Jacob Finding His Way - 61. Chapter 61

When Jacob and the guys drove up to pick Ethan, Chase’s eyeballs almost popped out of his head. At first, all the guys did a double take at Ethan because of how different he looked in jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. There was no doubt that this guy had worked on a farm, by the way the clothes revealed his awesome body.

It took everything in Chase, to not jump over the guys and sit next to Ethan, as they drove to school. Still, he stole as many glances of Ethan as possible. At one point, Ethan leaned forward to say something to Jacob, his legs opened, giving Chase a view he never thought he would be looking at. Either Ethan had a hard, on or he was really big below, but whatever the reason was, the jeans were showing Ethan’s package off.

As Ethan sat back, he looked at Chase, he could have sworn that as he looked over; he caught Chase looking at him. The more that Ethan was around Chase, the more Ethan was confused about him. At first, he thought that Chase was the one that Jacob was talking about, but he saw Chase asking a girl out. And now he thought he caught Chase looking at him again. Ethan couldn't help but think that there was something going on here and he might have a chance with Chase.

Ethan decided to drop it and let Chase come to him if he was like him. As they got their breakfast and sat down, a couple of girls walked up to Chase and he left with them. Once again, it caused Ethan to think that he was wrong about Chase. He looked down at his tray thinking that he would never get an answer to this, unless Chase and he talked. At the same time, Ethan knew there was no way he could ask the guys, if he was right or wrong without giving himself away.

Chase returned fifteen minutes later as if he had never left. He rejoined the conversation and finished eating his breakfast. When they headed outside, Ethan noticed the same girls that Chase walked out with in the hall looking at him and he winked back. That did it for Ethan, he is going to move on and stop thinking he has a chance with Chase who is straight without a doubt.

Jacob walked into the ROTC building getting ready to work on the next edition of The Eye of The Tiger, when Colonel Pigeon called him into the office. Unlike Major Moore, Colonel Pigeon told Jacob, when he is called him into his office, that he didn't have to wait to be invited in. He was to just come in and take a seat.

After trading ‘good mornings’, and ‘how-are-you’, Colonel Pigeon got down to business. The main concern Colonel Pigeon had with Jacob was that he micro managed everything. This wasn't his fault at all, because that’s how Major Moore did it and trained his cadets to do it. Colonel Pigeon trained his high-ranking cadets to lead, by delegating to the lower ranking cadets under them to get the jobs done.

“As you know Jacob I respect Major Moore, and I have known the guy for a very long time. He and I came into this program at almost the same time. Through the years of our friendship, I have noticed the way Major Moore ran his program. He trained you, the same way he did things and that was to micro manage everything. You are the battalion commander, and it's time to lessen your load by delegating the work.

With that said; you got the program newsletter up and going. In fact, you did that for all of the battalions in the brigade. It is time for you to sit back, choose a new editor in chief. Turn over the newsletter to a captain to deal with. Once they put the newsletter together and before sending it off to the print shop, you approve it.”

“Sir, have I done something wrong, that caused you to take the newsletter away from me? I know have missed a lot of school recently, but I promise, I will be here. From now on my attendance shouldn't give you any reason worry Sir.”

Jacob felt as if he just went from one instructor that didn’t believe in him to another.

Major Pigeon laughed in a friendly way, throwing Jacob a wink; “Jacob you have not done a thing wrong! You are the highest-ranking officer in this battalion. At the same time, you have so much on your plate; you won’t make it out of high school without suffering from a breakdown of some kind if you keep going in this mode. I'm just going to teach you a different way of running things; different than the micro managing style that Major Moore taught you.”

Colonel Pigeon got up from his seat and walked over to the board. “You are part owner of what is becoming the largest corporation in the state. When you leave the program, you won’t only take the leadership we teach you, but how to run that huge company using the leadership skills and the ability to delegate responsibilities to others.

When you take the helm of that company, you can’t have your hand in every single thing the company does. There is just not enough time in the day for you to do that. So what you and I are going to work together to put into play here, you’ll use when you leave high school. Delegation is the key that will make you a better leader here, and a highly successful business owner in the private sector.”

Colonel Pigeon started to write on the board everything Jacob does for the battalion. On the other side of the board, he wrote down what his other battalion commanders do. The big difference between the two sides of the board was that on Jacob’s side, it was a long list of things. On the other side had the battalion commander on top and other officers under the battalion commander with the duties equally spread out between them.

Jacob started to get the picture. Nothing was nothing being taken away from him, he just had to delegate the responsibilities to others and they would report back to him. If it didn't meet his standards, he would tell the cadet to do it again and provide the guidance that would lead to his goal.

They talked, straight up to the bell. When Jacob walked out, he felt more comfortable with how Colonel Pigeon wanted things to run. Now all he needed to do, was to choose who did what from his battalion staff and company commanders. The first order of business they agreed on was assigning another cadet to run the newsletter.

When Jacob reached his locker, he found Ethan standing there waiting for him. He looked around to see if any of the other guys were anywhere near, but Jacob didn’t see any of them. So Jacob walked up to his locker, figuring that if Ethan was there to talk to him, he would start talking the minute he reached the locker.

At first, Ethan didn’t say anything to Jacob; he just stood there looking down at the floor. When Jacob started to close his locker, Ethan cleared his throat and started to talk with Jacob in a whisper. A whisper so low, Jacob couldn’t hear. Jacob placed his hand under Ethan’s chin and gently pushed his head up until they made eye contact. Ethan looked at Jacob like a lost puppy, which made Jacob feel badly for him.

“There is something bothering you and I think you need someone to talk to. But if you are going to talk to the floor in a very low whisper, I can’t hear you. I know you are away from everything you know, and the friends you have grown up trusting. You have to trust someone, so you can talk about the things that are bothering you.”

“Um, when you and I, um were um talking you told me that there was someone asking about me. I was wondering if you have talked to that person yet. Does he still like me and want to get to know me or has he moved on and I should move on as well?”

“I'm sorry Ethan, I haven’t talked with him yet. It's kind of a weird situation with this guy, and I shouldn’t have said anything until I had a chance to talk with him. Since I put the cart before the horse, I'll talk with the guy tonight. No matter what the answer is, I promise you, that I'll tell you. It's better that you know if he wants to be with you or not. That way if he has moved on, you can as well.”

Ethan forced a smile that Jacob saw right through. He felt really bad that he spoke about someone else before making sure he was right with what he was thinking. Now he had to not only talk with Chase, but the talk might push Chase into more denial of what he was feeling about Ethan. In return, he would have to deliver the bad news to a guy that was always having a hard time adjusting to a new school and city.

Al scheduled a follow-up meeting with Ethan’s father for the first thing in the morning. He barely had enough time to grab his morning coffee before heading to his office to meet with him. As he passed the elevators, Al heard Dewayne calling out for him. He turned around and walked over to see what Dewayne needed from him.

Dewayne explained to Al what had happened the evening before. As they talked, Al drank the entire cup of coffee and was about to head back to the break room to refill his cup when Dewayne asked him sit in on the meeting. Al asked about Major Moore, and Dewayne explained that he would be there, but didn't know that much about the law. So he wanted someone there that could ensure that he wouldn't break any laws.

Al agreed to sit in on the meeting after he refilled his coffee. Dewayne waited for him at the elevators. As soon as Al came back, they headed down to Dewayne’s office. When they walked in, Al found Joe sitting there and the employee in question.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, but I needed to take care of a few things. This gentleman is Alfred Serna, the owner of our parent company. He wants to sit in on this meeting if you have no objection to it.” The manager shook his head in the negative. “Good let’s get down to business then.”

Dewayne went over the circumstances of what brought them to this meeting. Every now and then, Joe chimed in with a comment, but Dewayne ran the meeting. Al just sat there and listened, and made sure that Dewayne was not saying or doing anything that could give the employee a leg to stand on in a lawsuit. To Al’s surprise and pleasure, Dewayne handled the meeting as if he had had hundreds of these meetings already.

“Sir with all due respect, I had no idea you two were the owners of the company now. I truly thought that you were two teenage kids that wanted to steal gas and then rob my store. If anything, I should be here getting a pat on the back. Too many gas stations and c-stores get robbed and the employees killed when the employees believe a customer claiming to be the owners of the store or any lie that gets them access to the back room.”

“I have no problem with you thinking that way to a point, but why didn’t you go and check the memo like I told you to do?” The manager just shrugged his shoulders up and down. “There is no way a person that was planning to rob a store would have known about the memo that was sent out.”

“Additionally, no criminal would come back to a store that they just got away with stealing gas from. Even if they were dumb enough to do that, they won’t admit to be the ones that did the gas run. You are the store manager; you are supposed have and use common sense.”

A look went across Joe’s face that Jacob was used to seeing, but not Al or Dewayne. Still, no matter what Dewayne or Joe asked or said, the manager kept going back to believing he was in the right. He contended that he shouldn’t be there getting the third degree, instead he should be getting a pat on the back instead.

While Dewayne and Joe tried to get a straight, fact based answer from the employee, Al read his file. There was enough in the file indicating he should have been terminated a long time ago. He didn’t understand why the old owners didn’t terminate him until he got to the last page of the file. Al closed the file and looked up at the manager and interjected;

“You have to know by now, that you won’t get away with the things that you got away with under the old ownership.” The manager looked at Al with a confused look on his face. “Right here in your file, is written that you are the husband of the daughter of one of the old owners. That is the only reason you have kept your job in spite of all the screw ups that would have gotten other managers fired.”

Dewayne picked up the file and started reading it. At first, he didn’t find what Al found until he got to the last page. He handed the file to Joe and pointed out the information that Al just spoke of. While Joe read it, Al wrote a couple sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to Dewayne. After reading it, he nodded his head in acknowledgement before speaking again to the manager.

“We tried to give you a chance to give us one logical explanation why you felt you were right with your actions yesterday evening. Instead, you kept coming back with, we should be patting you on the back for trying to get me and the other owner arrested. I know that I am speaking for Joe and Al when I say we don’t agree with you.

So here is what we are going to do with you. You are demoted to assistant manager and will be moved out of the store you managed. If you mess up in any way that you have been written up for in the past, you will be terminated immediately. Now, if you feel you can’t take the demotion or you know you will make the same mistakes again, you better just resign your position here and now.”

“I know I won’t make the same mistakes again, but I won’t take a demotion when I was doing my job! To the demotion I say stick it up your ass; I quit! I don’t need teenage punks that don’t have hair number one between their legs telling me what to do! No sir I don’t; so you can take this job and stick it up your asses!”

The manager got up to walk out of the office when Joe stopped him. He told the manager that he could go after he gave him the store keys. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them over before walking past Joe. Joe turned around and looked at Al and Dewayne.

Al started laughing as he grabbed hold of his mid section. “I need to ask Jacob if you have more than hair number one between your legs.” Everyone started laughing when Al said that. “Look I have a meeting with someone upstairs right now and I think he would be a fine manager for that store. Why don’t you guys come up with me and I'll explain everything about the guy.”

On their way up to Al’s office, Al told Dewayne and Joe about Ethan’s father. He explained that he was about to tell him that he didn't have a position for him, but if they agree to hire him for the open management position, the guy could walk out of there with a job. By the time they reached Al’s office, Joe and Dewayne knew everything they needed to know about Ethan’s father and agreed to hire him for the store.

After introducing Dewayne and Joe, Al went straight to business. “I have looked over everything you put on your application. Before leaving last night, I got answers back from your bank and fellow farm owners. You didn’t lose your farm because of mismanagement; you lost it because the bigger companies were running the smaller farm owners out of business. They swallowed you up along with ten other farms this past year.

Now I don’t have anything for you with your kind of experience, but Dewayne here and his vice president of operations do. My two sons’ own a separate company that owns all the Seven-Elevens here in El Paso. Dewayne and Joe have a job offer for you. So if you would go with them, they'll explain it and let me know what you decide.”

Ethan’s father got up and shook Al’s hand as he thanked him. He walked out of the office with Dewayne and Joe. Once they left, Al got on the phone with his secretary to ask her to send in his next appointment. As sat back waiting for the next person to come in, he started thinking that he had another long day ahead of him.

All morning long, Jacob couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Ethan. He opened a can of worms that he might not be able to close. If he is wrong about Chase or he pushed Chase to stand his ground that he is straight, the one that would come out of this as a loser would be Ethan. If Chase later on realized that he did like Ethan and Ethan had already moved on, Chase would be a loser too.

So Jacob decided to sit down with Chase and go into the subject little by little. If he saw that Chase was getting uncomfortable with the subject, he would pull away from it. That way he didn't push Chase into a corner and chance damaging their friendship.

On his way to lunch, Jacob caught up to Chase. He started off talking small talk, but little by little Jacob moved the conversation over to dating and who Chase was interested in. He started out with what he had heard from the guys about him asking that girl out yesterday and then moved on to who those girls were this morning. Chase had an explanation for both, but neither of the explanations got even to close to Chase getting a girl.

“You know I consider you more than my best friend Chase and because of that, I worry about you a lot. Ever since Linda, you have locked yourself away from the dating world. I know I keep promising you, that I'm going to help you get a girlfriend, and I haven’t followed through on my promise successfully. But now I am serious when I say that we need to get you someone so you can get laid! You need to get rid of all those juices inside of you.”

“There's no need to tell me that I need to get laid! Jeeze, I know that! It just seems I’ve been running into bad luck because I've waited too long to ask the girls out that have shown an interest in me. Now I'm standing on the outside looking in on people having loving relationships.”

“Okay you got shot down by the girl yesterday and the girls today. Who else are you interested in? Maybe I can help you get the next one on your list to go out with you. Two heads are a lot better than one. Just point me the right direction and I'll go right to work on getting whoever that person is for you.”

Chase looked at Jacob trying to figure out what his game was. His wording was different this time as he talked with him about getting a girlfriend. Chase thought back over the last couple days to see if he had given himself away to Jacob. Looking at everything they had done together, Chase ran it through his mind and didn’t see anything he did that Jacob could have caught on with. So now Chase was wondering what the meaning of this conversation was.

“Right now I'm working through a couple of things Jake. Once I get a grip on what I'm working on, I'll get back to you.” Chase turned and pointed out to the cook, what he wanted for lunch. “Thank you for being in my corner. I know that whenever I need a friend, I can count on you to be there for me.”

“You know it my friend. Just do me favor, whatever you are working through, try and get through as fast as you can. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you. You don’t want to wait too long and miss out again. You've already lost three girls in two days because, as you said, you waited too long. People lose interest when they don’t think they are going to get anywhere.”

At that point, Jacob dropped the subject. He could see that he was making Chase uneasy with the conversation. If he pursued it anymore than he had, he was going to push Chase right into the closet. Chase would deny what he was feeling because he didn't want to be looked at, as a person that didn't know his butt from his face.

Between fifth and sixth periods, Jacob ran into Ethan again. He tried to dodge the guy, but the poor guy stuck to Jacob like glue. It seemed to Jacob that Ethan could read him, that Jacob had already gotten the answer he asked Jacob to get for him.

As they walked to their final classes for the day, Jacob tried to figure out a way to tell Ethan the bad news. After going over every way to break it to him, Jacob realized there was really no easy way to say it. He could simply tell Ethan that he hasn’t talked with the guy in question, but that wasn't fair to Ethan either.

When they reached the halfway point between their two classes, Jacob broke the news to Ethan. He didn’t sugar coat it, Jacob just put it out there for Ethan. As he talked, Jacob felt like he was slugging Ethan over and over again. Just the expression on his face tore Jacob apart. He had seen that in others, and he had had the same look himself, Ethan was hurting.

To Jacob’s surprise, Ethan thanked him and walked off to his class. Ethan didn’t get mad with him; he just said two words, ‘thank you’ and walked off. Jacob felt he'd rather have gotten yelled at or punched, than what Ethan did. Since Ethan didn’t react the way Jacob thought he would, he felt even worse. Jacob swore to himself right then and there, that from then on, he wasn't going to play matchmaker, even if he knew they liked each other.

Following his grandfathers instructions, Jacob went home right after work. When he walked in and found his father in the kitchen getting something to drink. Trying not to disturb him, Jacob turned around as quietly as possible. Just as he started to walk off, Andy saw him and called him in to talk.

They sat talking about how things were going in both of their lives. Andy wanted to know how Jacob was feeling now, after the surgery. Besides the pain where he got cut open, Jacob explained to his dad that he was feeling pretty good. After talking for a while, Andy got up and asked Jacob to help him with a couple of things.

As they reached the part of the house that belonged to Jacob’s mom and dad, Jacob couldn’t believe his eyes. Although he hadn’t been in this part of the house for several days, he didn’t know that his parents moved anything in until then. There were several boxes in each room marked in big black letters the room names.

“Your sister wanted to move as fast as we could, now that the house was done. I agreed with her so I came down with a load of boxes today to get the moving going. Hopefully I can borrow you and several of your friends over the weekend to move the big stuff. If everything works out, we should be moved in by Sunday night.”

“I'll check with the guys this evening. You know I’m not able to lend my back right now, since the surgery. I know that Tom has a football game on Saturday morning that all of us are going down to support him in. After that, I'm sure all the guys will have no problem helping out. After all, we're the ones that moved mom and Fran into the house they are living in now.”

Andy was surprised to hear that it was Jacob and his friends that moved his mother into the house from her apartment. His understanding was, at that time, Jacob wasn’t talking with Gloria. Now he found out that Jacob was not only was talking to his mother, he helped her move into the house that he had given her.

Jacob tried to explain what was going on at the time. He did confirm that he and his mom were on rocky ground at the time, but they had been on rocky ground for the last couple years. The bigger fight at the time, was happening between him and his ex. Jacob explained about everything that was going on and that he and Joey barely got back together when they bought this house.

“I never met your ex, but I'm glad I didn’t. No matter if you dated women or guys, no one treats my kids the way he did. Come on Jacob, you're a lot smarter than to hang around with a guy that treated you the way he did. From what I've been told about him, he cheated on you many times and you kept taking him back. It took until he literally tossed you to aside, for you to realize that he wasn’t the guy you thought he was.”

“Dad, he helped me get comfortable in my own skin. I don’t think I would be where I am now if I hadn’t met him. I know that we went through a lot together, but I loved him and I still do. Don’t get me wrong, I will never get back together with him. If anything, we will be just friends. He's a good guy and I wish you had met him. That way you could see what I saw in him, and you'd know why I stuck it out with him.”

Jacob kept talking as his father took the boxes to the right room. To make his point hit home for his father, Jacob used his and Gloria’s relationship as an example. Jacob put it simply to Andy, that a lot of people don’t understand why both of them were giving each other another chance, after what they did to each other.

Andy saw what Jacob was saying. Only those in the relationship truly know the truth. Everyone else was looking in at the relationship with half-truths and assumptions. Those don’t paint a complete picture. Unless you are one of the two in that relationship, you will never really see why each of the two stayed in the relationship.

After they finished up with what Andy had brought down, Jacob asked him to stay for dinner, but he declined. They said their goodbyes and Jacob watch his father drive off before walking back in and locking up the house.

Jacob ran into Lorenzo, Ismail and Jeremy running down to the game room, so he decided to follow. He didn't want Alex’s brothers to get hurt because they did something that Jeremy took as a threat. They were too young to understand about Jeremy. All they knew was that Jeremy was different, and he was fun to play with.

The evening went by fast, once the house filled up with the guys. There wasn’t a dull moment while they ate and when they ended up throwing each other in the pool. The only two that didn’t end up soaked was Jacob and Alex. If they were not recovering from their surgeries, they would have landed in the pool with the rest.

Although they couldn’t get in the pool, they helped the others get their revenge on those that pushed them in. Once everyone landed in the pool, Jacob and Alex ran around shoving those that tried to climb out back in the pool. After tiring themselves out, Jacob and Alex sat down and started throwing the beach balls at the guys’ heads.

Since they were having so much fun, they lost track of time. It took Franseca and Virginia to come out yelling at them, to get out and get ready for bed. When Jacob and Dewayne walked into their room, they couldn’t believe the time; eleven fourteen. They ran to the bathroom, stripped naked and jumped into the shower together.

Both of them wanted to do more than shower, but Dewayne was afraid he might hurt Jacob. So they ended up going to bed with their dicks hard. Jacob felt Dewayne’s dick as he pressed his chest against his back. His dick actually slid between Jacob’s butt cheeks. Jacob turned his head to whisper to Dewayne.

“If you go slow and gentle, I don’t think you can hurt me. I really want to be with you Dewayne and I can feel you want to be with me.” Jacob grabbed hold of Dewayne’s hard muscle. “Just go slow and we can be with each other.”

Dewayne thought about it for a few minutes. “We better not do anything until Dr. Whitmore says we can. There's no way I could live with myself if I hurt you. I really do want to be with my handsome boyfriend, but we better wait. Just think when you do get cleared to have sex, the incredible kind of sex we are going to have with each other that very day. Trust me when I say, neither of us will leave this room for days!”

They kissed for a while before settling in for the night. Jacob moved as close as he could to Dewayne before pulling the covers over them. Before falling asleep, Dewayne wrapped his arms around Jacob, something he hadn’t done since Jacob came home from the hospital. Dewayne feared that he might move down to the stitches and pull them out.

The rest of the week, Jacob steered clear from Ethan and Chase. It had been hard since Chase lived in the same house and Jacob picked Ethan up every morning for school. Still Jacob had got his routine down at school and home, to get the job done.

It made it a little harder for Jacob to get the job done, since he started giving other battalion staff members and officers more reasonability’s in ROTC. Tasks that were his that Major Moore wanted him to do, he handed off to subordinates; the newsletter, training for the pass and review, setting up the officers meetings and several others duties as well. Although he was not in the day-to-day operations of these things anymore, the duties he passed to other officers, still had to be monitored and had to get his approval, before the officer’s executed their plans.

Jacob didn't want to be at fault causing Ethan anymore harm than he already had. The expression on Ethan’s face when Jacob told him that the person he was talking about was not interested in him, still haunted him. Jacob decided there was no way he would be part of or be the one, to cause that pain for anyone else, ever again.

Although Dewayne could see that there was something going on with Jacob, he had his hands full. He wanted to help Jacob, but by the time he got home in the evening, they barely had time to say hi to each other, let alone to talk. Neither Dewayne nor Tony had any idea how hard and how much there was to running a company until they started dealing with theirs.

When the guys headed to school, Dewayne would head to the office and then, not get home until late in the evening. Everything Joe showed him during the day Dewayne took the time to show Tony in the evening, since that was the only time Tony had a chance to work. Because of that, it put a double load on Dewayne’s back, but he wasn't complaining.

When Friday finally came, everyone breathed in a sigh of relief. The guys went through their normal routines in the morning, from picking up Ethan to eating two breakfasts, to hanging out until the bell rang for first period. Just like the days before, Jacob kept the conversations light and away from Chase and Ethan.

Both Chase and Ethan have noticed the change in Jacob and they both were trying to figure out why. When Jacob left to go to the ROTC building, Chase had enough and planned to confront Jacob. Ethan also had enough, but he decided to stay quiet about his frustration since he is the new guy and didn't want to rock the boat.

Jacob heard Chase call out for him, so he slowed down allowing Chase to catch up. As he waited, another student passed him, stopped, looked at him, and walked back up to him and just smiled. At first, Jacob didn’t recognize the guy, but after looking at him for a few minutes, he placed him.

“Oh wow, you are, man I am bad with names, but I met you over a year ago with Josh. You and Josh were going out when I met you.” Jacob kept snapping his fingers together trying to remember the guy’s name. “Man if my life depended on me remembering your name, I would drop dead!”

“Don’t worry I didn’t recognize you at first either. I had to stop and look you over several times before placing you. My name is Chris and yes Josh and I were going out when I met you and your ex, Joey.” Jacob looked at him surprised. “Yeah I heard that you and Joey broke up. I thought if any relationship would have lasted, it would have been you and Joey. You guys seemed to be in so much love, every time we saw you.”

“We were, but there was so much in the background that a lot of people didn’t know was happening, that finally pulled us apart. The good thing is that he and I are still talking. I still see you with Josh and the others, even after you guys broke up. For a while there, I saw you with another guy, what happened there?”

“Yeah, his name is Rusty and we didn’t make it. I tried to tell myself he wasn’t a rebound from Josh, but I kept making the mistake comparing him to Josh. One day he told me he had had enough and called it quits and I don’t blame him.

After that, I dated, but nothing serious. I didn’t want to settle down into anything serious again; at least until I got completely over Josh. Now that I have gotten there and I’m ready to date seriously moving toward a relationship, I can’t find anyone! If there are any more gay guys in this school, they are hiding from me. Maybe you can throw me a bone and point me the right direction.”

Chris slapped Jacob on the shoulder as he started to laugh. Jacob started thinking maybe, and then he stopped himself. There is no way he was going to make the same mistake twice. He wouldn't open his mouth to Chris or Ethan. Plus Chris was younger than Ethan and that might be a problem for Ethan.

“My friends that are gay are in serious relationships. The others that aren’t are straight as an arrow.” Jacob looked over at Chase and quickly back to Chris. “Listen why don’t you come down to my house tomorrow afternoon and hang with us at the pool. I don’t know anyone because I'm not looking, but who knows, perhaps David and Tom might know someone that you might like. They aren’t looking, but they might know someone.”

“I will take you up on that Jacob, thank you very much for the invite. How about I come down around four or so in the afternoon?”

“That sounds good to me Chris! If you show up any earlier, my parents might put you to work since they're moving. In the morning, Dewayne, Tony and I are going to go to the Jr. Sun Bowl and in the afternoon, we're helping my parents move. We should be done by three or so. That gives us plenty of time to get things ready for a cookout.”

Chris pulled out a sheet of paper from his notebook for Jacob to write down directions to his house and his phone number. As Chris left, he thanked Jacob again for the invite to the pool party. Jacob turned to Chase to see what he needed since he was calling for him to stop in the first place, before running into Chris.

“Whatever it is that you need to talk with me about, you better get out soon. Running into Chris and talking with him has pretty much taken up the time I have to work on the things I want done in ROTC. So if you can’t get whatever you want out by the time we reach the ROTC building, you will have to wait until later.”

“What's going on with you Jacob? What’s with the way you've been talking to me, when you aren’t ignoring me? What did I do that has upset you, to be like this to me? For the life of me, I can’t figure out what I have done to get you so angry.”

“Because you haven’t gotten me angry Chase and that's why you can’t figure it out. Whatever you're feeling or believe you're seeing, you're wrong. I just have so much on my mind right now; I really don’t have the time I would like to spend with my friends, more so, my best friend. Let me get through the weekend and I hope things will get back to normal, at least normal for us.”

Jacob looked down at his watch and decided to spend the time that was left before first period with Chase. He followed Chase to the main building and over to the lockers. They leaned against the wall and talked until the girl Chase liked walked up to her locker with a couple of her friends. Chase pointed the girl out to Jacob to see if Jacob had any ideas on how he could go about asking her out.

With a big grin on his face, Jacob walked over to the group of girls. He stood there until they turned and asked him what he needed. Ignoring the girls around the girl Chase liked, Jacob introduced himself to her. She in turn, introduced herself to Jacob; her name was Patricia. Once they got the introductions over, Jacob tried to help his friend.

He found out that she wasn't going out with anyone right now. Then Jacob found out what she liked in guys. As they talked, Jacob realized being an open gay guy had its perks. Girls open up to gay guys because they consider them to not be a threat. A normal guy, straight, normally only wanted one thing when they talk to a girl; sex!

Just before the bell rang, Jacob pointed Chase out to her. Right away, she told Jacob she thought he is hot and she liked him, but she didn’t know if he liked her. Not putting his foot in his mouth this time, Jacob invited her and her friends over to his house tomorrow to swim and hang out. The girls giggled like girls do as they nodded their heads.

After writing instructions to his house and his phone number down for the second time, Jacob thanked the girls. Before rejoining Chase, Jacob asked Patricia if she was sure she was coming tomorrow and she made it clear that she is. With a smile, he thanked her and headed back to Chase. As he walked away, Patricia looked at Chase and couldn’t believe that she might get the guy she liked.

When Jacob told Chase what he had found out and that he invited Patricia over tomorrow, Chase couldn’t stop thanking Jacob. He walked to his locker with a huge smile on his face that could be seen a mile away. Unable to help himself, Chase thought for the first time this week he actually didn’t get shot down. Now he knew that there wasn't anything wrong with him since the girl he has wanted to date, even before he dated Linda, not only like him, but actually wanted to date him.

By lunch, everyone at the table heard about Chase and Patricia. So when Chase sat down, they ragged on him until he finally told them if what they heard was correct. Even Ethan got into the teasing, but for different reasons. When Chase did confirm what they heard, Ethan knew once and for all, that he had been wrong about Chase.

Before lunch ended, Jacob told the guys that he was going into the office today. So if they want, they could catch a ride with him. They immediately agreed and made plans to meet at the truck after school, before returning to teasing Chase.

Just as they planned, they met at the truck and headed into work. The gang went into the side entrance to get to the print shop, while Jacob went up to his office to see if his grandfather needed anything. After checking in with Al, Jacob went down to Dewayne’s office to see how he was doing after completing his first week as owner.

When he walked in, the secretary refused to let him go into Dewayne’s office. That angered Jacob, but he sat down in the lobby while she let Dewayne know that he was there. After thirty minutes had passed, Jacob went back to the secretary to see if she let Dewayne know that he was waiting for him. She looked up, said no, and that was it for Jacob. He walked past her and since she couldn’t stop him, she called for security.

Dewayne was surprised when he saw Jacob walk past his office. He ran out and caught up to him as he turned the corner. They kissed each other before Jacob told him how long he has been waiting for him in the lobby. Dewayne noticed that Jacob wasn't happy, but before he could ask anything, the building security walked up with the secretary.

“This is the guy that ran past me and didn't have an appointment.” The security looked at Jacob and back at the secretary. “What, are you guys just going to stand there and do nothing? Arrest this guy and remove him from the building.”

“Ma’am there is no way we are going to remove the owner of the building, from his own building.” The secretary fell back against the wall being hit with that information. “Mr. Hernandez we're sorry for this. If we knew it was you, we would not have come up here like this. It's just that we got a panic call that there was someone making trouble on this floor.”

“Don’t worry about it; you're just doing your job. I will let Mr. Jackson know how you guys did with this situation.” Jacob shook the guard’s hands before they left. “Now for you ma’am, I'll leave it up to your bosses, as to what to do with you. I told you who I was and yet you still ignored me. Still, as far as what to do regarding what you did, is all up to Dewayne, Tony and Joe.”

Jacob turned to Dewayne and told him that he would see him at home and he walked off. Because he drove the guys to work, Jacob couldn't leave without them. Al didn’t want Jacob to work until he was one hundred percent. That put Jacob in the corner because he didn't have anything to pass the time with until the guys got off.

So Jacob decided to pass the time window-shopping. He walked out and started going from store to store near his building. One thing Jacob noticed was that all the stores in this area of town were owned by Hispanics and the products were from Mexico. Nothing wrong with that, Jacob thought, but he knew that he could get the same thing in Juarez, but at cheaper prices. All he had to do was to go to Juarez.

Just when Jacob was about to call it quits, his saw something that Dewayne had been looking for ever since it went up for auction. The window didn’t have what caught Jacob’s eye, it was a picture. That picture Jacob has gotten know really well ever since he started going out with Dewayne. Now that he might have found it, there was no way he was going to walk away without checking if the picture was real.

Dewayne liked to play guitar and had a couple already, but he had been looking for a certain guitar ever since he heard it was being sold. The store Jacob walked into was a store of collectable’s and rare musical instruments that had been played by famous musical artists. This certain store had a copy of a white guitar made famous by no other than Prince. It was a beautiful guitar and Jacob could see why Dewayne wanted it.

When he walked in, Jacob acted as if he knew a thing or two about famous instruments, but the storeowner saw right through him. Then Jacob started asking the right questions that got the storeowner thinking twice about cheating him. The storeowner took Jacob to the back, after locking the store, and pulled the guitar out of the safe. Jacob didn’t touch the guitar, he just looked at it while the storeowner pulled out of his files, the certificate that proved the guitar was an original and that it was the one that Prince owned and played.

“I need to pick it up and look at it to make sure it's the real thing.” Jacob gently picked it up and looked at it like a diamond buyer looks at diamonds. “You know that I have to put insurance on this guitar. I won’t have a problem with the insurance agent when he or she comes down to appraise this and that it will be found to be the real thing.”

“No young man you won’t. When the insurance company comes down and looks at it, they will see that is the real thing. I know anyone could make one of these guitars and a fake certificate, but I'm not one of those people. This store has been here for over two decades, selling the same thing I sell today and I plan for it to be here for my son to run someday. There's no way I would ever sell anyone a fake anything.”

After haggling over the price for about ten minutes, they finally settled on a price that they both could live with. Jacob knew he was paying more than what the storeowner paid for the guitar, but he also knew that the storeowner needed to make a profit. That was why Jacob didn’t feel bad paying, what he paid for the guitar.

Once the transaction was completed, the storeowner gave Jacob his receipt and proof of purchase when he bought the guitar. Although the owner didn’t have to so, Jacob was thankful he did. That put Jacob’s mind at ease that he did get the real thing. Now he needed to figure out how to get it to the house and surprise Dewayne with it.

After sticking the guitar in the truck, Jacob walked back to the building just as the guys were walking out. When the guys saw Jacob walking up to them, they relaxed. They thought that they might have to take the bus because Jacob had gone home.

All the way back to the house, they talked about the pool party tomorrow. When they drove up to Ethan’s house, Jacob made sure that Ethan and his brothers were coming to their party tomorrow. Ethan said yes, but his brothers said they would try. Jacob was fine with the brothers if they didn't make it, but Ethan was a friend and Jacob wanted him there.

When they got home, Jacob went in with the guys to see where Dewayne was. The minute he walked in the door, Dewayne walked out of the TV room. As they kissed, Jacob thought to himself that he was thankful that he didn’t bring the guitar in with him. He wanted to give Dewayne the guitar with the family all there, because he had a big speech that he had put together in his mind for Dewayne.

It was hard for Jacob not to jump out of his seat during dinner and go out to the truck to get what he had bought Dewayne, but he stayed in his seat. When they walked to the TV room, Jacob waited for everyone to make their way in. He didn’t want to go and get everyone because it would give him away.

Finally, when Tom and David walked in, Jacob put his plan in motion. He got up telling Dewayne he wanted to make sure he locked the truck. Of course, Dewayne didn’t question Jacob and he knew Dewayne wouldn’t. After grabbing the guitar from the truck, he walked in and leaned it against the wall right outside of the TV room.

Clearing his throat, everyone looked up to Jacob. “You know, it is very hard to find someone that you know that you will spend the rest of your life with. All you know where I am coming from, when I say that. A couple of us have found the ones they want to spend the rest of their lives with, and others are still looking. They will find that special person when the time is right; I know that for a certainty.

The reason I know that, because I found the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with, when I wasn’t looking. When I thought I had lost the one that I thought I was going to spend my life with, I was proven wrong. I walked into the McDonald’s and a light shined on a guy that I just fell in love with that very moment. Boy am I glad he felt the same way about me, because I would still be there looking at this very hot guy.”

Jacob walked in a little more, so Dewayne could see him. “I know I can be a handful sometimes, well most of the time. From me refusing to let you in all the way, to my short temper on certain things, you have put up with me. You have stuck by me when you really didn’t have to. I have said this before and I will say it again; I know you didn’t sign onto having a sick boyfriend, but I'm glad you stuck around. I love you so much, Dewayne. Just to say thank you for all that you have done for me, and for staying at my side, I have a little something for you.”

Everyone watched as Jacob walked out into the hall and came back in with a guitar case; a weird guitar case that no one had ever seen before. Jacob walked over to Dewayne and handed him the guitar case. Dewayne just looked at it and knew what was in side of it. It’s the very guitar he had been trying to find, ever since he found out it was being sold.

Although Dewayne knew what was in the case, the others didn't. They surrounded him and waited for him to open the case. When he did, Tom and Chase went to touch the guitar, but Dewayne slapped their hands away explaining to them why he did it. Jacob handed him the certificate and both receipts.

“I really don’t know what to say Jacob, I really don’t. When I talked about this guitar, I thought that you were ignoring me. Now I see you actually do listen to what I say to you.” Dewayne kissed Jacob on the lips. “You didn’t have to give me anything; I know how much you love me; as much as I love you. There is nothing you can do, say, or go through, that would make me leave you. Like it or not Jacob, I am here for the long haul, no matter what.”

Dewayne carefully pulled the guitar out of the case and showed the guys. None of them could believe that it was the real thing. They had heard of people that buy things like that, but they had never known anyone that did, until now. As they looked at the guitar, Tom, Chase and David teased Jacob, where was their gift, since they put up with his stuff too? Jacob simply replied that his friendship should be enough.

After everyone had a chance to look at the guitar, Dewayne put it back in the case and took it up to their room. Jacob followed Dewayne, which pretty much started the clearing of the TV room. One by one everyone headed to their rooms, to turn in for the night. They all had to wake up early either to go to work or to the game.

The only one that took the day off from work besides Tom was David. Everyone else got up at the same time, but the guys that had to go to work left first. After they left, Tom and David left to get to the Sun Bowl. Shortly after those two left, Jacob and Dewayne followed with the rest of the clan.

When they arrived at the Sun Bowl, Al was invited to sit with the Governor and his family. But because he didn’t come alone, Al declined and went with Jacob and his family to their seats. A few minutes later, members of the Governor’s security detail came up and informed Al that the Governor would love it that he and his family would all join him and his family to watch the game together. This time Al accepted since the entire family got invited to sit with the Governor’s family.

The security detail pointed where the seats were to Jacob as he left to join his school down on the field. Jacob thanked them as he went down and joined the cadets he chose to march in the pass and review. The minute he joined the others on the side of the field, Jacob went through one last time what commands would be given on the pass and review.

Just as Colonel Pigeon walked up, Colonel May called him over. After they talked, they walked up to check to see if the battalion was ready for the pass and review. Jacob said yes and they took their spot on the right side of the field. The announcer got everyone’s attention, welcomed them to the first annual Jr. Sun Bowl, let the audience know about the special guest in the house and then brought their attention to the middle of the field.

Governor Lopez, members of the military and other people that hold political office from the state of Texas stood up. Fierro gave the command to the brigade staff, which started the pass and review. Once the brigade staff reached a certain point on the field, Jacob gave the same command to his staff. The same command was given by each battalion commander until all the battalions were marching behind each other.

As they reached the Governor’s stand, Jacob gave the order ‘eyes right’ and all the officers saluted and the non-officers just turned their heads to the right as they marched past the Governor. The military generals saluted as they passed. Once the entire battalion had passed the Governor, Jacob gave the order ‘ready, front’. They continued marching until they returned to the point they started.

Governor Lopez said a few words before sitting down. Fierro turned around and gave the order to the battalion commanders to fall out. One at a time, the battalion’s commanders called their units back to attention and gave them the order to fallout. Since Jacob commanded the first battalion, they got off the field first.

Jacob made his way back to his seat to watch Tom show his stuff on the field. When he sat down, Dewayne grabbed hold of Jacob’s hand and held it tight the entire game. No one said or looked at Jacob and Dewayne in a negative way.

Several times through the game, the lead switched back and forth, but as the final seconds wore down, it looked like the west side schools were going to take the game. Instead of just kneeling, the coach of the west side school called in a play that didn’t make sense. With ten seconds on the clock, the coach called a “Hail Mary” when it wasn’t needed. As a result, the ball was picked off and run in for a touch down. The east side won the first Jr. Sun Bowl by one point from a touchdown that wouldn’t have happened if the coach had just kneeled the last possession of the game.

Tony took off with Jacob and David as they went to get Tom. Al and the rest stayed behind with the Governor and his family. Due to time constraints, the Governor declined going and enjoying a relaxing afternoon at Al’s house. Governor Lopez needed to get back to Austin, because of pending bills that his own party was against.

After seeing the Governor off, Al rejoined the others in the parking lot. Instead of fighting with everyone else trying to get out, Jacob and Al decided to wait until the traffic thinned. Jacob pulled the tailgate down to let the ladies sit while the others threw the football around until Al called for them to leave.

Once they got home and changed, Jacob and the guys headed down to Gloria’s house, now Joey’s house once again. Andy Sr. already had pretty much everything ready to go. It didn’t take long to load Jacob’s truck and take the first load. Where it took time was in the new house because Gloria stood there directing where everything was going. That really wasn’t the problem; the problem was Gloria wanting everything perfect.

By the time they brought the final load from the old house, most of the guests had arrived for the party. Ethan helped Jacob unload the truck with his father since the others disappeared. Jacob figured that they just were tired and just wanted to get ready to swim. Since he still couldn't swim, Jacob didn't mind being left to unload the final load but he had to limit his lifting. Ethan took up the slack very naturally.

“Hey my friend, thanks a lot for helping me out here, but don’t you want to be with the others swimming? I invited you down to have fun, not put you to work. My father and I can handle what's left on the truck.”

“No that's cool; I'd like to help you if that is okay?” Jacob shrugged his shoulders. As he and Ethan pulled down the couch. “Besides you are the one that invited me and I can’t sit over there while you're hard at work over here. Where did Dewayne go? I thought he was helping you as well.”

“He was, but he got a call about something at one of his stores. I had to force him to take the call because he didn’t want to leave me alone. The others had already left and he felt bad that only my father and I would be left if he went.”

“Sounds like he's really a nice guy, is he your first?” Jacob looked at Ethan with a look like, where have you been. “Please forgive me if I've over stepped the line. It's just that you guys seem to know each other very well; like you've been together for years.”

Jacob explained to Ethan what his past had been like. Without getting into any great detail, Jacob told Ethan about Joey, how they met, what they went through and how it ended. Then he told him how he met Dewayne and he never looked back. Ethan listened the whole time as if he were going to be tested over what Jacob was telling him.

Ethan didn’t understand how a guy would do what Joey did, after being together as long as he and Jacob were. But he listened to Jacob when he said not to judge the guy until he met him. And if he got to know Joey, he would see that Joey wasn't a bad guy at all. What happened between them was life, and nothing more than that.

It took Ethan, Andy Sr. and Jacob a little over an hour, to finish unloading the truck with Gloria directing them. Once the final furniture was moved in, Jacob and Ethan started their way over to the pool. Gloria tried to talk the boys on staying to help her unpack the boxes, but Andy told her that it could wait until tomorrow. For now, they should all go out to the pool and have fun for the rest of the day, to which Jacob agreed.

When Jacob walked out, he found everyone that invited already in the pool having fun, including Patricia and her friends and Chris. Before Jacob could make it to the door, Chase stopped him and asked him to introduce him to Patricia. Jacob agreed with a smile and walked him over to where Patricia and her friends were sitting.

“Hello there ladies, thank you for coming. I hope you are enjoying yourselves. If you need anything, please feel free to get it. Treat my house as you would your own; just don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.” The girls laughed looking at each other. “Patricia, I would like you to meet my best friend, the greatest guy I have every known. I'm sad that he loves women, but it's good for you ladies. Patricia this is my best friend Chase, Chase this is Patricia.”

Patricia’s friends giggled like schoolgirls, while Patricia and Chase shook hands and started talking. Jacob could see that Chase liked this girl. That meant it wouldn't be long before the old Chase was back. The Chase that was fun to be around and liked to be the life of the party! Jacob couldn't wait to have his old friend back.

As Jacob made his way in, Chris walked up to him. Jacob promised Chris that he would be right back, as soon as he changed out of the sweaty clothes he was wearing. Chris nodded and started to walk off when Jacob called him over. They walked upstairs talking about school, and how different it was being, who they were, there.

While Jacob showered, Chris sat on his bed answering Jacob’s question about why he didn’t see him at the game with Josh. He was invited to go, but his foster parents needed him at home to help with things in the morning. Jacob understood that, since he just finished helping his parents move in.

After showering and getting dressed, Jacob and Chris walked back to the backyard. When they walked out, Jacob saw Ethan sitting alone. So he excused himself and walked over to Ethan to see what was going on. He wanted to see if Ethan wanted to go out with someone or stay in closet and not let anyone know about him.

“Hey Ethan, I am sorry for leaving you alone like this. I just had to shower and get out of those sweaty clothes.” Ethan just looked so out place, Jacob didn’t know what to do to help him fit in. “Hey, I have a question and you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. I was wondering if you want to keep it on the QT, about being who you are. I might have someone for you, but he is out and a year younger than you.”

Ethan's mood changed when Jacob said he might have someone for him. “Well I don’t want anyone to know that I am gay, at least not yet. If this guy you are talking about doesn’t mind keeping it discrete, I don’t mind meeting him. If he wants me to be open like him, I can’t do it. As you know my parents don’t know and I would like to be the one to tell them, when I am ready.”

“That isn’t a problem my friend. Give me a few minutes to find out if he would be willing to keep it on the discrete side without giving anything away. Because if he isn’t, I don’t want him to know that I have someone that is willing to meet him.”

As Jacob got up to leave, Ethan asked him to point out the guy. Trying not to give him or Ethan away, Jacob directed Ethan’s attention toward Chris’ location. Ethan smiled when he saw the young Chris sitting there in his swim shorts looking hot. Ethan couldn’t help thinking that Chris looked like a swimmer.

Jacob walked over to his grandfather to make sure he was doing alright. Al asked Jacob to get him more meat from the kitchen that was be ready to be put on the grill. As Jacob walked back to the house, he pulled Chris in to help him get the meat. Chris had no idea the real reason that Jacob wanted to have him away from the others.

“Hey Chris, you told me yesterday that you don’t have a boyfriend and haven’t had any luck finding one. I know you are open at school, but would you be willing to get to know a guy that was not open and doesn’t want to be open yet?”

“You have me wrong when you say that I'm open Jacob. If I'm asked if I'm gay, I answer the person either yes or no if I trust them. Really, very few people outside my circle of friends know that I'm gay. They've been told by others, but I never confirmed it to them. I don’t act it and I don’t plan to change who I am. As far as getting to know a guy that's completely in the closet, I have no problem with that. I've been where this guy is and won’t let anyone know or push him to be open. I’d respect his wishes.”

“Good, I might have a guy that you might like. I need to check with him if he is willing to meet you since some people do know that you are gay. Let me make this clear Chris, both of you are my friends, but he doesn’t want anyone to know that he is gay. If you hurt him, you and I are going to have a problem. I don’t want to lose either of your friendships, so I really hope you can keep it to yourself until he's ready to tell people.”

“I promise Jacob, I won’t tell anyone. You're a true friend and a friend I don’t want to lose either. I'm honored that you asked me and trust me to meet this guy if he wants to meet me. I won’t take this chance for granted.”

That was all Jacob needed to see, not hear. He saw in Chris’s face that he was sincere and meant what he said. Words to Jacob, meant little, but facial expressions and body language told Jacob everything that people tried to hide. People didn't know that Jacob really didn't listen to a person as much as he read their facial expressions and body demeanor while they talked with him. It wasn't that Jacob didn't believe them; he had just been burnt in the past by people promising or saying they would or wouldn't do something.

Just as Jacob and Chris grabbed the meat that Franseca and Virginia prepared, Dewayne walked in. Quietly he walked up and wrapped his arms around Jacob, kissing him up and down his neck. Jacob turned his head just as Dewayne leaned forward and their lips connected. All those in the kitchen watched as these two showed one another how much they loved each other.

Dewayne explained to Jacob what was going on, but he didn’t require him to go into it all. The store manager of a certain store was the one that needed to give up her Saturday to go and fix the problem at the store; not the owner. That was one of the fist things that he learned from Joe was to let those that are in management, take care of the day-to-day operations.

Trying to give equal time to all the people he invited to the pool party, Jacob finally gave up. Since they were having fun, there was no need for him to worry. Chase and Patricia looked like they were hitting it off. Ethan joined David, Tom and Tony in the pool and started fooling around. Shortly after they started playing volleyball, Alex Matt, Lorenzo, Ismail and Chris joined in to make two even teams. Dewayne didn’t leave Jacob’s side the rest of the evening. No matter how many times Jacob asked him to join the others, Dewayne remained at Jacob’s side.

This time when Al called out that the food was ready. They all went up with their paper plates and cups to get what they wanted to eat and drink and they ate outside on the lawn chairs. Al felt it wasn't fair to Franseca to make a mess out of the inside of the house on top of the mess that was being made here on the outside.

They all gathered around in a huge circle and talked as they ate. Not realizing that he was stepping in shit, Dewayne commented that this was a pretty cool first party here at the house. Those that had been their since they moved in, just looked at each other and started laughing remembering the first party that was held there.

“What in the world is so funny? I don’t think what I said was funny.” Dewayne looked at everyone trying to figure out why some of them were laughing.

“It isn’t what you said, well maybe it is.” Jacob started laughing again. “This isn’t the first party that has been held here at the house. When we first moved in, the football team had a party here. It was broken up by the police and I wound up getting arrested because of the beer. And adding insult to injury, I wasn’t even invited to the very party that was being held at my own house!”

Everyone started laughing as they imagined the football players taking off and Jacob being pulled out of the house in handcuffs. What made it funny was the fact Jacob got arrested for a party he wasn’t even invited to attend.

Franseca walked out and announced a new arrival. Everyone turned, but froze where they were at. Jacob dropped his plate to the ground and ran up to the new visitor. Al, Gloria, Andy Sr. and Marie just stood there stunned at the person standing before them.

TO BE CONTINUED…………………

WRITER’S CORNER:

{A lot happened in this chapter. Where should I even begin to sum it up? Just as you thought you knew what was going to happen, here I go again switching things up on you. I have said it so many times, don’t assume a plot is going to go one direction, because I will surprise you and change the plot to go another direction.

In the last several chapters I have been dangling a carrot in front of you about Chase, and then I go and take that carrot away, or did I? In this chapter, towards the middle and at the end, it looks like Chase got a girlfriend. Does that mean his was just lonely? What he was feeling for Ethan was nothing but his mind playing tricks? Or will he realize those feelings are real and try to go and get what he wants? If that happens, will Ethan be free for him to take?

Ethan we all know is gay and doesn’t really want anyone to know. Jacob of course knows that he is, but Jacob isn’t going to tell a soul. He doesn’t want to hurt Ethan and he was where Ethan is right now. So that means he understand and will walk Ethan down that bumpy road. When they reached the fork of the road that Ethan has to make his mind up to tell his parents, how do you think his parents are going to react? Then how do you think the guys will react when Ethan opens up? Forget the guys, how about Ethan’s brothers, how will they react to the news on having a gay brother?

Let’s talk a little bit about ROTC and how Colonel Pigeon wants Jacob to run things. Jacob is used to running things by doing everything himself, because that is what he was shown. Colonel Pigeon wants Jacob to delegate a lot of his responsibilities like the newsletter, running the meetings and etc. Do you think Jacob will be able to hand over things? Do you also think Jacob could change from one style of leadership to another?

Al is keeping his foot down on not letting Jacob work. When Jacob went in to work, Al didn’t allow him to lift a finger. He wound up walking around downtown instead. But maybe Al did Jacob a favor because of him not letting Jacob work; he found the guitar that Dewayne has been looking for.

These two love each other without question. I am glad that Jacob sees that he does run Dewayne ragged at times. I am also pretty sure Jacob knows that he didn’t have to buy Dewayne anything, but he did so anyway to show how much he is thankful. Still Dewayne made it clear that he knows that Jacob loves him and there is nothing in this world that will run him off. This relationship will last the test of time, I am sure of that.

A couple others things that happened in this chapter is Gloria finally moving into her part of the house. What do you guys think will happen with her now living in the same house as Jacob? We also saw Dewayne in action at work once again. I think he has gotten pointers from Jacob on how to deal with things. Remember that Jacob went through similar things and he can give pointers to Dewayne when needed.

Finally at the end of the chapter, who walked in? It could be many people that could have stopped by from the Governor, to Joey and all the way to Andy Jr. In order for you guys to get the answer to that questions, tune in for the next chapter. Oh yeah, the cliffhanger is back. Sorry about that, NOT! I am trying to put more juice back into my stories and one way to see if I get returning readers is by putting cliffhangers back in here and there.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. There are so many plots that can take a turn at anytime. You might think it is going to go one way, but is lands up going another. Don’t miss out on anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it.

I keep saying over and over again don’t forget about Chase. He will be spending time between two of my stories. I am giving that away, but look for him in “Beneath the Mask”. He is going to come back full and what is happening in his life will stun you.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

Yeah, I caught that nasty cliffhanger! I really think I have a solid idea who it is. Who do YOU think it is ?

Chase is an enigma wrapped in a riddle! He is to us because he’s conflicted within himself! My guess is that Ethan and Chris are going to click and Chase is going to be left with “those feelings” to deal with all by himself. Chase needs to be more thoughtful about what he asks for. He gets what he asks for and it might be the wrong thing!

The thing about Chase being conflicted is that it affects others feelings. He’s toyed with Ethan’s emotions, and now he’s going to be affecting Patricia. This sort of thing is just totally unfair to the innocent and forthright people he gets involved with. At some point, Chase is going to have to resolve his conflicted feelings and it may come in the form of his being hurt deeply emotionally. If that happens, it will be his own fault for not having enough brass in his Fruit-of-the-Looms to deal with his realities. He will have earned the hurt he’ll feel.

Dewayne was masterful in his handling of the disciplinary meeting with the manager. I suspect he learned some of those skills from his former manager, Anna. Speaking of her, I wonder what she’s up to these days?

I agree with Jacob about the depth of love between Jacob and Dewayne. They have what it takes to make it a lifetime. I also feel that they both have enough maturity to deal with negative outside influences should those land on their doorstep. Jacob and Joey weren’t well enough equipped in maturity to deal with outside negative influences when they confronted them.

I’m really watching Gloria. Zebras just don’t change their stripes. Andy Sr. is doing an excellent job of channeling her, but I still am waiting for her usual behaviors to surface. My question is whether it will be Jacob or Andy Sr. that will be the one to put a foot on her neck should she make a bad move. Jacob is maturing and has learned to not take BS from anyone. Gloria might get a total shock if she messes up with Jacob!

It’s interesting that Lorenzo and Ismail are interacting well with Jeremy. Having the companionship of the younger boys could really make a difference in Jeremy allowing him to grow more outward towards others. It would be awesome to see Jeremy become a bit more socially mainstreamed.

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Until next time,

“Daddy” Rick