EVERLONGING DESIRES
Daniel Elijah Sanderfer
Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. No portion of this story may be used or reproduced without permission from the author. Re-release August 2019.
CHAPTER ONE
Dustin checked his watch again; he knew it was the time of night he waited for all day. Gretchen yelled from down the counter, “Where is he; he’s late, isn’t he?”
Dustin bit his bottom lip and glanced at the door again before mumbling. “He’ll be here; he always comes before we close.”
Gretchen rolled her eyes and replied, “Well at twelve, I’m locking the doors!”
Dustin rolled his eyes at her. The bell jingled on the front door to the saloon, and he heard the familiar sound of keys jingling and boots shuffling across the floor. He smiled and looked up; it was him — his favorite patron Skyler Cooley.
He was a regular at Lusty’s, and Dustin could not wait to see him. He smiled from beneath his jet-black cowboy hat. His teeth were as perfectly white as the clouds in the sky.
He was wearing his signature tight Wranglers and a white undershirt with a v neck that showed off his chiseled pecs accommodated by ample chest hair. The shirt was old and sheer; perfectly showing off his toned physique and nipples.
He muttered as he entered the bar, “There’s my little cowpoke. I see you left the lights on for me.”
He approached the bar, and Dustin laughed nervously, “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”
He winked as he sat down on his regular bar stool. “Now did you think ole Skyler would miss a chance to see his favorite bartender.”
He tousled the boy's messy red hair, and Dustin slid him a shot glass full of Tequila. Skyler threw it back and shouted, “Woo, now that hits the spot.”
Dustin blushed and whispered, “I got a spot you can hit.” His attempt to be sexy was cute but lost in translation from someone whose face resembled that of a porcelain angel.
He leaned in and locked eyes with the man. Skyler grinned, “Now that’s not very professional,” as he shot another glass of tequila. His eyes never leaving Dustin’s.
Dustin had been working at the bar for almost two years now, ever since he turned twenty-one and got the job working with his Aunt Gretchen. She needed the help, and he needed the money. Lusty’s was deserted in the day, at night was when it came to life. It was the only gay bar in the little town of Shenandoah, Virginia.
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it was home to generations of family farms and blue-collar factory workers. Skyler was one of them; he always stopped in after his long shift at the factory. He had the dashing looks to be so much more, a country music singer, actor, anything he wanted. But people in the mountains seldom got discovered. Sometimes Skyler would sing old Dolly Parton songs and strum his guitar on karaoke night. All the patrons loved him.
A quiet man who kept to himself, to the disappointment of the many young bar sluts who tried to no avail to get in his pants. Dustin was no exception. He had spent many a night after his shift taking care of business before he went to bed dreaming of the man with the fantastic body and smile.
Skyler had a secret though; his eyes were always reminiscent of a different place than where he was now. They were always sad like a Bassett Hound. But, Dustin never asked the man of his past. He cared too much for him to bring it up and risk there being some kind of resentment between the two of them.
He couldn’t handle the thought of not being able to see him and flirt every night. He longed for the day Skyler would ask him for a date, but at this point, he had given up all hope that would ever happen. So he just enjoyed what they had for now.
He would have asked Skyler for the date himself, but he could never show his face there again if he were rejected. Plus, he needed the money, and couldn’t risk losing his only source of income, unless he wanted to move back in with his sweet but overbearing mother.
Skyler picked his cowboy hat up off the counter and adjusted it on his head. Dustin had been wiping down the tables and bar while the man sat quietly enjoying his drink and nachos. He walked over to him, “Leaving so soon, Mr. Skyler?”
Skyler smiled and tweaked the boy’s cheek, “You work tomorrow night, don’t you?”
Dustin smiled, “Well, of course!”
Skyler smiled as he exited, and with a tip of his hat, he spoke, “Same time, same place tomorrow then.”
Dustin sighed, and laid his head down on the counter; he longed for the day Skyler would say that under different circumstances. He grabbed the five dollars the man always left under his shot glass for him and Gretchen cut off the open sign. She quipped, “That’ll do for tonight, kid, see ya tomorrow.”
Dustin pulled off his apron, passed it to Gretchen and stuffed his tips into the pocket of his jeans. He saw Skyler driving off in his pickup as he exited the building. The man was honking his horn gleefully as he passed by him.
Dustin waved and smiled. It was painful how desperately he wanted that man. He dreamed of their life together, a beautiful cabin out in the woods, near a lake, or with a mountain view. If they were together, he didn’t care where.
CHAPTER TWO
Skyler drove his pickup down the long country road that disappeared into the woods. It was a humble little cabin with rose bushes accenting its perimeters. The sweet fragrance greeted you like an old friend as you stepped out into the driveway.
The beautiful home was always shadowed by elder pine trees that had been there for generations. When the night wind would blow through them, their branches would whisper ominously. The only noise besides the trees was the sound of owls and the natural silence that fell across the ridge where the cabin stood. It was a peaceful oasis from the hustle and bustle of the nearby city and it suited Skyler well since he was a reserved, and quiet man who preferred to be alone.
After his fiancé Jimmy passed away years ago, he was never able to bring himself back from it; A deep sinking depression had overtaken his life.
Jimmy was a beautiful young boy with a personality that could light up the entire mountainside. His cheery disposition and positive outlook on life had been one of the things that attracted Skyler to him.
He had hair as black as the night and a body hard as stone. Skyler could remember every detail of the boys physique from his slender frame to his beautiful shapely ass that was more appetizing and delicious than a ripe peach in July.
The roses surrounding the cabin were Jimmy’s; Skyler kept them alive because Jimmy loved them so much, and part of him felt closer to Jimmy knowing they were around. He breathed in the sweet night air as he reminisced about how they used to go for midnight horseback rides up the mountain and just stare down at the city below. The lights in the windows of the distant houses would twinkle like candle flames reminding him of Jimmy’s eyes that rivaled the very stars in the skies. Once upon a time, he had everything, but now he had nothing but memories, and his heart ached to gaze into those eyes again.
Sometimes the whispers of the pines tricked his mind into thinking he heard Jimmy’s voice, but when he glanced around all that persisted was the mundane sounds of silence. Oh, what he would give to hear his voice once just once more. To see the happy expression on his boy’s face when he got in from work.
Skyler opened the creaky front door to the cabin, he kicked his work boots off to the side and plopped down in the big lazy boy that sat by the fireplace. He was never much of a housekeeper, and the sad little cabin reflected that. In his defense, he was a hard-working man, and by the time he got off work from the factory, he was too exhausted to do anything.
Jimmy was the housekeeper. He had kept an immaculate home, with pretty throw pillows and doilies on the furniture. Bu
t now they were just faded accents on the dust-covered furniture. Skyler still used a coaster for his beer, because every time he would go to set it down. Jimmy’s voice would ring through his mind like a phantom. “That beer better be on a coaster.”
A lone tear slid down his cheek. Every night he thought of the evening he saw that car make an impact with Jimmy’s body. No matter how fast he ran, there was no chance he would have made it in time to rescue him.
He closed his eyes, trying to erase the memory of seeing his beautiful boy that way; his body bent and broken from the impact. His beautiful eyes forever frozen open like a porcelain doll.
It was no wonder he never wanted to pursue a relationship. No one could ever replace Jimmy. Skyler dozed off in the chair momentarily; he needed to get a shower before he went to bed. He had to be up early in the morning for work since he had volunteered to pull a swing shift at the factory. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do.
As he shuffled along the hardwood floors, he stopped by the coat rack to hang up his jean jacket, right beside Jimmy’s favorite sweater. It didn’t smell like him anymore. Even though he tried to capture the boy’s essence each time he passed by.
He lifted it from the from the rack and inhaled deeply. Caressing the soft fabric across his cheek; he whispered, “Jimmy, I’m home,” as he said every night.
He kissed the picture on the table nearby, showing Jimmy sitting in the rocking chair on the porch. His coal black hair and green eyes shined out like two headlights in the dark. He was wearing the hand-knit sweater with little cows knit into the pattern. Skyler closed his eyes, letting the last few tears for the night, fall to the floor, before turning to go down the hall to the bathroom.
Dustin looked so much like his Jimmy. That’s why Skyler loved seeing him so much. He used to tweak Jimmy’s cheek just like he does to Dustin, and Skyler couldn’t help but notice Dustin even had the same little quips and personality that Jimmy did.
Many times, he thought he might have the courage to ask the boy out, but it had been so long since he dated. He didn’t even know where to start.
He continued down the hall to the bathroom; turning the knob to start the shower and stripping away his clothes. His body was muscular and built like a Greek god. His biceps bulging, his thighs strong enough to crack a walnut. His messy strawberry blonde hair; everything about him was perfect even though he never thought so himself. It was Jimmy who made him feel like a God, and now Dustin.
That starry gaze in the boy's eyes; Forlorn with desire for him. His delicate little hands and tight little body that was ample enough to fill a pair of Levi’s. Indeed, Dustin was a cute boy.
Skyler could not help but wonder what he looked like naked; he indulged himself from time to time imagining the boy wrapped around his body in a sweet embrace. Dustin was light in weight, just like Jimmy that he could pick him right up off the floor and spin him around if he wanted.
He smiled, remembering how Jimmy would always wrap his skinny legs around his body when they made love, and it would blow his mind. Skyler could hold him up while being one with him. Every time he would picture Dustin in the same positions though; he would feel guilty like he was cheating on Jimmy. That was one thing about Skyler that anyone who knew him was aware of, that he was loyal to a fault.
Often the ladies at work would say he should put himself back out there that he would never know if he didn’t try, and that Jimmy would want him to be happy. Skyler knew Jimmy was a little hellcat, though. Jealous to a fault and would start a fight with anyone who made a pass at his man, male or female.
The water ran down his beautiful body like a waterfall across a rocky cliff — the steam seeping into every corner of the bathroom. It was seductive and tantalizing to the onlooker. Not that anyone would be around to see way up there at the top of the mountain.
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel; Drying himself off and lost in his mundane routine. His moment was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Skyler paused; he never had company. No one knew where he lived, and there were no other houses around but his. He fumbled around, trying to make himself decent enough to answer the door.
He threw on a bathrobe which left little to the imagination since it was Jimmy’s. It was way too small for him, but he wore it all the time. For some reason, wearing something that was on Jimmy’s naked body made him feel closer to the boy in a strange erotic way.
As he made his way to the door, he shouted, “Just a minute; be right there.”
He checked himself in the mirror by the entryway table and shook his head, amused that he even cared what he looked like since he was going to bed. It wasn’t like he was expecting a hot date or anything
CHAPTER THREE
He opened the door to see an anxious Dustin prancing nervously, and scanning the surroundings, “I’m so sorry to bother you, but my car broke down, and I saw a bear and…” he paused to see who had answered the door.
He stood shocked and relieved by who answered. Skyler’s naked chest peeking from under the robe and the man smiling warmly at him, “Dustin, my little cowpoke come on in, and calm down.”
It hurt Skyler’s heart to see the boy so scared and nervous. Needless to say, Dustin was more than a little relieved it was Skyler. He was terrified it would be some haggard old man with a shotgun ready to kill a little fag like him for trespassing. The Blue Ridge was still not the safest place to be gay.
He stepped into the cabin turning his attention toward the cathedral ceilings; admiring all the intricate woodwork and fine details adorning the cozy home. “What a beautiful place you have,” Dustin shivered and continued speaking through his chattering teeth, “I am so sorry again for bothering you so late,”
Skyler rushed over to the kitchen and poured him a cup of stale coffee, “No worries, kiddo; you say your car broke down?”
Dustin choked as he took a sip of the coffee strong enough to wake the dead. “Yeah, I was lost, and I guess it’s the engine or something. It started smoking about halfway up and then cut off.”
Skyler shook his head, “That’s not good kid; it sounds like you killed her”
Dustin bowed his head in defeat and moaned, “Ugh, how I am going to get to work now, I don’t even live around here.”
Skyler felt so sorry for the kid and searched for the words to provide the boy with some shred of comfort. He thought for a moment, and then spoke with a gleam in his eye, “I tell you what, just stay here for the night and I will take a look at it in the morning.”
Dustin jumped to attention. “Oh, I couldn't impose on you like that.”
Skyler tossed him a blanket with a whimsical Native American print on it, “Just crash here on the couch, I have to be up early for work, so I got to hit the hay.”
Dustin was more than overwhelmed by the thought of sleeping so close to Skyler. He was here in his house. He was probably naked under that robe. His mind raced a thousand miles an hour. Skyler tweaked the boy’s cheek and smiled. His beautiful, sad hazel eyes filled with sleep. “Goodnight kiddo, I will see you in the A.M, and we will take a look at that car of yours.”
Dustin closed his eyes to bask in the momentary linger of Skyler’s fingers on his delicate skin; he sighed, “Good night, Skyler, thank you so much.”
Skyler mumbled through a yawn as he walked down the hallway to the bedroom. “No problem.”
Dustin sat down on the sofa hugging the blanket, and glancing around the large living room. It was grand with its vast rock fireplace and skylights in the ceiling. When you looked up, you could see the night sky. The stars and moon shining beautifully down; casting shadows across the room.
He was exhausted from working his shift at the bar and walking for what seemed like a mile to find the nearest house. The bear didn’t help either; the last thing he wanted to do was run up the side of a mountain.
He laid back on the couch and looked up in wonder at the night sky. It was like Skyler’s home was built by a romance
novelist. Like something out of a Hallmark movie Getaway. It wasn’t long before the serene atmosphere and cozy light from the fading fire, combined with his exhaustion put him right to sleep.
The next morning, he awoke to the bright sunshine peeking in through the skylights and the sound of birds blissfully chirping. He smiled in his fog and observed his surroundings again. He was trying to remember what had happened last night. He closed his eyes tightly together and rubbed them; his frustration interrupted by the sweet sound of someone singing.
He crept slowly down the hallway toward the bathroom; he could hear the water running, the door was open, but the steam from the shower made it hard to see. Dustin bit his bottom lip as he tried to make out the figure through the shower doors. Then he realized it was Skyler.
His mouth dropped from surprise when he realized Skyler was naked, and he could feel the excitement inside him arise as he watched the man soap up his sexy body. Dustin pasted himself to the wall just outside of the bathroom and whispered, “Oh my god, I shouldn’t be watching him.”
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