The next morning, Lois has the guys rolled out of their beds bright and early. She has a nice breakfast ready of pancakes, sausage and eggs with orange juice and coffee. She has packed a lunch for them as well. They take off for Carlsbad Caverns with John driving them in his great grandparents Chevy Cruze. The drive over to the caverns is uneventful. Everyone makes small talk as they drive along. Skylar sits in front with John. Reed can't help noticing John taking quick glances in the rear view mirror from time to time. Once in awhile their eyes cross and John quickly looks forward again. Reed can only smile as he knows the symptoms for Johns embarrassment. Once they get to the Caverns, Reed takes care of purchasing the tickets. Entry into the cavern is by way of two different self-guided routes—the Big Room Route and the Natural Entrance Route. They take the Natural Entrance Route which is a steep, 1.25 mile, 750 foot descent down switchbacks into the cave. They figure they will see the other parts after completing this first tour. Skylar takes the lead with Reed in the middle and John following in the back. As they descend into the cavern, John 'accidently' keeps bumping into Reed's butt. At first, Reed just smiles and lets it slide. But after the third time, he stops and says to John, 'We need to talk!' He tells Skylar with a wink to keep going and that he and John will catch up soon. When Skylar is out of hearing range, Reed asks, 'John, whats up with the grab ass?' Even in the dark, Reed can feel the red faced embarrassment flush over John's expression. He stammers, 'I don't know what you mean...' 'Oh come on John! I've seen how you have been looking at me ever since we arrived! Is there something you'd like to tell me?' 'Oh, shucks, Reed! I never have been attracted to girls much and boys neither till I saw you get out of that Mustang. From that moment, I couldn't hardly take my eyes off you! You are the best looking person I've ever seen in all my life!' 'John! I am really flattered, but you must know that Skylar and I are a couple. We have been ever since our days together in college. We will always be a couple, true to each other!' 'I wasn't thinking, Reed. I was just so danged taken by you, I guess I just lost my head!' 'That's OK, John. We will have to talk this over with Skylar when we catch up with him. Maybe we can help you with figuring out who you are, sexually, I mean. Would you like us to do that?' 'Well...' John stammers. 'Sure, I guess.' 'Don't worry about it, John. You aren't in any trouble with us. We know what you are going through. We've been there ourselves.' As soon as they catch up to Skylar, Reed and Skylar have a little private conversation. Reed explains what he thinks is happening to John. Skylar is very understanding and supportive of his cousin. He lets Reed know he thinks he handled the situation very adroitly. Between the two of them, they should be able to give John some of the support he needs. They find a nice little secluded spot by the side of the trail to talk so they aren't bothered by passers-by. They talk to John to ascertain his feelings about his sexuality. After careful discussions with the guys, John is feeling much more at ease around them. They promise to help him discover what he really wants to go by staying around for another day or so. That makes John happy. He was worried he had offended both his cousin and Reed and he didn't know what he would have done had that happened. They spend the rest of the day having a great time exploring the caverns. They decide to return home by way of El Paso. Once they get there, Reed talks them into seeing the night life, so they get a room. John lets his great grandparents know what is going on. Then they all go out to check out the night life. --------------------------- M4 & M3 characters. Rendered in Poser 9. Post work in Photoshop 7. Thank you for taking a peek! Your support is greatly appreciated!