A Fresh Start by WildHeart
A Fresh Start
by WildHeart
This story in no is meant to imply the sexuality of any celebrity that may be mentioned as part of this story. THIS STORY IS COPYRIGHT © 2003 BY WildHeart. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTION FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, POSTING ON SITES WHICH REQUIRE PAYMENT TO ACCESS THE SITE, DISTRIBUTION IN BOOK FORM (EITHER AS A WHOLE OR PART OF A COMPILATION) FOR A FEE, OR DISTRIBUTION ON CD,DVD,OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA FOR A FEE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE AUTHORS WRITTEN CONSENT.
AUTHORS NOTES: I have opened a yahoo group for this story and any other that I write and any others that anyone would like to allow me to use. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOVE-AND-MUSIC/ I would rather have stories about love, romance and or friends and family. I also hope to build a web site sometime soon, and would REALLY like to host other stories on that site, so if you have a story and would allow it to be posted, let me know. If anyone out there would like to help me with the web site please let me know.
Let me know if you enjoy the story, if you hate it, have ideas, opinions or whatever. Contat me at: WildHeart
This story is being written in journal form. There may be chapters with journal entries from one or more people and those will be noted as such. If you are looking for quick sex, look elsewhere. At some point sex will take place but only in the context of the story. This is a journey of learning to be yourself, meeting new friends, finding love and building new families.
You will find that dates in this story do not coincide with real events, this is all made up and you will find other examples of that as well in this story.
Note: We have all agreed to share journal entries if, in fact, we were keeping them.
Narrators note: Some portions of some of the journals will not be included for the sake of not boring you to death with everyday life stuff. Nothing of any importance will be skipped.
Stevie’s Journal
June 16, 1998
Well Eric is not going to be moving at the end of the month like I thought. It is going to take him longer than he thought it would, but he is still moving, it will just be later. Right now it looks like it will be sometime in August before he gets to come.
I guess that is about all that is going on today, so I will go ahead and close.
Stevie’s Journal
July 31, 1998
Wow, only one week to go before our first store opens and I can’t wait. This is going to be so exciting. Honestly though, how many people can say that they are doing something that they love to do? I know that far too many are stuck in jobs they hate, and I feel sorry for them.
We have advertised the opening a lot, but when we get ready for the big grand opening with all the sales and shit, we are really going to saturate radio and even some TV. I checked with the local cable company and we can get time on VH1, and MTV pretty cheap if we buy a lot of ads. CMT will be even cheaper, and may not draw many in, but we want to make sure that everyone knows about us.
Well, we have everything at home fixed up, I got my license and my Mercedes!! I forgot to write and tell you that journal. I meant to, but I just forgot. I got both last week after we got back. I love my car!
Well I have babbled enough for today…later
Eric’s Journal
August 1, 1998
I talked to Stevie again today, and I know he is worried about me. However, I just can’t tell him how bad things have gotten. I mean they have the new store to get ready and all of that. Who wants to tell their ex-lover/best friend that you got outted? I am just glad that my folks don’t know about this, at least I don’t think they do.
I just can’t believe that I got caught! Who would have thought that Jeremy’s brother would come home from college? I guess he has not told too many people yet, but still he has told more than enough.
I don’t understand someone outing his own brother. Jeremy is pissed and won’t even talk to me. I know that we were just a warm body to get off with, but it still hurts for him not to talk to me. Sometimes I wish that Stevie and I were not so much better as friends than lovers. I know that above all, Stevie has a huge heart and gives his love utterly and completely. I just hope that both of us will find Mr. Right.
I like this whole journal thing; I am glad that Stevie turned me on to the whole thing. He told me about it and then sent me this laptop so I could actually do this. How many friends would just send you a laptop at the drop of a hat? Then again how many friends would not only give you a place to stay, but a car as well?
Christ, the day for me to move is coming up soon and I still have not told my parents about it. I just don’t know what to tell them, and I know that there will be a huge fight about it. They know I do not have any money, so they will want to know how I am getting there, where I am going to live and all that shit. I certainly don’t wanna tell them I will be living with Stevie, cause they already don’t like him.
I think that I am just going to slowly take stuff out to my car and take it to the storage shed. That is another thing Stevie done for me, paid for a storage shed so I could keep my things. He told me not to bring too much in the way of clothes, he and I would go shopping and get new things more appropriate for Orlando. I am taking my laptop, my stereo, and all my music.
I guess I need to pack those things last and take them to UPS® the day before I leave. You know it may not be a bad idea to get a hotel room over by the airport that day and just leave from there. I am sure that my folks will notice stuff gone and I will have to answer questions if I go home.
Guess I will think more about that, but for now I need to get busy, so later journal.
Drew’s Journal
August 7, 1998
Well today was a great day! All the hard work has paid off! The store was busy all day. The advertising seems to have worked. Tomorrow we get to see if any of the teens that hang out at the mall with actually come in and buy anything.
Stevie has done an amazing job on the basic design of the store, and even more so with the advertising. He wants to start advertising heavily on MTV and VH1 and believe it or not CMT, well not the actual channels, but with the cable company on those channels, and I think we are going to do it.
He continues to make me proud of him. How many 16 year olds are more mature than many adults you know? Well my Lil bro is and I am damn proud of him. I have told all my buds on the internet about him and how proud I am of him. I don’t think most believe that we are really our age and that we really were getting ready to open our store. I know so many on there are full of shit, so I let it slide.
I have been trying to revise our business plan and get all of our accounts set up and all that crap. I am going to talk to Stevie about store opening plans and go over the numbers with him. I think that we can open 2 more stores this year, but it will be cutting our investments close to do it, plus it will mean a ton of debt. I know that we had talked about going as quick as we could, but I think we should think about slowing down some.
Stevie would like to have Eric join the company, and I am not opposed to the idea in general, but I am not sure about what Stevie wants him to do. He wants to make him VP of Promotions and Public Relations. I have no doubt that he would give his best to the job, but he has no experience in either field. Then again we have no experience in anything we have done so far either.
I guess we can give it a try and see how things go. I just wish that I could get Jamie down here. He would be the perfect fit for VP of Merchandise. He always has had an eye for store layout and what is hot and what is not.
Jamie still has to get out of high school so I am pretty sure his folks would not let him come down here. I guess I should tell you that Jamie used to be my best friend. I guess we drifted apart when I got into sports. That is the only thing that I can think of that caused the drift, I mean I know he doesn’t know I am gay so I don’t think that is the problem. Oh well, I need to talk to Stevie about all this.
Later
Drew’s Journal
August 9, 1998
Well Journal, I spoke to Stevie last night and I think that we have agreed on the job for Eric. The one thing that I wanted made clear was that he would be gone if he could not do the job. I wanted to make sure that Stevie let him know that the business would have to come first, and not the friendship. I know that seems cold, but if the store fails then there will be no job for any of us.
I also told him that I wanted to call Jamie, and see if he would be interested in a job, if his folks would let him come down. Stevie told me that I should offer a tutor to finish his senior year or pay for a GED, which I thought was a great idea. I just hoped that Jamie would be able to come.
I know that we have more than most and I see no reason not to share what we have with our closest and best friends. I just wish that we could do more in the community, but that will come in time.
The store continues to do amazingly well. We have taken so many special orders it is just fantastic. There was certainly a huge demand for a place just like ours. You can’t go into a regular record store and get the kind of stuff you can get at our store. If we do not have it, we will order it or find it. We have had a steady stream of business since we opened, and it is not just teens! We are getting people of all ages, looking for all kinds of stuff. Stevie and I have already decided to enlarge the adult contemporary, jazz, blues and indie sections.
Well enough for now, I need to call Jamie and see what we can arrange.
Jamie’s Journal
August 9, 1998
I have so much to tell you about today journal. The most amazing things happened today. I just am not sure where to begin. Let’s see, you remember me telling you about my friend Drew? Well I had given up on us ever being close again.
I can’t remember what I wrote about all this before, so I guess I should write it all out so I will remember it all later.
Drew and I had been like best buds since kindergarten, but when we got to middle school, he started to play more sports and I just was not into that too much, but we still hung out all the time. It wasn’t until I realized that I was gay that the problems started.
Drew is a god, I mean he is drop dead gorgeous, and even though I knew that we could and would never be anything other than friends, I still could not help but be attracted to him. Drew was like a brother, so there was no way a relationship would be possible even if he was gay. I have no idea if he is or not. Either my Gaydar is broken or it is not adjusted properly. I used to flip flop from being sure he was gay to being sure he was straight. Oh well.
After I started to be attracted to Drew, I also realized how hot his little brother was going to be. I swear they are both all that and a bag of chips. I figured that I better try and distance myself from Drew. It was not really all that hard to do since he was getting more and more into sports. Don’t get me wrong, I run and workout a bit here at home, but sports just never did it for me, at least playing them. I loved to watch, just not play. I am sure that Drew never realized that I had seen every home game, match or meet he participated in.
Ok all that said, I will move on to today.
I was reading a book this afternoon when the phone rang. I knew no one was home, so I grabbed it and answered. I am going to try and type in the conversation, cause I never wanna forget it.
“Hello”
“Hi Jamie, how are you doing?” Drew said.
“Omigod Drew is that you?”
“Yep sure is, so how are you?”
“Oh sorry, I am good I guess. I was just reading a Pern book again.”
“Oh man, I remember us exchanging those books. No one is better than Anne McCaffrey.” He said.
“Yeah I remember that too.” I said softly.
“So are you ready for your senior year?” he asked me.
“Not really. I hate this school and I don’t seem to have many friends now.”
“What? Why would you not have friends anymore?” he demanded.
“Well I told a few of them something and they all have pretty much stopped hanging out with me, but I really don’t wanna go into that now.” I told him.
“Well I will let it slide for now, but you need to talk to me. I know that for some reason we haven’t been as close as we used to be, and I really miss it. I want you to know that I would never be like your other so-called friends!” he told me forcefully.
“Drew that may be true, but I just don’t wanna talk about it right now. So how is Florida treating you?”
“Well, that is one of the reasons I am calling you. We are doing really well in fact. We have opened the first of our record stores, and we have some staff we have not hired yet.” He told me.
“The first of your record stores? How many do you plan to open?” I asked in awe.
“Well, we hope to have one more open by the end of the year and then maybe 3 or 4 a year after that, unless things go really well. Anyway we talked about some stuff and decided that even though you are still in school, we want to offer you a job. I know that I will have to talk to your parents about it, so don’t get your hopes up. Stevie and I both decided that if you can’t take the job now, it will still be there when you get out of school.” He said.
“Oh man, what is the job? Mom should be home in a while so maybe you can talk to her then.” I said excitedly.
“The job would be Vice-President of Merchandise and basically that means you would be responsible for keeping up with the latest music, keeping track of what is selling best, keeping plenty of it in stock, and you would be working with me on the collectable and rare stuff as well. You’ll have full a full package of benefits; including a retirement plan, health and dental insurance, life insurance and more. One thing you will be able to do is get shares of company stock and get into the profit sharing plan.” He told me very seriously.
I was stunned silent at that point. My whole world just got turned upside down, and I knew that my parents would never let me go. I just needed them to understand that this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Then I finally found my voice.
“Wow, all I can say is wow. You know my folks will never go for this. I have no place to stay, no car, still have to finish school, and I am sure that they will come up with even more objections.” I told him and the more I thought of it the more sure I was that I would not be able to go, bringing tears to my eyes.
“Well, let’s just see what they say ok? Don’t get down yet, I will try to make it happen. Do you guys still have the speakerphone? I would like to talk to all of you at once. When will your Mom and Dad be home?”
“Yeah, we still have it, and Mom should be home soon, and I will call Dad and try and get him home soon too. Let me call you right back and let you know what time to call.”
“Ok my number is 407-637-xxxx so just give me a call back soon.” He told me as he hung up.
Boy let me tell you that I was on the phone, calling dad as soon as he hung up. I told him that he needed to come home as soon as possible. He asked what was wrong, and I told him nothing, but someone was calling and wanted to talk to all of us.
I called Drew and told him to call back in an hour and he agreed.
By the time Drew was supposed to call, we were all in the office waiting for his call. I would not tell my parents who was calling or what it was about. I didn’t want to give them time to think of reasons to say no.
Right on time the phone rang, and I answered.
“Hello?”
“It’s me”
“Hi, we are all here, and I have not said anything about it yet, let me put you on the speakerphone.”
I hit the button and hung up the receiver.
“Ok we are on speaker now, you can go ahead.” I told him.
“Hello everyone, this is Drew, remember me?”
“Oh my, hello Drew how are you doing?’ my mom asked.
“Very good, thank you Mrs. Terrance. How are you all doing?”
“We are doing fine Drew. I am sure you did not call to exchange hellos' so why don’t you tell us why you called.” My Dad said.
“Sure, I can get down to business now.” He said.
“Business? What are you talking about?” Dad said.
“Yes business. I am calling to offer Jamie a job. I am looking for a Vice-President of Merchandise for my company. If he will accept that job at Walleyez, Inc. he will get a fantastic benefits package. The package includes: a retirement plan; health, dental and life insurance; a new car; profit sharing; and a stock option plan as well.’
‘His salary will start at $35,000 a year. He will be given time each day to get private instruction with a tutor approved to finish his education. Of course he would live with Stevie and I at least until he turned 18, and we have more than enough room for him. We have 4 unused bedrooms so that is not a problem. He would be able to use the spa and the pool when he wanted as well as the weight room here at the house.” He finished.
No one said a word for a few minutes letting this all set in. I had to allow it to as well, cause he had not told me about the car or the salary.
“Well that certainly is quite an offer Drew, but how can you be offering that?” my Mom asked.
“Well Stevie and I own the company so we can make any offer we want. Aside from that, we have already opened our first record store and hope to open the second by the end of the year. We have already hired our VP of PR and Promotions and we will be hiring more soon as well.” He said.
“Well Drew I am not sure what to say about this. I would have said no right away, but you did take care of one concern, well actually a couple. If you can assure me that he will get his diploma, and if you can assure me that he will be living with you, we will think about it.” My Dad told him.
“Mr. Terrance, I have thought about this quite a bit, and I would like to invite all three of you down here to Orlando, so that you can see for yourself the house, meet the tutor and tour the store. If you will agree and can take a few days off, I will have plane tickets waiting for you tomorrow evening. I know that this is sudden, but I really need to put him to work if you will allow it. If you guys can come, I would appreciate it if you could come right away.” Drew told them, and my folks just looked startled.
“Drew what would I need to bring with me?” I asked to give them time to process it all.
“Just a few changes of clothes, your laptop, books, music, that type of thing. The room is furnished, but we can buy new stuff for it if you want. You will get a company visa to buy new clothes so that is not an issue. Trust me you will need new clothes here, plus you will have to get some suits and stuff.” He told me and that startled me into silence.
“Drew, have the tickets waiting and let me know what time the flight is, and we will be there. I can see the look on my sons face, and I know I better not say no unless there is a good reason.” Mom said.
That was essentially the whole conversation. Like I said at the beginning of this entry, this has been one hell of an amazing day!
Stevie’s Journal
August 10, 1998
Well I went to the airport to pick you Jamie and his family this afternoon. Drew was going to, but there was a problem with one of the cash registers and he had to get that working. I was more than happy to go in his place so it was not a big deal.
I drove my Mercedes and had a limo following me, so there would be room to put their stuff. I could have brought the Explorer, but I could not get comfortable driving it. The limo really was for Jamie’s parents and all their stuff. I did not want to have to try and answer any questions they may have, so I figured Jamie could ride with me.
Drew had told me that he had planned to tell Jamie right away about us being gay, so if he had a problem with it, he could make it known then and go home if he wanted. Drew asked me if I would mind telling Jamie on the way to the house, and I said I would do it. Hell I have no problem with telling people I was gay, so this was not unusual.
I met them Jamie and his folks at the gate and took them to baggage claim. We gathered up all their stuff and headed out. We exchanged greetings and such as we walked out of the airport.
“I hope you do not mind, but I thought I would allow you and Mrs. Terrance some privacy on the ride to the house, so I brought my car and you two can ride in the limo.” I told them. I almost laughed at the looks on their faces as they seen the limo then my car.
We loaded everything into the limo and took off. Jamie was looking really good, and I was really glad to see him. I know that Drew had been hurt when Jamie seemed to pull away from him. I just hoped that he would not take the gay thing badly.
Once we got on the highway, I turned the music down and said, “Listen I have to tell you a few things, and I hope that it will not change your mind about living here or working with us. Drew wanted to tell you, but we had a problem at the store and he needed to be there.”
“Don’t worry about it, I know that Drew would have been here if he could have been, and don’t worry about whatever it is you want to tell me, I doubt that anything would change my mind. Man you guys know exactly the things to do to put my folks off balance, don’t you? That limo was perfect.” He said though his giggles.
“Yeah, we want to try and make a good impression on them. Seriously though, Drew and I both want you to know this. We are both gay.” I told him bluntly.
“You also need to know that neither Drew nor I would ever make a move on you, since you are a friend and we both think of you more as a brother than a sexual object. Don’t get me wrong you are one hot looking dude, but we don’t do the family thing, and like I said you are like a brother.” I finished.
He sat there looking stunned for a few minutes.
“Wow, I thought maybe Drew could be at different times, but never really thought he was. I never in a million years would have thought you were too. Shit, we have lost too much time as friends because of this. I am gay too, and I pulled away from Drew, cause I was kinda attracted to his looks, but I feel the same way about he whole brother thing. This is not a problem with me, but you guys better not tell my folks.” He said, leaving me somewhat stunned. I had not even thought about him being gay!
We drove the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, each lost in our own thoughts. When we pulled up to the gate of the community, I told security that the limo was with us, and we headed in. When we pulled into the drive and up to the house, Jamie’s mouth dropped open and his eyes got huge.
I finally got him out, and looked to see his folks with the same look on their faces. I almost laughed out loud at them.
We stated to unload the cars, and take stuff into the house. I told Jamie to go and pick out a room that he liked, while I gave his folks a tour. I actually did have to laugh at them at one point, because they just looked absolutely stunned.
As we took them out back, I had to show off some of my landscaping. I know that it is not good to gloat or be prideful, but damn it I was proud of the design, and wanted to show it off!
We went back in and I took Jamie's folks into the great room and asked them if they would like a drink. I made them a couple of glasses of coke and then helped Jamie unpack. He had picked one of the larger rooms, and I was glad to see that he would be comfortable. I told him about the apartment above the garage and told him that later if he or Eric wanted more privacy, one or both could move out there.
“Eric? You mean he is moving here too? Oh man, don’t let my folks know that. Fuck, this could ruin everything. Ok let me think, if we don’t say anything and try and get them to leave right away, maybe they will not know.” He said, making me mad.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Why would Eric mess anything up? He is a good guy and I thought you liked him.” I said heatedly.
Realizing that the way he had said it made it seem like he did not like Eric, he have to try again.
“No, that is not what I meant. Look, Eric was outted and most of the school knew it and a whole lot of other people know it, my folks included. They do not know about me, and they would have a fit if they knew I was living with him. I doubt that they would let me stay, if they knew.”
“Ok, sorry I got upset. We will work it out. Let’s go get your folks, head out and meet the tutor and get something to eat.” I told him.
The rest of the evening, we met the tutor, got a nice meal, took a tour of the store and went car shopping. Jamie wanted to know what kind of car he could get, and his folks seemed to want him to get something cheap. I only took him to the BMW and Mercedes dealers. I told them that no representative of the company could be seen in junk. He liked the BMW coupe and so we bought it. It was to be delivered the next day.
“Don’t you think you should have waited before spending your money to make sure that he was going to stay?” Jamie’s Dad asked.
“Of course he will stay, there is no way that you would not allow your son to jump on an opportunity like this, you know and I know it. I am not trying to be rude, but you know that he would never forgive you if you made him leave.” I told them bluntly.
That night everyone talked, finally including Drew. Since Mr. Terrance was taking off work, they decided to go to the attorney’s office and draw up and sign the custody papers the next morning. Drew was the one getting custody, of course that sounds bad, but really it was only in case medical attention or anything was needed.
Jamie’s Journal
August 11, 1998
Drew and my folks and I headed off to the attorney’s office first thing this morning. All the paperwork was done quickly and it was all official.
I still could not believe that Stevie bought me a BMW last night! I have always wanted one, and he buys one like it is nothing! This is way too cool!
We headed to the mall to get some suits and some other clothes, with my folks along for the ride.
“Jamie, you will have to come back with Stevie sometime soon and get the rest of your stuff, he is the one that is the real clothes horse in the family.” He told me with a giggle.
We all laughed and joked as we walked into the mall. Drew led us straight to a very nice store I had never heard of. Inside there were tons of designer suits. As my folks watched, he and I walked around picking various suits to try.
After much discussion, we agreed on 6 to try on. They were all Armani suits, and they all looked very good on me. He suggested going ahead and getting them all, so we did. The tailor took all my measurements, marked each suit and told us they would be ready the next day. I almost passed out when I noticed the total bill was over $15,000. So did my folks, and Drew was not done.
We hit Abercrombie, Saks, and several others loading up on top of the line clothes. Drew never batted an eye at the totals. If I looked good in something, he got it, end of discussion.
My head is still swimming from that.
After we took everything back to the house, we packed up my folks stuff and took them to the airport, where my Mom embarrassed the hell out of me. I was thrilled when they finally got on the plane. I love my folks, but they have always been too over protective. I was glad that my Dad had been so impressed with Drew and Stevie, or I would never have been able to stay.
So I guess now I get to start fresh and see what happens.
Bye 4 now journal
Stevie's Journal
August 11, 1998
Oh man, this is going to be a quick entry, cause I can't wait to tell Drew. Guess who was in the store today? I didn't talk to him or anything, figured he would not want to be bugged, but JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE was in OUR store today!! Can you believe it? Thank God I was able to keep people away from him enough so that there was not a herd of screaming girls around!
Justin Timberlake, WOW. He was even hotter looking in person than in all the pictures and videos. Oh well, maybe next time, if there is one, I will work up the nerve to say hi.
Drew's home, gotta run and tell him about this. Bye