Chapter Two
A REVEALING ORIENTATION
or
How much Lube Does a Pony Play Ranch Need?
I PULLED INTOthe parking lot of the main house at the Braided Crop Ranch at one forty-five on Wednesday, July twelfth, after buzzing through at the gate.
By this time, I was practically salivating to get my eyes on an in-the-flesh ponyboy.It had taken almost three months for this opportunity to manifest, and I couldn’t wait to start taking pictures.
As I slid my car into a parking spot—there were only a handful of vehicles in the dirt-covered lot—the front door opened and a well-dressed, dark-haired, man came out to wave to me.
Adam.
I turned off the engine and stepped out of the car, glad to be able to stretch my legs and almost vibrating with anticipation.The noise of cicadas filled my ears as the July sun burned down on me, and I wondered if I should have brought some kind of hat.Adam had said they took the ponyboys outside as often as they could when the weather was fair.
I looked up to see the man walking toward me and barely had time to acknowledge to myself how attractive he was, in an old-world, fifties-movie-star way, before he offered his hand for me to shake.
“Oliver.Welcome to the Braided Crop Ranch!We’re so glad to have you join us,” Adam Marsland stated in an affable tenor.I felt eminently welcomed by his beaming smile.
I shook his hand and matched his grin.“Great to finally meet you, Adam.”I gazed up at the large modern farmhouse with generous windows and cheerful paint.“So this is the Braided Crop Ranch.”
Adam laughed.“This is the parking lot and the main house—the most boring and utilitarian parts of the BCR.But we’ll start there.You can get settled in your room and I’ll take you for an orientation around the grounds.”
“I’m looking forward to that,” I said, rubbing my forehead where sweat had gathered already and squinting in the sunshine.
“Did you bring a hat?You may be outside quite a bit.”
“Uh, that’s one thing I forgot.I’m sure there’s more.But I brought all my camera equipment, which is the important thing,” I said as we walked up the steps.
Adam opened the door for me.“I can grab you a ball cap from the gift shop.”
“Sure.”
Gift shop?This place seemed to have everything.Naked men playing pony, beautiful scenery, nice lodgings, and a gift shop.Colour me impressed.
The entry opened up to a bright hallway that reminded me of the bottom floor of an office building—polished and utilitarian.
“Stay here.I’ll be right back,” Adam said, putting a friendly hand on my shoulder briefly and then moving down the hall to the left of me.I noticed a young man, whose disembodied voice had no doubt buzzed me in, at a desk to the right, speaking in low tones on a desk phone.He waved to me with a smile that I returned, then kept talking into the phone and typing on his computer.
I noticed that the ambient temperature in here, where my accommodations were to be, was much more comfortable than outside, which meant they had central air in this building.Thank goodness.
Adam returned and handed me a navy-blue ball cap withBCRembroidered across the front in swirly red script.“This should do for now.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking it from him.My first souvenir.
“Come and meet Connor,” Adam said, leading me down the hall.
Connor replaced the phone receiver and stood, giving me another smile and offering his hand.“Hi, Oliver.”
“Connor,” I said, shaking his hand.He looked to be in his mid-twenties and wore a pair of chinos and a short-sleeved, white button-down.
“How was the drive?”he asked.
I shrugged.“Long and boring, but okay.”
“You didn’t get lost?”
