by Changelings
Gary couldn’t help but agree, so he took his last bite of pie and nodded.
“You’ve changed.” Adam took another sip, but didn’t lose the ironic smile on his face. “You always were skinny as hell, but you’ve filled out. Guess all that diving does that.”
One of Gary’s eyebrows shot up. Someone besides his immediate family knew what he did? Okay, that was possible, but 90% of Americans couldn’t give a damn about what he found in Alexandria’s harbor unless it had to do with Cleopatra herself. Even then, they wouldn’t understand half of what he said concerning what he’d found. “Yeah. That and I did a little experimental archaeology.”
“Yeah, I know. Saw the pictures of you helping engineers figure out how the pyramid blocks might have been made with dolomite.” Adam’s answer was bland. “Bet it was hot as hell. You looked funny stripped down to that itty bitty loincloth thing they made the workers wear, but you got one helluva tan.” Adam studied Gary’s surprised face. “Sun bleached your hair, too.”
“How did you know all that?” Gary knew he’d never sent the pictures of himself wearing the linen costume of an Egyptian stone worker because his mother would have had a litter of kittens at his being half-naked and crouched in the hot sun, beating on one big rock with a smaller round one.
Adam tipped his hat further back and lounged all over the red Naugahyde bench. “Just ‘cause I’m a worthless ol’ cowboy, doesn’t mean I don’t read. Happens I got a degree in structural engineering and I still get the trade magazines. You made the back pages of Cadalyst, because Doc Aimsley used a CAD program to map out the project on my computer.”
Gary snorted. Aimsley was a publication whore who’d put his byline on any article, no matter how obscure. In the cutthroat world of who published first, Aimsley was a real pirate. No one liked him, but he got the money to get projects done in the first place. “Structural engineering jobs would be hard to come by around here.”
“I know. My dad got sick. Cancer. I came home to take care of him. He died just after Thanksgiving.” Adam swallowed, the pain still fresh in his eyes. “Least he’s with Mom now.” He slugged back a large gulp of coffee. “Blech. I wish she’d make it taste less like a chemical factory. Anyways, you ever ride a camel?”
He took the hint. Gary recognized Adam’s need to change the subject to something less painful. He snorted and shoved his pie plate to the side. “They stink to high heaven, but you get where you’re going. So, yeah, I’ve ridden a camel.”
Adam’s hat tipped lower, and he leaned in. His voice was softer than an angel’s kiss, and so low Gary leaned in to hear him. “How about a cowboy?”
Chapter Two
Oh, hell. What was Gary supposed to say to that? Was Adam just making fun of that damned country song about saving a horse? If Gary were among his friends at the Metro, or even slurping coffee at E Street Café, he’d have taken the question as an offer. As it was, Gary’s brain stuttered. Normally, they called him Quick Draw McGraw, he was so fast with the quips, but Adam had him flabbergasted into silence.
Rescue came in an unexpected form. Georgia came over with the coffee carafe and refilled both their cups without asking.
Adam snorted at the refills. “Girlfriend, you’re going to make it so we’ll shake out of here from the caffeine jolt.” Adam sounded like a true queen when he drawled like that.
Georgia just laughed and smacked Adam on the shoulder. “Now you be good! Stop scaring Gary and play nice.”
Was Gary out of the closet to everyone in this town? Yes, Yulee was so small, you could say, “Pass the salt, please,” and the folks across town knew about it before you could sprinkle the shaker’s contents on your greens, but damn. The place was so insular that people did their best to sell their land to family and neighbors rather than chance an outsider coming in. Folks around there were crackers and cowboys.
The cowboy in question waited until Georgia left. Adam’s grin twisted up, sort of wry, and definitely ironic. The only problem was, Gary had to admit his fascination with kissing those lips, and so between Gary’s frantic search for an answer to his question and his rising lust at the possibility, Adam had all the advantages. Adam was never one to waste an opportunity, on or off the football field. In the same soft whisper, Adam blew Gary’s mind again. “Stop looking like a deer in the headlights, Dr. Lord. Someone will think I’m about to run you over with my truck instead of politely asking if I can suck your cock and fuck your ass.”
Did Gary’s cock harden at the thought? Do bears shit in the woods? Of course. Any gay man would drop to his knees in a heartbeat for one shot of Adam. Was Gary more cautious than that? You bet your ass. He lived for months every year in a Muslim nation where being gay was more than a crime, it was a death sentence. Oh, yeah, Gary knew how to play this game. He drew up in self-righteous dignity. “What makes you think I’m gay, Adam?”
“Because I am. They say gaydar always works, and mine sounded the alarm on you way back in high school. We both were just smart enough to wait until we got out of this damn town before we came out of the closet.” Adam leaned back again. “Me, I didn’t do much until I hit my job in Atlanta. Worked there with a corner office in the Peachtree Plaza for a few years before Dad took sick.” Adam grinned and stood up. “What say we take the rest of this conversation back to my place? Ain’t anyone home but me these days.”
Okay, Gary might have been a nerd but he wasn’t stupid. That was an engraved invitation if ever there was one. Besides, it was darker than the inside of a cow, and judging by the way the wind had picked up, a lot colder. He still didn’t want to go home. So, Gary opened his cell phone and texted his Mom --”Going to visit with Adam Crider. Don’t wait up.”
Mom, a retired teacher, was a gadget freak. She had the latest toys, and was probably the one who had turned Hari into an Internet shopper. The UPS delivery guy knew Mom by her first name. Dad hated the perky chime of her phone, but enjoyed all the pictures Gary sent from his camera phone. She’d get the message. Gary closed his phone and put it back in his pocket.
When Gary’s phone was safely tucked away, Adam leaned over the counter and yelled toward the back. “We’re leaving now! Come lock us out!”
“Be there in a minute! Jes’ throw yo’ money on top of the register. Merry Christmas, y’all!”
Gary was still confused and definitely out of sorts. Dr. Gary Lord, assistant supervisor under the head archaeologist, and strong enough to even stand up to the man they called The Pharaoh, Dr. Zahi Hawaas. He needed a minute or two to absorb the revelations, and the opportunity was at hand. “I’ll follow you to your place, Adam.”
Adam nodded, dropped a five on the register, and sauntered off to his truck. Everyone knew his family’s place. Fox Run was twenty acres of cow pasture, and not much else. To get there, you turned off the paved road and drove for another ten minutes through an oak and palmetto scrub until you wondered if you’d ever see civilization again.
Gary’s SUV could take the trip, but could his heart? He’d never know until he tried, and the scientist in him was born curious. He threw down a ten to cover his pie and Hari’s order, just in case. The bell above the door tinkled merrily when he left.
On the short drive in nearly total darkness, all Gary had were the red lights of Adam’s truck to follow, and Gary stuck reasonably close. That gave him plenty of time to convince himself Adam was playing a trick on him. Adam hadn’t been in on the clique of guys who’d stuffed him into a locker in middle school before Gary learned he had a mean mule kick in him, but Gary had every reason to be cautious and no reason to trust. By the time he parked his Durango next to Adam’s Silverado, Gary was on his guard.
Adam waited for him on the wide front porch of his parents’ -- and now his, Gary guessed -- ranch house. He’d never been inside before, despite knowing Adam all his life. Adam had been a jock and Gary a nerd. The two just didn’t mix. Adam opened the door, and two black and tan coonhounds with gray muzzles bounced and danced on the other side.
Gary took the sniffing of his hand in good part. The dogs had clearly been his parents’ pooches, so Adam was all the family they had left. They were just doing their job, checking out the newcomer. Once they’d gotten Gary’s scent and a few pats, they ran to the back door, ready for their yard time. While Adam let them out, Gary lit a lamp and scoped out the house.
Over the upright piano in one corner was a picture of Adam’s parents. Gus Crider had done well, but no one knew how well. Gus and Mrs. Amy had kept to themselves as much as anyone was able in a small, insular town. They’d just had Adam between them. Gary’s mother often said Mrs. Amy tried hard, but just couldn’t carry to term, so all six of Adam’s potential brothers and sisters were buried in tiny neat rows at the back of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church’s graveyard, and Gary assumed Adam’s parents were there, too. Gary stepped over to grin at the picture of their graduating class -- all hundred and eleven of them, decked out in mortarboards and hideous taffeta robes.
“We have being only children in common.”
Gary jerked around.
Adam stood right behind him, trapping him with his arms, one on each side of Gary’s head. Adam looked a little like a cowboy Phantom of the Opera, with the light only illuminating one side of his face and his hat still on his head. “Only mine are gone, and they don’t need to know their son is gay. You’re still in the closet to yours, too, I guess.”
Gary admitted nothing. He didn’t care how much he wanted those firm lips on his or how much he’d fantasized about those rough, weathered hands on his body, Gary still didn’t want to believe his high school crush was within reach and offering. Somewhere, down deep in his soul, Gary dredged up one word. “Why?”
“You mean why am I doing my damndest to get you to do a horizontal tango with me? Hell, Gary.” Adam lifted his arms away from the wall and backed off. His left hand scrubbed at his forehead. Gary’d forgotten Adam was a southpaw. “I wish I knew what attracted me to you, but I’ve been running scared from you since our sophomore year, when I finally came to grips with my sexuality. You kept pushing those damn glasses up on your nose and sticking your chin in the air when you were outclassed in gym, and… aw, hell, you drove me nuts.”
“I had laser surgery on my eyes three years ago.” So maybe it wasn’t the most intelligent thing to say and in some ways was cowardly, but Gary just couldn’t accept what Adam was saying. “I don’t get it. You could have anyone. Why the nerd?”
Adam chuckled under his breath. “Finally, I get a real question. Best answer I have is that opposites attract. I’ve been waiting all year for you to come home for the holidays so you could make my Yuletide gay.”
“Very funny, Adam.” No one had popped out of the woodwork with a camera, yelling how they’d caught him in the act and were going to tell his parents and ruin their holiday, so Gary got a little bolder. “You realize I’ve no reason to trust you? Right?”
“Ye-up! I know.” Adam’s voice deepened, torturing Gary just a little more. “Guess I’m just gonna have to prove I’m serious.” His right hand touched Gary’s shoulder and gently pressed him against the wall. His left caressed the outline of Gary’s cock. “Leastways one part of you believes I ain’t lying.”
Gary had held fossils that were less hard than his dick was. So much blood had left Gary’s brain he was light-headed. Gary’s ass craved what Adam could give, and Gary let the ex-jock push him up against the chilly wainscoting for fear he’d do something stupid like beg if he opened his mouth. Hell, he’d dreamed about Adam for the past fifteen years, and now Gary was afraid to accept what Adam offered. “Fifteen years ago, I’d have been on my knees thanking Upstairs if you’d so much as blinked in my direction. I kinda idolized you.”
“I was a wuss.” Adam tossed off that statement and leaned in until Gary could feel his breath on his right cheek. “I took the easy road and let everyone believe I was the Marlboro Man, all perfect and shit. I wasn’t. Far from it.” Adam’s lips brushed his, and then Adam backed off to study Gary’s face for an objection. “Instead of all those squishy girls, all I wanted was a skinny nerd more interested in amphoras and some weird-ass device from Anti-something Greece.”
“Amphorae. The plural is amphorae. And the place is Antikythera.” Gary’s correction was automatic, considering how Adam was scrambling his brain and his pulse. “I… I can explain.”
“Later.” Adam reached around and yanked him right up to him for a little tongue duel.
Was Gary a sucker for a little domination? Okay, yes, he was. Working around Egypt, knowing his work could be yanked away at the least provocation, was stressful. Gary craved letting go and allowing someone else to take over, so he could stop thinking even for an hour. With Adam, that part was easy. Gary’s brain clicked offline as soon as Adam’s hand slid from his waist to cup Gary’s ass. Fortunately for him, Gary had a subconscious with more sense than intelligence. In response to Gary’s rising lust levels, one of his hands reluctantly slid around Adam’s waist and completed their clinch.
How long they locked lips was anyone’s guess, but eventually Adam broke off. Adam studied Gary’s glazed eyes and nodded. “‘Bout time you stopped fighting me. Mind if I just bend you over the sofa? It’s the right height, I think.”
He wasn’t a shrimp, but Gary was about an inch or two shorter, so Gary gave the big leather-backed sofa a glance. “Looks pillow soft, but I won’t break if it isn’t.”
All Gary could hear was Adam’s breathing. Then Adam released him entirely. “Get naked. I want to see you. All of you.”
“Same goes, cowboy.” Gary lifted his chin and dared Adam like they were still in the schoolyard.
Adam nodded. “Fair enough.”
With hurried movements, they kicked free of jeans and turtlenecks before coming back into each other’s arms. Adam’s hand moved on him with easy expertise -- a warm, slow glide -- the right amount of pressure, the right angle, the right rhythm.
Gary tried to reconcile that he was indeed where he’d dreamed, holding on to the man of his fantasies who was -- incredibly enough -- giving Gary an expert hand job.
Adam flicked his thumb over the moisture pearling at the tip of Gary’s cock, making use of the natural lubricant. The slickness and rough friction of Adam’s hand pumping him harder, faster, sent Gary’s heart flying.
Just the astonishment of being naked together and putting hands on each other was more than a dream come true. There was a concession of trust about it, placing your balls in another man’s hands. The feel of Adam’s hard calloused hand cupping Gary’s sensitive sack while Adam’s other hand made those long, stroking slides was overwhelming. Gary moaned.
“You like?” Adam’s hand slowed to a mere tease, but his voice rasped like he’d run a mile. He pushed Gary toward the sofa. “Lube’s over there. You still willing?”
Gary’s own breath was ragged. “Yeah. Oh, yeah.” It had been too long. Way too long. Gary’s body wanted to erupt like an adolescent boy’s. His body didn’t want to be put through its paces. Like a fine Arabian stallion, it wanted to race off. “Slow down, or…”
“Fine.” Adam spun Gary around so fast, the man who scuba dived in a world with no limits couldn’t find his balance. Gary went down face first into the quilt thrown over the back of the sofa. Adam’s breath tickled his back. “Present your fine tight ass for a ride by a cowboy.”
Chapter Three
After all those years of considering Adam an unreachable dream, Gary still had difficulty reconciling that, A) Adam was gay and B) he was about to fuck Gary. The delicious chill of lube and burn of entry told Gary that dreams really could come true. Those were Adam’s calloused hands grasping Gary’s hips, and Adam’s cock sliding slowly home in his ass. The heater kicked on, pumping out the smell of natural gas for an instant before a blast of warm air caressed them both. Caught between the quilt and Adam’s body, Gary should have been fine. Now all he had to worry about was coming all over the quilt.
For his part, Adam just
moaned deep in his throat when he hit rock bottom and his pubic hair tickled the crease at the bottom of Gary’s ass cheeks. He gripped Gary a little tighter when Gary’s ticklish skin reacted to that hair, and he wriggled. Adam chuckled. “Oh, I’ve got me a bucking bronco to ride.”
“You haven’t ridden a bull, ever.” Gary couldn’t resist the taunt. “You’re a cracker, just like me.”
“Want me to prove how much of a cracker I am?” Adam slapped Gary’s ass and made him jump. “That’s more like it.”
They’d both been born of Florida cattlemen, called crackers for their abilities to crack a whip. Adam’s family still managed cattle, whereas Gary’s had managed game for Fish and Wildlife. Crackers knew each other by family name, even if the spelling changed, but Lourdes had been difficult for dirt-poor farmers to pronounce, so Gary’s was Lord. Gary felt even sorrier for the Thibodeaux, Rhoden, and Thigpen families.
Adam’s hand cracked on Gary’s ass again. “Pay attention when you’re getting laid, son!” His big rough hand caressed the sore spot. “Now that you’re opened up, we can rock.”
Gary could see Adam’s grin in the big mirror above the mantle. In fact, the whole tableau of his fucking was right there, like feelie porn in sci-fi. Gary could not only see that gorgeous tanned hunk fucking him, he could feel the glory in every nerve ending. “Want to see if we can destroy this monster sofa of yours, cowboy?”
Gary’s drawling challenge had the desired effect. Adam’s eyes lit up. “Ye-up! Let’s do that.” Then Adam set to pounding Gary until he was very grateful Adam’s grandma had been a champion quilter, because those few layers protected Gary from going right through the back of the sofa and pitching face first into the coffee table. Adam didn’t waste any time making Gary’s Yuletide gay.
In fact, he was getting crushed and pounded to the point where Gary no longer cared if he lived or died as long as he felt the next few strokes. Gary was building up to one helluva orgasm, and that was without his cock feeling even his own hand, so Gary reached down and found Adam’s already there, ready to tug Gary into Nirvana.