by Shane Morton
“After that, I’m hungry. Guess we’re lucky that we get to taste all of this food, huh?” he beamed. “Lead the way, Lifeguard.” He slapped me on the shoulder and laughed loudly, causing a few heads to turn in our direction. “After today maybe I should call you, athlete? No… jock?” he looked at me, and the look on his face was a little lascivious. It made my toes curl. “No… I like Lifeguard. Maybe I got a little fetish.”
He turned on his heels and walked over to the elevator and pushed the button. I followed behind processing what he just said. My mind was in a constant spin today. I felt like I was being swept off of my feet, and that scared me. He would be gone back to LA in just a few days, and I would be here. I can’t fall for him. I don’t think I would survive it.
We rode up to the top of the chalet and walked into the restaurant.
“Danny, there you are. I just got everything set up over in the corner. Try everything and then tell me what it is you would like for the wedding. You did decide on the buffet, right?” Marcus, the restaurant’s manager, asked as he led us over to the small table set up with a buffet for us to sample. Marcus was the older brother of a former friend of mine who was on the football team with me.
“Yeah, I think a buffet will be for the best. Mean, that’s what Blake and I decided, finally. How’s Andrew? He still in Portland?” I asked as Blake and I each grabbed a plate.
“Of course. Andrew really likes it there, but he’s having a little trouble finding a job. He works at the grocery store, right now until he can find something in his field,” Marcus laughed. “Oh, Mr. Hudson. The chalet would like to know if they can take a picture of you for our wall of fame?”
I chortled. “Of course they do. You don’t have to Blake if you don’t want.”
“No, it’s cool. I’ll do it if Danny can be in the picture with me,” he offered. I fumbled the plate I was grabbing and just caught it before it crashed onto the floor.
“I’m sure that would be fine. Everyone at the chalet loves Danny,” he winked. “Bon appetit.”
Blake grabbed a plate and started loading it with meat and veggies. We tried everything, and by the end, we chose the salmon, chicken, and veggie skewers for the main courses. We also chose our side dishes and which rolls we wanted. Everett and Evan would both be pleased. We set up everything with Marcus and Andrea, his assistant, who would be the onsite manager for the wedding.
“Tell those lovely boys not to worry about a thing. It will be beautiful, I promise. See you on Saturday,” she said as we walked back to the elevator.
“Oh, I don’t think they are worrying at all,” Blake said snidely as he pushed the down button. “It must be nice to get married and not have to lift a finger at all.” The elevator was already there, and the doors opened, and we walked inside.
“They did invite people,” I grimaced as I pushed the button for the lobby. “That probably took them a few hours.”
“You’re cute when you’re defending your friend. But since Evan is my brother, I feel fine giving them hell. It’ll be nice to actually see them tonight, though. I’ve never been to a Fall Festival before. It sounds either exciting or really boring.”
All I heard was cute.
“So is it?” he asked.
“Is it what?” I stammered.
“Is the festival boring or exciting?” he sighed.
“Both…” I laughed. “Depends on what you decide to make it, Hollywood. I think we will make sure you have fun. There are carnival rides.” I grinned.
“Then, I choose fun. What’s next? I’m starting to feel like a broken record saying that all the time.” The elevator stopped, and we got out and started walking through the lobby.
“We get to be farmers, Hollywood.”
“Danny! Wait!” Marcus yelled entirely out of breath. He must have run down the stairs trying to catch us. “We forgot to get the picture.”
“Oh, right… The picture,” Blake grinned wickedly over at me and winked. “Where should we take it?”
“How about over here by the fountain?” Marcus suggested.
“Great idea,” Blake laughed as he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me over to stand in front of the large fountain that stood in the middle of the lobby. It was filled with pennies where people threw them in to make a wish.
He threw an arm around my shoulder and squeezed me. “Smile, lifeguard. Let’s make it extra cheesy.”
Marcus walked over, still breathing hard with a young man who I had seen before that apparently worked in PR. We had never officially met, but I had seen him around.
“Alright gentleman,” he pulled his camera up and prepared to take the photo. “I’ll take a few real quick. Are you ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” Blake smiled. It was his Hollywood smile that he used for every red carpet he ever attended. It was stunning. “Smile, Danny. It’s for the wall of fame.”
I grinned, and the camera’s flash blinded me for a moment.
“Did you get it?” Blake said nicely.
“Yes, Mr. Hudson. Thank you very much. This photo will go right next to Sly Stallone.”
“Thank you both,” Marcus said as he walked away. “See you later, Danny.”
We took off and made it back to my truck pretty quickly. We needed to hurry so we wouldn’t be late for the festival.
“Farmer?” Blake questioned, a goofy look on his face. “Are we plowing the fields or something?”
“Nope. We are gonna make some hay,” I laughed.
“You know there is a filthy joke there just begging to be made,” he raised his eyebrows up and down dirtily.
“Ok,” I laughed, shaking my head. I could feel my curls falling and becoming a little unruly. I should have worn a hat. “Let’s hear it.”
“Instead of making some hay… maybe we should take a roll in it.” He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth. I loved it when he acted silly. It normalized him and made him someone that maybe could actually…
Stop. He’s going back to LA. It doesn’t matter.
“That’s a joke?” I managed. My stomach was lurching with the idea of rolling in the hay with him. “That’s horrible. Maybe you shouldn’t make a career change into comedy.”
He looked over at me, the smile slowly disappearing. “Well, I guess I can’t be good at everything. But the idea has now been voiced.”
“You’re too much,” I said as I pulled out and headed back down the mountain.
He groaned a little and scooted back in his seat. “Dude… Danny. Am I crazy here? Is it just me or are you not feeling this a little too. Cause I’ve been a little blindsided by it.”
“No,” I said, and he looked away from me to stare out the window. “You’re not the only one,” I answered quietly. He looked back at me, his dark brown eyes wide and hopeful. “I just don’t know what any of it means.”
“Because you’re in Point Pleasant and I’m in LA?” he shrugged. “That doesn’t have to matter, I don’t think.”
“It’s not just that, Blake. Your…well you and I’m me. We are worlds apart, don’t you think? And I… even if we fell madly in love and we lived closer… I can’t stop being who I am. I wouldn’t want to be someone you had to hide from your career and your life. I don’t think I could do that,” I sighed, sadly. This got real heavy too quick. No segue, no warning, just BAM! Heavy.
“If this became something… more. If that’s’ what we decide. I wouldn’t ask you to,” he said thoughtfully.
“You wouldn’t, maybe. But what about Blake Hudson Inc? Your people don’t want you to be out, do they? I don’t know Blake… I don’t know anything right now. I’m as surprised as you are about this and it’s making my head swim a little.”
“How about we just take it day by day, for now? I really do like you, Danny. I can’t see that changing. My head is swimming too. Deal?”
“Deal.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand. Shivers shot through my body at his contact, this simple act- something that e
ven middle school kids do was melting my heart even more. I wanted Blake Hudson, bad.
We drove in silence all the way to Bob Yarrow’s farm. I pulled the truck out by the barn and had to let go of his hand when I turned it off.
“So we’re just grabbing some hay and throwing it in the back of your truck?” he shrugged.
“Oh no, Hollywood, we have to make the bales ourselves. You ever made a bale of hay by hand before?” I looked over at him and stuck my tongue out this time at him playfully.
“You’re probably going to need to stop that,” he said throatily. “It’s making me a little crazy. And no I have never made bales of hay by hand before.”
“Me either,” I laughed. “So this should be fun.”
We exited the truck and walked around. The midday sun bright and unusually warm for October.
“Damn… It’s hot,” Blake said. “So what do we do?”
“I watched a how-to on YouTube last night, so I think I’m probably a pro now,” I answered as I walked over to the giant pile of hay that Mr. Yarrow had told me about.
“Are you stealing hay, Danny?” he teased as he walked up and stood beside me. I wanted him to touch me again, so I reached over and punched him lightly on the arm.
“We are stealing hay, Hollywood.” He looked over, genuinely surprised. “I’m just kidding. Mr. Yarrow said to take as much as we needed. I’m gonna bring it back to him after the wedding.”
“I was like… really?” His face brightened as he laughed. Damn, he was beautiful. “So what do we do?”
“Okay, it’s like this. Mr. Yarrow brought us twine, and there is the trough we use.” I took out my pocket knife and started cutting long sections of twine.
“I feel like I’m on some cowboy reality show right now.” He dropped his voice as low as it could go, trying to mimic an announcer for a TV show or a movie trailer. “Can these wanna be cowboys actually make a bale of hay or will their dreams wither in the gutter. Stay tuned for more cowboy drama here on Point Pleasant TV.”
“Okay, that was funny. Maybe you’re getting better,” I laughed. “So we take this twine, and we lay it down in the trough, like this. Four pieces horizontal and then two pieces vertical that we crisscross exactly the way the video showed me. We have to make sure it’s pressed all the way down, so they stay tight.” I worked the twine and made sure it was smooth and firmly in place.
Damn it was hot. The sun was beating down on my neck, and I was already starting to sweat.
“Then we start picking up hay and stuffing it tightly down in the trough, like so,” I pick up a bunch of hay in my hands and push it down as tight as I can and turn around to him. “You gonna stand there looking pretty or are you gonna help me?”
“Pretty?” He cocked his eyebrow at me. “I prefer handsome, actually,” he laughed. “You are covered in hay.”
“Damnit,” I looked down and saw hay sticking to my polo. “Well, that sucks.” Without thinking about what I was doing, I peeled my shirt off and pulled it over my head. Blake stared at me, a lustful look slowly growing on his face. At that moment, I realized that I just opened a can of worms myself.
“Well, that is definitely better,” he growled. He too raised his shirt and pulled it over his head. His body was a work of art. Every line and contour of his muscles looked as if someone had painted them on. His abs were a thing to write bad poetry about. But, his pecs and shoulders… I felt myself start to harden as I stared at him. He had beautiful dark chest hair that led down his torso and into a treasure trail that disappeared at the top of his jeans. My imagination started to run wild.
I hadn’t dated or seen anyone since Everett and I broke up. My hand had been my only companion for the last year, and my dick was stiffening as I stared at Blake Hudson. Damn…
He bent down and picked up some hay and pushed it down into the trough. His arm muscles bulging with his effort. “You gonna stand there looking pretty, Lifeguard? And for the record, you are fucking gorgeous. Or are you gonna help?” he flexed his pecs and made them bounce up and down as he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth.
“You are too much, Blake Hudson,” I said huskily. My voice giving away my desire.
“The offer to roll in the hay is still on the table,” he said, biting his bottom lip.
“Just stuff the hay, Hollywood,” I laughed as I bent down beside him and picked up some more hay and stuffed it down tightly.
We laughed and had fun the entire afternoon. It took us a little over an hour to make four bales. We kept touching each other every so often; a hand on the back, a slap on the arm or sometimes just our hands touching in the trough as we pushed the hay down.
It was one of the best days of my life. As we drove back into town with the hay bales secured in the back of my truck, he held my hand, and his eyes darted back and forth from my naked torso to the road.
“I’m going to come to pick you up tonight for the festival. Is that okay?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, that will be fine,” I answered as the wind blew my hair about my face.
He reached over and ran his fingers through my hair. “I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I met you. So, it’s a date.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” I replied as my head spun with the idea of an actual date with Blake. “What in the hell is your brother gonna say?” I laughed.
“I don’t really care.”
We laughed all the way back to Mrs. Markles.
11
Blake
Getting to Danny’s house was effortless. My rented Lexus hugged each curve of the road as I admired the view that Danny got to see every day. It made me feel like I knew something else about him, something secret.
I was in trouble. I had fallen for Danny, and I had fallen hard. When we were at the barn, and he pulled his shirt off, I almost exploded. It took all of my will power to stop myself from exploring every hard muscle of his body at that moment. He was beautiful. I bet he gets propositioned daily when he’s working as a lifeguard. I can just see him sitting there in his chair as he looks out over the water. The sun beating down on his tanned body as every gay boy or straight girl walked by just so they could ogle the hotness that is Danny Kincaid.
His hard muscular body was lean, and he had dark nipples that made me want to take them in my mouth. God, I just wanted to kiss him and feel him pressed up against me, our bodies crushed together. I was hard as a rock. I needed to think about something else before I got out of the car. It’s not good form to have a hard-on when you pick someone up for a first date.
I pulled up into his driveway and couldn’t believe my eyes. He lived in a log cabin. It was a long two-story cabin with a green roof. It was huge, and he lived here all alone. Of course, it was the house where he grew up; it had to be. For some reason, that made me sad. He was all alone, not just in the house, but in life. I wanted to change that.
I got out of the car and walked up to the door, but before I could knock, Danny opened it quickly.
“Hi,” I said breathily. Danny was stunning. His curls were gelled back, and his blue eyes sparkled as they reflected the blue off of his sweater that hugged every gorgeous muscle of his torso.
“Hi,” he echoed bashfully.
“Wow. You look amazing. That color makes your eyes… Damn,” I couldn’t even find the right word for it.
“Pop,” he grinned. “We know a few things about fashion here in The Pleasant, Hollywood. You look pretty ‘wow’ yourself. But you always do, don’t you?” He liked teasing me, that was obvious. I liked it too.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever called me ‘wow’ before,” I reached out and took his hand. “Shall we?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this?” Danny pulled me towards my car. “You don’t drive crazy like all those other LA drivers do you? I heard you once had a bad case of road rage because of a bear.” He chortled, our hands swinging as we walked.
“That’s totally not fair. It was a bear, Danny. A goddamn bear sunning himself in the roa
d.”
We got in the car, and I headed back towards town.
“Isn’t it nice that we don’t have to think about the wedding all night?” He pulled on his seat belt, trying to loosen it.
“If Evan or Everett mention one thing, I am shutting them down,” I said haughtily. “Seriously, they do not get to ask about anything tonight. Is it bad if we ditch them early and head out on our own? I think I want you all to myself.”
He sighed and looked over at me. His square jawline tightened as he swallowed, deep in thought. “I think that would be okay. Your brother might get a little pissy.”
“What’s new,” I groaned. “This is kind of our first date. But, if I'm honest, I think I prefer you dressed exactly the way you were at the barn.” I flushed. I was acting boldly now. Fuck it. I wanted him, and I was willing to do a lot to have him. My brain exploded with what if’s and could be’s, and all I wanted was to kiss him, something I couldn’t believe hadn’t happened yet. I thought it was going to at the barn and then it just didn’t happen.
It was going to happen tonight.
“You mean undressed, I think. And I liked what you were not wearing at the barn too,” Danny’s entire face turned red. He glanced away, and I saw a small smirk creep across his face.
“You have no idea how dangerous of a statement that is, Lifeguard.” I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
“Oh… I think we both know... Blake.” He fiddled with his hands in his lap nervously. “This feels like a wildfire that’s burning out of control.”
“Day by day, Danny. Remember?” I said quietly.
“Oh, turn up here to the left, and you can’t miss it.” He pointed.
We hadn’t been to this part of the town all day, and it had transformed. The stores were open late, and booths sat all along the sidewalks. I could see the top of the Ferris wheel peeking out from above the roof of the courthouse.
“I love Ferris wheels,” I said excitedly at the prospect of riding it with him and seeing his world from up above. “Can we ride it?”