Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

The first couple of days of the new semester were pretty much uneventful. I definitely felt more comfortable there than I had the first day of my first semester and knew what to expect. I fit in. Gina and I had come in over the break to freshen up our classrooms. There were no mandatory in-service days for teachers over the break but a lot of us came in to get a jump on the new semester. Wednesday morning me, Gina, Laurie, Sarah, and Mrs. J were hanging in my room before classes. They were all laughing at how excited I was about our candle making class and planting my garden. Mrs. J was giving me the most shit, she thought the whole thing was hilarious.

 “Max, you’re nothing like I thought you would be” she said laughing.

 “What does that mean?” I asked with a smile.

 “I mean, when you first got here, I just assumed you’d get bored by the small town country life, but you’ve just embraced it… honestly, most guys your age who move here only last a semester before they say sayonara and head to a bigger city.” She said smiling. “Not to be sexist, but in my experience the women last longer than the men when it comes to transplants from the north.” She wasn’t judging or being mean spirited, just telling us what she had seen over the years.

 “I really love it here” I said with one hundred percent sincerity. “But If you would have told me three years ago that I would have a pet goat, be into gardening, pickling, candle making, and be excited about the possibility of bee-keeping, I would’ve laughed in your face.” That got her and the others laughing out loud.

 “I keep bees, you know” she said. Then we got off on an exciting side conversation about bees (yeah, I just said talking about bees was exciting… who the hell had I become?!). The other three eventually left out of boredom, but I was so into the conversation with Mrs. J. We were interrupted by the bell and Mrs. J exclaimed “oh no, I lost complete track of time. If you want, I’d be happy to mentor you in bee keeping.” I screamed like a little girl and hugged my new mentor just as my students were filing in. Yeah… they mocked me about that for the rest of the day (well the rest of the week to be honest). The day went by quickly and soon I was back in candle making class with Gina and BA. That night we talked about scents, of course the instructor was pushing the bottled and waxed-form scents they offered for sale as the best options, but I had researched making my own scents online. Herbs made great scents and could add flecks to your candles to make them more interesting. I had so many dried herbs left from our garden and had planned to experiment making my own scents. Sage, dill, rosemary, and thyme all made for great scents… and I had a buttload of all of them. I also read about using lavender and mint. We had a lot of both growing wild out near the barn. I hadn’t saved any from last season, but this season I would harvest both (once my future bees had their fill of them). I added that to my list of garden plans. I bought a bunch of wax and was planning out my own scent experiments. Damn! I was do into it.

 The weekend came and we spent all day Saturday reluctantly taking down the Christmas lights. They were so freaking beautiful and Brody had worked so hard putting everything up. He kept trying to convince me that it was okay to leave them up all year long in the south… ugh! I married a redneck. While he was up on the ladder, he decided to put up my barn quilt. It looked fucking awesome!!! Our BroMax logo was on display with a light above it to keep it visible at night. It was like we had officially staked our claim on the property.

 On Sunday we drove around to some car lots just to see what was out there, we didn’t see anything interesting. Brody didn’t spend money on himself very often and when he did, he was very particular. He knew exactly what he wanted and how much he was willing to spend. Daddy had his feelers out there with all his mechanic buddies; it would probably take a while to find it. Oh! And Kev posted a pic of the Nicholls’ kids in their T-shirts with a thank you note to Jimmy and Zoey. We posted it on our social sites and people went nuts! We started to get some traffic on the merchandise page, it’s not like we sold a shitload of stuff but we did sell a few things and people definitely took the time to scroll through it. We were creating a buzz and getting some attention.

 For the next several weeks I came home every night and melted wax in a double boiler on the stove. I would pour candles into old Kerr canning jars (we had boxes of them in the basement from Grammaw) experimenting with different herbs, different measures of herbs, different ways of adding them in (add them to the wax, pour them into the jar as I poured the wax, crush them into an undetectable powder, chop them into bigger pieces so you could see them in the wax, etc.). My fellow teachers, BA and Seth became my testers. I was giving them all small text candles and making them fill out forms about each scent; which ones were stronger, weaker, good, bad, pretty, ugly, etc. I would ship a dozen to Seth at a time and Label each one with a number and a corresponding from so I could get his input on all of them and he’d email his responses as he used each candle. I got some great feedback from him and the others and I tweaked and adjusted with every batch. I was obsessed with all of it. I even bought a commercial grade Wax Melter, ordered some nicer decorative jars (after I used all the canning jars that were in the cellar) and started buying wax in bulk online and having it shipped. Brody helped me set up a candle making studio in the barn right below his loft… we were close enough to each other to talk if we felt like it, but far enough away for private time, it worked out amazingly well. Jimmy seemed to love having the company in the evenings and on the weekends, and Zoey split his time laying at Brody’s feet, my feet, or in Jimmy’s stall.

 By the time Spring hit and we planted our gigantic gardens, I had run out of dried herbs. It was perfect timing because I needed to shift my focus to gardens and bees for a while. Due to my obsession with making my own scents, I decided to quadruple the size of the herb garden. I had created several recipes, or formulas (or whatever you call them) for my own original scents and… if I do say so myself… they were pretty damn good. Brody created some very cool labels and packaging for our BroMax Garden Collection of candles and we decided to sell them on our website and at the farmers market starting in the Spring as a side hustle. I planned on putting all my efforts into it over the spring and summer breaks. I had a stockpile of candles that would hopefully last until our herbs were ready to harvest. I had read so much about when to harvest (time of year, even time of day), and how to make the most of the essential oils in them to get the best fragrance, etc. I figured I had to wait about two or three months depending on the herb before I could get a good enough harvest to make some big batches of candles. Brody introduced the candles on our site and we got several orders (mostly friends and family) and they posted some great reviews on our social pages.

 We were turning Grammaw’s old place into a little business and our own personal legacy. We had a great online presence and image with a shitload of followers thanks to my talented husband. Brody handled the artwork and the technical crap, and I provided the words. We set up an infrastructure for supply and distribution that kept the wax and jars coming in, and the candles shipping out without too much hassle. I even had a back-up plan for herbs and scents in case the gardens didn’t produce enough to meet demand. We had several shirts and mugs printed by a local company that Brody dealt with through the agency so that we could sell them directly instead of through the other website. They were better quality and the profit margin was much higher, however it meant we had to keep an inventory which required a little cash investment. We set BroMax Farm up as an LLC, got bank accounts for the business, and ran all finances through it, keeping it separate from our personal stuff. It was a tiny operation but we had everything in place to grow our little side hustle. The hope was that our little business would pay for my garden and candle obsession. The best part is that it was me and Brody working together… this was OUR project and we each brought different talents and skills to the table and complemented each other perfectly. We were having a fucking blast building our BroMax Farm brand even if it was just a hobby.

 I was also spending a lot of time at Mrs. J’s helping her “de-winterize” her 6 hives, learning how to handle the little buggers, and loving every minute of it. Mrs. J was a Rockstar when it came to beekeeping. Seriously, the woman knew everything about bees, and her little farm was awesome. She was the perfect mentor for me. She helped me get my hives ready for our bees and gave me a source for ordering bees--- yeah, I had a bee dealer. It was the first Saturday of Spring Break when the bee guy came up from Georgia in a U-Haul and met everyone that ordered Bees in a Park and Ride lot. Me, Brody, and Mrs. J. went to meet the guy together. We sat in Old Blue and watched people go up to the truck one-by-one and get their bees in little wooden cages with wire mesh. It felt shady as fuck, like watching drug deals go down. Mrs. J was laughing at me and Brody looking around like we were waiting for the SWAT team to come in and raid us. Her and I had become so close, she was now one of my favorite people… I was starting to realize I was like a younger, gay, male version of her. At first the notion bugged the shit outta me, but the closer we got the more I loved the idea. She was a great human being and I admired her.

 “You guys are acting like we’re doing some shady drug deal or something here” Mrs. J said with a laugh as our paranoia amused the hell out of her.

 “That’s what it feels like” Brody said as he scanned the parking lot making her laugh even harder. Mrs. J told me several times what a great guy she thought Brody was and how lucky I was to have him. She was NOT wrong.

 The guy in the back of the truck handing out the bees called my name and the three of us walked up to the truck and grabbed our two hives worth of bees. We had already paid online, so he just handed us the cages and we walked back to Old Blue. We got two hives worth, Mrs. J had six established hives and they all survived the winter and were multiplying so she was all set and didn’t add any bees that year. She just came along to help us. We loaded them in the back of the truck, then covered the bed with a tarp so we wouldn’t lose any bees on the way back to the farm. The weave of the wire mesh was tight, but Mrs. J said some will typically escape. We all jumped back in the old truck and headed back to BroMax feeling like we just committed a shady crime. When we got home, we put on our bee gear and lit the smoker before we took the tarp off the truck bed. I had purchased full Bee Suits for me and Brody, including hats and veils. Mrs. J’s Bee Suit was older and worn and she looked like a pro. When we were all set and had blown smoke around the area to calm our new friends, we pulled back the tarp. There were a few loose bees, but nothing major… my fear of getting stung had diminished with all the training from Mrs. J.

 We left Zoey and Jimmy locked up so they didn’t spook the bees as me and Brody carried the little cages back to the hives with Mrs. J smoking the path in front of us. Mrs. J opened the first hive then took Brody’s cage and handed him the smoker. She emptied the cage into the hive as we stood there and watched. Brody was using the smoker to calm the bees and coax them into their new home while they decided whether to go in or not. Most of them went in before she closed the first hive, then we did the same to the second hive. We put some sugar water in the bottom because it was early in the season and the vegetation was just beginning to bloom.

 We moved away from the hives and into the barn to let Jimmy out to play while Brody went to the house to get Zoey and grab a bottle of wine. When he got back to the barn, Zoey ran around with Jimmy, while me and Mrs. J. sat on hay bales toasting our new hives. Brody went up to his studio to add the bees to our farm family and post pics of the three of us in our Bee Suits on social media. Mrs. J and I walked around the farm and I showed her everything I had planted and talked about my plans to get a booth at the farmer’s market. “Hey, maybe we can do the farmers market together. I want to sell my honey and some produce, but the idea of standing there alone all morning didn’t sound like fun to me.”

 “That’s a great idea!” I said without any hesitation. It would be a lot more fun to do with a friend.

 “The one downtown is a small one, it would be a good place to cut our teeth. We can move onto one of the bigger ones later if we’re comfortable” She said. She’d live here her entire life and was a lot more familiar with everything going on than me. The more we talked through the possibilities and details the more excited we both got. Me and Mrs. J an unlikely pair… but we worked well together and I was excited. Before she left, we went back and checked on the hives, they were buzzing with activity and the bees seemed to be settling in. Mrs. J. told me to check them in the morning and what to look for. All was well on BroMax Farm.

 That night when Brody came to bed, I was propped up against the headboard thumbing through my iPad checking our social, looking into the local farmers markets, researching more bee stuff to know what to expect, etc.… the usual. It had been a great day and I was excited finally have the bees in our hives, and about the idea of getting a booth at the farmer’s market with Mrs. J so I just talked, more like babbled about all the things I was excited about. Brody just sat there with this shit-eating grin on his adorable face as I went on about everything and nothing all at the same time. I finally looked at him and asked with a laugh “What?! Why are you looking at me like that?”

 Brody’s grin got wider and he responded, “Yer turning into a good ole country boy” then he paused and added “I love seein’ you happy” and kissed me. I thought about it for a couple seconds… I was happy. Happy as hell! I know I’ve said this before; this wasn’t the life I imagined for myself, but at the same time I could not think of anything more perfect. I kissed him back and then set my iPad on the nightstand and started to massage his flaccid manhood under the covers. He leaned in and kissed me as we both sat there in our boxers fondling each other. Brody pulled the covers off us with one fell swoop. The cold Spring air washed over us making me shiver, within seconds Brody rolled on top of me, his skin warming mine instantly… damn he was just the perfect fit for me in every way. His little body covered all the right parts of my muscular frame and felt so good. We continued to make out as Brody ground our hardening cocks together through our boxer shorts. The thin fabric rubbed the underside of my shaft making it grow even more, soon we were both hard. I was still leaning against the headboard as Brody switched positions and basically sat on my lap, straddled my outstretched legs, and rubbed his boxer-clad ass crack against my now hard cock.

 I put my fingers in his waist band and unsuccessfully tried to pull his under wear down. After several failed attempts Brody jumped off me, took off his own underwear and then pulled mine off too. I grabbed the gray plaid boxers from his hand and brought them to my nose taking a big whiff. Brody laughed while he watched me take in his scent and jumped back on top of me straddling me again. Now it was skin on skin as my hard cock moved up and down his dry ass crack. I reached into the nightstand, grabbed the lube, and squirted some in my hand. Brody rolled off me and got between my legs, licking my balls as I stroked my cock slowly. I felt Brody’s hands on the backs of my thighs pushing until my knees rested on my chest, then I felt his warm, moist tongue on my tight, pink hole. I exhaled a breathy “fuuuuuuck” as I let the euphoria wash over me and Brody lapped at my hole making it wet and ready. I grabbed the back of my thighs holding my own knees to my chest as Brody used his hands to part my cheeks and pushed his face and tongue deep into my hole. There were unidentifiable noises coming from me… whimpers, moans, garbled words all melding into one weird noise.

 After a good fifteen minutes of pleasuring my hole, Brody grabbed the lube, slicked up his cock, knelt between my legs and lined himself up. He looked me in the eyes as he rubbed his cockhead against my wet hole. My sphincter contracted at his touch, opening to welcome him inside of me. He pushed and his spongy head breached my ass ring with a pop. Brody stopped for just a few seconds to let me adjust before plunging deeper, his eyes never left mine. Brody kept moving his long, wide meat slab into me until his balls hit my ass. He moved his hips in a circular motion making sure I felt his girth as he opened me up. He pulled out of my passage slowly, driving me insane with pleasure. When his head popped out of me, I felt empty and begged him to put his manhood back inside me. “Put it back in, fuck me, Brodes, fuck me hard.” A grin formed on his face as he reentered me and pushed deep into me, god the pleasure was incredible. He was hitting my prostate as he moved in and out of me, slowly at first, then faster. He pushed my hand off my cock and replaced it with his own, synchronizing the strokes of his hand with his fucking and driving me to my limits. He knew my body well and would stop right before I came making me shake and shudder, after I calmed down, he’d do it again. FUCK! The man knew me so well, he knew exactly what buttons to push and how to push them.

 He started pumping harder and faster with more passion and purpose, he was on a mission to breed my ass and he had no intention of failing. Grunting and groaning he said “I’m gonna cum, goddammit, I’m gonna cum, Maxwell.”

 “I’m so fucking close, baby” I said as I exhaled in ecstasy. Brody pumped my cock harder and faster as e continued to pump in and out of me. It felt other worldly as he brought me to the brink and then pushed me over the edge. With a long, loud grunt I shot my load all over our bodies, hitting both our faces.

 “Fuck yeah, that’s hot as hell, Maxwell” Brody said as he let loose in my hole. His spunk coated my innards as he kept pumping in and out using his own juices as lubricant as his hand continued to stroke my sensitive, recently spent cock. Again, I was shaking and shuttering with the aftershock of our lust. Brody collapsed on top of me in a heap and our lips met in a loving kiss punctuating our session with an exclamation point. Brody rolled off my sweaty body and spooned me until we both fell asleep.

 Sunday morning, I got up early, pulled on my sweats and took Zoey out. Before I went out to the barn take care of Jimmy, I went out back to check on the hives. I could still hear the buzzing and saw several bees flying around the boxes, everything seemed good. I sent Mrs. J a quick pic as an update and she gave me the thumbs-up. I let Jimmy out of his stall then went to the garden to do some weeding and add some trellises for the tomatoes and cucumbers, it was a little cart-before-the-horse but I was anxious for everything to grow. The big patch of lavender near the hives had some plants that were already ready to harvest, so I took a bushel out back and picked some so I could dry it and experiment with more candle scents over the break. The other herbs and mint had a while to go before I could start picking, so my focus was on the lavender. After some time out back, I went into the barn to hang the lavender to dry, I had a pretty good set-up for drying herbs that I’d perfected over a couple months of experimenting. Brody was up in his studio painting. “Hey, you want some breakfast?” I yelled up to him.

 “Sounds good” he responded over the country music blasting from the speaker. I went into the kitchen leaving Zoey out to play with Jimmy. After about fifteen minutes, Brody came in and we sat down and ate breakfast. We were eating and talking about all the projects we had going, and what we had to do to get ready for our first farmer’s market when we heard a horn beep… and beep… and beep… “Who the hell is that?” Brody asked as we both got up and went to the front door.

 When we got outside there was Daddy standing next to a Sarge Green Jeep Gladiator with his hand in the open window beeping the horn. “So, whaddya’ think?” Daddy asked. “A buddy of mine found it. It’s three years old with 20,000 miles and checks all the boxes on your wish list.”

 Brody beamed from ear-to-ear as he approached the truck to check it out. “Wow, how much does he want?” Brody asked his daddy, and the two of them discussed details for a bit as the inspected the vehicle. “Can I take her for a spin?” Brody asked. Daddy threw him the keys and the three of us jumped in and went for a ride leaving the house unlocked and Zoey and Jimmy out in the pasture to play. The Jeep was really nice and Brody had a smile on his face the entire time he was behind the wheel.

“Old Billy is a Mechanic in Morehead City. He specialized in Jeeps. Says he’ll give you a great price for your trade… he’s got a buyer lined up already.” That comment took the smile off Brody’s face. He knew he needed a new Jeep, and wanted it, but it was killing him to say goodbye to the old one, they’d been through a lot together.

 “Yeah, I was thinkin’ of keeping her, but we don’t need four vehicles sittin’ out here rottin’” Brody said with a sigh. We drove around for a while, Daddy answered all his questions, and told him he thought it was a good vehicle at a good price. Brody had decided to buy it before we even got back to the farm. They worked out the details and Daddy took the Jeep back to Old Billy. Brody was going to go to the bank on Monday afternoon, then head out to Morehead City and trade in his Jeep. Brody spent the rest of the day cleaning out his old Jeep and getting it ready to trade-in while I puttered around the garden.

It was our first Spring together on BroMax Farm and our world was really taking shape.

  

To be continued…