After a long absence I leave you this story. Thank you for all the encouraging words, especially from Peter and Rick. In this installment, we move ahead about eighteen months from the last story. It was a collaborative effort between the real Tyler and myself.
Daniel and JD part 10: Maybe I will, maybe I...
Tyler Gray wiped the sweat from his forehead and flopped the towel over the rail at his side, never losing the pace of the stair machine he was on. The gym was quiet at this hour of the morning, giving him some unexpected and welcome privacy. In two hours he was scheduled to shoot a new line for Ages body products, an event that always produced stress.
Since the opening of Broaderick Camas Productions, Tyler had been swept up in a hurricane of publicity and photo sessions, finding himself propelled to stardom nearly over night by the well meaning Daniel and JD.
Not that it sucked, mind you, but it would have been nice to finish growing up first. It frustrated Tyler to want to do everything, have the money to do anything, and not have the time to do it. This in mind, he upped the tempo on the stair machine, causing the sweat to run little rivers over his skin.
He often thought of himself as the poor little rich kid, everything handed to him and no one to share it with. This immediately brought a feeling of guilt, because Daniel and JD truly had given him everything on a platter, not to mention rescuing him from the depths of New Mexico.
It was just a bitch to be alone. He thought he was in love once, only to have Eddie die on him. That event still burned tracks through his heart. Then there came a series of one-night stands, each worse than the prior one. Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-one, Tyler was jaded towards relationships, preferring but not liking his self imposed exile.
He stumbled, nearly falling of the machine and jumped back, feeling his legs wobble under him. Feeling foolish, he turned off the machine and grabbed his towel, grateful he wasn't seen nearly being thrown off the balcony over looking the weight room by an inanimate object. Enough was enough. He gathered his bag and went down to the front hall, heading home to take a shower before work.
"Did you over do just a tad, killer?" Brenda asked, manning her usual post at the counter. Brenda Jenklo ran the desk at the gym for her brother Mitch, the owner. Both were good friends. She came around the counter and leaned on it, her finger playfully twirling her long brown hair by her ear. "You look like shit, mister calendar boy."
Tyler's right leg was beginning to cramp, and he smiled at her sheepishly. "I had a lot on my mind." The cramp took hold and he groaned, leaning against the counter. "Shit!"
Brenda took his bag and stuck her head in the office door behind the counter. "Pail, I'm gonna help boy wonder across the street. I'll be right back." She positioned herself at Tyler's side and took his arm over her shoulder. "I warned you. You can't kill yourself with those workouts, Ty."
Straight across the street and two flights of stairs later, the leg was worse. Tyler opened the door and flopped onto the couch, cursing himself as an idiot. "This is not a good day for this." he spat out, pulling off his tank top. "I don't have time for this."
"Lay on your stomach. I'll see if I can work it out." Brenda closed the door and sat on the coffee table, taking a second to look around the apartment. It was sparsely furnished, mostly in sort of modern looking furniture. The floors were bare wood, highly polished, and the walls were stark white with very few pictures, mostly of mountain scenes. She liked it.
"This is gonna hurt, so just be tough for a minute, okay?" She took a hold of his muscled leg and began to knead. Tyler bit off a yelp and grunted, letting the air out of his lungs in a long drawn out sigh. Brenda dug her fingers in hard, finding the tightened muscle and used her knuckles, forcing it to relax.
Tyler sighed again, sounding more relaxed. She tried to push the spandex of his workout shorts up out of the way, but the fabric didn't cooperate. "This would be a lot easier if you took these shorts off, Ty." He glanced at her, looking embarrassed and mischievous at the same time, then lifted his mid section up off the couch.
Brenda shook her head and grabbed the waistband, pulling the shorts down. She blinked in shock for a second, expecting to see a jock strap or something underneath and finding him naked. Slightly embarrassed but not wanting to appear so, she tossed the shorts over her shoulder and went back to work.
Tyler was almost in heaven. After the pain of the cramp was gone, it felt fantastic to have Brenda work him over. He drifted, every once in a while getting a jolt from a sore spot, thoroughly enjoying the massage. It amused him when she took his shorts off. He spent so much time naked in front of complete strangers that it didn't even phase him. Hell, just the costumes and make up people numbered in the dozens.
He startled out of his reverie, feeling her hands on his butt. As if on que, her cologne drifted through his nose, and totally shocked, it aroused him. His heart beat increased, and he could feel a cold sweat coming on really fast. Her hands moved up to his back, and he groaned in pleasure at the feel of her fingers.
"Turn over, killer, and I'll get your thighs." Brenda said quietly, trailing her finger down his back.
"I can't."
Brenda put her hands on her hips. "You don't have anything I haven't scene, Tyler. I have your calendar, remember?"
"That's not the problem." He said, feeling his face turn red and his favorite appendage dig into the couch.
"I...oh." Brenda turned red, catching what he meant at last. "Well I didn't mean.. I.."
Totally out of character and not caring, Tyler turned over, leaned up, and kissed her gently on the lips. They parted, and he looked into her fierce green eyes, and was rewarded with another kiss. He pulled her down on top of him, feeling a wonderful sense of peace fall over him as well.
JD watched Daniel get dressed, concerned at the silence that still floated through the house. It was unusual for them not to plan their day, recap events, or just bullshit. Daniel knotted his tie and pulled on his suit coat, adding ten years to his age. JD knew he wasn't quite thirty yet, but the suit made him look almost forty some days.
"Are you coming in for Tyler's shoot?" Daniel asked, almost startling JD.
"Yeah, it's over at one, and we promised Tyler lunch, remember?" JD pulled on a polo shirt and stopped, noticing a short lived pained expression on the other's face. "You did remember our lunch date, right?"
"Shit! I have to see Rick Kirkland at one for the new layouts." Daniel ran his hand through his short blond hair, his face turning red with embarrassment and shame. Since Tyler had moved to the apartment, they didn't see him except at the studio. JD had suggested lunch, and they had all eagerly agreed. Now he felt like an ass, having totally blown off the date.
"Maybe another day." JD said quietly as he left the room. Daniel watched him go, sitting down on the bed. His stomach knotted as he remembered the times when he and JD didn't have a care, and spent most of the day doing what ever they wanted, stopping only long enough to finish some shoot, then packing everything in a hurry and tearing off across the country.
Tyler had fit in perfectly, becoming a little brother for them. He learned to be a secretary, driver, travel agent, and errand boy in record time, following Daniel and JD into hell if they'd asked. Now they never saw each other.
Neither of them could turn Tyler down when he wanted a place of his own. It was logical and natural that he needed his space, but none of them realized what they were giving up. Unaware that he had moved from the bed, Daniel looked into Tyler's bedroom, leaning on the door jam. Most of Tyler's things were in town now, but there were still tell tale signs that he'd been there.
Above the bed was a poster of something from Star Trek, and endless source of debates for Tyler and JD, and laughs for Daniel. On the shelves were Tyler's computer books, bought sometimes ten at a time so that he could learn to use Daniel's laptop. He picked up a picture of the three of them taken by Stacie in the backyard when they had first moved in to this house.
The yard hadn't been finished in back, and they had spent two months landscaping, laying sod, building a deck, and putting in ground lights. In the picture, they all wore shorts and sandals, and were covered in dirt and grass. They leaned on their shovels, unaware that Daniel's father was right behind them with the hose. The huge grins on their faces showed pride and exhaustion. The picture snapped a second after this one was on Daniel's desk. It showed them scrambling to get out of the way of the force nozzle and Grandpa, as Tyler now called the elder Broaderick.
Daniel set the picture where he'd found it and closed the door, feeling deeply troubled as he descended the stairs and went into the garage. What was missing was the family feeling they had, when everyone was together. It didn't happen anymore because they had all put everything they had into Broedrick Camas.
Tyler himself had endured record long sessions under the lights to get client lists built up. JD had recruited twenty-five new models and four award winning photographers. Daniel had nearly lived with Rick, pissing on fires and lining up contracts. Almost over night they had more business than they could handle. The Studio took off like a rocket. Demands still came in for Daniel and JD to model, even though they hadn't for some time. JD made the effort to fill requests for clients, but Daniel only tried once, finding that you can't lead the choir and sing at the same time.
He wallowed in these thoughts for the entire short drive into Forrest Falls, eventually pulling into his space at the studio. The cool December wind chilled him as he stepped out of his Expedition, absent- mindedly setting the locks.
The studio was a large red brick warehouse that they had converted. The lobby offered a sweeping staircase to the offices and meeting rooms, and a short hallway lead towards the make up, wardrobe, design, and sewing rooms. At the rear of the building were six separate studios, a dark room, and workshop.
Daniel smiled and nodded at the receptionist, a short pleasant woman that could be a real bear if someone wasn't behaved well while visiting the studio. Her name was Karen. He took his messages from her as he passed the desk, idly dumping his briefcase near a potted plant, then making his way towards Studio twenty five, so called because of it's high ceiling.
Karen pursed her lips in annoyance and retrieved the case, taking it up the stairs to Daniel's office. On only one occasion in the year she had worked for him had Daniel taken it up himself. She laid it on the desk and turned to go, stopping to turn a plant in his window.
Daniel wadded up his messages and tossed them in a wastebasket as he opened the side door to Studio 25. Inside, a massive set had been completed resembling a roman throne room, the wood painted to resemble marble. Techs worked on setting the lights, and the photographer adjusted one of three cameras, shouting orders to reset lighting intensity and direction.
Daniel stopped at the back table and poured a cup of coffee, failing to appreciate that his mug had moved down from his office and had cleaned itself during the night. He watched as the base of Tyler's costume was moved in and anchored for safety. The idea was to make him appear to have been carved out of marble, and the pillar had been custom built to hide parts of Tyler's legs, lending to the idea of a statue.
He glanced at his watch and headed through a different door, towards make up. JD was likely to be found with Tyler, reading him a book or just talking while the kid endured the long make up process. He smiled at several people as he passed them, as always enjoying the hustle of his crew. They were a good team.
Oddly, JD stood outside Tyler's dressing room, looking at his watch then down the hall. He nearly started when Daniel walked up, then tried to hide his world famous `cat ate the canary' look. "What's the matter with you?" Daniel asked in a bantering tone. "You look like someone just caught you doing something naughty."
"Tyler's not in yet." JD said quietly, glancing at the doors. "In the three years we've known him, when was the last time he was late?"
"Maybe that piece of shit car you gave him died or something." Daniel leaned against the opposite wall.
"I didn't give him the BMW, I just let him drive it a lot." JD sounded almost cross, then realized he was being baited. "Besides, I seem to remember you giving him a Mustang once, not to long ago."
"Yeah, but that wasn't a piece of shit. It was a Mustang." Daniel bared his teeth in his best shit- eating grin, then ducked down to miss a fainted punch. "Sorry, I forget your dad never taught you any better! I surrender on the grounds that I have to live with you."
JD went to grab Daniel's arm but jumped instead, startled by the door to the parking lot slamming open. He and Daniel straightened and watched Tyler loping down the hall towards them. He positively glowed, looking both embarrassed and excited at the same time. "Hey, guys!" He said, wrapping his arms around JD, then kissing Daniel on the cheek. "I'm really sorry I'm late."
"Jesus, Tyler, you look like you're going to explode." Daniel said, touching his fingers to his face. "What gives?"
"Ask me at lunch." With that, he disappeared into the make up room and closed the door. JD looked at Daniel and blink a few times. "What the hell was that all about?"
Daniel sighed and shook his head. "I guess I better call Rick and tell him I'll be late this afternoon. I gotta hear this one."
After nearly an hour in make up, Tyler was fitted into the pillar on the set, his upper body painted to look like marble. Special contact lenses made his eyes gray, so that no part of him looked like flesh and blood. Several set up shots were taken, and the lights adjusted, and Tyler was turned to the left so that he had to twist toward the camera.
A faint smile touched his lips, giving him a look of utter serenity, and the photographer nearly laughed out loud. The pose was perfect, the mood was perfect, the lights were perfect, and Tyler became a living god on film. All during the shoot, on lookers quietly remarked at the look of peace on the kid's face, and at the total concentration he was putting into the scene.
Daniel and JD watched, totally blown away by Tyler's performance. For two grueling hours, Tyler sat under those lights, never complaining, never budging. When it was over, they waited outside for him to come out. They didn't speak much, each awed by what they perceived to be a show of greatness.
The glass doors opened, and Tyler stretched, glad to be rid of the itchy marble colored shit. He hopped in Dan's truck, scrubbing his fingers through his still damp hair. "Can we go for pizza today? I'm really not in the mood for that high end stuff right now."
Daniel laughed and started the truck. "Most people don't consider Sizzler to be `that high end shit.'" He pulled out of the parking lot and headed them into to town. "You were way over your best, Tyler. I can't believe how incredible that shoot was."
JD looked over his shoulder. "Really. Frank hates everybody he shoots, and he thought you were the bomb."
Tyler blushed slightly at the praise. "Yeah, it was pretty cool."
"So tell me, how is your being late and your performance of a life time related." Daniel glanced in the rear view mirror and locked eyes for a moment. "Or am I just picking up random signals here?"
"I met someone." Tyler said quietly, a broad smile coming over his face. "She's unbelievable."
"She?" JD looked up at Daniel, then back at Tyler, feeling his jaw drop. "You met a girl?"
"Her name is Brenda." Tyler chuckled. The other two looked completely astonished. Considering that twelve hours ago he would have been shocked himself, he understood, but it was still entertaining.
JD's jaw worked a couple of times without sound, and he glanced back at Daniel. "That's great, Ty. When did this happen?"
"Today at the gym. I hurt my leg and she helped me get home, then rubbed out the kink for me. Mystery loves her." Mystery was Tyler's longhaired Siamese cat, purchased for him by JD in Denver. So far, the cat hated everyone on earth but Tyler.
"Are you going to date this Brenda?" Daniel asked, hoping he didn't sound like an idiot, or worse like his dad.
"I uh, yeah. At least I hope so." Tyler un-buckled his seat belt and leaned up between the seats. "This is going to sound stupid, but does loving a guy, or liking guys mean that you can't. you know,.be attracted to girls, or women?"
"I have no idea." JD mumbled, his voice monotone and his face dazed. "The question never came up before."
"I think that how you are attracted to another person is probably different for every time and every person, know what I mean?" Daniel sighed, looking over at Tyler. "Has it ever occurred to you just exactly what a pain in the ass you are?"
"Actually, it has. And I'm gonna make it worse." Tyler licked his lips and smiled like the Cheshire cat. "We had sex."
JD was thrown in to his door as Daniel swerved back onto the road, his attention having lapsed for a few seconds. Tyler pulled himself up off the floor and started giggling, followed shortly by JD, then joined by Daniel.
"Well, I'm.yeah." JD said, causing Daniel to laugh out loud. Tyler rolled back onto the seat and held his sides, laughing until his eyes teared up. Daniel swiped at his eyes with his thumb, trying to keep the truck on the road.
"Uh, how'd this happen? Wait! Never mind. I don't want to know." Daniel pulled into the parking lot and parked the truck. In between their laughs he had felt JD's hand on his. They looked at each other and kissed. Both realized that they were parked over the very spot where several years earlier JD had been stabbed.
"You know what Tyler?" Daniel said, getting out, "Go get love where ever you can. Male, female, it's all bullshit." He put his arm around the kid as they walked towards the restaurant. "You do what's right for you. You know we love you."
Tyler put his other arm around JD, linking them up. He had his doubts about the future, and the past. But he had JD and Daniel, so he wasn't afraid. Actually he was terrified, especially of Brenda, but that was okay, too.
Hope this installment was interesting. The story line I'm developing was suggested by a Nifty reader and frequent pen pal, Gary. Be patient, more to come. As always, comments are welcome both good and bad
Thanks, Dan
Rimshot@planetaccess.com