The Trek

Jerry moved closer, pushed all the way in, feeling the legs rest heavily on his shoulders. He tugged outward, felt the tightness grip his cock, then he pushed back in, slowly, letting Cowboy feel every inch. Over and over, he worked his cock into the depths of Cowboy’s ass. As he pushed inward again, he reached down and tugged on the loose sac until Cowboy shuddered, then he took the hard cock and stroked it, feeling the thick shaft slide through his fist. He stroked slowly, in rhythm with his fuck, until he was so aroused, he had to speed up. He had to feel greater stimulation. He needed it.

Grabbing each leg behind the knee, he pushed down, moving over the prone body. He folded Cowboy in half and buried his cock inside him. All the way until his abdomen pressed against the upturned ass. Then he began to fuck, to drive cock into the depths of Cowboy’s body until the bed rocked and squeaked beneath them. Movement caught his eye and he glanced over to see Cowboy had not closed the curtains completely when he had looked out. There was a gap of about four inches and someone was watching. Watching him drive cock into the muscular body of Cowboy, and he increased his pace again. Lost to his desires, he didn’t care who watched them fuck.

Cowboy clung to him, held them close as he worked his hips. There were kisses against his chest just below his neck, then up one side of it. The kisses moved under his chin, up along his neck, then teeth tugged on his earlobe.

“Fuck!” Jerry exclaimed, as he jammed his cock into Cowboy as far as it would go.

Jerry lifted himself up on hands and feet, only his cock within Cowboy connecting them, and he fucked with a brutal pace. His abdomen bounced off Cowboy’s ass, as he piston cock within him. His muscles burned with his exertion and his skin grew wet and hot. But he couldn’t stop. Glancing over he saw two faces, then three pressed against the window. With eyes wide, their voyeurs were looking through the narrow gap.

“Let them watch…fuck me,” Cowboy uttered as he trailed hands down Jerry’s sides, stroking hot flesh, urging him to keep fucking.

Jerry had another idea, and he pulled out, rose up on knees and roughly guided Cowboy over on his own knees. He grabbed him by the neck and pushed him over, and with face planted into the mattress, he sank his cock back into him. He began to fuck again, but with a slow, gentle pace, keeping his arousal in check. He wanted it to last, to drag out their fuck for as long as his body could endure it. He grabbed Cowboy by the hair and pulled him up, hugged the muscular body to his own, and turned him toward the window. He fucked his ass while reaching around and taking his cock. He stroked it, slowly at first, until his hand was smearing the slick along the thick, hard shaft. Then he increased his pace, both his fuck and his stroking of Cowboy’s cock. He nipped an ear, raked his other hand over the hard firm chest and stomach, while keeping up his pace. He drove into Cowboy so hard, it rocked him forward. Cowboy began to ramble, to cry out for him to keep going, to fuck him harder. To fill his hole with cum.

The cock flexed in Jerry’s hand and he saw cum fly across the bed. He slammed his own into Cowboy’s depths, hips smacking against ass as the opening spasm around his cock. He kept fucking, roughly, as Cowboy kept coming, until finally spent, while begging him to cum too.

“I want you to eat it,” Jerry uttered, pushing Cowboy on his back. He moved up next to his head and with a couple of strokes, came. He shot thick wads across Cowboy’s face, then he pushed his still spurting cock into his mouth, pumping the rest into it. He shuddered as tongue toyed with his sensitive head, then bore into the slit. He pulled free, panting for breath, and fell next to Cowboy.

“Fuck…I’m done,” Jerry uttered, looking over to Cowboy.

“Me too.”

“Will you stay tonight?”

“It would be nice,” Cowboy replied then sat up. “I think the curtains need to be closed. They’ve had their show.”

The lights out, Cowboy lay behind Jerry, spooned up next to him. From the neck down to his feet, Jerry felt some contact that spoke to the man laying next to him. It calmed him, much like it had to sleep with Sam. The comfort of another, their warm body against his own, and the rhythmic breathing, warm exhales against the back of his neck.

“I’m Cody, by the way,” Cowboy whispered.

Jerry smiled at the sound of the name, and it slipped into place, displacing Cowboy.

“I’m Jerry.”

They lay silent after introductions and soon Jerry felt the shallow breathing of someone asleep. He closed his eyes and drifted from consciousness.

Jerry woke to sunlight hitting him in the face. Cody stood at the window, drawing back the curtain. He blinked in the harsh morning light, then looked at the fully dressed Cody.

“You leaving?”

“I was going to get breakfast. You want to join me? I think the truck stop will be better food.”

“Sure. Let me shower and get dressed. I can check out when we go down.”

“Where are you heading?”

“West. Ultimately, I want to get to California, but I’m kind of taking my time.”

“See the sights as you go?”

Jerry smiled, “Something like that.”

“What is your next destination?”

“I don’t really know. I thought about cutting north and going through Denver and the mountains.”

“If you want, I can get you about a third of the way there, if you would like to leave with me.”

“Where are you heading?”

“Back to the ranch. It is just outside Laverne. I can show you on a map.”

“It would be nice to travel with you,” Jerry replied, wondering if Cody was setting up for them to have more time together.

Jerry stood in the small phone booth, with the door left open for the interior was an oven. Cody was checking the hitch on the trailer, getting ready for them to pull out, while he inserted quarters, dimes, and nickels. He dialed the number he had considered his own, and it felt like he was reaching back to a time that no longer existed. The phone rang three times then his mother’s voice came over the line.

“Hello.”

“Mom, it’s Jerry.”

There was a silence, then a click as the connection was ended. He stood with the receiver in his hand, staring out across the landscape, wondering if there would ever be a time one of his parents took his call. He eased the receiver back into its cradle and stepped back, out into the bright sun. Tears pooled in his eyes, and he wiped them with the tail of his t-shirt, determined not to let Cody see him cry.

Cody pulled up next to him and he climbed in the passenger seat. The truck was a work truck, all hard surfaces, vinyl seats and flooring. There was no air conditioning and Jerry rested his right arm on the open window, struggling to keep his composure. He looked at the dash, with its simple radio then took in the device hanging beneath the dash. An 8-track player.

“I guess the call didn’t go so well,” Cody stated, knowing Jerry was calling his folks for the first time since leaving.

“Not really.”

“Give them some more time,” Cody replied, pulling out onto the street, then turning on the ramp that would put them on the interstate. “We’ll take the interstate to Oklahoma City, and just past the city, we’ll head north.”

“How long is the drive?”

“Damn near nine hours. We’ll stop in Oklahoma City for lunch.”

“Okay,” Jerry replied, as he settled down for the long drive.

Cody reached for the glove box and pulled out an 8-track. He slipped it into the player and there was a hiss from the speakers, then the music began. It was Ohio Players, which surprised Jerry.

“I know, it’s not country music. Don’t tell any of the guys at the ranch, if you see them. They’ll give me shit for it.”

Jerry smiled, trying to imagine what other music Cody listened to instead of country.

They rode along the interstate, Cody slower than most of the other traffic, talking about superficial aspects of his life. Growing up in Kansas, near Dodge City, then moving south to the ranch to work. He admitted to barely getting through high school and felt trapped, but did enjoy his work, working with the cattle and the few horses the owner kept.

Jerry listened, commenting at times, but letting Cody talk, sensing a need by Cody to express his frustrations and aspects of his life that make him feel unhappy. The ranch hand that felt isolated, trapped in a life he didn’t understand.

“Do you think our attraction to other men is some kind of sickness?” Cody asked, catching Jerry off guard.

“I…don’t think so. I don’t feel sick or different, except in my attraction toward other men.”

“I met a guy once who said we’re perfectly normal, just different in our sexual desire. He was the wildest guy, a trucker from New Orleans. He talked of studies from the fifties and…I don’t know any details or anything but…” Cody looked over at Jerry, “he said we were normal.”

“I think he was right.”

“I hope so.”

Cody fell quiet and Jerry did the same, letting the music fill the silence. They were on the second 8-track, Fleetwood Mac singing about love or jealously or something, Jerry wasn’t sure for he had not been paying attention. He looked out at the landscape, realizing it was changing. The trees were smaller, more scattered about and the land looked more arid, hotter.

It was nearing one in the afternoon when they came upon the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Signs of progress, as everyone referred to it, began to appear along the interstate, and soon enough it was on every parcel, lining both sides of the interstate.

“We need fuel, and I am starving.”

“Me, too.”

“There is an exit up ahead that is easy to get off and back on the interstate. There is a fast-food joint and a gas station right by the interstate.”

“Sounds good.”

The two-lane highway was cutting to the northwest, the sun casting a longer and longer shadow in front and to the right. The day was blistering hot and air circling around the cab made it feel like an oven. They had been back on the road for over an hour and a half, and both were shirtless, trying anything to get cooler.

Jerry found himself looking over at the muscular body, noticing for the first time the freckles that spread over the shoulders. He knew Cody was twenty-one, or close to it, but he seemed so much older in some ways. But Cody’s descriptions of his life made him sound just as young and insecure as he felt.

“Hey, you stayed in Memphis for a while?”

Jerry wasn’t sure if Cody was asking him to repeat himself or if there was something else, he wanted to ask.

“Yeah, for a while. Earned a few dollars to help with my traveling.”

“You think you would want to stay at the ranch for while…you know, earn some more money?”

“You think I can work on a ranch?” Jerry asked, trying not to laugh. He had been around livestock, but never tended to it.

“We had a guy quit, and some of the work is easy enough.”

“I don’t know,” Jerry replied.

“If you are looking to get going as soon as possible, I get it. I just thought…”

Jerry glanced over and saw Cody focusing on the road, rigid in his posture, and he knew what Cody really wanted.

* * * *

“You ready to eat?”

Jerry jerked his head around, bringing himself back to the present day. Andy was at the back door, leaning out looking his way.

“Yes,” Jerry replied, climbing out of the swing.

Jerry went into the small half bath off the laundry room to wash his hands, then to the kitchen where Andy was already seated at the island. It was a small steak, ‘the correct portion’ Andy would say, along with grilled vegetables and warmed up broccoli casserole left over from the night before.

“Looks good,” said Jerry as he picked up his knife and fork.

“Roger and Dean are coming over tonight. They want to play cards.”

“That’ll be fun.”

It was amusing to Jerry how the four of them found themselves enjoying traditional card games while it seemed everyone else were into electronic gaming of one sort or another. But it let the four of them sit around talking, joking around, and teasing each other. They played hearts or gin. They had tried poker, but none of them cared for the way it made them play against each other. It seemed there was enough about their lives that revolved around money, without their card games doing so too.

“I wonder what music Dean will bring over to play,” said Andy.

“Disco probably,” Jerry replied, the two of them laughing at his response.

Jerry sliced through the steak, cutting off a bite sized piece and for a short moment, looked that the medium rare meat, the center almost red, and he remembered that first night at the ranch. The guys that worked there gathered around a large table, all six of them, or was it seven? Jerry couldn’t recall, but he remembered the large steak placed in front of him, with a baked potato filled with sour cream. He had never had a steak that good, so tender he didn’t need the knife. Cody had been sitting to his right, and some guy they called Butch on his left. The memory of that room came back to him. The smell of food mixed with cigarette smoke and the scent of men freshly showered, ready to call it a night.

He had felt out of place. Not one of the guys, but they treated him as one of them that night, someone who had agreed to stay on for a time and work the ranch. He smiled at the memory of Cody showing him around, telling him they would be bunking together, for the free bed was one in his room. Cody had smiled so mischievously, even during dinner whenever someone asked if he had gotten settled in.

“Are we going to your family reunion?” asked Andy.

“I haven’t decided,” Jerry replied, thinking about last year, when an uncle had made a scene, holding up his Bible, determined to save Jerry and Andy from damnation. It had rattled him so, they had just left, Jerry swearing he would never attend another. It had really hurt, since the three years before had been pleasurable, reconnecting with cousins and having his parents finally accepting of Andy, and their life together.

“Will that blow hard be there?” Andy asked.

“Probably, but after mom really let her brother have it after we left, I’m not sure he’ll be a problem.”

“Well, it’s your family, so it’s up to you.”

“Maybe we should see if Roger and Dean want to go to Montevideo or Buenos Aires? Give the family thing a rest.”

“You think Dean can take the time off?”

“Roger said he was pulling back on his hours at the hospital, working only three days a week.”

“He is probably still making a killing,” said Andy, reaching out for the pitcher of water.

“An anesthesiologist at a hospital? You know it.”

Jerry sliced another bite of meat, and he returned to that night on the ranch. Cody had touched him under the table, a hand on his thigh, then fingers giving him a slight squeeze. Despite the years, the feel of that hand on his thigh seemed only yesterday, and Cody’s low conspiratorial whisper.

* * * *

“Jerry, let’s turn in. I’m beat after a long day on the road,” said Cody.

Jerry followed Cody out of the room, up the stair and down the hall to the room at the end that faces the back of the property. He slipped into it, Cody right behind him, and moved to the bed opposite of Cody’s, the one on the right.

“What are you doing?” asked Cody.

“Going to bed.”

“But…”

“I thought you were tired from the drive.”

“I just said that…” Cody fell silent, smiling at the truth of the matter. He wanted to get Jerry to their room.

“So, you’re not really tired?” Jerry replied, stepping up to Cody.

“No,” Cody answered, reaching out and taking the hem of Jerry’s t-shirt and pulling upward. “Get naked,” he uttered, his tone suddenly devious.

Jerry lifted his arms, and when it was necessary, he lifted one foot then the other, until he was naked. His flaccid cock began to stir, to thicken as Cody ran a hand up each leg and kissed his stomach just above the fan of pubic hair. He felt the soft warm lips touch his skin, then a hot exhale. He felt the hands rub lightly over each thigh, then slide around and cup each ass cheek, as the lips touched his cock. He moaned encouragingly, seeking more stimulation from those lips. They moved along his cock, then toyed with the head, making him shiver. He grew hard, cock rising until pointing at Cody’s face…pointing at his mouth that moved to it.

“Fuck,” Jerry uttered as his cock sank into Cody’s mouth and fingers pushed down between his cheeks, touching him. Rubbing over his tightness until he was rocking on his feet. A finger penetrated him, piston in his hole, then pulled out. Two fingers penetrated him, and his cock sank all the way into the hot, slick mouth. “Cody,” he uttered, as he felt his sexuality. The masculine nature of his body, and the manipulation that made him so aroused, he didn’t want it to stop.

“Stop…stop; not yet,” Jerry exclaimed, pushing Cody off his cock. It flexed up and down in Cody’s face as Jerry feared coming too soon. He pulled Cody to his feet. “Get naked,” as he pulled on the button fly, slipping one button after the next free. Cody took the front of his western shirt and pulled it open, the snaps coming undone from top to bottom, and he slipped it off his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. Jerry stooped in front of Cody and worked the tight jeans down each leg and off. He rose on knees, angling his head just right to swallow the hardening cock hanging just above his face.

“OH…Jerry…” Cody uttered, closing his eyes focusing on the sensation of being sucked.

Jerry felt the cock become rock hard in his mouth. It got to full thickness filling his mouth until he couldn’t take all of it. But he took what he could, letting every inch he could handle slide over his tongue and push to the back of his throat. But it wasn’t enough, for he wanted something else.

Jerry pulled off Cody’s cock, stood to his feet then guided him back to his bed. He lay back on it and lifted his legs to rest them on Cody’s shoulders.

“Fuck me,” Jerry uttered in a low voice, struggling to control it.

Cody moved up to Jerry’s ass, with legs against his chest, and slowly entered him. One slow, gentle push, stretching him open and sinking inch after inch into his hole. Then there was the pull outward, the thick cock tugging at his opening as each inch slipped free. Cody looked determined, eyes half closed, jaw clinched tight, as he slowly began to fuck. He sank into Jerry deeper and deeper until abdomen was smacking against ass. His pace increased, became furious, the bed protested noisily beneath them, as he hammered cock into Jerry’s depths.

Jerry came from the front pasture after checking the herd grazing in it, to find Cody running toward one of the barns. Cody stopped when he saw him, then ran up, panting for breath.

“That heifer is trying to deliver, and something is wrong. I can’t get Dr. Neilson, and nobody is here…they’re all…come on, you have to help me.”

“Me? I don’t know anything about birthing calves.”

“Don’t argue Jerry; come on!” Cody exclaimed, jerking around, and took off running toward the barn.

Jerry jumped out of the truck and ran across the yard to the barn, following Cody into the dimly lit interior. They rushed down the wide aisle with stalls on one side and storage rooms long the other. Cody turned into the fourth stall and Jerry followed, finding the cow laying on her side, breathing hard.

“Something is wrong,” Cody exclaimed. I need to find out what is wrong. You try to keep her calm.”

“Keep her calm? How?”

“I don’t know; talk to her. Pet her head. Something,” Cody replied moving behind the cow.

Jerry sensed the urgency of the situation, and instead of trying to argue, remind Cody he was no farmhand, he moved to the cow’s head and stroked it down between the eyes. He began to talk to her, soft mutters, calming his own voice, and after a few minutes the cow seemed to relax. He looked up and saw Cody was close to the cow’s rear and he knew both arms were inserted up to the elbows.

“I just need to get the legs to come…first…” Cody uttered. His expression was a mix of fear and determination.

Jerry watched him as he kept talking softly to the cow, realizing this was truly Cody’s place. Cody was in his element, an intuitive reaction to what the situation demanded.

Jerry went out first, followed by Cody, and saw a couple of the guys rushing their way. It was Brad and Jack.

“We called the vet, but didn’t get him,” Brad called out as they approached.

“We don’t need him,” Cody replied.

They slowed, then stopped when they came up to Jerry and Cody.

“What do you mean? Is the cow okay?” asked Jack.

“She’s fine. The calf too,” said Cody.

Brad and Jack looked at Jerry for confirmation, and he nodded his head, unsure how to describe what he had seen in the barn. Cody getting the calf’s position corrected, so the front legs came first, then the delivery.

“Well…I guess we can call the vet and tell him not to waste a trip out,” Jack replied.

“I’ll check on her. You boys get cleaned up,” Brad added, then headed toward the barn.

“Come on Jerry, let’s go,” said Cody, heading toward the bunk house.

Cody had the shower hot enough to steam up the small room. He slipped around the shower curtain, holding it open for Jerry to follow. They moved under the spray grinning at each other.

“Let’s get cleaned up first,” Cody whispered as he soaped up his bath cloth.

They watched each other, moved around in the shower stall, taking turns soaping up, then rinsing off. Jerry was leaning against the tile wall as Cody rinsed the last of the suds from his body. When Cody turned toward him, he cupped the back of his neck and pulled him close. They kissed as Cody pressed against his body. It aroused him, made his cock grow rock hard, and he pushed it against Cody, pumped up his abdomen, feeling it slide along the side of Cody’s hard cock.

“Fuck,” Cody uttered as he leaned back and watched Jerry slide down the wall.

Jerry kissed the smooth chest, the undulating stomach and finally the head of the hard cock. It flexed against his lips, and he shifted up, put them on the head and pushed forward, letting it slip between them. He took inch after inch, until it pushed to the back of his throat, and he began the familiar movement, back and forth, working his lips along the hard cock until hands griped his shoulders, fingers digging into the flesh, and Cody begging him to stop.

Jerry rose to his feet, turned to the wall, bracing his upper body against it. He looked over his left shoulder, wondering if Cody saw how hungry he was for him.

“Fuck me,” Jerry uttered.

Cody moved up behind him, rubbed wet, leaking cock along his ass, then pushed through his tightness, stretching him open. Cody fucked slowly, letting Jerry feel every inch move through his tight opening. The shower seemed to get hotter, the steam fogging up the air and loosening Jerry to Cody’s manipulations. He pushed back, held his head down, then pressed forehead against the tile wall, while moaning with the feel of cock buried inside his body.

Hands gripped Jerry’s waist, holding him tight, as Cody increased his pace. Soon Jerry rocked with every hard push inward. Cody thrust harder and harder, until the sound of bodies coming together echoed in the room.

“Fuck…Jer…take me…” Cody exclaimed, thrusting into Jerry’s depths, jamming hips against ass as he came.

Jerry leaned against the wall with Cody on his back. Cody was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. After a minute, Cody eased out of Jerry and spun him around. They kissed, then Cody shut off the water, pulled the curtain back and pulled Jerry to follow them.

“Come on,” said Cody.

Jerry followed Cody to their room, naked, still wet, and he was surprised to see Cody ease back on the bed.

“Do me…come on, Jerry, fuck me. Please.”

Jerry moved over the prone body, felt a hand take his erection and guide him to the opening. He felt a tug on his cock, an unspoken plea, and he pushed, breaching the tightness. Cody threw his head back and shuddered with the pain of entry.

“You want me to…”

“NO! Keep going,” Cody uttered, taking Jerry by the ass and pulling him to push deeper.

Jerry pushed inward until his hips were finally pressed against Cody’s ass. He held still, letting Cody feel the fullness of the penetration. Leaning down, he kissed him and felt a push back, a submission not felt before. He began to work his hips, to pull outward, slowly, gently, only a couple of inches, then a push inward, all the way, giving Cody every inch. Hands held his cheeks, fingers digging into the firm flesh urging him on. He increased his pace, thrust with his hips faster and faster, until the bed protested beneath them. Until Cody became vocal, begging him to fuck harder.

The room closed in around them, lost focus, for the only thing they saw was each other. The only thing they felt was each other. Nothing around them mattered. Not the noise of the bed, how they had gotten it wet, nor how loud Cody was moaning and uttering pleas.

Then Jerry was shuddering with release. Thrusting into Cody hard, jamming hips against the upturned ass, as his cock flexed with every ejaculation.

It was late, the table covered in dirtied dishes and empty beer bottles. It had been another long day on the ranch, with two more births and three more expected at any time. Cody and Jerry stood and began to clear the table, it being their turn to do the dishes. Jerry stacked the plates and headed into the kitchen with Cody behind him carrying a platter with the utensils piled on it. A coupe more trips and they had the table cleared and wiped off. In the kitchen, Cody washed, and Jerry rinsed and dried, stacking the clean dishes to the side to put away once they finished.

Cody stepped back after rinsing the suds from the sink.

“I need to piss; be back in a minute.”

Jerry dried the last pan and began to put everything away. He slid a pan into a lower cabinet and turned to see Jack standing a few feet away.

“OH, Jack, what’s up?”

Jerry looked at the man standing before him. Late twenties, stocky muscular build and an aloofness that he had initially taken the wrong way. He realized Jack was a loner, didn’t hang with the other guys when they went down to Oklahoma City to hit strip clubs and bars. It hadn’t made sense, for Jack was an attractive guy, with thick dark hair and green eyes. But over the last few weeks, Jerry began to sense there was something else going on with him. He saw the looks, none more concerning than when Cody and he were together. He wondered if Jack was jealous in some manner, or more worrying, knew they were messing around and didn’t like it.

Jerry was looking at Jack now, waiting for him to reply. Jack looked at the door toward the dining room, then the one that opened on the hall where Cody had just disappeared. Then he looked at Jerry with an expression that was stern.

“I know what is going on with Cody and you and…”

“What? No, it’s…”

“Jerry, save it for someone else. I’m not stupid. I’m not here to…judge you for it. I know…it happens and…” Jack looks toward the dining room door again, then back at Jerry, lowering his voice. “You’re not the only ones. Okay? The thing is…” Jack hesitated, lowered his head, and when he looked up again, Jerry saw a change in expression. Worry. Concern. And something else. “Don’t hurt him.”

“Hurt who?”

“Cody of course. He really likes you and I know you keep talking about heading west. If you’re serious about leaving…you should go, before Cody won’t be able to endure it.”

Jerry saw it, the thing he had been unsure of so often in the past. It was now clear to him.

“Jack, do you like Cody?”

“I’m not going to interfere with you guys. I’m not…”

“But do you like him?”

Jack looked at Jerry and nodded his head.

Jerry had been putting off leaving, knowing it would really hurt Cody. Each day that passed, it became harder and harder to contemplate. It was getting hard for him to consider. But he knew the ranch was not a life for him, no matter how much he liked Cody. At times he considered his feelings toward Cody and knew in many ways he did love him. But not enough to stay, to take up a life that was not for him. And he knew not to ask Cody to come with him, for this life on a ranch was the one for Cody.

“When I leave…will you tell him? Admit to your feelings toward him?”

“I don’t know if I can. What if he…”

“Jack, what? Cody likes you as a person, and if he knew, I’m sure he would be open for more. You just need me out of the picture.”

“You really think so?”

Jerry looked at the man, ten years older, and through the tanned face and scruffy five o’clock shadow, he saw the boy Jack had been. A loner, someone afraid to admit to his feelings and desires, for the world out there would judge him for it.

“There will come a time when you need to be there for Cody, and you need to be honest with him.”

“Hey Jack, what are you guys talking about?” Cody asked as he came into the kitchen.

“Just telling this fool where the pan goes,” Jack replied, turning, and walking out of the kitchen.

It was late, the moon hovering over the pastures, and Jerry was sitting on the porch lost in thought. Upstairs, Cody was asleep, as was everyone else in the bunkhouse. It was after three in the morning and so quiet Jerry could hear his own breathing. He was thinking about what Jack said a few nights before, and knew it were true. He needed to go, and soon. For Cody’s sake, and his own. He had saved more money, enough that he was willing to spend some on a bus ticket to Los Angeles. It would be a way to keeping him from turning back, for to try hiking away…he didn’t know if he could do it. But to get on a bus, and let it take him away, he knew that was possible.

He sat so still, unmoving for so long, he had lost track of time. He didn’t notice the bird song that signaled sunrise was about to occur. He didn’t hear someone stirring in the kitchen and was startled when the door swung open and Jack came out with two cups of coffee.

“I figured you need this if you’ve been out here all night,” said Jack holding out one cup.

Jerry was thankful Jack didn’t bring it up, made no more pronouncements. He eased down in the next chair, sipped the hot, black coffee, and looked toward the lightening horizon in the east.

“It’s going to be a hot one,” said Jack, leaning back and stretching his legs out.

“I’m going to tell Cody tonight I’m leaving and will get a bus ticket for Los Angeles. If Cody can’t take me to the station in town, will you take me?”

Jerry heard the heavy sigh, a shift in the chair, then a painfully long silence.

“Yes.”

Jerry moved on top of Cody, up and down, feeling the penetrating fullness within. He moved recklessly, a rough pace, making the bed squeak and rock beneath them. They were fucking out of some desperation, one last time before he had to leave the next morning. Hands held to the other with tight grips, so tight, they would each have small bruises. Tears filled their eyes and trickled down cheeks while Jerry increased his pace.

Cody had cried, begged him to stay, but in the end knew Jerry had to leave. Jerry had expected Cody to pull away, avoid him on their last night together, but it had been the opposite. Cody had torn at his clothes, stripped him of every garment, then pushed him down on the bed. Their fuck started roughly, and continued thusly as Cody filled Jerry’s hole once, and now lay back ready to pump another inside him.

“Jer…” Cody uttered, his voice strained with their exertions, and he pushed upward roughly, rocking Jerry as he came again.

Jerry stroked himself, as he felt Cody flex with release inside of him, and he too came again, spewing cum across chest and stomach of Cody’s prone body.

Then in the silence afterward, Jerry wrapped up in Cody’s arm, he felt the soft kisses to the back of his neck and warm exhales of each breath.

“I can’t take you to the bus station. I can’t do it,” whispered Cody.

“I know. Jack will take me,” Jerry replied.

Jerry lay awake the rest of the night, feeling Cody’s breathing finally slow into a rhythm of sleep. When the curtains began their warm glow of first light, he eased out of bed, got dressed, and slipped out of the room.

Downstairs, he smelled the brewing of coffee and found Jack in the kitchen pouring two cups.

“You ready to take me to the bus station?”

“Cody can’t do it?”

“No,” Jerry replied, and Jack didn’t question it, for he knew.

They rode in silence until Jack pulled into the bus station, with only one bus parked at the loading area.

“You have to talk to Cody, but not today,” said Jerry.

“I know. I’ll give him some time.”

“Can I write you and find out how he’s doing?”

“Yeah, sure. Just don’t have your name on the return address. Make something up.”

“Okay,” Jerry replied, and he a strong desire to stay in the truck and tell Jack to take him back to the ranch. But he knew it was not what had to be done. He opened the door and climbed down. “Take care of him.”

Jack smiled, faintly, then nodded his head. “Go on, get your backpack and get on that bus.”

Jack tried to sound gruff, but Jerry knew the truth. He slung his backpack on his back, closed the door, then leaned on the windowsill. “And you take care of yourself too. And talk to Cody, tell him how…”

“I got it, now git.”

Jerry smiled, then laughed, and Jack chuckled, despite his attempt not to do so.

* * * *

Jerry looked around the table, Andy opposite of him, Roger to his left and Dean to his right. Everyone held a fresh hand of cards, starting another game. ‘Do You Wanna Funk’ by Sylvester came on and soon all four of them were bobbing their heads up and down. Dean moved his left hand to the music, flicking it upward until over his head.

“I love this song,” said Dean, making the others laugh.

Jerry turned his attention back to his cards, strategizing his next moves. Then he let his mind wander as Andy and Dean began to discuss a hiking trip to Colorado the next spring. The bus ride to Los Angeles, how lonely he had felt during the entire trip, telling himself it had been a huge mistake to leave Cody and the ranch. But two months later, a job at a record store and sharing an apartment with two other guys, his life began a new phase. There had been Juan, Ricky, and Ben. Lovers, companions, each ending in what seemed like a tragedy at the time. Hurt feelings and accusations, that time soon erased.

He had written Jack two months after arriving in Los Angeles, finally getting up his nerve to do so. It led to a correspondence of letters with Jack, then Cody, that continued to this day. Old style letters and cards, telling of the events that made up their lives. Cody and Jack partners ever since that summer of ’77, now retired to a place down in Texas.

It seemed amazing, the path his life had taken, living in Los Angeles for three years, then moving to San Francisco where he took a job with a landscape company, and found something he loved to do. It was that summer when his mother had called him, after many failed attempts to talk with her. It would take a couple of years, but slowly, he gained their acceptance, and now it seemed such a strange thing to have been between them. But he remembered what the late seventies and early eighties had been like, and his parents had been a product of the time, and the place they still lived.

“Come on Jerry, it’s your turn,” said Dean.

Jerry looked at the two cards on the table and frowns, knowing he’ll end up with the trick. He plays his highest diamond, resolved to the winning of the trick, then lays a two of clubs down for the next round. He hears the moans and disparaging comments and smiles.

He looks across the table at Andy and remembers the first time they met. It was a fundraiser, one where artist donated pieces to be auctioned. He had gotten into a bidding war with Andy for a small painting, one depicting a skeleton in pirate attire. When he had lost in their bidding, there had been a smile passed between them. It was that first connection, albeit such a small gesture in the scheme of things. But it let the next step occur, drinks at a small bar down the street. Looking toward the living room, he saw the painting hanging on the narrow wall near the door to the sunroom.

The End.