Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2000 08:20:48 -0000
From: Ardveche <ardveche@hotmail.com>
Subject: New to this State (Part 12)

HARD AT WORK
============

Striving every day to bring you another chapter of New to this State.  And,
more importantly, striving to get the damned thing finished so I can do
something else!  I realize that Chapter 11 did little or nothing to advance
the plot, and arguably left off at an inappropriate juncture, but as I said
in the introduction I had to dash out, so I rounded it out as well as I
could, knowing I'd be back at work on 12 within a few hours.  So, this is
really the rest of Chapter 11 and then Chapter 12, but it needed an unique
part number for the archive, so here it is, the antepenultimate chapter
(and, for what it's worth, we're up to 70,000 words now)...



DISCLAIMER
==========

This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is
entirely coincidental.  The author asserts all legal and moral rights
(copyright (c) 2000 - ardveche@hotmail.com) to this work and you may not
copy it or transmit it in any way except in its entirety and with this
disclaimer. This story features descriptions of sex between consenting (all
over the legal age, at least in my jurisdiction they are) males:

- if such material is prohibited in your jurisdiction, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you're under the legal age to read such material, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you don't like, or are offended by such material, please DO NOT READ ON.

Now, if everyone who is still here is meant to be here, let's get on with
it.  All comments are welcome and gratefully received (email them to
ardveche@hotmail.com or look me up on MSN Messenger).


NEW TO THIS STATE
=================

Chapter 12 - Sunday Best (II)

	"Let's go in, it's Baltic out here."  I finally said, stepping back
from him.

	"Funny, I thought it was just starting to heat up!"  I could only
shake my head and mutter 'sad' under my breath at that crack as we began to
thread our way cautiously back to the house, and the blessed warmth within.
Halfway there, though, I was tackled from behind and sent crashing to the
ground, all of the air pushed out of me in one whoosh.  Curtis quickly
straddled me and began to tickle my ribcage as I squirmed and squealed for
mercy.  He let up briefly, and pinning my arms above my head looked down
into my arms, a wicked grin on his face.

	"Apologize."  He demanded.

	"Never!"  I bucked wildly under him and was able to flip him off,
and over to one side, he grunted, but recovered quickly, rolling away
before I could pin him and scrambling to his feet.  He stood, tensed for my
attack a few feet away from me and I feinted from side to side a couple of
times, him matching my movements.  Finally, I pounced and caught him round
the waist, he staggered, and toppled backwards.  I crashed down, half atop
him, meaning to tickle him into submission.  Instead, I found our lips
meeting and a long, tender kiss developing.  I sighed contentedly, and
rolled off him, so we were lying side by side, holding hands.  I gazed up
at the few stars that were visible and turned to look at him.  His eyes
were dark pools, his face barely visible, but our gazes locked and I felt
more complete than ever, lying with him under the infinity above.

	"I win."  He said.

	"Bullshit, I could've taken you.  I was just being nice.  Besides,
you're meant to be injured, you were only starting something you couldn't
finish."  I joked.

	"You think so?"

	"Yup.  And you should be more careful of that rib."

	"It's not so bad now.  And anyway, marijuana deadens the pain a
little."

	"Yeah?"

"Yeah.  So you can be rough with me tonight!"  He waggled his eyebrows at
me, and I burst out laughing at him.

"Come on, let's go inside - and no horseplay this time, okay?"

"Whatever you want, Mr. Quinn, whatever you want."  We both struggled to
our feet, and brushed off some of the dirt on our clothing.  Lois's flowers
appeared to have survived the attack, for the most part, but I had a
feeling we'd be hearing about it in the morning.  Oh well, young love, what
can you say?  Back in the kitchen, we shucked our jackets and perched on
stools on the opposite side of the island from one another.  All the better
to be able to gaze into one another's eyes!  I took his hands in mine,
keeping half an eye on the door, just in case my mother came in.  "Well,
this is nice."  He said.

	"Wanna go upstairs?  Watch some TV or something?"

	"Sure.  Grab some chips, though.  I'm ravenous."

	"I know!"  I replied, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

	"Ha ha."  He headed for the fridge and pulled out a couple of
drinks.  "Ready?"

	"Always!"

	"You are a shameless flirt!  I'm gonna have to watch you."

	"Watch me do what?"  I took one look at the expression on his face
and bolted from the kitchen, Curtis hot on my heels.  I maintained a
comfortable lead the whole way and was dimly aware of my mother calling to
us to be quiet as I crashed through the door of my room, and that's where
he caught up with me.  Barreling both of us into my bed where he subjected
me to the same punishment I had subjected him to moments ago in the flower
beds!  A thorough kissing.  God!  Was it possible for me to be happier?

	"Are we here to watch TV, or so you can have your wicked way with
me?"  A muffled voice said against my neck.  I took a moment to consider
before I answered.

	"Both.  But let's start with TV and move on to carnality later.
Okay?"

	"Works for me.  Wait here."  He got up and headed for the door to
my room.  "I'm going to go slip into something more comfortable."  He
grinned and disappeared round the door frame.  I heard him going down the
stairs, and turned my attention to arranging the room a bit better for
viewing, pulling the table my TV and video were on out of the corner and
putting it a few feet from the foot of my bed.  I piled all the pillows and
cushions I could lay my hands on at the head of the bed and sprawled in
what I hoped was a languorous pose, and I waited.  After a while, I heard
him coming back up the stairs.

	"Woah!  You look good enough to eat."  He said as he popped back
into the room.  I had to smile at his 'something more comfortable'; it was
a T-shirt, a pair of full-length checkered pajama bottoms and some thick
socks.  "What?  What are you laughing at?"

	"You.  Of course."

	"I should make you hurt for that."  He said easing himself onto the
bed beside me.  "But instead, I'm gonna make you strip for me!"

	"Oh you are, are you?"

	"Yup.  Get ready for bed now, Andrew!"  He did a fair impersonation
of my mother and I couldn't contain my laughter.

	"If she ever hears you doing that, your life won't be worth living,
buddy!"

	"I know."  He grinned.  "I like your mom."

	"She likes you too."  I was suddenly serious, acutely aware that I
did not want the subject of his moving out coming up again.  I wanted him
to feel welcome in our house, and knew that I was doing a good job on my
account!  But I worried about what he thought my mother made of him.

	"So, are you going to dance for me or not?"  He changed the
subject.

	"I feel so cheap!"

	"You are."  He socked me with a pillow.

	"So, let me see if I understand this, I have to leave MY room when
you're changing, but you get to stay and watch me, AND I have to dance for
you?"  I tried to inject as much righteous indignation into my voice as
possible, but was finding it hard.  He looked so utterly adorable lying
there, looking up at me.  Dressed as he was, he looked more boyish than
normal, more cute.  His beautiful green eyes were locked on mine and his
hair was all mussed up.  I just wanted to seize hold of him and, as he
said, 'have my wicked way'.

	"Yeah, that's about it.  Shake your booty!"  He hit me with the
pillow again.

	"I think not."  I said firmly.

	"Prude!"  He shot back.

	"You're saying this to a man who's sucked you off?"  I asked
quietly as I rose to my feet, allowing my shirt to fall to the floor as I
did so.

	"Man?  Don't flatter yourself, boy!"  Was there no winning this
argument?  I sighed and pulled my T-shirt off over my head, clumsily
snagging one arm in the process.  "Woo hoo!  Work that body!"  He laughed,
and I creased up, clambering back onto the bed to hit him a couple of times
with a pillow.

	"I'm only an object to you!"  I complained.

	"Listen, go into the bathroom and change, I don't want to make you
uncomfortable."  His tone was serious, and it surprised me a little.  Why
would he think he was embarrassing me?  There was nothing here he hadn't
seen before, after all.  I stood up again, and with a flourish pulled my
belt free and let the pants fall to the floor along with my shirt.  I
shucked my shorts and socks in one fluid, well-practiced move - it may take
me half an hour to get dressed, but it's only ever taken about three
seconds to get undressed!  My mom is always complaining that I fold
nothing.  There was a look of astonishment on his face.  Mentally, I
performed a victory jig (never perform victory jigs while naked, that's my
motto), I had finally gained the advantage.

	"Now," I said, standing naked before him, "You have to move your
fat ass, so I can get my PJs from under the pillow."

	"Hmm, let me think about that..."  He responded with a grin.

	"Shift.  Now.  Before my mom comes in and discovers this little
tableau.  Or we have a helluva lot of explaining to do!"  Seeing the truth
of this, he swung his legs off the bed and gave me access to my own sleep
wear.  As I bent over to retrieve shorts and T-short though, he swatted me
on the ass, causing me to yelp and spin round.  He doubled up with
laughter, and I made an exasperated noise, as I pulled my shorts on.  I
complemented the whole outfit with a pair of white socks and resumed my
place on the bed.  He joined me moments later, once his laughter had
subsided.

	"Hey, you know what?"  He prodded me as he spoke.

	"What?"

	"I have to kick your butt."

	"Why?"  I was curious.

	"For calling my ass fat, you bastard."

	"Oh, that.  Well, you know, you could stand to lose a few pounds."
I jibed.

	"Oh, you are so going to pay for that."  He glowered at me, and I
smirked.  "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest
of your life."

	"Corny!  So," I said ignoring his affronted look, "What do you want
to watch?"

	"You."

	"Understandable, but I remind you again that we're on best behavior
until my mom turns in."  I answered him reasonably.  "How about a movie?  I
have a few on tape."

	"You choose.  I don't care."

	"Here we go again!  Mr. Decisive is back."  I slid to the foot of
the bed and began pulling tapes from their boxes to read what was on them.
Not that what I wrote on a video necessarily reflected what was on it, I'm
too lazy for that.  "Oh, hey, how about 'The Opposite of Sex', seen it?"

	"Nope.  But I haven't seen many movies recently.  Is it any good?"

	"Would it be in my collection if it wasn't?"  I shot back.

	"Weeeell..."  He drew the word out slowly and scrunched his
beautiful face up.

	"Fine.  We'll watch that then."  I decided to ignore him.  After
all, he'd said he didn't care, and if I had to keep my hands off him for a
few hours, I wanted something good to watch to help keep up my resolve.  I
slid the tape into the machine and grabbed a couple of pillows, placed them
at the foot of the bed and folded my arms under my chin, so my feet were at
the head of the bed.  Curtis shoved the bowl of chips towards the middle of
the bed, so we could both reach them, but didn't join me.  His foot was
resting against my ribs though and, not for the first time, I blessed that
double bed!

To anyone coming in, we looked like a couple of teenage guys having a
sleep-over and watching a movie.  But I knew that the slight pressure
against my side throughout the movie, was my boyfriend.  That the movement
I could feel, was my lover's laughter.  How cool is that?  Apart from the
occasional burst of laughter at some of the priceless lines in the film,
and the sound of contented munching we watched in silence.  A pleasant,
comfortable silence.  About twenty minutes or so from the end, that scene
in the log cabin where she goes into labor, my mom popped her head round
the door to tell us she was going to bed.

"Well, good night, boys.  And keep the noise down to a dull roar, okay?"
Parents can be so funny.  But more of a laugh at than a laugh with sort of
funny.

"Funny, mom."  I mumbled around a mouthful of chips.

"Night, Mrs. Quinn."  Curtis gave her a little wave and a big smile.  Oh,
so cute! She smiled back at him.

"Don't stay up too late.  And don't you forget to brush your teeth,
Andrew."  She said as she left the room.

"Aw, mo-ommmmm!"  I yelled after her, Curtis snorted laughter of course.
Why did she always pick moments like this to treat me like I was six?  Not
that there was ever a right time to treat me like I'm six!  But you see
what I mean, right?  I flopped back down to watch the end of the movie.  As
the credits rolled, I set the video to rewind and rolled onto my back,
putting my hands behind my head and propping it up a little so I could look
at Curtis.  I felt a warm, strong hand lightly stroking my leg, and a
small, shy smile played on his lips.

"So."  He said quietly.  I made no response, just continued to look at him,
committing every curve and contour to memory.  "Your place or mine?"

"Hmm.  Exciting though the idea is of copulating..."

"Copulating?  Jeez, how clinical is that?"  Curtis interrupted, with a
light slap to my calf.

"As I was saying.  Copulating while my mother's on the other side of the
wall, I think I'm going to opt for my place."  I pointedly resumed what I
was saying, and more pointedly used the same word again.

"Good, 'cause I can't be bothered to move."  He smiled.

"Well, I hope you can move a little."

"Yeah, probably."

"Don't put yourself out on my account."

"I won't."  His gaze traveled down my body, and he pulled off my socks.  I
put up no fight, interested to see where this was going, and having a
pretty fair idea at that!  "You know, you have nice feet."

"What?  How random is that?"  Not what I had expected.

"No, I'm serious.  Normally, you know, feet are pretty ugly, but I like
yours."  He mumbled.

"Well, thanks.  I think."  I replied sarcastically and he blushed.

"Sorry.  Hey, aren't you supposed to be cleaning your teeth?"  He became
all bright and breezy again and I wanted to slap myself for making him feel
dumb.

"Yeah.  You want to come check I do it right?"

"Well, children do need constant supervision."  He gave me a wink just as I
was about to retort and I ended up simply shaking my head.  I guess he'd
earned that point. We went through to the bathroom and stood side by side,
brushing our teeth.  I felt very domestic, performing this simple action
with another person, it was weird.

We crawled back into my bed and he pulled me to him immediately, urgently.
I slid my arms around him and savored the sensation of being held by him.
I took a deep breath and held it, wanting to add a perfect record from
every other sense to my mental picture of him.  He sighed and stroked my
hair gently, almost absently.  His mind was on something else, but these
mood swings were something I was fast becoming used to and adept at
spotting.

"What's up?"  I asked his shoulder.

"Nothing."  He replied, I said nothing, waiting for him to go on.  I knew
he had more to say but that we had to go through this little ritual first.
"I just."  He stopped.

"Just what, babe?"  I murmured.

"Babe?"  There was amusement in his voice.

"Just what?"  I decided to not give him that route out.  There was
something he wanted to say, but wasn't sure if he should, and I was damned
if I was going to make it easier for him to back off.  I was too good at
doing that myself, I could spot it a mile off in others.

	"It's dumb."

	"So?  Like you never said anything dumb before."

	"Oh, gee, thanks for the support."  He replied, but there was no
trace of rancor.  "Asshole."  He added in an undertone and I gave a short
laugh.

	"So, what was this dumb thing?"

	"It's not important."  He hesitated again.  Again I waited.  "I
just wanted to say thank you again."

"For what?"

"For what?  For everything, dumbass.  For Thursday.  For tonight.  For
being in my life.  For being my life.  I, um."  He swallowed, and cleared
his throat, but went on before I could speak.  "I haven't been as happy as
this in years.  No.  Ever.  I don't want us ever to lose this, Drew.  I
feel so close to you, and you've been so great.  And I don't have the words
I want to tell you how important you are to me."

"That's not dumb."  I raised my head to look into his eyes.  "That's the
sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."  And I honestly meant it.

"You're so much more to me than just a lover.  I want to get to know you as
well as I know myself, better, to get inside your head, to be with you all
the time."  I could only continue to gaze at him, nothing I could actually
say would be good enough.  "Sorry.  I told you it was dumb."  He turned
away from me.

"And I told you it wasn't."  I whispered, I didn't trust myself to speak
fully aloud.

"Just hold me tonight?  Is that okay?"

"Always."  I snuggled against his back and draped an arm round him, which
was quickly grasped by his own.  Once again, I felt him relax totally in my
arms and all the tension flow from him.  There was no feeling in the world
as good as this, this total surrender, this quintessence of trust.  We fell
asleep in each other's arms.

Sunday morning came, and for the first time I was awake before Curtis.  As
the light streamed In I sat, propped on one elbow, stroking his hair out of
his face and idly trying to count his freckles.  He was dribbling slightly
into my pillow, but he looked so peaceful that I couldn't bear to disturb
him.  Besides, I welcomed the chance just to be able to stare at him,
without worrying what anyone would think, and without making him feel
awkward.  Finally, though, it came to an end, he drew in an especially
large breath and as he let it out his eyelids flickered and opened.  He
blinked at me a couple of times and then a slow lazy smile spread across
his face.

"Now that's a sight I could get used to waking up to."  He drawled sleepily
as he rolled onto his back.

"You know, I was thinking that too."

"Yeah?  What else were you thinking?"  He stretched lazily, and I admired
the muscles in his arms, the bruises slightly faded now to a bluish-yellow.

"Wouldn't you like to know."  I tried to be enigmatic.

"Yes."  I suppose that's why he'd asked in the first place.

"Nothing printable."

"I'll bet."

"No, seriously.  I was just lying here admiring you."  He smiled gently at
me.  "You're so cute it hurts."

"Mm.  Don't stop."

"You wish."  I continued to play with his hair.  "You know, you should get
a haircut, get it out of your eyes."

"Mm."  Curtis was being noncommittal again.

"Yeah.  You have beautiful eyes."  I pushed his hair back from his face
completely.  "And great cheekbones.  You should show them off."

"Maybe I like it like it is."  He flapped lazily at my hands until I let
his hair fall back.  "And maybe I don't want to show them off, maybe I want
them to be just for you."

"You old romantic.  C'mon, we should get up, 'we missed the best part of
the day' already."  I quoted one of my mother's favorite lines, letting the
matter drop.

"I guess."  He seemed disinclined to move, so I yanked the bedclothes off
him and trotted through to the bathroom.  I gazed at myself in the mirror
for a few minutes and then got in the shower.  I was toweling myself dry,
when I heard voices from my room.  My stomach lurched.  Caught.  I didn't
know what to do, go out and face the music, or stay in the bathroom and
hope for a meteor to hit the earth.  I was still standing, frozen in terror
when there was a tap at the door, and Curtis's voice snapped me back to the
here and now.

"Are you decent?"

"Um.  Yes?"  I replied hesitantly.  The door opened and he stepped in.

"Your mom just came up."  He said.

"Oh, shit."

"Don't panic.  I said we stayed up late watching movies and I must've
fallen asleep."

"And she bought that?"

"Seemed to.  I told her nothing happened."  He shrugged.  How could he be
so casual about this?  I had just been busted sleeping with another guy by
my mom.  Things couldn't get much worse.  "You done with the shower?"

"What?"

"The shower?  Can I use it?"  He clapped my still damp shoulder.  "Relax."

"Easy for you to say."  I muttered, as I resumed drying myself and he took
his shower.  Why did he tell her nothing happened?  Didn't that just imply
that something could have happened?  Oh, God, how was I going to get out of
this?  I was just finishing getting dressed when he emerged with a towel
around his waist.

"Feeling calmer?"  He asked.

"No."  I said in as withering a tone as I could muster.

"Jeez!  See you downstairs, I'm gonna go and get dressed."  I watched him
depart and stood by my dresser hyperventilating for a while before
venturing downstairs.  My mother and Lois were in the kitchen when I walked
in.

"Hey."  I said as heartily as I could.

"I have a bone to pick with you, Andrew Timothy Quinn."  My mom announced.

"Oh?"  I played dumb.

"Yes.  I told you two not to stay up too late.  Curtis still needs rest,
and sleeping on your bed doesn't count.  What if he catches a chill?"  On?
I guess that made sense, if he fell asleep watching a movie he wouldn't
have been under the covers.

"Sorry."  I ventured.

"I'm sure.  You're always sorry.  After you've done something foolish."  I
knew my mom well enough to know she was trying to be stern because she
thought she ought more than because she was genuinely angry, and I relaxed
a little.

"I know.  But he looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake him, so I threw
a blanket over him and tried to get some sleep."

"Okay.  But next time, wake him.  I'm sure he'd have appreciated his own
bed."

"Frightened he might ravage me?"  I asked jokingly and Lois spluttered
mightily into her coffee, spraying it across the newspaper she'd been
pretending to read.

"Andrew!"  My mother looked appalled.

"Well?" I was suddenly enjoying this.

"Of course not!  Don't be silly.  Now let's drop it."  Too cool, I had come
down thinking I was so busted and had ended up making my mom back down.
That was a first.

"Morning all."  A cheerful and welcome voice from behind me said and Curtis
sauntered into the room as though nothing at all could perturb him.  I
laughed out loud and my mother shot me a black look.  Lois, busied herself
with the paper again.  "What?"  Curtis wanted to know as he looked from one
of us to the other.

"What would you like for breakfast, boys?"  Lois was the first to recover.
"Pancakes?  I make them to my own recipe."

"Sounds great."  Curtis beamed.  "Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm sure there are lots of things you can do, young man!"  Lois winked and
set about making the pancakes.

"Mother!"  My mother was appalled again.  This promised to be a fun day.

We enjoyed a pleasant family breakfast together, and I again realized just
how lucky I was, and how much Curtis had missed this sort of easy
back-and-forth with his own family.  I was beginning to think of him very
much as part of the family, maybe because we were both only children?  I
could happily cope with him being a sort of adopted brother, provided we
could go on having our more intimate relationship as well.  Brother, friend
and lover all in one, with none of the ickiness of incest to complicate
matters.  One thing was for sure, he had opened up enormously since that
first day and I was glad of it, underneath his initially hostile exterior
there beat a heart of gold.  Trite.  But true for all that.

We finished eating, and Curtis and I cleared the table and did what little
washing there was to do.  He then headed upstairs for his cigarettes and
excused himself to go outside to smoke, with only the tiniest frown from my
mother.  As soon as the door closed behind him, she turned to face me and
fixed me with a very serious look.

"Andrew.  About this morning."

"Mom!  Drop it, please."  I whined, I had thought the whole conversation
was dead.

"No, there's something I have to say.  It was wrong of you to let him stay
in your room, but only because he's still pretty badly injured.  I want you
to understand that I don't care that Curtis is gay, it makes no difference
to me, and it doesn't change who he is."

"Mom."  I tried to interrupt again.

"And I don't think it's appropriate for you to be making jokes about his
sexuality.  I know he's not fully comfortable with it, and you won't help
him by being foolish."

"Aw.  C'mon, that's not what I was doing."

"I know that, but if he had overheard you, he might not think so.
Obviously you are okay with his situation, and have accepted him as a
friend.  But I worry that actions like those of last night might be giving
the wrong signals to him.  And that would be bad for him."  I was struck
dumb.  I had no way to answer that.  She was worried that I might be
confusing him by giving the wrong signals!  She had no idea how right and,
at the same time, how wrong she was.

"Okay."

"Right, well, let's say no more about it.  I'm sure when Curtis is ready to
talk about his sexuality, he'll be grateful to have a friend to talk to,
and I trust you to be mature and sensitive if he decides that that person
is you."  And so saying my mother got up and left the room.  I sat and
looked at Lois for a long time, who studiously ignored me.  Eventually,
though, she flapped her newspaper and peered over the top at me.

"What?"  I asked.

"You are going to have to tell her eventually.  I know it's not going to be
easy, but it's easier in the long run than lying to her - which you very
nearly did."

"I know.  But she'll flip."

"Did she sound just now as if she had a problem with it?"

"She has no problem with Curtis being gay, but her own son is another
thing."

"Perhaps."  Lois resumed reading the paper.

"What's that supposed to mean?"  I demanded.

"Andrew, how often do you need me to say 'trust your mother' or 'your
mother's a lot more levelheaded than you think' or any of the other
variations on that theme before you believe me?"

"Lois..."  I began.

"That was rhetorical, dear."  And the conversation was over.  I was
confused.  I was uncertain about so much.  I didn't know what I should do,
or how I should do it.  My life was not getting any easier, and though I
dreaded the thought, I knew that Lois was right.  The only problem was, as
soon as I spoke to my mother - reasonable though she would be - I knew that
Curtis and I would be under twenty-four hour surveillance.  It would
certainly mean an end to sleeping together, at the very least until I
turned eighteen.  It would make every word and gesture open to
misinterpretation.  In short, it would introduce every complication I had
always wanted to avoid.  It was beginning to look like my one-time dream of
having my boyfriend under the same roof could very easily turn into a
nightmare.  I went outside to talk to Curtis.

"Well, that was fun."  I said flatly.

"What was?"

"My mom just told me to be careful I didn't lead you on."  I supplied.

"Sound advice."

"You are so not funny."

"So you tell me.  What's the problem?  Your heterosexuality remains
unquestioned."

"Yeah, but I don't want to lie to her, and it came close just now.  I gave
some total non-answers.  And Lois called me on it.  She thinks I have to
tell her, and I guess it's not fair to expect her to lie to my mom for us."

"No, probably not."

"But if I tell her, she'll stop us, you know, being together."

"Only in this house."  I got the feeling, with answers like that, that he
was missing my point - and possibly doing so willfully.

"Exactly!"

"But, we already established that I'm not staying here forever."

"Don't start that again."

"Look at it logically, Drew.  You have to tell your mom eventually.  You
don't want to lie to her, but every minute I'm here and we're together
that's exactly what you're doing.  Solution - I should move out.  I have to
anyway, and I want to."

"You want to?"

"Yes.  I don't want to be dependent on you guys."

"But it's not a problem, you being here."  I protested.

"I didn't say it was.  I said I don't want to be dependent.  Not that I
don't want to be a burden, though I don't.  You've all made it clear, some
more so than others, that you want me to stay."  He grinned at me.  "But I
have to have my independence.  I'll always be grateful to your mom and Lois
for taking me in.  And, if I had a place of my own, our major problem would
be solved.  Right?"

"Possibly.  I think she might be a pain about us doing anything until I was
eighteen."  In fact, I knew she would be.

"And she may well have a point, it is technically a crime."

"Technically."

"Besides, your mom can't watch us all the time!"  He squeezed my shoulder
in what I assume he thought was a reassuring manner, but I knew my mom's
abilities far better than he did, and at times they bordered on superhuman.

"I guess."

"Hey, we've managed to avoid detection in the same house, think how much
easier it'd be if you could come over to my place.  Real privacy, no
sneaking about."

"I guess."

"You don't sound convinced.  Relax, buddy, everything'll work out."  He let
go of my shoulder and straightened up, stubbing out the butt of his
cigarette as he did so.  "Let's go inside."  I followed him dutifully into
the kitchen.

"Did you two have a productive chat?"  Lois asked archly.

"Yes."  Curtis answered.

"No."  I said simultaneously.

"Ah, then I think I'm more inclined to believe Mr. Reid, and to assume that
Andrew's good sense will prevail in time, once he's stopped being huffy!"
She smiled beatifically and, turning back to the paper, ceased to pay any
attention to us.

"So what do you want to do today?"  Curtis asked me.

"Nothing much."

"Excellent.  Do you have a time frame for that?"

"Screw you."  I was not feeling much like being fun right then.  I knew
that Curtis and Lois were right, but I didn't want him to leave, and I
didn't want to lose him, and I didn't want to deal with my mother.
Maturity sucks.

"Let's go for a drive."

"Where?"

"Somewhere less spooky.  Out of town, get some fresh air."  He answered,
guessing what I was thinking straight away.  At least we weren't going for
another trip to the cemetery!  That would just top off my depression
nicely.

"I guess."  I assented.  Well, sort of!

"Don't bring him back until he's cheered up a bit."  Lois chimed in.

"I won't.  And if he's not smiling by dinner, I'll leave him to walk back."
Curtis was enjoying himself, it seemed.  He knew he was right, and he knew
I knew.  Oh well.

"No more than he deserves."

"Okay.  When you two are done."  I finally had enough of the two of them
ganging up on me, it was beginning to get annoying.  He grinned broadly and
reached for his jacket, which was hanging by the door.  "I'll just grab my
coat from upstairs, back in a minute."  I ran up the stairs and selected a
jacket quickly, unwilling to leave them alone together for too long, they
didn't need any more opportunities to conspire against me.  And, yes, I
know that sounds like paranoia.  But what's the word for when everyone
really IS against you?

We never seemed to talk whenever we drove anywhere, each thinking his own
thoughts, and this time was no different.  He took a few turns and soon we
were in an unfamiliar part of town; ten minutes later, the houses thinned
rapidly and we were in the great outdoors.  I pretty much switched off from
there, and was broken from my reverie when we left the road and headed
along something that dreamt of one day being a dirt track.  Maybe I
exaggerate, but I am pretty much a city-boy, this much isolation made me a
little uneasy.  After what seemed like forever driving along this winding
road, flanked by an impenetrable screen of trees, we came to a cleared area
which might charitably have been a camp ground.  It was utterly deserted.

"We're here."

"This is lovely."  I said with all the lack of feeling I could muster.

"Okay, wise ass, we're not quite there yet.  We have to walk a little way."
He killed the engine and opened his door, sliding out of the car and
stretching.  He took a dew deep lungfuls of the air and let out a contented
'ahhhh'.  Not for the first time I wondered why someone who smoked was so
crazy about fresh air, but I said nothing as I climbed out to and slammed
my door.

"So, where now?"

"God.  Lighten up, or I will drive off and leave you here."

"Bastard."

"Good comeback."  He punched my arm, and then set off up the law rise that
formed one of the boundaries to the camp ground.  "Follow me."  I did as I
was bid, if only because I had nothing better to do.  I was slightly out of
breath as I crested the rise and thrust my way through the tree branches,
which were snapping back in my face in his wake.  I was about to curse him
again, but the sight beyond the trees stopped me.  Curtis turned to face
me.  "Worth the effort?"

"It's okay."  I managed.  At the foot of the rise, not more than twenty
yards from where we stood was a rocky shore and beyond that a broad expanse
of blue, blue water, surrounded on every side by trees.

"There's a hotel way up at the northern end, and some cabins on the far
bank, but this part's usually pretty quiet."  He supplied.  "Especially at
this time of year."  We certainly seemed to be the only people around, and
we had passed nobody since turning off the road.

"It's lovely, Curtis.  I'm sorry I was such a bitch about coming here."

"Don't worry, I'm getting used to you."  I decided not to dignify this with
a response, preferring to make my way down the slope to the edge of the
water.  Curtis followed me, and we both stood at the edge, looking out over
the water.  I stooped and selected a good flat stone to skip across the
surface.  We took turns back and forth, calling supportive or abusive
comments at one another until we got bored.

"Let's sit."  I suggested.

"One second."  He said, reaching into his pocket.  He produced the tin from
the previous night and flashed me a big grin.  I bit back any comment,
though I was unhappy about the idea of him smoking anything out here and
then driving back.  So I was totally taken by surprise when he leant back
and with one huge throw and a grunt he hurled the tin far out into the
lake.  Where it sank without trace.

"Why did you do that?"  I asked him, puzzled.

"Because, despite last night I know you don't like it.  And I wanted you to
see that I was willing to do stuff, for no reason but that you want me to."

"Wow."  Again, I didn't know what to say.

"Besides which, you're the only stimulant I need."  He smiled a goofy grin
at me and the seriousness of the moment was over.

"Thanks, Curtis."

"My pleasure, handsome.  Now, let's sit."  He slid his arm around me again
as we sat together on one of the large boulders by the edge.  "See, I told
you your mom couldn't watch us all the time!"  I kissed his cheek, a sort
of tacit acknowledgment that he was right about moving out.  That was the
best he was going to get for the time being, I was still thinking it
through.


TO BE CONTINUED...
==================