Real Love

Writer's Notes:

'Real Love' is my personal tribute to JammyJimmy's (JJ) story, 'Threads: The Island'. I give JJ credit, because credit is due, for this story and for my own inspiration and entrance into writing. 'Real Love' is actually the first story I wrote, even before 'Tale of Two Teens', my first published story.

As I was writing this story way back when, I was hoping JJ would be the editor. Having been unable to make contact with him, I have been reluctant to release it. Some say JJ has passed away, but I don't know. JJ, if you read this and want this story removed, please contact me. Several readers have relayed to me, both publically and privately, that they would like it released.

Therefore, 'Real Love' is an unauthorized, reimagined rewrite and sequel to JJ's story, 'Threads: The Island'. The general storyline in JJ's story is embedded in this story. Several of the character names have been changed because this is my story. Anyone who has read JJ's story will identify the characters quickly, starting with my main character, Bradley Weber, formerly known as Kyle Watson in JJ's story.

This story is long, but tolerant and filled with several emotions. If you stick with it, you will experience euphoria, happiness, sadness, sorrow and it will make you horny. You'll be disgusted, pissed off, scared and you'll grieve, cry, frown, smile and sometimes, you'll laugh, I hope.

'Real Love' starts off slow, but gains speed with age. Feel free to leave comments about what you like and what you dislike about the story. Feedback is a good thing for those writers who want to know what reader's like and dislike about their stories.

Please don't be mean in the comments because those that put in many hours over a period of several months, and thought into designing and writing these stories don't appreciate it, nor do they deserve it.

I do hope you enjoy the 'Real Love' series. Just don't forget one important detail -- it's fiction. Please do give us 'not so professional' writers a little slack.

JJ, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, fair winds and following seas my friend.

Let the saga of Bradley Weber continue...

MDSW

* * * * *

Brad pops inside his dressing room and gets a gym kit on, then jogs down to meet Julian. While they work out, this time hammering his arms and upper body, Julian explains how his workout schedule should change now. Half an hour of daily cardio, with alternating days on his arms, torso and legs. No more three workouts per day, only one in the morning and that will keep him in great shape and continue to develop him for the time being.

That's the change he's been hoping for. He also wants his diet to change so he can eat normal food again. That's one thing he misses the most since landing on the Island. He definitely wants to eat like the others.

* * * * *

Kelly and Debi are in the lounge talking about the trip and the packing they have to do. They tell a few jokes and laugh a lot as they work.

Out of the blue, Debi says, "You and Brad are right Kelly. We will make one hell of a team and I won't count the incident after the Sara helicopter ride. I can't believe either of you knew that was going to happen last we talked about our team... I've got a lot of calls to make to firm up travel arrangements so I'll be inside in the office," she says.

Kelly adds, "Debi, this is just the beginning. It will only get better from here. We tripped a while ago, but we'll be good once that incident is concluded... Now, if you want to work more privately, use my en-suite," she says as they hug again.

"Thanks Kelly. I hope you're right."

"I am right, Debi," she says and smiles.

Then she leaves for Kelly's en-suite.

* * * * *

Brad thanks Julian and walks back to the main house, his arms hanging at his sides after what feels like a monster session. As he wanders into his suite, he finds Kelly already in the bath, waiting for him.

"Shower first," she says firmly, grinning at his disappointed expression.

Brad washes the sweat off his body, rinses off and then slides into the bath, relaxing in Kelly's waiting arms and soft body.

"You really like this, don't you?" she whispers in his ear as he lays back against her.

"It's a slice of heaven to me. Really relaxing and intimate," he admits, his eyes closed. "You like this?"

"For the same reasons," she says.

"Debi told me after you left for your workout that we will be an awesome team, Brad. She seriously believes it."

"That's good news Kelly... Do you give her hugs too?"

"Occasionally, but not as often as you."

"The more hugs and hi-fives I give her, the happier she seems to be, so I would encourage you to do the same. Is that possible?"

"Easily Brad... So I also want to talk to you," Kelly says.

"You said that."

Kelly smiles.

"Last night I showed you all those videos," she begins and Brad smiles.

"That was a real eye opener. I had no idea you were into all that stuff."

"I know," she continues. "One of the reasons I showed them to you was to see how you reacted and to see what you would do when we had sex after that. It gave me a lot to think about."

"What?" Brad asks. "You showed them to me to see what I'd do?"

"Sort of," she says, stroking his chest with her fingertips. "Did they turn you on?"

"You turn me on," Brad says immediately. "Knowing that you're into that is a bit of a turn on for me, but I found some of the videos a bit of a turn off... rough."

"That's my point," she says gently.

"Hey, I think I can get into some of that stuff. Just takes a bit of getting used to the idea."

He feels her shake her head slowly.

"It's okay that you're not into the same things I am, Brad. That being said, I want that kind of sex life, but I can't see you choking me, or spitting on me. Likewise, I know you can't put a collar on me and lead me into a fetish club like a dog on a chain."

"You're joking, right?" Brad says, sitting up and half turning to face her.

"Are you dumping me?"

She smiles and shakes her head.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, Brad."

"Then what the hell are you saying?" Brad responds quite annoyed with the conversation.

"That you're into what you're into, I'm into what I'm into, and that's okay. But there a lot of differences there."

"Okay. So what does that mean?"

"It means that I enjoy us fucking and it's a lot of fun. Your ultimate sexual fantasy is to make love and spiritually connect with someone. Mine is to get used and abused like a dirty slut. Those are our differences."

She pauses and then frowns.

"My point is, we're not going to be able to have a long-term relationship as a couple because our sexual tastes are far too different."

"You don't know that," Brad says, shaking his head. "Where the hell is all this coming from?"

"Debi and I had a chat. Well, several chats," she admits. "I'm concerned about what would happen if we keep seeing each other like we are dating and then you dump me, or if I dump you."

"What?"

"We can't date. Not in public and you know that. You'll never be able to have a threesome with me and another guy in case it gets out, or any of the other fantasies that I'd like to fulfill one day, and I have no desire to fall in love."

"Jesus, Kelly," Brad mutters. "So basically you're saying we can't see each other any more? Do you think being naked in the fucking bath with me is the best place to tell me this?"

He stands up to leave, but Kelly grabs his hand.

"Wait. I'm not finished yet."

"Oh Jesus, there's more?" Brad says, shaking his head. "And I thought I'd already had a shit morning."

He sits down at the other end of the bath, facing her with his cock hanging limp before him.

"Go on then. I'm sure I'm going to love this," he says sarcastically.

"As I was saying, we have a lot of differences, but there's also a lot of common ground too," she tells him slowly. "I like fucking you. I like sleeping with you, I like fooling around with you, I like the baths together and I don't want those to stop."

"Oh god, what the fuck?"

Brad stares at her, confused and feeling hurt.

"One second you're saying we can't date, we're too different sexually and I have to be able to fuck other people, and you as well. Is that right?"

She nods.

"And now you're saying you want to keep doing what we've been doing, right after you said you want to stop?"

"That isn't exactly what I said," she protests.

"Then spell it out for me, because this is making no fucking sense at all."

"Alright, here's the bullet points," she says, taking a deep breath. "We can't date. We shouldn't become a couple. We can have fun though. We can hookup, say if neither of us is dating anyone and we fancy some fun, like friends with benefits."

"Fuck buddies?"

"Yeah, basically," she nods. "Continue doing what we've been doing, but with no expectations of a relationship and knowing that we're both open to date other people. When we're not, then we can... amuse each other."

Brad sits there looking at her, feeling like his feet has been whisked out from under him and gravity hasn't decided if he should fall.

"I don't get it," he says a moment later. "You got all that from my reaction to your porn choices?"

"No, that just confirmed what I've been considering, and I was right to speak to Debi too. I had to figure this out, so I did. This is a solution and it lets us continue to fool around. Plus, it makes things easier in the long run."

"How's that exactly?"

"Alright, let me give you a hypothetical. Say you go out on a date with... I don't know, Charlize Theron, right? You two hit it off and she's into you, you're into her, and you can't stop yourself. It's magical and you want to keep seeing her. What happens then?"

"Is this if me and you are still seeing each other?"

"Yeah. She turns out to be your soul-mate, so what happens then?"

"I guess we'd have to have to talk about it, work something out," Brad shrugs. "I don't believe in soul mates though."

"So we have a chat, I get upset and my work goes to shit because I've been dumped. Do I quit? Should you fire me? Every time you look at me you're going to feel guilty and hate yourself, or I'm going to look at you, feel guilty about what I want from you and can't have, so I will hate you and me."

She pauses and looks at him.

"My point is, do you really want to go down that road? I don't."

"That's a ridiculous scenario, Kelly."

She continues, "What if you don't meet this person then and a year goes by? We've been seeing each other all that time, I'm still working for you and you go off me? How do you dump me and still expect me to work for you? This way we avoid any of that happening."

She pauses and looks at him.

"Don't you see, Brad. This way, we both get the best of both worlds."

"This isn't the best of anything, Kelly," he replies. "I don't agree with any of that crap."

"Granted, I should have explained it better and maybe I should have just said let's be fuck buddies, but I want you to understand why."

Kelly leans forward.

"I'm sorry if I've upset you, Brad. I didn't mean to."

"God Kelly, any bombshell like that would upset anyone, not just me. I was not expecting this at all. This conversation has taken the life out of me."

Brad takes a deep breath and wants to continue, but can't quite figure out what he wants to say. He tries to start several times and Kelly waits for him to speak, but he can't put it together.

"You need some time to process?" she asks gently.

"I do. I feel pissed or disappointed or both or something, but I can't explain why. I don't even know why I'm discussing this with you. Stupid, huh?"

"Not at all," Kelly replies.

She stretches her arms out to him.

"Want to come back and let me cuddle you while you mull it over?"

Brad frowns. Normally he wouldn't hesitate, but it just doesn't feel right anymore.

"No. I'm gonna get out, go and have some lunch and hang out with the guys for a while. Just need a bit of time to think, I guess. This isn't the kind of relationship I want with you Kelly."

"Can I make a request?" Kelly asks gently as he stands up and gets out the bath.

"I think you've made enough requests, but..."

"Can you try to think of it in simple terms? The only thing I've told you I can't do is be your girlfriend. But I can be your most trusted assistant, your friend, your lover and you get to date and fuck anyone you want, any time you want. Can you try and think of it like that, Brad, please?"

He looks down at her, seeing her looking up, her eyes sad. She looks unhappy as much as he does.

"No promises."

"I'll be around if you want to talk. Just call me or come get me."

She gives his hand a squeeze and lets him go.

Brad dries off, slipped on a pair of jeans, boots and a T-shirt, then wanders out to the balcony and lights up. He slumps down in his favorite seat and puts his feet up on the railing. Then he goes back inside, gets his bathing suit on and goes looking for Casey and Ed, not saying a word to Kelly.

* * * * *

Why are you so upset, Brad, he mutters to himself and the answer comes to him. Because he wants her to be his exclusive girlfriend and more. He wants to be her one and only, but apparently, that's not what she wants. What more can she possibly want that he can't give her? Can he possibly take her to a fetish club the way she wants? A lot to think about and a decision to make.

* * * * *

"So becoming a billionaire with a hot secretary that'll blow you while you bone your way through the FHM Top 100 transforms you into a crybaby man-bitch, does it?" Ed shouts over the noise of the speedboat as the three friends race the girls around the Island. "Man, you need a punch in the balls to remind you they're there."

"Ignore him," Casey says, shaking his head. "I just think you're too close, buddy. You need a little distance from the problem is all."

"How do you mean?"

"Step back and think about what you want. Look at the big picture," Casey says, mentally reminding Brad of the hundreds of discussions they've had in the office. "Over the next year you're gonna be all over the world, bro. You're going to meet hundreds of hot babes, probably princesses. If you get the come-on from some of them, would you like to be able to indulge yourself?"

"Fucking right, bitches!" Ed bellows loud enough to be heard over half the Island.

"So she's telling you that you'll be able to play the field and have some fun. And, if there's no action happening, it's cool with her to get some Kelly time?"

"It's not going to work like that though," Brad frowns.

He's really worried that emotions will start coming into play if he brings chicks back, or how he would react if she goes out on a date.

"Not if you're more emotional than a sparkly fucking vampire-loving teenage girlie-boy," Ed tells him.

"As rare as it happens, dude, Ed does have a point," Casey says. "Take what she's offering bro, because if it were me, I'd be tapping that fine body every chance I get."

Brad's mind conjures an image of Kelly, sprawled on the bed, half wrapped in sheets and naked. He feels like he can hear the sounds she makes during sex, or feel her arms and legs wrapped around him in the bathtub.

"I want to keep seeing her," he admits. "I just don't know about the other stuff."

"Then keep seeing her," Casey says firmly. "Just take the other stuff a day at a time."

"And get me some Kelly fap material, or I swear, frozen turdage shall magically appear."

Brad exchanges a look with Casey, both remembering Ed's phase of wrapping turds in plastic bags and freezing them. Then he would put them in the jacket pockets of people who had pissed him off, in the glove box's of cars in dealerships, in the hoods of assholes on the bus. As far as Ed is concerned, anyone being a dick was fair game and he always takes the bag away. By the time the deposit defrosts, he's long gone and it sometimes takes a while for people to notice the smell.

"Ed, if you start that shit, I swear to you, I'll have you thrown out of a helicopter at sea," Brad says, grinning. "And no, you can't have any naked Kelly pics either."

"Yeah, man. Don't start all that again," Casey adds, a distasteful look on his face.

"Anyway, I thought you were head-over-heels in love with Caroline?"

"I am, but can't a man roll the fleshy blunt without spank material any more?" Ed moans. "Fucking pair of frigid bitches."

"Fuck off Ed," Brad grins.

Despite the obscenities, disgusting topics and constant insults, Brad actually feels a bit better about the situation having talked it over with his friends, mostly with Case.

"Hey, the girls are overtaking us, Ed," Casey says sharply. "I thought you knew how to drive this thing."

"Shut up, bitch and go back to being ballast," Ed says, leaning in to the controls. "No fucking way they're beating us."

"He's a fucking imbecile," Casey laughs.

"Yeah, but he's our imbecile," Brad adds, laughing too. "Hey, wait. Is that a good thing, or did we get screwed in that deal?"

"I think Ed let the women win on purpose," Brad tells Casey. "He owes us one and we'll take it out on him at some unknown time in the future. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Casey says.

The girls beat the guys and Ed insists on another race, and then another before he finally beats them. As soon as they dock, Brad goes ahead to the main house, into his suite and heads straight to the bedroom. He has a plan as to what he will do about the Kelly thing.

* * * * *

"Kelly?" You in here?" he calls.

"Back here," she replies.

Brad finds her in his dressing room, packing most of his clothes up into cases and trunks.

"How was the race?"

"Hopeless. Ed sucks at driving speedboats. He blames losing on the ballast."

"The ballast?"

"Me and Casey."

Kelly smiles as she snaps a trunk closed and then stands up straight, looking at him. "So..., did you talk with them or reach any conclusion?"

Brad becomes very emotional and says, "I did. I talked it over with Casey and Ed and they called me a bunch of names, mostly Ed did actually, but Casey asked me to consider what I want in my world. So I did."

"Kelly, I'm sorry, but you're fired," he says and waits for her response.

Kelly instantly drops to a sitting position on the trunk behind her, involuntarily. Her face turns white as shear shock and panic overcomes her. Her eyes begin to water and tears flow down her cheeks as her face contorts, turning to shock.

"That's the reaction I was hoping to see," he says. "Now I know you want to be in my life, in some unknown capacity. You're not fired, Kelly. Now, its just a matter of what I want to do."

With that said, Brad turns, retreats to his bedroom and sits on the bed with his head facing the floor. He covers his face with his hands as he thinks for a moment. He knows he's in love with her and has literally no choice in the matter. She left him with a choice of going along with her plan, or firing her. What a choice. He wants her to the point where he will agree to anything, well almost anything, to keep her in his life.

Kelly slowly gets up and follows him, giving him plenty of space, sitting on the edge of a chair about four steps from the bed. She's only half recovered from her initial shock, but is extremely nervous and insecure about what he's about to say. Her eyes still have tears in anticipation of his next move.

After a few moments, Brad uncovers his face, looks at her and says, "Kelly, I'm not the world's happiest guy at this moment. I thought we connected on a very personal level, but I guess I didn't read you right. What you told me earlier was a bomb that went off in my face. I wasn't expecting it... I swore all the signs were there, but what do I know? Guess that's why I'm not very successful with women. Oh well..."