Love Me Chapter 21
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None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to resemble any living or dead people.
This story contains some adult language as well as sex, or some hints of sex. I cannot promise that there will be sex in each chapter, but if you find my writing to be offensive or distasteful in any way, you're visiting the wrong website and need to move on.
Copyright © 2013-2020
Characters In This Chapter:
Caden Daniel Bishop – Riley's brother, Jared's boyfriend
Riley Matthew Bishop – Ryan's boyfriend, Caden's brother
Jared Gunther – Caden's boyfriend
Lisa Gunter – Jared's mom
Gwen Miller – Caden's, Riley's and Jared's neighbor
Love Me
Chapter 21
Thanksgiving As a Family
Today is November first, and the holidays will be here before they know it. Riley is super excited about the holidays approaching. He's hoping that they'll have dinner here at the house with everyone. It would be even sweeter if Ryan could come over for the day. Course, he might have dinner with his family, so it may not work out. Caden and Jared might even have Lisa over for the night. Who knows what will happen?
***
A couple of days later, Lisa is trying to make plans for Thanksgiving. Knowing that the guys might be having dinner at the house, she calls to see what they are doing.
"Hi, Mom, what's new?"
Jared asks as he is sitting beside Caden on the couch.
"I was wondering what your plans are for Thanksgiving?"
Jared looks over at Caden and tells him what his mom just asked. They talk between the two of them.
"Well, we were planning on having dinner here with the three of us. What are you planning to do?"
She is quiet for a second because she doesn't want to invite herself over for Thanksgiving dinner.
"I was planning on having brunch with some friends, but I don't have any big plans."
Instantly, Jared leans over and whispers to his boyfriend to see if it would be okay for him to invite his mother over to the house for dinner. They agree to have Lisa over for Thanksgiving.
"Mom, why don't you come over to the house for dinner? I know Riley would love for you to be here."
Lisa chuckles, knowing that Jared is right. Her grandson would want her to be there for the night.
"I will be there. You just need to let me know when to arrive at the house."
Lisa is so glad to have her son invite her to dinner.
***
It's one week later, and Riley and Ryan are at school enjoying their lunch together. The guys are talking, and their conversation takes them to Thanksgiving day.
"Do...do...you...want to come?"
Ryan admits that he is a little lost. Ryan has no clue what event he's being invited too.
"Riley, are you inviting me to go somewhere?"
Riley's face has that look that one makes when they realize that they've made a mistake. His boyfriend can see the confusion on Riley's face.
"Come...to Thanksgiving?"
Ryan is a little shocked. It's not like he's family just yet, but he doesn't want to disappoint his boyfriend. He'll have to see what his parents say about it. For now, he has to give an answer.
"I would love too, but I have to talk to my parents. We'll see what they say."
Riley accepts it, and the guys move on from their lunchroom conversation.
***
The big day is finally here. Jared and Caden are stressing because this Thanksgiving will be their first in the new house. It's also the first time that their celebration that Lisa will be at their home. They cook just fine, but having a guest or two adds to the stress. Dinner for tonight will include apple pie, blueberry pie, turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, orange-glazed sweet potatoes, bread stuffing, green bean casserole, and whatever Lisa or Ryan might bring to the dinner. Jared is already starting in the kitchen right after breakfast. Riley wants to help, so Jared allows him to be by his side. Caden is doing some cleaning
"Jared...is..is Ryan coming?"
Ryan called last night to confirm that he would be by for dinner tomorrow. Riley was already in bed when the call came in, and he has not heard the good news yet, that his boyfriend will be at tonight's dinner.
"Yeah, he's coming around 4:00 or 4:30. By the way, you are doing a great job helping me out."
Jared saw the excitement well up in Riley, and it may have given Riley an extra push of energy. Jared is working on the turkey, while Riley is busy tearing up the bread for the stuffing. It's not going into the turkey, but it's a recipe that Jared got from his mom. One by one, different tasks are being done in the kitchen to get ready for dinner. Riley reaches a point where he's tired of cooking, so he goes outside to relax a little bit. He ends up getting outside with Smoke and leaves his brother and Jared to do the task of putting together dinner.
"I can't believe he ditched us to play with Smoke."
Caden says, looking out the window at his brother.
"Honestly, though, he did do a lot. He washed the potatoes, tore up the bread for the stuffing, washed the apples for the pie, and even got the pie crusts from out of the freezer."
Jared is quick to defend his assistant. Caden nods his head and goes back to help Jared. Riley is super excited, and it's giving him extra energy, which is good for Smoke. In the end, though, it made Riley a little tired. He heads inside to take a quick nap.
***
While he is napping, Ryan is arriving at the house just in time to watch a football game. Caden isn't much into the game, and Riley isn't into it at all. They are sitting beside their boyfriends, and that makes the game a little bit easier to watch. Still, there comes a point where it's too much, and Riley gets up and heads out to the front yard. At first, he's just sitting there by himself taking in the neighborhood. A few minutes later, he's joined by Ryan.
"Why did you stop watching the game?"
Ryan says as he looks at his boyfriend. Riley looks at him as if to say, "why are you even asking that" and he just starts answering the question.
"I...I...got...bored. Are...you...are you mad?"
With the question asked, Ryan can hear some fear in his boyfriend's voice. He doesn't want Riley ever to fear him or be afraid around him.
"I am not mad at you. I was just wondering why you left, that's all."
Riley relaxed, and then he got up and looked at something sitting by the garage. It's his skateboard. It's something that Riley hasn't touched since his father's attack. The only time that Riley has touched the skateboard is when Ryan helps him with it. It's something that doesn't happen all too often.
***
Riley suddenly gets an idea. He wants to ride his skateboard. He walks over to the skateboard and picks it up. Putting it down on the driveway, Riley lifts his right leg and puts it on the skateboard. Riley was about to put his left foot upon the board when Ryan stops him.
"Dude, what are you doing?"
Riley looks back at his boyfriend.
"I...I...want to ride it."
Imagining what might happen, if he allowed Riley to climb on the board, it gives him a bad case of nerves. Then it hits him, Riley could ride the skateboard with some help from the guy standing by his side. Ryan comes over and helps Riley get up on the board, but he never lets go of his hand.
"If you are going to ride this board, you're going to let me hold you're hand, so I know you aren't going to fall?"
Riley wants to ride the board even if he has to allow Ryan to assist him. Riley agrees. For fifteen minutes, Ryan and Riley ride the skateboard. Holding on to Ryan's arms, Riley uses his left foot to make the skateboard go; however, it doesn't go unnoticed.
***
In the house, Jared is about to walk out the front door, he doesn't open the screen door, but he does see Riley on the skateboard and Ryan right by his side. He knows that Riley isn't in any danger. He heads into the dining room and grabs his boyfriend to witness what's going on outside.
"Hey, you need to come see what you're brother is up too."
Caden gets up and follows his boyfriend to the door. What he sees blows his mind. His brother is riding a skateboard. Granted, he has his boyfriend's arm to help aid him as he moves along the sidewalk. When Riley and Ryan return to the house, Caden and Jared are smiling; glowing might be a better word to describe what they're seeing.
"That was incredible, dude."
Caden said to his brother as he walked in the door and as Ryan passed by him. Jared walks away from Caden and Riley. He needs to say something to the other teen in the house.
"Ryan, can you help me in the kitchen?"
Caden is watching his boyfriend, who gives him a nod letting him that something is going on at the moment.
"I just wanted to say thanks once again, that was amazing."
Jared pats the young man on his back. Jared is genuinely thankful for Ryan's presence in Riley's life.
"I was just doing what I thought was right. He wanted to ride the skateboard, and I didn't want him hurt, so I had him hold my hands."
Jared reaches out his hand to Ryan so he could shake the young man's hands. It's almost time to start cooking. Ryan won't be left out of the cooking going on in the house.
***
For all the work that was done earlier in the day, there is still plenty to do. The turkey needs to be checked on, the pies need to be put into the oven, and quite a few other things. Caden and Jared check the turkey, and it's doing great. Jared sticks the pies into the oven. Riley and Ryan are working on green bean casserole. They're working hard on the dish. But as always, the guys are working great together. The young teen is following the lead from his boyfriend. The stuffing is also cooking away too. More importantly, Riley and Ryan spent time together and functioned well together. To be honest, it's not a surprise to anyone at the house.
***
In the kitchen, Jared and Caden are talking when the teens walk back into the room. The topic of discussion seems to be Christmas.
"So do you think that we should do a brunch or breakfast on Christmas?
Caden asks as he looks at the stack of dirty dishes that are waiting to be scraped and rinsed, and they still have not had the meal yet. He wants to do something different for Christmas.
"We could do breakfast. What time do you think we should do it?"
Jared says in response.
Riley is thinking of all the food that could be served, and he comes up with this thought.
"Mmmmm, Blueberry...pancakes."
Ryan smiles and nods his head.
"That does sound good."
Caden doesn't know precisely what will end up on the menu, but he has to admit that blueberry pancakes do sound good. His answer seems to work for everyone in the room.
"I think if we eat around 10:00 am, that will give people a chance to get ready to be here."
Ryan's family has always been huge on Christmas, so he will have to figure out a way to make this work. He wants to be here for Christmas.
"I'm excited because it's my first Christmas with a boyfriend, and I can't wait to spoil a certain someone."
Caden just looks at Ryan. He loves the fact that Ryan is excited about having the opportunity to spoil Riley. One thing Caden has learned about Ryan is that when it comes to Riley, Ryan is willing to drop everything for his boyfriend. He also genuinely loves Riley. Riley takes the opportunity to kiss Ryan.
"I...I...can't wait...to...to spoil...you."
Ryan pulls Riley into a hug. The adults in the house love seeing the love between the teens growing every day.
***
All of the food is ready, and Caden has started to set the table. As he does, Lisa shows up for dinner, and everyone washes their hands. When Jared's hands are clean, he helps set the table and in getting the food to the table. Riley watches as Ryan helps also. Caden was not sure that it is safe for the food and for his brother to be helping get the food to the table. When the table set and everyone is ready, Caden calls everyone to the table.
***
Before the food is served, Jared decides to carry on a family tradition. The idea is for everyone to name one thing that they are thankful for in their lives. Course, there is nothing wrong with naming more than one item. Since his mom is here, Jared is going to let his mom go first.
"Mom, I am starting a tradition in my family, where we go around and say at least one thing that we are thankful this year. We'll just go around the table."
Lisa pauses for a second or two before she says anything.
"I am thankful for my sweet son and his family. Thank you for being so sweet and caring."
Ryan's turn, and he pauses to think about his answer, but he doesn't spend much time thinking about it.
"First off, I know exactly what I am thankful for, and I am thankful for Riley coming into my life. If you had told me a year ago that I would meet someone at school, I would have called you crazy. Babe, I love you so much."
Riley's turn to say what he is thankful for, and there are no surprises to it.
"I...I...am thankful for...for..first...res-pond-ers for...for saving...me. I...am..am thankful for doctors...and...and nurses. Thankful for my..., my brother and...and Jared. I...I...am...thankful...for...my...love, Ryan. Grand-ma, I am thankful..for...for you too."
There isn't a single person in the room who isn't feeling the emotions behind Riley's words. Everyone in the room is touched. It hit his brother hard, especially the part about the first responders. He doesn't know if Riley spends much time thinking about the people who saved his life. He deserves a chance to thank those who saved his life.
"Well, I guess it's my turn to tell you what I'm thankful for, first, I am thankful for my mom because without her nothing else would matter. I am thankful for my best friend and boyfriend. Love you, Babe! Riley, I am so thankful for you because you helped me get to courage to ask this guy out. Ryan, I am thankful to you because you love my little brother. Thanks, everyone!"
Jared contained his emotions. The last person to say what's he's thankful gets to ready to speak up.
"Riley, you were the catalyst for so much change in my life, and although it wasn't easy, it was all for the best. Jared, you came into my life as a friend, and I wish that my eyes and my heart were truly open so that I could have seen you so much sooner. Ryan, in your own way, you have saved my brother's life and helped stand tall. Thanks for loving him. Lisa, what can I say. You not only gave birth to the handsome man next to me, but you willingly stepped in and became my brother's grandmother. Thank you so much for doing all that you do."
Ryan has never felt like he has saved Riley's life. He's happy with Riley, and that is all that matters. With Caden's words spoken, the family begins the feast.
***
A little bit after dinner, there is a knock at the door. Caden gets up to answer it. When he opens the door, he is pleasantly surprised to see Mrs. Miller. She's holding a plate filled with cookies. A big smile is on her face.
"Hi Caden, I wanted to bring your family over some cookies."
Caden's face lights up. Jared took time out to help the Millers' bring in the groceries inside the house this week, and this is a thank you. They don't like taking gifts from people for helping them out. She spent a lot of time baking those cookies so that he won't turn her away.
"Thanks, Gwen! We will enjoy these cookies. Do you want the plate back?"
Caden asked, wanting to know if he needed to return the plate or not.
"When you re done, send it back with your brother."
Ever since their first encounter, she has been taken to both Riley and Ryan. Maybe this was a ploy, to see have the boys stop over and spend time at the time, Caden is sure, but he'll do as instructed. He does need to talk to Lisa before he does anything else.
***
He hands the cookies to Ryan and asks him to place them on the table before he goes to talk to Lisa. Lisa is with Smoke and Riley.
"Lisa, can I talk to you for a second or two?"
Lisa walks away from Riley and comes over by Caden.
"Is there anything wrong?"
Lisa looks concerned because she thought everything went great with the meal.
"No, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to know if you could sneak Riley and Ryan away to your house for a couple of hours so that your son and I could have some time to ourselves. I know it's a lot to ask since it's a holiday. You don't have to say yes."
Lisa looks over her schedule and quickly realizes that her evening is free. It's also been a while since Riley has been at the house, so why not.
"Do you and Jared have any big plans for tonight?"
Lisa asks, hoping that they take advantage of the empty of the house.
"No, he doesn't even know that we're doing this. It's sort of a surprise."
Caden tells Lisa as he looks at Riley to make sure he's okay. Sometimes, Smoke decides to play a little rough. Right now, everything is holden.
"What time are you wanting to have your alone time?"
Lisa asks to see what her evening might look like. Caden didn't have any set times planned. When he told Lisa this, she went over to speak with Riley and then went inside to talk with Ryan. When Caden made it back inside, he was greeted by his boyfriend.
"We are having alone time."
Jared isn't sad about having some time alone with his boyfriend. Smoke is put into his crate after a quick walk, then Lisa grabs Ryan and Riley, and then they leave for her house. Caden and Jared slip into something comfortable and disappear into their bedroom.
***
Not sure what to do with the teens, Lisa asks if they might enjoy a board game. Much to her surprise, the boys agree to play a game with her. As they play, Lisa notices the light that they share between them. Ryan especially has this glow about him that radiates whenever Riley smiles at him. It's something that she misses. Still, it's impressive to see. Ryan would make a great husband to anyone, but she could easily see him and Riley growing old together. One game is over, and the next thing, she knows Ryan suggests working on a jigsaw puzzle together. She pulls out a huge puzzle, and together they work on putting it together. There is no way that Caden and Jared would believe this, but she's enjoying her time with the boys. Caden had sent some of the cookies with them, and Lisa added to what Caden sent home with them.
***
While Lisa is grabbing some snacks from the kitchen, Riley is looking a little nervous.
"Is...is...she coming?"
"No, she isn't coming."
Ryan answers as his boyfriend. Riley gets up and walks over to Ryan and kisses him. Ryan returns the kiss but breaks it off when he sees Lisa looking at him. Instead of being shocked or being upset, she doesn't even react. She smiles at him. She returns to the kitchen to grab orange juice. Part of her felt bad for interrupting something so sweet. As she turns her back, she hears Riley speaking to Ryan.
"Thank...you...for...loving, loving me. You...you...could...could...have anyone."
Ryan is a little surprised and left speechless for just a second or two.
"Look, I am right where I want to be. Do you have any idea how handsome you are? I don't care about whatever problems we might face. I love you, Riley Matthew Bishop. I'm not going anywhere."
Ryan hugs Riley and kisses him again. Riley admits that Ryan gives some great hugs. Lisa hears the whole thing. It warms her heart to her Ryan's words. She just hopes that he means what he said. She returns to the teens with cookies and then goes back to grab glasses and the drink. They continue to work on the puzzle. It's about halfway done when she gets a text from her son saying that it's okay to bring the teens back home. She leaves the puzzle out but tells the teens that it's time to head home.
***
By the time they get back to Riley's house, it is 9:30 pm so when they arrive at the house, Ryan says goodbye to Riley. Riley takes off to check on Smoke before going to bed. Lisa wants to speak with Caden and Jared about Ryan's behavior at her house today. She finds them relaxing in the family room.
"I am always amazed by my grandson, but today I made me fall in love with Riley's boyfriend. Ryan is amazing. I caught a conversation between Riley and Ryan. I heard Riley telling Ryan, "...that he could have anyone." to which Ryan said, "Look, I am right where I want to be. Do you have any idea how handsome you are? I don't care about whatever problems we might face. I love you, Riley Matthew Bishop. I'm not going anywhere. I swear you guys, every time that Riley would look at Ryan; he lit up. If he doesn't marry Riley, I will be hurt."
Lisa seems to have diarrhea of the mouth at the moment. Caden and her son are taking in everything she said.
"Ryan is a great kid. From day one, he has treated Riley like my brother is a prince."
Caden tells Lisa. Jared is pretty quiet, but he's listening and making eye contact with whoever is speaking.
"One thing about Ryan is that he will always choose Riley. I see it in his eyes from the minute that I met him. I don't know what the bond is, and I am not going to try to figure it out. Mom, their story is barely getting started. Everyone who meets them can see it. Do you agree, Caden?"
Caden nods his head. Now, I don't know if Ryan and Riley are destined to be married, but I do know that for the moment, Ryan only sees Riley and Riley only sees Ryan. Upstairs, Riley is getting ready for bed. He's dreaming of a Ryan one way or another. Jared can see the wheels turning in his mom's head.
"Mom, we are not planning a wedding, so don't even go there."
Lisa stares at him. She doesn't want to be told what to do or what to think.
"Jared can't I dream. I want a grandchild."
Jared just gives his mom a dirty look.
"Mom, don't you dare go putting ideas into their heads."
He is right. They don't need any ideas being put into heads. Riley especially will take that and run with it. In the end, though, Caden just hopes that Riley doesn't get hurt. Ryan is very much family, and as long as he respects his brother, he'll always be invited over to the house.
"Okay, I'll behave, but I'm telling you those boys are going to have good things in their lives."
Only time will tell, what happens in their lives, but one thing is sure, love blesses their lives every day.
***
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