What a Difference a Summer Makes- Part 3_(1)

Author’s Note: First, I would like to take time out to thank all the fans of this series. You guys and gals keep me writing! Sorry to repeat myself but here goes: I use the italics in my stories as inner thoughts of the main character and, since musicals are my favorite movie genre, they are used for musical breaks as well. You will find in my writing I try to be as illustrative as possible so you, the reader, will have a clear visual of the characters and the environment they are in.

I apologize in advance as this chapter will be very long and the sex portion doesn’t come until much later on, but this chapter is much more than about sex. Also, if you pay close attention while reading you will see clues as to who some of my favorite authors are on this site. An ode to my contemporaries as I would like to call it.

Please enjoy and as usual constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcomed! Without further ado I present:

What a Difference a Summer Makes- Chapter 3

Part 1

All the passengers cheered and clapped as the plane finally touched down in sunny Fort Lauderdale, FL. Pulling out my cellphone I sent a quick text to my parents that I landed. Just as I hit ‘send’ on my phone I picked my head up with Taylor staring at me. We both gave one another a mischievous grin like two kids holding onto a secret. It was, without a doubt, the greatest flight of my life! As all the passengers were eager to get off the plane Taylor held us back. She wanted to spend a few more moments together.

“Just hold me,” Taylor said as she leaned into me.

I wrapped my arms around her waist holding her close watching each passenger, one by one, exit the plane. With the last gentleman walking by us Taylor let out a big sigh, “I guess it’s our turn.”

Reluctantly we got up and I followed retrieving her bags from the overhead compartment. She must have gathered something was wrong with me, “I’m sensing an air of melancholy surrounding you, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing,” I replied grabbing her bag.

“Don’t bullshit me Chad. I know something is up. Spill it.”

Taylor had such a laid-back persona it surprised me how forthright she was being with me.



As I was about to say something one of the flight attendants walked over to us, “Sir, ma’am, do you need assistance?”

“No, we’re fine thank you,” I replied.

“Ok then, right this way please,” the attendant pleasantly said ushering us to the exit.

As we reached the exit, the captain and the rest of the flight crew bid us farewell. Making eye contact with the flight attendant, I saw immediately after my mile-high session with Taylor, she gave me a sly grin and said, “I hope you enjoyed your flight, come again.” The way she accentuated the word ‘come’ was more like ‘CUM’ and I couldn’t help but blush and let out a small giggle.

Walking out of the terminal Taylor turned and reached for my hands, “Ok, now tell me what’s on your mind.”

“It’s kind of crazy,” I sighed and confessed, “I’m thinking about Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.”

Have you ever seen Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood? There was a segment in it when Mr. Roger’s took the viewer to The Land of Make-Believe where his dreams, his stories, offered ways to control the chaos that surrounds us. That is what this summer was for me, an escape from reality, a blanket of protection from what I was about to face back home and now landing back here it all struck me at once.

Taylor looked at me sympathetically then joked, “You’re ONLY seventeen. What the hell do you know about Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood? That’s WAAAY before your time!”

I laughed nervously, “I’m serious Taylor. I don’t want to face them. What should I do?”

“Before we go for our luggage, come and sit with me for a bit Chad.”

The way Taylor said that reminded me of what my mother would say when she had to deliver a hard but truthful message.

“Yes, you faced something you never thought you would, but that’s how life is sometimes. Learn from it, grow from it and you’ll be better for it.”

I really listened and absorbed what Taylor was telling me, but I still felt uneasy.

She could sense my internal struggle then gave me a quick kiss on the lips then continued, “You’re NOT the same person you were 3-months ago. You’re a BIG boy now and I believe in you. Now it’s time YOU believe in you. It’s YOUR story that’s important. It’s YOUR mind and heart that can make things possible — just because of who you are.”

I grinned from ear to ear after hearing that.

“You’re in the wrong line of work. Fuck being a Linguist, you need to be a motivational speaker!” I jested.

“I just speak the truth- BIG BOY. Now, let’s get out of here.”

Taylor’s words of wisdom gave me a rush of self-confidence as my fog of uncertainty became much clearer in my mind. I realized I had to face Kimmie and Joe head-on and not let this fester any longer or it will eat away at me.

“You’re the best Taylor—thanks.” I praised.

Giving me a that beautiful smile she boasted, “I know,” along with a quick wink.

Playfully rolling my eyes at her I teased, “Oh Gawd, shut up. Last compliment – ever!”

“C’mon Chad. Don’t you like a woman with confidence?”

Laughing as we picked up our bags we headed toward the baggage claim area.

It seems it doesn’t matter whether you are in first class, business class or coach it is ALWAYS a hassle to get your bags… UGH!

“Is anyone picking you up?” I asked while retrieving the last couple of her bags.

“No – I have my car in Park ‘N Fly. You need a ride home?” Taylor replied.

I shook my head no and told her my parents should be here to pick me up. An idea came to mind to introduce Taylor to my parents to which she quickly shut down.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea – yet,” she said cautiously.

I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her in close to me. Giving her a quick kiss, I let her know that my parents would love her.



She leaned her head to side looking at me with a smile, “You…are…trouble…mister! But I don’t think your parents would be ‘oh so’ happy with their seventeen-year-old son with a thirty…” she muffled her voice then continued, “this is not France. I could technically go to jail for what we did in that airplane.”

I gave a chuckle while shaking my head to which Taylor lightly slapped my chest and uttered, “I’m serious Chad. I like you, but I have a lot to lose in this scenario.”

“Taylor,” I replied in a serious tone, “I would NEVER EVER let anything, or anyone put you in jeopardy. I promise.”

She just stared at me with those sexy brown eyes that could make a gay man straight and said slowly, “Not saying never just not today. Your parents haven’t seen you in a long time. Go spend time with them and we will broach this subject at a later date, but talk to them first about me to see what they think, agreed?”

“Deal,” I conceded.

Retrieving my last bag from the baggage carousel I walked back over to Taylor who waited for me. We hugged one another tightly.

“You’re one hell of guy Chad Lincoln.”

“You’re not too bad yourself Taylor…” I paused as I leaned back from our embrace then continued, “hey, what IS your last name?”

Giving me a quick smirk, she replied, “Rhiannon – Taylor Rhiannon. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” as she put her hand out to give me a handshake.

I playfully slapped her hand away and we hugged again.

“Okay, it’s time to get going,” Taylor kissed me a couple times then continued, “go meet your parents and we’ll talk later.”

Still in our embrace I thanked her again for how much her advice and her friendship meant to me.

“By friendship – you mean the sex, right?!” Taylor joked.

“You were… ok, I guess,” I teased in which she followed with a playful jab in the stomach.

Taylor looked around if anyone was overhearing our conversation and said coyishly, “No more ASS for you.”

Both of us smiling at one another, holding hands, I said, “Well, I guess this is good bye,” and with one final quick kiss we proceeded to walk in opposite directions. Every few feet I would look back at Taylor and one of those times I caught her looking back at me in which we waved then she was out of sight. I let out a satisfied sigh.

Summer is now officially OVER.

Part 2

Heading down the escalator I send a quick text to my mom to find out where she and dad are at. I get a reply that they’re by the arriving gate. As I’m walking, I take notice of the girls I’m walking by checking me out. Not all, but enough to make me aware that eyes were on me. Scratching the back of my head with a blush I realize that I’m still a little shy with this new-found attention I receive.

I see mom and dad at the exit looking around for me.

I get closer.

They don’t recognize me.

I get closer.

They still don’t recognize me.

I get right up to them and say excitedly, “Hi Mom! Hi Dad!”

They both look at me in astonishment with their mouths opened then look at each other then back at me. My mom breaks the awkward silence, “Squirt?! Is that really you?” as she examines my face then pulls me in for a bear hug.

“Yeah Mom. It’s really me!” I joke, “Your boy has grown up!”

Dad stares at me in amazement, hugs me as well and replies, “You sure have son. We missed you boy.”

Now, my dad is not what you would call an emotional person, at least he has not outwardly shown it to me over the years so when he said that I choked up, “I – I missed you guys too!”

Mom and dad each grabbed a suitcase and we headed toward the parking lot. Mom was very talkative and couldn’t take her eyes off me. She was astonished by the transformation especially with how tall I’ve grown. Dad tried to tell her a couple of times to calm down and relax but mom ignored him by saying, “I haven’t seen my baby in months Greg, leave me be.” Dad knew better than to argue because like all their other quarrels over the years this was a losing battle. Looking over at him he just rolled his eyes and sighed, “Yes dear.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

Good to be home.

As we approached the SUV I was flabbergasted.

“Woah, what’s this Dad?!”

“You like it son? I traded in the Escalade. It was time to upgrade since I’m a boss now,” Dad boasted.

“Do I like it?! No, I love it and it truly IS boss status, but c’mon I know you didn’t do this by yourself.”

Glancing over at mom who had an evasive smile I turned back to dad, who tried to stay stone-faced, I pointed at him then chuckled, “You see, right there. I knew it!”

Both mom and dad started to laugh along with me. Mom let me know she had to plead with him to get a different car because dad has been driving a Cadillac Escalade, albeit he has upgraded over the years, since his college days because that was his dream SUV growing up. So, one Sunday morning, as mom continued, dad was going to Home Depot to buy some minor things he needed to finish the renovation of our home and she surprised him with a Custom Gray Range Rover Sport parked in our driveway that she had bought him for a job well done.

“You should have seen your father’s face Squirt, it was priceless! At first, I thought he was going to have a heart attack when he yelled out to me,” Mom joked.

“I wasn’t that bad Cheryl. Don’t over exaggerate. Geesh!” dad replied just as mom gave him a quick kiss on the lips and a slap on the backside.

Looking at them both in that moment I couldn’t help but think that this is the type of relationship I want. After all the years they’ve been together the love and admiration they have for one another is evident.

“I’m proud of you dad!” I beamed.

“Oh yeah Squirt. How come?”

“Because, you didn’t resist change. Change is sometimes hard for people to overcome. Great job.”

Mom and dad looked at each other in bewilderment then back at me with dad being the one to question, “Umm – who are you and what have you done to our son?”

I shook my head, grinned and said matter-of-factly, “Yeah, I know. What a difference a summer makes.”

With that we got into the Range Rover and headed to get some food because I was famished. I decided I would call grandma and Josef after dinner because being that it was around 10pm here in Florida and it would be 4am there, I wanted to give them a few more hours of rest.

As dad was driving, mom told me about how their summer went along. She told me that her new passion project, the yoga studio, has been a major success with tons of clients and that dad had finished renovating the house along with landing a new contract with a major substance abuse company to build five facilities in both Broward and Palm Beach County in the next three years.

“Wow guys. You both had one hell of a summer while I was gone! That’s amazing!”

Mom gave me a big smile, “Thanks Squirt! It was a very good summer – for both of us” as she rubbed the back of dad’s head.

“For ALL of us!” Dad exclaimed while looking at me in the rearview mirror. I gave him a grin and nodded my head in agreement.

“Anything in particular that you want to eat?” dad asked.

“I’m in the mood for some seafood mac & cheese,” I replied.

“That’s fine by me,” mom said.

Driving along to the restaurant I look down at my phone. Besides the quick text message to my mom at the airport and showing Taylor a picture of Chloe and Olivia I haven’t gone through it in a while since, what I call The Incident. I hit the message icon and I see 50 missed messages from either Kimmie or Joe.



Not even wanting to read them I just hit delete and as soon as I did that a message popped up from Kimmie that read: Are you home yet? Please call me?

“Are you ok back their buddy?” dad asked to which mom turned around, “You ok, honey?”

I gave them a half-hearted smile and replied, “I guess – I guess I’m just missing grandma and Josef, that’s all.”

Mom gave me a sympathetic “Aww” and reached out for my hand and rubbed it. I looked up at my dad who was staring at me again in the rearview mirror. It seemed as if he knew that was not what I was thinking about, but he let it go. Just then we reached our destination, The Boatyard.

The Boatyard is a waterfront restaurant located near our home in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I would describe it as a laidback atmosphere that embraces the pulse of the city’s yachting culture and with marina views abound. Sorry guys, I watch too much Million Dollar Listing, I can’t help myself… LOL

When we got to our table mom and dad started really asking me questions about my summer vacation. They wanted to hear all about it: What did I do? Where did I go? Who did I meet?

I tried to answer all the questions the best I could with some omissions, primarily the sex stuff that had to do with Chloe, Olivia, Bianca, and Taylor. They didn’t need to know everything… at least for now.

As we were talking a young waitress came over to our table and introduced herself as Stephanie. While taking our orders I couldn’t help but notice her staring at me and smiling. This didn’t go unnoticed by my parents as well who both gave me goofy looks which in turn made me feel a tad bit embarrassed.

Like I said previously, I’m still not use to the attention I receive. When you have been invisible most of your life it takes some time to get used to being brought up into the light.

“Ok guys, I’ll be right back with your drinks. Your orders will be ready momentarily. Anything else I can interest you in?” Stephanie said flirtatiously without taking her eyes off me.

I looked at my parents who were still smiling at me with my mother then saying, “Well, answer the young lady Squirt.”

“Squirt?” Stephanie wondered.

Giving my mother the death stare of REALLY MOM; I looked up at Stephanie with a warm smile and replied, “Goofy nickname. My name is Chad and no, I don’t think we need anything else, thank you.”

“Chad, huh? Nice name. Will be right back Hun.”

As Stephanie walked away, I turned to my mother, “Mom?! C’mon! Squirt?! Really?!”

Dad couldn’t help but laugh to which mom poked him in the side and told him to hush.

Mom turned back to me then replied, “What are you talking about? You’ve always gone by Squirt. What’s the big deal? It’s a cute nickname.”

Just as I was about to answer my phone buzzed. Looking at the screen it was Joe calling and I quickly hit decline.

“Mom, a lot of….” my phone buzzed again and this time it was Kimmie. I hit decline again.

“Sorry mom, but back to what I was saying, a lot of stuff has happened over the summer and I just don’t…”

Another two buzzes and this time it was a text message from both Kimmie and Joe.

“You seem a little distracted their son. Anything you want to talk about?” dad wondered.

“Yes Squirrr…” mom put her hands up to apologize then continued, “Chad… tell us what happened between you, Joe and Kimmie.”

Mom and dad both looked at me with concern in their eyes.

They deserved an explanation. How come I could tell a complete stranger but had difficulty in telling the people that love and care about me the most?

I took a deep breath and said, “Umm, I – I’ll tell you as soon as I get back from the bathroom. I have to pee.”

“Mhmm,” mom replied sarcastically, “Go ahead. We’ll be here.”

Walking to the restroom I read the messages from both Kimmie and Joe which both read: Squirt call me please!

In my heart of hearts, I knew I had to talk to them eventually. Looking down at my phone and contemplating whether or not to send a reply I didn’t notice as I turned the corner bumping into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you ok?” I apologized reaching out to the young lady as she almost toppled over.

“Owww… hey, watch where you’re going!” she hissed as she rubbed the top of her head.

That voice! It was instantly recognizable even before she raised her head to face me! It was Lisa Montero, Danni’s best friend. When our eyes finally met, suddenly it seemed as if I was transported back in time to how I use to behave prior to my summer transformation because I instantly froze up just staring at her not knowing what to do or say. My palms started to clam up and my body temperature rose. I could feel a bead of sweat running down my brow and my heart trying to jump out of my chest.

Oh…my…God! I’m having a panic attack!

What I found odd was that while I was standing there unable to move her demeanor changed drastically from anger to delight as she looked me up and down. She fixed her hair, smiled and what seemed like subtle flirting said, “Oh – umm, hi! It’s ok. Not a big deal. It- it could have happened to anyone. Are you ok?”

Standing there momentarily, but it seemed like forever, as everything was going in slow motion.