His dad appeared at the open door of the stall. “Please do not let your mother hear you say that.”
They added fresh bedding and refilled the buckets with feed and water for the evening and then moved to the other two stalls. There were five total, each taken by one of their work horses. They’d given a few horseback riding lessons through the summer and Zaya had her kids from California coming each month as well. They always loved meeting the horses. Her bull calf, Mini Moo, was too big for the kids to be around now. He was living his best life out in the fields.
“I know the place comes furnished with some stuff,” his dad said a few minutes later when they were finishing the last bit of the stalls. “But you need to get some things for the place.”
“I have most everything I need from my room already,” Victor said. “The other things will come with time and if he does bring things with him, then I don’t want to have doubles of anything.”
“Makes sense, but please let your mother get you one or two things,” his dad said. “She’s talking my ear off about you not having everything.”
“She wasn’t this worried about Paxton,” Victor said with only a hint of sarcasm.
“Oh no, she was. Trust me on that one.” They worked together to put the tools away and walked around to the back of the barn to dump the manure. Victor was ready to be rid of the smell for a while. He’d be back on weekends, but the breakduring the week would be welcomed. “I’m proud of you, Victor. You’ve turned into a good, young man.”
Victor gave his dad a tight-lipped smile and nodded. He accepted the clap on his shoulder and they dropped the short conversation. He knew his mom was worried. He would make it a point to ask her if she would go shopping with him to get a few things.
There was a car Victor didn’t recognize when they finished getting the horses in and closed the barn door. It wasn’t set to rain tonight so they’d most likely turn the horses back out later for the night. He felt gross, though, and wanted to take a shower. William and Brett were coming down the porch steps while someone got out of the car. The guy looked a bit older than William, black frame glasses, slim build. He was wearing a gray, long sleeve shirt and jeans. Patrick stopped to talk to them, but Victor just gave a curt nod and headed into the house for a shower.
“…and that was my son, Victor. He’s going to be starting at the school this year.” He could hear his dad saying more but he continued into the house. His mom was sitting in the living room watching TV when he passed her on the way upstairs.
“You better have those shoes off, Victor! I just mopped this morning.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Victor stopped at the bottom of the steps and bent down to slip out of the tennis shoes. He glanced back, saying a silent thank you to whoever that he hadn’t tracked anything through the house. He had a pair of boots for the barn but he hadn’t felt like going through the trouble of putting them on. They were tucked away in the laundry room, his mom’s rule.
The bathroom was messy, a clear sign that Paxton had beenrushing that morning to get out of the house. He stripped out of his clothes and turned the water on. He washed his hands before straightening up Paxton’s things. Paxton didn’t wear a lot of makeup, but she did have a full skin routine so he understood what most of the products were. He even had a few of his own. It wasn’t quite as extensive as his sister, but he dealt with acne in middle school and a few breakouts here and there so he kept up with it.
The water was hot by the time he pulled the curtain back and he adjusted the spray just a bit to cool him off. He realized too late he should have grabbed his phone from the kitchen to play music. He made his shower quick, feeling a lot better by the time he reached for the towel. He hadn’t even stopped to get clothes so he peeked out into the hallway before rushing across the hall to his bedroom. He locked the door and unwrapped the towel, drying himself off. He paused for a moment, glancing from his closet to the dresser where his regular clothes were waiting. He didn’t have anything else to do tonight so maybe putting on the lacy panties he’d bought wouldn’t be a bad idea. He’d just chill in his room.
He moved to his closet and got down to his knees to reach the safe. He washed everything, but he always waited until he knew he’d be alone and could wash the items without anyone accidentally grabbing his clothes. The pair was white. It had a solid band on the top and bottom and was lace throughout. The design was a mix of petals and flowers mixed together. He pulled them up and settled them on his hips. The back covered his ass perfectly and the front had a pouch where his cock settled. They were hipster style. He adjusted himself slightly before moving to look at the full length mirror. He loved the way the white stood against his skin. The pouchinside the underwear was black, hiding most of his groin. There were a few dark hairs that poked out the top. He typically kept himself clean shaven, but he was holding out for having his own bathroom.
His genes definitely took after his dad. He was bulky naturally, a little bit of muscle added to his biceps and pecs from doing random jobs on the farm. His skin was naturally tanned too, the rest of his torso not overly muscled but nice to look at. He had several girls that he knew were interested in him, especially when they went to the local swimming hole along the creek. It was usually Kyle that threw the impromptu parties there. Victor didn’t mind the attention, but he definitely tried to keep it at a minimum. He preferred to just swim, jump from the rope swing, and chill with his friends.
He ran his hand up his body, closing his eyes slightly to picture it as someone else touching him. He wasn’t a virgin, but just barely. He didn’t count the one time he did have sex. It was just a thing that happened and wasn’t really spoken about since. Joe had asked him point blank if he was gay, but Victor wasn’t even sure himself. Joe was straight, but he didn’t have a judgmental bone in his body. They never spoke about it after that. His hand reached the base of his neck and he opened his eyes to stare at his reflection. His eyes were somewhere between blue and gray and his hair was the dirty blonde shade that always got lighter in the summer months. He didn’t buzz his hair, but the style was shorter on the sides and slightly longer on top. It was enough that he could run his fingers through it at any spot. Victor thought about letting it grow out. He let his fingers trail up the sides of his neck. His own gentle touches created goosebumps on his arms and down his spine. He twisted his body, admiring the way the fabric hugged himat every angle.
He imagined a whole drawer of different shapes and designs. Maybe some that didn’t even have the ass portion to them. He could pair them with the skirt in his closet. It was black pleather and barely covered the tops of his thighs. He glanced over at his open closet and debated. He usually only brought the clothes out once in a while. Never twice in just a matter of hours. It had to be that he was so close to having his own space and being able to discover himself.
It wasn’t like he would be totally on his own on campus, though. His sister worked there and William and Brett both had the tendency to stop by the campus to either see a friend or do something for the business. He would still have to be careful.
After another couple of seconds he decided not to risk it. He’d keep the underwear on, though. He turned to his dresser and pulled out a pair of black sweats and a loose tank. It was originally a high school t-shirt, but he’d cut the sleeves off. Their mascot was the lamest, a rocket of all things. The Fairwind County Rockets. It was a navy blue shirt with a white rocket logo and the name of the school. He’d probably end up throwing it out when he unpacked at the apartment.
He made his way downstairs, smiling to himself at the feel of the fabric against his skin. They were soft and, unlike the briefs he usually wore, didn’t move or get too sweaty. His phone was sitting on the counter where he’d left it, but the house was quiet. He assumed everyone was outside and opened the screen door to check.
His mom and dad were sitting on the porch swing together and the same guy from half an hour before was sitting in one of the chairs. His mom had a cup in her hand, but the guys eachhad a beer.
“Victor,” his mom said happily when she spotted him. He’d been just about to go back up to his room. Too late now. He pushed open the door and walked out. The weather was cooling down quickly with the sun setting. “This is Tawson. He’s staying up in one of the houses right now.”
Victor looked at the man. He’d only caught a glimpse of him earlier, but he was quite attractive. Victor was nineteen and while he didn’t know what he considered himself, he had eyes and could say when someone was easy on them. Tawson’s hair was buzzed, his hairline the type that receded at his temples a bit. His glasses sat on a perfectly straight nose. Victor had inherited his dad and uncle’s nose where it looked slightly crooked, like he’d broken it years ago. Tawson’s beard was short, more than stubble, like he hadn’t shaved in about a week.
What had Victor nearly stumbling over his own bare feet was the way this man’s eyes raked over him unapologetically. The guy’s face was turned away from his parents, thank god, but there was no mistaking the way his eyes lingered on Victor’s exposed arms and tracked well below his shoulders.
“Nice to meet you,” the guy said after a couple seconds of silence. He smiled and lifted his beer to his lips. Lips that Victor most definitely did not watch wrap around the bottle. He was singing praises for the loose sweats he chose because the lace underneath was no match to hide a boner.
“You too,” Victor coughed out. He was not playing this cool. He looked at his parents and flipped his phone from one hand to another. “I was just coming down to say I’m going to turn in early. Mom, did you want to maybe go shopping tomorrow?”
Chapter Two
~ Victor ~
Victor watched his dad set down the last box from the truck. He was officially moved in. Well, he still had to unpack, but everything was in the apartment. His mom was more than excited to go shopping with him over the week. He stuck to basics for the bigger things, like a new mattress. He also got a pale blue area rug and some matching curtains that were one step down from total blackout. He had the shoe rack that Zaya gave him for his high school graduation. He imagined setting it up, having his tennis shoes next to some sandals or something. He didn’t have any sandals but he could go buy them. He saved most of his money working on the ranch. His parents made him the same deal they did Paxton; if he comes home on the weekends to help around the ranch, they will pay for his schooling. He’d have to pay the monthly rent fee, but being on campus, it wasn’t that extreme and all bills were included. He could swing it.
