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CHAPTER 5:

"How the bloody hell did you even get down there?" Steven nearly had to shout over the
sound of wind and occasional traffic as he and Eric stood at the bridge's railing, looking down
into the gorge.

"It's not as hard as it looks," Eric nearly shouted back. "You walk through those trees, over
there to your left. When you get to the rocks, it's easier to climb down than you might
think."

"And you rode an inner tube in and around all those rocks poking up through the ice down
there?"

"Yep. Basically. Minus the ice, of course."

Steven shook his head. "It's a wonder he lived as long as he did." Steven turned around and
took in the scene. "Just pine trees and mountains," he heard Randy's voice in his head. "It's
no wonder he loved this place. It's breathtaking."

"Look down there," Eric pointed, calling Steven's attention back to the gorge. "See where
those cliffs end and the view opens up?"

"Yes."

"The river widens there. And there's a little island in the middle. That's the first place we ever
. . . well, you know . . ."

"Really? Tell me about it," Steven insisted.

"Randy had just gotten his motorcycle license. He bought some rickety old bike for about
two hundred dollars. I didn't trust that thing to get us around the block. But, somehow he
convinced me to ride on it all the way up here. God, he could talk me into anything."

Steven smiled and nodded.

"We spent the afternoon inner tubing in the gorge. When we got tired we hiked down river,
then floated our gear out to that little island. We pitched a tent, built a fire, and there we
were.

"When it got dark Randy produced a bottle of wine. Some Boonesfarm strawberry something
or other. When I told Scott about it he just laughed. He's into nice wines and that sort of
stuff. I guess the wine we drank was for us lower class types with untutored palettes. Anyway,
we drank the wine. I had never had more than a can of beer, so I got pretty drunk.

"Randy wasn't feeling any pain either, and he started singing. You know those songs from the
forties and fifties that he seems to know every one of. When his grandfather died, Randy
somehow ended up with all his old LPs. It was all Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams and that
sort of music."

"And Mama Cass?" Steven asked.

"Yeah," Mark smiled. "Randy listened to it all the time. I mean he listened to stuff like
Madonna and normal music too. But he loved to sing those old songs.

"So, we were sitting on this big old fallen tree trunk next to our fire. Randy started singing that
song, 'I'm in the Mood for Love'. Except he kept singing 'I'm in the nude for love'. It was
stupid. But I was pretty drunk so it cracked me up. Every time he got to the line, 'I'm in the
nude for love', I laughed harder. Finally, I lost my balance and started falling backward off the
tree trunk. I grabbed Randy to stop myself. But I only managed to pull him down with me.
My back hit the ground with a thud. And Randy sprawled, laughing, on top of me. Then he
kissed me. Just a quick kiss on my lips. And I felt like . . . I felt like . . ."

Steven put a hand on Eric's shoulder.

"God, I've never told this to anyone except Randy. I felt like . . . like I had waited my whole
life for that kiss. So I put my arms around him and said, 'I dare you to kiss me again.' And he
did. And he kept kissing me until I stopped him eight months later."

"Do you regret stopping him?" Steven asked.

Eric stared out over the gorge. "You'd think a person would know what he regrets and
doesn't regret. But I don't. After my . . . well . . . what Scott likes to call my 'epiphany,'
which he says rolling his eyes in his head of course . . ."

"Does that bother you?" Steven interrupted.

"What?"

"The way Scott teases you."

Eric shook his head. "It's a game we play. I give it right back to him. We have fun with it. He
knows when I need him to be serious."

"I saw that."

"I know he thinks my beliefs are bunk. But he's never anything but kind. He discusses
questions with me I'm not sure I'm supposed to even ask. And he listens when I say things to
him I can't say to anyone else. Do you think it's bunk, Steven?"

Steven shrugged. "I don't understand religion."

"Join the club." Randy spent a moment looking down into the gorge. His mind swirled with
more memories than he could sort. "Hey, get in the car, there's someplace else I need to show
you nearby."
_________________________________________________


"So, there we were," Eric explained, "dancing naked on the dam. When we got back to my car
I realized I didn't have the keys. The doors were locked, our clothes were inside, and the keys
were sitting on the dashboard by the steering wheel."

Steven laughed. "I don't believe it. What did you do?"

"Unfortunately for the story, there's no dramatic ending. It was hot as hell that day, so I had
left my window open about an inch. Randy found a long stick that had kind of a hook at the
end and he fished the keys out."

Eric pulled the car to a stop and set the parking brake. "There it is."

"The infamous dam of nude dancing. Funny, there's no historical marker," Steven laughed.
He got out of the car and looked around. "This place is perfect," he announced. Then he
shucked his coat and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Eric demanded to know.

"Take your clothes off, hurry," Steven said.

"Steven, it's barely above freezing out there."

"Who cares. It will only take a minute. C'mon, I need you." Steven stepped out of his pants
and threw them onto the passenger seat. He slid off his jockey shorts and tossed them in as
well. Then he reached into the back seat and grabbed a bouquet of flowers he had brought
along.

"And what are those flowers for, anyway?" Eric asked.

"You'll see. Eric, hurry. Don't make me do this alone."

Eric stepped out of the car and slid his coat off as he watched Steven, naked, flowers in hand,
dancing out to the center of the dam. His heart almost stopped when he noticed Steven
slipping and losing his balance.

Steven landed bare ass on the snow padded concrete. He sucked in his breath when he
looked over the edge and realized how high he was above the floor of the gorge. Standing
carefully he turned and faced up river. He looked to the sky and shouted, "Randy, I love you
forever." Then he closed his eyes and whispered, "I do." He tossed the bouquet over his
shoulder, turned, and watched the flowers ride the wind's currents into the churning, frigid
water.

Eric stood next to Steven, his arms wrapped around his own chest, his teeth chattering. Tears
filled his eyes.

Steven was amazed at the sight of Eric's penis. He looked at his own penis which had
shriveled nearly to the size of a button in the cold. "How did you manage to do that in this
cold?" Steven laughed.

Eric blushed and slid his hands down to cover his crotch. "I'm multi-talented."

Steven laughed harder. Then he stopped and pointed at Eric's chest. "Hey, Randy had pink
triangle pendant just like that one."

Eric fingered the pendant, looked down at it, then looked at Steven. "This is Randy's."

"Huh," Steven said blankly.

"Steven," Eric said, "I understand completely why Randy fell in love you."

Steven stepped toward Eric. He wrapped his freezing hand around Eric's hot stiff penis,
causing him to wince. Steven kissed Eric gently on the cheek. "You're lovely." Then Steven
broke into a run toward the car. "C'mon. Let's get in the car before we die of exposure," he
shouted back to Eric.