“I know it is really hard to believe but, yes, a wolf first took care of Aid and then led me to him.”

“I believe you, Gus.  There are stories of animals keeping children safe for years. That is so amazing.”  Cass kissed Gus and he pulled her into an embrace.  His hand again moved under her skirt and he gently began to stroke the lace, sending a shiver through her body again. “Are you sure you have never had sex?”

“You are the first woman I have ever done this with.  I mean I kissed a couple girls and I guess at a party once I groped a girl but it was all through clothes. I was young.” He shrugged and let his finger slide under her underwear.

“Gus, we really probably shouldn’t….” Gus’ finger found her clit and she shivered.  She pushed him back a little bit. “Gus, if you knew how badly I want to continue that…. I am going to be honest because I want to always be honest with you.  Your dad texted me and asked me not to have sex with you until I have met them.”

“He what!  How could he do that?”

“Gus, he was very nice in his message.  He just said you have been through a lot this week and he wants your first time to be special, not in desperation.  He loves you, Gus.”

“Ya, I know he does.  But according to a former president, what I’m doing isn’t sex. So,” before she realized what he was going to do, he had dropped to his knees and ducked under her skirt. When his finger moved the scrap of lace to the side and he drug his tongue along her hot, wet core. He seemed to have a natural instinct and as soon as his tongue touched her clit he knew he had found the right spot. It was only moments before she was gasping and then climaxed with a scream.

“Oh, Gus.  That was beyond….”  she pulled him up and kissed him.  He started reaching under her blouse.  “Gus, I want to have your dads blessing.  I can get into a hell of a lot of trouble if I don’t have it and even if I do…”

“Why is age so important? We love each other.”

“Oh, Gus, I know but I am officially an adult and you, well…”

“I have been acting a lot more like an adult than my moms the last six months.”

“I know but you know what I am saying is true.” Cassandra said as she draped her arms around his neck. “If things were different… Damn, it would be amazing.”

“When are you going to talk to my dads?”

“Brian asked me to call him tomorrow.”

“I’ll go with you!” Gus interjected.

“No, love.  I need to do this.  I need to show your dads that I am committed to you and that I am not just someone who is trying to take advantage of a beautiful young man.” She kissed him gently but it made him want much more.”

“Damn, I hate that you’re right but you are.  My dads are willing to accept this if we do it right.”

“Well, I will have to work on your moms approval, too.”

“That won’t be easy.  Trust me, Mama is a lawyer and if this is done wrong….”

“Exactly, Gus, let me drive you home.  You don’t want them to find out about this and start out badly from the beginning. If we have your dads approval has to help.”

“Ya, you’re right. I can walk home.  You don’t have to drive me.”

“I am going to drive you home.  You don’t need to be out on the street alone.”

“I missed you so much the last month.”

“I missed you, too.”   Cass kissed him for several minutes before they walked out together and she drove him home. She dropped him off a few houses away and watched him slip into his backyard before she drove away.  The one thing she hadn’t said to Gus was that Brian asked her to help keep him away from the bad influences. She saw his bedroom light come on as she drove past after making a U turn.  Why couldn’t that boy be ten years older.  He would be the perfect marriage material, if he wasn’t 15.

The next morning, Cassandra got a call from Brian.  When she saw who was calling her she was very surprised. “Hello?” she answered tentatively.

“Cassandra, this is Brian Kinney.  We need to talk.  I am about to leave the hospital and was wondering if I could stop by your place. It won’t take long.”

“Oh, sure.  I am not going anywhere until this afternoon.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.  What kind of coffee do you like.”

“Um. a caramel macchiato?”

“I will be there shortly.”  Brian looked at Justin.  “I am going to meet Cassandra. Then I will go to the office but I will be back here before 1:00 so you can go to your office.” Brian kissed Justin.

“Mom is coming to be with Aiden  in a little bit so I can go to work.”

“Well, I will spend tonight here so you can get a good night's sleep.”  Brian walked over and kissed Aiden’s cheek.  “I’ll see you after lunch, Aid.  Can I get you anything special to eat?”

“Can you get me that ice cream with the sprinkles all through it?”

“Sure, Aid.  I will see you later. I love you.” 

“I love you too, Big Daddy.” Aiden responded.

Brian stopped at Justin’s side, “And I love you, Sunshine.”

“I love you, too,” Justin lifted his mouth for one more kiss before Brian left to meet with Cass.

Cassandra had straightened up her already neat apartment after the phone call from Gus’ dad.  She was very nervous.  She knew what she had been doing was dangerous and she wasn’t sure why this young man had touched her so deeply but from the first time she had caught him skipping English it was like he wore his soul on his sleeve.  And after all her education and her love of teaching her choices may have already ruined her career.  She jumped when the knock came on the door. She tried to calm herself and walked to the door.

As she opened the door, she had an odd sensation the moment she saw Brian.  Of course Gus had shown her pictures but the moment she met him she could tell he had the same magnetism as his son. “Mr. Kinney, please come in.”

“Thanks for letting me invade your space,” he handed a coffee to her and she motioned for him to sit down.

“No problem.  Gus told me you wanted to meet me. Mr. Kinney, I…”

“Brian, please, and although what you and my son are doing  wasn’t on my top list of things I hoped for him, I think I do understand a bit. When Gus needs something it is hard to resist him.”

“Yes, your son is special in so many ways. And, although he is handsome, that isn’t what I am talking about.  He is very intelligent and probably more sensitive than anyone I have ever met.”

“And that is what got you into this spot.  Gus feels everything so strongly and with his mother’s situation it had gotten more than he knew what to do with. He really was settling down.”

“I was worried about him.  I had no idea I was distracting him that day.”

“Cass, we don’t blame you for that.  We don’t blame anyone for that.  Aiden is an active six year old.  He got away. But I need to get to the point because I have a meeting.  We want to get to know you.  The only thing we ask is that you don’t have sex with him. You haven’t, have you?”

“No, I am not going to lie and say we haven’t ….explored, but we haven’t done that. I have to admit he is pushing for that.  Brian, I know you could stop my career with one word.  I love teaching.  I had never thought about doing this with a teenage boy….until I met Gus.”

“Well, I am sure you have seen him but as soon as Aiden is out of the hospital, we want you both to come for dinner and please, if you see him falling apart again,  let us know. If we need to, we will force him to come live with us. If you are going to be a part of his life you have to be a part of his team.” Brian stood.  “I’m sorry but I do have to go.  Justin or I will be in touch and please, keep in touch with us, too.”  Brian put his hand on her shoulder.  “I have no intention of ruining your life unless you hurt him.  If you hurt him, all bets are off and you can kiss your future in teaching goodbye.”

With that, Brian walked to the door. “Brian, I won’t hurt him and if I see more of the negative stuff coming back, I will let you know. I really do care about him.”

“I think you do,” he nodded and walked out the door.  

“Oh, Justin,” Jenn walked into the hospital room and hugged her son. “How is he doing?” she spoke softly as to not wake him.

“Mom, he is out of the real danger but his blood levels haven’t stablized yet.  He is getting daily transfusions and will until he is stronger.  I wouldn’t leave him with anyone other than you.  He has been asking for you.”

“Well, I can do a little bit of work from here but I can be here most days if you need me.”

“Thanks, Mom.  Mol said she would be coming with Tasha sometime this week, too. I hope in a couple days he will be able to go home.”

“You had to be terrified.  I was.”

“Yes, and if it wasn’t for Gus, he may not have made it but now we are worried about Gus, too.  He had just been returning to the old Gus when this happened and he blamed himself.  He has insisted on moving back in with Lindsay because he said it would be easier on us and maybe that is true but we would worry about him less if he was staying with us.”

“Oh, honey, Just worry about one thing at a time. Lindsay and Mel may not be the best parents right now but you know they love him.  And you and Brian will be able to give him the attention he needs soon enough. Now, go take care of that business and I will watch over my grandson.” She kissed Justin as she heard a small voice.

“Grandma, I have missed you!” Aiden’s voice though quiet was filled with excitement.

“Well, you got me, all day.”

Justin went home to shower and change and then went to the office.  He knew he would have a desk full of decisions to make and he really needed to talk to Lindsay, both about work and Gus.  He arrived around 10:00 a.m. but rather than coming in through the front door, he had slipped in the backdoor. He buzzed his assistant, Mitchell, and let him know he was in but he didn’t want to be disturbed. He then emailed Lindsay and said he would like to have lunch with her, if that worked for her. He sat at his desk and started going through emails and paperwork.

After working an hour and a half, Justin’s head was splitting.  He was really tired.  He had slept in bed with Aiden but he woke with every little noise.  He decided he was just going to rest his eyes for a couple minutes. He laid his head down. It would be better by lunch time.

“Justin, are you ready ….” Lindsay came through his office door.  She stopped talking when she saw him with his head down on his desk.  She debated about leaving again but then she walked over to him and touched his shoulder, “Hey, Justin, am I early?”

Justin jumped as he sat up.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to fall asleep.  I had a headache from lack of sleep and…”

“Justin you should be home in bed or with your son.”

“Mom’s with Aiden and he sleeps 90% of the time. I needed to come in.  It looks like most things have been working out.”

“You had been keeping up until Aiden got lost.”

“Ya, I have a couple things here,” he handed Lindsay a stack of papers.  “These are all reviewed and signed.  “I also wanted to talk about Gus.  How was he last night?”

“We talked until I needed to go to bed.  He told me all about his adventure to find Aiden. He really saved him?”

“He did but he also feels guilty for what happened.”

“I kind of thought so, even though he didn’t say anything.”

“Did he call his girlfriend?” After Justin said it, he wished he hadn’t.

“He has a girlfriend?”

“I don’t think it is anything important.  We are actually more concerned about his group of friends.  We don’t think they are good for him. Did you know he was drinking and using pot?”

“Gus is too young to be doing that.  He would go out to a movie and then over to Mel’s new place a couple nights a week. I have to let him do that or she will fight me for custody.”

“Lindsay, Gus has been using your relationship issues to do whatever he wants, not to mention who he is hanging with. That group is the reason he is doing pot and drinking so much.  He has stability with us and as soon as Aiden is healthy again, Gus is coming back with us so someone will keep an eye on him.” Justin’s lack of sleep was affecting his normal ability to control his temper.  

“Justin, we are trying to….”

“You and Mel are so worried about getting back at each other that you don’t have any time for Gus.  You both just want him to like you best and….”  Now Justin stopped and tried to get control, “Lindz, I apologize for my tone but not for what I said.  Gus needs parenting, not pals.”

Lindsay was a bit taken aback by Justin’s reaction. “Well, if you feel I am doing such a bad job parenting maybe I am doing a bad job here too.  I just spent the last month holding your business together and this is your reaction! I am out of here and don’t call me when you don’t even know what is going on in your own business!” 

Justin watched Lindsay leave the building. What had he done?  He wasn’t sure he could run the business without her.  Mitchell walked in with a bag that contained lunch for him and Lindsay. “Mr. Taylor, I have your lunch but…”

“Thanks.”

“Is there anything I can do for you? Ms. Peterson seemed to be upset.”

“Mitchell, how involved have you been in the business the last month? Did Lindsay actually let you help do the jobs I turned over to you?”

“Mr. Taylor, while you were gone, Ms. Peterson….I’m not sure how to say this.  She actually was only here about half the time.  She did review all the final decisions but she had me doing a majority of the preliminary work.”

“Mitchell, do you have lunch plans?” Justin held up the bag of food Mitchell had just given him.  You can choose which one you want to eat.”

“Sure, I can fill you in on what I know about the different projects in process.”

“Thanks, Michell. And remind me to talk to payroll about your new position.”

Cass moved to her door, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Cass.  Let me in,” Gus said from the other side of the door.

“Hey,” she said as she unlocked the door.  “What are you doing here? You know it is dangerous for you to come during the day.”

Gus walked in and pulled Cassandra into his arms and against his body. After he kissed her until her insides were jelly, he put a little space between them.

“Wow, what brought that on? And you know you shouldn’t be here now. Anyone could have seen you come in.”

“Please, Cass, I know.  I just went through a blow up with my mom and when I left she was screaming at Mama on the phone.” Gus sank into the sofa and pulled out a joint.

“Gus, what are... damn, why are you making this so hard. Are you trying to get me into trouble?”

“I’m sorry.  I’ll leave. I am sure some of the guys are hanging out in the normal spot. Gus started to stand up.

“Sit. You’re here now.  It would be better if you didn’t go right now.”

“I’m not going to stay just because you don’t want anyone to see me.”

“Gus,” Cass sat next to him and ran her fingers through his dark curls. Why did he have to be so young? “Stay, please.  I’m sorry.  You just surprised me and your dad was here today and…”

“Dad was here? I am guessing it was Brian? He wasn’t mean was he?”

“No, he was actually very nice.  He is just watching out for you which he should do.  You have had a lot going on. It is obvious he loves you.”

“Well, at least,” he took a long drag off the joint and after holding it for a moment he let out his breath. “Ya, they are pretty cool.  Way better than my moms.”

“So why did you decide to live with them?”

“Because they have so much going on with Aid right now.  What did Dad want?”

“He was just checking me out, I think.  I understand that and he said as soon as Aiden was home they were going to have us over for dinner.  Gus, I wish you would just live with them. You seem so much happier with them.”

“Cass, stay out of it,” he snapped and then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.  I just can’t live there right now so I have to deal with my moms for a month or so.”

“Gus, I would rather you come here then hang out with those guys.  You know they are not good for you.”

He took another pull on the joint and passed it to Cass. She hesitated but then took it from him, “Cass, they are my friends.”

“Are they really? Haven’t they gotten you in more trouble than…”  she was feeling very relaxed now. “Never mind,” she passed it back to Gus and he took one last drag before dropping it into an empty soda can. Cass pushed Gus down on the sofa and followed him, laying on top of him.

“Does this mean…”

“No, Gus, we are not having sex but after last night I think I owe you.” She moved down his body and began to undo his zipper and then stopped, “You’re sure you want…”

“God, yes!” he unzipped his fly himself.

She started with his mouth and began to move lower.  This wasn’t the first time she gave him a blowjob but she had to admit she felt a little nervous doing it knowing his dads were aware of their relationship.  But with the help of the pot she couldn’t worry too much.  Damn, he had a beautiful body was her last thought as she took him into her mouth and soon Gus lost control, cumming deep in her throat. As she came back up his body Gus hugged her. Cass heard her phone beep and reached for it.  “It’s your dad. He is just making sure you are with me.” She texted back, ‘yes’ and they both drifted off.

Brian arrived at the hospital with Aiden’s ice cream and he ate about half of it before he fell asleep.  Jenn left and said she would be back in the morning. With Jenn’s help, they could make this work.  Brian had received texts from both Lindsay and Justin.  They must have had a major blow up and of course each had their own opinion. He of course trusted Justin’s account of the situation but he could also imagine Justin being tired and snapping much easier than he usually would. 

Lindsay must have gone home after blowing up at Justin and did the same thing with Mel and now they didn’t know where Gus was.  He had texted Gus and got back a response that he was fine and just wanted to get away from his mom when she was so upset.  When he asked where he was, he hadn’t responded for some time. He finally texted Cass with the question, ‘Is Gus with you?’.

Moments later he received one word back, ‘yes’.  He wasn’t sure why but he was glad he knew Gus was with her and not that group he called friends. As Aiden napped, Brian did some work on his laptop.  It was after 5:00 when he got a call from Mel.  He slipped out of the room so he wouldn’t disrupt Aiden’s rest.  “Hold on, Mel,” he said as he found a private waiting room down the hall.  “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake Aiden up.”

“Do you know where Gus is?” She said once he was back on.

“He’s doing fine, thanks for asking,” Brian said snidely.

“Brian, you have two sons.  Is Gus with you?”

“Well, what answer do you want, Mel? Do I know where he is or is he here with me?”

“Fuck you, Brian Kinney.  I am trying to find our son!”

“No, he is not with me but yes, I know where he is.”

“Well, where is he!  I am not going to get Lindsay off my back until I find him.”

“Mel, that is the only reason you want to know where he is.  You want to be able to say that you found him and he came home to you. But you really don’t care what he is doing.”

“That isn’t true.  He has been so distant.”

“Mel, the last semester of school while you and Lindz screamed at each other he made a group of the worst kind of friends and he started drinking and using pot.  But you didn’t notice that.”

“I knew he had hooked up with the wrong group but the last month he had turned around.  You saw his grades come up.”

“And why was that, Mel? Were you tutoring him? Was Lindz giving him quality time?”

“I don’t know….he pulled his ass together and got back on track.”

“Mel, if you can’t admit you have let him run wild and allowed him to make all his own decisions, you don’t need to know where he is.  He is fine and I have a small son who I don’t want to leave alone any longer. He will be at Lindsay by his curfew.” With that Brian ended the call.

When Brian walked back into his room, Justin was sitting on the edge of Aiden’s bed, talking to him about his day with his grandmother. “Hey, gorgeous,” Brian kissed Justin and winked at Aiden.  “I was on the phone with Mel.”

“Did she tear me apart?”

“No, she is just being her normal self.  Mainly she was wondering if I knew where Gus was.”

“Big Daddy, Is Gus coming to visit me?” Aiden asked. 

“Since I know your Daddy is here, I’ll go call him and let him know you would like a visit.”  Brian went back out to the small room and called Gus.  Brian was expecting to leave a message when Gus’ voice came on the line. 

“Hey, Dad.”

“Glad you picked up.  Your brother is hoping you will stop by the hospital.  Can Cass bring you over? Maybe you could pick up some pizza for all of us or burgers.” Brian heard some muffled talking and then Gus came back on. “Are you inviting Cass to eat with us, too? I’m just wondering.”

“Yes, of course she is welcome.  Gus, I told your moms you would be home by curfew.”

“Ya, Cass will drop me off after we have dinner.  Can you let mom know I am having dinner at the hospital.  I’m not sure she will believe me.”

“I will. We’ll see you in half an hour?”

“Yes, we will leave now.”

It was less than half an hour when Gus stuck his head into Aiden’s room, “Hey little bro,” Gus smiled over at him.

“Gus, you came!” Aiden smiled from ear to ear.

“I brought dinner and a friend along.  I hope chicken sandwiches and fries sound good.”

“Who’s your friend?” Aiden asked.

Gus looked back into the hall and then he walked in with a bag of food in one hand and with his other hand he held Cass’ hand. “Aid, this is Cass.”

“Your girlfriend?”

“Well, my friend anyway.”  Cassandra waved at Aiden.

“Hi Cass.  Thanks for coming to visit me.”

Cass’ heart instantly melted. “It is very nice to meet you, Aiden,”she walked over and shook his hand gently.  “I am glad you're getting better.”

“I am. It’s because Gus saved me.”  Brian started pulling the food out of the bag while Justin and Cass introduced themselves to each other. An hour later Gus gave Aiden a big hug and then Aiden motioned for Cass to come over and he gave her a hug too. “Will you come visit me again, Cass?”

“I would love that, Aiden.  For the summer I don’t have a lot to do so,” Cass looked over and Brian and Justin, “if you ever need a friend to stay with you for an hour or two, I would love to do that.” Brian and Justin left Aiden alone for just a moment as they walked Gus and Cass out to the door.

“Cass, were you serious about being willing to stay with Aiden some times?” Justin asked.

“I would love it! He is such a cutie.”

“Well, we are hoping to have him come home next week, just in time for the Fourth of July and my mom wants to help out a couple days a week but we have a couple more days that we could use some help.  It could be flexible.”

“Oh, yes.  I could make that work.  I have the month of July off yet.  I will start working for the school system in early August.”

“That would be perfect.” Justin hugged the young woman and then hugged Gus.  “I will be in touch.  Gus, your mom is probably very upset with me.” 

“Ya, she was but I told her I didn’t want to hear about it and that is when I went to Cass’ place. It will be fine.  I can deal with her.” Gus hugged both his dads and Justin said he would be in touch with Cass as Gus and Cass walked out of the hospital.

“Damn, I was hoping I wouldn’t like her, but I do,” Justin said as he linked arms with Brian.

“I know. I really think it is a case of those two meeting at the wrong time of their lives.  Gus needs her but he can’t be with her, not at this age. Do you think Gus can deal with Lindz or should I call her?” Brian asked.

“We have to just let him try to deal and hope he will ask for help if he needs it,” Justin kissed Brian as they walked into Aiden’s room.

“Do I really get to go home soon? I miss GC.”

“Well, GC misses you, too, and Dr. Victor said if you keep feeling better you will be home by the Fourth of July.”

“Yeah! And I like Cassie.  Is she really going to babysit me?”

“It sounds like she is free and since you probably can’t go to day camp like we had planned in July, it will be a big help if she is willing.”

“I wish I could go to day camp but since I need naps right now, the kids would just make fun of me and call me a baby.  They don’t understand that they are being mean.”

“Well, I have a feeling you will have both Gus and Cass around part of the time.” They chatted for a little longer and then Justin went home while Brian slipped into bed with Aiden to keep him company for the night.

By Friday, Aiden was ready to go home. Talking to Jenn and Cass, Justin and Brian had figured out a schedule that Cass would be there two days a week, Jenn would spend two days and then Brian and Justin could take turns on Friday.  All of this would start next week after the Fourth celebration.  Gus had stopped by the hospital once more but the other couple days he had an excuse.  When Justin talked to Cass, getting the schedule set up, he mentioned Gus and she said she hadn’t seen him either although they had talked every day. 

“Cass, do you have any idea what Gus is up to? Since his mom doesn’t work for me anymore, I can’t ask her,” Justin was concerned.

“I’m a little worried, Justin.  He told me he was staying home with his mom since she was out of work but when I was at the mall, meeting a friend, I saw him with some of those kids that are, I hate to say it but, just bad news.”

“Did you ask him about it?”

“He said they had just gone to a movie but he went home after that.”

“And you don’t believe him?” Justin probed.

“No, I hate to admit it but I drove past his house and his mom was on the front porch and the house was dark except for a room downstairs.  Gus wasn’t there.  It was obvious. When I asked him about it the next day, he told me to stop drilling him and ...well he said a couple other cruder things which tells me he has been drinking again, too.”

“Cass, if you would rather not work for us…”

“Oh, no, this is exactly what I have been looking for, a part time job and I love Aiden.  It’s not like Gus will be at your place and maybe that crew just lured him in for a day of debauchery.”

Justin softly said, “Cass, you are really good for him. I wish…. Well, we both know the situation.”

“Justin, he really is a good boy, but I do know he is a boy and his inability to stand up to those kids.  I know his heart really is good but he is confused.  I think this situation with Aiden had an effect and the fact that his mothers are playing ping pong with him doesn’t help.  He tries to be an adult but gets pulled back into bad behaviors.”

“Cass, you are a very smart young lady.  Whoever does win your heart will be a lucky young man.”

The first night back at the house they kept it low key.  It was just Brian and Justin and a very excited GC with Aiden.  They tried to get Gus to come by but he said he was going to dinner with Mel. And Brian tried to contact Mel but she wasn’t taking his calls right now. It was no wonder Gus was acting like a child. So were both of his mothers.  Both Brian and Justin were keeping track of the ignored calls and copies of the texts and emails, helping build up a case against them if it was necessary to go back to court to get full custody.  They were really hoping Gus would realize on his own that moving back was best for everyone.  Gus really was fifteen and he may have to be told what to do.  The problem was his mothers were not doing that.

GC and Aiden spent time on the back deck and when Aiden was too tired to stay awake any longer, GC followed him to bed, jumping up and laying next to him.  Once Brian and Jusitn were sure he was sound asleep, still in their shorts and T shirts, they fell into bed themselves.  They were both exhausted after the last couple weeks. “Do you really think he is better?” Justin asked as he rolled into Brian’s side and kissed Brian ‘s neck.

“You know Victor would not have allowed him to come home if he wasn’t strong enough,” Brian’s hand slipped under the hem of Justin’s shirt and rested on the small of his naked back and let his fingers play with the waistband of his shorts. A shiver ran through him. “Sunshine, I think this is the longest we have gone without…” Brian tugged off Justin’s shirt and then gently rolled so he pressed Justin into the mattress.  His mouth brushed against Justin’s and then followed his jawline up to his ear, “I love you, Sunshine.  I have missed you so much.” His lips went back to Justin’s.  

Justin wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck, “God, I almost forgot how good your body feels.” Justin used one hand to begin to tug down Brian’s shorts.

“Slow down, Sunshine,” Brian’s mouth moved down Justin’s neck.  “We have time to enjoy each other.” He began to slowly move down Justin’s body, enjoying every inch of his skin.  He feasted on the warm skin. When he drug his teeth along the inner side of Justin’s elbow, he gasped.

“Oh, god, Brian, I need you.” 

“And you will have me when you can’t take anymore.  Roll over, Sunshine.” Justin followed direction and as Brian’s tongue trailed down Justin’s spine, Brian removed his shorts. Justin fought to keep control but as Brian’s mouth began to leave light kisses on his lower back and then as Brian’s tongue took the path of least resistance even lower, Justin whimpered.

“Brian, I need you to  kiss me. I need to taste you!” Justin kept his voice soft but there was no doubt in his urgency.  

Brian moved so he could remove his own clothes and then put Justin flat on his back but then moved so Justin’s legs rested on Brian’s shoulder.  Brian leaned down and kissed him for so long Brian felt the stretch of the position he was in but the discomfort only heightened his need. Brian leaned over once more and softly said, “Damn, but your body is perfect!” With that he entered him.  He moved in and out slowly at first but it had been so long for both of them, neither of them had patience. Brian thrust fast and hard and together they crashed into perfection.

Ten minutes later Brian’s head rested on Justin’s chest and a light blanket was pulled up to Justin’s waist.

“The only thing that would make this night perfect is if Gus was in his room,” Justin said as his fingers ran through Brian’s hair.

“Ya’ Cass is growing frustrated with him.  I had a feeling his immaturity would eventually show her that their relationship just had nowhere to go. And I wish it was different because I really like her.”

“I do too and she is good for him but he isn’t done hating himself yet.  I think we need to figure out how to get him to move back in here.  I know we can make him but that isn’t how we want it.  Aiden doesn’t need any excess stress.”

Brian moved so he could hold Justin against him, “I know. I just don’t want him to screw something up he can’t undo.  He is making bad decisions but he doesn’t have the stability he needs living with the munchers. Can I still call them that? I guess Mel is still munching but Lindz...well….”

“We can talk all this over  later, darling.  I need to sleep now and the next couple days we can relax and just enjoy our little boy and on Monday, with all our friends around, maybe we can come up with some answers that we can all agree on. Justin melted against Brian.  “I just hope those women can behave.  Mel here with whoever she is with and Lindsay here.”

“I will warn them,” Brian said in a sleepy voice.  “They will not ruin our day and if they start to, they are out of here. And right now,” Brian kissed Justin’s temple, “let’s get some sleep and maybe in a couple hours when we check on Aid we will be ready for round two.

“I am sure we can make that happen.”

Gus was too out of it to go home and besides, she thought he was staying at Mama’s.  He and his buddies had been drinking since late afternoon but when that buzz started to wear off, someone gave him a pill that was just supposed to help him relax even more.  Well, now he could barely stand and even his mama would have a fit if she saw him this wasted. His buddies knew he had a girlfriend but they had no idea it was their student teacher and they couldn’t find that out. He had them drop him off a block from Cass’ apartment and he went through the alley and a couple backyards and managed to get to her door.  “Cass,” he said in a loud whisper as he knocked.  “Beautiful Cassandra, let me in.” He kept knocking until he saw a light come on inside.

“Gus, what the hell? What are you doing here?” She opened the door a couple inches but left the chain on the door.

“Let me in, Cass.  I came to see you.” His voice was louder than he realized.

“Shhhh, don’t wake my neighbors. Go home, Gus.”

“I can’t. My mom would kill me.  Please, Cassie, I am feeling really dizzy and…” he swayed catching himself on the door frame.  

“What did you take?”

“I don’t know.  They lied to me.  They said it was just going to help me relax and have fun. Please, Cass. I told my mom I was staying at Mama’s but I didn’t tell her I was coming over…. Please, Cassie, let me in.”

“Why am I doing this? I will not do this anymore…” she continued to mumble as she opened the door and helped Gus into her living room.  “Sit down, Gus, I’ll get you a cup of tea.”

“I don’t need tea. I need my beautiful girlfriend,” he tried pulling her down but she easily moved away and he sagged onto the worn but comfortable sofa.  

Cassandra walked back with a bottle of water, a blanket, and a wastebasket. “You don’t need tea, fine!  Here,” she set the water on the table, the wastebasket on the floor and draped the blanket over him.  He was already drifting off.  She bent over him and kissed his cheek, “Damn, Gus, why are you doing this to yourself.”

He mumbled.  She slipped off his shoes and lifted his feet onto the sofa.  She covered him up better and then walked to her room, locking the door behind her.

Brian and Justin had checked on Aiden a couple times, making love each time they got back in bed.  Now that the sun was rising they both were stirring.  They had gone to bed early but even with the activity they had throughout the night, they both felt relaxed and their muscles still hummed. As they lay with their arms and legs entwined, Brian’s phone buzzed. “Shit, that’s never good.” He picked it up and saw there was a text from Lindsay. ‘Is Gus there?’ it said.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Lindz.  Can you do me a favor and just verify that Gus didn’t sneak in?  I know he isn’t but I want to have that verified. He was already texting Cass.  Justin came back and shook his head. “I knew he wasn’t,” Brian responded.  We would know if our son was in our house and if he was in our care he WOULD be here!” Brian said too loud.

“Big Daddy, is something wrong?” Aiden’s voice came from the room next door.

“You find Gus.  I’ll take care of Aid.” Justin kissed Brian’s cheek, “I’m coming, Aiden.  What should we have for breakfast?”

Brian’s phone rang.  “Hey, Cass.  Please tell me he is there.”

“He stumbled in about 2:00.  He was really drunk and high.”

“High? Do you mean pot?”

“No.  I don’t know what it was and neither did he.  I’m worried about him but I can’t do this.  He is risking too much of my future.  I really like him and he is going to be such an amazing man some day but right now, he has to figure out who he is.”

“Is ok there until about 8:00?  I’ll come pick him up then if that’s alright.”

“That’s fine.  I doubt he will wake up before then.  Thanks, Brian.”

“No, Cass, thank you.  I will tell his mom he slept here and I will deal with him when I get there.”

Brian texted Lindsay back and told her that he had come late last night.  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ She came back with.

‘Why didn’t you know where your 15 year old son was?’

‘He said he was staying at Mel’s,’ Lindz responded.

‘And of course you verified that with her.’

She didn’t respond and Brian left it at that.  He went down to have some coffee and then he would go get Gus in an hour or so.  He gave Justin the basics but they didn’t want Aiden to catch on that there had been an issue but of course he heard his brother’s name.

“Is Gus coming over?  I miss him,” Aiden said, crawling up on Brian’s lap after he sat on the sofa located in a corner of the kitchen area.  Justin walked over with a cup of coffee for both of them.  

“Aiden wanted that cheese egg dish and luckily I happened to make one yesterday so I put it in the oven,” Justin sat next to Brian and Aiden.

“I think Gus will be here for a while today.  Maybe we can talk him into staying overnight tonight.”

“Oh, I would like that.  I hope he moves back in here all the time.”

“We would love that, too,” Brian said, hugging Aiden and then sipping his coffee.

The three of them ate their breakfast and then Brian went to pick up Gus.

Cass made a pot of coffee and poured a cup for both her and Gus.  She put lots of sugar and cream into his cup and went into her living room.  She set his cup down near his nose and she moved his feet so she could sit down.  She hugged her legs as she sipped on the coffee.  Gus began to stir, probably from the scent of the coffee.

“Hey, gorgeous, I woke up in the middle of the night and tried to join you but you had locked your door.  Why’d you do that?”

“Gus, are you really that clueless?  You stumble in at 2:00, drunk and high, and making enough noise to wake my neighbors.”

“Ah, Cass, I’m sorry.  I really didn’t think I was taking anything that would mess me up that much.  They said it would just help me relax.”

“Gus, why are you hanging out with those assholes.”

“I just couldn’t sit at that house any longer.”

“You know you could always go to your dads.”

“They would never let me go out with my friends.”

“Maybe because they know they aren’t your friends.”

“Come on, Cass.  You know they are alright,” he drank some of the coffee and then, after setting it down, he crawled toward Cass on the sofa. He tried to kiss her but she pushed his shoulder.

“Gus, I really like you and I know, somewhere inside there, there is a wonderful guy but I can’t do this.” She now changed her mind and pulled him closer and kissed him.  He tasted of stale liquor and coffee.  “Gus, you can’t come back here.”

“Come on, Cass.  I messed up but I didn’t do anything that bad.”  There was a knock on the door.

“That’s your dad.  He has come to take you home.  Gus, if you start making better choices maybe….” Brian knocked again.  “Coming, Brian.  If you live with your dads we can talk.  I will be there a couple days a week. If you choose to stay with your mom, then I guess I will see you once in a while,” she moved toward the door, ‘but you aren’t welcome here anymore.”

“Hey, Brian, Gus should be ready in just a minute.  He is just about done with his coffee.”