Leaving Home

by Chase, T. A.

  took the medicine. The way it made everything disappear for a while, and he didn’t have to worry whether anyone knew about his injuries or his addiction.

  “Yeah, I think we have time,” was the last thing he heard before he passed out.

  * * * *

  Chaz rolled over, then opened his eyes. He studied the blue wall across from him as he

  tried to remember where he was. Stretching, he grimaced slightly at the ache in his ass that reminded him where he was and what had happened earlier.

  He’d popped Peter’s topping cherry. Good for him. He smiled, then climbed out of bed.

  While walking to the bathroom, he noticed his bag had been placed on one of the chairs. It looked like it was empty, meaning someone had come in while he was asleep and taken his

  dirty clothes. More than likely it was Peter, since Chaz doubted Margie would do that.

  There was a clean set of sweats and a T-shirt on the counter in the bathroom. He took a

  quick shower, then dried off before getting dressed. Standing in the middle of the room, he did a mental check of his pain, and his level of happiness. It was still pretty high, so he decided not to do another hit yet. He padded down the hallway to the kitchen where he

  found Margie pulling something out of the oven.

  “Hello, Margie,” he said from where he stood in the archway.

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  The look she gave him was one his mother used to do when she knew he was up to

  something, but he couldn’t think of what she thought she knew about him.

  “Hello, Chaz. Did you have a nice nap? Your clothes are in the washer right now.” She

  set the casserole dish on the top of the stove.

  “Yes. Thank you for doing that.” He headed towards the refrigerator. “May I get

  something to drink?”

  Margie nodded before pointing to one of the cabinets. “The glasses are in there. Please

  consider this your home for the duration of your stay.”

  He retrieved the glass, then went to the fridge to see what there was to drink. Milk,

  orange juice and soda. There was also some beer, but he probably shouldn’t be drinking at the moment. Chaz took the milk carton out to pour some in his glass. After returning it, he shut the refrigerator.

  “Where’s Peter?”

  “He’s in the office finishing up his work for the day. You could go talk to him if you’d

  like.” Margie nodded in the direction of the office, or at least Chaz thought it was the right way. “I have to say this to you, Chaz, and we won’t mention it again. You better be careful with Peter, and don’t hurt him. If you do, you’ll have more than me to deal with. There are several people who care deeply about him, and will do what they have to do to protect him.”

  Chaz nodded. “I totally get what you’re saying, Margie. I can’t promise not to hurt

  Peter. No one can ever promise that. But I’ll do my best not to do anything that could harm him in any way.”

  Margie studied him, and he wasn’t sure she was totally convinced by what he’d said.

  Finally, she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

  “I guess that’ll have to do. Now get out of here. I have to finish getting dinner ready.”

  Margie turned her back on him.

  He picked up his glass before walking down the hallway. As he wandered, he looked at

  the pictures hanging on the wall. There were pictures of several different couples, but most were of one particular couple. An older man with a white streak in his hair, and a man

  around Peter’s age featured prominently. Chaz wondered if they were Les and Randy, the

  men who owned the ranch. He recognised Tony and Brody, having seen both of them

  around the different events.

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  Chaz stopped in front of another photo, and stared at the two men in it. It was Derek St

  Martin and some other guy, who must have been the Max person Peter had spoken of before.

  “That’s Max and Derek right before Max moved down to Austin to live. Max used to be

  Tony’s foreman. Then he fell in love with Derek.”

  He turned to see Peter strolling down the hall towards him. Without thinking about it,

  Chaz reached out to grab Peter’s hand. He pulled him close to him, then pressed their

  mouths together.

  Peter didn’t fight, but he didn’t join in right away. Chaz persisted, taking the kiss

  deeper because he wanted Peter more now than he had before they’d slept together. He

  wanted Peter’s tight ass, but only if Peter wanted to give it to him.

  Chaz slid his hand down to cup one of Peter’s ass cheeks. He dug into the firm flesh,

  and Peter moaned. Ah, gotcha. Chaz did it again before running his fingers along the seam of Peter’s sweats. He paused to rub them against Peter’s hole.

  “Oh,” Peter gasped.

  Taking advantage of Peter’s open mouth, Chaz swept his tongue in, tasting cinnamon

  and mint. Peter must have been chewing gum at some point. He duelled with Peter, trying to figure out who should be in control.

  After a minute or five, Peter stepped back, and Chaz took a deep breath. He looked

  down at his other hand, amazed that he hadn’t spilt any of the milk in his glass. He chuckled, and Peter looked at him.

  “What?”

  “Didn’t know how talented I was. I managed to not spill any of my milk while I was

  molesting you in the hallway.” He lifted his glass to show him.

  Peter snorted. “I guess you are. I was coming to see if you were still sleeping. Margie

  has dinner almost ready. After we eat, I thought we could go for a ride. Wyoming’s nice at night. Maybe not as pretty as the Arizona desert, but I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

  “I’d love to go for a ride.”

  He’d have to take another hit because his back wouldn’t tolerate a long trip, but he

  didn’t want to say no. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with Peter.

  “Great. Let’s go see if Margie is ready for us.”

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  Peter led the way back to the kitchen where Margie was just finishing setting the table

  for the two of them.

  “You’re not going to eat with us, Margie?” Peter asked as they sat.

  She shook her head. “No. I’m going to my friend’s. It’s our bridge night.”

  Peter wrinkled his nose, then nodded. “Sorry, I’d forgotten about that. You know you

  didn’t have to make dinner for us. We’re capable of doing it ourselves. I mean, Randy and Les do it when you’re gone.”

  She patted Peter on the head as she walked by. “I know, but you’re still too skinny. I

  wanted to make sure you’ll actually eat something.”

  Chaz shook his head. “It must be nice to have someone to worry about you.”

  “You do, don’t you? I thought you said you had family in Arizona.”

  “Oh I do, but I meant having someone right there to take care of you when you need it,

  or even when you don’t think you do.” Chaz smiled. “My family’s great and all, but they’re not with me. I don’t see them as often as I should.”

  “We do what we can for each other because we’re the only family we have.” Peter

  gestured between himself and Margie. “The others feel the same way.”

  Margie patted Peter’s shoulder before leaving. Chaz looked at the casserole steaming in

  the middle of the table. It looked like the same chicken and rice stuff his mom had made so many Sundays while he was growing up.

  “This looks good,” he commented as he reached for the spoon t
o scoop some out onto

  his plate. He held out his hand to take Peter’s. “How much do you want?”

  “Two scoops. She made some beans as well, and lemon meringue pie for dessert.” Peter

  grinned.

  “Now I’m really glad I decided to stay here. Good food and great company. The last bit

  of my vacation is definitely looking up.” Chaz toasted Peter with his glass of milk before taking a drink.

  Peter rolled his eyes, but lifted his glass to Chaz. They settled in to eat their dinner, and Chaz made sure Peter’s glass stayed filled. He also made sure there was always food on his plate, until Peter complained about the horse not being able to carry him if he ate any more.

  He helped Peter clean up the kitchen, then went back to his room to change his clothes.

  Thank goodness he had some clean jeans and a shirt. He pulled his boots out of his gear bag.

  Good thing he’d packed them the last time he’d stopped at home. After Chaz had got

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  dressed, he went into the bathroom and took another hit. He needed to make sure he had a

  cushion of pain-free time to be able to ride. He made his way back to the kitchen where Peter was waiting for him.

  “Come on. Let’s get going.”

  Chaz followed Peter out to one of the barns. He made a mental note to check the ranch

  out tomorrow, and see what the operation looked like. Chaz let his gaze wander down to

  ogle Peter’s ass as Peter walked in front of him.

  “Here we are.”

  They walked into one of the smaller buildings, and Chaz glanced around. There were

  six occupied stalls, or at least that’s what Chaz thought, since there were six horses hanging their heads over the doors. Yet a plaintive whinny came from the seventh stall, drawing him over to it.

  He peered over the half-door to see a pony standing there. It stared at him like he was a wolf come to eat it.

  “Hey there, short stuff. What’s your name?” He was about to reach out to pat it on the

  nose, but Peter grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “Don’t try touching Buttercup. He’ll take your hand off. The only one who can touch

  him is Les. Not sure why, but it might have something to do with the fact that Buttercup

  loves Sam.” Peter explained as he tugged Chaz away from the pony.

  “Who’s Sam?”

  Peter pointed to where a large chestnut brown horse hung its head over the door. “It’s

  Hardin Stables’ Whisky Sam. He’s a Hanoverian, which is a warm-blooded breed. They’re

  used mostly in dressage and showjumping. Les used to ride Sam in shows, but Sam was

  injured at the same time as Les, and neither one of them can compete anymore.”

  After approaching Sam’s stall, Chaz held out his hand, and the horse sniffed it. Peter

  joined him, then put a carrot on his palm.

  “He wants one of these. All of the animals in this barn are a bit spoilt. They aren’t really working horses, but Les keeps them around anyway. He has the unique idea that not every

  creature or human on the ranch needs to be useful. He likes taking in strays.”

  Sam grabbed the carrot off Chaz’s hand, making Chaz laugh.

  “Is that why he told you to let me stay here? Is he taking me in like all the others?”

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  Peter shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t really ask Les why he does what he does. If he wants

  me to know, he’ll tell me. We’ll take the two grey mares at the other end of the barn.”

  “Where are their saddles?”

  “They’re in the tack room. You want the saddles labelled June and Rosanne. After you

  bring those out, go back to grab their grooming kits.” Peter pointed to a blue door on the right side of the aisle way.

  Chaz did as he was told and, while he was getting all the equipment they needed, Peter

  brought the mares out, putting them in the cross-ties. Chaz read the tag on his mare’s halter.

  “So you’re June, huh? Why am I getting the feeling that someone on this ranch likes

  Johnny Cash?”

  Peter smiled. “You’re right. Les’ favourite musician in the world is Johnny Cash. A lot

  of the horses on the ranch are named after Cash songs, in some way.”

  Chaz patted June before grooming her. He made sure she was thoroughly brushed,

  then settled the blanket on her back. He put the saddle on, tightening the cinch around her stomach.

  “Does she have any bad habits, like sucking in air?” He wanted to check before he

  mounted. He didn’t want to end up on his ass or his head because the cinch wasn’t tight

  enough.

  “Not June. She’s a perfect lady.” Peter finished putting Rosanne’s tack on, then he

  gestured for Chaz to follow him out of the barn. “We can mount out here.”

  It had been a while since Chaz had been able to ride, but since he’d learned when he

  was three, the things he needed to do came back to him. After mounting June, he settled into the saddle. Peter swung up onto Rosanne, and Chaz zeroed in on how Peter’s ass looked in

  the faded jeans he wore.

  He swore silently as his cock stiffened. He’d discovered in his teen years that it was

  uncomfortable to ride any distance with a hard-on, but he got the feeling he was going to have to get used to it.

  “Lead on, my friend. Show me your land, and try to make me see how beautiful it is.”

  Chaz waved his hand at Peter.

  “I’ll show you, but you’ll have to decide for yourself whether it’s as pretty as your

  desert.”

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  Chaz nudged June with his heels, and she obediently walked off. He stayed close to

  Peter as they made their way through a series of gates. Peter let him know when they’d

  reached the actual ranch land by clicking softly to Rosanne, urging the mare into a canter.

  Biting his lip, Chaz sighed as he encouraged June to follow the other mare. Thank

  goodness he’d taken a hit, or his back would be screaming by the time they were done.

  “I like coming up here at this time of the day. If we make it in time, we’ll be able to

  watch the sun go down.” Peter’s words drifted back to Chaz.

  “Is it safe for us to be out after dark?”

  Not that Chaz was worried or anything. He’d spent more than one night outside under

  the stars, but he wasn’t completely sure if riding back to the house in the dark was a good idea.

  “Sure. I’ve ridden this way several times. Also, if for some reason we get lost, all we

  have to do is give the horses their heads, and they’ll go straight home.”

  Chaz caught up to Peter to ride beside him as they made their way along a faint trail.

  Chaz looked around him, noting the green of the grass and the trees that were in the

  distance. There weren’t many close to them, but he knew the farther they rode, the closer to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains they’d get.

  He didn’t have a problem not talking while they rode. He enjoyed just being outside

  with Peter, which seemed odd to him—he’d never really liked having another person around

  while he was spending time outdoors.

  After climbing a small hill, Peter brought Rosanne to a standstill, and Chaz dismounted

  when Peter did. He let the reins drop, figuring that June had been trained to ground hitch, or not to move when her reins were loose and touching the ground.

  Peter took his hand, escorting him up to the crest of the hill. There was a large fallen

  tree lying there,
and Chaz straddled it. Peter joined him as the fading sunlight painted the sky softened pinks, oranges and yellows. In many ways the sunset reminded him of the ones he’d seen in Arizona, yet there seemed to be a different feel to it.

  He kept hold of Peter’s hand, rubbing his thumb over Peter’s knuckles. Peter leaned

  against him, and Chaz encircled Peter’s waist with his arms, drawing him as close as he

  could. The entire world seemed hushed as the sun slowly slid behind the horizon. He

  nuzzled Peter’s temple, wishing he’d thought to bring lube and condoms with him, because

  he would’ve loved to fuck Peter under the emerging stars.

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  Chapter Seven

  Peter swallowed the sigh threatening to burst from his chest. How long had he dreamt

  of something like this? Being held in his lover’s arms while watching the sun set on a perfect Wyoming night. Too many nights he’d sat up on the hill alone, wondering if there would

  ever be someone for him to do that with.

  Oh, he wasn’t expecting Chaz to stick around once he had to get back onto the circuit.

  Maybe the experience would help him gain some confidence, though, and he’d be able to

  find a serious relationship.

  “When did you first know you were gay?”

  He hadn’t expected a question like that from Chaz. He thought about it for a moment

  before answering. “I think I always knew I was different. I never liked the same things the rest of the boys I went to school with did. I don’t like hunting, and I’m not a big fan of many sports.”

  “That wouldn’t necessarily lead one to think they were gay,” Chaz pointed out.

  Peter poked Chaz in the side. “I know that, Chaz. But it made me start thinking about

  all the ways I was different, and one of those was the fact that I got excited when I thought about boys instead of girls. To be honest, I never truly admitted to myself about my sexual orientation until I met Les and saw the relationship he had with Randy.”

  Chaz hummed, but didn’t say anything. Peter eased a few inches away, so he could

  look up at Chaz.