Western Skies Ch. 03

His breath was hot on my neck as I tilted my head to the side, his head still resting on my shoulder. I kissed him gently on the side of his jaw before dropping to his collarbone, layering kiss then lick then a light nibble. Luke's body trembled as a shiver ran through him. His ass flexed over my finger.

"Deeper, babe...yeah...like that..." he whispered, instructing me.

I willingly obliged, eager to show him my gratitude for the whole new world he'd shown me. He trembled violently as I cycled my finger deeper into him, rubbing over a sensitive spot. He managed a glance at me. "Prostate," he muttered, utterly lost in the finger-fucking. It was an incredible turn-on, the control I had over his tall, slender body. In the outside world, Luke carried himself like a born leader — stolid, collected, and exuding confidence. Now, I truly had him wrapped around my finger, squirming into submission. Words couldn't begin to describe how hot it was.

A minute later, I felt Luke's warm, wet hand creep around into my crack. Clearly he was about to level the playing field.

"You're doing great but let...let me show you..." he muttered with difficulty. My breathing intensified as his finger pressed against me, slowly penetrating the ring of muscle that guarded my insides.

"Shit!" I yelped as the tip of his finger brushed my small, firm ball of nerves. My eyes rolled back as a feeling of tingly warmth vibrated through my limbs. It was like I was a guitar string, strummed by the hands of a virtuoso.

Having found the special spot, Luke's finger zeroed in, stroking my insides with a growing fury. I was practically quivering from ecstasy. Through my delirium, I deduced enough from Luke's fingering to reciprocate, mirroring his motions with my digit. He moaned, eyes closed, driving his mouth up and back to mine in order to suck my tongue with sloppy, languid passion.

We were grinding our bodies together, our cocks dancing against each other, slippery with sweat, water, and leaking precum. Being shorter, the tip of my dick pressed up into the crook of his leg, sandwiched in the warmth between Luke's thigh and balls. He thrust forward against me, his steel rod sliding over my abs with increasing speed.

Between my finger scouring his prostate and my cock pressed up against his balls, Luke was a goner. He erupted all over me, flinging cum up into my chin while he roared.

"Fucking hell, Kaden!"

In the throes of passion, he slipped another finger inside me, stretching my asshole tight. It felt like I was burning and in heaven at the same time. Moaning, I proclaimed his name loudly, before plastering several spurts of cum along Luke's stomach and perfect thigh.

Slowly, we returned to earth, trembling from rapture and exertion while the last pulses of pleasure circuited through our bodies. Luke pulled his head back, staring into my eyes, looking exhausted but infinitely happy. He grinned weakly, his mischievous smile struggling to take up residence on his tired face. Reaching down, he wiped some of my cum from where it was sliding down his leg, then tasted it on his finger.

"You taste so good," he said softly, before nuzzling my neck. His fingertips stroked up and down my tailbone.

I could've stood wrapped in his arms for minutes more, but the sound of a slow clap almost made me jump out of my skin. Springing apart like two synchronized jumping beans, we stared at the doorway to the shower.

Leaning against the wall was Tristan, a sly grin spread across his face. A very obvious tent was propped up in his sweats.

"What the fuck, perv!" snarled Luke, stepping in front of me, his still semi-hard cock bouncing up and down. He stalked out of the shower, grabbed a couple towels, and threw one to me. We quickly covered ourselves. Our eyes glared at Tristan, demanding some sort of explanation.

He frowned. "I was halfway back to the dorm and realized I'd left my keys on the bench. Gotta admit, it was a bit of a shock when I walked around the corner and saw this, but I couldn't bring myself to interrupt your fun."

Luke was still glowering at Tristan, who was about the same height as him but not quite as well-muscled. "So you thought you'd just stand there and watch?" he spat, coldly.

Tristan shuffled his feet, looking uncomfortable. "Well, yeah. It was only a minute, I wasn't watching for however long you guys have been at it. At first I was kind of freaked out and almost ran off, but it was kind of hot, I gotta say."

Luke shut up, looking perplexed.

Finally speaking up, I begged, "Dude, you know you can't tell anyone about this. Please. You're our friend. It wouldn't be good if anyone knew about...about this..." I gestured to Luke and I.

Smiling again, Tristan shook his head. "I wouldn't dream of it. You'd probably kill me, and I don't want to make trouble for you." He turned and strolled off, pausing by the door to the locker room. Without looking back, he said, "Besides, you two are kind of cute together." Then he slipped out the door.

I grabbed Luke by the hand, leading him back to the bench where we had abandoned our clothes. He seemed to be lost for words, still shaken from getting outed in such dramatic fashion.

Mechanically, he began to dress himself. Silence hung loudly in the air as a minute ticked by, then another.

"Y'know, even if Tristan started telling people about us, they probably wouldn't believe it," I offered, my voice echoing in the empty locker room. "Worrying like this won't make things better, Luke."

He turned to face me, then looked away. I flinched as he banged his fist against the metal locker, the clanking noise ricocheting through the room. "It's not that I don't want people to know. Or believe it. It's the opposite, Kaden." Luke sighed dramatically, causing me to raise an eyebrow before he continued. "I want to play football, ride horses, rope cows, go to college and get into politics like my dad. But I also don't want to hide who I am and who I'm with. It's just..."

"You're worried about what your dad will think and the social consequences, " I interrupted. "Yeah, I get it, man. We've been through this." I didn't mean to be so blunt, and I really felt for him, but we really had discussed this before. Thoroughly. I was in the same boat, anyway.

Luke grimaced as he looked at me. "I know, I know. It's just hard to live with a secret this size." He gestured to me.

Ever one to seize on a joke, I quipped, "Come on, I'm a small secret. Imagine if you were hooking up with someone the size of Logan. That would be a big secret to keep."

He broke out chuckling, which made me feel better. While I felt privileged to be entrusted with the tender, vulnerable side of Luke, I much preferred the laughing, grinning version of him.

"It'll all be right in the end, okay?" I pressed on. "Let's just go with what we have and deal with challenges as they come up."

Smiling, Luke agreed. "You're right, and every minute I'm with you I appreciate you even more." He finished tying his shoes and glanced back at me. "Well, we should probably get going."

We left the athletic center, ducking out into the crisp, cool evening. Street lamps were beginning to flicker to life along the road that ran through the campus. After a few minutes of commiserating about homework assignments, I remembered the dance situation Luke had got me into.

"So what's up with Nora, going to the dance with me? When I met her Sunday I thought she was going to murder me with her eyes," I inquired.

There was a pause as Luke looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Well, Nora's not really the dating type, she's kind of jaded from the attention she's always gotten from guys around here. But I knew she wanted to go to the dance and, well, I told her you were harmless and would be a good date."

My gut told me there was more going on. "So that's it? Any other reason you set it up? Not that I could complain, your sister is beautiful...maybe you're more my type, though..." I reached out and squeezed his ass.

Luke smiled, before exhaling and looking down. "I'm being selfish. She doesn't want to date anyone, so I knew it was a safe bet to set you guys up. It works out well for her...but yeah, I had an ulterior motive. To keep you for...myself." He said the last word so it was barely audible, before shyly flicking his eyes up to meet mine.

Damn it if it wasn't the cutest fucking thing. This outgoing, popular kid was a walking paradox. He was so bashful when it came to romance. I just couldn't wrap my head around the contradictions.

The edges of my mouth curled slightly into a smile. "So it's a good deal for everyone, that's what you're saying?"

"Yeah, guess so," he laughed.

We walked silently for a minute. The sun had almost set, and the path was illuminated by lamps spaced every twenty feet or so, throwing our twisting shadows onto the surrounding trees. Mountain nights had a permanent magic to them, made all the more enjoyable by the company at my side.

I broke the silence. "Is your family here for the game? We have the night off tomorrow, for a change. It sounds like everyone with family in town is going out to eat."

"Yeah, my folks are here. We're all going somewhere for dinner. Is your dad in town?"

"He managed to make it in. So same, we'll go somewhere. It's kind of weird, thinking that he lives here too. I've barely even been to the house he bought since he's always traveling."

"I know what you mean," Luke said. "My folks are only at the ranch maybe a couple months out of the year. Actually, about the ranch...want to go up there Saturday night after the dance? We can ride and do whatever on Sunday before heading back here."

"Really?" I was excited. "Your folks will be okay with that?"

"Sure. I texted my dad and he was cool with me bringing someone up." Luke's eyes sparkled, the flecks of gold prominent against their gray backdrop. "I have another surprise for you when we get up there. You'll enjoy it."

I had to laugh. "What is it with you and surprises? Does it involve more horses?"

"Well, that too, but no, not exactly. You'll just have to pack a bag before the dance and come find out."

On that note, we marched into the mostly-empty cafeteria, joining the remaining senior football players for a late dinner.

***

Two hours later, I was struggling to keep my eyes open while I finished a paper for my AP U.S. History class ("Discuss the role of compromise in the drafting of the Constitution"). It was definitely not my best effort, but I'd have time to revise it a bit during a free period tomorrow. At this point the debate between the federalists and anti-federalists was much less important than a few minutes of decompressing before sweet sleep.

Evan glanced up at me as I fell onto my bed with a muffled sigh. We'd only spoken briefly since he'd got back yesterday, thanks to classes, homework, and our conflicting sports practices.

"Excited for the homecoming game? Our first soccer match is Saturday," he said sleepily.

I twisted my head to look at him. "I think so. It's been so busy and we're practicing our asses off, so I honestly haven't even worried too much about the game itself. How are you feeling today? I want to watch your game Saturday if you're gonna play."

"Probably like 90% better. Just get tired more easily. I'll probably be fine by the weekend. What're you doing for the dance?"

"Don't hate me, but Luke set me up to go with his sister—"

Evan's draw dropped and he interrupted with a sound of disbelief.

"Don't get your panties in a wad, it's like a friend thing since she doesn't want to actually date anyone. What about you?"

"Hell dude, I was just gonna go with a group of teammates and scope the playing field when we got there. Find some junior girl, y'know? Can't believe you're going with Nora, though. That's bad ass. What's up with you and Luke? You're like BFFs now and he sets you up with his sister?

My face grew warm. It never occurred to me that anyone could possibly pick up on anything going on between Luke and I. We looked like a couple of normal friends to the outside word...right?

"You're turning red right now. And you were kind of in a fog last Saturday when we went to the lake. And ever since I've been back you seem more distracted. The common denominator is you starting to hang out with Luke. Is everything alright, dude?"

He was looking at me innocently enough, but his eyes were ever-so-slightly narrowed in suspicion.

I exhaled slowly, and numbly ran a hand through my hair, thinking. It was going to be impossible to keep a serious secret like this from my roommate forever. At the same time, I had butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of Luke and I's more-than-friends status getting out. So I decided to evade the opportunity to come clean.

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's just a lot right now, with the new school, new people, now going to Homecoming with Nora."

The lines on Evan's face softened a bit, but he still looked mildly unconvinced. He didn't press me further, allowing our chat to stray back towards school, sports, and weekend plans. As our conversation trailed off and the sound of Evan's breathing slowed into the gentle melody of sleep, I continued to stare up into the darkness. It felt...unpleasant...to not open up to the best friend I'd made at the school. I trusted Evan, but it was already too much that Tristan had discovered our secret. The last thing we needed was another potential liability. Rationalizing my decision like that was enough to quiet my unease, discomfort fading as my exhaustion caught up to me. My eyes drifted shut as the image of Luke, walking toward me in the shower, cycled on replay in my mind...

***

At some point during the day Thursday, I was hoping to have a minute to talk to Nora. Admittedly, it was kind of weird that we were going to the dance together and hadn't even talked about it yet.

We only had Calculus together on Thursdays. I'd barely managed to sidle up to her at the beginning of class before the teacher jumped into the lesson. Afterwards, Nora brushed me off before heading out the door. "Sorry, Kaden, I have a test in English I don't want to be late for. We'll talk tonight, okay?"

The rest of the day sped by. I ate lunch with Evan and some soccer guys, finished revising my U.S. history paper during a free block, and enjoyed some quality leg-on-leg contact with Luke as we sat next to each other in AP Bio class. For that reason alone, we were fortunate to share one of the few classes that used tables instead of desks. It took a surprising amount of sneaky effort to slide my boner up behind my waistband, halfway through the period, when I had to stand up to retrieve a microscope from the equipment room. Luckily no one noticed except Luke, who could barely contain his amusement at my ginger-legged walk up the aisle.

After the bell rang, we parted ways for the night — off to our respective rooms before meeting each of our families for dinner. After a shower and some clean clothes, I shot my dad a text to confirm the idea I had for dinner — inviting Evan along. His parents wouldn't be back in town till tomorrow, and it made no sense to leave my best friend behind. Approval in hand, I waited for Evan to get back from soccer practice.

I probably could've used the time to continue mining through my obscene homework load, but the anticipation of dinner and the weekend ahead was too distracting. The motivation was much stronger to just collapse onto my bed, earbuds in and eyes closed. Doing nothing was a wonderful reprieve from the busy day...until a weak knock roused me from my stupor. Yanking out my earbuds, I swung out of bed and answered the door.

In front of me stood Nora, wearing a dark blue dress and a serious expression. Wavy, dirty blond hair framed her graceful features. She was looking at me with a slightly warmer expression than the last time we'd met, her gray eyes now glimmering like her brother's. I may have been completely caught up in Luke, but there was no denying that Nora was stunning.

"Nora? Hey, I was going to swing by later but you beat me to it," I said, tittering nervously.

She nodded matter-of-factly and gave a curt reply. "No problem, I was just about to head up and grab Luke before we're late to meet our parents. I wanted to make sure you and I were on the same page for Saturday. The dance is at eight so we're all going out to eat at six-thirty. Meet you in front a quarter after six. It's not prom, so you should only wear khakis and a button up. I'll send you a picture of my dress if you'd care to match. This is a friend date, remember...but something tells me you're more than happy with that arrangement. Also, good luck with the game tomorrow."

Nora threw me a small, knowing smile, then marched off without a backwards glance. I stood in the doorway for probably another minute, mouth agape, trying to wrap my head around what had just transpired. She had to know something, or at least suspect it. A jitter of nervousness shot up my spine and then fell back to earth, bringing a cold waterfall of adrenaline down with it. Her intentions were indecipherable, but it looked like my only option was to meekly play along, come Saturday.

***

The appearance of Evan strolling down the hallway was a welcome distraction, dragging my thoughts away from the dance. It only took a minimal amount of convincing before he agreed to tag along to dinner. Thus, twenty minutes later, the two of us were sliding into the backseat of my father's car and looking forward to the promise of a delicious, relaxing evening out. After shaking hands with Evan and learning what tech company his dad worked for, my dad delightedly launched into an enthusiastic, if unsolicited, review of their latest products. Evan and I rolled our eyes and went along with it during the short ride into town.

A large crowd mingled in front of the restaurant, several of our classmates conspicuously present with what were obviously their families. We had barely made it inside the front door, waiting to be seated, when a deep, stern-sounding voice spoke up from behind us.

"Michael? You never know who you run into around here."

My father turned when he heard his name; Evan and I instantly followed suit. My eyes snapped to Luke first, confused. He was standing between his sister and a tall, serious-looking man with icy blue eyes and neatly cut brown hair. A man I recognized from the photo in his room. To his right stood a shorter, kind-looking woman with honey-blond hair and a pair of familiar gray eyes. While the man bore a pleasant, quizzical expression, I couldn't help but notice the shocked look that glazed Luke's visage. An instant later it was replaced by a publicly-acceptable expression of mild interest.

"John! There's only so many nice restaurants in town," said my father. "It's a small world, I suppose, and Bozeman's even smaller. This is my son Kaden and his friend from school, Evan. Kaden, Evan, this is Congressman John Robinson. He's an icon up here, and I've had the good fortune to become involved with his political team."

Luke's father clapped a hand on each of his children's shoulders. "Nice to meet you boys. Michael did mention that he finally brought you out to school here, Kaden. About time, I think. Do you know Nora and Luke?"

Glancing at Nora, I realized she was trying her hardest to keep from laughing at the situation. Locating my vocal cords, I finally croaked, "Yes sir, we do. It's very nice to meet you."

"Excellent," boomed Mr. Robinson. "Why don't we all grab a table together and catch up?"

Oh God No, I thought. What was the universe trying to do to me? I was already going through the tumultuous discovery of my sexual identity, not to mention dealing with all the concomitant emotions of confusion, joy, fear, and insatiable lust. Why in the hell did I have to deal with Meet The Parents NOW?