by Jake Mactire
“It’s a lot to go through now, sir. I’d rather get past all the details here and then read the letter.”
“I certainly understand, Mr. Connelly. Losing someone you are close to is always a difficult thing, and I remember you and your father being very close.”
“I reckon so.” I couldn’t think of anything more to say that wouldn’t get stuck on the big lump in my throat.
“Mr. Connelly, that is pretty much it; I took the liberty of filing your father’s life insurance claim for you. If there is anything else I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thanks, sir. I appreciate all the help.”
We said our goodbyes and headed out. Next stop was the garage where my truck was. When we got there, I was happy to see it was ready. They’d even washed and waxed it and vacuumed the inside. I was really happy to get it back. We still had a couple of hours to kill before dinner, so we headed to the mall. Sandy was in seventh heaven to be able to shop. Mike and I were less excited. We did spend some time in the Western wear store looking at boots and hats.
It had hit me when Mike moved in that he didn’t have a whole hell of a lot of gear. I knew he wouldn’t let me outright buy him stuff, but with Christmas only a little over two months away, I was looking and listening real close. I was thinking maybe for him also a custom-made pair of boots from Rocketbuster Boots, but how could I get the tracings of his feet for the cobbler? I’d run it by Sandy when we were alone. I had planned when the money for the beeves came in to buy a new rodeo type saddle, and now my choice could be a bit more extravagant. There are two things cowboys, no matter how tight, will spend money on, boots and saddles. I was no exception.
We finally headed over to the restaurant and got a table. I decided to go all out and ordered a bottle of Chianti.
“Mike, buddy, I know you always want some appetizers, what about you Sandy?”
“Sounds great, I am kinda hungry.” The waiter came over with our bottle of wine. I ended up looking at the cork and tasting the wine. It was excellent.
“We’d also like an order of the fried calamari, the mozzarella sticks, and stuffed mushrooms.”
“Very good, sir.”
“Jeff, what’s calamari?”
“Squid.” When I answered, Mike looked aghast.
“Squid? Like those things with tentacles that live in the ocean?”
Sandy was trying hard not to laugh.
“You got it. They’re really good; if you don’t like ’em, you can stick to the mozzarella sticks.”
“I reckon you better ask for another order of the mozzarella sticks then.”
“Oh for heavens sake, Mike, just try the calamari.” Sandy was giving him a severe look, but her eyes were laughing.
“I’ll try ’em, but I ain’t gonna like ’em.”
“Well then, that’s just more for me and Jeff.” When the appetizers came, Mike put several mozzarella sticks and stuffed mushrooms on his plate. He took one small piece of calamari, which he pushed around his plate several times. I called the waiter over and ordered Mike a shot of grappa. He looked at me real suspicious like.
“What’s grappa?”
“Italian brandy, you can use it to wash down the squid.” The shot came. Mike picked up the piece of calamari like it was poison. He dipped it in the aioli sauce and put it in his mouth. He began to chew. He got a look of surprise on his face.
“This is good! I’ll be damned, it’s real good.” He reached over and put several more pieces on his plate. Sandy and I both laughed. Between mouthfuls of calamari, Mike was asking Sandy about Halloween.
“Jeffy and I were talkin’ about Halloween. We figured it might be kinda fun if we all went as the X-Men.”
“That sounds like fun. I’ll ask Maria if you want to ask José and Josh. I figure Josh can ask Renee.”
“Sounds like a plan. Which character do you wanna be Sandy? Jeffy’s gonna be Wolverine, and I’m gonna be Gambit.”
“Hmmm… Jean Gray is too serious for me, so Rogue might work.”
“Should be fun; it’ll certainly be different than all the folks dressed up like Dracula.”
“What do ya mean, Jeff?” I looked at Mike.
“Every year it seems there’s five or six Draculas, right Sandy?”
“Right, and three or four pirates.” I winked at Sandy and turned to Mike.
“Straight folks just don’t got any imagination.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every year in San Francisco on Halloween, they block off Castro Street and let the folks in costume wander around. Some of these guys come up with incredible costumes. Last year I went as Hercules.”
“I’d love to see a picture of that.” Sandy smirked at me.
“How’d you dress, Jeffy?”
“I let my hair grow a bit and wore a leather headband. I went without a shirt and wore a little kilt type thing made outta strips of leather hangin’ from a belt. Then I got the sandals that lace up your legs.”
“I bet that looked real nice. Weren’t ya cold?” Sandy was trying to keep from laughing when Mike asked me that.
“A bit.”
She finally broke in and asked, “Was it worth all the admirin’ stares to be that cold?”
“I reckon it was.”
Mike finally took his shot. He started coughing and sputtering and finally choked out, “What in the hell was that stuff?”
“Grappa, Italian brandy.”
“That was rough, gimme good whiskey anytime.”
“Yeah, I like whiskey better myself.”
“You just about all ready for the dudes, Jeff?” Sandy was pretty excited about the dude ranch idea.
“Yep, about as ready as we’ll get. I got all the food ready, and I’ll get a permit to cut a tree in the national forest. I reckon they’ll all think that is really fun. I’ll put outdoor lights on the trees in the front yard, too, so they’ll look like little Christmas trees.”
“I bet they’ll really like that.”
“I hope so. I just thought, I should’ve gotten some games in the mall. Board games that everyone can play. Maybe a few DVDs, too, like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Charlie Brown Christmas. I know the kids would love that.”
“I reckon we’ll think of lots of things like that, Jeffy. You might wanna hold off a week or two, and then we can come back to the mall rather than makin’ three or four trips.”
“You’re right as usual, buddy.” We spent the rest of the dinner planning for Halloween and for the dudes. Sandy had looked at the website and had some good suggestions for improvements. I wanted to stop by the co-op tomorrow and get some digital copies of the pictures for the exhibit to put on the website. Things were moving right along.
After dinner, we said good night to Sandy. She was staying in town with Maria. Mike and I began the long drive back to the ranch. We held hands as I drove. It sure was nice to have my truck back. A good part of the drive to the valley goes right along the Columbia River. It’s huge. The country out here is pretty desolate. Along the river most of it is desert, but it has its own beauty. It looked all silvery and seemed to glow with a cold light as we drove along the road. One thing I really appreciate about Mike is he’s in love with this land as much as I am. I prefer the area around home, which is partially forested, to the desert, but I can’t deny that the desert has an austere and stark beauty.
We got to Pateros and reached the turnoff that headed up into the valley and eventually over the North Cascades. Once we got to Twisp, we were in prime deer country. It’s a migration route, and there are signs posted all over about how many wrecks deer cause every year. We started counting the deer. By the time we got to Winslett, it was over sixty. There were even more, west of Winslett. By the time we pulled into the ranch, we had counted one-hundred-twelve; pretty amazing. We were still holding hands as we walked toward the house.
I noticed something in the sky, and told Mike, “Buddy, let’s go around to the back.” He looked at me funny, b
ut followed without comment. As we got to the back porch, we had a clear view north. The trees didn’t start until a fair ways from the house, so we had an unobstructed view of the sky. We sat down on the edge of the porch, and I put my arm around Mike. It was cold, I was sure below freezing, but we were warmly dressed. To the north, in the sky was a shimmering curtain of red, orange, and yellow. It moved as if touched by an unearthly wind. It was crisp and cold and the air seemed to vibrate and hum. Other than that, the silence was all consuming.
“Look, buddy, isn’t that somethin’?”
“Is that the northern lights, Jeffy?”
“It sure is. Have you ever seen ’em before?”
“No, I haven’t. They sure are incredible aren’t they?”
“They are. I’ve never seen ’em this early in the year before though.” We were whispering as if our voices would affect the amazing light show in the sky. The silence around us seemed to be almost in reverence of the dancing curtains of light.
“You know, life with you just keeps gettin’ better and better.”
“Thanks, buddy.” We were huddled together. I could feel the cold in my butt from the cold wood of the porch. My legs were gettin’ cold too. Even though I had long handles on, when it’s cold, if you’re not moving, you get cold. The cold, however, wasn’t enough to make me want to go in and stop watching the aurora.
I leaned over to Mike. With my hand, I gently cupped his chin and pulled him into me. I could taste garlic from the restaurant, over the wintergreen and tobacco of dip. We gently touched tongues and shared. It just seemed like the amazing display in the sky called for a kiss, a tender caring kiss, which spoke volumes without words. We continued to look up at the lights. It must’ve been about an hour, and then they started to fade. We still sat there, just looking at the moonlit fields and woods and the millions of stars in the sky.
“Jeffy, you know I ain’t never loved nobody else like I love you?” Mike leaned into me. I squeezed him with the arm around his shoulders.
“I know that, Mike. It’s the same for me. It’s almost like we’ve known each other for years.”
“It does feel that way, buddy. Let’s get inside before we freeze our asses off.”
“One second.” Mike pulled me into him, and we kissed again. “Okay. Now let’s head in. I just wanted to kiss you once more under the stars.”
“I’m glad you did. It was really nice. Now inside. We done used up this day.” Within fifteen minutes we were in bed, asleep, bare assed in each other’s arms.
Chapter Eighteen
WE HADN’T set the alarm, and I was shocked when I woke up and looked at the clock on the bedside table, and noticed it was almost eight. I hadn’t slept that late in a long time. Mike was curled up with his head pushing against me. My arm was thrown across his shoulder. He was snoring, not loud, but a gentle snore. I just looked at him. His blond hair was all tussled and messed up. His red beard seemed especially bright against the dark of the hair on my chest. He had a contented little smile on his face. I was content just looking at him. It always struck me anew each time I studied him just how good-looking he is. He always got me going, and this morning was no exception. I could feel a rush of blood and a stiffening below the covers. I looked up at the skylights. It looked like another cloudy day. If it was later in the year, I’d think from the dark clouds out there we were in for snow. Mike stirred next to me. He stretched lazily and moved over and cuddled against me.
“Mornin’, buddy, you sleep well?”
“Like a rock, how about you?”
“Really good; I’m surprised we’re still in bed. I ain’t slept this late in a long time.”
He ran his hand over my chest and belly and down to my cock. He chuckled as he grabbed it.
“Rock is right, Jeffy. Let’s stay in bed a little longer.” He moved up, and we kissed. It started out gently, but we began dueling tongues more aggressively. He was chewing lightly on my bottom lip. His hand moved down to my balls, and he began fondling and massaging them. It felt great.
“Jeff? You know how yesterday you said I could fuck you if I wanted?”
“Lemme guess, you want?”
“I do.” He was looking at me with a mixture of tenderness and longing.
“Let’s go for it then; only one thing, I only been fucked once before, so go slow, okay?”
“Maybe I better not then. I never fucked anyone at all.”
“No. I want to experience you in me. To me fuckin’ is a commitment kinda thing. And I’m committed to you. How about I sit on you?”
“Okay, when you’re ready, just tell me what to do.” He began licking my nipple. Normally I don’t really like that, but it was nice. He moved over me, his tongue in the treasure trail of fur down my belly. He took his time, slowly, teasingly, until he reached my cock. He continued fondling my balls as he licked my shaft. After a few minutes of that, he started licking my balls.
“Yeah, buddy, that feels great. Keep goin’. Oh yeah!”
He then moved down with his tongue to my ass. It felt great. I was the one squirming around and moaning now. I could feel myself relaxing, and he continued to lick and shove with his tongue. He came up for air and asked me to throw him the lube, which I did. I felt the cold of the lube against my hole as he rubbed it with his finger. He then slid it into me. I’d finger fucked him enough that he knew to go right for the gland. He gently rubbed it as he worked his finger in and out. I was still moving around and moaning. I relaxed more, and he worked in another finger. It felt really good. I began to feel stretched when he put in yet a third finger. He gently worked them in and out and around.
“Jeffy, I think you might be ready. What do you think?”
“Get the rubber on and get lubed up and lie on your back.” He did so, and I straddled him. I put some lube on my ass and took hold of his cock. When I did, he shuddered. I positioned it and pushed against him. I pushed a little too hard because I felt a sharp stab of pain. I just held there, waiting for the area to relax again.
“Jeff, we don’t have to do this.”
“Tell me how it feels, buddy.”
“It’s amazin’; you’re all warm and tight. And I like lookin’ at you.”
He had a good view. I’d pulled up so I was squatting on him. My knees were wide apart, and my cock was sticking up and out. He reached up and rubbed my chest.
“Okay, cowboy, I’m gonna ride you.” The pain had subsided, and I began to gently rock.
“Oh Christ! Jeffy, that feels so good. I can’t believe it. I’m inside you!”
“Does feel good, don’t it buddy? Just concentrate on how good. You like fuckin’ me?”
“Hell yes. I love this. It feels so good.”
“Yeah, buddy, your Jeffy’s fuckin’ himself with your big dick. You’re makin’ him feel real good. You’re one hot fucker, buddy.” He was just moaning. I continued rocking back and forth and moving gently up and down. To my surprise, I was enjoying it. I normally didn’t even like my ass played with, but with Mike, it was real nice. We looked at each other as I rode him, both of us taking our time, enjoying pleasuring each other.
“Jeffy, I love the way your big cock moves around when you ride me. You are huge!”
“That big dick is there for you, buddy, for your pleasure exclusively.” He looked around and spotted the lube. He reached over and got it, and poured some on my cock. He began stroking with one hand while he tugged on my balls with the other hand. It felt so good. I wasn’t gonna last much longer.
“I’m close, buddy.”
“Go for it! Cum all over me.” I looked at him smiling up at me; that was all it took. I shouted out loud as the first shot hit the headboard. The second ended up all over Mike’s face, the rest on his chest. I pulled off and then took the condom off his cock. He looked real hot, hands behind his head and those patches of red hair under his arms. I went down on him and took his cock in my mouth. He began moaning and whimpering as well as squirming around. His balls were all p
ulled up tight, so I figured he was about ready. After about a minute, he began breathing hard, and my mouth filled with the salty, bittersweet taste of him. I kept it in my mouth as he spasmed. When he was drained, I moved up and kissed him, putting some of his own juice in his mouth. We both swallowed.
“Thanks, Jeff. I’m glad we tried that. I’ll be honest, it was great, but I think I like getting fucked better.”
“You’re welcome, and that’s fine with me; I’ll fuck you any time you want it.”
“Last night was pretty special, wasn’t it? I ain’t never saw the northern lights before.”
“I’m glad we saw ’em together, buddy.”
“Let’s get some coffee, Jeff.” We got out of bed and put on our socks and long handles and headed downstairs.
Over coffee, bacon and eggs, and fried potatoes, Mike asked me about the letter from my dad.
“When are you gonna read the letter your dad left for you?”
“I don’t know, buddy. I guess today. I just gotta be in the right frame of mind, ya know. We gotta get your truck and talk to Mary Grace today, maybe after we get home from that. So do you wanna eat here or either in Winslett or Twisp?”
“Don’t make me no never mind.”
“Let’s eat here then. I’ll put a pot roast in the slow cooker. I got a great recipe for pot roast braised in stout. Maybe we could do some more dancin’?”
“I’d really like that.”
“Me too, buddy. I wanna spend an evenin’ with ya, with no one else but us, neither one of us sick or froze or sore. Just you and me.”
“That sounds fantastic. So how do ya wanna work gettin’ my truck?”
“I reckon after breakfast I’ll put the pot roast in the slow cooker, and then we can head to town. We’ll talk to Mary Grace, get your truck, and get a loaf of good bread and a pie at the bakery. Then we can come back here and get a workout in. I wanna put some time in on the cross country ski machine. I also want to work on my bronzes.”