Last of the Summer Tomatoes (21 page)

“Your mom worries.”

“That’s what moms do, remember?”

Kyle gave him a half shrug. “Yeah. Ready to go?”

“Yep.”

They headed up the ridge, using a side road that followed the horse trail they’d taken a few weeks back. The forest preserve was immense; it seemed the farther they went, the farther they were away from any hint of civilization.

“I guess this is why Glenda wanted us to have the radio, huh?”

“Yep, no cell reception out here.”

A few more miles in and they came to a clearing on the very top of the ridge. The sun was on its decent, throwing long shadows against the trees. The western panoramic view in front of them was astounding. They got out of the truck to get ready to set up camp.

“How… wow, how far can we see?” Kyle shielded his eyes from the setting sun.

“At least fifty miles or so.”

“And no one’s around?”

“There’s a forest ranger cabin about five miles east. They are set up throughout the forest preserve in case of emergency. Most people can trek five miles pretty easily if they’re the type to be out wilderness camping.”

“Totally alone?”

“Yep.”

Kyle backed Sam up against the truck and kissed the stuffing out of him.

Sam looked a little bewildered once Kyle let up.

“Too much?” Kyle pulled back a little.

“Nope.” Sam put his hands on Kyle’s waist. “Just surprised a little. I like how bold you’re getting.”

Kyle kissed Sam’s jaw line. “I… I like doing this. I want to do more than just kiss, though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I… I want to.”

“Just remember, we go at your pace. You don’t like something, you have to tell me. Although I may push, just a little.”

“I may need a push.”

“We need to set up camp first. Need to get a fire going, in the off-chance there is a coyote or two around.”

Kyle’s hair stood up on his neck. “I… I hadn’t thought about those kinds of animals.”

Sam rubbed Kyle’s back. “Don’t you worry. They won’t come near a fire. And normally won’t come near a human anyway. We’re too big. They like the chickens and goats, remember?”

“Yeah, but I still don’t like the thought of them.”

Sam let Kyle go and unsnapped the bed cover, pulling out a rifle bag. “I have this too. I’m a very good shot, so there’s nothing to be troubled about. Now, let’s get moving.”

Sam pulled the pop-tent out, along with their sleeping bags. Kyle went to the edge of the woods to collect kindling, then helped Sam dig out a fire pit. Within moments, they had a large fire going and the tent up.

“So, you hungry?” Sam pulled out the cooler and food basket.

“Famished.”

“Let’s see what all Mom put in here. Oooh, chicken. Looks like she marinated it. Hand me the grill plate, I’ll set it up. Wood-fire grilled chicken, here we come!”

Chicken grilled, fresh veggies to accompany it, and a couple of sodas later and they were stuffed. Kyle kicked his shoes and socks off, getting up to stretch, his eyes going toward the now dark sky. But it wasn’t so dark, wasn’t what he expected to see.

“Oh my God!”

Sam sat straight up. “What? You see a bat or something?”

“No…. No… oh my….” Kyle stared heavenward, his hand pointing up. “The… the stars.”

Sam looked up as well. “And?”

“There are like millions of them. Billions maybe.” Kyle stepped out of the circle of firelight to get a better look.

“You’ve seen stars before.”

“Not like this. Never, never like this. Even at the farm, there was always the security lights. Oh my God….”

Sam stood up behind Kyle and put his arms around Kyle’s waist. “I never knew… I take too many things for granted.”

“I would never take this view for granted. I’ve never seen… it’s… it’s beautiful. I want to stare forever. I want to get lost in them.”

“Come here, sit back down.” Sam moved a blanket to outside the firelight. He sat down and gestured for Kyle to sit between his legs while he leaned against their sleeping bags. He put his arms back around Kyle, and they both stared up at the night sky. “Don’t get too lost.”

“I feel so small.”

“You aren’t. You are just one piece of a bigger picture.” Sam kissed his neck, his hands wandering underneath Kyle’s t-shirt.

Kyle loved the sensations going through his body. Suddenly he felt an urge to be uninhibited. “I’m hot.”

“You sure are.”

“No….” Kyle leaned forward. “I’m….” He couldn’t express himself, so he just shucked his shirt off. He wavered a bit, his hands on the button of his jeans. He found his resolve and pushed them off, along with his boxers. He turned to look at Sam. “This… this is okay?”

“It’s perfectly fine. Can I join you?”

“If you want.”

“Only if you want me to. This is about you, not me.”

“I want this to be about us.”

Sam’s smile made Kyle’s heart beat faster. He knew he’d said just what they both needed to hear. This wasn’t going to be about him, or about Sam, but about them being together. He knew Sam would never hurt him, never in a million years. Never times all the stars in the sky he saw above him.

Kyle was entranced as Sam stood up and started to strip. The firelight seemed to accent every muscle, every cut those muscles made as he moved. It was like watching a god being unveiled, and the thought sent a shiver down his spine, in spite of the humid night. He couldn’t believe someone who looked like Sam wanted him of all people. Wanted to be this intimate with him. But it was quite obvious he did. Although what he saw did make Kyle a little curious.

They sat back down, the way they had been, back to chest, looking up at the sky.

Kyle took a deep breath. “You… you’re uncut.”

“Does that bother you?”

“No, just… only saw one other guy uncut before, in the locker room. Wasn’t… expecting that.”

“Doc Barnes didn’t believe in it, thought it was unnecessary. Thought it was a bunch of hoo-ha for doctors to get extra money. Unless, of course, it’s part of your religion, and then he’d do it but wouldn’t charge.”

“I… I never really thought about it.”

“Just a bit of extra skin. Believe me, everything else is just the same.” Sam’s hands splayed over Kyle’s stomach.

“I like it when you touch me.”

“I like touching you. Here, lean back more. Watch the stars. Feel, just feel. Don’t have to say anything unless you don’t like something. Let me love you.”

Kyle nodded, swallowing down a little apprehension. But the moment he looked back up at the stars, he felt every single care he had in the world melt away. He became one with the night sky as Sam’s hands wandered his body, and Sam’s lips caressed his skin. He relaxed into the muscled body behind him, his head suddenly too heavy to keep up on its own; he let it fall back on Sam’s shoulder.

The stars twinkled, one shot across the sky, then another. He was floating on a cloud of bliss, every nerve firing, every hair feeling the humid air against him. Sam’s warm palm stroked him, causing his breath to hitch each time he hit a sensitive part. There was nothing to the world but him and Sam and the stars. He wanted to soar up into the mass of twinkling lights, but Sam kept him grounded, holding him close while loving him at the same time. He had never felt so… much. Had never experienced such ecstasy, such pure emotion. And when his body could take no more, when he gave in to the sensations, Sam held onto him, whispering his love into his ear, an arm around his chest protecting him.

They lay there together, not talking, not needing to say a word. Kyle held on to the arms that held him, letting the tears fall at the beauty of it all. Of the way he felt, for the first time, the very first time, truly, unconditionally loved. Sam hugged him harder, kissing his shoulder, his cheek, everywhere he could reach. Kyle turned so Sam could reach his lips. He held Sam’s face in his hands, his eyes searching for any hint of regret, sadness, pity but found nothing but love and concern reflected back at him. He kissed those lips, those beautiful lips, and they both lay down on the blanket, the stars still above them, but the need for each other superseded their need to look at the wonders of space.

Kyle felt Sam next to him, Sam’s entire hard, muscled body rubbing up and down against him. He could feel Sam’s need as well. He quietly whispered to Sam.

“Go ahead. Show me you love me.”

Sam lowered his head to take Kyle’s mouth once again. He thrust against Kyle’s thigh, his hands gripping Kyle’s ass, holding them together groin to groin. It wasn’t long until Kyle felt Sam’s completion mixing with his own. It was perfect. It was everything he’d ever hoped for and more… so much better than his dream. He felt truly alive for the first time, truly a human being and not a punching bag. And the man in his arms would never hurt him. Could this be love? Could this be the elusive emotion that had plagued his dreams and confused him more than anything?

He felt Sam wiping a towel over them, then going right back to holding him. He glanced one more time up at the stars before looking into Sam’s eyes. They hadn’t said a word in over an hour, with the exception of Kyle’s whispered permission. Kyle placed his hand on Sam’s cheek, his thumb brushing over the high cheekbone.

“I love you.”

The smile on Sam’s face told him all he needed to know. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, the summer air their blanket, the dying fire their light. And the stars overhead protecting them both.

K
YLE
woke up with the chirping of the birds and the graying of the skies. Opening one eye, he saw the fire had burned down to embers and that there was a very heavy leg draped over his upper thigh and a hand on his chest. He turned slightly to see Sam still asleep, looking as peaceful as ever. He reached for the hand on his chest, intertwining their fingers. Sam stirred, sitting up slightly to see Kyle’s face.

“Hey you. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Everything’s perfect.”

“No regrets?”

“None.” Kyle pulled Sam’s head down to kiss him. “You really think I would regret it?”

“Sometimes being this intimate changes people.”

“I feel a lot closer to you, but that’s the extent of any ‘change’.” Kyle turned so they were face to face. “I… I want to touch you like you touched me.”

“My body is yours to command.”

“Lie back.”

Sam lay on his back, the first rays of the sun illuminating his bronzed body. Kyle traced around his pecs, then down to his six-pack. He leaned down to capture Sam’s lips as he palmed Sam’s obvious arousal. It didn’t feel as strange as he thought it might, more or less like his own. And from the sounds coming from Sam, he was doing things right.

He felt Sam’s hand reach for his own morning wake-up call. Together they greeted the morning sun, both reaching their zenith as the sun burst up over the horizon.

After a quick clean up, Kyle touched Sam’s face. “Would it sound so selfish if I said I’d like to wake up like this every day?”

Sam brushed Kyle’s hair back off his face. “Not selfish at all. I wish we could do that. But I don’t think Mom and Pops are ready for that quite yet.”

Kyle pulled a blanket up over both of them. “You think they will ever be ready? I mean, what happens when you decide to settle down?”

“Well, at least in this state, I can get married if I want. Even if I couldn’t, if I told them it was a committed relationship, I think they’d be fine. They just want me to be happy.”

“Are you happy now?”

“Ecstatic.”

Kyle’s stomach took that moment to growl. “I think breakfast is in order.”

“Grab your clothes, get some more wood. We’ve got some nice coals, just need to feed it.” Sam dug into the cooler. “Mom sent some bacon and eggs. There’s nothing better than bacon and eggs over a campfire.”

Kyle tugged on his jeans and t-shirt, then walked barefoot through the cool grass toward the stack of wood he’d gathered the previous evening. Within minutes, the smell of bacon wafted through the clearing.

“Smells good.” Kyle sat back down next to Sam. Sam had put his jeans on but stayed shirtless. “You know, you need to go shirtless more often.”

“Not really that practical, you know. On a farm.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just… I like looking at you.”

“I like looking at you too.” Sam stroked Kyle’s arm.

“I don’t have anything to really look at. Too skinny, not enough muscle.”

“I’m surprised at you.”

“Why?”

“You are an artist. Don’t you see beauty in everything?”

Kyle shrugged. “Mostly, I guess. I’m just not like you.”

Sam scooted over, putting his arm around Kyle’s waist. “Thank goodness. I think the world would explode if there were two Sam Johnsons. The universe couldn’t contain both of us.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“And you need to stop being down on yourself. You are perfect just the way you are. I like what I see. I love
you
, remember? All of you. From your head to your toes.” Sam removed the food from the campfire, putting a plateful in front of Kyle. “Eat.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“And you’ll be thankful for your metabolism when you hit thirty.”

“Well, if I keep eating your Mom’s food, might not have to wait until thirty.” Kyle dug into the breakfast. “Damn, this is good. Tastes a little different.”

“Yeah, she’s a great cook. I burn water unless I’m cooking over a fire.” Sam started eating as well. “I swear, everything tastes better outside. Mom can cook just about anywhere, indoors or out.”

“I’ve never really tried to cook. You did a good job with breakfast.”

“There’s a big difference between dumping some protein in a pan and moving it around so it doesn’t burn and cooking. You know, from a recipe.”

“My mom usually cooks from a box.”

“Not all moms get the opportunity to learn this stuff.”

“Maybe I could learn a few things from your mom?”

“I’m sure she’d love to teach you. We can ask when we get back.”

“That’d be cool. Although I’m thinking my first attempts won’t even be good enough for the dogs.”

“You’ll never know until you try.” Sam kissed his cheek. “Whatever you make, I’ll try it. I’ll be the guinea pig.”