by Jake Mactire
“Let’s not talk about Spencer anymore.”
“Okay. Hey, did you notice Jason seems to really be calmin’ down?”
“Yeah, he seems to have latched on to José quite a bit. He still looks at you with those big cow eyes too.” I laughed and hit him with a pillow.
“Oh cut it out, Mike. He’s eighteen years old, for God’s sake. He probably gets crushes on older guys all the time.”
“Yeah, but it is funny watchin’ him watch you though. You know, Jeffy, on a different note, when you was in the jail, telling Spencer that no harm better come to Mary Grace?”
“Yeah?”
“The sheriff told me and Dad that the body we found was a victim of the West Coast Cutter. They reckon he’d been tortured for several days. There was residue of duct tape on his hands and ankles.”
“That’s pretty awful. I hope they catch the son of a bitch who’s responsible.”
“I do too, Jeffy. They say the guy was probably awake and aware for most of the time he was tortured. Some of the older wounds had started to heal.”
“Is that the first body they found east of the Cascades?”
“No, that’s the funny thing. The bodies have all been left in rural areas. Some were left around Mt. Hood, in Oregon, several in Point Reyes and Redwood National Park in California, and another one near Mt. Adams, south of here. The freaky thing about it, Jeffy, is he and the other guys were all killed by either bein’ gutted like a deer while alive, or havin’ their heads cut off.”
“Buddy, you’re gonna give me nightmares. You reckon we should get up and get dressed?”
“I like bein’ naked with you, Jeffy, just a few more minutes.” I laughed.
“Okay, how about tonight we go to bed early and go to sleep late.”
“Ya ain’t gonna get a no from me on that.” He snuggled into me, just enjoying the closeness. It was nice.
WE WALKED into the cantina and looked around for Al. I was wearing a black cowboy shirt with red trim and Wranglers. I had on my black hat and black boots. Mike was wearing a blue denim shirt, Wranglers, his black cowboy hat, and Rocketbuster boots. We looked around and saw his dad at a table.
“Howdy, Dad.”
I nodded hello. “Howdy.”
“Thanks for coming, Mike, Jeff.” Al was beaming again since Mike called him Dad. “You both look very nice.”
“Thanks, just our normal goin’-out clothes.”
“I would have never guessed that you’d end up a cowboy, Mike.”
“You know, Guy asked me on the phone if I could teach him to cowboy too.”
“Maybe he can come up here for summer break. I reckon we could find some work for him on the ranch.”
Mike nodded. “We always have lots of stuff to do, cleanin’, takin’ care of the dudes, yard work, and as he learns to cowboy, he could help out with that too.”
“He thinks the girls at school will be impressed that he’s going to be a cowboy on summer break.”
I looked right at Al. “Ya know, Al, I couldn’t tell ya if the girls will be or not, but the guys sure will.” I winked at him.
The waitress came by, and Mike and I each ordered a beer. Mike saw calamari on the menu and ordered a double order as well as nachos.
“I thought you didn’t like calamari, buddy.”
“Wherever did you get that idea, Jeffy?”
“I reckon from the first time you had some, how you carried on about how you weren’t gonna eat squid, and you wouldn’t like it, and all that stuff you were tellin’ me and Sandy.”
“I did try it and I like it.”
“Mike said he wouldn’t like calamari?” Al looked at us both.
“Yeah, from what I remember, he mentioned we were gonna have to order a double order of mozzarella sticks since he wouldn’t like squid. I think I mentioned he was carryin’ on like a city boy in front of a plate of mountain oysters.”
“Mountain oysters, you mean you guys eat that kind of stuff?” Al looked horrified.
“Yeah, they’re really good, ain’t they, Jeffy?”
“Yep, you can try ’em if you’re here when we cut calves.”
“Boys, you know until Cajun food got all popular, folks thought a lot of the stuff we eat is disgusting. Like crawfish for example, or alligator. A lot of people think that oysters are disgusting.”
“They just don’t know what’s good.” Mike took a swig of beer.
“Like calamari and mountain oysters.” Everyone laughed at my comment.
“You know, I taught Jeffy that song in French that you taught me, ‘La Valse du Vent Nord’.”
“Really, I used to sing that to your mother.” Mike had an incredulous look on his face. Mike, Al, and I began to sing.
“Le vent nord apres souffler
Verglas apres tomber….”
We laughed when Mike and I sang mon cher, and Al sang ma cherie. Just then, the waitress brought our appetizers.
“You guys sing really well together. I guess everyone in town knows Mike and Jeff do, but you sound really good too, sir.”
“Thank you very much.” Al seemed so much happier now that he had established a tentative relationship with Mike.
“Are reporters still calling you about finding the body when you guys were out skiing?”
“A few have. They seem to have slowed down lately though. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t pick up.”
“Isn’t that bad for business, Jeff?” Al looked concerned.
“If it’s someone inquirin’ about stayin’ at the ranch, I just call ’em right back.”
“That makes sense. It must have been really traumatic for you two.”
“It’s not somethin’ I wanna do again, Dad.”
“I imagine it is very nightmarish. It’s a tragedy that there are sick people out there that prey on guys who are closeted. I wish everybody could understand that. I guess that idiots like myself have to learn it the hard way.”
Al had a look of incredible sadness on his face. Then he spoke. “I heard on the news they found another body this morning. They think it might be one of the Cutter’s victims. The body was found in the Wenatchee River. It looked like it had been there a while.”
“I just hope they catch the son of a bitch before anyone else gets hurt or killed.”
“You and the rest of us, Mike.” Al still looked sad.
“The bastard is up to nineteen known victims now.”
“That’s nineteen too many, Mike. Jason is pretty traumatized by finding the body.”
“I reckon he would be. You think maybe I should talk with him, Al?”
“I’d let him bring it up, Jeff. He’s very concerned about how you see him. He feels sort of a hero worship for you, mixed in with a schoolboy crush.”
“You ain’t gonna leave me for Jason, are ya now, Jeffy?”
“Buddy, that’s one thing you don’t gotta worry about.” Just then the waitress came back and took our dinner orders. Mike and I both ordered the taco and enchilada combination. Al had a steak. After she left, Mike turned to me.
“You wanna go sing karaoke at the Schoolhouse Brewery on Friday?”
“That would be fun.”
“You want to go with us?” Al looked like he was gonna go off the deep end from happiness.
“I would love to, Mike.” He had tears in his eyes. “Maybe you two could come and visit me in San Francisco, or we could all meet in Louisiana.”
“Maybe. Jeffy and I was talkin’ about goin’ to Louisiana for Mardi Gras, sometime.”
“That would be so much fun! Will you two wear the costumes you wore on Halloween I heard so much about?”
“Just where did you hear about our costumes, Al?” I was pretty sure of the answer before I asked the question.
“Sandy was telling me about them. She said both you and Maria were a bit self-conscious.” I was right on his source of information.
“I’d be okay with that, Jeffy, what about you?” Mike was grinnin’ at me.
“We’ll see.”
“What did Sandy tell you about the costumes?”
“Just that Jeff’s costume, as well as Maria’s, were pretty formfitting and revealing.” Mike was chuckling until he spoke again.
“She also said Mike’s leather pants looked like they were painted on.”
“She was right about that.” I now got to grin at Mike.
“I love to watch the two of you interact. I think even most straight couples would be jealous of the easy and friendly type of relationship you have.” When Al said that, Mike almost choked on the beer he was swallowing. When he finally stopped coughing, he looked at Al.
“Thanks, that’s nice to hear. Jeffy’s my best friend.”
“And Mike’s mine.”
“Sandy jokes about it all the time.”
“I’m gonna have to have a long talk with Sandy.”
“I’ll be right there with ya, Jeffy.”
“You know that Sandy thinks the two of you walk on water. She’s always talking about how happy she is for the two of you, how she’s lucky to have you for friends, and all that stuff.”
“Sandy is one of the sweetest, nicest people I know.”
“I remember you saying that she was your date for the senior prom.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t about to take a guy, even if there was another out gay guy anywhere near my age in the valley. There was no one Sandy wanted to go with, so rather than goin’ alone, we went together.”
“I’ve been very impressed with all your friends, Mike, and Jeff.” Al smiled at us and continued. “From what I hear, people in town look up to both of you. They don’t care about your private lives.” Al was watchin’ Mike as he talked.
“Except for ‘reverend’ Spencer. I’m really glad you took a swing at him, Dad.”
“You know, Spencer’s been needin’ a lot more than just a punch in the face. He’s nasty, cruel, and downright vile. Way I see it, he’s worth about as much as a bucket of warm spit. Every time he sees me, he tries to go off on me, but he’s pretty stupid, so I can usually turn his words around on him. After a few insults, I’ll ask him to stand up and fight like a man or go back and crawl under whatever rock he crawled out from under in the first place. He’s too much of a coward.”
“Yeah, Jeffy’s right. Even Sheriff Johnston laughed when Jeffy told you that you better get a tetanus and rabies shot after Spencer spit on you. Jeffy said it right in front of Spencer.”
Al turned to me.
“Jeff, are you Christian?”
“I can’t rightly say I am. The message is beautiful, but I ain’t seen too many people who profess to believe in it, follow it at all. It seems to me to be nothin’ but hate and condemnation and people actin’ holier than thou while lookin’ down on others.”
“I understand that. What about you, Mike?”
“I agree with Jeffy. The most ‘Christian’ person I know, the one that comes the closest to the ideals Christians are always sayin’ their God entails, peace, love, turn the other cheek, do onto others, and all that, is a witch, a Wiccan. She was the one Spencer was picketin’ and sayin’ should be put to death.”
“Like I said to Jeff, I do understand. We’ve heard that same message from so many gay people in PFLAG. You know, Mike, after all you’ve been through, I’m surprised you’re so tolerant.” Al had that melancholy look on his face again. Mike looked at him but didn’t say anything. “One thing we’ve all learned, Mike, is that God made gay people gay, and who are we to question his actions. Sometimes though, you have to get hit over the head with your own actions and get really hurt to see that. I unfortunately did. Sometimes, Mike, the gay people turn out much better than the close-minded parents who raised them.”
Mike hemmed and hawed and finally answered. “I appreciate that very much. Sometimes it’s kinda hard for me to reconcile everythin’, even in my own mind. I hope ya know I’m tryin’. I also appreciate you comin’ out here and havin’ the guts to face me.” He looked right at Al when he said that.
We spent the rest of the evening making plans for the summer and a trip to Louisiana. It was a nice visit. Al turned to me as he was about to leave.
“Jeff, thanks for everything. I appreciate your opening your home to me, and most of all, being there for Mike.”
“No problem, Al. I think the sun rises and sets on Mike. I’m really the lucky one here.”
“I think you’re both lucky to have found one another. I’d better get back to the hotel now.”
“See you later, Al. Don’t forget Friday evening.”
“I won’t.” He walked over to Mike. “Thanks, Mike, for inviting me and giving me a chance.”
“Your bein’ here made me face some things I hadn’t wanted to face. It made me realize it ain’t healthy to hold in anger and bitterness. I’m still workin’ out a lot of things, but I come to realize that you really have changed and that you’re sincere in what you’re sayin’. Let’s just take it a day at a time, okay?”
“That’s way more than fair, Mike.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you Friday.” We waved goodbye. Mike and I climbed into my truck. It was cold out and crystal clear. The waning moon was shining down like a spotlight, and the stars seemed so close you could touch them. When we were in the truck, Mike moved over close to me and put his hand on my thigh.
“Thanks, Jeffy.”
“For what?”
“For bein’ there for me and lettin’ me come to my own decisions and givin’ me the support I need to do that.”
“You’re welcome, bud. Seems to me that’s part of bein’ your partner and best friend.”
“I reckon it is, but I’d also reckon there just ain’t that many people out there gettin’ that type of support from friends or partners.”
“That’s sad for them, then.”
“It sure is. So you wanna go skiin’ tomorrow, Jeffy? We could ski into Winslett, give some support to Mary Grace after that garbage she got from Spencer, and then ski back?”
“That sounds great. I miss not havin’ gone skiin’ today, but it was fun tellin’ your dad he should get a tetanus shot, in front of Spencer.”
“Yeah, who’da thunk he’d stick up for Mary Grace and give that hypocritical piece of shit a black eye.”
“Spencer’s been needin’ that and more for a long time.”
“I’m just glad my dad was the one to give it to him.”
“Sounds like you have a bit of a different opinion of your dad now.”
“Yes and no. I reckon he’s sincere in what he says. He does really feel bad for what he did to me, and that he’s tryin’ to make up for it. It’s hard to forget the hell he put me through. I just keep tryin to tell myself that if he hadn’t put me through that and kicked me out, I might not have met you.”
“So then, any regrets?” I smiled at him and took his hand in mine.
“In meetin’ you and what’s happened between us, hell no. In what he’s put me through, yes.” I just squeezed his hand.
WE RODE in companionable silence until we got to the ranch. When we got out of the truck, I stopped and looked at the sky. It was crystal clear, and the Milky Way was visible. The pines on the edges of the yard were throwin’ blue shadows in the silver snow from the moonlight. I’ve lived here all my life, but I still had to stop and admire the view. Mike came up and stood beside me. He put his arm over my shoulders. I reached over and put my hand in his back pocket. After a few minutes, I pulled him to me. I nuzzled my face against his.
“So, cowboy, how’s about I kiss you here, under all those stars?”
“I ain’t gonna say no.” We leaned into one another. I tilted my head to the right a bit and my hat brim slid over his. I met his open mouth with mine. We dueled tongues for a minute, and then he let me take charge and explore his mouth with my tongue. I could taste beer, Mexican food, wintergreen dip, and Mike. I could smell him close up, the faint hint of soap and clean sweat. A faint breeze caressed us with its icy hand, contra
sting with the heat that sprang back and forth between us. Our shadows were intertwined, forming one solid impression on the moonlit sparkle of the snow. My hand in his back pocket gripped his hard ass possessively, and I continued to kiss him gently. When we broke the kiss, he made no move to pull away. Instead, he uttered a question in one word.
“Bed?” It came out tumultuously, full of longing and emotion.
“Bed,” I answered, a firm, yet soft, response to his question.
With his arm still around my shoulders, my hand still in his back pocket, we stumbled into the ranch house. Although we were both sober, we staggered a bit into the house. It was fairly late, and everyone was asleep. We shucked our coats, hung up our hats, and kicked off our boots. We shared another long kiss before heading up the stairs and into our room. I closed the door behind us. As I turned around, Mike was unbuttoning his shirt.
“Let me.” I walked up to him and began to kiss him again. I slowly unbuttoned each button of his shirt, making sure to rub his chest and tweak his nipples after releasing each button. He was moaning in pleasure. Once I had his shirt off, I began to unbutton the buttons of his longhandles. I continued to rub his chest and play with his nipples, this time skin on skin, no cloth between us. I love to rub the thick fur on Mike’s chest, and he apparently liked it too. When I had his longhandles unbuttoned to his belt, I opened them and bent to gently bite his nipples. He groaned in appreciation. I kissed my way up his chest and detoured to bury my face in the red fur under his arms. He had the clean-sweat smell I identify with Mike. It was almost like a drug for me. After spending a few minutes enjoying, I kissed my way up his neck and fastened on his mouth.
“Your beard smells like me.”
“Good, ain’t it?” He just nodded in response. I moved in for another long kiss as I fumbled with his belt and the button and zipper on his jeans. I continued to kiss him as I pulled his jeans down and unbuttoned his longhandles. I rubbed his belly and his bush for a few minutes. He was hard and pushing up against me, but I didn’t take hold of his cock yet. I did move my hand down to fondle his balls. He moaned into my mouth. I pushed him back with my body, advancing on him, guiding him by my grip on his nuts. I maneuvered him to the edge of the bed. While still kissing him, I pulled his longhandles down, and then sat him on the edge of the bed.