Country Boys

Good morning, how can I help you?

Just a drink and something to snack on? Well, we got that. The drinks are over there and down this aisle is candy and chips.

Excuse me? Who was that young fella that left as you came in? That was the Bradberry boy.

Which one? The youngest: Coty.

Well, he is something else around these parts. Really has divided the community. Some really don’t like that boy. The worst is those people over at Vernon Baptist. God, those people hyperventilate every time they talk of that boy. I don’t know what happened to live and let live, but those people sure do want to tell the rest of us how to live. They came around here raising hell a few times.

Why did they come after me? I sell beer and wine. They want to take all the joy out of life, if you ask me.

Ya got that right.

Of late, it has gotten worse. Just unbelievable how the most sanctimonious can be so cruel. I ain’t a church goer myself, and don’t get me wrong, if you want to go, have at it. But don’t come around telling the rest of us how to live. Sorry, I’m ranting a bit. What is it you want with the Bradberry boy?

I guess that is reason enough. A lot of people are curious about him. It was a surprise around here when that boy came out as gay. I remember the widow Hanks coming in here and just going on and on about it. I thought right then, if it riled up that bitter old woman, it can’t be all bad.

I know, that is a bit mean but…

I hear ya.

Oh yeah, the Bradberry boy. Well, the first thing you should know is his family. Those Bradberry’s have been in Wausau since…hell before the war, I guess.

Yep, all farmers for the most part. At least the line that leads to Coty Bradberry. Actually, I think that boy’s name is Colton, or something like that. But everyone calls him Coty.

You know it was rough around here up until…I’d say it wasn’t until the sixties when things started getting better. Although, it is once again tough on most of the farmers around here, has been for a while, so I guess there was just a couple of decades or so of good times. But I digress. It’s the boy’s grandparents I knew the best. You see we were about the same age. Ole Jack Bradberry was a tough son of a bitch, but he was always a fair dealing man. He died back in ’18: heart attack they say. Dianne found him in the barn. Real sad thing to find your spouse like that. Dianne, now that is a fine person. She’s a saint, let me tell ya. Still lives in that big farmhouse all by herself out on Lumberton Road. I think it was built by the Buchannan’s sometime in the late 1800’s, but I’m not sure about that.

Buchannan’s? They were relatives of Dianne. She and Jack bought the place when he came back from Vietnam after…what was her name…Susan…no that’s not right. Elizabeth! Elizabeth Buchannan died and neither of her children wanted it. Like most kids that grow up here, they had moved off to a life somewhere else. I think one of them is in California.

If there is nothing else you need, that will be five dollars and twenty-two cents. Out of ten…your change is one, two, three, four, and seventy-five…six, seven, eight cents. You want to hear the rest? Well, if you got time, that is all I got now. Business ain’t what it used to be, and it is too early for the farmers to come in for something.

Where was I? Oh, Dianne and Jack. Well, they had two boys. Dwight and Jacob. Dwight, well…it just tore Dianne and Jack up. That boy got himself killed one night out on Cullman Road. It was still a dirt road back then and he was drunk and horsing around, swerving their old Buick back and forth. He was only sixteen. Damn, haven’t thought of that in years.

Yep, he lost control and hit this big oak that was right at the road’s edge just past the creek. It’s gone now but…anyway that left Jacob, and when he finished high school, he did what other sons of farmers do; got married and started farming with his daddy. He married that Amerson girl…well, she ain’t no girl now, but Emily made a wonderful wife for Jacob and mother to those three boys.

Yes, there are three.

You’re missing Travis, which isn’t surprising. That one left. Career in the military. Last I heard was still stationed in Spain, if ya can believe it.

That’s right; Austin is the other brother. He married Rebecca Ellison and built a nice little ranch house across from Jacob and Emily. They got two, no three kids. Gosh, I think that oldest one, a girl named Amanda, is in middle school.

Yes, Coty is only nineteen, but you see, he was what you’d call the unexpected one.

Yep, an accident. Jacob and Emily had Austin, then Travis and considered their family complete, although I know Emily wanted a girl so bad. She talked about the difficulties of raising two rowdy boys, and let me tell you, those two were something else.

What about Coty? I’m getting to him. You see Austin and Travis were seven and nine when Coty was born. I know because my daughter’s two children are the same age. A girl and a boy and the sweetness two kids…sorry. Back to Coty. He was Austin’s shadow. Everywhere that boy went, Coty was on his heels. You should have seen him when he was six or seven, trying to keep up with Austin on their bicycles. It’s nearly four miles from Jacob and Emily’s place to here, but that skinny little kid was right behind his brother all the way.

When Travis left for the military and Austin was sixteen and not wanting a little kid brother following him everywhere, it left Coty alone. Well, not alone, isolated, mind you. The boy had friends. I doubt he met anyone he couldn’t become friends with. But you could see how he longed to hang out with his brother. Jacob had commented on it several times. He often said he wished there was not such an age difference between Coty and the other two boys.

But you see, despite the age difference, those boys were close. Austin was just a teenager, going out on dates and hanging out with his friends, and there was no place for Coty in that.

That’s right, Austin took over the crop farming, and Coty eventually stepped into the livestock operations with Jacob. Austin was old enough to do whatever it took, and Jacob said he was better at planting straight rows of beans than he was, so Austin took over the part he liked to do. That boy didn’t care about tending cows, but Coty, that little boy loved following Jacob around all day while they attended to the cows, and the chickens Dianne wanted for eggs. You know that boy has a thing for animals. I think he now has four or five hounds.

Nah, they ain’t no hunting dogs. That boy spoils those dogs rotten.

What about him being gay and coming out? You do want the juicy bit, don’t ya? Well, we knew that boy was different. He just wasn’t like the other boys. Can’t say exactly what it was about him, but he wasn’t one to conform, that I can tell you. But he was a happy boy. Never saw him get mad, even when Austin would take off trying to leave him behind. I don’t remember when the rumors started floating around but I was surprised. Coty couldn’t have been fifteen for he wasn’t driving yet.

Oh, a learner’s permit; you know, driving with a parent in the car with him. But around here it is no secret those farm boys do learn a bit early how to handle a truck. Hell, I remember how Austin would drive up in Jack’s old Ford truck and saunter in here like he owned the place. If his daddy had found out about that there would have been hell to pay.

He was fourteen…I think. Old Jack thought farm boys should be driving as soon as they could reach the pedals. On second thought, Jacob couldn’t have said anything, for he was driving when he had to sit on the edge of the seat and could barely see over the steering wheel.

On these back roads around here, and back then some were still dirt roads. Funny, we thought those were safer to let the boys drive on but the truth of the matter, they were dangerous, especially after a rain.

Coty and when he came out? Sorry, I tend to tell the long version. You know us southerners like to tell stories.

Yeah, and some are not so good.

Coty was fourteen, I think, when he told his parents he was gay. Boy, there was some tough times at the Bradberry house after that. Emily had told my daughter about it is how I knew of it. Said she knew but to hear him say it, well it really surprised her. Jacob struggled with it the most, but it was Dianne, his mother, who calmed the situation. Did I tell you she is a saint? She came in here sometime afterward and at the time I didn’t know what she was referring. She was agitated and I asked her what was wrong. She was taking her money out to pay for a drink, and I’ll never forget this, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and asked me, when did we forget to let people live their own lives?.

Yeah, I thought she was referring to Jim and Wil.

Who are they? You haven’t heard? Well, they are just the two ‘confirmed bachelors’ who came out gay right before Coty. It seems Coty had befriended the two men, so the rumor is the men did it to make it easier for Coty. It definitely stirred up the community, although when you think about it, how Jim and Wil lived so isolated from everyone, I don’t rightly know what the fuss was all about.

Yeah, they live out on 64 right in the curve before you get back to this road.

Yes, it is about two or three miles to the south, then you turn left on 64 heading back north. Right in the long sweeping curve you’ll see a mailbox and a drive. You can’t see the house or the barns from the road, they sit back behind the woods with their fields behind the house site.

Yep, a real private place, perfect for two men who have lived together since coming out of the military sometime in the early sixties. It’s funny, they met while serving in Hawaii. Wil, he was just a soldier, but Jim was a captain or something like that.

Yes, Jim is a few years older but…hell, that difference doesn’t seem so much now that Wil is in his late seventies, and Jim is in his early eighties.

Coty? Yes, back to his story. Like I said he was fourteen when he announced to his parents, then to his classmates at school he was gay. I can’t imagine it. Jesus, some of the shit that boy put up with afterward. I remember Austin coming in swearing up a storm and talking about wanting to go to the school to whip someone’s ass. But it was Coty who told him not to go.

Yes, there was some problems at the school. Some boys got expelled for starting fights, then the parents came to defend their son’s thuggish behavior, saying it was Coty’s fault. You know which ones they were. But things settled down, as they are wont to do, for a few years at least. It was just before Coty graduated, that tensions were renewed, all because he began to go around with this boy from Calhoun County by the name of Owen Pressley.

That’s right, Owen’s parents kicked him out when they found out about it. Dianne is the one who put him up. She did it for Coty. Did I tell you Dianne is a saint? I did, well, she is. I hear Coty had Owen at his home one weekend and they got caught. Messing around like teenagers will do if given a chance. Hell, I don’t know many around there that didn’t do it.

No, I’m not sure, but I’m sure it is an interesting story. Maybe you should go ask Coty then you can come back and tell me.

That is funny, isn’t it? But it is a story that in some ways is as old as time. The romantic aspects of seeing someone you can imagine living out the rest of your life. I remember when I first saw my Mary Elizabeth…it was…I like to think it was the same for Coty. I bet it is a good story…

Coty followed his friends out of the movie theater, listening to them talk about the ending. There was disagreement about what it meant, and he considered interrupting to tell them they were all wrong. As they neared the exit, the door to another screen swung open. People streamed out, falling in with them until the corridor was crowded.

Coty sensed him, then with a quick glance to his left, he looked at the guy that had fallen in beside him. Taller than his five ten, and lean, shirt loose around his torso. There was short blonde hair and a smooth strong jaw that made him wonder if the guy was shaving. But the thing that grabbed his attention the most was the blue eyes that glanced his way several times.

As they walked among the others, Coty watched Robert and Marie whispering to each other while walking hand in hand. He saw other couples, boys and girls out on a date, and he felt his difference. Not being able to do something so simple as to go out with someone on a date. He was out and had gone on a few dates in the last couple of months but found them unsatisfactory. No hand holding, nothing indicating it was a date, just two guys out for a burger. He glanced left again, wondering.

Coty didn’t know where he got the courage. Didn’t understand what gave him the impression the guy was gay too. Was there something between gay guys, some sense of the other. Or was it just a desperation to find someone so great it reeked from every pore of their skin. Just before going through the exit doors, he turned to the guy.

“Hey, I’m Coty.”

“Huh…oh…I’m Owen.”

“What are you and your friends going to do now?”

“We…they are going home. I was…”

“You want to go with us? We’re going to that tavern in town for a burger.”

“Sure.”

“You need a ride, or do you have your own car?”

“I drove dad’s truck.”

“Well, Owen, follow me. I’m in that white Dodge truck,” Coty replied, stepping out on the sidewalk, and pointing to the far-left side of the parking lot at his truck.

“Okay.”

Main Street was lined with vehicles along the block with the tavern and coffee shop, the two businesses operating until eleven at night. Coty turned down Third and parked behind the hardware store and saw Owen pull in next to him. Robert and Marie had drove on to the next block and Rachel and Amy had parked on Main before Third Street. It gave Coty a chance to be alone with Owen. He watched Owen check himself in the mirror, then climb out.

“Hey, I should tell you something. I don’t want someone to say something in the restaurant and…well…I just…” Coty was stammering.

“What is it?”

“Promise you won’t freak out?”

“I’ll try but you’re making me worried. Are you a serial killer or something?”

“No, nothing like that,” Coty replied, smiling at the insinuation. “I’m…gay.”

“Oh, I see,” Owen replied.

“Do you have anything to say about it?”

Owen looked toward the street then back at Coty and he smiled, then laughed.

“Well…” Coty pushed for a reply, getting more nervous.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“I promise.”

“I’m gay too.”

It was Coty’s turn to smile, then laugh.

“I was hoping,” Coty whispered.

“You thought I was gay when you asked me to tag along?”

“Yes…is that so bad?”

“No.”

“So, this can be our blind date.”

The first few months was frustrating for Coty. Owen lived nearly fifty miles away and with both in school, Coty with chores on the farm, and Owen working parttime with his father installing drywall, they had little time together. They were lucky to get together on Saturday night, Owen’s parents adamant about him being home by ten o’clock so he could get up for church the next day.

Coty swore they knew and did everything they could to keep them separated.

Fall passed and the holidays arrived with family gatherings and dinner with family friends made the break from school pass too quickly. Winter arrived warmer than usual, then turned bitter cold, even a light snowfall the first week of February showed winter was not taking a break, just arriving a bit later than usual. Spring arrived wet and rainy, but Coty was wound up with his birthday approaching. It landed on the second Saturday of the month and his mother agreed to a party and cookout. He invited his friends from school and the cousins from Spanish Fort that were supportive when so many others had not been, and he invited Owen.

On the day of his party, Coty was up early, making the rounds with his dad to check on the cows. Just before lunch he gathered eggs and fed the chickens. Coming in for lunch, he could smell the cake baking in the oven.

“Go wash up and get stuff out to make sandwiches,” said Emily as she moved around the kitchen preparing for the party.

“Okay,” Coty replied.

After lunch, Coty found himself in his room just staring at the ceiling as he lay on his bed. He couldn’t stay focused on any one thought but over and over, the idea he was eighteen came back to him. He was eighteen. He was a man now, even though he felt no different. There was no transformation from a teenager to a man, no change in his body he could see. He was still this average height, average weight guy, and his beard came in so patchy he dared not try to grow one. Robert had a full beard, as well as Keith, and Alan had a goatee. It made them look so much older. Then he thought of Owen and how he was so baby faced. He thought of the smoothness of the cheeks, the jaw, and the chin. Then he thought of the softness of the lips when he had pressed his own against them.

Owen had been the first to leave, needing to get home before ten. It broke Coty’s heart that the one person he wanted to stay, the person he felt such a strong need, was the one who had to leave. He had walked him out and in the shadows of the front yard, out of sight of everyone, they had kissed, then made plans for the next day. Owen would go into town after church for lunch and Coty was meet him there.

Back inside, his friends were gathered in small groups, playing video games in his room or in the living room, or sitting around the dining table and out on the screen porch just talking about their approaching graduation, the latest gossip, or about Coty and Owen. They had saw how hurt Coty had been when Owen said he had to go. They saw how the two guys walked out of the house, and when Coty came back in, they saw it in his eyes, a disappointment they didn’t begin to understand.

Early the next morning, Coty eased out and went to Jim and Wil’s place. It had been a couple of weeks since he had visited them, and he needed to talk to someone about Owen. He pulled down the long drive, passing under the tree canopy and into the bright morning light that made the site around the house and barns an oasis. The house sat on a rise and the drive circled in front. To reach the porch, one had to climb a set of brick sets from the drive up to a narrow yard area, then another set of steps up to the porch. Coty climbed out of his old truck as was met by Cordelia and Winston, two redbone coon hounds that ruled the property. He petted Winston, then Cordelia, the one who sought the most attention. Then he climbed the steps up to the porch, where Jim and Wil were sitting, drinking coffee and reading. He knew it was probably their third or fourth cups. Jim said it was their worst vice, bourbon a close second.

“The birthday boy has arrived,” said Jim.

“Hey guys,” Coty replied.

“Come on up. Coffee?” asked Wil.

“Sure, but I can get it.”

“No, I’ll get if for you; sit, sit, and you can tell us about your party.”

Coty sat in one of the rockers while Wil went inside. Jim swung lazily in the swing at the end of the porch. He had set his novel down next to him. Always curious about what the two men were reading, Coty glanced at Wil’s book in the seat of his rocker, then over to the book next to Jim. Wil was reading ‘Number Eleven’ by Jonathan Coe and Jim was reading ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel, making him wonder if there was some connection between the two books, both having eleven in the title.

“Here ya go,” said Wil, coming out with a cup of coffee and a gift bag. The bag was dark blue with silver paper exploding out of it.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have,” Coty replied, taking the bag, and sitting it down at his feet, then taking the mug of hot coffee.

“Just the way you like it. Loaded with cream and sugar,” joked Wil.

“Thanks,” said Coty, then he sipped the hot coffee, feeling it warm him from the inside as it traveled down. After a few sips he swore he felt himself calming. He sat back and looked across the front yard, how it sloped down to the tree line, the drive a dark cave passing through. He watched Cordelia and Winston move around his truck, checking it out as they did every time. A squirrel made a daring run across the yard to his right, and Winston saw it. A chase, both hounds running hard, making the squirrel race up one of the pecan trees. The hounds circled the tree, stood on hind legs, front paws braced against the trunk, and barked and howled.

“Cordelia! Winston! That’s enough,” shouted Jim, smiling at the dog’s antics. “Crazy dogs,” he uttered when he turned back to Coty and Wil. “Go on, see what the gift is. You might not like it.”

“Well, I know it is a book,” said Coty setting his half-finished coffee down and picking up the gift bag.

“Of course, it is a book. You live out here in rural America, and despite all the grandness of life out here, you cannot let yourself get too isolated about the rest of the world,” said Wil.

Coty pulled out the book and turned it so he could see the front cover. The title took up most of the cover, a stylized font with symbols, images and decorative lines surrounding it, all hovering over a flat landscape. One old red truck was parked to one side. ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’. He knows without reading the inside jacket, the book will have some gay theme to it.

Coty had been a reader before meeting the men, for his mother was an avid reader and encouraged him and his brothers to read too. Austin was too much like their father and never would finish a book, eventually just giving up on it, but Travis, then Coty took to it. For Coty, it had been Sci-Fi mostly, but after meeting Jim and Wil, he began to read more fiction, especially stories involving gay characters.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

“So, how did the party go?” asked Jim.

“It was good.”

“But?”

“Owen had to leave early. He has to be home by ten, you know.”

“So, he can get up early and go for more indoctrination,” said Wil.

“Yeah…it sucks. We never have any time together. We barely see each other and when we do, Owen has to rush home. I’m sure his parents know something is going on and…”

“Try to keep you apart?”

“Yes.”

“What’s Owen going to do after graduation? You said he has no clue what to do and has even mentioned joining the military just to get away from his parents.”

“He still doesn’t know what to do. I just wish…”

“What?” asked Jim.

“He would come work with me, on the farm.”

“Are you serious? And if so, does he know that is an option?”

“Yes, and, well, not really. We never get to talk long and when the subject comes up, Owen gets weird.”

“He’s just insecure about where his life is going. You can’t blame him for that.”

“I know. But it feels like we’re just pretending to be boyfriends.”

“What do you mean?” asked Wil.

“It’s just…I mean…we never…”

“Had sex?”

Coty looked at Wil, then over at Jim, feeling his face flush hot. But they were not grinning or laughing at him, both looked at him with concern.

“Yes, we’ve barely been able to make out.”

“Do you think Owen is ready for sex? Have you considered he might not be ready?” said Jim.

“He’s eighteen.”

“So?”

“Maybe, but I’m not sure for we never have time alone. Never.”

Coty sat at the small two-top along the front window. It was Sunday morning, a week since he sat with Jim and Wil. Owen was late, and they had not been able to get together the day before. One knee bounced up and down, as it always did when he was anxious, never more so than when Owen was running late. He imagined all sorts of bad things. Owen in a ditch, having had a wreck. Owen locked in his room at home, his parents forbidding him from leaving, even taking his phone. Owen sitting at home, giving up on their relationship. He knew it was crazy. He sipped at his soda and watched for him to pull up, maybe right in front of the restaurant, for a space was being made available by Mrs. Meadows backing out. He watched people stroll by or hover at the front door waiting to be seated. He looked at the menu, reading down the items once again, even though he knew the menu by heart.

Someone walked by and he saw it was Owen heading to the front door. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and khaki pants, obviously having come straight from church. Owen eased in the restaurant and to his table, taking the chair opposite.

“You finally made it,” said Coty, suddenly wishing he had not made comment to Owen being late.

“Sorry, but I got held up at church. They are trying to get me to agree to be a camp counselor this summer.”

“What did you say?”

“I told them I would no doubt be working by then and couldn’t do it.”

“Good. What do you want for lunch?”

“Probably the fried chicken.”

“You get that every time we come here,” Coty jokingly replied.

“I know, but I love it and mom…she only bakes it.”

“I’m getting the pot roast. Cindy,” Coty called out to their waitress, “we’re ready to order.”

“What do you want to do after we eat? Go hike at the park?”

“You’re not dressed for hiking, besides, I thought we could go back to my home and just hang out.”

“Okay.”

“Mom and dad left this morning for Birmingham. There is a farm auction tomorrow and dad wants to go. He wants a larger trailer.”

“They left today?”

“Mom wanted to go shopping, so yeah.”

“We’ll be alone?”

“Yep,” Coty replied, grinning at Owen, who slowly began to smile.

Coty led Owen down the dark hall toward the light coming from his open door. He held firm to Owen’s hand, pulling him into his room. He was breathing hard, heart racing in his chest, as he thought of the irony of it. Just the weekend before he was complaining to Jim and Wil about not being able to have any time alone with Owen. Now he had Owen in his room. It was just he two of them, the house so quiet the sound of the air conditioning was the loudest noise.

Coty turned to Owen and kissed him. He cupped the back of his neck and pressed harder, then kissed open mouth, passionately, tongue working the inside of Owen’s mouth. He felt Owen go from stoic to relaxed. He felt hands come to his waist and hold him. He kissed along the smooth jaw, to the right ear, then down the long neck. Owen tilted his head back and moaned. It pushed Coty to keep going. He pushed his face into the open neck of the shirt and kissed the smooth skin. Then he kissed Owen on the lips again as he reached for the buttons of the shirt. Fumbling at first, he soon got the rhythm of slipping each button free. He worked his way down the front of the shirt, until it fell open revealing the long lean torso. He kissed the sternum, then moved to the left nipple. He did those things he had read about. He kissed it, then dragged his tongue over the hardening nub. He put his mouth over it and lightly bit down.

Owen cried out, shuddering against his mouth.

Coty eased to his knees, burying his face in the flat stomach. He inhaled, catching the scent of soap and beneath, what he thought of as Owen. He kissed the smooth skin down to the top of the khakis, then along the waistband as the stomach undulated with Owen’s heavy breathing.

“Please don’t stop me,” Coty whispered as he undid Owen’s belt, then the khakis. He tugged the zipper down watching the white boxers come into view. The shirt fell from Coty’s shoulders as he tugged the khakis down. Only the white boxers were in his way. He saw the tenting at the crotch, the place where the head of Owen’s cock lay, and he pressed his mouth to it, tongued the head through the boxers until the fabric was wet and transparent.

“Coty,” Owen whispered as Coty worked his boxers over his growing erection and down his legs until they lay on top of his khakis.

“Lift your foot,” Coty uttered in a low voice.

Owen lifted one foot then the other, allowing Coty to slip his khakis and boxers off. He stood naked, cock angling out getting hard. Coty rose to it, letting it slip between his lips. He had watched videos late at night, read soft and hardcore porn, seeing all the things two guys could do, but now those things were forgotten. He was acting on instinct. He let his desires and lust guide him. He pushed forward until his nose was buried in the dark blonde pubic hair. He inhaled Owen’s scent, then pulled back. He worked his lips on Owen, felt him get thicker. With lips tight around the shaft, he felt its rock-hard state.

“Fuck,” Owen uttered, a word he rarely used. But Coty knew. He thought it too. Fuck, indeed.

Coty sucked Owen until he had to hold his waist to keep him from choking him. He felt Owen’s urgency, the need for release built to the point of no return.

“Coty…I’m going to…”

Coty felt Owen thicken, then flex on his tongue. He nearly choked as cum hit the back of his throat then filled his mouth. Wad after wad spurt from Owen’s cock, flexing with each ejaculation. He sucked and swallowed and drew his lips along the hard shaft drawing out more, until hands were pushing his head back.

“Coty, Coty, stop, please…stop,” Owen uttered, shaking and shuddering.

Coty looked at the still hard cock, how it stuck out wet and slick. A bead of cum pooled in the slit and despite Owen protestations, he leaned forward and licked it off.

Coty rose to his feet and kissed Owen. When he pulled back, he looked into the blue eyes.

“Thanks.”

“What do you mean?” Owen asked.

“Thanks for letting me, and…”

“What?”

“Can we do more?”

“Yes,” Owen replied as he cupped Coty by the neck and kissed him. Then he tugged upward on Coty’s t-shirt, and with Coty raising his arms, tugged upward until it was off. He tossed it on the floor and leaned to him, kissing the neck, along the shoulder, and across the upper chest as his hands worked to get Coty’s jeans undone. He fumbled and tugged on the front until Coty, in his impatience, helped get them undone. Coty took them off and didn’t hesitate to tug off his boxers too. He stood naked before Owen. Lean, average, but he was already hard as rock. His cock angled upward, drooling with his need.

Owen stared at Coty, eyes roaming up and down. Coty felt the eyes, wondering if Owen liked what he saw.

“Do I look okay?” Coty asked.

“Yes,” Owen replied as he reached out and took him in hand. He stroked the hard cock until his hand was wet, slick, sliding easily along its length. He raised his hand to his nose, sniffing it, then he licked it getting a taste of Coty. He smiled, then eased down on his knees.

There was no rhythm to Owen’s ministrations, at times teeth nipping at his cock, but he didn’t care. Owen was pleasuring him. Owen had his cock. It was Owen down in front of him, and he combed his hands through the blonde hair feeling the head move back and forth, the same rhythm he felt on his cock. He was too aroused. He had wanted this with Owen so much, he couldn’t hold back.

“Owen, take me,” Coty pleaded.

Lips tightened around his cock as Owen pushed forward. He shuddered then pushed with his hips, choking Owen as he came. He jerked with every ejaculation as he filled Owen’s mouth. He felt him swallowing and it made his toes curl. He bent over him as he pushed forward one last time, finally spent.

Coty had Owen on his bed, cock rock hard again. He hovered over him, then lowered himself until he felt the wet hard cock pushing up against his ass. He rocked back and forth on it, felt the wet head drag over his opening. He shuddered with the feel of it, the way it stroked him, increasing his desire. He was gay, and he wanted to be penetrated. To feel a man inside him, thrusting into his depths. He reached back and took Owen in hand, holding him up.

“Let me, okay?”

Owen nodded then watched as Coty lowered himself to his cock. He felt the pressure of Coty’s body bearing down on it, then the tight squeeze on the head as it penetrated his ass. He shuddered, fighting the desire to shove upward. He wanted inside Coty. He wanted every fucking inch buried in him. He clutched at the bed and watched inch after inch disappear as Coty lowered himself.

“Fuck…it feels good,” Coty uttered.

“You’re so tight,” Owen whispered, shocked at how it felt.

Coty didn’t go all the way down before he was working his body up and down. He moved slowly, feeling every inch tug and push at his opening. He felt the flared head and thick shaft sink into his hole. The fullness of the penetration made his own cock get hard. Hands rested on his thighs, then fingers dug into the flexing muscle. He looked down at Owen, head thrown back, eyes closed, while clutching his thighs. He saw his own leaking cock, how it drooled on Owen’s stomach, and he wished Owen would take him hand. He smiled, for Owen reached for him and he shuddered as fingers toyed with his cock, then encircled it, stroking the sensitive flesh. He shuddered and moved with an urgency. He bounced off Owen’s hips, and soon the bed rocked beneath them. It squeaked in rhythm to their fuck, then banged into the wall as Coty fucked himself on Owen with a physicality that made nothing matter except Owen and their sex. He felt his body heat up, almost feverish, then he realized he was sweating, rivulets cascading down his face and chest. The room seemed hotter, sauna like, and it made his muscles loosen. He moved fluidly on Owen, up, down; over, and over. The hand on his cock stoked him. He leaned back and worked his hips faster. Owen held his cock and he piston it through the fist.

Coty was near release. He moved roughly on Owen, the bed protesting beneath them. Then he felt Owen shoving upward. Cock pushed into his depths, then Owen was crying out. He leaned up and watched Owen shudder beneath him as he thrust his own cock upward through the fist. Owen cried out and he knew Owen was pumping cum into his depths. He pushed down with his hips, then shoved upward in short thrusts, pushing his own cock through Owen’s fist, then he rained cum down on his chest and stomach.

They lounged on the messed-up bed, fingers twirling around in pools of cum. They kissed. They giggled at what they had done. They explored the other, fingers touching then lips. Then Coty led Owen to the bathroom down the hall.

The shower ran hot, steaming up the small room. Under the spray, they soaped each other, then let the suds and cum and sweat rinse from their bodies. Then they kissed, toyed with each other until once against aroused and rock hard. Coty turned to the wall and bent at the waist. He pushed his ass back while looking over his left shoulder.

“Do it. Do it Owen, stick me,” Coty pleaded.

Owen entered Coty, slowly pushed until every inch of his cock was buried in him. He took the narrow waist and began to fuck. He knew what Coty wanted. He wanted it too. He held tight to the waist and thrust into the depths of Coty’s hole. He hammered his cock into him until the sound of flesh smacking against flesh filled the room. Owen pulled back, only the head of his cock still inside Coty. He was too hot, breathless from his exertions, and he leaned back looking at how Coty’s ass still held his cock. He smiled when Coty pushed back, slowly, taking every inch, then began to fuck his ass on Owen. Owen watched Coty work his ass back and forth until he felt renewed, unable to hold back. He pushed Coty against the wall and pressed tight to his back, grinding cock inside of him. He reached around and took Coty in hand as he moved with greater determination. Faster and faster, until Coty flexed in his hand. Coty shuddered and jerked, then tried to pull his cock free from Owen’s grasp. But Owen was at the point of release, and he stroked the sensitive cock as he hammered his own inside him.

“Do it; do it; come on Owen, pump it in me,” Coty uttered.

Owen slammed his cock into Coty’s depths and kept jamming his hips against Coty’s ass as he pumped out another load.

“What time is it?” asked Owen as he slipped on his jeans, boxers and shirt still on the floor.

“A little after six.”

“What? Oh shit, I’ve got to go. I’ll be late…”

“Whoa, whoa, Owen, late for what?”

“Church! I should have been home an hour ago.”

“Owen, you’re an adult, eighteen years old. Call your folks and just let them know you’ll be home later. What’s the big deal?”

“But…”’

“But nothing. It’s one time.”

“Maybe,” Owen uttered as he retrieved his cell phone from Coty’s desk.

“Mom, yes, I know…I know, it’s too late to get home in time…yes, yes, but…mom, I’ll be home later, okay. It’s just this one time,” Owen was saying into his phone.

Coty listened to Owen’s side of the conversation, knowing his mom was giving him grief. Then he saw a frown more serious than before. Owen looked up at the ceiling while shaking his head.

“Yes, mom, I’m with him. I’ll be home by nine, okay,” said Owen into the phone and he ended the call before his mother could reply.

“Well?” Coty asked.

“She wasn’t happy with me being late, but she was…so angry that I was with you. She knows; Coty she knows.”

“Relax. She can only be guessing, for as long as she doesn’t have some confirmation, that is all it will be a guess.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“I’ll go get us something to drink. Why don’t you go out to the swing and wait for me,” said Coty, thinking how he liked to sit in the swing on the screen porch when he had something troubling him.

The sun was below the horizon in the west and the sky glowed yellow, orange, and red highlighting the irregular horizon of pine beyond the field. Empty glasses sat on a small table; Owen rocked in the swing as Coty did the same in a rocking chair.

“You’re still upset about it, aren’t you?” asked Coty.

“Yes.”

“Maybe I can distract you,” Coty replied, his tone mischievous.

Coty eased down on his knees, moving to Owen. He ran his hands up the leg Owen used to rock himself.

“Maybe…we can enjoy ourselves one more time before you have to leave,” said Coty.

“Perv,” Owen uttered, smiling for the first time since the phone call.

Coty ran his hand up the thigh, then fondled Owen, the loose khakis and no underwear making it easy for him to find the growing cock within. He toyed with it, then leaned forward kissing the bare stomach just above the waistband.

“Fuck,” Owen uttered, turning to face Coty. He spread his legs and when Coty reached to the button to undo his khakis, he raised his ass to make it easier to tug the zipper down, then slide them down his legs.

“You sure no one can see us?” Owen asked as he sat naked on the swing.

“Now you ask?” Coty joked, then he held Owen’s cock ready to move to it. “No one can see around the house and my folks won’t be back until tomorrow.”

Coty pressed his chest against the legs as he sank Owen’s cock into his mouth. With lips tight around the shaft, he moved up and down, feeling it swell thicker and longer. Soon, Owen was pushing upward, unable to control himself. He held the thighs down and worked his mouth faster along the rock-hard shaft.

“Coty…not yet,” Owen uttered, pushing Coty off his cock.

Coty looked up at Owen and they could see how aroused they were for each other.

“Do me,” Owen uttered, turning in the swing, getting on his knees on the seat. He held the seat back leaning forward. “Put it in me.”

“You sure?” Coty replied as he got to his feet.

“Yes…I think about trying it all the time.”

“I did too,” Coty replied as he undid his own jeans and worked them down and off. His cock angled out half hard, and he stroked it until rock hard. With Owen looking over one shoulder, he moved up close, rubbing his cock across the ass cheeks. Then he used one hand to spread them as he guided his cock to Owen’s opening.

Owen’s head tilted upward as he cried out when Coty breached his tight opening. He shivered as inch after inch of cock bore into his depths. Coty pushed inward until over half of his cock was inside him.

“Fuck,” Owen exclaimed.

Coty held his narrow waist and tugged outward, then he began to fuck. Slowly at first, letting Owen loosen around his cock, then he increased his pace. Faster and faster, he thrust into Owen’s depths until the sound of flesh smacking against flesh echoed around them. Owen was moaning and grunting, and the swing creaked and squeaked. Everything around them was noise and motion, reflecting their copulation.

Coty was sweating, rivulets cascading down his face and chest. He ran a hand up Owen’s back and felt the slickness of the skin, knowing Owen was just as overheated. He took him by the waist again, but this time he stood still and swung Owen back and forth on his cock. Owen held his head down while clutching the back of the swing.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” said Coty as he watched his cock come into view, then disappear inside Owen.

In the midst of their fuck and all the noise from it, they didn’t hear the sound of a car coming down the drive. With their backs to the drive, they didn’t see it circle around the house until it was too late. Owen’s parents pulled up near the porch, blowing the horn.

There was yelling and exclamations and damnations, none worse than those aimed at Coty. Coty and Owen rushed inside to get dressed, then Coty stood in the yard and watched as Owen rode with his dad as his mother took the car, the two vehicles racing down the drive to the highway.

Coty stood in shock, unable to comprehend how things got so fucked up. He couldn’t believe Owen’s parent drove all the way over. Their mistrust was confirmed, but to Coty it was still offensive, their treatment of Owen and the things said to him. He wanted to fight with them, the idea of punching Mr. Pressley in the mouth had a certain satisfaction to it. He knew he would never do it, but the idea was tantalizing. Then he grew upset, his frustration taking on another level. He feared Owen was being taken away from him. He gasped for breath as the idea formed, then tears trickled down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the side of his hand, then balled up his fist and screamed.

“Grandmother, what are you doing?” asked Coty over the phone. He had showered and changed clothes, then sat on the sofa wondering if Owen would call him. They talked most nights and he hoped tonight was no different. He wanted to hear his voice and to know everything was alright.

“What’s the matter?” Dianne asked, concerned about him, for she heard the sadness in his tone.

“Owen and I…his parents showed up and…”

“Oh dear. They caught you boys messing around?”

“Yeah.”

“You want me to come over?”

“No. I just wanted to talk to someone.”

“Well, talk to me.”

Coty woke late, for he had turned off the alarm clock and fell back to sleep. He was exhausted after laying awake most of the night. He rushed through a shower and tugging on clothes. He had missed his first period class and would be late for his second. Backpack slung over one shoulder, he grabbed up keys, wallet, and cellphone. He hesitated in the kitchen wondering if there was anything that he could grab to eat on the way, seeing a couple of apples in a bowl. Turning to the back door, he decided to stop at Cotton’s General Store on the way to school.

He rushed out the back door and was about to push the screen door open when he stopped. An old bicycle lay in the yard, one he didn’t recognize.

“Coty.”

It was Owen’s voice and Coty turned to see Owen sitting up on the swing.

“Owen! How long have you been out here?”

“I got here a little after sunrise. I tried to ride…it was too dark, and I had to stop. I…I hid in a neighbor’s barn until it was light enough to see, then rode over.”

“It’s over fifty miles.”

Backpack dropped to the floor, Coty rushed to Owen, grabbing him in a bear hug.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come gotten you.”

“They took my phone before they kicked me out.”’

Coty pulled back and saw the backpack laying against the wall. It bulged from being stuffed full.

“That is your stuff?”

“All I could get in it.”

“They kicked you out…like forever?”

Tears streamed down Owen’s cheeks, and he nodded his head.

Coty picked up Owen’s backpack then his own, leading Owen into the house. Owen went to the bathroom and while gone, Coty pulled out his cellphone.

“Grandmother! I need your help. I don’t know what to do.”

“What is it? Is it about Owen?”

“Yes. They kicked him out and he’s here.”

“I’ll be right over,” Dianne replied, then the line clicked dead.

Jacob slowed to turn into their drive. He smiled as he looked in the mirror again, seeing not only the new trailer, but a small tractor secured on it. He glanced over at Emily seeing her smile back. She had enjoyed shopping the day before therefore both, of them were like kids with new presents.

“I wonder what that son of yours got into while we were gone,” said Jacob as he maneuvered into the drive.

"I’m sure he got with Owen.”

“You think…you know.”

“We did at his age, so…I’m pretty sure they have too.”

“Should we say something?”

“Say what, exactly? No, let’s support him and…your mother is here.”

“Probably fixing dinner,” Jacob replied as he pulled into the rear yard away from the house.

Jacob followed Emily into the house. It was quiet, no lights on. There was no one in the kitchen, making Emily look back at Jacob.

“Coty? Mother?” Jacob called out.

“In here,” Dianne replied from the living room in the front of the house.

Jacob and Emily went through the double-swinging door from the kitchen into the formal dining room and saw Coty sitting in a side chair and Dianne on the sofa. Coty’s face was swollen from crying and he appeared near tears as they moved into the room.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” asked Emily.

“Sit down; we need to talk,” said Dianne, patting the seat next to her.

“Mother, what is going on?” asked Jacob.

“Keep your voice down. Owen is finally asleep in Austin’s old room.”

“Owen is here?” asked Emily.

“Yes. He showed up sometime early this morning.”

“His parents kicked him out and he rode his bicycle here,” Coty blurted out.

“Kicked him out?” asked Jacob

“He was here yesterday and…” Coty stammered.

Dianne reached over and put a hand on Coty’s knee getting his attention.

“Let me tell them. Owen’s parents drove over here to catch him with Coty, and they accomplished their goal. Sometime last night they kicked him out and he rode a bicycle here…”

Dianne explained everything Coty and Owen had told here that morning. Although Coty had confessed to being caught having sex on the screen porch, she glossed over that fact, just having Owen’s parents against Owen seeing Coty. When she finished, the room was silent for a long time, no one knowing what to say.

“What is he going to do?” asked Jacob.

“Has he got some family he can stay with?” asked Emily.

“He has a grandmother somewhere near Jackson and his father’s family is over in Georgia, but from what Owen said, they are all like his parents,” replied Diane.

“Pulpit pounders?” asked Jacob.

“I think so,” Dianne replied.

“So, what is he going to do? He’s eighteen, so he can…” Emily stammered to a stop, not sure what she was trying to say.

“He has nothing but the clothes he could stuff in a backpack. No money and still in school for two more months,” said Dianne.

“He’s homeless,” Coty uttered, falling back in his chair.

“Should we call someone? The police or…” said Jacob.

“And have them do what? Take him away? And to where?” exclaimed Coty.

“Coty,” whispered Dianne and Coty visibly calmed. “I’ve been thinking, and if Owen is agreeable, I think he moves in with me. I’ll take him to his school to finish there, or he can transfer to Coty’s school and finish here.”

“Mother?! You can’t take care of some teenager…”

“I raised you, didn’t I. It’s not like I have to feed him and change his clothes. He’s old enough to take care of himself, if he has a place, he can call home.”

“But mother, you can’t be driving fifty miles twice, no, four times a day to take him to school.”

“He can take my car, or I’ll get him something he can drive, that is, if he wants to stay in his school.”

“He could transfer to my school?” asked Coty.

“Want he need his parent’s permission or something to do a transfer?” asked Emily.

“He’s eighteen so legally, he should be able to make his own decision,” replied Dianne.

“I don’t know. Mother, this is a huge responsibility,” said Jacob.

“But someone has to do it, and it’s not that much responsibility. I give him a place to sleep and eat and in return he can help me keep up the old place. Save you the chore of mowing my grass and…whatever else I need around the house.”

“You think Owen will agree to it?” asked Emily.

“Really, you’d let me live with you?” Owen asked, standing in the doorway from the hall.

Wyatt Colton Bradberry

Coty stared at his name on the graduation cards that had just arrived. It was his name, the one given to him by his parents, but to see it so formally spelled out, and on his graduation cards, was something else. He looked up at his mother sitting across from him reading her latest book. He could see the cover with glowing tents under a dark nighttime sky. The title ‘Station Eleven’ was large enough to read. It was a book Jim had been reading a few weeks before. He knew it must be good for the way his mother was so absorbed by it and by the fact Jim had read it too. She had barely looked up when he came in with the mail, including the small box of invitations for his approaching graduation.

“Mom, are you going to help me with addressing these?” Coty asked holding up one of the invitations.

“That is for you to do. I didn’t help Austin and Travis, and I’m not going to help you. They should be addressed by you.”

“Okay.”

“Has Owen gotten his invitations?”

Owen had transferred to Coty’s high school, living at Dianne’s since getting kicked out by his parents. Emily had wondered how Owen was going to do his graduation since she knew his parents would not attend.

“He’s not doing them.”

“None?”

“Nope. Said nobody gives a shit about him so why bother.”

“Coty, you don’t have to use such language.”

“How would you say it then?”

“I’d say…on second thought, you’re right. Your grandmother said we should do something for him.”

“I know. She asked me what to get him.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Money.”

“Coty, that is so impersonal.”

“But it is what he needs.”

“I know.”

Coty put the invitations on his desk and pulled out the two sheets of notebook paper with a list of those he was going to send them. He scanned the list again, wondering if he should cross out his Aunt Sharon, his mother’s sister. She had been pretty vocal in her disdain of his coming out and he wasn’t sure an invitation to her wasn’t a waste of time. He knew his mother’s logic in sending it. It was a gesture; one Sharon could ignore but she would not be able to say anything about being left out.

He slipped on his sneakers, grabbed up keys and wallet, and headed back to the living room to let his mother know he was going to take Owen to town for lunch.

It was one of their routines ever since Owen ended up at his grandmother’s. They had no ritual of dating since then, so they did lunch on Saturdays in Greenville or sometimes in Montgomery, and on Sunday’s they would go to a movie, or a hike in the state park, or just hang out with some of his friends. Coty did his best to make life seem as normal as possible for Owen, but sometimes he knew anything they did would be a reminder of how much life had changed for him.

“Owen and I are going to lunch at the grill,” said Coty as he passed through the living room.

“I know. Remember tonight is the night we’re going to the Miller’s.”

“I remember.”

Coty rounded the curve and eased down the road to his grandmother’s house, turning in the second drive that circled around to the carport. Owen was leaned against the back of his old Civic when he pulled up. Dianne had bought if from Henry Briggs over in Fulton.

It took his breath away every time he saw Owen. The tall lanky body. The disheveled dirty blonde hair and he knew concealed behind the shades the most vivid blue eyes. He knew beneath the loose shirt was a lean muscular body, one that had gained more definition since moving into his grandmother’s house. He helped them on the farm, then spent three or four nights a week in Austin’s garage lifting weights. Coty hated lifting weights and let it be something Owen did without him. He also knew Austin was someone Owen confided in about things he was afraid to discuss with him. Initially he had been offended by it, thinking there should be nothing they couldn’t talk about, but his grandmother chastised him, telling him it was selfish to deny Owen the ability to talk with someone other than himself.

“Hey, what’s up?” said Owen as he climbed into the old Dodge truck.

“Not much. I got my invitations today.”

“For graduation?”

“Yes. Are you sure about not sending out any? Isn’t there some family that…”

“No. There’s not,” Owen interrupted.

Coty saw the hurt expression and knew to let it go, as he had done before.

“Sorry.”

“I know, and it’s okay. It sucks but…just to graduate with you is enough. I don’t have to put up with those classmates from my old school. I thought some were my friends.”

“I know.”

“Let’s go get lunch.”

Lunch alone was a time for the two of them to discuss their future. Time to joke around about life could be like after graduation, or a year from now, or five years from now, or decades from now, Coty saying they could be the next Jim and Wil of the community, making Owen blush and look away.

Once the check was paid, Coty followed Owen to his truck. He had completed feeding the livestock that morning and had the rest of the day off, something Owen wasn’t aware, thinking they had to rush back. Coty suppressed a smile at his intentions as he climbed behind the wheel.

Coty drove out of town along the familiar two-lane highways but instead of turning on State Road 33, he kept heading south on 86.

“Where are we going?” asked Owen.

“I thought we’d ride down to the Dawson place.”

The Dawson place was property they had bought a few years before when Mr. and Mrs. Dawson decided to sell out and move down to Winter Haven, near two of their children. The house was rented out and the old barn empty except for an old truck left behind by the Dawson’s. Coty considered refurbishing it until he saw the front end. It had been wrecked and the motor removed. One day they would take the time to get rid of it as scrap metal. What made them purchase the property was the fields and section of woods that ran along the east side of the property where a creek formed the line. There was over a hundred acres in fields and nearly seventy-five in woods. But the biggest attraction to Coty was the fishpond at the edge of the woods near the back of the property, the place he was now heading.

“We didn’t bring any poles or tackle,” said Owen, knowing why Coty was heading to the property.

“I don’t want to fish. I just wanted some alone time with you,” Coty replied keeping his eyes on the road.

“Okay. It is nice today.”

Coty thought it was a perfect day, the heat of the last week pushed down by a front that came through during the night. It was in the upper seventies with clear blue skies.

Coty turned and eased along the gravel drive, passing the house, then the barn. He followed the lane as it cut hard to the right behind the barn, over to the woods, then along the tree line, their canopy shading the lane. It was rough but neatly cut, recently bush hogged by Owen. Coty eased along until about fifty feet out on the earthen dam, and he stopped. They sat for a minute looking out over the pond. A blue heron eased along the shore and little black heads of turtles were scattered around the pond. A splash near the bank, its ripples radiating outward.

“Did you see that?” asked Owen.

“Yes, and it looked like a pretty big one,” Coty replied. “Let’s go sit on the pier.”

The pier was weathered gray except for the recently added planks that replaced some too rotted to be trusted. As they moved out on it, Coty tugged off his t-shirt, tossing it down as he sat down next to Owen near the end of the pier.

“You’re going to get sunburned again,” said Owen.

“Maybe,” said Coty.

They fell silent. Legs rocked back and forth, Owen’s longer legs letting him drag the toes of his shoes over the pond’s surface. It was obvious to him what Coty had in mind. The bare upper body was a tease. A temptation. One he could not deny. He turned to him and leaned forward until their lips pressed together. Then he reached out and touched the smooth chest, feeling the warm skin. He rubbed his hand over it until he felt the hard nub of both nipples, then downward until he was manipulating the crotch of Coty’s jeans.

“You think we’re safe here?” Owen whispered.

“Yeah…yes…let’s…” Coty stammered as he leaned back letting his cock stretch out within the confines of his jeans. He watched Owen toy with his cock, then tug at the button of his jeans, knowing his cock would soon be free.

Owen tugged at the front of Coty’s jeans until they were spread open. He leaned to the exposed boxers and buried his face in them. He mouthed the hardening cock, tongued the head until the boxers were wet, then rose when Coty pulled him to sit up.

Coty kissed Owen, then began working at the buttons of his shirt, slipping one button free, then the next, until the shirt fell open. He moved down the neck until kissing the chest. He tongued the right nipple, then nipped at the hard nub. Owen moaned and laid back. Coty moved to the other nipple as he ran his hand down the undulating stomach, not stopping at the waistband. He slipped beneath it, running his hand over bare skin, through pubic hair, until he was able to wrap his fingers around the confined cock. He felt Owen’s response to his ministrations. The undulation of the body, pushing upward with the hips.

Coty looked down when he felt the snug jeans loosen. He watched as Owen desperately undid them. He pulled his hand free and got into the center of the pier. Owen moved next to him, facing him. He watched Owen raise his ass working jeans and boxers down. Shoes kicked off, the long legs worked back and forth helping Owen get everything off. Coty followed suit to get his own jeans and boxers off, kicking shoes to the side and working his legs until naked. They rolled to each other in a natural sixty-nine position taking each other in their mouths. Heads bobbed back and forth working lips along cocks until both were rock hard.

Moans and grunts echoed over the pond. Heads moved, working mouths on cocks. Hands held firm ass cheeks, Owen working his fingers between Coty’s cheeks. He touched the tight opening, dragged his fingers over it, then he sank his middle finger into it. He felt the tightness around his finger as he piston it in and out. Then he stretched the tight opening even more with another finger, then another, feeling Coty shiver with the penetration.

“Fuck…Owen,” Coty exclaimed, suddenly moving on Owen. He pushed him to his back and straddled his waist. “Fuck me,” he uttered, although Owen had to do nothing except watch as Coty held his cock and sat down on it.

Coty moved on top of Owen, up and down, working his tight ass on Owen’s cock. He moved in in steady pace, leg muscles flexing with his exertions. The sun beat down on them, heating their skin. Their hearts raced, pumping blood faster through their system, heating them from within. Coty sweated, rivulets cascading down his face and chest. He heaved for breath but didn’t slow. Up and down, he moved on Owen’s cock. His own cock smacked against Owen’s stomach until it was wet with his slick.

Owen held Coty by the ankles. He held on to them tightly, struggling with himself to hold still. He gasped for breath as he watched his cock come into view, then disappear. Coty rode him faster and faster, and he could feel the hot drops of sweat hit his skin. And the cock that smacked his stomach over and over. He reached for it, letting the thick cock fill his hand. He stroked the slick shaft, struggling to keep in rhythm with Coty’s movement, so he tightened his grip and stroked roughly.

Coty moaned and shuddered.

Owen pushed upward sinking his cock as deeply as he was able while his hand stroked up and down.

Coty cried out, the profanity loud to Owen’s ears, then leaned back until holding his upper body up on his hands. He worked his ass and down, faster and faster. Owen holding his cock, he thrust up through the fist with every lift of his ass, and with every descent, he sank Owen’s cock into his depths. He moved with an urgency, a burning desire for release. He heaved for breath and sweated profusely. Then he came.

Cum spurted from Coty’s cock, the first wad hitting him in the face. Then it rained down on his chest and stomach. He shuddered and moaned and grunted with every ejaculation. As the last of his load dribbled out, smearing along his cock by Owen’s hand tightly gripping it, he threw his head back with mouth open and kept working his ass on Owen’s cock.

“Cum for me. Come on, Owen, pump it in me,” Coty pleaded.

Owen felt his body tighten, every muscle responding to his imminent release. He shoved upward and shuddered as he pumped his load into Owen.

They lay on the pier lightly kissing. Fingers grazed skin, Owen’s circling in pools of cum on Coty’s chest. The sun kept them feeling hot, sweat beading up on their skin. It was Coty who moved first. He climbed to his feet and dove from the end of the pier, his body disappearing for a few seconds in the deep water. Owen followed, taking two quick steps to the pier’s end and diving into the water behind him.

Twenty-Six Months Later

Owen worked slowly, carefully, painting in the number six. He ran the thin brush along the curve of the ‘o’ in the bottom of the six, then stepped back to admire his handiwork.

3216

He smiled at how well he had done, then smiled larger at what those numbers meant. Not just some address on a mailbox, but Coty and his address. One that designated their own place along the highway. They had taken over the house at the Dawson place and spent the last six months making improvements. A new kitchen and master bath. The hall bath still needed to be renovated, but the aspects of the house they lived in had been finished or would be when Coty completed the painting of the dining room. They had chosen a red color and it was taking more coats of paint than originally thought necessary. Coty had merely shrugged it off, saying it was nothing compared to the problem they had in getting the last base cabinet set in the kitchen.

He wiped his brow with his bare arm to keep the sweat out of his eyes, then headed up the drive. The sun was hot on his bare shoulders, but the loose fitting of the overalls allowed him to feel some relief. He hadn’t even bothered with underwear, since Coty and he had been messing around that morning, and no doubt would be later. Something about the work on their own home made them horny all the time. The hotter and more tiring the work, the more physical their sex.

He ambled up the drive still shocked by the realization the newly painted house before him was his home. To the side was the old white Dodge truck Coty kept, for he said it was perfect for their going to fields and hauling stuff. Next to it was a three-year old Jeep they had just bought. The top was down, and the doors stowed away in the garage. In the back, the freshly painted barn, the same red as their dining room, loomed large over the rear yard and the field of corn beyond.

Walking around to the garage, he went in through the utility room with the new washer and dryer, a gift from Dianne, and into the kitchen. It was almost noon, and he wondered if Coty was ready to stop and eat a sandwich. He went into the dining room in time to see Coty seal the can of paint. The far wall glistened wetly in the light, the last wall to be painted.

“Are you done?” asked Owen.

“I hope so. That is five coats, and honestly, I think four had it, but I put one more on just in case.”

“Looks good.”

“You get the mailbox mounted on the post?”

“Yep, and our address painted on it.”

“Painted?”

“We’re not using those ugly stick-on numbers.”

Coty looked over smiling, nodding his head. Then his eyes went over the loose overalls, one strap undone revealing the right nipple. He moved to Owen, running a hand over it.

“What are you doing?” Owen asked, stifling a laugh.

“I’m molesting my husband…come here.”

“Not in here,” Owen protested, backing away. “We’ll get paint on us.”

“So,” Coty replied, following Owen around the room.

“Catch me, if you can,” Owen taunted, running into the kitchen, heading for the garage and backyard.

Coty gave chase, going through the kitchen, utility room and out through the garage. He chased Owen across the rear yard, knowing where he headed. Owen ran into the barn and when he rushed inside behind him, saw feet disappear up the ladder to the old hayloft. He followed, grinning like a fool. The loft had not stored hay in decades. Now, it had sleeping bags scattered on the floor from their previous times in it. They had spent clear nights sitting at the edge of the door looking up at the sky, and once, spent an afternoon just watching it rain, but more often, than not, they had sex in the hot humid space. He climbed up through the floor in time to see the overalls fall around Owen’s feet. He looked at the tall muscular body, the cock growing erect, and the grinning face with its vivid blue eyes watching him approach. It aroused him as it did every time. He climbed to his feet and began stripping off his clothes.

Let me know if I can help…hey, you’re that journalist fellow that interviewed Coty and Owen. How have you been?

Good, good. You know I read that article you wrote, the one on the boys and on Jim and Wil. It was real nice, if I do say so. Although you know, some around here were not pleased, let me tell you.

I know. I just laugh at them, pissing them off even more.

You’re right. Probably shouldn’t do it, but…what’s that ya got there?

Really, you wrote a book. It’s about the boys?

Oh, I see, its about gay life in the country. And it has Jim and Wil in it too. That is a nice cover. That porch looking out over a yard.

You don’t say. I’ve never been back in there to Jim and Wil’s. That is their front yard? It is really nice, isn’t it?

That is where most of your interviews with them were done. Sounds perfect. Did they serve you tea and a cinnamon bun?

Coffee; I should have known. Owen has complained about it being too strong. He joked about Coty putting a lot of cream and sugar in it.

You did too? That’s funny.

This is my copy? Well, I do thank you. I will definitely read it. Maybe I’ll read it here in the store so the busy bodies can say something.

Yeah, I know, playing with fire. You didn’t come all this way just to give me a book, did you?

I know they’ll want to read it. None more so than Dianne. She loves that grandson, but I swear she loves Owen just as much.

She is having everyone over for dinner? I guess you'll get to meet Travis.

Yep, his has left the service. I think he and his family are staying with Dianne for the time being.

Really? I didn't know. So they bought the Mitchell place. That is a nice house. The Mitchell's didn't live in five years before they had sell it. Right shame what happened. I guess you'll get to see a big family gathering tonight.

Jim and Wil too? That should be a real nice time. I hear those two are getting out more, spending time with the boys and their family.

I know she is enjoying preparing a big dinner for you and the family. You’ll enjoy your time with them, but you know that already. Did you know the boys have moved into the old Dawson place?

They told you. Well, those two boys have done a lot of work to that old farmhouse. I drive by it when I go down to Greenville. Looks really nice.

Well, I’m glad you stopped in, and thanks for the book. Tell them I said hello, will ya.