Earth and Sky

jeans still clinging to his thighs, he realized how bad he had it for the other guy. His Cowboy.

    By the time Hunter returned from the bathroom, Grant had crawled under the covers.

    Hunter smiled when he saw Grant lying in bed. “It’s the middle of the day,” Hunter stated matter-of-factly.

    “I know,” Grant replied. “Just take off those jeans and come here.” He didn’t say anything more, just pushed the covers back.

    Hunter slowly pulled down his jeans and boxers and stepped into bed, practically curling himself around Grant.

    “Do you feel guilty about lying in bed at this time of day?”

    Hunter shrugged. “Never did it before. Feels weird.” He snuggled closer, though, then looked straight at Grant again. “Thanks for letting me….”

    “Fuck me?” Grant finished when Hunter didn’t show any intent himself.

    Hunter nodded. “Although now I don’t know which I like best.”

    Grant chuckled. “I don’t mind doing both.”

Chapter 20

    They stayed in bed, kissing and cuddling, licking and playfully biting each other, simply enjoying each other’s company and bodies, for a few more hours, and then got up and dressed to drive to the local diner for some food.

    Hunter was surprised how easy it was, how good it felt to just spend time with Grant, and it pushed aside some of his doubts. He’d find a way to figure out the truth about the questions that still nagged him at some point, but right now, he knew he’d never felt this comfortable around a lover.

    He couldn’t stop looking around the diner from time to time, checking whether the other patrons were looking at them funny, because he was afraid everyone within a mile radius would know they’d just fucked the stuffing out of each other. But nobody treated them differently from the other patrons. On the one hand, he hoped that all the other people just saw them as two horse wranglers having dinner together, but part of him also wanted people to see it. He knew he’d never be able to shout it off the rooftops, though. His love for Grant would always be shrouded in secrecy.

    Suddenly Hunter felt a shoe rubbing up the inside of his leg.

    “What’s wrong?” Grant asked.

    Hunter shrugged. “Nothing.”

    Grant gave him a doubtful look. “You’re brooding.”

    Grant’s foot was traveling up his leg, and Hunter felt his groin area tighten.

    Hunter sighed. Suddenly he wanted privacy and time alone with Grant to talk and maybe do some other things as well. Wasn’t this why they’d driven away from the ranch? “Do you want dessert? Because I want to get out of here.”

    “We can get a couple of pieces of pie to go,” Grant suggested.

    “Sounds good.”

    On the way back to the motel, it started to rain. Hunter wanted to drive back to their room to ravish Grant some more, but he knew the somber mood would return as soon as he had some time to think. He wanted to talk to Grant first, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to do that in the room, so he pulled off the road into a deserted parking lot near a vista point. From there they could see the fields below and the sheets of rain coming down over them. For some reason this was a soothing sight for Hunter, so he killed the engine and turned toward Grant. He didn’t need to read Grant’s mind to see he wasn’t sure what was going on.

    After a few moments of silence, Hunter sighed. “I want to clear a few things up.”

    Grant was still holding the cardboard box with the pies, and he turned his gaze to the rain-swept scenery outside without speaking.

    Hunter felt his heart plummet, but he knew he couldn’t back down now. He put his hand on Grant’s thigh. “I was mad at you this morning because I felt you were keeping so many secrets from me. You might be a serial killer and I’d never know it.”

    Grant glared at him briefly but then returned his gaze outside.

    “I’m diving in at the deep end here, Grant. I’m so far out of my comfort zone it’s making me really anxious, but at the same time, I finally know what I’m all about.” He squeezed Grant’s leg. “You opened my eyes and I can’t deny that I only want more. I feel so greedy.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “When we first got together, all I could think was that, whatever happened, we’d have to keep it a secret. And now I’m trying to figure out ways of telling my sisters and my mom, because I’m never going to be able to live a lie for the rest of my life. I know that