CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Colton
DO I THINKyou’re hot? Fuck yes.The words kept running on repeat in Colton’s head over the next few days as he settled in with Hank and started working in the shop. Colton had never exactly thought of himself as hot. Sure, he knew that he was popular with the girls in high school but actually thinking of himself as being hot, well that was something else entirely. Good-looking, sure. Athletic, yes. But hot? And the way that Henry had said it casually as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wasn’t used to this kind of talk. In fact, sex had never been a big part of his life, come to think of it. The few sexual encounters he’d had over the years had been casual and, if he was being completely honest with himself, he’d done it more per default than out of sexual attraction or lust.
Being in the military, it was a given thing that once they were on leave, he and the guys would hit up the nearest bar and let off some steam. For the most part he could get away with just flirting with some woman and making the casual dude bro remark with the guys. If the woman became handsy and insistent, he could always make the excuse that he was too drunk for anything more than some kissing. Mostly that strategy worked out surprisingly well.
He didn’t know why he’d never experienced sexual attraction towards anyone. It’d always just been like that, and in a way, he’d just accepted this as part of being him. Being Colton. Just like he’d inherited his mother’s chestnut brown hair and her hazel eyes. Some people were sexual beings with an appetite for physical relationships, and he was just not one of them.
Then why was it that he couldn’t get Henry’s words out of his head.Do I think you’re hot? Fuck yes.Colton couldn’t help but admire the young vet for his bluntness. Unafraid of talking about attraction and his sexual preferences with practically a stranger. Henry had balls. Of course, he was a lot younger than Colton.Henry belonged to a different generation who, for the most part, no longer seemed to consider being gay as something wrong or abnormal even.But somehow Colton doubted that he would’ve been as brave as Henry, had he been gay and in his mid-twenties.
He’d always been private, maybe even shy about personal matters. Of course, it had never been a topic of discussion in the Dietrich household ? sex and sexuality. Colton couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of Hank being gay that he and Walter had had the final blow out. Had that been a deal breaker to his father?
Colton shook his head and opened the hood of the truck, which had been brought in this morning. Why was he even thinking about this now when he’d never given it much thought before? He wasn’t gay. The words had spilled from his mouth without any hesitation. The only thing he could offer Henry was friendship. He liked the idea of having a friend. He’d never been close to anyone in school growing up. The relationships with his classmates had been of a more superficial nature. And Colton wouldn’t consider most of his Army buddies friends. Well, not the surviving ones at least. Sure, they were brothers. He would’ve taken a bullet for them any day of the week. But friends? The only one that came to mind was Reed, but their contact was limited to a few phone calls now and then since Reed lived in Wyoming.
After checking the truck thoroughly and finding the issue with the engine, Colton went to see Hank with a list of parts needed to be ordered for the repair. It would take a few days for the parts to get there from Chadron, but the owner of the truck had made it clear that he was in no hurry.
“I guess that’s it for today.” Hank winked at him, patting him on the back. “I was thinking about making cheeseburgers, but I need a couple of things from the store first.” Even though Hank was no longer unwell, he still looked tired, his age showing in the paleness of his hollow cheeks.
“I don’t mind getting them for you,” Colton offered, wiping his greasy hands off in the coveralls.
“You sure?” Hank squinted at him. “The damn back’s acting up again, so I wouldn’t mind laying down for a bit… It’s the cold weather we’re seeing…” He trailed off rubbing his lower back.
“Sure, I need to get a few things anyway,” Colton squeezed his uncle’s shoulder.
He felt relieved that they were getting on so well. Hank was so different from his brother. Or at least, from the way Walter had been after Amy died. Sometimes, Colton couldn’t distinguish between the man his father had been before and after his mother’s death. Maybe he’d always been closed off and withdrawn. Maybe it was just Amy’s sparkling personality which had brushed off on Walter in rare moments. No, Hank couldn’t have been any more different from his brother.
Colton enjoyed working with Hank in the shop. There was a quiet companionship between the two of them. Whenever he did something Hank saw fit to praise, Colton felt like he belonged somewhere. He felt accepted. Maybe there would even come a time when he could ask his uncle about the past. About what had happened between him and Walter. He had a feeling that when he asked him, Hank would not reject him, nor would he bullshit him with some vague explanation. But not today, Colton thought to himself as he went inside to clean up. He wasn’t yet ready himself to learn the truth.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Henry
HENRY FOUND HIMSELFspacing out in front of the shelves with cereals. He’d forgotten what he needed, so he pulled down a family size box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Family size. Who was he kidding. Gran wouldn’t touch that stuff with a ten-foot pole, and it was highly unlikely that he would finish it off by himself with the increase in visits to Tilly’s for breakfast. Before a certain gorgeous veteran had returned to Hayley’s Peak, Henry’s visits to the diner had been limited to mostly Sundays but now he was on a fast track to becoming one of the regulars. He dropped the box into the shopping basket with a thud and nearly knocked over Mrs. Colson as he turned around.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” he blurted out. “I didn’t see you there. I’m truly sorry,” he repeated and cursed himself for not watching his step.
“No harm done, hon,” the elderly lady squinted at him. “At my age it’s not considered a hardship to be jumped by a handsome young thing in the breakfast aisle. I haven’t seen this much action since Herb and I were newlyweds.”
Embarrassment flooded his cheeks, while Mrs. Colson squeezed his bicep reassuringly with her frail hand and wandered off towards the counter.
While Henry was shaking his head trying to erase that image from his mind for all eternity, he heard a soft chuckle behind him. Before he even turned around, he knew who the quiet laugh belonged to. Lately, it seemed that he couldn’t go anywhere without running into Colton Dietrich. As if his head being so filled with images of the other man made him appear randomly around town. Of course, that was insane. Hayley’s Peak was a small town. Running into Colton in the store was bound to happen at one point or another. Taking a deep breath, Henry turned around and was met by a pair of amused hazel eyes.
“Trying to pick up a date in the grocery store now, are we?” Colton grinned at him hesitantly as if he wasn’t sure how Henry would react to his teasing tone.
“Yeah, well, if I were batting for that team, I could do a whole lot worse than Mrs. Colson. I bet she was a fox in her day.”
“Thanks a lot,” Colton blurted out with a half-smile. “Now I have to buy bleach to get that picture outta my head.”
“Aisle four,” Henry pointed to his left, returning the smile. The exchange of subtle smiles and the strange familiarity he felt whenever he was near Colton was becoming something, Henry looked forward to daily. He liked the warm feeling that spread through his body whenever he encountered Colton.
Before, Henry could have gone days without feeling the urge to touch himself to get off. Since Colton had walked into town, it had become a daily ritual, often during his morning shower. Just this morning, Henry had used the citrusy bodywash to spread himself open and fuck his fingers until he came repeating Colton’s name against the white shower tiles. He’d come without even touching his cock, white ribbons of cum painting the shower floor beneath him.
After the other day in the diner, Henry knew that it would be hard to be just friends with Colton, but he was determined to give it a try. He missed having friends. It’d been difficult to return to Hayley’s Peak as a single gay man and he spent most of his free time with Gran. It wouldn’t be so bad to have a friend even if that meant that he had to push down the overwhelming attraction he felt towards Colton.
“Do you need a ride back? Or did you drive here?” He was pulled back to the present moment by the sound of Colton’s deep voice. The flashback to this morning’s spectacular jerk off session had made his dick awaken at the proximity of the object of his attraction. He felt his hardness straining behind his zipper and made sure to cover his abdomen with the packet of toilet paper he’d just grabbed from the shelf. Henry cringed at the breathiness of his own voice, when he spoke.
“Uhm, nah that’s okay, but thanks though.”What are you doing?He silently cursed himself for not accepting Colton’s offer.Friends get rides from other friends. Yes, but not friends you use for jerk off material, you idiot!
