Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 18:37:28 +0000
From: rich h <palouse1@hotmail.com>
Subject: Seal Rock Part 14

This is, of course, fiction, and erotic fiction at that.  If it offends, or
is illegal etc. for you to view wherever in the wide world you are, by all
means go away.  Otherwise, I welcome feedback - the characters here are
gettign quite complex for me, which is one reason I've been slow in
delivering a new chapter.  All rights, of course, are reserved - this is
mine, dammit, and I'm keeping it.  Thanks for reading . . .


Seal Rocks Part 14


	Jesse walked his bike most of the way up Camino Real, even though the
street was mostly level.  He found sitting on the bike's narrow seat
uncomfortable -- a problem that gave him no small amount of grim amusement.
Luckily, as he approached the golf course turnoff, Ben drove by in his van
and doubled back.  "You look whipped, bro -- need a ride?"  His hair was
tangled and damp; Jesse knew his board was in the back of the van.

	"Ya, that'd be cool," Jesse said, slowly trudging to the rear of the
vehicle and opening the hatch.  It took him a minute to store the bike
safely alongside Ben's board, to ensure that neither got banged on the trip
home.  They rode in silence for a few minutes, until Ben turned the van
uphill at Pedro's.

	"So why so beat?"

	Jesse blinked.  "Uh, swam a lot and all, that's all"

	Ben nodded.  "You guys gotta be careful messin' around on the beach there --
the Marines get pissed over it sometimes."  Jesse nodded.  "I mean it, Jes.
They'll bust you, and they just might beat the snot outta you too.  Marines
aren't too fond of gay guys."

	Jesse nodded.  "We didn't fool around there today."  Well, at least it was
true . . .

	Ben snorted.  "Bullshit, Jes.  You're as fucked out as I've ever seen
somebody."

	"OK, OK," Jesse snapped, waving his hand, "just let it go, OK?"

	Ben looked over while waiting at a stop sign.  "You and Mike OK?"

	"Ya, sure.  It's cool."  Their parting had been oddly strained, with both
boys clearly preoccupied and bothered by what they had done.  Jesse had
deliberately waited until Mike was about half a mile gone before he started
home.  "Just tired, y'know?"

	Ben shifted the van into first and turned.  "OK, forget it.  You just look
weird -- like something happened you didn't handle well or something.  Like
it's eating at you."

	"I'm fine," Jesse insisted.  He longed to tell Ben everything, to ask his
brother for help, to get some idea of what to do, how to get out of the
whole thing.  But he needed to get the money for his mom . . .  No, he had
to just deal with it.  Be a man, Jesse.  Like Dad would have wanted.  Suck
it up and get it done.  Am I achieving something here, or am I really
becoming the great disappointment, he wondered.  Or maybe both, at the same
time.

	There was an SDG&E truck in their driveway when they arrived.  The
serviceman was taping something to their front door.  "What's going on?  Ben
asked.

	"Hi, son," the serviceman said, turning to Ben with a mournful face.  "I
have to give you this."  Jesse stole a look at the paper in Ben's hand:  "48
Hour Notice Of Disconnection."  "You responsible for this bill, son?"

	"Uh -- uh, no, no, my -- my mom is," Ben stammered, his cheeks flushing red
with shame and embarrassment.  "We -- can we talk to someone about this?"

	"You can call the Collections Department, son, but it's really too late for
that by the time we deliver one of these," the serviceman explained.  "Sorry
- this isn't a fun part of my job."

	"Yeah.  Yeah, right I, uh- I understand.  OK, um, thanks then."  Ben walked
quickly into the house.

	The serviceman looked at Jesse sadly.  "I really am sorry, son."

	Jesse swallowed hard.  "How much is the bill for?"

	"It's, um, for $423.68."

	Jesse's eyes flashed hard.  Time to suck it up.  "Can I pay you?  Do you
take checks?"

	The serviceman looked startled.  "Well, yeah, son, of course, but -- "

	"I'll be right back."  He ran to his room, heaved his mattress up, and
found the checkbook for Ron Gantry's account.  He quickly wrote out the
check, just like he'd seen his parents do, and brought it out to the
serviceman.  "I rounded it to $500.00, to save some hassle next time.  Is
that OK?"

	"Well -- this is good?  You're Ron Gantry?"

	"Yes," Jesse said in an even voice, digging for his wallet.  He pulled out
the license and showed it to the serviceman, who stared at it a moment.

	"I'd have thought for the world you were that fella's little brother or
something."

	Jesse licked his lips.  "Yeah, we get that a lot."

	"And you're willing to do this for them?"

	"Well, what are friends for?"

	The serviceman nodded, pulling out a small book.  "All right, let me write
out a receipt here.  Understand that if the check's no good they'll cut off
service without any further notice."

	"OK, I understand.  It's good.  I wouldn't put them through that."  He took
the slip of paper from the serviceman's hand.

	"All right, well that's a happy ending here -- I like that.  You're a fine
friend to these folks, son."  The serviceman smiled and turned slowly for
his truck.  Just fucking go, please, Jesse thought.  Just fucking go.

	The truck was just vanishing around the curve headed downhill when Ben came
back out.  "Why are you still out here?"

	Jesse thought hard.  "I, uh, I had some money saved.  I paid him the bill."

	"You had $400 some bucks saved up?"

	"Well, yeah," Jesse said.  "I, uh, I was gonna get a new board or -- or
something -- hadn't really decided what."

	"Where'd you get that kind of money?"

	Jesse was starting to sweat.  "Just, y'know, saved it.  Here and there.  No
big stuff."  He went into the house then, before Ben could ask him anything
else.  He grabbed his cell off its charger base and speed dialed Mike as he
closed his door.

	"Sup," Mike said.  His voice seemed the same as always.

	"Dude, I need to get like $400 from your account into mine pronto.  They
were gonna cut off our power and I just paid the guy by check.  I only got
like $100 left after the stuff we paid the other day."

	Mike snapped to attention.  "OK, sure.  I can do that right now -- they do
electronic transfers and all, and it'll post right away since it's all at
the same branch."

	"How the fuck do you know that?"

	"Read the stuff that came with the account, dude," Mike said with a
chuckle.  "I figured we'd have this kind of thing come up at some point."

	Jesse was torn between shame at having to ask Mike for the money and
gratitude for Mike's being so willing to give it.  "Dude, I -- this is --"

	"Jes, I said you could have whatever you needed.  It's cool.  Look," he
added, his voice dropping down, "I'm sorry I was all freaked there after we
got dropped off.  It was just -- just weird. Y'know?"

	"I know."  He suddenly felt like crying.  "Mike, I was a jerkoff too, I'm
sorry.  I - I don't want -"

	"Jes," Mike said quietly, "it's OK, bud.  I -- I love you, right?"

	"Right."  Never had words meant so much to Jesse.

	"OK, I gotta get on with the bank here. Gimme your account number, OK?
I'll call back when it's all done."

	Jesse took a long shower then.  He scrubbed himself several times, but
still had the nagging feeling he wasn't quite clean.  He took an especially
long time with his butt, which was sorer than he'd even realized.  He
couldn't help giggling at that -- the feeling of Mike in him like that, for
so long, with such strength, had been so erotic.  Even now, the memory
stirred him a little.  All the shit with Ernie and the cameras had been
peripheral.  He'd made love with Mike, and it had been so intense . . .  He
sat for a while on the edge of the tub, letting the water cascade over him,
before drying off.

	His mother was home when he emerged from his room, his hair still damp and
tangled.  She beckoned him over and embraced him, her face red.  "Oh Jesse,"
she whispered, "I am SO sorry you had to give up that money you'd been
saving.  I promise you I'll give it all back to you as soon as we close on a
house.  It's just a hard time right now, baby -- buyers aren't biting like
they did last year."

	"Mom, it's OK, I want to help.  I can help."

	"Well you shouldn't have to help," she answered, stepping back and wiping
her face a little.  Her scars hadn't faded the way his had -- being older has
its downside, I guess, Jesse thought.  "It'll get better, baby doll, I
promise."

	"It's OK, Mom, really, I'm fine.  No big deal, OK?"  He turned away, hoping
she wouldn't question him any more about how he'd gotten the money.  Ben was
watching him very closely.  He was lucky that his cell rang right at that
moment.  " 'Scuse me," he muttered as he slid back into his room.

	"All done, Jes," Mike chirped happily.  "I made it $500 just to be safe.  I
still got like $4,000 in there -- well Jamie does, anyway," he added with a
snort "-- and it's there if you want it.  I may use some to get my parents
some kind of anniversary present next month, though."

	"That'd be cool, Mike, do that.  I _ I don't wanna take your money and all.
  I mean, I got you into all this shit -- "

	"You didn't, Jes.  I made up my own mind.  It'll be OK -- it's the Web,
you're there one minute and gone the next.  Fifteen minutes of fame, right?"

	"Ya," Jesse said.  He wished he could believe it.  "So, uh, d'you wanna
hang tomorrow?"

	Mike laughed.  "Dude, I'm beat.  How can you want -- "

	"No, no, I mean just hang.  Hit Rivvy, Pedro's, the usual stuff."  He
stifled a small giggle of his own.  "Not that."

	"Oh, you're tired of me now?"  Mike teased.

	"Dude, I like couldn't ride my bike, my ass hurt so bad," Jesse giggled.

	Mike's voice turned serious.  "Oh shit, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

	"Na, just, you know, sore.  I mean, we went at it for a long time."

	"I know."  A long pause.  "Jes, it -- it was really cool, in a lot of ways,
y'know?  I mean watching us doing it and being like stars and all."

	Jesse nodded.  "Ya, it was."  That was part of what was bothering him
actually, but he didn't let on.  "It -- it got me excited, even more than
normal," he added guiltily.

	"We gotta get a mirror or something," Mike whispered.  They both laughed.
"So," Mike finally said, "when tomorrow?"

	Jesse's heart leaped.  "I'll be there round 9:30 or 10, ok?"

	"Excellent.  You sure you're OK?"

	"Oh ya dude.  Sore, like I said, but OK.  Kinda tingly too, actually.
You?"

	Mike laughed again, softly.  "I feel like I need an IV -- I got no fluid
left.  I'm like sore inside -- maybe my prostate or something.  Overwork."

	It was Jesse's turn to laugh.  "I'm surprised you aren't hoarse -- you made
enough noise to break the windows."

	"So did you."

	"Really?  I -- I guess I was too preoccupied."

	"Right."  They both laughed a bit, then let the silence stretch out.  "I
wish you could come over tonight -- sleep here."  Another pause.  Jesse felt
oddly guilty.  "It -- it's like I don't sleep as well without you here --
y'know, cuddling and, and stuff."

	Jesse felt the same way, but couldn't say it.  "Stuff??" he asked archly.

	"Damn, dude, one track mind.  OK, I should head here -- Mom'll be home
soon."  His voice sounded strained now.

	"Mike??" Jesse called into the phone.  "Mike, I -- I miss you too.  Sleeping
together and all.  Even the stuff."  He inhaled.  "Especially the stuff."

	He heard Mike chuckle.  "I know.  It's all cool.  No mushy shit, right?
Talk atcha tomorrow, OK?"

	"Sure."  It was a few seconds after the call went dead that Jesse finally
whispered, "I love you" into the receiver.

	Dinner was the happiest he could remember in a while.  Jesse's mother felt
she had leads on the house she'd shown that day, Ben had found a job for the
year working for a local mortgage finance company, Jesse had put aside his
worries over the day in Oceanside and was quietly proud of his ability to
help out financially.  The three talked merrily about everything, including
Jesse's father, and Tina, reminiscing in the way only a family can, half
stories and inside jokes they alone knew.  Ben made margaritas, and Jesse's
mom let Jesse have some.  He was soon buzzed -- too thin to hold much liquor.
  He began a long rambling story about his tube riding the previous weekend,
going on to a description of Kate's swim suit and her previous thong day.
Ben's foot atop his kept him from veering into too graphic a description of
Kate's body as he'd felt it when she had visited him in the hospital, or
what they'd done there.  Jesse went blithely on, talking about the Bonytons'
surfing skills.  Then he started talking about Mike.

	"Mike's a special friend, I know, dear," his mother cooed, a bit
patronizing -- she knew he was drunk.

	"Mom, I love him so much, he's so cool."  Jesse was smiling beatifically.
"It's like when I see him  - OW!!"  Ben had stomped, hard, on his foot.  His
face was calm, but his eyes told the message:  shut the fuck up, now.  "I,
uh, I just feel so good cuz he helped me out so much.  A -- a good friend,
y'know?"

	Jesse's mom, looked at him searchingly for a moment, then sat back.  "Well,
I'm sure it's also good to be back with all your other friends."

	"Oh ya, definitely!!"  said Jesse, a little too emphatically.  "Real good.
I mean the other day at Rivvy with everybody . . .  that was cool."  He
shifted in his chair, suddenly feeling very sober.  "What time is it?  Whoa,
I think I'll hit it -- maybe check out the end of the Angels game or
something on the radio."  He leaned over to kiss his mother's cheek.
"Night."

	She put a hand to his face and returned the kiss, her eyes very deep.
"Sleep well, baby doll."

	As he left the room, Jesse was conscious of the quiet tension between Ben
and their mother.  He wondered what Ben would tell her.

	Agitated as he was, he fell asleep almost immediately.

	Sometime in the night, he dreamed of being on a large surfboard, past Seal
Rocks, having sex with Mike, while Ernie and Joe floated around them,
encouraging them and filming with long arms like booms.  His father's head
would occasionally pop up above the surface, looking at them with a seal's
animal curiosity for a moment before ducking back down.  He was aroused but
uneasy, wanting Mike to do something more than the mechanical indeterminate
sexual act they were engaged in.  Kate suddenly was next to him, nude,
shrugging and telling him a long story about her brother that he couldn't
make out.  His grandfather swam by too, calling to come body surf with him.
"You can do that later," he yelled, before vanishing in the tube of a long
breaker.  Mike was now sitting beside him, spent, and someone else was
fucking him or whatever it was they were doing, and he asked Mike who it
was.  Mike ignored him, kissing Kate deeply, and he watched them make love.
He opened his laptop and viewed a long film of himself and the people on the
bike he had watched at Mike's that first night, riding along the road at San
O before pulling up to Ernie's RV and disappearing inside.  Falcone was
there, ushering them into a large bed, and they all started again having
some sort of sex -- just what wasn't clear.  The screen abruptly went blank
and a large "ACCESS DENIED" sign appeared.  His mother's horrified face
replaced the sign, and he bolted awake, breathing hard and fast.

	The moon was waxing.  It hung above the ocean as Jesse looked out from the
back yard, its light forming a rippling trail towards shore beneath it.  The
air was crackly dry -- a Santa Ana was blowing up, typical of early August.
He wondered how hot the morning would be.  He sat on the edge of a lawn
chair and watched the twinkling car lights on the freeway below, the moon
sinking toward the horizon, the occasional owl or bat flitting by.  His ass
still felt sore; he probed back at it with his right hand gingerly to see if
he could locate any major bad spots.  His fingers came away still smelling
like latex, odd since he'd showered so thoroughly before.  He laid back in
the chair, shivering a bit at the damp seat cushion, and yawned.  I'm sorry
Daddy, what do I do, how do I get out of it.  How can I love Mike.  The
sound of the seals came faintly to his ears as he drifted back off.

	He practically ran out of the house next morning, avoiding Ben and his
mother, and coasted as fast as he could down the hill, over the freeway, and
to Mike's house.  Mike's mother was cleaning up some dishes when he knocked
on the back door.  "Jesse, I'm so glad to see you," she said warmly, giving
him a light hug.
	"Thanks.  Um, is Mike up yet?"

	"Go on in and bug him -- I have to go here in a minute.  Any plans for the
day?"

	Jesse shrugged noncommittally.  "We talked last night -- just hang and all,
I guess."

	"Well, it's a bright day to do it -- you're lucky you're not going inland
like I have to.  It'll probably be 100 up in Aliso."

	Jesse nodded, oddly nervous, and walked away down the hall to Mike's room,
waving a silent goodbye as he went.  Mike didn't stir a muscle when he
opened the door.  He was barely visible under a tangle of sheets, a small
fan in the window pumping in the cool morning air.  Jesse smiled, closed the
door quietly, and sat on Mike's desk chair.  He just sat and looked, taking
in the curves of Mike's body as best he could beneath the sheets -- the long
extended leg, the rise of his hip and shoulder, his dark hair in wisps over
the pillow.  The faint smell of him suffused the air in the room.  Jesse
closed his own eyes after a bit, leaning back, enjoying the presence, the
nearness, not even needing to touch Mike, just to be with him and safe for a
moment.  Before long he dozed off.

	"Hey," Mike croaked, lifting his head a bit.  Jesse started forward.

	"Hey yourself."

	"How long you been in here?"

	"Dunno -- what time is it?"

	" `Bout ten."

	"Maybe an hour then.  I didn't want to wake you."

	"Thanks."  Mike stretched luxuriantly, the sheets slipping off his
shoulders and part way down his chest.  He lay back, looking at the ceiling.
  "You OK?'

	"Fine," Jesse answered.  Mike turned his head to look at him.  Jesse
shrugged.  "I haven't turned into a sex maniac or anything, if that's what
you mean."

	Mike chuckled.  "Too late to worry about that."  He shifted over toward the
left side of the bed.  "So are you coming in here or what?"

	Jesse smiled, stood up, and disrobed.  As he suspected, Mike had a pair of
boxers on, but by the time he got to the bedside, Mike had shucked them off
and tossed them in the general direction of the laundry hamper overflowing
just inside his sliding closet door.  His cock was growing visibly as Jesse
slid in next to him, but they were both sleepy.  They pulled themselves into
an embrace and slowly slid themselves against each other's bellies,
alternating between shudders at the intensity of the feeling and yawning.
They soon slowed and just held each other, feeling their erections pulsing
with their heartbeats like independently alive beings between them.

	The room was growing warm despite the fan; the day was going to be very
hot.  Mike pushed the covers off them and rolled beneath Jesse a bit.  As he
began softly kissing the hollow of Jesse's collarbone, he whispered, "My
turn to get sore," lifting his top leg up, bent at the knee.

	They were wiping themselves off after with one of Mike's dirty t-shirts
when they heard a shout from the front of the house.  "Yo Mike!!  You there,
dude?"  It was Erick.  The boys looked at each other for a second in horror
before bustling around to find clothes, turn up the fan, hide all evidence.
Mike jogged to the front door, running his hands through his hair in an
attempt to make it look less messy.  Jesse ran into the kitchen, barely
dressed, and poured a glass of orange juice.  He could hear Mike and Erick
talking up front as he slid into a chair.  Seconds later, the door swung
open.

	Erick looked taken aback.  "Jes, hey dude," he said.  He looked at Mike.
"You didn't tell me he was here."

	"Sorry," Mike muttered, turning several shades of purple.

	Jesse almost laughed, but he saw the confused look on Erick's face and knew
he had to cover.  "Hey Erick," he said casually.  "Mike and me were gonna
hit T-Street.  You in?"

	Erick rose to the bait.  "I was just tellin' Mike we wuz gonna be at Lost
Winds.  You wanna hit there instead?"  Mike moved behind Erick, nodding to
Jesse in gratitude, and grabbed the juice carton.

	"Yo Erick, juice?"

	"Na, I was at Surfin' Donuts already.  So you guys up for it?"

	Jesse looked at Mike as airily as he could.  "Why not, sounds cool.  What's
the swell look like?"

	Erick shrugged.  "Shitty.  Santa Ana's blowing it flat.  I figure Lost
Winds might be more protected."

	Mike sat down opposite Jesse, facing Erick.  "Worth a try.  I may go with
the shortie today."

	Erick boosted himself on to the kitchen counter.  "Ya, I figured that too."
  He looked at Jesse.  "What board did you bring?"

	Jesse's mouth fell open.   He, of course, hadn't brought a board down with
him -- he had only intended to be with Mike.  But that blew a gaping hole in
his surfing cover story . . .

	"I'm giving him a shot on the Bing," Mike interjected smoothly without even
looking back at Jesse.

	Erick jumped off the counter.  "Sweet!!   I gotta try it out too, dude!!
Can I?"  The Bing shortie, a classic 70s board Mike's father had bought for
nostalgic reasons from Icons of Surf downtown, was an object of veneration.

	Mike shrugged easily.  "Sure, but we got to be careful with it.  My Dad
like worships the thing."

	"Dude, no problem," gushed Erick.  Maybe you should do T-Street then --
cleaner break, further out and all."

	"Th -- that was kinda what we were talking about," Jesse said, trying not to
let the relief he felt show in his voice.

	Erick beamed.  "Excellent!!  When you going down?"

	Mike glanced at the clock over the mantel.  "After some food."

	"OK cool -- I just ate.  See ya there, right?"

	"Right."  Mike nodded as Erick walked out, bouncing as usual on the balls
of his feet.  When the door closed behind him, he slumped back in his seat,
and exhaled.  "That was not fun, dude."

	Jesse's head was already in his hands.  "You think he bought it?"

	"I think, ya.  Looked it, anyway."

	Jesse looked at Mike from between his fingers.  "This is what it's gonna be
like, isn't it?"

	Mike shrugged.  "I guess.  Unless we like come out and tell everybody."  He
paused.  "I -- I don't think I want to do that."

	Jesse gulped.  "Me neither."  He ran a hand through his hair.  "I guess we
just keep things cool, be careful, huh?"

	"I guess."  Neither was satisfied with that answer.

	Pedro's was less crowded than usual.  They even got a table in the shade,
so their forearms wouldn't get burned by the steel tabletop if they rested
their arms on it.  No one there looked familiar, so they ate in silence,
occasionally rolling their eyes to each other over a particularly hot girl
or guy walking by.  They were tossing their wrappers into the trash when
they heard a voice behind them:  "Hello, boys."  Denny Falcone was smiling
at them.

	Jesse felt his cheeks burn.  "Uh, hi," was all he could get out as he
hustled past Falcone toward the parking lot.  He felt Mike hurrying after
him.  It was one thing to meet Falcone at Ernie's RV -- and that had been
mortifying enough -- but for him to be here, at Pedro's felt like a complete
violation.

	Falcone followed them with an easy saunter, the smile never leaving his
face.  "Relax, I'm not going to do anything scary," he assured them in a low
voice.  Mercifully, the drive-thru line was empty.  They turned reluctantly
to face him.  "I just wanted to drop by and say congratulations.  Ernie
showed me a rough cut of your work yesterday, and it was everything I could
have hoped for and more.  You boys are real naturals."

	Jesse looked at Mike, whose cheeks looked as red as his own felt.  "Th --
thanks," Mike mumbled, having trouble keeping eye contact with the older
man.

	Falcone chuckled.  "Don't be shy, son -- you sure aren't when you're on
camera."  He stepped toward them.  "I have a lot of hope for you two to make
me some real money here -- and do well by your own selves, too.  I just like
to tell my -- my people -- good news when I get it."

	"What good news?"  Jesse asked.

	"Twinksland Productions has been in touch with me," Falcone said, beaming.
"Wants to release a full-length DVD of you two.  We can combine the beach
work and yesterday and get a solid 100 minutes of action that'll knock
peoples' socks off.  The pay-per-view web clips are gonna be nothing
compared to this.  This is real solid major market promotion here, boys, and
that means big exposure and big money.  It's a real first for Voyeur Video --
we'll be moving to a whole higher level in the industry."  He was bouncing
lightly on the balls of his feet with excitement.

	"DVD?"  Jesse asked.  "Like in all the adult stores and everything, like
Conrev and stuff?"

	Falcone shrugged.  "Well, lots of them don't carry much product catering to
the gay audience, but I'm thinking we can market you as so cute that women
will be just as interested in seeing you as the gays."

	Mike's face was now ashen.  "But -- but this is, like, a whole new thing.
This isn't what we were doing when we signed with Ernie."

		Falcone's face set a bit harder here, though his smile remained as
superficially bright as ever.  "Well, if you look at those agreements,
you'll see that we do have rights to market your work as appropriate.  It's
a profit business, boys, same as any other.  The more product we sell, the
better for us all.  You just trust me and you'll be fine."  He turned and
walked to a Cadillac parked across the street on San Gabriel, got in the
back, and drove away.

	An SUV pulled into the parking lot and honked for them to step out of the
way to the drive-up order mike.  They went back to the nearest table and
sat.  Jesse realized he felt shaky, and slightly nauseous.  It was a minute
or so before he could say anything.  "Oh shit."

	Mike sighed deeply, leaning back and rubbing his face.  "Well, we'll get
enough money to help your mom out."

	"Yeah, and a lot more besides."  A long pause.  "Shit, how did I get us
into this fucking mess?"

	Mike looked at him hard.  "You didn't.  We did, us together.  And -- and
besides, Jes, it's kinda cool in a way isn't it?  Porn stars and all that --
superstuds and shit?  It's hot to think about."

	Jesse shook his head.  "I dunno.  I mean it's hot just - just being with
you," he lowered his voice as some people walked by.  "And watching it as we
were doing it was really cool.  But this . . ."  He wasn't sure how to put
it.  "This is different."  He looked around.  "People are gonna start
recognizing us, y'know.  Maybe even people we know."

	Mike shrugged.  "Maybe.  I don' think so.  I mean you got to admit how you
saw it to say you recognize us -- who's gonna want to do that?"

	"There are people who are like out," Jesse said.  "They might say
something."

	Mike shrugged again.  "I dunno -- maybe it'd be cool to be recognized.
Look, we don't have to do anything else if we don't want to, right?"  Jesse
nodded.  "Just say the word, Jes, and it stops.  I mean -- this is more
important, right?"  as he openly grabbed Jesse's hand and held it for a
couple of seconds.

	Jesse smiled, inconspicuously removing his hand from Mike's.  "I know, it's
just all so weird.  I think -- I just need to like process this, y'know?"

	Mike nodded.

	Lost Winds is a comparative poor sister among the beaches in San Clemente.
It's most easily accessible by walking, south from T Street, north from
Riviera, and it's seldom crowded.  It was sure deserted this day, when Jesse
and Mike hauled their boards under their arms, trekking up from the creek
outfall at Riviera.  Erick was nowhere to be seen.  In the middle of an
especially lonesome stretch of sand, however, Kate was sunning herself,
wearing a comparatively modest two piece suit.  Mike made a leering face at
Jesse as they approached, which Jesse shushed away.  "Hey Kate," he called
instead.

	She sat up, hand shading her eyes, and smiled.  "Bout time somebody else
got here.  I was scared I'd be here alone with Erick, and he'd try to put a
move on me or something."  She rolled her eyes a bit to indicate how
unwelcome such a development would be.

	The boys laughed and settled down next to her.  Mike pulled out some lotion
and shared it with Jesse, rubbing it into Jesse's back with a deliberately
rough touch designed to show he was manly.  Kate giggled.  "Mike, it's OK,
y'know.  I know."

	Mike blushed again, his hands faltering on Jesse's back and unconsciously
caressing instead.  "I -- I know, it's just -- it's weird to like admit, OK?"

	She stood, smiling, and pecked Mike on the cheek.  "It's OK, I really do
get it."  She held out her hand.  "I'll do your back."  She caught Jesse's
eye and smiled.

	Mike continued to blush as he handed the lotion over to Kate and turned.
She squirted a line down his spine, almost to where his boardshorts rode low
on his hips, just at the swelling of his buttocks.  She rubbed the lotion in
carefully, top to bottom, scraping extra onto his sides.  It was vaguely
erotic, and Jesse felt his diaphragm tightening a little at the sight.

	Suddenly, when she had gotten to the base of his spine, Kate yanked Mike's
boardshorts with both hands.  They immediately dropped to his ankles,
leaving him naked.  Jesse had a brief glimpse of Mike's half-hard cock
before he instinctively took a step forward in protest and fell over.  Kate
grabbed again at his boardshorts as he fell, pulling them off his feet as he
hit the ground, and ran away squealing with delight.

	"Hey!!" Mike shouted, standing up before he remembered he was naked except
for a light coating of sand down his front.  "Oh shit," he cried when he did
remember, and covered his genitals with his hands.  "Kate, Goddammit, bring
those back!!"  Kate was wading quickly into the water, holding his shorts
triumphantly above her head.  "Jes," Mike turned to him begging for help,
"do something dude!"

	Jesse had managed to contain himself to that point, but now he cracked.
Mike's entire front was caked with sand -- it matted his pubic hair, turned
the reddish color of his cock to a nondescript gray, blotted across his
face.  Jesse felt like he was going to cry he was laughing so hard.  Mike,
unable to think of anything to do, stood rooted, arms out at his sides.
"Dude, c'mon!!  Gimme a towel or something!!"

	Kate was calling to Mike.  "Come and get `em, big boy!!"  as she splashed
in water up to her stomach.
	"Dude," Jesse finally managed to choke out, "you really need to go in and
clean up.  You're a total mess, and the lotion is gonna make it stick even
worse."  He choked up again, giggling, at the horrorstruck look on Mike's
face.  "Go, before the lifeguard busts you -- you're lucky nobody's close
here right now."

	Mike turned with a hopeless sigh and ran the fifty feet or so to the water.
  His pale butt contrasted sharply with his tan back and legs, making the
sight even more comical.  Kate saw him coming and whooped again.  Jesse
debated following him, then decided to stay back.  Who knows what might
happen.

	Mike quickly ran in until the water was safely up to his chest, hiding his
nudity.  After spending several minutes cleaning the caked sand off himself,
he started trying to chase Kate, who of course would move to shallower
water.  Jesse could hear Mike laughing and pleading with Kate to give him
his suit back, which of course Kate was in no hurry to do.  Jesse wandered
down to the edge of the water and watched, interrupting only when he noticed
a lifeguard ATV approaching from the direction of the pier.  At the sound of
Jesse's warning whistle, Mike and Kate retreated to deeper water, drawing
closer to appear less conspicuous.  Jesse pretended to kick idly at the sand

	"They friends of yours?"  the lifeguard asked as he pulled up near Jesse,
gesturing out toward Kate and Mike.

	"Uh -- yeah, sort of," Jesse said, feeling very self-conscious.

	"Well, tell them to get dressed or I'll have to cite them.  This is pretty
empty looking right now, but it's still a public beach, and they need to
keep it clean, OK?  Besides," he added, jerking his head toward the bluffs
behind the beach, "there's always somebody watching up there.  They can get
in trouble."

	Jesse nodded, head down, as he pulled away, heading south.  He smiled
grimly to himself, glancing up at the top of the bluffs, where the edges of
Cliffside yards peeked over the edge.  Don't I know it.  Big trouble.  Jesse
didn't look up again until the ATV was a good 200 yards down the beach, into
a more crowded area.

	Mike and Kate were in chest deep water, embracing.  Jesse could see Mike's
boardshorts in one of Kate's hands.  He suddenly realized that Mike had
Kate's top in his right hand as he held her, his hands beneath the water.
He turned away, cheeks burning, and retreated to the towels, lying face down
facing away from the water.  He felt like he'd intruded in some very private
moment, and betrayed at the same time.  That was Mike out there.  And Kate,
who'd given herself to him when he'd been alone and scared in the hospital --
he had a claim on her.  She knew it, he knew it.  Against his better
judgment, he turned and looked.  They were walking out of the water,
laughing, clothed again.

	Kate flopped down on the towel next to him and nuzzled into his hair; her
face was wet and chilly.  "He is definitely hot," she whispered in his ear,
"but you're hotter."  She giggled as he turned to look at her, rolling onto
her back and adjusting her top.  Mike stood over them, blushing, the sun on
his front.  Kate shielded her eyes and looked up at him.  "And I don't know
how you can still be hard -- it was cold out there!"

	Mike shot a look down at his tented boardshorts, blushed, and grabbed at a
towel to cover himself.  Jesse, after a second of astonishment, burst into
laughter.  "Dude, it isn't funny," Mike said in a fierce whisper, looking
around to see if anyone had come near.

	"Yes it is!!" Jesse answered, as Kate smiled innocently at him.

	Mike threw himself onto the towel, stomach down.  What the hell am I
supposed to do, I -- I never did that before -- with a girl . . ."

	Kate reached over Jesse, laying her chest across his shoulders, and patted
Mike on the back.  "Well, at least you put that qualifier in there so you're
being honest."  Mike looked at her, aghast.  "It's OK, Mike," she added
quietly.  "It's cool with me, OK?"

	Jesse was enjoying the feeling of Kate's bare skin and soft breasts against
him.  "I told you she knew -- figured it out and all," he said.

	"Ya -- yeah, I know.  You did.  I just -- its like, being, y'know, confronted
with it, OK?  I -- I just gotta like deal with it, I guess . . ."

	"Mike, I didn't mean to get on you," Kate said.  "You've got nothing to be
embarrassed about -- not with me, anyway.  It's cool."  She reached further
over Jesse to run a hand through his hair.  "You're both cool.  You -- you're
my boys, y'know?"

	Jesse was looking at her long body draped over him, feeling turned on.
"What about Mitch?"

	She dropped her forehead against Mike's side, her breasts dangling between
them, barely held in by her top.  "So over," she said.  "Too possessive --
and grabby.  I mean I don't mind going out with him, but I'm not gonna do
whatever he wants out of like gratitude or anything.  He just wants to get
laid."

	"That's a worthy ambition," Jesse teased.

	Kate giggled.  "Yeah, till it's all you care about.  Till you don't care
about the other person or anything.  That -- that's why you guys are so cool
-- you just sort of grew.  You've been buds for so long, and it just went to
like another level.  It's very sweet."

	She rolled herself in between them, her shoulders and legs casually
touching them both.  "I'm not like interfering or anything, am I?"  she
said.  "I don't want to mess anything up -- with you, with me.  You know?"

	Jesse swallowed.  "No, it's cool.  I just can't roll over right now."

	Kate snorted with laughter.  "Pervert, let me see."  She shoved her hand
under Jesse's belly, seeking him, as he squirmed and laughed.  Mike leaned
over and helped her seek out her prize.  When she took hold of him, Jesse
stopped wiggling and looked at them both, wide eyed.

	"This isn't good."

	"Why not?"

	"Because I'm gonna like come if you do much more, Kate."

	"Good," she whispered, her hand squeezing him.  "You come a lot, too."
Mike was watching, his mouth open, eyes wide.  Jesse looked at him for a
second as the feelings started to overcome him.

	"It's OK, Jes.  Go for it."  As Kate's squeezings turned into strokes, he
leaned his head against Kate's shoulder and whispered, "You're right, he
comes like a faucet."

	Jesse didn't disappoint them.

	They all wandered down to the water after that, Jesse in a giddy daze and
the other two laughing at his befuddlement.  Jesse dunked himself and
stripped off his boardshorts beneath the surface, cleaning them out as best
he could.  Mike and Kate stood near him, and he was surprised at how at ease
he felt being naked in front of them both at the same time.  "That was
really unfair, you know," he said to Kate.

	"Why?"

	"Because I -- we -- can't do anything for you.  I mean, we -- well, you know .
. ."

	"I don't want you guys to have sex with me.  Well, not yet.  Maybe
sometime," she giggled, and for the first time she blushed coyly.  "This is
fine for right now."

	Jesse nodded.  "You OK, Mike?"

	Mike smiled.  "Ya.  She got me while you were talking to the lifeguard
guy."

	Jesse's eyes widened.  "You -- you like --"

	Mike and Kate both giggled.  "Did she ever," Mike said.

	Jesse started laughing, then splashed Kate with as much water as he could.
"Slut!  You slut!!"  Kate screamed, retreated a moment, then started
splashing back, howling with laughter.  Mike joined in, and for the next
several minutes none of them could see more than a cloudy version of the
world through the seawater in their eyes.

	They finally tired and stopped, chests heaving, dripping wet.  Jesse stared
at Mike's perfect body, the rivulets of seawater flowing down over skin he'd
tasted, and at Kate's shining form speckled with droplets.  He was hard
again in an instant.  Mike giggled a bit, but Jesse could see through the
water that he was hard as well.  Kate smiled at them both, then glanced up
and down the beach.  "Nobody in sight -- go for it.  I'll watch out for you."

	Jesse raised an eyebrow.  "Or just watch."

	"Well, it would be a pretty cool thing to see.  Maybe I will watch."  She
dropped down so only her head was above the water, tipped to one side.
"Need the closer angle," she explained evenly.

	Jesse was self conscious, but not embarrassed.  He checked out the beach as
well, then stepped to Mike, reaching beneath the water for his erection.
Mike reciprocated, and they slipped into an embrace as they began stroking
each other.  They were conscious of Kate moving closer, but they didn't
care.  Mike's teeth were already sliding over his lower lip -- a sign he was
close.  Jesse was making small high pitched noises, rocking back and forth.
Suddenly Kate touched them both on the small of their backs, and they lost
it.  Heads back, gasping, they came into their boardshorts for several
glorious spasmodic seconds before ebbing, slumping away from each other and
again worried about who might be watching on the beach -- or the bluffs
above.

	When they walked out of the water a few minutes later, they could see Erick
waving at them from a ways up the beach, near the T Street overcrossing.  He
had a board under his arm, and a half wetsuit top on -- an odd choice given
the weather.  They waved back, flopped onto their towels (a little closer
together than they'd ever lain before), and waited for him to arrive.

	It took him a good five or ten minutes, and he was winded when he got
there.  "Nobody else here?  Damn," he muttered, tossing his board down and
flopping on top of it.  He yanked the half suit over his head, his thin
waist flexing with the effort.  Jesse found himself watching the movements
of his musculature, the rippling of his tanned skin, closely.  Nervous, he
looked at Mike to see if he'd noticed.  Mike smiled and mimed a whistle.
Kate giggled.  "What?  I know, the wetsuit was dumb -- somebody told me the
water was really cold."

	"We were just out there," Kate said airily, "and I thought it was pretty
hot."  She smirked at Jesse, who put his face into his towel.  Erick looked
at them blankly.

	Mike chimed in to defuse the situation.  "Yeah, it's warmer than I thought
it'd be too."  He glanced at Jesse, who was still choking back laughter.
"He's just being a jerk `cuz a wave almost took my suit off."
	Erick grinned.  "In front of the babe, huh?  Excellent!!  Did he bone up,
Kate?  Huh?"  He guffawed at his own risqué questioning.

	Kate rolled onto her back, looking at Erick (and looking, Jesse thought,
really hot).  "I couldn't have seen it if he did, Erick."  She wiggled her
little finger.  Mike yelled in protest, reaching across Jesse to try to grab
at Kate.  Jesse covered his head with his forearms to avoid being hit by
mistake.

	Erick soon was out on the Bing shortie Mike had brought down, cutting hard
on the small swell.  The board's maneuverability in the light waves was
obvious, and Erick repeatedly whooped as he slashed back and forth.  Mike
took a turn on the board after Erick, and even Kate tried it out some,
though her surfing was a lot more basic than the boys'.  Erick propped
himself on his elbows and watched her casually riding.

	"She is so fuckin' hot these days, dudes," he noted.  "Which one of us is
gonna bang her first, huh?"

	Jesse resisted the urge to punch Erick.  "Dude, she's a friend, not a piece
of ass."

	Erick giggled.  "They're all pieces of ass, Jes.  Poontang on parade.  Just
a matter of who gets to it first."

	Mike's face was dark with anger.  "Dude, that's like sick."

	"C'mon Mike, like you haven't boned up thinking about doing it with her.
It's a privilege of being a young stallion," he giggled.  "Always on the
lookout, y'know?"

	"Thinkin' about it is one thing," Jesse interjected.  "I mean, we all think
about lotsa stuff when we -- when, you know . . ."

	"When we spank it?"  Erick giggled.  "Ya I think about a lot of girls --
what I'd like to do and all.  Girls at school --"  he gestured out at Kate "-
girls on web porn, lotsa stuff."  He laid back, smiling.  "Now Mike here, he
probably looks at guy porn sites."  He smirked at what he thought was a
clever barb.

	Mike looked at Erick steadily.  "How'd you know?"  Erick's eyes betrayed
his confusion.  "But what I really want, Erick, is a real nice piece of
surfer boy ass -- like you.  How `bout it, bitch?"  Jesse knew Mike was just
needling Erick, but the calm way he said it was somehow chilling.

	Erick stared at Mike for a long second, then started laughing loudly, his
cheeks flushing.  "Yeah, right!  Like we're gonna be ass buddies or
somethin'!  That'd be hysterical!!"

	Jesse decided to lighten things some.  "Hey get in line, he's mine first."

	Erick, as Jesse had expected, bit.  "Like hell!  He's my boy bitch, not
yours!!  I saw him first!!!"  The three of them dissolved into laughter for
the next several seconds, with only Jesse noticing how Erick had suddenly
rolled onto his stomach.

	Kate arrived at the towels a few seconds later.  "What'd I miss?  You guys
haven't laughed that loud since the Naked Gun movie at Jeff's party."

	"We're deciding who gets to have sex with you first, babe," Erick announced
proudly.  Mike and Jesse fell into an embarrassed silence as Erick laughed
on.

	Kate pursed her lips -- if she was mad, she hid it well.  "Dream on, skinny
boy," she said evenly.  "You're just a legend in your own mind."

	"I'm a legend in my pants!"  Erick shouted, laughing even harder -- until
Kate's foot deftly delivered him a faceful of sand.  He sputtered wildly,
swore, and clambered to his feet, as if unsure whether he wanted to go after
her or wash himself off.

	Kate answered the question for him.  "Go clean up, asshole.  Before I kick
you in the balls."  Coughing, Erick complied.

	Jesse and Mike held their laughter until Erick was down at the water.  Then
they rolled onto their stomachs, his their faces to stifle the noise, and
roared.

	Kate was quiet, but fuming.  "What an asshole."

	"He just talks himself up, Kate," Jesse said soothingly.  "He doesn't know
dick about how to deal with people, you know that.  He's always been a
jerkoff that way."

	Kate picked up her towel, shook it clean of sand downwind of the boys, and
began to dry her hair.  "I know. He just gets under my skin sometimes, he's
like creepy about it."

	"Kate," Mike said, "you gotta understand guys are gonna really start
hitting on you now.  I mean, you do look amazing -- you gotta realize that.
The horndogs are gonna go nuts over you."

	"You guys don't act like that."

	"Well, we're faggots, after all, right?"  Jesse intended the line as a
joke, but Kate was suddenly furious.

	"Don't EVER say that about yourself, Jes!!  That's what Erick'd say, and
it's sick!  Don't you ever, ever diss yourself like that."

	Jesse glanced at Mike to confirm that he was as uncomfortable with the
intensity of her glare as he was.  "I was just kidding, Kate, relax.  I'm
not ashamed of -- of liking Mike."  He left unsaid the things he did feel
ashamed of, though.

	"You better not be," Kate snorted.  She glanced down at the shoreline,
where Erick was spluttering, trying to rinse the sand out of his face.  She
smiled at Mike and Jesse, wiggled her eyebrows, and untied her top.  She
made a show of removing it, giving them both a long look at her, before
lying on her stomach with the top beneath her.

	Mike and Jesse sat speechless for a long minute.  "Damn, Kate," Mike
finally croaked out.  "Y -- you can't do that to us -- it's not, like, fair."

	Kate giggled into her towel.  "It's fun, being open with you guys.  That
you like me."  She pulled her hair onto one shoulder and laid her head
facing Jesse, eyes closed, a faint smile on her face.  Jesse had a desperate
urge to pull her to him, to take her right there, to fuck her brains out.
He looked at Mike, and saw the same look in his eyes.  They stared at each
other for a second before starting to laugh.

	Kate opened her eyes a second, looked at Jesse with a smile, and flashed
him a peek at her breast.  She scrunched her face up.  "Ooooh, I'm such a
stallion," she hissed.

	"Is that really how I look when I get horned up?"  Jesse gasped between
breaths.

	"It is," Mike said.  "Remember how you looked on the -- uh, on the beach the
other day, y'know . . . "  A dangerous subject had almost been broached.

	"Yeah, yeah, I guess so," Jesse jumped in, perhaps a bit too quickly.  Kate
was studying him now.  He shrugged.  "Guess I'm just a slut or something."

	Erick returned, deliberately shaking seawater from his hair onto them.  The
boys recoiled, but Kate remained magnificently unmoved.  "Damn," Erick
muttered, "I thought I could at least get you to sit up."

	Kate's eyes remained demurely closed.  "No way, Erick.  Never happen."

	Erick flopped onto his own towel on Jesse's far side, looking hungrily at
the line of Kate's body, especially where the side met the towel and suit
top.  Jesse was vaguely angry at his open leering, but at the same time his
body was so close, so tan and smooth and perfect, his dark small nipples
erect from the cool water, his flanks moving with the rhythm of his breath .
. .  It was getting very, very confusing for him.  Mike had lain down, an
arm thrown over his eyes.  Jesse dropped onto his back as well, sliding his
sunglasses on, and trying not to move his head noticeably from side to side
as he looked first at one body, then the other.