Corey and Aiden: The Final Night

With this book being only ten chapters, I knew I'd get to the conclusion much faster than many of my other stories. If you have NOT finished the book, stop reading this post now. I'll be discussing the finale in-depth.

Click here to read the final chapter, A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate, Chapter 10.

So, here we are. I'm always a beehive of emotions when a book is done. I'm so eager to share the conclusion to my friends who have come along for the ride. But at the same time, so often like you, I hate to see it end.

Assuming I continue to write, one thing with my interwoven web of characters, it's never truly over. People tend to turn up in other books and stories. We don't have to say goodbye to Aiden and Corey just yet.

I suppose I can bring up the obvious. I expect hate mail. I didn't "flip" Corey gay. Yes, the two friends explore and share some, and I agree it is homoerotic, but all along, my plan was to tell a love story of friendship — two college friends, one gay, one straight. From the very beginning, I wanted to show that love.

I remember producers of Will and Grace in its heyday receiving viewer letters asking if Will and Grace just get together, but they didn't succumb to those requests as they wanted to stay true to the relationship.

My challenge was to make it ring true. If you didn't believe they truly loved each other, then the final pages in the shower would have just been trite sap. I hope you don't feel that way. I hope you found it tender. If I let you down, please know it was never my attention to string you along until Corey burst out of the closet, confessed his passionate love to Aiden and begged his best friend to fuck him into tomorrow. I had my ending before I started writing.

But my goodness, the chapters in between took on a life of their own. I sketched out the development between Corey's and Aiden's relationship in an outline, but along the way, we met a new batch of characters that I loved developing stories around. Typically, each story has a "breakout" character. If It Weren't For the Two of Us had Lance. Once Lance got his own story, then it was Jakob and Cooper. Cooper's book introduced Laramie. By the end of Book Six, I didn't want to leave Aiden and Corey behind, so I delved into College material with Soulmate. While our pair of best friends have a whole bunch of secondary characters, I had no idea that Forrest would worm his way into my heart.

Slater was originally just to be an asshole. His role was to make Aiden say something to him that hurt Corey deeply when overhearing. He was a mere plot point. When I made the whole dorm hate him, the scene where Aiden forgives him struck me vividly. Developing that friendship was enjoyable. Forrest's internal conflict, hating himself, was interesting for me to write. Of all the secondary characters, I feel he had the most complete arc. I can picture him years in the future officiating over Aiden's wedding.

And I picture a lot of things. Sure, I toyed with the idea of Aiden and Corey doing it, but other than a gratuitous scene, I felt it would be out of character for Corey. I thought about Corey and Patty going all the way first before he finds "out." It seemed more interesting to me for him to be right at the edge than to write him in constant regret. I thought about Forrest suddenly realizing he was gay, but that was a total copout. I had enough gay characters already. I wanted them to find their place among the straight friends.

Recently, I have been watching a documentary series about a famous television/movie franchise and how things occurred over the decades. Luckily, I don't have a studio breathing down my neck trying to impart their influence and control over the work. But I am truly astonished at how many films had gone into production with no final script. They often just made up parts while going along. Fascinating. I can certainly identify with that, although I knew how I wanted the last chapter to go with our two freshmen.

Unfortunately, I made a continuity error that is too late to fix. I'll just have to chalk it up to "bad memory."

If there is anyone out there who attends/attended Notre Dame University, I hope I didn't do any injustice to your alma mater. I've never set foot on the campus and know nothing about it actually. I found myself researching details and prayed I didn't misspeak. For some reason, it seemed more tangible to use a real location other than the fictious Jackson Bend. I could have had the boys attend W. Travis back there, but I pushed myself.

I hope this story was satisfying for you, along with the conclusion. Please! Email me your thoughts. Hopefully it's more than "You suck." timothylane414stories@gmail.com 

Finally, the question I get asked the most, "Is this really the end?" I don't know. I will say that I have made notes in my head regarding a sophomore year. That said, I don't want to do it unless I have a compelling story — a beginning and an end. I will need to feel a sense of closure regarding something by the end of the year. It needs to go somewhere; otherwise I'm just spinning my wheels. If you want to be notified of upcoming work, the best way to do that is to email me and ask to be on the notification list. Those readers always know when new material drops.

Before I close this post, I definitely need to say Thank You. I took a risk with Book Eight. Everything else up to that point was in Adult Friends. Thanks for joining me on this College tour. Thanks for your support. Readers who reach out are usually the favorite part to my day. Some dear friends have been willing to help proofread when time allows. What kindness — helping me out for just the sake of being caring. Hugs to you! I wish I could have used you more often. e-hugs. I wish I could go back and fix annoying typos in posted chapters when they got through, but that isn't in my control. I appreciate you looking past them when they occur.

Please be well. You are a blessing. 

I Don't Want to Talk

That title makes me thing of the first line of an ABBA song, but that's not why I chose it.

Click here for Chapter 9 of A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate.

It wasn't until the last minute before submitting Chapter 9 that I even decided to do a post. I felt I didn't have anything really to say. But with, yes, another long chapter, it seemed like I should offer some sort of insights on what happened.

Sex

Of all the chapters in the book, this one is probably the most sexually charged. Book Seven (Mitch's story) is heavier on the steamier stuff, but with the college boys, I didn't have the grand desire to make it as prevalent in A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate as much as my other work. This was a love story of friendship.

I don't like to talk about sex that much. At 19, Aiden is becoming very sexually active while Corey is not. Right or wrong, I felt that a college campus should reflect at least some sexual activity, as well as offer different perspectives and, quite frankly, just where people happen to be in their lives. It is also the nature of this genre of writing. I have strong feelings for both of these characters. The fact that they have very different feelings about sex and the morality involved, the resistance to judge and the acceptance of the other's decision is what makes Corey and Aiden truly strong friends.

Aiden and Donny seemed to have found their groove. While they are getting better at sex, they are also better at accepting each other. That's important.

Parties

Far be it from me to be an expert on college (or adult) parties. Friends of mine tell me some of the ones they attend, and I am astonished at what all is out there. I don't want to talk about how I feel about them. To each his own.

The party in Chapter 9, however, was a pivotal plot development. When I sketched the bare outline of the chapters before I started this book, I knew this was the chapter that Aiden would get drunk and severely threaten the friendship with a sexual advance. At the time, I didn't know it would be the result of a gay college party. That scene just started writing itself.

Alcohol

The timing of this chapter with the recent posting of Chapter 14 of Say Goodbye to Sparkleland is a bit unfortunate. Both of them involve drunken encounters. I don't want anyone to feel I'm getting all preachy or anything. I don't like to talk about what people should or shouldn't do, but I do know that alcohol can lead to mistakes. But I'm not on a soapbox here. I can enjoy creating these chapters with a glass of wine as comfortably as anyone else.

Clarification

Corey and Aiden really define their friendship in this chapter. (But there is one chapter left.) I don't want to talk about or defend who they are. From the beginning, the story was about best friends — one gay, one straight. Yep, there was sexual tension from time to time, usually from Aiden's end, but I don't feel I've misled anyone. I've just told a story about two friends who love each other.

More than anything, I try to portray people as imperfect. We're all flawed. Anyone who wants to point out the issues of the characters — that's kind of the point. If we love or hate a character, it is because we believe them. The authenticity of their character is my goal.

For those waiting for a big sex scene between them, I'm sorry. (You did get a brief fantasy from Aiden this time.) Love them for who they are — please! They are great guys.

One Chapter Left

And, nope, not gonna talk about everything that happened on the last page. All will be wrapped up shortly.

Besides, there's so much to digest with this chapter, right? Forrest attending a Prism event; an out-of-control party; Ace opening up his true feelings; Aiden conquering his fears; and the big revelation among the circle of friends.

Straight

I don’t think I’ve ever had this conversation on the blog before.

Timothy confession here: I’ve never slept with a straight guy (or a woman). All my readers out there have such a breadth of diverse experiences. There is so much you could teach me.

Click here to read Chapter 14 of Say Goodbye to Sparkleland.

That said, I feel there are a TON of teenage boys that experiment and explore with each other, even straight ones. When you’re young, there are just so many questions, and if you are lucky enough to have a good friend to help you figure them out, then … that’s a gift in my opinion.

I don’t know if straight men regret doing so after they are grown and married. Is it a “I can’t believe I did that!” moment, or is it simply assumed to be a part of growing up? I really have no idea. I haven’t actually interviewed straight people about it. Life is full of regrets; is that one of them?

Drunk or not, I’m sure it happens among adults too. A close friend of mine had sex with another man, although he has no idea I know. This other man was married to a woman, but he considered himself to be “highly sexed” (his term), whatever that means. I found this out after he had a couple of drinks and propositioned me. (I didn’t accept.)

As mentioned in Soulmate's drive home for Spring Break, the boys mentioned that nebulous scale between 100 percent gay and 100 percent straight. I totally believe there are people at the extreme ends. But I do believe among the public, there are people that are a little away from the signposts. A close friendship or a particularly handsome individual might just cause people to imagine things that typically wouldn't. I think that's a part of being human. But, hey, that could just be me.

And, of course, alcohol can always lower inhibitions to where people act on feelings in the moment.

So, has anyone out there been involved with a straight guy before? What kind of things did he say following? I’m all ears.

Spring Break

Much to my surprise, I did not think this chapter would be this long. I was wondering how I was going to make Spring Break an interesting thing. (Who knows? Maybe I didn't.) I enjoyed writing about Geoff and Emanuel having a greater understanding of Corey after having spent a week in his hometown.

Click here to read Chapter 8 of A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate.

Once again, Corey's family and friends in Jackson Bend from previous books appear, but I think everyone is caught up by now.

When Laramie finished, I knew I wanted Corey and Aiden to have a story of their own. While I was in the "moment" of Corey's graduation, I wanted to keep writing. I jotted a skeletal outline of where Book Eight would go. With that thin outline, I had NO supporting characters at all. Now, I have an entire cast. As I journeyed through Spring Break, I tried to devote time to all these characters who just seemed to deeply evolve over the previous seven chapters. I've come to like all of them.

The biggest surprise is Forrest. I only intended him to be an asshole for a few pages. Now, I am drawn to him. 

I can't picture myself at 19. My college years are well past — WELL past. I still feel confident that the insecurities of fitting in and wanting to belong are still engrained in human nature. The fragility of self-esteem is a constant. I do hope our cast of characters come off as authentic.

My first seven books were in "Adult Friends." A Bed, A Desk and My Unfortunate Soulmate was my first entry into "College." I sometimes wonder if there are actual college readers out there. I hear from the adults, but those in college don't seem to reach out. Let me hear from you! Do you see yourself in any of these wonderful friends?

There is something I like about each individual I've written for Notre Dame. I am actually relating to one of them. I am the least like Emanuel, but I'm on a similar quest. I'm not losing weight, I'm just cutting out sugar in 2024. Like Manny, I try to stay strong — one day at a time. I'm dang tired of my "numbers" being higher than I want on those dreaded doctor visits. I'm committed to getting them down by the beginning of summer. So when I write about Manny's sacrifices, I'm right there with him.

In addition to all the emotional development of our gents over Spring Break, we now have Zoey entering the picture. I wasn't sure where to take her, but as I started writing the final arc of the chapter, she started to become a clearer picture.

It's curious that I went round and round deciding on how to handle Geoff's morning move. It could have gone several ways. I tried to think long-term and not just the moment, but I really wrote it in my mind several times.

Did you have a favorite passage in this chapter? Forrest's breakdown? Brad's gesture? Geoff's unexpected surprise? Ace's awkward bit with Beth in the room? The AA meeting? Corey watching Aiden and Donny? 

We have two "months" left of the freshman year, which means two chapters remain. I don't think they will be as long as this one, but then again, I didn't think this one would need the length. We'll see.