed a visa for permanent residency and was prepared to fake it long enough to get married. He was good looking and she wanted a child, possibly needed to have one to ensure she did not have to work for her money.

He does not strike me as smart enough to have formulated a devious plan on his own @vanalas, which is why I think @Paladin's speculation has real merit. Veronica may have promised him financial compensation to assist her. I wonder if perhaps Harry might bring about her downfall though when he realises she is using him and has no intention of keeping her end of the bargain. He may murder her (could the Monroe family be so fortunate), or turn on her and disclose her plan to Leonardo and/or Zayn. I hope it is the latter and she is forced to live out her days friendless and in abject poverty.