Authors: Samantha Forest
***
The next morning he woke at dawn after a night of fitful sleep. It was still cool and quiet just like the previous night, so it was time to make a start on some repairs. He threw on some jeans, his lace up boots, and a red baseball cap. He headed outside and started by picking up all the crap off the front lawn, throwing all the wood into a heap he could make into a useful bonfire later on. Most of the day was spent throwing the metal into the building where he had found Wes the previous day. It was hard, strenuous work and it wasn’t long before Cody was drenched in sweat. He put on the radio for a while and listened to country music, which kept getting cut off by loud, overexcited radio producers interspersed with irritating jingles for local mattress companies and car insurance.
Before long he was pretty sick of the commercials, and switched it off, deciding to head over to check on the horses. He threw a saddle on Doc (the older and faster of the two), and headed out to inspect the rest of the land. It was nice, just him and Doc. The sound of the hooves on the ground and birds singing gave him a feeling of serenity and he pet his trusty steed. He could feel himself getting a little sunburnt by the time he reached the lake, so he stripped off to his underwear and jumped in. The water was warmer than he expected as he dove down deep to the sandy floor, running his hands over the stones. He counted up to a minute before resurfacing, trying to ensure he kept his lung capacity up to military requirements. As he rubbed the water out of his eyes, he noticed a figure beside his horse. He quickly realized it was Wes and shouted over at him before starting to swim back quickly.
‘Did I not tell you to get out of here?’
‘You don’t own the whole county,’ he replied nonchalantly, rubbing Doc’s neck ‘I fixed up the roof on that stable this morning, the far corner was about to collapse’
Cody pulled himself out of the water. He was a good 6’5 and built like a house, his thighs and core muscles perfectly defined. It was taking a lot out of him not to punch Wes’s lights out at this point.
‘Look, I don’t know where the fuck you get off acting like we’re pals or something, but this is my land, my horse and my ranch…I don’t need your help fixing it’
‘Seems like you do frankly…sorting out those buildings isn’t going to be a one man job’
Cody squared up to him, his hair still dripping wet as he towered over the other man. ‘This is not a discussion, bucko. You need to leave’
‘Hey man, I’m only trying to help, no need to keep getting in my face’ Wes shrugged, but Cody picked up an undercurrent of fear in him that reassured him that he hadn’t lost his touch. Cody found himself looking at Wes’s chiselled chest, his brown skin almost glowing in the evening light. For just a moment, he found himself thinking about what that chest would feel like under his hands and he felt his jeans tighten a little. He let out a deep breath, as if trying to exercise the thought from his mind. It was still settled there, curled up in the corner of his eye like a landmine.
Wes strolled off and at this point Cody noticed he had his own horse, a brown colt. He rode off along the lake and then out of sight. He was a talented horseback rider, Cody could definitely give him that. It was clear he knew his way around the land as well. By the time he got back to the house, he noticed that the job Wes had done on the roof of the stable was beyond reproach. As he looked at the guest house behind the main ranch house, he saw that there was indeed a lot to be done. Clearly over the winter the house had been allowed to get damp and some of the wood was rotting around the windows and in the roof. It would all need to be taken out and replaced. The fencing around where the animals were kept during calving season also needed to be replaced. He wished he had some way to track down that fucker Philip and give him a piece of his mind, but he knew that wasn’t possible at this point. In the interim, he needed to get all this fixed before summer was over so it didn’t get worse during the autumn and winter. The longer he left it, the bigger a job it would become, and he didn’t have time to mess around looking for a proper workman. It sucked, but he was going to have to ask Wes for help. How was he even going to get in contact with him? As far as Cody could tell, all he had was his horse and whatever was in his backpack. All he could do was hope that he hadn’t scared him off for good and that he would find him hiding out in the stables one of the nights. He put on the TV and watched the news for a while, waiting for dinner to cook as he thought about the whole thing. Who was this Wes guy and where did he come from. And why was Cody so angry at him? On the whole Cody was actually a pretty easy going guy, and when he wasn’t on tour, he was friendly and always the life of the party. Wes hadn’t struck him as any sort of particular threat, he was just bothered by him. He was unsettled by his easy manner and his confidence, and the way he met Cody’s anger with such a relaxed smile and jokes made Cody feel a bit..confused. Maybe it was also that he just didn’t seem to belong to anywhere, and that he didn’t have anything he was supposed to be doing. He ate dinner and fell asleep quickly. In the morning he was sure he had spent the whole night dreaming about a black man leading him away somewhere, but the longer he thought about it the more it faded out of view.
***
That afternoon, as Cody was trying to piece together the bits of metal he had found the previous day into something he could use to patch up the shed with, the thought of Wes’ re-visitation kept looming over his mind. Sure enough, as he was hammering a piece of sheet metal into place, he felt Wes’s shadow fall over him.
‘Hey there cowboy’
‘Hey Wes’ he replied, not looking up from his work.
‘Feeling slightly more amenable today are we?’
Cody pulled himself up and rolled his shoulders, stretching out his back
‘Look man I owe you an apology…I don’t know why I was being such a dick and you did a great job on the roof. Can you keep helping out around here? Can’t pay you a whole lot but feel free to stay and eat whatever’s in the fridge’
Wes chuckled and picked up the hammer and got to work and they both smiled. It was incredibly hot and by about 3pm they were both exhausted, but significant progress had been made on the shed. Cody pulled out a six pack from the fridge and handed one of the cold brews to Wes, who opened it with a clean, satisfying crack.
‘You know I’m a horse trainer by trade’ Wes said
‘I can tell, the way you handle that horse its clear you know what you’re doing’ Cody replied, pulling his hat down over his eyes for shade. ‘I’m military – navy seal’
‘Really? I was kind of getting that vibe but didn’t expect anything that elite.’ Wes said, taking a drink. ‘That’s impressive, man’.
Cody smiled, and they kept talking about what had brought them to the ranch, and what their lives had been like. They talked about Philip, who it turned out Wes had offered to help out but had been refused.
‘I should have known better than to leave that idiot in charge,’ Cody said.
‘He really was an idiot…he didn’t even notice me virtually living in his house’, Wes laughed, and Cody couldn’t help but join in. At this stage they were both a couple beers in and the heat had reached an easy, burnt temperature which was undercut by a gentle evening breeze. This was the first time since he had got back from the military that he’d felt properly relaxed and wasn’t just waiting for something or someone to jump out and attack him. Wes’ fun, easy-going nature was infectious and his mischievous grin couldn’t help but make Cody smile too. Watching Wes get up and stretch, his broad shoulders rippling in the evening light, gave Cody an idea that he quickly brushed off. He was strong and supple, completely at ease with himself. His jeans were snug and hugged the curve of his ass, and Cody suddenly felt a jolt of electricity move through his body. He had to move…he had to do something.
‘Let’s race, let’s race Doc against Blue’
‘What? Sure I guess, if you’re ready to get beat’ Wes smirked.
Cody laughed and they both got on their horses.
‘First one to the edge of the lake?’
‘Sure thing’
The ground emerged in a cloud of red clay dust around them, a turning mass of the sound of hooves. Both men were at one with their horses, consumed by the speed and the motion. Cody could see the flickering edge of the lake, the sun glinting off the water and obscuring the lines of trees over the other side. Wes and Cody were neck and neck, both shouting encouragement at their horses pushing their whole bodies forward, edging towards the finish line. They were almost there, when out of nowhere Wes and Blue picked up the pace and edged Cody out by about 3 feet. Wes jumped off his horse and whooped for joy, thrilled with his victory over the navy seal. Cody got down, trying not to look be too much of a sore loser
‘So what’s my prize then?’ Wes said, sidling up so close to Wes he could feel his breath on his neck, and his heart in his chest. Wes pushed his lips into the hollow of Cody’s collarbone, kissing him deep and sucking until it hurt. Cody’s head fell back and he drew his nails up Wes’ back, feeling each individual bump of his spine. They kissed each other deeply, and Wes pushed his tongue into Cody’s mouth. He pulled his fingers through his blonde curly hair, which had clearly gotten too long for his own liking. Soon they were on the ground, the grit of the sand rubbing their skin and the lake water rushing against them. Wes was on top of Cody, grinding into the bulge in his pants before ripping them open, pushing his hand into the navy seals white underwear and wrapping his dark fingers around the man’s thick cock. Moving his hands slowly, he deliberately started to thrust along the shaft. Cody let out a low moan that shuddered through him, his abs glistening with water under the sun. Wes then started sucking his throbbing cock, first at a very loving and slow pace, before starting to go much faster using more of his tongue. Before long, Wes had the entire member deep in his throat. Cody’s breathing was heavy, and even though he had never experienced anything this intense, it felt like it was right. He was completely in the thrall of this mysterious horse trainer who had previously seemed so playful, but now had transformed into someone powerful and determined. Wes pulled off his pants and then kissed along Cody’s stomach, tracing with his lips the edges of his hipbones which were defined and hard. He gripped Cody’s thigh hard, pulling his whole body towards him. Using one finger at a time, Wes entered Cody’s behind, thrusting as Cody let off small heaps of air. After moving to four fingers, Wes then decided to enter the other man. This cowboy come military man who had previously been so intimidating and set upon running Wes off his land, now had his leg over the black man’s shoulder and his face contorted in pleasure. He was almost begging for it when Wes started to thrust in and out, at first slowly and gently and then will shear power when he could see how much Cody was enjoying it. He was fucking him like he deserved it, as payback for being such an absolute asshole to him over the past few days. He gasped as he felt Cody’s body tighten up, orgasms rippling through the two men’s muscles like the wind blowing over the lake. Wes collapsed into Cody as he finished with shear force into his behind, gasping for breath. Cody wrapped an arm around him, calm in the dip that comes after great sex where all he could think about was how much he had enjoyed himself. He took a few moments to breath in that contentment, before very quickly realizing the severity of the situation. Fear gripped his whole body. What had he just done? What did this mean for him? He was a military man, not some fucking queer surely? He shoved Wes off him and pulled his jeans back on.
‘The fuck Cody what’s the problem’
‘Don’t you come back to the ranch again?’
‘What are you talking about?!’
‘You heard me!’ he choked in response, and climbed back on his horse, suppressing a wince. He rode back towards the ranch, focusing again on the speed and air whipping round his ears.
***
It was a couple days before Cody was starting to feel himself again. He focused on fixing up the barn and hanging out with his horses. He even went into town for a few beers, the first time since he’d got back that he’d tried to brave the outside world. He was starting to forget about Wes until he heard a knock at his door one morning. He groggily answered with his dressing gown open, expecting it to be the mailman delivering a package of parts he needed for his truck. Sure enough, however, there was Sam casting a shadow on his doorway, looking serious and concerned.
‘What are you doing here?’ he growled
‘I was worried about you. The way you ran off, I was worried I’d hurt you or worse you’d hurt yourself’
‘You have no idea what you’re talking about Wes’
‘I know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve been through what you’re going through. I did the whole self-hating gay guy thing years ago and it sucks. Don’t force this part of yourself down because sooner or later it’s just going to float to the top again’
Cody’s expression softened, Wes wasn’t out to cause him some sort of harm. He was a nice guy looking out for someone he cared about. Cody sighed, and wordlessly invited him into the house.
‘Look maybe I over reacted the other day’
‘That’d be one way to put it’, Wes responded.
‘I just…I’m not that sort of guy. I’m a navy seal’, Cody explained.
‘Plenty of men in the military are the same way’, Wes defended.
‘I know but…still’
‘Look I get it. You don’t have to declare yourself as anything yet. It can just be you, me, and the ranch. We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. I’m happy enough to just keep helping you fix the place up’