Regrets and Heartaches

Regrets and Heartaches 31

Written by: J.P.G.

{Regrets and Heartaches is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are a underage, (according to your state laws as a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without the author's expressed consent}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Edited By: "Daddy" Rick

Continuity Editor: Ed

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/ Story Written by: J.P.G.

Chapter 31

{Recap: Even though at times this story seems to be slow, there is a lot going on in it. Joey is growing into his own person and is now looking to grow his own business. He talked with Matt and Al about buying the Albertson's in El Paso. He also plans to open the restaurant in the hotel to the public. The shelter is growing and those that live there were told that they needed to work around the hotel or at the Albertson's once the purchase is complete. There are Harold and Helen who are going to be moving out of the hotel, which leaves many open questions. Are Joey and Caleb going to move out with them? Are Fran and Ellen going to move out as well, or if Joey and Caleb stay, will they stay with those two? If the judge moves out, will it be harder to run certain things in the shelter? So much can change with a simple move and only the future chapters will reveal where things are going to go. There is Joey at school and the whole ROTC plot. Remember he is the same rank as Jacob, so will there going to be problems there? We have seen in the past that there has been. We got Aaron looking at a new relationship with Chris. There are the others guys from Alamogordo, what is going on with them? And so much more I can't even remember. So never think this story is dry and boring, because it isn't. Grab your favorite beverage, something to eat, put your feet up and enjoy the new installment of this great saga.}

Now on with the story:

Two exits away from where Joey had planned on taking the guys, a thought popped in his mind. He remembered a place on the other side of town that had just opened and many in the hotel had been talking about wanting to go. He and Caleb had talked several times about going, but kept making excuses and putting it off.

Not giving it another thought, Joey jumped over three lanes, causing everyone in the vehicle to slide to their right. All at once they all yelled asking what was going on, but Joey still didn't answer them. He was paying more attention to trying to cut into the final right lane to exit off of the freeway at the Lee Trevino exit. No one wanted to let him, so he decided to use his vehicle and just push his way in, causing the guys to once again yell out.

Still not saying a word, Joey sped down the far left side of the gateway, horns blaring at him from behind of those he cut off. Reaching the turn around, Joey put on his blinkers and went under the freeway, coming out on the westbound gateway. Yielding just for a few seconds to make sure there was no oncoming traffic, Joey finished getting onto the gateway, driving on to the ramp that put them back onto the freeway, but this time heading back toward the hotel.

A couple of the guys asked once again where they were going, but Joey wanted to keep it a surprise, so he didn't answer them. After a few tries, the guys gave up questioning Joey. Caleb tried a couple of times, but it didn't take long for him to put one and one together and know exactly where they were going. He was surprised that the others didn't put it together, but he didn't say a word, he grabbed his lover's hand and looked forward.

Thirty five minutes later, Joey had taken his group to the other side of town. When he exited off onto Red Road, the guys looked around. As they reached the lights they knew exactly where they were going. Turning away from the windows, the guys looked at each other with big smiles on their faces. When they turned to the front Caleb was looking back at them with a big grin on his face. Joey was looking back at them through the rearview mirror, so the guys at first couldn't see if he was smiling back at them, but when they saw the shape of his eyes, they knew he was smiling as well.

The light turned green, and Joey turned onto Red Road. "Guys we are going to forget about everything that has been going on in our lives. We are going to have one day of fun." At the same time, everyone nodded their heads. "No talking about anything except how badly I'm going to beat you in go kart races and water boat races."

At the same time the guys shot back at Joey that they were going to win. Playfully they fought among themselves on how badly they were going to beat each other as Joey drove into the parking lot of Adventure Zone. Since it was early still, Joey didn't have a problem finding a parking spot. He found one right in front and quickly snatched it up.

No sooner after Joey put the SUV into park that the boys started to jump out of the SUV. Joey was the last to get out, but didn't care. He loved seeing what was unfolding before his eyes at that moment. For the first time since they moved here to El Paso, the guys were laughing, joking and playfully pushing each other into each other as they walked to the entrance.

With a big smile on his face, Joey ran to catch up with Caleb. Halfway between the SUV and the entrance, Joey caught up. As he slowed down at Caleb's side, he grasped Caleb's hand and continued walking with him to the entrance. Neither of them said a word to each other; it wasn't needed. The looks on their faces said it all.

When they entered into the building, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. First it was a restaurant, of which Joey took note. He and Caleb are about to open their restaurant in the hotel, but had a few questions up in the air. They were not completely answered with the restaurant in Adventure Zone due to the fact that restaurant served fast food, where Joey and Caleb's won't. Still they saw a few things that might actually work for them.

Joey turned his attention from the restaurant back to the guys as he and Caleb walked into the huge arcade. He couldn't believe how many arcade machines there were. Everywhere he turned; there was a different arcade game. There were even rides for the younger kids. This is something Joey has never seen in his life, at least not in El Paso.

The guys stopped in the middle of the arcade room to let Joey and Caleb catch up. When they walked up, Joey looked at the guys with an evil grin on his face. The guys looked each other with a confused looks on their faces, and then back at Joey.

Not saying a word, Joey brushed by the guys and walked to the counter. At first he had no idea where he was going, but when he saw the clubs for mini golf, he knew he was in the right place. Not even a minute passed before the young lady behind the counter looked up and saw Joey standing there. She stopped what she as doing and walked up to Joey with a big smile on her face. Little did Joey know the young girl, a little older than him, loved what she saw.

"I'm sorry this is the first..." The young lady interrupted Joey, batted her eyes. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about. Just tell me what you want, and I will make sure you get it." Joey blushed, as the guys behind him started to laugh. He looked back at them, shot them a dirty look before turning his attention back to the young lady behind the counter.

He chuckled a little as he rubbed the back of his head. "Um, I was, um..." The girl loved seeing how nervous Joey was. She knew then she'd hit a nerve. "I was wondering if this is the place to buy tickets for all the rides." Joey looked around trying to find the rides he heard the place had. The only thing he found was the arcades and two double doors that looked like that might lead to the rides his was talking about. "You know, the go karts, water go karts and..."

The young lady pointed to the wall where the prices were posted. "You could buy individual ride tickets for four ninety five each, or..." She pointed further down the wall. "You could buy a two hour pass for sixteen ninety five, a three hour pass for seventeen ninety five or an all-day pass for nineteen ninety five each. If you ask me the better value is the all-day pass because you can ride the rides as many times as you want. Plus I have someone beautiful to admire all through my shift." The young lady winked at Joey, causing him to blush again.

"I guess I will take the all day passes." Joey turned and counted the guys as he reached for his wallet. "Since I am going to buy this many all-day tickets, can you give me a discount?" This time Joey was flirting with the young lady cashier, causing her to blush.

She rubbed her head as she looked down at the cash register. After a few seconds of silence, she looked back up at Joey and reached for his hand. "Tell you what, since I think you are very hot I will help you out. You just can't tell anyone." Joey made a motion that he as locking his mouth and throwing the key over his shoulder. "Cool, I will not charge you for two of the tickets."

That put even a bigger smile on Joey's face. The female charged Joey for the all-day bands, minus the two she was throwing in for free. Once he paid for them, each of the guys walked up to the counter, placed their left wrist on the counter to let her put the band on them. Once everyone got their bands, Joey walked up and placed his left arm on the counter.

"Here is my number, hope you will call me sometime soon." The young lady placed a folded paper into Joey's hand and closed his fist. "I have never done this before, but there is something about you that is making me throw caution to the wind. I hope you are feeling the same thing I'm feeling and you don't leave me waiting too long for the phone call."

The cashier took her time putting the band on Joey's arm, caressing every inch of free skin that she could before she had to let him go. All the while, Caleb and the guys looked on in awe. They couldn't believe how easy it came to Joey to flirt with a girl. The guys thought that since he was gay, he wouldn't be able to flirt with a girl, but now they can see how wrong they are.

"Thank you for what you did for me and my friends." Joey spoke in a low, romantic voice as he pulled back his arm. "I know you could get into trouble if anyone found out what you did and I won't forget it." Joey unfolded the paper and looked at what was written on it. He looked back up at the cashier. "I promise I will call you very soon. There is no way I will keep such a beautiful young lady like yourself waiting."

Joey softly patted the cashiers arm as he slowly walked away. The guys didn't say a word to him until they were outside, but once they felt they were far enough away from the double doors, they started to lay it on thick. The only one that wasn't saying a word, the person he thought would have been the first to speak up, was Caleb, which worried him.

Then all of a sudden, Caleb stepped between the guys, gave them a look that quieted them down before pulling Joey to the side. At first Joey was expecting a yelling match, but when he saw the look on Caleb's face, he knew differently. It took a couple of seconds before Caleb spoke. He wanted to gather his thoughts so what he said came out right.

"What you did to that girl was awesome." Caleb started to laugh as he slapped Joey a couple of times on his back. "She started to flirt with you, you saw a way in with that and used it. I mean man that was awesome. You saved what..." Caleb looked down at his fingers and started to do the math. "Forty dollars, plus whatever the tax was on top of that."

"Yeah, we saved that money, but I kind of feel bad now." Joey looked over at the door and saw the young lady standing there looking around the park. "I mean look at her." Joey placed his hands on Caleb's shoulders and moved him to look at the door. "There is no doubt in my mind that she is looking for me right now. When I don't call her, she is going to be hurt."

Caleb turned back around when the young lady made eye contact with him. "You have nothing to feel bad about. What were you supposed to do? She was the one that started to flirting, and you just went along with it. It's not like you promised that you were going to call her and go out on a date, so don't beat yourself up over this."

Joey scratched his head. "Kind of did promise her I was going to call her." Looking down at his arm band, Joey started to play with it. "When she put this one me, I told her I will call her. So I not only egged it on, I took it a step more and put false hope out there."

Caleb saw where Joey was coming from. He knew there was nothing he could say to make him feel better at this moment, so he decided to change the subject. Pulling Joey back to the guys, he started to tease them that he was going to beat them all in the go kart races. Not wanting to lose, even the verbal talk of who was going to beat who in the go kart races, everyone spoke up and said they were going to win as they made their way to the ride.

The lines were short yet confusing at first for the guys. They didn't understand why there were two lines for the same ride, at least until they walked up and read the sign posted. The line on the left was for adults and small children that hit a certain height would ride together as doubles. Beginners could also get in that line. The line on the right was for everyone else that was of age, hit the height limit and wanted to race others that have done it before.

The guys didn't need to confirm with each other which line they were going to get into. They pushed and shoved each other as they walked to the back of the line on the right. Once they got there, they looked on to those that were already on the race track. It looked like they were going pretty fast, but before anyone could say anything, the line started to move.

One by one they walked onto the holding track, second row. They took their seats in the go karts and buckled up. Once they were checked by the employee in charge of the go carts, they looked around each other, giving one another either thumbs up, mouthing in one way or another that they were going to beat the other or just clowning around.

Joey looked out to the track and saw the go karts that were out there fly by. At a seated level, the go karts didn't look like they were going too fast. They were going fast, but not as fast as it first seemed to the guys when they first lined up.

A loud horn brought Joey out of his thoughts. He wondered what the horn was for, but it didn't take long for him to figure it out. He saw all the lights around the track red and right behind him one of the employees pulled a barrier to close off the track. The loud horn was a signal to all the racers that they were on their final lap.

As soon as the employee got all the racers in line, idling, he led them into the first row. One by one, the go karts came in. As the one in the front came to a stop, the one behind them hit them. By the time they got all the go karts back in, they had pushed the very first one into the cone.

All of a sudden, one the employees yelled out to unbuckle and then get up. Joey and the guys watched as the racers that just finished racing get out of their go karts and head to the exit gate. As soon as the last person cleared the gate, one of the employees started to yell, grabbing Joey's attention. He looked at the employee that he could barely hear over the sounds of the engines of the go carts. Due to the hand signals, he was able to make out what the employee was saying, keep hands, arms and feet in the go kart at all times and keep seat belts buckled.

He then removed the cone that was in front of Caleb's go kart, letting them out. Caleb took off, and at first Joey thought he could take him, but Caleb made a quick adjustment, stopping him. Laughing it off, Joey stayed on Caleb's tail through the first lap, trying on each turn to pass him, but each time, Caleb stayed in the middle, holding him at bay.

Concentrating on taking out Caleb, Joey wasn't paying attention to the rest of the field. Halfway through the second lap, he felt someone hit him from behind. He wanted to look back to see who it was, but he didn't. Instead he kept his attention to the road in front of him, copying Caleb, but somewhere he made a mistake, Aaron passed him, laughing.

Now he not only has to pass Aaron and take second place, Joey thought, he still has to figure out how to take out his boyfriend. Pressing harder down on the gas, Joey leaned forward and started working on Aaron. Aaron swerved to the left, then to the right, and back to the left, but by the third turn on the third lap, Aaron misjudged and ran into the wall, giving Joey a chance to pass.

Having taken Aaron out, Joey concentrated on Caleb. First he had about half a lap to make up. He and Aaron lost that much space while they wrestled with each other on who was going to take second place. Not wanting to lose to his boyfriend, he didn't hit his brakes as he took the corners, almost losing control of his go kart a couple of times, he made up the half lap, but it didn't matter, Caleb wasn't about to let Joey pass him.

The red light went on and the loud horn letting them know they were on their final lap. Joey knew it was either now or never to take out Caleb, so he threw caution to the wind. He started to hit Caleb's go kart in the back, trying to spin him out, but it didn't work. Each time he hit him, it seemed he pushed Caleb further ahead.

Halfway to the finish line, Joey threw out his first plan and concentrated on just trying to pass him. The first turn came, Joey thought he saw his way on the right hand side, but Caleb swerved and blocked him, almost sending both of them into the wall. The second to the last turn, Joey tried to pass Caleb, but this time on the left, but again Caleb swerved and blocked him. Knowing he only had one more chance, Joey gunned his go kart and as they approached the final turn, he tried once more to pass Caleb by the right, but again he failed. Caleb swerved and blocked him.

As they came out of their final turn, one of the employees was standing in the middle of the race track holding out his hands, yelling for them to slow down and come to a stop. Caleb and Joey came to a stop, side by side. Joey looked over at his boyfriend who had a big grin on his face.

"The day is still very young!" Joey said, matching his grin with Caleb's. "There is still plenty of time till eleven for us to have several rematches and there is no way you will be able to keep me at bay each and every single time!" Joey chuckled. "But good job this time! You got me!"

Before Caleb could respond, the employee that stopped them let them go. Not back around the track, that part was blocked off. They were escorted back into the row where they were when they started the race. Caleb went in first, followed by Joey and the other guys. Joey slammed on his brakes and stopped short of hitting Caleb, but it didn't matter. Aaron hit Joey's back, causing him to hit Caleb, but the hitting didn't stop. It was like a domino effect. One after another as they drove into the lane hit the one in front of them, causing the other to do the same. By the time everyone had gotten in, Caleb was pushed forward another five feet.

The employee that stopped them on the track yelled out above the engine noise to unbuckle the seat belts. A few seconds later, he followed up yelling for everyone to exit the go kart and then the lanes. Joey quickly got out of his go kart and ran up to Caleb's, who was having problems. Joey extended his hand and helped his boyfriend.

"Come on now we are not old men, not yet that is!" Joey chuckled as hit patted Caleb on his back. "Let's head on over to the water go karts so I can kick your ass." That got Caleb to chuckle as they walked out of the gates of the track. "I don't see what you found so funny on what I just said. What you did out there just now was pure luck. I was getting used to driving those things..." Joey pointed back over at the track. "Now that I had five laps with it, I'm ready to kick your ass, and yours and yours..." Joey started to point to each of the guys.

Caleb once again started to laugh. "I think you must have hit your head somehow when you were hit from behind. That's the only way you can believe the bull you are spewing." The guys agreed as they broke out into laughter. "The way I beat you just now is how I'm going to beat you all day long. So bring it on, and I will hand you your lunch!"

Both Joey and Caleb playfully threw out verbal assaults about who was going to beat who as they walked to the water go karts. They suspected a wait, but there wasn't any. There was no one standing in line, and those that were on the rides had just been called in. Their time was up, which put big smiles on all the guys faces.

As soon as those that were on the water go karts got off, the employee opened the gate letting Joey and his gang in. There were just enough water go karts for each of them. Joey thought that there might not be enough and a couple of the guys would have to do the ride by themselves, but now that isn't a worry, so Joey was able to concentrate on winning this one.

The water go kart wasn't stable. As Joey stepped onto it, it started to rock back and forth, putting Joey right on his butt. Readjusting himself, to the middle, Joey was ready. He didn't have to wait long for the employee to come around and untie him. Once she did, he maneuvered his go kart towards Caleb, who was already in the middle getting soaked by a couple of the others.

Aiming his water gun at Caleb, Joey started to shoot as he continued to make his way towards him, but once again he wasn't paying attention to the others. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by Aaron and a couple of the other guys, getting soaked himself. Aaron kept yelling out this was pay back for slamming him into the wall as he soaked Joey. The other guys that were shooting Joey just laughed, yelling at each other.

Somehow Joey broke free and made his way to the edge of the pool area, looked around and made his way back towards the guys. Halfway there, his water go kart started to go into circles. Nothing Joey did got him out. He braced himself and started to shoot randomly at the guys that saw him as a sitting duck and made their way to him.

Trying to block the water from his face, Joey put up his hand, but all that did was splatter the water. He was still getting wet in the face, but as well in his crotch area as well. Not wanting to look like he peed his pants, Joey put his hand down. Just then, his water go kart got out of the spin it was in, and he was able to push his way out of the bunch.

He turned his water go kart around and he began his revenge on those that ganged up on him. He started to laugh as Aaron, Caleb and the others tried to block the water with their hands, like he did, but realized there was no use. As they put their hands down, they lowered their heads so the water would hit their already soaked hair.

That didn't stop Joey. Since he was no longer able to get them in face, he lowered his water gun to the chest, mid-section and a couple of them he actually got in the groin area. Joey was having so much fun, he didn't hear the employee blow her whistle, and he kept shooting. It wasn't until he heard the second whistle that he stopped and started his way back to the edge of the pool.

Caleb and the others were not going to let Joey get off that easy. They raced after him, and started shooting him. By the time they reached the wall, Joey's back was soaked. There was not a dry spot on his back. He was so drenched, when he got up to get out of the water go kart, the water started to leak down into his pants and underwear.

Not caring one bit that they were soaked, the guys made their way to the regular go karts. This time Joey was the first in line so he got in the first go kart, giving him a leg up. When the employee removed the cone, Joey sped out of the pit like a bat out of hell. He was determined to take a lead and keep it. However the guys were not going to make it easy.

At every turn, they made Joey work to stay in first place. On the third turn on the third lap, Aaron, Edmund, Cody and Caleb ganged up on Joey. Edmund and Cody boxed Joey in, allowing Aaron and Caleb in from of him. Joey broke free of Edmund and Cody, took out Aaron quickly, but once again had his work cut out for him with Caleb.

Caleb, like before, got a lead on him, so he had to make that up first. That part was easy for Joey. The part that he knew was going to be hard was taking back the lead. Caleb fought him at every turn, countering every move Joey made. The horn sounded and the red lights started flashing alerting the guys that the lap they started was their final lap.

Joey didn't give up; he kept working on Caleb, but like before Caleb was able to fend Joey off. For some reason coming out of their final turn, Caleb let up, letting Joey slip right past him. Joey couldn't believe his boyfriend did that. At first he thought Caleb did it on purpose, but when he felt Caleb hitting him, trying to regain the lead, he knew it was a screw up on Caleb's part, which was too late fix. There wasn't enough time left to retake the lead.

Joey won the second race, and was very proud of it. Just like the first race, they playfully verbally taunted each other all the way back into the pit and out of the go kart area. Once they were all out, they started to discuss what they were going ride next, which was no need. They turned right back around and ran back into line. They ran a three more races. Aaron won one, Cody one and Joey the other, giving Joey the lead.

Once Joey won the third race, they all were hungry and wanted to get something to eat, so they headed back in. As they walked to the restaurant, the young lady cashier spotted them. She whistled, grabbing all of their attentions. As they turned and looked to see who was whistling at them, they knew exactly who she wanted to talk to when they saw it was the cashier.

Joey told the guys that he would meet them at the restaurant. None of them objected. As the guys made their way to the restaurant, Joey walked over to the counter to see what the cashier girl wanted. At first they couldn't talk since the cashier had a line of customers. She hurried as fast as she could to deal with them so she could talk to the guy she had fallen for the moment she saw him walk through the doors.

"Hey so are you really planning to call me, or did you just say that to get the discount I gave you?" The young cashier whispered as she wiped her counter. "You know I would have given you the discount no matter if you said no to my request. I don't want to ever put anyone in a spot that they don't want to be in." The cashier giggled as she looked up into Joey's eyes. "Boy are you handsome. I'm sure you hear that from all the girls, but it is true."

Joey tried to hide his blushing, but he wasn't able to. "Um, not really, the girls at my school don't really come up and speak to me." The cashier took a couple steps back with a surprised look on her face. "You realize that I'm in high school, don't you?" The cashier shook her head. "Well I am. I am a junior in high school, with one more year to go," Joey stated with total clarity

The cashier responded; "I thought you were at least eighteen, but I never thought you were still in high school." This time it was the cashier blushing, but not for the same reasons Joey was. "If I would have known you were in high school, I wouldn't have hit on you the way I did. Man I can be in a lot of hot water for doing what I did. Not only you are in high school, but you are a...."

Joey interrupted her in mid-sentence. "Look, none of my group is going to breathe a word of this." Joey pointed back and forth from him and the cashier. "I may be in high school, but I already live on my own, and it is all legal." That put a smile on the cashiers face. "And no I wasn't going along with the flirting to try and get a discount from you. I really like you as well, and would like to hook with you out of this place." Joey looked around the arcade room.

"But the next couple of weeks are going to be so busy, I won't have time." Joey explained about him and the guys going on vacation to Disneyland. "So as you can see, I won't be able hook up with you. But when I get back after spring break, we can try and go somewhere just the two of us. That is if you still want to."

The cashier couldn't speak, she just nodded her head. Joey reached over the counter and grabbed her hands and held them tight. "Okay then, the week after spring break I will be calling you. Make sure you pick up your phone because if you don't, I will be very hurt." The cashier started to nod her head really fast. "Good, we will talk more then." Joey let go of her hand and started to walk away when he stopped and looked back at her. "I can hardly wait `til then, but I will." He winked at her, causing her to blush again.

The guys were all sitting down in the restaurant when Joey got to them. Caleb turned and saw a big smile on his boyfriend's face, making him wonder what put that smile on his face. Not wanting to make something out of something that is probably small, Caleb didn't say a word about what was bothering him. Instead he started to talk about the prices of the food.

"Wow, I agree the food here is very expensive. This is where they probably make their money." Joey looked back towards where the young female cashier worked at before turning his attention back to the guys. "What do you guys think about heading out to KFC and grabbing something to eat instead of eating here? I'm pretty sure it will be less expensive and we all like it.

Joey didn't have to ask twice. All the guys got up and started their way to the door when Caleb yelled out to them to stop. He didn't explain why he asked them to stop; he just yelled it out and headed over to the young female cashier that they bought their all day passes from. Everyone looked over at Caleb as he talked to the cashier and wondered what they were talking about.

Although he only talked with the cashier for a few minutes, Joey was worried. He of all the guys tried to hear and even read lips, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a thing out. When Caleb walked back and rejoined the guys, Joey's heart was pumping so hard, he thought it was going to jump out of his chest. It was when he saw the smile he loved so much cross his boyfriend's face that got him to relax just a little bit.

"We can go now if you all are ready!" Caleb slapped Joey on the back as he made his way down to grab his boyfriend's hand. The guys looked at each other and then over at Caleb. All at once they asked him what he was talking to the cashier about. "Nothing big, I just asked her if we left, would we be able to come back in and still use our arm bands." The guys looked at Caleb with a look that indicated he didn't answer their question. "And she said yes since we bought all day bands, not the two or three hour bands." That is all the guys needed. They turned and headed out the door with Joey and Caleb right behind them holding hands.

Meanwhile back at the hotel, Sally stayed back to have a conversation that she never thought she was going to have with anyone in her life. The night before, she had called Bethany to come on over which she thought was weird since neither of them normally work the weekend. She didn't question it, she agreed.

Even though they set a time, Bethany came in over an hour later, which frustrated Sally. Already nervous about the conversation she was about to have, Sally decided not to let the tardiness of Beth get her angry. When she walked into the doors, Sally met her and together they walked to Sally's office grabbing something to drink from the kitchen along the way.

Beth knew almost right off the bat that something was wrong when Sally met her at the door. Another thing Sally has never done. Putting that together with Sally asking her to come in on a Saturday, she knew whatever the thing Sally wanted to talk with her about was not good. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Beth pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she followed her to her office.

Neither Sally nor Beth said a word to each other when they first walked into the office. Sally closed the door and joined Beth on the couch. They sat there for a few minutes looking at everything in the office, their drinks in their hands, but not at each other. When Beth did break the silence, it was small talk about the office and the new things she saw in it. They kept the small talk going for over ten minutes before they ran out of things to talk about.

"Look Beth, I know you know something is up. I can see it in your face." Beth looked up at Sally as she nodded her head. "As you know, being in charge of this department is a twenty four hour, seven day job, at least right now it is. The shelter is new, and so many things are going on and programs are getting started, I can't be gone from here one single minute. What I am getting at is that I won't have the time to spend with you like I thought I would."

When Beth cracked a smile, Sally was confused. She had just delivered bad news; at least to her it was bad news. "I'm okay with whatever time you are able to give me. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer if could have our evenings together either here or my place. I had even hoped that somewhere in the future we would get a place together, which I hope isn't out of the question down the road." Beth looked at Sally with her puppy dog look. "For now I can and will accept you will be here all the time and I won't have it any other way."

More confused with Beth's comments, Sally knew she had to be more blunt, something she didn't want to do because she didn't want to hurt Beth's feelings. At the same time, she didn't want Beth to leave here thinking something else than what she meant to do. Being tactful wasn't working, now she has to be hard on her, and risk hurting her feelings.

"Um, I think we both are on different wave lengths here." Sally straightened herself up. "What you got out of what I just said wasn't at all what I was trying to get across." Sally got up and walked over to her desk. She picked up a picture frame that had a picture of her and her son before returning to the couch. "I have a son as you know and I love him very much. There isn't anything I wouldn't do to make him happy and..."

"Please don't go where I think you are going." Beth interrupted as he tried to grab Sally's hands, but Sally pulled away. "Please, I beg of you, don't go there. I love you, and I know you love me. I see the love in your eyes as strong, if not stronger, than the first day we met. So don't do this, don't go where I think you are going with this conversation."

"I'm sorry, but I feel we jumped into this thing way too fast. I didn't give myself a chance to breathe and think about this whole thing. These last couple of days all I have been doing is thinking about what we have and I have come to a conclusion that we put the cart before the horse here. I don't feel the same way about you that you feel about me. I really..."

Beth fell to her knees and crawled between Sally's legs, crying, begging her not to continue; to give their relationship a chance to blossom, but Sally wasn't hearing any of it. She had already made up her mind that today was the day she was going to end things with Beth. She didn't have the feelings of love like you need to have to keep a relationship growing. She didn't feel it was right to put on an act and do things that she was uncomfortable with.

She gently helped Beth up and sat her back down on the couch, but she didn't join her. "I never wanted to hurt you like this. I don't know why I did what I did, but I don't love girls the way you think I do. I love them like a sister at the most, but not in a sexual way." Sally walked over to her desk, grabbed the box of Kleenex and walked back over to Beth. "I feel bad for leading you on. That is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I should have been truthful and never started anything with you when all along I love guys and guys only."

"Please stop saying that Sally, I know you love me the way you have shown. It wasn't an act, it was real." Beth screamed out between tears. "Please, please, don't do this! Let's just go on as if this conversation didn't happen, please Sally!"

"I'm sorry I can't do that because I would be living a lie. It wouldn't be right for me or you. Eventually we will grow to hate each other because I won't be able to return the affections you are showing me. I won't and can't put you through that, and I hope you understand that." Beth kept shaking her head as she mumbled to `stop'. "Right now you hate me for what I'm saying, but I know in time you will look back at this day and be grateful we got out of this lie."

With tears steadily rolling down her cheeks, Beth stood up and tried one last time to convince the lady she fell in love with that she was wrong. However, nothing she said seemed to have any influence. The more she tried and the more she saw she had no influence on Sally, the angrier Beth got. It got to a point that Beth stopped crying, and started yelling, but that was short lived. The tears shortly returned and never went away again.

"At this point there is nothing I can say or do to make you feel any better about what I did here today. I'm the bad guy here. I should be taken out, tarred and feathered. I'm a grown up and know what is in my heart. I should have known what I was getting into and should have stopped this right at the get-go so we didn't get this far. I was wrong. Seeing you this way will haunt me for the rest of my life."

"Screw you and the rest of your life!" Beth snapped back, but she couldn't stay angry. The tears once again took over, and through her sobs, she talked. "You don't know what you are doing here. I think you got spooked and the only way you know how to handle this is by doing what you are doing. In a couple of days, you will realize you were wrong and you will come back to me. So I will wait, and when you do, we will forget this day every happened."

Beth walked towards the office door, but stopped short of opening it. She started to straighten herself up, wipe her eyes and brush her hair back. Sally felt for her, but knew that if she let Beth leave her office thinking the way she was, she will never come to terms that she is wrong. Sally knew she wasn't spooked. She simply didn't love Beth the way Beth loved her.

"In a couple of days, weeks, months or years I won't change my mind." Sally said softly as she walked up to Beth. "I am not gay! I have always loved men and always will. I'll never know why I went as far as I did with you and that was wrong on my part." Beth looked back at Sally, shooting her daggers. "Be angry with me, I want you to. As I said I'm the evil one here and I will be the first to tell anyone that. I just don't want you to leave here with false hope of something that will never be. I don't love you and I hope maybe in the future we can be friends."

Beth looked at Sally with a look that said only one thing; `are you out of your mind?' "If you go through with this, there is no way in a couple of days, weeks, months or even years we will become friends. If you break this off, we will become enemies. Is that what you want?" Sally didn't give her answer in one way or another. "Silence speaks volumes." Beth turned and opened the door. "You and I are done, there is no chance of us ever becoming friends."

Stomping out of the office like a school girl, Beth made her way to the front doors of the hotel, Sally was right behind her. Sally knew by the way Beth was walking and talking there was nothing she could do to settle her down. Only time will get her to think about what happened here in a different light. At least that is what she is hoping for.

When they reached the double doors, Beth stopped and quickly turned around. "There is no need for you to follow me out. I'm not going to cause a big scene. All I'm going to do is get into my car and go home." Beth turned back around as quickly as she turned around and walked out, leaving Sally standing there stunned.

Once Sally got over the shock of what Beth had just said, she pushed open the double doors and walked out. When she made it to the parking lot, all she got to see was Beth getting into her car, starting it up and then driving away. She just stood there watching the lady she hurt leave, but knowing that she did the right thing. She still doesn't know why she did what she did when she went into this relationship, but she is glad she told Beth the truth, she desires men only.

While Sally stood out in the parking lot of the hotel certain that she did the right thing, the boys had finished eating at KFC and had just returned to Adventure Zone. On the way back, they all felt full, which brought upon sleepiness for most of them. However when they got down from the SUV and walked into the arcade room, their sleepiness went away. Even more so when they walked through the double doors that led to the go karts.

Without asking each other, they all went walking, almost running, to the go kart line. Unlike before they left, there was actually a line of people. They stood in the line that moved pretty quickly egging each other on. By the time they got to the front of the line, about to get their go karts, they all were energized up and ready to go.

The rest of the afternoon and evening the guys spent their time riding the go karts. They didn't forget about the water go karts, but the liked the regular ones better. Each of them wanted to beat the other, so they kept egging each other on to go again. By the time they called it quits, Joey won the most, but the others had won a few themselves.

As the sun started to set, Joey and the guys wanted to try their hand at miniature golf. None of them had ever played the game, but they didn't let that stop them. Caleb and Aaron went in and got the clubs, balls and score cards as the others took one more ride on the go karts. When they pulled in, they found Caleb and Aaron waiting for them with the clubs in their hands.

Joey was a little nervous when he walked up to Caleb. The whole time while Caleb and Aaron were inside getting what they needed to play miniature golf, Joey couldn't keep his eye off the double doors. That was the reason why he hit the wall several times and coming in dead last, which the guys wouldn't stop teasing him about.

However, when Joey got to Caleb and saw the smile he loved on him, he knew right there in then that he was worrying for nothing. He grabbed his club and ball from Caleb and helped hand out the rest of them to the other guys as they walked to the course. When they got there, Joey was surprised to find the young cashier that served them earlier in the day on the course. He almost didn't recognize her due to the fact that she was in street clothes, not her uniform.

Before he could get over that shock, she shocked him again when she walked up and asked if she and her other female friend could join Joey and his friends. The question threw Joey off for a minute, but before he was able to get his footing again and say no, Caleb answered the question. The answer not only surprised Joey, but it surprised the rest of the guys since Caleb rarely lets outsiders in their group.

Since no one objected, the two young ladies joined them. As Caleb was filling out the score card, the cashier introduced herself as she reached over and gave Joey's butt a squeeze. Once again getting stunned by the cashier's actions, Joey didn't hear her name. He was concentrating more on if Caleb or any of the others saw what the cashier did. When he finally came to the realization that no one had seen anything, he walked up to see what her and her friend's names were, Cynthia and Theresa. The only problem for Joey was he didn't know who was who.

It took the first two holes to put the right name to the right person. The cashier was Cynthia and her friend was not a friend, but her sister Theresa Porras. Theresa was her younger sister, but she actually looked older than the two. And just like her older sister, she loved to flirt. Theresa had the hots for Aaron, and she didn't care who knew it.

As the game went on, it got darker and the lights of the miniature golf course were turned on. However, every chance Cynthia got to squeeze something of Joey's, his butt, leg or his upper thigh, she took it. A couple of times one of the other guys saw it, but didn't say anything. They knew nothing was going to come of it due to Joey being gay. Plus they figured Joey let it go on because of the discount she gave him when they first arrived.

Caleb on the other hand didn't see any of the foreplay. He was too busy keeping up the score card to see what was going on before his very own eyes, which made it even worse for Joey. He felt worse each time Cynthia reached over and touched him because he felt he was cheating on his boyfriend, even though he wasn't returning any of the foreplay.

By the time they made it to ninth hole, Joey had it. He wanted to call it a night and head home, but everyone else wanted to finish the game. Reluctantly Joey agreed with the others and headed to the tenth hole, which he did something that surprised himself and everyone else. He made a hole in one, something he never thought he would ever do and got him in a good mood again.

The remaining eight holes went by fast. Before any of them knew it, they had finished the course and were heading back in. As they walked past the go kart ride, they all looked at each other. No words needed to be said, they all knew what the other was thinking. Even Cynthia and her sister knew what the guys were thinking. So they took their clubs and balls, promised to turn them in, while they got in line for one more ride before heading home..

They thought they were going to be in line for a while, but were surprised how fast it was moving. Within twenty minutes they were in the front of the line, and then taking their seats in their go karts. Joey got the first go kart, which he loved because he knew if he got a good start, there was no way any of the guys would be able to catch up to him.

The moment the cone was removed and Joey took off, there was no catching him. He was ahead by a quarter of a lap, and then a half of a lap. Once he got the half lap space between him and the others, there was no catching him. He won the final go kart race with enough space between him and the others that he was able to come in slow and enjoy the win, something he was unable to do all day long.

When they exited from the go kart course, Joey was surprised not to find Cynthia and her sister waiting for them at the gate. Not wanting to test fate, Joey quickly moved the guys through the arcade room and out through the double doors that led to the parking lot. The guys didn't put two and two together, they were so exhausted. All they wanted to do is get back to hotel and turn in for the night. None of them could recall the last time they had as much fun as they had that day. It was a day none of them will forget any time soon.

The whole drive home, Joey held onto Caleb's hand as tight as he could. At times he stopped the blood flow at the wrist, which didn't bother Caleb. As they got closer and closer to the hotel, he got friskier. Since the guys had fallen asleep almost immediately when they got onto the highway, neither Joey nor Caleb were worried about them. Even if they were awake, they wouldn't have hid their foreplay because they have never hidden it in the past.

Just like Cynthia did on the miniature golf course, Caleb grabbed parts of Joey's body. The only difference between Caleb and Cynthia was the advances Caleb was making were advances Joey wanted. When Caleb slowly moved his hand up his thigh, Joey helped his boyfriend find the way to his hardening dick in his jeans. Once Caleb's hand was on top of Joey's zipper, he felt Joey's dick jumping up and down beneath the palm of his hand.

Not needing any encouragement, Caleb tried to wrap his hand around Joey's hard dick, but the jeans made it impossible. So he quickly unzipped the jeans and made his way in. With the tough layer of jeans out of the way and just the boxer's still there, Caleb was able to completely wrap his hand around his boyfriend's dick and start jerking it off. Each time he brought Joey to the edge, he stopped, totally aggravating Joey.

Caleb brought Joey to the edge four times. By the time they drove into the hotel parking lot when they got down from the truck, Joey had to un-tuck his shirt to cover the wet spot. The guys didn't care. They were too tired to even notice anything. All they were looking at was the front double doors, and then the elevator to get up to their rooms.

Joey and Caleb on the other hand were more interested looking at each other than anything else. They stayed back for a few minutes in the parking lot, making out, taking turns playing tonsil hockey in each other's mouths. When they broke the kiss, neither of them liked it. At the same time they grabbed each other's hands and made their way into the hotel and then to the elevator as quickly as they could. If anyone had seen them, they would have known what they were in such of hurry to do. Their dicks could easily be seen since they were both hard.

As soon as the elevator closed, they picked up where they left off in the parking lot, playing tonsil hockey in each other's mouths. However, when the elevator door opened, they broke their kiss, reluctantly, and made their way down the hallway as quickly as they could still holding hands.

When they reached their room, Joey fumbled with his keycard, but with help from Caleb, he was able to unlock the door and push Caleb in. Before the door was even closed, Joey had wrapped his arms around Caleb and brought him into him as close as he could. They tore at each other's clothes as they made their way to the bed. By the time they got to the edge of the mattress, they had each other's shirts off and were working on each other's belts.

It took mere seconds for both guys to be naked. They were both totally aroused as they held each other tight and their hips gyrated and pressed their packages together creating friction. Things weren't quite tight enough for Caleb so he dropped his hands down to Joey's butt, grabbed on and pulled them more tightly together.

There was nothing being said as their lips, tongues and mouths were involved with expressing the deep feelings and passion each has for the other.

Joey broke the kiss and spoke in a gravelly voice; "Caleb, it's been too long for us. I need you inside me. I need to feel your love." Caleb answered without words, pulling Joey's butt cheeks apart and then finding Joey's most private place. His fingers gently yet firmly massaged Joey's love chute.

"Babe, I need you now! If you keep doing that, this is going be over way too soon!" Joey said imploring his life-mate to make deep and passionate love to him.

Caleb turned their nearly conjoined bodies to the side and then lowered Joey onto the bed. He stood and looked down on the man he loves, taking in the vision. Joey turned slightly gaining access to the nightstand drawer, opened it and got his hand on the KY.

Caleb saw a puddle of Joey's sweet precum on his belly and couldn't resist going after it. He lapped up the puddle and then took Joey's steely hard cock in his mouth as he milked it getting more of his man's sweet nectar. He then moved down the shaft to Joey's sack and licked it until it was moist. He then sucked one of the jewels in the sack into his mouth and rolled his tongue over the prize. He released the one then did the same with the other. Joey moved his legs apart giving his lover full access. Caleb moved his attention back toward the treasure spot, licking as he went. Joey's left leg raised up as if by magic and the treasure came into view. Caleb didn't ignore the invitation and began to tongue Joey's pucker. The rosebud responded by opening slightly.

"Caleb, now...I need you inside me NOW!" Joey growled. Caleb retrieved the tube of lube and applied a generous amount to Joey's hot and ready hole. He worked the lube inside a bit to make sure things would go with no resistance. He lubed his cock and noted he hardly needed to since his tool was already slick with precum.

Caleb knows that Joey will want a powerful ride, so he got off the bed, reached over, taking Joey's legs and pulled him to the edge of the bed. Once Joey was at the edge, Caleb lifted his legs, putting Joey's ankles on his shoulders. Joey lifted up his hips by pressing his ankles down on Caleb's shoulders and slid a pillow under his hips knowing how he wanted things to line up.

Caleb took his cock in hand and pointed it toward Joey's lubed hole. As his cockhead touched the target, it opened a bit bidding him welcome. He pressed in slowly yet firmly. As he began to enter, Joey reached around and grabbed his hips. With one tug, Caleb was buried to the hilt! He could see on Joey's face that it's what he wanted. He stayed buried to allow Joey to adjust.

"Oh, lover, that's what I've been craving! Now, get with the program and let me feel all your power!" Needing not more encouragement, Caleb began long easy strokes and increased speed and intensity with each thrust. Finally, Caleb was up to full throttle giving Joey all he had. He bent his knees slightly. That made his cock angle more upward. He felt Joey clamp down as soon as he hit his prostate the first time. That was his target. Now that the target was acquired he make sure he hit it square on with each inward stroke. He could feel Joey tighten down on his cock and that was signaling that Joey was getting close to the edge. A quick glance at Joey's cockhead confirmed what he already knew. Joey's cockhead swelled and flared and Joey put what he had left into his work.

"Oh lover, give it to me! I'm almost there!" Caleb felt Joey clamp down on his cock which sent him over the edge. Volley after volley of his cum pumped deeply into Joey as he thrust his hips forward and stayed there, at full depth.

At the same time, Joey's cock flinched and spewed cum up past his shoulders as he shot six full rounds of hot cum.

As the pair came back to earth from their orgasms, Caleb lowered Joey's legs, leaned forward and kissed Joey tenderly, yet deeply. The two remained joined until Caleb's cock wilted and slipped out of Joey.

"Oh, babe, that's what I've been needing and wanting so badly. Thank you for taking care of me that way."

"Joey, I love you with all my heart and you never have to say thank you for anything I do, but mostly never for doing what I can to make you happy when we make love," Caleb replied in a low and soothing tone as he ran his fingers over Joey's lips.

Joey felt the need to get to the bathroom. Caleb followed and turned on the shower and getting the temperature just right. No sooner than Caleb was in under the water spray, Joey joined him. They embraced and kissed under the cascading water, holding each other close and tight. After a few minutes, the shower gel was on the wash cloth and they took turns washing each other from head to toe.

Once out of the shower and dried, they kissed. Joey wrapped his arm around Caleb and they walked side by side back to the bed. Caleb chuckled when he looked at the bed and said; "Lover, you did a number on the sheets! Joey pinched his bun a bit...and said, "Now look what you made me do!"

They got an extra set of sheets from the armoire and fixed the bed. They almost didn't make it as they were both falling asleep on their feet. Once in bed, Joey pulled Caleb to him and held him tight. He wiggled a bit letting his cock nestle between Caleb's buns.

Joey, I like your cock there. Next time, love, it's your turn to send me to the stars.

Joey just grunted a bit in reply; he had already fallen asleep and Caleb was only a moment behind him.

The next morning, all the boys slept in. When Joey finally woke up, he found Caleb missing. As he wiped away the sleepiness from his eyes, Joey looked around the room hoping to find Caleb there. When he didn't see Caleb anywhere, he fell back against the mattress, pulled the covers over his head and tried to fall asleep again. However, he was now awake and realized he wasn't going to fall back asleep even if he wanted to. Joey reluctantly pulled himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.

After a stop at the toilet he looked into the mirror as he turned on the water and couldn't believe what was staring back at him. There were several hickies all over his chest. He leaned in and looked at his neck to see if there were any there. Once he was certain there were none on his neck, he leaned down and started to splash water on his face and hair. He opted not to shower hoping that he and Caleb could share one later.

Once he was awake, Joey brushed his teeth and made his way back to the room to get dressed. He didn't care what he put on since all he planned to do all day was bum around the hotel. So he grabbed himself a pair of clean underwear, running pants, white socks and a t-shirt to put on. As soon as he was dressed he headed down to see if there was anything left from breakfast that he knew had been served and all the guys more than likely ate everything that was prepared.

Nothing exciting happened all day at the hotel. Like Joey wanted, he and the guys just bummed around the place. They were all still recouping from the day before, so they didn't want to do much of anything. Throughout the day, they watched movies and played pool, and that was it. After dinner, they all headed upstairs to their rooms to get ready for school the next day. By ten, the floor where the guys reside was quiet and everyone was out like a light.

Monday flew by fast for everyone. Just like the day before, nothing exciting happened. Tuesday was more exciting than the last couple days because it was the day that the election for student council president was corrected. When it was announced that Jacob had won, and the student body cheered to celebrate that they got the guy they wanted into office.

Joey tried several times throughout the morning to congratulate Jacob on his win, but he couldn't get close enough. Each time he walked up to him in the hallway, he was surrounded by crowds of other students. During lunch when he thought he would find Jacob in the ROTC building, he didn't. Jacob got sidetracked on his way and found his way to the stadium where Josh, Los Tigres and much of the student body were celebrating his victory.

Finally during fifth period ROTC, Joey was able to be alone with Jacob and congratulate him on his victory. It was like old times for a few minutes. He got a response from Jacob and a look that he had been missing, but as quickly as it came, it faded away. Joey figured that Jacob remembered why they are where they are and put his defenses back up so he can't get hurt again, a hurt Joey wished he could take back every day, but knew he couldn't.

The rest of the afternoon, all Joey thought about was that moment the old Jacob returned. He was trying to figure out if there was a way that he would be able to ever get Jacob to really trust him again. Even though Jacob has said it over and over again that he does trust him, Joey could see it in Jacob's eyes that isn't completely true. A barrier now stands between them.

Trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, Joey drowned himself into work as soon as he got back to the hotel. He had several interviews that Mr. Jackson had set up for him for security for the hotel. For weeks now he knew had to hire his own security, but didn't bother to do one interview. However, Jacob gave him a wakeup call when he told him that he and his group were moving out, and his security was going with him, he had to get down to business and get his own security for those he was responsible to keep safe.

For the next two hours, Joey interviewed ten former law enforcement officers that Mr. Jackson highly recommended. Just like Mr. Jackson, Joey felt they were qualified for the job but didn't feel comfortable with them on a personal level. At the end, he decided he didn't need to feel comfortable with them personally because they were interviewing to do a job, not to be a friend or a lover, so he hired all ten of them.

The rest of the evening went by fast. After dinner, everyone found their way to the theatre room and watched the sitcoms on T.V. until ten. When the evening news came on the party broke apart. Almost at the same time, everyone headed for the door, except for Joey, Caleb and two others. They were the only ones that stayed back and did some channel surfing to find something else on other than the news, which they did on TNT. They stayed up for another hour before calling it a night and heading up to their rooms.

All day Wednesday the school halls and classrooms were still buzzing over the election upset. Many of the students still couldn't believe that Principal Michaels actually did what was right by investigating what was oblivious to everyone at the school, that the election was stolen. When he announced the day of the election he was going to do that, they suspected him to come back and say the original announcement was right. Since he didn't the students that really didn't know their principal saw him in a different light.

It seemed like none of the students or staff got tired of that subject. Joey didn't mind it, but just like Jacob, he felt it was time to move on. By lunch, he and the guys were talking about the Disney trip that Joey had put before them just days before. They had a lot of questions, questions Joey couldn't answer since he hadn't had a chance to sit down with Jacob and get details of the trip. Both of them were busy in their own worlds, they hadn't run into each other much. When they did, the subject of the trip didn't come up. So Joey made a mental note to get with Jacob sometime through the day and told the guys that, which got the subject dropped.

However, Joey never got a chance to talk with Jacob on that subject. He had planned to pull Jacob to the side during fifth period, which he did, but it was all business. Things were starting to pick up in ROTC and it needed their complete attention, along with the rest of the battalion staff since it involved several areas of the battalion.

The final DAI inspection of the year was just weeks away, as well the Annual Review and Drill Meet of the year. They needed to take first place in both of them to ensure they would take the big trophy home at the end of the year, the best battalion in the brigade. The big problem they were facing was that several of their drill team members had flunked one or two of their classes, making them ineligible to be able to drill.

Jacob was given the task to go to the teachers that flunked those drill team members and see if they would give them a passing grade. Joey was given the task to find replacements just in case Jacob couldn't get the teachers to give the drill team members that flunked extra credit work in order to pass their classes. Joey knew with the time that was left if Jacob didn't succeed, there was no way they would get a team ready to put on the field for the Annual. So he kept his fingers crossed and hoped his work would never be needed.

Due to the time that was left before the Annual Review and Drill Meet, Joey worked on his part all through fifth period and even stayed after school. He got five guys that had either tried out the time before or were on the team. Still he knew that wasn't enough, but it was a start, a start he hoped again that he didn't have to use.

When he walked into the hotel, Joey was actually dead on his feet, but he still had several hours of work ahead of him on the hotel front. Caleb saw that his boyfriend was tired, and tried to get him to forget working as soon as they walked in, but he couldn't change Joey's mind. Joey was set on finishing the hiring of the security staff since time was an issue. Jacob, his group and his security are going to be out within a week, which means he needs to have his security hired, trained and in place the moment that happens.

Several hours later, Joey walked away confident that he not only had his security staff, but he had managed to bring his list of who was going to head up that staff down to three. Since that wasn't a decision that needed to be made that very evening, he left it on his desk to get done the next day. For now, all he wanted to do is have dinner and sit down in front of the television.

However, what Joey wanted and what was to be were two different things. As he headed to the restaurant to join the others for dinner, he saw Alex and Matt getting off the elevator. He stopped in his tracks, turned and walked over to Alex. The three guys met in the middle of the hallway, between the elevator and restaurant, looking at each other. After a couple minutes of silence, Joey finally broke the silence.

"I think we need to talk Alex, don't you?" Alex looked at Joey as if he was out of his mind with the way he spoke and stood. The look he was giving Joey, Matt knew too well; his boyfriend wasn't happy. Knowing that, Matt tried to stop what he knew could become a disaster, but he couldn't pull Alex away.

"Look we can't keep walking around this place dodging each other whenever we see each other coming down the hallway or in the restaurant. I know the place is big. I know we are on different floors. I know you guys are going to be moving out in less than a week, but I want to deal with what is between us before you go."

Still not liking the tone he was being talked to by Joey, he reluctantly agreed that they had to talk things out. Matt tried to tag along, but Alex asked him to stay back and save their spot at the table. Not liking the idea those two going off alone together, Matt agreed. Hesitantly he headed into the restaurant while his boyfriend and the person that has become his boyfriend's newest enemy went the other direction. They went to a room to be alone and if things were to get out of hand, no one would be there to stop it for at least few minutes.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another filled chapter of `Regrets and Heartaches'. I know it has been a long while since a chapter of this story has been posted. I hope you all were pulled in from the beginning and stayed in the chapter to the very end, another evil cliffhanger. A lot happened in this chapter, so let's get started on summing up all the events.

It started off where the last chapter ended, but I know it a got a little slow there for a few paragraphs. If you are here, you either skipped those paragraphs or made it through to the other exciting parts of this chapter. Even though it was a bit slow at the beginning, at least I believe that their trip to Adventure Zone was exciting and fun to read about.

Now the park I wrote about in this chapter actually exists and is where I wrote in El Paso. However, the actual day Joey and the guys spent there didn't happen back when they were in high school. Adventure Zone wasn't around back then, but the day did actually happen as written, at least almost exactly. I leave it up to you guys to figure out what parts didn't actually happen when the guys actually did go down to this theme park.

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I got on those race go karts for the first time, I was afraid, but it went away very quickly. It was replaced with the want to win, just like any young kid and even adult wants. It was fun filled day, as I wrote in this chapter. I hope it came across like that and you guys were able to feel that you were there along with us.

With that said, there was a new plot started in this chapter, which was left hanging. Cynthia, the cashier at Adventure Zone was hitting on Joey. Boy was that weird. The guys and Caleb didn't think much about it because they knew Joey wasn't interested in her, but she didn't know that. Joey kept the flirting going, and took it a step further by promising that he was going to call her when he returns from Disneyland. What is up with that? We all know why he broke up with Jacob. Do you think that Joey has returned? Only the future chapters will tell us.

A plot was touched in this chapter that was never mentioned in the past chapters of this story. If those that read it and were confused about it tells me that you were not reading `Rebirth'. As many of you know that story is no longer being written, at least not in the `Jacob Universe' of stories. It is still being posted on other sites, but after chapter twelve, it has nothing to do with the `Jacob Universe'. It still using the same characters, but again it is its own story. Anyway, the plot between Beth and Sally was started in `Rebirth', which I covered in this chapter. A correction that needed to be made with the Sally character that wasn't supposed to happen, at least not in the eyes of the original author of `Rebirth' and myself.

When Sally was originally written into `Rebirth' she wasn't going to be a gay character. As the story switched writer's hands and she got developed, she was written that way. I agreed with the original author on where to take the character and that is what I have done here, started to fix things as to where characters are going to go. You will see a lot more of that as the chapters of this story and `Beneath the Mask' comes out, so be prepared.

With that said, I needed to do it right, which I think I found the right balance. Sally called Beth over and reluctantly broke her heart, something she never wanted to do. Beth left hurt and angry, but that doesn't mean that she will be back as a bad character, or does it? Those that have kept up with my writing know how I love to make bad characters out of characters that were hurt.

Joey had a busy week once it got started. From Tuesday on, Joey didn't have a break at school or back at the hotel. He had to hire his security staff, which it looks like he has. Also he has his duties in the ROTC program to deal with alongside of all the other things he had to do. His plate was full, and the only question that is left is the rest of the week going to be much of the same, or will it slow down enough for Joey to breath.

If the ending of this chapter, another cliffhanger, is any indication of how his week is going to continue to go tells us it is going to be hell. I understand why Joey wants the talk with Alex, but I think it is too soon. The way Alex reacted confirmed that. Do you guys think they will be able to talk things out? Or do you think the talk will end quickly and it will turn into a fist fight? If it turns into a fist fight, which side is Jacob going to support? Knowing Jacob, which is myself, I know what side he will take if it gets to that point. You guys are going to have to wait for the next chapter to see what is going to happen in this plot, LOL! Evil me, evil me!

There is so much going on in this saga. I can keep writing, but I will not. You guys are going to need to tune in to the next chapter to see what is going on. More plots are going to open and old ones will be closed. This story, like my others, will keep you on your toes. Do not miss what is coming up in the chapters to come.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

Greetings Everyone !

What an interesting chapter! There's a ton of intrigue going on as plots develop.

I really enjoyed Jacob's images of the time at the park. They say the best writing comes from real life experience. I can see where that adage is true with the images that came off the writing and into my mind.

OK, what is the deal with Joey flirting with Cynthia? Firstly, Cynthia sure moves fast and takes a ton of liberties she's not entitled to; liberties that also indicate that she is not a "lady"! Now, I'm not laying blame only on her doorstep. Joey is being a jerk not being open and honest about his circumstances. We know what he did in the past. Is he reverting back to old habits? If he screws things up with Caleb, he will deserve every ounce of agony, hurt and loneliness that will certainly come his way. He will also suffer from a severe loss of respect from a whole spectrum of people. He will be rendered ineffective in many ways if the respect is gone should this not go well. His financial prowess can't buy respect.

Caleb had better open his eyes and lay down the law. I'm sure with the facts at hand he'll take the situation in hand and deal with Joey AND Cynthia. It's time for Caleb to open his eyes and get things set right. Joey needs to be dealt with. Something tells me that Caleb won't tolerate Joey's bad behaviors like Jacob did. I also don't see Caleb quitting on the relationship. I sure hope I'm right and he "grows a pair".

The Sally and Beth situation is not a closed issue, I'm sure. I can't fathom things having progressed as far as they appear to have gone with Sally being predominately straight. I realize that everyone has an element of bisexuality within them but it appears that Sally's minority side got a bit too far out there. I hope that Beth will be able to get past the hurt and not become vindictive. Perhaps she will run across another woman that can fill the void.

Jacob didn't comment on the love scene in that I wrote it in after he'd completed his work on the chapter. I hope I hit the right tone with it. Your comments and suggestions for my next love scene assignment are welcome. I am interested in anyone and everyone's input on the characters' sexual personalities. Perhaps Ed can put up a poll.

Until Next Time,

"Daddy" Rick