by Jake Mactire
“This is great, Renee! We did make sure that your shop is listed as one of our sponsors. These jerseys are really nice.” I took off my hat and pulled my jersey on over my shirt. It was baggy but looked nice. Sandy and Maria, as well as Josh and Renee, already had theirs on. Mike put his on too.
“Like Jeff said, Renee, these are really nice. Thanks a lot!” Mike leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Josh pretended to glare at him.
“Don’t get your panties all in a bunch, Josh. I’ll give you a kiss, too, if you want.” Josh turned bright red at Mike’s quip, and the rest of us laughed. Josh joined in.
Sandy got up and got a pot of coffee and poured us all cups. “I’m not officially workin’ today, but I can get us our coffee and breakfasts.” Maria ordered the breakfast burrito, and so did Josh. Mike and I went for the chicken fried steak and eggs. Renee had bacon and eggs. Just as Sandy came back from putting in the order, Smitty, José, Jason, and Jeanette walked in. She had their breakfast orders in a flash. Renee passed out the jerseys, and pretty soon we were all wearing them. I raised my coffee cup.
“To friends and a fun day!” Everyone echoed my toast.
Maria held up her cup and added another toast. “And to victory for the Lucky Jeff Ranch Buckaroos!” José turned to Josh.
“Josh, amigo, are you going to be able to run in those snowshoes?”
“Hell, yeah, I’ll just pretend Mike is runnin’ after me to give me a kiss.” Everyone laughed.
Mike answered Josh right back. “Just remember, Josh, buddy, I got longer legs and can run faster. Besides, me and Jeffy hunt in a pack.”
“Leave me outta this, buddy. I ain’t gonna kiss Josh. Even if he begs me.”
“Well, Jeff, you don’t gotta worry about that, ’cause I ain’t gonna beg!”
“I ain’t worried at all, Josh. I got Mike, and I’d bet he’s one hell of a better kisser than you.”
Renee giggled. “Maybe, Mike, you can teach Josh to kiss, then.” Josh’s mouth dropped open, and we all laughed.
Mike winked at Josh. “Sure, Renee, if Jeffy don’t mind.”
“Since it’s for Renee, no problem. But Josh, you kiss back, and you got me to deal with.” Even Josh laughed at that one.
Sandy leaned over to me. “It’s great to see how secure Mike is now, isn’t it? Remember, not too long ago he was worryin’ if folks knew he was gay.”
“It is nice, Sandy. I’m lucky to be with him.” She smiled and then jumped up to get the food.
Breakfast was great. We cleaned it up and headed out to the ball field at the edge of town. We were there a good hour early. We got all signed in and sat down to watch the game in progress. The teams were all coed, and everyone was having fun. Then it was our turn.
The team we were playing was a team of Boeing employees. It was obvious a couple of the folks had never been on snowshoes before. I got elected as team captain, so went to toss a coin with the Boeing team captain to see who was up first. They got the toss, so we were in outfield. First up was a young lady. Mike was pitchin’, and he did a great job of getting the ball right over the plate. Her first swing was a strike.
Some guy on her team yelled out, “C’mon, Sue. Watch the ball.”
Her second swing was a lot better, and she hit a line drive right down toward first base. It stopped in the snow, and I had to run for it. I picked up the ball and started to run after her. She was one of the ones who’d obviously never been on snowshoes. I reached out to tag her, and she tripped over her snowshoes. She was lucky though, as she fell with her hand touching first base.
“Safe!” yelled the ump.
I grinned at her. “Nice hit.”
She smiled back. “You’re the famous cowboy artist who runs the dude ranch, right?”
I tipped my hat. “Guilty as charged.”
Now the guy who’d told her to watch the ball was up. He swung at the first pitch and missed.
“C’mon, dude, you pitch like an old woman.” He glared at Mike. Mike just grinned and pitched again. The pitch was low and inside, but the batter swung at it.
“Strike two!”
“Couldn’t you see that wasn’t over the plate?” Obviously the guy at bat was not a graceful loser.
The umpire laconically replied, “Yeah, I did. I also saw you swing at it. Now let’s play ball.”
The lady on base turned to me. “Sorry about Farley, there. He’s a sore loser and winner.”
“No need for you to apologize.” Mike pitched again, and this time the batter hit it. It went to outfield. Jeanette just missed catching it. She picked it up quickly and threw to Smitty at second base. He tagged the base. Sue, the first runner, was out.
“Damn it, Sue. Can’t you run? I hit the ball far enough out for you to have plenty of time to get to base.”
One of the other guys on the Boeing team yelled out, “Give it a rest, Farley. It was a good play.”
He gave me a dirty look and muttered, “The hell it was.” I could see him eyeing second base. He was probably thinking of stealing it, which was not a smart move in snow shoes. Mike noticed and threw the ball to me. I caught it and moved toward the base. Farley jumped back on it.
“Good eye there, Mike, buddy!”
“Thank ya kindly, Jeffy!” He bowed. The crowd laughed. The next batter stepped up. It was a guy who looked to be in his fifties. Mike pitched and put it right over the plate.
The batter didn’t swing, and the ump yelled, “Strike!”
“What in the hell is the matter with you, Ralph? Did you forget your glasses, or what?” Farley was a real ass. I was surprised the others on the team put up with him. Mike pitched again, and although the batter hit it, the ball went foul.
“Christ on a crutch, Ralph, put your god-damned glasses on.” The guy was really getting on my nerves. I’d just put a pinch of dip in my mouth, so I spit a wad of tobacco juice about a foot away from his snowshoe.
“Hey! Watch it, ya dumb hick.” I just turned and stared. He finally looked away. The game continued. For the most part, the folks from Boeing were fun to play ball with. We were all laughing at ourselves plodding around on the snowshoes. The only guy that seemed to really care who won or lost was Farley.
“What in the hell is up with that guy, Jeff?” Jeanette was the one who spoke, but I could hear mutters of, “Yes,” and see nods of agreement.
“Who knows? Let him ruin his own time. I’m here to enjoy myself.” We all headed over to our bench. Sandy and Maria had brought several thermoses full of coffee, so we were all able to get a warm drink. Mike was up first. He headed off to the plate.
“Okay, Jeffy, watch me to see how it’s done.” I didn’t say anything. He swung at the first ball and missed.
“I see, Mike. Now I reckon I’m supposed to do the opposite, right?” Everyone, including Mike, laughed.
Farley was pitching, and he just sneered. He was yelling out a monotonous chant. “Hey, batter, batter, batter, hey, batter.” Mike let the second and third pitches go by. They were both balls. He swung at the fourth and got a good hit to outfield. Although the ball was bright red, it sunk into the snow, and the guy playing outfield had a bit of trouble finding it, allowing Mike to get to second.
Jeanette was up. As she took a few test swings, Farley leered at her. “Hey there, sweetie, you’re gonna strike out!”
“I ain’t your sweetie, little man. And by little, I don’t mean your height.” He pitched and she swung. She got a perfect line drive which got her to first base. Farley looked as if he were about to say something, but a steely look from Jeanette seemed to stifle him a bit.
I was up next. Farley tried to rattle me. “Oh-oh, it’s the big, bad redneck. He began to whistle the tune “Dueling Banjos.” He threw the ball, and I didn’t swing. It was way outside.
“Ball one.”
“Ump, can’t you see! That should have been a strike.” His next pitch was good. I swung. I must have been annoyed by Farley because I swung really hard. The ball went sai
ling over the heads of the outfielders and landed in a snowbank. It sunk in, allowing me to run around the diamond, also bringing in Mike and Jeanette. . Everyone was patting me on the back, and Mike gave me a big hug and a kiss.
The rest of the inning was pretty good, and we were ahead, seven to zero, when the other team came up. Farley seemed to quiet down a bit. To tell the truth, I felt kind of sorry for him. He seemed like a big, overgrown, spoiled kid. Next time we changed innings, I pulled Farley aside. He seemed like he felt threatened, from the way he acted.
“Hey, guy, lighten up a bit. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses. We’re all here to have fun.”
He glared at me a second. “That’s easy for you to say, you’re winning.”
I smiled at him. “You’re right, it is easy to say that when you’re winning. I’d hope if we were losin’, I’d be able to compliment you on playin’ really well. It’s just a game though. The fun is in playin’. Look how funny and awkward we all look runnin’ around in snowshoes. I guarantee you’ll have a lot more fun if you do that, rather than worryin’ about winnin’ or losin’. I’ll tell you what, we’re all headin’ to One Eyed Jack’s in town, after the game. Why don’t you and your team join us? I’ll buy you guys a round for winnin’, if you win, or in consolation if ya lose.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Great!” I clapped him on the back. “Now let’s have a fun game.”
We continued playing. Farley was really quiet. He hit a good line drive, and Sandy complimented him on it. He actually smiled.
“Guys, we’re gonna meet them for beer and burgers after the game.” I looked around as I spoke.
Everyone liked the idea. The game continued on. We ended up winning, nine to four, meaning that we had a game to play tomorrow. We headed back to One Eyed Jack’s to meet our new friends from snowshoe softball. We all had a good time. Farley actually pulled me aside and thanked me for the invite. I reckoned he could be a nice guy if he got over that win-at-all-costs mentality.
Chapter Fourteen
THE day dawned clear and cold. Looking up at the skylight, I could see the last bit of the morning twilight being swept away by the rising sun. Today was finally the day we were headed to Phoenix for the rodeo. We had a couple of hours before we had to leave for the airport. I reckoned I’d make some coffee for us. We were all packed. I disentangled myself from Mike and got up. I reached for my longhandles, but thought it would be quite a bit warmer in Phoenix. I walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of boxers, a wife-beater T-shirt, and a pair of black crew socks. I’d just gotten that gear on and was reaching for my jeans when I heard Mike.
“Good mornin’, Jeffy. You sleep well?”
“Good mornin’ to you, buddy. I did, how about you?”
“Not really. I reckon I’m just a bit too excited about the rodeo.”
“You can always go back to sleep for an hour or so if ya’d like.”
“I don’t reckon I can get much sleep now.” He threw back the blankets and showed me what he meant. His cock was hard as rock and poking against his belly. It was framed by those smooth balls he’d kept shaved and the bright red fur on his crotch. “Ya know, Jeffy, I ain’t ever seen anyone look as good in just plain white boxers as you do.”
“Thanks, I think.” I headed over to him. I started to pull off my shorts, but he stopped me.
“Leave ’em on for a bit.”
I crawled on top of him and started nuzzling his neck. He put his arms and legs around me. I nibbled on his earlobe and then whispered into his ear. “Feels nice to be all wrapped up with ya like this.”
He let out a big sigh in response.
“It is. I never get tired of bein’ with you, on you, or in you.” He chuckled and nuzzled my beard when I said that.
“You got a real romantic way with words.”
I ground my hips into him, ample proof he really had got me going. “Actions speak louder than words. For the record though, Mike, I worship the ground you walk on. In my eyes, you’re the handsomest man on earth, one of the smartest, and someone I wanna spend every minute with.”
“That’s nice. You know the feelin’ is mutual.”
“I sure do. I like it when you show me like this.” I grabbed onto his hard cock. He moaned in contentment. Slowly, I maneuvered him over to the edge of the bed and stood up. I pulled him up with me. We began to kiss, deep kisses. I pushed my tongue in his mouth and used it to explore, to taste, to enjoy, and to cause enjoyment. He was really enjoying how I was dressed, as he was being very aggressive about rubbing my cock and balls through my shorts.
“You like these, huh?”
“Yeah, reminds me of lookin’ at guys in gym class.” I kissed him again deeply and stroked his dick, using his precum as lube. He whimpered.
“Fuck, buddy, that turns me on when you whimper like that. I bet you didn’t do this with the guys in gym class.”
“Uh, no, I, uh, didn’t.” I walked him gently over to the wall and spun him around. I pushed him so he was leaning against the wall. I ground my crotch into his butt. He pushed against me and arched his back. I reached around with both hands. With one, I continued stroking his cock. With the other, I turned his head so we could continue kissing. He was pushing his ass against me hard, now.
“I bet I know what you want.”
“I bet you’re right.” He was right next to the nightstand and reached in and got out the lube. He handed it to me with one hand and used the other to free my cock and balls from my shorts. I lubed my dick and his ass up. He whimpered again when I stuck my finger in him.
“You’re right ready, ain’t ya, buddy?”
“Hell yeah, Jeffy. I love it when you fuck me. Love bein’ that close to you.”
I put lube on both my hands and reached around him. I grasped his cock with one hand and his smooth balls with the other. I began working them as I slid into his ass. I leaned over him and put my head on his shoulder as I fucked, stroking his cock in the same rhythm as I fucked his ass. He turned his head sideways and whispered into my ear.
“This is incredible, so hot, you workin’ my ass, balls, and cock. Havin’ your arms wrapped around me when you do it.” He pulled back and looked at me.
“Jeffy. I love it when your eyes light up when I say your name.”
“It’s special when you say it. Hell, Mike, everythin’ we do together is special.”
“You like that I keep shavin’ my balls?”
“I do—it’s hot they’re so smooth. They feel nice in my hands. You keep shavin’ ’em just for me?”
“I like the way it feels, too, but I do like to do things that turn you on.”
“Like my fuckin’ you wearin’ my underwear and socks?” He turned his head again and nuzzled into my beard.
“Yeah, it’s hot.”
I moved my hips sideways, back and forth, and then picked up my speed a bit. “You like? Do I feel good inside you, my hands all over you?”
“Fuck yes, Jeffy. So hot. You’re gonna fuck me until I shoot.”
“Yeah, I am. Sweet ass of yours feels so nice. Hot and tight. Mine.”
“Oh yeah. It’s yours all right. I’m yours.” I changed the rhythm and moved slowly out and then into him.
“I’m yours too, buddy. We fit. Am I doin’ a good job pullin’ your cock? Workin’ your balls, just makin’ you feel good?” He whimpered in response and turned to kiss me. He was pushing his tongue hard against me and bucking back with his ass to meet my thrusts. I could feel him trembling in my arms and knew he wasn’t gonna last too much longer.
“What do ya want, Mike? You wanna shoot for me? Unload that big cannon of yours? Drain those smooth balls? That what you want?”
“Yeah, I want it. You gonna drain your balls up my ass?”
“That what you want?”
“Fuck, yeah.” I could feel my lower body tightening. I was starting to tremble as much as Mike was.
“Gettin’ close, buddy.”
�
��Me too, Jeff.” We found each other’s mouths and kissed, tongues dueling in the same timing as my cock in his ass and my hand on his dick. He was beginning to whimper into my mouth nonstop now. His balls were drawing up, getting ready to unload. All of a sudden he yelled into my mouth. I felt his cock spasming in my hand and his ass clamping tight around my dick. He let loose a couple of whimpers and I shot. I moved my arms up and hugged him tight around his chest, pulling him against me. I didn’t pull out of his ass. He arched his back more and turned and we kissed again. This time not a kiss that spoke of urgent need and passion, but a deep, slow, sweet kiss. One that spoke volumes without words.
In just a bit, we were sitting in the kitchen with a breakfast of bacon and eggs. We’d showered and dressed, and our gear was ready. José was due to take us to the airport in about an hour. Jeanette and several of her friends had decided to drive to Phoenix and offered to take our stock and tack as well as some luggage with them. Both Mike and I were happy that we were going to have our own horses and tack at the rodeo. If you can’t bring your stock, the rodeo association can provide it, but you never know if it’ll be any good. Both Charlie, my horse, and Thundercloud, Mike’s, were well-trained in the rodeo events in which we competed. Mike interrupted my train of thought.
“You reckon we’re gonna see any of the dudes we been havin’ here at the rodeo, Jeffy?”
“Never know. It’s pretty popular. When we saw Bryan and David west of the mountains a while ago, they’d said they might be there.”
“Yeah, that’s true, and remember the guy from Boeing who played in the snowshoe softball game, Rick? He said he’d be there.”
“He seemed like a nice guy. They all seemed like decent folks except that Farley guy.”
“That was real nice of you to talk to him and invite him to the bar after the way he’d acted, Jeff.”
“I reckon everyone has a good side. He could have been havin’ a real bad day. I was surprised to find out that the one guy, Rick, was gay. He wants to come and stay with us for a week, doesn’t he? And Susan and her husband, Gene, already booked a weekend.”