Mark Arbour

LOL. That's an interesting solution, but probably won't happen. Besides, the doors on the house have locks, and you can have people come up and take care of the pool and landscaping. I don't think he'll need a full time caretaker.

I think your observations about Kai and Will and their tempestuous tempers is apt, but they seem to understand each other. I don't think Will's liaison with Malcolm was really all that bad, but as you noted, we can make allowances for the hormones.

Mari is awesome, as you noted, but you're right about who controls Escorial. That has never been in question. I'm glad you liked this chapter. The next one is a little less happy. :-)

I think my response to Tim's review largely complements yours. Will is getting that whole relationship/commitment thing, and I think that's a good lesson. The problem is that he'll probably end up dating guys who haven't gotten it. :-(

I don't see things quite like you do, but that's probably because you're such a judgmental bastard. ;-) (Someone is going to read that, think that I'm not teasing you, and report this review for abuse). Seriously, I think that Will feeling guilty is a good sign, because he's getting that relationships start before words are spoken about it, and that even if there aren't formalized commitments, there are implied ones. With Malcolm, Will didn't force him at all. All Malcolm had to do was firmly say "no" and Will would have snapped back in line. I think that Will is enjoying finding out what makes other guys tick sexually, and he picked up on Malcolm's vibes right away.

Thanks Mari! I think that Kai is good for Will, and this will expose Will to a different world. I think that Claire and Isidore have other things to worry about. Now Marie on the other hand...

LOL. Will is a work in progress. Just think, as a reader, you're helping to raise him. Now you know why Brad is so freaked out.

Thanks! It actually seemed to work nicely with Kai's character, and Will hasn't really dealt with a handicapped person before.

Excellent points Libby! And a good point by Conner as well. I like to sneak in an occasional 420 reference for my own amusement from time to time, but I'm giving myself a pass on that one. :-)

July 30, 2001 I was sitting out by the pool, gazing off at the ocean, trying not to be bored. I’d had a great weekend with Kai. I’d kind of wondered if he’d find us a party to go to or something, but instead, we did things together, just the two of us. On Friday night, we went out to dinner, and then just wandered around Kahului. On Saturday, Stef had come to town and dragged us out to go shopping. On Sunday, Malcolm came over and we’d firmed up most of the plans for the house,

Well that's a really good guess, but you're wrong. ;-) But it's good enough that I'll go post the next chapter. LOL.

I think that the reason Stef and Brad are being unreasonable (or were being unreasonable, prior to the cavalry - JP - intervening) is because Stef was a hustler, so it's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. I also think that they're going down this road with Kai based on rumor alone, and that is so blatantly unfair they deserved to be called on it.

I think that if we wandered into Brad and Robbie's conversations we'd find they were pretty much at odds where Will is concerned. Robbie has gotten much more laid back and trusting, while Brad continues to fight his paranoid control-freak nature.

Are you trying to kill me? Damn, that is one awesome but long review. Wow. So in order to keep rolling along, I want to focus on one aspect you mentioned, and that's about your time in Como. I was there about the same time you were, and went to all those clubs, although I tended to hang with the frat crowd at Willies or Harpos, and even managed to make it to Tonic a few times. That was interesting. :-) Columbia, Missouri (Como) is truly an oasis in a sea of the red intolerance that is rural Missouri. Hope all your studies went well!

So I meant to post that teaser here. WTF, I'll do it again. In the next chapter, Granger runs into someone he never expected to meet, and someone I'll bet none of you are expecting either.

In the next chapter, you'll meet someone you never dreamed we'd encounter.

Lugh = Hot. It's just that simple.

July 11, 1798 Wadi Hammamat “We will stop here for the night,” Akbar said to them quietly. “Tomorrow, we should reach Kena.” Granger surveyed the inhospitable terrain skeptically. “One more day on this damnable beast,” Winkler said to Granger quietly as they dismounted. “I, for one, am most happy for this creature, otherwise we would have to walk,” Granger whispered. They’d gone from the sand dunes of the Wadi to sandy roads winding through ro

Do they have funnel cakes on gourmet food trucks?

I remember the posse. I get a little conflicted when I hear about things like that, because on the one hand, I don't have a problem with high schoolers having sex, and even if I did, it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to them. On the other hand, the predatory nature of the posse was pretty reprehensible. And really, what's wrong with racking up big numbers? What's wrong with a guy hitting 900 by 41? As for bathroom/sauna sex, it's probably mostly a thing of the past, but there's a certain eroticism to it, based on the public nature of the location, and the random luck of the partner. And Tim, you probably didn't troll the johns for head, but I love the gay guys who did (or do) and still act all prim and proper. But that's not my favorite gay double-standard. My favorites are the guys who are under 25 on GRINDR, etc., who post comments deriding guys who want to be anonymous. I have a friend who can't be out for various reasons, but this guy has been one of the biggest, die-hard gay rights activists you'd ever meet. He's one of those guys who helped pushed things to where they are now. And I find it pretty ungrateful that he's scorned by these guys who get to be out and pretty open about it because the society this dude helped create is open enough that they can post their picture and still have a life.

That whole journal concept has a lot going for it, and it totally sounds like something Will would do. And he'd definitely use a spreadsheet.

That's tough to beat, especially Stef. I think you're right. I don't really think Brad will be all that bent out of shape about it. He really approaches Will's sex life with a bi-polar attitude. One minute, he's OK with it, the next he's freaking out because Will's going too far. Then again, Brad kind of does that with everything. But in the end, I think he's more about protecting Will than about keeping Will celibate. You make an interesting point, and a good one. With Brad's generation, unless you were out (and probably flaming), the signs were very subtle. You met guys randomly, you met them at bars/clubs (or sleazier places), you met them cruising, or maybe you got lucky and connected with a guy who actually turned out to be gay or bi too. Will doesn't have to resort to that level of nuance. He's out there, so there's no big secret, no 'holy shit, someone might catch me and out me' fear, and he can pretty much do whatever (or whoever) he wants or he can. He's much more liberated, because society is much more liberated, iMHO.

Super Kai! Surfs by day, and fights crime in the underworld of Gotham-lui. That would be pretty hot. Will's never done a super hero before. :-) Kai better hurry.

I'll bet Will's not as glad as you that his mother is coming to visit. :-) Should be a wonderful visit.

Will gets that there are guys you fuck, and that's all it's going to be, and there are guys you are into, and it will be so much better, but for those guys, you have to wait until the emotions match the sex. To answer your question: Chapter 23.