Adam and Steve Ch. 04

"Would you like to go home?" Adam nodded. Steve got the waiters attention, who came over with the bill straight away. Steve didn't even look in the folder, just slid his card inside and handed it back to him. When the waiter returned a few minutes later, Steve signed his copy.

Once they were out of the restaurant, Adam decided that he would like to walk a bit. "Would you like to stop off at the little café up there and get a coffee and walk around a bit before heading back to the house?"

"That would be wonderful."

They stopped in the little café and got themselves a coffee and then proceeded to walk around the area, not really talking much just walking arm in arm. They found a bench and sat for a bit. Steve leaned up against Adam and Adam put his arm around Steve and they sat like that for a while in silence.

Then Adam started talking, "It was rough in the beginning. I blamed Ben. I think that is why when he first cheated I thought I deserved it because of how I treated him." Steve didn't say anything he just listened. "Having everything you could ever want and then being cut off from family, a lot of friends, and the money, with one statement, just one small statement of 'Mom, Dad, I'm gay'. I honestly didn't think they would have responded that way. I knew my father would be mad for a while, but I was his only son. I thought he would come around. I am glad I was not a betting man. I would have lost that bet."

"What about your mother?"

"My Mother," Adam laughed. "I knew she wouldn't take it well. She had a brother that was gay. My grandparents had turned their backs on him and he committed suicide. I was told this story by my aunt when I was younger when I asked her about him in a picture. So I knew there was a chance that I would be disowned by her if I ever came out. Maybe she is what has kept my father away all these years, I don't know, but..."

"You knew your mother would take it bad, and you told them anyways?"

"Steve I could only have lied to them for maybe a few years more. Maybe, I don't know. She had been asking why I didn't have a girlfriend. Then I was asked point blank why I wasn't going to the pros by my father and I told him. I told him that I loved Ben and that Ben had asked me not to go. What I didn't expect was the rage that came from my dad in the split second of me saying that." Adam leaned away from Steve to look at him. "Have you ever seen my father? I think you graduated with my sister, Jamie, so it is a possibility."

"I don't recall actually, but I do remember Jamie."

"Dad is bigger than me, six-five, and he was a great football player in high school and college. So when I followed in his footsteps, he was so proud of me. I told you I didn't expect the rage. My dad put me on my ass before I even knew what happen. Then he told me to get out of his house and that he would have my things packed up, which I would have one day to pick them up or they will be sent to the dump. I never got my things, because Jamie decided not to contact me when I could come and pick them up, When I called about them he told me that I was too late and to never call again. I didn't."

"Adam, I am sorry."

"Steve, it was my doing. I knew I shouldn't have told him that day, but I did."

"What did you do?"

"Well Ben and I had already move into a little efficiency apartment. He had been working as a police officer before he graduated. I didn't have a job yet. Hell, I was the typical rich kid. I lived on my daddy's money. Ben had to support us because by the time I returned to the apartment that day, my Dad emptied and closed my account. I looked everywhere for a job, even up to a two-hour drive away and couldn't find anything. That is when I ran into my old coach. He was looking for an assistant. It was only a part-time position, but it was a job. I didn't want to work at our alma mater, did you know that?"

"No, I didn't," Steve responded, because he really didn't know. They had never discussed why Adam worked at Westbridge Academy.

"But after not finding anything, I finally gave into Coach Gibson and took the job. It was only supposed to be for football, and then somehow he was able to get my contract extended to baseball. Then the next thing I knew Gibson had me working full-time as a gym teacher and as assistant coach." Adam chuckled. "I owe that man my career. Ten years later, here I am as head coach and I wouldn't give it up for the world."

"Charles Gibson always cared for all his players. Maybe he just didn't want to see bad things happen to you."

"He told me before he retired, that he thought my parents turning their backs on me was cruel, and that no child should lose their parents for any reason." Adam chuckled.

"What?"

"Gibson said, 'Even if you like to fuck guys, you shouldn't lose your family over that. There are worse things you could be doing.' Gibson never once talked to me about being gay in the seven years I was his assistant coach. I had never mentioned it, but everyone knew why I was disowned by my family."

"Where is Gibson now?"

"Florida." Adam chuckled. "He wanted warm weather and was tired of the ground shaking under him." Adam squeezed Steve. "Would you like to go home now?"

When Adam and Steve arrived home they pulled up and there were no lights on in the house which they thought was odd. When they walked in they could hear the TV on in the family room and headed towards it. "Oh, hell no," Steve stated loudly as Jeff and Teddy jumped apart. "Jeff, go home."

"I'll take you." Adam responded.

"It's okay, Coach, I can walk." Jeff responded.

"No, Jeff, I will take you home. Get your stuff. I'll be in the car." Adam walked back out to the car and waited.

Jeff walked out of the house as slowly as he could and opened the passenger side of the car and got in. "Coach, we weren't going to do anything else, I swear."

"We will talk about this either tomorrow morning, or when Steve is home again. I am sure Teddy will be calling you in a bit."

"Yes, Coach." The ride to Jeff's house didn't take long and Jeff didn't talk other than thanking Adam for driving him home. When Adam returned to Steve's, Teddy was in his room and Steve was waiting on the sofa in the living room for him.

"Do I have to leave tomorrow?"

"I think your father would be upset if you weren't in the meeting Monday."

Adam sat next to Steve, put his arm around him and Steve just melted into to Adam. "Teddy is in love with Jeff."

"They were only...."

Steve cut Adam off, "I know they were only."

"Then you need to set some ground rules with them. Jeff is older by a year. He is going to be a senior in the fall. Is this relationship going to make it past him graduating?"

"Oh god, I didn't even think about that. I don't know if I can go through teenage heartbreak."

Adam laughed, "Steve, they aren't broken up right now. We don't have to go through that yet and when the time comes you will be a good and understanding dad."

Teddy was standing in the hallway listening to them, "Did Jeff say anything?"

"No, but I did tell him that we all will probably be sitting down to talk in the morning or when you get back again."

"I think in the morning would be best. Let's not make these two love birds wait until next weekend to find out what I have to say about this."

Teddy came into the living room, "Steve, can Jeff come back over, please? We weren't doing anything wrong."

"There are going to be rules that Jeff and you will need to start following."

"I understand that, Steve. So can he come back over?" Teddy was pleading.

Steve knew he was too soft with Teddy. He knew he should say no, but he just couldn't for some reason. "Yes, but isn't it going to look odd that Adam just took him home and he is coming back?"

"No, because no one was at home when he got there." Teddy walked over to the door and opened it and called for Jeff to come in. Steve just shook his head and Adam chuckled.

"Well then, have a seat. I wasn't prepared for this, but I think I can wing it." Steve was looking at Jeff and Teddy. They looked like two deer in headlights. "Boys, please have a seat."

"Yes, Steve, " they both responded at the same time.

Adam stayed quiet while Steve talked to Jeff and Teddy about their relationship. He even left the room for a few minutes and came back. Steve touched on the age difference and that Jeff will be a senior next year, Teddy only being a junior. He did state that he didn't mind them kissing like they were doing tonight, and that he was sorry he over-reacted. Also he hoped that they truly think about not having sex until after they are both eighteen. He said it is an adult decision. Though he knew they had raging teenage boy hormones, they just needed to wait.

Once Steve was done talking with the boys, they asked if they could go to Teddy's room, to which Steve nodded his head. "What did you do while I was talking to the kids?"

"I got something from our closet and put it on Teddy's bed."

"What?"

"Flavored condoms. I know he is not going to have sex right now; we have already had that discussion...."

"You what?"

"He asked me about anal sex one morning on our way to school. He wanted to know if it was painful. I told him it can be if done wrong, but I told him that he should wait until he was eighteen like you just stated. He asked when was the first time I had sex. I didn't lie, my first time was at twenty-one with Ben, when we had our own apartment. Yeah, we did everything else, and Ben will tell you, I sucked." Adam laughed. "I didn't know anything. Yeah, I was great at oral and fingering him, but when it came to actually fucking him, hell, once I got inside him, I could last a whopping minute, if that."

"So you gave them flavored condoms?"

"I don't know where Jeff has been, do you? And sadly Teddy. I am hoping he is innocent and everything, but still don't know if he has done anything." Adam laughed, "And, Steve, hopefully it is not going to turn to oral tonight, or tomorrow, but they aren't going to just stay kissing one another. I hope we are not going to know when it turns into anything else with those two."

"Agreed, I don't want to know, but I do want to know as a parent. But thank you for putting the condoms in the room. I honestly didn't think about that. Maybe we need to tell them why they need one on for everything."

"I left them a note," Adam said dryly.

Steve just shook his head and stood up, "Let's go to bed, I would like some snuggle time with you before I have to be on a plane forever tomorrow."

*****

That last trip to London lasted two weeks. It was the last two weeks of school, and summer vacation was finally here. Adam had to go into work for some end-of-the-year meetings, but other than that he was at Steve's or his house, depending on if Steve was home or at work.

Teddy's mother, Cindy, asked if she could have Teddy for a few weeks. Of course Steve told her she could because she was his mother. Teddy didn't want to go because he didn't want to leave Jeff for that long, but Steve told him, Jeff would still be here when he came home. There was always the phone and computer to talk on.

Since Teddy was going to be at his mother's, Steve decided that some time away with Adam was in order. He asked Adam if he had any more school-related things and Adam responded no. So Steve asked if he would like to take off for a week. "I would love to Steve, but, I had some unexpected bills pop up with my house, and...."

Steve cut him off, "Adam it is my treat. I'm not asking you to pay for anything. I want to do this for us." Steve looked at Adam, "Adam, what is wrong?"

"Steve, I love you."

"But?"

"But, I am a school teacher."

"Yeah, and?"

"Steve, almost everything we do, you pay for. When we go out to dinner, it is generally at an expensive restaurant. My thoughts of a dinner out is grinders or pizza. When I was watching Teddy and going out to breakfast and dinner with him every day, yeah, it was costing me a lot to feed the both of us, but it was still manageable. Your solution to the problem was you wanted to hire a cook."

"Adam it doesn't bother me to pay for everything, and you didn't have time to cook for the two of you, so why not let me bring in a cook for the two of you."

"Steve, but it does bother me. No, I can't take you out to the restaurant that we go to weekly. I would be broke in a few months. I have roommates at my house for a reason, and when I did have the apartment, it was in that area of town for the same reason, Steve. I could just afford both. Should I have moved out of my house? Hell no, but I couldn't stand sleeping in the bed that Ben and I shared. So I lived on a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I biked to work when I could."

"Adam, I didn't know you felt this way."

"Steve, I wanted to bring it up a while back, but then you were in and out of town so much I just wanted to be with you when you were here. I didn't want to start a fight."

"How can we work on this? What can I do to help how this makes you feel?"

Adam laughed. "As much as you want to simplify your life Steve, you still live high off the hog. Hon, I am not asking you to change yourself. I don't want you to change yourself for me. Just the three to four hundred dollar meal that we take in every week, can we cut back on them?"

Steve looked again at Adam, and then laughed himself. "I guess I never thought about it. Babe you are correct. I guess as much as I thought I was living simply, taking you out for the three to four hundred dollar dinner wasn't. I just wanted to treat my guy well is all, but I didn't think of how I was making you feel." Steve pulled Adam over to the couch. They had been standing in the kitchen all this time. "Adam, I promise you, I will try my best to stop making you feel inferior. I love you, and I want to be with you. Please tell me when I am doing this, Babe."

"Deal or I will just walk out on you," Adam smiled.

"Can we please discuss letting me take you away?"

Adam shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Steve still wanted to talk about it. "Steve, where did you want to take me? And please tell me you didn't already purchased the tickets."

"Paris, and no, but do you have your passport?"

"Yes, but," Adam turned sideways so he could look at Steve while talking to him. "How about this? We can go away," Adam saw Steve perk up, "Not to Paris, but for a long weekend to somewhere that will not cost you much money. We can either stay in together or go out."

"Where?" Steve couldn't think of anyplace.

Adam laughed. "Your cabin."

"Which one?" Steve wasn't thinking that he had only taken Adam to Lake Tahoe.

Adam got up and walked out of the room, "Of course you would have more than one."