Chapter One

This Sunday morning I'm telling you about, Dad was making us one of his big breakfasts. For Tyler and me, I mean. Tyler is kind of my half-brother. He's a year older than me. Tyler's eleven and I'm ten.

Anyway, Dad says we're growing boys and we need to be fed. Besides, on Sunday mornings, we're not generally doing too much. Other days, of course there's school, and on Saturdays I might have my rehearsals, or drama classes, or I'm over at a friend's house. Or Tyler has his hockey practices. But Sundays are kinda quiet.

The two of us usually sleep in, and Dad is making breakfast when we get up. The smell wakes me up sometimes. Bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, juice, oatmeal. He kind of goes all out. Maybe he feels a bit guilty sometimes 'cause we don't have a mom. So he works extra hard.

Anyway, dad burned the oatmeal that day. We could smell it. He was busy with the bacon and forgot about the pot on the other burner. He put the burnt pot in the sink and ran water in it. And the two of us, Tyler and me, had to make ourselves cold cereal instead, with milk, while we were waiting for the bacon to be ready.

So, I was looking through the cupboard for what I wanted. There are usually at least a few different boxes of cold cereal.

"Dad, where's the Froot Loops?"

"There aren't any, Dishes. Have something else."

I'm not sure why Dad calls me Dishes. My real name is Connor. That's what my mom called me. Before she died. I think she used to call me Collie too. Like the dog. That's what dad says, anyway. I don't remember that, though. I don't really remember mom that much. She died when I was three years old.

I think how Dishes got started, was, when I was very little Dad used to call me delicious and I tried to copy him. But I couldn't say it too well, so it came out Dishes instead. That was a long time ago, too. Maybe after Mom died. But before Tyler came to stay with us.

"Have some Cheerios. Or Shredded Wheat."

"Dad, you know I like Froot Loops."

"That stuff is all sugar."

"But I LIKE it. What's so wrong with sugar, once in a while?"

"Nothing. Just makes you fat if you eat it all the time. And if it's there, you eat it."

"I know. I always eat those Froot Loops. Here, look, you got this Harvest Crunch stuff. I bet that has lots of sugar too. But Tyler eats it all the time. I bet that's why you get it."

"Oh, come on, Dishes. Harvest Crunch is granola, it's whole grain so it's a LITTLE bit healthier for you."

"I eat what all the time?" Tyler came in, yawning but still doing some of the morning arm stretches he did for his hockey.

"Harvest Crunch."

"Oh yeah. I eat that. I eat other stuff too."

"Not Froot Loops."

"No, I guess not so much."

"You eat anything," Dad put in.

"Most anything I can find. I'm not fussy."

"He's easy to please. One sec, guys, the bacon's almost ready." He was busy with the spatula, taking the bacon off onto a paper towel to drain the extra fat from it.

"You buy all those veggies cause HE eats 'em all the time." I pointed across the table at Tyler.

"I buy 'em 'cause they're healthy for you. It's not my fault you don't eat them."

"Yeah, you should. You want to be healthy." Tyler piped up. "Not eat junk."

"C'mon, Puppy. He knows what he should be eating. Let him eat what he wants."

Puppy is what Dad calls Tyler. That's about as silly as Dishes, I guess, so we're kind of even. He just calls us that when we're at home, or when no one is around like our friends, or relatives. Dad is cool. He wouldn't want to embarrass us. So as long as it's just at home, we don't mind too much.

"You shouldn't talk, Tyler," I reminded him. "You're the one who's always at Mickey D's after the practice with the team."

"That's where they all want to go."

"Dad, I still think you buy stuff for Tyler and you won't for me."

"Like what, Dishes?"

"You paid for all that hockey equipment for him."

"Well, Dishes, you don't play hockey. And what about those audition photos? Those were expensive enough. For your agent and all. You wouldn't have your agent if it weren't for those photos, I think."

"Dad, you're always taking him to his hockey games. And practices and stuff."

"Connor, he takes you places too. Don't be dumb."

"I take you to soccer. You go to the drama classes. Tyler doesn't."

"He doesn't like drama."

"And how many times a month do I drive you to those auditions?"

"But we get money for that. If I get a part. I got some parts in commercials, didn't I?"

"Oh, Dishes, I know. That's cool, the commercials are great. It's not really that fantastic money, though, considering all the auditions we go to where you don't get parts. But it's not really for the money. It's cause you like it, and you're good at it."

I knew Dad was right, really. I knew I was being kind of silly. I guess I was just trying to get around to this other thing, and I didn't really know how to do it. Anyway, the reason Dad was being patient with me, I think, was 'cause he knew there was something else bothering me.

"You bought Tyler that new Fortnite game the other day."

"And I've been buying you all those Minecraft options. You like all that Minecraft stuff, don't you?"

"I guess …"

"The point is … both of you get what you need, when you need it. Pretty much. I don't have unlimited money, you know that. But you do pretty well. I think I treat you guys pretty much equal, don't I? I try to."

"Then how come Tyler gets to go in your bedroom with you at night? And I don't?"

There was a long silence. Tyler had poured himself a bowl of Raisin Bran, the kind with double raisins, put milk on it, taken one or two spoonfuls, and then he just stopped, when he heard that. He kind of just sat there and bit his lips. And I thought to myself, Oh-oh, now I've done it. I shouldn't have said that.

I guess Tyler was thinking the same thing too.

Dad was quiet for a while. He looked like he was thinking. He took the bacon off the stove, put it in a dish, set it on the table, and put down plates and forks for all of us. Then he scooped the scrambled eggs out of the pan on the stove and set down a plate with that, too, in the center of the table. He sat down in between us and put some bacon and eggs on a plate for me, then one for Tyler, and one for himself. And he started eating, slowly. No one said anything. Tyler and me looked at each other. I couldn't tell if he was angry, but I didn't think he was. Tyler was usually pretty good.

Dad turned to me. "Look, Dishes. You can come in my room too. You're welcome to come in my bedroom any time, you know that."

"But I can't when you and Tyler are in there and you have the door closed," I said quickly.

Dad gave a long sigh.

"Dishes, when you were little you sometimes used to sleep in bed with your mom and me. When your mom was around, and after she died, and you were scared at night, you were in bed with me all the time. I'd take you in my bed and we'd cuddle. And that was fine. You can still get in my bed with me at night if you want. I have no problem with that. Sometimes at night, you might wake up and you get a bit scared and you want someone around."

"But it wouldn't be the same as with you and Tyler."

Dad stopped eating and paused again. Tyler was still looking at his bowl of Raisin Bran. He hadn't eaten much. And I hadn't started on my bacon and eggs yet.

"What do you mean by that, Dishes?"

Well, I wasn't sure, really, how to put it, so I didn't say anything. The silence went on. Tyler was sitting in his chair facing me. He wasn't saying anything but he was twiddling his spoon and still not eating. He was squirming, I could see it.

"Dad. You DO stuff with him."

That was it. Now it was really out. The silence went on until I thought it wouldn't end, ever. Dad sighed again. Tyler looked up at the ceiling.

Dad seemed to be thinking. He ate his bacon and eggs slowly, finishing up most of it. He began talking, almost to himself, as if it wasn't really us he was talking to.

"Should we go into this right now? Why not, it's a Sunday. You guys don't have school. Probaly as good a time as any. We have to do it sometime, don't we? What do you think, Puppy?"

Tyler shrugged. "Prob'ly"

Dad looked at me hard.

"So what do you mean by that, Dishes? We do things?"

"DAD. YOU know. I don't want to explain it." I shook my head.

"How do you know what we do?"

I pointed across the table.

"Him. He TOLD me."

Tyler turned very red and bit his lips again.

"You did, Puppy?"

He looked at Dad pleadingly. "'Cause I didn't think it MATTERED."

Dad sighed. "Well, it kinda does matter."

We both looked miserable. "Not to worry guys, It's cool. We will sort it out. Finish what's on your plates. Growing boys. You need to eat." It was what he said all the time. We weren't that hungry any more, but we ate everything anyway, quietly, so as to please him. He finished what was on his plate too. Then he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down.

"You guys want some hot chocolate or something?"

"No, dad, we're fine," I told him. Tyler shook his head too.

"So. Let's look at this." That's what he would say when we had a problem to sort out, like getting into a fight at school or not getting along with a teacher.

He turned toward me. I guess I must have looked sad. "Dad, I shouldn't have told."

"No, Dishes, you should have. That was the right thing. It's fine."

"But it was a secret. Wasn't it?

"Not really. We just never talked about it, but it's not a secret. Did you tell him it was a secret, Puppy?

"Uh-uh."

"Ok, Dishes. So what did Tyler tell you? About what we do."

"I dunno, Dad." Now it was my turn to squirm. "Just stuff. I guess it wasn't so important."

"C'mon. It WAS important. Otherwise it wouldn't bother you like this."

"It was about love 'n stuff." Tyler put in. He was trying to help me out, I knew.

"Ah."

Dad wasn't sure how to put it either, I guess, because he wasn't sure how much I knew. "And what about love? Is that all he told you? What kind of stuff?"

I bit my lips then, and looked down at the table, at the spot of milk on the tablecloth from Tyler's Raisin Bran. And then I said it: "Peepees."

Tyler got red as a beet but he just sat there, not saying anything.

Dad said nothing either. He looked at Tyler now.

"I'm sorry, dad."

"No, Puppy. That's fine. We should talk about this. With both of you."

I don't think Tyler was looking forward to it very much. I wasn't either, but I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Dishes, listen. Tyler was right. It's about love…"

"You love him but not me?" It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"Oh my gosh. Dishes. You know that's silly. I love both of you. Terrifically. You know that. I love you crazy. You're my life, both of you."

He slid his chair over beside mine, put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. Then he rumpled my hair, like he does, and leaned over and gave me two or three big kisses on the cheeks. He smelled like coffee and shaving cream, like he always does in the morning. I kind of knew he was going to do that. Maybe that's even why I said it. But the arm around me, and the kisses, still felt good.

"Look, Dishes. It's a little bit different with Tyler."

"Why is it different?"

"Well, there are some things people can do together, when they love each other. To make each other feel good. Kinda like hugging and kissing but more than that."

I looked across at Tyler. He was staring at the table now, twirling the spoon around in his hand. "I know. He told me some of it."

"Did you, Puppy?"

Tyler wrinkled his nose and shrugged. "Some."

"Okay, Dishes. Listen close. There are some things like that, that people should only do if they're not related. At least, that's the way I think about it."

"How do you mean, related?"

"Like a mom and dad, or a dad and son."

I pointed at Tyler. "He's not your son?"

"He is, but he's adopted."

"Oh, sure, I know that. But he calls you dad, just like I do."

"He does. He's my son. You're both my sons. I love both of you. You know that. But YOU, dishes, YOU are the son that I had with your mom. Your mom and I had you together. So you have a lot of my inheritance, and things like that. You could say that you're related to me physically. It's like our bodies are related. Maybe you have my blood type, maybe my features. Or your mom's. Things like that. It's called genetics. You'll learn a little about that in school, when you get into higher grades."

"So that makes a difference?"

"Kind of. I think it does."

"I don't know why."

"Trust me, Dishes. I just think it makes it very complicated otherwise. It's like mixing up different kinds of love together."

He sighed. "This is really hard to explain. But I think you'll prob'ly understand it better when you're older."

Now it was my turn to sigh.

"Like everything."

He rumpled my hair and gave me another kiss on the cheek.

"So I can't do that stuff? What you and Tyler do?"

"I didn't say that. I said you can't do it with ME. Or anyway, I don't feel like it would really be good for you. Or for me. If we did that."

"But it's ok with Tyler? Dad, that makes no sense."

"Trust me, Dishes."

"Dad, so who CAN I do it with?"

"You can do it when you get older. When you're grown up. You can do it with whoever you please. If the other person wants to do it too. You can find a girlfriend and do it with her."

I was getting more upset with the way this was turning out. "Dad, I don't want to wait until I grow up. HE (I pointed) gets to do it NOW." I guess I was almost in tears at that point.

Dad finished his coffee. "Ok, guys. You know what? I need to think a little bit about this. And we will talk about it later on today. I promise. Puppy. Dishes. We should have another talk today. That ok with you two?"

"K, dad."

We both went away from the table. I spent most of the day in my room, reading or watching videos. I didn't feel much like going out, riding my bike or going over to the park or stuff like that, even though it was sunny. I didn't feel like calling over one of my friends. I didn't talk very much with Tyler either. I think we both felt we needed to kind of stay away from each other until we had some better ideas.

The idea Dad came up with was kind of a surprise, though. We were sitting at the same place, around the kitchen table, after supper that evening. We had done eating, and Dad was drinking coffee again.

"Don't go 'way, guys'," he said. Stick around for a bit. Remember? We have something to talk about. You didn't think I forgot?"

None of us were very happy about it, but we knew we should listen to him.

"So. Where we left it. Connor feels kind of bad because Tyler gets to be in my bed at night. And because Tyler and me do things together that I don't do with him. So we were thinking about what we can do about Connor. Dishes." He stopped using my more formal name as soon as he realized that he was doing it.

"Dishes wants to have someone he can do things with. Is that right?"

I looked down at the table. This was maybe not going to be an easy conversation. But I nodded. That was true, all right.

"Well, there is one idea."

He looked from me to Tyler and back to Tyler again.

Tyler giggled suddenly when he understood what he meant. I giggled too. I couldn't help it.

Dad smiled. "I wouldn't mind at all. I wouldn't bother you guys. You have privacy in your rooms. You can do whatever you want. That would be fine with me, if you guys want to."

I stared at the table. "Tyler and me?"

"Uh-huh."

"Dad, we already did," I said.

"Well, sorta," Tyler corrected. "We did a little bit. Not that much."

"He showed me some stuff."

"Puppy? I thought you guys just talked."

He looked down at the table. "Well … not exactly, no."

We both turned very red. The image went through my mind. Me sitting on the bed in my room, Tyler beside me. He still had his pants on, but mine were down around my ankles, and my hand was in between my legs, feeling myself there the way Tyler had told me to. And my peepee was sticking way out, in front. We took turns: his hand went in between my legs, and then my hand, and then his again. Doing yourself up, he called it.

I wanted to stop after a while because I thought it was enough, and I was a little bit scared of the feelings I was getting, and also that Dad might walk in on us. But Tyler didn't want me to stop; he made me keep doing it. And it did feel better and better, and after a while, I didn't care. I almost wouldn't have minded if Dad found us. Tyler was right, it did feel terrific.

He made me keep doing it until I felt something surge up inside me that I had never felt before, in between my legs, and it took hold of me and made me catch my breath and gasp. I didn't really know what was happening to my body, but I knew that it felt great, and that I wanted more.

Then it was done, and I felt completely drained out, but wonderful. Tyler told me that was it and I could pull my pants up, and I did.

Only afterward I began to think about Tyler and Dad doing stuff like that together, Dad and Tyler on the bed and both of them naked. Tyler sitting beside Dad, the way he had sat beside me, and feeling Dad's peepee. Dad touching Tyler there and Tyler squirming around like I had been doing, and more stuff like that. They were all pictures I couldn't get out of my mind.

I brought myself out of my daze and made myself look at Dad. Tyler was staring down at the table now, too.

"Dad, I don't want to make Tyler feel bad. I mean, sure. We could do stuff together. I know he can show me things. I want him to. Maybe we will. I mean, prob'ly we will. But you can ask Tyler himself about it, he told me. He says it's not the same as with a man."

"Oh gosh, Dishes. You want to do it with a man?"

I'm sure I must have turned red as a beet, but I persisted. "Tyler does."

There was no answer to that.

"I want to do it the way Tyler does. Tyler has a grownup to do things with. Tyler's not a grownup. He doesn't know the best way of doing a lot of stuff. And like … I don't know how to say it…"

"Try, Dishes."

"Well … okay. Maybe it's like this, maybe it's not really love unless it's with a grownup? It's kind of playing around and fun. But it's not so much real, you know? I want a grownup. Someone who knows about stuff. I mean, about love 'n all."

Dad gave a long sigh

"Dishes, did you ever think that maybe you're too young yet to know what you really want?"

"And Tyler isn't?"

Dad didn't say anything about that, either.

"Dad, I KNOW what I want. Really. I do."

"Ok, Dishes, Puppy. Tell you what, I'll do some more thinking. I promise. In the meantime … well, you guys know what I said. Help each other and all."

"Puppy, you be nice to him. And Dishes, you be nice to Puppy, too. It's not his fault he's adopted. And you will have your fun too. And lots of love, all kinds of love. Don't be jealous of him."

"K, dad. I won't."

Dad called me into his room a couple of days later. We went into his study, where he kept all his shelves of law books. He sat at his desk and I sat in the chair facing him. It felt very formal and kind of awkward, like an interview with a teacher at school. Especially considering what it was that we had to talk about. Dad had told me at breakfast that he had an idea, about what I had said was bothering me, and that he wanted to talk about it and see what I had to say.

"Ok, Dishes. Listen to me. I have a friend. He's around my age. I've known him for years, we go back to university. He was studying law, too, but then I guess he got tired of that. He moved out of the city, bought a piece of land. He built a log cabin on it that he lives in, and he started a construction company, building log cabins for other people. We're pretty close, actually. I don't get to see him much lately, because he doesn't live around here. But we e-mail a lot. You listening to this, Dishes?"

"Uh-huh. I'm listening." I guess it must have seemed like I had drifted off. I didn't really want to hear stories about Dad's old friends from law school.

"So. This friend of mine. His name is Rob. He never got married, but he has two sons, like I do."

I didn't say anything, just waited for Dad. I really had no idea where he was going with this.

He stopped. "I'm not sure how to put this. Anyway, the two boys who live with him. I guess they're not that far apart in age from you and Tyler. They're not really his sons. They're adopted."

I considered this. It was beginning to sound interesting.

"You mean, like Tyler is?"

"Uh-huh."

"And … you mean …? "

"It's like with me and Tyler."

"You mean .. they do stuff together?"

"You got it."

"Ohhhh… now I see." I started to feel butterflies going around in my tummy, and I felt a bit dizzy.

"You KNOW that?"

"I know. He tells me about the boys. He always has, since he adopted them. We e-mail, he tells me about their relationship. He knows that Tyler and me are kind of the same way, in love. The same way he is with his boys."

"With BOTH of them? He does stuff with both?"

"Far as I know, yes."

"Wow."

"And how old are they?"

"I think the older one is eleven. The younger is, I think, only about six now."

"SIX?" I was amazed. I never even imagined that a six-year-old COULD do things like that. But it was interesting to think about.

"Now you get the picture, Dishes? Anyway, I trust Rob completely. You should know that. He's a wonderful person. I know that he really cares for his boys. Now, you see, I told you that I didn't think it would be right for myself and you, because we're related. But … with Rob … maybe it could."

"Really? That would be cool with you?"

"Well, look, Dishes. I actually called him on the phone this afternoon. And I told him a bit about what's been happening with you. How you're feeling and all. Maybe kind of left out."

"You TOLD him? Dad, are you nuts?"

"No, listen, Dishes. He understands these things. He really does."

There was a long silence.

"And he said he would really like to meet up with you."

My heart started pounding like crazy. I couldn't really believe that this was true, that Dad was actually going to find a man that I could be with.

"Dad, you'd really do that? That would be ok with you? I could go and meet him?"

"Well, listen, Dishes. We would all go together."

"Together? How? Visit them at their place, you mean?"

"That's maybe a little too far. But I was thinking, over a long weekend, we could maybe meet halfway and spend a weekend together, stay in a hotel, see the sights, and all that."

"Really? Dad? That would be terrific! Where?"

He named a big city about six or seven hours drive from us. I won't say which, because no one is supposed to know a lot about this story. Turned out it would be about the same distance for them.

"Dad, that's so cool! When can we do it? "

Maybe the big summer long weekend. I would have to talk about this with Tyler though. He'd be coming with us too."

"Oh. But that's ok. I'm sure he would be ok with it."

"Sure. And Rob has to talk to his boys. There's a lot to work out. We can spend some time in a hotel there. Go see the sights, take in one of the big amusement parks out there. You can meet Rob's boys, get to know them. I think it will be a good time. And then you can get to meet Rob at the same time."

So Dad talked about it to Tyler, Tyler, of course, really wanted to do it too. I think he was glad, too, that I was actually going to get a man I could be with. First of all, it would give him something he could share with me; and second, it would make me easier to live with. I guess I had been a bit resentful about him lately, and maybe he felt it.

After that, I guess I began to do myself in bed almost every night. It was lucky that each of us had our own room, so at least I had the privacy for what I felt like doing. I explored myself everywhere with my hand, and while I did, I would think about Tyler having his hand on me, or maybe sometimes me doing the same thing to him. Or about Dad and Tyler together. Or me and Dad. Or maybe Rob, and the boys of his who I hadn't met yet.

The day of the trip got closer; Dad got travel brochures for the area; he had the car checked out, bought new travel bags and outfits for both Tyler and me, stocked up on travel gear. It was fun to think about. But I was also getting worried. I wanted to talk to Dad. One night, when he was tucking me in, I took hold of his arm, just before he was about to go out of the room.

"Dad, can I ask you some things?"

"Dishes. Of course you can."

"Dad, I think I'm kinda scared. About meeting Rob and all."

"Ah. I see."

"I mean, what if he doesn't like me?"

"He will like you."

"What if he doesn't want me?

"He will want you."

"But it could happen. I would be really sad."

"I know, Dishes. I don't think you have to worry about any of that."

"But also? Dad?

"What, Dishes?"

"I don't know anything about sex stuff. Well, not very much. Just what Tyler showed me and I guess that wasn't very much."

"There's not that much to know, really. You know about making babies; you saw all that in the book I got you guys. The question is: what he showed you … was it fun?"

I couldn't help smiling a little, remembering it. "Oh yeah, it was SOO fun."

"He showed you what? You never told me." He was teasing a little, I knew that.

"Daaad … "

"Tell me, Dishes, it's ok."

"Dad, it's kind of embarrassing."

"He showed you how to do yourself up?"

I was quiet for a minute or two. "I guess."

"And you got excited?"

"Excited?"

"Your penis got all hard."

I giggled. "Oh yeah."

"Sweet. And you had goodie?"

"What's goodie?"

"Well, the real word for it is orgasm. It's the really good feeling you get, that's kind of the reward at the end."

"Oh yeah. That was it."

"Goodie is what I used to call it with Tyler, when he was younger. Well, we still do. Having your goodie. Sometimes now we just say it's finishing yourself. So you did?"

"Mm-hm."

"Well, then, you can practice with that in the meantime."

"PRACTICE? Just on myself?"

"Well, you can still learn a lot that way. About your body and your feelings and how your body responds to different things. I did that a lot when I was your age. Younger too. And also when I was older. When I was a teenager. I never had a man like Tyler does."

I looked at him. "Dad, seriously. I should do that, you think?"

"I would, if I were you."

I shrugged.

"Do you do some of it now?"

"Daaaad … gosh."

"Tell me. You can tell me anything, Dishes, you know that. It's very natural, anyway."

I sighed. "Yeah. I guess I do. In the bathroom. In bed at night, before I fall asleep."

"And also you can ask Tyler. He will show you stuff, if you want."

"Dad, I'm kind of shy about doing that with him, right now. 'Cause I think he knows a lot more than me. You know what I mean?"

"Sure. I understand. That's ok anyway. You can just do things with yourself, on your own, and learn about your body. That would be great."

"That would get me ready for Rob?"

"Oh, sure it would. Look, he doesn't expect you to know a lot. I think he will WANT to teach you stuff. That's one of the nicest things about having a little boy, you know? Teaching him stuff. "

He rumpled my hair.

"He won't mind that I don't know very much? I keep thinking that he might."

"No he won't. Absolutely."

"But the boys he already has. He prob'ly already taught them a lot."

"Maybe."

"Maybe that's what he wants? Maybe he doesn't want to start all over and teach a kid like me who doesn't know anything?"

"Don't be silly, Dishes. ANYONE would want to teach you, if they had the chance. I would DIE to be with you. If you weren't my son."

"Aw Dad. Why did I have to be your son? I wish I was adopted too."

Dad gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Sleep tight, Dishes. Don't you worry. You will have a great time with Rob."

Chapter Two

We met up in the hotel lobby. I was so disappointed that they would only be able to stay for two days and one night. We all would have to leave the next day; Rob had to get back to work and so did Dad.

Right away, I liked them. It seemed that they liked us, too. Rob was tall and skinny and wore kind of lumberjack clothes. The two kids were very different. Jordan, the older one, who was my age, had these big soulful eyes, wide lips, smiled easily. He was a bit taller than me and had long brown hair down to his shoulders. Generally, he was kind of quiet, but there was a kind of mischief in his eyes that said he could be different if he had a chance.

Riley, the six-year-old was really cute, with long blond hair and big blue eyes. Always talking and making funny comments and asking questions. Half the time Rob had to spend shushing him. He was all excited to meet us because Rob had told them about us. Well, I wasn't sure how much he had told them. Rob had a pet name for him; he called him Piglet. But Riley didn't like it very much, and it made him kind of angry if Rob called him that in front of people.

We spent all day at the amusement park (okay, I can say it, Six Flags, because there's a lot of them). Going on the rides, stuffing ourselves with popcorn, spending money at the arcades. We stuck together the whole time. Us three older kids wanted to go on some of the scary rides, like the ones where you hung upside-down, so Dad took all of us for part of the day and we got scared out of our wits (well, not really). At the same time, Rob and Riley went to the kiddie rides section. Part way though we met up, for lunch and all.

We were all tired when we got back to the hotel. We were staying at the same hotel but in different suites. All of us kids were looking forward to getting to the pool because it had been such a hot day out there in the sun. But then, when we realized how late it was, we decided it might be better to leave the pool for the next day. Rob suggested we all come up to their room.

When we got there we scanned through the cable channels, looking to see if there were any good on-demand videos. There was a porn channel we giggled about, but Dad saw us considering it, and he put a stop to that idea pretty quick.

Jordan had brought along a portable game console and some games he had on DVDs. It didn't take long until he and Tyler had it set up on the desk and were taking turns at the controls. I'm not so much into video games as Tyler is, so I let them go at it. Eventually they got bored with it and started to check the TV again. Us older kids piled up next to each other on the couch, with Dad in the middle. Rob was on the armchair on one side, with Riley yawning beside him.

There were reruns on of that old show, Fear Factor. We couldn't find much else. Tyler was kind of into it and Jordan, I could see, was kind of going along with him.

"Connor ?"

It was Rob; he patted the couch beside him. Riley was already half-asleep.

"Come over here, bud. Talk to me."

He had a nice smile and really friendly eyes. Also, he looked right at me when he talked to me. I felt so nervous, like when I'm in a show and it's just before the curtain goes up.

My heart was thumping, I'm sure Rob must have been able to hear it across the room, even with the TV on. I sat down beside him.

"Your dad tells me you do acting."

"Some, I guess. Yeah."

"That's cool. How did you get into that?"

"I started in a community theatre. They were doing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You know that one?"

"Oh sure. That's fun."

"It was about two years ago. I guess I was like, eight. Saw the notice for the audition and I had a couple of poems and stuff I memorized for school, with actions and all. So, I figured I would try out. I didn't think I would get anything. But it ended up with them wanting me to do the part of Charlie."

"Cool. And it was fun?"

"Oh yeah. It was a lot of work, with the memorizing and the rehearsals and all.

But it was great. That's why I wanted to do more of it."

"So this is mostly live, in front of an audience."

"Well, yeah. The theatre part is. Community theatre and all."

"Don't you worry that you're gonna forget your lines and stuff? And mess up?"

"Well, people always think that. I thought that, kind of, at first. That I might get nervous and forget things, when I was up in front of the real audience. But it never happens that way. Well, not with me anyway. You kind of know it so well that it's inside you. You just do it and you don't even think about it."

"That's great."

"Sometimes when you think about it too much, you get mixed up. I know that happened with some other kids."

"You sing too?"

"Yeah, a bit. I was in a musical after that. Oliver, It was just a chorus part. My voice is not great. Also I had to dance for it."

"You dance?"

"Well, I never took any lessons, but the director had me work with a choreographer, and she said I had potential. So she spent some extra time with me and just showed me what I had to do for the show. And I practiced it. It was not great either, I guess. But people said that it worked."

"That's great. I wish I could have seen the show. And the Charlie too."

"We have videos. Of both of them. You could see them sometime if you come to our house. Or we could bring them to your place, maybe."

"That would be great."

"I've been in a couple of commercials too. I haven't been in any movies but I have an agent and he looks for parts for me. I've done a bunch of auditions."

"What kind of commercials?"

"One was for this kind of Gatorade drink, you see it on TV, Powerade, orange flavored."

Tyler and Jordan were next to each other on the couch watching, or pretending to watch, some true crime cop show on TV. But I could see they were bored with it. They were more interested in kicking each other and play-fighting. After a while, they started throwing popcorn at each other and Dad had to stop them.

Jordan brought out his console again, and he and Tyler sat on the carpet next to each other. Jordan was running some kind of game he had and letting Tyler try it out. It was something like Halo, with a lot of shooting. I guess, also, that the two of them had things to talk about, because, after all, they both had men who slept with them in bed at night and loved them. And I guess Tyler had never met another boy like that, and maybe Jordy never did either. I imagined they might have talked about that, but I'm sure they didn't. Not at the beginning anyway.

Connor looked at me. "I guess you're a bright kid. I bet you do okay in school."

"Well, yeah, I guess. I get A's mostly."

"Cool."

"I don't work too hard. Dad says the teachers would like me better if I did. Sometimes I fool around in class a lot. And I get yelled at."

"Aw. You need to pay attention. You get into high school and stuff, you will probly have to start doing more work, to keep up. If you are in an academic program, anyway. They keep you pretty busy."

"I know. That's what dad tells me all the time."

"You thought at all about what you want to be? You thought about college or university?"

"Prob'ly. I dunno. Dad says I'm still way too young to decide. Sometimes I wish I could be an actor, but probably it would be something else, because there's not a lot of jobs. Maybe a lawyer, like my dad. Or a psychologist."

"You like to know how people think."

"Oh yeah. That would be fun."

"And WHAT they think ?"

We both laughed.

"Yeah. Read their minds and all. But really, I'd like to study the brain. That would be really amazing. I read a bit about it. The brain is like this really fantastic machine."

"Oh I know. I took some psychology back when I was in school, but I think they know a lot more about how the brain works now than they did in those days."

Riley, in Rob's lap, cuddled up against him, gave a big yawn. His eyelids were half-closed. Rob rumpled his hair and whispered something to him, "Hey bud … "

Riley sat up sleepily.

"Is it bedtime?"

"Past bedtime, little guy. It's been a long day."

Rob looked across toward Dad, who was looking over Tyler's shoulder at the video game and at the same time keeping an eye, I knew, on Rob and me, to see how we were getting along.

"Hey," Rob called out. "What do we do about sleeping arrangements? Have we figured that out?"

"We should," Dad said. "Or else everyone is just gonna crash here on the carpet."

"Naw… we got lots of space, don't we guys?" Tyler and Jordan were looking up now, getting a bit interested in this. I was interested too; in fact, my heart was all of a sudden thumping wildly again.

"Okay," Dad offered. "What we talked about on the phone. Would that work, you think?"

"Sure. I think so."

Rob rumpled Riley's hair again. Riley's big blue eyes were opened wide now and he was all attention.

Rob spoke softly to the little boy. "Okay, bud. You're going to stay over here tonight, with these guys. You're gonna get to know Mark and Tyler. That ok with you?"

Riley smiled and his eyes lit up. He looked from Rob to my dad and back again. Dad gave him a big smile, too.

"Stay here? Sure," Riley said. I could see that he was interested in the adventure and really wanted to sleep over. Rob set Riley down on his feet and straightened the straps of his overalls. Riley wobbled a bit, then ran over to my dad, climbed up onto his lap, and curled up there, just as comfortable as he had been with Rob. My dad began stroking Riley's blond hair, just the way Rob had, and also rubbing his neck and his back.

"And then Connor can stay over with us. With Jordan and me. That ok with you, bud?"

Rob reached over and rumpled my hair with his hand. I looked at him. Suddenly I thought about Tyler and my dad, and what they did together, and then about Jordan and Rob doing things together, and I felt almost like I was gonna faint. But I tried to sound very relaxed about the idea, like it was really just a regular kind of thing to do. "Sure."

"You'd like that?"

There was a huge lump in my throat.

"Sure, that'd be great."

"Jordan has a bunch of Nintendo Switch stuff he'll show you. We can maybe rent one of those movies-on-demand, too. If you want to stay up any later."

I shrugged, meaning "We'll see."

Then, all of a sudden, I thought about Riley and my dad, and then about TYLER and Riley, and I felt even more faint. Would they, really? Would Dad LET them? Well, if Rob and me could, then, why not? But I didn't KNOW if Rob and me would do anything at all. Maybe nothing would even happen and I was just imagining stuff like that.

But, when I looked over at Dad, and the way he was rubbing Riley's back, and how much Riley obviously liked it, I had a pretty good idea that THEY would.

Then I realized that Jordan had come over to his Dad. He was right beside me, still holding the game console, though he was shutting it down, taking out the DVD, and putting everything away in the cases. He was looking at his dad, and then at me, and when he looked at me, he gave a little giggle.

I didn't know what to say. "Are there two bedrooms in your place?"

"Our hotel room?"

It was a silly question and my face turned red. What if he thought that I meant, at his house?

"Yeah, the room."

Dad answered. "Just one. But there's a foldout couch, too, in the living room. Like there is here. If someone wants to use it. We'll figure it out."

"It's the same size rooms and all?"

"It's just like this room pretty much, except a few floors higher up. Actually, near the top. You get a lot better view. Well, you can check it out in the morning anyway. You wouldn't be able to see that much at night."

"Cool."

"It'll be fun," Dad agreed.

I was still sitting beside Rob on the couch, and I realized that he had put his arm around me and had pulled me close to him. It felt good.

Suddenly, Jordan sat down on one of his Dad's knees and began tapping his Dad playfully on the tummy. "C'mon Dad, we should go."

"K, Jordy, just give me a minute." I was sitting beside Rob. He rumpled my hair once more, let his hand slide down to my neck, and squeezed me a little there. Then he put his hand beside mine on the couch, and gave my hand a squeeze. Which I'm pretty sure Jordan didn't see.

Jordan put his arms around his Dad's neck impulsively, then rubbed his face against his Dad's shoulder. "Let's go, Dad. I want to go back to our room."

He stood up. "You comin', Connor?"

So, this is what happened later that evening.

"Guys, it's 12:30."

"One more level, one more level, I just have to figure out how to get past this guy."

"He's big and mean?"

"Oh yeah. I don't have enough energy to beat him yet. I do but I think I have to change weapons."

"Ok, ten minutes, that's it. It's late."

"K, dad."

And then, later:

"Guys, turn the Nintendo off."

"Aww."

"I said ten minutes."

Jordan shut it down and put it away.

"Go get washed up. Connor? You got your toothbrush?"

"Oh yeah. It's in the bag there with my pajamas."

"Go get 'em out, then. Let's go, people."

We stood up reluctantly. I found my pajamas and toothbrush, and followed Jordy to the bathroom.

"Jordy, there's some clean undies on the washstand in there," Rob called out.

"K, dad."

I turned on the cold water. Both of us got out our toothbrushes. I had my toothpaste tube, also, and so did Jordy. There was a plastic water cup on the sink, with a wrapper from the hotel on it. Jordy unwrapped it and set it by the sink.

We brushed our teeth. Jordy made funny noises: "n`ga,n`gaa, n`gaaaa" and gargled as he brushed. He was trying to be funny. I laughed. I made funny noises too, different ones. He giggled. I knocked over the water glass. "Uh-oh … " We wiped up the floor, then I splashed water on Jordy from the sink, and we giggled some more.

Brushed our teeth. Splashed water on him. Giggled.

"Your toothpaste is funny."

"It's organic. Sposed to be healthy for you. Doesn't smell like mint, though."

"Mmm. What does it taste like."

"Here, try."

"Mmmm. I like mine better. It tastes kinda funny."

"You get used to it."

I rinsed my mouth.

Then it was time to get washed up for bed. Jordan pulled off his t-shirt. He was skinny, with very pale skin and freckles around his shoulders, that you could see when he swished back his long hair. There were more little freckles down his back. I noticed it was an outie bellybutton. He started to undo his pants.

There was a tub with a frosted glass screen on the outside, and a frosted shower door. "You can go first," I told him. "I'll wait."

"Naw. You don't have to wait. There's room in there for both."

"Mmm. That's ok. I don't mind waiting."

"C'mon. Dad said we should. C'mon, take your shirt off."

"He said that?"

"Ask him."

"Nooo…"

"Go on, he doesn't mind."

I opened the bathroom door.

"Rob?"

"Huh, sweetie?"

"Rob, did you mean Jordan and me should wash up at the same time?"

"I said you COULD. It would be a good idea. 'Specially since it's late. You don't HAVE to."

"I guess I will, then."

"Good for you, honey.G'wan, it's late."

When I went back in the bathroom, Jordan was just wearing his underpants.

"Sooo?" he said. "Did he tell you?"

"Yeah. I guess it's ok." I tugged off my shirt and dropped it on the bathmat beside Jordan's pants and shirt.

"Is there soap?"

"They got these special soaps for the hotel. There's a bunch of 'em. Little packages." He tossed one to me

"And shampoo?"

"Yeah, same. I don't usually wash my hair every night. Sometimes I do. When it gets dirty or when I'm all sweaty and stuff."

"Me too."

I undid my jeans and pulled them down and then off over my ankles, and dropped them down beside Jordan's. I was wearing a pair of boxers with a pattern of stars and film cameras and microphones and stuff. Jordan giggled.

"Is that for your acting stuff?"

I shrugged. "My dad bought them for me. They're kind of dumb."

"Well they got lots of colours anyway."

After a pause (as if we didn't have anything else to think about) Jordan asked:

"What's your favorite color "

"I dunno. Maybe red I guess."

"I think mine is kind of orange or maybe purple. But I don't have a lot of clothes that colour. They're maybe kind of girlie colours."

"You should get some boxers like that."

"I like these. He looked down at his own underpants, which were just simple, kind of bikini or Speedo-style, tight fitting. They were light blue with kind of dark blue trim around the waist and legs and stuff. My dad likes when I wear these. He doesn't like me to wear boxers so much."

He leaned across the tub.

"Cool. Look at the glass doors. He slid one of the doors back and forth a couple of times. Shower curtains are more messy. I always get too much water on the floor and then my dad yells at me."

Abruptly he pulled down his underpants, stepped out of them in one motion, and let them fall on top of the rest of his clothes. His little thing, just down below his tummy was soft and pink and bouncy. It looked cute and playful, just dangling there. Jordan didn't seem to pay any attention to it, but I couldn't help looking, a little. I noticed that he was circumcised, like I was. Dad had explained the difference to me once, when we had been to the Y and I had seen other kids in the change room who looked kind of funny in between their legs

Jordan climbed through the glass door, turned on the faucet in the tub, and grinned out at me. "Come in too."

I slipped my boxers down my legs, feeling all of a sudden terribly shy, though when I looked at myself, I guess I didn't look that different from the way Jordan did, down there.

So I stepped into the tub too.

It was kind of crowded and we kind of couldn't help pushing against each other.

Jordan bent down and his bare bottom stuck out toward me. It dawned on me that he was really NAKED, and so was I. It felt kind of strange. Jordy stuck his hand under the faucet. "You want it hotter or colder than that?"

I leaned across him, smelling the warm skin of his back, and put my hand under the faucet too. It seemed about right to me.

"That's ok. Try it. You always end up having to adjust it anyway when you put the shower on."

"Oh yeah. I know." We were very close together. I looked at the long soft brown hair dangling around his shoulders. He smelled of bubble gum and strawberries. The bubble gum was what we had got from the machines at the arcade, and the basket of fresh strawberries we had got at the corner grocery was part of our dessert.

Jordy pulled the knob and the water began to spray from the shower nozzle above our heads. It was cold as anything, and it stung at first. Both of us jumped and screamed a little. "It will warm up. Here, I'll turn on more hot."

"Not too much."

It did warm up and it felt nice. There wasn't really room for both of us to get under the shower nozzle at once but we took turns. I let the water run over my hair too, and into my face, and down my tummy and back. It felt good.

Jordan unwrapped one of the little hotel soap bars and sniffed it.

"I think it's maybe Ivory."

He handed it to me and I sniffed too. It didn't smell like much.

"At home we use mostly Zest or Irish Spring."

"Yeah, I like Irish Spring. Here, I'll soap you up. Then you soap me up."

The bar of soap was in my hand and I felt my legs get weak, and the butterflies in my tummy got going again. I felt almost dizzy. Was I really going to do this?

I stood up close to Jordy and rubbed the bar of soap up and down across his chest and tummy, down as far as his bellybutton. As I rubbed, he followed with his hand and worked the slippery soap up into suds. Then I went back and when the suds were all slithery, I rubbed them around with my hand too. Jordy was really slim, his tummy soft and tight at the same time, his skin smooth. He smelled nice. He stretched one arm out.

"Arm," he said. When I was done, the arm went back and the other one came up. "Other."

He bounced up and down a little, swung one leg back and forth. "Leg," he said. I knelt down in the tub. On the way down I got another look at Jordy's little pink penis. It looked kind of funny but the way it swung also made me feel like grabbing it … which I didn't. Instead, I soaped his leg, back and front, down to the feet, and ended by grabbing one toe and tickling the bottom of his foot. "No! No! You can't do that," he laughed. "No tickle!" Then the other leg came up. "Other!" he announced. I soaped that leg too, and ended with another tickle, which he protested just as much, even though it made him really giggly.

I stood up. "Now turn your back. I have to do your back."

He did and I soaped up and down. "Dad says that's the best part of showering with someone else. Doing each other's back. 'Cause otherwise you can't reach back there."

"You shower with your dad?"

"Kind of, yeah. A lot, actually."

When his back was done, I turned Jordy around to face me. He looked down in between his own legs.

"Soap me there."

All of a sudden, his thingie, which had been soft and dangly before, was pink and stiff and pointing straight out. I just stared at it, I guess. I suppose I must have giggled a bit, kind of.

When he saw me looking, Jordy cupped a handful of water from the shower nozzle and splashed it into my face, teasingly.

"Ahhh… don't," I protested, "C'mon."

Then, without warning, he put his arms around my neck, grabbed me in a kind of headlock and twirled me around a bit. I tried to do the same to him. It was kind of hard to do in the shower, and I guess we must have been banging around a lot and making noise. We were giggling too. He let go of me and we stood there for a minute looking at each other. His penis was just as pink and stiff as it was before, and then I realized that mine was too. I looked down at myself. I guess I was kind of surprised. I couldn't really understand why I was like that, but when I thought about it after, I guess it was because of seeing Jordy that way, and also maybe thinking about what it would be like if he soaped me up, as he said he was going to.

Jordan grinned and his eyes lit up. "K, so don't soap me. I'll do it. But then I'm still gonna do you." Before I could say anything both of his hands were in between his legs and his balls and his dinky were all covered with foamy soap suds. I thought about it and I guess I realized how good it must have felt, with him all hard like that. Jordan held himself with one hand and rubbed back and forth, and he got even harder. His penis seemed like it was even deeper pink, and it curved a bit and pointed up. Jordy held it in one hand, just circling it with two of his fingers and pushing inward a little, while I watched. He looked down at himself and at what he was doing, then he looked up at me and giggled.

"Now you." It was very slow, of course, because first he had to get me all washed up, the way I had washed him. It felt good to have his hands on me, but it seemed to take forever, and all the while I was very conscious of the way that I was sticking out in front.

His hands went slowly around my chest and tummy, and lingered a bit at my bellybutton and around my nipples. Then he followed the same order as I had done … arms, legs. He was about to tickle my feet when I bent down and grabbed his hand. "Hey, don't you try it, dude!" We both started giggling again and we ended up wrestling together a bit in the tub. I tried not to have my peepee touch him anywhere but it was hard to avoid, being so close together, and once I found my thing was against his back, which was all slippery.

I stood up right away, and then I let him put soap on my back and all. I didn't want to turn around, for a minute or two, because my penis had gotten to be so big, I was kind of ashamed.

I did turn round, though. The soap, and Jordy's hands, were all over my private stuff, in a minute. I looked at myself. Jordan's hand was around me and I was as hard and curved as he was. He was still pointing straight out, too. I really felt like wriggling against his hand, and I did. He kept his hand still and it seemed like my whole body was rubbing against it, even though it was just my dinky. I think I must have gasped a little bit; it was like I had trouble catching my breath. Jordan's face was right up close to mine; he giggled, and then he gave me a wet kiss on the cheek. And he nibbled my ear too, hard.

"Ouch. Owie! You didn't have to do that."

"I think you're clean enough now. What do you think?"

I shrugged and laughed. "Maybe."

"Here, I'll check you."

He got down on his knees in the shower and his face went right up close to my things. He took my peepee and held it for a minute again, right around the base, and pushed in a few times, until I really felt like I didn't know where I was any more. He was pointing straight out too, and I could see his round little bottom wriggling in and out. Both of us, obviously, were soaking wet. I didn't know about the word 'excitement' I guess, at that time, except for being excited like at a party or an amusement park. But both of us were really, really excited.

Jordan let go of me then and put his hand on himself instead. I was surprised and maybe a little bit disappointed. He put his face up close to mine and whispered something to me; it seemed funny for him to do that in the shower, after all the noise of us pushing and banging in there, and the giggling and yelling, and the water running and all.

"Do you know how to finish?" His hand was working at himself in front and he was really hard there.

I must have got very red. "I THINK."

He giggled. "You're not sure."

"I dunno. I did a couple times, I think. Tyler showed me."

"Ohh…Well, you shouldn't finish," he whispered in a soft voice. He was still touching himself, pushing in and out steadily.

"Why not?"

"I'll tell you in a minute." He gasped a little and then held very still. He pushed in very hard at the bottom of his peepee, and all the muscles around his hips and thighs seemed to tighten up. He closed his eyes for a minute and bit his lips. He stood very still for a few seconds, with his eyes closed. Then he opened his eyes again and giggled at me.

"I finished, see?"

It was what I had figured. I wondered if there was any semen. I had read about it in the books dad had got us but I hadn't actually seen any. I couldn't tell; maybe there was some whitish stuff that came out of Jordan, but if there was, it had washed away pretty quickly in the shower.

"But you just did, so why did you say that I shouldn't?"

"No, you shouldn't. Not NOW.'

"Why? You didn't tell me."

"Because my dad wants to take you in bed tonight with him. He'll kill me if I make you finish." I felt the butterflies begin to go wild in my tummy again.

"But not you too? Aren't you gonna be in the same room with us?"

"Not tonight. I guess he figures you're going to be too shy if I'm there. He's probly right. You would be."

"Would be what?"

"Shy. I mean, if I was you. And you were there too, I mean, if you were me." He giggled. "Never mind, it's too complicated. Anyway, I'm gonna sleep on the couch."

He turned off the shower and both of us just stood there naked in the tub.

"But I don't want to do that," I told him. "If you usually sleep there. I mean, I can sleep on the couch."

"No, I'm on the couch tonight. You're in the bedroom." He giggled again. "That's why you're here. Dad said."

"That's not fair though."

"It's okay. I'm with dad all the time."

He was pulling the glass door open now and grabbing a towel from the rack as he stepped out. "You must be getting cold in there."

"Oh yeah."

I climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. Jordy had one too. I was kind of glad that both of us had towels around us now. I tied the towel around my waist, and then took another one from the rack and used it to scrub dry around my chest and my back. Jordy did the same. There were lots of towels. Then both of us rubbed down our hair.

I had a comb in my bag and took it out and began to use it to comb my hair out. Jordy looked at me and got out his own comb. "Good idea." We stood beside each other, looking in the mirror and running the combs through our hair.

When Jordy was satisfied, he picked up the clean underpants his dad had left for him and held them up to show me. He giggled. They were white, and also, like the others, tight bikini-style undies. They had a Superman symbol on the front, and they looked like they were about two years too young for him.

"They're really corny. I had them for a couple years now. I think they're getting kinda small on me too. But my dad likes it when I wear them."

He unfastened the towel quickly, and I got another glimpse of his pink little dinky. He stepped into the undies and pulled them up to his waist. He was right that they were kinda small on him. It was almost embarrassing. The first thing I thought of was that it was a good thing he didn't have a stiffy any more, because if he did, you would easily be able to see. Actually, if the waist of the undies was about a centimeter or two lower, I figured if his dinky were stiff the way I had just seen it, the top of it would be poking out the waistband.

As for me, I knew that I was really really hard under the towel, and thinking a LOT about Rob.

Rob's voice came to us through the door: "You guys all dried off ?"

"We're about done."

"Good thing. It's REALLY late."

I took my jammies out of my bag; they were light blue, made of soft flannel and very comfortable to wear, with buttons down the front and pants that tied with a drawstring. There was a pattern of soccer balls, baseballs, soccer shoes, baseball bats, and stuff like that. I slipped the towel off and put the pants on, and tied them, and then put on the pajama top and buttoned it up. I was kinda glad that I had brought my jammies.

Jordy still stood there wearing just the undies.

"Don't you wear pajamas when you sleep?"

"No, I sleep like this."

"You don't get cold?"

"The house is really warm. We have a wood fire at home. And lots of blankets. And anyway, I'm used to it."

"I like these, they're warm."

"They look warm."

We opened the bathroom door.

Rob stood there, shirtless and wearing sweatpants. He was grinning.

"You guys had fun in there?"

"Kinda," Jordy replied.

"It sounded like it. You saved some energy for tonight, I hope?"

Jordy giggled. Then he shrugged. And I got all red, thinking about what he meant. "MAYBE we did…." Jordy said, mysteriously. "But I'm on the couch anyway, 'member?"

To Be Continued