Slip Sliding Away
Carl and Chuck walked behind Jerome and Taylor into their place. They would be headed to Chuck’s place later but made a planned detour to have a little fun with their newfound friends with benefits. Carl had told Jeremy about it but wanted to keep it between them for now. Jerome and Taylor knew Carl and Chuck couldn’t stay long, so they moved to the bedroom right away. As soon as they entered the room, they began taking each other’s clothes off. Taylor and Carl were stripping each other while Jerome and Chuck did the same. Instead of being a four-man orgy, this was going to be just a couples swap. Once they were completely naked, they climbed on the bed in a sixty-nine, side by side, with Carl over Taylor and Jerome over Chuck. They sucked on each other’s precum-drooling cocks for a while. Carl was also fingering Taylor’s tight hole. Next to them, Jerome and Chuck were fingering each other. After several minutes, and before they got too close, they stopped. Jerome grabbed two condoms and some lube. He tossed one of the condoms to Carl. Chuck held out his hand to take the other condom, but Jerome smiled, “If it’s all the same to you, Chuck, I’d like to fuck you this time.” When Taylor heard this, his eyes opened wide, but then a big grin spread across his face and a flood or more precum oozed from his cock, which grew harder and twitched at the idea of his boyfriend fucking Chuck. Chuck was also surprised and looked over at Carl who was grinning back at him. Chuck grinned back and then turned to Jerome, “I think I’d like that, Jerome.” Jerome smiled, revealing his bright white teeth as he opened the condom and rolled it over his cock. Carl was doing the same as he looked down at the smiling face of Taylor. They each lubed up their condom-sheathed cocks and then their partners eager holes. Carl then bent down and kissed chuck, then kissed Taylor before lifting Taylor’s legs to his shoulders. Jerome then kissed Taylor first, then Chuck, before putting his arms behind Chuck’s knees and pushing them to his chest. Carl and Jerome entered their partners slowly until they were balls deep inside them. Then they slowly began rocking back and forth, plunging their rigid cocks in and out, gradually picking up speed. Chuck looked into Jerome’s eyes and said, “Fuck me, Jerome.” Taylor looked up at Carl with a wild look in his eyes and said in a somewhat deeper voice than normal, “Give me that cock, Carl.” After a few minutes, Taylor’s voice went deep demon, “Fuck me bitch! Harder. Wreck my ass! Fuck me harder! Slam that cock in me!” Chuck cried out, “Yeah, Carl! Fuck his ass! Fuck me harder, Jerome! Pound me like you mean it! Yeah! Like that!” Carl and Jerome were now jackhammering the two beneath them, the three others ignited by the now cute, no longer scary, demon voice of Taylor. The fucking now was hot and heavy as the loud slapping of pelvis into upturned asses echoed throughout the bedroom along with grunts and cries of animal pleasure. Chuck reached for his precum-leaking, stiff cock as it bounced on his abs, but Jerome smacked his hand away while shaking his head, “Not yet.” Taylor resisted, having experienced his boyfriend’s discipline, and knew not to touch his cock until just before his partner was on the edge. He knew that moments after he touched his cock it would explode. Chuck was feeling wave after wave of pleasure course through his body and his cock was aching to cum as Jerome continued to pound him and rake his cock across his love button. Then Carl said, “Fuck! I’m getting close.” Jerome said, “Me too. Hold out ‘til they cum, Carl.” Jerome grabbed Chuck’s cock and stroked it just once or twice before Chuck cried out, “Oh! Fuck!” Ropes of cum shot into the air landing on both him and Taylor, from head to abs.” Taylor then reached for his own cock, but Carl got there first and after giving it a few strokes, Taylor yelled, “Fuck yes!” His cock too, blasted out high arcing ropes of his own cream landing on both him and Chuck. As Taylor’s cum turned to just dribbling from his cock, Carl couldn’t hold back any longer and pulled his cock from Taylor’s hole. Jerome did the same and said, “Facials Carl!”, as he threw his condom aside and moved up next to Chuck’s head. Carl quickly moved up to Taylor’s head and immediately unleashed a massive load landing all over both of their faces and even Jerome’s legs as he stroked his own cock. Jerome grinned at the sight before him and said, “Fuck yeah!”, as he erupted across the two faces before him, adding his baby batter to their already painted faces. Carl and Jerome grinned down at their work, then wiped the cum from their eyelids so they could open them. Chuck and Taylor turned to each other grinning, and then burst into laughter, seeing each other’s faces. They gave each other a cummy kiss and then Carl and Jerome leaned down and joined them, licking the mixture of the cum from their faces and bodies. They had cum all over them both and it took a while to get it all, well, most of it anyway. They then squeezed into the shower to rinse off. Once they dried off and dressed, Carl and Chuck kissed Taylor and Jerome goodbye and headed to Chuck’s.
A while later, Taylor was reading a book and Jerome called out to him, “Dinner’s ready!” Taylor placed the marker in the book and went in to eat. As he took his plate from Jerome, Jerome looked at him and asked, “What?” Taylor smiled and said, “That was a pretty lit session with Carl and Chuck today.” Jerome sat down at the table across from Taylor smiling, and said, “Yeah, it was.” Taylor swallowed the food he was chewing and still smiling, said, “That was the first time you topped someone other than me since I’ve known you.” Jerome thought for a moment and said, “Yeah, I guess it was. Are you ok with it? I mean, I hope it didn’t bother you. You know you’re my man. I wouldn’t want to do anything that might upset you, you know that, right?” Taylor took another bite of his food and chewed it, knowing his boyfriend was waiting for a response. It was hard not to break into a grin. Jerome looked at Taylor, waiting anxiously for his response. Taylor swallowed his food, grinned and said, “Jer, it had me so effing hot! I don’t think I’ve ever cum so hard in my life! Seeing you fucking Chuck while Carl fucked me was blowing my mind! I don’t know if it would be the same with anyone else, but it was awesome with them, Jer.” Jerome’s smile spread across his face, “I thought so too, and you know something, that fucking demon voice of yours put all of us on another level. I thought I was the only one who loved it when that little demon in you comes out, but apparently Carl and Chuck love it too, that is, after they realized you weren’t going to go all exorcist on them.” They both laughed. Then Jerome said, “You’re the only one I make love to, Taylor. It’s just that I think I’ve grown more comfortable around Carl and Chuck. They’re great guys. I thought we’d only be doing things with them when I got that itch, you know? But today was different. I could have bottomed again, but I didn’t have that itch, and I wondered whether we could have fun in other ways with them. I’m glad you enjoyed it too.” Taylor grinned, “I definitely enjoyed it. Maybe next time, when you don’t have the itch, Carl will let you fuck him while Chuck fucks me.” Jerome smiled, “I thought about that while I was making dinner.” Taylor got an evil look in his eye and said, “Can you imagine me and you, side by side, fucking Carl and Chuck.” Jerome looked at Taylor, wide-eyed, “You’d top one of them? You’ve never even topped me, Taylor.” Taylor smiled and said, “Yeah, but like you said, with you it’s making love, and it feels right with you fucking me. If you want, we could try it together first though. I mean, it would only be right. I just always pictured you as the daddy in our relationship.” Jerome laughed, “Daddy Jer, huh? It’s ok though. I get it. You don’t have to if it’s out of your comfort zone, and it would be hot having us side by side fucking those two.” Taylor smiled and said, “Maybe someday.”
Later that evening, Taylor pulled his eyes from the book he was reading and realized Jerome was no longer in the room. He put his book down, got up, and went to look for him. He found him in his studio, in front of his easel, looking out the window at the sunset. Taylor stepped up behind him and said, “Beautiful sunset. You’re painting it. It would look good in a gallery.” Jerome said, “That’s not why I’m painting it. It’s going to be hung in a special place.” Taylor put his arms around Jerome and hugged his back, “Where is this special place?" Jerome placed his left hand on Taylor’s arm, and said, “You’ll see. You’ll agree with me when you see where it hangs.” Taylor smiled and kissed Jerome’s neck, then said, “I love surprises. Are you coming to bed?” Jerome said, “In a little bit. I want to finish this.” Taylor said, “Would you like a cup of tea or a drink? I’ll come sit with you while you finish it.” Jerome turned and kissed Taylor, “I’d like that. Yes, a cup of tea would be great.” Taylor returned with the tea and pulled a chair up beside Jerome and silently sipped his own tea while he watched Jerome finish the painting. When Jerome began putting his paints away, he turned and saw Taylor smiling at him, “What? I know that smile.” Taylor giggled and said, “I know where that painting is going to hang.” Jerome rolled his eyes and said, “So much for secrets.” Taylor giggled again and said, “It will still be a surprise.” While Jerome cleaned up his paints, Taylor took out their teacups and rinsed them before putting them in the dishwasher. They then climbed into bed with Taylor snuggling back into Jerome’s big spoon.
Monday morning, Jeremy woke up in a tangle of limbs. It was still dark outside, so he reached over and turned on the lamp. Chris’ head was on his chest with his arm draped over his stomach, as usual, but it wasn’t Chris’ leg that was draped over his. Somehow, Tim had gotten between Chris’ legs and now his head rested on Jeremy’s right thigh facing up toward him. Jeremy shook his head as he tried to fathom how that was even possible. He felt Chris stir and then say, “Hey. What time is it? What the hell?” Chris realized it wasn’t Jeremy’s leg intertwined with his but Tim’s torso. He turned to look at Jeremy questioningly and they both burst out laughing. Their laughter woke Tim and Travis up and Tim looked confused as Jeremy and Chris were both looking at him, laughing. He realized the position he was in as Jeremy asked, “How the fuck did you get there?” Tim turned red and said, “I don’t know.” Then, with Chris lifting his leg, Tim crawled back to where he had been. Travis asked, “Are you part ground hog or what?” Chris said, “At least bed hog.” Jeremy said, “We may as well get up and get ready to get you guys off to school.” They all climbed out of bed and Travis looked out the window, “It’s snowing, a lot.” Jeremy said, “Great. This will be a fun drive to class later.”
A half hour later, they were in the kitchen when Chris received a phone call from his mom. Tim’s and Travis’s classes were cancelled for the day. Travis called his mom to let her know. She told him she was about to call him to let him know as the school had notified her as well. Within another half hour, Jeremy and Chris received texts notifying them that classes had been cancelled for the day. Tim looked at Travis and said, “Awesome. We can go back to bed.” Chris interrupted their celebration and said, “Not so fast. Tim, you’re going to finish your required five hours of driving in inclement weather.” Tim looked mortified, “In this stuff?” Chris grinned and said, “What better experience can you get?” Tim said, “I thought by inclement weather, that they meant rain.” Jeremy said, “That would allow you to pass the requirement, but this way you get real experience driving in this stuff. You’ll know how to handle a vehicle in this stuff and take your time.” Chris said, “If you do well enough, maybe we can have some fun afterward and do some donuts in a parking lot.” Travis asked, “Can I come with?” Jeremy and Chris shared a smile at Travis’ sudden enthusiasm. Tim looked like he was now looking forward to it as well.
After breakfast, Jeremy received a call and was told he was given the night off work since they had decided to keep the office closed for the day due to the weather. Once they had cleared their sidewalks and driveway for now, they drove Chris’s jeep over to the Reynolds’ to help clear off their property and then would return later to do it again. Henry was already out with his snow blower. The guys got to work, but by the time they were done, there was already about another inch of snow where they had started. Henry said, “I’ll come out again later. It’s supposed to snow all day.” Jeremy said, “We know. We’ll be back later to help again.” Henry asked Tim and Travis, “I guess school was cancelled. You’re welcome to work in the shop all day if you want.” Tim said, “I’d love to, but Chris and Jeremy are teaching me how to drive in this so I can fulfill my requirements to get my license.” Henry smiled, “That will be good experience, but be careful. It’s going to get deep.” Chris said, “We will.” They all got in the jeep, Tim in the driver’s seat now, and drove off. Tim was driving carefully, and Chris was giving him pointers. They were passing a mall parking lot when Chris had Tim pull into it. He had him drive around the empty lot, a bit faster than when they were on the road, so Tim could get a feel for how the jeep reacted to the slippery surface and how to counter-steer to keep control, warning him different cars will handle differently to the conditions and to always get a feel for the vehicle you’re driving and the conditions you’re in before becoming too comfortable. After about an hour of that, they got back on the road. Chris turned to look back at Jeremy and gave him a thumbs up. Jeremy nodded his approval as well. After finding a Burger King open, they stopped and had lunch. There were only two employees brave enough to show up, but their food came out hot and fresh as there were no other customers. After that, they went back out. It was definitely getting worse, so they went back to the mall lot and let first Tim, then Travis have a little fun doing donuts and sliding sideways. After that, Tim drove back to the Reynolds’ to find the snow deeper than it had been before they had started earlier. This time, Jeremy ran the snow blower while the other three shoveled. They finished up, knowing there would still be at least an inch or two more before it was over, but it was getting dark. Jeremy asked Chris, “What do you think, let Tim get both some extreme weather and nighttime driving in?” Chris thought for a moment, then said, “Why not. He’s done really good so far.” As they were driving home headed toward an intersection with a green light, a car came sliding through the intersection, through the red light on the cross street from the right. Everyone in the jeep yelled, “Shit! Look out!” Tim tapped the brakes, but knew he didn’t have time to stop, so he put the past several hours of training he had to use and swerved around, first cutting the wheel to the left, and when the back of the jeep came around to the left, quickly turned the wheel to the right. The back end of the jeep came around, barely missing the sliding vehicle’s rear on the driver’s side. As the jeep spun to a stop, they watched the other vehicle slide against the curb at the opposite corner on the passenger’s side. There was a crunching noise of metal and concrete as well as a popping sound. Tim moved the jeep to the curb and the four of them got out to check on the driver of the other vehicle. The guy got out and began looking at his car, swearing. Both passenger-side tires were flat, and the front wheel was bent under and on top of the curb. When he saw the four approaching, he said, “I’m sorry about that. I was taking my wife to the hospital. She’s in labor.” Suddenly the woman in the passenger’s seat yelled, “They’re getting worse, and closer together!” The guy looked at the four of them and asked, “Please. Would you take her to the hospital, quickly? I’ll find a way there as soon as I can.” Jeremy said, “We can’t all fit in the jeep. Chris, why don’t you take her, and I’ll hang back here with him. Maybe you can come back for us after you drop her off. It’s about a half mile or so in the direction they were going.” Chris said, “Will do.” Travis asked, “What will we do if she starts having the baby in the jeep?” Chris said, “We’ll worry about that if it happens. Tim, pull the jeep over while we help get her out of the car.” Tim pulled up in the jeep and got her in the passenger’s seat, then Chris and Travis climbed in the back. The guy said to his wife, “I’ll be there as soon as I can, honey.” Tim pulled off and the guy said to Jeremy, “I’m sorry, but I wanted to get her there as quickly as possible. I was afraid an ambulance might be too late. Fuck, look what I did to my car. I’m so sorry I almost caused you guys to be in an accident. Fuck! Oh my God! What was I thinking. What if it had injured or killed my wife, the baby! Fuck, what an idiot I am!” Jermy put his hands on the guy’s shoulders and said, “Calm down. No one was injured. Your car can be repaired or replaced. What about a tow truck?” The guy suddenly seemed to calm down, “Yes, I have AAA!” He pulled out his phone and called them. They told him a tow truck would be there within fifteen minutes.
They arrived at the hospital and pulled up to the Emergency entrance. Travis ran in and returned with two guys pushing a stretcher behind him. They loaded the woman onto the stretcher as she was thanking them. They let her know they were going back for her husband and Jeremy. Travis then said, “I guess I’ll wait here so there will be enough room for Jeremy and the her husband.” Chris said, “Good idea, Travis. We could probably squeeze them in, but no need for that. We’ll be right back.”
They arrived back at the scene just as the tow truck was pulling up. Chris and Tim got out and walked over to the two snowmen standing by the wrecked car. Chris walked up and said to Jeremy, “Hey Frosty. Fancy meeting you here.” Jeremy smiled and said, “Chris, Tim, this is Greg Bowman. He and his wife are having their first child.” Chris shook Greg’s hand and said, “That explains a lot.” Greg grinned sheepishly and said, “I’m really sorry I almost crashed into you.” Then he shook Tim’s hand and said, “Sorry I almost wrecked your jeep. Great driving by the way. Where’d you learn how to do that? I thought you were going to T-bone me.” Tim grinned as he released Grag’s hand and said, “Just today, in a mall parking lot. This is actually Chris’ jeep. I don’t have my license yet. These guys are teaching me.” Greg grinned and turned even redder, “Don’t even have your license yet and already drive better than me.” Jeremy said, “Well, he didn’t have a wife in the car in labor. That would probably be a little rattling. You were also probably driving faster than you would have normally.” Greg’s eyes opened wider, “Oh shit! My wife! He looked over as the tow truck driver casually got out of his truck and looked over the vehicle and said, “You’re lucky, Mr. I received another call right after this one. If that call came in sooner, you’d probably be waiting for a few hours. There’re accidents all over town.” Greg said to him, “Can I give you the keys and my number? I have to get to the hospital!” The tow truck driver said, “You look ok to me, but if you’re hurtin’, sure I can do that.” Jeremy said, “Sir, he’s not hurt. His wife is in labor at the hospital. He was taking her there when he had this accident.” The tow truck driver said, “Why didn’t you say so right off? Git your ass to the hospital! I can take care of this. That wife a yours and yer baby are more important.” Greg scribbled his name and number on a piece of paper, handed the tow truck driver his keys and climbed into the jeep. Tim asked, “Am I still driving?” Chris grinned and said, “Yep. You’ve done great so far.”, then climbed into the passenger seat.
They arrived at the hospital and Greg found out that his wife was most certainly in labor. They said the contractions were very close together and she could have the baby any minute. He quickly ran off toward the direction they told him to go. Jeremy stood there grinning. Travis said, “He didn’t even thank us.” Jeremy said, “It’s their first child. Maybe some day you’ll understand.” Travis was confused by Jeremy’s remark since as far as he knew, Jeremy didn’t have a child. Chris saw the confused look on Travis’ face and said, “What Jeremy is saying is that something as important as having your wife give birth to your first child can make you panic and affect your rational thinking. His wife and that baby are all that are on his mind right now.” Travis smiled, “I guess you’re right. I can’t imagine what would be going through my mind. My first child.” Travis’ voice trailed off as he thought about it. He was gay and would never have a first child. Tim saw the troubled look on Travis’ face and asked, “Hey! Are you ok, Travis?” Travis snapped out of it and smiled at Tim, “Yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about…” Tim asked, “About what?” Travis said, “Nothing. Maybe I’ll tell you later.” Jeremy stepped over to the nurse’s station and asked for a piece of paper. Kelly, the nurse said “Sure, here you go.” Jeremy wrote down his name and number and said, “Could you get this to Mr. Bowman. He wrecked his car on the way here and may not have a ride home.” Kelly said, “That’s very kind of you. I’m glad no one was injured in the accident, especially his wife and baby. You weren’t involved, were you?” Jeremy grinned, “We almost were. Thanks to Tim though, we were able to avoid it.” Kelly smiled at the other three, not knowing which one was Tim, “He must be a very good driver.” Jeremy chuckled, “We’re teaching him how to drive, but for a kid who’s only driven in this stuff for the first time, he did a helluva job.” Kelly’s eye opened wide, “Teaching him?” Jeremy chuckled again, “Yeah, he got his permit a couple weeks ago. He has to have so many hours driving in inclement weather as well as nighttime driving. He got plenty in today.” Kelly asked, “Which one is he?” Jeremy said, “The blond. Hey, Tim! Come here.” Tim walked over. Chris and Travis followed out of curiosity. Kelly said, “I’m Kelly. I hear you saved your friends from being involved in an accident.” Tim blushed and said, “It just happened so fast. I couldn’t stop, so I just did what we had practiced in the mall parking lot. It was like instinct kicked in.” Kelly said, “Well, you should be proud.” Travis said, “Yeah, he should. The guy came sliding through the red light. I was sure we were going to T-bone him. Tim was awesome. I was just hangin’ on for dear life.” Kelly said, “Well, I’ll be sure to get this to Mr. Bowman. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. You guys were very kind to bring his wife in, and just in time I might add.” Chris laughed and said, “Yeah, Travis was afraid she was going to deliver the baby in the jeep.” Travis said, “I was. What would we have done if she had?” Jeremy said, “Well, fortunately, she didn’t, and you guys did a great job.”
They left the hospital and let Tim drive home. He had satisfied the required inclement weather driving hours and with a story to tell while doing so. They were notified that because of the accumulation and slippery conditions, that classes would be cancelled the following day as well. Tim had more driving experience the following day. They also cleared all the snow from the Reynolds’ sidewalks and driveway. The roads had been cleared pretty much, so Jeremy went to work. Chris stayed the afternoon with Tim and Travis as they worked in Henry’s shop building things for the flea market. Of course, Mrs. Reynolds insisted on them having a cup of cocoa before they left and gave them her signature, goodbye hug.
Friday afternoon came and Chris, Tim, and Travis were waiting for Jeremy to arrive home. They were taking bets as to whether he would get home before Elijah or their weekend guests. It turned out that Elijah was the first one of them to arrive. Carl and Chuck stopped in as well, but just long enough to get a change of clothes. Carl said, “I wish I could stay long enough to see Josh and Matt again, but it will have to wait until tomorrow, that is if we all stop in The Flying None.” They left before even Jeremy arrived home.
Jeremy arrived home just after five. He was greeted as he walked in the door by Elijah and Chris, who both kissed him. Jeremy asked Elijah, “How was the drive?” He replied, “The usual pain. How was work?” Jeremy said, “Not too bad. It was a makeup day because the were shut down Monday because of the snow.” Elijah said, “Yeah, Travis filled me in on his stunt driver boyfriend’s amazing driving.” Jeremy laughed, “I wouldn’t say stunt driver, but he did really well avoiding that accident.” Chris said, “Speaking of the accident. This was in the mail when I got here.” Chris handed Jeremy an envelope. He opened it and found it contained a letter and another envelope which looked like it contained a card. They walked into the living room where Tim and Travis were waiting, then opened the letter and began reading it out loud.
To our heroes. Thank you for first off, the skilled driving of Tim, who has yet to get his license but I believe he is one of the best drivers on the road now and in the future. Our gratitude for preventing what could have been a lot worse of an accident. Secondly, we want to thank you for your kindness and for getting Melissa to the hospital on time. We now have a healthy baby boy. (everyone cheered) Thank you for returning to take me to my wife. I arrived just in time to witness the birth of my sweet baby boy. I also want to personally thank Jeremy, for helping me get my head straight after the accident and for his offer to pick us up from the hospital to take us home. My parents insisted on performing that task while Melissa’s readied the baby’s room. Inside is a thank you card and four photos of the new addition to our family, Gregory Timmothy Bowman. Yes, we gave him the middle name of Timmothy for the man who insured he would survive and make it into our world. Signed, Grag and Melissa Bowman.
Travis said, “That’s two babies you’ve rescued in the past month, Tim. Tim! What wrong?” As Travis turned with a smile toward Tim, he saw tears running down his cheeks. He rushed over and put his hands on his shoulders. Tim looked up, trying to smile, “It’s just now hitting me, how it could have been so much worse. If the jeep didn’t turn the way I needed it to, we would have smashed into them. They could have all died, all three of them.” Jeremy, Chris, and Elijah surrounded them in a hug. Jeremy said, “The jeep did turn the way you needed it to, though. You did good bud. Don’t beat yourself up over a job well done.” Chris said, “Who knows what might have happened if either of us was behind that wheel instead of you.” Tim looked up and said, “Any one of you could have done better.” Elijah asked, “Better than what? You avoided hitting them and didn’t get a scratch on Chris’ new jeep. I’d say that’s the best outcome there could have been.” Travis said, “They’re right Tim. You did great that night. I’m, We’re all proud of you.” Tim’s tears stopped flowing and he gave a tentative smile as they group hugged him.
Suddenly, they heard the doorbell tone. Elijah said, “I’ll get it.” As Elijah opened the door, Josh rushed in and hugged him, “I missed you, dude!” Elijah replied, “I missed you too, Josh.” As they broke their hug, Elijah turned to Matt and hugged him, “How are ya, Matt. Doin good by my bestie I hope.” Matt hugged him back and said, “Of course. How could I not. He’s a good catch, second to you of course.” Josh knew he was just trying to get under his skin and said, “Hey! Watch that.” Matt turned to Josh grinning, “Gotcha! You’re second to nobody.” Steven stood there grinning at the playful banter. Then Elijah said, “Grab your bags and come on in. Everyone’s waiting. Jer just stuck the lasagna in the oven.” They followed Elijah in and everyone was standing there to greet them. Jeremy said, “Hey guys! Hope you had a safe trip.” Then he hugged Josh, then Matt and finally, Steven as he said, “Welcome, Steven. It’s good to see you again.” Steven said, It’s good to see you, too.” While everyone was hugging each other, Elijah’s eyes were on Jeremy and Steven. After hugging Josh and Matt, Chris noticed where Elijah was looking. As Jeremy stepped back, Chris stepped up to Steven, shook his hand and said, “Glad you could make it, Steven.” Steven smiled shyly and said, “Thanks.” Tim and Travis approached Steven and each shook his hand and introduced themselves. Steven gave each a warm smile as he shook their hands. As Chris stepped next to Elijah, Elijah said to him, under his breath, “Game on.” Chris gave him a smile. Jeremy took notice of the not so warm welcome Elijah had given Steven and hoped that light shade of green he noticed on Elijah was his imagination. Chris’ handshake didn’t come across as the warmest greeting either. To be continued.
End of Chapter 78
