Date: 13 Apr 00 18:24:21
From: rimshot@planetaccess.com
Subject: The truth about Caymen 6

Sorry this took so long.  I've been working on a story in the Sci Fi
directory called Panther in the mist.  Check it out and let me know what
you think.

Dan
Rimshot@planetaccess.com


The truth about Caymen 6:


	Caymen picked his T-shirt up from the picnic table on the patio and
wiped the sweat off his chest.  "The next time you ask me to pull up rose
bushes with you, don't be hurt when I tell you to get stuffed."  He threw
the shirt at Merit, wrapping it around his face.  He bent over and pulled a
couple of thorns out of the calf of his leg.

	"You thrive on torture, admit it."  Merit threw the shirt back and
flopped into a deck chair.  "Jesus Christ it's hot.  I thought it wasn't
supposed to be hot until May, not in April."  He picked up his own shirt
and dropped it on the patio to make room in another chair for Caymen.
"Honest to god, Cay, I never thought we'd blow a whole day.  I'm sorry."

	Caymen waved his hand in dismissal.  "It's all right.  Don't worry
about it.  We just could've spent the whole day having sex up in the
canyon, but this is okay.  I've enjoyed it."

	"You really are a dickhead, do you know that?"  Merit laughed, then
leaned over and stole a kiss.  "But I love you, so you get the shower
first.  The meeting is at 7:30, and we need to leave in an hour."  Caymen
stood up to go in, swatting at Merit's attempted grope.

	As he got in the shower, Caymen thought about the support group
that they had joined.  It really wasn't very helpful, but Merit put a lot
of effort into it.  This of course obligated Caymen to be as supportive as
he could.  It did not mean he had to enjoy it.

	Caymen did not form bonds very often, and as a result had few close
friends.  The people at the group seemed so petty to him that he was
frequently tempted to reveal that information to them.  One didn't need to
be psychic to see through their self-lies.  It frequently led to a serious
case of the giggles.

	The wounds left by Merit's mother's roses stung under the pressure
of the shower.  Caymen hissed, scrubbing at the little bloody prick marks.
Eight bushes, each of them desperate to stay right where they were.  His
shoulders ached, and his back was sore.  He let the water pound his
shoulders.

	When he got out, Merit had used the shower in his parent's room,
and was sitting on his bed drying his hair as Caymen entered.  "Cay, do you
mind if we eat somewhere nice tonight?  I get sick of that salad place."
Merit referred to a soup and salad bar restaurant that Caymen liked,
preferring to forgo meat meals.

	"I don't care.  You pick."  Caymen brushed through his hair and sat
cross-legged on the bed.  "If you want to eat some heavily charcoal laden
chunk of unrecognizable flesh, that's fine."

	"Well, my appetite is off the charts now."  Merit shot back
sarcastically.  "Maybe they'll let us club or own cow to death.  Now that's
service."

	"I'm kidding."  Caymen smiled and kissed Merit's nose.  "We can go
anyplace you want.  I eat meat sometimes.  It doesn't always have to be
vegetarian.."  He wrapped his arms around Merit's shoulders and put his
head next to Merit's ear.  "How the hell do you think I survive or
wrestling sessions?  I need protein too."

	They dressed and locked up, Merit leaving a note that he would stay
in Ogden at Caymen's as was the habit.  They got in Merit's El Camino and
headed for the meeting.  It was a long drive, nearly an hour, and they were
almost late.  They jogged up to the entrance of what was a church, but now
served as a sort of civic center.  The group paid small dues, which were
then paid to the owners of the building for use of it.

	"Ah, there you are!"  Michael, a man in his mid-forties greeted
them as the walked in.  Michael was a co-founder of the group, and was
particularly fond of Merit for genuine reasons.  They had struck up a
conversation the first time Merit and Caymen had attended, and Caymen had
been suspicious of Michael's intentions, but could find nothing in his mind
that would set off any alarms.  The man had been very open and honest about
his experiences, and shared his feelings often at the meetings.  Caymen
liked him, but only just barely.  Merit really liked him, which lost him
points with Caymen, if only in secret.

	"Hey, Mike."  Merit hugged the man and followed him into the
building's basement.  Caymen hung back like he always did, studying faces
and opening himself up to errant thoughts.  A newcomer glanced at him, then
quickly looked away, face flushing scarlet.  Caymen recognized the guy from
school, probably from one of the lower classes, and made his way over.

	The kid appeared to be about sixteenish, light brown hair in a
spike cute, with hazel eyes.  He was skinny, but dressed in expensive
clothes, and was currently scared and embarrassed about being there.
Caymen sat down and smiled slightly.  "If you remember to breathe every now
and then, your chest won't hurt."

	"What?"  The boy gasped, then realized he had been holding his
breath.  "I,uh,.....I'm kind of nervous."

	Caymen chuckled, opening his mind a little more towards the other.
"Really.  I bet there's at least one person here who doesn't know that,
other than me."

	The boy laughed a little.  "That obvious, huh?"

	"Oh yeah.  They'll eat you like vultures."  Caymen waved his arm
towards the small crowd milling around.  He sensed that his comment had
caused fear, and he wished that he hadn't said it.  "Sorry, that was mean.
Nobody's gonna give you a hard time.  I promise."  He held out his hand.
"I'm Caymen McCandles."

	"Randy Blake."  The boy took his hand.  "Is everyone here, you
know.."

	"Gay?"  Randy flinched, and Caymen chuckled.  "Look, Randy, if
you're here for Narcotics Anonymous, I think that's tomorrow night.  If you
here because you need to be with people that are like you, and I think you
do, you're in the right place."

	"I read about this on the Internet."  Randy swallowed hard and
looked at his lap.  "I think I'm gay, but I never did anything, you know.."

	"Maybe if you listen to some of these people you'll get some info.
We stay away from the sex part and just talk about problems and
relationships.  The sex part is actually pretty easy.  Finding a partner
and actually having a relationship is a bitch, wouldn't you say?"  Caymen
patted the other's shoulder and leaned back in the chair.  He noticed Merit
looking for him and waved, indicating the seat next to his.

	"I just don't want to be a liar and a freak anymore."  Randy said,
and Caymen felt grief wash over him.  "It's like sitting in the middle of
an orchestra during a concert, and being the only guy without an
instrument."

	"Hey, who's this?"  Merit asked as he sat down.  He put out his
hand and shook.

	"Randy Blake, Merit Carter, the reason for my life."  Caymen said
with a flourish.

	"Hey."  Randy looked at Merit, then at Caymen.  "You guys are an
item?"

	"We are."  Merit leaned forward on his knees to talk.  "How did you
find us, Randy?"

	"The Internet.  I was looking for other help stuff."  Randy almost
whispered, and Caymen got a flash of a razor blade and a sink with the
water running.  Randy had been comptemplating suicide.  He accidentally
sent the images to Merit who gave him a sharp look.  "Is something wrong?
Randy asked, noticing the change in both of them

	Caymen shook himself back into the now.  "Sorry, man.  I just
remembered that I left a small child double parked in the middle of the
road."

	"On fire."  Merit added.

	"With the top down."  Caymen finished.  Randy looked at them
strangely, causing him to laugh.  "Sorry again, Randy.  We do that every
now and then when the urge hits."

	"We urged?  Damn, I missed it again."  Merit smacked his fist down
on his knee in mock disgust.

	"You two are psycho."  Randy laughed

	"You have no idea."  Caymen said.  The meeting started and as
predicted, He was bored in about fifteen minutes.  His mind traveled back
to Randy frequently, and he listened to the other's feelings as they
changed with the conversations.  It was clear that Randy felt very alone,
and that there was some serious depression going on.  Ordinarily Caymen
would just dismiss such a person to make what they could of life and find
their own answers, but something just wouldn't let him do it this time.

	"You're starring."  Merit's voice filtered in through the mind
link, and Caymen realized that he'd been looking right at the speaker who
was giving him curious glances.  "Sorry."  He sent back, then sent a
sensation of him fondling Merit's penis, causing his lover to jump.  Merit
glared at him, then took his hand.

	The meeting came to an end, and it was easy to tell that Randy was
not satisfied with the answers he was after.  Caymen caught Merit's eye,
and Merit nodded, resigned.  Caymen winked, then turned to Randy as
everyone stood up to leave.  "Wanna go get some pizza with us?  Merit's
buying, which is a rare treat."

	"Thanks, but I don't want to get in the way."  Randy said, pulling
on a jacket.

	"You won't be in the way.  You look like you could use some
company."  Caymen put his arm around the boy's shoulders as they moved
towards the door.  "Besides, you wouldn't want to miss a chance to ride in
Merit's baby, would you?"

	"His baby?"  Randy smiled, feeling happier than he had for a long
time.

	"An El Camino."  Merit supplied with pride.  "I'll put against just
about anything I've seen for awhile."  He pulled out the keys and opened
the passenger door, holding it while Caymen slid into the middle, then for
Randy.

	Randy giggled as he sat down.  "You guys don't act like I
expected."  He did up his seat belt and got as close to the door as he
could to give Caymen room.

	"What, like fags?  You can't be gay AND have a fast car?"  Caymen
leaned on Randy as Merit climbed in, then smiled at the mind images he got
from the kid.  They reminded him of the images he'd gotten from Merit not
so long ago.

	"Well, you have to admit it's not exactly the norm, you know?"
Randy flashed them a dazzling smile.  "I think it's kind of cool how real
you guys seem."

	"Hear that, Cay?  I told you we were real."  Merit started the
truck and pulled out of the parking lot, squealing the tires as they
accelerated.

	"Aw, shit.  Warp speed, Scotty."  Caymen braced his hands on the
dash so he wouldn't fall against Randy.  "Jesus, Merit.  Don't be subtle or
anything."

	"Do I bitch when you drive like a maniac?"  Merit groused as he
changed lanes.  "You're such a puss sometimes."

	The local Pizza Hut was swamped for a Friday night.  They looked at
all of the cars in the parking lot and Caymen met Merit's eyes.  "To hell
with this.  Let's go to Grandma's and order a pizza."  They talked as they
drove, covering cars, music, and what their summer plans were.  They were
surprised to find out that Randy was also graduating, and would be going to
Weber State that fall.

	"That's where we're going."  Merit informed him.  "I couldn't talk
Caymen into moving to Logan, so I'm moving to Ogden."

	"How the hell can I learn philosophy from a bunch of rednecks,
Merit?  If you answer that, I'll move to Logan."  Caymen winked at Merit,
playing him into their long running jokes.

	"You lied to me.  You said you were a philosopher."  Merit leaned
over and kissed Caymen.  They pulled into the driveway and were greeted by
Baggy as they got out.  She ran up and looked up at Merit, sniffed Randy,
then leapt onto Caymen's shoulders.

	"Wow, that's a beautiful cat."  Randy stroked her head, amazed at
her bright yellow eyes.  He loved cats, but had never been allowed to own
one.

	"She's a little past par for your normal feline."  Caymen said,
transferring her to Merit so he could unlock the house.  "She'll be
offended if you lump her with lesser cats and pee in your shoes."  They
made their way in, turning on lights.  A message on the answering machine
told Caymen that he could pick his grandmother up at the airport promptly
at nine a.m. on Sunday.

	"She has a cool accent."  Randy said when the message ended.  "Is
she English or something?"

	"Good god, no, and don't say that around her either.  She's
Scottish.  Technically, so am I."  Caymen grabbed a six pack off Cokes and
led them up stairs to his room.

	"Technically?"  Randy asked, sitting carefully in the chair at the
desk.

	"I was born in Scotland, but I'm a U.S. citizen.  My family gets
really fussy about that kind of stuff."  Caymen handed Randy a Coke, then
one to Merit who was putting on music.

	"That's no shit."  Merit mumbled, setting the CD player for Savage
Garden.  He still had very vivid memories of Caymen's relatives.

	"Anyway, the English don't like to be called Scots, and the Scots
would rather have a live badger crammed up their asses than be called
English.  Their all funny that way."  Merit pulled off his shirt and threw
himself on the bed, not unaware of the reaction this caused in Randy, but
unwilling to be someone he wasn't.  "Feel free to take off your jacket and
get comfortable.  Throw your shoes over by the door if you want."

	Randy watched as Merit pulled his off and chucked them at the wall,
then carefully did the same, trying to loosen up.  He really like these
guys and didn't want to offend them.  "Your grandma let's you stay here by
yourself?"  He asked, dropping his jacket over his shoes.  Caymen nodded.
"My parents would drop a live grenade in their shorts before they let me do
that.  Their control freaks."  He sat on one of the corners of the king
size bed and folded his legs under himself.  Baggy jumped up and plopped
down in front of him, purring loudly.  He stroked her head, marveling at
the softness of her downy fur.

	"You'll never understand the relationship between Caymen and his
grandma, so don't even try."  Merit slid a huge pillow over to Randy, then
put one behind Caymen's head.  "All I can tell you is that the woman is
incredible."

	"She loves you, too, ya big dink."  Caymen reached back and
caressed Merit's cheek.  "She and Merit hit it off instantly when we met."
He looked back at his lover and smirked.  "She thinks he's `a fine lad'."

	"Damned straight."  Merit said, smugly leaning back on his own
pillow.

	"I wouldn't say that."  Caymen mumbled, earning him a swat on the
head.  He glanced at Randy, who was giggling almost uncontrollably.  "You
see what I put up with?"

	They called for pizza and devoured two large mega-cheese and
pepperoni specials.  At some point, it was decided that Randy should stay
the night with them, and that they would watch the Exorcist.  Randy called
and got permission to stay, and they turned out the lights and put in the
movie.

	Almost immediately, Caymen started laughing during scenes that
scared the hell out of Randy.  He clutched the pillow to his chest, not
understanding what was so funny.  Merit left and came back with popcorn,
noticing the looks that Caymen was getting as he entered.

	"Something that you need to know, Randy.  Caymen isn't exactly
Christian, and considers this movie to be one of the all time best comedies
ever made."

	"Only Young Frankenstien is better."  Caymen said around a mouthful
of popcorn "Dogma was pretty good though."

	"Sometimes you guys really freak me out."  Randy stated, shaking
his head.  "You seem pretty cool for psychos."

	"Yes!"  Merit crowed, throwing his arms up in victory.  "We've been
up graded to psychos!"  He threw himself on the bed with his head landing
in Randy's lap, startling him.  "I like that, man.  I really do."

"Damn it, Merit, he isn't gonna get to see the barf scene if you keep
clowning around."  Caymen threw a kernel of popcorn at them.  "You know I
love that part."

	"Holy shit.  I've been abducted by aliens."  Randy said quietly,
half-wondering if he was in the twilight zone.

	"Yes, but we've deemed your race unimportant, so instead of the big
invasion, we just want to have sex with Brad Pitt."  Merit beeped Randy on
the end of the nose and rolled away, stealing a quick kiss from Caymen.

	"Speak for yourself, Martian man.  I'd rather do a collie."  Caymen
swatted Merits ass as he rolled by.

	"That's encouraging."

	The movie ended, and they got ready for bed.  Using some huge
quilts and blankets, they fashioned a soft place for Randy, then took turns
go through the bathroom.  Caymen sighed, not wanting to embarrass their
guest, and not wanting to be restricted and uncomfortable while he slept.
To hell with it, if the kid was going to be around them, and Caymen thought
he likely would, he needed to know up front what they were like.

	"I hope you don't mind, man.  I've slept in the buff since I was
nine."  Caymen pulled off his khakis and tossed them in the clothes hamper.
Randy flushed, but stood up and started to disrobe.  It's okay, Caymen.  I
do, too."

	Caymen got a mind full of images of himself from Randy, and a few
of Merit, but decided that he was okay.  He jumped in the bed and slid
over, leaving Merit some room to get in.  He listened as Randy crawled into
the make shift bed and settled in, admiring his courage.  The question was
what to do about the kid's loneliness.  Caymen was very attached to Merit,
and had no intentions to play the field.  He knew that Merit loved him
madly, and that left what to do with Randy.  And why exactly they should do
anything.

	Merit turned out the light and slid in to the bed, opening the
link.  "So why is this guy so important?"  He asked, careful not to sound
petulant.

	"I don't know.  I just had a strong need to help him."  Caymen
answered, allowing Merit to snuggle into the crook of his arm.  "I saw that
razor blade, and I knew we had to do something."

	Merit snorted, causing the small invisible hairs on Caymen's chest
to rise.  "You know he thinks we're gorgeous."

	"I know."

	"Do you want to get him wound up and drop him on his head?  That
would suck, Cay."

	Caymen stroked Merit's cheek during the silent conversation.  "Of
course not.  I'm not usually mean."

	"That's not what I meant.  I'm sorry."

	"Go to sleep.  We'll figure it out tomorrow."  Caymen kissed Merit
deeply, then rolled over on his side, letting Merit move up to his back,
his favorite place to sleep.  It would be nice, he thought as Merit started
to snore lightly, if some insight would present itself.  It took along time
to fall asleep.

	Randy stared at the ceiling most of the night, praying to god that
he wouldn't loose his new friends.  It had been so hard since Peter had
killed himself.  So hard not to follow suit.  Caymen and Merit were so
beautiful, and so funny.  He had thrived on their attention, yet held back
from touching them or opening up just in case he drove them away.  Tears
rolled down his cheeks as his mind rushed through these thoughts, and he
was startled to feel a soft tail flutter across his nose.

	Baggy clawed carefully at the blankets and made herself a nest,
then curled up in the bend of Randy's arm, purring quietly.  He ran his
hand down her spine and was rewarded with a rough tongue on his cheek.
Without thinking about it, he relaxed, petting the cat and marveling at her
fur.  His eyes drifted shut, lulled by her hypnotic rumbling.  He fell
asleep.

	On his pillow with his eyes closed, Caymen smiled and thanked his
beloved cat.