Horseplay
Chapter 9 : Storm Clouds

  When Neil swung out of bed Mae moved quietly from a curled position
at his waist to a seated position at the end of the bed. She was a
little shy around him, he suspected she wasn't happy about yesterday.
He didn't know if she'd taken care of her own needs or not, but he had
a good idea that she hadn't.
	When Mae sensed he wasn't moving to fuck her mouth, she relaxed
slightly. She acted like she wanted to talk, but wasn't unable to
bring herself to do so. Neil waited, to see if she'd break, then
decided to get started on the day.
	"Into your position, Mae" he said sharply.
	Mae didn't move. She had a shocked look for a moment, then
deliberated for a few seconds. Just as Neil thought he'd have to
repeat himself, she started to undress and get onto the floor. Neil
watched with a steadily filling cock as she removed the last article
of clothing and dropped hesitantly to her knees. She lay forward,
forcing her ass and pussy to open to him. Neil sat and simply enjoyed
the view, knowing she'd be well aware of his attention. As he watched,
her pussy slowly opened, growing damp. He also could sense her
turmoil. Her body was reacting very predictably, but she was
agonizing over his attitude toward her. He could feel the sexual heat
coming from her body, he could almost taste the lubrication in her
pussy, the tense engorgement of her nipples. It was all perfectly
clear to him... if only he could work out her mind.
	Without a word Neil stripped his pants, moved in behind her and
slid in carefully. She opened easily, but remained taut at her maximum
give. She was wet, tight and hot and Neil felt her continuing reaction
as if it were clockwork. He stroked slowly, building his own
excitement steadily. The monster in his mind arrived on cue. But
instead of fighting it, Neil once again welcomed it. The monster
rushed in and found his mind open and waiting, no defense, no
resistance. In a dozen long, slow strokes Neil felt the switch in the
circuit between his brain and cock that normally told him to slow down
and take it easy. Instead he stepped up, slamming into Mae and riding
the first wave in to orgasm. It was quick and not particularly long,
a sudden burst of pleasure followed by an even faster return. The
entire act was lackluster and generally unfulfilling.
	Regardless he stood and stretched. "That was good. I may see
you tonight Mae, I have to work breakfast on the quad."
	He got dressed and headed to the shower without looking back to
see what must have been a very agitated and disappointed girl.
=======================
	After babysitting the breakfast crowd, Neil met with his class,
who joined another group for their safety quiz. He considered sending
the six who had already taken it down to saddle up, but Derrick ended
that idea. Neil was still furious with him, but dared not make a move
until he had some traction.
	Instead he released them to freetime, meaning they could hit
the beach or hang out, which was received with general excitement.
Even Derrick was happy to head off somewhere. Interestingly, Leah
stayed behind and sat with him outide the mess. She seemed perfectly
happy to just sit, not asking him any questions or demanding
attention.
	Neil was bothered by his reaction to her. Between Mae, Harriet
and Ruth, the last thing he needed was more women in his life, least
of all a camper that he wasn't allowed near anyway. Neil convinced
himself he wouldn't look at her, but his mind betrayed him and
despite his efforts he stole repeated glances at Leah. She appeared
to be people watching, just looking around the mostly empty quad at
campers walking past, a few counselors off duty or on their way to
something, or the kitchen staff coming around from the back. Neil
thought she might be playing with him, pretending to ignore him
sitting next to her, but that wasn't the case. Leah was genuinely
absorbed in their progress, idly playing with her blond hair or
fidgeting with some bit of her shirt while staring at each person in
turn. She was sitting with her knees up, revealing her legs up to the
bottoms of her buttocks, often exposing a tiny line of white panties
that Neil simply could not keep from invading his thoughts. She was
so small, he noticed, that he could pick her up. Of course, that
would lead to other things and other things would lead to him
fighting his mind to stop from thinking about those other things
which were again in his thoughts, mostly involving her heaving
breasts shaking while he fucked her senseless. Several scenarios
played out in his head. First he was with her in his bed, only Mom
was banging on the door with his dismissal papers. Then he was with
her on the lake in a boat, trying to row to the far side of the lake
without anyone noticing. Finally he had her back on the playground,
sneaking into the trees toward the western trails while they threw
bits of clothing behind them like breadcrumbs.
	Neil snapped out of his fantasy and tried to focus on the sky,
which was bright and cheerful and did not contain anything like a
naked Leah. Leah simply sat there for the most part. She started
glancing at him innocently from time to time, only speaking to say
hello to a few other campers walking out of the mess after finishing
their tests.
	"Leah..."
	"I thought you were going to call me Annie..." she said with a
giggle.
	Neil smiled, fighting a losing battle with his fantasies. They
seemed to have joined forces and other fantasies were showing up as
reinforcements. Harriet and Ruth floated in and out, rarely wearing
much clothing. Leah now tied to his bed, Mae tied to his bed with
Leah beside her. It was a conspiracy by the monster to get his dick
wet and his ass fired. "I guess I did"
	"Do you want me here, Neil?"
	"What?" Neil asked. His mind was playing tricks. Did he WANT
her? Did he want to take her RIGHT HERE. Jesus, what the hell was she
saying? Was that even what she said?
	"You seem so... distracted. Like you don't want me sitting
here"
	Neil shook his head. "No.. I've got... things on my mind"
	"Like me?" she asked brightly. Neil stammered and she laughed.
	Neil couldn't figure out if she was teasing him intentionally
or if she knew her power over him. It was unbelievable. Maybe he
could persuade Ruth to help him during lunch. Help him by laying
still for about fifteen seconds so he could release the beast. This
afternoon would be a nightmare if he didn't concentrate. Why couldn't
he concentrate when she was around? When Neil stopped and realized she
was looking at him sideways he tried to recover the conversation.
"I've just got some... trouble.... troublemakers in the class".
	Leah nodded. "Like Derrick"
	"I'm not naming names, I just have to..."
	"Meh, its him. He's a real jerk, plus all those girls hover
around him"
	Neil shrugged. "Money, power, maybe they think he's good
looking"
	Leah frowned and thought about it for a few seconds. Neil had
to look away. It figured that her pensive face looked an awful lot
like a sexually absorbed face. "No, well... not really. He's
confident and has money. I guess that's attractive to some people"
	Neil seized the opportunity "What do you find attractive"
	Leah looked surprised, then thought to herself. Neil felt a
flush of victory. If she was talking about herself, maybe she
wouldn't do... whatever it was she was doing to him. She glanced up
and grinned "I like guys who are smart" she said.
	"That's very diplomatic. And a lie."
	Leah laughed. "I guess. It's like asking a guy. He says 'eyes'
but he's thinking TITS!"
	Neil cursed the day he was born. Leah bounced when she said
'tits', which drew his attention to certain areas so named, and their
very jiggling parts. Parts that jiggled very nicely and drew the eyes
without remorse. Leah was small and small chested, but not quite
flat. Her breasts were perky, a word Neil regretted applying
instantly because it fit and didn't help his problem. He started to
measure her chest mentally, drawing a line with his mind, then he
imagined drawing that line with his tongue and he forced his mind
blank. Somehow he managed to turn his leer into a nod and closed his
eyes.
	Leah laughed like tinkling bells, high and clipped. "You! I saw
that"
	Neil felt the blush rising. All the blood in his cheeks
combined with the blood in his penis had him worrying that he'd pass
out. "What?" he said with as much innocence as he could muster.
	She continued to laugh, then turned away and looked thoughtful.
"I like a guy who's considerate and all that, but I guess that's not
'attractive'." She mused for a few seconds. "I look at guys' butts.
Isn't that funny?"
	Neil grinned and shook his head. "Guys do it"
	"Oh yeah, so do we. All girls, I guess. Plus the eyes."
	Neil cracked up, "You mean..."
	"Noo! I really mean eyes" Leah said, falling back laughing. "I
don't look at a guy's tits! Well... maybe their chest, but its not
really interesting. Not like you guys and your inability to keep your
vision horizontal."
	Neil fought his lust with every nerve, finally reigning in his
rampant erection. "I guess guys are a lot more visual"
	Leah nodded. "Guys are a hundred times as good looking if you
know them. If they're smart and nice and caring and all that." she
said, then chewed on her fingernail.
	Neil stood "Well, this has been enlightening, but I have to
herd my students up"
	Leah waved and winked at him. "OK, just turn that way and walk
off then."
	Neil turned and took two steps before realizing she had sent
him off so she could watch his butt. When he managed to get inside he
shivered. She was going to get him fired. So very, very fired. His
brain argued that it would be so very, very worth it, but he smashed
it back into its cage.
=======================
	Neil ignored Mae for most of lunch. He could sense her
agitation and got several glances from Harriet. On the other hand, he
got a LOT of glances from Ruth. When he went up for a few more slices
of pineapple, she met him at the buffet.
	"Dave wants another go"
	"Tell Dave it was a one time thing in college. My ass is exit
only"
	Ruth smacked his shoulder. "He feels... like he didn't do very
well"
	"WHAT?"
	"Look, its this guy crap. I don't understand it.. I think"
	"OK... OK" Neil said, putting the pieces together. "I think I
MIGHT be talked into fucking you again."
	Ruth actually blushed. "Stop... I'm serious"
	"So am I. Shit, I'd love another go at that." Neil leaned back,
exaggerating his glance down at her backside. "Oh yeah."
	Ruth rubbed her face and tried not to blush or giggle. "Fine.
I'll tell him you're interested."
	"Interested? Fuck that, I'm all for it. Lets go right now. In
fact, lets move this fruit out of the way." Neil started to push the
plates on the buffet and Ruth abandoned the discussion, blushing all
the way back to the table.
	When he returned, he could tell Mae was trying to get his
attention. "Tonight. In your cabin after dinner" he said firmly.
	On the way down to the commons, Dave caught up with him. "AY,
Ruth says you're good for another... you know.."
	"Fuck party?"
	Dave laughed "Yeah. Harriet seemed willing, so maybe tonight?"
	"Uh, can't. Something's up tonight."
	"This whole Mae thing?"
	"Yeah. Look, invite Harriet over. Make a threesome out of it."
	Dave brightened, "Really?"
	"Yeah... Well...." Dave slowed and tried to organize his
thoughts. "Look... I guess we need to kinda set out rules or
something, so nobody... gets pissed."
	"What do you... you mean like me and Harriet, but no Ruth.."
	"Or me and Ruth with no YOU"
	Dave considered this, then nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't be
jealous, but I don't want to speak for Ruth."
	"So ask her. Look, Harriet is great, but she's ... a fuck
buddy, you know?"
	Dave nodded. "Yeah, look... You and Ruth... y'know... want time
alone... and all, I'm fine."
	"Good. Talk to the girls and we're straight"
	"What about Mae?" Dave asked. Neil felt a sudden surge of
jealousy and bristled, but Dave continued down a different path. "You
going to work things out?"
	"I... really don't know"
=======================
	Since none of Neil's students had problems passing their safety
test, after lunch he took them on a long trail ride. When they reached
a high clearing in the woods, he had them rest the horses and
dismount. He rode down the line, checking the riders along the way,
paying special attention to several of the weaker riders and, of
course Derrick. When he reached the rear, he saw Gwen and Derrick in
some sort of conversation. Neil was about to ignore it when he
noticed the white markings on Derrick's horse. It wasn't the one he'd
assigned.
	"Derrick! What horse is that?"
	"I don't know." Derrick said with a bit of a sneer. "You gave
it to.."
	"I gave you a black mare with no stockings." Neil said, riding
up slowly and looking the horse over. "THAT is a black geld with
white stockings. Unless your horse changed markings and had a sex
change...."
	Derrick interrupted and shrugged. "I didn't notice"
	Neil glowered. "What is the riding level required for that
horse?"
	Derrick sneered "Three."
	Neil frowned, but there was nothing he could really do out
here. He considered ordering Derrick and another rider to switch, but
a quick check revealed there weren't any pairings he could use that
would give Derrick a level 2 trail horse. Further, Derrick might have
switched horses, but he was technically qualified to ride the one he
was on, at least that's what his paperwork said. Neil made a sudden
decision to check that paperwork. Without a word Neil turned forward
and rode up to the clearing. He was hot, but he didn't have any real
options that wouldn't appear petty or trivial. He finally made a note
of the issue on Derrick's card. Neil reread it and tried to get his
anger into an objective string of words, but it ended up a pretty
lame rant. Finally he simply made a direct note with no embellishment
and moved on.
	Neil rode at the back with Gwen on the last part of the ride.
On the one hand it gave him a good view of Derrick, on the other it
got him away from Leah. She had ridden beside him for part of the
trail, and he found her unbelievably distracting. When he told her he
was falling back to check the other riders, she gave him a lecherous
look.
	"I know what you're 'checking out'" she giggled, wiggling in
her saddle. Neil kept his eyes off, but it never looked like she
bothered to check.
	The rear position was also near enough to Derrick to get a good
skill assessment of his trail riding. He wasn't impressed. While
Derrick clearly knew how to ride a horse and deserved his grade in
general horsemanship, he was miserable on trails. He was all over the
place in his leads, he tried to push the horse to go certain
directions, even if the horse was trying to avoid a bush or branch,
and he was impatient with horses in front of him, twice trying to
pass or urging another rider on. Neil made notes on his card, but
knew there wasn't likely to be a point, the notes would only be used
in a skill assessments to be sent to next year's camp, and Derrick
had already proven he could somehow forge that.
	Neil found a bright moment with Derrick was back at the stable.
Neil made sure to stand very close as Derrick dismounted, forcing him
to do his own walk down and brushing. He never looked directly at
Derrick, just made sure that he was never far enough away for him to
pass off the duty. As he was putting his own horse into its stall,
Leah cornered him.
	"Hello" she said, innocently blocking the stall door.
	Neil felt trapped, despite her tiny size and innocent tone. She
was sexually stunning in her riding gear and he simply could not
resist reacting.
	"Hello.. Annie" he said.
	She giggled and bounced, which sent another crack climbing the
wall of resolve Neil had built. "I have a present for yoooou" she
lilted.
	Neil stopped cold.
	"Come on!" she said, turning and walking out with a wiggle.
	Neil followed like a terrier puppy. When they reached the edge
of the barn, though, he was confused. He followed her pointing finger
and laughed softly. Derrick was walking across the yard past the
paddock. He had stopped at the paddock gate, then started walking
slowly toward the camp. Every step was tortured, and Neil understood
immediately. Derrick's clothes were simply not trail-worthy, which,
combined with his stiff dressage riding stance had rubbed his inner
thighs raw. The chafing was not something Neil would wish on anyone,
but he felt no pity for Derrick.
	Leah came up beside him and grinned. "I thought you might enjoy
that. Poor Derrick"
	Neil nodded, then started forward. Leah watched him go with a
surprised look. When he reached Derrick, Neil slowed to a walk. He
didn't look at the boy, he just slowed down. "Wear tighter clothes on
the next ride Derrick".
	Derrick slowed and frowned. "What? What are you talking about?"

	"You. If you keep riding in loose clothing, you'll get chaffed.
Its not pleasant". Neil kept his tone level and didn't look over. He
had no real love for Derrick, but he knew the pain he was going
through, pain that would get worse.
	"I... mind you own damn business" Derrick snapped.
	Neil stopped and let Derrick leave. He shrugged and turned,
right into Leah's path.
	She had a look on her face that Neil couldn't place. "That
was... stupid." she said finally.
	Neil shrugged. "Whatever. Chafing on the inner thighs sucks."
	Leah nodded. "I'm sorry. That was decent of you and I'm just
sitting and enjoying his pain."
	"Well... I enjoyed it too. I also didn't think he'd take my
advice very well."
	She giggled in the same high tone that drove his lusty, horny
brain into spasms. "OK, well teacher, I'm off to dinner."
	Neil nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."
	"You mean you're not joining me for dinner? But I was going to
feed you grapes. By hand!"
	Neil stopped dead and turned back, only to see her jogging off
and laughing. He watched her butt until she reached the tree line,
then turned and headed up the hill. Slowly. Cursing to himself.
=======================
	He ran into Harriet, who's sour look stopped him from
commenting on their prior night's activities.
	"Mae is in my cabin, pissed."
	"MMm."
	"MMM? That's it? What are you doing? She's angry and confused
and frustrated. You've got her on the verge of dumping you!"
	"Not.Her.Boyfriend. She can't dump me"
	"She can leave you! She says you've been 'using her' like some
whore! She says you've left her after ten minute jerk-offs and then
walked out! If you don't pay some attention to her, she's going to
walk out on..." Harriet stopped talking and walking at the same time.

	Neil would have stopped too, but he needed to reach the admin
building and then get some dinner.
	"Fuck. You're... you're doing it on purpose!"
	"Yep."
	"You're pushing her... pushing her away!!?"
	"I'm doing to her what she did to me. She wanted the sex
without the love. That's what she's getting."
	"She's getting frustrated and confused! That isn't fair!"
	"No. No it isn't. When I said 'doing to me' that's what I
meant. That's exACTLY what I meant"
	Harriet was quiet for a long while, even detouring with him
toward the admin building. "But... she's going to break, Neil. You're
pushing her into a corner."
	"Yes."
	"Intentionally?"
	"Yes."
	"Do you think she'll see... why?"
	Neil finally stopped. He turned to Harriet with tears in his
eyes. "I don't know, Harriet. I don't."
	Harriet chewed on her lip, then acted like she wanted to punch
him. "Its too much for her. Its all too much."
	"Don't tell her." Neil said simply. "She has to realize what
she wants, EVERYTHING she wants, or she'll just take the sex, nothing
else."
	"Isn't that what WE do?"
	"But we both know. You don't love me, we're just ... "
	"Fuck buddies?" Harriet joked.
	Neil nodded. "I care about you and I love the sex, but I don't
love you. If Mae admitted she loved me and said 'no more Harriet',
then you're out. I'm sorry, but that's how it is."
	Harriet's eyes widened. "Shit. I hope you.... I hope you're
willing to accept what you turn her in to.. because I have no clue
what that's going to be."
	Neil turned and started walking. "I'll do what I have to do"
	In the admin office, Neil pulled Derrick's skill folder and
flipped through the contents in surprise. There were only 2 sheets,
the original version of the card on his clipboard and the sheet with
his safety test on it. There should have been dozens of cards,
writeups and notes from other counselors, but there weren't. In
frustration, Neil walked over to the admin cabinet and pulled his
personal file.
	There he hit paydirt. Derrick's personal files weren't all that
interesting, but he did find a skill sheet, but it wasn't from
Silverspire. The card was from some external instructor and revealed
the source of the endless three's on Derrick's skill tests. He had a
3 in every category, without exception.
	Neil flipped the sheet and read the name of the instructor. It
wasn't one of the hundreds of schools Neil was aware of, nor was it
some business. It was a personal instructor, and only listed her name
and phone number. Neil read it, 'Victoria Yates-Smith' and wondered.
Setting the folder down on a table, Neil grabbed the phone and sat.
Instead of calling, he walked over to the skill cabinet and pulled
Gwen's file. The familiar heft of papers and writeups were inside, so
he replaced it. Then he pulled her personal file, setting it down next
to Derrick's.
	There were similarities. Gwen had a skill writeup transfer on a
fairly stock looking form, plus transfer sheets and prior year sheets
from Silverspire. The transfers were familiar, white fax paper with a
nice crest at the top. There was a standard business name, three phone
numbers and a set of addresses, suggesting a good sized, but otherwise
fairly standard horse farm. Neil had seen a hundred sheets just like
it. Gwen had eight instructors where Derrick had only one. Neil was
about to put the papers back when he saw one, last key to this
puzzle. In the personal identification block at the top of Gwen's
personal form. It read: Mother's Name "Victoria Simmons".
	Neil compared phone numbers and made a sudden, if somewhat
risky decision. The admin phone was locked to caller-ID phones. It
limited who they could call from in here without using the business
phone, but it meant the wouldn't get people calling the records room
or back office when no one was there. He searched around for a reason
for a company to cold-call someone's phone number, then struck on an
idea. He picked up the phone and dialed. A woman answered on the
second ring.
	"Simmons house."
	"Hello, is, Victoria Yates-Simmons there, please?"
	"Speaking. But there's no 'Yates'" The woman sounded friendly,
if a little wary of a call with no ID.
	"Oh, Hello Ms Simmons, uh, this isn't a sales call or anything.
I'm trying to clear up a number problem in our system" he said as
professionally as possible.
	She sounded doubtful, "I'm sorry, I don't understand"
	Neil glanced at Derrick's card for his father's vehicle ID,
seeing a Black Mercedes listed. "Oh? I'm sorry Ms Yates. I work for
Andersonville Mercedes Benz, in business contacts. We have your
number in our system, but I'm not sure why. What type of business do
you operate?"
	There was a friendly laugh on the other end. "Well, there must
be a mistake, I don't run any business. I'm a history teacher!"
	Neil made thoughtful noises and shuffled some papers. "Well,
that's why I call. Y'see we get all sorts of numbers from our
customers, clients, other businesses and so forth. Sometimes the
numbers wind up in the wrong system and we have to clean them out.
Can't have personal information floating around all our computer
systems, the higher ups and the government frowns on that sort of
thing."
	"Oh, well... now my bother Nathanial has a Mercedez..."
	"Really? Well, there's a possibility. Would he have had your
number down for a contact or something"
	"Could be, he leaves his son here sometimes."
	Neil noted her tone, not angry but not thrilled either. "Well
that probably settles it" Neil said brightly, tapping the table and
hoping it sounded like a keyboard. "I'm really sorry to bother you Ms
Yate..er Simmons."
	"I like the Yates-Simmons" she said with a light laugh, ".. but
it would be Rothcrest-Simmons, or Simmons-Rothcrest, but those sound
awful!"
	Neil laughed. "Well, I'll just get your number out of here
then. Thanks for your patience, Ms Simmons. I just hope the next
person I call is as forgiving of our outdated contact system!"
	Gwen's said a friendly goodbye, sounding very relieved. Neil
put Derrick's folder back and grabbed a new skill card out of the
bin. He put a "2" in horsemanship, a "4" in dressage and question
marks in every other category. Neil dropped it into Derrick's skill
folder, took his original out and set it on the table. After
rummaging through the supply cabinet, he found a rubber stamp and
plastered "VOID" all over Derrick's file before replacing it. He sat
for a long time at the table, wondering what to do next.
=======================
	"I.. need to talk to you Neil" Mae said shyly when he arrived
at her cabin. He could tell she'd been working up her courage, so he
waited. "This... morning, I really... didn't like"
	"Like? I thought you were my slave?"
	"I... yeah, but you"
	"Then I don't understand. You said you liked it when I was in
control."
	"Yeah, but... "
	Neil moved over to the bed and waited at the footboard,
allowing Mae to try and organize her thoughts. She wavered between
frustrated and worried. "I just.. you haven't been very ... concerned
about what I want"
	"Of course I have. You wanted sex."
	"But... it was .. it was so much better before! Why are you so
cold?"
	Neil felt her rising frustration and measured her. It wasn't
anger, not real anger and he needed real, raw anger.. "Before I was
your 'not-boyfriend'", he said, emphasizing the quotes.
	Mae reacted as if he'd slapped her. Her face fell and she
started to pace. "Yeah, but ... you.. knew that we weren't"
	"No. No, Mae, I was a fucking idiot. I thought there was
something between us besides the sex that you wanted. I learned the
truth when you walked out that night."
	Mae's eyes began to tear up "I... I just got..."
	"You did exactly what you needed to do to make your POINT. I
was treating you like a girlfriend, and that's not what you wanted.
You made that very clear. So.. I've fixed that."
	Mae shook her head. Neil could feel the anger now, a tiny spark
under the confusion and sexual frustration. "No... NO, That's not why
I left!"
	Neil gave a big shrug and shake of his head. "Then we are right
back to where we started. You told me you didn't want a boyfriend. You
didn't want someone to love you, you just wanted sex. So I changed for
you, I dropped the boyfriend and gave you the sex."
	Mae's anger grew. "That's not fair! You knew what I wanted! It
wasn't...."
	"I didn't know what you wanted. I still don't know what you
want. You told me you wanted one thing, but you act a different way.
You acted like you wanted a boyfriend until I GAVE YOU what you
wanted. You acted like you wanted JUST SEX until I GAVE YOU exactly
what you FUCKING WANTED." Neil shouted. He remained seated, perfectly
calm, but he was shouting at her and she knew it.
	The effect was more explosive than he'd expected. Her anger and
frustration burst forth. "NO... NOOOO! You've been treating me like
some WHORE! SOME GODDAM FUCK HOLE!"
	"That's what you wanted. Sex without feelings".
	"This isn't... You don't... " she growled, just short of
yelling. The anger was still there, still on the surface, but now
other emotions welled below it.
	"If I can't satisfy you Mae." Neil said sternly. "If this isn't
what you want, then I am out of options. I'll just leave."
	Mae stopped, shaking and angry she stared at him in horror.
"w..what?"
	"You can end this relationship at any time.."
	Mae looked at the door, then back at Neil. "I... don't..."
	Neil stood and walked over to the door calmly, stopping just
within reach of the doorknob before turning. His insides were acid,
but he buried it in the cold he felt. "You don't want me to love you.
You told me you didn't love me. You. Got. Exactly. What. You. Wanted."

	"noo" Mae whispered. She was backed into the corner now, facing
the reality of his leaving.
	"You dangled me on a lure, refusing to love me. You demanded
sex and TOOK love. But when I offered you love you refused."
	Mae's face dropped. Her tears were now flowing freely. "Oh...
Neil.. no"
	"Yes. I tried to LOVE you and you pushed me away, just like
I've been pushing your affection away. You're right though, I
shouldn't be doing that. But that means I have nothing left to give
you, Mae. Nothing."
	Mae was still angry, but fear and pain filled her face as well.
"You.. still love me, right Neil? I still have... your.."
	"You don't want me to love you."
	Mae's emotions overwhelmed her "THAT ISN'T TRUE! You can't just
STOP loving me!"
	"But you told me to."
	Mae shook her head violently, clenching her fists at her side,
then hugging herself tightly. "No.. no I just... couldn't"
	"No, you couldn't. You wouldn't let go of this Steve thing,
trying to cheat while not cheating. You're taking what you'll let me
give you and refusing the rest. I couldn't do that... and I can't do
this... master thing anymore."
	Mae stayed as she was, hugging herself and shaking.
	"There isn't anything else. We can't be friends, you won't be
my lover and I am ending this sexual game we've been playing. Goodbye
Mae."
	Neil turned slowly, opened the door and left.
	When Neil reached his cabin, Harriet was there, sitting on his
bed. He walked over but didn't tell her anything, he simply cried and
held her. She sat, holding him still for a long time. He slipped into
unconsciousness at some point, cradled in her arms.