Western Skies Ch. 02

Luke's face lit up and he laughed — a warm, throaty sound. The sparks danced in his gray eyes once more. He walked the horse forward and I reached out to pet its soft nose, receiving an affectionate nuzzle in return.

"This is Finn," he said. "He's a bit of a spaz sometimes but he means well, just needs more miles on him. I keep two horses here during the school year; Willy's saddled too, just in case you showed up. Hoping you'd show up. Want to ride?"

"No, I came here to just pet your horse and run off." Dumb questions always get dumb answers in my book. Without further ado, I gave Luke a sideways glance and marched down the arena towards Willy, Luke following at a walk on Finn.

For me, climbing up into the saddle was like putting on a favorite pair of jeans. It just felt good. I touched Willy lightly with my heels, steering him round on a soft rein to learn his feel and response. "Why am I not surprised this is such a good horse," I said, giving Luke a sly glance. "Guess it figures for you to have nice things."

He beamed. "Only the best. Besides, Willy has a lot of experience from the ranch. C'mon!"

And we took off, taking full advantage of the large arena as we loped circles, rolled back along the fence panels, and took breaks to walk placidly around the perimeter, chatting absentmindedly. Having been practically raised in a saddle, I was eager for Luke to know it. I ran through several of the drills I knew, testing to see what Willy could do. He really was a good horse, and didn't disappoint.

The arena slowly cleared out, leaving Luke and I alone. My eyes couldn't help but fix on him as often as possible, admiring how effortlessly he rode, reflecting his own lifetime of experience. His lean thighs stretched his jeans tight, and I'd catch an occasional glimpse of his rounded ass over the seat of the saddle.

Every now and then he'd look at me, always smiling, fire dancing in the icy expanse of his eyes. And every time he did, I could feel the color rising in my cheeks and an uncomfortable tightness in my groin. Riding is hard enough on a guy, but getting hard while in a saddle was downright miserable. Whenever I felt myself getting excited I forced myself to stare at a patch of dirt in the middle of the arena and imagine jumping into a frigid river. It was a great exercise to kill arousal.

Eventually, the horses were lathered in sweat and I was yawning, the long day finally catching up with me.

"Guess it's time to call it," Luke murmured, returning my yawn. We dismounted and led the horses into the connected barn. After unsaddling and brushing them out, there was nothing to do but wait around. It was important to let them finish cooling down before they were fed and put away in their stalls for the night.

"So," began Luke, quietly, a guarded tone in his voice. He looked around the barn to make sure we were indeed alone. "About this morning."

He waited, staring, trying to judge my reaction as he treaded forward into dangerous waters. I stayed silent, heart pounding, not trusting my words to accurately represent my roiling emotions.

Luke gave me a moment, looking increasingly flustered as he blushed and began to stammer. "Look, I'm so sorry for...for pushing you...it's not fair to expect anything, I just...you probably realize I'm gay by now, and ever sense you showed up at school...I mean, the odds of you being like me...or liking me...maybe hating me...Jesus, why is this so hard..."

I had to save him from his anxiety-driven rant. It was too much, too unnecessary. And our ride together had convinced me of what I needed to do. What I wanted to do.

"Luke, shut up." He sucked in air, terrified.

Then I took a step forward, leaned in, and kissed him. It felt like electricity was coursing through my veins, locking me to Luke. I kissed him fully, deeply, savoring the feeling of his soft, warm lips on mine; the smell of his cologne mixing with sweat and horse floated strongly in my nostrils. To me, the scent was arousing beyond belief, and it made me push my entire body against his, seeking to get closer, closer, while my arms wrapped around his trim waist.

He was, I realized, stunned. Luke tensed up at first, but it took only a moment for him to respond enthusiastically, pressing his mouth back into me. His tongue snaked forward against my teeth, testing my willingness. I allowed him to enter, and he slipped his hands down to the small of my back as our tongues battled for dominance, glued together in a violent wrestling match.

I remember nothing of that kiss. Nothing conscious, at least. Just the feeling of heat, pure desire, and my pumping adrenaline.

My mouth ended up breaking away first, gasping in air as I rushed to make up for the parade of short breaths I'd taken while our lips were together. Luke stared into my eyes, unblinking.

"Wow," he muttered.

"Wow," I agreed, in disbelief at my own boldness.

Our breathing was still heavy and deep, and we remained locked in a tight embrace, his forehead leaning up against mine. It was reassuring to feel his heart pounding in tandem with mine, too, even through the sweater he wore. A smile spread across my face, and a feeling of elation and energy spread through my limbs like a rushing river.

"Luke." I backed away, growing as serious as I could manage.

"Yeah?" He grinned sheepishly back at me, his mind still obviously wrapped up in what had happened.

"How much grain do you feed your horses?"

Luke burst out laughing, and I soon joined him, the sound of our mirth echoing in the empty barn while our audience of horses stared at us in high alert, ears fixed forward on their two-legged entertainment.

We eventually recovered enough to put the horses away, dumping grain in their pans and checking to make sure they had hay and water. That finished, we started walking slowly back towards the entrance.

"What are you doing for dinner...and later?" Luke inquired.

I paused, looking at him. "Well, considering the weather and already doing more today than I planned on...a lot more than I planned on, now that I think about it..." Luke snickered, and I felt a smile pulling at my lips, but forced myself to continue, "It feels like a good night to stay in for pizza and a movie. My roommate ended up going home, so I have the place to myself tonight."

Luke raised his eyebrows at that. "Really?"

Continuing like I hadn't noticed anything, I said, "Guess I could use some help on the pizza. If you wanted to come hang out...again?" Despite what had transpired, my voice still cracked a bit with the question.

He looked at me like he had the night before, the animal inside him barely contained. Then he reached out, drawing me to him again and placing a surprisingly gentle kiss on my lips.

"Be over at about eight? It's ten after seven now." Dazed, I nodded. The time today had really flown.

Before I had time to add any words to my nod, I heard a door open, followed by a loud female voice.

"Hellooo! Anyone still here?"

Luke and I jumped apart as if we were repelled by a force field, a split second before a stern looking, red-headed woman strolled around the corner.

"Ah, Luke, how are you? Most people wouldn't be out on a night like this but why am I not surprised to see you here! And who's your friend?" She placed me under the piercing scrutiny of her gaze, but Luke saved me.

"Hi, Rhonda! You know me, just can't stay away. This is my friend Kaden, he comes from a pretty extensive riding background himself, we were just working with my geldings for a bit."

"Riding background, huh," she sized me up. "Well, looking forward to seeing you more around here, Kaden. I'm off now, want to make sure everything's shut up for the night before I head out. It falls to the barn manager to make sure no one freezes their tail off on a night like this, lucky me. Chat more later!" Rhonda marched off, waving a hand in the air matter-of-factly.

Like and I exchanged an amused look as we walked outside, bursting into a fit of giggles when the door swung shut behind us. The moment was short-lived, however, as our breath caught in the frosty air. We turned as one, gazing at the fat snowflakes falling steadily in the yellow beam of the outside light. An inch had already accumulated on the dark pine trees outside the equestrian center, and a light dusting was spread softly atop the dirt parking lot. The wind had almost completely stopped, allowing the flakes to fall in their own ethereal, spiraling patterns. A deep silence seemed to lay heavily in the valley.

"First snow of the season," I murmured, enthralled. The skin prickled on the back of my neck and I turned, feeling Luke's eyes on my cold skin. Despite the dim light, I could still make out the hint of a blush on his cheeks. Or maybe it was the cold air.

"Welcome to September in Montana," he finally said. "C'mon, let's get out of here before the roads turn into a skating rink."

***

Luke followed me most of the way back to campus, but I noticed him turn off into town right before I swung into the parking lot. What are you up to?

Hurrying through the cold and snow, I rushed into the dorm and down the hall to my room, falling to the sofa with a sigh. What a day. The thought of sitting there forever was enticing, and my eyes slowly drifted shut, the world dimming in my peripheral vision...

My head snapped up and I glanced at the clock. Shit. Half an hour had passed.

Standing up made me groan like an 80-year-old man, feeling the tiredness of the day's adventures raking my weary limbs. Before hopping in the shower, I sent Evan a quick text to check on him: Made it home all good? Hope you're feeling better. Nothing much going on here.

Hot water was a godsend, and I stood in the stream for ages, slowly beginning to feel more alert. A faint knock on the outside door jolted me wide awake. Shit shit.

Wrapping a towel around my waist, I stepped out of the bathroom and opened the door. There was Luke, wearing sweats and a Yellowstone National Park T-shirt, pizza box in one hand and a plastic grocery bag in the other.

The lazy smile on his face quickly faded to a slack-jawed expression of surprise, his eyes growing wide as they travelled up and down my half-naked body, resting on the bulge pressed up against my towel.

I gave him the most dazzling smile I could muster, feeling the color rise in my face, as I reached over and grabbed the pizza before it could fall from his loosening grip. "Close you mouth and get in here, creeper!"

The door slamming behind him seemed to bring him back to his senses, and he smiled again, his usual self returning. "That...was not the welcome I was expecting...not that I'm complaining. Not at all!"

I'd barely set down the pizza box on my desk before Luke reached over, placing a hand on the small of my back. It was barely any contact, but his skin against mine was enough. My heart thumped harder and harder, a sheen of sweat growing on my brow, underneath my damp hair. Turning, my eyes slid up into his, my deep browns tearing into his sparkling gray orbs. Luke's hand slid around to my front, his thumb stroking one of the ridges between my abs. Still unblinking, he looked into me, his hand rising up to feel my chest, swirling lithely around my nipple as his other hand rested against my upper back.

Then he pulled me to him, slowly, our eyes closing in tandem as our lips met for the fourth time. This time, there was no surprise. No fear. No moment of trepidation at discovery. It was just us, connecting in the way our bodies demanded of us, two masculine athletes fighting in physical competition to conquer one another. Our tongues looped and pounded, our teeth crashing, neither one of us willing to concede in this fight for dominance.

Pressed tightly together as we were, arms wound tightly around each other's backs, it came as a minor shock when I felt Luke pull away, cool air rushing in where our bodies had been pressed tight. My nipples hardened at the feeling, and goosebumps erupted on my exposed skin. Displeased, I could feel my fingernails scraping at his skin, my hands unwilling to let him go. He pushed back as I tried to lean towards him, his strong arms blocking me.

As fast as he'd backed off, Luke's arms reached towards me one more. With a low grunt, he grabbed me, the towel around my hips falling away as he tossed me onto my bed.

Goosebumps erupted on my skin that had nothing to do with the room temperature. Acutely aware of my nakedness and vulnerability, my wide, shining eyes flicked upwards across Luke's striking figure as he bent over me. Once more his gray eyes glinted with a wild, animalistic emotion.

He's a wolf, I thought. The stupidity of such a random idea made me snicker dumbly and look down.

"What?" Luke whimpered, sitting up with a puzzled expression.

Looking back up, I saw his raw, unbridled expression of lust had been replaced by the rapid onset of shyness. The wolf was gone, replaced by a doleful puppy-dog who seemed almost as worried and vulnerable as I felt.

"Nothing," I mumbled.

He fixed me with a sideways look, replying with a doubtful "Uh-huh..."

"Alright," I sighed, gathering my thoughts. "It's just, you're so fun to watch. Your emotions are written all over your face and it's very much entertaining to look at. So different than the way you are out in front of the rest of the school— just your polite, charming self, under a mask of unending self-control."

"Well, you're the same. Mostly." He snorted. "There's an expectation of how I should behave...the kind of person I should be..." Luke's voice cracked and he grew quiet, his eyes tracking off towards the snow falling outside the window, the sky glowing reddish-gold in Bozeman's reflected light.

A wan smile grew on my cheeks. "I like this side of you. Who you are...who you're comfortable to be around me..."

Luke looked back, his familiar sly smile now sliding back onto his face. "You have no idea how much that means to me...after this time, since..."

Like he had back at the barn, he seemed to grow flustered and turned red. This time, he caught himself and managed to give me another grin.

"Damn it, you're beautiful." And before giving me any chance to respond, he was kissing me again, pressing his full, soft lips against mine, erasing all troubles from my mind. He slowly maneuvered over the top of my body, straddling me with his firm legs.

I could feel my heart beating, my adrenaline pumping, and an uncontrollable urge to push forward. My hands meandered to his waist at first before slowly descending to the firm, rounded mounds of his ass, feeling him lightly through his sweatpants.

Luke's growing cock pressed firmly against my crotch, eliciting an involuntary moan from my mouth. My member seemed to recognize its fellow rubbing up against it, and it awakened in dramatic fashion, hardening to an almost unbearable pressure.

Luke slipped his left arm under my right, his hand crawling up to cup my shoulder from underneath while his right hand rested on my side.

Somehow, and seemingly without breaking his lips from mine, Luke managed to slip off his t-shirt, tossing it away. The skin-on-skin contact was...intense.

Our chests pressed together, the thin, collective layer of sweat all that was separating our drumming hearts; we twisted deeper into each other in the impossible task of becoming one flesh.

Finally surfacing for air, I struggled to speak. My breath came out ragged, almost a pant. "I...didn't think...someone could work me up...like this...but Luke...ahhhh!"

Luke had barely pulled his head back, flashed a grin, and swooped down to gently bite my earlobe, pulling back firmly with his teeth before dropping to lap at my rigid nipples. I felt my hands seize his ass cheeks in a death grip, like I would hold onto the saddle horn of a bucking horse. My cock seemed on the verge of exploding right then, but Luke pulled back, fixing me with the puppy-dog look again.

With a soft laugh, he said, "You're something else, you know that?"

I made a face. "I'm not exactly the most experienced at these...activities...okay? This is kinda new to me. And it was with a girl last time, so..."

Luke snorted, looking away before replying, "And did she make you feel..like this?" There was a faint edge in his voice, but enough that I noticed. It started to dawn on me that this popular star-athlete had some real self-esteem issues deep down, buried beneath the veneer of invulnerability he propped up around him on a daily basis.

I felt like cold water had washed over me, all my tormented thoughts of confusion and repercussions threatening to rush back in. My body tensed and trembled slightly as I stood up, walking to my dresser and slipping on a pair of pajama bottoms.

Before the dam could break, Luke seemed to realize his mistake. He looked at me with wide, concerned eyes, reading my subtle reaction perfectly. "Sorry, Kaden...that's not fair of me to mention right now. Not at all. This is so new...for you, even though I know who I am. At least, more about who I am."

Stepping up behind me, his arms found their way back around my waist, pulling me close. He rested a hand on the curve of my hip, teasing me with wonder as I guessed where his fingers would move next. It was impossible to stay upset with him.

Luke's mouth covered mine again, this time gently, his tongue doing a slow dance with mine, in contrast to the violent tango from earlier. Our lips seemed to fit together like jigsaw pieces. Basking in the imaginary glow of the moment, my soul felt like it had curled up next to a crackling fire on the cold, snowy night.

Eventually, Luke drew back and shifted his weight away from me.

"Don't stop, asshole," I growled.

Luke's eyes widened, reflecting surprise at my quip before they resumed their playful sparkle. Guess it was my turn to play the animal.

"Aren't you starving by now? You can't really play late into the night without eating dinner first, can you?" he teased.

A sly smile cut across his angled face. What are you up to now? I thought, my excitement building even further and channeling down into my still-raging erection.

Apparently, he was up to eating, because all he did was flash me a knowing look before reaching for the pizza box. While he served the lukewarm pie on some paper plates, I grabbed my phone to see if Evan was indeed still alive, finding a text back:

Still feel tired as hell and everything aches like the flu. Thank God for the hot tub. Wyd? Sorry I couldn't hang out tonight.

That got a laugh out of me. Luke glanced over, quizzically.

"Evan went home earlier cause he wasn't feeling good," I explained. "But it sounds like he chose hot tub over bed, so I don't think he can be in that bad of shape."

"Aah." His mouth was full and he didn't push the topic.

I texted Evan back before returning my attention to my Luke. Just hanging out with Luke again, we rode horses earlier. Nothing exciting. Go to bed.

My text may have said I wasn't doing anything exciting, but my still-elevated heart rate said otherwise. Munching absentmindedly, I studied Luke's still shirtless body directly. My chest and torso might have been proportionally broader, but I couldn't compete with the sculpted definition of Luke's muscles. His slanted eyebrows and angled jaw mellowed his appearance, lending him an angelic grace that seemed to perfectly compliment his otherwise masculine figure. The more I looked, the harder it became to look away. There was no denying that I was getting more and more into him.

"You seem to be getting more relaxed with this whole thing. With me."

"Huh?"

Luke's voice had jolted me from my reverie. He was studying my features with such a tender expression that my stomach once again did a backflip. Still, a haunted, tense look hid behind his bright, shining eyes. I wondered if he expected me to melt down and bolt at any given moment.