Author's Note: In the last chapter, you saw how these two used play-acting to work through their deepest fears. They are probably far from done with that. Is Joshua hiding a little bottom boy inside him? Is Ricky hiding a tyrant? My guess is they do not even know themselves. These guys find things out through action, not "thinking about things." So then...

"Action!"

Porn Stars

They spent the night in Ricky's gazebo, exhausted.

It was not just the sex, though the sex had left them satiated.

They had shared an emotional time together. They had bonded deeply after Joshua's confessions. This left them feeling quiet.

It was not just the sun and the exercise either, though these things had done their work.

Back with the families, they had been forced to endure more socializing than either cared for. First, Joshua's step-dad, Stan, had arrived. This was soon after they got back from their outing. That wasn't too bad. He was cool. He liked Joshua, and Joshua liked him, and, Josh could tell, Stan liked Ricky.

Still OK, but feeling merely tired, they's gone back over to Ricky's cabin. This was near the yard where the teens gathered.

It was the arrival of Ricky's stepfather that exhausted them

Within a minute, perhaps two, Ricky's stepfather and Ricky's mom got into a fight so terrible, the shouting could be heard in the neighboring cabins.

Joshua had never seen Ricky exhibit the slightest trace of fear. He was, in Joshua's eyes, fucking unflappable! But he had seen Ricky tremble in terror when the shouting began.

Joshua knew that feeling!

He had no idea what the fight was about. Neither did Ricky. Joshua had just said, "Dude. Let's bounce!"

But Ricky said he couldn't leave. He was worried about his mom. He wouldn't leave, but he couldn't go toward the fighting either.

They had gone to the gazebo. Ricky's sisters joined. Without a word, they crawled into Ricky's lap and cried. Even Patrick came, though he sat apart and played the Game Boy. Joshua was a little envious. They way they came to Ricky in a time of trouble. Joshua would have liked to be someone's little brother or someone's big brother.

Finally, the shouting died down. Ricky's step-dad's car fired up. The lights came on. He left.

Ricky ran with his brother and sisters to their mother, who was weeping.

Joshua thought he should leave. Ricky beseeched him with his eyes. Joshua stayed, but he went out on the deck.

Later, only a little later, Ricky came to him and said, "It looks like they are going to get a divorce. He finally did it. He hit her. He's whomped on me and Patrick often enough. He's spouted pure evil to her often enough, but this time, he went over the edge. The guy's a fucking nutcase. Accusing my mom of cheating? Idiot!

"Anyhow," Ricky sighed, standing up tall, "It's over. He's going to a hotel. I feel... relieved!"

He looked at Joshua. "I'm sorry about all that. Thanks for staying. That was great. Let's just chill."

"Are you really OK?"

"Yeah. And I'm not just saying that. But I do not want to be alone!"

"I can understand that. That was an ugly scene!"

"Yeah. But it's over."

"Well my step-dad likes you." It was a lame thing to say. Joshua realized it as soon as he said it.

"That's cool," Ricky said in an indifferent, distracted way. "I'm gonna go and hug and kiss my mom some more. I'll see you at the gazebo, huh?"

"Yeah. You got a flashlight?'

Ricky fished in his pocket and pulled out a tiny keychain light. "How about this?"

"That'll work."

After comforting his mother as best he was able, Ricky made his way to the gazebo. Joshua would be waiting. His mom was OK. She said that it was a long time coming, and it had come.

Ricky was glad!

He felt like a cloud of doom had moved off. He felt lighter. He felt like he leaping in the air with each step!

When Ricky arrived at their private abode, Joshua was reading a comic book by the tiny flashlight. Ricky knew that Joshua wasn't really the huggy type. He didn't care. Joshua had his own way of giving or receiving love. So Ricky just sat down near him.

"Is your mom OK?" Joshua asked, turning off the flashlight.

"Yeah. Ugh... Well... She'll be OK. She's calm now. She knows what to do. She's not hoping for something impossible any more."

"You said they're getting a divorce? And you're glad?"

"Yeah, I feel pretty good. I was dreading him coming. He could always make every happy time a... horror!"

Joshua was silent, then he asked, "How about your real dad? What's he like?"

"He's great. He and I always got along. He was always nice to me. They were divorced when I was six, but I remember happy times. Like, I remember the day I told him I wanted to take the training wheels off my bike, but I was scared, and I thought he would say, 'No. You have to leave them on.' I was, like, five then, but he just said 'OK!'

"And he took 'em off, and I wanted to ask him to hold me up, but I thought that would be chicken, but he held me up without me asking, and ran with me, and then I was riding my bike without training wheels! Just like that!

"He had me turn around and go in figure eights. He told me it was OK to put a foot down if I had to, but he had me practice until I could ride around the driveway without putting a foot down.

"I was so happy! That was my dad. He never hit me. He never yelled at me. He was always nice. He's a nice guy, just naturally."

Joshua asked, "Why did they get divorced?"

Ricky answered, "There were a couple of reasons. The first was that he started drinking so much that he'd even drink on the job, so he was always getting fired. That was enough. But..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, uh, I don't know if I should tell you this, so you gotta promise that this is between us."

"What, did he mess around with you?" Joshua asked, his voice sounding unsurprised.

"Noooo," Ricky said. "He never did anything like that. I remember even taking showers with him, but that was just a dad getting clean at the same time as his kid. It was just business. I even remember his dick. I looked at it. It's shaped like mine, only his is bigger. I think mine will be that big when I'm done growing."

"OK, so what then?"

Ricky sighed. He said, "My dad is gay!"

Joshua exclaimed, "That is so cool!"

Ricky hadn't expected that response from Joshua. But he went on, he said, "But it was uncool of me to out him. I mean, that's the rule, right?"

In the dark, Ricky could see Joshua nod, "Yeah. That's the rule; except, sometimes we break it when we are with other gay dudes we trust. I mean, there's rules, and there's other rules. Right?"

Ricky pondered that. Somehow, he didn't feel it was wrong to tell Joshua. He knew that just as soon as he saw his dad, Ricky was going to tell him he was gay, and he would tell him that he told someone else who was also gay because he had needed to talk with someone about it. He knew, somehow, his dad wouldn't mind. To Joshua he said, "Yeah. I think it's like this: if the person you're outing would be cool with you telling someone, then it's probably cool. He'd be cool with you, Josh. I'm sure of it."

Then Ricky asked, "How about your real dad. You never talk about him. What's he like?"

In a flat, matter of fact tone, Joshua said, "My real dad is in prison for producing and selling kiddie porn. I was one of his main attractions. He started me when I was seven years old."

Ricky stared at him. He had had his suspicions, and Josh had indicated that he had been raped, but he had no details. All he said was "Holy fucking shit!"

"Yeah. I've been to a lot of therapy. What fucked with my head, mostly was that I actually was gay. Right? So there were times when I liked it."

"Wow. So your dad is gay too?"

Joshua snorted. "I wish! No. That's a myth — about child molesters — most are actually straight, but my dad caught me and this other little kid in the garage one time, and he told us he wouldn't tell. He told us we could fool around all we wanted at a 'friend's' house. They filmed us. And he got me other guys, and I went along with it. My parents were already divorced then. So we'd do it on weekends. See? That's the guilty thing for me. I was into it!"

Ricky said. "But I thought you said that I was your first virgin? You musta been doin' stuff with little guys who weren't experienced, right?"

"Uh, well, I fibbed a bit then. Besides, that doesn't count. I mean it's basically true I never popped a guy's cherry ever since, uh..."

Ricky shook his head in the dark. "Never mind," he said, "It doesn't matter; anyway, like I said, I get it."

Joshua hissed, "Do you?"

Ricky was shocked by Joshua's sudden mood change. "Uh, what I meant to say was that I understand better. I understand how you had a guilty secret from your mom, and it fucked with you."

"Yeah," Joshua said, calmer then. "You get that part. But there's more. See, my mom got suspicious. I became, she said, 'sullen and withdrawn.' And Dad was always loading me down with toys and clothes and shit, and she would fight with him, and she hired a private investigator."

"How long had it gone on? How old were you?"

"I had turned eight. But anyway, my dad had a lot of money from his 'business' and he hired another pedophile attorney, and he got out on bail..."

"So he was arrested?"

"Yeah. So he hired some dudes, and they kidnapped me, and they took me to Mexico, and then they started using me in shit I was not into. They had me do stuff with men. Believe me, they were not asking my permission! There's a whole subculture that's into evil shit like that, like 'snuff' films, you ever heard o' that?"

"Yeah." Ricky was feeling a little sick to his stomach. "So how did you escape?"

"My mom. She hired her own crew. They went to Mexico. They found the place. They rescued me, and they took my dad, bound and gagged, in the trunk of their Volvo. He didn't get out on bail that time!"

"How'd she find you?"

"It was one of my dad's old partners that turned. He got busted for something, and he rolled, and then one my mom's investigator friend's in the police department told her investigator where we were in Mexico, and he knew someone in Mexico, 'cause the Mexicans hate that shit too, you know? So they had cooperation, you know? And that's between you and me, man! Right?"

"Yeah."

"So my dad's in prison. They keep those guys separate 'cause the prisoners kill them."

"I've heard that."

"So, anyway," Joshua sighed, "I have 'issues.'"

Ricky nodded. The way Josh said "issues" almost made him laugh. But he kept his face serene. Laughing. That would not do!

Joshua's story explained a lot. Ricky told him, "I don't know what to say."

"You don't gotta say anything, man."

Ricky asked, "But did your dad himself mess with you?"

"Yeah. He would do stuff that made me look really queer on film, talking to the camera, saying how much his boy liked cock, how he needed it, and how it turned him on, but what turned my dad on was seeing me freaked out!

"It wasn't like that at first. He found boys I liked at first. They started getting older and older, and I got into those big dicks, and then it was men.

"But in Mexico, it all turned ugly. It was all mean and cruel shit. I wasn't into that."

Ricky confessed, "I'd sure like to have sex with a man! A big hairy man!"

Joshua laughed.

Ricky continued undisturbed by Joshua's cackle. "I always kinda hoped I'd get picked up by an older, more experienced guy, and he'd show me the ropes."

Joshua said, "Well, you sort of got your wish. You certainly got picked up by a more experienced guy, and he showed to the ropes."

Ricky smiled. "Did you pick me up?"

"Totally," Joshua answered. "Haven't you figured that out? I seduced you. I'm slick."

Ricky said, "I wanted to be seduced."

"Of course. That's what I figured."

"You helped me, Joshua," Ricky added quietly.

Ricky could hear tremor in his friend's voice when he said, "I've always hoped that someone would say that to me. My therapist is always saying that I need a 'healthy relationship with someone my own age.'"

"Yeah? That makes sense."

"Uh huh. And the thing is, I was wondering if I could even get my kicks without something kinky, like the filming and shit, but you proved to me I can."

"So I helped you too?"

"Yeah. Except I really do get a kick out of catching the action on tape."

Ricky had noticed that Joshua used "film," "tape," and "video" as synonyms, and they could be nouns or verbs. He wondered if it was like that in the film industry in general. He would ask Joshua about that later. He did not want to break the mood. He said, "Well, I kinda get kick out of it too."

Joshua said, "I'm pretty sure my therapist would say that's 'not healthy.'"

Ricky shrugged. "I guess we both have 'issues,' huh?"

"I guess so!"

They laughed together.

Before they went to sleep, Joshua had one last comment. "I'm gonna tell my therapist about you. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Get some stills. Show her my picture. Give her my phone number. Tell her my address. Tell her anything you want, man."

Joshua tossed around in his sleeping bag the way he did before he fell asleep. His last sighing words before he drifted off to sleep were, "You're pretty fucking cool, Ricky. I'm gonna fucking cry when I have to leave for L.A."

Ricky was very protective and solicitous of Joshua the next day, and Joshua adored the feeling. Ricky decided that Joshua had had too much sun, so they should not hang out at the swimming hole. The underside of Joshua's arms were chaffed red and raw from rubbing against the inner tube, so Ricky had rubbed him down with Bag Balm. He made Joshua wear long pants and a big straw hat he got from somewhere.

Ricky had his own hat, a rather expensive looking "Aussie hat," as Ricky called it. It had the right side of the brim flipped up. As always, Ricky had his own, unique style.

Ricky also kept complaining about his ass.

"It sure is fucking sore man! And my farts? They are all swishy sounding! How long does this last?"

Joshua laughed, then in his "tough guy" voice, commanded. "Suck it up, bitch. Anyhow, that worst part lasts maybe a day. Use some of that Bag Balm!"

Joshua, since they were playing the "dressing each other" game, made Ricky wear big, "Hollywood" sunglasses and a tight tank top with a shell necklace, and he insisted that Ricky wear long pants too. Ricky had a pair of tight 501s, and Joshua thought he looked crazy hot in them. Over this ensemble he had Ricky wear that giant dress shirt of his, unbuttoned. Last, those heavy Mexican sandals, almost boots. "Custom made," Ricky had said, "modeled after the sandals used by Roman soldiers." He wore these with what looked like wool socks, neatly folded at the ankle.

Neither wore underwear.

Joshua suggested they go "exploring." They could walk up to the old railroad camp just upstream, past their "spot." Joshua would do some filming of scenery, and they could explore "sets."

"That means," Joshua explained, "places to have sex."

Ricky was into the exploration, and, of course, he knew the whole area, so he would have suggestions. He carried a pack with food and water. He also carried the tripod. Joshua carried an extra battery and memory card along with his camera. He knew he'd never talk Ricky into letting him carry the pack. He didn't even try.

But Ricky was not into the sex. "I told you, my ass is sore. I'm worried about it."

"Aw, C'mon! There's plenty of things we can do that won't hurt your ass. Listen to you! I thought you hated complainers!"

That got Ricky. He stopped complaining. He used some Bag Balm.

The first "set" they found was one Joshua had spotted the first day. It was the ruined stone cabin Ricky had shown him. There were only two walls left; the other two had collapsed where the river had undercut the bank. But there was one inside corner on the side next to the road that was hidden from view. It was shady in the morning. In the afternoon, Joshua could see, the sun would blaze in.

Ricky set down the pack and waited while Joshua stood in the corner looking around. Joshua told him, "Stand here. Where I am."

Ricky stood in that corner, hidden from the road. It was all round stones and old, crumbling mortar behind him. Joshua set up his tripod in front of Ricky some ten feet away. Behind them, down a steep sandy bank, the river made a big bend, first away from and then towards this spot. Beyond that lay the tracks and then, the rising mountains.

The light, Ricky noticed, was sharp, clear and brilliant. It was not a hazy day.

Joshua is looking at him.

"I want to get a vid of us kissing, Ricky."

He just looks at Ricky in that penetrating way of his.

Ricky smiles. He says nothing. He just holds up his arms in a gesture that says, "Come! Give me a hug!"

Somehow, Joshua guides him. He pushes him back and turns him so they have their sides to the camera. Josh has his hands on his chest, and he is kneading his chest muscles.

It feels good.

Ricky lightly caresses Joshua's back with his fingertips, and Josh falls into him, relaxed. He lifts his head and parts his lips for a kiss. Holding his head in his hands, Ricky kisses Joshua feeling full of love for him.

He pulls away and turns Joshua's head to the other side, and kisses him from the counter-angle. Joshua starts hopping, that way he does when he gets excited. He is panting.

Ricky takes his shoulders and pushes him away to look at his face. Joshua has a grin. He is looking at Ricky with those devil elf eyes.

Lust!

"Hey Josh," Ricky says, smiling, "I know this old barn up I the road. You wanna check it out?"

Joshua's face changes. He's looking at Ricky like he is pleased with him. He fishes in his pocket and pulling out the remote, clicks it. "OK. The camera's off."

Ricky laughed. "That was cool. I can't wait to see this shit."

Joshua had not had much time even to see what he had captured yesterday. He figured that they would do that this evening at his place, for it was Ricky's turn to spend the night.

As they walked, very near their favorite spot, but on the road, to the east, Joshua said, "I was thinking we need porn names. Who do you want to be?"

Ricky shrugged, "I dunno. You got any suggestions?"

"Well, one funny gag in the porn industry is to name yourself after your favorite dog and the street you grew up on."

Ricky laughed, "I don't think Frisky Arthur sounds very cool."

Joshua laughed. "That is a funny name! We could use that!"

Ricky grinned. "We could call you Tommy Toolong!"

"Now we're talking. OK. We could go with the funny name theme. I like 'Tommy.' My middle name is 'Thomas,' so I feel that name. What's your middle name?"

"Jordan."

"Oh, that's a hot name! OK. 'Tommy and Jordan.' So far so good! Sound good?"

That was agreeable.

"Say Josh?" Ricky asked this with his head tipped to the side. They were approaching a large, fenced area to the right. A horse pasture. "About our characters?"

"Yeah?"

"I think it works better when I play the stud, and you play the fem."

Joshua looked at him with that sharp-eyed snap. Ricky thought he would disagree, but he did not. Instead, he nodded. "Yes. I think you actually are right. That is how we appear to others. But then, we can suddenly contrast it, you know, role reversal within role reversal? You get it?"

"I get it."

Ricky had them stop at the corner of the fenced area, the barn itself, its weathered, unpainted board siding baking in the sun, was at the other end of the fencing, about an eighth of a mile.

They were in the shade of some large fruit tree.

Ricky said, "I thought of a last name for Jordan."

"Yeah?"

"Jordon DuBois," Ricky pronounced with a perfect French accent — DooBWAW.

"Sounds totally gay. I like it."

"It's French."

"Well, duh."

"It actually means, 'Of the woods.' There was a kid on my soccer team with that name. He told me that. He was French Canadian. It's actually a lumberjack name. It sounds gay in English, but it's actually bad ass."

Joshua smiled at Ricky's explanation. He agreed, "So it actually totally suits you!"

"Uh huh. How about you? Something 'Hollywood,' something flashy, but something that sounds like a real name. You thought of anything?"

"I though of 'Tommy Cash' and 'Tommy Flash,' but I like the Hollywood theme. Yeah, Something L.A.!"

Ricky said, "How about 'Tommy Angelo?'"

"That sounds Mexican," Joshua said, disagreeably.

Ricky looked sideways at him. He said, "Well, it is Spanish, or maybe Italian, but you got something against Mexicans?"

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that when I was in Mexico I got a grudge? No. Wrong. I hardly never even saw any Mexicans. I was basically in prison, so, no, wrong. I got a Mexican boyfriend — well, sort of a boyfriend — in L.A. He's uncircumcised. He's hot! That's not it. It's just that It doesn't fit my look."

"But it does!" Ricky gushed. It means 'angel' in Spanish, and it kinda rings with 'Anglo,' which does fit 'cause you are so white. Also, it contrasts! See? 'Cause you look one way, but you are another way."

Joshua said, "That was a pretty good pitch. I'll think about it. Anyhow, what about this barn?"

Ricky said, "See it up there?" He pointed. "It's coming up on the right here. You see those buildings up ahead, and that bridge?"

"Yeah."

"There's probably people at the cabins 'cause it's a holiday weekend, so let's not take the road. Let's cut over this field to the mountain and slip in the back."

"'Stealth mode,' I like it."

Joshua did think about his stage name as they made their way along that back route. It started to grow on him. As they slipped quietly through the woods, he asked, "But how would I explain how a white guy like me had a Spanish name?"

"You could say your grandfather was Swiss Italian. It's an Italian name too."

Joshua laughed. "You're pretty fucking smart, Ricky!"

Ricky just looked at him pleasantly.

"OK. 'Tommy Angelo' it is! Makes me sound like a mafioso, or something. It'll make people curious. It's 'contrasty,' like you said. I like contrasty."

Ricky told him the barn was still used. He had seen signs of horses there, but he had never actually seen it used. Joshua watched as Ricky examined the ground behind the barn, near the woods from which they had emerged.

"Watcha' doin'?"

"Looking to see how fresh these horse track are. I can't tell, really. I got this friend Collin whose good at tracking. He'd know. Collin! God! He is so hot he makes me crazy, but I know he's straight."

"Don'tcha hate that?"

"Yeah."

Joshua had noticed that Ricky never talked much about his friends at home. This was his first mention of one by name. It figured he'd have a friend who was good at "tracking."

Ricky stood up. He said, "Well, now I'm worried. If we sneak in the back, and someone's there, we're obviously trespassing, but if we're just walking through, or look like that, no one around here will care, so let's just come out of the woods all casual, not looking around, not acting sneaky, and talking."

"That's actually double sneaky! I like it!"

Ricky's worry was over nothing, for there was no one around.

They were far enough from the nearest cabin, and hidden enough by trees that it was not likely they were observed. There were no cars at the front of the barn, only an old flatbed truck, and there was no horse trailer.

They slipped into the barn. It was huge. Shafts of light beamed down from the many holes in the high roof, and the sides were lit by many cracks in the vertical siding. There was a lot of old farm equipment and what looked like a hay loft!

"Wow," Joshua whispered, "you talk about a perfect set! They'd kill for this in Hollywood! Scene Two of 'Tommy Fucks Jordan!'"

Ricky laughed. "Is that the title?"

Cackling evilly, Joshua said, "Actually, the full title is, 'Tommy Fucks Jordan Over and Over and Over Again!'"

Ricky laughed. "You never quit on that stuff, do you, Josh?"

"Nope," Joshua agreed, smirking happily.

"Let's check out the loft," Ricky said, adding, over his shoulder, as he prepared to dash up the broad stairs, "and do try to get into the right mood for our characters, Josh!"

Josh got it. He did think about their characters.

Once there, WOW!

An even better set!

It was a real working hayloft. Joshua studied the steel 'I' beam running under the ridge of the roof jutting out through the open loft doors. Dashing over, then saw that the pulley, cable, and sliding thingy were such that they could pick up bales from a truck below, lift the hay up, slide it through the door, and drop it down into the pile.

They had not done a neat job of dropping the bales; there were five or six scattered sloppily. The glowing light, high, and to the left, beamed upon a heap which made the perfect bench, even with a backrest!

Joshua knew exactly where to set the tripod. There was enough light, he could even overexpose and still have a fast shutter speed.

He had Ricky sit "seductively" on the bale. Lens wide open. Tricky focus! Nah. Bring it down a stop. Exposure normal for skin tones. Yeah. Perfect.

Filming, remote in hand, he went over and sat in Ricky's lap. He did it cutely and lightly. Ricky instantly accommodated him. Joshua found he could even lean back on Ricky's hand on his back!

To him, he said, "So for this episode, Jordan, I thought we would ad-lib a bit."

"'Ad-lib'?"

"Yeah, you know, just make up stuff..."

"I know what it means, Tommy!"

"Well, you don't have to be so angry about it, Jordan. It is your fault, after all that my ass is so sore!"

"Ha. Very funny, Tommy. I well recall the whimpering little girly noises you made as you shot come out of your dick while I fucked your ass."

Tommy hopped happily up and down on Jordan's lap. He giggled, "Oh, you are so right about that! That was a dreamy ass-fucking! But that is why my little, hairless, pink boyhole is now raw, ripped, and bleeding!

"It's a frothing mess, Jordan! You did that to me!"

"OK," Jordan soothed, petting his little boyfriend's pretty hair, "I'll tell you what. I was gonna fuck you here..."

"No! Not in the hay! The last time I did that? My back and butt and backs of my thighs and arms? They were all scratched and itchy! I even got infected! Hay is nasty to fuck on!"

"Sure, sure, shh, shh," Jordan said, kissing the top of his head, "I was gonna have you sit on me, anyway, but what I'm sayin'? I'm saying I'll wait all the way until tonight before I fuck you again! And then I'll fuck you fast. That is what kind of guy I am! That's way more than fair. That's me coming your way. A lot! Just to show you how much I care!"

Tommy cuddled up in Jordan's arms. "But don't tie me up this time, OK?"

"I was thinking of fucking you over a garbage can, actually."

"Well, I hope you are not planning on throwing me in it when you are done, like you and Jason did that one time at school!"

"That was to protect you, Tommy!"

"Leaving me naked in a dumpster behind the school cafeteria, waiting until dark to crawl out? You guys could have at least brought me my clothes!"

"We didn't want them to get dirty! I told you, man, I was covering your back!"

"Sneaking naked through the neighborhood to get home? Yeah man. You had my back for sure!"

"I did! Who was waiting in your room when you came in the window. Me. With your clothes!"

"Except, once I was in my room, I didn't need them because I was in my fucking room, you idiot!"

Jordan laughed. "That's what makes it funny! That's just one of the ways I help you be you!"

Joshua reached in his pocket and fished out the remote.

"Cut!" he called out, petting Ricky's hair and craftily pretending to click the switch on the remote.

"So who is Tommy?" Ricky asked.

"He's a sort of comic book character. A caricature, really. He's people's idea of a queer. I am ridiculing popular perceptions of homosexuals!"

"Joshua. The things you say!"

Joshua laughed. He asked, "And who is Jordan? He's kinda, uh, mean? Tommy's not going to want to play with Jordy if he keeps that up!"

"Jordan is not looking for love, I think."

"That's it? That's all you are going to say about Jordan?"

"Yep. We need to keep it raw. Besides, it was you who had Jordan leave Tommy naked in a dumpster, so I think you already know a lot more about Jordan than me!"

Joshua chuckled over that.

"Speaking of 'raw,'" Joshua softly asked, "How is your ass?"

"I'm good," Ricky said. However, after a pause, he admitted, "it keeps throbbing and, like, twinging. I don't like it."

"Well, maybe pretty soon we can take a dip in the river, huh? The cool water will feel good, huh?"

"Yeah. But I think we need to work on our personas. I don't find them terribly interesting. I'm not into catering to 'popular perceptions.' I'd rather rebel against them"

"Ah. Now there's the Ricky I know and love."

He gave Ricky a kiss.

After their odd film in the barn, the two made their way then to the old general store across the bridge.

Joshua was ecstatic over the old-time look of the place. "This totally is a film set! Look at those old gas pumps and the soda cooler out front, the old signs, the board sidewalk with the walkway above it, the old glass, and, I bet, there's even old men chewing tobacco inside!"

"Usually," Ricky laughed, "but they all know me, so be cool!"

Joshua asked the tall, lean, pale old man at the counter if they ever used his place as a film location. The old man answered, "You see any customers buyin' anything?"

"No. Uh, well me and Ricky. We're customers."

"I ain't seen you buy nothin' yet."

Ricky said, "We're gonna get a couple sodas out of the cooler."

"Fair 'nuff," said the old man, and to Joshua he said, "Point is, if it weren't for movies, they'da torn this place down a long time ago. Last movie had that fella' what's his name, always breakin' necks? Segal. Yeah. Steven; anyway, they fixed the place up, only they made it look older! Go figure, huh?"

Joshua laughed. "Would you mind if I got out my camera and videoed a little?"

"You got a model release and two hundred dollars?" The old man asked.

Joshua looked downcast. The old guy knew the rules! That's just what an L.A. person would say! He couldn't believe it!

The old man cackled. "I was just messin' with ya', kid. Most folks don't even ask. So good on you. Film away. Knock yourself out!"

Joshua, as they drank their bottles of soda on the bench out front, said, "I got an idea. I'll use this place as the set, but Jordan and Tommy will have an argument! Tommy's upset with him for just using him, and Jordan wants to get him to peace out, but Tommy doesn't know that. He's the one who starts the argument. You into that?"

There was no one around. Not a person, not a car. Nothing. It was quiet. Ricky shrugged. He wasn't really into that, but he agreed. "Roll it, dude!"

Joshua got out his cameras. He walked around looking through the viewfinder of the camcorder and at the screen on his phone, which he held in the same hand as the pole on which his action cam was mounted. Ricky knew he was not not filming, just looking. Joshua would do that. He enjoyed watching his friend when he was in "professional mode." It was the "real" Joshua he saw then.

Satisfied, he approached Ricky from the south side, the sunny side. His footsteps reverberated on the boards. He placed the vid-cam on the tripod, and announced, "Action!"

He came over and sat down next to Ricky. Even his movements showed he was playing a different character. He looked at Jordan and took a long draw on his soda before saying, "I'm pretty pissed at you, Jordan!"

"Aww," Jordan drawled, taking a swig of his ice cold bottle of Coca Cola, "What's all this about? Tommy. Don't tell me you're in another of your fruit-cakey moods!"

Tommy said, "You seem to think you can just pop off a hot one whenever you want without so much as a by-your-leave, well, I have news for you Mr. Big Smarty Pants! I am not so easy as that!"

Jordan snorted, "Yeah. Uh huh. I got your 'Mr. Smarty in my Pants' right here! Nice and 'Big,' the way you like it. You want some?"

Tommy looking at Jordan with a glance that feigned hurt, tossed his head, huffed angrily, and hopped up. He stood there for a moment standing with his hands on his hips, before finally sneering, "I just hate you sometimes, Jordan!" He spun around quickly, and walked away in the direction of the camera, swishing his hips, and displaying a cock that was not soft.

Jordan hopped up and exclaimed. "Oh, don't be that way, baby. Why you gotta be all hurt? Shit! Come on, honey! Relax!"

He said this as he thrust his hips, also displaying a similar state.

"Cut!"

Joshua added quickly, "When we stood up? Those were pretty much crotch shots! But see that? Shit! You and me? We touch? Bang! Instant boners!"

Ricky looked down and laughed.

Joshua wanted to explore the other side of the building. This was a pale dirt and gravel parking lot. The high, windowless wall of the general store was in shadow, for it faced north. Upon it, was a huge and archaic looking "Orange Crush" sign, and the empty parking lot was bright.

Ricky followed Joshua as he "camera scouted," as Ricky thought of it then. He leaned sideways against the wall and studied his cute blond friend, who was putting his remote in his pocket and walking by Ricky with a beatific smile. He kept the cameras attached to the tripod and pole, and these he tucked under his left arm, leaving his right hand free.

He checked the bathroom door at the end of the wall. It was locked. He walked by Ricky again, brushing his fingers against Ricky's shoulder as he went by.

Camera and folded tripod spinning in his hands, he had Ricky lean with his back to the wall, cross his arms, and brace a foot on the wall, thus bending a leg and sticking a knee out. "A classic tough guy pose, which you do naturally anyway."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said, "I wanna get shot of this whole sign, this whole wall, with you small in the corner. Then I'm gonna walk up and zoom in. So. What you do, now, is try and get Tommy to chill, right?"

"Right."

"Action!"

Jordan, speaking loudly across the distance, said, "OK! I see I was kinda rough on you. I thought you liked it that way, baby! I thought you were into it! I was only trying to make you happy! Everything I do? I do for you baby! Let me make it up to you! Let me do something nice for you!"

Tommy, approaching, "Would you do something nice for me, Jordan?"

"Sure, baby, sure."

"Go inside the store and get and get the bathroom key. My wee wee needs kissing!"

"Cut! Your 'wee wee?' Josh, are you fucking serious?"

"Hey, Ricky! I'm the director! Only the director says, 'Cut!'"

"Fuck that. Your 'wee wee?'" Ricky repeated.

"Tommy said it, not me. He's being infantile. It's part of his manipulative tactics. I'm actually imitating a young teenage girl."

"Ah hah! So you are not ridiculing 'popular perceptions of homosexuals,' you are ridiculing young, teenage girls."

"Whatever. You sound like my therapist. Anyhow," he said, arching his eyebrows cutely, "The bathroom key?"

"Sure, But what do you have in mind?"

"Make-up sex! You know couples do that? They fight so just so they can have make-up sex! My therapist had me read one of her books. It's 'dysfunctional,' but a lot of people do it."

Ricky pondered that. He could see the truth in it. But he asked, "So why are playing 'dysfunctional' characters?"

"It tells the truth," Ricky.

"It tells a truth, maybe, but it's all a lie because I love you, Joshua."

It just came out like that. Nice and easy. As part of the normal flow of conversation.

Joshua laughed brightly and looked at Ricky happily. "I liked the way you said that, Ricky. No drama. Just the facts. I love you too, but Jordan and Tommy have issues. Let's see if we can tell their story, huh?"

"OK. Fine, but I'm not so keen on a quick BJ in the bathroom."

"Jordan would do it! Come on man! Get into it!"

"Yeah," Ricky had to agree, "Jordan would do it."

Joshua said, "OK! So I'll just use the action cam on the pole. We gotta be fast! But I want you to really give me a gay blow job, Ricky, really super-duper hotly gay! Can you do that?"

Ricky laughed. "I can do that!"

"I want you to lick it up good and suck it deep, right?"

"Right."

The bathroom was small, and it was clean. It had a toilet, a sink, a mirror, a soap dispenser and a towel dispenser. The toilet had no lid, simply the kind of seat with the slot in the front.

Ricky held the pole of the camera while, Joshua ripped off his shirt, unzipped the front of his cargo pants, and sat down on the edge of the toilet seat to display his big cock, already half hard.

Ricky kept all his clothes on. He knelt down, and as he did so, Joshua grabbed the Ricky's hat and set it aside. He took the camera from Ricky, who gave him a fast and furious blow job.

First, licking it well, up and down, and all around.

Then, sucking it deep, way past halfway, maybe three-quarters!

Joshua's massive cock was extraordinarily stiff. He felt himself about to erupt, but he did not want that! He faked an orgasm, making silly noises!

Joshua, in Tommy's character said, "Feeding time at the fag zoo, Jordan, you big fucking homo!"

Jordan made happy slurping noises as he pretended to drink it all, not spilling a drop. Joshua was pleased by Ricky's acting.

He looked up at Josh. "I feel ridiculous, Josh. I'm not into quickies in public restrooms. I never want to do this again! I don't like Tommy, and I like Jordan even less! This is fucking dumb! Let's get our own action, man!"

"We can talk about that, Ricky," Joshua said as he pulled up his pants.

He did not look at all persuaded, as far as Ricky could tell. His Joshua was a strong-willed guy!