Life, Love, and Other Inequalities

by Argentina Ryder

  Sawyer found two forks. “Sit.” Sawyer walked back to the sofa and handed the fork and plate to Matt, watching Matt’s face as he scooped a bit of the creamy custard into his mouth. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s amazing.” Matt closed his eyes at the taste, the custard melting on his tongue. Not too sweet, just a hint of salt in the caramel, the custard set perfectly. “This is good. You get videos?” he asked, taking another bite.

  Sawyer nodded. “And pictures. Gonna use this for the next episode if it turned out okay.”

  “Better than okay, babe. Two thumbs up.” Matt took another bite, licking some custard off his lips.

  Sawyer pumped his fist, satisfied with his results. “Score.” They finished it quickly, Matt holding up his fork to Sawyer’s mouth, feeding him the last bite. “So, do you need to leave soon?” Sawyer asked, those strong hands sliding up Matt’s legs, resting on his hips.

  “Greedy. I’ve got a few minutes.” Matt’s eyes shone bright with mischief.

  Sawyer tugged him onto his lap, facing him. “Might need more than a few minutes.” Matt’s knees spread open on either side of him, straddling Sawyer, their faces close.

  Matt rubbed their noses together. “Is that a promise?” Matt asked, their lips brushing against each other. Sawyer groaned, and Matt felt those hands slid under his shirt.

  “Now who’s greedy.” They kissed, softly at first but growing deeper until they were out of breath. “Stand up.”

  Matt slid off Sawyer’s lap, his hands settling on Sawyer’s shoulders. Sawyer’s hands unbuckled Matt’s belt, then worked at the buttons on his pants. Matt could see Sawyer’s chest rising and falling with each breath, his eyes widening as he pulled Matt’s khakis down. Pressing his face forward, he nuzzled Matt’s cock through his boxer briefs. “Fuck,” Matt groaned, looking down at them, his cock hard and aching at the sight. He pulled at the hair tie holding Sawyer’s hair back, spreading it around just as Sawyer pulled his cock free and took the head into his mouth.

  His hands held Sawyer’s head in place, slowly fucking his mouth. Sawyer’s hands gripped his hips tight, one hand sliding down to grasp the base of Matt’s cock. Matt felt that tightness in his belly pooling, tightening his grip on Sawyer’s hair. It wouldn’t take long. “Almost there,” he murmured, hips pumped faster, fucking that sinful mouth until he stilled, emptying himself down Sawyer’s throat.

  Unbelievable. Matt rolled his head back, catching his breath but only long enough for Sawyer to yank his pants off completely. Sawyer stood and lifted Matt, wrapping Matt’s legs around him and kissing him as he carried him back toward his bed.

  “At least you’ve gotten over the dog watching us.” Sawyer reached down and turned on his small space heater, then lay back down, pressing a kiss into Matt’s hair. “I’m proud of you. That’s growth.”

  Matt snorted, leaning into that powerful body. “I’m broadening my horizons.” They kissed again, and Matt rolled over, the blanket pooling at his waist as he sat up. “I should go. Got a busy day tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Sawyer said, rubbing Matt’s back. “You know-” There was a pause, long enough for Matt to wonder if Sawyer had forgotten what he was saying. After a moment, he went on. “Maybe this summer you could go on a trip with me. We could take the RV out someplace, see some sights.”

  Matt surprised himself by not immediately panicking or speculating what this all meant. “I’ve got a lot of things going on this summer,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone, because he did. At least two graduate classes, maybe more if the university offered the right classes. “But it sounds like fun.” Sawyer’s face had lost a little of that sparkle, so he leaned over and kissed him, tugging at Sawyer’s bottom lip with his teeth. “I bet we could do a quick trip somewhere.” It wasn’t the idea of the trip that he objected to, or the person he’d travel with. It was the time commitment that Matt wasn’t sure he could make.

  Sawyer smiled at him. “Sounds like a plan.” He took a deep breath and sat up next to Matt. “Thanks for coming over tonight.” He kissed Matt’s shoulder and handed him his shirt. “And thanks for dinner.”

  “The flan was great,” Matt told him. “And so are you.” They kissed again, gentle, Sawyer’s hands threading through Matt’s short hair. “Call me tomorrow?”

  “Will do.” Sawyer watched Matt as he dressed, the softest expression on his face. “Drive home safe, babe.” Then he laughed, reaching for Math’s hand, bringing to his lips and kissing his knuckles. “And for fuck’s sake, please take some of that flan with you.”

  Matt couldn’t remember the last time he made the trip out to the ranch as a passenger. “I don’t think it’s that big a deal.”

  “I know you don’t. But it is to me.” Sawyer looked into the rear-view mirror, checking on Biscuit, who sat calmly in the backseat next to their traveling bags. “How much do your grandparents know about us?”

  “Enough to invite you over to make tamales,” Matt said. “Babe, I’m almost thirty years old. Having an overnight guest stay in my room will not be a shock to them.”

  “Still.” Sawyer shook his head. “I’m not that comfortable with it. Let’s just say that for right now, I’m staying in the guest room, unless, I don’t know, maybe your grandmother’s got all kinds of sewing projects around that she doesn’t want moved.”

  “Whatever you want.” Matt smirked, but Sawyer’s reaction touched him. For someone with a complicated relationship with his own family, Sawyer was quite fond of Matt’s grandparents and sister. That he showed so much respect to them made Matt’s heart melt. “But for the record, you’re adorable.”

  Sawyer growled softly. “Noted.”

  Elena smiled, meeting them at the door when they walked inside. “There you are!” she exclaimed, tight hugs for both of them. “I’m pleased to see the both of you.”

  Matt kissed her cheek and then spotted something intriguing and familiar on the counter; a worn, metal 13x9 cake pan that was older than Matt. “What’s this?” Matt chuckled, a grin on his face as he spotted a familiar dessert. He touched his finger to the whipped topping frosting. “What did he do now?”

  Just then he heard Sabrina’s voice, calling for their grandmother. Elena’s eyes narrowed, and she muttered something to herself that Matt didn’t understand and walked to the back of the house. Matt continued to laugh.

  “I don’t get the joke.” Sawyer bent over, inspecting the cake. “But that looks good.”

  “It is.” Matt pulled a small plate out of a cabinet. He cut a piece out of the rectangular pan and handed Sawyer a fork. “This is my grandpa’s famous Tres Leches cake.”

  “I’ve heard of it,” Sawyer said, following Matt to the kitchen table. He ate a bite and groaned in pleasure. “This is so moist.”

  “Family recipe,” Matt said. “My grandpa adds a little rum in there to spice things up.”

  “Your grandpa?” Sawyer followed Matt to the table, taking another bite as they sat down at the table. “I thought your grandma was the chef in the family.”

  “She is.” Matt looked around to see if any of his family was listening. “Grandpa only makes this when he’s in the shithouse and wants her to forgive him for something. It’s guaranteed to bring the lovers back together again.”

  Sawyer laughed, throwing his head back as he snickered. “That’s awesome. You have the best family, Matt.” They finished their cake and Matt quickly washed the plates. “Now I want to know what happened too.”

  “Hey Brother.” Sabrina stepped into the living room as they headed to the back of the house to unpack their overnight bags. She hugged both of them. “Great to see you guys.”

  “You too.” Sabrina snorted as Sawyer took his bag into the guest room. “My God, that’s adorable.” She wrapped her arm around Matt. “Soooo while I’ve got you here, can you help me with something outside? Please? I need a mechanical engineer, or a plumber… but I guess you’ll have to do.”

  “Of course.” Matt tossed his back
pack onto his bed, where, apparently, he’d be sleeping alone tonight. “When?”

  “Whenever you’ve got time, though, the sooner is better.” Sabrina headed into her room and grabbed her jacket off of a chair. “Got some time right now?”

  Sawyer turned to Matt. “Go, do whatever you guys need to do. I’ll go see if I can help your grandma get set up. Maybe I can catch the entire process from beginning to end.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll wait for you outside.” Sabrina waved at Sawyer and headed toward the back of the house.

  Matt touched his arm, squeezing it. “You better remember what she teaches you, so you can make these for me later.”

  “So greedy.” Sawyer kissed his nose before he walked toward the kitchen.

  Matt found a heavier jacket in his room and followed Sabrina outside. “So what’s wrong?”

  “Got a leak in one of the pipes, the one heading out to the cows’ automatic waterer. I already turned off the water to that part of the property. It shouldn’t be that complicated to fix, but it helps if I’ve got another set of hands, and you know Grandpa and plumbing.” They strode into the barn, gathering some tools and setting them in the back of her four wheeler and were soon on their way.

  Sabrina pointed out the spot where she suspected the damaged pipe was located, and soon Matt had dug down and uncovered the PVC pipe. “It’s like surgery,” he said as he cut a section of the cracked pipe while Sabrina measured the new part. They fastened the new pipe with new couplings, and Teflon tape, cementing it into place with PVC cement. “We should wait a bit for it to dry and then test it out. Twenty minutes should be enough.”

  Sabrina put the tools back into their vehicle. “So, how have you been doing?”

  Matt grinned, sitting on the ground. “Pretty good. It’s been an interesting year so far.”

  “Looks like it.” She joined him on the ground, pushing his knee with her hand. “He sounds like a decent guy.”

  “He is,” Matt admitted, a shy grin on his face.

  “And?” Sabrina scooted around to face him. “C’mon, I want details. Tell me what’s going on.”

  Hell. “We’ve only been dating for a couple weeks, Sabrina. It’s fun, and right now, I’m enjoying it. But I don’t know what’s going to happen. He’s not from here. Hell, he lives in a house with wheels. I know he’d planned on being in Texas for a while and then heading out. Back on the open road.”

  “Maybe he didn’t have someone to hang around for.” When Matt didn’t answer, she continued. “Mateo, you’re allowed to have someone to love in your life. Maybe you should add that column to your stupid spreadsheet.”

  Matt rolled his eyes at her. “You’re assuming a lot, you know.”

  But she kept talking. “I’m serious. You’re a success at work. Everyone thinks you’re amazing. But don’t get so caught up in being Mister Perfect and afraid of failing that you miss out on a wonderful guy right under your nose.”

  Matt looked up at her. “You think I’m afraid of failing? “

  “Have you met you, Matt? Everything is a contest that you have to win, a battle where you have to come out on top.”

  That was crazy talk. He stood, stretching his legs. “I don’t think so.”

  “Back to what I was saying.” Sabrina stood up and looked him square in the face. “Sawyer is easily the hottest man to walk into that shitty little town in years, and he wants you.” She nudged him. “He really likes you.”

  Matt started glancing around the pasture. “That’s funny,” he replied. “I don’t see your significant other around here anywhere.” Giving her a pointed look, Matt squeezed her shoulder. “Or is this a ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ sort of moment?”

  She snorted, peeking down at her watch. She rose and headed toward the four-wheeler. “Point taken. And next time there is a hot guy who’s in love with me and I’m ignoring him, feel free to pull me aside and point out how I’m fucking up my life.”

  “Deal.”

  “I’ll call as soon as I turn on the water.” Sabrina drove off in the direction of the water shut-off valve and a few minutes later, Matt’s phone rang. “How’s it looking?” he heard her ask.

  Matt glanced down at the sealed pipe. “We did it, Sis. I’ll start filling in the hole. I’ll meet you back at the barn.”

  When Matt and Sabrina entered the kitchen, they saw Sawyer and Elena setting up their assembly line all along the kitchen table. “Okay, what’s the story here?” Matt inhaled, the kitchen filled with the smell of something warm and meaty coming from the stove. “Can I just get a bowl of whatever that is?”

  “No.” Elena aimed him toward the kitchen sink. “Go wash your hands. Then go get your grandpa and come back and sit down.”

  They walked to the sink and washed up, and Sabrina headed to the back of the house to locate her grandfather. Matt recognized the corn husks soaking in a bowl next to the sink. “Need this?”

  “Yes, bring that. Drain it first.” Elena turned her attention back to the stove, where Sawyer stirred an enormous pot. “How does the meat look?”

  “Tender,” Sawyer said. “Drying out a little bit.”

  Elena smiled. “That’s what we want.” Looking back over at Matt, she pointed at a chair at the kitchen table. “Sit.” Soon Sabrina and Hector joined them, as Sawyer brought over a huge bowl filled with a shredded meat in a red sauce and set it down.

  “Is that pork?” Matt asked.

  Elena nodded. “It is. Sawyer made the Ancho chile sauce.” She set two bowls of masa dough on either side of the table where everybody could reach it more easily. “Alright, here we go.” Sitting next to her husband, Elena assembled a tamale for them to see. “You hold the husk in your hand like this, and then spread a little of the masa, not too much.” She showed everybody the thin layer of dough on the husk, then added some meat and folded in the sides and bottom of the corn husk, revealing a neat little package for all to see. “Okay, get started.”

  Matt watched as Sawyer made his first tentative tamale, his eyes on Elena's quick, sure hands, trying to emulate her moves. He had trouble folding it, so Matt reached over and held his fingers, demonstrating how to wrap it all up.

  As each person finished, they handed their tamale to Elena, who collected them and set them in a large stock pot. When the pot was full, Hector put in on the stove to steam while everyone else continued making the next batch.

  A couple hours later, Hector took the last of the tamales out of the steamer and set them aside to cool. Sabrina wrapped cooked tamales by the dozen, peering over at the last pot and counting. “We should have almost twelve dozen when we’re all done. Not bad for an afternoon’s work,” she grinned.

  “Everyone will get to take some home.” Elena walked toward the sink where Matt and Sawyer finished washing and drying the dishes. “Thank you, boys,” she said, giving each man a hug.

  Matt saw Sawyer leaning into that hug. “Thank you. I pick up so much whenever I come visit you. I can't wait to write about this and try to make them myself.”

  Elena smiled brightly. “You can understand why it's a family activity in our culture. Very labor intensive, but many hands make light work.

  Sawyer looked reflective. “My mom always says that. It’s true.”

  Matt watched them, his eyes glowing with affection for both of them. He wiped his hands on his jeans, Elena clucking her displeasure. “Hey you.” Matt shuffled over next to Sawyer. “You wanna go for a walk?”

  “I’d love to.” Sawyer’s blue eyes sparkled brightly. “Let me get my jacket.”

  They walked out the back door, and for a moment Matt thought about just walking out in the trees, go down by the river where they’d been before. But when he spotted the barn door open, he had another idea.

  “What are you doing?” Sawyer asked as Matt slid the barn door behind him, latching it closed.

  “If you insist on sleeping in the guest room,” Matt began, walking toward Sawyer, “then I thought we could have a little alon
e time out here.”

  “Oh my God.” Sawyer’s eyes grew wide as Matt’s arms wound around his waist. “A literal roll in the hay.”

  “You don’t have to roll.” Matt tugged him toward an empty horse stall. “You can just lie there.”

  “That’s awful, Mateo.” But Sawyer’s hands slid under Matt’s shirt, lightly scratching his back until Matt shivered. “Cold, baby?”

  “I’m good.” Matt nuzzled his nose along Sawyer’s jaw, his fingers ghosting down Sawyer’s body, cupping his bulge through his jeans. “I’m great.”

  “Awful,” Sawyer repeated, then kissed him tender. Matt’s free hand lifted to Sawyer’s hair and tugged at his hair tie until it was free. He loved the feel of Sawyer’s hair in his hands. Stepping backward until his legs hit a soft bundle of hay, Matt pulled back from those soft kisses long enough to reach over and grab an old blanket thrown across the stall. He spread it on a pile of hay bales and lay back on it, pulling Sawyer on top of him.

  Sawyer’s mouth found Matt’s neck, his skin on fire everywhere Sawyer’s tongue dragged across his skin. He unzipped Sawyer’s pants, laughing as Sawyer worked on his jeans and soon they were stroking each other, sharing startling sweet kisses, the two of them oblivious to everyone else in the world, as if all that mattered were the two of them in that barn.

  Sawyer drew the line at showering together at the ranch, so after dinner he went to wash up and get ready to turn in for the night. Matt sat at the kitchen table, nibbling on popcorn with his laptop open. Maybe a wallet, he thought to himself, clicking on a link that led him to a page filled with Gifts for Men.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “Wha-” Matt glanced up, jumping in his chair as Sabrina touched his arm. “Dammit, you startled me. I’m going to get you a bell to wear around your neck like a cat. Don't just pounce like that.”

  “Meow.” She glanced over his shoulder. “What are you looking at?”