The first blow job went a little fast, since Zeke couldn’t pick up the rhythm of Cal’s body, and Cal’s cock kept slipping out of his mouth at the wrongest orgasm-killing moments. But it was fun, like stumbling through a dream that wasn’t scary, but was very new.
And it was fine because they both laughed after Cal had come, and now Zeke was faced with a mouthful of salty fluid he didn’t quite know what to do with.
“Just—” Cal howled with laughter as he waved both his hands as if shooing away a bad idea. “Just spit it into the sheets. Not everybody swallows, that’s a myth, oh myGod?—”
The rest of what he meant to say dissolved into more laughter. Zeke spit into the sheets, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat up, smiling at the lovely sprawl Calmade, his body relaxed, as if the stress of being in prison, and dealing with Preston was starting to dissolve.
“I’ll get better at that,” said Zeke, tugging at his lower lip.
“You will and I will,” said Cal, stoutly. “Practice is part of the fun, after all.”
Zeke leaned back, a smile so big it felt almost foreign to him, and shook his head. “I didn’t know it could be like this between men.”
“The beauty of it, sweet Zeke,” said Cal as he planted a kiss on Zeke’s hipbone beneath the cotton. “It can be however we want it to be.”
That statement implied a future of possibilities, unknown and untested. He’d always been a prepare-in-advance kind of guy, from every bronc ride he’d ever gloved up for to ordinary tasks, even one as ordinary as grooming a horse. This was different, wide open and new, and a little disconcerting.
Into the silence, Cal looked up at Zeke, his eyes wide and worried, and said, “We don’t have to decide everything today.”
“No,” said Zeke, as he caressed Cal’s face.
“But we should talk.”
“I’d like to,” said Cal. “But not right now.”
Zeke leaned forward to kiss him. The kiss unbalanced him so that he had to catch himself on both hands, fingers buried in the mattress of the cot, lest he crush Cal.
Now he could kiss Cal even better, only there were sounds of men walking past and if they didn’t hustle, they’d miss breakfast. Moreover, someone might come looking for them both.
Who they became to each other was Cal’s business and his business, and nobody else’s business. When they were ready, they could go about making their relationship public, or keep it private. It was up to them, but Zeke didn’t want to get caught off guard.
It wasn’t that he was ashamed, just that he was a tad uncertain how it would go. Or maybe it would be a lot like when he’d started dating Betty Lou, where people were mostly concerned about their own lives.
And maybe he and Cal should give each other courage, and exchange bear scares for good luck.
Chapter 28
Zeke
After he’d kissed Cal several times with luxurious slowness, Zeke knew they needed to get a move on. The sun was shining and it was a brand new day.
“I think the paddock and pasture are going to need a bit of cleanup from all that rain,” said Zeke, because that was the way his mind worked. “Branches and suchlike.”
“Count me in,” said Cal, turning in Zeke’s arms to look up at him, blue eyes sleepy, his short hair pressed flat on one side. His smile was soft and it nestled inside of Zeke’s heart.
They got ready for the day, Cal wearing yesterday’s clothes with seemingly no concern at all that anyone would notice. Zeke stepped into clothes from yesterday, too, because maybe that would distract everyone from Cal, who had a bruise under his left eye, and who was holding himself stiffly as he waited for Zeke to lace up his work boots.
“You have those Tylenol on you?” asked Zeke. They stood toe to toe as Zeke unzipped the tent flap and Cal flashed the packets from his pockets. “Let’s get breakfast,” he said and realized he felt a little shy.
Where did he go from here? He had no idea how to court another man. Well, there was a solution for that. Stay active.
Cal tipped his head up as if he wanted a kiss, and Zeke gave it to him, quick and sweet, and it did feel a little strange to be doing this in broad daylight like they were.
“I just need time,” said Zeke, his voice more sharp-edged than he’d like. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Nobody does,” said Cal with a smile. He peppered Zeke with another kiss, then stepped back when they heard voices of other men in the valley going to breakfast. “We’ll talk later, yes?”
“Yes,” said Zeke. That much he could commit to, though he could kick himself for being so leery of being happy in a relationship with another man—Cal—that he would hesitate and fumble like some greenhorn at life.
