Chasing the Dream - 2. Chapter 2

Chase walked beside Shane and Cory, who were ready, on their horses, wading through the other competitors coming and going from the main event ring. The two boys were nervous; this is their first time competing in Team Roping. They had been practicing tirelessly for months, and they were anxious to see their efforts rewarded. Benny was sitting in the saddle with Cory, grinning because he was a big boy on the horse at the rodeo. Cory had given him the reins to his horse Random, while Shane is riding Scar, who belonged to Benny’s Dad, Alex.

“Chase, look at me,” Benny called out to him giggling, “I taller than you now.”

“Yes, you are, very tall. Concentrate on what you're doing.”

Chase smiled at the youngster, he’s very fond of the mischief maker. He’d never really had a lot of time for kids. Sure, on the rodeo circuit when Chase competed he would stop and have a quick chat, or sign something for them if they asked. He’d never grown up around younger kids per sé, he was the youngest of three boys, gay, and had a nomadic lifestyle by the time he was in his mid-teens. The thought of settling down had never occurred to him, however, the more time he spent with Jase and his family, or Benny and his Dad’s, he was becoming more aware of how empty his life is.

“Okay, boys,” Chase said slowing to a stop.

They’d reached where they needed to wait for their event; it didn’t start for another fifteen minutes. Cory handed Benny down to Chase, who put the boy on his shoulders so he wouldn’t be in the way, or get hurt by the traffic of horses or people coming or going. Benny also had a tendency to wander off. The young boy had a curious mind, and he liked to make friends, didn’t matter if they were human or of the animal variety.

“You’ll be called into the practice ring in a few minutes, keep the horses moving but don’t overdo it. We’ve been through this enough times, you know what to do, and Random and Scar know what their job is. Try not to be nervous, okay. You aren’t here to win; you're here to gain experience. If you place or win, it’s a bonus. This is your last year to compete with the juniors. You aren’t anywhere near ready to compete against the older guys…”

“Yes, yes, we know. You’ve told us a million times. We get through this year, then we practice and train for a year, and then you’ll take us to compete with the big boys,” Cory chuckled.

“It’s not a joke Cory, you can get seriously hurt out there. As you already know,” Chase pointed to his hip, “it only takes one injury to end your career. You both still want to go to college doing rodeo right?”

“Yes!” The two boys answered in unison.

“Right then,” Chase nodded his head.

“Wish us luck,” Cory said tipping his hat to Chase and Benny.

“Luck!” Chase answered.

“Goo’ luck!” Benny called out as the two boys moved over to the practice ring.

Chase turned around to move toward the main ring to watch the boys compete, he almost collided with a man in his path, “Sorry Buddy,” he apologized gripping the young boy tighter so he wouldn’t fall off of his shoulders.

“Wes!” Benny called out launching from Chase’s shoulders to the man in front of them.

“Oof!” Wesley laughed, after he caught the flying four-year-old, “Hello Bossman.”

“You gonna watch wiv us, my Cory is gonna ride wiv Shane,” Benny nodded his head as he spoke.

“I suppose I can hang around a minute or two.”

“How did Joseph do?” Chase asked.

The two men walked to the side of the main event ring to watch Shane and Cory. Wesley was still carrying young Benny when they found a place to stand. He hooked the young boy to the railing off of the ground between him and Chase.

The previous night they’d all played cards in the beer garden with Benny at the helm. Chase liked the way Wesley handled himself. He was quiet but not shy, masculine but didn’t try to prove his masculinity. He was patient and listened when Benny asked him questions or was teaching us how to play the card game. The man never spoke down to Benny when he answered or asked questions of his own to the youngster. Wesley had a very calm demeanor; even the way he spoke was melodic.

Wesley’s grin could be seen for miles, “He did really well, he’s in first place for tie-down, and he has saddle bronc’s later today.”

“Good for him, you must be proud?” Chase smiled using his dimples as best he could.

Wesley blushed and nodded his head, “I am, but it’s his accomplishment. Joe’s worked really hard, and he deserves everything that comes his way.”

“Look!” Benny called out pointing.

The poor young boy swinging as he lost his footing. Wesley quickly caught Benny and put him back on the railing. He made sure Benny was securely clinging to the fence, then caged him in, his hands on the railing either side of the boy. Chase noticed that Wes made sure that if Benny leaned back, he’d be able to support the four-year-old, and he wouldn’t fall again. But, not too close so that Benny could still feel independent. Chase found himself ogling Wes as he interacted with Benny, he did it so naturally. His actions weren’t forced or intimidating, just a natural reaction. Chase’s stomach went warm and random thoughts of what it would be like to be with Wes flew through his mind.

“S’my Cory, Yay,” Benny called out to his cousin.

Benny brought Chase back to the present, and he managed to move his focus from Wesley to Cory and Shane. He needed to concentrate on the two boys right now – he is their trainer after all. Chase observed how the boys interacted with their horses. Shane was having a bit of a problem getting Scar to settle in the box. It seemed to Chase that Shane was the problem, not the horse. He felt for the kid, he’s obviously nervous, and Scar is picking up on it. Shane exited the box and took a deep breath and tried again. That did the trick, he grinned broadly at Cory, then they readied themselves.

“Go my Cory!” Benny screamed.

“C’mon boys, you’ve got this!” Wesley called out from behind Benny.

“Yay! You godis!” Benny yelled, and Wesley quietly chuckled.

Chase shook his head grinning at the youngster, while his eyes fixated on every movement the boys made.

“Did I miss it?” Joseph asked as he climbed the barrier next to his brother.

Aaand, the boys, were out with a clean start, Cory managed the head first go, Shane struggled, they ended up with a 14.3 sec result.

“C’mon Benny,” Chase said putting his arms out for the young boy.

“I stay wiv Wes,” Benny looked up at Wesley.

“Sure no problem, it’s probably not safe back there anyway, we’ll wait here,” Wesley answered Chase before he asked the question. Chase grabbed Wesley’s shoulder and squeezed quickly running his hand down to the elbow as he moved away. The feeling of Wesley’s muscled arms almost made Chase groan out loud.

“Thanks, Bud, won’t be but a minute.”

Chase moved swiftly to get to the boys. When he located them, they were about to go for their second run. Both looked a little unhappy with the result, Cory was trying to comfort Shane the best way he could. Shane seemed a little upset by the result.

“Hey boys!” Chase called as he climbed up the box beside the boys, “you did great, don’t worry about the times right now…”

“I messed up,” Shane pouted.

“You didn’t mess up, Shane, the execution was a little slow is all,” Chase chuckled, “you both did everything right. It’s why we came remember, to get real competition experience. Forget the times, for now, tell me how it felt? What was going through your mind that made you hesitate?”

“It felt great at first and then when Cory managed to rope the calf I panicked that I would mess up, and I froze,” Shane explained, but it was plain and simple; basic stage fright. Chase told Shane that.

He slapped Shanes leg, “Yeah but you’re failing to see the good,”

“What would that be?” his voice raised an octave, almost shrill, and his eyebrow cocked into his hairline, Chase snickered at the kid's exasperation, “we got 14.3 seconds.”

Chase slapped his leg again, “You did, and that’s a great result. You also got a clean start, and once you unfroze you corrected and executed almost perfectly. This is your first time at competition give yourself a break kiddo.”

Shane smiled bashfully, looking at his boyfriend who was grinning at him.

“I told you,” Cory laughed so hard, he had to settle Random down as he jigged around.

“Look, guys, we aren’t here for results. Use it for the experience it is. Get comfortable, don’t be nervous, you’ve got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Maybe this time, try and pretend you’re at home, just let it come naturally. So what if you eff it up, come back here re-group, talk to each other, listen to each other, then go out there and try again,” Chase smiled at the two teenagers, “Okay?”

“Thanks, Chase,” Shane answered.

“Welcome, now get out there and just do it, don’t think,” With that said Chase slapped Shane on the leg again and left the boys to it. Once his feet hit the dirt, he ran back around to where he’d left Wesley and his brother with Benny. By the time Chase got there, the boys were finishing their run. He’d missed it, but the boys both looked happier.

“How’d they do?” Chase asked anyone listening, while he leaned against the barrier.

“Better this time, down to 9.6 seconds,” Wesley answered as he watched the boys back into the box again.

“Vay were really fas’ whoa!” Benny said seriously nodding his head at Chase then turned back to Cory and Shane, “Here vay go ‘gain. You godis, go fas’” he called out to his cousin.

Wesley turned his head to chuckle so Benny couldn’t hear him. Chase had to really school his urge to reach out and touch Wesley, so he just grinned and winked. Wesly blushed and turned back to watch the boys again. The guy was really starting to get to Chase, and nothing was more fun than to make the man blush. The more time he spent around Wesley, the more he liked about him. The way the man spoke, the deep timbre of his voice was arousing, Wes’ mannerisms, the way he moved was effortless and graceful, not unlike watching a quarterback throw the perfect spiral. His natural way of dealing with kids, he had endless patience, and he never fussed, just let them be, but somehow protective at the same time.

Shane and Cory were off again, this time they’d jumped the start, breaking the barrier and their time ended up 21.1 seconds, because of the ten-second penalty. Their last attempt was the best of the day 9.3 seconds. Chase was pretty proud of the boys, the times weren’t terrible considering how long they’d been at it. He also hoped they’d learned something and had fun. The boys didn’t make it to the final round but so what.

<>-<>-<>

Chase was watching the video playback that Jase had gotten from the spectator stand. He’d had Jase do that so he could go over the runs with the boys once they got home. Plus Jase would have been a bundle of nerves and drove Chase crazy. Benny was sitting on Chase’s lap silently watching the video, with an occasional yawn, barely able to keep his eyes open.

“How bad does it look?” Cory asked over his shoulder.

“Not bad at all, there are a few things to improve, but it’s mostly good. We’ll worry about it when we get home.” Chase answered.

Cory kind of ‘hmpf’d’ as he moved away, “Dad, we want to watch Joseph in the saddle broncs, is it okay if we go?”

Benny came to life, “Me too, I wanna go,” he said crawling off of Chase’s lap chasing after Cory.

“You’re too little, and these guys won’t be able to keep a good eye on you,” Jase answered firmly to Benny.

“I be good, promise, I won’t runned away, ‘n hold Cory’s hand all da time,” Benny pleaded.

“We’ll watch him,” Shane said to Jase.

“No, you boys go ahead,” Jase told the teenagers, they wandered off but not before hugging Benny.

“I wanna go wiv dem,” Benny turned away defeated and miserable, climbing back into Chase's lap burying himself into the man's chest. Chase ruffled the boy's hair then put his arm around the kid.

“Watch this with me, then we’ll go for a quick look, and watch the saddle broncs, yeah?” Chase asked. Benny nodded his head and rubbed his eyes, then rested against Chase’s chest and fell asleep. Once Jase was sure Benny was out for the count he lifted him off of Chase and laid him down on one of the cots.

“Chase go and watch Wesley,” Jase snickered, “I mean the saddle broncs, I’ll stay here with Benny. I have plenty of Ranch and Rodeo School paperwork work to keep me busy.”

“Smartass, I wasn’t watching Wesley,” Chase growled. Totally was watching.

“Really, because I can show you the video if you like,” Jase retorted with a smug grin.

“I’ll be back,” Chase said grumpily.

“Oh, before I forget there was a guy in the stands asking about you earlier. He wanted to know if you would train his daughter. He said he’d come by tonight, to have a chat. I’ve already told him that she would have to try out before you’d consider anyone.”

“Thanks,” Chase answered before going to watch the event.

<>-<>-<>

Chase brought a round of drinks to the table, passing them out. The men had beer, and the older boys soda, Benny finally got his fruity cherry drink. Chase then plonked his ass at the end of the table in the space next to Wesley.

“A toast,” Jase said, “to Cory and Shane for their valiant efforts this weekend and to Joseph for his win. Cheers!” They all gave a little cheer clinking the plastic cups together, then having a celebratory mouthful.

“We play snap! Yay!” Benny shouted, pulling his cards from his pocket, from the other side of Wes. He gave the pack to Wesley, “can you please fluffle the cards.”

“Sure,” Wes took the cards and gave them a shuffle then handed them back to Benny, “You boys have a game first yeah. Us old people need to rest our brain for a little while. Are they fluffled enough?”

“Yep,” Benny took his cards and started dealing them out to the boys and to him also. Cory gave him a hand when things went a little sideways for his small hands.

“Fanks Cory,” Benny said as he scratched his nose.

“You guys have any events in the morning?” Wesley asked Cory and Shane.

“Nah, we’re all done. What about you Joe?” Shane asked.

“No, I’m done too. Are we leaving early tomorrow Wes?”

“Not necessarily, we’ll leave when we leave. It’s a long drive, I want to make sure we get a proper sleep,” Wes answered.

“Same for us,” Jase confirmed, “We’re lucky we have two of us to share the driving.”

Chase knocked his knee into Wesley, “How far into Florida are you?”

“Whidden Corner, sort of, hit Fort Myers, hang a left for a bit,” Wesley answered.

“Yeah, I know where that is,” Jase answered, “I haven’t been out that way for a while.”

“Not much out there, but we like it, it’s peaceful,” Wesley shrugged his shoulder.

“Horses only?” Chase asked.

“Yeah mainly, we have some weaning calves. They’re Jo-Jo’s, he does it to earn money for college,” Wes said proudly.

“Oh yeah, I used to do that as a kid too. I liked it, my Dad used to get angry because I’d give them names and get upset when they were ready to go,” Chase laughed, Wesley grinned at him.

“You should come out and have a look around sometime, bring your horses and go for a trail ride, it’s beautiful,” Jase said.

“Dad you don’t even ride the horse, you make me or Daddy ride with you,” Cory rolled his eyes.

“Zip it, child of mine,” Jase said, “I’m working on it, you boys keep Chase so busy, your Uncle Tracy and I hardly ever get a chance to learn. I’ll have to start booking our lessons just to get to learn how to get on one of them damn beasts.”

“Jase is right, you should come out next weekend, or whenever you get time. Bring your horses, and we’ll go for a ride. You might be able to teach him and Tracy to actually ride the damn horses. They complain we don’t make time, but in reality, they are reluctant to learn.” Chase gave Wes his cheekiest smirk, flicking his head in Jase’s direction.

“I’ll say,” Cory piped up, “SNAP!” slamming his hand down on top of the cards, then all the kids were laughing at the men because all three had jumped when Cory yelled.

<>-<>-<>

“Hi Wes,” Benny called out as he walked closer to him the young boy dragging Chase along with him.

“Hello there Boss, you all packed and ready to go home?” Wes said putting his arms out to hug the youngster. Benny threw himself at Wesley, who picked him up.

“Yup, you coming wiv us?”

“That’s what I come to talk to you about, Jase is having a little meltdown, he’s worried that you’re driving by yourself and wants all of us to drive together. That way if someone gets tired another can take over, or if something happens you’re not alone,” Chase said bashfully.

Jase had forced Chase's hand into inviting Wesley to follow them home. He didn’t want to ask, it felt an awful lot like Jase playing cupid, forcing the two men together.

“Wes, can I run over and say goodbye?” Joseph asked his brother.

“Yeah, don’t be long we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”

“Down Wes,” Benny wiggled, “I wanna come wiv you, Joey,” Benny said.

“C’mon Bud,” Joseph squatted and waving Benny over to him, “on my shoulders, we’ll be able to move quicker.”

Wesley set the little one down, and Benny quickly climbed on Joe’s shoulders, then they were off.

“Bye Wesley,” Benny called out as Jo-Jo skipped away.

Wesley shook his head, “That kid is the cutest boy I’ve come across since Jo-Jo was little.”

“Yeah,” Chase laughed, “he’s a handful, but the sweetest little kid. He has an innocence I hope he never loses.”

“That he does,” Wes looked away for a second, “we can follow you I guess, but I don’t want to hold you guys up. I tend to stop every three or four hours to stretch my legs and have a rest.”

Chase waved his comment off, “We’re traveling with two teenagers and a four-year-old, it feels like we stop every hour because someone has to pee. Plus the truck’s pretty crowded with the four of us plus Benny’s safety seat.”

“Wow, yeah that can’t be too comfortable, I imagine.”

“It’s not too bad,” Chase laughed.

The two men stood in an awkward silence, thinking of things to talk about – nothing came to mind.

“Well, I better get back, give me your number, and I’ll text you when we are ready to leave. But no hurry we can wait. Oh, do you need a hand with anything?” Chase asked nervously.

“Nah, we are just about all packed up, just gotta put the horses in the trailer.”

“Here I’ll give you a hand,” Chase said waving his hand for Wesley to lead the way.

The two men worked quickly, and with ease together not talking. There wasn’t any need, they’d both done this task a million times. Once they’d finished, Wesley, quickly text his brother and told him to stay put. He and Chase then jumped in the truck and drove to Joseph. Jase was receiving a business card from a man and saying goodbye when they arrived.

Wesley and Chase joined the others and helped Jase get packed up. Once they were done and ready to get into their respective trucks, Jase handed Chase a business card.

“That was the guy from the stands yesterday, the one with the daughter he wants you to help. He asked you to give him a call in the next couple of days.” Jase told him.

“Wesley is it okay if I travel with Cory and Shane until we’re closer to home,” Joe asked.

“There isn’t enough room for you in their truck Jo-Jo, sorry,” he told his brother.

“Yeah, there is, if you don’t mind some company, Chase can go with you and Joseph can come with us,” Jase countered smirking. Fucking meddler.